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(narrator) A doomed love affair that ended in ***...
a dastardly plot
to overthrow the American government...
and a Nazi super weapon that lay
hiding in plain sight.
But first, a boy king takes revenge
on a rebellious lord
and inspires one of the most brutal scenes
in modern literature,
and it all happened here,
in one of the finest castles in the world.
[thunder crashes]
Since the 12th Century, a huge royal stronghold
perched on a high granite ridge has presided
over the capital city of Scotland.
This is Edinburgh Castle.
(man) Edinburgh Castle is a natural fortress.
It's built on an outcrop of rock,
and it dominates the surrounding countryside.
For centuries, it's been a center of power,
a place of kings.
(narrator) Three of the four castle walls rise up from steep cliffs
on the edge of an ancient volcanic crag,
making Edinburgh Castle
a formidable stronghold.
It's also the largest castle in Scotland.
(Michael) The main buildings are all clustered
around what is now the inner square.
There's a chapel from the 11th Century,
and there are royal buildings designed to house
the king and his household.
(narrator) Inside, the remarkable great hall
is nearly 100 feet long,
with a stone fireplace
and the original wooden beam ceiling.
(Michael) It's a big space, lavishly decorated.
The hall is the main meeting place in the castle,
where great banquets and state occasions would be held.
(narrator) But not all the feasts that were held here
were joyous events.
Nearly 600 years ago, these walls bore witness
to a murderous act of treachery,
so cunning, that it has echoed down the ages
to this very day.
Since the brutal *** of King James I,
his son, ten-year-old James II,
has sat on the Scottish throne,
and the kingdom he rules is riven by civil strife
as rebellious clansmen vie for power.
(Michael) Incessant war seems to be
the way of life,
and perhaps the most potent threat
was a figure who represented this kind of noble power,
the young Earl of Douglas, William Douglas.
(narrator) The Earl of Douglas is the head
of a powerful and well-armed clan
who are probably the greatest fighting force in the nation.
And Douglas also wants the throne for himself.
(Michael) The Earl of Douglas, William, was ambitious.
It was a family trait, which saw the Douglases pushing themselves forward
at every opportunity.
(narrator) Protecting the boy king from the power hungry Douglas
are two of his most trusted advisors,
Sir William Crichton, governor of Edinburgh Castle,
and Sir Alexander Livingston.
They are counselors of the king, they are people who have
a standing in the government and are never far
from the young king's side.
(narrator) But they have a problem--
the king's army is weak and ineffective.
If Douglas were to launch an attack,
Edinburgh Castle would surely fall.
To defeat the rebellious lord,
they will have to outwit him,
so Livingston and Crichton conceive a dastardly plot
to deal with the earl.
It begins with an invitation
to a formal banquet at Edinburgh Castle.
(Michael) To be invited to Edinburgh for a face-to-face meeting with the king
may easily be presented to the young man as an opportunity
for him to take his place on the stage of royal government.
(narrator) But Crichton and Livingston have a lot more planned
than just a dinner.
This was a notorious event, even by the blood-spattered standards
of 15th Century Scotland.
The dinner takes place in November, 1440.
It will be dark, it will be candlelit.
A number of courses will be brought.
(narrator) The Earl of Douglas is given the most prized seat
at the table next to the boy king.
(Michael) Douglas is a guest in the house of the king,
but it's also an occasion to demonstrate status
and relationships between this ruling group
in the kingdom.
(narrator) Amidst a festive atmosphere, course after course
of food and drink are presented on the banquet table,
but as the meal ends,
a hush falls over the room.
(Michael) The mood in the feast changes dramatically.
An extra course is served.
A plate is brought in, bearing the severed head
of a black beast.
(narrator) The visiting earl knows exactly what it means.
(Michael) The head of a black beast is meant to symbolize treachery
and treason.
It's a tacit accusation against the Earl of Douglas
that he has designs on James's throne.
(narrator) Then, Crichton and Livingston
give their men the signal,
and the fate of the ambitious earl is sealed.
The earl is arrested,
he's dragged outside into the castle yard,
and beheaded.
(narrator) The event, so sudden and brutal,
reverberates quickly throughout Scotland and Western Europe,
and it comes to be known
by a dark and unforgettable name.
