Origins of Merlin and Diversified Explanations about Merlin Prophesies

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In Sir Thomas Malory’s novel Le Morte d’Arthur, Merlin is the great wizard of the Arthurian Legends, best known as the great wizard of the Arthurian Legends (1469 CE). In King Arthur’s tales, Merlin is Arthur’s mentor, instrumental in every aspect of his life, from his conception to his education, his rise to power, and his vision of a kingdom ruled through justice and goodwill. Merlin is a central character in the mythology, with the ability to see into the past and the future, willing to offer advice and assistance but powerless to change the course of events. Throughout the centuries, Merlin has been one of the most popular characters in folklore. As a fertility deity or spirit respected for his knowledge and magical talents, Merlin was resurrected in the 19th century CE (Campbell, 105). As a strong mage, he has appeared in or impacted countless works of fiction, film, and other media since then. The paper will discuss the origins of the character, Merlin, from the King Arthur tales and how there are multiple explanations regarding Merlin’s ability to recall the future.

A bishop and writer of history, Geoffrey of Monmouth penned one of the earliest accounts of Merlin. Early in his career, he authored The Prophecies of Merlin. This book was the first to depict Merlin in the way that most people currently recognize. Later in the 12th century, Merlin appeared in Monmouth’s History of the Kings of Britain, which predicted the political future of England. Merlin’s exploits are depicted in Monmouth’s poem, the Vita Merlini. Celtic mythology and Merlin’s powers of divination were intertwined in this work (Kugler, n.p). Several versions of Merlin’s story would be repeated throughout the Middle Ages, and his visage would change. Sir Thomas Mallory, in his 1470 book Le Morte d’Arthur, was the first to place Merlin close to King Arthur and his court (Real Royalty, n.p). It appears that Merlin is the result of a conglomeration of various myths. Medieval historian Tim Clarkson has written a book called Scotland’s Merlin, in which he explains how the legend of Merlin came to be and how it influenced real-life political events.

The Arthurian Merlin first appeared in Scottish pseudo-histories in the fourteenth century. Real history and folklore were combined to create a creative depiction of Scotland’s history. With Merlin as a prophet and sorcerer at the court, they depicted Arthur in his classic aspect as a strong monarch. The political ramifications of Merlin’s prophecies frequently led to negative treatment for both characters (Mark, n.p). In Geoffrey of Monmouth, Merlin predicted that Arthur would return and reclaim his throne one day. In the Middle Ages, many Scots viewed this as a terrifying prospect. They were uneasy about the prospect of a southern ruler, legendary or not, attempting to conquer or reclaim them. Furthermore, Merlin had depicted Arthur’s treacherous nephew Modred as a Scottish king in addition to Arthur’s conquest of Scotland (Real Royalty, n.p). As a result, Arthur appeared to be a foe to the Scots. Many English writers saw Arthur as an inspiration for their kings and bolstered his negative reputation north of the Border.

In the 1300s and 1400s, English territorial ambitions were modeled on Arthur’s claimed control of Britain, and Merlin was depicted as the prophet of England’s future glory. As a result, Merlin’s prophecy regarding Arthur’s return to Britain’s throne looked to legitimize English claims to rule over the Scots (Dickerson, n.p). Instead of portraying Arthur as the rightful ruler of ancient Britain, Scottish poets promoted Modred. As a well-known Scottish member of History of the Kings of Britain, Modred was an obvious pick. As a result, Merlin could either be rejected as an outright fraud or exploited as a political prophesy voice for Scotland. Fordun had a candidate in mind for this “unkingly” monarch, but it is unclear who it is. In any case, the prophecy has no link to Gildas and is medieval fiction at best. However, the connection to Merlin’s’song about Scottish kings is still noteworthy. Another interesting tidbit comes from Walter Bower, who said in the fifteenth century that the eagles of Loch Lomond could predict the future. Even though the tradition’s origins are murky and otherwise unknown, Bower attributed it to Merlin (Kugler, n.p).

