Coming soon
Author: Golden Owl Hunter
780 – Generally accepted solution
FIRST STEP…
Where you want,
By the nag and the coachman.
But where you must,
By the compass and the foot.
Solvability:
Many mysteries still to solve with this clue.
There is more debate about this clue than almost any other. However, Max said this clue give an “important thing” and many people believe this is the game measure of 33cm.
The reasons are as follows:
The ‘pied du roi’ or royal foot was an old french measure, and the word ‘step’ in the title also hints at this measure A common value was close to 33cm.
The visual shows a compass. The perimeter is 33 cm, and Max was quick to confirm the diameter of 10.5cm when he was asked about this. The method to work out the perimeter of the circle = 2 x Pi x radius, where the radius = diameter / 2 = 5.25 cm and Pi = 3.1415, or about 22/7.
The 33cm measure fits very well with the measures mentioned in the book, to give neat whole numbers eg. 185km rather than messy numbers like 176.457889km!
The visual
Max was forced to explain some elements of the image. The foreground shows the dial of a compass , the background shows the crossing of a pedestrian and a horse carriage. He explained that we are seeing the compass in the pedestarian’s hand. The white needle, which we can assume we must follow points to the south, the black needle to the north. It’s an odd drawing with it’s back to front N,E,S,W. Many people assume the ‘bad horse’ route is abandoned, so it seems we head south following the compass. Where do we head to? That is not clear in this enigma.
Points to consider
The starting point of this enigma is the place found in the previous enigma 530, so the city of Bourges. We can assume the ‘first step’ will be taken from Bourges by taking a virtual step on our map.
The text of this puzzle is about opposites, desire versus duty with the words ‘want’ and ‘must,’ poor transport with a prescribed coach route and unruly horses, versus a clear plan to walk with a compass in hand.
None of this is clearly understood, and the biggest problem I have with this puzzle is the mystery the first line. If Max wanted to give us the measure and the direction south he doesn’t need a coach and horses at all. So why does he introduce this element?
If the pedestrian is our hero heading south the way he ‘must’ what purpose is served by the nags pulling a coach to the south? It could be that this is one of the leftover clues to solve in the super solution stage.
The coachman and the pedestrian could be understood to cross at Bourges on an axis generally oriented north-south. The coachman and his horse appear to be introduced rather pointlessly and not followed.
The notion of a circle, centered on ‘Bourge’ the ‘Opening’ is reinforced. The circle is crossed in the middle by the north-south axis. The pedestrian moves away from Bourge, perhaps along a radius of the circle. We are not interested in the coach but we note that it was on the same axis in the opposite direction.
Max said this clue gives an, “important thing” which is almost certainly the ‘measure’ which is referenced in three later clues so essential to solving the treasure hunt. Yet, in this short clue, the ‘compass and the foot’ line is the only line important to this element. No one seems to understand the purpose of the first line.
Let’s look at this short clue in french.
Où tu voudras,
Par la rosse et le cocher.
Mais où tu dois,
Par la boussole et le pied
‘Rosse’ is an odd word, rarely used, I’ve seen it translated as ‘brat’ or ‘wayward horse’ it is a poor assistant to the coachman in getting where he wants to go. Perhaprs the compass and the ‘foot’ (game measure) will efficiently take you where you have to go. The unruly horse and the coachman will take you where you desire to go? It doesn’t seem to make any sense.
In conclusion
Many people believe this clue gives the game measure of 33cm and if it’s not that then it’s revealed somewhere in this clue.
The compass is believed to give a general direction to take, apparently South, although there is some debate about the direction.
This clue follows enigma revealing ‘Bourges’ so it can be assumed we travel south from Bourges
No one seems to understand the purpose of the first sentence referring to the coachman and horse, why mention a coachman who is not of any apparent use in solving the enigma?
See also
780 – Madits and links
Coming soon
780 enigma text
FIRST STEP…
Wherever you want,
By the ross (bad horse) and the coachman.