(Michael) The name, "Black Dinner", gets attached to the event.
(narrator) The brutal act sets the tone for the remainder
of the boy king's reign.
(Michael) For the rest of his reign, he's a king who clearly
is ready to use violence
and who is prepared to use
almost any means to secure his own power.
(narrator) King James goes on to rule for 23 years
and eventually dies in battle at the age of 29,
and the tale of the Black Dinner
slowly fades from memory...
until the year 2000,
when a writer named George R.R. Martin
uses the events as an inspiration
for part of the fantasy series "Game of Thrones".
Today, Edinburgh Castle stands
as a symbol of the power of the ancient Scottish kings
and a reminder of the ruthless means they used
to hold onto it.
When a wealthy widow met a charming suitor,
their fates became entangled
in an epic tale of scandal,
intrigue, and death,
and it took place
in the rolling hills of western Massachusetts
in this astonishing Victorian castle.
In the heart of the Berkshires, a blue dolomite mansion
has a cast an imposing shadow over the vibrant town
of Great Barrington for over 125 years.
(man) The castle is set on a small bluff
overlooking the valley and the Housatonic River--
lush gardens, flowers, so close to downtown,
but also very private and beautiful.
(narrator) It is known as Searles Castle.
When it was completed in 1888, it was one of the most lavish
and expensive private residences in the United States.
Searles Castle is extraordinary--
giant columns of dolomite,
beautiful, German-made brass door,
topped with a beautiful Belgian slate roof.
(narrator) Inside, the structure is finished with exquisite details
and the finest masonry and woodworking.
The interior of the castle is even more amazing--
60,000 square feet, 40 rooms.
It's a bit gothic, it's a bit medieval.
It's a little bit scary.
If the castle could talk, there are many mysterious tales
that could be told.
(narrator) And the greatest tale of all
is the story of the mysterious death
of the castle's very first owner.
Mary Hopkins, the recently widowed wife
of the California railroad magnate Mark Hopkins,
moves back to her home town of Great Barrington,
bringing with her her adopted son Timothy
and a fortune worth tens of millions of dollars.
Her mission--
to build a splendid new home to retire in.
(man) Money was no object to her.
She had all the money she needed to spend,
and she lavished it on this mansion.
(narrator) To help her with the interiors,
Mary hires one of the most celebrated designers of the age,
a man named Edward Searles.
(Gary) Edward Searles is charming, charismatic,
handsome, well-liked.
It was Edward Searles that really brought the grandiosity to the project.
(narrator) He brings in marble columns from North Africa,
roof slates from Belgium,
and wood paneling from a shipwreck in Scotland.
But it soon becomes clear that Mary is attracted
to more than just Searles' design sense.
It's pretty obvious-- Mary was falling in love with him,
and he was referred to by the locals as the Napoleon of love.
(narrator) And although he is 22 years her junior,
in 1887, the millionaire marries her designer,
much to the surprise of the local community.
News of the union sets tongues wagging among high society,
but no one is prepared for the shocking turn of events
that are about to unfold.
(Gary) Mary and Edward are living in the castle.
Everything's going fine,
and then tragedy strikes.
Mary becomes ill and rather suddenly...
dies.
(narrator) Almost immediately, rumors begin to swirl,
and the finger of suspicion is pointed at her new husband,
Edward Searles.
(Gary) There were rumors that she was poisoned.
Everybody's convinced that Edward Searles
was up to no good.
(narrator) So what devilish secret is Edward Searles hiding?
[thunder crashes]
(narrator) 1887, Great Barrington, Massachusetts.
Wealthy widow Mary Hopkins has set tongues wagging
by marrying the designer of her lavish mansion,
a man 22 years her junior,
Edward Searles,
but when Mary dies suddenly,
the rumor mill goes into overdrive,
and the finger of suspicion soon points towards her husband.
The press had a field day with this, and all types of stories being printed,
including that Edward Searles had poisoned her
because of her money.
(narrator) And the opening of Mary's will
only adds more fuel to the fire.
(Gary) The news comes out that before Mary died,
her will had been changed rather dramatically.
Her son, Timothy Hopkins,
is cut out of the will altogether,
and all the money and all the fortune, everything,
was left to Edward Searles.
