01 The letter
| Shelfmark | BnF Français 4696 · numerical cipher, ff54r–55r |
|---|---|
| Sender | Not established |
| Recipient | Not established |
| Date | 1589? |
| Language | Italian |
| Report status | 3/3 pages transcribed; 1/3 pages deciphered; 2 more in part |
| Ciphertext | 1,744 elements, 1,692 identified; 1 obscured group of unknown length |
02 The key
70 codes: 49 letter signs, 19 in nomenclature, 2 unidentified
03 The decipherment
f55r, full cipher lines 1–6
Piu sobria sara V.Ecc. nel scriuere in Italia, masime in modo che posi risapersi tanto. Sara meglio l’auuisare il serenisimo signor duca di Mantua frequentemente et per uia sicura de i sucesi di Francia. Sara sopra modo grato a S.A. a quale et a V.Ecc. tornara molto a conto.
Translation. The more restrained Your Excellency is in writing to Italy, especially in a way that could become known, the better. Informing the Most Serene Duke of Mantua frequently, and by a secure route, of events in France will be exceedingly welcome to His Highness and will greatly benefit both him and Your Excellency.
04 Plaintext and other sources
Where a decipherment or clear copy already existed, as George Lasry gives it:
- Interlinear plaintext
- Historical interlinear plaintext on ff54r–55r.
05 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 B. Image checked: none (no Gallica link; fr. 4696 ark not resolvable offline)
- Folio matches the report: unclear; cipher present: yes
- What we checked: his f55r crop: contemporary interlinear over 6 digit rows "piu sobria sara V.Ecc. nel scrivere in Italia ma simeinmodo che posi risaper si tanto sara meglio lavisare il serenisimo signor duca di mantua frequentemente et per via sicura de i sucesi di francia..." = his excerpt; digits not decoded by me
- Verdict: partly confirmed (method key recovered based on adjacent plaintext, extent partial). The check is a sample, not a re-solution.
- Notes: Sender/recipient/date (1589?) not established; only 1/3 pages fully deciphered though 97% of elements identified. Italian.
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. 106; his other items are listed on his contributor card.
- The working folder:
targets/fr4696num/(his entry as extracted from the report, our spot-check,profile.json).