Image by Klaus Schmeh, from Wikimedia Commons
Magyar, spoken and written in Hungary, ranks as one of the most difficult European languages to learn. (The U.S. Department of Foreign Affairs classifies it at the second-to-last level, with the dreaded asterisk “usually more difficult than other languages in the same category.”) But once you master its vowel harmonic system, definite and indefinite conjugations, and 18 grammatical cases, among other infamous features, you’ll finally be able to enjoy the works of writers like Nobel laureates Imre Kertész and Laszlo. In the original story, Krasznahorkai. Sadly, no amount of familiarity will help you much if you want to understand the Rohon Codex, a much older and in some ways more infamous Hungarian document.
“Little is known about this book until it was bequeathed to the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in 1838.” I will write art newspapergary shaw. “Its 448 pages feature illustrations covering Biblical themes and unreadable text written using approximately 150 different symbols.”
As with the famously enigmatic Voynich Manuscript, which we’ve covered a lot here at Open Culture, “there’s been much speculation about what language was encoded, from Old Hungarian to Sanskrit to even specially invented languages, as well as debate about the origin and date of the book’s creation.” Some believe the most colorful one is by the notorious 19th-century forger Samuel Literati Nemeth.
Download PDF scan of Rohonc CodexAnd you can see for yourself both the charmingly simple medieval-style illustrations (many of which mix Christian, pagan, and Islamic symbolism) and the frighteningly regular-looking writing that generations of would-be decipherers have butted heads with. Here in the 2020s, perhaps artificial intelligence can play a role and build on previous analysis, as has been attempted with the Voynich Manuscript. One of these, conducted in the early 1970s, determined that no matter what language the Lohon Codex was written in, there was no trace of a case ending. For lovers of strange manuscripts, this discovery probably means little, but for students of the Magyar language there could be no greater relief.
Related content:
Explore the digital version of the Voynich Manuscript, “the world’s most mysterious book”
Introducing the Voynich Manuscript, the world’s most mysterious book
The strangest book in the world: discovery madman’s librarya fascinating compendium of strange books and manuscripts.
Introduction to Codex of Seraphinianthe strangest book ever published
Solving a 2,500-year-old puzzle: How Cambridge University students cracked ancient Sanskrit codes
Foot-licking devil and other strange things in a 1921 Iranian illustrated manuscript
Based in Seoul, Colin Mbemust write and broadcastIt’s about cities, languages and cultures. he is the author of the newsletter books about cities books as well Home page (I won’t summarize Korea) and korean newtro. Follow him on the social network formerly known as Twitter. @Colinbemust.
Source: Open Culture – www.openculture.com
