Ancil
A devilish note from a seventeenth-century nun has been translated.
At the time of writing the letter, Sister Maria Crocifissa della Concezione, a 31-year-old nun residing at the Palma di Montechiaro monastery in Sicily, was rumored to be possessed.
She was discovered on the floor of her cell on August 11, 1676, clutching a letter that was an odd combination of symbols and letters, and her face was covered in ink.
According to historical reports, Sister Maria said this letter was from the devil, who was trying to get her to turn from God and toward evil.
Archaeologists have been attempting to interpret the meaning of the fourteen-line message for centuries, and they have now begun to make progress.
Talking to Live Science, Ludum Director Daniele Abate said: “When working on historical decryption, you cannot ignore the psychological profile of the writer.
“We needed to know as much as possible about this nun.”
According to historians, Sister Maria entered the Benedictine abbey at the age of 15 after deciding to dedicate her life to serving God.
Abate continued: “The letter appeared as if it was written in shorthand.
“We speculated that Sister Maria created a new vocabulary using ancient alphabets that she may have known.”
In order to confirm the precise language in which this letter was written, researchers employed algorithms that scanned shorthand symbols from other languages.
They discovered that words from old alphabets, including Greek, Latin, Runic, and Arabic, were included in the nun’s letter.
Abate said: “We analyzed how the syllables and graphisms [or thoughts depicted as symbols] repeated in the letter in order to locate vowels, and we ended up with a refined decryption algorithm.
“We thought we could just come out with a few words making sense. But the nun had a good command of languages. The message was more complete than expected.”
In addition to calling the Holy Trinity ‘dead weights’, the letter also said: “God thinks he can free mortals. The system works for no one. Perhaps now, Styx is certain.”
Styx is the river that divides the underworld from the world of the living in Greek and Roman mythology.
According to Abate, there are clear signs in the letter that Sister Maria was experiencing mental health issues.
He said: “The image of the devil is often present in these disorders.
“We learned from historical records that every night she screamed and fought against the devil.”