(narrator) While there's scant evidence to charge Searles with ***,
Mary's adopted son, Timothy, wastes no time
in filing a lawsuit challenging the will.
In court, he accuses the charming designer of fraud.
The news spreads far beyond the Berkshires.
It becomes national news.
(narrator) According to Timothy, the designer convinced his aging wife
that he could communicate with the dead,
and Searles allegedly persuaded Mary
that the spirit of her deceased husband, Mark Hopkins,
wanted her to disinherit their son.
(Gary) In court, Edward Searles
is asked about possible motives,
and he admits that he married for love... and for money
but that he did not kill his wife.
(narrator) Eventually, Timothy Hopkins drops the lawsuit
in return for an out-of-court settlement.
Edward Searles offers Timothy $3 million to settle,
and he accepts.
(narrator) But Searles is never able to escape the infamy
of the sensational case.
Besieged by the scornful accusations of his neighbors,
he is forced to abandon the castle to which he devoted
his passion and talents.
(Gary) He's not very happy-- there's gossip that's continuing.
He feels that people are spying on him.
After a while, he just picks up and moves everything
to another castle that he built
out on the eastern part of Massachusetts.
(narrator) It is there that Searles lives
a private and solitary life
until his death in 1920.
So did the charming designer trick his wife
into changing her will
and then poison her?
We may never know.
But today, in this quiet corner of the Berkshires,
Searles Castle, which is now a boarding school for troubled teens,
still attracts curiosity seekers who are left to wonder
about the mysterious motives
of the man who designed it.
An arranged marriage,
a secret love affair,
and a sibling rivalry that ended in ***
at this majestic medieval fortress.
Overlooking the picturesque shoreline of northeast Italy
is a perfectly-preserved ancient citadel--
Gradara Castle.
Gradara Castle is one of the finest surviving
medieval castles in Italy.
It's formed of a 12 Century keep
built by the local family,
which was expanded, making it into a square block with towers.
(narrator) The crenellated walls are almost 100 feet high
and extend for nearly half a mile.
Inside, the rooms are adorned with plush furnishings
and exquisite, medieval frescos
commissioned by the wealthy families who once lived here.
The castle was originally built
in the year 1150
to defend the trading route that led from the Adriatic Coast
to the heart of Italy.
(Trevor) It's a magnificent construction, very formidable.
It was in a very strategic position.
(narrator) And during the Middle Ages, the castle was at the center
of an intense rivalry between two families competing
for control of the region.
But it was also the site of an epic tale of forbidden love,
betrayal, and ***
that has inspired legendary works of music and art.
For decades, a fierce feud
has raged between two powerful clans--
the Polenta family and their rivals,
the owners of Gradara Castle,
the Malatestas.
But now, the head of the Polenta family,
*** da Polenta,
has brokered a peace deal centered around his daughter,
the lovely Francesca.
(Trevor) Francesca is said to be very beautiful,
and so she would be very valuable
in creating an alliance.
(narrator) *** has arranged to marry Francesca
to the eldest son of the Malatesta family,
the unattractive Giovanni.
(Trevor) Giovanni the Lame, he's called.
(narrator) But for the deal to go ahead, Francesca must agree
to wed this nobleman whom she has never met.
So her father comes up with a plan.
(Trevor) Her father knows that Giovanni
is not particularly impressive to look at,
and so he says to his family,
"I don't think we should let Francesca see him
before she marries him."
(narrator) According to 13th Century Italian law,
it was possible for a man to send a proxy
as a stand-in on his wedding day,
so the cunning patriarch has the Malatesta family
send another of their sons,
Paolo Malatesta, to stand in for his brother Giovanni
on the day of the ceremony.
Giovanni is ugly, whereas Paolo
is handsome and courteous.
(narrator) Unaware of the trick that is being played on her,
Francesca immediately falls in love with the good-looking Paolo,
and the wedding passes without a hitch.
After the ceremony,
Francesca retires to her bedchamber to await her husband,
but the new bride
is in for a shocking surprise.
[thunder crashes]
(narrator) It's the 13th Century in Ravenna, Italy.
The beautiful Francesca da Polenta
has been tricked into marrying Giovanni,
the ugly son of the powerful Malatesta clan,
thinking that she was getting hitched
to his handsome brother, Paolo.
On her wedding night, she is in for a rude awakening.
