Historical Discovery Through Art & Science

I believe in Art, as you well know, and science as well, if it comes from a respected source. When they come together in a symbiotic manner it is most satisfying.

Sequels are familiar in detective stories where the author continues a main character throughout a series like Agatha Christie’s detective, Hercule Poirot. However, I would not have expected a sequel in the form of a medieval manuscript adding to the story of King Arthur. There are around 40 originals, each, of course, written by hand on parchment. Dr. Irène Fabry-Tehranchi, the Cambridge University Library French collections specialist, was one of the first to recognize a sequel in the University library, Identifying it as “an old French vulgate Merlin sequel, a different and extremely important Arthurian text.” It continues the story of King Arthur and Queen Guinevere, a best seller in a time when reading was not yet universal. The manuscript was written in old French. This gave a clue to its origin because this was the language of the court and aristocracy of medieval England after the Norman Conquest and the work was a romance intended for a noble audience, including women.

The discovery was made by pure happenstance when a former Cambridge University archivist, Sian Collins, just happened to notice the word “Excalibur” in the text. This manuscript was found stitched into the binding of a property lease where the durable parchment had been utilized in the 1500’s as a protective book cover. It is truly astounding that this torn fragment still existed.

It took various experts, including curators, archivists, imaging experts, and conservators 3 years to trace and preserve this interesting moment in literary history. Without the newest scientific knowledge and techniques, it might have taken another 100 years to identify and restore the document.

In another case, the Harvard Law Library included in its online collection a copy of the Magna Carta. That is exactly what they believed they had, a copy, but it has turned out to be an original.

The Magna Carta is believed to be the first document to proclaim the principal that the King and his government were not above the law. What made it so important was that it became the basis for English common law and many constitutions since, including our own.

Ratified in 1215 after much contention between the Barons who demanded the charter and King John I of England, it was revised and reissued several times, first, shortly after it was written, then again during the reign of Henry III. In 1297 King Edward I, who was facing issues over his taxation policies, reissued the 1225 version. This helped solidify the charter’s status as part of English law as it guaranteed the rights and liberties it recognized.

How many of us have trawled the internet trying to learn about some subject, often symptoms of an illness. In this case, a medieval history professor at Kings College, London, David Carpenter, was trawling for unofficial versions of the Magna Carta in U.S. university libraries. He was researching the influence of the charter based on its appearance in collections of legislation made for lawyers. He was sidelined, however, when it struck him that that he had come across an original rather than a copy in the Harvard Library.

One clue was that the dimensions were within millimeters of the few known originals. Since the Harvard document was rubbed and stained it was more difficult to confirm the text. Spectral imaging and ultraviolet light made it possible to search the document word-by-word. It was found to match perfectly the 1225 version, even to the form of King Edward’s signature. If you wish to learn more about the discovery of the Harvard Magna Carta, here is an article and part way down you will see the image above and click on the “play button” for the video. 

https://hls.harvard.edu/today/harvard-law-schools-copy-of-magna-carta-revealed-as-original/

These are just two examples of how discoveries are made in some of the most obvious places by academic sleuths with the help of science. As the late renowned Louvre curator, Pierre Verlet, once said to his students, “Everything exists, it is up to you to find it”.