Siena nos. 13 and 16: the Pope, Bologna and Lautrec

reading.txt

# No. 13 (R4801): George Lasry's decipherment, verbatim from his report of 17 Oct 2026 (pp. 35-36).
# Line breaks follow the PDF text layer, not the manuscript.

baca per che il papa in questi accordi con p[er] accordato et la tardanza de la ven[u]ta sua a Bologna pare
che resti in qualche ruggine che saranno assai necessarie loro inuestigationi et adiuisi max[ime] ch[e] la
maggior parte deli principali dela corte no[n] pare ch[e] ne parlino di lui sinon male non dando fede ala
parente la fada bada et p[er]o haueremo giudicato al proposito i[n] questo dubbio et occasione spendare il
tutto per abbassamento deli uicini et pretendendo in qual che castello far il fatto n[ost]ro come fe no[n]
sabbatte quando passo Lutreche che a suo spete si piflio Modana et Reggio et quest per che al peggio non
si ha sinon a rendere et tutto si lassa i[n] la discretiss[im]a co[n]sideratione di. V. S. Ill[ustrissi]ma

lasry_report.md

# George Lasry's report: the section on this piece, verbatim

Source: George Lasry, "The cipher documents of Concistoro 2308, fasc. 2" (17 Oct 2026), consolidated report sent by email to Daniel Bourdeau; pp. 35-36. Text extracted from the PDF page by page with PyMuPDF, unchanged (line breaks as in the PDF text layer). The key figure and the manuscript crop are images in the PDF: `key_lasry.jpg` here, `docs/siena13_key.jpg` and `docs/siena13_lead.jpg`. The report has no separate appendix text for this piece beyond what is below (the full decipherment and translation are in the section).

## Entry in the report's contents (p. 2)

```
H. Pieces with an interlinear or separate plaintext
• No. 9 = R4798
 
  — Castiglione and the King of Aragon, 1440s–50s, 53 symbols — solved from the 
interlinear plaintext by Lasry with CTTS and Claude (15–17 October 2026)
• Nos. 13 and 16 = R4801
 
  — 553 symbols — plaintext on another folio in the collection (R4804) — solved 
with CTTS and Claude Fable 5.1 from that plaintext (17–18 October 2026)
```

## The section

```
[report page 35]

No. 13 (R4801): letter to V. S. Ill.ma on the Pope and Bologna, deciphered 
with its plaintext twin no. 16 (R4804)
Status. Solved. Transcription and initial key with CTTS (the author); Claude Fable 5.1 finalised the key and the
transcription from the given plaintext of no. 16 (R4804). 17–18 October 2026.
References
• Archivio di Stato di Siena, Concistoro 2308, fasc. 2 (Lettere in cifra), nos. 13 and 16
• DECODE records R4801 (Concistoro_2308_55) and R4804 (Concistoro_2308_58), 
https://de-crypt.org/decrypt-web/RecordsView/4801
Ciphertext
553 cipher symbols on 10 lines with ten clear stretches; the plaintext is no. 16.
Key
37 distinct signs. Homophonic substitution: one or two signs per letter, four doubled-letter signs (ll, gg, ss,
cc), one null; no word codes.
Signs as cut from the manuscript, with their number of occurrences; homophones stand under their letter.
Decryption
Cipher in bold, clear text plain; abbreviations expanded in brackets; the plaintext twin no. 16 settles the readings.
baca per che il papa in questi accordi con p[er] accordato et la tardanza de la ven[u]ta sua a Bologna pare
che resti in qualche ruggine che saranno assai necessarie loro inuestigationi et adiuisi max[ime] ch[e] la
maggior parte deli principali dela corte no[n] pare ch[e] ne parlino di lui sinon male non dando fede ala
parente la fada bada et p[er]o haueremo giudicato al proposito i[n] questo dubbio et occasione spendare il
tutto per abbassamento deli uicini et pretendendo in qual che castello far il fatto n[ost]ro come fe no[n]
sabbatte quando passo Lutreche che a suo spete si piflio Modana et Reggio et quest per che al peggio non
si ha sinon a rendere et tutto si lassa i[n] la discretiss[im]a co[n]sideratione di. V. S. Ill[ustrissi]ma


[report page 36]

baca(?) because the Pope, in these agreements, with per accordato and the delay of his coming to
Bologna, it seems that some rust remains, so that their investigations and advice will be very necessary,
especially as the greater part of the principal men of the court do not seem to speak of him except ill, giving
no credence to the apparent … bada and therefore we shall have judged it fitting, in this doubt and occasion,
to spend everything for the abasement of the neighbours and, claiming some castle or other, to do our
business as he did non sabbatte(?) when Lautrec passed, who at his own expense took Modena and
Reggio; and this because at the worst there is nothing to do but give back; and all is left to the most
discreet consideration of Your Most Illustrious Lordship.
Contents
From: unknown
To: V. S. Ill.ma (a lord or ambassador)
Place: unknown
Date: 16th century — the Pope’s coming to Bologna and Lautrec’s taking of Modena and Reggio (1527) point
to 1527–1530; unverified
Written to a Most Illustrious Lordship: the Pope’s agreements and the delay of his coming to Bologna have
left some ill feeling; the correspondent’s investigations and advice will be much needed, since most of the
leading men of the court speak ill of him; the writer therefore judges it right, in this doubt, to spend
everything to abase the neighbours and, by claiming some castle, to do as Lautrec did when he took Modena
and Reggio at his own cost, since at worst they would only have to be given back; all is left to the Lordship’s
discretion.
Historical context and dating
The clear text sets the letter at the time of a papal journey to Bologna after agreements, with Lautrec’s
seizure of Modena and Reggio as the recent example (1527): the years 1527–1530, between the sack of
Rome and the Bologna meeting of Clement VII and Charles V, fit; writer and addressee are not named and
the fascicle gives no date. Unverified.
Open points. Writer, addressee and exact date; the first word (baca?) and the word “sabbatte”.
```

translation.txt

# No. 13 (R4801): George Lasry's translation, verbatim from his report of 17 Oct 2026 (pp. 35-36).
# Line breaks follow the PDF text layer, not the manuscript.

baca(?) because the Pope, in these agreements, with per accordato and the delay of his coming to
Bologna, it seems that some rust remains, so that their investigations and advice will be very necessary,
especially as the greater part of the principal men of the court do not seem to speak of him except ill, giving
no credence to the apparent … bada and therefore we shall have judged it fitting, in this doubt and occasion,
to spend everything for the abasement of the neighbours and, claiming some castle or other, to do our
business as he did non sabbatte(?) when Lautrec passed, who at his own expense took Modena and
Reggio; and this because at the worst there is nothing to do but give back; and all is left to the most
discreet consideration of Your Most Illustrious Lordship.