At a glanceKnown key applied · partial (56% of the cipher)
- The letter
- Rodrigo González de Puebla, Ferdinand’s ambassador in England, to Miguel Pérez de Almazán, secretary of the King, from London, 21 April 1506. One page of clear Spanish with cipher passages in lines 11–29, signed by Puebla, and an address leaf.
- Where
- Archivo General de Simancas, Patronato Real, legajo 54, doc. 78 (foliation 179), on PARES as description 2208120. Catalogue entry 617.
- The cipher
- One sign for each letter, with a second sign for a, i and u/v, run on without word division; one code word of Puebla’s Great Roman Numeral code (DCCCLXXXVIII, “el Rey de Inglaterra”) occurs three times.
- How it was deciphered
- With Satoshi Tomokiyo’s reconstruction of Puebla’s First Cipher (Bergenroth’s key no. 6), applied unchanged. Under an Early Modern Spanish language model the decode scores −1.69 per letter; 1,000 shuffled keys score at best −4.73.
- What it says
- People around the Princess of Wales had her write the letters Puebla encloses, for their own interest; he sees her household “tan bien ataviados que mas no pense ver”; and the greed of certain persons is such that even the treasure of the King of England would not content them.
- Still open
- The clear text around the cipher, read only in part at the size PARES serves; the fragments of ll. 11–17, which do not yet build sentences; three unread signs; the C-count of the code word.
- Credit
- Transcription, decipherment and controls by WAINUT (pull request #101, 27 October 2026), done with AI language-model agents and re-read by a second agent. The key is Satoshi Tomokiyo’s reconstruction of Puebla’s First Cipher (cryptiana, “Spanish ciphers”), after Bergenroth’s key no. 6; the code word is from the contemporary key in AGS Patronato Real leg. 52 doc. 33.
01 The letter
The unit has four images on PARES: the letter (image 1), two blank pages, and the address leaf (image 4). The address reads Al muy noble señor el señor Miguell Perez dalmaçan secretario y del consejo del Rey nuestro señor; the endorsement, written across the leaf, gives del doctor de la puebla … xxj … abril 1506, and the date line on the letter itself is de Londres a xxj de abril. The image carries the archive’s watermark PTR,LEG,54,78, a pencilled “PR54-78” and the foliation 179. The PARES id is the one Tomokiyo gives for this letter; the catalogue first had 2208061, which is Puebla’s letter of 15 April 1507.
Philip and Juana, King and Queen of Castile since Isabella’s death, were driven ashore in England in January 1506 on their way from Flanders to Spain, and stayed until late April, when they sailed from Falmouth (Falamua in the Spanish of the time) to La Coruña. The clear opening of the letter says that Puebla had written at length to the King and to Almazán by way of Martín Sánchez de Zamudio, the Bilbao shipowner, and that the King and Queen were waiting for the weather at Falmouth. Those clear readings are uncertain at the size PARES serves and are not part of the reading files.
02 The cipher
Tomokiyo calls it Puebla’s First Cipher and identifies it with Bergenroth’s key no. 6. He reconstructed the table from the letters of 1496–1507 before finding the original, and lists this letter among those that use it, without a reading. The table gives one sign for most letters and two for a, i and u/v: a is written q or M, i is b or a 5-like sign, u and v share a small o with the b of b(v). Several letters are written with the shape of another letter (e for l, g for f, f for g, a for h, R for t), and r is the figure-like sign 46. The transcription names each sign by a short ASCII label (key_first_cipher.tsv), and the decoder works on those labels.
Words that the Great Roman Numeral code holds were written as code words instead. Only one occurs here, three times: DCCCLXXXVIII, “el Rey de Inglaterra” on key image 51 of the contemporary code book (AGS Patronato Real leg. 52 doc. 33). The scribe writes CC and CCC as ligatures distinguished by a small mark, and the mark was not checked on this letter, so the value stays doubtful at every occurrence.
The letters run on without word division. Doubled letters are written twice. One sign in l. 13 (in ra?on) is not in Tomokiyo’s table, and the table has no z: in l. 12 a hooked form of the o-sign seems to stand for it (plazer).
