Who is merlin

The real Merlin, Myrddin Wyllt, was born in about and had a twin sister called Gwendydd. He served as a bard to Gwenddoleu ap Ceidio, a Brythonic or British king who ruled Arfderydd, a kingdom including parts of what are now Scotland and England in the area around Carlisle. An alternative legend places the death of Gwenddoleu at the Battle of Arderyth, or the Battle of Airdrie, in In this version Merlin was awarded a golden torc for his recording of the battle, possibly by King Rhydderch Hael, and he then spent time at the king's fortress at Dumbarton Castle.

It is said that Merlin subsequently went mad, retreating to live as a prophet and recluse in the forests of Tweeddale. The result was Merlin's conversion to Christianity by Kentigern. In this page, we will take a closer look at the role that Merlin played, as well as tried to piece together of what had happened to him in his final hours. Merlin wore many hats: he was a wizard or sorcerer, a prophet, a bard, an adviser and a tutor.

He appeared as a young boy with no father. He appeared as an old, wise man, freely giving his wisdom to four successive British kings. He had even appeared as a madman after bloody battle, and had fled into the forest and learned how to talk to the animals, where he became known as the Wild Man of the Woods.

Merlin was the last of the druid, the Celtic shaman, priest of nature, and keeper of knowledge, particularly of the arcane secrets. According to the Welsh historian, Nennius, Merlin appeared as a young boy, but under the name of Emrys or as Ambrosius in Latin, with the British king, Vortigern. As to his father, he was either a devil or an incubus. Merlin is a paradox, he was the son of the devil, yet he was the servant of God. Merlin had being identified to the Welsh fictional bard named Myrddin of the late 6th century, in the Welsh poem called Afallenau and several other poems, preserved in the manuscript known as the Black Book of Carmarthen , c.

These rather old Welsh poems appeared rather obscure and gibberish. In this version, he was known as Merlin Calidonius. It is the only text that mentioned Merlin having a wife. Many scholars were puzzled over his birth, his magical power, his prophetic gifts and his mysterious yet often conflicting fate. These two contradictory works had led many scholars to believe that there are two different people with the same name, Merlin.

It should be understood that the early known work on Merlin has nothing to do with King Arthur or his knights. So before you read about Merlin, the friend and adviser of Arthur, we need to look where he had come from. Related Information Name Merlin. Myrddin Welsh. Merlinus Latin. Merlin Calidonius. Brut was written by Layamon, c. Merlin was written by Robert de Boron, c. Suite de Merlin was part of Post Vulgate Cycle, c.

Historia Brittonum was written by Nennius 9th century. Related Articles Vortigern , Arthur. Genealogy: Merlin. See Son of the Devil? According to Geoffrey, his mother was the daughter of the King of Demetia Dyved, kingdom in southern Wales. Though, a princess, she became a nun. After King Vortigern lost his battle and much of his territory lost to the Saxons, he fled into Wales, where he decided to build a fortress.

Everyday he had part of the wall built, but it would collapse the next day. These elders, who advised King Vortigern, conspired to have the boy Merlin killed, because they knew that he would cause their death.

When they found the boy without a father, he was brought before the king. Merlin told the king the reason why his fortress always collapsed. Merlin told Vortigern was not building the wall on solid foundation, because there was pool of water underneath. Another reason why the walls always collapse was that the dragons fought one another since they were trapped underground.

Everything Merlin had told to the king was true. The dragons wakened and rose out of the hole and fought one another. After this, Merlin proclaimed that his name was also Ambrosius.

Merlin then foretold a series of prophecies about Britain. The significant of the two dragons fighting one another, was that the future kings of Britain would drive the Saxons out of their country, but inevitably, the Saxons would overcome the Britons and ruled over Britain.

The red dragon represents the Britons, while the white dragon was seen as the Saxons. Merlin also foretold that the Boar of Cornwall shall drive out the Saxons giving relief to the Britons. The Boar of Cornwall was the banner of Arthur, son of Uther. Merlin also foretold that 6 descendants of Arthur shall rule after the great king before Saxons would return and conquer Britain. It most likely mean that his father died, before Ambrosius Merlin was born. Also that the king found young Ambrosius Merlin was found in the field of Aelecti, in the district of Glevesing, not in the town of Carmarthen.

It was Ambrosius who became adviser to King Vortigern after he reveal the mystery of the falling walls. Aurelius Ambrosius and his brother Uther had to fight a series of battles against the Saxons. One night, Uther and Merlin saw a comet in the sky, where the tail caused the sky to lit up in the shape of a dragon.

