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Merlin dictating his poems, as illustrated in a French book from the 13th century
Merlin dictating his poems, as illustrated in a French book from the 13th century
For other uses, see Merlin (disambiguation).

Merlin is best known as the wizard featured in Arthurian legend. A magician, wizard, sorcerer or a person known under one of many other possible terms in fiction is someone who uses or practices magic The standard depiction of the character first appears in Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae, and is based on an amalgamation of previous historical and legendary figures. Geoffrey of Monmouth ( Gruffudd ap Arthur or Sieffre o Fynwy) (c The Historia Regum Britanniae ( English: The History of the Kings of Britain) is a pseudohistorical account of British history Geoffrey combined existing stories of Myrddin Wyllt (Merlinus Caledonensis), a northern madman with no connection to King Arthur, with tales of Aurelius Ambrosius to form the composite figure he called Merlin Ambrosius. Myrddin Wyllt (ˈmərðɪn wɨɬt or Merlinus Caledonensis is a figure in medieval Welsh legend, known as a Prophet and a madman King Arthur is a legendary British leader who according to medieval histories and romances, led the defence of Britain against the Saxon invaders Ambrosius Aurelianus, called Aurelius Ambrosius in the Historia Regum Britanniae and elsewhere was a war leader of the Romano-British

Geoffrey's rendering of the character was immediately popular; later writers expanded the account to produce a fuller image of the wizard. Merlin's traditional biography casts him as born of mortal woman, sired by incubus, the non-human wellspring from whom he inherits his supernatural powers and abilities. [1] Merlin matures to an ascendant sagehood and engineers the birth of Arthur through magic and intrigue. Later, Merlin serves as the king's advisor until he is bewitched and imprisoned by the Lady of the Lake. The Lady of the Lake is the name of several related characters who play integral parts in the Arthurian legend.

Contents

Geoffrey's sources

Geoffrey's composite Merlin is based primarily on Myrddin Wyllt, also called Merlinus Caledonensis, and Aurelius Ambrosius, a mostly fictionalized version of the historical war leader Ambrosius Aurelianus. Myrddin Wyllt (ˈmərðɪn wɨɬt or Merlinus Caledonensis is a figure in medieval Welsh legend, known as a Prophet and a madman Ambrosius Aurelianus, called Aurelius Ambrosius in the Historia Regum Britanniae and elsewhere was a war leader of the Romano-British The former had nothing to do with Arthur and flourished after the Arthurian period. According to lore he was a bard driven mad after witnessing the horrors of war, who fled civilization to become a wildman of the woods in the 6th century. The Woodwose ( Old English: wuduwasa) or Wildman of the Woods is a mythological figure that appears in the artwork and literature of medieval Europe Geoffrey had this individual in mind when he wrote his earliest surviving work, the Prophetiae Merlini (Prophecies of Merlin), which he claimed were the actual words of the legendary madman. Medievalist Gaston Paris suggested he altered the name to "Merlinus" rather than the standard romanization "Merdinus" to avoid a resemblance to the vulgar French word merde, meaning "excrement". Bruno Paulin Gaston Paris ( August 9, 1839 – March 5, 1903) known as Gaston Paris was a French writer and scholar French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people

Geoffrey's Prophetiae do not reveal much about Merlin's background. When he included the prophet in his next work, Historia Regum Britanniae, he supplemented the characterization by attributing to him stories about Aurelius Ambrosius, taken from Nennius' Historia Brittonum. Nennius, or Nemnivus, is either of two shadowy personages traditionally associated with the history of Wales. The Historia Brittonum, or The History of the Britons, is a historical work that was first written sometime shortly after AD 833 and exists in several According to Nennius, Ambrosius was discovered when the British king Vortigern was trying to erect a tower. Vortigern (ˈvɔrtɨɡɝːn also spelled Vortiger and Vortigen and in Welsh Gwrtheyrn was a 5th century warlord in Britain, a leading ruler among The tower always collapsed before completion, and his wise men told him the only solution was to sprinkle the foundation with the blood of a "child born without a father". Ambrosius was rumored to be such a child, but when brought before the king, he revealed the real reason for the tower's collapse: below the foundation was a lake containing two dragons who destroyed the tower by fighting. The dragon is a Legendary creature of which some interpretation or depiction appears in almost every culture worldwide Geoffrey retells this story in Historia Regum Britanniæ with some embellishments, and gives the fatherless child the name of the prophetic bard, Merlin. He keeps this new figure separate from Aurelius Ambrosius, and to disguise his changing of Nennius, he simply states that Ambrosius was another name for Merlin. He goes on to add new episodes that tie Merlin into the story of King Arthur and his predecessors.

