This is a corpus of linguae ignotae intended mainly for students of the Voynich manuscript, with a small amount of other material which they may also find of interest. A lingua ignota is defined very broadly as continuous passages of text found in mediaeval and renaissance literature which were either incomprehensible to the author of the works in which they are found or comprehensible to the author but expected to be incomprehensible to the reader. I do not cover the many names of spirits and angels found in esoteric literature of this period. The cutoff dates are roughly AD 600-1600.
Note that the corpus is supplied in the form of text files which do not display well in an HTML browser. To see tabs and line breaks, download the files as .txt. This has been done because plain text files are easier to analyse computationally.
The Sufi mystic al-Buni in his book Uṣūl gives the names of God in Arabic and a supposed Syrian version.
Taken from Gawhary, Mohamed M., Die Gottesnamen im magischen Gebrauch in den al-Buni zugeschriebenen Werken, Bonn, 1968, p. 91-2. Transcription modified slightly to conform to the Hans Wehr version of the DMG system. Download text file
A letter from the mystic Ibrahim al-Dasuqi to Muhammad in 'Suryani' ('Syrian'), an Arabic term for high-sounding, meaningless nonsense language.
"Śa´râni giebt uns mehrere Proben dieser fremdartigen Dialekte; das Arabische ist in denselben mit unverständlichem Kauderwälsch gemeugt, welch letzteres das Surjânîelement darstellen soll. Diese Proben sind Briefe des Ibrâhîm ud Dasûķî an seine Schüler u. a. m., unter Anderen auch ein Brief an Muhammed. Als Probe aus dieser Curiosität wollen wir einige Zeilen des Briefs an Muhammed hieher setzen."
Ignaz Goldziher, Linguistisches aus der muhammedanischen Mystik, vol. ?, p. 166
Here and elsewhere, 'Romanised' Arabic is transcribed according to the system of the Deutsche Morgenländische Gesellschaft as modified by Hans Wehr: 'Buckwalter' means the computer-friendly Buckwalter system.
al-Dasuqi Arabic: the text in Arabic script Download text file
al-Dasuqi Romanised: the text RomanisedDownload text file
al-Dasuqi Buckwalter: the text in Buckwalter romanisation Download text file
Al-Idrisi, Anwar 141, tells the story of treasure hunters one of whom became possessed and shouted words of an unknown language, 'kalam kahini', the priestly tongue, which a monk interpreted as 'This is the fate of all those who violate the sanctity of kings in their homes'. Discussed in Daly, Okasha, Egyptology : the missing millennium ; ancient Egypt in medieval Arabic writings, London, 2005, p. 44.
Anwar `ulwi al-ajram fi al-kashf `an asrar al-ahram = Das Pyramidenbuch des Abu Ga`far al-Idrisi (st. 649/1251) / eingeleitet und kritisch herausgegeben von Ulrich Haarmann, Beiruter Texte und Studien ; 38, Beirut, 1991, p. 131.
al-Idrisi Arabic: the Arabic text in Arabic script Download text file
al-Idrisi Arabic Romanised: the Arabic text Romanised Download text file
al-Idrisi Arabic Buckwalter: the Arabic text in Buckwalter romanisation Download text file
al-Idrisi Kahini: the Kahini text in Arabic script Download text file
al-Idrisi Romanised: the Kahini text Romanised Download text file
al-Idrisi Buckwalter: the Kahini text in Buckwalter romanisation Download text file
The names of the constellations in the Latin version of the Almagest of Claudius Ptolemy, translated by Gerard of Cremona from an Arabic version. Paul Kunitzsch ed. Claudius Ptolemäus: Der Sternkatalog des Almagest (Edition arabisch und lateinisch), Bd. I-III, Wiesbaden, 1986-1991.
I wish to pay tribute to the life work of Paul Kunitzsch on the Arabic scientific tradition. I believe that the reproduction (here and in connection with the Lostafel) of short extracts of the original text constitutes fair use.
Almagest Arabic: the Arabic text Download text file
Almagest Arabic Buckwalter: the Arabic text in Buckwalter transcription Download text file
Almagest Arabic Romanised: the Arabic text in DMG transcription Download text file
Almagest Latin: the Latin text Download text file
A Python script which I have used to convert text from different transcriptions of Arabic.
Download Python script
Baner
PUG 576 f 239r (Pontifical Gregorian University)
The captured cipher letter of General Baner mentioned in the letter of Marcus Marci to Athanasius Kircher of 2 March 1641 PUG 557 f 92). For the original see here (recto) and here (verso). Included here because published examples of nomenclators are extremely rare.