03 How it was deciphered
WAINUT transcribed the cipher passages of lines 11–29 from three-times enlarged crops of the PARES image, 370 signs and three code words, and decoded them with the table unchanged (decode.py). A second agent then re-read lines 14–20, 24–26 and 29 on fresh crops in its own sign labels and reproduced every reading letter by letter, with three corrections: abra quien, not abra bien, in l. 16; a single c in inclusas; and the words va a at the start of the passage in l. 29.
The controls ask whether the table could produce Spanish from these signs by chance.
- Language model (the project’s shared
es-golden-agemodel, Spanish 1490–1650, five-letter context, no spaces): the decode of lines 14–29 scores −1.69 per letter. 1,000 keys made by shuffling the table’s values among its signs score at best −4.73 (median −6.12); the true key on 1,000 texts with the signs shuffled within each line scores at best −4.26 (median −4.77). On the word-divided reading, the language check ranks Spanish first (−1.62), ahead of Catalan (−1.95) and Portuguese (−2.09). - Word list: a short list of common Spanish words, without the rare content words, covers 0.61 of the decoded letters; shuffled keys cover at most 0.29 and shuffled texts at most 0.26.
The decode is therefore not an artefact of the table or of the transcription; what limits the reading is the clear text around it.
04 The passages that read
Lines 18–29, with word division and punctuation added. Clear words of the letter are in plain type where they were transcribed; […] is clear text not transcribed, [?word] a doubtful word and { } the code word.
[…] por aquella gente hazia, por su propio interese, que la princesa me escriviese estas cartas que aqui van inclusas. […]
Los de la señora princesa veo tan bien ataviados que mas no pense ver. Por la codicia de algunas personas [?] [?] es tal que con [?el] tesoro de {el Rey de Inglaterra?}, dudo que se [?contentasen] […]
[…] va a beneficio de natura con este […]
[…] those people brought it about, for their own interest, that the princess wrote me these letters, which go enclosed here. […] I see the lady princess’s people so finely dressed that I did not think to see more. [?For] the greed of certain persons [?] [?] is such that, even with [?the] treasure of {the King of England?}, I doubt they would be [?content] […] is going along at the mercy of chance with this […]
“A beneficio de natura” is a set phrase of the period, “left to nature”, that is to chance: Cisneros’s secretaries write in 1516 that something “no se ha de dexar a beneficio de natura”.
The day after this letter, Katharine wrote to her father from Richmond that her people were ready to ask alms and that she herself was all but naked (CSP Spain I no. 459, 22 April 1506). Puebla, whom she distrusted and blamed for her poverty, tells the King’s secretary in cipher that her household is finely dressed beyond what he expected, and that the letters she writes are prompted by people around her for their own interest. The two letters belong to the long quarrel over Katharine’s maintenance and her dowry after Prince Arthur’s death, in which Puebla took Henry VII’s side often enough for Katharine to call him more the English King’s vassal than Ferdinand’s servant.
05 Lines 11–17
The earlier cipher lines decode as well, but between them are clear words that could not be read, so they do not build sentences. Secure words are y de la partida, de todo el [?aresto], con mucha [?razon], señora princesa, conviene, bien y acrecentamiento, de {el Rey de Inglaterra?} y del principe and abra quien le [?pedir] que ningun malcontentamiento. The departure and the “arrest” may be Philip and Juana’s detention in England and their sailing, and the prince is presumably the Prince of Wales, Henry; with the clear words missing, neither can be confirmed. The decode of these lines is shown in the full texts below as decoded, not read.
The first words, y de la partida, are also in a note Tomokiyo left in the source of his “Spanish ciphers” page next to his entry for this letter (an HTML comment, not shown on the page). He had begun to decipher it and published nothing further.
06 Earlier work and print
No printed text of this letter was found. The searches, all on 27 October 2026:
- Bergenroth, Calendar of State Papers, Spain, vol. I (1862), April 1506, pp. 385–386: nos. 458–460, none from Puebla; and the 1868 Supplement, 1506 section: none.
- G. Gómez de Fuensalida, Correspondencia (1907), Rodríguez Villa, La reina doña Juana la Loca (1892), which prints Puebla’s letters of 1507 only, and the Colección de documentos inéditos vol. 8 (1846), which prints Philip I’s letters from England in 1506: their OCR texts were searched for the distinctive words of the reading (ataviados, inclusas, codicia de alg-, beneficio de natura, propio interese, malcontentamiento) and for Puebla’s letters of April 1506. None matched.
