At a glanceKey from adjacent plaintext · partial (20% of the cipher)
- The letters
- Henri IV’s letters to Philippe de Béthune, ordinary ambassador at Rome from August 1601; three (9, 10 and 22 November 1601) have a cipher but no decipherment.
- Where
- BnF fr. 3484. Most decipherments are the receiving office’s margin paraphrases; f. 36 holds the clear minute of the 10 November letter.
- The cipher
- The design Bazeries printed in 1901 for the elder brother, with other values: figures and letter-shaped symbols with homophones, marked common words in alphabetical series, and two-digit figures for names (48 = Cardinal, 17 = Aldobrandin).
- How it was read
- The minute of 10 November was aligned with the cipher of f. 34 and the glossed passages of 8 November and 10 December by a statistical (EM) aligner seeded by hand checks.
- What it says
- The King’s payment to Cardinal Aldobrandini for the Peace of Lyon: ten thousand écus through Sillery and ten thousand more promised for early 1602.
- Still open
- 22 November is transcribed, its cipher runs decrypted in fragments; 9 November reads at about six words in ten, at its measured ceiling; two-digit names are open. Next step: Cinq cents de Colbert 346.
01 The documents
Philippe de Béthune, younger brother of Rosny (the future Sully), left for Rome with his instruction of 23 August 1601 (no. 2 of the volume) and served as ordinary ambassador until 1605. The letters of the King to him in fr. 3484 run from October 1601 to October 1602. They are the sent originals, signed Henry and countersigned de Neufville, that is Villeroy’s office, and the cipher is that office’s. Where the office in Rome deciphered a letter it wrote the decipherment in the margin, in a smaller hand, numbered 1, 2, 3 to the passages, or as a footnote keyed with a sign; the volume keeps those decipherments. Three letters have none.
| Letter | Folio | Cipher | Plaintext available |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paris, 8 Nov 1601 (no. 6) | 30v–31v | six passages, one to five lines | numbered marginal glosses, near-verbatim |
| Paris, 9 Nov 1601 (no. 7) | 33r | 22 lines, the whole body after “il me mande qu’il est certain que” | none |
| Paris, 10 Nov 1601 (no. 8) | 34r–v | four passages, 17 lines | the minute, f. 36r–v, in clear (the notice’s “copie du n° précédent”) |
| Saint-Germain, 22 Nov 1601 (no. 12) | 46r–47v | c. 40 lines in blocks | none; ff. 45 and 48 are address leaves |
| Paris, 10 Dec 1601 (no. 13) | 49v–50r | 5 + 9 lines | verbatim footnote on 49v, marginal glosses on 50r |
| 24 Dec 1601, Jan 1602 (nos. 14–17) | 53, 56–57 | blocks of 9–11 lines | marginal glosses |
02 The design
Bazeries (Les chiffres secrets dévoilés, 1901, pp. 28–29) prints the “chiffre baillé à M. de Béthune” of 1599, given to Maximilien for his mission to England. Each letter has a figure (A = 3, B = 10, C = 8 …) and two or three arbitrary symbols; thirty names are figures with two dots (Le Roy 4̈, Le Roy d’Espagne 2̈); some eighty common words are letters with a comma (a, ayant … y, et, z, nous), with one dot (entre … mons) or with two dots (nostre … selon), each series alphabetical; the figures 2 to 11 with a comma are tout, tant, toutesfois … vivs; a Δ doubles the preceding letter and y and $ cancel it. The 1601 cipher of the younger brother is the same office’s design two years on, with new values: f, = le, g, = la, x, = que, r, = par, q, = pour, d, = je in the comma series (the initials run l, l, q, p, p, j: alphabetical by groups, as in 1599); f: = au, s: = dit, x: = et, y: = ent in the two-dot series; t. = de, p. = ce with one dot; 61 = qui, 63 = re, 65 = si as syllable groups; 48 = Cardinal, 17 = Aldobrandin, 7 = le Roy d’Espagne as names; 68 = tout and 71 = tion are further syllable groups (toutes = 68 ȥ g, affectionne ends 71 g ȥ). The letters: e = ȥ ‡ ε 0; a = 4 6 u; i = hooked m, v, a, 1; o = f + t; t = q 7; u/v = ꝑ, y, c; s = g, 2-shaped r, n; r = r ∂; l = h B S; m = x; g = plain m, hooked u; c = b e; p = o T; b = n; y = a. The sign φ is the doubling sign Bazeries describes in the 1599 key (“Δ doublera son prochain précédent”): somme is written s-o-m-φ-e, l’année l-a-n-φ-e-φ, Sillery has h-φ for ll, occasions o-c-φ, retrouve u-φ (u and v one letter), mienne mie-n-φ-e. The “gratification” of f. 34 is written x 6 ꞔu ∂ u p ꞔm m v b 6 7 1 f: m-a-g-r-a-t-i-f-i-c-a-t-i-o(n), with the figures 6 7 1 for a t i, the design’s figure-letters.
03 The 10 November letter
The minute gives the enciphered passages word for word (differences: one word-sign where the minute has “de sorte”, “faites semblant” for the minute’s
“taschez qu’il n’en soit rien dit”). In the King’s voice: after the Parlement of Paris had given judgment in the Este–Aldobrandini debt, he “fus bien aise
d’avoir ce pretexte de gratifier led. Cardinal et luy tesmoigner ma bonne volonté … de sorte je luy fis payer des lors dix mil escuz par l’entremise du
sieur de Sillery”; he has now ordered “qu’il face payer aud. Cardinal dedans les premiers quatre mois de l’année prochaine la somme de dix mil escuz par les
mesmes mains … sans avoir esgard à l’arrest obtenu par lad. duchesse de Nemours, ny au besoing d’argent auquel je me retrouve. Car j’affectionne led.
Cardinal et desire m’acquitter de lad. promesse que je luy ay faicte”; Béthune, after conferring with Cardinal d’Ossat, is to let Cardinal Aldobrandini
know “de facon qu’il recoive et estime ceste grace comme elle merite”, to pretend “que vous n’aiez receu la presente”, and to be “le premier qui en avertira
led. Cardinal Aldobrandin”. Pietro Aldobrandini, the Pope’s nephew, had made the Peace of Lyon in January 1601; in this letter the King pays for it and
manages how the gift is announced. The full text is in the repository (targets/bethune/reading_10nov.md).
04 The 22 November letter
This letter was expected to be the harder of the two open ones: forty lines of cipher in blocks, the notice said, with no clear copy anywhere in the
volume. The four leaves at full resolution show otherwise. The cipher is broken
into eighty short runs set inside lines of ordinary clear French: the King’s secretary enciphered only the names, the sums and the
sharpest judgements and left the grammar around them in clear. The clear text therefore carries most of the sense, and the content can be followed without
decrypting the runs. All four pages are transcribed in targets/bethune/reading_22nov.md. No earlier transcription or decipherment of this letter was found in the volume, in Berger de Xivrey or in Colbert 17; Halphen’s edition (below) was not seen.
