12/10/2023 0 Comments Wilfrid voynich![]() The idea that the reader holds a true account of some terrible events, penned by the very protagonist of the story, has proven compelling ever since one must only look to the modern popularity of “found footage” horror films for confirmation. Consider Edgar Allen Poe’s short story, “Manuscript Found in a Bottle” as a handy example. The “found manuscript” has long been a trope in fiction, especially in stories with a Gothic sensibility. ![]() It would be akin to finding buried treasure. While my experience may pale in comparison to the real thing, I like to believe I can imagine what it is like to make a significant historical or literary discovery, to find a lost manuscript or a previously unknown document of tremendous academic worth. Having experienced this to some degree, I can myself attest to the elation, after interminable hours in a quiet library staring at glowing yellow microfiche as it slides and blurs past, of finally glimpsing something that looks like it might be useful, reversing the spool and discovering just the old newspaper column I was seeking, just the piece of proof I needed. Discoveries of a historical nature tend to quicken the pulse perhaps more than others, for they have been overlooked or hidden for so long that their discoverer feels an even greater excitement and pride in bringing them to light. There is, though, some difference to be discerned here between a snoop discovering a telltale receipt in a pile of trash and a scholar lifting an intact and glittering artifact from earth in which it has lain unseen for ages. It is a feeling unparalleled in its exhilaration, felt by a detective uncovering a clue or an archaeologist brushing soil off a momentous find. There is something transcendent in discovery. In this installment, The Found Manuscript of Wilfrid Voynich, we blow the dust off an ancient tome, crack its brittle spine and open it to find… mystery.
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