- A. Paz y Meliá, Series de los más importantes documentos del archivo y biblioteca del Duque de Medinaceli, vols. 1–2 (1915–1922): no Puebla letter, no match.
- G. Mattingly, “The reputation of Doctor De Puebla”, English Historical Review 55 (1940), pp. 27–46: no use of this letter.
- The Internet Archive’s full-text search across its Spanish holdings, which include the whole Colección de documentos inéditos, for the phrases of the reading: no hit outside unrelated texts (the phrase a beneficio de natura occurs widely, never with Puebla).
Not searched: Mattingly’s Catherine of Aragon (1941), which is not available in full text, and HathiTrust, whose full-text search could not be reached. The claim of novelty is limited to the prints above.
07 What remains uncertain
- The clear text of the letter, about twenty lines in Puebla’s cursive: read only in part. At 1017 × 1413 pixels, the largest size PARES serves, many words cannot be read with confidence; a better scan from Simancas would allow it.
- Lines 11–17: the fragments do not build sentences, because the clear words between them are not read and descenders from the lines above run through ll. 11–13; l. 12 ([?desto] [?stares] … [?aresto]) divides uncertainly. Graded C (conjectural) as a whole.
- Unread signs: one in l. 13 (ra?on, presumably z, not in the table) and two after personas in l. 25.
- Doubtful readings: pedir for the decoded pedri (l. 16, C); contentasen across the line end (ll. 26–27, M); the article el before tesoro (l. 26, clear, M); plazer with the hooked sign (l. 12, C).
- The code word DCCCLXXXVIII, “el Rey de Inglaterra”: its value fits each of the three places, but the ligature mark that fixes its C-count was not checked on this letter (M).
- A parallel reading: Brice Dudout read the same letter the same day, independently, with the same table, and published it on Europe chiffrée; his files are in the repository folder (
dudout/). The two decipherments agree word for word on most passages, and he adopted two readings from this one (“a beneficio de natura” and “por aquella gente hazia”). Where this page has a doubt, he reads z in razón (l. 13), de la for da la, and pedrique (from pedricar) for pedri (l. 16), and he does not count the two signs after personas. He also transcribes the clear text of ll. 11–17. None of this is taken here yet: it needs a look at the image, which PARES refused on 27 October 2026.
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.
ll. 18-29: the passages that read read in part
De Puebla tells Almazán that people around the Princess of Wales, for their own interest, had her write the letters he encloses; that he sees her household finely dressed beyond expectation; and that the greed of certain persons is such that he doubts even the treasure of [?the King of England] would content them. Written as Philip and Juana were about to sail from England; Katharine's own letter of the next day (CSP I no. 459) says her people were all but naked.
Builds coherent sentences, but under the read bar of 95% of words read as sense (82% here); the holes are marked in the reading.
Transcription
# AGS, Patronato Real, leg. 54, doc. 78 (PARES description 2208120; viewer show/2208120, 4 images: 1 = text,
# 2-3 blank, 4 = address). Watermark on the PARES image: PTR,LEG,54,78; pencil "PR54-78"; foliation 179.
# De Puebla to Miguel Pérez de Almazán, London, 21 April 1506 (clear date line: "de Londres a xxj de abril de ...";
# endorsement on image 4: "del doctor de la puebla ... xxj ... abril 1506").
# Transcription of the cipher passages of image 1 (1017 x 1413 px, the largest size PARES serves), on 3x crops.
# Line numbers count all lines of the page from the top. Cipher signs in ASCII aliases (key_first_cipher.tsv),
# separated by spaces. Clear words between [[ ]] ([[...]] = clear text not transcribed; (?) = doubtful clear word). A code group of the Great
# Roman Numeral code between { }. x[?] = doubtful sign; ? = sign not read; (S?) = a sign that may be part of a
# descender from the line above.
l.11 [[... quando quisiere ./]] b S + e q U q 46 R b S q
l.12 (S?) + T R Z T R q 46 + T b (S?) + R Z (S?) Z + e q 46 + T R Z [[p. en grand ...]] U e q Z' + 46[?]
