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Cambridge researchers use multispectral imaging to decipher Merlin manuscript

Merlin manuscript - Cambridge University Library

Cambridge University researchers successfully deciphered a 700-year-old manuscript fragment containing rare stories of King Arthur and the wizard Merlin. The manuscript, part of the Suite Vulgate du Merlin, was discovered in 2019 when it was found sewn into the binding of a 16th-century register book in the archives of Cambridge University Library. Over the centuries, the fragment had been folded, worn, and repurposed as a binding for land ownership lists.

Experts, including Irène Fabry-Tehranchi from the University of Cambridge, determined that the manuscript was created between 1275 and 1315. Multispectral imaging, computed tomography, and 3D modeling were employed to virtually unfold and read the parchment without causing further damage.

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