One of the oldest King Arthur manuscripts estimated at up to $4 million at auction

A rare medieval manuscript recounting the legends of King Arthur, Merlin and the Holy Grail will be auctioned at Christie's on 8 July in London. The estimated value goes up to almost $4 million. The volume, known as the Lebaudy Manuscript, is considered by experts to be one of the most important accounts of the medieval Arthurian tradition and has remained in private hands for more than seven centuries.

The codex dates from between 1290 and 1310 and contains texts from the Old French cycle 'Lancelot-Grail', one of the main narrative sources of the stories of Lancelot, Merlin and the quest for the Grail. The manuscript includes 126 decorated miniatures, many of them embellished with burnished gold leaf. Among the best known images is Merlin transformed into a stag, while other scenes depict the Knights of the Round Table returning from battles and clashes against the Saxons.

Eugenio Donadoni, Director of Christie's Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts Department, called the volume the oldest of the three and the most lavishly illustrated of the copies known today. It would also be the oldest copy of the Lancelot and the Grail cycle ever to appear in a public sale.

The history of the manuscript spans several centuries. The codex owes its name to the French collector Jean Lebaudy, who acquired it in the 20th century. It had previously belonged to different historical figures, including a 15th century knight and the famous British bibliophile Sir Thomas Phillipps. The style of the miniatures is attributed to the so-called 'Liege Master of the Apocalypse', an anonymous miniaturist active in the late 13th and early 14th century.

In addition to its economic and artistic value, the auction could also have important academic consequences. Indeed, scholars believe that the manuscript presents a reworked version of the Grail and Merlin stories, with differences from the most widespread manuscript tradition. An element that, according to the experts, testifies to the freedom with which medieval scribes adapted the tales to the tastes of the patrons of the time.