A Polyphonic Cipher of a Spanish Ambassador?

I collect historical examples (mostly Italian) of polyphonic substitution cipher in "A Polyphonic Substitution Cipher of the Catholic League (1592-1593)". Now, I noticed a specimen in Devos (1950), possibly related to Spanish ambassador de Spes, and added a reference to it.
Related changes have been made in
"Spanish Ciphers during the Reign of Philip II" and
"Polyphonic Substitution in Italian Numerical Ciphers".

Ciphers under Henry IV of France

I made a substantial enlargement in:
"French Ciphers during the Reign of Henry IV of France"
With the addition of about thirty reconstructed ciphers, it is like a wholly new article.
As a byproduct, I made some additions to:
"French ciphers during the Reign of Henry III of France"
and other related articles.
I still have some leads to work on, and hope to make further additions in near future.

Polyphonic Challenge

A polyphonic cipher (see, e.g., here) maps more than one letter of the alphabet to a cipher symbol, which thus cannot be deciphered to a definite plaintext letter. Even an intended recipient would find difficulty in deciphering epistles in such a cipher. I wondered whether codebreaking is possible with such a polyphonic cipher and published a challenge at MTC3.
The challenge was published around 21 November 2019, and many people already succeeded in solving it. Although I had been informed by a private email beforehand that a polyphonic cipher can be solved with hill climbing, it appears to be easier than I thought.
I'm interested to know how these solutions can be achieved.

(By the way, I once lost the plaintext myself. Before publishing the challenge, I tried to decipher the ciphertext with the key. I had to use fragments of the plaintext I could decipher to locate the original text on the web.)

Reading Old Handwriting Like Wavy Lines

In working with historical ciphers, reading old handwriting is often a problem. In order to get used to it, it is best to compare handwriting and its reading in actual examples. Although I'm far from being versed in the art, I dared to create a page in presenting such handwriting specimens annotated with its reading at "Paleography in Examples: Tips for Reading Old Handwriting" in 2017.
Now, I made several additions to this article. In particular, the new specimen under "Yet Another Example" look all just crawling waves except for descenders/ascenders. I hope the examples therein may help students working on historical manuscripts.

Ciphers of Henry IV's Representative in Germany

I uploaded a new article "Catalogue of Ciphers Related to Jacques Bongars in BnF fr.7125-7132". This series in the French archives includes many letters in cipher as well as original ciphers. (I came to know of this series by BnF's video at YouTube.)

As a by product, I made an addition in "Code, Cipher, Nomenclator -- Notes on Terms in Cryptology" to mention that there is an instance where a list of code words without any substitution alphabet is called "chifre".

A Simple Specimen of Variable-Length Symbol Italian Cipher with Ambiguous Reading Frames

Many Italian figure ciphers employ variable-length symbols written continuously. This means one cannot tell from a given ciphertext whether "7333" should be parsed as "73 33" or "7 33 3." In Variable-Length Symbols in Italian Numerical Ciphers, I described various ciphers that have some schemes to prevent confusion, and also pointed out that there are some in which "no particular precaution against confusion is employed." For example, "525" can be read as "5(a) 25(a)" or "52(t) 5(a)." With such a cipher, even if one possesses the key, one can never know whether "525" should be parsed as "5 25" or "52 5", without knowledge of the vocabulary.
Such an ambiguity in the reading frame poses an additional difficulty in codebreaking. I suspect two of the three new Vatican Challenge ciphers use such a cipher.

Recently, I came across a specimen (Rome, 20 August 1604, unsigned) of an Italian ciphertext with continuously written figures with ambiguous reading frames (e.g., figures "3"(a), "6"(b), "9"(c) are also used in two-digit figures "33"(m), "36"(n), etc.). Unlike many other ciphers used at the time, this cipher is not homophonic, but a simple monoalphabetic cipher with a regular arrangement.
Hopefully, a specimen of such a simple cipher may give some hint of how to parse continuously written figure streams into separate figures.

