University backtracks on disputed Voynich manuscript theory

Bristol distances itself from academic who claims to have solved century-old mystery

A university that breathlessly declared one of its academics had cracked the code of the celebrated Voynich manuscript has been forced into an embarrassing climbdown after medieval experts poured scorn on his theory.

Bristol University said this week Dr Gerard Cheshire had "succeeded where countless cryptographers, linguistics scholars and computer programs have failed" by identifying the language and purpose of the mysterious and apparently coded 15th-century text.