Medieval manuscript telling lost story of Merlin discovered in Bristol Central Library

Hidden away in a series of 16th-century books in the archive of Bristol Central Library, a chance find has revealed original manuscript fragments from the Middle Ages which tell part of the story of Merlin.

Academics from the universities of Bristol and Durham are now analysing the seven parchment fragments which are thought to come from an Old French sequence of texts dating back to the 13th century.

The fragments contain evidence of subtle but significant, differences from the traditional narrative of the stories of the Arthurian legend and the famous magician.

Left to right: Leah Tether, Laura Chuhan Campbell, Michael Richardson and Benjamin Pohl with the books in Bristol Central Library’s Rare Books Room – photo courtesy of University of Bristol

The seven handwritten 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, who lived from 1363 to 1429.

Recognising a number of familiar Arthurian names, Michael contacted Dr Leah Tether from the university’s English department and president of the British branch of the International Arthurian Society, 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.

Detail from one of the fragments showing the name Merlin = photo courtesy of the University of Bristol).

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.

“Time and research will reveal what further secrets about the legends of Arthur, Merlin and the Holy Grail these fragments might hold.

“The South West and Wales are, of course, closely bound up with the many locations made famous by the Arthurian legend, so it is all the more special to find an early fragment of the legend – one pre-dating any version written in English – here in Bristol.”

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 (probably unbound), and the style of the binding suggests they may have been first bound here in the early 16th century.

At this point, the manuscript fragments may simply have been languishing in the binder’s workshop amongst a selection of ‘waste materials’ that were often used in bindings in this period.

Events in the manuscript begin with Arthur, Merlin, Gawain and other knights, including preparing for battle at Trebes against King Claudas and his followers, with Merlin strategising the best plan of attack followed by a long description of the battle.

At one point, Arthur’s forces look beleaguered but a speech from Merlin urging them to avoid cowardice leads them to fight again, and Merlin leads the charge using Sir Kay’s special dragon standard that Merlin had gifted to Arthur, which breathes real fire.

Dr Tether added: “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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Main photo courtesy of Disney