01 The letter
| Shelfmark | BnF Français 2933 |
|---|---|
| Sender | Giovanni, cardinal Salviati |
| Recipient | Not established |
| Date | 16 October 1525 |
| Language | Italian |
| Report status | 2/8 pages transcribed; 1 more in part; 3/8 pages deciphered in part |
| Ciphertext | 838 elements, 704 identified; 2 further groups with unresolved boundaries; transcription incomplete |
02 The key
78 symbols: 18 letters, 54 syllables, 3 doubled letters, 3 words The key was recovered from the ciphertext alone.
03 The decipherment
f54r — complete lines 13–15
e bisogniera trovare qualche modo [?] Pure a me pare che l’essere restituita la possessione basti [?] maxime. Stando ancora le cose [?] di Modena [?] come stanno hora, V.S.…
Translation. and it will be necessary to find some way [?] Yet it seems to me that having possession restored should suffice [?] especially with matters [?] of Modena [?] still as they now stand, Your Lordship…
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/btv1b90600674/f55.item
- Folio matches the report: yes; cipher present: yes
- What we checked: f54r: interleaved clear words "Pure a me pare ... maxime. Stando ancora le cose ... come stanno hora" match his L13-15 excerpt; cipher sign after "pare" = H-10 = "che" per his key, consistent with "che l essere"; longer cipher run not decoded
- Verdict: partly confirmed (method key recovered from ciphertext-only, extent partial). The check is a sample, not a re-solution.
- Notes: Opening reads "Rdo Dno Lang. Ptri" - recipient looks named (Langeac?/Langi?), though he says not established. 704/838 identified, 3/8 pages in part.
05 Notes and corrections
The recipient is in the heading: the letter opens "Rdo Dno Lang. Ptri". The report says the recipient is not established.
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. 31; his other items are listed on his contributor card.
- The working folder:
targets/salviati1525/(his entry as extracted from the report, our spot-check,profile.json).