972Cyphersolver
ABFGEE · HBLBAGE · EFGBIG · BBAAE · LA · CHIFFAACE · AFFEF · GEAADE · P · LA · FAIEE
nostre volonté estoit bonne, la puissance asses grande pour la faire
A = a/n · B = b/o · E = e/r · F = f/s · G = g/t · H = h/u · P = pour

Paris → Rome · League polyphonic cipher, each sign two letters · 22 July 1593 · deciphered by Paolo Rosson

Baudouin-Desportes to Pietro Aldobrandini and to Girolamo Frachetta, Paris, 22 July 1593

Pietro Aldobrandini
toPietro Aldobrandini

Two League letters to Rome, written three days before Henri IV went to Mass, were never deciphered in 1593; Paolo Rosson deciphered both in October 2026 with Tomokiyo’s key, and the reading was checked here.

Daniel Bourdeau · posted · updated

Method: read with known key · Extent: complete

Contributed by Paolo Rosson (solution) and Brett Burford (verification) and Satoshi Tomokiyo (key or decipherment used) · Also credited · Brice Dudout (pointer to a source) · Contemporary key or decipherment (key or decipherment used)

At a glanceKnown key applied · complete

The letters
Mayenne’s agent, the office’s “Baudouyn Desportes”, writes from Paris on 22 July 1593 to the Pope’s nephew Pietro Aldobrandini and to Girolamo Frachetta in Rome. The royal office intercepted both and noted twice that it had not deciphered them.
Where
Bibliothèque nationale de France, fr. 3984 f. 186r–v (no. 88) and f. 189 (no. 90), Gallica btv1b9060633d views 347–348 and 353. Part of this project’s catalogue item 20.
The cipher
The Catholic League’s polyphonic cipher, as reconstructed by Satoshi Tomokiyo. Eleven drawn signs each stand for two letters (a/n, b/o … m/z), with signs for que, qui, pour, et and some names.
How it was deciphered
Paolo Rosson, with Claude Opus 5.5, trained a line recogniser on 6,794 signs of the same hand, aligned with the office’s decipherments of the two sister letters. A period-French decoder then chose one letter of each pair. Checked here against the key, our own labels and the images; Brett Burford’s independent re-reading agrees.
What it says
The Legate presses for a king’s election just when Navarre wins men over “par l’aparance qu’il fait de se vouloir faire catolique, et doit dimanche aller a la messe”. Spain gives only words, and a truce is needed.
Still open
Three single name signs, three short groups lost in the gutter of f. 186v, and the people behind the cover names of f. 189 (“nostre oncle”, “l’homme de la chesne”).
Credit
The reading is Paolo Rosson’s (1 October 2026), the key Satoshi Tomokiyo’s. Brice Dudout reported the result. This project’s own attempt of 17 September 2026 did not get there.

01 The letters

On 22 July 1593 the League in Paris sent a packet to Rome. Henri of Navarre had announced his conversion, the conference of Suresnes was ending in a truce, and the Spanish party was pressing the Estates to elect a king. Four letters of that day, all written by Mayenne’s agent in the same hand and the same cipher, were intercepted and are now bound together in BnF fr. 3984. They went to Pope Clement VIII (f. 176–176v and f. 179r), to the bishop of Lisieux (f. 188), to the Pope’s nephew Cardinal Pietro Aldobrandini (f. 186) and to Girolamo Frachetta, a political writer in the papal service (f. 189).

The royal office deciphered the first two; its decipherments are bound beside them (f. 177–178 and f. 184–185). It never did the other two. Its register of 1593 says of the letter to Aldobrandini that “l’on n’a eu loisir encores de deschiffrer”, and the letter to Frachetta “n’a non plus encore esté deschiffrée” (BnF fr. 3983 f. 141v, entries 13 and 14). The backs of both letters say the same. Tomokiyo’s page on the cipher lists f. 186 as “enciphered passages are undeciphered” and f. 189 as “undeciphered”.

The office signed its decipherments “Baudouyn Desportes”, and the BnF names the writer Baudouin-Desportes. Whether he is Mayenne’s secretary Baudouin or Thibault Desportes, sieur de Bévilliers, Mayenne’s envoy to Rome, is still open. Rosson’s prior_art/scholarship.md sets out the evidence.

The upper half of f. 189: lines of small drawn signs, rings, stems, 4-shapes and brackets, with one line in clear handwriting
F. 189, the letter to Frachetta, upper half. The only clear line, the eleventh, reads celuy qui est loing en parle comme ung aveugle des couleurs; the rest is cipher. Image: Bibliothèque nationale de France, fr. 3984 f. 189 (Gallica btv1b9060633d view 353), reduced copy from P. Rosson’s repository.

02 The cipher and why it was hard

Tomokiyo reconstructed the League’s cipher of 1592–93 from deciphered letters. Each of eleven signs stands for two letters of the alphabet split in half: a/n, b/o, c/p, d/q, e/r, f/s, g/t, h/u, i/x, l/y, m/z. Further signs stand for que, qui, pour and et, and a handful of signs stand for persons: the Pope, Mayenne, the King of Navarre, the King of Spain, the Legate, Guise, the Infanta. So the key was never the problem. The reader has to name each sign, and then choose one of its two letters from the context.

The two letters hold about 6,700 signs, drawn small and fast. A sign named wrongly spoils the words around it, because each sign carries two letters. This project tried on 17 September 2026. It aligned the cipher of f. 188v with its decipherment, about 1,100 labelled signs, and trained classifiers on them. They named only 73–79% of held-out signs correctly; at that rate the decoder recovered 30–40% of the letters of a known text. The folder was closed with a note on what would reopen it: a larger labelled set from f. 176 and its decipherment f. 177.

03 How Rosson deciphered them

Paolo Rosson, working with Claude Opus 5.5 in Claude Code, took that route. He transcribed the office’s decipherment of the letter to the Pope (f. 177–178, 74 lines) and aligned it, with f. 188v and its decipherment, sign by sign. That gave 112 lines and 6,794 labelled signs in the same hand. He corrected the reference texts to the cipher’s own spelling (“espagnolz”, “fist”). A line recogniser trained on these lines names the signs, and a decoder with a model of period French and a lexicon of 77,004 word forms chooses one letter of each pair. Then the model checked every line against the page image.

His measurements, from rosson/accuracy.md:

The key is Tomokiyo’s, applied unchanged. No key was recovered, so the method is “read with known key”. Here the hard part was transcription, not cryptanalysis.

04 The letter to Frachetta (f. 189)

Rosson’s reading, lines 1–33 of the cipher, with his conventions: u/v and i/j set as in modern use, [ ] editorial, (?) doubtful, { } clear text in the original. The full file with his notes on each doubt is targets/desportes1593/rosson/f189_reading.txt.

Nostre volonté estoit bonne, la puissance asses grande pour la faire reussir; mais a savoir si en la continue nous eussions peu subsister, c’est ce qui nous a fait demeurer cois. Et en ces entrefaites nos amis ne se sont pas seulement montrés neutres, mais ennemis formelz, et fait ce qu’ilz ont peu pour tendre a la ruine de l’amy(?) de l’homme du colege et le vostre, sans l’avoir rien espargné, oposans tantost un sujet tantost un autre, secondés par nostre docteur Gratian, qui a mieulx joué le personnage que nul des autres, jusques a y coucher de l’autorité de son {M[aist]re}, voir[e] l’avoir mis en compromis et fait beaucoup de prejudice. Si nostre oncle eust voulu parler suivant la promesse qu’il en avoit faite a celuy qui l’ala trouver, et que l’homme de la chesne eust donné d’autres asseurances que des paroles, la teste baissee on y eust entré. Mais croies qu’il n’y a peu a penser {celuy qui est loing en parle comme ung aveugle des couleurs. Or(?)} tout ce qui se pouvoit de mieulx estoit la protection et gaigner le temps. Il ne s’est pas fait; il faloit la trefve.

L’imprudence du monarque et des siens ai[a]nt esté telle qu’il n’avoit fait nul preparatif, ou du moins si petit[e] que le moindre gentilhomme en une querelle en eust fait davantage. Et pour vostre costé, ç’a esté un autre bel acte que le licentiement que feist vostre auditeur(?). Je veulx(?) croire ce que vous m’escrivez, qu’il n’y a nul changement; toutesfois c’est un fait estrange que nostre Poquinteste ne nous ait rien raporté de {part[iculi]er}, et que l’on nous aie dit ce que l’on a voulu; et ce n’a esté que des paroles, les plus extravagantes que j’eusse pensé. Perdre tout, voire estre privé de paradis, j’eusse passé bien plus avant: se travailler, se ruiner, faire ce [qui] se peut, tant que sans nostre prudence on ne dureroit pas une heure; et pour recompense bastir une ruine. Or je ne serois pas si charitable, je le confesse.

Si nostre ami du colege en vouloit parler a l’homme de la chesne, il obligeroit infinyment nostre amy, qui est tout sien. Et a ce qui regarde vostre pension, cela ne se peult, car nul ne l’asiste que le prelat a qui la piece est affectee, et il n’est pas temps de luy rien lever. Ç’a esté vostre malheur et le mien. Courage, il se presentera d’autres occasions. Je tien que l’on aura la trefve dans peu de jours. Le voiage de [sign not identified] a esté le plus pernicieulx que chose du monde: il a fait changer de religion au [roy de Navarre] et offre [.5c?] mil escus. Leur party estoit ruiné sans se changement. Nostre legat a fait ce qu’il a peu pour couvrir l’Espagnol; il a embrassé leur affaire avec tant d’ardeur qu’il a negligé ce qui estoit du service de son {M[aist]re}, jusques a n’avoir fait tenir un seul de nos brefz(?), qui eussent infiniment profité; mais ce n’estoit pas ce qu’il desiroit(?), au contraire, de haster le desmembrement de nostre estat. Par la lettre de [Sa Sainteté(?)] vous saurés au vray l’estat general de nos affaires. {Je vous baise les mains … A Paris ce xxije Juillet 1593.}

Translation (Rosson’s, shortened): Our will was good and our power great enough … Our friends showed themselves not only neutral but open enemies … seconded by our Doctor Gratian, who played the part better than any of the others … If our uncle had been willing to speak as he promised the man who went to see him, and if the man of the chain had given other assurances than words, we would have gone in head down … The best that could be done was protection and to gain time; the truce was necessary … I hold that we shall have the truce in a few days. The journey of […] was the most pernicious thing in the world: it made the King of Navarre change his religion … Our legate did what he could to cover the Spaniard; he neglected his master’s service, so far as not to deliver even one of our briefs … to hasten the dismemberment of our state.

