At a glanceKey from adjacent plaintext · partial (72% of the cipher)
- The documents
- A memorial in French from the Swedish envoys at Paris, Carl Bonde and Nils Lillieroot, to Louis XIV, headed “6 Oct: 1676” (Old Style), the enclosure to their despatch of 6/16 October 1676; and the cipher runs of a Swedish despatch of Carl Bonde to Charles XI of 24 November / 4 December 1677. Long passages of both are in numbers, inside clear text.
- Where
- Riksarkivet, Stockholm, Diplomatica Gallica, SE/RA/2105/I/A/24/54, “Envoyén Carl Bonde, Brev till Kungl. Maj:t 1674–1678” (image series R0003797): the memorial on images 321R–326R, the despatch on 488R–490L with its cipher on 489R. Catalogue 2317 (narrowed). Not on DECODE.
- The cipher
- Numbers 19 to 178, one number a letter with up to seven numbers for e, f and n, a few for ss, st, ff, and word codes from about 240; signs 173–178 and the single digits 3, 4, 8 look like nulls, which nothing proves. The same table serves both texts.
- How it was read
- The table was first read off the interlinear Swedish decipherment of a despatch of 1675 in the same volume, corrected on one page of the memorial, frozen, and applied unchanged to nine pages with no gloss. About two fifths of its letter rows (52 of 119) are taken from context, not from the gloss. Shuffled keys never reached the true score (0 of 5,000).
- What it says
- The envoys press Louis XIV to turn his arms on Denmark and, failing that, to ready a squadron “pour le commencement du printemps” to reach Gothenburg and join the ten ships there, to keep Sweden’s places in any peace, and to grant an extraordinary subsidy. In 1677 Bonde reports that the French court is displeased at a delay in Livonia and wants a prompt diversion.
- Still open
- Both texts are under the 95% bar: 546 of 764 words (71.47%) and 24 of 30 (80.00%). Word codes, 17 numbers with no value, 68 words with a numeral cut at the gutter, and a 30-word test that is too short to show much. No person has compared the transcriptions with the images.
- Credit
- Malcolm McBratney, with AI agents (issues #453 and #476, pull requests #486 and #485): the transcriptions, the key, the decoder, the readings and the controls. The key rests on the Swedish chancery’s own decipherment of 1675. Priority is not established.
01 The documents
The volume is the file of Carl Bonde’s despatches from Paris to the Swedish king, 1674–1678, during the Scanian War (This background is not from the sources and was not checked here.) In 1675 the chancery wrote the Swedish decipherment over many coded runs of the despatches (images 102–106 and later). Parts of the file carry cipher with no decipherment.
The memorial opens on f.306r (image 321R) with “Sire, Dans l’estat où sont les affaires de Suede”, is signed “C.B. N.L.” on f.311r (image 326R), and runs over eleven pages. The nine held-out pages are f.306r–308r and f.309v–311r. The despatch of 1677 has one page of cipher, image 489R, in 17 runs of 169 numbers between clear Swedish sentences.

02 The table and its key
The contributor made the key in steps, all on 12 November 2026. Key v1 aligns the 488 numbers of a coded passage of the 1675 despatch (image 102R) with the 566 letters of the Swedish decipherment written over them (EM alignment). Key v2 corrects it from a control (ten rows of the bare image 107L, decoded once and, by the contributor’s account, found word for word in the gloss on image 105L) and fixes values 100–176 from 14 lines of image 324. Those lines are the training lines.
The first test of key v2, on the other 30 lines of image 324, failed the bar the contributor had set: 44 of 103 words (42.72%) against a 65% bar. Key v3 was then made by adding 23 values read off those same lines and correcting one number, and was frozen. Image 324 is therefore in-sample for v3 and carries no count. The nine remaining pages are the test of v3.
v3 has 128 rows. Of its 119 letter rows 57 come from the 1675 gloss, 6 from the control, 29 from the training lines and 23 from the test lines of image 324; four weak guesses are shown in capitals and never counted. So 52 letter rows are taken from context in the memorial itself. On the nine held-out pages 3,407 of 3,599 cipher numbers carry a letter value; 56.5% of those values come from the gloss and 43.5% from context.
The one fact on time that does not rest on the contributor’s word: a time-stamp of 02:54:07 GMT on 12 November 2026 (RFC 3161, checked here) covers a file byte-identical to key v3, earlier than any stamp that holds a held-out page (03:10 and 03:53). That the pages were transcribed after the key and decoded once is by the contributor’s record.
The same table in 1677
The despatch of 1677 was decoded with key v9, a later state of the same table: v4 to v7 add values read from context in Bonde’s despatches of October 1676 and the post-hoc values of the memorial, v8 and v9 values read off the chancery’s glosses of 1676–1677. Seven rows of v3 changed (66 from å to y and 89 from n to l among them) and 36 were added; none was dropped. Because it is one table, both texts are one entry here. The memorial is decoded with v3 only, the despatch with v9 only. By the contributor’s record v9 was frozen at 06:08:58 and the transcription at 06:24:26, before the single decode; the one stamp (06:25:27) came after the decode.
03 What the key reads
| Page | Image | Words | Read (strict) |
|---|---|---|---|
| f.306r | 321R | 47 | 33 (70.21%) |
| f.306v | 322L | 120 | 73 (60.83%) |
| f.307r | 322R | 111 | 94 (84.68%) |
| f.307v | 323L | 100 | 71 (71.00%) |
| f.308r | 323R | 104 | 83 (79.81%) |
| f.309v | 325L | 82 | 50 (60.98%) |
| f.310r | 325R | 83 | 62 (74.70%) |
| f.310v | 326L | 72 | 47 (65.28%) |
| f.311r | 326R | 45 | 33 (73.33%) |
| Memorial, nine pages | 764 | 546 (71.47%) | |
| Despatch of 1677 | 489R | 30 | 24 (80.00%) |
A word counts as read only when every number in it gives its frozen key value and the word is spelt. Word codes (even 314, which the 1675 gloss gives as Danmarck), unvalued numbers, numerals cut at the gutter, weak values and emended words are holes. Together 570 of 794 words, 71.8%. The contributor’s first figure for six of the memorial’s pages, 358 of 486 (73.66%), counted 12 words in which number 66 gives å where French needs y; his own correction is 346 of 486 (71.19%) for those pages, and 546 of 764 for all nine. His looser figures (95.42% for the nine pages, 100% for the despatch) count every word that has a code or a cut as placed and do not measure a share of the text deciphered. Of the despatch’s 24 read words, 22 use at least one value read from context (58 of the 149 numbers in them).
Shuffled keys: 0 of 5,000 reach the true score of a French four-gram model on any page or on the nine pooled (true −2.1534, best shuffle −4.6480 and −4.5698, two seeds); for the despatch a Swedish model gives true −3.1451 against best −4.0151 and −3.9637, a weaker test on 165 scored numbers. A second transcription of f.307v and f.309v by a separate session agrees on 860 of 863 full numerals, and one of the despatch on 168 of 169 (61 against 67 in “alarme”); decoded blind, the despatch gives 23 of 30 (76.67%).
04 The readings
The memorial thanks Louis XIV for his declaration of war on Denmark under the guarantee of the Northern treaties and for Pomponne’s assurance that France will not abandon Charles XI, and reports the victory near Halmstad and the raising of the siege of Bohus. It then presses him: the allies, having lost hope of retaking what France has won, will throw their weight on Sweden. Since Pomponne says that sending troops and ships now is impossible, let France ready a squadron for the start of spring 1677 to reach Gothenburg and join the ten ships there, and keep it secret. The allies will make no peace until France returns its conquests and count on Pomerania; any French peace should restore Charles XI’s places; and Charles XI, with ruined provinces, needs an extraordinary subsidy, part for stores bought in England and Holland for Stralsund and Gothenburg, part for Pomerania, and Hamburg should be won with freedom of trade.
The despatch of 1677 reads, around two word codes, as Swedish that fits the clear text between the runs (“man här wid Hofwet mycket” before the run that decodes illa tilfredt; “kommandes till Lijfland och förnimmandes” before Paez’ opposition): the French court is much displeased that someone coming to Livonia and learning of Pac’s opposition would delay the [418] until the matter with Pac is settled, in the form of a vain negotiation; the French want the plans, with a prompt diversion into [435], carried out, and the King’s Field Marshal to bring the [418] to ripeness so that the suspicions are dropped. The contributor identifies Pac as the Lithuanian grand hetman Michał Kazimierz Pac, his own inference. A later key state gives 418 = march and 435 = Preussen; it was made after the decode and is not used.
Readings with the holes in place and English translations are in the full texts below. They are the contributor’s, read again here as sentences; the repository’s sentence score is 0.753 for the memorial and 0.5 for the despatch (clear text only partly transcribed).
05 Checks made here
The contributor’s decoders, tallies, blind comparisons and shuffle controls were re-run and every filed figure reproduced. A decoder written here from the key file alone decodes all 284 cipher lines of the nine pages and of image 489R identically to the contributor’s decryptions. About 400 groups were compared with the Riksarkivet images (all 17 runs of 489R, lines 1–6 and 18–22 of f.307r, lines 4–12 of f.309v) with no disagreement. These are AI checks; no person has compared any transcription with the images, and the other seven pages and image 324 were not sampled.
06 What remains uncertain
- Word codes 240, 245, 267, 324, 463 (one word each) and 314 (two); senses from context only (267 alliance, 324 discours, 463 reputation, all uncertain). In 1677 the codes 418 (twice) and 435.
- Seventeen numbers have no value in v3 (99, 44, 109, 120, 129 and others); values proposed after the decodes are not counted, and fresh text in this table would be needed to test them.
- Numerals cut at the gutter: 68 words of the memorial hold one.
- Probable nulls 173–178 and the digits 3, 4, 8, and the despatch’s words illa and inställa (spelt short by the key) and Paez (46 a weak value), counted not read.
- A 30-word text is too short to test the key; the evidence for it is the memorial.
- Prior art: not found in LIBRIS, archive.org full text, Runeberg, Litteraturbanken, the Recueil des instructions (Suède), Varenius’s review of Trolle-Bonde D.2 (1901), Wimarson (1903 and Sveriges krig i Tyskland, who cites other despatches of Bonde); a web search made here found nothing. Not seen: Trolle-Bonde, Kongliga rådet och ambassadören grefve Carl Bonde D.1 (Lund 1910), Höjer (1875), Grauers (1926) and the French foreign ministry archives, where the memorial as handed over may be in clear. Priority is not established.
- Catalogue 2317 stays open for the bare Swedish letter with Lillieroot (images 327–330), image 114 left (another code) and other leaves.
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.
Bonde and Lillieroot to Louis XIV, memorial, [Paris, 6/16 Oct 1676], f.306r-311r read in part
The Swedish envoys thank Louis XIV for declaring war on Denmark under the guarantee of the Northern treaties and report Charles XI's victory at Halmstad, then press him: turn his arms on Denmark and send troops and ships under the treaty; as Pomponne says that cannot be done, ready a squadron to reach Gothenburg early in spring 1677 and join the ten ships there; the allies will make no peace until France returns its conquests and count on taking Pomerania; any French peace must restore Sweden's lost places; pay an extraordinary subsidy for stores from England and Holland for Stralsund and Gothenburg and for Pomerania; win Hamburg with free trade. Context: the Scanian War (1675-79), with Sweden's German provinces under attack, while the Nijmegen peace talks went on.
Builds coherent sentences, but under the read bar of 95% of words read as sense (71% here); the holes are marked in the reading.
Transcription
# R0003797 image 321 right (f.306r, headed '6 Oct: 1676'), the true opening of Bonde and Lillieroot's French memorial to Louis XIV ('Sire, Dans l'estat où sont les affaires de Suede ...'). Lines before R1 are clear French. HELD-OUT for KEY_v3. Clear French in quotes.
