The accidental discovery of seven medieval parchment fragments in a Bristol library led to a significant breakthrough about King Arthur mythology.
A group of scholars from the Universities of Bristol and Durham have used new techniques to uncover sections of the text that were seemingly lost to history.
With the help of multi-spectral imaging technology, the researchers have now read previously unseen sections – and were even able to tell what type of ink was used.
The manuscript contains a passage from an early 13th-century Old French text called the Lancelot-Grail Cycle.
Parts of this text are thought to have inspired Sir Thomas Malory’s Le Morte Darthur, first published in 1485 and the primary source of the modern Arthurian legend.
However, there are notable differences in the way this newly discovered account that describes the character of Merlin, the court wizard of King Arthur. After their discovery in 2019, the manuscripts were examined by Bristol’s Professor Leah Tether of the International Arthurian Society and her husband, medieval historian Dr Benjamin Pohl, with assistance from Old French expert Dr Laura Chuhan Campbell at Durham.
Their findings, including a complete transcript and translation of the texts, were published in The Bristol Merlin: Revealing the Secrets of a Medieval Fragment. Professor Tether saidd: “We were able to date the manuscript from which the fragments were taken to 1250 to 1275 through a palaeographic (handwriting) analysis, and located it to northern, possibly north-eastern, France through a linguistic study.”
He also shared insights into the historical context of the document. He said: “The text itself (the Suite Vulgate du Merlin) was written in about 1220 to 1225, so this puts the Bristol manuscript within a generation of the narrative’s original authorship.”
Prof. Tether added: “We were also able to place the manuscript in England as early as 1300 to 1350 thanks to an annotation in a margin again, we were able to date the handwriting, and identify it as an English hand.”
He noted that given most of the known manuscripts of this text in medieval England seem to have emerged post-1275, the Bristol specimen stands out as an “especially early example”. In collaboration with Professor Andy Beeby of Durham University, it was concluded that two scribes crafted the texts used a carbon-based “lampblack” ink – rather than the more commonly used “iron-gall ink”, derived from oak galls.
Lastly, Professor Tether said: “The reason for the scribes’ ink choice may have to do with what particular ink-making materials were available near their workshop.”
Luckily, the fragments were redsicioved at the University of Bristol’s Special Collections Library – where they had been re-purposed in the bindings of books dating from the late 15th to the early 16th century. The original manuscripts, once considered “wastes” in either Oxford or Cambridge, saw their parchment repurposed for books where the fragments were found half a millennium later.
It seems these pieces acquired Tobias Matthew, who was Archbishop of York from 1606 to 1628. By 1613, Matthias had co-founded Bristol’s Public Library and left a number of his books as part of its initial collection.
The Merlin excerpts were believed to be passed on to the institution following the Archbishop’s death. So, what makes these manuscript pieces stand out when it comes to the tale of Merlin?
The texts introduce novel elements, such as a toned-down interaction between Merlin and the sorceress Viviane – also known as as the Lady of the Lake.
In another chanage, Merlin is given the task of identifying the chiefs under King Arthur – and the names he gives differ from the well-known accounts. Additionally, one segment excludes the injury inflicted upon Arthur’s adversary, King Claudas, who in the classic Arthurian myth is hurt in the thighs.
Professor Tether remarked: “Besides the exciting conclusions, one thing that undertaking this study, edition, and translation of the Bristol Merlin has revealed is the immeasurable value of interdisciplinary and trans-institutional collaboration, which in our case has forged a holistic, comprehensive model for studying medieval manuscript fragments that we hope will inform and encourage future work in the field.”
“It has also shown us the very great potential of local manuscript and rare book collections in Bristol, particularly in the Central Library where there are many more unidentified manuscript fragments awaiting discovery.”
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