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In the musical world Sir Edward Elgar is known as one of the greatest English composers with compositions such as the Enigma Variations, the Pomp and Circumstance Marches and The Dream of Gerontius. All are enjoyed by thousands daily.
What is lesser known about Sir Edward is that he was accomplished in the skills of cryptography, and that to Sir Edward, these two talents within his world were entwined so much, it would be difficult to progress with only one element.
An example of this equilibrium was the love of his pets. Meg, Marco and Mina
I am sure many have spotted that when you lay the names of his constant companions in a line in the order they came into his possession, Meg and Mina form the word Enigma without interrupting Marco, he also ensure the letters were methodically placed. i.e. You start at the letter E (second letter from start then jump to the letter N (second letter from the end).
The process from I to G and M to A also for a methodical pattern of spacing:
But what may have gone unnoticed is the initial "M" for each pet, This small detail has an important partnership with the word Enigma because "M" for each pet cross referenced within Sir Edwards unique 24-letter alphabet (Below) he created for ciphers is equal to the Opus number of the Enigma Variations OP36 (M= 12...12 x 3 = 36).
It shows that Sir Edward associated important things in his life with ciphers/ Puzzles.
Sir Edward goes further by ensuring his pets names form a perfect cube that spell the word Caen, the city of the Hundredyear war next to AMMO and GRIM.
He basically ensured what you and I see on the surface could be changed with a slight variation within a condition.
Sir Edward best sums his work up. "The chief character is never on the stage."
Sir Edwards cryptology works are exceptional, he decrypted an allegedly insoluble Nihilist cipher as a challenge published by John Holt Schooling in an 1896 edition of The Pall Mall Gazette and to this day is widely accepted to have created one of the top ten complex unsolved ciphers in the world (The Dorabella)
The Dorabella all...