The most baffling aspect is the manuscript’s script. Despite modern linguistic and cryptographic methods, including AI analysis, no one has conclusively deciphered its text or even agreed on its language. The script follows statistical patterns similar to natural languages but uses a unique alphabet that has no clear parallels.

Many theories about the script have emerged:

• Cipher or Code: Some believe the text is a cipher meant to conceal forbidden or secret knowledge.
   

• Constructed Language: It might be an invented language or glossolalia with no semantic meaning, created as a linguistic curiosity or hoax.
   

• Unknown Natural Language: Some linguists speculate it encodes a lost or unknown natural language.
   

• Steganography or Medical Recipe: Others suggest it’s a complex steganographic text containing herbal remedies or alchemical formulas.
   

Possible Authors and Origins

Several candidates have been proposed as the author or patron of the Voynich Manuscript, though none can be confirmed:

• Roger Bacon (1214–1294): The 16th-century attribution by Rudolf II points to Bacon, a medieval English friar and polymath known for his interest in alchemy and science. However, carbon dating disproves this timeline.
   

• Wilfrid Voynich’s Hypothesis: Voynich himself suggested it was created in the early 15th century, possibly in Northern Italy.
   

• Johannes Marcus Marci (1595–1667): An owner of the manuscript who believed it was written by the 13th-century alchemist.
   

• Edward Kelley or John Dee: These 16th-century English occultists were associated with alchemical manuscripts and could have commissioned or authored a similar work.
   

Unknown Medieval Scholar or Group: The manuscript might be a unique product of a secretive intellectual circle devoted to esoteric knowledge. shutdown123