Computer Scientist Gordon Rugg may have proven that the
mysterious Voynich Manuscript (the famously untranslatable medieval book full of pictures of naked women) is a hoax. He theorizes that it was created by a sixteenth-century Englishman named Edward Kelley in order to con Emperor Rudolph II. Kelley could have created the book by using an encryption device called a Cardan Grille. Voynich scholars are still undecided about Rugg's theory, but whether or not Rugg is right, it should now just be a matter of time before he lapses into insanity, as many other scholars who have spent too long obsessing about the Voynich Manuscript have done.
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However, since our knowledge of psychological disorders is far from complete, we cannot disrgard the by products of an 'afflicted' mind as simple rubbish.
For example, perhaps the author WAS in a different state of reality, and apon returning to this reality, was using the only means available to attempt to convey the TRUTH which was discerned. The TRUTH then, would be encrypted with the knowledge of the present reality.
This relates to the book of Gensis, in which the Tree of Knowledge introduces reason to man, and all subsequent attempts to comprehend the experience of the garden of eden are 'encrypted' in the 'knowledge' of the world. i.e. Parable.
The WHY in this case could act as a KEY to understand or experience the MINDSET of the author, within the context (or rather through the encryption) of todays knowledge base.
Eitehr way, whether WHY or WHAT/HOW, the search is still for a KEY to UNDERSTAND the MINDSET of the AUTHOR. And if it is infact a 'psychological affliction' you cannot full understand the mindset without experiencing it first hand.
If we assume that the manuscript was purchased by Rudolph II from an unknown source, then sadly it is highly likely that it is a fake. The relatively recent 'Hitler Diaries' showed that some people are prepared to put extensive effort into making elaborately faked documents in exchange for money. Fakes are a very major part of collecting esoterica. In some cases, early fakes, like this may prove to be, are highly demanded as fascinating curiosity pieces - even to the extent of people faking fakes...
In the end, I think that it will remain an unsolved mystery. If the language cannot be cracked mathmatically, or liguistically - then it if is genuine, it is probably a codebook language - possibly with words being randomly assigned to dictionary words based on their position in a line. Making it almost uncrackable.
However, it remains quite fascinating...
Compare the Voynich Manuscript with Urville, the imaginary city created by the French autistic savant Gilles Trehin. And also the books of Alfred Wainwright (he possibly had Asperger's). He wrote the acclaimed walking guides for the Lake District, UK. His books are all hand written, with tiny perfect script and drawings. Little gems.
The problem with the delusion idea postulated here is that it still doesn't explain HOW the book was made. It might explain WHY, but not HOW. The characters follow the patterns and rules of written language- it could not arbitrarily be produced. It is possible that there is no encrypted message and that the author was delusional, but that does not explain how he created the book. Whether it is a real encrypted message, a hoax or a product of delusion, the author of the manuscript set down with a meticulous process and created the language of the book- regardless of true meaning.
Some of the so called flowers look like disguised
anatomical diagrams of a female nature.
Could you elaborate upon your reasons that lead you to believe the author is Leonardo Da Vinci?
What is the time period you refer to as "medieval italian". Since Da Vinci was born in 1452 he is more closely associated with the Renaissance than the Medieval period which is widely considered to have ran it's course by the middle of the 1300's.
Also, "an elegant style" is hardly the province of a single person as I'm positive many of those who could write at the time did so with elegance.
"Of course in that case; anagrams are a must."
This type of logic is known as "post hoc ergo propter hoc" -after this therefore because of this. Just because one writes elegantly doesn't mean they have to use anagrams.
"The guy likes to confuse human beings with his supreme genius."
Actually, much of Da Vinci's works would have been considered heretical by the church. His backwards writing was more likely in effort to disguise his writings (or a result of severe dyslexia) than to impress the world with his genius. He didn't need to impress anyone; his works did.
What if all old scripts are like that? hand-writing is a fine and interesting art... just like V and U... two different sounds, but V didn't exactly exist the same way in Greek or Roman times that it exists in today's world. Back then it was a number and not a letter. We turned it into a letter, and gave it a different sound, because Greek U was in fact the shape of V. That's where V as a separate letter probably comes from.
You just blew my mind with this thread, sirs.
Amber, your interest is noteworthy ... however ... who says that left-to-right is the manner to read this, or that that was the way it was written?
During this time there were many middle eastern scholars who wrote right-to-left. One cannot discount the possibility that this author too did the same.
It may be that meaning can be artificially ascribed to the symbology -where no meaning was originally intended. Could meaning come from chaos? I would conjecture that this question was at the forefront of many the philosophical discussion of the time.
Perhaps the author sought to materialize the question?