Ancient King Arthur manuscript could fetch $2m at auction | Manuscripts and letters

In another illustration, painted on vellum and decorated with gold leaf, the sorcerer Merlin is depicted as a powerful shape-shifter who has transformed into a talking deer. In other places, the Knights of the Round Table are shown returning, victorious, from battle.

These illustrations appear in the oldest manuscripts that tell the story of King Arthur and the holy quest – the most illuminated tome of the Middle Ages which, for more than 700 years, has remained in private hands.

Now, organizations will have the chance to buy the work, which has never been shown publicly or studied well, when it is offered for sale at auction by Christie’s for £1.5m to £2m in July.

Dating from c1290 to 1310, the manuscript contains text from the Old French Lancelot-Grail cycle – the legends of King Arthur, Merlin and the Holy grail – and 126 miniature illustrations, including a rare depiction of Merlin as a stag.

Only three such manuscripts are known to be held in private collections, said Dr Eugenio Donadoni, head of manuscripts and restoration at Christie’s, which is selling the work on its own. valuable books and manuscripts for sale on 8 July: “Ours is the oldest of the three and has many pictures.

Known as the Lebaudy Manuscript, collected by French industrialist Jean Lebaudy in the 20th century, it is believed to be the earliest copy of the Lancelot-Grail cycle ever to appear on the market.

“Most of the pieces are in shiny gold, (made) using gold leaf, which was polished very aggressively to make it shine,” Donadoni said.

The manuscript is thought to have been created in the late 13th century by the Master of the Liège Apocalypse, an unknown but famous artist and illuminator who was named after the religious apocalyptic texts he was known for. “Obviously they were in high demand because the scrolls they produced were very heavy and would have cost a lot of money to make,” said Donadoni. “He has his own features and has the perfect masculine faces and red spots on the cheeks of his subjects.”

Previous owners have included the 15th-century knight, a jouster who died young, and the legendary novelist and novelist Sir Thomas Phillipps, while Lebaudy fought in two world wars and won twice. battle cross. “You can see how, throughout history, these manuscripts have attracted these people,” Donadoni said.

Dr Irene Fabry-Tehranchi, who is an expert on French manuscripts in the Cambridge University Libraryhe said that it was “amazing” to think that Labaudy’s manuscript was being sold and could be in the public domain for the first time. “It’s very interesting. Having such an important book from the Middle Ages is a huge challenge for scholars. It prevents further research, unfortunately.”

Scholars have failed to study all the manuscripts and their illustrations in depth, he said, because, perhaps understandably, they have been coveted by the wealthy. “It’s a very bright book, with good Arthurian stories illustrated with beautiful details. Originally, it was intended for noble people, probably women who were very fond of Arthurian stories.”

Now, he said, the manuscripts are part of “our world heritage” and he’s keeping his fingers crossed that, seven hundred years later, the ownership system can be broken. “I hope that … eventually it will be available to the public. The problem is that these days libraries and museums don’t have a lot of money.”

After examining the manuscript, he said that the end of the ancient text, known as the Suite Vulgate du Merlin, had been shortened and rewritten to give a “special version” of the text.

“(At the end of) the normal version of the story, you have the romance and romance, and the transition from King Arthur to his nephew, the knight Gawain, and his adventures,” he said. “In the revised version, I believe, of Lebaudy’s manuscript – although we need to look at it more closely – we focus more on Arthur’s battles and royal questions.”

This “different” ending perfectly reflects the opening of the tale, where the king wants to prove his legitimacy while facing the British invaders and fighting the Saxon enemies.

“Sometimes, writers thought they could rewrite the story and make it more interesting to their fans or in a way that felt good (to them) – that was a common way of writing. “This shows how the writer takes the story.”