Matheo de Segura to the Constable of Castile, 8 August 1596

cipher_final.txt

[que estava yo contento si se guarda]
Hd r R z L
Y n o rd a l z o D l a openC k
[se le deve amistad y no se si se conforman]
o z L E z a T r Q l b u l three
o inf e n a k
[ny sy ay rason de encuentro entre ellos]

[Un consejero muy grave me ha dicho que han hecho aqui junta sobre la cometa que ha avido estos dias y]
e D bar8 n L qshape d l l b T inf L e z three l r o s g H a s
k T z a D hash r l b ad l u R z a three l Y D l X
g a n l b g D l L o l hash c s e l ud z R r
a l three o l qshape d l r L e r o a l k l L e Yd J three
[Tambien disen que se tratan treguas entre su magestad y Bearne]

cipher_tokens.txt

Hd r R z L
Y n o rd a l z o D l a openC k
o z L E z a T r Q l b u l three
o inf e n a k
e D bar8 n L qshape d l l b T inf L e z three l r o s g H a s
k T z a D hash r l b ad l u R z a three l Y D l X
g a n l b g D l L o l hash c s e l ud z R r
a l three o l qshape d l r L e r o a l k l L e Yd J three

reading.md

# Matheo de Segura to the Constable of Castile, Madrid, 8 August 1596

BnF espagnol 336 no. 99, ff. 196r–198r; Gallica views 336–340.
Reading made 23 September 2026 from the images, without an external decipherment.

## Editorial conventions

Bold text below was encrypted. Spaces, accents, capitalization and punctuation are editorial. Clear-text excerpts are lightly normalized, not a diplomatic edition of the five-page letter. `cipher_tokens.txt` preserves the eight cipher runs/lines in reading order; `token_reading.tsv` gives every sign, its proposed value and its grade. The labels are modern identifiers, not facsimiles of the signs. All 125 tokens have proposed values; 119 (95.2%) remain if the six context-dependent M readings are excluded. This measures the proposal, not independent proof of its correctness.

## A — f. 196v, view 337

…que no quieren hazer gracia sino mera justicia, con que estaría yo contento si se guarda. **A Ponte creo cierto** se le deve amistad, y no sé si se conforman **conforman él y Escudero**, ni si ay razón de encuentro entre ellos, que si la huviesse a entrambos les costaría su dinero; el de V.Ex. no querría que menguase por esta causa, y los demás cada uno le ayude su suerte, y así yo me bolveré a Toledo a dar mate a estas cosas, y avisaré de lo que huviere.

Literal decrypted runs:

```
apon
tecreocierto
conformanelyes
cudero
```

The first name may be segmented **A Ponte** or **Aponte**; the signs alone do not decide. No first name is established for this person or for Escudero. The apparent clear/cipher repetition *se conforman / conforman* is retained. Its awkwardness must not be hidden by silently replacing cipher text with a different name or verb. In sense, Segura discusses friendship owed to Ponte/Aponte, agreement between him and Escudero, and the financial consequences of a quarrel.

## B — f. 197r, view 338

Un consejero muy grave me ha dicho que han hecho aquí junta sobre la cometa que ha avido estos días, y **dizen que el mundo se acabará o morirá el rey por setiembre. Él bien cerca dello paresce que anda. Creo en Dios.**

Literal decrypted lines (the first begins with the two cipher signs at the end of the introductory line):

```
dizenqueelmundoseacabara
omoriraelreyporsetiem
breelbiencercadellopa
rescequeandacreoendios
```

English: “A very weighty councillor has told me that they have held a meeting here about the comet that has appeared these days, and they say the world will end or the king will die around September. He seems to be very close to it. I believe in God.”

This reports what a councillor told Segura. It does not establish an official council decision or the astronomical identity of the comet. The punctuation and tone of the final pious formula remain editorial.

## Other pages

196r: money, expenses, debts and payments involving the Council of Italy; concern for services and reputation. 196v: royal help and consultation with Don Alonso Idiáquez, followed by passage A. 197r: passage B, truce and military news, Carmona, the adelantado and Cebiaur, ships and men, Lisbon/Portalegre, and the sale of Don Blasco's estate. 197v–198r: marriage negotiations involving García de Alvarado, the Duke of Alba's sister, Jerónimo de Salamanca, Gaspar Bullón and Haro; dowry and vocation; the Cortes' grant of thirty million over six years. The last page supplies Madrid, 8 August 1596, and Matheo de Segura's signature, with a postscript about infantry for the expedition. These are contextual summaries, not additional recovered ciphertext.