Some of Scotland’s best-known authors were reluctant to praise Merlin because of his connection to Arthur, whose legendarily oppressive rule over the country was still fresh in the minds of many Scots (Real Royalty, n.p). According to Hector Boece, writing in the sixteenth century, Uther’s deceit of Igerna was an evil deed made possible by the ‘necromancy of Merlyne.’ According to Boece, Arthur had been killed by the Scottish king Lothus, not the English, who claimed he had invaded Scotland. Scotland’s late medieval historical writing was characterized by an antipathy toward Arthur and Merlin, which lasted into the sixteenth century’s debates on political unity. Its core was their hostility to Arthur’s perceived ‘Englishness’ and the idea of a unified, pan-British kingdom controlled by a southern ruler in Britain (Dickerson, n.p). The Complaynt of Scotland, a document reviewed in the section below, was written at the end of the medieval era and is the best example of this.

In 1542, leaving her as the heir apparent to the Scottish throne, she was just a baby. The Earl of Arran, who served as regent during Scotland’s infant years, was the country’s de facto ruler. Scotland’s parliament voted down the proposal after becoming alarmed by its members’ perceptions of the union as a tool for English political goals. It was Henry who replied by launching a military campaign against the Scots. The fight, which came to be known as “The Rough Wooing,” raged from 1543 until 1551. Printing works for mass dissemination was an important part of both sides’ propaganda campaigns throughout the war. One pamphlet vehemently attacked the idea of a single king for the two countries. The Complaynt of Scotland was written anonymously but may have been written by the Dundee minister Robert Wedderburn. The document slammed several English propagandist literature, which viewed Merlin’s prophecies as a pretext for war (Mark, n.p). King Henry VIII of England wanted his son Edward to marry Mary, Queen of Scots, to establish a royal line.

When her father, James V, died in December of 1542, leaving her as the heir apparent to the Scottish throne, she was just a baby. The Earl of Arran, who served as regent during Scotland’s infant years, was the country’s de facto ruler. Scotland’s parliament rejected the marriage idea because they viewed it as a political tool for the English, who viewed it as a threat to their interests. Henry’s response to this was to declare war on the Scots, which they duly did. The fight, which came to be known as “The Rough Wooing,” raged from 1543 until 1551 (Kugler, n.p). Printing works for mass dissemination was an important part of both sides’ propaganda campaigns throughout the war. One pamphlet vehemently attacked the idea of a single king for the two countries. The Complaynt of Scotland slammed several English propagandist literature, which viewed Merlin’s prophecies as a pretext for war. A profane prophecy states that a single monarch would rule England and Scotland, and English people place more faith in Merlin’s forecasts than they do in the Gospel, which made them plan attacks on Scotland. (Dickerson, n.p).

This was a response to the use of Merlin as an advocate for the union of the crowns by contemporary English and Scottish authors. It shows how entrenched the Scots opposed to the union’s union were to Merlin’s views. These pro-unionist predictions were channeled through Merlin, and the Complaynt was aimed squarely at them. It denied the validity of these prophesies, but it predicted that the Scots would subjugate England in the near future. Rerum Scoticarum Historia, published in 1582 by George Buchanan, contained an even harsher critique of Merlin (Real Royalty, n.p). However, at the risk of being overly harsh, Buchanan labeled Merlin a ‘cunning pretender, rather than a prophet,’ labeling him as “audacious and malicious.” In 1603, James VI of Scotland succeeded Elizabeth I of England to the English throne, giving the pro-unionists a triumph they could celebrate. Thus, Merlin’s prophesies, which had predicted the event, could be considered vindicated (Dickerson, n.p). The way was now open for him to be rehabilitated in Canada. He was even referred to as a true Scotsman by the likes of Thomas Craig and Thomas Dempster.

