In the Arthurian legends, Merlin is the wizard who served King Arthur and helped create his grand kingdom. But he was much more than that, apparently born from demonic powers to serve as the antichrist on earth, he was made into a power for good by the church but still performed some shocking pieces of magic to protect Arthur and his kingdom. His power would also be his downfall as he was betrayed by someone who coveted it.
The Historic Basis for Merlin
Unlike characters such as Lancelot, who was a late addition, Merlin, known by the Welsh name Myrdin, appears in the earliest surviving references to the Arthurian legends. This version of Merlin was believed to be a seer, who delivered prophecies.
This Welsh version of Merlin seems to have come from Dyfed, in the south of Wales, and became a warrior in northern Britain. But after the defeat of his lord King Gwenddoleu at the Battle of Arderydd, he fled into the Celidon Wood in the south of Scotland and became a wild man and a hermit. While it is not specifically stated, it is presumed that this is where he learned his magical crafts, as he only starts delivering prophecies after he is recalled to the world, having been threatened by King Rhydderch Hael of Alclud.
Another version of Merlin then appears in the Latin, English, and French texts, starting with Geoffrey of Monmouth’s Historia Regnum Britanniae and Vitae Merlini in the 12th century, and culminating in the most familiar portrayal of his character is Sir Thomas Mallory’s Le Morte d’Arthur.
The version of Merlin that appears in these tales seems to be a mixture of the Welsh warrior and prophet and an older figure who was already active generations before Arthur in the time of Vortigern. Geoffrey of Monmouth seems to have borrowed some elements of the life story of the warrior Ambrosius Aurelianus and given them to Merlin, whom he names Ambrosius Merlinus.
It is this mixture that gives us the more complex character of Merlin, and subsequent authors added details to his story over the century. Below is a summary of the key aspects of his life based on an overview of all the surviving sources, each of which only adds fragments of information, though many references and side stories aren’t covered.
Demonic Origins and Salvation
Even in Geoffrey of Monmouth’s account, Merlin has incredible parentage. He is described as a “fatherless boy,” not unlike Christ. In this version of the story, his mother was a nun who had never been with a man, but she did reveal dreams of a handsome young man, believed to be a succubus demon who prayed on the nun and impregnated her. While Geoffrey acknowledges this incredible birth, he does not give it too much attention or assume that it has any particular bearing on Merlin’s character.
In later texts, this is taken further. Merlin’s conception was not just a random demon encounter. This was a plan hatched by demons to create an antichrist in the world to oppose the power of Christ. They decided to share their powers with this boy to give him what he needed to spread their word on earth. It is the demonic powers that he inherited that have Merlin the ability to see everything that has happened in the past, and everything that is happening in the present.
In this version of the story, it is also not always a nun who carries Merlin. In other versions, the demons destroy a harmless family so that they can access and impregnate the youngest daughter.
Despite these demonic origins and powers, Merlin was still considered a Christian hero in the Arthurian tales. Therefore, it was added to the tale that the baby Merlin underwent several Christian rituals to bring him over to the side of good with a priest named Blaise. This included baptism, and later denouncing the demons who had fathered him. This transforms him into a messenger of God. In this capacity, God also gives him power, this time to see the future.
This idea of a Christian intervention was surely created to properly place Merlin as a hero within a Christian world. But the idea of Merlin as a creature with one foot in the mortal world and one foot in the supernatural world, who is not always entirely human, often appeared in stories about him.
Encounter with Vortigern
According to legend, the 5th-century warlord Vortigern, following the advice of his 12 wise advisors, was seeking a place to build a fortified castle. When they found the place, they started building, but every night, everything they built would collapse. His wise men advised him that to be sure his castle could be built, he must find a boy without a father and put him to death, and then sprinkle his blood on the ground where the castle was to be built.
Messengers were sent across Britain, and they eventually found the youth Merlin and brought him to Vortigern. When everyone gathered to witness the boy’s sacrifice, Melin asked why he had been brought there. Vortigern explained the situation to the boy, and Merlin asked the warlord who had given him this advice. Merlin then engaged in a debate with the wise men to show that their advice was based on ignorance. He then proceeded to provide advice based on foresight and wisdom.
This is when Merlin tells the story of a vision of two dragons, one white and one red, battling each other, and the red dragon eventually chasing off the white one. He then explained that the serpents represented dragons, the red serpent belonging to Vortigern, and the white to the Saxons. The chasing of the serpents indicates that Vortigern will eventually drive the Saxons from the land, but that he must seek an alternative place to build his castle.
Vortigern put his wise men to death, Merlin was spared, and his reputation as a magician began to grow.
Construction of Stonehenge
While we now know that Stonehenge was created in Neolithic times, there are also stories of Merlin’s involvement. Set not long after his interaction with Vortigern, while the Britons and the Saxons were still locked in battle, the leaders of each side agreed to meet at a spot on Salisbury Plain to try and negotiate peace.
While it was agreed that the leaders should meet unarmed, the Saxon king and his entourage smuggled in knives. The men then stood in a circle, alternating Saxon and Briton, and when the signal was given, each Saxon stabbed the Briton next to him. This gave the Saxons the upper hand in England.
