01 The letter
| Shelfmark | BnF Français 3234 |
|---|---|
| Sender | Gasparo Fogliani |
| Recipient | Not established in the checked postscript |
| Date | 20 October 1568 |
| Language | Italian |
| Report status | 2/2 pages transcribed; 2/2 pages deciphered |
| Ciphertext | f103r–v: 422 elements, 418 identified (99.1%) |
02 The key
27 symbols, 21 letter signs, 3 nulls, 3 unidentified The key was recovered from the ciphertext alone.
03 The decipherment
f103r, cipher lines 1–3; saved editorial reading — 103r
Io n[o]n posso mancare di dire a uostra alteza che mi pare che il [?] non habb[i?] fauorito le cos[e] del signor duca di quel modo che mi pare che douea, essendo lui che gouerna come fa in questi tempi, et se io pitessi dirle ogni cosa in poca scri…
Translation. I cannot fail to tell Your Highness that it seems to me that [?] has not [helped?] the duke’s affairs as he should have, since he governs as he does at present; and if I could tell you everything in a short wri…
f103r, cipher lines R3–R5
…che gouerna come fa in questi tempi, et se io pitessi dirle ogni cosa in poca scrittura, uostra alteza uedria che ha mostratto tenire poco conto di sua ecelenza, che mi ha fatto marauigliare assai, perche non lo haurei mai pensato, e[t] se…
Translation. …who governs as he does at present; and if I could tell you everything in a short letter, Your Highness would see that he has shown little regard for His Excellency. This has greatly astonished me, because I would never have expected it; and if…
f103v, cipher lines V1–V2
io fossi in parte che io le potessi parlare, le direi cose che le parerebb[o]no strane, come parsero a me quando soccesse il fatto. Io ho inteso in questo punto da una persona degna di fede et homo di qualita…
Translation. I were somewhere I could speak to you, I would tell you things that would seem strange to you, just as they seemed to me when the incident occurred. I have just heard from a trustworthy person and a man of standing…
04 Our check
This result is George Lasry’s. This project did not re-solve the cipher: it checked one sample against the Gallica image and recorded what it found.
- Batch A. Image checked: https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b90602316/f104.item
- Folio matches the report: yes; cipher present: yes
- What we checked: f103r first cipher line "(3)0ny[o]yrn{ss}n*3y53 V6 9090 V6" decoded with his key = io non posso mancare di dire, matching his excerpt
- Verdict: confirmed (method key recovered from ciphertext-only, extent complete). The check is a sample, not a re-solution.
- Notes: Letter dated Paris 20 Oct 1568, addressed "Serenma Madama" (a duchess) - recipient could be named from the heading (likely Duchess of Mantua/Savoy etc.); dorsal note on facing page.
05 Notes and corrections
The recipient is in the heading: the letter is addressed "Serenma Madama", a duchess. The report says the recipient is not established in the checked postscript.
06 Sources
- George Lasry, with ChatGPT Astra 6 and Anthropic Opus 5.5, BnF cipher research, 10 October 2026 (sent to Daniel Bourdeau on 13 October 2026 for publication here), p. 8; his other items are listed on his contributor card.
- The working folder:
targets/fogliani1568/(his entry as extracted from the report, our spot-check,profile.json).