Merlin

The most influential account of Merlin's origins appears in Robert de Boron's Merlin (c. 1200). According to this tradition, demons in Hell plotted to create their own Antichrist to undo the work of Christ. They sent an incubus demon to impregnate a virtuous mortal woman while she slept. However, the child was baptized immediately after birth by a priest named Blaise, and this act of grace transformed the infant's demonic inheritance. Merlin retained the supernatural abilities granted by his father - perfect knowledge of the past, prophetic sight, and magical powers - but his soul was redeemed and he devoted these abilities to good purposes. God further granted him the ability to see part of the future, though not enough to avoid his own fate.

Merlin's prophetic abilities were already famous before his association with Arthur. Geoffrey of Monmouth's Prophetiae Merlini consists of a series of cryptic prophecies attributed to Merlin, some drawn from Welsh traditions associated with the historical Myrddin. These prophecies cover British history from the Roman period through Geoffrey's own time and were taken seriously by medieval readers - they circulated independently and were commented upon by scholars well into the Renaissance.

Merlin's most significant deeds in the Arthurian narrative revolve around the creation of Arthur himself. When Uther Pendragon fell desperately in love with Igraine, wife of Duke Gorlois of Cornwall, Merlin agreed to use his magic to disguise Uther as Gorlois for one night. In exchange, Merlin demanded the child conceived that night. After Arthur's birth, Merlin took the infant to be fostered by Sir Ector, protecting him until the time was right to reveal his true identity. Merlin also arranged the Sword in the Stone test that proved Arthur's claim to the throne.

Beyond his role in Arthur's rise, Merlin performed numerous other marvels. In Geoffrey of Monmouth, King Aurelius Ambrosius commissioned him to create a memorial for British nobles massacred by the Saxons at Amesbury. Merlin proposed transporting the Giant's Ring - massive magical stones - from Mount Killaraus in Ireland to Salisbury Plain in Britain, where they were reassembled as Stonehenge. This legend reflects the genuine medieval wonder at the prehistoric monument, which was correctly attributed to a pre-Roman age but whose true builders were unknown.

Merlin's powers as described across medieval sources include prophecy, shapeshifting, elemental control, enchantment, and architectural magic. He could transform himself into any animal or human form, summon storms and mists, and create magical devices and protective charms. His shapeshifting was frequently used to engineer events - he appears as a child, an old man, a beggar, or a bird as the situation requires.

The end of Merlin's story is one of the most famous in Arthurian literature. In the Vulgate Cycle and Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur, Merlin fell in love with a young sorceress variously called Nimue, Viviane, or Niniane. He taught her all his magical secrets, and she promised her love in return - but only once he had taught her everything. Once she had learned all his magic, including the enchantment that could bind a person forever, she used it against him. Merlin was trapped for eternity - in a crystal cave, inside a hollow oak tree, or beneath a stone, depending on the version. The tragedy is deepened by the fact that Merlin, who could see the future, knew this would happen but was powerless to prevent it, so great was his love.

The historical figure behind the Myrddin legend may have been a 6th-century warrior named Lailoken, who supposedly went mad after the Battle of Arfderydd (c. 573 CE) and fled to live in the Caledonian Forest as a wild man, where he gained a reputation for prophecy. Geoffrey of Monmouth changed the Welsh "Myrddin" to the Latin "Merlinus" partly because the Latin form of the Welsh name sounded too similar to an undesirable French word.