It answers Béthune’s despatch of 29 October, received on the 18th, and is signed Henry and countersigned de Neufville. Its core is a rebuke, in clear, of two persons the cipher names only by code group: “Il me semble que [20] [S 12], qui sont douez de toute prudence, ont faict faulte de n’avoir rompu ce coup, car ilz l’eussent faict facilement s’ilz y eussent pensé et operé d’heure, ainsi qu’ilz devoient. Mais ilz se sont contentez de … meuz d’autres considerations …” On money and discipline the King will “donner ordre que la pension que j’ay accordée au s.r Camaiano sera bien payée”, all to “relever le party françois a Rome”; but Béthune is to give no “esperances ou [fermes] des promesses a d’autres” without express command, “afin de n’abuser personne ne moy le premier”, and to act always “après toutesfois en avoir conferé avec le Card.al d’Ossat”. He acknowledges the Pope’s “bon accueil … aux deux audiences quelle vous a données”; he will receive Maffeo Barberini (the future Urban VIII, then on his way to France) “le plus favorablement que je pourray po[ur] le respect de sa S.té”; on the Jesuits he refers back to an earlier letter and will await the Pope’s answer; and he complains of an agent “qui reside en Suisse, accompagné d’un certain Julio de la Torre y Travers[i]”, whom Cardinal Aldobrandini had already reprimanded. The third leaf ends in clear on the household news that dates the whole file: “J’attends en bonne devotion le retour du courrier que je vous ay envoié pour convier sa S.té au baptesme de mon filz, lequel se faict tres bien nourrir et se fortifie a veue d’oeil”. The son is the dauphin, born on 27 September. The letter is dated “Escrit a St Germain en Laye le xxij.e jour de 9bre 1601”, and a postscript, signed again, countermands part of what precedes it.
The eighty ciphered runs are in targets/bethune/ct_22nov.txt. Decrypted with the key they give fragments only (le cardinal aldobrandin,
attenter a este toute, suisses, octobre, saincteté au), the same ceiling the 9 November letter meets, for
the same reason. Two values are confirmed by their clear frames, 73 = vostre and the pair 48 17 = Cardinal Aldobrandin. Fifteen groups
remain open; three of them have frames that constrain them, and one, 72, has a proposal against it as well as for it (see below).
05 The 9 November letter, and the ceiling on it
The corpus of known plaintext (the 10 November pair, the six glossed passages of 8 November, the footnote passage of 10 December, about 1,650 letters) was aligned by an EM procedure in which each symbol may stand for zero to twelve letters under a proper prior over strings, seeded with the values fixed by hand and allowing nulls only on the signs Bazeries’ design uses for them. The resulting P(letter | symbol) feeds the decoders. A second pass re-transcribed the leaf symbol by symbol at four times magnification, fixed the doubling sign, the syllable groups, ꝑ = u/v and a dozen letters on words of the minute, and raised the decryption to about six words in ten: …sera la promotion au cardinalat … Alexandre … ensemble ce que vous aurez … jamais il m’avoit dit … propos de rechercher le cardinal … de vous dire la res[olution] … de telles pratiques … des advis desdits car[dinaux]. A third pass added a bigram language model built from Xivrey’s 1.43 million words, which brought in sur le revenu de Naples, le nunce resident, les cardinaux … enclins a la [26] and aux prudens advis desdits card[inaux]. The letter concerns the Spanish pressure over Don Alexandre’s cardinalate and the cardinals’ advice; its clear opening had suggested military news.
The third pass also gave a way of telling when to stop. An oracle bound lets every transcribed symbol emit any value in its model’s support and asks how many of the true letters it could then possibly produce. On the known-plaintext blocks that ceiling is 71.0 %, while the decoder scores 74.5 %: it is already above its own emission bound, getting a few letters right by accident. Further work on the search or the language model cannot help, because roughly 29 % of the true letters cannot be produced by the glyphs as transcribed.
- Widening each symbol’s emissions to those of its visually confusable partners raises the ceiling to 80.6 % but lowers the real decode from 74.5 % to 71.9 %: more ambiguity than the language model can resolve.
- Three segmentation architectures. Connected components give 1.13–1.38 components per glyph and both over- and under-cut. A forced alignment that never cuts (a dynamic program giving each token of a known sequence a variable-width slice, with templates re-estimated from the alignment) collapses to the average glyph from a uniform start. Restricting the cuts to component boundaries with a per-class width model leaves the program no freedom to recover where the components are wrong.
- More resolution. The second pass worked from Gallica’s 2,000-pixel image; the 3,926-pixel original gives about 30 % more linear resolution, and the glyphs are visibly crisper. It does not settle them.
- Letting the language model re-split the figures. The re-transcription located the disagreement in the figure runs rather than the letters, because the cipher writes figures without separators and one- and two-figure groups coexist, so “6165” can be divided as 61|65, 6|1|65 or 61|6|5. Offering every legal split to the decoder scores 70.8 %, and turns partant into “par [70] le roy d’Espaigne [2]”.
- Two independent transcriptions, combined. This is the one widening that helps. A block of 102 letters of known plaintext was transcribed again from scratch off the full-resolution leaf without consulting the first transcription. Transcription A (the second pass) scores 75.5 %, transcription B (the third) 57.8 %; they agree on 50 of 72 aligned positions, and their union reaches 78.4 %, nearly three points more. The second transcription is worse than the first, despite the extra resolution.
Two careful transcriptions of the same ink agree on 69 % of its tokens. This hand does not carry enough information at roughly 450 dpi to fix its glyphs, which is what the 71 % bound says in another form.
The confusions lie within the glyphs. In conduitte, whose decryption is verified against the minute, the same m-shaped glyph stands for d in one position and i in the next, the two differing only by a hook. The three families recorded earlier (an open-tailed and a looped g for n and s, three m-shapes for g, d, f, r against the 2-shaped r for r and s) are real, and no magnification separates them. The note in the repository that called the remainder “a day’s work, mechanical” has been corrected there, with the numbers; the two-digit names were not the obstacle.
06 The code groups, and one proposal with evidence both ways
The groups that carry the substance of both open letters (2, 5, 6, 8, 9, 12, 20, 28, 31, 44, 66, 67, 69, 72, 80) occur only where there is no decipherment. Three have clear frames that constrain them: S 12 and 20 are the two persons “douez de toute prudence”; 28 is a place, from “ce[luy] m’a escrit de [28]”; 44 follows “et par consequent”.
One has a proposal, recorded here the way this project records unconfirmed things. 72 = vous: the collocation “x , 72”
(que followed by 72) occurs four times across ff. 46r, 46v, 47r and 33; 72 opens a line three times; and on f. 53r, whose marginal decipherment is
verbatim rather than a paraphrase, the gloss reads “…je ne suis pas d’auis que vous pressiez sa Sain.té…” exactly where the cipher runs
x , 72 , T 63 , r S Z, which with the established T = p, 63 = re, r = s, Z = e gives que · vous · p-re-s-s-e. Against it: the block on
f. 49v ends … 63 72 while its footnote gloss ends “il sera meilleur de differer a luy en parler”, where a final vous is hard to place.
