The Voynich Manuscript is Written in Natural Language: The Pahlavi Hypothesis

TL;DR

This paper presents evidence that the Voynich Manuscript is written in a natural language, specifically related to Pahlavi script, based on character analysis and linguistic clues, challenging its previous classification as a hoax or cipher.

Contribution

It establishes a link between the Voynich alphabet and Pahlavi script, providing a new perspective on its linguistic nature and potential meaning.

Findings

Many Voynich characters are upside-down Pahlavi characters.

Transcribed words include terms from Zoroastrian cosmology.

The relation to Pahlavi explains some ambiguities in the manuscript's script.

Abstract

The late medieval Voynich Manuscript (VM) has resisted decryption and was considered a meaningless hoax or an unsolvable cipher. Here, we provide evidence that the VM is written in natural language by establishing a relation of the Voynich alphabet and the Iranian Pahlavi script. Many of the Voynich characters are upside-down versions of their Pahlavi counterparts, which may be an effect of different writing directions. Other Voynich letters can be explained as ligatures or departures from Pahlavi with the intent to cope with known problems due to the stupendous ambiguity of Pahlavi text. While a translation of the VM text is not attempted here, we can confirm the Voynich-Pahlavi relation at the character level by the transcription of many words from the VM illustrations and from parts of the main text. Many of the transcribed words can be identified as terms from Zoroastrian cosmology which is in line with the use of Pahlavi script in Zoroastrian communities from medieval times.