Encoding ...
Quote of the week
It may be roundly asserted that human ingenuity cannot concoct a cipher which human ingenuity cannot resolve.
Hello,
Another newsletter from Portugal. I appologise for the somewhat cryptic text that came into last week’s newsletter. I blame the Ipad Pro which seems to have a life of it own. A good thing happened though, it gave me the theme for this weeks’ letter; ciphers, codes, encoding and decoding. Although Edgar Allan Poe is sure that any human can decipher a code that another human has written, it might take some time to do so. That leades me to a decoding problem that has taken a little bit over 200 years to be solved.
Letter correspondence between Marie Antoinette and Axel von Fersen
The Swedish Count Axel von Fersen and the French Queen Marie Antoinette are rumored to have been lovers. von Fersen was the one that tried to help the Royal family flee Paris, just to be caught in Varenne. Even after their separation, and the imprisonment of Marie Antoinette, they kept up a correspondence.
I recently watched a French documentary about the topic. They very cleverly wrote in ciphers, making up their own code manuals. Even in prison, MA managed to write, send off and receive letters. In spite of many efforts to deciper the letters, nobody has been able to brake their code, or be able to read the sentences which had been blacked out with ink. Until now. With modern computer technology, a group of scentists from different fields, they have been able to decipher the codes, and see what is written behind the crossed over sentences.
Very interesting. The letters are available on-line, but I have not yet had the opportunity to look them up. The letters turned out to be very emotional, full of love and endearments, as well as discussing the complicated situation of, above all, Marie Antoinette.
Decoding the past
Looking at history is also a kind of decoding. When we visit monuments and historical places, we might not always think about all the work that lies behind the story we are told. We easily read it on a sign, or in a book, but years of research has gone into the lines we are reading. It becomes very vivid here in Portugal. Maybe because most of the history is new to me. I am quite familiar with the history of the UK, France, Austria, France and so on, but of Portugal I did not know so much. A little bit more these days, and the monuments, palaces and churces do look different here than in many other countries. A few more historical features from Lisbon before we go on to other places in Portugal.
Saint George’s Castle/Castelo de São Jorge
Lurking over the city of Lisbon, its walls have been standing since the 10th century when it was built by Berber forces. Lisbon was freed from Moorish rule in 1147 by Afonso Henriques in the Siege of Lisbon, during the Second Crusade. Since then the castle has served as a royal palace, miltiary barracks, home of a National Archive and these days as a museum. You have to climb a rather steep hill to reach the stone walls and the gate that leads into it. Today you don’t feel the anguish of sieges and battlements, but have a quiet stroll around the place.
Belém Tower, the Jerónimos Monastery and the Monument of Discoveries.
One day we took the train and headed to the northern suburbs of Lisbon to visit these three monuments. They are conveniently situated within walking distance. The Monument of Discoveries is a huge stone structure, directed towards the sea. It is 52 meters (170 feet) tall, and commemorates the 500th anniversary of the death of Henry the Navigator, who discovered the Azores, Madeira and Cape Verde.
The Belém Tower is a 16th century fortification which served as a point of embarkation and disembarkation for Portuguese explorers. Today it is situated in the water, but was orginally built on a small island in the Tagus river. It is a 30-metre (100 ft) four-storey tower, built in the Portuguese Manueline style from lioz limestone. A beautiful structure, and since it is today situated in the water it sort of gives you another dimension. Something that is half sunken into the sea, but part of it was somehow saved. Well, everything is open to your fantasy.
The Jerónimos Monastery or Hieronymites Monastery was built for the Order of Saint Jerome. A beautiful monastery, built in the Portuguese Gothic Manueline style, with arches, and other architectural features that is very impressive. Going around the inner courtyeard is a treat. Built in the early 16th century, near the place where Vasco da Gama set out for his first journey. At the time it became the necropolis of the Aviz royal dynasty. Today some prominent Portuguese are placed in tombs in the church, among them Vasco da Gama, as well as the poet Luís de Camões. The church is one of all amazing churces we have seen during our stay here.
National Museum of Ancient Art
I just have to mention the Art museum, which I think is one of the most beuatiful art museums I have ever visited. Spacious, airy and art, sculptures and other artefacts beautifully displayed.
The top floor is mostly religious sculptures and paintings. There was one sculpture that caught our eyes. Such sculpture we have never seen before, a sculpture of Maria, the mother of Jesus. You might wonder why we have not seen any such piece before. After all she is one of the most painted, and probably most sculptured women. This one was different though, it showed her pregnant. Quite unusual, I think, and a beautiful sculpture.
The museum houses arts from all parts of the world, for example Hieronymus Bosch, Raphael, Hans Holbein the Elder and Albrecht Dürer. I am not familiar with Portuguese artists, so interesting to see. I especially fell for two painters, which I thought I wrote down the name of. Alas, I cannot find them now.
That marks the end of our stay in Lisbon. A wonderful city to walk around in. I must admit we missed to take the tram. That means we walked. Yep, when I check my app, I see we walked 56,1 km during the week. Not a easy task considering the up- and downhill that is Lisbon.
Blogposts this week
Finally, had some time to update my book blog.
Ten best books in 2022, and more statistics
Until next week …
I never thought of history as decoding but you are absolutely right -- that's a wonderful observation. This is fascinating and I have to say you are one heck of a remarkable travel writer. This is so interesting and I learned so much.