01 The letter
| Shelfmark | BnF Français 3622 |
|---|---|
| Sender | Duke of Nevers |
| Recipient | M. de Gondi |
| Date | 27 March 1594 |
| Language | French |
| Report status | 3/3 pages transcribed in part; Deciphered |
| Ciphertext | 245 elements, 230 identified (93.9%) |
02 The key
54 symbols: 39 letter signs, 1 double-letter sign, 14 in nomenclature
- Key elsewhere
- Original key in a different volume: Français 3995, ff122v–123r (Cryptiana no66).
03 The decipherment
f91r — four complete body lines
facent monstre sur les vieu? rooles parce qu’il y va grand perte. Rasseure le Roy qui l’auroit le tout à la fyn d’avril selon que vous me dites. Au demeurant, j’ay despesché aussy ? Asdrubal vers le Corse et eschevyns de Lyon pour l’affaire
Translation. [They] muster on the old? rolls, because a great loss is at stake. Reassure the King that he would have everything by the end of April, as you tell me. Meanwhile, I have also sent ? Asdrubal to the Corsican and the aldermen of Lyon about the business.
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/btv1b9058938q/f100.item
- Folio matches the report: yes; cipher present: yes
- What we checked: f91r opens "Monsieur de Gondy", clear French with mixed letter/number cipher runs; his key image is the original Fr. 3995 f122v-123r table (A=7/1/9, B=6/9 ..., Monosillables, Nulles 17 22), and the cipher sign repertoire (digits, Greek-like letters, nulls) matches it; a full 10-symbol decode was not completed
- Verdict: partly confirmed (method read after matching with key from external sources, extent partial). The check is a sample, not a re-solution.
- Notes: 93.9% identified and pages transcribed only in part. Key also in Cryptiana (no. 66), i.e. previously published key.
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. 43; his other items are listed on his contributor card.
- The working folder:
targets/nevers1594gondi/(his entry as extracted from the report, our spot-check,profile.json).