Voynich Manuscript Pages Were Bound Out of Order, New Study Finds
Recent findings published in Digital Medievalist indicate that the 240 pages of the Voynich Manuscript may be improperly bound, shedding light on the manuscript's long-standing decipherment difficulties. The study, co-authored by Colin Layfield and Lisa Fagin Davis, employed latent semantic analysis to uncover illogical page arrangements among five scribes identified by Davis in 2020, which contradict medieval norms. Notable irregularities include a significant water stain and illustrations that span non-consecutive pages. The researchers propose that the manuscript was initially a collection of bifolia intended for sequential reading. Acquired by Wilfrid Voynich in 1912, the manuscript, featuring the undeciphered "Voynichese" text, was carbon-dated to the early 1400s and arrived at Yale in 1969. Davis speculates it may pertain to female sexuality.
Key facts
- The Voynich Manuscript is housed at Yale University's Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library.
- A study in the journal Digital Medievalist found strong evidence that the manuscript's pages are incorrectly bound.
- The research was co-authored by Lisa Fagin Davis of the Medieval Academy of America and Colin Layfield of the University of Malta.
- The study used latent semantic analysis to identify illogical alternation of scribal hands across pages.
- The manuscript was originally a collection of individual bifolia meant to be read in sequence, later misbound.
- The Voynich Manuscript is named for Wilfrid Voynich, who purchased it in Italy in 1912.
- Its vellum pages have been carbon-dated to the early 1400s; it arrived at Yale in 1969.
- The text remains undeciphered and features bizarre illustrations of plants, astronomy, and bathing women.
Entities
Artists
- Lisa Fagin Davis
- Colin Layfield
- Wilfrid Voynich
- Roger Bacon
- Leonardo da Vinci
Institutions
- Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library
- Yale University
- Medieval Academy of America
- University of Malta
- Digital Medievalist
- Gizmodo
- Live Science
- The Guardian
- University of Bristol
- Siloe
- Universal History Archive
- Universal Images Group
- Getty Images
- Photo 12
- GL Archive
- Alamy
- AFP
Locations
- Italy
- Germany
- Malta
- United States
- London
- United Kingdom
- Soho Square
- Burgos
- Spain
- North Africa