But where you have to,
By the compass and the foot.
PREMIER PAS…
Où tu voudras,
Par la rosse et le cocher.
Mais où tu dois,
Par la boussole et le pied.
See also:
780 – Generally accepted solution
530 – Generally accepted solution
OPENING
My first, first half of the half of the first age,
Precedes my Second and Third, seeking their way.
My Fourth is inspired, my Fifth is in rage,
But, without protest, follows my Fourth and the roman alpha.
My Sixth is hidden at the limits of ETERNITY.
My Seventh, standing, spits his venom.
To find my all, just to be wise,
Because the Truth, in truth, will not be an oracle’s affair.
Solvability: 
We discover the opening of the game is in Bourges, but there are still a few mysteries here.
This enigma identifies the starting city of the game, Bourges.
How the solution is reached
This is a simple riddle with each line revealing part of the word. Some of these answers don’t translate well to English, but I’ll do my best to explain.
My first, first half of the half of the first age
B for baby
Precedes my Second and Third, seeking their way.
OU où is a phrase to ask when seeing the way “où?”
My Fourth is inspired, my Fifth is in rage,
R because the air is inspired
But, without protest, follows my Fourth and the roman alpha.
G is in in rage and follows my fourth, the R, and the Roman Alpha A ;
My Sixth is hidden at the limits of ETERNITY.
E is the start and end letter of ETERNITE
My Seventh, standing, spits his venom.
S is the noise a snake makes SssS
So the opening, or starting place is BOURGES.
The visual
The cockerel is the symbol of France, and the bird is standing against the French map, with its head roughly on the city of Bourge. It appears to be crowing, symbolising the morning, the start of the day.
Points to consider
The main body of the clue spells out the word Bourges, but there are still some unsolved elements of this clue.
To find my all, just be wise (‘Sage’)
Because the Truth, in truth, will not be an oracle’s affair.
This phrase uses the idea of wisdom (Sage in the original French) versus divination, the archaic French word ‘Devin’ (translated here to oracle) suggests a soothsayer, so perhaps the opposite of wisdom, black magic or guesswork?
The Truth, in truth is odd phrasing. It’s not clear what this means.
The word ‘oracle’ is not a perfect translation. The french word ‘devin’ could mean divinator, soothsayer, or oracle, but ‘devin’ resonates in French as “deux vingt” which translates to “two twenty”. French hunters have thought that it could be an allusion to the Paris meridian, which is roughly at 2°20 from the Greenwich meridian.
Max said the capitalisation of letters didn’t matter, except in the word ETERNITE. So why is this word highlighted? It could be that this is one of the leftover clues for the ‘super solution’ but it could be relevant now.
In conclusion
We start the game in Bourges, marking this on the map. There seems to be nothing else to do here, but it’s worth considering extra clues in the image or the last two lines of the text.
See also
530 – Madits and links
‘Madits’ are the things Max said (‘Max dits’) about the treasure hunt. He answered searcher’s questions on a Minitel service (an early form of internet.)
A summary Max gave to Le Figaro Magazine (published on Friday, June 27 , 1997 , pages 120-121) :
- This riddle gives a place to start the game, and this starting place is also the key to moving on to the next riddle.
- The rooster in the visual is not a weather vane.
- The word “Sage” is only for puzzle 530, but you can solve the charade without understanding this word.
- What the word “All” in the penultimate line represents is not the “All” referred to in riddle 650.
