Merlin is a fascinating character and is depicted as Arthur's advisor and magician. Some of the accounts I have read portray him as a prophet and holistic medicine man. Others, a powerful wizard. I would love to hear your thoughts on this.
I like the portrayals of him as a magician, though I suppose those of him as a prophet and medicine man are a little more realistic. He is by far my favourite character in the Arthurian sagas. Hence the name I chose.
He is sometimes described as part demon. His mother was mortal, but his father was an incubus. This is probably supposed to account for his powers as a wizard. His magic was a key factor in Arthur's conception, so without Merlin there would have been no Arthur. The supernatural is an integral part of the Arthurian legends, so I don't see the point in rationalizing Merlin as merely some sort of shaman or medicine man.
Have any of you caught the show about Merlin, I think it airs on the Starz network. It is not a bad catch but I have caught a few things which seem a little odd.
Yes, I really quite enjoy that show. I assume you mean the BBC show with Anthony Head as Uther? They have changed the legends around quite a bit (not sure about introducing Mordred as a druid boy, completely unrelated to Arthur). Interesting to watch through though, see what's been changed.
A Christian, eh? Well, that's quite an alteration of the character, considering that - in Robert de Boron's poem - Merlin was intended to be the Antichrist. I find Merlin to be an interesting characters -- perhaps the most interesting from the Camelot legends. Do you think Tolkien was inspired by the image of Merlin when he created Gandalf?
I also like to think of Merlin as a powerful wizard. The trilogy of arthurian legends by Mary Stewart never really comes out and says that though. She just gives implications and innuendos. I agree with RLynn that without the magic, there would have been no Arthur. I tried watching the Merlin series and found it to be rather corny at times.
Oh, yes! That's the first thing that popped into my mind when I read about Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings many years ago.
Hard to say, he might have been. Likley Odin from the Norse mythologies more, though. Tolkien enjoyed the Norse myths, and drew much from them throughout The Lord of the Rings series. Gandalf comes and goes quite a bit, much like Odin does as the Wanderer.
I've watched 'Merlin' on SyFy and I love it. It has Merlin and Arthur growing up together (the show starts when they're both in their teens). Merlin is Arthur's houseboy (slave) and is always fixing things with magic behind Arthur's back. Guinevere works at the castle and pals around with them too.
Ah, yes. The tyrant King Uther despises magic in any shape or form, and has it under his law that anyone caught using magic or harbouring a magical person shall be "executed". As said by the Dragon, "Only when Arthur becomes king, can magic finally return the land."