l.13 {DCCCLXXXVIII}[?] [[y ...]] C Z N L o C a q 46[?] q ? Z N [[y digo(?)]] Q o + S q e q
l.14 T + N Z 46 q U 46 s N C + T M [[...]] C Z N o b + N + [[...]] p b + N s
l.15 q C 46 + C + N R q L b + N R Z [[y atentam(?) ...]] S + {DCCCLXXXVIII}[?] b S + e U 46 b N
l.16 C s U + [[vno(?)]] q p 46 q Q o b + N e + U + S 46 b Q o + N b N f o N L q e C Z N R + N
l.17 R q L b + N R Z
l.18 [[por aquella gente hazia .]] U Z 46 T o U 46 Z U s Z b N R + 46 + T + Q o + e q U 46 b N C +
l.19 T q L + + T C 46 b o b + T + + T R q T C q 46 R q T Q o + q Q o b o q N b N C e o
l.20 T q T [[...]]
l.24 e Z T S + e M T + N Z 46 q U 46 s N C + T q o + Z R q N p b + N q R q o b q S Z T Q o +
l.25 L q T N Z U + N T + o + 46 [[/ por la]] C Z S s C b q S + q e f o N q T U + 46 T Z N q T ? ?
l.26 + T R q e [[que con el(?)]] R + T Z 46 Z S + {DCCCLXXXVIII}[?] [[dudo que]] T + C Z N R + N R q
l.27 T + N[?] [[...]]
l.29 [[...]] o q q p + N + g b C b Z S + N q R o 46 q C Z N + T R + [[no digo(?) ...]]Decryption
# Line-by-line decryption of transcription.txt with key_first_cipher.tsv (decode.py).
# T = transcription, D = decryption. Decoded letters run on without word division (see reading.txt);
# clear text in [[ ]], code values in { }, ? = unread sign, x[?] = doubtful sign, (x) = a sign that may be a descender.
l.11 T [[... quando quisiere ./]] b S + e q U q 46 R b S q
l.11 D [[... quando quisiere ./]] idelapartida
l.12 T (S?) + T R Z T R q 46 + T b (S?) + R Z (S?) Z + e q 46 + T R Z [[p. en grand ...]] U e q Z' + 46[?]
l.12 D (d)estostaresi(d)eto(d)oelaresto [[p. en grand ...]] plazer[?]
l.13 T {DCCCLXXXVIII}[?] [[y ...]] C Z N L o C a q 46[?] q ? Z N [[y digo(?)]] Q o + S q e q
l.13 D {el Rey de Inglaterra?} [[y ...]] conmuchar[?]a?on [[y digo(?)]] quedala
l.14 T T + N Z 46 q U 46 s N C + T M [[...]] C Z N o b + N + [[...]] p b + N s
l.14 D senoraprincesa [[...]] conuiene [[...]] bieni
l.15 T q C 46 + C + N R q L b + N R Z [[y atentam(?) ...]] S + {DCCCLXXXVIII}[?] b S + e U 46 b N
l.15 D acrecentamiento [[y atentam(?) ...]] de {el Rey de Inglaterra?} idelprin
l.16 T C s U + [[vno(?)]] q p 46 q Q o b + N e + U + S 46 b Q o + N b N f o N L q e C Z N R + N
l.16 D cipe [[vno(?)]] abraquienlepedriqueningunmalconten
l.17 T R q L b + N R Z
l.17 D tamiento
l.18 T [[por aquella gente hazia .]] U Z 46 T o U 46 Z U s Z b N R + 46 + T + Q o + e q U 46 b N C +
l.18 D [[por aquella gente hazia .]] porsupropiointeresequelaprince
l.19 T T q L + + T C 46 b o b + T + + T R q T C q 46 R q T Q o + q Q o b o q N b N C e o
l.19 D sameescriuieseestascartasqueaquiuaninclu
l.20 T T q T [[...]]
l.20 D sas [[...]]
l.24 T e Z T S + e M T + N Z 46 q U 46 s N C + T q o + Z R q N p b + N q R q o b q S Z T Q o +
l.24 D losdelasenoraprincesaueotanbienatauiadosque
l.25 T L q T N Z U + N T + o + 46 [[/ por la]] C Z S s C b q S + q e f o N q T U + 46 T Z N q T ? ?
l.25 D masnopenseuer [[/ por la]] codiciadealgunaspersonas??