R1: "Les trouppes qui ont agi en ces occasions" 118 33 151 48 23 101 118 28 33 76
R2: 142 141 99 121 23 159 117 64 116 23 141 164 119 148 150 "l'asseurance"
R3: 24 42 33 119 102 34 88 132 151 101 79 81 58 97 121 73 "pour" 23 124 37 79
R4: 85 62 69 164 81 27 119 159 48 90 23 164 106 79 119 58 69 37 101 97 28
R5: 126 74 141 245 105 23 41 151 141 156 28 31 151 86 64 102 141 173 23 151
R6: "de tout entreprendre sous le commandement d'un Roy qui a"
R7: "toutes les parties d'un bon General, car nous esperons qu'avec l'assistance"
R8: "de Dieu" 101 27 60 83 64 141 99 23 122 107 121 27 82 28 79 33 151
R9: 58 99 51 33 23 124 27 151 119 27 74 90 23 116 86 66 23 33 106 141
R10: 81 23 101 141 105 86 69 74 122 "de chasser les ennemis de son"
R11: "royaume," 142 51 122 23 81 58 97 74 28 37 30 159 119 34 88 107 102
R12: 148 33 28 23 141 151 80 79 121 23 99 27 104 90 28 74 151 86 97 70 80
R13: 97 33 81 34 126 119 90 23 73 159 21 47 28 102 141 122 106 23 178
R14: 101 97 23 106 141 23 41 60 47 31 141 116 103 20 33 141 "Pour le moins"Transcription
# R0003797 image 322 left (f.306v), Bonde and Lillieroot's French memorial to Louis XIV, page before #453's first page (f.307v on image 323). HELD-OUT for KEY_v3. Clear French in quotes. '~' = numeral cut at the gutter. R1: "nous sommes persuadés que" 90 34 99 74 23 88 27 64 141 40 7~ R2: 117 23 240 156 34 69 50 37 86 23 151 119 27 122 "avoir" 22 83 112 R3: 147 59 97 151 28 90 79 88 23 33 125 80 51 122 50 23 81 90 148 74 27 15~ R4: 118 33 101 118 97 173 73 27 110 62 118 112 74 23 141 151 164 86 33 147 R5: 70 51 74 141 99 86 33 151 98 148 33 70 "de part et qu'elle nous en" R6: 22 51 74 27 104 112 141 33 151 58 40 126 58 28 74 144 23 73 141 77 23 81 4~ R7: "Il n'est pas seulement" 131 126 23 99 28 86 117 "Sire" 80 79 44 2~ R8: 105 97 125 107 74 126 33 151 121 148 28 70 98 23 "et de faire" 97 2~ R9: 62 34 64 74 "en mesme temps" 90 159 147 97 99 28 81 141 79 151 8~ R10: 103 52 34 102 81 23 "de nos" 148 150 138 160 164 148 175 126 118 122 R11: 103 88 28 101 "et à nos ennemis mais aussy de" 122 79 81 58 97 121 28 ~ R12: 97 33 119 121 147 33 105 141 138 148 30 111 23 97 74 141 126 44 "d'empescher" R13: 90 27 80 23 99 121 97 81 151 64 34 117 142 107 73 23 122 107 99 103 12~ R14: "dont il est" 138 141 33 27 81 79 119 34 42 74 "avoir" 119 121 112 122 90 51 ~ R15: 148 74 88 51 122 "pour l'interest" 106 160 97 58 99 74 141 88 27 112 23 4~ R16: 80 79 121 23 30 79 69 141 74 "les affaires" 105 34 88 138 42 33 23 122 ~ R17: 60 23 70 151 74 79 "nos suiets" 27 176 105 58 126 97 23 74 151 142 47 ~ R18: 42 74 141 37 97 58 101 81 86 33 84 126 23 99 141 101 23 79 80 2~ R19: 77 107 74 116 28 150 70 34 69 98 "a la fois" 126 86 40 150 141 135 ~ R20: 34 28 74 79 23 107 30 148 463 106 160 "nos armes." R21: "Il nous est" 20 30 133 37 147 23 126 67 80 51 108 148 112 121 107 "nos" R22: 70 58 69 151 141 30 23 69 74 58 119 79 "que l'on ne peut pas" 69 R23: 58 30 141 74 28 88 119 42 33 23 116 79 33 151 30 107 101 125 74 1~ R24: 161 125 98 23 101 "dont nous" 23 99 141 101 90 79 20 27 74 148 33 ~ R25: "il est de" 90 27 119 74 69 80 23 87 105 141 106 23 119 74 23 42 14~ R26: 137 28 121 30 23 81 58 97 119 "que l'on" 97 58 69 101 119 74 23 119 ~ R27: 121 169 "et il est de la" 64 97 71 28 81 79 24 107 30 47 110 160 5~ R28: 102 133 73 28 70 51 23 41 80 107 30 47 144 58 33 117 23 52 86 ~ R29: 41 118 97 98 "ensemble de ne" 35 118 28 33 151 144 27 112 39 23 7~ R30: 148 81 25 47 104 30 141 121 97 86 101 103 61 28 107 122 "ny" R31: 104 83 33 106 118 33 165 79 74 97 87 102 118 94 "qui a tout" 97 58 ~ R32: 144 126 122 159 81 74 161 105 28 107 37 119 34 97 37 "Vostre Majesté." R33: "Si ces" 97 23 74 151 42 122 131 69 112 150 23 110 59 141 33 15~
Transcription
# R0003797 image 322 right (f.307r), Bonde and Lillieroot's French memorial to Louis XIV; #453's first page (f.307v) follows. HELD-OUT for KEY_v3. Clear French in quotes. R1: "si souverainement en" 30 47 119 23 74 122 58 33 117 141 80 23 "Vostre" R2: "Majesté et qui" 50 58 33 137 23 87 151 125 47 87 125 106 23 81 30 47 98 159 R3: 122 148 110 90 118 112 74 141 "par tout le monde ont fait iusques icy" R4: "le bonheur de son estat et la felicité de son peuple," 79 61 23 122 52 79 R5: 102 118 33 151 159 97 100 94 "a l'avenir" 122 159 110 30 118 28 74 141 112 88 116 R6: 86 74 151 23 61 79 "a la" 122 83 125 28 101 52 148 81 151 28 86 33 80 23 173 R7: 101 107 164 103 88 66 73 107 89 51 73 "confirmeront le Roy nostre" R8: "maistre dans" 90 148 150 107 73 58 90 42 125 112 58 33 131 97 28 90 R9: 83 176 132 74 28 73 107 80 51 142 107 88 51 97 102 23 74 "tousiours" R10: 108 79 102 88 79 142 47 59 101 30 267 83 69 51 81 "Vostre Majesté" R11: "sans se laisser esbranler" 119 47 74 148 97 81 69 33 23 88 27 42 R12: 97 27 28 101 79 22 58 74 151 69 33 23 "et" 37 103 72 69 37 23 121 86 33 151 R13: 101 23 122 148 31 161 107 73 "dans la pensée qu'ils ont que l'on" 59 23 R14: 132 23 42 151 112 47 88 27 28 122 73 23 176 150 141 119 23 33 125 112 74 R15: 106 27 97 58 28 74 107 88 104 121 27 72 23 "l'interest de Vostre Majesté." R16: "Il est inutile de faire" 156 33 90 58 33 20 324 101 97 74 "une chose" R17: "dont personne ne peut douter, et nous sommes trespersuadés que" R18: "Vostre Majesté trouvera" 64 69 28 90 141 40 70 23 88 119 122 142 23 R19: 73 118 33 110 23 74 38 141 74 112 23 42 101 79 116 23 33 151 "soit à faire" R20: 90 159 20 126 23 121 74 107 101 27 33 122 81 74 83 64 33 151 141 80 107 R21: 122 97 81 105 118 88 48 23 74 122 86 28 151 159 174 125 74 27 28 70 151 R22: 107 74 106 23 30 27 119 47 64 67 148 97 23 81 107 73 119 23 R23: 121 159 33 81 79 106 23 73 42 81 105 23 101 R24: "Il est certain que le Roy nostre maistre" 87 51 101 49 159 69 74 R25: 58 23 151 102 23 101 64 71 79 121 144 86 33 20 70 79 88 119 101 159 R26: 90 51 77 86 74 151 142 23 151 103 33 151 142 51 33 117 141 88 28 122 R27: "sans" 79 40 102 23 73 107 81 118 97 121 69 "et que" 49 23 101 141 33 87 R28: 79 88 28 122 "ayant perdu l'esperance" 142 167 121 107 81 R29: 34 33 126 42 107 150 147 74 101 42 150 69 86 40 74 141 138 148 R30: 28 79 71 23 144 79 73 119 90 47 81 79 122 131 69 23 31 79 90 23 42 R31: 150 27 173 119 74 64 101 23 122 23 117 "cette guerre sont convenus" R32: "de faire" 98 58 88 104 51 74 142 23 101 28 20 74 83 33 80 101 23 21 R33: 118 74 41 122 101 97 150 90 103 38 69 23 106 141 "pour" 51 33 R34: 50
Transcription
# R0003797 image 323 left (f.307v), all cipher lines. FRESH text, transcribed without decoding. '~' = numeral cut at the gutter. CLEAR words in quotes. The page opens mid-sentence: the memorial starts on an earlier leaf (image 322, not fetched). R1: 50 23 80 58 88 116 27 54 141 121 "Quand ils en seront venus à bout, il ne faut pas douter qu'ils ne" R2: 74 27 72 103 88 104 90 7~ R3: 33 151 90 23 42 74 122 148 74 88 23 73 "pour les" 107 88 119 9~ R4: 58 66 23 74 151 58 97 70 23 101 143 58 33 151 121 79 126 58 71 74 ~ R5: 60 27 112 79 40 23 "et s'ils ne trouvent leur" 81 58 33 70 141 15~ R6: 69 67 81 133 33 80 147 151 28 34 33 101 142 97 59 23 119 74 118 88 R7: 85 41 141 119 27 28 95 "qu'ils ne" 121 23 55 148 126 123 107 117 151 R8: 90 51 97 121 73 119 74 79 151 107 33 122 28 34 87 101 "et au lieu de se" R9: 105 86 33 70 27 33 151 141 74 88 27 64 33 151 141 33 159 59 12~ R10: "de regaigner" 81 23 131 42 161 90 73 34 33 151 119 23 74 80 69 "qu'ils" R11: 119 74 23 151 141 33 142 79 33 151 159 119 74 79 101 "ce qu'ils se" 81 74 R12: 58 28 150 86 33 125 79 40 74 23 107 33 23 71 27 151 24 79 119 74 23 33 106 74 2~ R13: "Voila Sire ce qui" 23 40 81 79 74 151 27 64 87 "mais il est" 28 3~ R14: 81 79 37 151 148 161 117 119 34 42 37 84 69 64 "la" 78 86 74 151 42 33 ~ R15: 101 23 142 51 81 90 27 74 107 37 159 "et si la valeur et la puissance de vostre Majesté" R16: 122 23 74 58 33 151 41 34 69 73 28 58 42 37 101 12~ R17: 23 105 34 59 50 79 164 119 27 74 "le mesme bonheur qui a" 164 R18: 69 28 97 64 73 79 164 148 102 138 51 122 147 42 101 131 97 23 1~ R19: 28 81 94 "et dont elle s'est" 150 23 33 106 69 51 106 28 110 33 141 119 27 ~ R20: "tant de" 144 79 31 23 101 79 151 110 90 118 74 28 141 42 101 23 ~ R21: 159 105 151 28 162 33 164 "Il n'en faut pas douter pourveu que Vostre Majesté trouve" R23: 48 58 33 142 107 151 34 42 74 59 79 37 73 23 101 47 37 88 23 101 R24: 81 58 33 125 74 107 30 23 121 118 66 106 23 314 "et" 106 23 33 97 11~ R25: 66 23 74 142 23 "bonne heure" 159 126 73 107 81 34 42 37 101 106 R26: 90 148 101 69 79 50 23 "le nombre" 80 23 151 74 58 97 119 57 ~ R27: 23 151 142 107 97 27 28 100 51 27 42 155 "qui soit" 119 74 133 35 8~ R28: 125 147 86 33 137 107 47 30 27 20 74 148 33 106 141 42 74 2~ R29: 106 27 33 76 23 74 "suivant le contenu du traitté, car ce n'[est]" R30: "que par" 81 23 88 34 66 23 117 101 161 "toutes choses" 33 23 117 133 ~ R31: 151 74 118 88 119 23 33 151 "que l'on puisse" 150 23 99 47 26 9~ R32: 121 62 23 101 27 77 47 64 121 141 101 106 51 30 47 81 159 97 7~ R33: 105 58 88 138 42 33 51 "et" 119 74 23 85 47 121 141 74 90 16~
Transcription
# R0003797 image 323 right (f.308r), all lines. FRESH text, transcribed without decoding. '~' = numeral at the page edge, doubtful/cut. CLEAR words in quotes. R1: 105 75 23 88 64 59 159 "une paix iuste et honorable. C'est sur quoy nous avons desia eu l'honneur d'expliquer à Vostre Majesté les sentimens du Roy nostre maistre, et d'en entretenir souvent Monsieur de Pompone, qui nous a fait connoistre de la part de Vostre Majesté" R5: 90 28 88 119 34 100 64 104 112 30 28 151 141 56 42 23 31 79 151 74 R6: 86 42 126 23 47 176 22 47 28 74 141 30 148 20 42 107 74 37 51 103 97 R7: 121 118 94 50 79 314 "et a donner" 90 79 122 23 81 58 97 74 101 103 90 2~ R8: 101 97 23 106 141 117 23 137 34 42 101 47 66 148 33 151 145 103 28 100 23 148 R9: 97 81 42 33 79 23 101 119 79 74 148 33 81 23 117 94 80 79 90 42 33 33 66 R10: 142 107 30 148 42 151 74 141 R11: "Nous" 59 34 42 101 81 118 33 151 141 33 125 79 74 28 118 33 101 "sans doute" R12: 142 23 81 23 41 151 141 74 141 101 119 34 33 122 79 "si nous estions" R13: 138 34 28 117 101 73 23 33 101 28 26 30 79 101 148 42 44 88 159 30 R14: 19 23 42 74 101 142 42 117 74 34 129 148 42 116 23 159 109 30 64 20 79 R15: "et aux" 106 79 119 30 47 64 101 28 74 122 80 97 102 34 45 137 58 40 R16: 150 51 88 148 28 71 74 23 "Mais" 30 79 93 23 90 79 120 42 23 "nous" R17: "avons pour" 101 34 33 122 141 74 42 64 81 79 "ioint à" 145 159 117 23 R18: 81 79 100 28 151 23 106 23 101 79 122 148 22 47 28 74 23 122 "et" 159 R19: 90 79 38 119 79 74 47 33 81 23 "d'une" 138 51 64 31 23 97 121 79 R20: 108 86 102 98 126 117 23 "a l'avenir nous" 133 104 90 28 20 23 159 R21: 150 79 64 151 141 74 23 102 33 58 122 161 33 99 103 117 81 23 101 R22: "et nous donne" 90 23 119 74 64 97 112 90 79 20 141 106 23 74 23 R23: 119 74 23 101 79 33 151 141 74 98 74 23 101 19 42 88 144 30 79 116 23 R24: 33 151 159 156 34 99 74 23 138 27 64 23 99 79 "plus d'une fois combien" R25: 101 27 116 47 161 23 124 79 105 86 33 151 141 101 42 74 122 118 33 103 116 R26: 28 151 64 79 23 151 105 34 116 48 28 23 33 "il importe a l'interest" R27: "commun" 50 79 90 27 101 23 81 118 97 74 112 150 R28: "Il est vray qu'il est" 106 28 77 112 81 64 30 79 142 23 108 47 28 R29: 121 23 119 47 100 23 74 49 79 101 23 81 34 42 74 101 60 47 28 122 R30: "nous esperons que Vostre Majesté ne trouvera pas" 143 23 151 125 141 R31: 80 64 109 28 105 69 30 98 23 147 33 126 28 117 81 28 48 30 141 "laquelle" R32: "peut estre" 101 42 74 88 58 33 70 23 79 119 47 74 97 33 79 109 118 74 70 R33: 138 23 106 28 34 81 74 141 79 98 85 47 150 "des mesures iustes."
