Langeac to Montmorency, Venice, 14 January 1529

At a glanceKnown key applied · complete

The letter: Jean de Langeac, bishop of Avranches, French ambassador at Venice, to Anne de Montmorency, 14 January [1529]. A clear despatch with an eleven-line cipher block.
Where: Bibliothèque nationale de France, fr. 3083 no. 8, ff. 20–21 (Gallica btv1b90601328, views 35–36). One of the four letters of catalogue item 6.
The cipher: Lasry’s “Avranches’ cipher 1”: a simple substitution on graphic signs with a few homophones and signs for LL, SS and LE.
How it was deciphered: Lasry’s 2023 table, which Tomokiyo had partly reconstructed from the sibling fr. 3005 f. 107, applied to the leaf by eye from line strips, with four refinements.
What it says: Saint-Pol asked Langeac to obtain his leave from the Signoria; Venice refused and protested it would be “la totalle ruine des emprinses”.
Still open: A group of three or four signs and one of two signs.
Credit: George Lasry recovered the key and deciphered the letter in 2023; his decipherment was not published.

01 The letter and its key

The catalogue grouped this letter with three others to Montmorency (catalogue item 6). Each of the four is in its own key, and since 14 October 2026 each key has its own page: Gramont at Rome in 1529 (Gramont’s cipher, 1529), Gramont again in 1530 (Gramont’s cipher, 1530) and the cardinal de Mâcon in 1537, with his other letters in Mascon’s cipher. Each is a different cipher, with its own page.

The key here is George Lasry’s “Avranches’ cipher 1”, one of his tables dated 5 November 2023 on Satoshi Tomokiyo’s cryptiana; Tomokiyo had a partial table of the same key from the sibling letter fr. 3005 f. 107. Lasry also deciphered this letter in 2023 (personal communication, 21 September 2026), but neither site gives any plaintext. The leaf refines the table: a y-shaped sign with a zigzag descender is C; a 9 with a long curved tail is A in raison and V in secourir; a ɓ-shaped sign serves for P and for I; ₠ is LL and a crossed C is SS; 8∞ is LE, distinct from 8o = P; and a macron over ∞ stands for n (argēt).

02 Langeac, Venice, 14 January 1529

BnF fr. 3083 f. 21r, the eleven cipher lines of Langeac's letter between the clear news from the Abruzzi and the close — Fr. 3083 f. 21r. Above the cipher, in clear, is the news that Aquila has been taken “par le conte de Montore et Camille Pardo”. The block opens with two nulls and *MONSEIGNEVR DE SAINCT POL*. Image: Bibliothèque nationale de France, fr. 3083 f. 21r, via Gallica btv1b90601328 view 36.

Cipher in capitals, clear in lower case, spelling of the leaf kept

MONSEIGNEVR DE SAINCT POL M’A CONMANDE RECHER[CHER] SON CONGE A CESTE SEIGNEVRIE, CE QV’ELLE N’A VOLV CONSENTIR, AINS A PROTESTE QVE S’IL SE DEPARTOIT QVE CE SEROIT LA TOTALLE RVINE DES EMPRINSES. ET ME SEMBLE QV’IL N’I A RAISON, VEV L’EMPRINSE DE MILLAN, LA VENVE DES ESPAIGNOLS AVEC ARGĒT POVR ICELLE SECOVRIR, ET LA PRIMEVERE APROCHER. IE CROY QV’IL NE DEPARTIRA SI LE FAICT […] sans LE CONSENTEMENT DE TOVS LES CONFEDERES, ET SI APORTEROIT […] VNG PREIVDICE IREPARABLE. Je luy ay escript AV MIEVLX QV’IL M’A ESTE POSSIBLE pour LE DIVERTIR DE CESTE OPINION, QVI EST PAR TROP DANGEREVSE.

In modern terms: Saint-Pol has told Langeac to ask the Signoria for his leave. Venice would not consent, and protested that if he left it would be the ruin of the enterprises. Langeac sees no reason for it, with the Milan enterprise in hand, Spanish money coming to relieve Milan and spring approaching, and has written to him as well as he could to turn him from an opinion “par trop dangereuse”.

The comte de Saint-Pol commanded the French army in Lombardy from the autumn of 1528 until his defeat at Landriano on 21 June 1529. So five months before Landriano the commander wanted to leave. Venice, the league’s paymaster in the north, refused his leave on the ground that the Milan enterprise was in hand. The year is not on the leaf, but it is fixed by Saint-Pol’s command and by the clear news that Aquila had been retaken for the French by the count of Montorio and Camillo Pardo Orsini in the Abruzzi campaign of winter 1528–29.

