Historians have unveiled a rare 13th-century manuscript detailing the tales of King Arthur and Merlin, a discovery believed to be miraculous. Announced by the University of Cambridge, the manuscript was found in 2019, hidden as a binding for a 16th-century property record. Advanced imaging technologies allowed experts to digitally recreate the text without damaging it. This unique manuscript, part of the Suite Vulgate du Merlin, was handwritten in the late 13th century, adding to the fewer than 40 known surviving copies of this literary work.
The manuscript had survived the centuries after being recycled and repurposed in the 1500s as the cover for a property record from Huntingfield Manor.
Thanks to modern technology - including multi-spectral imaging, computed tomography and 3D modeling - experts were able to scan and create a virtual image of the manuscript without risking any damage.
Each copy of the Suite Vulgate du Merlin was unique, as they were individually handwritten by medieval scribes, and fewer than 40 copies are known to exist.
Using mirrors, prisms, magnets and other tools, the team at CHIL carefully photographed each section of the fragment.
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