A list of mediaeval cipher manuscripts
This list is extracted from Bernhard Bischoff, >i>Ubersicht uber die nichtdiplomatischen Geheimschriften des Mittelalters (Sonderdruck aus Mitteilungen des Instituts fur Osterreichische Geschichtsforschung Band LXII), Graz 1954.
Bernhard Bischoff (1906-1991) was an internationally renowned palaeographer and had an encyclopaedic knowledge of his subject. This monograph of 27 pages summarises examples of non-diplomatic mediaeval cipher writing known to him. It is clear that he did not know of any cipher system of the period which was not essentially a simple substitution cipher. Almost all of the manuscripts cited contain a few words and phrases of ciphertext inserted into normal manuscripts: he gives only one example of a manuscript written entirely in cipher.
Manuscript | Content | Provenance | Date | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Normal letters | ||||
Plaintext letters retained | ||||
Text written in vertical columns | ||||
Paris BN Lat 1868 | f1r | Jerome, Epistles | s. 9 | |
Frauenfeld Cod Y 38 a | f 5v | |||
Reversal of sentences | ||||
Milan Ambros A inf 220 | f. 56 | Josephus | s 9 | |
Reversal of words | ||||
Oxford St John’s Coll. 1736 (Thorney 1109/10) | f 5v | |||
clm 14640 | f 68r | 1445 | ||
Reversal of syllables | ||||
Mirror writing | ||||
Oxford Bodl Auct T II 28 (20629) | f. 42v | Solin, Fleury | s. 9/10 | |
Heiligenkreuz 250 | f 168r | s 12 | ||
Liege Univ Bibl 26c | f 1 | s 12 | ||
Regular transposition of neighbouring letters | ||||
Paris BN Lat 2196 | f 68r-69r | Cassiodorus In Psalmos | s 9 | |
Anagramming | ||||
clm 14614 | f 78r | s 9 | ||
Eton Coll L 6.5 | s 11 | |||
St Gall 270 | p 52 | s 9 | ||
Insertion of null letters | ||||
Wolfenbuttel 727 Helmst. | f 153 | s. 14/15 | ||
Omission of letters | ||||
Vatic Regin lat 314 | f 117rv | s9 | ||
Substitution | ||||
Of vowels | ||||
By the following consonant | ||||
By the preceding consonant | ||||
Florence Bibl Naz, Conv Soppr I II 44 | f 51r | The Cathar work Liber de duobus principiis | s. 13 | |
By some other consonant | ||||
By the following vowel | ||||
Oxford St John’s Coll. 1736 (1109/10) | f 5v | s 11 | ||
By a neighbouring consonant | ||||
Formerly Cheltenham 816 | f 32r | s 11 | ||
Vatic Palat lat 216 | f 70v | s 8/9 | ||
Reciprocal transposition | ||||
Paris BN Lat 229 | s 12 | |||
A Wolfenbuttel manuscript of 1433 | ||||
Vienna 1674 | f 3v | |||
Replacement of each letter by the following letter | ||||
Vatic Palat lat 485 | f 14v | Lorsch | s 9 | |
Laon 444 | f 310v | Martin of Laon | s 9 | |
Oxford St John’s Coll. 17 | f 5v | 1109/10 | ||
St Gall 186 | p 193 | s 9 | ||
Rome Bibl Naz 278 (Farfa 27) | f 3v | s 11/12 | ||
Replacement of each letter by the preceding | ||||
Paris BN Allem 238 s 16 | f 1-3 | s 16 | ||
Replacement of abc by zxy (atbash) | ||||
clm 19550 | f 244 | A recipe | s 15 | |
Substitution of letters by other keys | ||||
clm 14367 | f 226v | s 14 | ||
