stackyFACTS
History

Medieval nuns hid knowledge in secret codes

HERE’S THE INTERESTING PART

Long before digital encryption, brilliant medieval nuns used complex ciphers to safely record forbidden medical and botanical knowledge. Hidden in plain sight within religious manuscripts, these secret codes protected the women from accusations of witchcraft. Their legacy lives on as some of the earliest examples of encrypted data preservation.

Medieval nuns hid knowledge in secret codes
STACKY / History
One discovery leads to another.

Keep exploring facts in this topic.

History →
STACKY FOR IPHONE

A bigger world.
One discovery
at a time.

Keep discovering with Stacky. Interesting facts in an app that is always within reach.

Download on the App Store
ONE MORE DISCOVERY?

Keep exploring

All in this topic →
What incredibly popular modern aesthetic is actually based entirely on female beer brewers from the Middle Ages?
History

What incredibly popular modern aesthetic is actually based entirely on female beer brewers from the Middle Ages?

What incredibly popular modern aesthetic is actually based entirely on female beer brewers from the Middle Ages?

Discover more
Medieval cities were not quiet, candlelit villages; they were noisy, smoky, and filled with rules about when you were allowed to move in the dark.
History

Medieval cities were not quiet, candlelit villages; they were noisy, smoky, and filled with rules about when you were allowed to move in the dark.

Medieval cities were not quiet, candlelit villages; they were noisy, smoky, and filled with rules about when you were allowed to move in the dark. Many…

Discover more
The women whose discoveries appeared under men's names
History

The women whose discoveries appeared under men's names

For centuries, brilliant women worked in labs, observatories, and field studies, only to see their findings credited to male colleagues. Locked out of…

Discover more
History

Medieval battlefields were so chaotic that knights often carried giant banners just so their allies could recognize them through clouds of dust—it’s hard to imagine war without…

Picture the battlefield of the Middle Ages: clashing steel, horses charging, dust thick in the air, and the roar of armies echoing for miles. In that storm of…

Discover more
History

Centuries before modern science, a woman named Hypatia taught astronomy and mathematics in Alexandria.

Long before telescopes and calculators, Hypatia of Alexandria stood at the heart of knowledge like a lighthouse against the waves. She taught astronomy and…

Discover more
Why did Europeans suddenly stop bathing and abandon public bathhouses entirely during the late Middle Ages?
History

Why did Europeans suddenly stop bathing and abandon public bathhouses entirely during the late Middle Ages?

Why did Europeans suddenly stop bathing and abandon public bathhouses entirely during the late Middle Ages?

Discover more
StackyMore discoveries in the app
Download on the App Store