972Cyphersolver
Averia dat volontier a cuatr cento mila scudi per aver cuel stato et pareva ? ascoltase ? parla

BnF Français 4687 · contributed by George Lasry · Italian

Marguerite Paléologue

Italian family correspondence mentioning Milan, a stable master, Carlo, a brother, and an offer of scudi for a state. The letter remains partly unread. Deciphered by George Lasry, working with ChatGPT Astra 6 and Anthropic Opus 5.5, in his BnF cipher research of October 2026: f5v/f6r: 241 elements transcribed and deciphered. f6v/f7v: 356 base signs transcribed, none deciphered; code groups unresolved.

George Lasry · posted · updated

Method: key recovered from ciphertext-only · Extent: partial (97% of the cipher)

Contributed by George Lasry (solution)

George Lasry’s decipherment

George Lasry’s report on this item, as he sent it on 24 October 2026 (PDF), in its own order and wording. The decipherment, the translation and the reconstruction of the key are his, made with ChatGPT Astra 6 and Anthropic Opus 5.5. This project’s own checks follow under Verification.

Français 4687 — ff5v–7v

Contents: Italian family correspondence mentioning Milan, a stable master, Carlo, a brother, and an offer of scudi for a state. The letter remains partly unread.

4/4 pages transcribed in part; 2/4 pages deciphered in part

Ciphertext-only:
Yes
Sender:
Marguerite Paléologue (catalogue attribution for ff1 onward)
Recipient:
Louis de Gonzague, duke of Nevers (catalogue attribution)
Year:
1562–1564 (catalogue group; individual dates unchecked)
Key:
17 numerical code classes; some written forms remain uncertain.
Ciphertext:
f5v/f6r: 241 elements transcribed and deciphered. f6v/f7v: 356 base signs transcribed, none deciphered; code groups unresolved.

Gallica f5v

Excerpt and Translation

f6r, cipher rows 8–10

The manuscript lines of the excerpt (f6r, cipher rows 8–10).
The manuscript lines of the excerpt (f6r, cipher rows 8–10). Image: Bibliothèque nationale de France, Français 4687, f6r, via Gallica; crop from George Lasry’s report.

Excerpt

Averia dat volontier a cuatr cento mila scudi per aver cuel stato et pareva ? ascoltase ? parla

Translation

[He] would willingly have given four hundred thousand scudi to obtain that state, and it seemed ? would listen ? speaks.

Readable text

The full text, folio by folio, as in the report. Bold marks the passages deciphered from the cipher; the rest is the clear text of the letter. Question marks are the report’s: [?] or a bare ? for a sign or group left unread, a ? after a word for a doubtful reading.

Français 4687 — ff5v–7v

f5v

che sono [?] la libertà [?] delle nostre [?] et [?] molto [?]. Et per questo et per altri rispetti? [?] ne havete memoria? in parte et di nuovo ve [?] li altri [?]. Vi prego ancora di fare [?] per voi per qualche rispetto [?] DATO CUELO ? SCRIVE IL ? A SUO FRATEL ? RISOLTA DI FARLA et mi causa gran affetto et animo ? ? ? PATRONO ? CUEL ? ? VI LASA ? Il cardinale nostro fratello venirà ?

f6r

che [?] non ve tornerà più [?] quello [?] havere la [?] di [?] in [?]. Et [?] prima li piacesse? [?] tutti li [?] manco? a me? [?] ? A SUO FRATELO SOPRA ? A LA PRATICA ? ? DA FARE ? ET CUNTE CARLO ?

[?] però a me? ve ne rimetto? di [?] et ve [?] si [?]

A CUEST DI VENNE IL MAESTR DI STALA DA MILANO ET DISE A LA ? FRANSESCO ? AVEVA DITO ? AVERIA DAT VOLONTIER A CUATR CENTO MILA SCUDI PER AVER CUEL STATO ET PAREVA ? ASCOLTASE ? PARLA

quel Roma? che voi [?]

Sua Altezza? et tutta la [?] questa? per me? [?] di noi per [?] desiderava? [?]

f6v

se ve ne [?] di [?] che ve [?] di far ogni cosa per [?]

[?]

Dio faccia [?] la lega di [?]. Sono state pur assai [?] della [?]. [?] il nostro fratello dovrà? [?] a voi per havere? da voi? aviso? et a [?]. [?] di dare? la mia? [?] pure [?] per voi per [?] di qua ne è? [?]

[?]

Per [?] la Dio [?] questa non [?] a me? quello [?]

f7v

[?] voi? [?] et [?] per [?] a [?] grazia? a mantua? [?]

[?]

amorevoliss[ima] madre et [?] [?] [?] che le mie le poss[iate?] bruciare?

[?]

[?] la [?] mi sia più [?] per haver [?]

At a glanceCiphertext-only break · partial (97% of the cipher)

The letter
Marguerite Paléologue to Louis de Gonzague, duke of Nevers (both attributions from the catalogue), 1562–1564, in Italian.
Where
BnF Français 4687, ff. 5v–7v.
The cipher
A numerical code with 17 classes; some written forms remain uncertain.
How it was read
George Lasry’s report recovers the key from the ciphertext alone. This project checked one sample against the Gallica image and could not re-derive it, as the PDF has no key table.
What it says
Of f. 6r, rows 8–10: [he] would willingly have given four hundred thousand scudi to obtain that state.
Still open
Only 2 of 4 pages are deciphered, in part: f. 5v/6r (241 elements). On f. 6v/7v, 356 base signs are transcribed and none deciphered.
Credit
George Lasry, BnF cipher research, 10 October 2026.

01 Verification

Spot-check against the manuscript

This result is George Lasry’s. This project did not re-solve the cipher: it checked one sample against the Gallica image and recorded what it found.

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.

George Lasry's decipherment (report PDF, 24 Oct 2026) read in part

Italian family correspondence mentioning Milan, a stable master, Carlo, a brother, and an offer of scudi for a state. The letter remains partly unread.

Builds coherent sentences, but under the read bar of 95% of words read as sense (78% here); the holes are marked in the reading.

Decryption: in full above, in George Lasry’s decipherment (readable.md)

Reading: in full above, in George Lasry’s decipherment (readable.md)

Translation: in full above, in George Lasry’s decipherment (translation_excerpt.md)

02 Sources