A long-lost ancient manuscript about King Arthur and Merlin has been found inside a 16th-century book. The discovery happened at Cambridge University Library. Experts say the manuscript is about 800 years old and was hidden in the book’s cover for hundreds of years.
The page was folded and stitched into a book from 1580 that listed property records. For centuries, no one noticed the secret page. It had been reused as scrap material by bookbinders during the Elizabethan period.
Rare find about King Arthur and Merlin
The text is a missing part of an old French version of the King Arthur legend. Fewer than 40 copies of this version are known to exist around the world.
The fragment includes strange scenes. In one part, Merlin appears as a blind harp player, disappears, and later returns as a bald child giving King Arthur orders without clothes. In another scene, Merlin, said to be the child of a woman and a devil, offers to carry Arthur’s battle flag. The king agrees. Merlin later comes back with a dragon that breathes fire.
For a long time, people thought the page was a story about one of Arthur’s knights. But experts noticed clues pointing to Merlin. Irene Fabry-Tehranchi, a specialist in French at Cambridge, said the text was never correctly listed in the library. She and her team noticed hints in the story that led them to take a closer look.
A glimpse into medieval storytelling
The story is part of a larger tale called Suite Vulgate du Merlin, written around the year 1230. The version found at Cambridge may have been written about 70 years later.
This tale connects many famous parts of the King Arthur legend. It shows Arthur as a young king who creates the Round Table and marries Guinevere. It also includes Arthur’s fight against the Saxons, guided by Merlin.
Researchers believe the tale was popular with noblewomen during medieval times. The story was likely written in northern France and brought to England, where French was often used by the rich.
By the 1500s, the French language had fallen out of use in England. That may explain why the page was recycled as scrap and stitched into a legal book. People didn’t see the value in it anymore.
High-tech tools reveal the past
The 1580 book, which came from Huntingfield Manor in Suffolk, was saved by the library because of its cover. In the past, experts would have had to damage the book to study what was hidden. Now, they use modern tools to see inside without harm.
Special cameras took images using many kinds of light. This helped show faded writing that people couldn’t see before. Computer software made the text readable. Other tools, like CT scans and 3D models, helped researchers explore the folded page in detail.
Amélie Deblauwe, the library’s lead photography expert, said one surprising moment came when she saw a shiny patch on the parchment. It turned out a leather strap had once rubbed against the page, leaving a mark.
The team used tiny cameras and mirrors to explore the deepest parts of the fold. They took many pictures and pieced them together like a puzzle. In the end, the hidden story finally came to light.