Cryptic: From Voynich to the Angel Diaries, the Story of the World's Mysterious Manuscripts

by Garry J. Shaw

Genres: History, Non-fiction
Pages: 331
Rating:

Synopsis:

Books can change the world. They can influence, entertain, transport, and enlighten. But across the centuries, authors have disguised their work with codes and ciphers, secret scripts and magical signs. What made these authors decide to keep their writings secret? What were they trying to hide?

Garry J. Shaw tells the stories of nine puzzling European texts. Shaw explores the unknown alphabet of the nun Hildegard of Bingen; the enciphered manuscripts of the prank-loving physician Giovanni Fontana; and the angel communications of the polymath John Dee. Along the way, we discover how the pioneers of science and medicine concealed their work, encounter demon magic and secret societies, and delve into the intricate symbolism of alchemists searching for the Philosopher's Stone.

This highly enjoyable account takes readers on a fascinating journey through Europe's most cryptic writings--and attempts to shed new light on the biggest mystery of all: the Voynich Manuscript.

Garry J. Shaw’s Cryptic looks at various manuscripts that are a bit weird or difficult to understand or outright mysterious, starting with Hildegard of Bingen’s litterae ignota and going through the Voynich manuscript, the Rohonc Codex, Dee’s papers, etc. There are illustrations dotted throughout (mostly in black and white) to illustrate the points, and a good chunk of references etc at the back.

Part of the point is to contextualise these cryptic manuscripts and figure out whether the Voynich manuscript is something that can realistically be decrypted or just a hoax, and I will say that when Shaw gets to the conclusion, it’s easy to agree with him because he really has provided good context and discussion, and his ideas make sense.

The mysteries of these manuscripts are really quite tantalising, which is why I couldn’t resist picking up the book. I didn’t start out with an opinion on the Voynich manuscript, and wouldn’t have minded if Shaw hadn’t tried to be conclusive, because the whole thing is really interesting — in many ways, the Voynich manuscript is the least interesting book of those discussed here, because e.g. Dee’s story is absolutely wild, and I knew nothing about Michael Meier, Heckius or Giovanni Fontana.

Fascinating and very readable, do recommend!

Rating: 4/5 (“really liked it”)