Transcription
f308v_324L_lines1-14_training.txt
# R0003797 image 324 left (f.308v), lines 1-14. TRAINING text: read with KEY_v1 two-digit values plus context to fix the values 100-176. Not part of any test. # CLEAR words in quotes. '~' = numeral cut at the gutter. l1: "Vostre Majesté qui a fait tant de belles actions en sa vie, sçait" l2: "mieux que personne qu'il n'y" 167 137 159 119 34 64 33 151 101 27 33 12~ l3: 51 135 74 47 33 106 79 101 51 33 151 74 141 119 74 28 101 23 164 "lesquelles" l4: "ne" 150 79 42 100 161 39 23 33 151 135 97 23 74 141 122 164 159 33 164 14~ l5: 161 77 28 81 97 90 151 141 137 94 122 159 33 73 119 141 121 28 90 "Tous" l6: "les ennemis" 23 33 101 118 137 41 142 58 42 151 141 97 67 106 159 104 11~ l7: 121 142 "Mais Vostre Majesté a accoustumé" 106 79 119 102 51 33 14~ l8: 37 79 101 23 122 119 74 23 81 47 42 151 28 34 59 101 23 125 "ou il n'y" l9: "a point eu de" 119 74 58 132 86 102 151 28 34 117 107 33 125 74 79 30 l10: 119 23 37 151 141 141 151 30 79 20 27 64 87 "elle n'a iamais balancé" l11: 159 19 148 93 83 74 142 23 74 119 23 42 119 86 42 121 20 148 28 54 3~ l12: 141 74 104 23 47 156 81 118 97 132 l13: "Le plus" 101 79 97 121 107 40 142 23 176 151 141 33 64 74 90 27 81 1~ l14: 58 101 79 122 107 143 102 23 125 141 "et comme la saison est trop"
Transcription
# R0003797 image 324 (f.308v lines 15-30, f.309r lines 1-22). HELD-OUT text: transcribed without decoding, frozen before the single decode with KEY_v2. # CLEAR words in quotes. '~' = numeral cut at the gutter or page edge. Not yet read: f.309r lines 23 on, images 325-326. R15: "avancée" 119 133 97 74 52 47 28 102 79 119 47 39 79 74 144 107 142 28~ R16: 122 79 105 118 156 74 101 81 51 70 98 160 148 33 117 23 107 "nous" R17: "esperons qu'il plaira à Vostre Majesté de" 144 107 119 74 23 132 47 74 2~ R18: 85 58 97 74 144 79 "commencement" 142 97 119 74 28 33 151 141 88 119 101~ R19: 37 118 81 19 27 28 117 "afin qu'il" 132 126 161 72 141 107 33 151 74 23 ~ R20: 24 141 48 118 33 137 141 "heure au" 119 58 121 151 106 141 20 118 1~ R21: 107 33 144 133 97 121 110 "et" 28 118 64 33 142 121 141 90 23 101 ~ R22: 67 97 148 161 100 27 42 95 34 97 28 "y sont pour" 108 133 121 88 ~ R23: 156 33 23 140 90 118 70 151 107 49 148 119 27 82 30 23 "de faire" R24: 126 33 23 50 161 97 23 74 101 64 34 33 49 118 165 122 147 R25: 142 167 150 159 104 144 160 "Cependant les Plenipotentiaires qui sont assemblés à Nimmegue ne negligeront pas les negotiations de la paix, à laquelle Vostre Majesté a tousjours declaré avec beaucoup de generosité de vouloir apporter toute la facilité imaginable. Mais si elle avoit" 148 20~ R29: 141 159 104 30 160 142 79 33 118 42 126 102 28 150 119 90 126 16~ R30: "particulierement" 122 23 101 38 51 33 70 28 88 23 33 101 148 15~ R31: 150 133 94 117 86 40 74 79 88 42 64 71 102 79 "Sa Majesté" 119 74~ R32: 86 22 64 151 141 37 118 28 151 106 79 "cette confiance pour faire" R33: 159 20 28 74 122 107 101 132 30 23 33 64 119 58 151 141 33 151 28 47 1~ R34: 121 23 164 106 23 81 34 59 105 79 74 151 "et pour leur donner tous" R35: "les ordres necessaires" 119 86 69 74 108 159 28 74 141 121 79 42 100 28 7~ R36: 90 79 60 107 38 116 23 142 51 100 79 28 137 "Nous prevoyons bien que cette negotiation sera beaucoup" R38: "traversée par" 90 47 88 27 42 97 148 28 101 23 112 33 151 79 59 41 28~ R39: 118 59 142 51 101 148 31 112 79 73 "qui ont" 74 23 101 34 30 42 23 3~ R40: 70 74 23 141 42 128 "de ne point faire" 24 79 119 148 28 95 56 69 2~ R41: 97 34 40 74 23 88 47 28 79 71 23 33 79 30 141 42 74 121 107 33 5~ R42: 79 30 107 101 105 34 59 84 97 23 71 23 122 131 97 23 61 79 159 176 R43: 108 148 64 70 23 101 "sur eux" 79 33 81 23 151 41 141 20 42 23 74 R44: 37 79 "et ils témoignent tant d'opiniâtreté en ce point, qu'il n'y a point d'apparence qu'ils s'en veuillent demordre. Ils ont pris des" R46: "mesures ensemble pour" 138 51 70 151 74 141 30 148 101 42 23 80 1~ R47: 80 148 33 101 30 64 116 119 34 100 28 82 64 90 28 151 141 24 79 22~ R48: 159 28 74 79 "la guerre avec succes et ils se promettent" 90 148~ R49: 102 23 80 42 81 151 64 34 117 106 23 90 159 119 86 138 23 74 148 33~ R50: 64 141 "devant qu'il soit peu" 90 159 131 126 23 61 79 30 23 42 74 R51: 141 40 159 39 23 42 37 79 141 164 64 79 31 51 33 79 40 119 148 101~ R52: 101 23 81 58 97 102 69 23 "Ils sont enflés de la conqueste de Breme"
Transcription
# R0003797 image 325 left (f.309v), all lines. FRESH text, transcribed without decoding. '~' = numeral cut at the gutter. CLEAR words in quotes. # Note: image 324 right (f.309r) lines 23-30 hold NO cipher (all clear French), so there is nothing to transcribe there. R1: "prochaine contre la France. C'est par ces moyens qu'ils pretendent de reduire Vostre Majesté à la necessité de leur ceder le droit de faire la paix telle que bon leur semblera," R4: 30 79 84 97 23 90 173 79 89 141 101 23 99 110 30 1~ R5: 121 28 23 42 101 79 88 107 33 98 159 81 120 126 147 101 "partant" R6: 142 79 106 64 109 23 102 141 137 98 79 101 97 161 105 70 34 64 150 R7: 38 "Mais il ne" 151 64 23 33 142 74 148 131 97 159 107 139 141 80 ~ R8: 150 86 116 132 102 23 90 79 42 102 122 138 79 101 97 121 107 16~ R9: "soit par le" 150 107 40 148 26 144 112 39 141 88 160 33 151 142 51 ~ R10: 159 77 148 112 74 23 101 142 23 122 42 79 106 51 164 118 147 12~ R11: 119 159 74 156 33 107 110 23 33 107 121 160 97 122 141 106 160 81 R12: 103 74 159 70 28 118 87 119 86 97 102 90 103 119 159 28 44 17~ R13: "L'un et l'autre est glorieux à Vostre Majesté, et tous les deux ont apparence de succés." R15: "Si" 79 61 23 119 74 107 33 118 64 151 90 27 150 51 101 34 90 97 125 2~ R16: 86 33 103 57 121 107 73 "une si heureuse campagne et au" R17: "milieu de ses victoires" 106 23 132 74 79 97 23 33 28 37 90 R18: 142 79 100 51 64 33 142 23 101 107 33 117 79 116 28 122 51 117 3~ R19: 47 81 102 28 108 147 103 33 151 105 23 101 49 58 87 120 97 23 71 7~ R20: 83 97 121 79 119 86 164 "de la Chrestienté, le Roy nostre maistre" R21: 107 38 132 23 74 79 131 69 107 89 23 137 23 156 58 97 80 74 ~ R22: 112 70 119 148 101 90 51 22 159 161 74 51 "sans y mettre une" R23: 105 58 87 106 28 70 161 58 117 131 97 28 90 79 119 97 40 150 R24: 138 51 41 70 150 141 141 33 119 133 39 23 100 28 162 59 80 51 73 10~ R25: 119 90 83 105 51 164 144 79 122 118 64 137 "que vostre Majesté" R26: "auroit en ce rencontre" 106 79 122 133 165 147 33 151 141 74 23 ~ R27: "trouveroit des" 144 58 97 159 59 20 23 101 119 159 74 125 34 42 7~ R28: 144 23 42 74 118 132 141 "et un tel exemple" 106 23 110 141 33 16~ R29: 150 133 73 112 70 79 103 126 74 133 161 41 "du moins et avant" R30: "que ceux qui publient que" 144 23 122 70 102 47 28 151 41 1~ R31: 131 126 23 30 34 117 159 177 148 97 23 81 69 86 157 121 14~
Transcription
# R0003797 image 325 right (f.310r), all cipher lines. FRESH text, transcribed without decoding. CLEAR words in quotes. R1: 138 159 28 141 99 79 59 107 122 118 87 70 "que de" 22 118 147 R2: 104 30 141 101 20 148 74 47 33 80 101 142 107 90 103 122 79 97 121 79 R3: 70 79 106 23 122 79 101 148 115 64 23 122 107 137 73 51 121 118 28 R4: 141 33 151 142 51 125 102 118 138 132 107 73 "C'est pourquoy" R5: "Vostre Majesté veut bien que le Roy nostre maistre" 78 103 100 23 R6: 108 133 117 24 101 69 150 145 103 74 98 64 81 30 51 "du traitté qui" R7: "porte qu'elle" 108 51 121 148 62 27 110 126 23 121 150 23 159 97 67 79 87 R8: 117 107 138 112 73 106 51 73 148 116 83 147 51 71 79 80 23 151 58 69 R9: 70 23 38 101 23 164 108 58 74 81 23 122 "et qu'elle ne desistera" R10: "pas" 56 69 141 31 23 33 79 30 42 66 141 117 148 129 79 119 121 58 49 69 R11: 150 23 101 83 151 64 101 52 103 81 151 64 86 33 79 59 70 28 23 74 107 R12: "dont il a plu à Vostre Majesté de nous faire donner de nouvelles asseurances." R14: "Il est constant" 56 42 97 33 23 125 141 61 79 106 51 81 30 148 74 R15: 83 70 64 86 33 132 86 69 74 90 103 119 159 28 95 "surprendroit" 41 34 R16: 97 122 144 51 38 148 89 112 79 101 "L'Empereur et l'Espagne" R17: "ne sçauroient s'empescher" 50 23 101 66 121 23 33 142 121 79 117 129 R18: 144 79 101 111 58 61 159 33 142 86 28 122 23 151 "la pluspart des estats" R19: "de l'Empire" 50 79 30 148 119 132 90 103 42 142 28 74 "si bien" R20: "qu'infailliblement" 64 30 178 101 79 33 164 69 64 97 74 58 112 151 R21: 118 42 175 156 33 79 119 74 133 138 119 41 79 132 148 28 44 162 156 R22: 97 33 23 50 112 100 23 33 151 28 133 33 79 87 98 121 23 90 23 101 R23: 159 89 112 107 73 "et à la fin" 49 51 97 95 131 69 161 "n'y trouveroient" R24: "pas" 144 23 42 74 81 118 33 151 141 122 107 121 118 64 51 33 151 143 R25: 86 33 70 121 159 64 33 70 164 80 66 81 34 87 122 23 33 151 28 74 R26: 119 86 97 121 137 23 40 121 79 119 47 38 159 26 103 117 142 133 R27: 117 33 79 164 80 141 "leurs amys. La connoissance que nous en avons ne nous permet non plus de douter de cette verité que la precaution et la prudence de fonder la dessus des esperances si certaines, que l'on en neglige les preparatifs qu'il est necessaire de faire pour la campagne prochaine. C'est pourquoy il n'y aura sorte de soin que le Roy nostre maistre"
Transcription
