It is still unknown where Dee may have acquired the book from or what reasons he and Rudolph had to believe it was written by Bacon other than its scientific-like illustrations and overall mysterious qualities.Īfter shelling out close to 100k for his treasured book, Rudolph gave it away to the court pharmacist, Jacobus Horicky de Tepenec. It was well known that Dee owned many Baconian scripts, so there was no reason for Rudolph to be suspicious of any claims Dee might have made regarding the manuscript’s author. Rudolph was one of many who were enchanted by Bacon’s exploits into the realm of science, alchemy and magic. Roger Bacon was a 13th century philosopher and monk most famous for his empirical approach to the study of nature, an integral part of the foundations of modern science. Rudolph’s obsession with Bacon is understandable. (Spoiler alert- Bacon didn’t write it)Ī statue of Roger Bacon in the Oxford University Museum of Natural History In today’s money, Rudolph spent $90,000 on a book no one could read that contained pictures no one understood, likely because he thought Roger Bacon wrote it. With the average ducat coming in at around 3.5 grams of pure (-ish, this was by Renaissance standards) gold, one ducat would be worth around $150 today.

A letter found in the manuscript confirms that Rudolph did indeed acquire the book for 600 ducats, which was no small change.įor reference, a ducat was a gold coin used throughout Europe during the Renaissance. Most scholars feel this is circumstantial but sufficient evidence to name Dee as the seller. Technically we don’t know for sure that Dee was the seller, he but there is a record that he was in Bohemia in 1586 with 630 ducats to his name, was known for collecting Baconian manuscripts, and owned “a booke…containing nothing butt Hieroglyphicks”. Dee, an alchemist, book collector, cryptologist, part-time spy, and more, supposedly stopped by Rudolph’s palace and sold him what we now know as the Voynich Manuscript for the price of 600 ducats.

In 1586, Doctor John Dee was making his way through Prague to see the Holy Roman Emperor in order to pass on religious warnings angels had told him via a crystal ball. So when the renowned polymath and Baconian book collector John Dee came to visit with his mysterious manuscript, the emperor simply couldn’t resist. You see, the emperor had a weakness for all things occult and esoteric, especially the revered Doctor Mirabilis, Roger Bacon. In the 16th century, Emperor Rudolph II of Prague made a very expensive impulse buy.

The voynich manuscript book