Geoffrey dealt with Merlin again in his third work, Vita Merlini. Vita Merlini, or The Life of Merlin, is a work by the Norman-Welsh author Geoffrey of Monmouth, composed in Latin around AD 1150 He based the Vita on stories of the original 6th century Myrddin. Though set long after his timeframe for the life of "Merlin Ambrosius," he tries to assert the characters are the same with references to King Arthur and his death as told in the Historia Regum Britanniae.

Merlinus Caledonensis, or Myrddin Wyllt

Main article: Myrddin Wyllt

The earliest (pre-12th century) Welsh poems concerning the Myrddin legend present him as a madman living a wretched existence in the Caledonian Forest, ruminating on his former existence and the disaster that brought him low: the death of his lord Gwenddoleu, whom he served as bard. Myrddin Wyllt (ˈmərðɪn wɨɬt or Merlinus Caledonensis is a figure in medieval Welsh legend, known as a Prophet and a madman The Caledonian Forest is the name of a type of Woodland that once covered vast areas of Scotland. Gwenddoleu ap Ceidio, (died c 573 was a Brythonic king who ruled in Arfderydd (now Arthuret) Etymology The word is a Loanword from descendant languages of Proto-Celtic *bardos, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gwerh2 The allusions in these poems serve to sketch out the events of the Battle of Arfderydd, where Riderch Hael, King of Alt Clut (Strathclyde) slaughtered the forces of Gwenddoleu, and Myrddin went mad watching this defeat. The Battle of Arfderydd (also know as Arderydd) was fought according to the Annales Cambriae, in 573. Riderch I of Alt Clut (fl 580 died c 614 commonly known as Riderch or Rhydderch Hael (the Generous was a ruler of Alt Clut (the region around modern Dumbarton Strathclyde ( Gaelic: Srath Chluaidh) (lit "Valley of the Clyde" originally Brythonic Ystrad Clud, was one of the kingdoms Strathclyde ( Srath Chluaidh in Gaelic, meaning "valley of the River Clyde" is a Historic subdivision of Scotland, and was one of the regional The Annales Cambriae date this battle to AD 573 and name Gwenddoleu's adversaries as the sons of Eliffer, presumably Gwrgi and Peredur. Annales Cambriae, or The Annals of Wales, is the name given to a complex of Cambro-Latin Chronicles deriving ultimately from a text compiled Peredur is the name of a number of men from the boundaries of history and legend that was Dark Age Britain.

Some early references name the madman as "Lailoken"; this name especially used in the hagiography of Saint Kentigern. Lailoken was a Northern Brythonic Prophet of the late 6th century. Saint Mungo is the commonly used name for Saint Kentigern (also known as Cantigernus ( Latin) or Cyndeyrn Garthwys ( Welsh) A version of this legend is preserved in a late 15th century manuscript, in a story called Lailoken and Kentigern. In this narrative, Kentigern meets in a deserted place with the naked, hairy madman Lailoken, also called Merlynum or "Merlin", who declares that he has been condemned for his sins to wander in the company of beasts. He adds that he had been the cause for the deaths of all of the persons killed in the battle fought "on the plain between Liddel and Carwannok. " Having told his story, the madman leaps up and flees from the presence of the saint back into the wilderness. He appears several times more in the narrative until at last he asks Kentigern for the sacrament, prophesying that he was about to die a triple death. After some hesitation, the saint grants the madman's wish, and later that day the shepherds of King Meldred capture him, beat him with clubs, then cast him into the River Tweed where his body is pierced by a stake, thus fulfilling his prophecy. There are other rivers with this name see Tweed River The River Tweed ( Uisge Thuaidh in Gaelic (156 kilometres or long flows primarily through the