This is the only letter of the four written in cover names: “nostre oncle”, “l’homme de la chesne”, “l’homme du colege”, “nostre docteur Gratian”. The name in line 17 is written in clear in the letter to Lisieux (“par le retour de poquinteste”, f. 188r, copied on f. 184r), so it is a person’s name, not a misreading.

05 The letter to Aldobrandini (f. 186)

A clear opening of eleven lines (“Si je n’ay escrit a Sa Sainteté et a Vre Seigneurie Illme aussi souvent que le devoir me le commande …”) runs into 41 lines of cipher on the recto, with short clear phrases between, and 33 on the verso. The full reading and translation are in rosson/f186_reading.txt. Some passages:

Three lines of the League cipher from f. 186r; in the third line the figure 2, the sign for pour
F. 186r ll. 21–23: …ns a l’election d’un roy, lors que l’ennemy commence a gagner les voix de beaucoup qui luy estoient ennemis, par l’aparance qu’il fait de se vouloir faire catolique, et doit dimanche aller a la messe. N’avoir rien pour luy resister sinon des promesses, ou l’on a tant… The 2 in the third line is the sign for pour. Image: Bibliothèque nationale de France, fr. 3984 f. 186r ll. 21–23 (Gallica btv1b9060633d view 347), reduced copy from P. Rosson’s repository.

Rosson’s comparison.md sets the two letters against the two that the office read. The forecast of the Mass was not news to the office: the letter to Lisieux says “Il se doibt faire cath. dimanche” (f. 184r). Seven passages are in the unread letters only, among them the attack on Matteucci and Malvasia, the two refused requests, the Pope’s own candidate, Mayenne’s readiness to accept Guise, and the Legate holding back briefs. Three passages occur in both a read and an unread letter. The facts agree and the words differ, which is an independent check of the reading.

06 What was checked here

On 20 October 2026 Rosson’s repository (pangoleen/desportes-1593, commit 33c854a) was read as data. Its code was not run; the checks below used scripts written here.

Extent. His output holds 1,790 cipher words. Five are left unread and 21 carry a question mark. Not counting either, 1,764 (98.5%) read as sense, over the bar of 95% of the cipher giving sense.

07 Priority

No reading earlier than Rosson’s is known. The office in 1593 did not decipher the letters, and Tomokiyo’s page (last changed in 2023) lists them with no decipherment. This project’s attempt of September 2026 did not get there. Rosson published his reading, version 0.2, on 1 October 2026. Tomokiyo’s article “An Intercepted Report of Henry IV’s Upcoming Attendance at Mass in a Polyphonic Cipher” (first posted 3 October 2026) presents it as the first full decipherment, with a partial check of his own and three corrections to the clear text, which Rosson adopted. Burford’s re-reading followed on 18 October. Maxim Egorov has also published an analysis of the letters, not read here. Brice Dudout drew this project’s attention to the result on 19 October.

Rosson also deciphered a slip in a variant of the same cipher, BnF fr. 4715 f. 61 (Gallica btv1b52509819x view 137), where Tomokiyo had read five short spans. His reading is copied to rosson/fr4715_f61_reading.txt; it was not checked here.

08 What remains uncertain

Full texts

The transcription and the decryption of every document on this page, so that the reading can be used and checked. Short files are shown here; all are in the repository.

f. 186r-v (no. 88), to Pietro Aldobrandini, Paris 22 July 1593

Baudouin-Desportes tells Aldobrandini that the papal commissaries Matteucci and Malvasia did more harm than the enemy, that the Spanish army stayed on the frontier, and that the Legate presses for a king's election just as the enemy wins votes by seeming to turn Catholic and "doit dimanche aller a la messe" (Henri IV heard Mass at Saint-Denis on Sunday 25 July). He recalls his requests in Rome and their refusal; Mayenne was willing to accept Guise as king. Reading by Paolo Rosson (v0.2, 1 Oct 2026) with Tomokiyo's key; the clear opening is only summarised in it.