(Trevor) On the first night,
Francesca wakes up,
and finds that she hasn't married Paolo at all.
(narrator) Francesca is not only furious,
she is heartbroken.
(Trevor) Francesca was still very much in love with Paolo.
(narrator) So in the following weeks and months,
Francesca invites her now brother-in-law to visit her
at Gradara Castle,
and they begin an illicit affair.
But their dalliance
cannot remain secret forever.
(Trevor) According to the legend, one day,
a servant, who has seen them together,
informs Giovanni of what is going on.
(narrator) Giovanni returns to the castle
to find his brother, Paolo,
and his wife, Francesca, together in her bedroom.
(Trevor) Giovanni draws his sword
and is about to kill Paolo,
when Francesca puts herself
between her husband and her lover.
(narrator) The enraged Giovanni runs his sword
through Francesca's body,
killing her instantly.
(Trevor) And when he realizes what he's done,
he kills Paolo, as well.
(narrator) While it is not known whether Giovanni ever paid for his crime,
it is said that the ghost of Francesca
still haunts Gradara Castle to this day.
And that is not the only form
in which the tragic tale lives on.
For more than 700 years,
the plight of these legendary lovers
has been immortalized by some of Europe's
greatest artists and poets.
But perhaps the best-known depiction of this tragic couple
comes from the French sculptor Auguste Rodin.
Rodin's famous sculpture, now known as "The Kiss",
was originally known as "Francesca da Rimini".
(narrator) And today, visitors to Gradara Castle can reflect
on how the tale of Paolo and Francesca
inspired some of the most famous artworks
the world has ever known.
A desperate hunt for a secret weapon that changed the course
of World War II,
and it started here, in this rambling Renaissance-style mansion
in the heart of England.
Thirty-five miles from London
and surrounded by elegant, formal gardens,
are the white chalk towers
of Danesfield House.
(man) Danesfield House is a large, imposing building.
It has a fantastic view over the Thames River
that flows through the valley just below the house.
(narrator) The exterior features a finely-wrought clock tower,
ornamental battlements along the roofline,
and an assortment of magnificent brick chimneys.
Inside, a vast atrium
and ornately-decorated corridors
make Danesfield one of the finest buildings of its age.
(Edward) It has a fantastic ambience,
and it became an architectural showpiece
for the late Victorian Era.
(narrator) But in the 1940s, Danesfield House became
much more than an ornamental attraction.
The events that unfolded within these walls
changed the course of World War II forever.
The forces of Nazi Germany are rampaging across Europe,
leaving Great Britain as the war-torn continent's
last bastion of freedom.
Under constant siege, the British people have endured
wave after wave of demoralizing
and deadly bomb raids.
In England, by this state, morale is fairly low.
(narrator) And the island nation's greatest fear
is that the Germans will invade.
So the British government sets up
a special intelligence unit,
which they hope will warn them of any impending large-scale Nazi attack,
and the headquarters of this elite group
is Danesfield House.
It is here that hundreds of workers
pore over aerial photographs of occupied Europe,
looking for clues as to what the Germans might be planning.
(Edward) The atmosphere at Danesfield House was always very tense.
Every photo that was taken over occupied Europe
had to be interpreted here.
(narrator) And one of the officers charged with analyzing the intelligence
is 30-year-old Constance Babington Smith.
(Edward) Constance Babington Smith joined the RAF
in the latter part of 1939,
and she helped set up the photographic interpretation section.
(narrator) The key intelligence tool
for Constance and her fellow photo analysts
is the stereoscope,
a device which provides the illusion of viewing
a two-dimensional image in three dimensions.
The advantage of seeing in 3-D is depth,
so you can see, for example, a tree, but you can probably see
what's behind the tree.
(narrator) Then, in June of 1943,
Constance notices something that she can't explain--
a series of strange constructions
along the shores of Nazi-occupied France
that look like giant ski ramps.
(Edward) The ski ramp sites just keep reappearing, reappearing.
They're always there, and nobody has a clue what they're there for.
(narrator) Her superiors eventually conclude that the ski ramps
are actually harmless dredging equipment
with no military function,
but young Constance Babington Smith isn't so sure.
(Edward) The skills required of a photographic analyst--
you do actually look at something,
just don't accept it for what it is.
