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merlin (arthurian wizard)

Merlin (Welsh: Myrddin) is a legendary figure best known as the wizard featured in Arthurian legend and medieval Welsh poetry. The standard depiction of the character first appears in Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae, written c. 1136, and is based on an amalgamation of previous historical and legendary figures. Geoffrey combined existing stories of Myrddin Wyllt (Merlinus Caledonensis), a North Brythonic prophet and madman with no connection to King Arthur, with tales of the Romano-British war leader Ambrosius Aurelianus to form the composite figure he called Merlin Ambrosius (Welsh: Myrddin Emrys). He is allegedly buried in the Broceliande forest, near Paimpont in Brittany.

Geoffrey's rendering of the character was immediately popular, especially in Wales. Later writers expanded the account to produce a fuller image of the wizard. Merlin's traditional biography casts him as a cambion: born of a mortal woman, sired by an incubus, the non-human from whom he inherits his s…more
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  • Merlin (Arthurian wizard)

    Merlin (arthurian Wizard)

    Merlin (Welsh: Myrddin) is a legendary figure best known as the wizard featured in Arthurian legend and medieval Welsh poetry. The standard depiction of the character first appears in Geoffrey of Monmouths Historia Regum Britanniae, written c. 1136,...

  • Sir Lancelot

    Sir Lancelot

    Lancelot du Lac (meaning Lancelot of the Lake) is one of the Knights of the Round Table in the Arthurian legend. He typically features as King Arthurs greatest companion, the lord of Joyous Gard and the greatest swordsman and jouster of the age – un...

  • Sir Mordred

    Sir Mordred

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  • Queen Guinevere

    Queen Guinevere

    Guinevere was the legendary queen consort of King Arthur. She was most famous for her love affair with Arthurs chief knight Sir Lancelot, which first appears in Chrétien de Troyes Lancelot, the Knight of the Cart. This motif was picked up in a...

  • King Arthur

    King Arthur

    King Arthur is a legendary British leader who, according to medieval histories and romances, led the defence of Britain against Saxon invaders in the late 5th and early 6th centuries AD. The details of Arthurs story are mainly composed of folklore a...