A research team has decoded a 500-year-old letter, believed to reveal a conspiracy to assassinate Emperor Charles V, the renowned monarch of the 16th century.
Charles V was one of the most powerful figures of the 16th century, ruling over the Holy Roman Empire, which spanned much of Western Europe during his 40-year reign. He was also the King of Spain at that time.
The Loria Research Institute in France spent six months decoding the letter written by Emperor Charles V in 1547 to his ambassador in France, as reported by AFP.
Cécile Pierrot, a cryptographer at the Loria Institute, stated that she discovered 120 unique symbols used by Emperor Charles V in the letter.
“The entire text was encoded using a single symbol,” she explained, noting that the emperor replaced vowels following consonants with punctuation marks.
The encrypted letter of Emperor Charles V after being scanned. (Photo: Jean-Christophe Verhaegen).
The decoding process faced numerous challenges, but a breakthrough occurred in June when Pierrot managed to read a phrase from the letter, aided by historian Camille Desenclos.
The letter was written during a time of heightened tension between Emperor Charles V and King Francis I of France. Desenclos noted that one piece of information revealed was a rumor about a conspiracy to assassinate Charles V allegedly brewing in France, according to The Guardian.
While not much information is available about this conspiracy, the letter underscores Charles V’s fears, Desenclos remarked.
Researchers hope to decode more letters between the emperor and his ambassador “to gain insight into Emperor Charles V’s strategies in Europe.”
