Historians recently unveiled a rare 13th-century document depicting the tales of King Arthur and Merlin – and its survival is considered a miracle.

The discovery was announced by the University of Cambridge on March 25. The manuscript is part of the Suite Vulgate du Merlin, a French-language rendering of the story of King Arthur.

Arthur has been depicted as a legendary Briton king for several centuries, though his existence has been doubted by most historians. 

In 2019, the fragile manuscript was discovered in an unlikely place in a Cambridge library – tucked in as the binding for an old book.

"The manuscript had survived the centuries after being recycled and repurposed in the 1500s as the cover for a property record from Huntingfield Manor in Suffolk, owned by the Vanneck family of Heveningham," the university's statement noted.