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 20991 — Renard, ff217v–218r
Contents: Renard reports papal negotiations with the Duke of Alba and French military preparations.
2/2 pages transcribed in part; 2/2 cipher pages deciphered in part
- Ciphertext-only:
- No
- Sender:
- Renard
- Recipient:
- King of Spain
- Year:
- 14 December 1556
- Key:
- 66 recovered forms: 24 letter signs, 40 syllables, 2 word codes
- Ciphertext:
- 456 elements, 346 identified (75.9%)
- Plaintext in the margin or below:
- Contemporary decipherment below the cipher on f218r.
- Plaintext in another folio of the same volume:
- Same volume, f218v: continuation of the corresponding decipherment.
- Key in the same volume:
- Same volume, f218r: original alphabet fragment; A, C, D and E match the running cipher.
Excerpt and Translation
f218r, lines 1–3 — historical decipherment
Excerpt
[de Sel]va et de Lansac. Sur lequel advis led[it] s[ieu]r Roy manda querir le nonce du pappe estant pardeçà, et se plaignit à luy de ces desseins, et qu’il trou[voit].
Translation
[De Sel]va and de Lansac. On receiving this information, the King summoned the papal nuncio, who was here, complained to him about these plans, and said that he found…
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 20991 — Renard
f217v
Previous letter, ending
[?] sera de ce plus empeschez. Au demeurant monseigneur
comme Je vous escripvois dernierement du peu de parolles
[?] après avoir arresté la rançon du filz de
mons[ieu]r d’Estrée à trois mille escuz. Mons[ieu]r de Saboye
et [?] aussi se sont ravisez, m’ayans [?]
mandé qu’ilz en vouloyent six mille et [?] le baillant
à [?], Ilz le mectroyent voluntiers sur sa foy.
Et c’est pourquoy J’ay laissé cela là jusques à ung aultre jour
car Ilz se sont aheurtez là. Mais aussi mons[ieu]r d’Estrée
fera bien de [?] ses trois prisonniers,
mesmes le capp[itai]ne Julian et luy faire demander une
autre rançon. Car tout ainsi que [?]
à ce qui est accordé Il le peult et doibt de sa part. Je
suis aussi [?] après à vous faire trouver les trois
[?] que demandez, si sont messieurs de Bossu
et de Chalay, mais Je ne scay recouvrer [?]
dilligence que l’on face, led[it] s[ieu]r de Bossu a escript par
tous les passaiges et à ses amys. Il me fauldroit
aussi moy estre, Monseigneur, [?] avoir loisir affin que
en puissiez estre satisfaict. [?]
Renard dispatch
Double d’une depesche de l’ambassadeur Renard envoyée / avec la l[ett]re escripte au Roy qui est cy après [?]
Sire s lectres dernieres escrepdes ?
? sceu co[mm]e le sier de Lansac a faict ?
ntendre ? u dect raicdoient a???
d avec le sieur ? sans ?n co[m]unicquer a
u??ba??deurs ? de lute? du dect siei
r ?ve sont les sieurs dana?con de Sil
Marginal note
C’est une partie de la l[ett]re en chiffre du [sieur ?] Regnard dont le deschiffrement est après en fran[çois ?], cotte A.
f218r
Renard dispatch, continuation
va c de Lansac dur lequel advis le sict sie[u]r de
manda le nun? du pape esdont parde?? sa?lai
nrnit ??? de ?ve?us ? quil tre?s??
la fi? a?e?cesrante veu les ?ra?s qui?l
su??rdo?t ? lordre quil do???t poir sico
u?r pape et avac colara lu[y] dec? que le sieu
r de sai sa pa?s???n? pour aler si?
ve?t quil po?
?? faira ce que de????l dro???
rasendon?? le cardenal ca?a?? sdoat
a?verte ?? veulo?t fa[i]re son ?ro?i
t ? cel?? du dafe de Fe?a?re de cest e?
?p??su plusdot que ce?u? du pape et co?? ja
? es???t a ? ceste cour? a este fort
?lanco?? ? les ???cupaul? to?erne
u?stro??le? Marginal note
[?] commencement du chiffre de l’ambassadeur Renard [?]
Separate alphabet fragment
A B C D E F G H I
[?]
