ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Cipher Manuscripts

Okay kiddo, have you ever played a game called "Secret Code"? It's like a game where you have to figure out what a message means by using a code. Cipher manuscripts are kinda like that.

Long, long ago, people used to write important secrets or messages in a secret code that only they and their friends could understand. These secret codes were called ciphers, and they were written in books called cipher manuscripts.

Now, these cipher manuscripts contained a bunch of different codes and secret messages. And if anyone managed to figure out what the codes meant, they would be able to read the secret message inside.

The people who wrote these manuscripts would also create their own unique codes that no one else could understand. It was like their own secret language that only they knew how to speak.

But why did people use cipher manuscripts, you may ask? Well, back in the olden days, communication was not as easy as it is now. There were no phones or computers, so when people needed to send messages to each other, they needed to do it in a way that no one else could read. That's where cipher manuscripts came in handy!

Cipher manuscripts were also used by spies and secret agents to send messages that could not be intercepted by their enemies. That's because if someone did manage to intercept the message, they wouldn't be able to understand what it meant since it was written in code.

So, there you have it, kiddo! Cipher manuscripts are like special books that contain secret codes and messages. And they were used to keep important information hidden from prying eyes.