Transcription

dump_f186r.txt

11  [clair] despens[DEFCEAF] de[DE] ma[MA] teste[GEFGE] commencant[CBMMEACAAG] a[A] #[#] ma[MA] trou[GEBH] ci[CI]
12  [clair] eulx[EHLI] seulx[FEHLI] ont[BAG] plus[CLHF] a[A] porte[CBEGE(M)] de[DE] ruine[EHIAE] aux[AHI] affaires[AFFAIEEF] que[Q] les[LEF] ennemis[EAAEMIF] tant[GAAG] ilz[ILM]
13  ont[BAG] este[EFGE] remplis[EEMCLIF] de[DE] ie[IE] ne[AE] fai[FAI] quelle[DHELLE] chose[CHB(E)FE] [clair]
14  et[&] si[FI] iay[IAL] rien[EIEA] mis[MIF] en[EA] auant[AHAAG] au[AH] dispo[DIFCB] es[EF] que[Q] ie[IE] donne[DBAAE] a[A] sur[FHE] les[LEF] deportemens[DECBEGEMEAF] dudit[DHDIG] mage[MAGE] uci[HCI(E)]
15  la[LA] moindre[MBIADEE] lette[LEGGE] que[Q] lon[LBA] [clair] [clair] de[DE] #[#(&Q)] de[DE]
16  may[MAL] uois[HBIF] ie[IE] iray[IEAL] estois[EFGBIF] lors[LBEF] quilz[KLM] sont[FBAG] entrez[EAGEEM] en[EA] mauuais[MAHHAIF] mesnage[MEFAAGE] #[#] et[&] luy[LHL] toutesfois[GBHGEFFBIF]
17  le[LE] neueu[AEHEH] de[DE] #[#] #[#] mena[MEAA] fais[FAIF] ses[FEF] plaintes[CLAIAGEF] aussi[AHFFI] quil[KL] est[EFG] [clair] [clair] et[&] de[DE] soy[FBL] mes[MEF]
18  me[ME] elle[ELLE] peut[CEHG] considerer[CBAFIDEEEE] que[Q] larmee[LAEMEE] du[DH] #[#] na[AA] rien[EIEA] fait[FAIG] sinon[FIABA] de[DE] demeurer[DEMEHEEE] sur[FHE] la[LA] frontiere[F(G)EBAGIEEE]
19  seruant[FEEHAAG] D[D] oprobre[BCEBBEE] a[A] un[HA] si[FI] grand[GEAAD] monarque[MBAAEDHE] et[&] qui[K] sest[FEFG] retiree[EEGIEEE] seulement[F(G)EHLEMEAG] sur[FHE] un[HA] bruit[BEHIG] que[Q] #[#(K)]
20  la[LA] loit[LBIG] chercher[CHEECHEE] et[&] outre[BHGEE] #[#] #[#(E)] sans[FAAF] consi[CBAFI(G)] deration[DEEAGIBA] quelconque[DHELCBADHE] ueult[HEHLG] que[Q] nous[ABHF] en[EA] uenio[HEAIB]
21  ns[AF] a[A] lelection[LELECGIBA] dun[DHA] roy[EBL] lors[LBEF] que[Q] lennemy[LEAAEML] commence[CBMMEACE] a[A] gagner[GAGAEE] les[LEF] uoix[HBII] de[DE] beaucoup[BEAHCBHC] qui[K] luy[LHL] est[EFG]
22  oient[BIEAG] ennemis[EAAEMIF] par[R] laparance[LACAEAACE] quil[KL] fait[FAIG] de[DE] se[FE] uouloir[HBHLBIE] faire[FAIEE] catolique[CAGBLIDHE] et[&] doit[DBIG] dimanc[DIMAAC]
23  he[HE] aller[ALLEE] a[A] la[LA] messe[MEFFE] nauoir[AAHBIE] rien[EIEA] pour[P] luy[LHL] resister[EEFIFGEE] si[FI] non[ABA] des[DEF] promesses[CEBMEFF(G)EF] ou[BH] lon[LBA] a[A] tant[GAAG]
24  este[EFGE] trompe[GEBMCE] il[IL] faudroit[FAHDEBIG] beaucoup[BEAHCBHC] des[DEF] secs[FECF] M[M] auant[AHAAG] que[Q] de[DE] nous[ABHF] faire[FAIEE] reiecter[EEIECGEE] lap[LAC]
25  arence[AEEACE] dune[DHAE] paix[CAII] et[&] ne[AE] sera[FEEA] peu[CEH] fait[FAIG] si[FI] nous[ABHF] la[LA] mode[MBDE] rons[EBAF] par[R] une[HAE] trefue[GEEFHE] un[HA] chacun[CHACHA] es[EF]
26  tant[GAAG] las[LAF] de[DE] seruir[FEEHIE] de[DE] sable[FABLE] a[A] toute[GBHGE] la[LA] crestiente[CEEFGIEAGE] et[&] de[DE] se[FE] uoir[HBIE] abandonnez[ABAAD(A)BAAEM] pour[P] enfi[EAFI]
27  n[A] rendre[EEADEE] les[LEF] nobis[ABBIF] car[CAE] pour[P] des[DEF] promesses[CEBMEFFEF] nos[ABF] ennemis[EAAEMIF] nen[AEA] sont[FBAG] pas[CAF] despourueus[DEFCBHEHEHF] et[&] off[BFF]
28  rent[EEAG] demonstree[DEMBAFGEEE] lestres[LEFGEEF] de[DE] #[#] #[#] #[#] H[H] pour[P] en[EA] cas[CAF] quil[KL] se[F(I)E] face[G(F)ACE] catolique[CAGBLIDHE] destre[DEFGEE] receu[EECEH] le[LE] #[#] si[FI]
29  ege[EGE] lasse[LAFFE] de[DE] continuer[CBAGIAHEE] sa[F(G)A] despence[DEFCEACE] que[Q] lon[LBA] peut[CEHG] dire[DIEE] auoir[AHBIE] este[EFGE] quelque[DHELDHE] pose[C(H)BFE] durant[DHEAAG] le[LE]
30  pontificat[CBAGIFICAG] du[DH] #[#(M)] gregoire[GEEGBIEE(M)] mais[MAIF] depuis[DECHIF] il[IL] luy[LHL] eust[EHFG] mieulx[MIEHLI] este[EFGE] que[Q] de[DE] tout[GBHG] point[CBIAG] on[BA] nous[ABHF] eu[EH]
31  st[FG] de[DE] saxe[FAIE] toute[GBHGE] esperance[EFCEEAACE] de[DE] secours[FECBHEF] affin[AFFIA] de[DE] nous[ABHF] faire[F(L)AIEE] prendre[CEEADEE] une[HAE] certaine[CEEGAIAE] res[EEF]
32  olution[BLHGIBA] et[&] mais[MAIF] que[Q] #[#] #[#] se[FE] souuienne[FBHHIEAAE] auec[AHEC] de[DE] ueyle[HELLE] int[IAG(F)] sance[FAACE] iay[IAL] demande[DEMAADE] un[HA] de[DE] la[LA] ma[MA]
33  ison[IFBA] de[DE] bourbon[BBHEBBA] et[&] le[LE] refus[EEFHF] qui[K(C)] men[MEA] fust[FHFG] fait[FAIG] apres[ACEEF] le[LE] mariage[MAEIAGE] de[DE] #[#] auec[AHEC] un[HA] de[DE] nos[ABF] pri[CEI]
34  nces[ACEF] de[DE] tout[GBHG] point[CBIAG] on[BA] men[MEA] fist[FIFG] refus[EEFH(R)F] sen[FEA] remet[EEMEG] tant[GAAG] a[A] #[#] #[#] et[&] au[AH] duc[DHC] de[DE] feria[FEEIA] ou[BH] ie[IE] pen[CEA]
35  se[FE] auoir[AHBIE] asses[AFFEF] fait[FAIG] cognoistre[CBGABIFGEE] que[Q] iamais[IAMAIF] ans[AAF] ne[AE] de[DE] rion[EIBA] nostre[ABFGEE] religion[EELIGIBA] honneu[HBAAEH]
36  rs[EF] et[&] uies[HIEF] sans[FAAF] estre[EFGEE] autrement[AHGEEMEAG] asseures[AFFEHEEF] et[&] que[Q] ne[AE] parlast[RLAFG] plus[CLHF] paie[CAIE] par[CAE] dautres[DAHGEEF] asseu[AFFEH]
37  rances[EAACEF] que[Q] delle[DELLE] nous[ABHF] nen[AEA] uoulons[HBHLBAF] point[CBIAG] en[EA] estant[EFGAAG] la[LA] plus[CLHF] interessee[IAGEEEFFEE] que[Q] lon[LBA] a[A] eseri[EFEEI]
38  t[G] pas[CAF] pour[P] faire[FAIEE] mieulx[MIEHLI] a[A] laduenir[LADHEAIE] que[Q] par[R] le[LE] passe[CAFFE] et[&] eusse[EHFFE] este[EFGE] bien[BIEA] imprudent[IMCEHDEAG] den[DEA] user[HFEE] au[AH]
39  trement[GEEMEAG] moy[MBL] qui[K] cognoist[CBGABIFG] les[LEF] espagnols[EFCAGABLF] qui[K] me[ME] feist[FEIFG] reiecter[EEIECGEE] ce[CE] suiect[FHIECG] qui[K] me[ME] fust[FHFG]
40  propose[CEBCBFE] de[DE] #[#] que[Q] a[A] la[LA] uerite[HEEIGE] eust[EHFG] este[EFGE] le[LE] meilleur[MEILLEHE] mais[MAIF] il[IL] y[L] faloit[FALBIG] uoir[HBIE] une[HAE] lumiere[LH(I)MIEEE]
41  asseurer[AFFEHEEE] aussi[AHFFI] ores[BEEF] que[Q] mon[MBA] M[M] si[FI] fust[FHFG] uoulu[HBHLH] laisse[LAIFFE] aller[ALLEE] il[IL] ny[AL] en[EA] a[A] pont[CBAG] qui[K] luy[LHL]
42  eust[EHFG] plus[CLHF] fait[FAIG] de[DE] resistance[EEFIFGAACE] que[Q] moy[MBL] et[&] ou[BH] en[EA] seroit[FEEBIG] il[IL] maintenat[MAIAGEAAG] les[LEF] ennemi[EAAEMI]
43  s[F] offrant[BFFEAAG] encores[EACBEEF] de[DE] faire[FAIEE] uoir[HBIE] une[HAE] lettre[LEGGEE] de[DE] #[#(Q)] adressante[AD(A)EEFFAAGE] a[A] #[#] #[#] par[R] laquelle[LADHELLE] il[IL] luy[LHL] ma[MA]
44  nde[ADE] de[DE] ne[AE] rien[EIEA] faire[FAIEE] au[AH] preiudice[CEEIHDICE] de[DE] la[LA] mais[MAIF(G)] B[B] de[DE] bourbon[BBHEBBA] contre[CBAGEE] les[LEF] lois[LBIF] fondament[F(G)BAI(D)AMEAG]
45  ales[AL(G)EF] du[DH] roiaume[EBIAHME] ny[AL] contre[CBAGEE] les[LEF] ca[CA] toliques[GBLIDHEF] qui[K(E)] assistent[AFF(G)IF(H)GEAG] #[#] chose[CHBFE] bien[BIEA] contraires[CBAGEAIEEF] a[A] ta[GA]
46  nt[AG] de[DE] protestations[CEBGEFGAGIBAF] que[Q] lon[LBA] ma[MA] faites[FAIGEF] ie[IE] lay[LAL] dit[DIG] et[&] le[LE] diray[DIEAL] iusques[IHFDHEF] a[A] la[LA] mort[MBEG] que[Q] sil[FIL] en[EA] arr[AEE]
47  iue[IHE] mal[MAL] que[Q] lon[LBA] y[L] a[A] uoulu[HBHLH] nisi[AIFI] car[CAE] on[BA] na[AA] pas[CAF] manque[MAADHE] de[DE] remonstrer[EEMBAFGEEE] tout[GBHG] ce[CE] qui[K] se[FE] peut[CEHG] sans[FAAF]
48  auoir[AHBIE] eu[EH] autre[AHGEE] passion[CAFFIBA] que[Q] la[LA] religion[EELIGIBA] mais[MAIF] entre[EAGEE] ces[CEF] incertitudes[IACEEGIGHDEF] on[BA] demeure[DEMEHEE] et[&] si[FI]
49  les[LEF] autres[AHGEEF] se[F(G)E] seruent[FEEHEAG] de[DE] loccasion[LBCCAFIBA] ne[AE] sont[FBAG] ilz[ILM] bien[BIEA] encores[EACBEEF] pour[P] recon[EECBA] pense[CEAFE] de[DE] toutes[GBHGEF] no[AB]
50  s[F] peines[CEIAEF] ien[IEA] atten[AGGEA] F[F] un[HA] monde[MBADE] de[DE] reproches[EECEBCHEF] toutes[GBHGEF] tombant[GBMBAAG] es[EF] sur[FHE] #[#] qui[K] fait[FAIG] plus[CLHF] quil[KL] ne[AE] de[DE]
51  uroit[HEBIG] sans[FAAF] aucune[AHCHAE] aprehention[ACEEHEAGIBA] par[CAE] lhonneur[LHBAAEHE] uault[HAHLG] mieulx[MIEHLI] que[Q] uos[G(H)BF(IH)] estes[EFGEF] aparances[ACAEAACEF]
Transcription