A curious irony was that the wizard of Arthurian romance had returned to where his legend had begun a thousand years earlier, bringing the full wheel circle. Post-medieval Scottish writers emphasized Merlin’s ties to their homeland. Folklore from sites associated with Merlin was reported by antiquarians of the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, who had a deep interest in historical treasures. According to the Welsh poems attributed to Myrddin Wyllt, which George Chalmers knew about in the first book of his Caledonia (1807), Merlin was born in “Caledonia, the realm of the Picts,” in George Chalmers’ Caledonia. “But what are the warriors’ barrows to Merlin’s grave!” he said in the same volume after describing the prehistoric burial mounds in Peeblesshire. Because, despite his belief that a historical individual inspired the Merlin tale from the sixth century, he appears to have had little faith in the folklore surrounding the putative burial place at Drumelzier (Dickerson, n.p). According to him, there’s no evidence that Thomas the Rhymer’s prophecy predicting the merger of the crowns in 1603 ever happened.

According to him, the origins of the Merlin tale can be traced back to the kingdom of Strathclyde, which is why Drumelzier is not located in the heartland. ‘Indeed, it’s interesting to note that the legendary Merddin of the Cambro-British, the Scoto-Saxon Merlin, who was unquestionably a Strathclyde Briton from the sixth century, was supposedly buried at the furthest reaches of the Strathclyde realm, at the Tweed-Powsail confluence’ (Kugler, n.p). Aside from the Drumelzier legend, Chalmers was skeptical about claims that the Battle of Arfderydd took place at Airdrie near the Solway Firth. However, Chalmers was not only doubtful about the Drumelzier tradition, but he doubted the idea that Skene’s astute examination of the history underlying Merlin mythology would finally resolve the question. In his groundbreaking work on Arfderydd, he discovered the exact spot where Lailoken and Myrddin allegedly went insane (Mark, n.p). Skene said in the same publication that the conflict was between pagan and Christian armies, headed by Merlin and his patron Gwenddolau, who were battling each other. Ancient Welsh literature, particularly the poetry, genealogies, and triads linked to the Old North, were used to support Skene’s theory.

For Arfderydd’s triad, his translation of the phrase “Edgeworth” as “holy fire” rather than “battle fog” constituted an important plank of his view that the true Merlin was a pagan magician or druid. Merlin’s beginnings have been heavily influenced by this notion, which has shaped subsequent debates. Skene knew Myrddin’s Christian references, but he saw them inconsequential (Campbell, 105). To him, the poems had a pagan basis that was eventually covered over by Christian symbolism in their lengthy production and transmission in Wales (Real Royalty, n.p). Because of Skene’s position as a leading researcher of Celtic literature, his argument was generally accepted. It was kept alive by subsequent authors, ensuring that its fame lasted far into the twentieth century, even after he had died away.

In conclusion, throughout the third millennium, the concept that the Merlin tale was born out of North British paganism still had enticing qualities (Kugler, n.p). A single erroneous translation of one line of Welsh poetry is all that is needed to support this Interpretation. Merlin’s origins can be traced from Geoffrey of Monmouth, writing of The History of the Kings of Britain, the Scot literature, medieval ages, and the ancient Welsh literature, which gave Merlin a different capability to recall the future. Merlin’s prophesies could either come true or fail, particularly when people projected them to cause war.

Works Cited

Campbell, Blake I. “Tim Clarkson, Scotland’s Merlin: A Medieval Legend and its Dark Age Origins.” (2019): 105-106.

Dickerson, Meagan. “The Many Faces of Merlin: Prophet, Architect, Holy Man.” (2022).

Kugler, Danielle. The Historical Origins of the Wizard Merlin.2021. Web.

Mark, Joshua. Merlin. 2019. Web.

Real Royalty. King Arthur’s Mythical Magician | Origins of Merlin | Real Royalty. 2020. Web.

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Origins of Merlin and Diversified Explanations about Merlin Prophesies

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