l.26 T + T R q e [[que con el(?)]] R + T Z 46 Z S + {DCCCLXXXVIII}[?] [[dudo que]] T + C Z N R + N R q
l.26 D estal [[que con el(?)]] tesorode {el Rey de Inglaterra?} [[dudo que]] secontenta
l.27 T T + N[?] [[...]]
l.27 D sen[?] [[...]]
l.29 T [[...]] o q q p + N + g b C b Z S + N q R o 46 q C Z N + T R + [[no digo(?) ...]]
l.29 D [[...]] uaabeneficiodenaturaconeste [[no digo(?) ...]]Reading
# De Puebla to Almazán, London, 21 April 1506 (AGS PTR leg. 54 doc. 78): cipher passages of ll. 18-29 as sentences.
# From decryption.txt, with word division and punctuation added. Clear words around the cipher are in plain type
# where they were read; [...] = clear text not transcribed. Code values in { }. [?word] = doubtful word,
# [?] = unread word. Line numbers as in transcription.txt.
## Reading
ll. 18-20: [...] por aquella gente hazia, por su propio interese, que la princesa me escriviese estas cartas que aqui
van inclusas. [...]
ll. 24-25: Los de la señora princesa veo tan bien ataviados que mas no pense ver.
ll. 25-27: Por la codicia de algunas personas [?] [?] es tal que con [?el] tesoro de {el Rey de Inglaterra?}, dudo que se
[?contentasen] [...]
l. 29: [...] va a beneficio de natura con este [...]Translation
# English translation of reading.txt (ll. 18-29), with the same holes.
# l. 29: "a beneficio de natura" is a set phrase of the period, "left to nature / to chance" (Cisneros's secretaries,
# 1516: "no se ha de dexar a beneficio de natura"; CODOIN): revised 27 Oct 2026 from "to the benefit of nature".
## Translation
ll. 18-20: [...] those people brought it about, for their own interest, that the princess wrote me these letters,
which go enclosed here. [...]
ll. 24-25: I see the lady princess's people so finely dressed that I did not think to see more.
ll. 25-27: [?For] the greed of certain persons [?] [?] is such that, even with [?the] treasure of {the King of
England?}, I doubt they would be [?content] [...]
l. 29: [...] is going along at the mercy of chance (a beneficio de natura) with this [...]ll. 11-17: fragments decoded, not read
A mechanical decode with holes in most sentences: shown so that the transcription and the key can be checked and improved, not as a reading.
Transcription
# AGS, Patronato Real, leg. 54, doc. 78 (PARES description 2208120; viewer show/2208120, 4 images: 1 = text,
# 2-3 blank, 4 = address). Watermark on the PARES image: PTR,LEG,54,78; pencil "PR54-78"; foliation 179.
# De Puebla to Miguel Pérez de Almazán, London, 21 April 1506 (clear date line: "de Londres a xxj de abril de ...";
# endorsement on image 4: "del doctor de la puebla ... xxj ... abril 1506").
# Transcription of the cipher passages of image 1 (1017 x 1413 px, the largest size PARES serves), on 3x crops.
# Line numbers count all lines of the page from the top. Cipher signs in ASCII aliases (key_first_cipher.tsv),
# separated by spaces. Clear words between [[ ]] ([[...]] = clear text not transcribed; (?) = doubtful clear word). A code group of the Great
# Roman Numeral code between { }. x[?] = doubtful sign; ? = sign not read; (S?) = a sign that may be part of a
# descender from the line above.
l.11 [[... quando quisiere ./]] b S + e q U q 46 R b S q
l.12 (S?) + T R Z T R q 46 + T b (S?) + R Z (S?) Z + e q 46 + T R Z [[p. en grand ...]] U e q Z' + 46[?]
l.13 {DCCCLXXXVIII}[?] [[y ...]] C Z N L o C a q 46[?] q ? Z N [[y digo(?)]] Q o + S q e q
l.14 T + N Z 46 q U 46 s N C + T M [[...]] C Z N o b + N + [[...]] p b + N s
l.15 q C 46 + C + N R q L b + N R Z [[y atentam(?) ...]] S + {DCCCLXXXVIII}[?] b S + e U 46 b N
l.16 C s U + [[vno(?)]] q p 46 q Q o b + N e + U + S 46 b Q o + N b N f o N L q e C Z N R + N
l.17 R q L b + N R Z
l.18 [[por aquella gente hazia .]] U Z 46 T o U 46 Z U s Z b N R + 46 + T + Q o + e q U 46 b N C +
l.19 T q L + + T C 46 b o b + T + + T R q T C q 46 R q T Q o + q Q o b o q N b N C e o
l.20 T q T [[...]]
