1
Merlin: Wizard of a thousand and one faces
"BA Thesis English Language and Culture, Utrecht University.”
Iza Zeeman
3686434
Begeleiders:
Frank Brandsma & Anita Auer
July 2013
2
Table of Contents:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Introduction
1.1. General introduction
1.2. Thomas Malory’s Morte d’Arthur
1.3. The Prose Merlin
1.4. Comparing Le Morte d’Arthur and Prose Merlin
1.5. The Lancelot-Grail Cycle
1.6. Merlin
1.7. Aims of this essay
1.8. Abbreviations
1.9. Details on the specific texts
Power
2.1. Introduction
2.2. Merlin’s foresight
2.3. Disguises
2.4. Other magical feats
2.5. Religious approach of the Prose Merlin
2.6. Conclusion
Duality
3.1. Introduction
3.2. Merlin’s demonic heritage in the PM
3.3. Merlin’s demonic heritage in the MA
3.4. Merlin as his own source
3.5. The Sword in the Stone
3.6. Conclusion
Role & Authority
4.1. Role
4.2. Authority
4.3. Motives
4.4. The Trickster
4.5. Conclusion
Rise & Fall
5.1. Introduction
5.2. Nimue
5.3. Merlin’s downfall
5.4. Conclusion
Conclusion
Bibliography
3
1. Introduction
1.1.
General introduction
More than any other set of stories, Arthurian legends endure due to their adaptability and
great diversity. Arthurian tales consist of an ever-expanding body of work, recorded in many
different vernaculars over a long period of time. The material connected to Arthur is diverse:
it encompasses many traditions, characters and themes, ranging from stories about war, to
romance to chivalry, with some dashes of pagan magic and Christian tradition added for taste.
There are some mentions of Arthur found in Welsh and Breton poems, but it is
Geoffrey of Monmouth and his Historia Regum Britanniae (c.1136) that started the great
interest in Arthurian tales .
After the appearance [of the Historia Regum Britanniae], the work which contained
the first full-scale account of King Arthur's life, Arthurian literature experienced a
remarkable burgeoning in popularity throughout western Europe. (Conlee, p8).
Wace’s Brut (1154) helped Arthur cross the channel, and Arthurian stories flowered in France
in the form of romances.
At the time of the great popularity of Arthurian tales in French (both in England and
France), however, nothing was written in English prose on Arthurian text. The Prose Merlin
(c. 1450) and Le Morte d’Arthur (1470) belong to the Middle English prose texts written
about Arthur in a later period, after the emancipation of English as a literary language. Both
these texts have close ties to the French bodies of work, notably the large set of Old French
texts known as the Lancelot-Grail Cycle.
1.2.
Thomas Malory’s Morte d’Arthur
4
Le Morte d'Arthur is a compilation of romance tales about King Arthur and his court by Sir
Thomas Malory. In it, he adapts existing English and French texts, reconfiguring them into a
coherent whole, and even adding some material of his own. The text has always been a
popular subject of study for Arthurian scholars, and it is probably one of the most famous
pieces of Arthurian literature in the English vernecular today.
The text was finished around 1470, and printed by Caxton in 1485. The Caxton edition
has been used as the basis for future editions, including the one used in this essay. It is Caxton
who changed Malory’s format of eight books into 21 books, dividing those in a total of 507
chapters. In 1934, another manuscript copy of Le Morte d’Arthur was found; the Winchester
Manuscript. The Winchester Manuscript is regarded as being mostly, but not always, closer to
Malory's original than Caxton's text, and the tales are not divided into specific books or
chapters.
By the time Le Morte d’Arthur was written, Arthurian material had become an
enormous, tangled web of stories, and attempts were made, such as has been done in the 13th
century with the Lancelot-Grail Cycle, to fuse these stories into one coherent set of
interconnected tales.
The growth and increasing elaboration of Arthurian material on the Middle Ages, from
individual stories such as told by Chrétien de Troyes to complex narrative groupings
such as the vulgate cycle, is often explained as due to a desire for elucidation of what
was in the early stories left baffling or unexplained” (Brewer, p71).
