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IslandChillin OP t1_ixofot9 wrote

"Whole words are encrypted with a single symbol and the emperor replaced vowels coming after consonants with marks, she said, an inspiration probably coming from Arabic.

In another obstacle, he also used symbols that mean nothing to mislead any adversary trying to decipher the message.

The breakthrough came in June, when Pierrot managed to make out a phrase in the letter, and the team then cracked the code with the help of historian Camille Desenclos."

"It was painstaking and long work but there was really a breakthrough that happened in one day, where all of a sudden we had the right hypothesis," she said.

"Another letter from Jean de Saint-Mauris, where the receiver had doodled a form of transcription code in the margin, also helped."

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Aware-Reveal7950 t1_ixpmqoj wrote

Well, what’s it say then?

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[deleted] t1_ixpzg5j wrote

[deleted]

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LJR07 t1_ixqca3l wrote

They "crack" a letter that's almost 500 years old and give us the cliff notes... brilliant.

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SharksForArms t1_ixqeb4h wrote

"Well we cracked the code! But it's not very interesting or relevant and I am in the middle of decluttering, so... paper shredder noise

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HeyCarpy t1_ixqrd9z wrote

I would've liked a more detailed breakdown of the phrase that broke the code as well. This article left me wanting more, and not in a good way.

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recumbent_mike t1_ixql7ye wrote

Probably don't want to risk divulging classified information.

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Throwaway_7451 t1_ixqmpvb wrote

"This message still contains information vital to national security, therefore we cannot release it"

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[deleted] t1_ixqe54p wrote

[deleted]

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chaosperfect t1_ixqh323 wrote

I was under the impression that that's how it normally works.

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[deleted] t1_ixqhqdn wrote

[deleted]

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chaosperfect t1_ixqifsk wrote

I'm aware of that. But don't academics, historians, archeologists, scientists, astronomers, etc traditionally give everything away for free? It'd be pretty depressing if what motivated the top minds in the world to discover and release new information and breakthroughs was just money.

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subito_lucres t1_ixqj7ur wrote

You are generally correct! Of course there are exceptions. I'm not sure how that all works for historians. For science, you generally release the idea and anyone can use it for research, but also patent it so that people have to pay you if they want to make money off of it.

Source: am academic scientist.

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chaosperfect t1_ixqktu0 wrote

That seems fair. I'm pleased.

Edit: Also, thank you for your service.

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subito_lucres t1_ixqoqgs wrote

Hahaha, no one has ever thanked me for being a scientist. But I appreciate you appreciating it! Sometimes I actually feel guilty for asking for government grants because some of that money comes out of real people's pockets.

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therealCatnuts t1_ixqrkf3 wrote

You ever try to read Middle English from 500 years ago? It’s unreadable. Probably a big issue here.

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_O_G_ t1_ixqzr2f wrote

1540s would be early Modern English not Middle English, so don’t think legibility is as big an issue as you’re implying. Also this dude was the Holy Roman Emperor so it probably wasn’t even written in English

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IactaEstoAlea t1_ixr7ai2 wrote

Nonsense! They were family!

> My cousin Francis and I are in perfect accord. He wants Milan and so do I.

Charles V, HRE

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snkn179 t1_ixqjxvf wrote

Looks like we can date the letter to the early part of 1547 then, considering Francis died in March that year.

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jon_stout t1_ixpz95m wrote

Something about rumors of the French whipping up an assassination plot against Charles.

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big_duo3674 t1_ixqgb8s wrote

You make it sound like it was a casual Saturday afternoon for them. "Nah I don't got much planned today, just whipping up a quick plot to assassinate a monarch so I should be free by 2"

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Kubliah t1_ixqvapi wrote

"I have my wedding to prepare, my wife to murder, and Gilder to frame for it. I'm swamped."

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StinkMartini t1_ixr0vbp wrote

Get some rest - if you haven't got you health, you haven't got anything!

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[deleted] t1_ixprdm2 wrote

[removed]

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Red_Khalmer t1_ixpw0h4 wrote

The article says what OP wrote above, didn't you just read it?

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StingerAE t1_ixpy1hn wrote

I think they meant the letter not the article!

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