03 What remains uncertain

A group of three or four signs before sans in line 7, and two signs before vng in line 9. Both are short and isolated, and no gloss or decipherment of the letter exists.
The count of 442 letters read in cipher against about six unread signs is taken from the reading; no sign-by-sign alias file was kept for this short block.

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.

BnF fr. 3083 no. 8, ff. 20-21, Venice, 14 Jan [1529]

Langeac, bishop of Avranches and ambassador at Venice, reports that Saint-Pol, commanding the French army in Lombardy, asked leave of the Seigneurie, which refused and protested it would be the total ruin of the enterprises; Langeac sees no reason for him to go, given the Milan enterprise, the Spaniards coming with money and the approach of spring, and has written to dissuade him (January 1529, before Landriano).

Decryption

fr3083_no8_langeac.md

# BnF fr. 3083 no. 8, f. 20-21 — Jean de Langeac, bishop of Avranches, Venice, to Montmorency, 14 January [1529]

Image: Gallica btv1b90601328, canvas 36 (= f. 21r). The cipher block is 11 lines after the clear news of the
taking of Aquila "par le conte de Montore et Camille Pardo" and the request for help "pour suyvre la victoire".

Key: "Avranches' cipher 1" (Lasry, table dated 05/11/2023, cryptiana GL.htm; Tomokiyo's partial table
`img/francisAvranches1.png` from fr. 3005 f. 107). Simple substitution with a few homophones. Readings
here refine the table:
* y-shaped sign with a zigzag descender = C (Lasry's C); ɤ (loop-bottomed gamma) = S, as in Lasry's second S.
* 9-shaped sign with a long curved tail = A (Lasry's second A) in RAISON, DEPARTIRA; = V in SECOVRIR, VENVE
  (Lasry's second V). The two are very close on this leaf; context decides.
* ɓ-shaped sign = P (APROCHER, APORTEROIT, OPINION), I (MILLAN, IREPARABLE), N? (CONSENTEMENT). Lasry
  lists it under I and P.
* ₠ = LL (ALLER, MILLAN, ICELLE, QV'ELLE); crossed C = SS (POSSIBLE).
* 8∞ = LE (L + E), distinct from 8o = P.
* Macron over ∞ = en (ARGĒT).

## Reading (cipher in capitals; clear text in lower case)

[clear] … et pour suyvre la victoire.

MONSEIGNEVR DE SAINCT POL M'A CONMANDE RECHER[CHER] SON CONGE A CESTE SEIGNEVRIE, CE QV'ELLE N'A
VOLV CONSENTIR, AINS A PROTESTE QVE S'IL SE DEPARTOIT QVE CE SEROIT LA TOTALLE RVIN[E] DES
[EN]EMPRINSES. ET ME SEMBLE QV'IL N'I A RAISON, VEV L'EMPRINSE DE MILLAN, LA VENVE DES ESPAIGNOLS
AVEC ARGĒT POVR ICELLE SECOVRIR, ET LA PRIMEVERE APROCHER. IE CROY QV'IL NE DEPARTIRA SI LE FAICT
[3-4 signs unread] sans LE CONSENTEMENT DE TOVS LES CONFEDERES, ET SI APORTEROIT [E + crossed sign] VNG
PREIVDICE IREPARABLE. [clear] Je luy ay [dict et?] escript AV MIEVLX QV'IL M'A ESTE POSSIBLE pour LE
DIVERTIR DE CESTE OPINION, QVI EST PAR TROP DANGEREVSE.

[clear] Monseigneur, il vous plaira m'avoir en vostre bonne grace et souvenance, a laquelle tres humblement
me recommande. Escript [à Venise] le xiiii^me de janvier.

## In modern French

Monseigneur de Saint-Pol m'a chargé de demander pour lui congé à la Seigneurie [de Venise]. Elle n'a pas
voulu y consentir, et a protesté que s'il se retirait ce serait la ruine totale des entreprises. Il me semble
qu'il n'y a pas de raison [de partir], vu l'entreprise de Milan, la venue des Espagnols avec de l'argent pour
secourir [Milan] et l'approche du printemps. Je crois qu'il ne partira pas si la chose [ne se fait] pas sans
le consentement de tous les confédérés, et cela porterait un préjudice irréparable. Je lui ai écrit du mieux
que j'ai pu pour le détourner de cette opinion, qui est par trop dangereuse.