At first glance, Malory seems to have attempted the same with his book, but, as Brewer notes,
Malory presents a case worthy of study, because, although his work spans the whole
history of Arthur’s reign, and thus aims at the kind of comprehensiveness
characteristic of the cyclic romances, his work differs strikingly from them, for the
5
simple reason that he threw out many of the explanations and clarifications which
earlier writers had taken pains to provide. Or rather, so as not to prejudge the point at
issue, I should perhaps say that they disappear in the course of Malory’s drastic
condensation of his sources. (p72).
Malory often avoids flowery language and lengthy descriptions; he condensed, summarized,
and removed bits he deemed unnecessary, resulting in an Arthurian tale where knights are
masculine fighters of few words. Many details surrounding events, such as the emotions and
motivations of characters, or descriptions of dress and environment, are left unexplained.
These masculine knights perform many a heroic deed, but not all their deeds are great.
In his book The Schoolmaster (1570), Roger Ascham warns of the dangers of Malory’s work:
In which booke those be counted the noblest Knightes, that do kill most men without
any quarell, and commit fowlest aduoulteries by sutlest shiftes: as Sir Launcelote, with
the wife of king Arthure his master: Syr Tristram with the wife of king Marke his
vncle: Syr Lamerocke with the wife of king Lote, that was his own aunte. This is good
stuffe, for wise men to laughe at, or honest men to take pleasure at. Yet I know, when
Gods Bible was banished the Court, and Morte Arthure receiued into the Princes
chamber. What toyes, the dayly readyng of such a booke, may worke in the will of a
yong ientleman, or a yong mayde, that liueth welthelie and idlelie, wise men can
iudge, and honest men do pitie.
(ch3, p231)
In his fear of corrupting the youth, Ascham may have missed a crucial point; yes, Malorian
knights sometimes perform less-than admirable deeds, but they are not idolized for it.
One of Malory's chief concerns throughout the Morte D'Arthur, for example, is with
human frailty and human fallibility. As a result, his work carries strong tragic
overtones and is imbued with an overriding sense of pessimism. (Conlee, p11).
6
Malory’s knights are not perfect, and sometimes fail to live up to the expectations put on
them.
1.3.
The Prose Merlin
The Prose Merlin was written around the middle of the fifteenth century, just before Malory
started writing Le Morte d’Arthur. The Prose Merlin is therefore the earliest piece of
Arthurian literature written in English prose. The Prose Merlin offers a “straight-forward and
fairly accurate translation into English of a single source, the Merlin section of the Old French
Vulgate Cycle” (Conlee, p1).
The Prose Merlin exists in a single manuscript and 2 fragments, and its writer is
anonymous. This manuscript is held in the Cambridge University Library under the title MS
Ff.3.11. The manuscript misses its final three leaves, though the content of the missing
material can be retrieved by looking at the Old French source text. MS Rawlinson D.913 of
the Bodleian Library in Oxford also has a small fragment of the work on a single MS page
(fol. 43). Bodleian Library MS Ashmole 802, which dates to the second half of the sixteenth
century, contains an alternative translation of the opening section of the Lancelot-Grail
Merlin.
The Prose Merlin contains a full account of the life of Merlin, which range from the
circumstances surrounding his birth to his mysterious death. Its focus is also on the beginning
of Arthurian civilization: Arthur’s conception, his crowning and his rise in power. The text
gives rich and detailed descriptions of the events and characters surrounding Merlin, and it
makes Merlin an active participant in a way rarely seen in Arthurian literature (Conlee, p7-8).
What defines the Prose Merlin though, is its positive view of the Arthurian world and
the characters that exist in it. Arthur and the characters surrounding him, and also most
7
antagonists of the story are portrayed as merely misguided, rather than all-out villains.