# R0003797 image 326 left (f.310v), all cipher lines. FRESH text, transcribed without decoding. '~' = numeral cut at the gutter. CLEAR words in quotes. Single-digit groups (8, 4) are written as seen. R1: "ne veuille prendre de son costé pour raccommoder les affaires, pour equipper sa flotte, pour renforcer son armée et pour pourvoir à la seureté de ses estats et a celle de ses places, affin se mettre en estat d'agir utilement pour le bien commun. Sa Majesté ne" R5: 105 55 159 87 110 23 121 148 119 47 101 142 51 122 141 R6: 98 28 88 23 33 122 119 58 42 74 159 97 34 64 37 79 71 107 88 10~ R7: 90 19 23 42 74 79 126 101 23 "elle a le coeur trop grand pour s'en laisser accabler, il reste à ses trouppes quelque chose de l'ancienne vigueur et de l'envie de bien faire, et il n'a point de suiet qui luy sacrifie de bon coeur sa vie et son bien." R11: 138 47 64 73 105 58 88 116 107 33 66 90 23 97 121 104 64 51 11~ R12: 137 66 90 23 74 79 42 107 33 97 106 51 90 103 49 58 97 74 118 R13: 117 79 "qui est extremement" 80 161 138 64 59 97 107 119 27 150 R14: 62 112 33 70 79 74 102 42 132 70 28 118 33 80 97 105 118 88 116 28 ~ R15: 81 23 "de plusieurs années, beaucoup de ses" 132 102 34 97 28 33 81 ~ R16: 101 51 71 103 33 98 79 87 151 28 23 74 107 88 141 33 125 121 42 64 R17: 33 79 107 122 119 148 74 90 51 73 148 74 88 23 107 164 117 129 R18: "le" 101 69 26 73 64 50 79 118 37 24 64 33 148 112 37 23 131 42 141 R19: "Vostre Majesté luy fait" 119 148 45 23 37 148 69 23 81 97 33 141 R20: 132 74 58 88 119 151 28 125 42 142 23 80 28 20 33 141 106 69 117 R21: 90 118 42 159 33 76 107 "toute particuliere ne peuvent pas" R22: 122 69 21 64 102 79 148 8 30 23 44 49 23 100 28 69 141 50 79 119 R23: 79 59 101 107 "qu'il est necessaire" 106 51 78 148 28 102 16~ R24: "Le Roy nostre maistre" 107 38 119 23 74 141 120 69 23 97 58 4~ R25: 121 79 116 148 28 51 40 141 "sera" 122 69 119 132 62 141 51 74 14~ R26: 105 23 80 51 52 83 69 41 119 148 74 69 33 23 101 118 88 116 107 R27: 141 67 70 121 103 118 102 106 147 33 159 28 102 23 "qu'elle" R28: "aura" 90 148 26 118 33 70 51 80 79 90 42 66 159 81 105 34 R29: 102 50 23 102 "dont" 97 59 23 119 148 102 70 64 51 122 51 121 8~ R30: 28 41 47 88 119 30 34 66 141 79 148 4 103 81 55 23 151 79
Transcription
# R0003797 image 326 right (f.311r), all cipher lines. FRESH text, transcribed without decoding. CLEAR words in quotes. Single-digit group 3 written as seen. R1: 24 141 38 116 69 59 28 70 147 58 33 101 50 23 48 58 69 81 19 164 R2: 23 41 106 23 110 69 23 121 150 79 51 33 159 117 54 62 23 41 141 74 102 51 R3: 79 151 169 33 134 34 61 148 137 80 51 "pour estre" 41 102 148 33 38 119 R4: 58 74 151 141 79 122 148 3 40 37 148 30 73 69 33 50 51 151 103 3 54 118 R5: 41 19 23 33 104 118 42 74 110 "et l'autre" 119 27 74 151 28 79 150 79 88 R6: 112 73 79 23 117 130 86 60 23 102 103 33 64 79 132 86 97 121 62 103 R7: 81 58 33 164 107 74 97 103 70 64 58 117 80 51 143 107 41 125 141 R8: 119 74 34 42 112 87 105 79 "a laquelle la" 97 28 61 79 106 141 19 159 R9: 32 104 86 97 102 110 "peut beaucoup contribuer, de sorte que vostre Majesté feroit la chose du monde la plus necessaire et la plus avantageuse à la cause commune que de" R11: 30 51 59 110 148 20 23 74 R12: 103 3 38 23 122 64 33 151 141 74 79 40 164 51 33 30 42 66 148 81 R13: 49 86 74 106 47 33 151 62 47 144 161 104 141 150 125 79 50 69 R14: 143 118 138 88 51 121 105 167 "Voila Sire ce que nous avons eu ordre de vous representer de la part du roy nostre maistre, nous supplions tres humblement Vostre Majesté d'y faire reflexion, et de nous accorder une favorable response, estant avec beaucoup de respect, Sire, de Vostre Majesté C.B. N.L."
Decryption
# Decryption of transcriptions/f306r_321R.txt with key.tsv (v3), written by scripts/build.py. «» = clear on the page; [~] = numeral cut at the gutter; <n> = no value in the key; CAPITALS = weak value. First decoded once on 12 Nov 2026 at 03:42:40 UTC (b104). R1 «Les trouppes qui ont agi en ces occasions» ontbesoin<76> R2 de<99>reanimeespar «l'asseurance» R3 dunpromptsecours «pour» e<124>re R4 pluscapablesdepoursui R5 ure<245>cetteuiltoire<173>et R6 «de tout entreprendre sous le commandement d'un Roy qui a» R7 «toutes les parties d'un bon General, car nous esperons qu'avec l'assistance» R8 «de Dieu» samaie<99>eserabient R9 o<99>ene<124>atparlemoående R10 cesecours «de chasser les ennemis de son» R11 «royaume,» desecourirlapomer R12 anieetdere<99>ablirtoutd R13 uncouplesaÅairesde<178> R14 suedeetmalemLgne «Pour le moins»
Decryption
# Decryption of transcriptions/f306v_322L.txt with key.tsv (v3), written by scripts/build.py. «» = clear on the page; [~] = numeral cut at the gutter; <n> = no value in the key; CAPITALS = weak value. First decoded once on 12 Nov 2026 at 03:40:25 UTC (b104). R1 «nous sommes persuadés que» lo<99>remaiest[~] R2 ne<240>uoudroetpas «avoir» fai R3 inutilementdesdeclara[~] R4 onsou<173>sagloireetsoni R5 tere<99>onttant «de part et qu'elle nous en» R6 ferabientostuoirlesefec[~] R7 «Il n'est pas seulement» que<99>ion «Sire» de<44>[~] R8 cuteruntraitte «et de faire» u[~] R9 loir «en mesme temps» laiu<99>iceet[~] R10 Lforce «de nos» armesa<175>uos R11 Lmis «et à nos ennemis mais aussy de» secouri[~] R12 unprincemal<111>eureu<44> «d'empescher» R13 lade<99>ructiondesese<99>L[~] R14 «dont il est» menacepour «avoir» prisle[~] R15 armes «pour l'interest» deuo<99>remaie[~] R16 dereleuer «les affaires» communes[~] R17 mettre «nos suiets» a<176>couuertda[~] R18 ureruosconque<99>eseed[~] R19 fermirtout «a la fois» uostreg[~] R20 oireeela<463>de «nos armes.» R21 «Il nous est» glorieuxdefaire «nos» R22 touteleurope «que l'on ne peut pas» u R23 olerimpunementlestr[~] R24 ittes «dont nous» e<99>eslegaran[~] R25 «il est de» laprudencedepreu[~] R26 nirlecoup «que l'on» uousprep[~] R27 rä «et il est de la» iusticedelage[~] R28 rositeetdelalonnefo[~] R29 tout «ensemble de ne» pointlaisse[~] R30 accableruosLlies «ny» R31 bandonnerunroy «qui a tout» uo[~] R32 lusacricierpour «Vostre Majesté.» R33 «Si ces» uertusquiregnen[~]
Decryption
# Decryption of transcriptions/f307r_322R.txt with key.tsv (v3), written by scripts/build.py. «» = clear on the page; [~] = numeral cut at the gutter; <n> = no value in the key; CAPITALS = weak value. First decoded once on 12 Nov 2026 at 03:40:25 UTC (b104). R1 «si souverainement en» lapersonnede «Vostre» R2 «Majesté et qui» donnenttantdeclata R3 sagloire «par tout le monde ont fait iusques icy» R4 «le bonheur de son estat et la felicité de son peuple,» elesfe R5 rontaussy «a l'avenir» sagloireimm R6 ortele «a la» satisfactionde<173> R7 sesLmåsenes «confirmeront le Roy nostre» R8 «maistre dans» laresolutionquil R9 a<176>prisededemeurer «tousiours» R10 fermedansl<267>auec «Vostre Majesté» R11 «sans se laisser esbranler» paraucunemau R12 uaisefortune «et» rLssureront R13 sesalies «dans la pensée qu'ils ont que l'on» ne R14 peutiamaisse<176>repentir R15 dauoirembrasse «l'interest de Vostre Majesté.» R16 «Il est inutile de faire» unlong<324>sur «une chose» R17 «dont personne ne peut douter, et nous sommes trespersuadés que» R18 «Vostre Majesté trouvera» iuilesttempsde R19 songerserieusement «soit à faire» R20 laguerresanscraintede R21 succombersoita<174>traitt R22 erdelapaixauecespe R23 rancedesucces R24 «Il est certain que le Roy nostre maistre» nescaur R25 oetresisterlongtempsa R26 lefortdetLntdennemis R27 «sans» estresecouru «et que» cesenn R28 emis «ayant perdu l'esperance» derec R29 onuuerirsuruostrema R30 iestelesplacesqueleleu R31 ra<173>prisesen «cette guerre sont convenus» R32 «de faire» tomberdesigrandseÅ R33 ortssurlLsuede «pour» en R34 d
Decryption
# Decryption of transcriptions/f307v_323L.txt with key.tsv (v3), written by scripts/build.py. «» = clear on the page; [~] = numeral cut at the gutter; <n> = no value in the key; CAPITALS = weak value. First decoded once on 12 Nov 2026 at 03:03:54 UTC (b101). R1 dedommager «Quand ils en seront venus à bout, il ne faut pas douter qu'ils ne» R2 rassLmbl[~] R3 ntleursarmes «pour les» emp[~] R4 oåertoutescontreuostr[~] R5 maieste «et s'ils ne trouvent leur» conte[~] R6 uxconditionsduneprom R7 ptepaix «qu'ils ne» rehau<123>ent R8 leurspretensions «et au lieu de se» R9 contantermaintenan[~] R10 «de regaigner» cequilsontperdu «qu'ils» R11 pretendentapres «ce qu'ils se» cr R12 oirontestreenestatdeprendr[~] R13 «Voila Sire ce qui» estcertain «mais il est» i[~] R14 certainpourqui «la» fortun[~] R15 sedeclarera «et si la valeur et la puissance de vostre Majesté» R16 seronttousiours[~] R17 econdespar «le mesme bonheur qui a» s R18 uiuisesarmesiusque[~] R19 icy «et dont elle s'est» renduedignepa[~] R20 «tant de» lelesetglorieuse[~] R21 acti<162>ns «Il n'en faut pas douter pourveu que Vostre Majesté trouve» R23 bondetournersesarmes R24 contreleroåde<314> «et» denu[~] R25 åerde «bonne heure» ausecoursd R26 lasuede «le nombre» detroupp[~] R27 etdeuaisseau<155> «qui soit» prop[~] R28 tionnealagrandeur[~] R29 dan<76>er «suivant le contenu du traitté, car ce n'[est]» R30 «que par» cemoåensi «toutes choses» neno[~] R31 trompent «que l'on puisse» re<99>ab[~] R32 rlesafairesdelacau[~] R33 commune «et» preparerl[~]
Decryption
