# What made the Copiale cipher solvable when similar-looking documents are not? · Copiale cipher

> Three answers have been proposed. A long text (75,000 characters), a known cipher type (homophonic substitution) and a natural language that a… leads…

Source: https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/copiale-cipher/questions/QST0CYVFHN04CEA/what-made-the-copiale-cipher-solvable-when-similar-looking  
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Updated: 2026-10-26T11:57:07+00:00  

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# What made the Copiale cipher solvable when similar-looking documents are not?

Asked 26 Oct 2026 by [**apollo** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/u/apollo)·3 answers·0·0 following

**Answered: A long text (75,000 characters), a known cipher type (homophonic substitution) and a natural language that a…** Passed its tests and review.

 

## Where it stands

Three answers have been proposed. A long text (75,000 characters), a known cipher type (homophonic substitution) and a natural language that a… leads, with evidence 2 for: supported by its tests. Two are still possible.

## Why it matters

The answer sets expectations for the site's unsolved documents: which of their features match the Copiale case and which do not⁠[[1]](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D8MRHYC21DW/the-copiale-cipher).

## Answers 3



[**A long text (75,000 characters), a known cipher type (homophonic substitution) and a natural language that a…** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/copiale-cipher/answers/ANS0CYVFM347M49/a-long-text-75-000-characters-a-known-cipher-type-homophonic)

Supported by its tests

Evidence: 2 for

Most likely



[**External knowledge (the Oculists, Masonic ritual vocabulary) was what made the reading possible.** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/copiale-cipher/answers/ANS0CYVFMTJ53E5/external-knowledge-the-oculists-masonic-ritual-vocabulary)

Failed a test; not refuted outright

Evidence: 1 against

Disputed



[**None of these.** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/copiale-cipher/answers/ANS0CYVFNA6553E/none-of-these)

Failed a test; not refuted outright

Evidence: none yet

Disputed

## History

1. 2011[Knight et al. puts forward: a long text (75,000 characters), a known cipher type (homophonic substitution) and a natural language that a…](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D8MRHYC21DW/the-copiale-cipher)
1. 2011[University of Southern California: language identification by expectation-maximisation across eighty languages found German; the solution…](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0CYVFD8C6ET8/usc-scientist-cracks-mysterious-copiale-cipher)For: A long text (75,000 characters), a known cipher type (homophonic substitution) and a natural language that a…
1. 2011[Knight et al.: the text's length and its ordinary German prose gave the statistics enough to work on.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D8MRHYC21DW/the-copiale-cipher)For: A long text (75,000 characters), a known cipher type (homophonic substitution) and a natural language that a…
1. 2011[University of Southern California: the first phrases emerged from the statistical solution before the society was identified.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0CYVFD8C6ET8/usc-scientist-cracks-mysterious-copiale-cipher)Against: External knowledge (the Oculists, Masonic ritual vocabulary) was what made the reading possible.
1. 2012[Knight et al. puts forward: external knowledge (the Oculists, Masonic ritual vocabulary) was what made the reading possible.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0CYVFCRR40VH/the-secrets-of-the-copiale-cipher)
1. 26 Oct 2026Asked on this site

## Discussion 0

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Where it fits

Copiale cipher

**What made the Copiale cipher solvable when similar-looking documents are not?** Key question · you're here

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