merlin merlyn merddyn etc

[reilz81]

ive heard different tales of merlyn the one that seems the most credible says he was a crazy druid and some even say he was a bit of a sharletan(sp?) ive always enjoyed stories about him so much mystery and he seemed quite the entertainer

[wolf560]

I guess Merlyn (or 'The Merlin' as I'd like to believe) is many thing to many people.

Suffice it to say that his memory survives where many others have failed miserably.
Charlatan or Priest or the last leader of the Druids in the Celtic world; one thing is for certain...
He will continue to live on in the words, stories, and minds of a great deal of the population of Earth.

I cannot think of a single Pagan today that has even the slightest possibility of being remembered 1,000 years from now.

A lot to be said for 'a crazy Druid entertainer'....

[wyeuro]

yes, we've only got traces of info and it's so hard to build up a realistic idea from them - like it's lost in the mists of antiquity. but few such legendary characters are so revered, loved and affectionately regarded as merlin/merlyn/merddin. if he's as magical as his mythos suggests he is, surely he can come tramping out of the mists and into clear view again - or could help us clear the mists. that's if you believe that the past is still alive and communicating with us, its future. does anyone think merlyn, just to use the name as an archetype, representing the magician, could time travel magically or speak to us from the distant past? or is that just a fond fantasy?
wyverne

[DaRC]

John Matthews has produced a few books about Merlin and Taliesyn and his general fascination with the Arthurian tradition:
http://www.hallowquest.org.uk/hallowquest-books-arthurian.html

[reilz81]

some interesting stuff i think its possible that he could time travel theres alot of mystery about him all part of his charm theres reports of people missing in fogs so i firmly believe that people can pass through i even have a book of celtic gods and goddesses with merlin in it

[Blind Owl]

John Matthews has produced a few books about Merlin and Taliesyn and his general fascination with the Arthurian tradition:
http://www.hallowquest.org.uk/hallowquest-books-arthurian.html

There have been quite a few books written about Merlin. Are you recommending John Matthew's books in particular? If so why?
thanks

A book which features Merlin and I would be very interested in reading is Dion Fortune's 'The Magical Battle of Britain' unfortunately as with many out of print books its asking price is very high.

[Ice]

I read it (and wept? No?) It's instructional too! Very OLD

(edited once for spelling errors)

[Merlyn]

As Emrys, the young boy or the aged wise man Merlin, he seems to bear the romantic lore of the entire culture Drui.
Perhaps because he is one of so very few Drui that we know anything at all about.

The Merlin (owl in Welsh)
The Merlyn (pony in welsh)
Both kind of make up one-in-the-same in the Merlin stories.

He does transcend time, and the lore of him captures a wild nature, a insightful seer and even madness.

[DaRC]

I recommended John Matthews as I respect his (and Caitlin's) merging of scholarly research with bardic wisdom.
The problem with Merlin is seeing the politics through it all. At first he was part of a Romano-British tradition portraying a return to glory days and success against the Anglo-Saxons, then the Normans promoted the Arthurian story cycle as they demonized the Anglo-Saxons (thus justifying their suppression of all things early English) and more recently the Victorians rediscovered him with their fascination of the Celtic Twilight.

I'm not sure about the Owl but in English the Merlin is a "small, bold falcon", which might be why the named changed from Myrddin to Merlin around the time of the Normans. The Merlin is so bold that I almost got hit by one the other day as it attempted to kill a pigeon twice it's size. I was cycling home and thought the pigeon had been hit by a car and then noticed it was fighting a hawk, the fight was interrupted as a car came along...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merlin_%28bird%29

[Ben Wood]

in English the Merlin is a "small, bold falcon", which might be why the named changed from Myrddin to Merlin around the time of the Normans

I believe his name change around the time of the Normans was in fact due to the translation of Merddyn into the French, which came out as something close to the word 'merde'. If you know any French, you will appreciate why it would have been considered vulgar or comical for the target audience, so it is thought to have been changed to the more poetic 'Merlin' to avoid embarrassment/confusion! There is a fascinating discussion of Merlin on the BBC In Our Time Website- enjoy: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p003k9j2

[reilz81]

lmao that is classic and that is about the only french word i know lol

[DaRC]

I believe his name change around the time of the Normans was in fact due to the translation of Merddyn into the French,

Probably because they wouldn't know to pronounce 'dd' as 'th' - so Merthin or Mervin, perhaps Douglas Adams chose Marvin based upon this - this would assume that the French poets would have been reading the name rather than hearing it from stories told. If they were Breton poets, as one theory supposes, they would not have made this error as Breton is a Brythonic language.

[Narvl-Years]

Myrddin (Merlin) 1:

Myrddin Wyllt, Merlinus Caledonensis, or Merlin Sylvestris is a figure in medieval Welsh legend, known as a prophet and a
madman. He is a prototype for the modern composite image of Merlin, the wizard from Arthurian legend. See the movie
"EXCALIBUR".

Myrddin (Merlin) 2:

Ambrosius Aurelianus, Welsh: Emrys Wledig; (Welsh: Myrddin Emrys) called Aurelius Ambrosius in the Historia Regum Britanniae and elsewhere, was a war leader of the Romano-British who won an important battle against the Anglo-Saxons in the 5th century according to Gildas. See the movie "KING ARTHUR".

Myrddin (Merlin) 3:

Myrddin Y Argel, English (Merlin The Hidden). A study of the illusive untold properties pertaining to the Brythonic knowledge of Myrddin, who he is, what his magic becomes, and how to allow yourself to become your own Myrddin today. See The Order of Myrddin a subset of Derwydd.org.

Narvl Years