Voynich Manuscript

 The Voynich Manuscript, described as "the world's most mysterious manuscript", is a work which dates to the early 15th century, possibly from northern Italy. It is named after the book dealer who purchased it in 1912. The author and language it is written in are unknown.

Some pages are missing, but the current version comprises about 240 vellum pages, most with illustrations. Much of the manuscript resembles herbal manuscripts of the time period, seeming to present illustrations and information about plants and their possible uses for medical purposes.

However, most of the plants do not match known species, and the manuscript's script and language remain unknown and unreadable. Possibly some form of encrypted cyphertext, the Voynich manuscript has been studied by many professional and amateur cryptographers, including American and British codebreakers from both WWI and WWII. As yet, it has defied all decipherment attempts, becoming a cause celebre of historical cryptology.

None of the many speculative solutions proposed over the last hundred years has yet been independently verified.

Full Manuscript at Yale Archives