99(-)98(-)30(l)3(a)33(m)6(b)3(a)54(s)9(c)27(i)3(a)12(d)29(o)48(r)15(e) 36(n)29(o)54(s)57(t)48(r)29(o) 48(r)27(i)57(t)29(o)48(r)36(n)3(a)57(t)29(o) 42(p)29(o)9(c)24(h)27(i) 21(g)27(i)29(o)48(r)36(n)27(i)
54(s)29(o)36(n)29(o) 12(d)27(i) 54(s)42(p)3(a)21(g)36(n)3(a) 48(r)3(a)9(c)29(o)36(n)57(t)29(o) 27(i)36(n) 54(s)15(e)36(n)3(a)57(t)29(o) 30(l)27(i) 33(m)29(o)30(l)57(t)27(i) 12(d)27(i)54(s)21(g)60(u)54(s)57(t)27(i)
9(c)24(h)15(e) 45(q)60(u)15(e)30(l)30(l)27(i) 33(m)27(i)36(n)27(i)54(s)57(t)48(r)27(i) 42(p)48(r)15(e)57(t)15(e)36(n)12(d)29(o)36(n)29(o) 48(r)27(i)9(c)15(e)v(60)15(e)48(r)15(e) 12(d)27(i) 45(q)60(u)3(a) 54(s)15(e)36(n)
12(d)29(o)54(s)27(i) v(60)27(i)54(s)57(t)3(a) 57(t)3(a)36(n)57(t)3(a) 3(a)30(l)27(i)15(e)36(n)3(a)69(z)27(i)29(o)36(n)15(e) 12(d)3(a)30(l) 54(s)15(e)48(r)v(60)27(i)69(z)27(i)29(o) 12(d)27(i) Midas 9(c)29(o)36(n) 57(t)
3(a)36(n)57(t)27(i) 54(s)15(e)21(g)36(n)27(i) 3(a)42(p)42(p)3(a)48(r)15(e)36(n)57(t)27(i) 15(e)57(t) 42(p)3(a)48(r)57(t)27(i)9(c)29(o)30(l)3(a)48(r)33(m)15(e)36(n)57(t)15(e) 9(c)24(h)15(e) 54(s)27(i) 9(c)29(o)36(n)42(p)
29(o)48(r)57(t)27(i) 45(q)60(u)27(i) 42(p)15(e)48(r)54(s)29(o)36(n)15(e) 9(c)24(h)15(e) 3(a)v(60)27(i)54(s)27(i)36(n)29(o) 15(e) 48(r)3(a)21(g)21(g)60(u)3(a)21(g)30(l)27(i)36(n)29(o) 9(c)29(o)54(s)57(t)27(i)
57(t)60(u)57(t)57(t)29(o) 45(q)60(u)3(a)36(n)57(t)29(o) 42(p)3(a)54(s)54(s)3(a) 27(i)36(n) 27(i)57(t)3(a)30(l)27(i)3(a) 54(s)42(p)15(e)57(t)57(t)3(a)36(n)57(t)15(e) 3(a)30(l)30(l)15(e) 9(c)29(o)54(s)15(e) 12(d)27(i) Midas
3(a)48(r)57(t)15(e) s(54)42(p)3(a)21(g)36(n)29(o) 30(l)15(e)54(s)9(c)3(a) 9(c)24(h)15(e) v(60)29(o)21(g)30(l)27(i)29(o)36(n)29(o) 27(i)36(n)18(f)15(e)48(r)27(i)48(r)15(e) 3(a)30(l)57(t)48(r)29(o) 42(p)15(e)48(r)29(o) 15(e)
6(b)15(e)36(n)15(e) 30(l)3(a) 36(n)15(e) 54(s)27(i)3(a) 3(a)60(u)27(i)54(s)3(a)57(t)3(a) 24(h)27(i)15(e)48(r)27(i) 30(l)3(a)30(l)57(t)48(r)29(o) 12(d)60(u)15(e) 6(b)3(a)48(r)9(c)24(h)15(e) 12(d)27(i) 18(f)27(i)36(n)3(a)30(l)15(e) 42(p)48(r)
15(e)54(s)15(e)48(r)29(o) 30(l)3(a) 18(f)48(r)15(e)21(g)3(a)57(t)3(a) 12(d)15(e)30(l)30(l)27(i) 21(g)60(u)3(a)48(r)12(d)27(i)3(a)36(n)27(i) 12(d)15(e)30(l) 9(c)29(o)33(m)33(m)15(e)48(r)69(z)27(i)29(o) 9(c)29(o)36(n) 57(t)60(u)57(t)
57(t)27(i) 30(l)27(i) 24(h)60(u)29(o)33(m)27(i)36(n)27(i) 9(c)24(h)15(e) v(60)27(i)15(e)48(r)3(a)36(n)29(o) 54(s)29(o)42(p)48(r)3(a) 45(q)60(u)3(a)30(l)27(i) 54(s)29(o)36(n)29(o) 54(s)57(t)3(a)57(t)27(i)
33(m)3(a)36(n)12(d)3(a)57(t)27(i) 30(l)27(i)21(g)3(a)57(t)27(i) 3(a) 33(m)27(i)30(l)3(a)36(n)29(o) 42(p)15(e)48(r) 24(h)3(a)v(60)15(e)48(r)15(e) 15(e)54(s)54(s)3(a) 48(r)27(i)9(c)29(o)36(n)29(o)54(s)9(c)27(i)60(u)57(t)29(o)
60(u)36(n) v(60)3(a)54(s)9(c)15(e)30(l)30(l)29(o) 9(c)3(a)48(r)27(i)9(c)29(o) 12(d)27(i) 29(o)30(l)27(i)29(o) 9(c)24(h)15(e) v(60)15(e)36(n)27(i)60(u)3(a) 3(a)30(l) 12(d)15(e)57(t)57(t)29(o) 30(l)60(u)29(o)21(g)29(o)
27(i)30(l) 45(q)60(u)3(a)30(l)15(e) 60(u)3(a)54(s)9(c)15(e)30(l)30(l)29(o) 36(n)29(o)36(n) 24(h)3(a)v(60)15(e)v(60)3(a) 30(l)3(a) 30(l)27(i)9(c)15(e)36(n)69(z)3(a) 9(c)29(o)54(s)27(i) 18(f)60(u) 42(p)48(r)15(e)54(s)29(o) 15(e)57(t)
42(p)15(e)48(r) 12(d)27(i)54(s)42(p)15(e)57(t)57(t)29(o) 18(f)15(e)9(c)15(e)48(r)29(o) 3(a)48(r)33(m)3(a)48(r)15(e) 30(l)15(e)54(s)60(u)12(d)15(e)57(t)57(t)15(e) 12(d)60(u)15(e)6(b)3(a)48(r)9(c)24(h)15(e) 3(a) 42(p)27(i)
21(g)30(l)27(i)3(a)48(r)30(l)3(a) 9(c)29(o)54(s)3(a) 9(c)24(h)15(e) 12(d)3(a) 15(e)54(s)57(t)48(r)15(e)33(m)39[e?] 12(d)29(o)30(l)29(o)48(r)15(e) 3(a)30(l)30(l)3(a) 57(t)15(e)48(r)48(r)3(a) 57(t)48(r)3(a)57(t)57(t)3(a)36(n)
12(d)29(o)54(s)27(i) 12(d)15(e) 57(t)60(u)48(r)6(b)3(a)57(t)3(a) 27(j)60(u)48(r)27(i)54(s)12(d)27(i)69(z)69(z)27(i)29(o)36(n)15(e) 15(e)57(t) 12(d)15(e) 30(l)3(a) 42(p)48(r)29(o)v(60)27(i)54(s)27(i)29(o)36(n)
15(e) 15(e)30(l)30(l)3(a) 30(l)29(o)54(s)3(a)42(p)48(r)3(a)

