Damn, scratch one of my alternative Master's thesis ideas. :-)
Where did you do this?
Al
Helen Farley wrote:
> Hi Caroline,
>
> I did my Masters thesis on the Golden Dawn Cypher MSS. This is the
> consensus.
>
>
> In 1499, a Benedictine Abbot named Johann Trithemius from Spanheim
> in Germany wrote the first known book on cryptography. The book,
> called /Polygraphiae et Universelle Escriture Cabalistique/, was
> printed in Latin, but appeared in German and French around 1561.
> Alas, the Abbot was accused of black magic and all copies of the
> book that could be found were publicly burned. The cypher used to
> encrypt the Cypher Manuscript was derived from this book. It was
> not a cypher in the true sense of the word, but was rather an
> artificial alphabet originally used by alchemists to conceal their
> secrets, and was therefore suitably occult. Waite stated that the
> key to the Cypher Manuscript was readily accessible in the British
> Museum. He believed that Westcott would be sufficiently familiar
> with the old literature of occultism and magic to be able to
> examine any of half a dozen editions of /Polygraphiae et
> Universelle Escriture Cabalistique/ in order to find the key.
>
>
>
> Hope that helps!
>
> Helen
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Caroline Tully" <[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>>
> To: <[log in to unmask]
> <mailto:[log in to unmask]>>
> Sent: Thursday, March 30, 2006 12:10 PM
> Subject: Re: [ACADEMIC-STUDY-MAGIC] Golden Dawn
>
> > OK, forget my first question, I know the answer - or an answer -
> now: The
> > 'Polygraphiae' of the Abbot Johann Trithemius. Is this the general
> consensus
> > for the origins of the ciphers in the GD cipher manuscript then?
> >
> > ~Caroline.
> >
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