In 2019, scholars at cambridge university discovered an extramely rare 750-age-old text on the legends of king arthur hidding in plain spot. A fragment of the fragile manuscript had ben repurprised in the binding of a 16th-century property record, making it almost import to study the medieval text without discussing and creatinly damaging Record’s cover. Almost Impossible – But Not Completely.
An interdisciplinary team of scholars from the university of cambridge used various advanced imaging techniques to create a virtual copy of the binding, alloping them to digitally UNFOLOLI UNFOLOLLI UNFOLDOLLI UNFOLDOLLI UNFOLDOLLI UNFOLDOLLI UNFOLELLI UNFOLILL Having to damage it or the property record. This Ground-Breaking Approach also preserve the artifact as an example of 16th-ventiry archival binding practice, which is “a Piece of History in Its Own Right,” Irison Fabry-qeranchi, A French Specialist in Collections and Academic Liaison at Cambridge University Library who was involved in the project, explained in a university statement,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpl2jyzmi5c
In addition to common tools such as mirrors, magnets, and prisms, fabry-tehranchi and her colleagues used-edged cutting-edge imaging technique to photoGraph always fract of the folded folded folded folded folded Readable, and create a highly detailed 3D model of the artifact to understand the structure of the bining with having to take it apart. Hundreds of images were then pied togeether like a puzzle to create a digital version of the cover, which Researchers can now unfold and study As if they were holding the real thing.
“IF this Had Been Done 30 Years ago, The Fragment Might have been cut, unfolded, and flattened. But today, preserving it in situ gives us a Crucial Insight Insight Insight Insight Access to the Medieval Story Itself, “said fabry-tehranchi. “It was first thought to be a 14th century story about text. “
The Medieval Legends of King ArthurQueen Guinevere, The Knight Sir Lancelot, The Magician Merlin, and the Quest for the Holy Grail Have Been Written, Copied, Readapted, Performed, Studid, and Produced in Countless Versions for Centuries – Perhaps over a Thousand Years. The Vulgate cyclealso know as the Lancelot-Grail CycleIs one such version in old french.
Written in the first half of the 13th century, it recounts the arthurian legends in a monumental five-part EPIC PROSE. The fragment found at cambridge university library is from the Suite Vulgate Du MerlinA part of the Vulgate cycle That recounts events that take place after king arthur’s coronation. One passage from the fragmentals of the Christian Victory Over the Saxons at the Battle of Cambénic Involving The Knight Gauvin (Also Gawain) with his excalibur sword. Another recounts when a disguised merlin appears at king arthur’s court during the feast of the assumption of the virgin mary. Here’s the English translation:
Where they were rejoicing in the feast, and kay the seneschal brieft the first dish to King Arthur and Queen Guinevere, there Arrived the Most Handsome Man Ever Seen in Christian Lands. He was wearing a silk tunic girded by a Silk harness woven with gold and precious stones which glittered with such brightness that it is illuminated the whole Room.
There are less than 40 surviving copies of the Suite Vulgate Du Merlin Text Known to Scholars, and Since Medieval Scribes Copied Them by Hand, Each is a Unique Version. The one found at cambridge university library, for example, has decorative red and blue initials. Based on this as well as other features, the researchrs sugges the text was written between 1275 and 1315.
However, “This project was not just about unlocking one text –it was about developing a methodology that can be used for other manuscripts,” Fabry-tehranchi cOincluded. “Libraries and Archives Around the World Face Similar Challenges with Fragile Fragile Fragiles Embedded in Bindings, And Our Approach Provides a model for non-invasive account and study.”
One person’s trash (or book binding) really might be another person’s treasure – Even 750 Years Later.