The plaintext is:
--lambasciadore nostro ritornato pochi giorni
sono di spagna raconto in senato li molti disgusti
che quelli ministri pretendono ricevere di qua sen
dosi vista tanta alienazione dal servizio di Midas con t
anti segni apparenti et particolarmente che si conp
orti qui persone che avisino e ragguaglino costi
tutto quanto passa in italia spettante alle cose di Midas
arte spagno lesca che vogliono inferire altro pero e
bene la ne sia auisata hieri laltro due barche di finale pr
esero la fregata delli guardiani del commerzio con tut
ti li huomini che vierano sopra quali sono stati
mandati ligati a milano per havere essa riconosciuto
un vascello carico di olio che veniua al detto luogo
il quale uascello non haveva la licenza cosi fu preso et
per dispetto fecero armare lesudette duebarche a pi
gliarla cosa che da estrem[e?] dolore alla terra trattan
dosi de turbata jurisdizzione et de la provision
e ella losapra

Search For Japanese Patents

The article in Japanese, 昔の特許文献の探し方と戦前の暗号関係の特許（付：戦前の中間処理実例）, describes pre-WWII Japanese patents related to cryptography. My guides to search for patents in J-PlatPat, the database of the Japan Patent Office, was outdated since a major reconstruction of the JPO website in May 2019. Now, I updated the descriptions to reflect the changes.