## Doubtful assignments

| Token | Proposed value | Occurrence | Grade and reason |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hd | null | A, run 1 | M: underdotted sign, deletion inferred from the name/context |
| rd | null | A, run 2 | M: underdotted sign, deletion inferred from *creo* |
| openC | t | A, run 2 | M: singleton in *cierto* |
| Q | n | A, run 3 | M: singleton in *conforman* |
| X | m | B, line 2 | M: overwritten end-of-line sign in *setiem-bre* |
| ud | ll | B, line 3 | M: dotted singleton in *dello* |

The other 119 token readings are I, inferred from the substitution and Spanish context. None is graded H or C: no contemporary key or independent plaintext was obtained. Dotted signs are not indiscriminately erased: `ad=r`, `Yd=i` and `ud=ll` are kept. The reconstructed key covers the signs used here, not the complete historical cipher alphabet.

token_reading.tsv

line	position	token	plaintext	grade
1	1	Hd	[null]	M
1	2	r	a	I
1	3	R	p	I
1	4	z	o	I
1	5	L	n	I
2	1	Y	t	I
2	2	n	e	I
2	3	o	c	I
2	4	rd	[null]	M
2	5	a	r	I
2	6	l	e	I
2	7	z	o	I
2	8	o	c	I
2	9	D	i	I
2	10	l	e	I
2	11	a	r	I
2	12	openC	t	M
2	13	k	o	I
3	1	o	c	I
3	2	z	o	I
3	3	L	n	I
3	4	E	f	I
3	5	z	o	I
3	6	a	r	I
3	7	T	m	I
3	8	r	a	I
3	9	Q	n	M
3	10	l	e	I
3	11	b	l	I
3	12	u	y	I
3	13	l	e	I
3	14	three	s	I
4	1	o	c	I
4	2	inf	u	I
4	3	e	d	I
4	4	n	e	I
4	5	a	r	I
4	6	k	o	I
5	1	e	d	I
5	2	D	i	I
5	3	bar8	z	I
5	4	n	e	I
5	5	L	n	I
5	6	qshape	q	I
5	7	d	u	I
5	8	l	e	I
5	9	l	e	I
5	10	b	l	I
5	11	T	m	I
5	12	inf	u	I
5	13	L	n	I
5	14	e	d	I
5	15	z	o	I
5	16	three	s	I
5	17	l	e	I
5	18	r	a	I
5	19	o	c	I
5	20	s	a	I
5	21	g	b	I
5	22	H	a	I
5	23	a	r	I
5	24	s	a	I
6	1	k	o	I
6	2	T	m	I
6	3	z	o	I
6	4	a	r	I
6	5	D	i	I
6	6	hash	r	I
6	7	r	a	I
6	8	l	e	I
6	9	b	l	I
6	10	ad	r	I
6	11	l	e	I
6	12	u	y	I
6	13	R	p	I
6	14	z	o	I
6	15	a	r	I
6	16	three	s	I
6	17	l	e	I
6	18	Y	t	I
6	19	D	i	I
6	20	l	e	I
6	21	X	m	M
7	1	g	b	I
7	2	a	r	I
7	3	n	e	I
7	4	l	e	I
7	5	b	l	I
7	6	g	b	I
7	7	D	i	I
7	8	l	e	I
7	9	L	n	I
7	10	o	c	I
7	11	l	e	I
7	12	hash	r	I
7	13	c	c	I
7	14	s	a	I
7	15	e	d	I
7	16	l	e	I
7	17	ud	ll	M
7	18	z	o	I
7	19	R	p	I
7	20	r	a	I
8	1	a	r	I
8	2	l	e	I
8	3	three	s	I
8	4	o	c	I
8	5	l	e	I
8	6	qshape	q	I
8	7	d	u	I
8	8	l	e	I
8	9	r	a	I
8	10	L	n	I
8	11	e	d	I
8	12	r	a	I
8	13	o	c	I
8	14	a	r	I
8	15	l	e	I
8	16	k	o	I
8	17	l	e	I
8	18	L	n	I
8	19	e	d	I
8	20	Yd	i	I
8	21	J	o	I
8	22	three	s	I

segura1596_en.md

<!-- English translation of the two passages A and B of reading.md (Claude Opus 5.5, 23 Oct 2026): the cipher (in **bold**) with the clear sentences around it, as reading.md gives them; the rest of the five-page letter is only summarised there and is not translated. An excerpt. -->

# Matheo de Segura to the Constable of Castile, Madrid, 8 August 1596 (BnF espagnol 336 no. 99): English translation of the cipher passages

## A — f. 196v

… for they will not grant a favour but only strict justice, with which I would be content if it is kept. **To Ponte, I
truly believe,** friendship is owed, and I do not know whether they agree, **whether he and Escudero agree**, nor whether
there is any cause of clash between them, for if there were, it would cost both of them their money; I would not want
Your Excellency's to diminish for this reason, and as for the others, let each one's luck help him; and so I shall go
back to Toledo to finish off these matters, and I shall report what there is.

## B — f. 197r

A very weighty councillor has told me that they have held a meeting here about the comet that has appeared these days,
and **they say that the world will end or the king will die around September. He seems to be very near it. I believe in
God.**