For over a century, the Voynich Manuscript has been the ultimate "unsolvable" puzzle. It’s a 15th-century book filled with bizarre illustrations of plants that don’t exist, naked women bathing in green pools, and astrological charts that don’t match our sky. Most importantly, it is written in a language that no one on Earth can read.
But in January 2026, a new study has sent shockwaves through the world of linguistics and cryptography. We might finally have the key to the "Book That Nobody Can Read."
1. What is the Voynich Manuscript?
Discovered by Wilfrid Voynich in 1912, the manuscript has been carbon-dated to the early 1400s. It contains nearly 38,000 words written in a beautiful, flowing script.
Over the years, everyone from world-class codebreakers of World War II to modern AI supercomputers has tried to crack it. Some said it was an extinct language; others claimed it was a sophisticated hoax.
2. The 2026 Breakthrough: The "Naibbe Cipher"
Earlier this month, a peer-reviewed study published in Cryptologia introduced the Naibbe Cipher. Instead of trying to find a hidden language, researcher Michael Greshko worked backward.
The Theory: He discovered that a medieval Italian card game called Naibbe (an early form of Tarot) could have been used as a randomizing tool for a complex cipher.
The Evidence: By using dice and playing cards—tools widely available in the 15th century—Greshko was able to take ordinary Latin and Italian and turn it into "Voynichese."
The Result: The resulting text matches the weird statistical patterns and word lengths of the manuscript almost perfectly. This suggests the book isn't a hoax, but a high-level encrypted diary or textbook.
3. Why Can't We Just "Read" It Yet?
Even if we know how it was encrypted, the "Naibbe Cipher" uses a random element (like a dice roll). This means that without the original "key" or the specific order of cards used by the author 600 years ago, we are still looking at a scrambled mess.
However, for the first time in history, we have a proven method that explains why the text looks so strange yet feels so much like a real language.
4. Who Wrote It? The Main Suspects
The leading theory in 2026 is that the book was a private medical or alchemical text.
The Alchemist: Some believe it was the work of a 15th-century doctor who wanted to hide his "miracle cures" from the Church.
The Forger: Others still argue it was a 17th-century scam meant to trick Emperor Rudolf II into paying a fortune for a "magical" book.
Conclusion: The Race is On
The "Naibbe Cipher" has turned the Voynich Manuscript from a "dead end" into a "hot lead." In 2026, researchers are now using this new framework to feed massive amounts of medieval text into AI models, hoping to find the one "key" that fits the lock.
We are closer than we have ever been to reading the secrets of the 15th century. Is it a book of medicine, a secret history, or the world's most elaborate prank? We might find out before the year is over.