F Rhine scientists deciphered edited love letters of Marie Antoinette, the Associated Press reported, quoted by BTA.
They were sent to her a close friend and alleged lover of Axel von Ferzen. The content of some of the letters was changed with darker ink than the original, and the purpose was most likely to soften the love language.
Parts of Marie Antoinette’s letters to a rumored lover were blacked out. Scientists figured out how to uncover the words. https://t.co/36a3DR6ZBJ
– AP Health & Science (@APHealthScience) October 1, 2021
Scientists are applying a new method ,
to decipher the original text by dividing the chemical composition of the inks used in the writing of historical documents. In this way, they arrive at the original words written by Marie Antoinette, and even manage to identify the person who deleted them – it was Ferzen himself.
The two corresponded for two years
(after the French Revolution of 1789. At that time, the Queen and King Louis XVI live under surveillance at the Tuileries Palace and have just failed in their attempt to escape from house arrest.
In eight of the 15 letters analyzed, sufficient differences were found
in the chemical composition of the inks – in the ratio between iron, copper and other elements so that scholars can reconstruct the original text.
Researchers are pleased that the new technology enables them not only to reveal the edited words, but also the identity of the one who changed them. They are adamant that Ferzen made the corrections, because the composition of the ink from his letters is similar to that with which the corrections were made. The reasons for the edits remain unclear.Deleted words such as “crazy” and “favorite”
do not change the general meaning of the correspondence.
“At that time people used a lot of color language – but this is for really strong and intimate words. From this text we know that there was a love affair, “says Anne Michelin of the Sorbonne, who co-authored the study, published in Science Advances.
Marie Antoinette and Fersen
met in France when both are 18 years old. They kept in touch until her death. He never married.
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Source: Teodora Slavyanova, BTA
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