Is it really what you think it is?
Because in many cases, it's not.
(narrator) Constance is convinced that the ski ramps
are a part of a secret Nazi plot,
but without more evidence,
there's no way she can prove it.
Then, one day, in a photograph of a military base
on the northeast coast of Germany,
Constance spots something extraordinary.
(Edward) She suddenly sees a ski ramp,
but most critically, on the bottom of the ski ramp,
she sees a long, cylindrical object with short, stubby wings,
the like of which she had never seen before.
(narrator) She doesn't know it yet, but Constance Babington Smith
has just unearthed a deadly Nazi super weapon.
[thunder crashes]
(narrator) England, 1943, at Danesfield House.
War-time intelligence analyst Constance Babington Smith
has made an alarming discovery.
While studying an aerial photo taken over German-occupied Europe,
she has spotted a long, cylindrical object
with a pointed nose cone.
Constance Babington Smith realizes this is something
that's never been seen before.
(narrator) And this time, her supervisors agree
that she has found something--
a long-range rocket.
(Edward) This discovery proved
the Germans were capable of developing rockets
that could actually be launched in Germany
and land in England.
(narrator) It seems those mysterious ski ramp sites,
scattered along the coast of France and Germany,
are, in fact, launch pads for a deadly Nazi super weapon
known as the V-1 rocket,
or the German Flying Bomb.
(Edward) There was serious concern
that if the Germans could launch the rockets,
they could potentially change the course of the war.
(narrator) The Allies know they must act quickly,
so in August, 1943, British and American forces
launch a large-scale air attack against the V-1 installations
in France and Germany,
code name Operation Crossbow.
And the raids are a stunning success.
The vast majority of the V-1 rockets
and their launchers are destroyed.
In the end, the Germans only manage to launch
a small fraction of the some 35,000 rockets
that were aimed at Great Britain.
(Edward) Operation Crossbow was able to effectively
knock out the threat.
If that program had gone ahead,
the devastation on southern England
would have been absolutely incredible.
(narrator) And in 1945,
in recognition of her work at Danesfield House,
Constance is presented with one of Britain's
highest military medals.
Constance Babington Smith's devotion and attention to detail
played such a vital part in the war.
(narrator) Today, Danesfield House,
where Constance and her colleagues labored night and day,
has been converted to a luxury resort and spa.
Few visitors here realize
the vital role the sprawling estate played
during the darkest days of World War II
in defense of the British nation.
An infamous ***
and a plot to overthrow the U.S. government
are forever linked to the owner
of this elegant mansion.
Nestled at the north end of the Finger Lakes
is the quaint town of Auburn, New York,
and just off the main street is an estate dating back
to 1816.
(woman) The manor is a sprawling villa
located on 2 acres
of lush, Victorian gardens.
There's also a gazebo, a barn, and a carriage house.
(narrator) And the 30-room interior of the house paints a picture
of the learned man who called it home
for a half a century.
Much of the décor is just as he left it--
a 6,000-volume library, stately furniture,
and even his eyeglasses on his desk.
Coming into the home is like walking back
into the 19th Century.
(narrator) The owner of this home was one of
the most fervent abolitionists of his day
and among Abraham Lincoln's most trusted advisors.
His name was William Henry Seward.
(Billye) William Henry Seward played a pivotal role
in one of the greatest controversies
and conspiracies of all time.
(narrator) It was here where
the elderly statesman dictated his memoirs,
revealing the extraordinary tale of how he was once thrust
into the center of a murderous plot
that shook the nation to its very core.
As the Civil War nears its end,
President Abraham Lincoln is struggling to reunite
the bitterly divided nation.
Central to Lincoln's mission
is his Secretary of State, William Henry Seward.
(Billye) Secretary Seward was the indispensable man in Abraham Lincoln's cabinet,
and they were close, personal friends.
(narrator) Seward has played a key role in the passing
of the 13th Amendment against slavery,
but in early April 1865,
the Secretary of State is badly hurt in a carriage accident
and is recovering at the family home in Washington, D.C.
(Billye) He's very seriously injured.
He breaks his jaw in three places, and he breaks his right arm,
so as the war is coming to an end,
he is very sick.
(narrator) On April 14,
while Seward is asleep in his bedroom,
his son, Frederick, hears a knock at the front door.
