A connoisseur of poisons

It was a pity to let an experienced expert in herbs and the copyist, but the - the order. Pastor pointed up significantly. In the manuscripts gradually decreased demand. The monk asked him to identify stock of five color ink. And took with him bags of herbs and roots.
John Dee sold to Emperor Rudolph II, cunning prisochinil that it is a recipe for an elixir of youth,.
A considerable number of Western cryptologists are still ... Voynich in 1912 by the Jesuits in Italy. Now the manuscript - in the library of Yale University.

Meanwhile, unsuccessful attempts to read strange manuscripts were many, starting with 1920.

Retired decoder, professionals, tried dozens of languages ​​from different continents, the methods of frequency analysis of the occurrence of peculiar characters, wondered over paintings. Failure gave rise to the hypothesis, built on the principle of ... Ostensibly this is not the author and the content of the text - so a hoax with unclear goals.

Skeptics dismissed twice performed radiocarbon analysis - and the paper, and ink made ​​in Europe in the XV century. And working in Washington, DC Rao, an Indian professor of applied frequency analysis again, but in the version developed for the recovery of genetic codes.

In the Middle Ages liked to cipher - grid, in which the slots have read the text. In the case of MB is more complex character, full of pacifiers (including the icon with the ... Now, to compare the text with pictures, but plants that composite - one stamen, petal from another root - from the third. Consistently identified in this way the real medicinal and poisonous plants before we tried. And nothing - once it becomes clear that to be found in the text. Although there tricks - the poison, for example, found in the seeds, as in the picture - a leaflet. And fans of frequency analysis, even after discarding symbols, pacifiers confuse an abundance of very short words in the text.

We still remember the adopted in the Middle Ages the Latin abbreviations such as NB (nota bene - « on the note ... There are many other ...

Particularly convincing are the recipes, when poisons and deadly separately ( say, belladonna, and from Clefthoof European), and only together - and even more so. The author of the manuscript has not forgotten to specify that it is useful to look in the right pupil, to make sure the poison of death.

Now encrypt quite different - the key can be changed every half hour. This is reasonable in the war - if the enemy and ... Another matter - compiled over the years ... There should be a cipher is sophisticated, not digital.

You can read slowly, just to clarify details ( parts by weight, etc.). Particularly interesting to the presence of Chinese plants, including Eleutherococcus root, then unknown in Europe, but clearly depicted on one of the drawings. It is safe to assume - by MB traveled to China. Really a success in the XVI century, scientists trip to China was a Jesuit mission in Beijing, headed by M. Ricci. Sam Matteo Ricci, Italian Jesuit missionary, mathematician, cartographer and interpreter for many years remained in Beijing, but, of course, he sent a trusted courier, courier to a report in Rome. This is a courier, a monk from Northern Italy, and was the author of the manuscript. Details of the history of the color ink will help us to uncover the historical puzzle.

In the scriptorium of a monastery in northern Italy, the monks copied the Bible. Of course, not on paper, but on the more expensive parchment ( this is true not put the letter ... Especially prized parchment is not white, but shades of brown, obtained from the skins of animals piebald. The monks of purchase sheets of polished, making the coated.

Normally only the books of the parchment cover, and inside the paper, but also coated. The monks fought off several times in water, finely chopped white cloth, and then compacted layers resulting pulp, laying them felt.

Brand honors the monasteries in the north- east Italy was polished smooth finished paper stone ... Large sheets of bent and folded in the ... Now you can put pen to paper.

In the right hand of the transcriber - the dried goose or swan feathers, taken from the outer edge of the left wings of birds, so that they bend was comfortable right-handed. On the left - knife, to erase the spot, if the ink drop, and even sharpen the pen tip as required. The belt hung with black ink ink. They were prepared using the build-up on the oak leaves, remaining in the form of ... ... To a solution of iron sulfate was added, obtained after rusty nails em in sulfuric acid, diluted with alcohol. After stirring in an almost ready-made for the viscosity of the ink was added the dried sap of acacia - acacia.

Bright red paint - ... She uncorks as necessary. But just at the time described it in Italy, spread red ink from the roots of the madder plant, so that the monk, after several years of work in the scriptorium remained healthy.

He did not like it, though white paint - it lead. In the special fixtures are suspended from the horns with a stock of colored ink. Especially valuable bright blue ink displays, if necessary prior. They pricey lapis lazuli, brought from the smuggling of Afghan land. Some cheaper green paint - it is not necessary supplement of crushed malachite, more juice yari - copperhead. Even easier with a brown color - in Italy, many volcanic soils, which give this shade of paint, you can still add the saffron.

In special cases, have used gold ink from powdered gold mixed with gum arabic. They were stored in the shells of mussels and oysters and shell rock called. From the middle of the XV century, they pushed gold foil. Now, on the letter books adorned with placer gold ... Gilding was applied to the finished pen drawing, but not immediately, but on a substrate from a special mixture of plaster, white lead, sugar and egg white glue. The substrate is also applied pen. Hard time, in a word. On the road, even an experienced transcriber could not use the gilding. Everything else - it is likely. Here and in the manuscript there is a black, red, green, brown, even blue paint, but no gold. This ink set may have only a monk, who had experience in the scriptorium. Scribe and herbalist selected to participate in a trip to China. He rewrote Anew report to Rome, and with interest in passing acquaintance with Chinese collections of recipes. On the road, avoided questioning the courier, and Snoopy could entertain something exotic like a lethal mixture of opium kofiya.

Bulbs in the figures with ... In one of the pages of the manuscript is one of the ladies pyshnotelye keeps a bucket of bright blue liquid, the other - with the bright red. The plants themselves are often brown, green when the author seemed inappropriate. He carried with him a little expensive and harmful blue red ink, but preferred the sound - black, brown, green. Paper preferred the old monastery of the stock.
Courier -monk after a trip from Beijing to Rome could well get a new appointment. And then ...

From the history of intelligence knows that John Dee, along with his partner in espionage alchemist Edward Kelley in the case of ... And working in Krakow Jesuits received reports about other countries, which was very imprudent, as the English is very interested in the secrets of Madrid, there is obtained the competition.

The legend becomes clear that the mysterious manuscript was John Dee, after his failure in Prague sold to Emperor Rudolf II ( prisochinil cunning that it is a recipe for an elixir of youth), having received permission to depart back home in England. Less fortunate Kelly and stayed in Prague prison to the death. From it, moreover, demanded the alchemical gold.
Poison, for instance, found in the seeds, as in the picture - a leaflet.

Incidentally, the first reliably established by the owner of the manuscript was Life -physician of Emperor Rudolph II named Jacob de Horsike Tepenek. Of course, the recipe elixir of youth, he never revealed, but the agent and the English have been far.
History is silent about how Dee got a workbook from a resident of ... The Englishman was known as a philosopher, astrologer, geographer, but in any case not as an expert in poisons. So it is hardly an expert on poisons himself was poisoned. However, to steal a manuscript with color illustrations of composite plants can be in many ways.