nivek
As Above So Below
Centuries lost ‘Bristol Merlin’ uncovered at city’s Central Library
Left to right: Leah Tether, Laura Chuhan Campbell, Michael Richardson and Benjamin Pohl with the books in Bristol Central Library’s Rare Books Room
Detail from one of the fragments showing the name Merlin
A chance discovery, hidden away in a series of 16th-century books deep in the archive of Bristol Central Library, has revealed original manuscript fragments from the Middle Ages which tell part of the story of Merlin the magician, one of the most famous characters from Arthurian legend.
Academics from the Universities of Bristol and Durham are now analysing the seven parchment fragments which are thought to come from the Old French sequence of texts known as the Vulgate Cycle or Lancelot-Grail Cycle, dating back to the 13th century.
Parts of the Vulgate Cycle were probably used by Sir Thomas Malory (1415-1471) as a source for his Le Morte D’Arthur (published in 1485 by William Caxton) which is itself the main source text for many modern retellings of the Arthurian legend in English, but no one version known so far has proven to be exactly alike with what he appears to have used.
In addition, one of the most exciting elements of this particular find is that the Bristol fragments contain evidence of subtle, but significant, differences from the traditional narrative of the stories.
The seven hand-written parchment fragments were discovered by Michael Richardson from the University of Bristol’s Special Collections Library who was looking for materials for students studying the history of the book for the new MA in Medieval Studies.
They were found bound inside a four-volume edition of the works of the French scholar and reformer Jean Gerson (1363-1429) and, recognising a number of familiar Arthurian names, Michael contacted Dr Leah Tether, President of the International Arthurian Society (British Branch), from Bristol’s Department of English to see if the finds were in any way significant.
Dr Tether immediately recognised the text they were from and pulled together a team of experts including her husband, medieval historian and manuscript specialist Dr Benjamin Pohl from the University of Bristol’s Department of History and Dr Laura Chuhan Campbell, a specialist in the Old French Merlin stories from the University of Durham, who are now investigating further.
Pooling their expertise, the team will attempt 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. Together, the team members will produce a full transcription and edition of the fragments, alongside a description of their manuscript context, to enable scholars the world over to engage with the Bristol Merlin.
Dr Tether said: “These fragments of the Story of Merlin are a wonderfully exciting find, which may have implications for the study not just of this text but also of other related and later texts that have shaped our modern understanding of the Arthurian legend.
(more on the link)
.
Left to right: Leah Tether, Laura Chuhan Campbell, Michael Richardson and Benjamin Pohl with the books in Bristol Central Library’s Rare Books Room
Detail from one of the fragments showing the name Merlin
A chance discovery, hidden away in a series of 16th-century books deep in the archive of Bristol Central Library, has revealed original manuscript fragments from the Middle Ages which tell part of the story of Merlin the magician, one of the most famous characters from Arthurian legend.
Academics from the Universities of Bristol and Durham are now analysing the seven parchment fragments which are thought to come from the Old French sequence of texts known as the Vulgate Cycle or Lancelot-Grail Cycle, dating back to the 13th century.
Parts of the Vulgate Cycle were probably used by Sir Thomas Malory (1415-1471) as a source for his Le Morte D’Arthur (published in 1485 by William Caxton) which is itself the main source text for many modern retellings of the Arthurian legend in English, but no one version known so far has proven to be exactly alike with what he appears to have used.
In addition, one of the most exciting elements of this particular find is that the Bristol fragments contain evidence of subtle, but significant, differences from the traditional narrative of the stories.
The seven hand-written parchment fragments were discovered by Michael Richardson from the University of Bristol’s Special Collections Library who was looking for materials for students studying the history of the book for the new MA in Medieval Studies.
They were found bound inside a four-volume edition of the works of the French scholar and reformer Jean Gerson (1363-1429) and, recognising a number of familiar Arthurian names, Michael contacted Dr Leah Tether, President of the International Arthurian Society (British Branch), from Bristol’s Department of English to see if the finds were in any way significant.
Dr Tether immediately recognised the text they were from and pulled together a team of experts including her husband, medieval historian and manuscript specialist Dr Benjamin Pohl from the University of Bristol’s Department of History and Dr Laura Chuhan Campbell, a specialist in the Old French Merlin stories from the University of Durham, who are now investigating further.
Pooling their expertise, the team will attempt 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. Together, the team members will produce a full transcription and edition of the fragments, alongside a description of their manuscript context, to enable scholars the world over to engage with the Bristol Merlin.
Dr Tether said: “These fragments of the Story of Merlin are a wonderfully exciting find, which may have implications for the study not just of this text but also of other related and later texts that have shaped our modern understanding of the Arthurian legend.
(more on the link)
.