01-01-2022, 04:43 PM
(This post was last modified: 01-01-2022, 06:44 PM by Mark Knowles.)
Here are some clues as to where I have and haven't searched to my full satisfaction for 1404-1438 ciphers:
1) I have looked very hard for ciphers in Italian archives as much as I can without being in Italy. This was very much the centre of the world when it came to ciphers of that time and so has to be the first port of call. There are almost certainly ciphers in Italian archives that I haven't located, but it may be quite difficult for someone not in Italy to find them either.
2) The Vatican Archives remain a bit of a mystery to me. I have photoreproductions of a couple of ciphers, however I think/hope that there should be much more.
3) Outside of Italy.
a) Ciphers of the Kingdom of Aragon. I get the impression from the experts in historical ciphers in Spain that they are not aware of ciphers from the period other than those I know, but again there may be ciphers they don't know about.
b) Ciphers from German speaking regions. We think from the Alphabet Kaldeorum that there was use of ciphers for diplomatic communication in the German speaking regions. There is also a cipher key in the Gonzaga cipher ledger from King Rupert of the Palatinate.
c) Ciphers from the Duchy of Savoy. There are none in Turin it appears. However I believe the Duke lived in Geneva, so if records survive they could be anywhere in the Duchy of Savoy.
d) Italian ciphers in archives outside of Italy. Ekaterina Domnina's discovery of a Sforza cipher in a Moscow archive shows that Italian ciphers can find there way to all sorts of place outside of Italy. Generally this an area where my knowledge is quite weak I feel as there are so many archives that it is hard to know where to start. I know of no such ciphers from the period in almost all the states in Europe, but there are certainly Italian diplomatic documents to be found outside Italy, so there might be ciphers.
e) Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund. I have not located his enciphered correspondence if it survives.
1) I have looked very hard for ciphers in Italian archives as much as I can without being in Italy. This was very much the centre of the world when it came to ciphers of that time and so has to be the first port of call. There are almost certainly ciphers in Italian archives that I haven't located, but it may be quite difficult for someone not in Italy to find them either.
2) The Vatican Archives remain a bit of a mystery to me. I have photoreproductions of a couple of ciphers, however I think/hope that there should be much more.
3) Outside of Italy.
a) Ciphers of the Kingdom of Aragon. I get the impression from the experts in historical ciphers in Spain that they are not aware of ciphers from the period other than those I know, but again there may be ciphers they don't know about.
b) Ciphers from German speaking regions. We think from the Alphabet Kaldeorum that there was use of ciphers for diplomatic communication in the German speaking regions. There is also a cipher key in the Gonzaga cipher ledger from King Rupert of the Palatinate.
c) Ciphers from the Duchy of Savoy. There are none in Turin it appears. However I believe the Duke lived in Geneva, so if records survive they could be anywhere in the Duchy of Savoy.
d) Italian ciphers in archives outside of Italy. Ekaterina Domnina's discovery of a Sforza cipher in a Moscow archive shows that Italian ciphers can find there way to all sorts of place outside of Italy. Generally this an area where my knowledge is quite weak I feel as there are so many archives that it is hard to know where to start. I know of no such ciphers from the period in almost all the states in Europe, but there are certainly Italian diplomatic documents to be found outside Italy, so there might be ciphers.
e) Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund. I have not located his enciphered correspondence if it survives.