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Is the codex a nineteenth-century forgery or hoax?

Asked 26 Oct 2026 by ·Part of What kind of writing system is the Rohonc Codex written in?·3 answers·0·0 following
Most likely: the codex was written in the sixteenth century on the paper it is made ofAhead on the evidence, not yet confirmed. It needs two reviews to be accepted.

Where it stands

Three answers have been proposed. The codex was written in the sixteenth century on the paper it is made of. leads, with evidence 2 for: partly supported by its tests. Two are still possible.

Why it matters

The suspicion that Sámuel Literáti Nemes forged it shaped Hungarian scholarship for a century and would, if true, make the decipherment a reading of a hoax⁠[1].

Answers 3

Evidence: 2 for
Most likely
None of these.
Not tested enough to call either way
Evidence: none yet
Still possible
Sámuel Literáti Nemes made the codex before 1838.
Failed a test; not refuted outright
Evidence: 2 against
Disputed

History

  1. Láng puts forward: sámuel Literáti Nemes made the codex before 1838.
  2. Láng: no external evidence links Nemes to the codex; his forgeries were short and imitated real scripts.Against: Sámuel Literáti Nemes made the codex before 1838.
  3. Király puts forward: the codex was written in the sixteenth century on the paper it is made of.
  4. Király: ink analysis is reported as consistent with the sixteenth century.Against: Sámuel Literáti Nemes made the codex before 1838.
  5. Király: the paper is 1530s Italian and the colophon as read gives 1593.For: The codex was written in the sixteenth century on the paper it is made of.
  6. Asked on this site
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