Manuscript
A mysterious, undecipherable manuscript dating to the 15th or 16th century.
Written in Central Europe at the end of the 15th or during the 16th century, the origin, language,
and date of the Voynich Manuscript—named after the Polish-American antiquarian bookseller,
Wilfrid M. Voynich, who acquired it in 1912—are still being debated as vigorously as its puzzling
drawings and undeciphered text. Described as a magical or scientific text, nearly every page contains
botanical, figurative, and scientific drawings of a provincial but lively character, drawn in ink with vibrant
washes in various shades of green, brown, yellow, blue, and red.
Based on the subject matter of the drawings, the contents of the manuscript falls into six sections:
1) botanicals containing drawings of 113 unidentified plant species; 2) astronomical and astrological
drawings including astral charts with radiating circles, suns and moons, Zodiac symbols such as fish
(Pisces), a bull (Taurus), and an archer (Sagittarius), nude females emerging from pipes or chimneys,
and courtly figures; 3) a biological section containing a myriad of drawings of miniature female nudes,
most with swelled abdomens, immersed or wading in fluids and oddly interacting with interconnecting
tubes and capsules; 4) an elaborate array of nine cosmological medallions, many drawn across several
folded folios and depicting possible geographical forms; 5) pharmaceutical drawings of over 100 different
species of medicinal herbs and roots portrayed with jars or vessels in red, blue, or green, and
6) continuous pages of text, possibly recipes, with star-like flowers marking each entry in the margins.
1) botanicals containing drawings of 113 unidentified plant species; 2) astronomical and astrological
drawings including astral charts with radiating circles, suns and moons, Zodiac symbols such as fish
(Pisces), a bull (Taurus), and an archer (Sagittarius), nude females emerging from pipes or chimneys,
and courtly figures; 3) a biological section containing a myriad of drawings of miniature female nudes,
most with swelled abdomens, immersed or wading in fluids and oddly interacting with interconnecting
tubes and capsules; 4) an elaborate array of nine cosmological medallions, many drawn across several
folded folios and depicting possible geographical forms; 5) pharmaceutical drawings of over 100 different
species of medicinal herbs and roots portrayed with jars or vessels in red, blue, or green, and
6) continuous pages of text, possibly recipes, with star-like flowers marking each entry in the margins.
History of the Collection
Like its contents, the history of ownership of the Voynich manuscript is contested and filled with some gaps.
The codex belonged to Emperor Rudolph II of Germany (Holy Roman Emperor, 1576-1612),
who purchased it for 600 gold ducats and believed that it was the work of Roger Bacon.
It is very likely that Emperor Rudolph acquired the manuscript from the English astrologer John Dee
(1527-1608). Dee apparentlyowned the manuscript along with a number of other Roger Bacon
manuscripts. In addition, Dee stated that he had 630 ducats in October 1586, and his son noted that Dee,
while in Bohemia,owned "a booke...containing nothing butt Hieroglyphicks, which booke his father
bestowed much time upon: but I could not heare that hee could make it out." Emperor Rudolph
seems to have given the manuscript to Jacobus Horcicky de Tepenecz (d. 1622), an exchange
based on the inscription visibleonly with ultraviolet light on folio 1r which reads: "Jacobi de Tepenecz."
Johannes Marcus Marci ofCronland presented the book to Athanasius Kircher (1601-1680) in
1666. In 1912, Wilfred M. Voynich purchased the manuscript from the Jesuit College at Frascati
near Rome. In 1969, the codex wasgiven to the Beinecke Library by H. P. Kraus, who had purchased
it from the estate of Ethel Voynich, Wilfrid Voynich's widow.
who purchased it for 600 gold ducats and believed that it was the work of Roger Bacon.
It is very likely that Emperor Rudolph acquired the manuscript from the English astrologer John Dee
(1527-1608). Dee apparentlyowned the manuscript along with a number of other Roger Bacon
manuscripts. In addition, Dee stated that he had 630 ducats in October 1586, and his son noted that Dee,
while in Bohemia,owned "a booke...containing nothing butt Hieroglyphicks, which booke his father
bestowed much time upon: but I could not heare that hee could make it out." Emperor Rudolph
seems to have given the manuscript to Jacobus Horcicky de Tepenecz (d. 1622), an exchange
based on the inscription visibleonly with ultraviolet light on folio 1r which reads: "Jacobi de Tepenecz."
Johannes Marcus Marci ofCronland presented the book to Athanasius Kircher (1601-1680) in
1666. In 1912, Wilfred M. Voynich purchased the manuscript from the Jesuit College at Frascati
near Rome. In 1969, the codex wasgiven to the Beinecke Library by H. P. Kraus, who had purchased
it from the estate of Ethel Voynich, Wilfrid Voynich's widow.