Nulles : [?]
ba be bi bo bu
ca ce ci co cu
da de di do du
fa fe fi fo fu
Historical decipherment A
Deschiffrement de la L[ett]re de Renart au Roy d’Hespaigne
Sire despuis mes l[ett]res dernieres escriptes J’ay sceu comme le
s[ieu]r de Lansac a faict entendre au roy que led[it] pappe et
ses ministres traictent accord avec le s[ieu]r duc d’Albe
Sans en communiquer aux ambassadeurs et deputez dud[it]
s[ieu]r Roy, que sont lesd[its] s[ieu]rs d’[?], de Selua et de
Historical decipherment — ff218r–218v
f218r · f218v
Sire despuis mes l[ett]res dernieres escriptes, j’ay sceu comme le s[ieu]r de Lansac a faict entendre au roy que led[it] pappe et ses ministres traictent accord avec le s[ieu]r duc d’Albe, sans en communiquer aux ambassadeurs et deputez dud[it] s[ieu]r Roy, que sont lesd[its] s[ieu]rs d’[?], de Selua et de Lansac. Sur lequel advis led[it] s[ieu]r Roy manda querir le nonce du pappe estant pardeça, et se plaignit à luy de ces desseins, et qu’il trouvoit la fin assez estrange, veu les fraiz qu’il supportoit et l’ordre qu’il donnoit pour secourir led[it] pappe. Et avec collere luy dist que le s[ieu]r de Guise passant en Italye pour aller si avant que pourroit et feroit ce que Dieu vouldroit, pendant que le Cardinal Caraffe estoit adverty que le roy vouloit faire son prouffit et celuy du duc de Ferrare de ceste entreprise plustost que celuy dud[it] pappe. Et comme j’ay escript à v[ost]re Ma[jes]té, ceste court a esté fort melencolique et les principaulx grandement troublez.
At a glanceExisting decipherment · partial (100% of the cipher)
- The letter
- Simon Renard, ambassador, to the King of Spain, 14 December 1556, in French. The folio is headed as part of a despatch in cipher whose decipherment follows.
- Where
- BnF Français 20991, ff. 217v–218r (Gallica btv1b90643415, view 351).
- The cipher
- 66 recovered forms: 24 letter signs, 40 syllables and 2 word codes. Part of the original alphabet is on f. 218r of the same volume.
- How it was read
- The result is George Lasry’s, from a contemporary decipherment on f. 218r. This project did not re-solve it: one sample was checked against the Gallica image. 346 of 456 cipher elements are identified (75.9%).
- What it says
- The excerpt reports that the King summoned the papal nuncio and complained to him about these plans, after advice naming [Sel]va and de Lansac.
- Credit
- George Lasry, BnF cipher research (10 October 2026), p. 130.
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.
- Batch B. Image checked: https://openapi.bnf.fr/iiif/image/v3/ark:/12148/btv1b90643415/f351/full/1600,/0/default.jpg
- Folio matches the report: yes; cipher present: yes
- What we checked: f217v: heading "Double dune depesche de lambassadeur Renard ... au Roy" and margin "cest une partie de la lre en chiffre dud. Renard dont le dechiffre est apres", followed by 6 rows of mixed letter/syllable signs (que, fo, ma, ta...); excerpt rests on the contemporary decipherment on f218r, which I did not fetch; no sign-level decode done
- Verdict: partly confirmed (method read from existing decipherment, extent partial). The check is a sample, not a re-solution.
- Notes: Simon Renard, imperial/Spanish ambassador in France 1556; contemporary decipherment on f218r-v. 75.9% of signs identified. Possibly calendared in CSP Spain XIII (Tomokiyo lists Renard 1556).
- Measured 24 October 2026 on his full Readable text: 91.8% of the words read as sense, the deciphered passages 100%; his report calls both cipher pages deciphered in part, so the extent is partial.
02 Other contributions
- Plaintext in the margin or below
- Contemporary decipherment below the cipher on f218r.
- Plaintext in another folio of the same volume
- Same volume, f218v: continuation of the corresponding decipherment.
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
Simon Renard to the King of Spain, 14 December 1556. Renard reports papal negotiations with the Duke of Alba and French military preparations.
Builds coherent sentences, but under the read bar of 95% of words read as sense (92% 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)
03 Sources
- George Lasry, with ChatGPT Astra 6 and Anthropic Opus 5.5, BnF cipher research, 10 October 2026 (sent to Daniel Bourdeau on 13 October 2026 for publication here), p. 130; his other items are listed on his contributor card.
- image checked in the spot-check
- The working folder:
targets/renard1556/(his entry as extracted from the report, our spot-check,profile.json).