Witch and Famous?

[Mabforever]

Or in Merlin's case wizard but that didn't make for a snappy title now did it? No! So why is it Merlin's so famous I mean it's like his the most to possess the craft of all time. But why ? Wasn't there hundreds like him? Anyway I'm to lazy to catch up on Arthurian history so fire away.

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[fishinthesea]

ROLF, witch and famous, now I get it! LOL.

We'll I suspect he might be that famous and well known (in german, it's actually possible to say 'a Merlin' when you mean 'a wizzard' don't know about english tho) because he is so closely linked to the arthurian legend, that had a lot to do with the formation of Britan as an actual country (not just a random island with lots of fighting groups). Also, I think he might indeed have been the last one...Christianity has already taken root, and now Merlin's were sorta out-dated.

Well, my two cents.

[Mabforever]

Hehe that's good cos I put alot of effort into that. ;D

Nah we don't well in Scotland and anyway, in fact it's usually witch or hag you hardly here of wizard or warlock.
Well I couldn't tell you we never learned about Arhurian history at school which sads me

[fishinthesea]

Interesting...coming to think of it, we have tons of witches and hags in our mythology, but no wizards at all...well, witches are way more cooler, anyways!

[Mabforever]

Totally like a certain goddess we all know, love, and worship.

[fishinthesea]

Ahhh, yeah. Blessed are the witches!

[maellowyn]

My theory on his famousness.

First of all we have to take a look at the origin of his legend.
There we have the two figures "Myrddin Wyllt" and "Myrddin Emrys" in the Welsh Triads reaching back to the pre-saxon aera. So in the 6th century they were much common typed wise men, prophets, somehow charismatic leaders. As someone earlier said - one of many.
These two figures might have been the first appereance of Merlin - Myrddin Wylt actually really had existed.
Living in a time of cultural changes. Christianity just begins to spread in Europe, the Roman empire ends, barbarian migration and new kingdoms develope. In other words just the perfect chaotic time for new legends.
Especially the early Christian monks had a preference for creating myths. Most hagiographic literature has this component, even until late in the Middle Ages. So there are legends created around the character of Merlin. And his is no singular case.
The wise man, the prophet, which even posesses magical powers - he has his counterpart in many other cultures and legends. Väinämöinen from the Kalevala, Lailoken in Bythonic legends, Taliesin also welsh, just to name a few. So the archetype of the wise old man is born, but why is Merlin the name we all still know about?

Because in the Middle Ages, first with Nennius, then with Geoffrey of Monmouth, Christians historians, who were mostly clerics at that time, picked up the local legends and combined them with their historical works - creating the story of Merlin Ambrosius.

But most important in this case was, that Geoffrey of Monmouth combined Merlin with an even more popular myth - the story of Arthur. Another welsh legend which again was based on several possible historical persons. The popularity of these combined stories was increased, especially in times when foreign forces threatened the country like the Normans did during the Middle Ages.

So the knowledge of our Merlin spreaded through Europe, transported by Normans. And again the one legend was combined with an even more popular other. In the 12th century, the High Middle Ages - the great moment of the roman catholic church - Chrétien de Troyes combined the story of Arthur with legend of the Holy Grail.

The story of the Holy Grail originally had its basics in celtic, christian and oriental cultures. Now a loved motive in literatur of royal courts, it was transported through the Middle Ages til the modern era, when Thomas Malory writes his tale about the round table in the 15th century. The story is not losing its popularity because many european monarchs identify with the figure of Arthur - which has the side effect that Merlin, as a very important advisor of A., is not forgotten.

So the Arthurian legend has been adapted by authors again and again for over centuries and I guess it always will be. It is Merlin that we remember because of the long and wide spread tradition of the story.

so this has now become quite an essay - hope I don't bore you too much...