Voynich Manuscript - High Resolution Scans (Unknown) - Page 15

⚠The text on this page is written in "Voynichese," a script that remains undeciphered despite centuries of study by cryptographers and linguists. Because the language is unknown, it cannot be translated into Modern English. It is presented here in the Extensible Voynich Alphabet (EVA), a standard transcription system used by scholars to represent the original characters.

Folio 4r: Botanical Study (Star-Shaped Foliage and Bifurcated Root)

tefodand ototeey qok
dcckey keo r otor doly
oaid otcodand okay
polteo oto xorcey dand
oand olfand

oteey food dccy catorcey
dccy keey otaly oto da
olteey polteo otaly d
otcy ltetod odand

The text above is arranged around the upper portion of the plant illustration. The word "ototeey" and variations of "dccy" are common throughout this section of the manuscript, suggesting a repetitive or formulaic structure often found in medieval herbals.

pchorody qolloand otloxd
detoy otteoy ctor olloto dany
oltecy dccade ctollp qoltera
qolteey ok ctoud ctor ctaly
r otand ctoy dany ctoffee

oltetod ctoand
ctody otor ctolteey
ctoy deey ctolle dand
ctottea ctocey ltetod

This lower block of text sits beside a large, thick root system that splits into two main branches (bifurcated). In medieval botany, the shape of a plant's root was often believed to indicate its medicinal properties—a concept known as the Doctrine of Signatures. The specific arrangement of the "star-shaped" leaves, which alternate between green and veined white patterns, does not clearly match any known living species, leading some to categorize these as "pharmaceutical fantasies" or extinct botanical specimens.