[MR] BBC and Others: Mary Queen of Scots Code Broken

[Garth Groff and Sally Sanford]

Noble Friends, Especially Fellow Scots,

Lady Bethoc ingen Alpin called this story to my attention yesterday (Thank
you, M'Lady). It is too important not to share with all of you.

A significant amount of Mary Queen of Scots correspondence from her years
as Queen Elizabeth I's unwilling "guest" (read: prisoner) was written in a
cipher. Some 57 letters held in the Bibliotheque nationale de France, have
now been deciphered by three researchers with the help of computer software.

The letters were sent by Mary to the French ambassador at the court of
Queen Elizabeth I in London, Michel de Castelnau. They date between 1578
and 1584, and provide insight into Mary's hopes for claiming the thrones of
both Scotland and England.

The story is reported upon by the BBC at
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-64569883 .

Science Alert offers another version:
https://www.sciencealert.com/codebreakers-have-deciphered-the-lost-letters-of-mary-queen-of-scots?utm_source=ScienceAlert+-+Daily+Email+Updates&utm_campaign=806434b685-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_fe5632fb09-806434b685-366040646
.

A summary with a link to the team's actual research is found at
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01611194.2022.2160677 .

Bonus Link! Here is a brief bio of Michel de Castelnau:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michel_de_Castelnau .

Yours Aye,


Mungo Napier, Laird of Mallard Lodge  🦆