Merlin

1985 Number 31 of 100

Merlin, the most wondrous wizard in English legend was described in a poem by a Welsh bishop, Geoffrey of Monmouth in the middle of the 13th century. He testified that Myrddin was born in the 6th century to a nun who had been visited in her sleep by an incubus. His birthplace, Carmarthen, was named after him: Caer Myrddin (Merlin’s Fort).

The deamon who fathered him intended him to be an Antichrist; but the intention was thwarted by the teachings of nuns, and Merlin only inherited his father’s magical powers.

Merlin was discovered as a boy by King Vortigern, the predecessor of Uther Pendragon (King Arthur’s father). Merlin prophesied the coming of the Boar of Cornwall (King Arthur) and other critical historical events.

Among Merlin’s many spectacular feats were: the moving of the huge stones of Stonehenge from Ireland (where they were known as the Giant’s Dance) to Salisbury plain, discovering Excalibre, the mating of King Uther and Igraine to produce Arthur, and the creation of the Round Table. All his powers served only one purpose: the making of the last great kingdom of the old Britons. However factual his life, only speculation surrounds his disappearance. Did Vivian, the sorceress who seduced Merlin, imprison him in a castle made of mist, or in a crystal cave, or within the roots of a giant oak where he lies sleeping today?