A letter from Ch. Virolleaud

In 1967 an essay entitled Anatomy of a Decipherment appeared in volume 55 of the Transactions of the Wisconsin Academy wherein I sketched the history of the decipherment of the Ugaritic language. Ugaritic is of great and continuing interest in Biblical studies, especially as its script was recognized to be in an alphabetic cuneiform. This article elicited a letter from Ch. Virolleaud (1879-1968) who first published a facsimile of the texts, although they had not yet been deciphered. I valued this letter, since he died just a year later. I am publishing an image of this letter which I have translated into English, as well as a transcription, and I also offer a copy of the article to which he refers.

The Letter

Institut de France
Académie des Inscriptions et Belle-Lettres
Ch. Virolleaud
6, Avenue Constant Coquelin
PARIS – VII^e

Paris, le 14 Nov. 67

Cher Collègue,

R. Dussaud a écrit (Syria t. xxxiii (1956)p. 11 n.2) que "l'historique du déchiffrement est malaisé à établir".

Vous venez d'apporter à ce problème de bien utiles précisions. J'ajouterai seulement que H. Bauer a publié son "alphabet du 5 octobre", sans se soucier de dire que c'est ce jour-là qu'il a reçu la copie que je lui avais adressee le 3, de mon propre déchiffrement, auquel il ne manquait plus alors qu'une seule lettre, la [Ugaritic character].

Il reste entendu qu'il a été le premier à publier un essai du déchiffrement, et cela six mois avant octobre 1930.

Bien sincèrement à Vous,

Translation

Dear Colleague,

R. Dussaud wrote (Syria vol. xxxiii (1956) p. 11 note 2) that "the historical account of the decipherment is difficult to establish."

You have brought some very useful details to this problem. I will only add that H. Bauer published his "alphabet of the 5^th October" without taking the trouble to say that that very day he received the copy that I sent to him on the 3^rd of my own decipherment which lacked only a single letter, the [Ugaritic character].

It remains understood that he was the first to publish an attempt at a decipherment, that six months before October 1930.

Sincerely,

C.H. Virolleaud

The Article

Here is the article, Anatomy of a Decipherment.