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.
Italien 2242 — Tranchedini, 1452
Contents: The 28 June postscript discusses the bishops of Parma and Novara, the pope’s response, and the bishop’s reputation.
3/3 pages transcribed in part; Partly deciphered
- Ciphertext-only:
- No
- Sender:
- Nicodemo Tranchedini
- Recipient:
- Francesco Sforza
- Year:
- 28 June 1452
- Key:
- 55 symbols: 23 letter forms, 32 in nomenclature
- Ciphertext:
- 852 elements deciphered; transcription incomplete
- Key elsewhere:
- Domnina (2018), Figure 5: reconstructed Tranchedini key from the 1449 letter and a
- Plaintext in another folio of the same volume:
- Literal historical decipherment on f88r–v, immediately before the cipher on f89r (PDF84–85).


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.
Nicodemo Tranchedini to Francesco Sforza
f88r — historical decipherment
Postdata. Signore. [?] dire de la beffa è stata facta al nro m. vescovo de Parma, della quale ho grandissima passione per più respecti; et fra gli altri perché questa sera el papa me ha dicto che mai più non lo farà per dinari, et che volendo non porria, perché dalli Cardinali et da ogne uno è tenuto uno homo da pocho, et per cossì è stato tractato, et che advisasse la S.V. che se destogliesse da questa impresa, e pensasse in altro. [?] che questo porria intervenire ad ogne uno, per intendente e savio che fosse; et che Christo anchora fo tradito. Disse che ogne babione et grosso homo haveria pure voluto aspectare per simile cosa qualche adviso dalla sua Santità, o da mi passando per mia mano, o advisare la S.V. et il conte Filippo prima che havesse publicato la cosa, et in questo [?]
f88v — historical decipherment
[?] et che non li traria tutto il mondo de capo che questa non sia opera de Vescovo de Novara. [?] perché vedo alcuni qua farne tanta festa senza havere riguardo al honor della S.V. [?]
Certificandove, Signore, per l’anima mia, che da N.S. in fora mai dissi ad persona che havesse simile pratiche alle mane. [?]
Ex Urbe. 28. Junii. 1452.
Non deue però la S.V. [?] da questa impresa, anzi rescriuere una bona l[etter]a [?]
f89r — 28 June 1452
Post data. Signore. Qui sono assaissime lettere, et [parechij?] di noy [ce è?] stato altro che dire de la
[?][?][?]aestat[?][?]alnostrouescouode[?]u[?][?]adeoqualhogrn[?]ssima
passione pe[?]tourespecoet[?]roltriperchequesta[?][?]r[?]mi[?]a[?][?]che[?]i
tounolfar[?]etche[?]uo[?]n[?]non[?]riaperche[?][?]et[?]ognunoe
[?]nutoun[?][?]coho[?]etpercossiestatotrcta[?]toetcheauisassiSforzache
se destogliesse da questa impresa et pensasse in altro Resposi che
questo poria intervenire ad ognuno per intendente(?), et fano che fosse et che ch[?]ristoan[?]r
fotr[?]todissi che' omne' [?][?]oneetgrossoho[?]haueria[?][?]uo[?]toaspec
[?]re[?]smile[?][?]qualche auisi [?]siasancotaodamipassandope[?]mi
emanooau[?]sareSforzaetilconte[?]li[?][?]oprimachehauesse[?][?][?]fa[?]ta oco[?]et in questo mi[?]oe[?]amissreelcoreroetc[?]iari[?]sseer[?]
