The Voynich Manuscript is a mysterious 15th-century text that no one has ever deciphered.
New research has taken a closer look at the book’s illustrations and suggests it hides sexual secrets.
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The Voynich manuscript has baffled experts for decades.
It is believed to have been written in Italy between 1404 and 1438.
This means it’s from the late Middle Ages and is also covered in medieval-style illustrations.
A new article about the manuscript was published in the journal Social History of Medicine.
Keagan Brewer and Michelle Lewis were the two researchers who worked on the study.
“The Voynich manuscript is a famous European cipher manuscript from the early 15th century, featuring herbal, pharmaceutical, astrological and anatomical illustrations, including hundreds of nude women.
“Some hold objects adjacent to or pointed unequivocally at their genitalia,” the researchers wrote.
The researchers propose that sex is one of the subjects described in the text.
Another academic named Dr. Gerard Cheshire claimed to have deciphered the manuscript in 2019.
Cheshire also said the manuscript contains tips on sex as well as herbal remedies and wisdom.
The strange manuscript is written on animal skin.
One section contains illustrations showing women holding objects to their genitals.
The researchers think this image would not belong in a manuscript that dealt only with wisdom and herbal remedies.
Brewer and Lewis focused on the work of Bavarian doctor Johannes Hartlieb, who lived at the same time, to try to understand the manuscript.
“This article therefore investigates the culture of self-censorship, erasure and encryption of women’s secrets, focusing on Dr. Johannes Hartlieb (c. 1410-1468).
“Hartlieb had lasting misgivings about the propagation of women’s secrets in the Bavarian vernacular, which culminated in a call for ‘secret letters’ to hide recipes for abortifacients and contraceptives,” investigators wrote.
Adding: “Based on this evidence, we propose that the Rosettes, the largest and most complex illustration in the Voynich manuscript, represent coitus and conception.”
Voynich Manuscript – what is it and why is it important?
Here’s what you need to know…
- The Voynich manuscript is a mysterious book written by hand in an unknown writing system
- Carbon dating revealed that the parchment it was written on is from between 1404 and 1438
- Experts believe it was composed in northern Italy during the Italian Renaissance.
- The manuscript was named after Wilfrid Voynich, a Polish bookseller who purchased it in 1912.
- The book is about 240 pages long, although there are a few additional pages missing
- Most pages contain illustrations or diagrams, with some fold-out sheets worked in
- The book has baffled cryptographers and code breakers for decades
- In May 2019, Bristol academic Dr Gerard Cheshire claimed to have deciphered the document
- He described it as the only known example of the extinct Proto-Romance language
- Dr Cheshire claims manuscript contains tips on sex, hermetic remedies and psychological wisdom
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