Looks like D&D nerdism goes back at least a thousand years.
Posted on 09/20/2021 8:20:28 AM PDT by BenLurkin
Richardson found seven fragments of various sizes in the book. And when he looked closer at the dark lampblack ink scratched onto the parchment, he was able to make out two familiar names: “Merlin” and “Arthur.”
Now, two years after Richardson’s unexpected discovery, scholars have determined these fragments are evidence of one of the oldest known Arthurian manuscripts of its kind. In their new book, The Bristol Merlin: Revealing the Secrets of a Medieval Fragment, medieval literature scholars Leah Tether, Benjamin Pohl, and Laura Campbell also reveal that the fragments spin a different tale from the version of events scholars already knew.
The Old French fragments Richardson found in 2019 are part of a medieval King Arthur story known as the Vulgate Cycle or Lancelot-Grail Cycle. The original text of the Vulgate Cycle was written sometime around 1220. By analyzing the letterforms and vernacular language of the Bristol find, scholars were able to date the folio pieces to a manuscript written sometime between 1250 and 1275, likely in northern or northeastern France.
“The most significant difference to be found in this particular set of fragments is where Viviane, the enchantress, casts a spell,” says Leah Tether, a Bristol Merlin co-author. In the known version of the story, Viviane’s spell tattoos three names onto her groin, preventing Merlin from sleeping with her. In the newly unearthed version of the story, Viviane’s spell engraves three names onto a ring, which prevents men from speaking to her. This, says Tether, is the “most chaste version” of Merlin’s encounter with the sorceress.
(Excerpt) Read more at atlasobscura.com ...
ping
Does it say where Merlin hid the anti-Ori weapon?
“Viviane’s spell tattoos three names onto her groin, preventing Merlin from sleeping with her.”
The girls I know with tatts by their hoohas are very eager to sleep with people.
“The patron in this case may have wanted something a little less raunchy.”
Oh, yeah, that is *often* the case. Uh-huh.
Tales of The Ancient Tramp Stamp
A groin tattoo of “Gawain, Laz, and the Green Knight Were Here” would put anyone off their feed.
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