Wizard of Merlin: description, history, legend and interesting facts

Wizard Merlin refers to the British cycle of legends. He is known as the tutor of King Arthur, and before that his father - King Uther. According to one of the legends, after the death of Arthur, Britain is captured by the Saxons. The wizard cursed them, foreseeing the fall of the White Dragon (the symbol of conquerors). In history, it happened when William the Conqueror at the Battle of Hastings killed the last king of the Saxons Harold. Later descendants of the Celts, the Welsh, were able to regain the royal power in the face of the Tudors. So the curse of Merlin was fulfilled, which will be discussed in the article.

Meaning of the name

Researchers distinguish two main directions in relation to the name worn by the wizard. Merlin in Welsh language means the name of the fortress, which was called as Carmarthen, or from the Brittany Moridan, that is, the "sea fortress".

In Latin, the name Merlin referred to the name of the birds, which belong to the group of falcons. In the Celtic legends, he was identified with the patron of the forest, and it was believed that he could command forest animals and take their shape.

Origin

Life and birth of a wizard are shrouded in myths. There is a legend according to which the future magician was the illegitimate son of the king and the witch. According to this version, he was Morgana's elder brother.

According to a similar legend, he was the son of an ordinary woman and a wizard. Since childhood he has mastered magical abilities and could obey birds and beasts. His abilities were known to the wizard, after he pacified the two dragons at the request of King Vortigern.

According to one of the legends of the Christian era, his mother was a very clean and kind girl, in whose soul there was no place for evil. She wanted to master the devil, but could not find an approach until one day her sister, angry with her bad temper, angered her. At that moment, the girl opened her soul to darkness, and the devil could take possession of it. During pregnancy the girl prayed for her child, and immediately after his birth christened the child with the priest Blaise. It destroyed all the evil in the boy, but kept extraordinary abilities in him. So the wizard Merlin appeared.

Connection with Arthur

From the collected works about Merlin it is known that the wizard was the tutor of Arthur - the future king of Britain. The boy was the son of King Uther and Lady Ygrain. The wizard Merlin helped Uther deceive to capture Igrin and for this took the newborn Arthur to his upbringing.

When the young man was sixteen years old, the teacher advised Arthur to take part in the competition to remove the sword from the stone. Tradition said that anyone who draws a sword can unite Britain. Arthur succeeded. A little later, Lady of the Lake, which the magician called, gave Arthur a special sword - Excalibur.

Death of a wizard

Shrouded in myths are not only the birth, but also the death of the wizard. One of the legends tells that the magician Merlin, whose story is described, was immersed in eternal sleep with the enchantments of the wicked sorceress of Morgana. However, he can still ever wake up. According to another version, the same Morgana imprisoned the magician in the oak, where his death came.

There is a legend according to which Merlin was deceived by the Virgin of the Lake and imprisoned in a magic air column.

The first mention of the wizard

In modern culture, the units do not know who Merlin is. The Wizard, whose films are broadcast around the world, is first mentioned as Merlin Ambrosius in the creation of Galfrid Monmouth's The History of the Kings of Britain. The work was created in the twelfth century and became the main source for the formation of the mythological cycle of Britain.

There is an image of a wizard in the Italian "Novellino" of the thirteenth century. But more fully he is described in the work "The Death of Arthur" by Sir Thomas Malory in the second half of the fifteenth century.

The image in the cinema

The image of a wizard from Britain has been mentioned since the Middle Ages. He kept his popularity in modern fiction, including cinematography. In some plots, Merlin is presented as a wise old man, in others he makes a comic character. What is the film about the wizard Merlin worth attention?

The list of the best films:

• The "Knights of the Round Table" of 1953 is based on popular legends about King Arthur and his knights. Merlin is played by Felix Aylmer. In 1954, the picture was nominated for the Grand Prix of the festival in Cannes.
• "The Great Merlin" in 1998. In the television mini-series, the role of the wizard is the main one, played by Sam Nill. According to the plot, Merlin fights against the master of the whole magical Mab, who brought him up as a strong leader. She hoped that he would return people to paganism. But the wizard sent all the knowledge and strength he had received to fight Mab.
• "King Arthur" in 2004 shows Merlin (played by Stephen Dillane) by the druid and head of the Picts. He leads the Roman General Lucius Arthorius Kastos to the idea that he should stand up for his second motherland from the Saxons.
• The "Last Legion" of 2007 tells about the last days of the Roman Empire. By the end of the film it turns out that the last Emperor Romulus turns out to be the father of Arthur, and Ambrose, played by Ben Kingsley - Merlin.
• "Merlin and the Last Dragon" of 2008 tells of the time when the Roman Empire leaves the British provinces and internecine wars begin. There come times of violence, mythical creatures and the magician Merlin, whose role was played by Simon Lloyd Roberts.

• The TV series "Merlin" of 2008-2012 describes the life of Merlin and his relationship with Arthur. The project was created by the famous British air force channel. The main role went to Colin Morgan. The series was so successful that it stretched out for five seasons.
• The TV series "Camelot" in 2011, consisting of a pilot series and one season, tells of Merlin's attempt to save Camelot after Uther's death and his struggle with stepbrother Morgana. The role of Merlin was played by Joseph Fiennes.

In addition to these paintings, there are many works in which there is a Merlin wizard: the series "Once in a Fairy Tale", the animated series "Transformers" and many others. Films about Merlin are designed for spectators of different ages.