Baner All: the complete text Download text file
Baner Cipher: the cipher text Download text file
Baner German: the German portions of the text Download text file
William of Shyreswood, Introductiones in Logicam Paris Bibliothèque Nationale Cod. Lat. 16617
ca 1300-1350
The mnemonic verses used in mediaeval logic. William Kneale and Martha Kneale, The Development of Logic, Oxford 1962, p 231-3. Download text file
The Lord's Prayer translated into Romanised Hebrew. Pinchas Lapide, Hebrew in the Church, Grand Rapids 1984, p 32-3. Download text file
TODO: what is the location of these manuscripts?
TODO: the rest of Psalm 44
Carnot 30 Psalm 2 Latin: the Latin text of Psalm 2 apud Hebraeos. Download text file
Carnot 30 Psalm 2 Hebrew: the transliterated Hebrew text of Psalm 2. Download text file
Carnot 30 Psalm 44 Latin: the Latin text of Psalm 44 apud Hebraeos. Download text file
Carnot 30 Psalm 44 Hebrew: the transliterated Hebrew text of Psalm 44. Download text file
A Cistercian manuscript, f 154b contains the Creed and Magnificat translated into Romanised Hebrew. Bernhard Walde, Christliche Hebräisten Deutschlands am Ausgang des Mittelalters, Münster, 1916, p 3-4. Also in Lapide p 11-12.
clm 7955 Credo Roman: the Creed in Romanised Hebrew Download text file
clm 7955 Magnificat Roman: the Magnificat in Romanised Hebrew Download text file
clm 17142 Nomina Dei Latin: the Latin text Download text file
clm 17142 Nomina Dei Roman: the Romanised Hebrew text Download text file
Darb al-Mandal Lane is taken from E.W. Lane, An Account of the Manners and Customs of the Modern Egyptians, London, 1836, p. 248-9: collected by Lane in Cairo in 1827.
Darb al-Mandal Lefebure is taken from E. Lefébure. Le miroir d'encre dans la magie arabe, Revue africaine 49 p. 205-227, collected by G-B-M Flamand in Algeria in 1901.
Darb al-Mandal Lane Arabic: the Arabic text Download text file
Darb al-Mandal Lane Arabic Buckwalter: the Arabic text in Buckwalter romanisation Download text file
Darb al-Mandal Lane Arabic Romanised: the Arabic text in DMG romanisation Download text file
Darb al-Mandal Lane English: the English translation by Lane Download text file
Darb al-Mandal Lefebure Arabic: the Arabic text Download text file
Darb al-Mandal Lefebure Arabic Buckwalter: the Arabic text in Buckwalter romanisation Download text file
Darb al-Mandal Lefebure Arabic: the Arabic text in DMG romanisation Download text file
Darb al-Mandal Lefebure French: the French translation by Lefebure Download text file
TODO: the verbatim transcript of the conferences.
Enochian Angelic A: Dee's preliminary transcript Download text file
Enochian Angelic B: Dee's revised transcript Download text file
Enochian English A: Dee's preliminary transcript Download text file
Enochian English B: Dee's revised transcript Download text file
A sacramentary, contains the Lord's Prayer translated into Romanised Hebrew. Lapide p. 21.
Essener Sakramentar Paternoster Latin: the Latin text Download text file
Essener Sakramentar Paternoster Hebrew: the Romanised Hebrew text Download text file
From a compendium of magical invocations. Words of an unknown language, to be said 24 times over a seal of Solomon.
W. Braeckman, Middeleuwse witte en zwarte magie in het nederlands taalgebied, Ghent 1997 p. 474-6. Download text file
"The six notes of a hexachord are named after the first syllables of the lines of the hymn Ut queant laxis: ut, re, mi, fa, sol, la. The concept of the hexachord as a mnemonic device for teaching plainchant melodies was first described by Guido of Arezzo..." Grove's Dictionary of Music s.v. Hexachord Download text file
Hypnerotomachia: a checklist of illustrations containing inscriptions
Download text fileibn-Hayyan Arabic Romanised: the Arabic version in Ryding's romanisation Download text file
ibn-Hayyan Himyarite Romanised: the Himyarite version in Ryding's romanisationDownload text file
ibn-Hayyan Iskandarini Romanised: the Iskandarini version in Ryding's romanisation Download text file
Judeneid Hostau
A version from Hostau in Bohemia in a manuscript of 1659 but of earlier origin. Gerhard Eis, Forschungen zur Fachprosa, Bern and Munich, 1971, p 339-40 (original publication: Journal of English and Germanic Philology 52 1953, p 86-9).