Merlin informed Uther, that his brother Aurelius Ambrosius had died from poisoning, and Uther was now king of the Britons. It was here, for the first time, Merlin was seen as sorcerer or wizard. He had used his magic to move the stone. It was his magic that allow Uther to disguise to look like the husband of Igraine. Gorlois was offended when he saw that Uther could not control his feeling for his wife. Gorlois withdrew his support to Uther. Gorlois thought to protect Igraine in his strongest castle in Tintagel, while he fought Uther in another castle.

Uther could not control his lust and obsession for Igraine and asked Merlin to aid him in seducing Igraine. The bogus duke Uther had sex with Igraine, on the same night Gorlois was killed. Tintagel and Cornwall immediately surrendered to Uther, and the king married the newly widowed Igraine.

Igraine gave birth to Arthur. See Merlin and Arthur. Vortigern and Merlin Alan Lee Illustration, Now, shall look at a different tale where Merlin gained his gift through madness in the wilderness, where he is known as the Wild Man of the Wood.

However, the Vita Merlini was derived largely from Welsh and Scottish sources. Merlin was a bard and a lawgiver in Demetia Dyved , a region in southern Wales. Note that Geoffrey had never given a name to this battle, but in the Welsh legend of Myrddin, it was known as the Battle of Arfderydd, fought in AD His grief had overwhelmed his sanity so that he had gone stark raving mad and ran into forest of Calidon.

During the time he had not only lived like an animal, he had the ability to speak to the wild animal in the forest. For a moment, Merlin regained his senses, when he heard some music played by the retainer of Ganieda Gwenddydd.

Ganieda was the sister of Merlin and wife of King Rodarch. Merlin returned to the court of King Rodarch for only a while. Rodarch tried to persuade his brother-in-law to return, but Merlin refused, so the king had him returned in chain. Ganieda took care of her brother. Seeing this Merlin laughed. Reluctantly, he told the king that Ganieda had met her lover under a tree. To prove that Merlin was either mad or clairvoyance, Rodarch ask Merlin see what the fate of one of the boys in the court.

Merlin saw this boy three times; each time he gave a different answer. Merlin said that the boy would die from a fall. Then at a second look, Merlin would say that the boy would died from a tree, and later still, he reply that the boy would die in a river. Merlin decided to return to the woods, but before he did, he informed his wife, Gwendoloena Gwendolyn that she had his permission to marry someone else, dissolving his marriage to her.

Gwendoloena had been living with Rodarch and Ganieda, since the day of his disappearance after the battle. However, Merlin also warned his wife that he will bring a gift to her on her wedding day, but that her new bridegroom should not see him on that day, and that her new betrothed should avoid standing in his path.

This interdiction is like the Irish geis or taboo that are imposed on rulers or heroes, where it usually spell doom of the person, who break his geis. The boy fell off a rock, where his feet were caught in a branch of a tree. With the boy hanging upside-down, his head was in the water, so the child drowned.

Gwendoloena laughed at this spectacle. Her laugh brought her fiance to the window; thereby her fiance had broken the first interdiction. Merlin was born sometime during the medieval era. It is said that Merlin's wand was of English oak though his grave has never been found, so this cannot be proven. Either while or after he attended the school, Merlin studied the five secret rooms at the school that would one day come to be known as the fabled Cursed Vaults and, not only the purpose for their existence, but also the ancient magic surrounding them.

Later on in his life, as an old man, a portrait was painted by him, which he educated to speak and act like himself, and taught about the vaults so that once hung at Hogwarts, it could advise future residents about them, although its warnings were cryptic and, thus, of little use in regard to finding the vaults and breaking the curses. At some point in his lifetime, Merlin became a part of the Court of King Arthur , assisting him during his reign.

Merlin believed that wizardkind should help Muggles and live peacefully with them. To this end, he founded the Order of Merlin , an organisation which promoted Muggle rights, creating rules against using magic on them. Merlin was also an expert user of charms. His exceptional skill earned him the epithet "Prince of Enchanters".

At some point, either during Merlin's lifetime or after his death, the Order of Merlin switched from a Muggle rights organisation to an award bestowed upon witches and wizards who performed a great deed at personal risk or contributed to the betterment of wizarding society in some way, a sign of the estrangement of the Muggle community from the Wizarding one.

Merlin's renown led his name to become a part of everyday wizarding vernacular. The popular exclamation, " Merlin's beard! Slytherin students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry took special pride in Merlin — "the most famous wizard in history" — having been Sorted into their House.