Diplomatic Ciphers of Ambassadors of Henry III of France

I made a substantial enlargement on
"French ciphers during the Reign of Henry III of France"
by adding about a dozen reconstructed ciphers. Most of them are symbol ciphers similar to each other, but two are numerical ciphers.

Three New Vatican Challenges

A private email made me aware of three new Vatican challenge ciphertexts posted by George Lasry at MTC3. I spent many days on the Part 4 and Part 5 ciphertexts, but my attempts with methods described in, e.g., "Ciphertext-only Attack on "Vatican Challenge" Ciphers (1625, 1628)" have been unsuccessful.
The challenge ciphertexts are as follows:
The Vatican Challenge - Part 3 ... a short message dated "Brusseles 9 Oct. 1721", consisting of one- to four-digit figures.
The Vatican Challenge - Part 4 ... a letter from the bishop of Senigallia to the Secretariat, consisting of figures. The cleartext seems to include the date "Marzo 1536."
The Vatican Challenge - Part 5 ... The cleartext seems to include the date "Aprile 1542." According to the introduction of the challenge, this letter is in a bundle of "Lett. Orig. e cifre del card. Farnese al nunzio, 4 oct 1539-24 nov. 1548. ff. 7-123."


My article "Variable-Length Symbols in Italian Numerical Ciphers" describes various types of Vatican figure ciphers.
I guess the Part 4 cipher is something like the cipher for Cardinal Savello (1583) in that the same digit may have a value of its own and may also be a part of a two-digit symbol with a different value (e.g., "3"="i", "1"="o", but "31"="f"). See pdf for contexts of some frequent patterns in KWIC.
I guess the Part 5 cipher is something like Cardinal of Carpi's cipher with Granvelle (1548-1549). If so, there will be a difficulty in telling if a two-figure combination has a value of its own or is a part of a three-digit symbol (e.g., "90"="s", "901"="g"). See pdf for contexts of a frequent pattern and "^".
At present, I feel the ciphers are not polyphonic. But a polyphonic cipher like that of the bishop of Nazareth (1585) cannot be totally excluded.

Any ideas?

Beware of Leading Zeros when Using Microsoft Excel

I described how to do frequency count with Microsoft Excel in "Frequency Count (with Microsoft Excel)". Now, I found the COUNTIF function of Microsoft Excel ignores leading zeros, even if the cell category is set to "Text". So, if "12" and "012" needs to be distinguished, some measures have to be taken to force Excel to interpret these as text instead of numbers. I added a note on this matter.

An Early Vatican Cipher from 1520

A private email from Morocco made me aware of a letter partly in cipher to Cardinal Mathieu Schiner from one of his emissaries. Although it is not known whether Schiner used the same or similar cipher with Rome, the cipher is similar to later Vatican ciphers in being written as a stream of figures without break. This is the earliest specimen of such figure ciphers known to me.
See "An Early Vatican Cipher (1520)" for details.

Dian ma Xin bian (電碼新編) as early as 1912?

I acquired a copy of Dian ma Xin bian (電碼新編), a Chinese telegraph codebook, and added its images at
電碼――中国の文字コード (in Japanese) and
Chinese Telegraph Code (CTC),or A Brief History of Chinese Character Code (CCC) (abridged English version of the above).

The seller's website dated this as "1912", but, as expected, the book had nothing to support this dating. I think this copy was from the late 1930s.

Japanese Cryptographic Postcard (before WWII)

I acquired a curious unused Japanese postcard (probably before WWII) depicting a cipher wheel and described it in
"日本の電信暗号" and
"Japanese Telegraph Codes".
It's titled Ango Onshin(暗号音信).
(I know this has nothing to do with telegraphy, but there is no other article for this item to fit in.)

Ciphers of Henry III of France

I uploaded a new article "French ciphers during the Reign of Henry III of France."
It includes more than a dozen ciphers of his reign that I reconstructed from materials in the French archives. The reconstruction was done some years ago, but it took time in organizing them into a preesntable format.
There remain many undeciphered letters, many of which can now be deciphered with the help of the reconstructed keys by those versed in the language and background.
There are also some ciphers still unidentified.

Kurabo's Telegraph Code from 1890

I found an early telegraph code (1890) of Kurabo (倉敷紡績) on the web and added a reference to it in
日本の電信暗号 (in Japanese).