Either the ciphered block runs on past the passage the footnote glosses, or 72 is something else. It stays unconfirmed, and is used in no
decryption on this page.
The glossed leaves can settle them. At full resolution ff. 53r and 56r are tractable: their decipherments are verbatim, and whole clear phrases sit inside the ciphered blocks (“discours d’aultruy. Il fault” on f. 53r, “Mais je ne croy pas quil le face” and “si ce n’est pour” on f. 56r), each also in the gloss, in the gloss’s own order. These give fixed anchors for an alignment. f. 53r contains 66 and 72; f. 56r’s margins name the King of Spain and Archduke Albert in clear. Neither block is transcribed.
07 What would finish the 9 November letter
The clear text of both open letters should exist in a copy register, and the search found the likely volume. BnF, Cinq cents de Colbert 346 is “Copies des despesches concernans l’ambassade de Messire Philippe de Bethune, conseiller du Roy en son Conseil d’Estat, à Rome, en 1601-[1605]”, whose first volume runs 23 August 1601 to 22 November 1602 and holds letters of Henri IV, Marie de Médicis, Villeroy and Béthune. That range covers both the 9 and the 22 November letters, and a copy register of this kind is made from the minutes, that is, in clear, which is how the 10 November letter could be deciphered here. It is not digitised: Gallica’s SRU returns no record for it. Consulting it in the Salle des manuscrits, or ordering reproductions, is the next step for this target.
Separately, Eugène Halphen edited Lettres inédites du roi Henri IV à monsieur de Béthune, ambassadeur de France à Rome, du 18 octobre au 24 décembre 1601, an edition covering precisely this stretch. It is in the HathiTrust catalogue (record 100644113) and not in Gallica, the Internet Archive or Open Library. Whether Halphen printed the ciphered passages in clear (which would have required the minutes) decides whether these letters count as already in print, as fr. 3077/3078 did for Du Bellay.
Checked and excluded as sources of a clear text: Berger de Xivrey’s Recueil, vols. I–V, which prints a Béthune letter of 10 October 1601 but nothing for November; Mélanges de Colbert 17, whose first part is still running instructions at p. 179 and whose second is 1602–05; and BnF fr. 3677 and 3678, the “Registre des lettres que monseigneur de Bethune a escrites en France durant son ambassade de Rome”, which belong to the second embassy of 1624–30.
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.
10 Nov 1601, f. 34r-v
Henri IV tells Béthune that he paid Cardinal Aldobrandini 10,000 écus through Sillery as a gratification after the Parlement's judgment in the Este-Aldobrandini debt, and will pay 10,000 more in the first months of 1602; Béthune is to tell the Cardinal through Cardinal d'Ossat and pretend not to have received the letter. The cipher is entries A to V3 of corpus_v2.txt (the other entries are glossed passages of the 8 Nov and 10 Dec letters); the text comes from the clear minute on f. 36.
Transcription
# Known-plaintext pairs, v2: f. 34 re-read at 4x with the refined glyph classes (Cm hooked m, Cu hooked u, R2 2-shaped r, # S: = the dotted 8-shaped sign (dit), R2, = 2-shaped r with comma (par), p = the ꝑ-like letter (u/v), PH = phi (doubles the # previous letter), 6 vs b, u vs n). P1-P7 and D1 are the 1.5x readings from corpus.txt (their own glyph classes). # id | source | cipher | plaintext P1 | f.30v gloss 1 | PH HB g' s' x + q v + g g: u: m p g b g, q t. y. + LS 4 ff' ff + g m 63 EP v b f t. g' x v r 4 g t. | la promotion au cardinalat de don alexandre pico de la mirande P2 | f.30v gloss 2 | t. g' m PH EP e q v + + t. x f g y 63 PH x: t. g' g v ff LS PH Z | de laffection de son frere et de la sienne P3 | f.30v gloss 3 | t. m 63 x g Z W u LS b a Z g a r, f: p 63 | de fresnes canaye ny par autre P4 | f.30v gloss 4 | f:, m t. p 4 f, 4 g m 63 g EP o 63 q EP LS Y o $ p x 4 b S EP y v m g v p m f: 70 x, r + g y 63 PH g 4 o f v g q m Z g y ff 4 g. 61 $ S u 4 g, m v m x: 61 $ 66 v. EP g m 4 66 r c b PH EP x PH v + g, | que le dit alexandre ne pretend plus a ceste dignite doutant que son frere na point denfans qui est maladif et quil sattend a la survivre luy P5 | f.30v gloss 5 | f, q EP u o r f r m p g 4 v 63 + 3 s, u + q EP + g S g EP s, 6 HB e l EP u x, DL, LS f: BS + m r 4 r o HB 4 r PH ff y + $ f v g EP r | le temps ordinaire de faire promotion est si prochain que ie naurois pas assez de loisir P6 | f.31r gloss | f, T t. g S 61 $ q 63 b + g f v g PH ff g p x, f, 6 m 4 y + r v r ff PH g, p: g, f, r m t. ff x p v g q Z g | le pis est quilz recognoissent que le pape favorise en cela les iesuistes P7 | f.31v gloss | a g. ff Z g v ff r Z v r p ff LS + u PH ff T ff r r + g g. g p 63 65 m 4 g q 4 r + x ff 61 S f: q l EP p. + b S Z y EP g W f DL + p r + g r o f r p ff i: T u g 65 f g x: T EP LS g EP + g PH + v 63 r: 7 | ung iesuiste nomme personius resident a rome qui est autheur de ceste discorde transporte de passion et pensionnaire du roy despaigne A | f.34r ll.14-17 (4x), minute f.36r | J, d, m y r l: 4 a g Z p: t. f: ff Cm r p: o 63 p ff f q Z ff Cm d b q y o^ Cm r f, S: 48 x^ B c a q Z l, m g Z r x 4 J LS Cm p^ t h f LS q Z x: 61 h f, y q S: g PH a: t 63 p. c f Cm r x 6 Cu d u p Cm m v b 6 7 1 f a, h y a m Cm R2 o u a Z r t: R2 h t r g Cm p^ ff x m S ff g b c n R2, S y: 63 x Cm g Z r: s 4 t: x t. h PH Z r a | mais ie fus bien aise davoir ce pretexte de gratifier le dit cardinal et luy tesmoigner ma bonne volonte et quil leust aussi de recevoir ma gratification de sorte ie luy fis payer des lors dix mil escus par lentremise du sieur de sillery B1 | f.34r l.23 (4x), minute f.36r | f: Cu g Z t: Cm r u q v m a Z r f: S: 48 q, h y a: 3 b t g PH + Cm g q 63 Z LS g, s, g o ff r Cm q Z | advise de gratifier le dit cardinal pour luy faire cognoistre en la prosperite B2 | f.34r l.24 (4x) | x, d, c Z y f | que ie veux B3 | f.34r ll.24-28 (4x from l.26), minute f.36v | l 63 b t g + Cm g q 63 f, R2 o h u m 65 r g 61 S x 4 a, y x, c, 63 b l Z r b d ff g t g 4 x Cm q v Z PH g x Z g g ff p: g PH m q Z y R2, 70 c, b t x PH u g ff 4 7 3 m 63 PH 61 