Posted on 04/07/2015 7:04:57 AM PDT by BenLurkin
"The Black Book of Carmarthen," dating to 1250, contains texts from the ninth through 12th centuries, including some of the earliest references to Arthur and Merlin.
"It's easy to think we know all we can know about a manuscript like the 'Black Book,' but to see these ghosts from the past brought back to life in front of our eyes has been incredibly exciting," Myriah Williams, a doctoral student at the University of Cambridge, said in a statement. "The drawings and verse that we're in the process of recovering demonstrate the value of giving these books another look."
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"The margins of manuscripts often contain medieval and early modern reactions to the text, and these can cast light on what our ancestors thought about what they were reading," Williams explained. "The 'Black Book' was particularly heavily annotated before the end of the 16th century."
Williams and Russell said they think a man named Jaspar Gryffyth, a 16th-century owner of the book who copied his name in Hebrew onto the book, likely erased such "reactions." These verses and doodles would've been added to the manuscript over centuries as it was passed from one owner to another.
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"....a short series of verses cursing a goose for pulling out the eye of Gwallawg, the figure after whom the poem has been named by scholars," Williams said.
In another entry, the legendary hero Arthur describes the virtues of his men in order to gain entrance to a court, the researchers noted. Two prophetic poems are attributed to the famed Merlin, as well, with the first poem of the book a conversation between him and Welsh poet Taliesin.
And in a text entitled "Englynion y Beddau" (or "Stanzas of the Graves"), a narrator claims to know where some 80 warriors are buried.
(Excerpt) Read more at livescience.com ...
ping
Williams and Russell said they think a man named Jaspar Gryffyth, a 16th-century owner of the book who copied his name in Hebrew onto the book, likely erased such "reactions." These verses and doodles would've been added to the manuscript over centuries as it was passed from one owner to another. "He fits the time frame for the erasures, which we know would have been in the late 16th century, but we can only speculate that he might have been the one to take it upon himself to 'cleanse' the manuscript," Williams told Live Science in an email.Using UV light and photo-editing software, Williams and Russell revealed glimpses of some of the erased doodles. For instance, page fol. 39v of the newly visible work includes ghostly faces and a line of text accompanying them, which date to the 14th or 15th century, Williams said. On the following page, fol. 40v, a full verse, possibly dating to the 13th century, came to light. "There is one more drawing so far that we are still working on," Williams said.
So preservationists don't only seek to pull of layers of paint and "restore" things like the Last Supper to their "original" state, now they seek to view addendum that were removed by ancient restorers/preservationists...restore
Keeps everybody busy.
Parchment being very expensive, was frequently reused with the old text and drawings being removed and the pages reused. Not convinced yet that there is anything supernatural about this but I guess it piques interest and brings in money for further research.
No, nothing supernatural. I’m sure the author would agree.
I don’t write in my books but with rare exception. I took such opposition to some things in a few articles and books that I own that I wrote my own counter arguments and exposed falsehoods and hypocrisy in notes in the margins.
It’s not the author I was thinking about but the readers of the article who home in on “Ghostly Faces” who will attribute it to other than natural sources and not bother to read the article (or will not comprehend what it says).
Thanks BenLurkin and a fool in paradise. King Arthur left the wrong key. [old punchline]
Did they find the lyrics to “Stairway to Heaven” written backwards?
“Luap deirub i.”
The Archimedes Palimpsest is a great example of this.
Where do you think the song came from.
Fascinating stuff. Technology lets us recover more and more of the past.
Then one day a guy runs up to you shouting, “It’s a cook book!”
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