Have you heard about the remarkable discovery at the University of Cambridge which has brought new life to the legend of King Arthur?
Fragments of a long-lost medieval manuscript featuring rare tales of King Arthur’s court remained hidden for centuries, repurposed as the cover for a wealthy family’s property record book from the 1500s. Stored at the English manor and later tucked away in a university library, the manuscript went unnoticed until an archivist took a closer look, setting off a detailed restoration project.
The discovery proved to be a remarkable find—it was an extremely rare collection of Arthurian tales, copied by a scribe between 1275 and 1315. These texts are part of the “Suite Vulgate du Merlin,” a sequel to the Arthurian legend.
Fewer than 40 known copies of this particular sequel exist, each differing slightly due to the nature of handwritten medieval texts. Every scribe introduced small variations, making each version unique. It is these small errors and details like decorated initials in red and blue that helped the team to determine it was produced between the end of the 13th century and the beginning of the 14th.
The manuscript contains two notable stories. The first tells of the fight of Gauvain with his sword Excalibur while the second story features the Feast of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, with Merlin appearing at Arthur’s court disguised as a harpist.
At the time of its creation, the manuscript was a luxury item, with the text is written in Old French, the language of the court and aristocracy in medieval England following the Norman Conquest; it also belongs to the genre of Arthurian romances which were intended for a noble audience, including women.
So how did researchers today finally read the manuscript? They used multispectral imaging techniques, utilizing ultraviolet and infrared light to reveal details invisible to the naked eye. With assistance from zoology experts, they also used a CT scanner, normally reserved for fossils, to analyze the manuscript’s layers without dismantling the book. Additional tools like mirrors, magnets, and prisms helped capture images of concealed sections, allowing scholars to reconstruct the text piece by piece.
If you feel like checking it out, Cambridge University researchers have made a 3D model of the manuscript and a “digital unfolding” available on cam.ca.uk. Once there, search, Merlin
Source: cam.ac.uk
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