London BM Sloane 1754 | f 63r\n65r\n75r | Roger Bacon Tractatus Trium Verborum | s 14 | |
(The genuine Roger Bacon cipher discussed by Newbold and solved by Manly). | ||||
Karlsruhe 399 | f 229 | s 15 | ||
Substitution by letters and numerals | ||||
London BM Sloane 416 | f 15r | Recipes and instructions on pigments. | English, Italian and Latin | s 15 |
Substitution by letters and symbols | ||||
Vatic Lat 3102 | f 27rv | Quaestiones Bernardi (an alchemical treatise) | s.14 | |
Newbold plates XXVII and XXVIII. Solved by Manly. | ||||
Substitution by letters and deceptive symbols | ||||
London BM Sloane 351 | f 15v | s 15 | ||
London Lambeth Palace 477 | f 120v\n142v | s 15 | ||
Use of foreign alphabets | ||||
Greek | ||||
Covered by Bischoff in another paper, Byz. Zs 44 1951 34 ff. | ||||
Hebrew | ||||
Square character, left to right | ||||
clm 641 | f 40r-42v | Compendium by Hermann Schedel | s. 15 | |
BM Royal 12 E VII | f 221r | Recipes | s. 12/13 | |
clm 4594 | f 29v | s 15 | ||
Rabbinical characters, left to right | ||||
clm 15613 | f 230v | s 15 | ||
clm 18662 | f 241v | |||
Wiesbaden 35 | f 137v | s 15 | ||
Manufactured alphabets | ||||
Mixed Greek and Hebrew letters | ||||
Karlsruhe Karlsr. 340 | s 9 | |||
Vienna 2223 | f 20r\n20v\n21r\n56r\n72r | s9 | ||
Paris BN Lat 12048 | f 264r | s 8 | ||
clm 6411 | f1r | Not deciphered | s. 9 | |
London BM Royal 12 E VIII | f 221 | Superstitious recipe | s 12/13 | |
Runes | ||||
Bern 207 | f4r | Fleury | s8 | |
Uber Valenciennes 59 | f 2r | Fleury (?) | 806 | |
Douai 12 | c. 800 | |||
Arras 1045 | f 15r | s 9 | ||
clm 13067 | f17v | s11 | ||
Prag NUB Lobk 491 | f 61r | Recipes | s 15 key s16 | |
Ogham | ||||
Bern 207 | f 3r | |||
Oxford St John’s College 17 | f 7v | |||
The alphabet of Aethicus Hister | ||||
Bern 207 | f 2v | |||
Avranches 152 (107) | s 11 | |||
Oxford St John’s College 17 | f 5v | |||
Vatic Rigin lat 294 | f 1v | s 11/12 | ||
Valenciennes 59 | f 28r | |||
Bern 85 | f 117r | Breton evangeliary | s 9 | |
Oxford St. John’s College 194 | f 65r | Gospels | s 9 | |
Paris BN lat 974 | f 25v | Augustine | s 9 | |
clm 276 | f 96v | s14 | ||
Glagolitic | ||||
clm 14684 | f 100v | s 15 | ||
Cyrillic | ||||
clm 14684 | f 100v | s15 | ||
Armenian | ||||
Vienna 2674 | f 5r | Notizbuch of Frederick II | ||
Invented alphabets | ||||
A | ||||
Wolfenbuttel Weiss 14 | f 40v | s 9 | ||
B | ||||
clm 14370 | f 42 | s10 | ||
clm 642 | f 42r | Encyclopaedia | Pruhl | s 11 |
clm 6242 | f 165r | Freising | ||
Ghent 257 | f 1r | Trier | s 10/11 | |
London BM Add 34248 | s11 | |||
C | ||||
clm 18628 | f 95r | Superstitious recipes | Tegernsee | s 10 |
D1 | ||||
clm 14386 | f 5r marg\nf 88v | St Emmeram | s10/11 | |
D2 | ||||
clm 18628 | f 95r | |||
D1, D2 | ||||
clm 6396 | f 99r | Freising | s 10 | |
clm 18547 b | f 185v | Tegernsee | s 11 | |
E | ||||
La Cava 3 | f 255v | s 11 | ||
F | ||||
Vienna 1134 | Lectionary | Villiers, Brabant | s 12 | |
G | ||||
Cologne Histor Arch W schm. | f 149 | Astrology | 1480 | |
H | ||||