# Decryption of transcriptions/f308r_323R.txt with key.tsv (v3), written by scripts/build.py. «» = clear on the page; [~] = numeral cut at the gutter; <n> = no value in the key; CAPITALS = weak value. First decoded once on 12 Nov 2026 at 03:03:54 UTC (b101). R1 chemina «une paix iuste et honorable. C'est sur quoy nous avons desia eu l'honneur d'expliquer à Vostre Majesté les sentimens du Roy nostre maistre, et d'en entretenir souvent Monsieur de Pompone, qui nous a fait connoistre de la part de Vostre Majesté» R5 limpossibilitequeletr R6 ouuea<176>fairelaguerreLu R7 royde<314> «et a donner» lesecoursLl[~] R8 suedenenousaåant<145>Lissea R9 ucuneesperancenydelunnå R10 delautre R11 «Nous» nouscontenterions «sans doute» R12 decetteresponse «si nous estions» R13 moinssensiblesau<44>mal R14 heursdunro<129>aumea<109>lige R15 «et aux» deplaisirsduroynost R16 remaistre «Mais» lezele<120>ue «nous» R17 «avons pour» sonseruice «ioint à» <145>ane R18 cessitedesesafaires «et» a R19 lesperance «d'une» meileure R20 fortune «a l'avenir nous» obligea R21 reiterernosin<99>Lnces R22 «et nous donne» lepriuilegedere R23 presentertreshumlleme R24 ntauo<99>remaie<99>e «plus d'une fois combien» R25 samaie<124>econtesursonLm R26 itieetcombien «il importe a l'interest» R27 «commun» delasecourir R28 «Il est vray qu'il est» dificiledefai R29 repassercesecoursmais R30 «nous esperons que Vostre Majesté ne trouvera pas» cette R31 di<109>iculteinuincible «laquelle» R32 «peut estre» surmonteeparune<109>ort R33 mediocreetpar «des mesures iustes.»
Decryption
f308v_324L_lines1-14_training.txt
# Training lines 1-14 of image 324 left decoded with key.tsv (v3). TRAINING: values F of the key come from these lines. Not counted. R1 «Vostre Majesté qui a fait tant de belles actions en sa vie, sçait» R2 «mieux que personne qu'il n'y» enapointsan[~] R3 egrandesentreprises «lesquelles» R4 «ne» reussissentgueressans[~] R5 ificultenysansperil «Tous» R6 «les ennemis» ensontdouteuxdab[~] R7 rd «Mais Vostre Majesté a accoustumé» depren[~] R8 resesprecautionset «ou il n'y» R9 «a point eu de» proportionentrel R10 perteetlegain «elle n'a iamais balancé» R11 ahazarderpeupourgaig[~] R12 erbeaucoup R13 «Le plus» seurestde<176>tenirlac[~] R14 osesecrete «et comme la saison est trop»
Decryption
f308v-309r_324_v3_insample.txt
# The same lines decoded with key.tsv (v3). IN-SAMPLE: v3 values P were fixed from these lines. Shown for reading, not counted. R15 «avancée» pourfairepasserled[~] R16 secourscetteannee «nous» R17 «esperons qu'il plaira à Vostre Majesté de» leprepar[~] R18 pourle «commencement» duprintemp[~] R19 rochain «afin qu'il» puisseentre[~] R20 debonne «heure au» portdego[~] R21 enlourg «et» ioindreles[~] R22 xuaissauxoui «y sont pour» form[~] R23 uneflottecapable «de faire» R24 unediuersionconsi R25 derable «Cependant les Plenipotentiaires qui sont assemblés à Nimmegue ne negligeront pas les negotiations de la paix, à laquelle Vostre Majesté a tousjours declaré avec beaucoup de generosité de vouloir apporter toute la facilité imaginable. Mais si elle avoit» a[~] R29 eabledenouurirplu[~] R30 «particulierement» sessentimensa[~] R31 roynostremuistre «Sa Majesté» p[~] R32 ofiteroitde «cette confiance pour faire» R33 agirsesplenipotentia[~] R34 resdeconcert «et pour leur donner tous» R35 «les ordres necessaires» pourfairereussi[~] R36 lemesmedessein «Nous prevoyons bien que cette negotiation sera beaucoup» R38 «traversée par» lamauuaiseintent[~] R39 ondesalies «qui ont» resolue[~] R40 treeuo «de ne point faire» depaixqu[~] R41 uostremaiesteneleurren[~] R42 elesconquestesquelea<176> R43 faites «sur eux» encetteguer R44 re «et ils témoignent tant d'opiniâtreté en ce point, qu'il n'y a point d'apparence qu'ils s'en veuillent demordre. Ils ont pris des» R46 «mesures ensemble pour» mettrelasued[~] R47 danslimpossibilitede[~] R48 aire «la guerre avec succes et ils se promettent» l[~] R49 reductiondelapomera[~] R50 ie «devant qu'il soit peu» laqueleleur R51 estasseureesielenestpa[~] R52 secourue «Ils sont enflés de la conqueste de Breme»
Decryption
# Decryption of transcriptions/f309v_325L.txt with key.tsv (v3), written by scripts/build.py. «» = clear on the page; [~] = numeral cut at the gutter; <n> = no value in the key; CAPITALS = weak value. First decoded once on 12 Nov 2026 at 03:03:54 UTC (b101). R1 «prochaine contre la France. C'est par ces moyens qu'ils pretendent de reduire Vostre Majesté à la necessité de leur ceder le droit de faire la paix telle que bon leur semblera,» R4 lequel<173>enese<99>gl[~] R5 rieusementac<120>uis «partant» R6 dedi<109>erentesuictoir R7 s «Mais il ne» tiendraquae<139>ed[~] R8 rompreleursmesure[~] R9 «soit par le» restablissementde[~] R10 afairesdesuedesoi[~] R11 parunegenereusedec R12 LrationpourlLpai<44>[~] R13 «L'un et l'autre est glorieux à Vostre Majesté, et tous les deux ont apparence de succés.» R15 «Si» eleprenoitlaresolut[~] R16 onLpres «une si heureuse campagne et au» R17 «milieu de ses victoires» depreuenirl R18 desseindesennemisen[~] R19 acrifiLntcescon<120>uest[~] R20 aurepos «de la Chrestienté, le Roy nostre maistre» R21 esperequeneneuoudr[~] R22 itpaslefaire «sans y mettre une» R23 conditionquilepustr R24 mettreenpossessi<162>ndes[~] R25 placeslesoin «que vostre Majesté» R26 «auroit en ce rencontre» desonintere[~] R27 «trouveroit des» louangespartou[~] R28 leurope «et un tel exemple» degen[~] R29 rositeLuroit «du moins et avant» R30 «que ceux qui publient que» lestraitt[~] R31 quelona<177>auecuo<157>r[~]
Decryption
# Decryption of transcriptions/f310r_325R.txt with key.tsv (v3), written by scripts/build.py. «» = clear on the page; [~] = numeral cut at the gutter; <n> = no value in the key; CAPITALS = weak value. First decoded once on 12 Nov 2026 at 03:03:54 UTC (b101). R1 maie<99>enesont «que de» foi R2 blesgarandsdelLseure R3 tedesesa<115>iesenseroi R4 entdetrompes «C'est pourquoy» R5 «Vostre Majesté veut bien que le Roy nostre maistre» fLsse R6 fondsur<145>Lrticle «du traitté qui» R7 «porte qu'elle» feralaguerreauxen R8 nemisdesamaiestedetou R9 tessesforces «et qu'elle ne desistera» R10 «pas» queleneluåena<129>eprocu R11 resatisfLctionentiere R12 «dont il a plu à Vostre Majesté de nous faire donner de nouvelles asseurances.» R14 «Il est constant» quuneteledeclar R15 ationpourlLpaix «surprendroit» to R16 uslesanies «L'Empereur et l'Espagne» R17 «ne sçauroient s'empescher» desårendren<129> R18 les<111>olandoiset «la pluspart des estats» R19 «de l'Empire» delapplLudir «si bien» R20 «qu'infailliblement» il<178>sensuiuroit R21 ou<175>unepromptepai<44><162>u R22 unedissentionentreles R23 anies «et à la fin» ceuxqui «n'y trouveroient» R24 «pas» leurconteseroientc R25 ontraintsdåconsentir R26 pournestrepasabLndo R27 nnesde «leurs amys. La connoissance que nous en avons ne nous permet non plus de douter de cette verité que la precaution et la prudence de fonder la dessus des esperances si certaines, que l'on en neglige les preparatifs qu'il est necessaire de faire pour la campagne prochaine. C'est pourquoy il n'y aura sorte de soin que le Roy nostre maistre»
Decryption
# Decryption of transcriptions/f310v_326L.txt with key.tsv (v3), written by scripts/build.py. «» = clear on the page; [~] = numeral cut at the gutter; <n> = no value in the key; CAPITALS = weak value. First decoded once on 12 Nov 2026 at 03:03:54 UTC (b101). R1 «ne veuille prendre de son costé pour raccommoder les affaires, pour equipper sa flotte, pour renforcer son armée et pour pourvoir à la seureté de ses estats et a celle de ses places, affin se mettre en estat d'agir utilement pour le bien commun. Sa Majesté ne» R5 changerapasdese R6 timenspourauoirestem[~] R7 lheureuse «elle a le coeur trop grand pour s'en laisser accabler, il reste à ses trouppes quelque chose de l'ancienne vigueur et de l'envie de bien faire, et il n'a point de suiet qui luy sacrifie de bon coeur sa vie et son bien.» R11 maiscommenåleurbie[~] R12 nålereuenudelLcouro R13 ne «qui est extremement» diminuepar R14 linterruptionducommi[~] R15 ce «de plusieurs années, beaucoup de ses» prouinc[~] R16 sestLntentierementrui R17 neesparlesarmeesn<129> R18 «le» subsideordinaireque R19 «Vostre Majesté luy fait» payerauecune R20 promptitudedignedun R21 louan<76>e «toute particuliere ne peuvent pas» R22 suÅirea<8>le<44>cessiuedep R23 ense «qu'il est necessaire» defair[~] R24 «Le Roy nostre maistre» espere<120>ueuo[~] R25 remaieste «sera» suppleer[~] R26 cedefautparunesomme R27 extrLordinaire «qu'elle» R28 «aura» labontedeluåacco R29 rder «dont» unepartieser[~] R30 itamploåeea<4>Lchete
Decryption
# Decryption of transcriptions/f311r_326R.txt with key.tsv (v3), written by scripts/build.py. «» = clear on the page; [~] = numeral cut at the gutter; <n> = no value in the key; CAPITALS = weak value. First decoded once on 12 Nov 2026 at 03:03:54 UTC (b101). R1 desmunitionsdebouchs R2 etdeguerreenangleterre R3 etän<134>olande «pour estre» transp R4 orteesa<3>stralsundetL<3>go R5 thenbourg «et l'autre» partierem R6 iseen<130>omerLniepourlL R7 conseruLtiondecette R8 prouince «a laquelle la» uiledeha R9 mbourg «peut beaucoup contribuer, de sorte que vostre Majesté feroit la chose du monde la plus necessaire et la plus avantageuse à la cause commune que de» R11 lengager R12 L<3>sesinterestsenluåac R13 cordantlalibertedu R14 commerce «Voila Sire ce que nous avons eu ordre de vous representer de la part du roy nostre maistre, nous supplions tres humblement Vostre Majesté d'y faire reflexion, et de nous accorder une favorable response, estant avec beaucoup de respect, Sire, de Vostre Majesté C.B. N.L.»
