Decoding the Rohonc Codex: Passport of Retentive Words and Ritual Structures

This study presents a reproducible framework for approaching the Rohonc Codex, one of Europe’s most enigmatic manuscripts. Rather than claiming a complete decipherment, we propose a “Passport of Words”: a lexicon of 20 core terms systematically linked to repeated visual motifs such as vows, processions, architecture, and ritual actions. The method is based on repetition, cross-verification across independent folios, and alignment of text with illustrations. From this lexicon emerges a grammar of ritual communication, structured by opening, body, and closing formulae. A special focus is given to the Hymn of Avlunate, a recurrent liturgical refrain functioning as a structural anchor rather than a personal deity. The approach is testable and reproducible: any researcher can apply the method to new folios and verify the results. This article provides the stable foundation for systematic study of the Codex as a ritual register rather than as a hoax or random mnemonic. The proposed framework has been tested for reproducibility. Key word–image alignments (such as aro … set for vows, tholok for assemblies, sac for altars) recur consistently across multiple folios. Independent replication is therefore feasible, ensuring that the results are not subjective but structurally verifiable.