Myth of King Arthur and Merlin revealed as experts discover seven pages of a 700-year-old manuscript telling the legend of Camelot
- The manuscripts were found in a series of 16th century books in an archive
- Seven pieces of manuscript found themselves date back to the 13th century
- Ancient pieces are now being analysed by academics from Bristol University
- Academic Dr Leah Tether says the narrative is different than the English version
Seven pages of a manuscript from the Middle Ages have been unearthed in a library archive telling the story of Camelot, King Arthur and Merlin.
The pieces measure around 8-12 inches (20-30 cm) and date back from the 13th century.
Experts have yet to fully decipher the badly-damaged fragments of text but it is believed to regale users with the tales of Arthurian legend.
Cutting-edge analysis and infrared techniques will be used to try and read the ancient prose.
They are thought to come from the Old French sequence of texts known as the Vulgate Cycle, or Lancelot-Grail Cycle.
Merlin the magician is one of the most colourful characters in the Arthurian Legend after first appearing in literature from as early as the ninth century.
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The seven pages, measuring about 20x30cm, are thought to come from the Old French sequence of texts known as the Vulgate Cycle or Lancelot-Grail Cycle. They were found in a series of 16th century books deep in the archive of Bristol Central Library.
The pages were found in a series of 16th century books deep in the archive of Bristol Central Library and are now being analysed by academics from Bristol and Durham universities.
The Vulgate Cycle is believed to be have been used by English writer Sir Thomas Malory as a source for his Le Morte D'Arthur, which is itself is the main source text for many modern retellings of the Arthurian legend in English.
According to Dr Leah Tether, who is leading the team of academics, said that what's notable is that the English version's narrative is different compared to the pieces.
She told MailOnline: The narrative is different, the details are changed
'It's significant because the English version of that would have been based on a version that we haven’t already found.'
The facts around the real King Arthur are mired in myth and folklore, but historians believe he ruled Britain from the late 5th and early 6th centuries.
'We cant put two and two together but we saw that in general battle sequences theres more detail, they’re more extended and the way in which a character dies is different.'
The handwritten parchment fragments were discovered in the University of Bristol's special collections library, bound inside a four-volume edition of the works of the French scholar and reformer Jean Gerson.
The university opened a new course studying medieval studies and asked if there were pieces of manuscript that they could study.
Dr Leah Tether said that they called her to say that they found the names were Arthurian, including mentions of 'Merlin'.
Merlin is a prominent figure in the legend of King Arthur which includes tales of Sir Lancelot and the sword of Excalibur.
Camelot is said to be based in England and some experts claim it was inspired by the south-west of the UK, around Bristol.
One of the first famous early Arthurian writers was Geoffrey of Monmouth, who lived during the first half of the 12th century.
His book, 'History of the Kings of Britain,' he wrote a number of stories.
University of Bristol staff with the series of 16th-century books in Bristol Central Library's Rare Books Room. A chance discovery has led to the unearthing of fragments of a manuscript from the Middle Ages which tells the story of Merlin the magician
Arthur, who would grow up to lead the Knights of the round table, was born in Tintagel.
about King Arthur and Merlin, mentioning Arthur's birth at Tintagel.
Camelot is not mentioned however, until the late 12th-century in a poem from a French writer known as Chrétien de Troyes.
It is the French romances we call the Vulgate and Post-Vulgate cycles that are where the first detailed descriptions of Camelot come.
The works of art talk of an idyllic city surrounded by forests and meadows and frequent knightly tournaments that would span up to half a league (about 2.5 kilometers).
Vulgate cycles, where the seven fragments are from, discuss the round table in considerable detail.
She put a team of experts together to discover more about the fragments' journey to Bristol, including when and where they were made and how they came to be bound in the Gerson volumes.
The books in which the fragments were found were all printed in Strasbourg between 1494 and 1502.
At some point, these books made their way to England and the style of the binding suggests they may have been first bound here in the early 16th century.
Dr Tether added: 'We believe that the process of lifting the pastedowns led to one leaf becoming irreparably damaged, and so it was simply disposed of.
'The other leaves do in fact have significant damage from the same process, so whilst this is conjecture, it seems plausible.
'Because of the damage to the fragments, it will take time to decipher their contents properly, perhaps even requiring the use of infra-red technology.
'We are all very excited to discover more about the fragments and what new information they might hold.'
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