Medieval Manuscript Fragments Reveal Guernsey’s Forgotten Literary Past

Island Archives staff, working with Dr David Rundle of the University of Kent and Prof Tamara Atkin of the University of Oxford, identified 17 medieval manuscript fragments hidden in 16th- and 17th-century book bindings. The pieces, dating from the 12th to the 15th centuries, include a dramatic poem from *L’Estoire de Griseldis*, a secular play likely written around 1395 by Philippe de Mézières, an Ovid poem, biblical passages in Latin, and a travel text. The fragments are now stored in the public collections of the Island Archives and the Greffier’s strongroom.

The Guardian

Guernsey, a British Crown dependency 30 miles west of Normandy, has long been a blank page in medieval literary studies. The new material shows that island readers favored French literature for pleasure, even as French was declining elsewhere in England. The presence of non-religious texts challenges the expectation that most surviving medieval manuscripts from the Channel Islands are liturgical.

The Guardian

• Dr David Rundle – manuscript expert, University of Kent’s Centre for Medieval and Early Modern Studies.

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• Prof Tamara Atkin – book historian, University of Oxford.

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• Callum Tostevin-Hall – archives assistant, Island Archives, who first noticed the reused vellum while tracking a 16th-century copy of Edward III’s *Extente of Guernsey*.

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The scholars suggest additional fragments may still be concealed within the archives.

The Guardian

• “The project has been a real baby of mine and seeing it finally come to fruition, as well as being able to lay claim to the discovery of several of these manuscript fragments, is both an honour and a privilege.” — Oxford. Rundle

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Island Archives will host an academic study day on September 10 (scheduled), supported by the University of Kent and featuring scholars from the UK and France to further examine the fragments and their implications.

The Guardian