03-05-2025, 03:11 PM
From my research by far the most advanced ciphers from the time which the Voynich manuscript is carbon dated are Northern Italian diplomatic ciphers, particularly Milanese ciphers.
However, an interesting question independent of Voynich research remains, which is to what extent these diplomatic ciphers were influenced by Arabic Cryptography. What, if any, transmission of knowledge of Cryptography was there from the Arab world to late medieval Italy(or even the other way)? And if there was transmission of knowledge where, when and how did that occur.
The cipher alphabet of the Voynich clearly has a lot in common with diplomatic cipher alphabets, but they in turn also seem to have quite a bit in common with Arabic cipher alphabets. To what extent was there crossover between them and to what extent are any similarities coincidental?
However, an interesting question independent of Voynich research remains, which is to what extent these diplomatic ciphers were influenced by Arabic Cryptography. What, if any, transmission of knowledge of Cryptography was there from the Arab world to late medieval Italy(or even the other way)? And if there was transmission of knowledge where, when and how did that occur.
The cipher alphabet of the Voynich clearly has a lot in common with diplomatic cipher alphabets, but they in turn also seem to have quite a bit in common with Arabic cipher alphabets. To what extent was there crossover between them and to what extent are any similarities coincidental?