A famous author is emerging: “Codebreakers” have identified 50 encrypted letters from a French archive as previously unknown correspondence from Queen Mary Stuart. The texts, which have now been deciphered, shed light on when the Queen of Scotland was held in captivity pending her execution, the team reports.
Her gripping and tragic story has made Mary Stuart (1542-1587) one of the most prominent figures in British history. Her life was marked by power struggles, intrigues and, above all, by the conflict with another famous ruler: Elizabeth I. Because of her descent, Maria also had a possible claim to the English throne. In addition, opponents of Protestantism in Britain supported the Catholic woman and she became a significant threat to Elizabeth. However, when Maria was in her sphere of influence, the English monarch fixed her rival. Maria spent 18 years in “privileged” captivity in various castles. But even from there, she was still very much involved: she was in contact with the outside world through mail, some of which was coded and sent secretly. However, this literally cost her her head: on the basis of her intercepted and deciphered correspondence, Maria was accused of being involved in a planned assassination attempt on the English queen. She was then executed on February 8, 1587.
Surprise find in an archive
Many surviving letters, which are kept in various collections, testify to the extensive correspondence of Maria Stuart. However, there have already been indications that some have been lost – or possibly slumbered in archives undiscovered because of their encryption. As it turns out, that was exactly the case. The discovery is thanks to the “DECRYPT” project. In it, various experts devote themselves to the task of decoding previously mysterious texts from collections and thus uncovering their secrets. A mysterious set of completely ciphered texts from the French National Library were now in the sights of cryptanalyst George Lasry and his colleagues. According to the catalogue, they date from the 16th century. They were encoded by a system in which specific graphic symbols represented letters, syllables, or entire words.
Using modern computer-aided techniques, the experts succeeded in decoding the texts bit by bit. Her detective work initially revealed terms in the female form, several mentions of “captivity” and the name “Walsingham” – Queen Elizabeth I’s “spy chief”. This pointed to a connection with Mary Stuart, which eventually became more and more obvious hardened. “When I deciphered the letters, I was very excited,” says Lasry. “We have cracked secret codes of kings and queens before. But this was a particularly exciting discovery.” Eventually, it emerged that the team had uncovered 50 previously unknown encrypted letters from the famous queen.
New insights into the time of captivity
Although the letters do not provide cinematic revelations, they can provide historians with interesting clues. The texts give an insight into the time of Mary’s imprisonment in the years 1578 to 1584. Most of the letters were addressed to Michel de Castelnau de Mauvissière, the French ambassador to England – a supporter of Mary. The confidential communication channel between Maria and Castelnau was already known in principle. But the new documents now show that this exchange existed as early as May 1578 and continued until at least mid-1584.
And what did Maria write about? Key issues include complaints about their poor health and suffering in captivity. She also writes about the negotiations with Queen Elizabeth I about her release. She also makes clear her distrust of Sir Francis Walsingham and her hostile attitude towards Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester – a confidant of Elizabeth’s. She also expresses her despair when her son James was kidnapped in August 1582 and her feeling of being abandoned by France.
“So far we only provide a first interpretation and summaries of the letters. A deeper analysis by historians could lead to a better understanding of Maria’s years in captivity,” says Lasry. “It would also be great to work with historians to create an edited book of their deciphered, annotated and translated letters,” the researcher said. According to Lasry and his co-authors, it also seems conceivable that other encrypted letters from Mary Stuart are slumbering in archives awaiting discovery. “It is hoped that the study will now lead to further research,” said Lasry.
Source: Taylor & Francis Group, Article: Cryptologia, doi: 10.1080/01611194.2022.2160677