For centuries, the legend of King Arthur has been passed down through generations, captivating audiences around the world. Now, researchers have uncovered long-lost medieval stories about King Arthur and the wizard Merlin—hidden within another book for hundreds of years.
A team of scientists from the University of Cambridge has successfully "virtually unrolled" a 700-year-old manuscript, unlocking its secrets without damaging the fragile document.
Described as an "exceptionally significant Arthurian text," this priceless manuscript was penned by a medieval scribe sometime between 1275 and 1315.
A Rare and Remarkable Discovery
It contains two episodes from the Suite Vulgate du Merlin, a French-language continuation of the legend of King Arthur.
The manuscript contains two episodes from the Suite Vulgate du Merlin, a French continuation of the Arthurian legend. Once widely circulated in the Middle Ages, fewer than 40 copies of this text are known to survive today.
Written in Old French—the language of the court and aristocracy in medieval England after the Norman Conquest of 1066—the manuscript offers a glimpse into the world of medieval storytelling.
Using cutting-edge 3D imaging, researchers have created a digital model that allows online users to rotate, zoom in, and examine the text as if they were handling the manuscript itself.
According to scholars, the fragment recounts two pivotal episodes from the Suite Vulgate du Merlin, a genre of Arthurian romance literature intended for noble audiences, including women.
The first episode narrates a battle involving Gawain, King Arthur’s nephew and one of the most renowned Knights of the Round Table. Known for his healing abilities, his powerful warhorse Gringolet, and his legendary swords—including the famed Excalibur—Gawain plays a crucial role in the Arthurian mythos.
In the story, Gawain returns the magical sword to King Arthur in preparation for his final battle against Mordred, Arthur’s treacherous and power-hungry son.
The second episode describes Merlin’s arrival at Arthur’s court, disguised as a finely dressed harpist, during a feast celebrating the Assumption of the Virgin Mary.
A translated passage reads:
"As they rejoiced at the feast, and Sir Kay, the seneschal, served the first dish to King Arthur and Queen Guinevere, the most handsome man ever seen in Christian lands arrived.
"He wore a silk tunic fastened with a belt woven with gold and precious stones, shining so brightly that it illuminated the entire room."
Moments later, Merlin transforms into an eight-year-old boy with the features of a madman—a moment that highlights both his magical abilities and his role as Arthur’s trusted advisor.
A Unique Manuscript with Hidden Insights
Each surviving copy of the Suite Vulgate du Merlin is unique, as they were individually handwritten by medieval scribes—highly educated individuals who could read and write official documents. Because every manuscript was copied by hand, each version contains subtle variations introduced by its scribe.
This particular fragment, totaling around 6,000 words, includes minor errors, such as the mistaken use of the name "Dorilas" instead of "Dodalis," a warrior involved in the Saxon invasion of Britain during Arthur’s early reign.
The manuscript, likely written on durable sheepskin parchment, was rediscovered in 2019. However, it took three years of meticulous research for scholars to fully unveil its stories.
Remarkably, the manuscript survived the centuries because it was repurposed in the 1500s as the cover of a property record from Huntingfield Manor in Suffolk—similar to how students today might cover a notebook with plastic film.
"The way it was reused tells us about archival practices in 16th-century England. It’s a historical artifact in its own right," said Dr. Irène Fabry-Tehranchi, a French literature specialist at Cambridge University Library.
The parchment was folded, torn, heavily worn, and even sewn into the binding of a 16th-century book. Attempting to remove it physically could have caused further damage.
To access the hidden text, researchers employed a range of advanced techniques, including X-ray scanning—normally used for examining fossils and skeletons—as well as imaging the document under ultraviolet and infrared light.
By manipulating the digital images, the team reconstructed how the manuscript might have looked if it had been fully opened. Some parts of the text were concealed under folds or stitched into the binding, requiring the use of mirrors, prisms, and magnets to reveal them.
A New Approach to Studying Medieval Manuscripts
Now, the research team hopes their work will inspire further studies of medieval manuscripts hidden in unexpected places.
"This project wasn’t just about unlocking a text—it was about developing a methodology that can be applied to other manuscripts," Dr. Fabry-Tehranchi explained.
"Libraries and archives around the world face similar challenges with fragile fragments embedded in book bindings, and our approach provides a model for non-invasive access and study."
The digital results of the project are now available online through Cambridge’s digital library, allowing scholars and the public alike to explore the manuscript firsthand.
Dr. Fabry-Tehranchi and her colleagues will also present their findings at this week’s Cambridge Festival, shedding new light on one of the most enduring legends in Western literature.