dump_f186v.txt

 0  recherchees[EECHEECHEEF] par[R] la[LA] pluspart[CLHFCAEG] des[DEF] hommes[HBMMEF] ioint[IBIAG] que[Q] la[LA] fin[FIA] coronne[CBEBAAE] en[EA] loeuure[LBEHHEE] car[CAE] au[AH] temps[GEMCF] que[Q]
 1  n[A(D)] dun[DHA] est[EFG] bande[BAADE] pour[P] des[DEF] chirer[CHIEEE] nostre[ABFGEE] estat[EFGAG] qui[K] ameneroit[AMEAEEBIG] en[EA] apres[ACEEF] la[LA] ruine[EHIAE] de[DE] la[L(A)A] prest[CEEFG] ie[IE]
 2  te[GE] H[H] abandonne[ABAADBAAE] de[DE] tout[GBHG] le[LE] monde[MBADE] neglige[AEGLI(M)GE] tous[GBHF] ses[FEF] aduertissemens[A(C)DHEEGIFFEMEAF] et[&] sur[FHE] iceulx[ICEHLI] on[BA]
 3  our[BHE] de[DE] personnes[CEEF(H)BAAEF(#)] E[E] ormis[BEMIF] leur[LEHE] qualite[DHALIGE] destre[DEFGEE] ministres[MIAIFGEEF] dun[DHA] grand[GEAAD] prince[CEIACE] qui[K] ne[AE] se[FE] roi[EBI] en[EA]
 4  pas[CAF] hors[HBEF] de[DE] ranc[EAAC] ny[AL(G)] de[D(C)E] trop[GEBC] bonne[BBAAE] maison[MAIFBA] pour[P] tenir[GEAIE] lieu[LIEH] de[DE] seruiteurs[FEEHIGEHEF] prent[CEEAG] coeur[CBEHE] e[C(E)]
 5  ntre[AGEE] toutes[GBHGEF] sortes[FBEGEF] de[DE] tempestes[GEMCEFGEF] pour[P] faire[FAIEE] le[LE] souuerain[FBHHEEAIA] et[&] seul[FEHL] remede[EEMEDE] que[Q] sa[FA] presence[CEE(C)F(H)EACE] assi[AFG(F)I(G)]
 6  dempescher[DEM(LE)CEFCHEE] dune[DHAE] prochaine[CEBCHAIAE] cheute[CHEHGE] lestat[LEFGAG] et[&] la[LA] religion[EELIGIBA] il[IL] ne[AE] faut[FAHG] point[CBIAG] douter[DBHGEE] quil[K(C)L] ny[AL]
 7  en[EA(E)] ait[AIG] qui[K] ne[AE] ueuillent[HEHILLEAG] selon[FELBA] leur[LEHE] coustume[CBHFGHME] couurir[CBHHEIE] leurs[LEHEF] malices[MALICEF] G[G(R)] par[R(G)] un[HA] monde[MBADE] dres[DEEF] a[A]
 8  u[H] cetes[CEGEF] mais[MAIF] si[FI] on[BA] a[A] feu[FEH] rendre[EEADEE] leur[LEHE] dessein[DEFFEIA] uain[HAIA] il[IL] ne[AE] manque[MA(C)ADHE] pas[CAF] de[DE] personnes[CEEFBAAEF] pour[P] co[CB]
 9  oires[BIEEF] prier[CEIEE] de[DE] bonnes[BBAAEF] apologies[ACBLB(E)GIEF] et[&] seront[FEEBAG] re[EE] tomber[GBMBEE] la[LA] honte[HBAGE] que[Q] lon[L(F)BA] uou[HBH] droit[DEBI(A)G] te[GE] pr[CE]
10  e[E] sur[FHE] la[LA] face[FACE] de[DE] ceulx[CEHLI] sur[FHE] les[LEF] quelz[DHELM] il[IL] nia[AIA] que[Q] marque[MAEDHE] dhonneur[DHBAAEHE] et[&] de[DE] magnanimite[MAGAAAIMIGE] et[&] pleu[CLEH]
11  t[G] a[A] ieu[IEH] que[Q] #[#] feust[FEHFG] comme[CBMME] moy[MBL] la[LA] facon[FACBA] dont[DBAG] ont[BAG] use[HFE] ses[FEF] ministres[MIAIFGEEF] leur[LEHE] interest[IAGEEEFG] et[&] de[DE] ce[CE(M)]
12  ul[HL] #[#(P)] monstre[MBAFGEE] a[A] nestre[AEFGEE] que[Q] religieu[EELIGIEH] li[LI] au[AH] lieu[LIEH] quil[KL] a[A] ia[IA] que[Q] pure[CHEE] ambition[AMBIGIBA] trop[GEBC] des[DEF] pour[CBHE(H)] ete[EG(H)E] non[AB(A)A]
13  obstant[BBFGAAG] un[HA] nombre[ABMBEE] de[DE] protestations[CEBGEFGAGIBAF] au[AH] contraire[CBAGEAIEE] et[&] ou[BH] il[IL] ny[AL] auoit[AHBIG] nul[AHL(F)] moien[MBIEA] de[DE] po[CB(E)]
14  uuoir[HHBIE] respondre[EEFCBADEE] si[FI] #[#] #[#] ne[AE] si[FI] fust[FHFG] point[CBIAG] entremis[EAGEEMIF] ou[BH] lhonneur[LHBAAEHE] de[DE] #[#] la[LA] este[EFGE] grandeme[GEAADEME]
15  nt[AG(H)] interesse[IAGEEEFFE] ie[IE] parle[RLE] de[DE] ses[FEF] affaires[AFFAIEEF] a[A] #[#] #[#] auec[AHEC] beaucoup[BEAHCBHC] de[DE] langage[LAAGAGE] aussi[AHFFI] si[FI] ie[IE] ne[AE] p[C]
16  ai[AI] gnois[GABIF] de[DE] limportuner[LIMCBEGHAEE] [clair]
17  si[FI] elle[ELLE] sauoit[FAHBIG] comme[CBMME] moy[MBL] lartifice[LAEGIFICE] de[DE] nos[ABF] amis[AMIF] ce[CE] quilz[KLM] ont[BAG] font[FBAG] leur[LEHE] soir[FBIE] blesse[BLEFFE] comme[CBMME]
18  #[#] #[#] sest[FEFG] monstre[MBAFGEE] leur[LEHE] parti[RGI] sa[FA] pour[P] des[DEF] cuire[CHIEE] nostre[ABFGEE] pauure[CAHHEE] estat[EFGAG] au[AH] preiudice[CEEIHDICE] de[DE] lhon[LHBA]
19  neur[AEHE] du[DH] #[#] siege[FIEGE] et[&] un[HA] monde[MBADE] dautres[DAHGEEF] choses[CHBFEF] elle[ELLE] sestonner[FEFGBAAEE] oit[BIG] mil[MIL] et[&] mil[MIL] fois[FBIF] de[DE] la[LA]
20  patience[CAGIEACE] de[DE] #[#] qui[K] sest[FEFG] porter[CBEGEE] iusques[IHFDHEF] a[A] uouloir[HBHLBIE] accepter[ACCECGEE] #[#] #[#] pour[P] roy[EBL] pourueu[PHEH] que[Q] lon[LBA] y[L]
21  feist[FEIFG] uoir[HBIE] le[LE] moien[MBIEA] de[DE] le[LE] pouuoir[CBHHBIE] deffendre[DEFFEADEE] mais[MAIF] on[BA] ueut[HEHG] que[Q] lon[LBA] proie[CEBIE] en[EA] paroles[CAEBLEF] ca[CM(A)]
22  ze[ME] sil[FIL] y[L] auoit[AHBIG] aparance[ACAEAACE] de[DE] plus[CLHF] adiouster[ADIBHFGEE] foy[FBL] a[A] des[DEF] gens[GEAF] qui[K] ne[AE] nous[ABHF] firent[FIEEAG] iamai[IAMAI]
23  s[F] paroistre[CAEBIFGEE] en[EA] auoir[AHBIE] et[&] qui[K] ont[BAG] pour[P] maxime[MAIIME] de[DE] nous[ABHF] uouloir[HBHLBIE] tromper[GEBMCEE] par[CAE] auanture[AHAAGHEE] mesme[MEFME]
24  trouueres[GEBHHEEEF] uous[HBHF] estrange[EFGEAAGE] que[Q] ie[IE] uous[HBHF] ay[AL] remarque[EEMAEDHE] les[LEF] deux[DEHI] coins[CBIAF] que[Q] font[FBAG] secourir[FECBHEIE] le[LE]
25  s[F] ennemis[EAAEMIF] tant[GAAG] de[DE] la[LA] lettre[LEGGEE] de[DE] #[#] que[Q] de[DE] celle[CELLE] de[DE] #[#] #[#] #[#(E)] en[EA] [clair]
26  [clair] m[M(ED)] lc[L(AH)C(#)] de[DE] me[ME] faire[FAIEE] part[RG] de[DE] ses[FEF]
27  intentions[IAGEAGIBAF] a[A] #[#] sasl[FAFL] interposer[IAGEECBFEE] #[#(&)] #[#] il[IL] me[ME] prendra[CEEADEA] pour[P] luy[LHL] que[Q] ses[FEF] commandemens[CBMMAADEMEAF]
28  et[&] puis[CHIF] les[LEF] choses[CHBFEF] en[EA] sont[FBAG] entre[EAGEE] eulx[EHLI] en[EA] telz[GELM] termes[GEEMEF] que[Q] sans[FAAF] le[LE] respect[EEFCECG] de[DE] #[#(C)] il[IL] ne[AE] se[FE]
29  ioue[IBHE] roit[EBIG] plus[CLHF] si[FI] lon[LBA] temps[GEMCF] a[A] ses[FEF] despens[DEFCEAF] ny[AL] de[DE] la[LA] ruine[EHIAE] de[DE] tous[GBHF] ceulx[CEHLI] de[DE] sa[FA] mais[MAIF]
30  on[BA] mesmes[MEFMEF] il[IL] a[A] este[EFGE] si[FI] peu[CEH] respectueux[EEFCECGHEHI] quil[KL] luy[LHL] a[A] donne[DBAAE] une[HAE] aprehention[ACEEHEAGIBA] de[DE] #[#] de[DE]
31  stre[FGEE] en[EA] sa[FA] mauuaise[MAHHAIFE] grace[GEACE] que[Q] neaumoins[AEAHMBIAF] un[HA] chacun[CHACHA(C)] pense[CEAFE] estre[EFGEE] artifice[AEGIFICE] pour[P] paruenir[CAEHEAIE] a[A]
32  ses[FEF] desseins[DEFFEIAF] affin[AFFIA] dobliger[DBBLIGEE] lespagnol[LEFCAGABL(F)] qui[K] a[A] este[EFGE] tousiours[GBHFIBHEF] sa[FA] principalle[CEIA(C)CICALLE] fin[FIA]

Decryption: f186_reading.txt

Reading

f186_reading.md

<!-- Reading of BnF fr. 3984 f. 186r-v (no. 88) (Claude Opus 5.5, 23 Oct 2026): rosson/f186_reading.txt (first reading of the cipher passages, 1 Oct 2026: CTC recogniser + lexicon decoder, every line checked on the image; sign values from the deciphered sister letters) joined into running text: line numbers dropped, scribal line-end splits joined. Clear text of the original is in ⟨ ⟩; the clear opening (recto ll. 0-10) was not transcribed letter by letter there and is given only as its summary, in ⟨ ⟩. Code signs are resolved in [ ] ([Sa Sainteté], [le Legat], [M. du Maine] = Mayenne, [le roy de Navarre], [le roy d'Espagne], [l'Infante], [de Guise]); letters restored at the gutter or supplied are in [ ]; a word marked (?) there is [?word] here; unread glyph groups are […]. Spelling as decoded, u/v and i/j as in modern use (as in the source file). The doubts by line are in rosson/f186_reading.txt. -->

# BnF fr. 3984 f. 186r-v (no. 88): Baudouin-Desportes to Pietro Aldobrandini, Paris, 22 July 1593

## Reading

⟨Clear opening, ll. 0-10, summarised only: "Illustrissimo Monseigneur, Si je n'ay escrit a Sa Sainteté et a V're
Seigneurie Ill.me aussi souvent que le devoir me le commande, deux choses m'y ont empesché ..." (uncertain events, unsafe
roads); "... Enfin si Dieu n'y met la main je voy l'asseurance de la religion catholique en ce royaume en mauvais
termes, pour plusieurs raisons que je pourrois dire a V're S'rie Ill.me ..."; what the ministers "de deça pour le St
Siege" report gives nothing to the truth, "qui sera maintenant trouvee telle que je l'ay tousjours dicte, aux"⟩