## Date and context

No year on the leaf. Saint-Pol commanded the French army in Lombardy from autumn 1528 to his defeat at
Landriano (21 June 1529); Aquila was retaken for the French by the Count of Montorio and Camillo Pardo Orsini
in the Abruzzi campaign of winter 1528-29; Langeac (bishop of Avranches) was ambassador at Venice. So
**14 January 1529**. The cipher shows Saint-Pol already wanting to leave Italy in January, and Venice (and
Langeac) holding him there for the Milan enterprise that ended at Landriano.

Unread: a group of 3-4 signs before "sans" in line 7, and 2 signs before VNG in line 9.

Reading

fr3083_no8_langeac_reading.md

# BnF fr. 3083 no. 8, ff. 20-21: Jean de Langeac, bishop of Avranches, Venice, to Montmorency, 14 January [1529]: reading

Running text of the reading in `fr3083_no8_langeac.md` (section "Reading", cipher in capitals there), written out
23 Oct 2026 (translation wave v7). Only capitals, word division and punctuation are changed: the capitals of the
decryption are set in lower case, with the cipher's V written u or v as the word has it; spelling unmodernised
(argēt as written). The cipher block (in ⟨ ⟩) follows clear news of the taking of Aquila; the clear words inside
it and the clear close are plain. `[...]` = unread signs; `[?word]` = doubtful; `[word]`, `wor[d]` = letters or a
word the decryption supplies.

## Reading

… et pour suyvre la victoire.

⟨Monseigneur de Sainct Pol m'a conmandé recher[cher] son congé à ceste Seigneurie, ce qu'elle n'a volu consentir,
ains a protesté que s'il se departoit, que ce seroit la totalle ruin[e] des [en]emprinses. Et me semble qu'il n'i a
raison, veu l'emprinse de Millan, la venue des Espaignols avec argēt pour icelle secourir, et la primevere
aprocher. Ie croy qu'il ne departira si le faict [...]⟩ sans ⟨le consentement de tous les confederés, et si
aporteroit [...] ung preiudice irreparable.⟩ Je luy ay [?dict et] escript ⟨au mieulx qu'il m'a esté possible⟩ pour
⟨le divertir de ceste opinion, qui est par trop dangereuse.⟩

Monseigneur, il vous plaira m'avoir en vostre bonne grace et souvenance, à laquelle tres humblement me recommande.
Escript [à Venise] le xiiii^me de janvier.

Translation

fr3083_no8_langeac_en.md

# BnF fr. 3083 no. 8, ff. 20-21: Jean de Langeac, bishop of Avranches, Venice, to Montmorency, 14 January [1529]: English translation

Translation (Claude Opus 5.5, 23 Oct 2026) of `fr3083_no8_langeac_reading.md` (the deciphered block, in ⟨ ⟩, with
the clear words round it; key Lasry's "Avranches' cipher 1"). Same holes: `[...]` unread signs, `[?word]` doubtful,
`[word]` supplied.

## Translation

… and to follow up the victory.

⟨Monseigneur de Saint-Pol has commanded me to se[ek] his leave from this Signoria, which it has not been willing to
consent to, but has protested that, if he departed, it would be the total ruin of the [en]terprises. And it seems to
me that there is no reason for it, considering the enterprise of Milan, the coming of the Spaniards with money to
relieve it, and the spring approaching. I believe he will not depart if the thing [...]⟩ without ⟨the consent of all
the confederates; and so it would bring [...] an irreparable prejudice.⟩ I have [?told and] written to him ⟨as best
I could⟩ to ⟨turn him from this opinion, which is all too dangerous.⟩

Monseigneur, may it please you to keep me in your good grace and remembrance, to which I very humbly commend myself.
Written [at Venice] the 14th of January.

Key: BnF_fr3083_f20.png, key.md

04 Sources

BnF, Français 3083, ff. 20–21: Gallica btv1b90601328, views 35–36.
G. Lasry, key table “Avranches’ cipher 1” (5 November 2023), on S. Tomokiyo’s cryptiana, “George Lasry’s codebreaking”.
S. Tomokiyo, “French Ciphers during the Reign of Francis I”: the partial table from fr. 3005 f. 107.

The reading, Lasry’s and Tomokiyo’s tables and the notes are in the repository (targets/langeac1529/); the Gallica tools are in targets/gramont1529/. Page images are not committed.