Evolution of Cryptographic Systems from Medieval to Early Modern Times

Abstract

This article tries to describe the history of cryptology from Ancient to Early Modern times, paying special attention to the emerging of polyalphabetic ciphers. The author discusses three main reasons for this fast evolution of ideas in Early Modern Europe: the final implementation of the paper, the appearance of postal services and the beginning of modern diplomacy. The text concludes with an observation concerning the curious discrepancy between the actual use of ciphers and the evolution of new cryptologic technologies.

Keywords

• criptología
• cifras
• edad moderna
• sistemas polialfabéticos