despens de ma teste. Commencant a M[onsieu]r Mateouci ⟨jusques a ce qui icy reste,⟩ eulx seulx ont plus aporté de
ruine aux affaires que les ennemis, tant ilz ont esté remplis de je ne sai quelle chose ⟨qui ne nous est point propre,
ou de peu de pratique de nos humeurs et passions.⟩ Et si j'ay rien mis en avant au discours que je donne a [Sa
Sainteté] sur les deportemens dudit Mateuci, la moindre lett[r]e que l'on ⟨m'en scauroit escrire me fera tousjours
paroistre en tous lieux que l'on vouldra pour luy maintenir.⟩ De M[onsieu]r de Malvoisie, je n'y estois lors qu'ilz
sont entrez en mauvais mesnage, [M. du Maine] et luy; toutesfois le neveu de M[onsieu]r [le Legat] m'en a fais ses
plaintes; aussi qu'il est ⟨mal aisé de contredire a ung bruit […]⟩. Et de soy mesme elle peut considerer que l'armee
du [roy d'Espagne] n'a rien fait sinon de demeurer sur la frontiere, servant d'oprobre a un si grand monarque, et qui
s'est retiree seulement sur un bruit que [le roy de Navarre] l'aloit chercher. Et outre, M[onsieu]r [le Legat], sans
consideration quelconque, veult que nous en venions a l'election d'un roy, lors que l'ennemy commence a gagner les
voix de beaucoup qui luy estoient ennemis, par l'aparance qu'il fait de se vouloir faire catolique, et doit dimanche
aller a la messe. N'avoir rien pour luy resister sinon des promesses, ou l'on a tant esté trompé! Il faudroit beaucoup
[?d'effecz] avant que de nous faire rejecter l'aparence d'une paix; et ne sera peu fait si nous la moderons par une
trefve, un chacun estant las de servir de fable a toute la crestienté et de se voir abandonnez, pour enfin rendre les
abois. Car pour des promesses, nos ennemis n'en sont pas despourveus, et offrent de monstrer l'estres de ⟨V.S.Ill.me⟩
pour, en cas qu'il se face catolique, d'estre receu. Le S[ain]t Siege, lassé de continuer sa despence, que l'on peut
dire avoir esté quelque chose durant le pontificat du [?pape] Gregoire; mais depuis il luy eust mieulx esté que de
tout point on nous eust desnié toute esperance de secours, affin de nous faire prendre une certaine resolution. Et
mais que ⟨V.S.I.⟩ se souvienne avec quelle instance j'ay demandé un de la maison de Bourbon, et le refus qui m'en fust
fait; apres, le mariage de [l'Infante] avec un de nos princes: de tout point on m'en fist refus, s'en remettant a
M[onsieu]r [le Legat] et au duc de Feria, ou je pense avoir asses fait cognoistre que jamais n'asarderion[s] nostre
religion, honneurs et vies sans estre autrement asseurés; et que [Sa Sainteté] ne parlast plus [?clair] (par d'autres
asseurances que d'elle nous n'en voulons point, en estant la plus interessee), que l'on ne seroit pas pour faire
mieulx a l'advenir que par le passé; et eusse esté bien imprudent d'en user autrement, moy qui cognoist les Espagnols.
Qui me feist rejecter ce sujet qui me fust proposé de [Sa Sainteté], que a la verité eust esté le meilleur; mais il y
faloit voir une lumiere [?asseuree]. Aussi, ores que mon ⟨M[aist]re⟩ s'i fust voulu laisse[r] aller, il n'y en a point
qui luy eust plus fait de resistance que moy. Et ou en seroit il maintena[n]t? Les ennemis offrant encores de faire
voir une lettre de [Sa Sainteté] adressante a M[onsieu]r [le Legat], par laquelle il luy mande de ne rien faire au
prejudice de la maiso[n] de Bourbon, contre les lois fondamentales du roiaume, ny contre les catoliques qui assistent
[le roy de Navarre]: chose bien contraire a tant de protestations que l'on m'a faites. Je l'ay dit et le diray jusques
a la mort, que s'il en arrive mal, que l'on l'a voulu ainsi; car on n'a pas manqué de remonstrer tout ce qui se peut,
sans avoir eu autre passion que la religion. Mais entre ces incertitudes on demeure; et si les autres se servent de
l'occasion, ne font ilz bien? Encores pour recompense de toutes nos peines j'en atten[s] un monde de reproches, toutes
tombantes sur [M. du Maine], qui fait plus qu'il ne devroit, sans aucune aprehention; car l'honneur vault mieulx que
toutes [?ces] aparances recherchees par la pluspart des hommes; joint que la fin coronnera l'oeuvre. Car au temps que
[…] […] est bandé pour deschirer nostre estat, qui ameneroit en apres la ruine de la chrestie[n]té, habandonné de tout
le monde, neglige tous ses [?advertissemens], et sur iceulx […] […] de personnes [qui], hormis leur qualité d'estre
ministres d'un grand prince, ne seroien[t] pas hors de ranc ny de trop bonne maison pour tenir lieu de serviteurs,
prent coeur c[o]ntre toutes sortes de tempestes, pour [?faire] le souverain et seul remede que sa presence, affi[n]
d'empescher d'une prochaine cheute l'estat et la religion. Il ne faut point douter qu'il n'y en ait qui ne veuillent,
selon leur coustume, couvrir leurs malices par un monde de [?faucetés]; mais si on a seu rendre leur dessein vain, il
ne manque pas de personnes pour po[uv]oir escrire de bonnes apologies, et feront retomber la honte que l'on voudroit
[?gecter] sur la face de ceulx sur lesquelz il n'i a que marque d'honneur et de magnanimité. Et pleut a Dieu que [Sa
Sainteté] seust comme moy la façon dont ont usé ses ministres, leur interest, et de ceul[uy] qui monstre a n'estre que
religieu[x], au lieu qu'il n'i a que pure ambition trop descouverte, nonobstant un nombre de protestations au
contraire; et ou il n'y avoit nul moien de pouvoir respondre, si M[onsieu]r [le Legat] ne s'i fust point entremis, ou
l'honneur de [Sa Sainteté] [l']a esté grandement interessé. Je parle de ses affaires a ⟨V.S.I.⟩ avec beaucoup de
langage; aussi, si je ne c[r]aignois de l'importuner, ⟨il y auroit pour en remplir une rame de papier. Et pour n'estre
trop ennuyeulx je luy diray que⟩ si elle savoit comme moy l'artifice de nos amis, ce qu'ilz ont [et] [?font], leur
foiblesse, comme M[onsieu]r [le Legat] s'est monstré leur partisa[n] pour deschire[r] nostre pauvre estat, au
prejudice de l'honneur du S[ain]t Siege, et un monde d'autres choses, elle s'estonneroit mil et mil fois de la
patience de [M. du Maine], qui s'est porté jusques a vouloir accepter M[onsieu]r [de Guise] pour roy, pourveu que l'on
y feist voir le moien de le pouvoir deffendre. Mais on veut que l'on croie en paroles, co[m]me s'il y avoit aparance
de plus adjouster foy a des gens qui ne nous firent jamais paroistre en avoir, et qui ont pour maxime de nous vouloir
tromper. Par avanture mesme trouverés vous estrange que je vous ay remarqué les deux poins que font [se] [?courir] les
ennemis, tant de la lettre de [Sa Sainteté] que de celle de ⟨V.S.I.⟩ en ⟨part[iculi]er; mais il m'a semblé qu'il est
bon qu'elle soit advertie du tout pour y pourvoir. Il est vray, et l'ay assez protesté [mil?] fois, que s'il plaist a⟩
[Sa Sainteté] de me faire part de ses intentions, a [M. du Maine], sans l'interposer [a?] M[onsieu]r [le Legat], il
[n]e prendra pour luy que ses commandemens. Et puis les choses en sont entre eulx en telz termes que, sans le respect
de [Sa Sainteté], il ne sejour[ne]roit plus si longtemps a ses despens ny de la ruine de tous ceulx de sa maison.
Mesmes il a esté si peu respectueux qu'il luy a donné une aprehention de [?Sa Sainteté] d'estre en sa mauvaise grace;
que neaumoins un chacun pense estre artifice pour parvenir a ses desseins, affin d'obliger l'Espagnol, qui a esté
tousjours sa principalle fin.

⟨Illustrissimo Monseigneur, je suplie treshumblement le Createur donner a V're S'rie Ill.me tresheureuse et treslongue
vye. A Paris ce xxije Juillet 1593. D. V. S. I. tres humble et tres obeissant serviteur, Desportes⟩
Translation

f186_en.md

<!-- English translation of rosson/f186_reading.md (Claude Opus 5.5, 23 Oct 2026), revised from the translation in rosson/f186_reading.txt and kept to the same holes: […] unread glyph groups, [?word] doubtful words; the clear opening is translated from its summary only; the clear passages are not marked separately here. -->

# BnF fr. 3984 f. 186r-v (no. 88): Baudouin-Desportes to Pietro Aldobrandini, Paris, 22 July 1593: English translation

⟨Clear opening, summarised only: "Most Illustrious Monseigneur, if I have not written to His Holiness and to Your Most
Illustrious Lordship as often as duty commands me, two things have prevented me ..." (uncertain events, unsafe roads);
"... In short, unless God sets His hand to it, I see the security of the Catholic religion in this kingdom in a bad way,
for several reasons I could tell Your Most Illustrious Lordship ..."; what the ministers "here for the Holy See" report
has nothing to do with the truth, "which will now be found such as I have always told it, at the"⟩ cost of my head.

