What question did this study set out to answer?

This work aims to propose that the Voynich Manuscript uses a combinatorial pharmaceutical notation system inspired by historical figures.

May 16, 2026Open Access

Voynich Manuscript (MS 408): LESE-EIA: A Pharmaceutical Notation System in the Tradition of al-Kindi, Arnau de Vilanova and Ramon Llull.

Key Points

This work aims to propose that the Voynich Manuscript uses a combinatorial pharmaceutical notation system inspired by historical figures.
Applied the LESE-EIA framework to 6 independent EVA corpora consisting of 37,601 tokens from ZL_ivtff_2b.txt and 5 transcribers from LSI_ivtff_0d.txt.
Analyzed the distribution of EVA prefixes and their assigned pharmaceutical functions.
Used statistical analysis (Zipf R², 95% CI) to assess the validity of the new hypotheses.
Confirmed 8 out of 16 falsifiable predictions on the real ZL corpus (50% accuracy).
Observed a strong correlation with Zipf's law (R² = 0.9683, 95% CI: [0.9501, 0.9765]).
Determined that a Balneological Anomaly exists where Grade I > Grade II with a ratio of 0.844.

Abstract

The Voynich Manuscript (MS 408, Beinecke Yale, C14: 1404–1438) has resisted decipherment forover a century. This work proposes that the Voynich text is a combinatorial pharmaceuticalnotation system in the tradition of al-Kindi (De Gradibus, 9th c. ), Arnau de Vilanova (Aphorismi de Gradibus, c. 1300) and Ramon Llull (Ars Magna, 1308). The hypothesis assignspharmaceutical functions to EVA prefixes: ch-* = QUALITAS (hot/cold quality), qo-* = DOSIS (dose/quantity), ct-* = OPERATIO (preparation type) ; and to suffixes: the count of "i" encodes thepharmaceutical grade following al-Kindi (Gradus I–4). The LESE-EIA framework is applied to 6independent EVA corpora (ZLᵢvtff₂b. txt, Zandbergen-Landini 2022, 37, 601 tokens; and 5transcribers from LSIᵢvtff₀d. txt, Stolfi 1998, 4, 256–38, 257 tokens each). Verified results: Zipf R² = 0. 9683 (95% CI: 0. 9501, 0. 9765) ; Grade II/I = 1. 910 (95% CI: 1. 664, 2. 215) ;ch-* = 16. 2% overall; daiin = #1 in line-finals (139/5, 294 = 2. 6%) ; Balneological Anomaly (Grade I > Grade II, ratio 0. 844). 8/16 falsifiable predictions confirmed on real ZL corpus (50%) ;deterministic LESE score 0. 923/1. 000. New analysis: f116v contains Latin-alphabet marginalia (not Voynich) with at least 5 codicological layers; the term "michiton" belongs to this marginalia, not to the main Voynich text.

Voynich Manuscript (MS 408): LESE-EIA: A Pharmaceutical Notation System in the Tradition of al-Kindi, Arnau de Vilanova and Ramon Llull.

Key Points

Abstract

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