Some more Madits:
| QUESTION n ° 39 FROM 2000-10-19 |
| TITLE: GRAIL |
| IS THE ROOSTER IN THE 530 SINGING? |
| IT DOES NOT MATTER. FRIENDSHIPS – MAX |
| QUESTION n ° 19 FROM 2001-12-05 |
| TITLE: VISUAL 530 |
| YOU SAID THAT IT IS NOT IMPORTANT THAT THE COCKERAL SINGS. DO WE HAVE TO DETERMINE WHAT TIME OF DAY IT IS? IF YES, I THINK THAT WE HAVE THE MEANS TO DO SO. ULYSSE |
| I HAVE SAID ON MANY TIMES THAT THIS MOMENT HAS NO IMPORTANCE, ULYSSES … FRIENDSHIPS – MAX |
| QUESTION n ° 11 FROM 1995-09-05 |
| TITLE: COCKERAL |
| ON THE HEAD OF THE ROOSTER THERE IS: A) A RIDGE B) A FEATHER C) NO IMPORTANCE D) I CANNOT ANSWER …. FRIENDSHIPS |
| A FEATHER. BUT THE BREED OF THE ROOSTER HAS NO IMPORTANCE (IF THAT’S WHAT YOU WANT TO KNOW!) FRIENDSHIPS – MAX |
| QUESTION n ° 43 OF 1996-05-23 |
| TITLE: 530 |
| IS THIS ENIGMA RELATED TO THE GAME OF CHESS, MAX? |
| NO. I HAVE ALREADY EXPLAINED THIS. FRIENDSHIPS – MAX |
| QUESTION n ° 38 FROM 2001-12-13 |
| TITLE: 560 |
| AT THE END OF THE RIDDLE AM I FAR FROM THE ‘FROZEN NORTH’ AS IT IS DESCRIBED IN THE RIDDLE 530? THE OPENING IS NOT SOMETHING THAT OPENS INTO INFINITY YOU HAVE SAID. SO: THE OPENING CANNOT BE AN ANGLE, AM I RIGHT IN STATING THAT? |
| THE OPENING IS NOT AN ANGLE. FRIENDSHIPS – MAX |
| QUESTION n ° 14 FROM 1996-08-28 |
| TITLE: BAD FAITH ISN’T CUSTOM? |
| THERE IS NO GRASS DEPICTED IN THE 530. WILL YOU AFFIRM THAT THESE GREEN AND YELLOW FEATURES ON THE FEET OF THE ROOSTER ARE NOT A PLANT? AND THAT BECKER HAS NOT EVOKED BRUSHWORK SHOWING GRASS? |
| OF COURSE THERE IS A SIMILAR GRASS IN THE 530! WHAT I WANTED TO SAY IS THAT THE THING IS EVOKED AND CANNOT BE COMPARED WITH THOSE OF THE 520 OR THE 500! THEN I WILL MAKE YOU AT EASE: DO NOT TAKE ANY ACCOUNT OF THE GRASS BRUSHES IN THE 530, THEY HAVE NO ROLE TO PLAY! FRIENDSHIPS – MAX |
LINKS
You will find more Madits on Airyn’s excellent Wikichouette site. (French)
Madits discussed by Carpe Diem (French)
530 enigma text
OPENING
My first, first half of the half of the first age,
Precedes my Second and Third, seeking their way.
My Fourth is inspired, my Fifth is in rage,
But, without protest, follows my Fourth and the roman alpha.
My Sixth is hidden at the limits of ETERNITY.
My Seventh, standing, spits his venom.
To find my all, just to be wise,
Because the Truth, in truth, will not be a Devin’s affair.
OUVERTURE
Mon Premier, première moitié de la moitié du premier âge,
Précède mes Second et Troisième, cherchant leur chemin.
Mon Quatrième s’inspire, mon Cinquième est en rage,
Mais, sans protester, suit mon Quatrième et l’alpha romain.
Mon sixième, aux limites de l’ETERNITE se cache.
Mon Septième, dressé, crache son venin.
Pour trouver mon tout, il suffit d’être Sage,
Car la Vérité, en vérité, ne sera pas affaire de Devin.
See also:
530 – Generally accepted solution
Madits and the Minitel service
Maxval was a Minitel service which ran from March 16, 1994 to December 14, 2001 on which owl hunters exchanged questions and answers with Max Valentin. These became known as ‘Madits’ short for ‘Max dit’ or Max said. Minitel was a Videotex online service accessible through telephone lines, and was one of the most successful pre-World Wide Web online services. Max answered nearly 100,000 questions through this service.