(Billye) Outside is a young,
well dressed, very tall stranger
who says he has medicine for Secretary Seward.
(narrator) Frederick tells the visitor that his father must not be disturbed,
but the man refuses to leave.
(Billye) The stranger pulls a revolver,
points it square in the face of Frederick Seward,
and pulls the trigger...
and the gun misfires.
(narrator) In a panic, the intruder beats Frederick over the head with the pistol,
leaving him critically injured.
(Billye) The stranger makes his way into Secretary Seward's bedroom
and pulls out a knife,
jumps on the bed, and begins slashing at Secretary Seward.
It's obvious that the stranger
is bent on ***.
(narrator) Seward's eldest son, Gus,
rushes in and wrestles the madman away.
In the struggle, the attacker stabs both father and son
then flees, leaving the household reeling
from the murderous rampage.
(Billye) The entire attack probably lasted about a minute.
Secretary Seward sustained a gaping wound
that exposed his teeth and his broken jawbone,
but, in fact, he is alive and is able to whisper,
"Call the police, close the house."
(narrator) When police arrive,
they take down a detailed description of the attacker.
Then, the news comes in of a second incident
that same night, this time involving
the president himself.
Word is getting out that President Lincoln has been shot
at Ford's Theatre.
(narrator) The assassin is John Wilkes Booth,
a pro-slavery Confederate sympathizer.
(Billye) John Wilkes Booth hates President Lincoln,
and he loves the Confederate South.
(narrator) Investigators begin to wonder,
were the attacks on Lincoln and the Secretary of State
somehow connected?
[thunder crashes]
(narrator) April 14, 1865, in Washington, D.C.
Secretary of State William Seward
has been attacked by a crazed, knife-wielding assailant.
As the politician recovers from the assault,
news comes in that President Lincoln has been shot
by John Wilkes Booth on the very same night.
So were the two events connected?
Police surmise that if the incidents are linked,
then they might find Seward's attempted assassin
by following Booth's trail.
(Billye) The nation now turns its eyes
to the manhunt.
(narrator) Investigators hone in on a guest house
where Booth has been staying.
There, they find a man who matches the description
of Seward's knife-wielding visitor.
(Billye) The authorities question the stranger
and find out that he is Lewis Powell,
a Confederate veteran.
(narrator) Lewis Powell confesses to his role
in the coordinated attack,
claiming to have been following Booth's instructions,
and it seems that Booth
had a very clear objective.
(Billye) He hopes that by toppling the top men in the administration
that this will revise the Confederacy cause.
(narrator) If they were able to kill the key figures of Lincoln and Seward,
Booth and Powell hoped that the entire administration
would crumble.
(Billye) But it is very clear, at this point,
that the plot is part of a greater conspiracy
to bring down the American government.
(narrator) Lewis Powell is arrested, convicted of treason,
and later executed.
And on April 26, history has recorded
that Union soldiers find John Wilkes Booth
hiding out in a farm in Maryland
and kill him.
(Billye) Incredibly, Secretary Seward, his son, Frederick,
his son, Gus, all make recoveries.
(narrator) Though his face is badly disfigured,
the brilliant and dedicated statesman serves the remainder of his term
under Lincoln's successor, Andrew Johnson.
He lives out his retirement
at his precious home in Auburn, New York.
Today, visitors to the Seward House can reflect on the events
of that tragic night
and wonder what the fate of the young nation might have been
had Seward not survived.
Within the walls of a stunning Italian villa
is a mysterious book
written in a seemingly unbreakable code.
What strange secrets lie within the pages
of this ancient manuscript?
On the outskirts of Rome,
resting on 480 acres of beautiful park land,
sits the glorious Villa Mondragone.
(man) When you first see the villa,
as you get closer and closer,
you realize just how magnificent a structure it is.
It's tremendous.
(narrator) Built in 1573,
toward the end of the Italian Renaissance,
the villa is encircled by landscaped gardens
that are among the finest in the world.
In its prime, the Villa Mondragone was a summer home
for some of the most powerful and influential people in Europe.
(narrator) And it still bears the crest of its most famous resident,
Pope Gregory XIII.
(Richard) During Pope Gregory XIII's stay at the Villa Mondragone,
he started the Gregorian Calendar,
which is basically the calendar that we use today.
