“During the period of their correspondance, the brothers Mihovil and Antun Vrančić would occasionaly write messages in code [1] : Antun in a letter written while on a diplomatic mission in Paris in 1546, and Mihovil in four letters written in Šibenik some twelve years later. While conducting the necessary research required for our investigation, we discovered that one letter had, until now, remained unknown. We succeeded in deciphering Mihovil’s system of signs by comparing the frequency of signs in the coded parts of the text with the frequency of signs in those parts of his letter composed in Latin script. The majority of the signs are derived from the Latin script and only their quality has beeen changed. It seems that this was influenced by the Polygraphia, a work by the then contemporary cryptographer Iohannes Trithemius. In addition, a certain number of Arabic signs as well as signs from other scripts have been included. Most of the hidden content deals with investments in real estate and other buisiness ventures, thus the purpose of this secret system of writing was evidently to prevent the competition from gaining a possible advantage over Antun and Mihovil. At the time, after a four-year diplomamtic embassy position in Turkey, Antun had been awarded by the Emperor Ferdinand and his income had increased significantly. The need for caution and discretion is evident in two messages in which we find Mihovil warning his brother to be wary of two other brothers who have a dubious moral reputation. Antun’s extract remains unsolved as he wrote using a different system. Additionaly, the text itself is quite brief so an analysis of the frequency of signs is of little use.”

Sažetak rada: Lončar, M. ; Sorić, D. Using Script Against Undesirable Readers: The Coded Messages of Mihovil and Antun Vrančić. // Sic : časopis za književnost, kulturu i književno prevođenje, 7 (2013), str. 1-51.