Welsh literature has many examples of a prophetic literature, predicting the military victory of all of the Brythonic peoples of Great Britain who will join together and drive the English – and later the Normans – back into the sea. The term Welsh literature may be used to refer to any Literature originating from Wales or by Welsh writers. Prophecy, generally describes the disclosing of Information that is not known to the Prophet by any ordinary means See also Kingdom of Great Britain Great Britain (Breatainn Mhòr Prydain Fawr Breten Veur Graet Breetain is the larger of the two main islands England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland The Normans were the people who gave their names to Normandy, a region in northern France. Some of these works were claimed to be the prophecies of Myrddin; some were not, as for example the Armes Prydein. This wild prophetic Merlin was also treated by Geoffrey of Monmouth in his Vita Merlini which looks like a close adaptation of a number of Myrddin poems.

Merlin Ambrosius, or Myrddin Emrys

Main article: Ambrosius Aurelianus
A giant helps Merlin build Stonehenge. From a manuscript of the Roman de Brut by Wace (British Library, Egerton 3208)
A giant helps Merlin build Stonehenge. Ambrosius Aurelianus, called Aurelius Ambrosius in the Historia Regum Britanniae and elsewhere was a war leader of the Romano-British Stonehenge is a Prehistoric Monument located in the English county of Wiltshire, about west of Amesbury and north of Salisbury From a manuscript of the Roman de Brut by Wace (British Library, Egerton 3208)

Geoffrey's account of Merlin Ambrosius' early life in the Historia Regum Britanniae is based on the story of Ambrosius in the Historia Brittonum. Roman de Brut or Brut is a verse literary history of Britain by the poet Wace. WACE (730 AM) is a Radio station broadcasting a Christian radio format He adds his own embellishments to the tale, which he sets in Carmarthen (Welsh: Caerfyrddin). Carmarthen ( Welsh Caerfyrddin - caer fort + Myrddin Moridunum is the County town of Carmarthenshire, Wales. While Nennius' Ambrosius eventually reveals himself to be the son of a Roman consul, Geoffrey's Merlin is begotten on a king's daughter by an incubus. Ancient Rome was a Civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC Consul (abbrev cos; Latin plural consules) was the highest elected office of the Roman Republic and an appointive office under the Empire The story of Vortigern's tower is essentially the same; the underground dragons, one white and one red, represent the Saxons and the British, and their final battle is a portent of things to come.

At this point Geoffrey inserts a long section of Merlin's prophecies, taken from his earlier Prophetiae Merlini. He tells only two further tales of the character; in the first, Merlin creates Stonehenge as a burial place for Aurelius Ambrosius. Stonehenge is a Prehistoric Monument located in the English county of Wiltshire, about west of Amesbury and north of Salisbury In the second, Merlin's magic enables Uther Pendragon to enter into Tintagel in disguise and father his son Arthur on his enemy's wife, Igraine. Tintagel (tɪnˈtædʒəl with the stress on the second syllable Cornish: Dintagell) is a village situated on the Atlantic coast of Cornwall In Arthurian legend, Igraine is the mother of King Arthur. (She is also known in Latin as Igerna, in Welsh as Eigyr, in French as Igerne These episodes appear in many later adaptations of Geoffrey's account.

Later adaptations of the legend

Merlin, from the Nuremberg Chronicle (1493)
Merlin, from the Nuremberg Chronicle (1493)

Several decades later the poet Robert de Boron retold this material in his poem Merlin. The Nuremberg Chronicle, written in Latin by Hartmann Schedel, with a version in German translation by Georg Alt is one of the best documented early printed books Robert de Boron (also spelled in the manuscripts "Bouron" "Beron" was a French poet of the late 12th and early 13th centuries originally from the village Only a few lines of the poem have survived, but a prose retelling became popular and was later incorporated into two other romances. In Robert's account Merlin is begotten by a devil on a virgin as an intended Antichrist. For other uses see Antichrist (disambiguation In Christian eschatology, the Antichrist or anti-Christ means a person office This plot is thwarted when the expectant mother informs her confessor Blaise of her predicament; they immediately baptize the boy at birth, thus freeing him from the power of Satan. The demonic legacy invests Merlin with a preternatural knowledge of the past and present, which is supplemented by God, who gives the boy a prophetic knowledge of the future.

