The Myth and Reality of Merlin
Reality?" Merlin, the greatest magician of all time. He lived, if indeed he lived at all, in Wales and southern England during the dawn of Christianity in those lands, long before written historical records were kept. Yet, his name is universally recognized around the world as synonymous with magic, and his popular image is almost as well known as that of Santa Claus. The beginning and ends of all things are all within Merlin's sight. he keeps the prophecies of the future, he holds the memories of all that has passed. When you hear the name Merlin an immediate image springs into the mind of an old man with a flowing white beard and bushy white eyebrows, dressed in a midnight blue robe and a tall pointed hat covered with stars. He is the prototypical wizard. Merlin is best known as the teacher and advisor of Arthur Pendragon, king of all the Britons. The legends of these two mythical figures are linked, but there is no certain proof that either man existed. Supposedly on Merlin's advice the famous Round Table of Arthur's court was built and he helped select 50 of the knights who were to sit at the table. The popular myth of Merlin, as we know it today, has come down to us primarily from two sources; one, the historian Geoffrey of Monmouth and the other, a writer, Sir Thomas Malory. Both men collected bits and pieces from earlier sources. Most of Malory's work was based on the French Arthurian prose cycle, a group of French medieval romances centered around the court of King Arthur. Before Malory, both Merlin and Arthur were better known on the Continent than they were in England. Malory's work crystallized the Arthurian legend into the form we recognize today. We know Merlin as a mysterious fig...
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...in later years is a testimony to his achievements and authority during his lifetime. Merlin's greatest power was fabled to be his ability to see events in the future. It was this gift of sight that made him so valuable t Arthur and the other kings he served.. We do not know for certain what methods Merlin used in his foretelling tales, but in many accounts Merlin is refereed to as using a crystal ball. Crystal scrying was in widespread use in Roman times, so it is quit possible that Merlin did employ a crystal. There is no sign that the legend of Merlin is fading into history. Just the opposite, it grows stronger with each passing year. Merlin has become a kind of demigod of magic, a hero9 for all modern magicians to inmatate and admire. he comes to life each time the tales of his exploits are told, and between the telling of his story he sleeps, but will never die.
When Merlin arrives, his full name is given as Merlinus Ambrosius, the name he is given in one of his earliest appearances in Arthurian literature, Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Reg...
Malory, Thomas. King Arthur and His Knights: Selected Tales by Sir Thomas Malory, ed. Eugene Vinaver (London: Oxford UP, 1975) 124-25.
The Arthurian cycle shows a sporadic awareness of the impossibility of mere humans fulfilling all the ideals that Arthur and his court represent. The story of Lancelot and Guenevere, Merlin's imprisonment by Nimu‘, and numerous other instances testify to the recognition of this tension between the real and the unrealistic.
Who was King Arthur? Most people would tell of a great King; a devoted circle of heroic knights; mighty castles and mightier deeds; a time of chivalry and courtly love; of Lancelot and Guinevere; of triumph and death. Historians and archaeologists, especially Leslie Alcock, point to shadowy evidence of a man who is not a king, but a commander of an army, who lived during the late fifth to early sixth century who may perhaps be the basis for Arthur. By looking at the context in which the stories of King Arthur survived, and the evidence pertaining to his castle Camelot and the Battle of Badon Hill, we can begin to see that Arthur is probably not a king as the legend holds.
Malory, Sir Thomas. King Arthur and his Knights. Eugene Vinaver, ed. London: Oxford University Press, 1956.
In the sixth century there was a man named King Arthur who was born. Many people around the world believe that King Arthur was only a myth. While many other people believe he was a real man telling people about his time through recorded history. The novel “The Legends of King Arthur and His Knights” by Sir James Knowles is a very notable source explaining the life of King Arthur.