Judeneid RA
1559
Neue und vollständigere Sammlung der Reichs-Abschiede, Welche von den Zeiten Kayser Conrads des II. bis jetzo, auf den Teutschen Reichs-Tägen abgefasset worden : sammt den wichtigsten Reichs-Schlüssen, so auf dem noch fürwährenden Reichs-Tage zur Richtigkeit gekommen sind ; In Vier Theilen / [Hrsg.: Johann Jacob Schmauß ; von Senckenberg. Vorr.: Ernst August Koch]. - 1967 Neudr. der Ausg. 1747. - Osnabrück : Zeller Erschienen: 1 (1747) - 4 (1747) III p 84 Judeneid WLRQ
Württembergische ländliche Rechtsquellen / bearb. v. Paul Gehring. Hrsg. v. d. Württembergische Kommission für Landesgeschichte. - Stuttgart : Kohlhammer. Erschienen: 1 (1910) - 4 (1985) I Die östlichen schwäbischen Landesteile / bearb. von Friedrich Wintterlin. - Stuttgart : Kohlhammer, 1910. - 17, 888 S. : Kt. p 221
Judeneid HR 1610
Alte vnd [und] Ernewerte Ordnung vnd [und] Reformation, der Römischen Keyserlichen Majestät, Keyserlichen Hoffgerichts zu Rotweil / Cvm Notis Et Observationibvs Pavli Matthiae Wehneri. - Franckfurt am Mayn : Rosa, 1610 (Franckfurt am Mayn : Bringer). - [16] Bl., 373 S. : Ill.
Online at
Judeneid Hostau German: the German translation of Exodus 20:7
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Judeneid Hostau Hebrew: the Romanised Hebrew version of Exodus 20:7
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Judeneid RA German: the German translation of Exodus 20:7
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Judeneid RA Hebrew: the Romanised Hebrew version of Exodus 20:7
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Judeneid WLRQ German: the German translation of Exodus 20:7
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Judeneid WLRQ Hebrew: the Romanised Hebrew version of Exodus 20:7
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Judeneid HR German: the German translation of Exodus 20:7
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Judeneid HR Hebrew: the Romanised Hebrew version of Exodus 20:7
Download text file
Lorem Ipsum
The meaningless text used to display printed type. Taken from
Wikipedia
TODO: See the article by Richard McClintock. Download text file
A text, apparently about fortune-telling, in Latin and transliterated Arabic. Paul Kunitsch, Eine bilingue arabisch-lateinische Lostafel, Revue d'Histoire des Textes, 6, 1976, p. 267-304. Kunitzsch offers a reconstruction of the Arabic original: for the reconstruction see also Charles Burnett, A note on two astrological fortune-telling tables, Revue d'histoire des textes 18, 1988, p. 257-62, reprinted in Charles Burnett, Magic and Divination in the Middle Ages, Aldershot 1996.
Lostafel Arabic H: the transliterated Arabic text, Hanover manuscript Download text file
Lostafel Arabic P: the transliterated Arabic text, Paris manuscriptDownload text file
Lostafel Latin H: the transliterated Latin text, Hanover manuscript Download text file
Lostafel Latin P: the transliterated Latin text, Paris manuscript Download text file
Nigri All Hebrew: all the texts in Romanised Hebrew Download text file
Nigri Ave Maria Hebrew: the Romanised Hebrew text Download text file
Nigri Benedictus Hebrew: the Romanised Hebrew text Download text file
Nigri Credo Hebrew: the Romanised Hebrew text Download text file
Nigri Gloria Hebrew: the Romanised Hebrew text Download text file
Nigri Magnificat Hebrew: the Romanised Hebrew text Download text file
Nigri Nunc Dimittis Hebrew: the Romanised Hebrew text Download text file
Nigri Paternoster Hebrew: the Romanised Hebrew text Download text file
Nigri Petition Latin: the Latin text Download text file
Nigri Petition Hebrew: the Romanised Hebrew text Download text file
H.G. Farmer, Historical Facts for the Arabian Musical Influence, London, 1930, p 31. See Patrologia Latina 133: 755-58. Download text file
A Latin translation of Ghiyat al-hakim attributed to al-Majriti. A compendium of magical rituals, some of them involving utterances of mysterious words. Book IV chapter ii contains six short utterances and book I chapter v contains one longer utterance, said to come from 'terra Nigrorum'. I omit the many names of angels in the book, some of which recur in clm 849 and Trithemius.