Prague Metrop.-Bibl M CXXV | f 1 | s 15 | ||
I | ||||
Karlsruhe Aug 152 | f 45v | s 15 | ||
Predominantly invented alphabets | ||||
A | ||||
Vienna Cod 751 | Boniface, Letters | s. 9 | ||
Leiden Voss. lat oct 41 | 65v | s 9 | ||
B | ||||
Leiden Voss. lat qu. 63 | f 3r | Gregory of Tours | Tours | s. 8 |
C | ||||
Cologne Dombibliothek 43 | f 56v | Job, Tobit | Italian | s 8 |
D | ||||
Paris B.N. Nouv. Acq. Lat. 1489 | f 1r | s9 | ||
E | ||||
Stuttgart Zwif 253 | The lingua ignota of Hildegard of Bingen | s. 12 | ||
Only this manuscript of the lingua ignota is written in a secret script. | ||||
F The secret writing of Duke Rudolph IV of Austria | ||||
Klosterneuburg 1226 | s. 15 | |||
clm 671 | f 109r | s. 15 | ||
Munich Univ Bibl 4o 810 | f 41v\n56r | s. 15 | ||
Formerly Vienna Gilhofer and Ranschburg Catal 265 nr 7 | f 22r | s. 15 | ||
clm 641 | f 38r | s. 15 | ||
clm 3131 | f 170r | s. 15 | ||
Melk 931 (1086) | p 55 | s. 15 | ||
clm 405 | f 175 | Recipes | s14 | |
Leipzig Univ-bibl 1048 | f 278v | 1444 | ||
Prague Metrop. A LIX 6 (94) | f 48v | |||
G | ||||
clm 24104 | f 79v | Johannes Regiomontanus | 1487 | |
H | ||||
clm 444 | f 140r | Cosmetic recipes | s. 15 | |
I | ||||
clm 276 | f 96v | s 14 | ||
clm 641 | f 38r | s. 15 | ||
J | ||||
clm 716 | f 62v | Hartmann Schedel Liber antiquitatum | s. 15 | |
K | ||||
Paris BN Nouv Acq Lat 635 | Secretum de thesauro experimentorum jmaginationis hominum | Italian | s 15 | |
The entire manuscript is in cipher apart from the contents, title and concluding formula. Described in H. Omont Bibl de l’Ec. d, Chartes 58 (1897) 253-258 |
||||
L | ||||
Formerly Vienna Gilhofer and Raschburg Catal 265 nr 7 | ||||
clm 570 | f 42v | s 15 | ||
Prague Metrop-Bibl O LXXVIIII (1662) | f 295v | s 15 | ||
M | ||||
Heidelberg Pal. germ. 597 | Alchymey teuczsch | s 15 | ||
N | ||||
clm 641 | f 38r | s 15 | ||
O | ||||
clm 644 | f 51v-52r | s 15 | ||
P | ||||
Gottingen, Morbio 15 | Astronomical observations | Italian | s 14 | |
Q | ||||
Vatic Borghes 239 | f 16r | |||
Symbols mixed with Arabic numerals | ||||
A | ||||
Naples Bibliotheca Nazionale MS XII A 23 (formerly 334. VI. 9. 36) | title page | Mare Vitreum, a canonistic compendium | s 12 | |
B | ||||
Madrid Bibl Nac 10007 (formerly Tol. 10, 25) | f 207r | West Gothic | 902 | |
C | ||||
Cambridge, Peterhouse 75 | f 14r\n30v\n63v | Astronomica | s 14 | |
D | ||||
Prague Metrop.-Bibl. M XVII (1370) | f 1rv\n4r\n9rvN10r | Chemical recipes | s. 14 | |
E | ||||
Paris Arsenal 940 | f 38v | Passio Mauritii et Sociorum | s. 15 | |
F | ||||
Frankfurt a.M. Barth. 91 | f 184r etc | s 15 | ||
Wolfenbuttel 55 7 Aug 4o | Alchemical | s. 15 | ||
G | ||||
Prague Metrop.-Bibl. M CXXV | f 1 | s15 | ||
H | ||||
clm 14698 | f 307r | s15 | ||
Neums | ||||
Spanish neums mixed with letters | ||||
Frankish neums, symbols and letters | ||||
clm 18628 | f 95 | Tegernsee | s 10 | |
Vienna 1761 | f 105 | s 10/11 | ||
Augsburg Ordinariatsbibl 6 | f 88v 98r 90 r | Gospels | s 9 | |
clm 3860 a | f 7v | Canons | Augsburg | s 9/10 |
