Time.news – During his captivity in England, the queen of scots wrote letters in code to various recipients, but most of these documents had been lost over time and consider yourself an unsolved mystery. Now, a study published in the journal Cryptologia, conducted by scientists from theUniversity of Kassel, identified and disclosed the content of the exchanges of letters. The research team, led by George Lasry, Norbert Biermann and Satoshi Tomokiyo, he located the letters in the French National Libraryincluding the encryption system and reconstructed the meaning of the exchanges.
The work allowed the team to analyze 57 letters, 50 of which were hitherto unknown to historians. Made between 1578 and 1584, the correspondences of Mary Stuart they tell fascinating details about his imprisonment. Most of the letters are addressed to Michel de Castelnau de Mauvissiére, the French ambassador to England and supporter of the Scottish sovereign.
“We have previously deciphered secret codes of kings and queens – says Lasry – but this work was absolutely fascinating, because it included numerous unpublished writings and because the author played a fundamental role in the story. These writings represent a voluminous corpus on Maria Stuarda , for a total of 50,000 words, which sheds new light on his years of captivity in England”.
Considered one of the most important historical figures of the 16th century, Mary was next in line to the English throne after him cousin Elizabeth. Considered a threat from the English throne, the sovereign was imprisoned for 19 years and executed at 44 on charges of conspiracy against Elizabeth.
During her confinement, Maria exchanged missives and letters with her allies. The researchers discovered that the correspondence was already active in 1578. Using computer and manual techniques, the authors decrypted the texts, highlighting the sovereign’s efforts to maintain ties with the outside world.
Among the key themes that emerge from the letters, we can see the endurance of one’s conditions, the negotiation negotiations undertaken with Elizabeth, distrust and animosity towards spy master Sir Francis Walsingham and the Earl of Leicester Robert Dudley. Mary’s words also show the anguish for the kidnapping of James (future King James I of England), occurred in August 1582.
“This is the most significant discovery about Mary in the last century – comments John Guy, author of the biography of the sovereign that inspired a Hollywood feature film – I’ve always wondered if one day the original exchanges of letters would come to light. I’m really excited “. The researchers point out that some texts may be missing from the appeal, so it will be necessary to continue searching for the texts. “We have only provided a first interpretation of the letters – concludes Lasry – a more in-depth analysis by historians could lead to a better understanding of the years of imprisonment of the sovereign”.