l.24 e Z T S + e M T + N Z 46 q U 46 s N C + T q o + Z R q N p b + N q R q o b q S Z T Q o +
l.25 L q T N Z U + N T + o + 46 [[/ por la]] C Z S s C b q S + q e f o N q T U + 46 T Z N q T ? ?
l.26 + T R q e [[que con el(?)]] R + T Z 46 Z S + {DCCCLXXXVIII}[?] [[dudo que]] T + C Z N R + N R q
l.27 T + N[?] [[...]]
l.29 [[...]] o q q p + N + g b C b Z S + N q R o 46 q C Z N + T R + [[no digo(?) ...]]Decryption
# Line-by-line decryption of transcription.txt with key_first_cipher.tsv (decode.py).
# T = transcription, D = decryption. Decoded letters run on without word division (see reading.txt);
# clear text in [[ ]], code values in { }, ? = unread sign, x[?] = doubtful sign, (x) = a sign that may be a descender.
l.11 T [[... quando quisiere ./]] b S + e q U q 46 R b S q
l.11 D [[... quando quisiere ./]] idelapartida
l.12 T (S?) + T R Z T R q 46 + T b (S?) + R Z (S?) Z + e q 46 + T R Z [[p. en grand ...]] U e q Z' + 46[?]
l.12 D (d)estostaresi(d)eto(d)oelaresto [[p. en grand ...]] plazer[?]
l.13 T {DCCCLXXXVIII}[?] [[y ...]] C Z N L o C a q 46[?] q ? Z N [[y digo(?)]] Q o + S q e q
l.13 D {el Rey de Inglaterra?} [[y ...]] conmuchar[?]a?on [[y digo(?)]] quedala
l.14 T T + N Z 46 q U 46 s N C + T M [[...]] C Z N o b + N + [[...]] p b + N s
l.14 D senoraprincesa [[...]] conuiene [[...]] bieni
l.15 T q C 46 + C + N R q L b + N R Z [[y atentam(?) ...]] S + {DCCCLXXXVIII}[?] b S + e U 46 b N
l.15 D acrecentamiento [[y atentam(?) ...]] de {el Rey de Inglaterra?} idelprin
l.16 T C s U + [[vno(?)]] q p 46 q Q o b + N e + U + S 46 b Q o + N b N f o N L q e C Z N R + N
l.16 D cipe [[vno(?)]] abraquienlepedriqueningunmalconten
l.17 T R q L b + N R Z
l.17 D tamiento
l.18 T [[por aquella gente hazia .]] U Z 46 T o U 46 Z U s Z b N R + 46 + T + Q o + e q U 46 b N C +
l.18 D [[por aquella gente hazia .]] porsupropiointeresequelaprince
l.19 T T q L + + T C 46 b o b + T + + T R q T C q 46 R q T Q o + q Q o b o q N b N C e o
l.19 D sameescriuieseestascartasqueaquiuaninclu
l.20 T T q T [[...]]
l.20 D sas [[...]]
l.24 T e Z T S + e M T + N Z 46 q U 46 s N C + T q o + Z R q N p b + N q R q o b q S Z T Q o +
l.24 D losdelasenoraprincesaueotanbienatauiadosque
l.25 T L q T N Z U + N T + o + 46 [[/ por la]] C Z S s C b q S + q e f o N q T U + 46 T Z N q T ? ?
l.25 D masnopenseuer [[/ por la]] codiciadealgunaspersonas??
l.26 T + T R q e [[que con el(?)]] R + T Z 46 Z S + {DCCCLXXXVIII}[?] [[dudo que]] T + C Z N R + N R q
l.26 D estal [[que con el(?)]] tesorode {el Rey de Inglaterra?} [[dudo que]] secontenta
l.27 T T + N[?] [[...]]
l.27 D sen[?] [[...]]
l.29 T [[...]] o q q p + N + g b C b Z S + N q R o 46 q C Z N + T R + [[no digo(?) ...]]
l.29 D [[...]] uaabeneficiodenaturaconeste [[no digo(?) ...]]Reading
# De Puebla to Almazán, London, 21 April 1506 (AGS PTR leg. 54 doc. 78): fragments of ll. 11-17 (decoded, not read).
# From decryption.txt, with word division and punctuation added. Clear words around the cipher are in plain type
# where they were read; [...] = clear text not transcribed. Code values in { }. [?word] = doubtful word,
# [?] = unread word. Line numbers as in transcription.txt.
## Reading
ll. 11-13: [...] quando quisiere. Y de la partida, [?desto] [?stares] y de todo el [?aresto] [...] en grand [...]
