Deciphering the Hermeticae Philosophiae Medulla : Textual Cultures of Alchemical Secrecy

Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Historical Cryptology HistoCrypt 2020

“…Alchemical ciphers manifest in diverse forms and complexities, ranging from basic to highly intricate, with some accompanied by their cipher tables and keys, while others are designed to conceal content effectively. Instances where cipher tables seem intentionally corrupted to hinder decryption are notable (Piorko et al, 2023), requiring additional knowledge to rectify such manipulations. The practices of alchemical ciphering likely drew from standard ciphering methods in correspondence and diplomacy, particularly evident in ciphers found in letters, suggesting a cultural overlap with diplomatic or political practices.…”

“…Alchemists and chymists traditionally used a whole range of methods to hide their knowledge from the uninitiated, often employing multiple layers of technologies of textual concealment. Alchemical secrecy devices can include, but are not limited to, the following types: Decknamen and specialist terminology (Newman, 1996), word/name substitution (Principe, 1992), dispersion of knowledge (dispersio) across multiple sources (Principe, 1992, 65), parathesis and syncope (Newman, 1996), monoalphabetic ciphers (Principe, 1992, 67), polyalphabetic ciphers (Bean et al, 2022), trade symbols and codes (Gaede, 2017), alphanumeric knowledge charts (Forshaw, 2005;Clucas, 2017), astrological horoscopes (Piorko et al, 2023), cabbalistic mysticism (Forshaw, 2013, Lullian diagrams (Forshaw, 2013), emblems (Bilak, 2020), (mythoalchemical) allegory (Forshaw, 2020), omitted or enciphered publication information (Purš and Hausenblasová, 2005;Piorko, 2019), pseudonomia (Newman, 1991) or even the use of multiple languages (Principe, 1992).…”

“…The decryption results of an early example of a Bellaso/Porta/Vigenère cipher outside of contemporary cipher manuals indicates specific alchemical secrecy techniques embedded in alchemical scribal culture and textual recipe traditions (Piorko et al, 2023). The discovery and subsequent decryption of the polyalphabetic Bellaso cipher in Sloane MS 1902 published by Bean et al ( 2021) is a notable and early instance of this style of encipherment that illustrates the deep knowledge networks inherent in copying, decrypting, and circulating alchemical secrets in the form of a specific encrypted message: Hermeticae Philosophiae Medulla.…”

“…From a late 15th-century German medical book. Bean et al, 2022;Piorko et al, 2023), containing the ciphertext Hermeticae Philosophiae Medulla, adjacent tabula recta, and cipher key (ff. 12-14).…”

The cipher of Emperor Rudolf II’s “Alchemical Hand Bell”

“…Even though magical artifacts are often inscribed with nonsense script, for example another talisman created for Emperor Rudolf II whose reverse is adorned with similarly meaningless Hebrew letters (Gannon, 2020) -preferably corrupted Greek or Hebrew -it is tempting to suggest that at least the Greek sequence of letters may contain an encrypted message. It was not uncommon to hide alchemical recipes under a cipher (Piorko et al, 2023).…”