Max insisted that all the information needed to solve the treasure hunt was available in the 11 clues of the book, but many owl hunters find the additional information useful and study the ‘madits’ religiously.
There were many topics that Max refused to answer questions about at all. These include:
- The light, shadow, sun
- The Nave (enigma 560)
- The Sentinels (enigma 650)
- The measure and its value (enigmas 500, 420 and 650)
- Description of the final zone discovered on the map
- The ‘spiral with four centres’ (enigma 500)
- The super solution or twelfth enigma
- The remnants and especially the nature of the leftover clues
- Methods of decryption
- The existence of several levels of reading in the hunt
There are some topics where Max was vague and its possible these additional clues may only confuse owl hunters rather than adding new insights to the hunt. Some excellent French blogs such as Zarquos, Carpe Diem and WikiChouette analyse useful madits and there is also a search engine to help owl hunters find relevant madits.
The magazine and media clues
Max revealed various additional clues in magazines, newspapers and TV shows as a way to promote his treasure hunt. He made it clear that the treasure hunt could be solved using the 11 clues in the book, but these additional clues may give pointers so owl hunters can check if they’re on the right track.
France 2, October 21, 1993
ON THE BURIAL OF THE OWL I PLANTED A SHRUB.
Max later revealed that the shrub had died.
Sunday’s Diary, January 30, 1994
THERE ARE NOT 36 OPENINGS, THERE IS ONLY ONE IN THE BOOK!
Most likely a reference to the ‘Opening’ mentioned in the 530 clue. The number “36” is commonly used to designate a large quantity of objects, for example: “there are not thirty-six ways to do it” .
Sunday’s Diary, February 13, 1994
TO MAKE GOOD MEASURE, THERE IS ONLY ONE IN THE BOOK.
This suggests the game measure doesn’t change.
VOD, December 15, 1994
IMMOBILE AND FAITHFUL, TANGIBLE AND MASSIVE, SIMILAR AND DISSIMILAR, ARE THE SENTINELS.
This clue refers to the enigmatic Sentinels of the 650 enigma.
BORN KEY IN HAND IN THE 600, YOU WILL MEET IT AGAIN IN THE 560.
This clue links the ‘key is on the black perched ship’ of the 600 enigma with the ‘becalmed nave’ of the 560. In the original French, ‘Born key in hand’ or ‘Née clef en main’ is a perfect anagram of ‘Nef encalminée.’
TRUST THE NEEDLE NOW, BUT BEWARE YOU WILL BE BETRAYED LATER ON
This suggests the needle of a compass, so it may refer to a change in direction, perhaps following the needle of the compass in the 780 enigma, but changing direction later?
TF1, Monday, August 2 and Tuesday, August 3, 1993
THERE IS ONLY ONE TRUTH, AND IT MUST BE FOUND. BUT THE ROAD IS AT TIMES TORTUOUS AND FULL OF PITFALLS. WHOSE FAULT IS IT? NOT ME! … I REPEAT: NOT ME!
Max said this ‘truth’ referred to the end of the game, it is different from the truth mentioned in the 530. The repeated phrase ‘not me’ is not adding anything to the clue, the broadcaster just needed him to fill time.
Coucou! on TF1, June 9, 1995
THE OWL IS BURIED AT MORE THAN 100 KILOMETERS FROM THE FRENCH COAST.
This simple clue can be taken at face value and we know the treasure is in central France not the coast.
THE NAVE IS ENCLOSED FOR EVERY ETERNITY.
A clue to the identity of the ‘becalmed nave’ of the 560. It is not clear how eternity connects to this mysterious point on the map.
What epoch epic! on France Info, February 20, 1995
STAY SIMPLE IN THE 530, IT IS ONLY A PLACE TO START THE GAME!
The 530 clue entititled ‘Opening’ revealed the city of Bourges, this additional clue suggests there is not much more going on here.
