“Forgotten Treasures: Dissected Manuscript Reveals Shocking Secrets of Merlin and King Arthur’s Darkest Tales!”
Using high-tech imaging, scholars confirmed that the manuscript, dated to the 13th or 14th century and written in Old French, was a continuation of the Arthur legend. In the 16th century, it was scrapped and repurposed as bookbinding for property records, where it remained forgotten for centuries.
A Lost Medieval Manuscript Featuring Arthurian Legends Is Uncovered At Cambridge
University of CambridgeThe manuscript was discovered in this box of scrolls.
In 2019, researchers browsing the Cambridge University Library for estate records discovered a box of scrolls containing property records dating back to the 16th century.
However, tucked away inside the records’ binding was an unreadable handwritten fragment. With their curiosity sparked, researchers then worked to reveal this elusive text.
Traditional methods of study would require physically unfolding and manipulating the fragment, putting the artifact at great risk of tearing due to its age. Not willing to risk potential damage, the researchers opted for a more high-tech option, one that would allow them to leave the fragment in situ — but digitally scan and unfold it.
“If this had been done 30 years ago, the fragment might have been cut, unfolded, and flattened. But today, preserving it in situ gives us a crucial insight into 16th-century archival practices, as well as access to the medieval story itself,” Dr. Fabry-Tehranchi, a French Collections Specialist at the library, stated in a press release from the university.
University of CambridgeResearchers Błażej Mikuła (left) and Amélie Deblauwe (right) scan the manuscript.
Using 3D scans and multispectral imaging, the research team revealed the fragment’s text — previously invisible to the naked eye — and were able to decode its contents under folds and obstructive binding stitches.
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