01 The letter
| Shelfmark | BnF Italien 2242 · Lucinge, 1588 |
|---|---|
| Sender | René de Lucinge |
| Recipient | Charles-Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy |
| Date | 9 June, 18 June and 3 August 1588 |
| Language | French |
| Report status | 7/30 pages transcribed; 1 more in part; 7/30 pages deciphered; 1 more in part |
| Ciphertext | Transcribed passages: 14,608 elements, 14,306 identified |
02 The key
41 symbols, 40 homophones, 0 in nomenclature, 1 null; 19 numerical codes unidentified The key was recovered from the ciphertext alone.
03 The decipherment
f123r — six complete cipher lines and cleartext closing
Soit qu’à ruiner [?] et en la ruine de cettuy celle de son fils y a esté comprise. [?] J’ay un escrit de [?] touchant les conditions de [?]. Ensemble un billet qui me sert de croyance. Je ne l’ose envoyer par la voye commune. J’attends quelque courrier que [?] m’envoyera pour le luy envoyer bien seurement. Cependant j’en ay voulu retenir ses particularitez, attendant plus sure commodité. Je prieray Dieu de tout mon cœur qu’il donne à V. A.,
Translation. So as to ruin [?], with his son’s ruin included in his own. [?] I have a document from [?] concerning the conditions of [?], together with a note serving as my credential. I dare not send it by the usual route. I am waiting for a courier whom [?] will send me, so that I can send it to him securely. Meanwhile I have held back these particulars, awaiting a safer opportunity. I will pray to God with all my heart that he grant Your Highness…
f131v—cipher lines 12–15
[l]eur desseing si, par le moyen de [?], de [?], le cardinal Farnese estoit créé pape, et aveq les voix de France y meller celles de Florence, et qu’en cette façon [?] se conduiroit mieux au but de ses prétention, que est de se faire esli[r]e roy, non pas de Toscane mais en Toscane (je ne scay quelle finesse il entend entre ce [?]). Il [v]
Translation. Their plan: if, through [?], Cardinal Farnese became pope, combining the French votes with those of Florence, [?] would advance his ambitions of being elected king—not of Tuscany, but in Tuscany. (I do not know what subtle distinction he means here [?].)
f132v — cipher lines 3–5
[?] m’a asseuré que le comte de Soissons n’est point mal avec [?]. Cette princes[s]e de Condé est condamnée d’avoir la géhenne après le temps expiré durant lequel l’on ce do[u]te de sa groisse qu’elle a aleguée. On verra ce qu’il en…
Translation. [?] assured me that the count of Soissons is not on bad terms with [?]. This princess of Condé has been sentenced to torture after the period expires during which her claimed pregnancy is being doubted. We shall see what…
f122v — cipher lines 1–5
ne veulent accorder. Les Parisiens ont forcé Corbueil et vont assieger Meleun. Ils tienent tous les pons de la riviere de Seine au dessus et dessous Paris. Rouan (dont [?] e[?]t [?] furent bien eastonnés), quand sa Mte y pensa aller, luy prierent de [?] venir pas et que le peuple se mutinoit au bruit qu[?] faisoit qu’il y vouloit fayre entrer ses garde[s]. Il n’y a ville de celles qui…
Translation. [They] do not wish to agree. The Parisians have forced their way into Corbeil and are going to besiege Melun. They hold all the bridges of the River Seine above and below Paris. Rouen (which greatly astonished [?] and [?]), when His Majesty planned to go there, asked him [?] not to come; the people grew restless at the rumour [?] that he intended to bring in his guards. There is no town among those that…
f122v — cipher lines 25–28
[Toutes]fois [?] envoya la lettre de sa fille à [?]. [?] la monstra à [?], luy disant : « Madame, si vous nous faisies souvent de ses traicts, vous nous feries penser à des choses que nous ne voudrions pas. » « Quoy, dict elle, vous me voudries tenir prisonniere ? » « Non Madame, nous vous lairrions plustost aller. »
Translation. Nevertheless, [?] sent his daughter’s letter to [?], who showed it to [?], saying: “Madam, if you played such tricks on us often, you would make us think of things we would rather not consider.” “What,” she said, “would you want to hold me prisoner?” “No, Madam, we would sooner let you go.”
f124r — three full cipher lines
u qui perd le plus en cet accord qu'ils traictent mais il semble que [?] estant les ch oses reduictes a ce point et qu'il ne pouuoyt se uenger iacoit qu'il eut eu les moyens sans domage et danger a mieux faict de laisser passe[r] l'orage s'il est re
Translation. …or who loses more in this agreement they are negotiating. But it seems that [?], matters having been reduced to this point and being unable to take revenge, although he had the means to do so without damage or danger, did better to let the storm pass [?], if he is re…
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/btv1b100387843/f121.item
- Folio matches the report: yes; cipher present: yes
- What we checked: f131r "Monseigneur", full-page cipher, dated 1588 on dorsal; sign inventory (omega, pi-forms, lambda, z, x, crossed signs) matches his key table; did not complete a symbol-by-symbol decode of a 10+ run at this resolution
- Verdict: partly confirmed (method key recovered from ciphertext-only, extent partial). The check is a sample, not a re-solution.
- Notes: Only 7/30 cipher pages deciphered (+1 in part); 19 numerical codes unidentified. Lucinge-Savoy dispatches 1588 are partly printed (Lucinge, Lettres sur la cour d Henri III, ed. Dufour 1964-) - worth checking for overlap.
05 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. 20; his other items are listed on his contributor card.
- The working folder:
targets/lucinge1588/(his entry as extracted from the report, our spot-check,profile.json).