Especially women, such as Ygerne and Morgan, are exonerated from wrong-doing. The text
goes very far in this attempt to absolve Arthurian characters:
The Prose Merlin not only attempts to explain how things came about, but it also
attempts to explain away some aspects of the narrative that are potentially unsavory.
The account of the begetting of Mordred - in which all parties are exonerated from any
serious wrong-doing, [...] is an especially good example of this; the writer states
explicitly that his intention is to set the record straight about the matter, since many
people seem to have erroneous notions about what actually happened. (Conlee, p7).
Christian morality forms a strong part of the Prose Merlin, and the tale gives a generous view
of Arthurian figures such as Gawain, Gonnore, and King Lot, whose weaknesses and flaws
are much more openly revealed in Malory's work.
While a few characters in the Prose Merlin remain ambiguous and enigmatic Nimiane is perhaps the best example - none of the familiar Arthurian characters is
seriously vilified. The closest the work ever comes to doing that is with Agravain and
Morgan le Fay, whose hot tempers and vengeful, malicious natures are briefly
glimpsed. (Conlee, p7).
1.4.
Comparing Le Morte d’Arthur and Prose Merlin
We have already glimpsed some of the differences and similarities between the Prose Merlin
and Le Morte d’Arthur. This section will give a brief overview of their similarities, while the
next will expand upon their differences. Both texts were written around the middle of the
fifteenth century, both were written in England, both are long prose works, both focus on
Arthurian tales, both give a romance biography of a single character; respectively Arthur
8
(Malory) and Merlin (Prose Merlin), they share similar tales, such as the sword in the stone
episode, and both are (partly for Malory) derived from thirteenth century French sources
(Conlee, p11). Despite all this, the texts are quite different from one another.
Compared to Malory, whose text includes the rise and fall of the Arthurian world from
beginning to end, the Prose Merlin compasses only a small part of Arthurian tales, namely,
the beginning and rise of Arthur. With this focus, the Prose Merlin gives a very detailed
account, drawing out different aspects of the story, such as the account of Vortigern’s reign
and how Uther fell in love with Ygerne. This, combined with Malory’s tendency to cut,
simplify and reduce, and its broader goal (the whole of Arthurian legend from beginning to
end), and it is obvious that Prose Merlin’s account is about six times longer than Malory’s
account of the same section of the tale. To clarify: the MA has around 40.000 words dedicated
to the same phase of Arthurian society that the PM takes roughly 300 pages (including
editorial notes) to describe.
The Prose Merlin takes much time to examine the morals and motivations of its
characters: to explain their actions and to underscore the moral struggle of their trials. Malory
does no such thing, and scholars such as Brewer, Wilson, Lambert and McCarthy have noted
that his characters show very little of their inner workings.
Not just the detail and the scope are different though, the mood of these texts differs
drastically. Prose Merlin describes the rise and peak of the Arthurian era: the tale is filled
with promise and good deeds. Almost all characters are put in extremely good light and the
whole text is permeated by a strong Christian morality. That’s quite different from Malory’s
exploration into human frailty and fallibility.
1.5.
The Lancelot-Grail Cycle
9
Both the Prose Merlin and Le Morte d’Arthur rely greatly on the Lancelot-Grail Cycle for
their sources. The Lancelot-Grail Cycle is sometimes also called the Vulgate Cycle, or the
Pseudo-Map Cycle, and consists of an interconnected set of Arthurian tales. Together they
form the complete course of Arthurian world from beginning to end.
The growth and increasing elaboration of Arthurian material on the Middle Ages, from
individual stories such as told by Chrétien de Troyes to complex narrative groupings
such as the Vulgate Cycle, is often explained as due to a desire for elucidation of what
was in the early stories left baffling or unexplained. (Brewer, p71).
The Lancelot-Grail Cycle attempts to fuse, with great success, all the different Arthurian tales
that were circulating in the 13th century into a comprehensive whole. The complete work
consists of five parts: The History of the Grail, Merlin, Lancelot, The Quest for the Holy
Grail, and The Death of Arthur. “The Vulgate Cycle was probably written during a twenty- to
thirty-year period, from around 1210 until perhaps the middle of the 1230’s” (Conlee, p9).