Numerical ciphers and related | ||||
Vowels replaced with numerals | ||||
Replacement with abbreviated ordinal numerals (pri, sec, ter…) | ||||
clm 1086 | f 71v | Hugeburc Vitae SS Wynnebaldi et Willibaldi | s. 8-9 | |
Replacement with the sequence x, xx, xxx, xl… | ||||
Cordova, Albarus Codex | ||||
Replacement with Arabic numerals | ||||
A: 1 2 3 4 5 | ||||
Vienna 2674 | f 7r | Frederick III | ||
clm 671 | f 61 57r | s 15 | ||
B: 5 4 3 2 1 | ||||
clm 674 | f 27v | s 15 | ||
C: 5 6 7 8 9 | ||||
Bamberg Canon. 26 | f 305v | s 14 | ||
D: 1 2 0 4 X | ||||
Florence Bibl Naz, Conv Soppr I II 44 | f 51r | Liber de duobus principiis (a Cathar work) | s. 13 | |
Substitution of dots (variations on . : :.) | ||||
A | ||||
Paris B N Bat 229 | s 12 | |||
clm 14848 | f 144v | A nun’s prayerbook | s. 12 | |
Berlin Lat fol 88 | f 59v | Recipes | s. 14/15 | |
clm 13099 | f 187v | s. 12/13 | ||
B | ||||
Schlagl 454 a 61 | f 50v | |||
Substitution of G GG GGG… | ||||
Oxford St. John’s College 17 | f 5v | |||
Substitution of vertical or diagonal lines | ||||
A diagonal, similar to ogham | ||||
clm 4115 | f 42r | Leges | s. 8/9 | |
B vertical lines | ||||
Vienna 2674 | f 7r | Frederick III | ||
Substitution of p with one to five underlinings | ||||
London BM Harl. 2277 | ||||
Lubeck Stadtbibl Ms theol 76 | f 89r | s. 15 | ||
clm 14412 | f 48v | s 15 | ||
Rouen 1151 | 1471 | |||
Corpus Christi Cambridge 96 | f 240r | Not deciphered | c 1425 | |
Replacement of the entire alphabet with numerals and the like | ||||
Replacement of the letters with their positional number | ||||
A Roman numerals | ||||
Laon 444 | f 310 | Martin of Laon | s 9 | |
Vatic Palat lat 485 | f 14v | Lorsch | s. 9 | |
Vatic Rigin lat 421 | f 26r | s 11 | ||
Vienna 1761 | f 105v | s 10/11 | ||
Paris BN Lat 7503 | f 92v | St Gall | s. 9 | |
Vienna 795 | f 20r | s 9 | ||
Oxford St John’s Coll. 17 | f 5v | 1109/10 | ||
Arabic Numerals | ||||
Vienna 2674 | f 7r | Frederick III | ||
Clofruna, clophruna | ||||
Paris BN Nouv Acq Lat 1443 | f 190v | Augustine Letters | s. 9 | |
St Gall 176 | ||||
Iisruna, lagoruna, hahalruna, stofruna | ||||
Vienna 911 | f 21r | s 9 | ||
A possible runic alphabet | ||||
Vatic Regin lat 421 | f 26r | s 11 | ||
Vienna 1761 | f 105r | s 10/11 | ||
Greek numerals representing alphabetical position | ||||
Discussed by Bischoff elsewhere: he notes that Trithemius revived this system. | ||||
‘Chaldaic’ or ‘Greek’ numeral representing alphabetical position | ||||
Heidelberg Pal germ 368 | f 65r\n68r | Superstitious recipes | s. 15 | |
Replacement by ‘Chaldaic’ or ‘Greek’ numerals in grammatical order (i.e. vowels, liquids, plosives) | ||||
London BM Sloane 351 | f 14v | s. 15 | ||
Other numerical keys | ||||
clm 16226 | f 275v | s. 15 | ||
Pigpen cipher | ||||
Gottingen Luneb 2 | f 101r | s 15 | ||
clm 16226 | f 275r | s 15 | ||
clm 16488 | f 43v | s 15 | ||
Paris BN Allem 238 | f 1 | s 16 | ||
Musical notes | ||||
London BM Sloane 351 | f 15r | s 15 |