Reading
# Carl Bonde and Nils Lillieroot to Louis XIV, memorial, [Paris, 6/16 Oct 1676], f.306r-311r: reading
Riksarkivet, Diplomatica Gallica, SE/RA/2105/I/A/24/54 (R0003797), images 321R-326R. French, long passages in cipher; headed "6 Oct: 1676" on f.306r; the enclosure to the despatch of 6/16 Oct 1676 (image 321L); signed "C.B. N.L." on f.311r.
Conventions: text between asterisks is from cipher, the rest was written in clear. A letter in brackets inside a word = supplied (gutter cut, a number with no value in key v3, or a wrong value): the unit is counted not read in `units.tsv`. [.] = a single sign with no value, probably a null. [314: Danemarc] = the word code 314, whose value comes from the 1675 gloss, counted not read by rule. [173] etc. = a number with no value. (?) = doubtful reading of the clear hand. Word division, accents and capitals are editorial; spelling is the writer's ("conte", "ele", "afaires").
Sources of this text: f.306r-307r, the b104 reading (clear lines of f.306r read from a 1,400 px view, not checked in detail); f.307v-311r, the b101 reading; f.308v-309r (image 324), the b99 reading made with key v2 and context, copied unchanged, in which supplied letters are NOT bracketed. The decode line by line is in `decryptions/`.
## Reading
[f.306r] Sire, Dans l'estat où sont les affaires de Suede, Sa Majesté le Roy nostre maistre n'a pû recevoir une nouvelle plus agreable, que celle de la declaration de guerre, que Vostre Majesté a fait publier contre le Roy de Dannemarc en vertu de la guarantie des traittes du Nord, puisque c'est un témoignage trescertain des bonnes intentions de Vostre Majesté et de l'exactitude, avec laquelle Elle execute les traittes, qu'elle a avec ses Alliés. Le Roy nostre maistre a suiet d'en estre d'autant plus satisfait qu'il a plu aussy à Vostre Majesté de nous faire declarer par Monsieur de Pompone, qu'elle avoit pris la resolution de ne point abandonner Sa Majesté quelque succes que puisse avoir le sort de la guerre. Il semble que ces genereuses declarations ayent aussytost porté bonheur aux armes de Sa Majesté, puisqu'en mesme temps elle a remporté une considerable victoire sur ses ennemys aupres de Halmstad, et qu'elle a contraint le General Danois à lever le siege de Bahuus et à se retirer avec precipitation. Les trouppes qui ont agi en ces occasions *ont besoin[g] d'e[st]re animees par* l'asseurance *d'un prompt secours* pour *e[st]re plus capables de poursuivre [245] cette vi[c]toire [173] et* de tout entreprendre sous le commandement d'un Roy qui a toutes les parties d'un bon General, car nous esperons qu'avec l'assistance de Dieu *sa maie[st]é sera biento[st] en e[st]at par le mo[y]en de ce secours* de chasser les ennemis de son royaume, *de secourir la Pomeranie et de re[st]ablir tout d'un coup les a[ff]aires de [178] Suede et [d'A]lema[g]ne.* Pour le moins
[f.306v] nous sommes persuadés que *[v]o[st]re maiest[é] ne [240] voudro[i]t pas* avoir *fai[t] inutilement des declara[ti]ons où [173] sa gloire et son i[n]tere[st] ont tant* de part et qu'elle nous en *fera bientost voir les efec[ts].*
Il n'est pas seulement *que[st]ion* Sire *d'e[xe]cuter un traitté* et de faire *v[a]loir* en mesme temps *la iu[st]ice et [la] force* de nos *armes à [175] vos [a]mis* et à nos ennemis mais aussy de *secouri[r] un prince mal[h]eureu[x],* d'empescher *la de[st]ruction de ses e[stats]* dont il est *menacé pour* avoir *pris le[s] armes* pour l'interest *de vo[st]re maie[sté], de relever* les affaires *communes, [de] mettre* nos suiets *à [176] couvert, d'a[ss]urer vos conque[st]es e[t] d'[af]fermir tout* à la fois *vostre g[l]oire e[t] la [463] de* nos armes.
Il nous est *glorieux de faire* nos... *toute l'Europe* que l'on ne peut pas *v[i]oler impunement les tr[a]ittés* dont nous *e[st]es le garan[t];* il est de *la prudence de prev[e]nir le coup* que l'on *vous prep[a]re,* et il est de la *iustice, de la ge[ne]rosité et de la [b]onne fo[y] tout* ensemble de ne *point laisse[r] accabler vos [a]lliés* ny *[a]bandonner un roy* qui a tout *vo[u]lu sacri[f]ier pour* Vostre Majesté.
Si ces *vertus qui regnen[t]*
[f.307r] si souverainement en *la personne de* Vostre Majesté et qui *donnent tant d'eclat à sa gloire* par tout le monde ont fait iusques icy le bonheur de son estat et la felicité de son peuple, *eles feront aussy* à l'avenir *sa gloire immortele* à la *satisfaction de [173] ses [a]m[y]s; e[l]es* confirmeront le Roy nostre maistre dans *la resolution qu'il a [176] prise de demeurer* tousiours *ferme dans l'[267] avec* Vostre Majesté sans se laisser esbranler *par aucune mauvaise fortune* et *r[a]ssureront ses aliés* dans la pensée qu'ils ont que l'on *ne peut iamais se [176] repentir d'avoir embrassé* l'interest de Vostre Majesté.
Il est inutile de faire *un long [324] sur* une chose dont personne ne peut douter, et nous sommes trespersuadés que Vostre Majesté trouvera *[q]u'il est temps de songer serieusement* soit à faire *la guerre sans crainte de succomber, soit à [174] traitter de la paix avec esperance de succes.*
Il est certain que le Roy nostre maistre *ne scauro[i]t resister longtemps à l'efort de t[a]nt d'ennemis* sans *estre secouru* et que *ces ennemis* ayant perdu l'esperance *de recon[q]uerir sur vostre maiesté les places qu'ele leur a [173] prises en* cette guerre sont convenus de faire *tomber de si grands e[ff]orts sur l[a] Suede* pour *en d* (continued on f.307v:)
[f.307v] *dedommager*. Quand ils en seront venus à bout, il ne faut pas douter qu'ils ne *rass[a]mbl[e]nt leurs armes* pour les *emp[lo]yer toutes contre vostr[e] Maiesté*, et s'ils ne trouvent leur *conte [a]ux conditions d'une prompte paix*, qu'ils ne *rehau[ss]ent leurs pretensions*, et au lieu de se *contanter maintenan[t]* de regaigner *ce qu'ils ont perdu*, qu'ils *pretendent apres* ce qu'ils se *croiront estre en estat de prendr[e]*.
Voila Sire ce qui *est certain*, mais il est *i[n]certain pour qui* la *fortun[e] se declarera*, et si la valeur et la puissance de vostre Majesté *seront tousiours [s]econdés par* le mesme bonheur qui a *suivi ses armes iusque[s] icy*, et dont elle s'est *rendue digne pa[r]* tant de *[b]eles et glorieuse[s] acti[o]ns*.
Il n'en faut pas douter pourveu que Vostre Majesté trouve *bon de tourner ses armes contre le ro[y] de [314: Danemarc]* et *d'env[o]yer de* bonne heure *au secours d[e] la Suede* le nombre *de troupp[es] et de vaisseau[x]* qui soit *prop[or]tionné à la grandeur [du] dan[g]er* suivant le contenu du traitté, car ce n'[est] que par *ce mo[y]en, si* toutes choses *ne no[us] trompent*, que l'on puisse *re[st]ab[li]r les afaires de la cau[se] commune* et *preparer l[e]* [f.308r] *chemin à* une paix iuste et honorable.
C'est sur quoy nous avons desia eu l'honneur d'expliquer à Vostre Majesté les sentimens du Roy nostre maistre, et d'en entretenir souvent Monsieur de Pompone, qui nous a fait connoistre de la part de Vostre Majesté *l'impossibilité qu'ele trouve à [.] faire la guerre [a]u roy de [314: Danemarc]* et à donner *le secours [à] l[a] Suede, ne nous a[y]ant [la]issé aucune esperance ny de l'un n[y] de l'autre*.
Nous *nous contenterions* sans doute *de cette response* si nous estions *moins sensibles au[x] malheurs d'un ro[y]aume a[ff]ligé* et aux *deplaisirs du roy nostre maistre*. Mais *le zele [q]ue* nous avons pour *son service* ioint à *[l]a necessité de ses afaires* et *à l'esperance* d'une *meileure fortune* à l'avenir nous *oblige à reiterer nos in[st]ances* et nous donne *le privilege de representer tres hum[b]lement à vo[st]re Maie[st]é* plus d'une fois combien *Sa Maie[st]é conte sur son [a]mitié et combien* il importe à l'interest commun *de la secourir*.
Il est vray qu'il est *dificile de faire passer ce secours, mais* nous esperons que Vostre Majesté ne trouvera pas *cette di[ff]iculté invincible*, laquelle peut estre *surmontée par un e[ff]ort mediocre et par* des mesures iustes.