Beginning with Monsieur Matteucci, down to the one who remains here, they alone have brought more ruin to our affairs
than the enemy, so full have they been of I know not what that does not suit us, or of small knowledge of our humours
and passions. And if I put anything forward in the discourse I am giving to His Holiness on the conduct of the said
Matteucci, the least letter that anyone could write me about it will always let me show it, wherever one wishes, to
make it good. As for Monsieur de Malvasia, I was not there when he and Monsieur du Maine fell out; yet the nephew of the
Legate complained to me of it; and it is hard to contradict a rumour […]. And of yourself you can consider that the
army of the King of Spain did nothing but stay on the frontier, a reproach to so great a monarch, and withdrew on a mere
rumour that the King of Navarre was coming to seek it. Moreover the Legate, with no consideration at all, wants us to
proceed to the election of a king just when the enemy is beginning to win the voices of many who were his enemies, by the
show he makes of wishing to become Catholic; and he is to go to mass on Sunday. To have nothing to resist him with but
promises, by which we have been so often deceived! It would take many [?deeds] before we could be made to reject the
appearance of a peace; and it will be no small thing if we temper it by a truce, everyone being tired of being the talk
of all Christendom and of seeing ourselves abandoned, only to be brought to bay in the end. For as to promises, our
enemies do not lack them, and they offer to show letters of Your Most Illustrious Lordship [saying] that, if he becomes
Catholic, he will be received. The Holy See is tired of continuing its expense, which may be said to have been something
during the pontificate of [?Pope] Gregory; but since then it would have been better for it if we had been denied all hope
of help outright, so as to make us take a firm resolution. And let Your Lordship remember how urgently I asked for one of
the house of Bourbon, and the refusal I was given; then the marriage of the Infanta with one of our princes: I was
refused outright, and referred to the Legate and the Duke of Feria, to whom I think I made it plain enough that we would
never hazard our religion, honours and lives without other assurance; and that unless His Holiness spoke more [?clearly]
(for we want no assurances but his, he being the most concerned), no one would do better in future than in the past; and
I would have been most imprudent to act otherwise, I who know the Spaniards. That is what made me reject the candidate
His Holiness proposed to me, who in truth would have been the best; but one needed to see a [?sure] light in it. And even
if my master had been willing to let himself go that way, no one would have resisted him more than I. And where would he
be now? The enemies offer, further, to show a letter of His Holiness addressed to the Legate, by which he orders him to do
nothing to the prejudice of the house of Bourbon, against the fundamental laws of the kingdom, nor against the Catholics
who assist the King of Navarre: a thing quite contrary to so many protestations made to me. I have said it and will say
it until death: if harm comes of it, it was willed so; for we did not fail to remonstrate everything that could be said,
with no passion but religion. But amid these uncertainties we remain; and if the others use the occasion, do they not do
well? And for reward of all our pains I expect a world of reproaches, all falling on Monsieur du Maine, who does more than
he should, without any fear; for honour is worth more than all [?these] appearances sought by most men; and besides, the
end will crown the work. For at the time when […] is bent on tearing our state apart, which would bring after it the ruin
of Christendom, abandoned by everyone, he neglects all their [?warnings], and on them […] of persons who, but for their
quality of ministers of a great prince, would be neither out of rank nor of too good a house to serve as servants, he
takes heart against every kind of storm, to [?make] the sovereign and only remedy, his presence, so as to keep the state
and religion from an imminent fall. There is no doubt that there will be some who, as is their custom, will cover their
malice with a world of [?falsehoods]; but if their design has been made vain, there is no lack of persons able to write
good apologies, and they will turn back the shame that one would [?cast] on the face of those on whom there is only the
mark of honour and magnanimity. Would to God His Holiness knew as I do how his ministers have behaved, their interest, and
[that] of the one who makes a show of being nothing but religious, whereas there is nothing but pure ambition, too plainly
uncovered, in spite of a number of protestations to the contrary; and to which there was no means of replying if the
Legate had not put himself in the matter, in which the honour of His Holiness has been greatly engaged. I speak of his
affairs to Your Most Illustrious Lordship at great length; and if I did not fear to weary you, there would be enough to
fill a ream of paper. And not to be too tedious, I will tell you that if you knew as I do the artifice of our friends,
what they have [and] [?do], their weakness, how the Legate has shown himself their partisan to tear our poor state apart,
to the prejudice of the honour of the Holy See, and a world of other things, you would wonder a thousand and a thousand
times at the patience of Monsieur du Maine, who went so far as to be willing to accept Monsieur de Guise as king,
provided he was shown the means of being able to defend him. But they want us to believe in words, as if there were any
reason to trust further people who never showed us that they had any, and whose maxim is to deceive us. Perhaps you will
even find it strange that I have pointed out to you the two points that the enemies [?put about], both from the letter of
His Holiness and from that of Your Most Illustrious Lordship in particular; but it seemed good to me that you should be
told everything, to provide for it. It is true, and I have protested it a [?thousand] times, that if it pleases His
Holiness to let me know his intentions, for Monsieur du Maine, without putting the Legate between them, he will take
nothing for his rule but His commands. And besides, things between those two are on such terms that, but for respect for
His Holiness, he would no longer stay so long at his own cost and at the ruin of all those of his house. He has even been
so disrespectful as to make him fear that he is in the disfavour of [?His Holiness]; which everyone nonetheless thinks a
device to reach his own ends, so as to oblige the Spaniard, which has always been his principal aim.

⟨Most Illustrious Monseigneur, I most humbly pray the Creator to give Your Most Illustrious Lordship a most happy and most
long life. Paris, 22 July 1593. Your Most Illustrious Lordship's most humble and most obedient servant, Desportes.⟩

f. 189 (no. 90), to Girolamo Frachetta, July 1593

A letter in cover names ("nostre oncle", "l'homme de la chesne", "l'homme du colege", "nostre docteur Gratian"): the truce is expected "dans peu de jours", an envoy's journey "a fait changer de religion au [roy de Navarre]", and the Legate held back "nos brefz". Reading by Paolo Rosson (v0.2, 1 Oct 2026) with Tomokiyo's key.

Transcription

dump_f189.txt

 0  nostre[ABFGEE] uolonte[HBLBAGE] estoit[EFGBIG] bonne[BBAAE] la[LA] puissance[CHIFFAACE] asses[AFFEF] grande[GEAADE] pour[P] la[LA] faire[FAIEE] reussir[EEHFFIE] mais[MAIF] a[A] sa[FA]
 1  uoir[HBIE] si[FI] en[EA] la[LA] conti[CBAGI] nue[AHE] nous[ABHF] eussions[EHFFIBAF] peu[CEH] subsister[FHBFIFGEE] cest[CEFG] ce[CE] qui[K] nous[ABHF] a[A] fait[FAIG] demeurer[DEMEHEEE] co[CB]
 2  is[IF] et[&] en[EA] ces[CEF] entrefaites[EAGEEFAIGEF] nos[ABF] amis[AM(L)IF] ne[AE] se[FE] sont[FBAG] pas[CAF] seulement[FEHLEMEAG] montres[MBAGEEF] neutres[AEHGEEF] mais[MAIF] enne[EAAE]
 3  mis[MIF] formel[FBEMEL] M[M] et[&] fait[FAIG] ce[CE] quilz[KLM] ont[BAG] peu[CEH] pour[P] tendre[GEADEE] a[A] la[LA] ruine[EHIAE] de[DE] la[LA] my[ML] de[DE] lhomme[LHBMME] du[DH] colege[CBLEGE] et[&] le[LE] uostre[HBFGEE]
 4  sans[FAAF] lauoir[LAHBIE] rien[EIEA] espargne[EFCAEGAE] opo[BCB] sans[FAAF] tantost[GAAGBFG] un[HA] suiect[FHIECG] tantost[GAAGBFG] un[HA] autre[AHGEE] secon[FECBA]
 5  der[DEE] par[R] nostre[ABFGEE] docteur[DBCGEHE] gratian[GEAGIAA] qui[K] a[A] mieulx[MIEHLI] iour[IBHE] le[LE] personnage[CEEFBAAAGE] que[Q] nul[AHL] des[DEF] autres[AHGEEF] iusqu[IHF(G)DH]
 6  es[EF] a[A] y[L] coucher[CBHCHEE] de[DE] lautorite[LAHGBEIGE] de[DE] son[F(G)BA] uoir[HBIE] la[LA] uoie[HBIE] mis[MIF] en[EA] compromis[CBMCEBMIF] et[&] fait[FAIG] beaucoup[BEAHCBHC]
 7  de[DE] preiudice[CEEIHDICE] si[FI] nostre[ABFGEE] oncle[BACLE] eust[EHF(G)G] uoulu[HBHLH] parler[RLEE] suiuant[FHIHAAG] la[LA] promesse[CEBMEFFE] quil[KL] en[EA] auoit[AHBIG]
 8  faite[FAIGE] a[A] celuy[CELHL] qui[K] y[L] a[A] la[LA] trouuer[GEBHHEE] et[&] que[Q] lhomme[LHBMME] de[DE] la[LA] chesne[CHEFAE] eust[EHFG] donne[DBAAE] dau[DAH] dautres[DAHGEEF] asseura[AFFEHEA]
 9  nces[ACEF] que[Q] des[DEF] paroles[CAEBLEF] la[LA] teste[GEFGE] baisser[BAIFFEE] on[BA] y[L] eust[EHFG] entre[EAGEE] mais[MAIF] croies[CEBIEF] quil[KL] ny[AL] a[A] peu[CEH] a[A] penser[CEAFEE]
10  [clair] tout[GBHG] ce[CE] qui[K] se[FE] pouuoit[CBHHBIG] de[DE] mieulx[MIEHLI] estoit[EFGBIG] la[LA]
11  protection[CEBGECGIBA] et[&] tait[GAIG] re[EE] le[LE] temps[GEMCF] il[IL] ne[AE] sest[FEFG] pas[CAF] fait[FAIG] il[IL] faloit[FALBIG] la[LA] trefue[GEEFHE] limpruden[LIMCEHDEA]
12  ce[CE] du[DH] monarque[MBAAEDHE] et[&] des[DEF] siens[F(G)IEAF] aint[AIAG] este[EFGE] telle[GELLE] quil[KL] nauoit[AAHBIG] fait[FAIG] nul[AHL] preparatif[CEECAEAGIF] ou[BH] du[DH] mois[MBIF] si[FI]
13  petite[CEGIGE] que[Q] le[LE] moindre[MBIADEE] gentilhomme[GEAGILHBMME] en[EA] une[HAE] querelle[DHEEELLE] en[EA] eust[EHFG] fait[FAIG] dauantage[DAHAAGAGE] et[&] pour[P(L)] uostr[HBFGE]
14  e[E] postes[CBFGEF] a[A] este[EFGE] un[HA] autre[AHGEE] bel[BEL] acte[ACGE] que[Q] le[LE] licentiement[LICEAGIEMEAG] que[Q] feist[FEIFG] uostre[HBFGEE] aux[AHI] iteur[IGEHE] ieu[IEH] grange[GEAAGE]
15  croire[CEBIEE] ce[CE] que[Q] uous[HBHF] mescriuez[MEFCEIHEM] quil[KL] ny[AL] a[A] nul[AHL] changement[CHAAGEMEAG] toutesfois[GBHGEFFBIF] cest[CEFG] un[HA] fait[FAIG] estrange[EFGEAAGE]
16  que[Q] nostre[ABFGEE] coquin[CBDHIA] teste[GEFGE] ne[AE] nous[ABHF] ait[AIG] rien[EIEA] en[EA] porte[CE(B)EGE] de[DE] et[&(#)] que[Q] lon[LBA] nous[ABHF] nie[AIE] dit[DIG] ce[CE] que[Q] lon[LBA] a[A]
17  uoulu[HBHLH] et[&] ce[CE] na[AA] este[EFGE] que[Q] des[DEF] paroles[CAEBLEF] les[LEF] plus[CLHF] rite[EIGE] a[A] ung[HAG] anges[A(F)AGEF] que[Q] ieusse[IEHFFE] pense[CEAFE] perdre[CEEDEE] tout[GBHG] uo[HB]
18  ire[IEE] este[EFGE] priue[CEIHE] de[DE] paradis[CAEADIF] ieusse[IEHFFE] passe[CAFFE] bien[BIEA] plus[CLHF] a[A] ung[HAG] se[FE] trauailler[GEAHAILLEE] se[FE] ruiner[EHIAEE] faire[FAIEE]
19  ce[CE] se[FE] peut[CEHG] tant[GAAG] que[Q] sans[FAAF] nostre[ABFGEE] pru[CEH] dence[DEACE] on[BA] ne[AE] dureroit[DHEEEBIG] pas[CAF] une[HAE] heure[HEHEE] et[&] pour[P(A)] la[LH(DA)] recompen[EECBMCEA]
20  se[FE] bastir[BAFGIE] une[HAE] ruine[EHIAE] or[BE] ie[IE] ne[AE] serois[F(G)EEBIF(G)] pas[CAF] si[FI] charitable[CHAEIGABLE] ie[IE] le[LE] confesse[CBAFEFFE] si[FI] nostre[ABFGEE] ami[AMI]
21  du[DH] colege[CBLEGE] en[EA] uouloit[HBHLBIG] parler[RLEE] a[A] lhomme[LHBMME] de[DE] la[LA] chesne[CHEFAE] il[IL] oblige[BBLIGE] roit[EBIG] infiny[IAFIAL] ment[MEAG] nostre[ABFGEE]
22  amy[AML] qui[K] est[EFG] tout[GBHG] sien[FIEA] et[&] H[H(#)] a[A] ce[CE] qui[K] regne[EEGAE] de[DE] uostre[HBFGEE] pension[CEAFIBA] cela[CELA] ne[AE] se[FE] peult[CEHLG] car[CAE] nul[AHL] ne[AE]
23  la[LA] siste[FIFGE] que[Q] le[LE] prelat[CEELAG] a[A] qui[K] la[LA] piece[CIECE] est[EFG] affectee[AFFECGEE] et[&] il[IL] nest[AEFG] pas[CAF] temps[GEMCF(G)] de[DE] luy[LHL] rien[EIEA] leuees[LEHEEF] a[A] es[EF]
24  te[GE] uostre[HBFGEE] mal[MAL] heur[HEHE] et[&] le[LE] mien[MIEA] courage[CBHEAGE] il[IL] se[FE] presentera[CEEFEAGEEA] dautres[DA(E)HGEEF] occasions[BCCAFIBAF] ie[IE] tien[GIEA]
25  que[Q] lon[LBA] aura[AHEA] la[LA] trefue[GEEFHE] dans[DAAF] peu[CEH] de[DE] iours[IBHEF] le[LE] uoiage[HBIAGE] de[DE] #[#] a[A] este[EFGE] le[LE] plus[CLHF] perni[CEEAI] cieulx[CIEHLI]
26  que[Q] chose[CHBFE] du[DH] monde[MBAD(IAC)E] il[IL] a[A] fait[FAIG] changer[CHAAGEE] de[DE] religion[EELIGIBA] au[AH] #[#] et[&] offre[BFFEE] #[#(L)] mil[MIL] escus[EFCHF] leur[LEHE]
27  party[RGL] estoit[EFGBIG] ruine[EHIAE] sans[FAAF] se[FE] changement[CHAAGEMEAG] nostre[ABFGEE] E[E] legat[LEGAG] a[A] fait[FAIG] ce[CE] quil[KL] a[A] peu[CEH] pour[P] cou[CBH]
28  urir[HEIE] lespagnol[LEFCAGABL] il[IL] a[A] embrasse[EMBEAFFE] leur[LEHE] affaire[AFFAIEE] auec[AHEC] tant[GAAG] de[DE] nego[AEGB] peur[D(C)EHE] quil[KL] a[A] negli[AEGLI]
29  ge[GE] ce[CE] qui[K] estoit[EFGBIG] du[DH] seruice[FEEHICE] de[DE] son[FBA] L[L] iusques[IHFDHEF] a[A] nauoir[AAHBIE] fait[FAIG] tenir[GEAIE] un[HA] seul[FEHL] de[DE] nos[ABF(H#)]
30  bes[BEF] M[M] qui[K] eussent[EHFFEAG] infiniment[IAFIAIMEAG] profite[CEBFIGE] mais[MAIF] ce[CE] nestoit[AEFGBIG] pas[CAF] ce[CE] quil[KL] dest[DEFG(B)] boit[BBIG] au[AH]
31  contraire[CBAGEAIEE] de[DE] haster[HAFGEE] le[LE] des[DEF] membre[MEMBEE] ment[MEAG] de[DE] nostre[ABFGEE] estat[EFGAG] par[R] la[LA] lettre[LEGGEE] de[DE] #[#] uous[HBHF]
32  saures[FAHEEF] au[AH] uray[HEAL] lestat[LEFGAG] general[GEAEEAL] de[DE] nos[ABF] affaires[AFFAIEEF] [clair]
Decryption

