Shakespeare: The Hidden Truth

The art of concealing messages in text was common in Shakespeare’s days. Several of books on codes, ciphers and cryptology were published throughout the 16th and 17th century. Petter Amundsen relies partly on steganographic techniques described in known publications from this period when deciphering hidden messages. He also follows instructions found in Shakespeare’s First Folio and on the memorial tablet in Holy Trinity Church, Stratford-upon-Avon. Two books have been particularly important in Amundsen’s research: Francis Bacon’s “The Advancement of Learning” and Gustavus Selenus “CRYPTOMENYTICES ET CRYPTOGRAPHIAE. Libri IX”. In “The Advancement of Learning” has a description of a bi-literal cipher, which Petter has made an attempt using on William Shakespeare’s original gravestone. The English edition was published in 1640, several years after Francis Bacon’s death. Bacon wrote that he had invented this code-system in his youth.