Art Break: Cracking a Medieval Code - The Mystery of the Voynich Manuscript

The Voynich Manuscript, thought to be made in Europe in the early fifteenth century, comprises hundreds of pages of intriguing texts and images—the problem is, no one can decode them. Composed in an unknown alphabet with mysterious drawings, the manuscript has been interpreted as a hidden cipher, a feminist proclamation, a forgery, or even evidence of aliens. In this online conversation, Lisa Fagin Davis, executive director of the Medieval Academy of America, and Getty's senior curator of manuscripts, Elizabeth Morrison, look at the various analyses and proposed solutions of the manuscript’s enigmatic puzzles. SPEAKERS Lisa Fagin Davis Paleographer and Codicologist Lisa Fagin Davis received her PhD in Medieval Studies from Yale University in 1993 and has catalogued medieval manuscript collections at Yale University, the University of Pennsylvania, the Walters Art Museum, Wellesley College, the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, the Boston Public Library, and several private collections. She has taught Latin Paleography at Yale University and regularly teaches an introduction to Manuscript Studies at the Simmons University School of Library and Information Science. She was elected to the Comité international de paléographie latine in 2019 and has served as Executive Director of the Medieval Academy of America since 2013. She has been studying the Voynich Manuscript for several decades. Elizabeth Morrison Senior Curator, Department Head Beth received her PhD from Cornell University and began her career at the Getty Museum's Department of Manuscripts in 1996. During her tenure, she has curated or co-curated numerous exhibitions, including the 2010 exhibition Imagining the Past in France, 1250–1500, and the 2019 exhibition Book of Beasts: The Bestiary in the Medieval World. She specializes in the study of manuscript illumination in northern Europe from the Gothic period through the Renaissance. She has published on French vernacular manuscripts, especially history and romance, as well as the role of Flemish devotional and secular illumination at the Burgundian court. Her recent research centers on the depiction of animals in bestiaries and other illuminated manuscripts. This program was presented Online on Friday, June 13, 2025, https://www.getty.edu/calendar/art-br..., and complements the exhibition "Symbols and Signs: Decoding Medieval Manuscripts," https://www.getty.edu/exhibitions/dec.... Learn more about upcoming Art Break programs: https://www.getty.edu/museum/programs... Watch available Art Break programs:    • Art Break   Subscribe to the Getty Museum YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/gettymus... #GettyMuseum #ArtBreak #Manuscripts