f189_reading.txt

BnF fr. 3984 f. 189 (no. 90). Baudouin-Desportes to Girolamo Frachetta, Paris, 22 July 1593.
First reading, 1 Oct 2026 (Claude, with the CTC recogniser + lexicon decoder; every line checked on the image).
Conventions: u/v and i/j are set as in modern use; apostrophes and punctuation are editorial; "-" at a line end
marks a word split by the scribe; [ ] = editorial (sign values, restored letters); (?) = doubtful word;
{clair} = clear text in the original. Line numbers = lines of cipher on the page (1-33).
Sign values come from the deciphered sister letters (f. 176/177, f. 188v/185).

{clair, top edge: "[J]uillet 1593"}
 1 Nostre volonté estoit bonne, la puissance asses grande pour la faire reussir; mais a sa-
 2 voir si en la continue nous eussions peu subsister, c'est ce qui nous a fait demeurer co-
 3 is. Et en ces entrefaites nos amis ne se sont pas seulement montrés neutres, mais enne-
 4 mis formelz, et fait ce qu'ilz ont peu pour tendre a la ruine de l'amy(?) de l'homme du colege et le vostre,
 5 sans l'avoir rien espargné, oposans tantost un sujet tantost un autre, secon-
 6 dés par nostre docteur Gratian, qui a mieulx joué le personnage que nul des autres, jusqu-
 7 es a y coucher de l'autorité de son {M[aist]re}, voir[e] l'avoir mis en compromis et fait beaucoup
 8 de prejudice. Si nostre oncle eust voulu parler suivant la promesse qu'il en avoit
 9 faite a celuy qui l'ala trouver, et que l'homme de la chesne eust donné [d'au] d'autres asseura-
10 nces que des paroles, la teste baissee on y eust entré. Mais croies qu'il n'y a peu a penser
11 {celuy qui est loing en parle comme ung aveugle des couleurs. Or(?)} tout ce qui se pouvoit de mieulx estoit la
12 protection et gaigner le temps. Il ne s'est pas fait; il faloit la trefve. L'impruden-
13 ce du monarque et des siens ai[a]nt esté telle qu'il n'avoit fait nul preparatif, ou du moins si
14 petit[e] que le moindre gentilhomme en une querelle en eust fait davantage. Et pour vostr-
15 e costé, ç'a esté un autre bel acte que le licentiement que feist vostre auditeur(?). Je veulx(?)
16 croire ce que vous m'escrivez, qu'il n'y a nul changement; toutesfois c'est un fait estrange
17 que nostre Po quinteste [nom propre] ne nous ait rien raporté de {part[iculi]er}, et que l'on nous aie dit ce que l'on a
18 voulu; et ce n'a esté que des paroles, les plus extravagantes que j'eusse pensé. Perdre tout, vo-
19 ire estre privé de paradis, j'eusse passé bien plus avant: se travailler, se ruiner, faire
20 ce [qui] se peut, tant que sans nostre prudence on ne dureroit pas une heure; et pour [mot biffé] recompen-
21 se bastir une ruine. Or je ne serois pas si charitable, je le confesse. Si nostre ami
22 du colege en vouloit parler a l'homme de la chesne, il obligeroit infinyment nostre
23 amy, qui est tout sien. Et a ce qui regarde vostre pension, cela ne se peult, car nul ne
24 l'asiste que le prelat a qui la piece est affectee, et il n'est pas temps de luy rien lever. Ç'a es-
25 té vostre malheur et le mien. Courage, il se presentera d'autres occasions. Je tien
26 que l'on aura la trefve dans peu de jours. Le voiage de [signe "ɯɯ" souligné, non identifié] a esté le plus pernicieulx
27 que chose du monde: il a fait changer de religion au [roy de Navarre] et offre [".5c" = cinq cens?] mil escus. Leur
28 party estoit ruiné sans se changement. Nostre legat a fait ce qu'il a peu pour cou-
29 vrir l'Espagnol; il a embrassé leur affaire avec tant d'ardeur qu'il a negli-
30 gé ce qui estoit du service de son {M[aist]re}, jusques a n'avoir fait tenir un seul de nos
31 brefz(?), qui eussent infiniment profité; mais ce n'estoit pas ce qu'il desiroit(?), au
32 contraire, de haster le desmembrement de nostre estat. Par la lettre de [Sa Sainteté(?): signe "δ barré"] vous
33 saurés au vray l'estat general de nos affaires. {Je vous baise les mains et prie Dieu vous
   donner tresheureuse et longue vye. A Paris ce xxije Juillet 1593. V're S'teur [paraphe]}

Doubts, by line (glyph classes in capitals; each class = two letters):
 4  "l'amy": LA + M L (the M and L look like the clear-text "Mre" of ll. 7 and 30; "de la M[ais]re"? unlikely).
10-11 the sense runs over the clear insertion; "or" is the last clear word and may be "et".
13  AIAG "aint" for "aiant" (a glyph short).
15  end of line under bleed from l. 16: A H (D) I G E H E = "auditeur"; I E H E H L I = "je veulx".
17  the name before "ne nous ait rien raporté": C B, gap, D H I A G E F G E. Desportes wrote the same
    name in clear text in the letter to Lisieux (f. 188r, l. 10: "par le retour de poquinteste ... tout
    estoit remis en creance"; copied by the office on f. 184r, l. 9). The person is not identified.
20  a blot covers the glyph between "ce" and "se" (the *qui* sign fits); a struck word follows "pour".
26  the sign after "voiage de" is not in the sister letters. Context (a journey that made Navarre convert and
    that comes with an offer of money) suggests an envoy between Italy and the King's party; this is a guess.
27  ".5c" reads as a figure, not a cipher glyph.
29  "tant de ar[blot]deur": a struck glyph inside the word.
31  B E (E under a smear) F M = "brefz"; D E F + smear + B I(G) = "desiroit".
32  the sign has the form used for the Pope in f. 186 (S with a crossed stroke). "Monsieur" (S with two bars)
    is the other candidate.