[f.308v-309r, image 324: b99 reading, unchanged] Vostre Majesté qui a fait tant de belles actions en sa vie, sçait mieux que personne qu'il n'y *en a point san[s d]e grandes entreprises*, lesquelles ne *reussissent gueres sans dificulté ny sans peril*. Tous les evenemens(?) *en sont douteux d'abord*. Mais Vostre Majesté a accoustumé *de prendre ses precautions, et* où il n'y a point eu de *proportion entre l[a] perte et le gain*, elle n'a iamais balancé *à hazarder peu pour gaigner beaucoup*. Le plus *seur est de tenir la chose secrete*, et comme la saison est trop avancée *pour faire passer le dit secours cette année*, nous esperons qu'il plaira à Vostre Majesté de *le preparer pour le* commencement *du printemps prochain*, afin qu'il *puisse entrer de bonne* heure au *port de Gothenbourg* et *ioindre les dix vaissaux qui* y sont pour *former une flotte capable* de faire *une diversion considerable*. Cependant les Plenipotentiaires qui sont assemblés à Nimmegue ne negligeront pas les negotiations de la paix, à laquelle Vostre Majesté a tousjours declaré avec beaucoup de generosité de vouloir apporter toute la facilité imaginable. Mais si elle avoit *agreable d'en ouvrir plus* particulierement *ses sentimens au roy nostre maistre*, Sa Majesté *profiteroit de* cette confiance pour faire *agir ses plenipotentiaires de concert* et pour leur donner tous les ordres necessaires *pour faire reussir le mesme dessein*. Nous prevoyons bien que cette negotiation sera beaucoup traversée par *la mauvaise intention des aliés* qui ont *resolu entre eux* de ne point faire *de paix que vostre Maiesté ne leur rende les conquestes qu'ele a faites* sur eux *en cette guerre*, et ils témoignent tant d'opiniâtreté en ce point, qu'il n'y a point d'apparence qu'ils s'en veuillent demordre. Ils ont pris des mesures ensemble pour *mettre la Suede dans l'impossibilité de faire* la guerre avec succes et ils se promettent *la reduction de la Pomeranie* devant qu'il soit peu, *laquele leur est asseurée si ele n'est pas secourue*. Ils sont enflés de la conqueste de Breme et de la prise de Philipsbourg, et ils mettent tout en usage pour porter l'Electeur de Baviere et le Duc de Hannover à prendre party avec eux. Ils animent le Roy de Dannemarc à la continuation de la guerre par l'offre de la garantie de ses conquestes, et ils le flattent d'un mariage entre l'Empereur et la Princesse sa soeur, pour l'engager de plus en plus dans l'interest de la maison d'Autriche. Et comme ils craignent une disposition de la paix en Hollande, ils cherchent à la dissiper, et s'ils n'y reussissent autrement ils se reservent de luy proposer de la dispenser du subside qu'elle fournit à ses Alliés. En un mot ils se proposent non seulement de demeurer bien unis, mais aussy d'employer toutes leurs forces la campaigne [f.309v] prochaine contre la France.
C'est par ces moyens qu'ils pretendent de reduire Vostre Majesté à la necessité de leur ceder le droit de faire la paix telle que bon leur semblera, *lequel [.] e[l]e s'e[st] gl[o]rieusement ac[q]uis* par tant *de di[ff]erentes victoir[e]s*. Mais il ne *tiendra qu'à e[ll]e d[e] rompre leurs mesure[s]*, soit par le *restablissement de[s] afaires de Suede, soi[t] par une genereuse dec[la]ration pour l[a] pai[x]*. L'un et l'autre est glorieux à Vostre Majesté, et tous les deux ont apparence de succés.
Si *ele prenoit la resolut[i]on [a]pres* une si heureuse campagne et au milieu de ses victoires *de prevenir l[e] dessein des ennemis en [s]acrifi[a]nt ces con[q]uest[es] au repos* de la Chrestienté, le Roy nostre maistre *espere que[l]e ne voudr[o]it pas le faire* sans y mettre une *condition qui le pust r[e]mettre en possessi[o]n des places*. *Le soin* que vostre Majesté auroit en ce rencontre *de son intere[st]* trouveroit des *louanges par tou[te] l'Europe*, et un tel exemple *de gen[e]rosité [a]uroit* du moins et avant que ceux qui publient que *les traitt[és] que l'on a [.] avec vo[st]r[e]* [f.310r] *Maie[st]é ne sont* que de *foibles garands de l[a] seureté de ses a[ll]iés en seroient detrompés*. C'est pourquoy Vostre Majesté veut bien que le Roy nostre maistre *f[a]sse fond sur [l'a]rticle* du traitté qui porte qu'elle *fera la guerre aux ennemis de Sa Maiesté de toutes ses forces* et qu'elle ne desistera pas *qu'ele ne lu[y] en a[y]e procuré satisf[a]ction entiere*, dont il a plu à Vostre Majesté de nous faire donner de nouvelles asseurances.
Il est constant *qu'une tele declaration pour l[a] paix* surprendroit *tous les a[l]iés*. L'Empereur et l'Espagne ne sçauroient s'empescher *de s'[y] rendre, n[y] les [H]olandois et* la pluspart des estats de l'Empire *de l'appl[a]udir*, si bien qu'infailliblement *il [.] s'ensuivroit ou [.] une prompte pai[x] [o]u une dissention entre les a[l]iés*, et à la fin *ceux qui* n'y trouveroient pas *leur conte seroient contraints d'[y] consentir pour n'estre pas ab[a]ndonnés de* leurs amys.
La connoissance que nous en avons ne nous permet non plus de douter de cette verité que la precaution et la prudence de fonder là dessus des esperances si certaines, que l'on en neglige les preparatifs qu'il est necessaire de faire pour la campagne prochaine. C'est pourquoy il n'y aura sorte de soin que le Roy nostre maistre [f.310v] ne veuille prendre de son costé pour raccommoder les affaires, pour equipper sa flotte, pour renforcer son armée et pour pourvoir à la seureté de ses estats et à celle de ses places, affin se mettre en estat d'agir utilement pour le bien commun. Sa Majesté ne *changera pas de se[n]timens pour avoir esté m[a]lheureuse*, elle a le coeur trop grand pour s'en laisser accabler, il reste à ses trouppes quelque chose de l'ancienne vigueur et de l'envie de bien faire, et il n'a point de suiet qui luy sacrifie(?) de bon coeur sa vie et son bien.
*Mais comme n[y] leur bie[n] n[y] le revenu de l[a] courone*, qui est extremement *diminué par l'interruption du comm[er]ce* de plusieurs années, beaucoup de ses *provinc[e]s est[a]nt entierement ruinées par les armées, n[y]* le *subside ordinaire que* Vostre Majesté luy fait *payer avec une promptitude digne d'un[e] louan[g]e* toute particuliere ne peuvent pas *su[ff]ire à [.] l'e[x]cessive depense* qu'il est necessaire *de fair[e]*, le Roy nostre maistre *espere [q]ue vo[st]re Maiesté* [clear word, read 'sera', doubtful] *suppleer [à] ce defaut par une somme extr[a]ordinaire* qu'elle aura *la bonté de lu[y] accorder*, dont *une partie ser[o]it amplo[y]ée à [.] [a]chete[r]* [f.311r] *des munitions de bouch[e] et de guerre en Angleterre et [e]n [H]olande* pour estre *transportées à [.] Stralsund et [à] [.] Gothenbourg*, et l'autre *partie remise en [P]omer[a]nie pour l[a] conserv[a]tion de cette province*, à laquelle la *vile de Hambourg* peut beaucoup contribuer, de sorte que vostre Majesté feroit la chose du monde la plus necessaire et la plus avantageuse à la cause commune que de *l'engager [à] [.] ses interests en lu[y] accordant la liberté du commerce*.
Voila Sire ce que nous avons eu ordre de vous representer de la part du roy nostre maistre, nous supplions tres humblement Vostre Majesté d'y faire reflexion, et de nous accorder une favorable response, estant avec beaucoup de respect, Sire, de Vostre Majesté [signed] C.B. N.L.Translation
# Carl Bonde and Nils Lillieroot to Louis XIV, memorial, [Paris, 6/16 Oct 1676], f.306r-311r: English Same holes as the reading at word level: [?word] = a code given a sense from context, not read; [314: Denmark] = code 314, valued from the 1675 gloss, counted not read; (?) = doubtful. Letters supplied inside words are not marked in the English (see the reading). Which passages are cipher is marked in the reading only. "Your Majesty" is Louis XIV; "the King our master" and "His Majesty" are Charles XI. ## Translation Sire, In the state in which the affairs of Sweden stand, His Majesty the King our master could receive no more welcome news than that of the declaration of war which Your Majesty has had published against the King of Denmark under the guarantee of the treaties of the North, since it is a most certain proof of Your Majesty's good intentions and of the exactness with which you carry out the treaties you have with your allies. The King our master has the more cause to be satisfied because it has also pleased Your Majesty to have Monsieur de Pomponne declare to us that you had resolved not to abandon His Majesty whatever the fortune of war might bring. These generous declarations seem to have brought good luck at once to His Majesty's arms, for at the same time he won a considerable victory over his enemies near Halmstad and forced the Danish general to raise the siege of Bohus and to retire in haste. The troops who acted on these occasions need to be heartened by the assurance of prompt help, to be more able to follow up this victory and to undertake anything under the command of a King who has all the parts of a good general; for we hope that with God's help His Majesty will soon be able, by means of this help, to drive the enemy from his kingdom, to relieve Pomerania and to restore at one stroke the affairs of Sweden and of Germany. At the least we are persuaded that Your Majesty would not wish to have made in vain declarations in which your glory and your interest have so large a share, and that you will soon let us see their effects. It is not only a matter, Sire, of carrying out a treaty and of making the justice and the force of our arms felt at once by your friends and by our enemies, but also of helping an unfortunate prince, of preventing the destruction of his states, with which he is threatened for having taken up arms in Your Majesty's interest, of raising up the common cause, of putting our subjects under cover, of securing your conquests and of making firm, all at once, your glory and the [?reputation] of our arms. It is glorious for us to show all Europe that the treaties of which you are the guarantor cannot be broken with impunity; it is prudent to forestall the blow being prepared for you; and it is a matter of justice, generosity and good faith together not to let your allies be crushed, nor to abandon a king who has been willing to sacrifice everything for Your Majesty. If those virtues which reign so sovereignly in Your Majesty's person, and which give such lustre to your glory throughout the world, have until now made the happiness of your state and the felicity of your people, they will in future also make your glory immortal, to the satisfaction of your friends; they will confirm the King our master in the resolution he has taken to remain always firm in the [?alliance] with Your Majesty, unshaken by any ill fortune, and will reassure your allies in their belief that no one can ever repent of having embraced Your Majesty's interest. It is needless to make a long [?discourse] on a thing no one can doubt, and we are fully persuaded that Your Majesty will find it is time to think seriously either of making war without fear of going under, or of treating for peace with hope of success. It is certain that the King our master cannot long withstand the effort of so many enemies without being helped, and that those enemies, having lost hope of winning back from Your Majesty the places you have taken from them in this war, have agreed to throw such great efforts upon Sweden in order to [f.307v] compensate themselves there. Once they have managed that, there is no doubt they will gather their forces to use them all against Your Majesty, and if they do not find their account in the terms of a quick peace, they will raise their claims, and instead of being content now to win back what they have lost, they will afterwards claim whatever they think themselves able to take. That, Sire, is certain. But it is uncertain for whom fortune will declare, and whether Your Majesty's valour and power will always be seconded by the same good luck that has followed his arms until now, and of which he has made himself worthy by so many fine and glorious deeds. There need be no doubt of it, provided Your Majesty sees fit to turn his arms against the King of [314: Denmark] and to send early to the help of Sweden the number of troops and ships in proportion to the size of the danger, as the treaty provides. For it is only by this means, unless everything deceives us, that the affairs of the common cause can be restored and the way prepared to a just and honourable peace. We have already had the honour to explain to Your Majesty the views of the King our master on this, and to speak of it often with Monsieur de Pomponne, who has told us on Your Majesty's behalf of the impossibility he finds in making war on the King of [314: Denmark] and in giving help to Sweden, leaving us no hope of the one or the other. We would no doubt rest content with that answer if we felt less the misfortunes of an afflicted kingdom and the griefs of the King our master. But the zeal we have for his service, joined to the need of his affairs and the hope of better fortune to come, obliges us to repeat our requests, and gives us the privilege of representing most humbly to Your Majesty, more than once, how much His Majesty counts on his friendship and how much it matters to the common interest to help him. It is true that it is hard to get this help across, but we hope Your Majesty will not find the difficulty unconquerable: it can perhaps be overcome by a modest effort and by sound measures. [f.308v-309r, as in b99] Your Majesty, who has done so many fine deeds in his life, knows better than anyone that there are none without great undertakings, which seldom succeed without difficulty or danger. All outcomes(?) are doubtful at first. But Your Majesty is used to taking his precautions, and where there has been no proportion between the loss and the gain he has never hesitated to risk little to win much. The surest course is to keep the matter secret, and as the season is too far gone to send the said help across this year, we hope Your Majesty will be pleased to make it ready for the start of next spring, so that it can come early into the port of Gothenburg and join the ten ships that are there, to form a fleet able to make a considerable diversion. Meanwhile the plenipotentiaries gathered at Nijmegen will not neglect the peace talks, to which Your Majesty has always generously declared he would bring every possible ease. But if he were pleased to open his mind more fully to the King our master, His Majesty would use that trust to make his plenipotentiaries act in concert and give them all the orders needed for the same end. We foresee that this negotiation will be much crossed by the ill will of the allies, who have resolved among themselves to make no peace unless Your Majesty gives back the conquests he has made from them in this war, and they are so stubborn on this point that there is no sign they will give way. They have taken measures together to make it impossible for Sweden to wage the war with success, and they promise themselves the reduction of Pomerania before long, which is certain for them if it is not relieved. They are puffed up by the conquest of Bremen and the taking of Philippsburg, and they use every means to bring the Elector of Bavaria and the Duke of Hanover to side with them. They spur the King of Denmark to carry on the war by offering to guarantee his conquests, and flatter him with a marriage between the Emperor and the Princess his sister, to tie him more and more to the interest of the House of Austria. And as they fear a leaning towards peace in Holland, they seek to dispel it, and if they cannot do so otherwise they keep in reserve an offer to release her from the subsidy she pays her allies. In a word they mean not only to stay closely united but to use all their forces next campaign against France. By these means they aim to reduce Your Majesty to the need of yielding them the right to make peace as they see fit, a right he has gloriously won by so many victories. But it rests with him alone to break their measures, either by restoring the affairs of Sweden or by a generous declaration for peace. Either is glorious for Your Majesty, and both look likely to succeed. If he resolved, after so happy a campaign and in the midst of his victories, to forestall the enemies' design by sacrificing these conquests to the peace of Christendom, the King our master hopes he would not do so without a condition that would put him [the King of Sweden] back in possession of the places [lost]. The care Your Majesty would take of his interest on that occasion would be praised throughout Europe, and such an example of generosity would at least, and above all, undeceive those who give out that treaties made with Your Majesty are but weak guarantees of the safety of his allies. That is why Your Majesty is pleased that the King our master should rely on the article of the treaty which says that he will make war on His Majesty's enemies with all his forces, and will not desist until he has obtained him full satisfaction, of which Your Majesty has been pleased to have us given fresh assurances. It is certain that such a declaration for peace would surprise all the allies. The Emperor and Spain could not help yielding to it, nor the Dutch and most of the states of the Empire applauding it, so that without fail there would follow either a quick peace or a quarrel among the allies, and in the end those who did not find their account in it would be forced to consent so as not to be abandoned by their friends. Our knowledge of this no more lets us doubt that truth than caution and prudence let us build on it hopes so sure that the preparations needed for the next campaign are neglected. That is why there is no care the King our master will not take on his side to mend matters, to fit out his fleet, to strengthen his army and to provide for the safety of his states and his strongholds, so as to be able to act usefully for the common good. His Majesty will not change his mind for having been unlucky. His heart is too great to let itself be crushed. His troops keep something of their old vigour and their will to do well, and he has no subject who does not gladly give him his life and goods. But as neither their goods, nor the revenue of the crown, which is greatly lessened by the interruption of trade for several years, many of its provinces being wholly ruined by the armies, nor the ordinary subsidy which Your Majesty has paid to him with a promptness worthy of particular praise, can meet the excessive outlay that must be made, the King our master hopes Your Majesty will make up this want by an extraordinary sum which he will have the goodness to grant him. One part would be used to buy provisions and munitions of war in England and Holland, to be carried to Stralsund and Gothenburg. The other part would be remitted to Pomerania for the keeping of that province, to which the town of Hamburg can contribute much, so that Your Majesty would do the most needful and useful thing in the world for the common cause by binding it to his interests through the grant of freedom of trade. That, Sire, is what we have been ordered to lay before you on behalf of the King our master. We most humbly beg Your Majesty to reflect on it and to grant us a favourable answer, being with deep respect, Sire, Your Majesty's [signed] C.B. N.L.
