Episode 599: The Voynich Manuscript: The Most Mysterious Manual
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On this episode of the world famous Sofa King Podcast, we explore the mystery of the world’s most mysterious book, the Voynich Manuscript. It was named after rare book seller named William Voynich. He bought the book during a bulk book sale from an ancient college in Rome. It was meant to go to the Vatican, but he scooped it up. He spent seven years trying to decipher the unknown language and strange drawings, but he did without success.
After his death, it made it to Yale University, and it has become one of the most studied books of all time. The language is completely unknown, but modern linguistics say it is a real language. The book has been dated using multiple methods and claims to be from 1420. But who wrote it? And for what purpose? It could an encyclopedia from a dead culture, the ravings of a mad monk, or even the encrypted writings of an alchemist trying to avoid persecution. Either way, it is a beautiful book and a wonderful mystery.
Follow our Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voynich_manuscript
https://beinecke.library.yale.edu/collections/highlights/voynich-manuscript
https://arstechnica.com/science/2017/09/the-mysterious-voynich-manuscript-has-finally-been-decoded/
Full Text of Manuscript: https://archive.org/details/TheVoynichManuscript/page/n147/mode/2up
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