L’Express published four additional clues between July 29, 1993 and August 19, 1993. Each had a visual drawn by Michel Becker, “made of marble and precious stones”. According to Max, the illustrations do not provide any additional information for decryption.
ALMISEFORU. VSNR DS A’MAS OF SABS, MA Y DSBLUQRL.
Using the first word ALMISEFORU, you can replace A with L, M with I, S with E, F with O and R with U and vice versa. The sentence, once decrypted, gives:
“COMING FROM THE ISLAND OF ELBA, HE DISEMBARKED“.
The word ‘DISEMBARKED; should not be considered definitive here, although it is difficult to use another word for this translation. In French ‘Débarquer’ has several possible meanings, and especially ‘Arriving somewhere unexpectedly’.
This clue must refer to the landing of Napoleon at Golfe-Juan on March 1, 1815, which preceded the Flight of the Eagle to Paris. It should be noted that ALMISEFORU is an anagram of UT RE MI FA SOL the musical notes, if one removes the T of UT. The bee is a Napoleonic symbol.
THIS OPENING IS NOT A HEART.
The 530 clue, revealing Bourge is titled ‘Opening’ and there is also a reference to a heart in the 470 clue. This clue is mysterious, but some people think cœur/heart it relates to Jaques Coeur who was born in Bourges, and there is a palace there in his name.
DB BZ T’FTU R’DRS QBTTF OZRRD FO DM M’BO K’ZM 889 667
The characters in each column frame those to be found. The solution is: ” IT HAPPENED IN THE YEAR 778 “. This is the year of the Battle of Ronceveaux Pass. The knight Roland died here, and this additional clue connects to the 470 which displays a picture of a sword, most likely his legendary sword Durandal.
LARGE LIGHTS ARE MADE OF SMALL LIGHT
This clue may refer to the fact that white light is composed of multiple wavelengths, referring to the B enigma. It might also suggest prisms dispersing light, or small elements adding up to a larger whole.
Additional clues on FNAC
| 1U, 1T, 1E 1O, 1T, 1S 1R, 1N, 1T 3E 1T, 2N 1A, 1V, 1O 1L, 1A, 1G 1N, 1S, 1E 1E, 1I, 1L 1I, 1S, 1F |
This is an array of 10 rows and 3 columns. Read from bottom to top and from right to left, the letters give the following sentence:
GONFLE AND HIS OPINION KEEPS THE ROAD .
Inflated refers to the tires of the Michelin brand, as well as its mascot character made of tires. The road refers to the Michelin road map, one of two maps used for this game. This 1/1000 000 scale map can be used for drawing lines on the whole of France. His opinion could refer to the famous green travel guides, the tour guides published by Michelin. These could have been sources of information used by Max to create his hunt. |
Additional clue for VSD and published on the Minitel server
One time is not customary: let’s play on the words since the poor wretch is old. So devout, the abbot gives two ideas. Let’s hope that Ophelia and the lawyer will help him, without hatred too … Here is the note they slip to him:
11 * 3,11,1,7,20,5 * 22,9,5,13,5,14,20,12,1,7,1 * 12,5 * 20,1,7,12,9, * 8,2,9,4,9 5,9,19, 12 , 5.19 * 1,7,5,13,5,14,20,12,5,26-22,12,9,5, 21,19 * 5,13,5,14,20 * 13,5,1,7 * 3,1,13,5,14,20,20,2,9,4,1,7,9,17, 21.5.
The numbers should be replaced by the letters that correspond to their rank in the alphabet, and then replace all occurrences (except the L in parentheses that should not be transformed), this leads to a description that is tricky without French, but see details here.
The result is: Clarity will come from three clever rendezvous in the Cantabrian Sea.
According to Max this additional clue is very important, if not the most important additional clue. He said it doesn’t concern the super solution or the beginning of the game. He said a researcher who understands its importance will have to be interested in a certain number of other enigmas. The result is a place (a reasonably accurate point). There is a reason why the number 12 is in bold (or in parentheses according to the edition of the book.)