The Court of King Arthur in the Tales of Lanval and Sir Gawain the Green Knight
Arthur and Guinevere now know everything Merlin had done (or attempted to do) for them during the years he hid his magic. It was a gradual, seemingly endless process, because just when Merlin thought he had remembered everything, he would remember something else.
Malory, Thomas, and Keith Baines.Malory's Le morte d'Arthur: King Arthur and the legends of the Round Table. 1962. Reprint, New York: New American Library, 2010.
To begin, Merlin’s reasons for leaving feudal society are too logical to call him “mad.” One place where logic can be heard is where Merlin says, “Surely a malignant fate cannot have been so vindictive as to take from me all these my companions, men such that many a king and many a distant kingdom have stood in fear of them till now” (55). What Merlin is addressing is the fact that someone is to blame fo...
Geoffrey of Monmouth, the author famous for being credited with the Legend of King Arthur, also created his own theory on Stonehenge, his theory is known as the “Merlin Theory” (1). According to Geoffrey, the giants who first colonized Ireland brought the stones from their original home in Africa to Mount Killaraus for their miraculous virtues. In the 5th century AD, Aurelius Ambrosius, a half-real, half-mythical king of Britain, sent Merlin, Uther Pendragon (King Arthur’s father) and 15,000 knights to remove the stones and to place them in England on the Salisbury Plains. After a very bloody battle Merlin used his sorcery to send the stones 137 miles to the Salisbury Plains. With this theory, I find it is necessary to really look at the historical context to understand how and why Geoffrey of Monmouth ca...
This fall from victory, from blamelessness can be seen in many instances through Tennyson’s Idylls. Merlin is a legendary wizard whose name resonates throughout Arthurian legends. Known for orchestrating Arthur’s magical birth, Merlin is regarded as one of the most powerful sages of his time. Regarding women, Merlin tried his best to find a balance between the idealism that surrounded the chivalric code and the realism of the times.
King Arthur, was he man of truth or myth? King Arthur was a real person, not just a fictional character. While many believe that King Arthur was a non-fictional character, others feel that he was a fictional character. This was because there is no written record of a King Arthur in any area where he was reportedly born or deceased. King Arthur was real because there many people recall King Arthur or who have known personal stories of him, his family, and the wars he so bravely participated in. There are many people who recall King Arthur or know someone he was based off of. King Arthur was not real because it was not recorded in history that there was ever a “King Arthur.”
What role did the great King Arthur play in the way English Literature is perceived? The Arthurian Legends reveal King Arthur as a chivalrous king and not as a historical figure but as a myth of mass amounts of achievements. From his search of the Holy Grail, to his perfect society in Camelot and his development of the Round Table, King Arthur’s legend displayed his heroic character. Through the many countless legends of the glorious King Arthur, England’s society underwent a drastic change in the outlook on life. With the influences of King Arthur came an extreme change in philosophies and lifestyles. Countless situations on how exactly the people of England altered their views on life were they became more cultivated and highly intellectual amongst themselves. The majority of the English society felt the need to escape the strenuous lifestyle that the Industrial Revolution brought upon. The Arthurian Legends was an effect of the Romantic Era and resulted in the abstract thinking, and the beautiful arts such as music, paintings, poems, and stories. The birth of the Arthurian Legends came from Celtic mythology and medieval romance and the existence of the presence of magic confirm the conception of artistic intellect. Whether or not King Arthur truly existed the ideas of him dramatically changed the English society and English Literature to its current form. The Arthurian Legend has proven to be extremely influential and benefited the people of England during the Romantic Era. Therefore, even if he is a fictional figure of English history King Arthur’s childhood, his countless glorious achievements as the king of Camelot, the final down fall of his strong empire King Arthur validated his importance to English literature. ...
The Arthurian legends are well known in today's society. However, very few people know of the "real" Arthur -- who he was and what his accomplishments were. This paper will establish a difference between legend and truth, show evidence to support and explain who the real Arthur was, and shed some light on the sometimes confusing Arthurian legends.