the voynich manuscript has been a fascination of mine for some time though i don't think i've ever had an actual conversation about it with anyone, not unlike your 12-sided die or that miley cyrus cd that you only play when you're in the car by yourself. the voynich, named for the man who discovered it, is an anonymous medieval text that some have seen fit to dub "the most mysterious manuscript in the world", which seems about right, though finnegan's wake and the story of the vivian girls still merit mention in that conversation. the manuscript is handwritten in a cipher that has few if any connections to any known languages and dates from sometime between the 15th and 17th centuries, depending on whose references you prefer. most interpretations are that - if it's not some elaborate, 800-year-old hoax - the subjects of the manuscript are multiple facets concerned with the study of alchemy. there are indications of astrology and physiognomy, and the whole text is illustrated with mysterious plants, almost none of which actually exist. i could go on about this at length, but i'm no expert. hit the links at the jump, get your head around it, and maybe we'll have an actual conversation about it.
LINK: one voynich opinion
LINK: gallery of voynich illustrations
LINK: related? oh, henry!
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