Ellen Lloyd - AncientPages.com - Undeciphered for more than 260 years, the Copiale cipher has baffled experts trying to unravel the secrets behind this puzzling manuscript.
The 18th-century handwritten, encrypted manuscript, covering 105 pages, contains peculiar abstract symbols mixed with Roman and Greek letters. Scientists have struggled to decode the 75,000 characters found in the Copiale cipher, and its secrets have finally been revealed.
Copiale Cipher pages 16-17. Credit: Kevin Knight, Beáta Megyesi, Christiane Schaefer, Public Domain
Using sophisticated computer programs, we know today that the Copiale cipher was created by a secret society based in Germany.
Researchers from the United States and Sweden have discovered that the cryptogram, written on gold and green brocade paper, contains rituals and political leanings of a secret society known under the name the "Oculist Order" of Wolfenbüttel.
It is estimated that the Copiale cipher dates back to 1760 -1780. The unusual document was discovered in the East Berlin Academy after the Cold War and is now in a private collection.
Researchers who cracked the cipher learned that members of the Oculist Order who used the manuscript were not doctors, but they were fascinated with eye surgery and ophthalmology.
When scientists studied the document, they observed how the first meaningful words of German emerged: "Ceremonies of Initiation," followed by "Secret Section."
The manuscript Copiale cipher contains an elaborate Oculist initiation ceremony and instructions on how to conduct rituals that focus on the purpose of the eye. As previously mentioned on Ancient Pages, the Eye of Providence, also known as the All Seeing Eye, is a powerful symbol used for hundreds of years. It was of particular importance to various secret societies.
Though it has not been confirmed, it appears as if the owner of the Copiale Cipher was someone named "Philipp 1866". This name is visible on the flyleaf. The manuscript doesn't contain any plain text except the word "Copiales 3".
It is uncertain, but it seems that this trace leads to Count Friedrich August von Veltheim, who founded the Oculists Order in 1742. The Oculist Order was a secret society that called its members "high enlightened." According to the members, the goal was to create a peaceful community that coexisted and worked together with all nations, races, and religions. Historians have determined members of the Oculist Order were Freemasons who had established the society to pass down Masonic rites.
Copiale Cipher pages 16-17. Credit: Kevin Knight, Beáta Megyesi, Christiane Schaefer, Public Domain
Pope Clement XII (1652 -1740) condemned Freemasonry and banned the secret society of the Oculist Order.
Researchers could have cracked the code sooner, but they focused too much on the Roman and Greek characters. It turned out that the Roman characters were "nulls" intended to mislead the reader. The abstract symbols held the secret message.
The use of ciphers goes far back in time. People always wanted to communicate securely. Some ciphers have deluded our modern computers, but many have been cracked.
Sometimes ciphers do not have to be complicated in order to be effective. Ancient Rome's dictator and general Julius Caesar turned the Roman Republic into a powerful Roman Empire, but he had a lot of enemies.
He used a simple yet efficient code when he sent messages to his generals. The Caesar Cipher was long impossible to break, but one day it was cracked too.
Updated on June 7, 2022
Written by Ellen Lloyd – AncientPages.com
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Expand for referencesCopiale cipher - Translation from German
University of Southern California - Computer scientist cracks mysterious 'Copiale Cipher'