Cover names (not resolved; hypotheses only): "nostre oncle" (context: the Pope, who made a promise "to the
man who went to see him"); "l'homme de la chesne" (chain or oak; context: the party that gives only words,
i.e. Spain or its ambassador in Rome); "l'homme du colege" / "nostre ami du colege" (a cardinal);
"nostre docteur Gratian" (context of ll. 6-8 and 28-32: the legate Sega or a man of his legation);
"le monarque" (the King of Spain); "vostre auditeur" (the papal commissary who disbanded the papal troops).

TRANSLATION
Our will was good, and our power great enough to make it succeed; but whether we could have held out in the
long run, that is what made us keep still. Meanwhile our friends showed themselves not only neutral but open
enemies, and did what they could to ruin the friend(?) of the man of the College, and yours, sparing nothing,
putting up now one candidate, now another. Our Doctor Gratian seconded them; he played the part better than
any of the others, so far as to stake his master's authority on it, indeed to compromise it and do it much
harm. If our uncle had been willing to speak as he promised the man who went to see him, and if the man of
the chain had given other assurances than words, we would have gone in head down. But believe me, a man who
is far away could not think of this: he speaks of it as a blind man speaks of colours. The best that could
be done was protection, and to gain time. That was not done; the truce was necessary. The imprudence of the
monarch and his people was such that he had made no preparation, or so small a one that the least gentleman
in a quarrel would have done more. On your side, the disbanding that your auditor carried out was another
fine deed. I want to believe what you write, that nothing has changed; yet it is strange that our Poquinteste
brought us back nothing in particular, and that they told us what they pleased; and it was only words, the
most extravagant I could have imagined. To lose everything, even to be shut out of paradise: I would have
gone much further; to toil, to ruin oneself, to do all that can be done, so that without our prudence we
would not last an hour; and for reward, to build a ruin. I would not be so charitable, I confess. If our
friend of the College would speak of it to the man of the chain, he would greatly oblige our friend, who is
wholly his. As to your pension, it cannot be done, for no one supports it but the prelate to whom the
benefice is assigned, and this is not the time to take anything from him. That was your bad luck and mine.
Courage; other occasions will come. I hold that we shall have the truce in a few days. The journey of [sign]
was the most pernicious thing in the world: it made [the King of Navarre] change his religion, and it offers
[500?] thousand ecus. Their party was ruined without this change. Our legate did what he could to cover the
Spaniard; he took up their cause with such ardour that he neglected his master's service, so far as not to
deliver even one of our briefs, which would have done great good. But that was not what he wanted; on the
contrary, [he wanted] to hasten the dismemberment of our state. From the letter to [His Holiness?] you will
know the true general state of our affairs. I kiss your hands ... Paris, 22 July 1593.
Reading

f189_reading.md

<!-- Reading of BnF fr. 3984 f. 189 (no. 90) (Claude Opus 5.5, 23 Oct 2026): rosson/f189_reading.txt (first reading, 1 Oct 2026: CTC recogniser + lexicon decoder, every line checked on the image; sign values from the deciphered sister letters) joined into running text: line numbers dropped, scribal line-end splits joined. Clear text of the original is in ⟨ ⟩; code signs resolved in [ ]; letters restored or supplied in [ ]; a word marked (?) there is [?word] here; the two unidentified signs are kept as described there. Cover names ("nostre oncle", "l'homme de la chesne", "l'homme du colege", "nostre docteur Gratian") are not resolved. Spelling as decoded, u/v and i/j as in modern use. -->

# BnF fr. 3984 f. 189 (no. 90): Baudouin-Desportes to Girolamo Frachetta, Paris, 22 July 1593

## Reading

⟨[J]uillet 1593⟩

Nostre volonté estoit bonne, la puissance asses grande pour la faire reussir; mais a savoir si en la continue nous
eussions peu subsister, c'est ce qui nous a fait demeurer cois. Et en ces entrefaites nos amis ne se sont pas
seulement montrés neutres, mais ennemis formelz, et fait ce qu'ilz ont peu pour tendre a la ruine de [?l'amy] de
l'homme du colege et le vostre, sans l'avoir rien espargné, oposans tantost un sujet tantost un autre, secondés par
nostre docteur Gratian, qui a mieulx joué le personnage que nul des autres, jusques a y coucher de l'autorité de son
⟨M[aist]re⟩, voir[e] l'avoir mis en compromis et fait beaucoup de prejudice. Si nostre oncle eust voulu parler suivant
la promesse qu'il en avoit faite a celuy qui l'ala trouver, et que l'homme de la chesne eust donné [d'au] d'autres
asseurances que des paroles, la teste baissee on y eust entré. Mais croies qu'il n'y a peu a penser ⟨celuy qui est
loing en parle comme ung aveugle des couleurs. [?Or]⟩ tout ce qui se pouvoit de mieulx estoit la protection et gaigner
le temps. Il ne s'est pas fait; il faloit la trefve. L'imprudence du monarque et des siens ai[a]nt esté telle qu'il
n'avoit fait nul preparatif, ou du moins si petit[e] que le moindre gentilhomme en une querelle en eust fait
davantage. Et pour vostre costé, ç'a esté un autre bel acte que le licentiement que feist vostre [?auditeur]. Je
[?veulx] croire ce que vous m'escrivez, qu'il n'y a nul changement; toutesfois c'est un fait estrange que nostre Po
quinteste [nom propre] ne nous ait rien raporté de ⟨part[iculi]er⟩, et que l'on nous aie dit ce que l'on a voulu; et
ce n'a esté que des paroles, les plus extravagantes que j'eusse pensé. Perdre tout, voire estre privé de paradis,
j'eusse passé bien plus avant: se travailler, se ruiner, faire ce [qui] se peut, tant que sans nostre prudence on ne
dureroit pas une heure; et pour [mot biffé] recompense bastir une ruine. Or je ne serois pas si charitable, je le
confesse. Si nostre ami du colege en vouloit parler a l'homme de la chesne, il obligeroit infinyment nostre amy, qui
est tout sien. Et a ce qui regarde vostre pension, cela ne se peult, car nul ne l'asiste que le prelat a qui la piece
est affectee, et il n'est pas temps de luy rien lever. Ç'a esté vostre malheur et le mien. Courage, il se presentera
d'autres occasions. Je tien que l'on aura la trefve dans peu de jours. Le voiage de [signe "ɯɯ" souligné, non
identifié] a esté le plus pernicieulx que chose du monde: il a fait changer de religion au [roy de Navarre] et offre
[?cinq cens] (".5c") mil escus. Leur party estoit ruiné sans se changement. Nostre legat a fait ce qu'il a peu pour
couvrir l'Espagnol; il a embrassé leur affaire avec tant d'ardeur qu'il a negligé ce qui estoit du service de son
⟨M[aist]re⟩, jusques a n'avoir fait tenir un seul de nos [?brefz], qui eussent infiniment profité; mais ce n'estoit
pas ce qu'il [?desiroit], au contraire, de haster le desmembrement de nostre estat. Par la lettre de [?Sa Sainteté] (signe "δ barré") vous saurés au vray l'estat general de nos affaires.

⟨Je vous baise les mains et prie Dieu vous donner tresheureuse et longue vye. A Paris ce xxije Juillet 1593. V're
S'teur [paraphe]⟩
Translation

f189_en.md

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# BnF fr. 3984 f. 189 (no. 90): Baudouin-Desportes to Girolamo Frachetta, Paris, 22 July 1593: English translation

⟨[J]uly 1593⟩

Our will was good, and our power great enough to make it succeed; but whether we could have held out in the long run,
that is what made us keep still. And meanwhile our friends showed themselves not only neutral but open enemies, and did
what they could to bring about the ruin of the [?friend] of the man of the College, and yours, sparing nothing, putting up
now one candidate, now another, seconded by our Doctor Gratian, who played the part better than any of the others, so
far as to stake his master's authority on it, indeed to compromise it and do it much harm. If our uncle had been willing
to speak according to the promise he had made to the man who went to see him, and if the man of the chain had given other
assurances than words, we would have gone in head down. But believe me, there was no thinking of it: ⟨a man who is far
away speaks of it as a blind man speaks of colours. [?Now]⟩ the best that could be done was protection and to gain time.
That was not done; the truce was necessary. The imprudence of the monarch and his people having been such that he had
made no preparation, or so small a one that the least gentleman in a quarrel would have done more. And on your side, the
disbanding that your [?auditor] carried out was another fine deed. I [?want] to believe what you write me, that there is
no change; yet it is a strange thing that our Poquinteste [a proper name] brought us back nothing in particular, and that
they told us what they pleased; and it was only words, the most extravagant I could have imagined. To lose everything,
even to be deprived of paradise: I would have gone much further; to toil, to ruin oneself, to do what [can] be done, so
that without our prudence we would not last an hour; and for reward, to build a ruin. Now I would not be so charitable,
I confess. If our friend of the College would speak of it to the man of the chain, he would infinitely oblige our friend,
who is wholly his. As to what concerns your pension, that cannot be done, for no one supports it but the prelate to whom
the benefice is assigned, and this is not the time to take anything from him. That was your bad luck and mine. Courage;
other occasions will come. I hold that we shall have the truce in a few days. The journey of [an unidentified sign] has
been the most pernicious thing in the world: it has made [the King of Navarre] change his religion, and offers [?five
hundred] thousand écus. Their party was ruined without this change. Our legate did what he could to cover the Spaniard;
he took up their business with such ardour that he neglected what was of his master's service, so far as not to have
delivered a single one of our [?briefs], which would have done infinite good; but that was not what he [?wanted]; on the
contrary, [he wanted] to hasten the dismemberment of our state. From the letter of [?His Holiness] you will learn the
true general state of our affairs.

⟨I kiss your hands and pray God to give you a most happy and long life. Paris, 22 July 1593. Your servant [paraph].⟩

09 Sources

Notes, our September scripts and a credited copy of Rosson’s reading files: targets/desportes1593/. The other items of catalogue 20 are in targets/sega1593/ (Sega, nos. 6 and 8, open) and targets/mauclerc1593/ (read at the time).