Welcome to the first post of Nook & Cranny History!

Have you ever had something that sat on the back burner for too long and you didn’t know what to do with it? I don’t mean that paperwork that had to be done or that phone call you were putting off for days. I mean something that sat there only because you really, truly had no idea what to do with it.

These were my sticky notes. Every time I came across a subject that I found interesting, I stuck it on a note. It could be an afterthought by a teacher or a comment made by a colleague. After four years of studying history, I realized that my sticky notes were becoming a problem — mostly when I had to dig under five layers of notes on my computer to find that one document I needed for work.

I have always thought of history just as entertaining as any fictional book or movie, and I have tried for years to convince other people that no, history is not just memorizing names and dates (apparently a very unpopular opinion among people my age). It is theatric, effulgent, restless and prolific.

In arguing my case and finally taking notes off the burner, I present to you, Nook and Cranny History.

Bird-people, Melting Eggs and Death-by-Pen: The World of Codex Seraphinianus

Imagine being assigned a 360-page encyclopedia to read. The page length may turn some away, and if it doesn’t, its genre will, but throw in the fact that it is an illustrated encyclopedia of an imaginary world written in a language that not even the world’s top linguists can decipher. I think you may want to read it.

Codex Seraphinianus was originally published in 1981 by an Italian artist and architect, Luigi Serafini. He spent three years writing and illustrating the book, an existence that he compares to being a hermit. Before writing the book, Serfini actually hitchhiked across the U.S.A.—an experience that he says was very similar to Jack Kerouac’s prolific novel, On the Road—where he explains that he gained much of the inspiration for Codex.

The book itself is, in a word, extraordinary. Although it was not intended to be a religious text, its name and content clearly pay tribute to canonic books. Even Serafini says that writing the book was a necessity, comparing the book came down as inspiration, almost a “state of trance.”

The pages are littered with colored-pencil illustrations of an imaginary world. The subjects range from underwater animals to bleeding fruit to human machines. There are hippos puffing clouds and human legs attached to anything-but a human body.

Although what first jumps out to the reader is the bizarre drawings, the language of the Codex offers an almost greater manipulation of the mind. The language is absolutely indecipherable. That’s right, the language has left even the top linguists speechless for decades. There have been computer programs designed, research groups created and conferences held in an attempt to uncover the meaning behind the symbols.

In a dramatic and revealing speech given at the Oxford University Society of Bibliophiles in May of 2009, Serafini announced that the script is “asemic,” meaning that its content isn’t necessarily supposed to have meaning. It is non-specific, meaning that the reader is given the space to read and interpret the meaning.

In an interview, Serafini admitted that he thought the effort to decipher the text was “superficial,” and speaks about the fact that to decipher does not always mean that one must understand.

Although there are dozens of images across the internet of the Codex, to truly experience the imaginary landscape of Serafini, you either must make the trip to an archive or buy the book online (the newest edition is currently selling for a hefty price of $84 on Amazon).

The debate still rages among linguists and cipher-enthusiasts to uncover the hidden language in the pages of Codex Seraphinainus. And for those who pass on the task, there is always death-by-pen.

Want to know more about the mysterious world of the Codex? Apparently this has turned into quite the pop culture reference:

Browse Wired’s collection of Codex pictures

Check out a video of the Codex, heralded as the weirdest book ever published

And if you have been so inspired by this article to own your own copy of the book, the newest edition