h m x HB B p: o 4 a Z R2 f: S: 48 + m 4 g g f, g o 63 x Cm Z R2 r: d p 4 q 63 l, g ff g, g PH Z PH s, b l 4 Cm g Z g, r f x PH Z t: m Cm p x y h Z g b y n R2, f, g x Z g r ff r m + r x ff g x, c, 4 q + p b l Z f, R2 c 63 x Cm Z r g | bien recognoistre les plaisirs quil ma faictz que iay recherche son amitie en mes necessitez partant iay commande a mon frere quil face payer au dit cardinal dedans les premiers quatre mois de lannee prochaine la somme de dix mil escus par les mesmes mains que il a touche les premiers B4 | f.34r ll.28-30 (4x), minute f.36v | a g, 63 g q + n q Z g r c R2, g, S: R2 4 s l Z g PH ff i: g Z x 4 p R2 r g a f n Z g + Cm g Cm d f: x, h d, x Z 63 q r + y PH Z 70 Cm 4 Cm Z b 71 g Z f, S: 48 x^ + 65 63 x 4 61 q Z r + g, s, x Z g PH Z x, d, S p a 4 a a, Z x^ Z g 68 Z g + b PH 4 65 + g g h y a q ff r l, m g Z r x 4 J g Z r + h f g q Z r HB c | a larrest obtenu par la dite duchesse de nemours ny au besoing dargent auquel ie me retrouve car iaffectionne le dit cardinal et desire macquitter de la dite promesse que ie luy ay faicte et en toutes occasions luy tesmoigner ma bonne volonte C | f.34r ll.32-33 (4x), minute f.36v | + m 4 b + g 61 S 63 b + p p^ x S Cm x Z p: g q ff m d 4 p: 4 p m: Cm h f, x Z R2 Cm q Z q ff g b S q f, a, g Z b 63 q | de facon quil recoive et estime ceste grace comme il le merite car autrement le fault seroit V1 | f.34v ll.1-2 (l.1 at 4x), minute f.36v | c 4 S + Cm r p: g q Z x Cm Z g PH ff J LS Z p t h f LS q Z x, R2, 73 J g Z b t g m Cm p Cm q Z x g 4 b l Z n 61 h g Z LS g Z r 4 64 S: m b a f: g + LS ff p: | valoir ceste mienne bonne volonte que par vostre bonne conduitte et taschez quil nen soit rien dit en rome faites semblant V3 | f.34v l.3 (1.5x), minute f.36v | LS 0 63 x LS m Z r 61 Z g f: Z r q LS m r 4 h x 4 f, S: 48 17 | le premier qui en avertira le dit cardinal aldobrandin D1 | f.49v ll.1-4 (1.5x), footnote gloss | g n LS S c a Z: + c PH LS r g c 63 + g l, y: p_ +: f, t. + m g m 63 x: b p 4 b l Z r 4 l, x, d, 72 4 d s, o + x Z y R2, u Z r EP 63 p: t: g q LS g b y PH v LS 63 8 p LS c h p a LS g p Z g m 63 x, LS a q. p. f a LS m: c, e t g c p LS g p 68 LS r y f p r 63 72 | luy faire ouverture des moyens de se ioindre et attacher a la ligue que ie vous ay proposez par mes precedentes afin sil veult y entendre que iy pourvoye comme il convient toutesfoys si vous cognoissez quil ne veille ou puisse a present accepter telz partis il sera meilleur de differer a luy en parler
Decryption
# Henri IV to Béthune, Paris, 10 November 1601 (BnF fr. 3484 f. 34) — the enciphered passages, read The sent original (f. 34r–v, signed Henry, countersigned de Neufville) puts four passages in cipher. The minute of the same letter, "Du Xe 9bre 1601" (f. 36r–v, item 9 of the notice, "copie du n° précédent"), is entirely in clear and gives their text; the cipher aligns with it symbol for symbol under the key in `key.tsv` (the EM alignment in `corpus.txt`, entries A, B1–B4, C, V1, V3). Spelling as in the minute; the clear parts of the sent letter in roman, the enciphered passages in *italics*; [ ] where the sent text differs from the minute or is uncertain. > Mons. de Bethune, Apres la prise de … [the Este–Aldobrandini debt and the Parlement's judgment] … contradictoirement > donné du parlement de ceste ville, *mais je fus bien aise d'avoir ce pretexte de gratifier led. Cardinal et luy > tesmoigner ma bonne volonté, et qu'il l'eust aussi de recevoir ma gratification, de sorte [que] je luy fis payer des > lors dix mil escuz par l'entremise du sieur de Sillery.* Ainsy que vous dira le Cardinal d'Ossat qui en a eu > cognoissance. … Pourquoy j'ay *advisé de gratifier led. Cardinal pour luy faire cognoistre en la prosperité* en > laquelle je me retrouve par la grace de Dieu *que je veux* aussy *bien recognoistre les plaisirs qu'il m'a faictz que > j'ay recherché son amitié en mes necessitez. Partant j'ay commandé à [Sillery's brother] qu'il face payer aud. > Cardinal dedans les premiers quatre mois de l'année prochaine la somme de dix mil escuz par les mesmes mains que il a > touché les premiers,* sans avoir esgard *à l'arrest obtenu par lad. duchesse de Nemours, ny au besoing d'argent auquel > je me retrouve. Car j'affectionne led. Cardinal et desire m'acquitter de lad. promesse que je luy ay faicte, et en > toutes occasions luy tesmoigner ma bonne volonté.* Au moien de quoy apres en avoir conferé aud. Card. d'Ossat vous > ferez savoir aud. Card. Aldobrandin ce que dessus *de facon qu'il recoive et estime ceste grace comme elle merite > [car autrement] le fault [seroit …]* Ainsy que le desire led. Aldobrandin pour les raisons que vous apprendrez dud. > Card. d'Ossat. Faites *doncques valoir ceste mienne bonne volonté par vostre bonne conduitte et [faites semblant]* > que vous n'aiez receu la presente affin que vous soiez *le premier qui en avertira led. Cardinal Aldobrandin.* Je > prie dieu qu'il vous ait Mons. de Bethune en sa saincte garde. De Paris ce Xe jour de Novembre 1601. Henry. What it says: after the Parlement of Paris had decided the Este–Aldobrandini debt (the sums the Este dukes owed the Aldobrandini), the King seized the occasion to gratify Cardinal Pietro Aldobrandini, the Pope's nephew: 10,000 écus paid at once through Sillery, 10,000 more promised for the first four months of 1602 by the same channel, regardless of the arrêt the Duchess of Nemours had obtained and of the King's own want of money, "car j'affectionne led. Cardinal". Béthune is to arrange with Cardinal d'Ossat how Aldobrandini is told, to seem not to have received this letter, and to be the first to announce it. Cardinal Aldobrandini had negotiated the Peace of Lyon in January 1601; this is the King's payment for it. Checks: the sent text and the minute agree in every aligned word except "de sorte" (cipher has one symbol, a,, where the minute has two words), "à mon frere" for Sillery's brother (minute: "a [Sillery?] frere"), and "faites semblant" (minute: "taschez qu'il n'en soit rien dit"). Unverified: the code groups 3, 7, 8, 64, 70, 71, 73 inside these passages are assigned by the alignment only.
