Archive of Our Own ^beta

December 22, 2012
Cardiff, Wales

Dear Freya,

You were right! Mr. Emerson’s collection of manuscripts is amazing – some of the oldest (and unstudied!) medieval texts I’ve ever seen. I just spent the last 10 hours poring through his library and hardly made a dent.

He has invited me back for two weeks in July to stay in his guest house (by the pool – you are coming with, so make sure you have those days off!), and again in the fall once my sabbatical starts. Mr. Emerson is going on a trip, but he said his grandson -- Martin? I think he said -- will be at the estate with a friend of his who has suddenly returned to Wales after a long absence. (I can’t bring myself to call Mr. Emerson Merriweather – The name doesn’t suit him at all. It seems like a name for a great-great grandfather, and not someone as plucky as Mr. Emerson.)

Apparently, the collection had come down through his family almost by accident. His father inherited the manuscripts after his uncle’s death, but there are no provenance records. It seems they’ve simply been handed down from generation to generation to generation.
Yes, I will be sending them to the lab to be authenticated. But Frey, I can tell you that these are the real deal – there’s no way they can not be. From what I could tell without tests, they could date to as early as the Anglo-Saxon period. They would be an amazing addition to the University’s medieval archives.

Just look at this one page. It’s the first page of an incomplete manuscript that looks like it might date to the period when Christianity was starting to dominate Wales (note the use of French phrases in one of the other photos I sent). It largely tells the story of one leader, but stops early in his rule.

The text from this passage is a mix of Christian references and what seems to be local beliefs in a hero who killed a dragon that was terrorizing the region. At first, I was looking for references to Saint George, but there are none. And interestingly, it seems this “dragon killer king” had the support of his people. He’s standing on a servant’s back. Conveniently, the servant is labelled as “Faithful Servant.” As you know, servants aren’t usually included in such important pages, and definitely not so prominently. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we just found evidence of a king who actually cared about and was supported by all of his subjects and not just the land owners? More than likely, however, it’s a legendary king who never existed… another King Arthur, if you will. Or perhaps the dragon is a legendary figure from Annwn.

But Frey, the best part of the collection (at least of what I saw) is that the manuscripts are filled with marginalia! Perfect for my research! Most of the drawings and notations refer to the texts themselves – annotating the writing, or updating the information with images (particularly in the medicinal texts). But I counted more than 40 pages with medieval doodles or incidental notes. Some of these are quite lovely, including a few studies of heads and hands, or passages of verse. Others will take more time to decipher. The manuscripts have aged, humidity has gotten to a few of them, and some were infested at points – one manuscript had so much frass on the middle page alone, I didn’t dare check the rest of the pages. That one is going STRAIGHT to the conservation lab.

There are a series of manuscripts and record books that have notes written by the same hand. In fact, by two hands. Freya, I’m jumping up and down at my desk writing this. I think I’ve found a conversation between two people that extends across manuscripts! There are no names (just an initial here or there), but the two writers banter back and forth. There’s quite a bit of (friendly?) name-calling as well. I’ve photographed some of the clearer examples for you to analyze the handwriting. Here are a few teasers for you:

This one includes a doodle and notes – I don’t know if the doodle is by the same hand that wrote “Clotpole,” but from another note/drawing combination next to it (cut-off in this photo), it seems like the drawings were already there when the two writers got to them (I’ve named them Idiot and Prat – the names they use the most often). Most of the other drawings, however, at first look appear to be by Idiot and Prat.

Most of the banter goes on like this example (above) – friendly, familiar, and with a healthy sense of body humor. I’m assuming these are both men writing, as women weren’t often literate in post-Roman occupation Britain. Besides, some of the imagery in their drawings would be considered too “unrefined” (to put it delicately) for women’s eyes according to our colleagues… You know my issues with scholarship in this regard. We need more women in our field. But I digress.

In this next example, it seems that Idiot is more annoyed than usual at Prat. His answer is short and rude. Perhaps he was simply distracted when he wrote it, but to me he sounds a bit miffed compared to normal – and rightly so! Unless this is an inside joke, this is the first time Prat directly insults Idiot’s intelligence:

But most of the marginalia and banter seems almost as if they have a very close, personal relationship. They bicker like a couple and tease each other constantly. Prat seems to be of a higher social rank, as you can see from the fact that Idiot calls him “Sire” in one of the images below. There’s something about Idiot and Prat’s relationship that I can’t quite put my finger on, but it’s clear that there is more going on here than just friendly teasing… Anyhow, see for yourself. The relationship between these two people is just so human, so loving, and really full of pornography! (I thought that would get your attention!) And these aren’t even the X-rated ones:

I don’t know who the “goblin” is (perhaps it’s their nickname for Prat’s sister?) but there are references to specific names: Morgause, Geoffrey, Gaius, even George (although not the saint, I’m guessing.) And Prat refers to Idiot as “M” in more than one entry. Perhaps an initial? Idiot wrote “Ar” (I think) in one note, but crossed it off and wrote “Sire” next to it. Was “M” perhaps starting to write Prat’s real name? Given the other names, Arthurian fans are going to have a field day when these are published. I will just sit back and laugh while they debate whether “M” refers to Merlin, Mordred, or Morgan le Fay, only to find out it stands for “Mary” who turns out to be a local tavern keeper or bar maid. Ha!

Yes, I know – I scoff at our most reliable and enthusastic funders… And honestly, I’d gladly sit through an entire week-long convention with Arthurian scholars if that what it takes to study this collection. Did you notice that Prat is chastising “M” like a fishwife would? I totally love these two idiots, and I can’t wait to see what they are up to in the rest of the manuscripts! Frey, I feel like a teenager, I’m so excited! All those years of graduate study were totally worth it just for this one find!!!

Needless to say, please don’t tell anyone about this yet. And given my comments about the Medieval Study Department’s generous benefactors, please burn this letter as soon as you read it! (or at least burn the page with my comments about funding). I have about 300 more images for you on the memory card – thank you for letting me borrow your camera on such short notice. Give Leonard a big kiss from me!

Much love,

Mithian