[?plazer]. [?el Rey de Inglaterra] [...] con mucha [?razon]. Y [?digo] que [?da] la
ll. 14-17: señora princesa [...] conviene [...] bien y acrecentamiento [...] de {el Rey de Inglaterra?} y del
principe. [?Vno] abra quien le [?pedir] que ningun malcontentamiento [...]Translation
# English translation of reading_ll11-17.txt, with the same holes.
## Translation
ll. 11-13: [...] when he wishes. And of the departure, [?of this] [?stay] and of the whole [?detention] [...] in great
[...] [?pleasure]. [?the King of England] [...] with much [?reason]. And I [?say] that the [?gives]
ll. 14-17: lady princess [...] it is fitting [...] the good and increase [...] of {the King of England?} and of the
prince. [?One] there will be someone who [?asks] him that no discontent [...]Puebla to Almazán, 21 April 1506: parallel reading by Brice Dudout read in part
An autograph letter from the Catholic Monarchs’ ambassador in England to Ferdinand the Catholic’s secretary, written on the eve of the departure of Philip the Handsome and Juana, who had been driven onto the English coast three months earlier. Sixteen cipher passages, never read until now, defend the household of Catherine of Aragon.
Builds coherent sentences, but under the read bar of 95% of words read as sense; the holes are marked in the reading.
Transcription
# id image line signs (our sign labels; values in decode.py: q M=a, o p=b/u/v, C=c, d=d, + t=e, g=f, f=g, a=h, b 5=i/y, e=l, m=m, n k=n, z=o, U=p, Q=q, r=r, s=s, R=t, Z=z; | = line break; ? = illegible) S01 L01 b d t e q U q r R b d q S02 L02 d + s R z s R q r + s b d + R z d z + e q r + s R z S03 L02 U e q Z t S04 L03 C z n m o C a q r q Z z n S05 L03-L04 Q o + d ? e q | s + n z r q U r b n C + s M S06 L04 C z n o b + n t S07 L04-L05 p b + n 5 | q C r + C + k R q m b + n R z S08 L05-L06 b d + e U r b n | C 5 U + S09 L06-L07 q p r q Q o b + n e t U + d r b Q o t n b n f o n m q e C z n R + n | R q m b + n R z S10 L08-L10 U z r s o U r z U 5 z b n R + r + s + Q o t e q U r b n C + | s q m + + s C r b o b + s + + s R q s C q r R q s Q o t q Q o b o q n b n C e o | s q s S11 L12-L13 e z s d t e M s + n z r q U r 5 n C + s q o + z R q n p b + n q R q o b q d z s Q o t | m q s n z U + n s + o + r S12 L13 C z d 5 C b q d + q e f o n q s U + r s z n q s S13 L14 + s R q e S14 L14 R + s z ? ? z d + S15 L14-L15 s + C z n R + n R q | s + n S16 L16 o q q p + n + g b C b z d + n q R o r q C z n + s R +
Decryption
# passage line decryption (python decode.py) S01 L01 idelapartida S02 L02 destostaresidetodoelaresto S03 L02 plaze S04 L03 conmucharazon S05 L03-L04 qued?lasenoraprincesa S06 L04 conuiene S07 L04-L05 bieniacrecentamiento S08 L05-L06 idelprincipe S09 L06-L07 abraquienlepedriqueningunmalcontentamiento S10 L08-L10 porsupropiointeresequelaprincesameescriuieseestascartasqueaquiuaninclusas S11 L12-L13 losdelasenoraprincesaueotanbienatauiadosquemasnopenseuer S12 L13 codiciadealgunaspersonas S13 L14 estal S14 L14 teso??ode S15 L14-L15 secontentasen S16 L16 uaabeneficiodenaturaconeste cipher signs: 366; illegible ?: 3; read: 0.992; through our additions (Z,k,5): 8
Reading
# Puebla to Almazán, London, 21 April 1506: established text (Spanish)
Only the passages we are sure of are given in full; the rest is marked […]. {x} probable.
