The Goldstones， bibliophiles and authors of Out of the Flames and other books， offer a witty biography of controversial 13th-century Dominican friar Roger Bacon， whose Opus Majus "presented a way of thinking， of approaching science， that is virtually unsurpassed in the thousand years since its creation。" According to the Goldstones， by challenging the accepted view of the Bible as the source of literal truth， it opened a schism between religion and science.The Church's response， recounted here， was filled with political intrigue， heroes and villains， and enough twists and turns to keep readers immersed.But this book's highlight is the story of a mysterious book discovered in 1912 and named for its owner， Wilfrid Voynich.

The Voynich Manuscript，amysterious tome discovered in 1912 by the English book dealer Wilfrid Michael Voynich，has puzzled scholars for almost a century.Only six inches by nine inches，but over two hudred pages long，with odd illustrations of plants，astrological diagrams，and naked women，it is writtrn in so indecipherable a language and contains so complicated a code that mathematicians，book collectors，linguists，and historians alike have yet to solve the mysteries contained within，However，in The Friar and the Cipher，the acclaimed bibliophiles and historians Lawrence and Nancy Goldstone describe in fascinating detail the theory that Roger Bacon，the noted thirteenth century pre Copernican astronomer，was its author and that the per plexing alphabet was written in his hand.Along the way，they explain the many proposed solutions that scholars have put forth and the myriad attempts at labeling the manuscript's content，as well as its journey across centuries，language，and countries，A compulsively readable amalgam of The Da Vinci Code，Possession，and The Code Book，The Friar and the Cipher is historically wide ranging and wonderfully enteraining.

Prologue

CHAPTER ONE

　Turmoil and Opportunity：Roger Bacon's England

CHAPTER TWO

　logic and Mysticism：Aristotle,Plato,and Christianity

CHAPTER THERR

　Logic and Theology：The Evolution of Scholaticism

CHAPTER FOUR

　Dogma,Drink,and Dissent：The University of Paris

CHAPTER FIVE

　Rebels in Gray Robes：Oxford

CHAPTER SIX

　Science Goes Mainstream:The Rise of Albertus Magnus

CHAPTER SEVEN

　The Dumb Ox:Thomas Aquinas

CHAPTER EIGHT

　The Miraculous Doctor:Roger Bacon at Oxford

CHAPTER NINE

　Autocracy in the Order of St.Francis

CHAPTER TEN

　Theology Becomes a Science:The Logic of Thomas Aquinas

CHAPTER ELEVEN

　The Great Work

CHAPTER TWELVE

　Seeing the Future:The Scientia Experimentalis of Roger Bacon

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

　Knowledge Supperssd:The Conservatives Respond

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

 Enigmas and Espionage:The Strange Journey of Dr.Dee

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

 Brilliant Braggart: Francis Bacon

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

 The Trail of the Cipher Manuscript

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

 The Making of the Most Mysterious Manuscript in the World

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

 MS 408

CHAPTER NINETEEN

 The Unfinished Legacy of Roger Bacon

Acknowledgments

Bibliographic Notes

Selected Bibliography

Index