[Movie] Is the Voynich Manuscript an Elaborate Medieval Hoax?

[Hermes777]

In his downplaying of the manuscript Justin Sledge resorts to the old quote from Mr Voynich that the work is an "ugly duckling", but the quote doesn't help Justin's case. As I recall, according to the tale the "ugly duckling" was in fact a swan. It only looked like an ugly duckling. I'm sure that was Mr Voynich's analogy. No one claims the Voynich MS. is a masterpiece. The claim, rather, is that its crude and amateurish (I prefer the word "folkish") character - its ugliness - is deceptive. It is more sophisticated than it looks. 

Justin, I suppose, might reply, if it waddles like a duck and quacks like a duck... it's a duck. Most of us who spend time investigating the work develop more respect for it and look beyond its crude presentation. If you look closely, you can see a swan. 

For me, this is one of its mysteries. It is very folkish, but very quickly you realise it is not the scribbling of some half-educated rustic on a get-rich-quick scheme. The disjunction between naivety and sophistication is intriguing and one of its hallmarks. That's the sense in which it's an ugly duckling and why the analogy is apt.