Robert de Boron lays great emphasis on Merlin's power to shapeshift, on his joking personality and on his connection to the Holy Grail. Shapeshifting is a common theme in Mythology and Folklore, as well as in Science fiction and Fantasy. According to Christian mythology, the Holy Grail was the dish plate or cup used by Jesus at the Last Supper, said to possess miraculous powers This text introduces Merlin's master Blaise, who is pictured as writing down Merlin's deeds, explaining how they came to be known and preserved. Robert was inspired by Wace's Roman de Brut, an Anglo-Norman adaptation of Geoffrey's Historia. WACE (730 AM) is a Radio station broadcasting a Christian radio format Roman de Brut or Brut is a verse literary history of Britain by the poet Wace. The Anglo-Norman language is a term traditionally used to refer to the variety of French used in England and to some extent elsewhere in the British Isles following the Robert's poem was rewritten in prose in the 12th century as the Estoire de Merlin, also called the Vulgate or Prose Merlin. It was originally attached to a cycle of prose versions of Robert's poems, which tells the story of the Holy Grail; brought from the Middle East to Britain by followers of Joseph of Arimathea, and eventually recovered by Arthur's knight Percival. The Middle East is a Subcontinent with no clear boundaries often used as a synonym to Near East, in opposition to Far East. Joseph of Arimathea was according to the Gospels, the man who donated his own prepared tomb for the burial of Jesus after Jesus' Crucifixion Percival or Perceval is one of King Arthur 's legendary Knights of the Round Table. The Prose Merlin was detached from that shorter cycle to serve as a sort of prequel to the vast Lancelot-Grail, also known as the Vulgate Cycle. The Lancelot-Grail, also known as the Prose Lancelot, the Vulgate Cycle, or the Pseudo-Map Cycle, is a major source of Arthurian legend The authors of that work expanded it with the Vulgate Suite du Merlin (Vulgate Merlin Continuation), which described King Arthur's early adventures. The Prose Merlin was also used as a prequel to the later Post-Vulgate Cycle, the authors of which added their own continuation, the Huth Merlin or Post-Vulgate Suite du Merlin. The Post-Vulgate Cycle is one of the major Old French Prose cycles of Arthurian literature These works were adapted and translated into several other languages; the Post-Vulgate Suite was the inspiration for the early parts of Sir Thomas Malory's English language Le Morte d'Arthur. Sir Thomas Malory (c 1405 – 14 March 1471 was an English writer the author or compiler of Le Morte d'Arthur. English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States Le Morte d'Arthur (spelled Le Morte Darthur in the first printing and also in some modern editions Middle French for la mort d'Arthur

Many later medieval works also deal with the Merlin legend. For example, The Prophecies of Merlin contains long prophecies of Merlin (mostly concerned with 13th century Italian politics), some by his ghost after his death. The prophecies are interspersed with episodes relating Merlin's deeds and with various Arthurian adventures in which Merlin does not appear at all. The earliest English verse romance concerning Merlin is Arthour and Merlin, which drew from chronicles and the French Lancelot-Grail.

As the Arthurian mythos was retold and embellished, Merlin's prophetic aspects were sometimes de-emphasized in favor of portraying Merlin as a wizard and elder advisor to Arthur. On the other hand in Lancelot-Grail it is said that Merlin was never baptized and never did any good in his life, only evil. The Lancelot-Grail, also known as the Prose Lancelot, the Vulgate Cycle, or the Pseudo-Map Cycle, is a major source of Arthurian legend Medieval Arthurian tales abound in inconsistencies. In the Lancelot-Grail and later accounts Merlin's eventual downfall came from his lusting after a woman named Nimue (or Ninive, in some versions of the legend), one of the maidens serving the Lady of the Lake, who coaxed his magical secrets from him before turning her new powers against her master and trapping him in an enchanted prison (variously described as a cave, a large rock, an invisible tower, etc. The Lady of the Lake is the name of several related characters who play integral parts in the Arthurian legend. ) This is unfortunate for Arthur, who has lost his greatest counselor.