(narrator) But this palatial estate also gave rise
to one of the most intriguing unsolved mysteries
the world has ever known.
This villa was the site of an astounding discovery,
which has confounded the world
for over a century.
(narrator) Antique book dealer Wilfrid Voynich
is on a trip to Italy to seek out rare and valuable manuscripts
for his shop in London.
(Richard) Wilfrid Voynich was an enigmatic character.
He would go off on these trips around Europe, and he would come back
with books that nobody had even heard of.
(narrator) On this particular trip, Voynich has learned
of a large collection of old books
in the neglected chamber of the Villa Mondragone.
(Richard) It's then that Wilfrid Voynich stumbles across
a truly mystifying object.
(narrator) It's a leather-bound manuscript
unlike any he has encountered before.
(Richard) It's a small volume, it's 6 by 9 inches.
It's very colorful,
but the content doesn't match anything known.
(narrator) The first thing Voynich notices
is that the text on the sheepskin pages
is written in a strange, cryptic cipher.
More perplexing still, the coded writing
is surrounded by fantastical drawings of unknown plants,
astrological symbols,
and nymphs cavorting in a strange, green liquid.
(Richard) It must have amazed him, and he, of course,
immediately managed to purchase it, along with the other volumes.
(narrator) Convinced he has made an extraordinary find,
Voynich takes the book back to his office in London.
There, tucked between two pages,
he makes another discovery.
(Richard) Inside of it, he finds a letter
that's kind of a clue, possibly, to what it is.
(narrator) The letter, dated 1666, and written in Latin,
hints that the manuscript may have been written
by the famous 13th Century British astronomer, Roger Bacon,
who was known to use coded ciphers in his writing.
Bacon also dabbled in alchemy,
seeking, among other things,
to uncover the secret to eternal life.
So could the pages of this book hold the key to immortality?
[thunder crashes]
(narrator) At the Villa Mondragone in Italy,
an antique book dealer named Wilfrid Voynich
has stumbled upon a mysterious manuscript
written in a seemingly unbreakable code.
Voynich thinks the book was written by a 13th Century alchemist
named Roger Bacon
and that it could hold the secret to eternal life.
Wilfrid Voynich immediately realizes, if this is
a lost manuscript of Roger Bacon's,
it could be worth a great deal of money.
(narrator) But unlike other Bacon ciphers,
the language here appears indecipherable.
(Richard) The structure of the sentences, the structure of the words,
is hard to pin down to any language
or any timeframe.
(narrator) And the strange imagery is even more baffling.
(Richard) The plants in it are really not like any other plants,
and there's many unusual objects in there
that really, even to this day, can't be properly identified.
(narrator) For the rest of his life, Voynich continues to try
to unlock the secrets of the manuscript
but to no avail.
Voynich died in 1930 without ever being able to solve the mystery.
(narrator) But his death does little to quell a growing interest
in what becomes known as the Voynich Manuscript.
In the years that follow,
all manner of scientists and experts
attempt to break the cipher,
from World War II code breakers to early computer scientists.
(Richard) They thought, "Maybe we can finally
figure out what the Voynich is."
(narrator) But even the finest code breakers on the planet
cannot crack the cipher.
It became kind of a permanent mystery with no answer.
(narrator) Then, in 2009,
scientists at the University of Arizona
decide to carbon date the manuscript
and reveal once and for all when the book was made.
When the results come back, they surprise everyone.
(Richard) The test was able to show that the manuscript
was created...
between about 1404 and 1438
without about a 95 percent accuracy.
(narrator) The test proves that the manuscript could not have been made
by Roger Bacon, who died in 1294,
so the question remains, who wrote this mysterious book,
and what does it say?
Some experts think that the manuscript
is a brilliant fake created by Voynich himself
to generate publicity for his business.
Others believe the writings
are simply the meaningless scribbling of a medieval madman.
While still others think that the book really holds
a mysterious secret that is waiting to be unlocked.
(Richard) You have something that's so old,
hey, it should be easy to solve
with all of our best techniques, all of our best experts,
but it's still a mystery.
(narrator) And today, the stately Mondragone Villa on the outskirts of Rome
remains the place where the improbable mystery began
in a dusty room more than a century ago.