Translation
<!-- English translation of reading_10nov.md (Claude Opus 5.5, 23 Oct 2026): the sent letter as the reading gives it, clear parts in roman and the enciphered passages in *italics*, with the same gaps ("…", the reading's own summary of a clear stretch in [ ]) and the same doubtful words in [ ]. The text of the cipher passages rests on the clear minute of the same letter (f. 36r-v), aligned symbol for symbol with the cipher. -->
# Henri IV to Béthune, Paris, 10 November 1601 (BnF fr. 3484 f. 34): English translation
Monsieur de Béthune, after the taking of … [the Este–Aldobrandini debt and the Parlement's judgment] … given after
hearing both parties by the Parlement of this city, *but I was very glad to have this pretext to gratify the said
Cardinal and show him my goodwill, and that he too should have it for receiving my gratification, so [that] I had ten
thousand écus paid to him at once through the agency of the Sieur de Sillery.* As the Cardinal d'Ossat, who knew of
it, will tell you. … Wherefore I have *decided to gratify the said Cardinal, to let him know in the prosperity* in
which I now find myself by the grace of God *that I mean* also *to acknowledge the kindnesses he has done me just as I
sought his friendship in my necessities. Therefore I have ordered [Sillery's brother] to have the sum of ten thousand
écus paid to the said Cardinal within the first four months of next year, by the same hands through which he received
the first,* without regard *to the decree obtained by the said Duchess of Nemours, nor to the want of money in which I
find myself. For I have affection for the said Cardinal, and wish to discharge the promise I made him, and on every
occasion to show him my goodwill.* By means of which, after conferring about it with the said Cardinal d'Ossat, you
will let the said Cardinal Aldobrandini know the above, *in such a way that he receives and values this favour as it
deserves, [for otherwise] it would be necessary [ … ]* As the said Aldobrandini wishes, for the reasons you will learn
from the said Cardinal d'Ossat. *So make the most of this goodwill of mine by your good conduct, and [pretend]* that you
have not received the present letter, so that you may be *the first to inform the said Cardinal Aldobrandini of it.* I
pray God, Monsieur de Béthune, to keep you in His holy care. From Paris, this 10th day of November 1601. Henry.9 Nov 1601, f. 33r decoded, not read
A page entirely in cipher about the Spanish news from La Rochepot's secretary and the cardinalate of Don Alexandre, with the cardinals of Joyeuse and d'Ossat. The decryption is decoder output only (about six words in ten); bracketed numbers are open code groups.
A mechanical decode with holes in most sentences: shown so that the transcription and the key can be checked and improved, not as a reading.
Transcription
# f. 33r (canvas 73), Henri IV to Béthune, 9 Nov 1601 — cipher passage re-transcribed at 4x (q33_*.jpg sixth-line crops) # v2 glyph classes: Cm = hooked m (3 minims), Cu = hooked u (2 minims), R2 = 2-shaped r, u vs n by minims, 6 vs b, # p = the ꝑ-like letter, p_ = p with hook below, p. p: = dotted p, S = 8/S-shaped, S: = same with dots, i: = dotted i-cross, # ff = double-barred cross, + = plain cross, +, = cross with comma, x^ = x with ring, x: = x with dots, EP = epsilon, PH = phi # preceded in clear by: "... par laquelle il me mande qu'il est certain que" L04 | 7 b o r Cm R2 Cu g 66 5, q ff v 71 f, 45 t: u t i: g b L05 | x^ f, 44 t: g, m u: Cm EP B g ff i: f, e EP x T g, p: g 61 S y t g q B b PH ff o p ff f, o 63 u Cm ff R2 m t p q ff L06 | u p S ff R2 b p g x^ g, p. q 63 65 f u p h t: o y: Cm t g R2 B g g p r f, 63 p ff g p t. g b o f, r 61 h f, r a, e l L07 | ff p_ B h p ff R2 r i: S ff R2 m 63 i: q f p R2 t g i: f, g q 63 q Cm g Z m, i: m ff p q Cm b 6 o PH Cm q b Cm g ff R2 L08 | b g b b y g q, f, y ff R2 i: r m Cm g R2 ff g 27 q, R2 t g Cm EP p_ t. p: u, c, f, b f u PH Z g i: r b 67 f: + t: EP L09 | u y ff R2 p B EP u m f: f Cm c p^ x T ff R2 b l ff m, q x, f, g y g p: 63 65 i: g q T 63 q i: S p d R2 S: ff m PH ff R2 p: L10 | u o b T PH + R2 q ff R2 R2, ff y b l b b p_ g o Cm y S q ff t m g ff p R2 q 63 x, S S: f, y ff q x: S: 7 b b R2 c, u ff R2 L11 | ff u n f, x, b x: f, R2 b S ff R2 ff g q ff, Cm p g q ff 63 R2 q x, 69 e: R2 R2, 70 72 ff g b f g Cm ff 63 PH y e: 17 f, L12 | o R2 p Cm R2 63 q ff g u ff g PH f u i: 7 72 m p 63 S p u LS 63 m, x, S f, p, c, B i: q ff S f, R2 o R2 b q p b x, R2 x: L13 | ff g m B m ff m, q t: r s: q 44 r x: p: 61 S t: 65 63 t: l, ff g q ff S f, + e PH b 65 f g g, r PH p r b g q x, L14 | DL, g ff S p_ d f q_ ff m f: m r b d p B J, c, u f: + p q S: LS s, o + r LS i: 63 b l ff r b l LS r f, u: m p g b S L15 | i: R2 q x^ S p d Z: r: l ff g x f g r ff d i: x ff q, x, R2 ff g l, Cm g 63 q ff g p R2 R2 ff g Cm 6 63 PH x^ f, R2 R2, y L16 | 44 R2 b x 4 i: p. f 71 u B d b g q S: Cm R2 x, f, R2 u: m Cm p g b S b f, R2 o R2 q +, ff g e S p g g b g, 26 x, B S 28 L17 | x^ 61 S b 68 ff o y p r PH b g p: r Z r p t g S: m 63 PH 68 Cm u m PH + p R2 b S S: p R2 b d x, R2 ff p g S: m 63 PH R2 ff L18 | Cm q b Cm g 65 ff n S Cm m Cm ff S: 7 d, R2 q p x ff x, q Cm S f, 63 b y R2 b y Cm R2 ff R2 ff Cm q ff Cu ff q Cm p S f, L19 | m: x Cm R2 ff R2 b g, s, x ff 71 f: u: Cm p g b g, q ff q: B f, ff b g Cm 63 b ff u PH ff g p b x, q Cm g i: u ff R2 b ff p_ L20 | 65 g R2 f, R2 u: m p g ff m i: p q d ff p R2 Cm x: m q R2 PH b q x^ S m p_ p R2 Cm q ff g R2 Cm u n f, p: x, 72 f: 63 q L21 | b Z: g p_ r i: g, S Cm u b g q 65 f, S: 44 i: g, S x p r R2 4 g i: b o R2 p R2 q ff S R2, q d x, 6 q: g Cm R2 b u R2 S L22 | p ff S ff g q p ff R2 f, e p ff S o ff f: PH S: b f, f B g Cm 63 x, S x, p g r q 4 g p: x, d, g Cm 4 p: L23 | 68 ff Cm PH ff p R2 o Cm p_ S q S 63 R2 Cm r b c, u ff p S f, p r x, d, g R2 ff p R2 63 Cm p g ff x, i: x Cm g L24 | i: R2, q p R2 i: p: o 63 u p ff R2 i: 62 d, u Cm 63 u ff b q q i: 63 8 f: f o r y p i: g r b m p p r i: R2 S: q u: m p L25 | g i: S f, d: # followed in clear by "Je vous envoie deux brefs ..."