Name and etymology

Merlin advising King Arthur in Gustave Doré's illustration
Merlin advising King Arthur in Gustave Doré's illustration

The name "Myrddin" (note that double-d in Welsh makes the voiced 'th' sound in English 'the' and 'this') may have arisen from the Roman-period Celtic name for a place in Wales, *Mori-dunon, meaning "sea fort". The Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial The Celtic languages are descended from Proto-Celtic, or "Common Celtic" a branch of the greater Indo-European Language family. The name became Carmarthen (Caerfyrddin in Welsh), which can be loosely translated as "Fort of Moridunum", since a Caer is a fortified royal residence. Carmarthen ( Welsh Caerfyrddin - caer fort + Myrddin Moridunum is the County town of Carmarthenshire, Wales. Welsh ( cy Cymraeg or cy y Gymraeg, kəmˈrɑːɨɡ and {{IPA|[ə ɡəmˈrɑːɨɡ]}}, is a member of the Brythonic branch of Celtic In the Welsh language, caer means "fortress" "fort" or "citadel"/"castle" It seems that the name was taken to mean "Caer of [some man called] Myrddin".

Some accounts describe two different figures named Merlin. For example, the Welsh Triads state there were three baptisimal bards: Chief of Bards Taliesin, Myrddin Wyllt, and Myrddin Emrys (i. The Welsh Triads ( Welsh Trioedd Ynys Prydein, literally "Triads of the Island of Britain " are a group of related texts in Medieval Etymology The word is a Loanword from descendant languages of Proto-Celtic *bardos, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gwerh2 Taliesin (c 534 – c 599 (spelled as Taliessin in Alfred Lord Tennyson 's Idylls of the King and in some subsequent works was a Brythonic Myrddin Wyllt (ˈmərðɪn wɨɬt or Merlinus Caledonensis is a figure in medieval Welsh legend, known as a Prophet and a madman e. Merlinus Ambrosius). It is believed that these two bards called Myrddin were originally variants of the same figure. The stories of Wyllt and Emrys have become different in the earliest texts that they are treated as separate characters, even though similar incidents are ascribed to both.

Fiction featuring Merlin

Further information: List of films in which Merlin appears

Much Arthurian fiction includes Merlin as a character. Feature Films & Television Appearances This is a list of appearance of the character Merlin in films generally Arthurian. Mark Twain made Merlin the villain in his 1889 novel A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court. Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30 1835 – April 21 1910 better known by the Pen name Mark Twain, was an American Humorist, satirist The year 1889 in literature involved some significant new books A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court is an 1889 Novel by American Humorist and Writer Mark Twain. He is presented as a complete charlatan with no real magic power, and the character seems to stand for (and to satirise) superstition, yet at the very last chapter of the book Merlin suddenly seems to have a real magic power and he puts the protagonist into a centuries-long sleep (as Merlin himself was put to sleep in the original Arthurian canon). Superstition ( Latin superstitio, literally "standing over" derived perhaps from standing in awe used in Latin as a unreasonable or excessive belief C. S. Lewis used the figure of Merlin Ambrosius in his 1946 novel That Hideous Strength, the third book in the Space Trilogy. Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963 That Hideous Strength is a 1945 Novel by C S Lewis, the final book in Lewis's theological Science fiction Space Trilogy. The Space Trilogy, Cosmic Trilogy or Ransom Trilogy is a Trilogy of three Science fiction novels by In it, Merlin has supposedly lain asleep for centuries to be awakened for the battle against the materialistic agents of the devil, able to consort with the angelic powers because he came from a time when sorcery was not yet a corrupt art. Lewis's character of Ransom has apparently inherited the title of Pendragon from the Arthurian tradition. Merlin also mentions "Numinor," a nod to J. R. R. Tolkien's Númenor. Númenor (ˈnuːmɛnɔɹ is a Fictional place in J R R Tolkien 's writings which the author intended to be an allusion to the legendary Atlantis. Mary Stewart produced a quintet of Aurthurian novels; Merlin is the protagonist in the first three: The Crystal Cave (1970), The Hollow Hills (1970) and The Last Enchantment (1979).

Notes

  1. ^ Katharine Mary Briggs (1976). Katharine Mary Briggs should not be confused with the psychologist Katharine Cook Briggs. An Encyclopedia of Fairies, Hobgoblins, Brownies, Boogies, and Other Supernatural Creatures, p. 440. New York: Pantheon Books. ISBN 0-394-73467-X

See also


References

External links

Dictionary

merlin

-noun

  1. A small falcon, Falco columbarius, that breeds in northern North America, Europe and Asia.
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