Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!uwvax!astroatc!philm
From: philm@astroatc.UUCP (Phil Mason)
Newsgroups: sci.crypt
Subject: Re: Feynman ciphers
Message-ID: <673@astroatc.UUCP>
Date: 22 Dec 87 22:30:00 GMT
References: <918@devvax.JPL.NASA.GOV>
Reply-To: philm@astroatc.UUCP (Phil Mason)
Distribution: na
Organization: Astronautics Technology Cntr, Madison, WI
Lines: 31

In article <918@devvax.JPL.NASA.GOV> jackm@devvax.JPL.NASA.GOV (Jack Morrison) writes:
>[ ciphers deleted ].
>Here is what I make of the first one. It's a pretty standard transposition:
>split the text into 5-column pieces, then read from lower right upward.
>I assume the odd language is something from literature I'm not familiar
>with; maybe someone can correct the punctuation and word breaks...
>
WHAN THAT APRILLE WITH HIS SHOURES SOOTE
THE DROGHTE OF MARCH HATH PERCED TO THE ROOTE
AND BATHED EVERY VEYNE IN SWICH LICOUR 
OF WHICH VERTU ENGENDRED IS THE FLOUR
WHAN ZEPHIRU SEEK WITH HIS SWEETE BREFTH
INSPIRED HATH IN EVERY HOLT AND HEETH 
THE TENDRE CROPPES AND THE YONGE SONNE 
HATH IN THE RAM HIS HALVE COURS Y'RONNE 
AND SMALE FOWELES MAKEN MELODYE 
THAT SLEPEN AL THE NYGHT WITH OPEN YES 
O PRIKE THHEM NATURE IN HIR CORAGES 
THANNE LONGEN FOLK TO GO ON PILGRIMAGES!

The language is English - Middle English to be exact.  These are the opening
lines of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales.  The spelling is not exactly the way
I've usually seen it, but it is fairly close.  However, in Middle English 
there were as many spelling conventions as there were people who wrote in it.


-- 
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