Unraveling an old, enigmatic medieval manuscript's secrets

Two years ago, Arthur Bahr, a professor of literature at MIT, experienced a momentous day. Immersed in the British Library's hallowed halls, he was granted the rare opportunity to examine the Pearl-Manuscript, a 14th-century bound collection housing the earliest versions of the renowned poem "Pearl," the compelling tale "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight," and two other now-famous works.

Today, "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" is a familiar read in high school English classes across the globe. The survival of the Pearl-Manuscript, however, has guaranteed the longevity of these stories, as it is the preservation of the document that has kept them from the clutches of history.

To this day, the Pearl-Manuscript's authorship remains a mystery, though one thing is undeniably clear: it is a meticulously crafted tome, adorned with custom illustrations and expertly wielded parchment. This book stands as its own work of art.

"The Pearl-Manuscript is just as extraordinary, unusual, and unexpected as the poems it contains," said Bahr, referring to the venerated manuscript's formal name: British Library MS Cotton Nero A X/2.

In his new book, "Chasing the Pearl-Manuscript: Speculation, Shapes, Delight," published this month by the University of Chicago Press, Bahr draws upon his profound knowledge of the manuscript's texts and its physical attributes. Leveraging state-of-the-art technology, such as spectroscopy, which unveiled some of the manuscript's secrets, as well as traditional scrutiny, Bahr offers an exhaustive assessment of the interplay between the tome's text, images, and materials.

"My premise is that this physical artifact surpasses the sum of its parts, through its innovative alchemy of text, image, and materials," he explained. "It is a harmonious volume that echoes the concerns of the poems themselves. Most manuscripts lack this level of coherence and thoughtful construction."

Bahr's passion for the "Pearl" poem ignited during his time as an undergraduate at Amherst College, where he encountered the poem in a course taught by Howell D. Chickering, a medievalist. The poem is a nuanced exploration of Christian ethics, featuring a devastated father who dreams he engages in discussions about life's meaning with his deceased daughter.

"'Pearl' is the most beautiful poem I have ever read," Bahr testified. "It left me spellbound, captivated by its formal complexity and the profound human drama at its core." He added, "It is the reason I devoted myself to the study of the Middle Ages."

Given his initial book, "Fragments and Assemblages," which examines how medieval bound volumes often consist of disparate documents, it was a natural progression for Bahr to apply this scholarly lens to the Pearl-Manuscript as well.

The manuscript typically is thought to have a single author, even though authorship remains uncertain. After commencing with "Pearl," the manuscript continues with two other works, "Cleanness" and "Patience." The collection concludes with "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight," a chilling, surreal tale of courage and chivalry set within the (possibly fictional) court of King Arthur.

In the book, Bahr discerns connections between the four texts, examining the thematic tissue that binds the manuscript together into a wrought, imperfect, and temporally layered whole. Some of these links are broad, encompassing recurring challenges to speculative reasoning, as well as apparent paradoxes and dreamscapes that test readers' interpretive abilities.

Several ways the texts appear interlinked have been identified. For example, "Pearl" and "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" share a numerically consistent structure, with both containing 101 stanzas. In the case of "Pearl," the structure is based around the number 12, with all but one stanza containing 12 lines, leaving Bahr to wonder if the anomalous 101st stanza is intentional, like a flaw in a finely made carpet. Moreover, there are 36 lines per page, and Bahr identified 48 places with decorated illustrations, although the craftsperson behind these remains unknown.

"The more you look," Bahr exclaimed, "the more you find."

The Pearl-Manuscript's secrets have only recently begun to unravel, thanks to spectroscopic analysis, which revealed that the volume once featured simple line drawings, which were later colored in. However, there is nothing quite like experiencing a book in person. This insight took Bahr to London in 2023, where he was granted exclusive access to the Pearl-Manuscript, leading to new insights that could not have been obtained through a screen.

For instance: In the "Patience" poem, a reworking of the Jonah and the whale tale, the parchment's hair side faces up rather than the flesh side—an unusual occurrence in the manuscript. "When you're reading about Jonah being swallowed by the whale, you can feel the hair follicles when you wouldn't expect to," Bahr said. "At this juncture in the poem, where the work addressed an unnatural reversal of inside and outside, you are experiencing the other side of another animal."

He added, "Physical interaction with the Pearl-Manuscript substantially changed my perception of how this poem would have impacted the medieval reader." Thus, Bahr's sentiment remains strong: materiality matters. Although screens facilitate access and digital facsimiles are indispensable, they can never replace the original. The "Patience" chapter serves as a potent reminder of this.

All in all, Bahr maintains that the Pearl-Manuscript bolsters his argument in "Fragments and Assemblages," which asserts that medieval readers and book constructors considered the material construction and text selection integral to the overall meaning of the texts.

"My assertion in 'Fragments and Assemblages' was that medieval readers and book constructors pondered in a significant, often sophisticated manner how the material construction and the selection of the texts into a physical object affected the meanings of the texts and had the potential to transform them," Bahr concluded.

"Chasing the Pearl-Manuscript" has earned praise from fellow scholars. Jessica Brantley, the chair of Yale University's English Department, commended Bahr for his "adventurous multilayered reading of both text and book" and for providing an important reinterpretation of the codex and its poems. Daniel Wakelin of Oxford University lauded Bahr for his "authoritative reading of these poems" and acknowledged his "bold model for studying material texts and literary works together."

For his part, Bahr endeavors to engage an assorted readership, much like his medieval literature courses attract students with a diverse range of intellectual interests. In the creation of his book, Bahr also credits two MIT students, Kelsey Glover and Madison Sneve, who, as part of the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP), assisted the project by analyzing the manuscript's illustrations, distinctive markings, and other aspects.

"In many ways, the Pearl-Manuscript embodies the essence of MIT—not just because the author, or authors, were preoccupied with math, geometry, and proportion, as well as artifact construction, but also because the tome itself showcases a 'mens et manus' quality," Bahr reflected, using MIT's motto, "mind and hand." "I believe this speaks to why the extraordinary MIT students, Kelsey and Madison, were able to help me so proficiently."

Bahr's new book, "Chasing the Pearl-Manuscript," published by the University of Chicago Press, delves into the manuscript's texts and physical attributes, leveraging technology like spectroscopy and traditional scrutiny.
"Chasing the Pearl-Manuscript" examines connections between the manuscript's four texts, exploring thematic tissues that bind the collection into a coherent whole, with examples including the numerically consistent structure shared by "Pearl" and "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight."
Bahr's work on the Pearl-Manuscript has attracted praise from fellow scholars, with Jessica Brantley, the chair of Yale University's English Department, commending his "adventurous multilayered reading" and providing an important reinterpretation of the codex and its poems.
Two MIT students, Kelsey Glover and Madison Sneve, assisted Bahr's project as part of the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP), analyzing the manuscript's illustrations, distinctive markings, and other aspects.
Bahr believes that the Pearl-Manuscript, as a work of art, embodies the essence of MIT's motto, "mind and hand," showcasing a unique blend of intellectual pursuit and manual craftsmanship that resonates with proficient MIT students like Kelsey and Madison.