[?]erdemisseretoe[?]tro[?]no[?]etoononassay messer Sforza(?) dice de la innocentia
et bonta de' lue[?][?]oprefactoetchesmile[?][?]esesiglionofare de
[?]roetquasog[?]noceseri[?]a[?]lto[?]et[?][?]nonuolseaquiescere
che io non uedessi questa passione [?][?]rechemaieressutar[?]schio
senonesforza[?]retrouare que[?]stafaouitaetseretrouan[?][?]non
o[?][?][?]teetchenon[?]essere stato senonuno de li preoouostri de[?]quali
as[?]rnocheuic[?]pertoha[?]nocos[?]ide[?]ate[?]iintercederepe[?]ro
etchenonglitrriatutoel[?]n[?]defa[?]ochequestanonsao[?]rdel
uesssuodenouarQuando ~ .j.o.(?) havea ley(?) facto mente(?) la, et paragonata
qu[?]e[?]a[?][?][?][?]erh[?][?]erofa[?]miomin[?]a[?]quamin[?]grches
a[?]ssi[?][?]percheu[?]doali[?]quafarne tanta [?]sta[?][?]nzahaue
rereguardoalhonoredeSforzaet[?]ren[?]g[?]per questo hauere que
stofape[?]ointestachefo[?]sretrouaroquestai[?]chio[?]r
et[?]riahauere[?]che[?][?]chetoumitoacesseroCertificandovi S[igno]re
su l'anima mia che de .n.6. ny fosse mai dissi a persona che havessi simile pratica a le
mani, agia veduta et toccata, qui sono assay l[ette]re ...(?) p[?]re[?]oo[?][?][?][?][?]Sforza
ce[?]fare percostui[?][?]n[?]noeta[?]ro[?]re[?]ro[?]etchedequesto ne si
[?]ossi[?]fasineetquesosino[?]cosedecostorochestaroopress
oaSforzaetchesentonoquestoetaltrotouissnoetauisano[?]o
nuaminte[?][?]requ[?]are[?]ta[?]oaquesosiieta[?][?]midesmi
...(?) e sempre me recomando a V. S.(?) ~ die 28 Junij 1452
nondeueperhoSforzadestafareque[?]stai[?]presaa[?][?]Servitor Nicodemus (signature, continues on L34)
rescriuere u[?][?][?][?]ersisandooinoce
noaet[?]ntade[?]n[?]gnoreetrechedendoto
de[?]etseuede[?]er[?]toacere[?]sig[?]r[?][?][?]
[?]fa[?]ia[?][?]dode[?]
At a glanceExisting decipherment · partial (54% of the cipher)
- The letter
- Nicodemo Tranchedini to Francesco Sforza, 28 June 1452, in Italian: a cipher postscript signed Nicodemus.
- Where
- BnF Italien 2242, f89r; three pages transcribed in part.
- The cipher
- 55 symbols: 23 letter forms and 32 in a nomenclature.
- How it was read
- A literal contemporary decipherment sits on f88r–v, immediately before the cipher, and the key is Domnina’s (2018) reconstruction from the 1449 letter and a 1454 decipherment. A spot-check against the Gallica image matched the clear islands on f89r; no symbol-level decode was done here.
- What it says
- The facing decipherment mentions the bishop of Novara and what “la V. Ill.” would have done well.
- Credit
- The result is George Lasry’s; this project only checked one sample.
- Still open
- 852 elements deciphered; the transcription is incomplete.
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 A. Image checked: https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b100387843/f83.item
- Folio matches the report: yes; cipher present: yes
- What we checked: f89r "Post data ... Signore" cipher postscript dated 28 Jun 1452, signed Nicodemus; facing f88v carries the contemporary decipherment (clear: "vescovo de Novara ... la V. Ill. hauria ben facto ... paragonata ... Certificandone Signore"), which matches the clear islands on f89r and his contents; no symbol-level decode of a run done
- Verdict: partly confirmed (method read from existing decipherment, extent partial). The check is a sample, not a re-solution.
- Notes: A literal 15th-c. decipherment sits on f88r-v next to the cipher, and the key is Domnina 2018s reconstruction, so little is new beyond alignment. Transcription incomplete; status Partly deciphered.
02 Other contributions
Where a decipherment or clear copy already existed, as George Lasry gives it:
- Plaintext in another folio of the same volume
- Literal historical decipherment on f88r–v, immediately before the cipher on f89r (PDF84–85).
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
Nicodemo Tranchedini to Francesco Sforza, 28 June 1452. The postscript discusses the bishops of Parma and Novara, the pope’s response, and the bishop’s reputation.
Builds coherent sentences, but under the read bar of 95% of words read as sense (72% 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. 49; his other items are listed on his contributor card.
- The working folder:
targets/tranchedini1452/(his entry as extracted from the report, our spot-check,profile.json).