Decryption
L04 -95.1 | mar isgs la [5,] sition le [45] de me de sa L05 -129.4 | et le [44] delai car il ne de le ces places qui lont accepte le premier doute L06 -163.6 | mil escus et la cetresioatl depentionrln sur le reuenu de naples quil les faict ch L07 -139.2 | aye alors de lordre de tous en de lestre tinemended et cappitaines L08 -164.9 | u scais pour le des defenses [27] pourronieyedece uille comme s de sa [67] auodee L09 -147.2 | aues le a iauois peschemens que le nunce resident pres detre dit efforce L10 -172.2 | mapporter pareuchc ayent cognoistre quel dit le et et dit m car il mes L11 -157.0 | easlequecetlerc le reste interest que [69] de partant uous en con fereres aldobrandin le L12 -152.0 | prieres en mon nom de m uous dire la re men quelles il a de telles praticques et L13 -127.7 | engagement des dits [44] et ce quil desire de ses telle occasion lassurant que L14 -148.2 | ie netyeropour faudray a mais il nauoit dit propos de rechercher le cardinal L15 -163.4 | de et et luy reduh en mon ser de me pour que sens en retenir ses frere et les par L16 -181.2 | [44] rcmadeceotiona ayant dit ir que les cardinal clerprt enclins a la [26] que le [28] L17 -164.7 | et quil a toute puissance se rendit frere tout a dieu est dit uray que rendit frere se L18 -140.8 | i t ainsi est de dit m iestime que telle ressaires eta intitule L19 -151.6 | me sera la promotion au cardinalat et alexandre ce a mes paquets de messaye L20 -162.6 | sins les car dune de tres ietdtrrct et liyer et ensemble ce que uous aures L21 -173.2 | u renyes de la tenant si le dit [44] de la lussan de cest et party que en deca et L22 -129.7 | et entier lectetpeau au dit alexandre quelque instance que ien face L23 -143.7 | touteiietrpiye et tres ira il meilleur que ien sois reine que de mes L24 -179.9 | departir de ce premier de [62] ie me remects de reendrequeiypo aux prudens aduis derdittcardt L25 -26.3 | s del les
Decryption
# 9 Nov 1601 (f. 33), 4x transcription ct_f33_v2.txt decoded with em_model_v2.json; [n] = code group not in the key
## worddecode.py
L04 -85.8 | mais in la [5,] ter tion le [45] de me de sa
L05 -130.1 | et le [44] delai car iean de le ce places qui tost accepte le premier doute
L06 -177.5 | au escus et la ce tre sion il de modene assis le retenu de naples quil les faict ch
L07 -137.6 | aye a les de le sire de tous en de le stre tinez de iette cappitaines
L08 -165.9 | a scais pour leuer de reine en [27] pourres ie YE de ce uille sommes de sa [67] au odet
L09 -151.1 | aues aime auois pesche et que les un ce resident pret de luy edit efforce
L10 -164.7 | a apporter par eu cha ayes piete en estre que edit le et et dit mars il mes
L11 -149.6 | au le que a et les aues este interest que [69] de partant uous en confere reur aldobrandin le
L12 -150.3 | priere tenans nom dem uous dire la res quelles il a de telles praticques et
L13 -137.4 | en faict des dit T [44] et ce quil desire des est elle occasion laissant que
L14 -156.3 | ie sel YE rome faueur iamais il a auoit dit propos de rechercher le cardinal
L15 -151.2 | de et et luy res hen mon ser de me pour que ressen retenues en frere et les par
L16 -170.7 | [44] sa ma de ce o tion a ayant dit ie que les cardinal a les et ceste un sa la [26] que le [28]
L17 -159.6 | et qui la toute puissance se rendit frere toute adious auditeur que rendit frere se
L18 -145.8 | et ainsi est iii edit mier tue que telle recus suis este intitule
L19 -153.6 | meme sera la promotion au cardinalat et alexandre comme sur que tin de mes aye
L20 -169.7 | sins les car du sei de tres et et sect et liyer et ensemble ce que uous aure T
L21 -180.1 | a res YE de la tenant si le dit [44] de la lussan de cest et party que en deca et
L22 -126.8 | et estes le celle au dit alexandre quelque instance que ie si a ce
L23 -138.6 | toute ie troye et tres sa il meilleur que ie ses reine que de mon
L24 -249.9 | departir de ce premier de [62] ie agrement T de re ENDREQUEIYPO aux prudences de edit T car du
L25 -30.1 | N del les
## decode.py (character 5-gram)
| tassis la [5,] sition le [45] de me des c
| et le [44] de lad car il ne de le tem places quil est accepte le premier de te
| auec un et la ce tres io al de pen tion sans leres ins les quil l et ch
| y elles de lordre de tour es de l entretenes de de t cappitaines
| ancais pour leur defenses [27] pourres ii y ei de il le comme s des c [67] les de p
| ausai me auois pesche et que les un ce resident pres detre dite des ce
| a apporter par un br ayent cognoistre quel dit l et et dit mars il a es
| em b le que s et les aues en tenter est que [69] es partant uous es conferer eu aldobrandin le
| suis r et en mon nom de t uous dire la res quelle si la de telles praticque r et
| es faict dest aut [44] s et ce quil desire des en telle occasion lassurant que
| ien et ye de le faudray iamais il mauoit dit propos de rechercher le cardinal
| deste terre du b en a sser de se pour queres ses retenir ses irere et les par
| [44] ssadeur de cation mayant dite que les cardinal a les et des cens c la [26] que ll [28]
| et qui la toute puissance seront au frere tout ime iours et aussy que sent au frere se
| it ainsi estoit au mier te que siller essai reste ie tille
| me sera la promotion au cardinalat es alexandre comment a que ton de mercy e
| sins les car dinee de tres et i trente t toyer it ensemble ce que uous a ur et
| rre ny es de la fin ant si ledit [44] de la tres de cest et party quels ie sm et
| et en tes l et telle ledit alexandre quelques tance que ien a ce
| toute diury et seres ici la et les que ie ne ueres que des
| departir de ce premier de [62] ie me remects de re en dre que iy po auer des aduis desdits car i
| n delles22 Nov 1601, ff. 46r-47v decoded, not read
Saint-Germain-en-Laye, answering Béthune's despatch of 29 October: a rebuke of two persons named by code groups for not breaking 'ce coup', the pension of Camaiano to raise the French party in Rome, the Pope's welcome, Barberini's coming, and the baptism of the Dauphin. The clear text is transcribed in full; the 80 cipher runs decode only to fragments.
