Have you ever wondered what it was like to be Mary, Queen of Scots? A new discovery has revealed a trove of letters that were written by the former Queen of Scotland during her imprisonment by her cousin, Elizabeth I of England. Researchers have cracked the code used to write these “lost” letters, giving us a glimpse into the life of Mary, Queen of Scots. In this blog post, we will explore the fascinating story of Mary, Queen of Scots and the “sophisticated cipher system” used to write her letters.
The letters were written between 1578 and 1584 and were discovered by a team of international codebreakers while searching the archives at the Bibliothèque nationale de France. The letters, which were written to and from Mary Stuart, were deciphered using computer techniques and manual comparison of text written in other historical manuscripts. In total, the researchers deciphered 57 letters, of which 50 were previously unknown to historians.
The letters contain details about Mary’s health during her imprisonment, the poor living conditions in the prison, and her ongoing negotiations with Queen Elizabeth I for her release. Mary also used verbs and adverbs in the feminine form and often mentioned the name “Walsingham” or Sir Francis Walsingham, who served as Queen Elizabeth I’s principal secretary. Together, the letters constitute a voluminous body of new primary material on Mary Stuart, shedding new light on some of her years of captivity in England.
The decipherment of Mary, Queen of Scots’ letters is the most important new find on her for 100 years. It gives us a unique insight into her life and thoughts during her imprisonment and provides a fascinating glimpse into the life and times of a remarkable woman. The story of Mary, Queen of Scots is one of intrigue, mystery, and tragedy, and this new discovery gives us a deeper understanding of her life and legacy.
Source: www.livescience.com