Picatrix : the Latin version of the Ghiyat al-hakim / al-Majriti ; edited by David Pingree. Studies of the Warburg Institute ; v. 39 London, 1986. pp. 21; 180, 182, 183, 185, 186
Picatrix I-v: the utterance in book I chapter v Download text file
Picatrix IV-ii: the utterances in book IV chapter ii Download text file
Polygraphia Ger: the encipherment of Steganographia I-1-Ger Download text file
Polygraphia Lat: the encipherment of Steganographia I-1-Lat Download text file
polygraphia.py.txt: the Python script used Download text file
Psalterium Cusanum Paternoster Hebrew: the Romanised Hebrew translation Download text file
Rabelais Antipodean: the Antipodean sequence Download text file
Rabelais Lanternois: the Lanternois sequence Download text file
Rabelais Utopian: the Utopian sequence Download text file
This manual of magic rituals contains two invocations in an unknown language, thought to be garbled Arabic. The first, the Speculum Floron, occurs twice in variant versions. The second, for convenience here called the Speculum Alium, is similar to the Speculum Floron but not a variant of it. Richard Kieckhefer, Forbidden Rites: A Necromancer's Manual of the Fifteenth Century, University Park, 1997.
Speculum Alium Arabic: the Arabic text of the incantation Download text file
Speculum Floron Arabic A: the A text of the Arabic invocation Download text file
Speculum Floron Arabic B: the B text of the Arabic invocation Download text file
Speculum Floron Arabic Harmony: an interlinear comparison of the two versions Download text file
Speculum Floron Latin A: the A text of the Latin rubrics Download text file
Speculum Floron Latin B: the B text of the Latin rubrics Download text file
murnea casmodyn bularcha vadusyn aty belron diuiel arsephonti si panormys orleuo cadon venoti basramyn
conceals the plaintext una uacat due soluunt
The 'filler' words (i.e. 'casmodyn vadusyn...' etc) are of interest in themselves as possessing a pronounced internal structure: the frequency of the word 'pean' and the extreme rarity of the letter g are also of note.
The naming convention for these files is as follows
I and II refer to books I and II of Steganographia
0 names files containing only the filler words
1 names files containing the plaintext letters in the ciphertext words
2 names files containing the filler letters in the ciphertext words
3 names files containing the ciphertext words
Ger refers to German plaintext
Lat refers to Latin plaintext
Both refers to German and Latin plaintext
Thus for instance Steganographia-I-1-Ger contains the ciphertext in book I where the plaintext is German, stripped of the filler words and the filler letters - that is the plaintext itself. Similarly, Steganographia-II-0-Both contains the ciphertext in book II where the plaintext is either German or Latin minus the words actually containing the ciphertext - that is just the invented filler words.
Steganographia I-0 Both Download text file
Steganographia I-0 Ger Download text file
Steganographia I-0 Lat Download text file
Steganographia I-1 Ger Download text file
Steganographia I-1 Lat Download text file
Steganographia I-2 Ger Download text file
Steganographia I-2 Lat Download text file
Steganographia I-3 Both Download text file
Steganographia I-3 Ger Download text file
Steganographia I-3 Lat Download text file
Steganographia II-0 Ger Download text file
Steganographia II-0 Lat Download text file
Steganographia II-1 Ger Download text file
Steganographia II-1 Lat Download text file
Steganographia II-2 Ger Download text file
Steganographia II-2 Lat Download text file
Steganographia II-3 Both Download text file
Steganographia II-3 Ger Download text file
Steganographia II-3 Lat Download text file
steganographia.py
This is a Python script designed to analyse steganographic ciphers of the Trithemian type: it selects the nth letter of every nth word and applies a rotating Caesar encipherment to the result. I have applied it to the file Trithemius Epistola with negative results (the sequence quamoper in the initial letters of 'quoties uenit ad me orat, petit et rogat' is intriguing but probably coincidental).
steganographia.py Download text file
A letter of Trithemius to Conrad, abbot of St Stephen's in Wurzburg, concerning his expulsion from the monastery of Spannheim. Taken from Download text file
I acknowledge the work of Joseph H. Petersen in putting this and many other works of esoteric literature on the web. I believe that quotation of this brief extract of original text constitutes fair use. Download text file
The naming conventions for these files are as follows:
Hex/Tet/Both: the Hexastichon, the Tetrastichon and both
Lat/Uto/Both: Latin, Utopian and both
All: the entire text of the relevant passage
Utopia All Download text file
Utopia Both-Both Download text file
Utopia Both-Lat Download text file
Utopia Hex-Lat Download text file
Utopia Tet-Both Download text file
Utopia Tet-Lat Download text file
Utopia Tet-Uto Download text file
Hildegard of Bingen, Lingua Ignota
Dante, Inferno
Old English Charms
Tenga Bithnua
Klimatafel
Desatir
Balaibalan