A mechanical decode with holes in most sentences: shown so that the transcription and the key can be checked and improved, not as a reading.
Transcription: reading_22nov.md
Transcription
# every cipher run of the 22 Nov 1601 letter (ff. 46r-47v), extracted from reading_22nov.md 46r.L02.1 | f46r | 73 g m t f q m 4 71 i: 12 x Z g , m r b LS m c b S ff g PH Z Z | - 46r.L05.1 | f46r | t: f, r 63 g o Z b h p ff ) x: g n Z p r | - 46r.L06.1 | f46r | i: n Z x Z f e Z S ff j LS Cm b t r PH Cm g o t ff m 4 LS p EP g , m x Z g b 63 71 | - 46r.L07.1 | f46r | f, p r f ff y S , x Cm r ff x 4 e , q x ff g , 73 | - 46r.L08.1 | f46r | f, c r g PH Cm r p Cm q ff c r g | - 46r.L09.1 | f46r | f, S 12 72 4 S i: r 4 S + | - 46r.L10.1 | f46r | x LS ff g 4 x 4 S PH r 4 8 r + LS m 63 PH | - 46r.L10.2 | f46r | r 44 ff g , x Cm r 4 g ff x ff m f LS b f, f 4 g | - 46r.L11.1 | f46r | x 63 g q + g x 63 PH | - 46r.L11.2 | f46r | g , p t a ff x 28 | - 46r.L12.1 | f46r | + Cm q ff g : : x o r x m g i: 7 f, g o y: Cm + g g b h y LS y LS ff Cm y + x 4 g ff ff r i: g + r | - 46r.L13.1 | f46r | x 63 r , q S ff x g q ff g q i: f , g 4 i: i: f 4 4 g | - 46r.L14.1 | f46r | 63 q ff g 4 ff Cm r r | - 46r.L15.1 | f46r | g 4 4 x , r Cm d | - 46r.L15.2 | f46r | 20 x f, S 12 | - 46r.L17.1 | f46r | ff g o 63 : : ff p r | - 46r.L18.1 | f46r | x 4 o 63 S ff g x ff + r f, x ff b q 67 a o ff r q Cm r f, g x 4 Cm g g PH 4 q ff q ff g x 4 S r f, g : : q x f ff r g | - 46r.L19.2 | f46r | f, q ff x o g f, : : r Cm ff r 4 63 b t g f m g q 63 q 63 g | - 46r.L20.1 | f46r | f, m Cm g 63 g | - 46r.L20.2 | f46r | x b t g q ff x , g ff p ff b S g q Cm g o r 4 q Cm x , | - 46r.L21.1 | f46r | q 63 g Cm Cm x r b Cm f, + 63 g : : ff r g Cm r | - 46r.L22.1 | f46r | b x ff f, g PH Cm ff g r q f r + x y: f, g PH 4 S ff ff 4 x 63 u n f, ff i: Z 4 ff f, S x + g 4 f, f u g | - 46r.L23.2 | f46r | n x ff f, 48 + Cm Z + 63 g ff i: S , S , o + g ff r x , S d : : ff i: ff g | - 46r.L24.1 | f46r | 66 q g , ff | - 46r.L24.2 | f46r | f, : : Cm g x + r 63 : : f q | - 46r.L24.3 | f46r | 4 0 63 g | - 46r.L25.1 | f46r | i: S 63 o 63 x Cm 63 4 69 i: g q , g b Cm ff S 4 r b S ff : : Cm g x , + r Cm ff g q g PH 2 Z x ff f, r Z g x , + b f, r | - 46r.L26.1 | f46r | x + g q ff S 4 : : PH Z r x g ff i: p q ff q ff S q ff : : f o 63 g , q r q S g x ff b q ff q ff g x + ff J S ff : : a Z f, | - 46r.L27.1 | f46r | ff r q x Z r S ff g , x 4 x g ff g i: q ff r u g Cm b LS 61 g S 63 g i: 4 x Cm g q ff i: x u 63 b + x PH 4 q x 4 | - 46r.L28.1 | f46r | 71 ff o : : Cm g x , d , g , a r 4 S , b S ff i: ff ff L , x g , : : q 63 g S 63 f, x : : ff PH q q , 80 x ff g PH ff f 4 a | - 46r.L31.1 | f46r | S S ff g ff : : r x , 6 S r a x Cm r 4 g ff b S ff x o S ff a p | - 46v.L01.1 | f46v | 72 f, g S , o + g ff 63 y q b x: o 63 g g y: ff 63 y 4 6 x: f x: f 17 ff g S + r x 63 61 S y: g + g q LS + x | - 46v.L02.1 | f46v | r , g , o 63 g y: ff d , g 4 a b S ff + x g a q r + x g PH : : r g : : x g x , 72 4 y: g ff f, S 12 x , f, | - 46v.L03.1 | f46v | x 4 Cm g + a y: Cm ff g q 4 g p ff r , ff Cm S g + x n 63 | - 46v.L03.2 | f46v | 6 g ff x n | - 46v.L04.1 | f46v | + , x 4 S x , : : f | - 46v.L04.2 | f46v | Cm g 4 : : f, ff q ff S S LS q f 70 ff b 63 4 q : : | - 46v.L05.1 | f46v | 4 x Cm q : : g q ff r 4 f b 4 q Z S + x : : ff | - 46v.L06.1 | f46v | f, g 4 a : : + r S p ff x 4 g ff r Z g | - 46v.L07.2 | f46v | g , g 4 71 ff g q Cm r 4 | - 46v.L08.1 | f46v | g LS 63 ff p | - 46v.L09.1 | f46v | b S ff 63 x , g q ff 4 6 x: f LS 17 ff x 4 r | - 46v.L11.1 | f46v | e , a , g ff : : S 6 q b S Cm PH f, b 71 67 x , f, g g + x PH ff y | - 46v.L12.1 | f46v | d : : ff 4 6 x: Z q B S , | - 46v.L12.2 | f46v | f, LS ff : | - 46v.L13.1 | f46v | + b f, r x ff g ff g q S b + : : q Cm ff + g LS y: ff g , x Cm r 4 g 4 g ff J , q , ff g , | - 46v.L14.1 | f46v | x g ff r : : Cm r 4 x r ff f, x , 6 x: f, g PH Cm ff ff g | - 46v.L14.2 | f46v | 72 63 g + g x 63 y ff g x ff g PH f x | - 46v.L22.1 | f46v | f, x ff x ff m S PH Cm : : r 4 x , g q x , d , q , r + x g Z g ff r + x q ff S Cm ff