Por via de Martín Sánchez de Çamudio escreví largo al Rey nuestro señor y a vuestra merced lo mismo. […] doña María de Rojas […]. Lo que en esta quiero dezir es que el Rey de Ingla[terra] […] {tan buen viento que} […] mañana […] se embarcará. Y también dize […] doña María de Rojas […].
[…] quando quisiere, [[y de la partida desto‹stares›, y de todo el ‹a›resto]] en grand manera [[plaze]] al [[Rey de Inglaterra]], y a esto [[con mucha razón]]. […] [[que d{e} la señora princesa]] […] [[conviene bien y acrecentamiento]] y {acatamiento} de[l] [[Rey de Inglaterra]] [[y del príncipe]], y no [[abrá quien le pedrique ningún malcontentamiento]]. P{or} aquella gente hazia [[por su propio interese que la princesa me escriviese estas cartas que aquí van inclusas]].
[…] [[los de la señora princesa veo tan bien ataviados que más no pensé ver]], por la [[codicia de algunas personas es tal]] que con el [[tes{or}o de[l] Rey de Inglaterra]] dudo que [[se contentasen]]. Afío de la prudencia de vuestra merced y del Rey nuestro señor que no dará lugar […]. Y porque […] [[va a beneficio de natura con este]]. No digo otro […] la vida y estado de vuestra merced {acreciente} y prospere como desea. De Londres a xxj de abril de dvj.
Address: Al muy noble señor el señor Miguell Pérez d’Almaçán, secretario y del consejo del Rey nuestro señor. ‖ Del dotor de la P[uebla], xxj de abril de dvj.Translation
# English translation
By Martín Sánchez de Zamudio I wrote at length to the King our lord, and the same to Your Grace. […] Doña María de Rojas […]. What I wish to say in this one is that the King of England […] so fair a wind that […] tomorrow […] he will embark. And he also says […] Doña María de Rojas […].
[…] when he pleases; and the departure […] and all the rest greatly please the King of England, and with much reason. […] that, on the part of my lady the Princess, […] is well fitting, as is the increase and {respect} of the King of England and of the Prince; and there will be no one to preach any discontent to her. Those people, for their own interest, were making the Princess write me these letters, which go enclosed herewith.
[…] My lady the Princess’s people I see so well attired that I never thought to see better; but the greed of certain persons is such that even with the treasure of the King of England I doubt they would be content. I trust in the prudence of Your Grace and of the King our lord, who will not allow […]. And because […] is left at the mercy of chance with this one (?). I say no more […] [may Our Lord] increase and prosper the life and estate of Your Grace as you desire. From London, 21 April 1506.Key: key_first_cipher.tsv
08 Sources
- Archivo General de Simancas, Patronato Real, leg. 54, doc. 78, De Puebla to Miguel Pérez de Almazán, London, 21 April 1506: PARES, description 2208120, images 1–4.
- Archivo General de Simancas, Patronato Real, leg. 52, doc. 33, the key of Puebla’s Great Roman Numeral code: PARES, show 2207755, image 51.
- S. Tomokiyo, “Spanish ciphers”, cryptiana: Puebla’s First Cipher (table Puebla1.jpg) and the list of letters that use it.
- G. A. Bergenroth, Calendar of Letters, Despatches and State Papers … Spain, vol. I (1862), introduction (the keys) and pp. 385–386, British History Online; Supplement to vols. I and II (1868).
- Cartas de los secretarios del cardenal D. Fr. Francisco Jiménez de Cisneros (1875), for a beneficio de natura, archive.org.
- G. Mattingly, “The reputation of Doctor De Puebla”, English Historical Review 55 (1940), pp. 27–46.
Files: targets/puebla1506/ (notes, sign-label transcription, the key table, decode.py with its controls, the decryption, the reading and translation). Contributed by WAINUT in pull request #101; reviewed for the site on 27 October 2026. The sibling items in Puebla’s Great Roman Numeral code, the despatches of 28 December 1495 and 21 June 1496, are identified in targets/puebla1495/ and targets/puebla1496/; they were deciphered or summarised long ago and have no page.