But not long after, the British prince Aurelius Ambrosius returned to Britain with his brother Uther Pendragon, and together they won a major victory against the Saxons. They also decided to honor the British chiefs who had been killed at Salisbury with a monument. He summoned wise men to help him decide the best way to do this.
Merlin told Ambrosius of an enormous stone circle that had been built by giants on a mountaintop in Ireland. Merlin and Uther Pendragon were then sent on a mission to steal the stone circle to be installed at Salisbury. When they found the stones, Merlin used his magical knowledge to uproot the stones and transport them in ships, and then re-erect them at Salisbury.
Ambrosius and Uther Pendragon were eventually buried at the site that would become known as Stonehenge. Arthur was also supposed to be buried there, but he never died, instead being carried off to Avalon.
Uther Pendragon and the Conception of Arthur
Merlin and Uther probably formed a relationship on this trip, which is probably why Uther would later ask Merlin for help in seducing another man’s wife.
Earlier, when Ambrosius was incapacitated from illness, Uther Pendragon and Merlin led an army against the son of Vortigern and the king of Ireland, who had landed with an invading army. On the way to battle, Merlin saw a star that shined so bright it was seen both day and night and looked like a fiery dragon. Shining from the mouth of the dragon were two rays of light. One extended across the skies of Britain and over to Gaul, while the other extended over the Rish Sea and culminated in seven lesser beams of light.
For Uther, Merlin interpreted that the sign meant that Aurelius Ambrosius had died, and that Uther would be king of all Britain, as indicated by the single ray. But he also said that Uther would have a highly potent son who would dominate all the areas covered by the dragon-star’s rays. This all came to pass and Uther became the new king of Britain.
Next, with the help of his trusted knight Gorlois, Duke of Cornwall, he defeated a Saxon threat. When Gorlois and the other knights were summoned to celebrate the success, Gorlois brought his wife Igraine. A beautiful woman much younger than her husband, Uther fell instantly in love. He showered her with public attention, offending Gorlois and causing him to leave with his wife. This led to war between Uther and Gorlois, who sent his wife to the protected citadel of Tintagel for safety.
While battling Gorlois, Uther was still obsessed with Igraine but knew that Tintagel could not be taken by force. On the advice of a friend, he sought Merlin’s help. He used potions and hidden arts to give Ither the likeness of Gorlois, and he and one of Uther’s friends were transformed into Gorlois’ companions. They then rode to Tintagel where Uther could have his way with Igraine disguised as Gorlois.
On that same night, Gorlois was killed, with a life being taken to make way for a new one, Arthur. Ending the deception, Uther then returned to Tintagel and took Igraine as his lawful wife. After Arthur, they had two daughters, Anna and Morgana.
But not long after his children were born, Uther fell ill and his kingdom began to crumble. His eventual death enabled the Saxons to gain a foothold in Britain.
The Sword in the Stone and the Rightful King of Britain
The earliest accounts do not include the story of the sword in the stone, but simply suggest that a young, maybe 15-year-old, Arthur succeeded his father as king. It is only in Robert de Boron’s versionthat this story is introduced. He records a sword in a stone with an inscription stating that whoever can pull the sword from the stone will be the rightful king of Britain.
In this version, Arthur is secreted away by Merlin from the house of Uther to be raised in the castle of Sir Ector, an ally of the king. It is then Merlin who sinks the sword Excalibur into the stone. This is a special sword that was made on the island of Avalon.
With Arthur installed as king by divine right, Merlin then assists him with his rule. Some versions suggest that Melin actually instructed Uther to create the original order of the Round Table with 50 knights, magically creating the round table of sufficient size to support the group.
Throughout Arthur’s reign, Merlin uses his powers to assist the king, warning him of things to come and giving him strategic advantages. He also displays a variety of magical powers including shapeshifting, the ability to appear and disappear, the ability to control climate, summon darkness, mists, storms, fire, and smoke to aid Arthur, and cast sleep spells.
His last major prophecy is that Arthur will have a son Mordred by his sister Morgana and that he will destroy his father and his kingdom. He also sends Arthur’s knights on the quest for the Holy Grail.
When Arthur is mortally wounded at the Battle of Camlann, Arthur assists for him to be taken to the mystical isle of Avalon where he can be healed. Not long after this, he retires, turning himself into a bird and flying away.
Death of Merlin: Merlin and Viviane
While Merlin is generally portrayed as a force for good, like so many men in the story, he has a weakness for women. For example, he was in love with Morgana, who would have been much younger than him. He lied to Arthur to save her life, which is the only example of him intentionally misleading Arthur.
But soon he lusts after another woman who comes to learn the arts of magic from him, referred to variously as Viviane or Nimue. The implication is that she is a fairy, and she may be the same character as the Lady of the Lake. He apparently met her when she was 12 years old, and she promised to give him her love when he had taught her all his magical crafts.
Merlin built here a crystal castle that looked like a pool to people who passed, and he also taught her an imprisonment spell. She then either imprisoned Merlin in the crystal castle or a tree, where she visited him regularly.
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