r x: 4 q 2 Z b S | - 46v.L23.1 | f46v | 4 L , f, LS x: x + g r + a f x ff f, LS 48 17 | - 46v.L24.1 | f46v | x 4 b PH ff o q Cm r g , S , q Cm b 71 + x ff g ff g ff 3 g 4 PH g , x , q Cm y f, 48 + x ff | - 46v.L25.1 | f46v | f, x , S ff g ff g q , r + x q 63 b + x o ff g g Z r ff g ff g , f, x 4 71 x 4 : : x x g LS LS | - 46v.L26.1 | f46v | LS Z Cm : : g x , r 4 0 63 63 g y: 6 g a 17 | - 46v.L27.1 | f46v | 72 x Cm x r 4 LS , LS 4 8 x + g PH 4 9 | - 46v.L28.1 | f46v | f, g 4 0 4 a y: PH 63 o r x g g , S , q ff b 71 ff g LS y: 4 5 ff x + + g 4 x: 44 g ff | - 46v.L29.1 | f46v | r 4 g ff b + g q 63 g , : : + S + g q Z ff 6 | - 46v.L31.1 | f46v | 4 ff y ff EP Z g q f, + g q Cm x r EP Z q ff q ff 6 | - 46v.L32.1 | f46v | g , Cm g PH ff r + 63 e f Cm r r Z Cm r f, LS 17 ff x ff q g ff r | - 47r.L01.1 | f47r | g , b PH ff o q Cm r 4 o 63 g Cm p S : : a | - 47r.L02.1 | f47r | f, LS 48 g ff r 4 6 g Cm + : : r g o ff x g PH 4 g q S | - 47r.L04.1 | f47r | x: g ff b 63 g x 4 a Z g q g Cm x n f, | - 47r.L05.1 | f47r | S , o 63 g q , g , q y: PH r , | - 47r.L06.1 | f47r | Cm x , 72 ff : : LS g ff LS 4 a q b ff g f g g x g PH | - 47r.L07.2 | f47r | g , 4 h r ff h T d Cm x Z p r | - 47r.L10.1 | f47r | y ff p 17 p | - 47r.L13.1 | f47r | f, g r , + f, g x , S f, 72 4 5 ff g + f, g | - 47r.L14.1 | f47r | x , S f, a , + x ff g 4 x Cm q a ff x: q , q Z o r ff q ff b 71 q , f, g PH Cm ff ff g 4 o 63 g 66 x + r | - 47r.L15.1 | f47r | g q PH + : : b S ff f b : : ff p r | - 47r.L15.2 | f47r | ff S f, r x f LS q a , o ff g g Cm r | - 47r.L16.1 | f47r | 4 S + : : PH ff r q c 63 g : : r LS Cm | - 47r.L16.2 | f47r | o , : : g a + LS Cm 4 g ff | - 47r.L26.1 | f47r | 66 ff : : + 71 ff g ff Cm r g f, LS 12 | - 47r.L28.1 | f47r | + b g , r 4 71 61 b + g e r g ff f, b + g e Cm f, x , 72 S : : a 4 ff Cm y b + x PH : : g Cm x , | - 47r.L31.1 | f47r | 67 q r + : : n f, r x f g S 4 9 | - 47v.L01.1 | f47v | f, r ff a f x ff x 31 x: S q ff q x + x g Cm g | - 47v.L02.1 | f47v | ff , 4 x g b ff : r p S : 72 x , 4 72 4 g PH Cm : : 63 r ff 66 ff : ff 71 f g PH 4 S ff g 61 S o 4 g b S ff | - 47v.L03.1 | f47v | r b ff g q ff x 28 | - 47v.L03.2 | f47v | b ff g 63 o Cm ff x ff g ff g b ff : : g Cm LS ff g b ff 63 6 S f, x g PH ff x , f, x r 4 g q f, o ff g q Cm x r b 4 g ff 6 | - 47v.PS2.1 | f47v | 0 63 x ff 63 r f, : : Cm r x , | - 47v.PS3.1 | f47v | + b S ff r x + 8 o LS q Z g , r b S Cm : : Z r x , ff p p ff LS PH h | -
Decryption: reading_22nov.md
Key: key.tsv
08 Sources
- BnF, Département des Manuscrits, Français 3484, Recueil de lettres et de pièces originales (Henri IV to Béthune, 1599–1602), Gallica ark:/12148/btv1b52523722c; canvas = 2 × folio + 7 for a recto.
- É. Bazeries, Les chiffres secrets dévoilés (Paris, 1901), pp. 28–29, “Chiffre baillé à M. de Béthune, 1599”, Gallica bpt6k325768q.
- Berger de Xivrey and Guadet, Recueil des lettres missives de Henri IV, vols. III–V (1846–50), archive.org, as language model; vol. V has no Béthune letter for November 1601.
- S. Tomokiyo, “Ciphers during the reign of Henri IV”: Béthune’s ciphers of fr. 15975 (1602–05) and fr. 15972 (1606–08) are other keys.
- BnF, Département des Manuscrits, Cinq cents de Colbert 346–350, « Copies des despesches concernans l’ambassade de Messire Philippe de Bethune », vol. I: 23 August 1601 – 22 November 1602. Not digitised; the route to a clear text of the 9 and 22 November letters.
- E. Halphen (ed.), Lettres inédites du roi Henri IV à monsieur de Béthune, ambassadeur de France à Rome, du 18 octobre au 24 décembre 1601. HathiTrust catalogue record 100644113; not in Gallica, the Internet Archive or Open Library.
- Working files in
targets/bethune/:NOTES.md,reading_10nov.md,reading_22nov.md,corpus_v2.txt,key.tsv,ct_f33_v2.txt,ct_22nov.txt,em_align.py,lm.py(period language model),decode2.py(bigram word-lattice decoder),eval.py(control harness),oracle.py(the ceiling),union.py(two transcriptions combined),seg.py/align.py/align2.py(the segmentation attempts, negative), andcrop.py/lines2.py/cut.py/sheet.py(the image pipeline).