Mitsubishi's Codebook (1929)

I got a copy of Mitsubishi's telegraph codebook (1929), titled Wabun-Denshin-Ango (Telegraph Code for Japanese Text). I placed a search for a telegraph code on a second-hand book network without purpose and had the luck to hit on this item.
It conforms to the common codebooks at the time, with five-letter code groups and three-kana code groups assigned to the entries for plaintext in Japanese. The five-letter code groups are constructed according to four mutilation tables adapted to the new telegraph regulations of 1928.

The codebook is now described in
Japanese Telegraph Codes
Mutilation Table and Error-Correcting Code Before Computer Age
日本の電信暗号
検誤表――コンピューター以前の誤り訂正符号

Regularity in Louis XIV's Diplomatic Ciphers

Some years ago, I pointed out some ciphers from Louis XIV's time can be arranged in a table to reveal alphabetical arrangement of elements. (This characteristic was known to John Wallis, contemporary Engklish codebreaker.) I have now added images to specifically show such regularity for two ciphers from 1689 (in addition to similar images for 1693 and 1702 ciphers) in
"French Ciphers during the Reign of Louis XIV" and
"Specimens of French Cipher (1689) Printed in John Wallis' Opera Mathematica".

Chinese telegraph code

I updated
"Chinese Telegraph Code (CTC), or A Brief History of Chinese Character Code (CCC)" and
its Japanese version, "電碼――中国の文字コード" by information by Jaemin Chung.

The brief history of Chinese telegraph code described in the Standard Telegraph Codebook is at odds with my descriptions in some details. It seems to be based on limited resources, but I may need to correct my descriptions in future.
For example, it describes 『中国電報新編』 was compiled "by the end of 1880s", while I adopted the year "1881", but it was only based on Japanese Wikipedia.
As another example, it says the title 明密電碼新編 was used from 1929-1937, but I have seen the title in later editions. It further mentions 明密碼電報書 from 商務印書館 in 1941, but I have seen a reference to the title from this publisher as early as 1908. It further mentions 電碼新編 by 交通部電信総局 in 1948, but the version of this title I saw was Taiwanese.

Guicciardini's Ciphers (ca.1590-1593)

A new article "Florentine Ciphers of Guicciardini (ca.1590-1593)" presents two ciphers of Giacomo Guicciardini from past publications. One is polyphonic and is similar to another polyphonic cipher related to the Grand Duke of Tuscany.
In addition to these, reference is made to a cipher of James Guicciardini. James was near the Grand Duke of Tuscany about the same time as Giacomo, but they may be different persons. If I find out anything more, I will update the article.

Two Further Uses of Spanish Ciphers under Philip II

I updated "Spanish Ciphers during the Reign of Philip II" by Bernard Allaire, "Le décodage de la correspondance chiffrée des diplomates espagnols au XVIe siècle" and Jacques de Monts de Savasse, "Les chiffres de la correspondance diplomatique des ambassadeurs d'Henri IV, en l'année 1590", in Correspondre jadis et naguère. In particular, the former shows use of the cipher Cp.30 earlier than what was considered to be the issuance date of 1581.

A Flemish Cipher of Emperor Charles V

I added a section of Poupet de Lachaux in "Ciphers during the Reign of Emperor Charles V". It seems to be a Flemish cipher rather than Spanish. (It was before 1527, when the Emperor wrote about merits of a Spanish cipher.

Klausis Krypto Kolumne

Klausis Krypto Kolumne is a cryptology blog by Kauss Schmeh. It introduces various topics of cryptology, in particular, unsolved cryptograms including historical ones. I have mentioned it many times, and now added more references in:
"Unsolved Historical Ciphers"
"How to Break a Code (Not a Cipher)"
"Nonsecret Code: An Overview of Early Telegraph Codes"
"『大脱走』の暗号　Cipher behind The Great Escape" (in Japanese)

Gustave Bergenroth's Papers

I uploaded "Bergenroth's Papers on Spanish Ciphers in PRO 31/11/11
" and added a link to it in "Spanish Ciphers during the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella".

Mary of Guise's Ciphers

I updated "Ciphers during the Reign of Queen Elizabeth I".
V. Nachef, J. Patarin, and A. Dubois-Nayt, "Mary of Guise's Enciphered Letters" reconstructed two ciphers used by Mary of Guise (mother of Mary, Queen of Scots). I found one of them is the same as the one in SP53/23 in the British National Archives.