Carl Bonde (Paris) to Charles XI, 24 Nov/4 Dec 1677, cipher on 489R read in part
Bonde reports that the French court is much displeased: someone coming to Livonia, learning of Pac's opposition, means to delay and hold back the [418] (march?) until the matter with Pac is settled, in the form of a vain negotiation, which has alarmed the court. The French want nothing more than the plans, with a prompt diversion into [435] (Prussia?), carried out, and the King's Field Marshal to bring the [418] to ripeness as soon as possible so that the suspicions are dropped. Context (our inference): French-backed plans of late 1677 for a Swedish diversion from Livonia, with the passage of Lithuanian troops, which the despatch of 3/13 Nov 1677 also concerns.
Builds coherent sentences, but under the read bar of 95% of words read as sense (80% here); the holes are marked in the reading.
Transcription
# R0003797 image 489 right (despatch 488R-490L, Paris 24 Nov/4 Dec 1677). b119 task 2, FRESH (held-out, v9 unchanged). One reader, strips at 80% to the page edge. Clear text in quotes (partly). No gloss seen. 488R and 489L clear text only (checked at 50% / overview); 490L clear text + signature (overview). R10: "här wid Hofwet myckit" 64 89 103 70 112 30 78 37 141 24 65 R12: "kommandes till Lijfland och förnimmandes" 119 27 141 93 51 38 R13: 86 57 132 34 73 64 151 28 118 33 "skulle willia" 80 102 170 94 103 R14: 34 81 55 147 33 71 169 31 148 418 141 137 "till des man saken" R15: 32 79 50 85 148 141 46 83 22 54 64 118 74 24 125 "hade, och sådes" R18: "uthi en" 78 34 102 88 141 103 77 51 107 33 108 168 22 169 33 20 R19: 117 23 76 118 41 147 47 70 28 34 117 "Jag kan intet mehr häröm" R23: "ordsakerne, som thetta Hoff uthi" 38 168 50 148 117 151 27 61 103 37 R24: 116 79 "satt hafwer. Thet samma att betaga, hafwer Jag" R28: "intet högre åstundar, än att the" 50 79 100 141 28 33 51 74 R29: 117 79 60 107 24 141 33 119 102 34 88 57 125 106 28 97 141 121 R30: 38 28 118 87 97 41 28 435 "med thet fordeligaste" 107 44 79 R31: 81 97 41 141 102 148 106 23 "och att Edert Kongl. Maij:ts FeldtMarskalk i des regard lärer" R32: 418 107 87 138 148 151 42 R33: 74 141 37 47 "som thet någonsin skee kan, på thet han" R36: "rådzplägningen, måtte sådana fattade" 116 64 38 151 148 R37: 33 81 63 47 102 108 83 19 74 148 "låta, och sinom"
Decryption
# Decryption of transcriptions/despatch_1677-11-24_489R.txt with key.tsv (v9), written by scripts/build.py. «» = clear on the page (transcribed in part only); <n> = no value; first decoded once on 12 Nov 2026 06:24:26 UTC (b119). R10 «här wid Hofwet myckit» ilatilfredt R12 «kommandes till Lijfland och förnimmandes» paezes R13 opposition «skulle willia» dröya R14 ochinstäla<418>en «till des man saken» R15 medpaeEafgiordt «hade, och sådes» R18 «uthi en» formeafeenfåfäng R19 negotiation «Jag kan intet mehr häröm» R23 «ordsakerne, som thetta Hoff uthi» sådantalar R24 me «satt hafwer. Thet samma att betaga, hafwer Jag» R28 «intet högre åstundar, än att the» desseiner R29 nemedenpromptdiuer R30 sionuti<435> «med thet fordeligaste» exe R31 cuterade «och att Edert Kongl. Maij:ts FeldtMarskalk i des regard lärer» R32 <418>enmatu R33 rera «som thet någonsin skee kan, på thet han» R36 «rådzplägningen, måtte sådana fattade» mista R37 nckarfahra «låta, och sinom»
Reading
# Carl Bonde (Paris) to Charles XI, 24 Nov/4 Dec 1677, R0003797 image 489R: reading Riksarkivet, Diplomatica Gallica, SE/RA/2105/I/A/24/54 (R0003797), despatch on images 488R-490L, dated "Paris d. 24 Novemb./4 Decemb. 1677" on 490L and signed by Bonde; the only cipher is on 489R (17 short runs, 169 numbers). Swedish. Conventions: text between asterisks is from cipher, the rest was written in clear. Only the clear words next to the cipher runs were transcribed (b119); [...] = clear lines not transcribed (the line numbers of the transcription are given in the margin note at the end of each paragraph). [418], [435] = numbers with no value in key v9. A letter in brackets inside a word = supplied: the unit is counted not read. Word division, capitals and punctuation are editorial; spelling is the writer's (dröya = dröja, diuersion = diversion, fahra = fara). ## Reading [... lines 1-9 not transcribed] här wid Hofwet myckit *i[l]la tilfredt* [... line 11] kommandes till Lijfland och förnimmandes *Paezes opposition* skulle willia *dröya och instäl[l]a [418]en* till des man saken *med Pae[z] afgiordt* hade, och sådes [... lines 16-17] uthi en *forme af een fåfäng negotiation*. Jag kan intet mehr häröm [... lines 20-22] ordsakerne, som thetta Hoff uthi *sådant alarme* satt hafwer. (lines 10-24) Thet samma att betaga, hafwer Jag [... lines 25-27] intet högre åstundar, än att the *desseinerne med en prompt diuersion uti [435]* med thet fordeligaste *executerade*, och att Edert Kongl. Maij:ts FeldtMarskalk i des regard lärer *[418]en maturera* som thet någonsin skee kan, på thet han [... lines 34-35] rådzplägningen, måtte sådana fattade *mistanckar fahra* låta, och sinom [... rest of the page not transcribed]. (lines 24-37) Notes: - "alarme": the first transcription reads 61 (l); the blind second transcription reads 67 (x), "axarme". The only difference between the two in 169 numbers. Counted read on the first transcription, not read on the blind one. - "<418>en" twice: a word code with the ending -en. The later key v10 (not used here) gives 418 = march from a gloss: "marchen" would fit both places. Not read. - "uti <435>": a word code, the place of the diversion. The later key v10 gives 435 = Preussen from a gloss. Not read. - "Paezes", "Pae[z]": Pac (probably Michał Kazimierz Pac, grand hetman of Lithuania: our identification from context; Bonde's despatch of 3/13 Nov 1677, decoded below our threshold in b118 and not filed, concerns the passage of Lithuanian troops and Hetman Pac).
Translation
# Carl Bonde (Paris) to Charles XI, 24 Nov/4 Dec 1677, R0003797 image 489R: English Same holes as the reading: [...] = clear lines not transcribed; [418], [435] = numbers with no value; [?word] = a sense from context, not read. Text between asterisks is from cipher. "Your Royal Majesty" is Charles XI; "this court" is the French court. ## Translation [...] *very ill pleased* here at court [...] coming to Livonia and learning of *Pac's opposition*, would *delay and hold back the [418] [?march]* until the matter had been settled *with Pac*, and so [...] in *the form of a vain negotiation*. I can [say] no more about this [...] the causes that have put this court in *such alarm*. To remove that, I have [...] wants nothing more than that *the designs, with a prompt diversion into [435] [?Prussia]*, be *carried out* to the best advantage, and that Your Royal Majesty's Field Marshal in this regard will *bring the [418] [?march] to ripeness* as soon as it can ever be done, so that he [...] the deliberations, such *suspicions* once formed may be *let go*, and in due [...].
Key: key.tsv, overrides.tsv, KEY_v2.tsv, key.tsv, gloss_pairs.tsv
07 Sources
- Riksarkivet, Stockholm, Diplomatica Gallica, SE/RA/2105/I/A/24/54 (R0003797), public domain mark; IIIF manifest; viewer image 321 onward, image 489. Images were fetched as full-size IIIF images; region requests returned 501, so crops were made locally.
- The key, the transcriptions, the decoders, the readings and the controls: Malcolm McBratney with AI agents, issues #453 and #476 and pull requests #486 and #485, folded here under one key (
targets/bonde1676, with the despatch indespatch1677/). - The chancery’s interlinear decipherments of Bonde’s despatches of 1675–1677 in the same volume: the table’s v3 rows come from the gloss of the despatch of 11/21 November 1675 (image 102R); later values of key v9 were read from glosses on images 102–106, 331–346, 395 and 429–430.
The key states, transcriptions, readings, controls, time-stamps and the integration check are in targets/bonde1676.
Cite this page
Malcolm McBratney and Daniel Bourdeau, “Carl Bonde at Paris: a memorial to Louis XIV (1676) and a despatch to Charles XI (1677), one number table”, Cyphersolver, posted 12 November 2026, https://cyphersolver.com/bonde1676.html.
