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The Voynich manuscript: Symbol roles revisited

Author

Listed:
  • Vladimír Matlach
  • Barbora Anna Janečková
  • Daniel Dostál

Abstract

In this article, we employ simple descriptive methods in order to explore the peculiar behavior of the symbols in the Voynich Manuscript. Such an analysis reveals a group of symbols which are further analyzed for the possibility of being compounds (or ligatures), using a specifically developed method. The results suggest the possibility that the alphabet of the manuscript is a lot smaller, and steganographic type of encoding is proposed to explain the newly revealed properties.

Suggested Citation

  • Vladimír Matlach & Barbora Anna Janečková & Daniel Dostál, 2022. "The Voynich manuscript: Symbol roles revisited," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 17(1), pages 1-26, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0260948
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0260948
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Marcelo A Montemurro & Damián H Zanette, 2013. "Keywords and Co-Occurrence Patterns in the Voynich Manuscript: An Information-Theoretic Analysis," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 8(6), pages 1-9, June.
    2. Warren Torgerson, 1952. "Multidimensional scaling: I. Theory and method," Psychometrika, Springer;The Psychometric Society, vol. 17(4), pages 401-419, December.
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