The Cipher between Marie-Antoinette and Fersen Shared with Marquis of Bouillé

David Chelli found a hitherto undeciphered letter related to the Flight to Varennes and deciphered it. It showed that the cipher between Marie-Antoinette and Axel von Fersen was also used between Fersen and the Marquis of Bouillé. I mentioned this in "Ciphers of Marie-Antoinette and Axel von Fersen".
Moreover, according to Marie-Amélie Brocard's report of this finding, the key word of the cipher was conveyed by indicating a page number of a book agreed in advance, though I could not find its source. I also mentioned this in the above article.

Louis XIV's Undeciphered Letter to his Ambassador in Rome (1690)

Louis XIV's secret instructions to Charles d'Albert d'Ailly, Duke of Chaulnes (Wikipedia), French ambassador in Rome, dated 10 July 1690. The letter is presented on a French website. While I was preparing the relevant updates to
"French Ciphers during the Reign of Louis XIV" and
"Unsolved Historical Ciphers",
discussion started in Klausis Krypto Kolumne, where it should be continued.

Granvelle-Saint Mauris Cipher (1548)

I added a section Granvelle-Saint Mauris Cipher (1548) in my article "Ciphers during the Reign of Emperor Charles V". This is another example of a vowel indicator system. I took pains in reconstructing this cipher, but it appears the cipher is already described by David L. Potter (but I could not find his "Appendix 3" online).

Reading letters with multiple minims (vertical strokes) in old handwriting.

I added an example in "Paleography in Examples: Tips for Reading Old Handwriting". It is a very easy one but illustrates difficulty in reading succession of minims (vertical strokes).

Antonio de Leyva's Ciphers (1525, 1527)

I added Antonio de Leyva's Ciphers from 1525 and 1527 in
"Ciphers during the Reign of Emperor Charles V" and
"Tracing the Origin of Vowel Indicators in Spanish Ciphers".
Leyva's Cipher (1527) is the earliest cipher with vowel indicators known to me.
I was looking for a specimen using Leyva's cipher used with Lope de Soria from about 1528-1535, but instead stumbled on this earlier example.

Unsolved Spanish Ciphers in French Archives (1497-1504)

BnF Espagnol 318 (Gallica) includes undeciphered letters.
f.122, no.95 A letter of 8 January 1497
f.120-121, no.94 Viceroy of Sicily to Ferdinand, 27 April 1503
f.118, no.93 (p.448 of pdf) Lorenzo Suarez to Ferdinand and Isabella, Venice, 24 February 1504

(Ff.5-6 and f.116 employ known ciphers but are left undeciphered. See "Spanish Ciphers during the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella".

Two more Unsolved Spanish Ciphers

I made two additions to "Unsolved Historical Ciphers":
Postscript to King Ferdinand's Letter to his Ambassador in Rome (1498) from Parisi (2004) and
A Spanish Letter (1504?) from PARES. There are many repetitive patterns (like "16e", "8ρ", "ogθ+", etc.) and it does not seem to be a very complicated system.

Duke of Manchester's Code

I updated "Diplomatic Codes after the Glorious Revolution" by adding a section "Reconstructed Version". I found a photocopy of a reconstructed code from a book that has been in the paper stack on my desk for many years is substantially the same as one preserved in Manchster Papers.

Codebreaking without Knowing the Language

I uploaded "Is Codebreaking Possible without Knowing the Language?".
I also updated "John Davys and the Art of Deciphering" mentioned therein (by mainly correcting grammar and adding links).

Ciphers in the reign of Ferdinand and Isabella

A substantial update have been made in "Spanish Ciphers during the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella". My understanding of Bergenroth needed corrections in view of the original ciphertexts in the Spanish archives now available online. (It should be noted that Bergenroth describes combined use of cipher and nomenclature as using "two different keys"; there is reason to justify such a treatment.) Although the most important changes are done, the overhaul is still ongoing and further updates may be reported here.

Three Vatican Ciphers Solved

My new article "Identifying Italian ciphers from continuous-figure ciphertexts (1593)" has been released online (Cryptologia). For the time being, you can get it free here.
I added a reference to this in related articles:
"Variable-Length Symbols in Italian Numerical Ciphers"
"Unsolved Historical Ciphers"
"Ciphertext-only Attack on "Vatican Challenge" Ciphers (1625, 1628)"

My solution is only preliminary. I hope someone will complete the solution and tell me what is written.