The Cantabrian Sea is the Atlantic Ocean on the northern coast of Spain and the southwest side of the Atlantic coast of France. It’s possible that the ‘three rendezvous’ are lines drawn on the map and meeting in this sea.
Additional clues for PC-Team magazine
These clues were accompanied by the words: “Warning, if you are not an owl finder, you will not be able to decrypt this code.”
PFRU TUFRVSU AL AMGNS DS IMUS, A’FRVSUTRUS SET AS BFN GRMDFN.
This uses the code that was needed for the clue in the Express: ALMISEFORU
The result is: To find the line of sight , the Opening is a good guide
This may refer to the ‘line of sight’ for Apollo and his arrow in the 420 clue, but no one seems sure. The original french is, ‘Pour trouver la ligne de mire, l’Ouverture est le bon guidon. The word guidon is a word that can mislead because it means “handlebar” or “crossbar”, but it also means “sight” or “guide”.
Clues detailing where the owl was NOT buried
Max revealed a few clues, some enigmatic, about where the owl was NOT buried.
The Owl is not on an island.
Maria Theresa gained a precious Louis, but would never have found a golden bird!
This is almost certainly Maria Theresa of Austria , married to Louis XIV June 9, 1660 in Saint-Jean-de-Luz following the Treaty of the Pyrenees. So perhaps this suggests the owl is not in Saint-Jean-de-Luz.
A bay in the Channel, but no gold raptor in the game bag!
Several bays exist in the Channel . The most famous is certainly the Bay of Mont-Saint-Michel.
Even an enchanter would find no golden owl there.
The most famous enchanters is Merlin . It is said that he lived in Forest Brocéliande now called Forest Paimpont, a few kilometers south-west of Rennes.
If she was there, the Golden Owl would not chirp, she would gibe.
This refers to “Parisian banter” so perhaps Max is saying the owl is not in Paris?
See also
The Tour de France clues
Max provided five additional clues on the France Inter radio station during the 1993 Tour de France.
- On July 15, the Tour de France crossed the arrow of Apollo.
- On July 16th, the Tour de France crossed a line.
- The world champion could peddle fast enough for his jersey to become white.
- On July 23, the Tour de France crossed a line.
- On July 24, the Tour de France passed between two lines and crossed two. (A footnote in the third edition of the book says, ‘Concerns the displacement of the riders previously to reach the Paris region.)
These clues are very revealing. To solve the Golden Owl hunt we need to check these fit the lines we draw on our map.
Here’s where the Tour de France riders travelled on these dates.
On July 15, the Tour de France crossed the arrow of Apollo.
The cyclists travelled between Serre-Chevalier and Isola 2000 in the Alps.
On July 16th, the Tour de France crossed a line.
The cyclists travelled from Isola 2000 to Marseille.
The world champion could peddle fast enough for his jersey to become white.
The world champion of the Tour de France wears a rainbow jersey, so this clue seems to connect to enigma B. It suggests the science of of Newton’s Disc, the fact that a coloured circle spinning very fast blurs the colours into white.
On July 23, the Tour de France crossed a line.
The riders of the Tour de France travelled between Orthez and Bordeaux.
On July 24, the Tour de France passed between two lines and crossed two.
The Tour de France cyclists used a train on July 24th to travel from Bordeaux to Brétigny-sur-Orge before their final stage through Paris. It isn’t clear whether we consider this as a straight line between Bordeaux and Brétigny-sur-Orge, or whether we use the exact route of the TGV between these two cities. According to Max, a train trip is ‘more or less in a straight line.’
These clues are very useful for all owl hunters who draw lines on a map.
Further information
The Kaspius blog (French) details all the stages and provides the following map of the route.
Ilotresor (French) has a commentary on these clues.
The le dico du tour site (French) details all the stages in 1993.
Tour Atlas has a nice image of the tour stages.
The WikiChoutte (French) also has a lot of information and links on its Tour de France page.
Download a map showing the Tour de France clues HERE.