What sets this work apart from many other popular works of the time is its focus: it is
not a romance, but a pseudo historical work that focuses strongly on the religious aspect of
Arthurian material, such as the Grail quest and the piety of the figures, in particular the
knights.
Religious prophecies and miracles are interspersed throughout the parts of the Vulgate
Cycle, most of which are directly or indirectly concerned with the story of the Holy
Grail. Thus in the works of the Vulgate Cycle a great effort is made to bestow upon the
events of the Arthur story a fundamentally religious purpose, and also to suggest that
the ultimate achievement of Arthurian society, for which only a few would be worthy,
is the attainment of a transcendent spirituality. (Conlee, p9)
The part of the Lancelot-Grail Cycle that is of significance to us is the Estoire de
Merlin branch. This branch consists of a prose adaptation of Robert de Boron’s Merlin
10
followed by a Merlin Continuation. Merlin, attributed to Robert de Boron, first existed as a
part of a trilogy containing the Roman de l’Estoire dou Graal (also known as Joseph
d’Arimathie) and Perceval.
That is the triptych. The polyptych, composed c. 1220-35, inserts a slightly modified
version of the first Merlin between the Estoire del Saint Graal (theological in its
coloring) and the Lancelot. To connect the Merlin of 1210 harmoniously to the
Lancelot of approximately 1220, a long bridging narrative is added that we call the
Suite-Merlin. (Dover, p77).
The Suite-Merlin, or Merlin Continuation, links the two quite different texts together, a task
carried out by an unknown author circa 1235. At the end of Merlin, Arthur is young and
Merlin stands at his side, having completed his mission of getting Arthur on the throne, while
at the beginning of Lancelot, Merlin has disappeared and Arthur is a middle aged king. The
Suite-Merlin fills this gap, narrating the great successes of King Arthur in his prime, and
introducing the characters who will become important in Lancelot. The Prose Merlin is a
fairly straightforward translation of the Merlin and the Merlin Continuation from the
Lancelot-Grail Cycle(Conlee, p1).
The Suite-Merlin, as a connecting piece, is quite different from the Merlin; it has
multiple, interlaced storylines and is more diffuse. There is however another continuation; the
‘romantic’ continuation known as the Huth Merlin. This is the French source on which
Malory based his Tale of King Arthur in Le Morte d’Arthur.
1.6.
Merlin
Of all characters in Arthurian legend, few capture the interest as much as the figure of Merlin.
Wise and powerful, yet always in the background, on the fringes of the story. He is
11
mysterious: often depicted as morally ambiguous, his motives kept in the dark. Because he is
such a liminal character, a comparison between the way such a character is portrayed is very
interesting, especially between such comparable yet different texts as the Prose Merlin and Le
Morte d’Arthur. The Prose Merlin, as a close translation of a French source, has been mostly
overlooked as a piece to study. Le Morte d’Arthur on the other hand, has been extensively
studied in a number of ways. The Bibliographical Bulletin of the International Arthurian
Society shows that a great deal of articles are written every year about the MA. The past ten
years, feminist studies, studies into the Grail quest, and studies into Malory’s background
have been popular. There are however, few comparative studies that have been done on Le
Morte d’Arthur, and such a comparison will be the focus of this thesis.
In A companion to the Lancelot-Grail Cycle, Annie Combes makes the interesting
observation that Merlin’s literary representations have
evolved throughout the twelfth century until they melded solidly together in our
romance (Estoire de Merlin), in a skilful combination of physical and moral traits,
prophetic and magical powers that had hitherto been scattered widely in texts. (p75).
It is true that time and time again, Merlin has been given different attributes, depending on the
story, time and place. Some of these attributes link back to the time before the Arthurian
tradition, when the figure of Myrddin existed in Celtic legend.
The figure of Myrddin, by many considered the precursor of Merlin, has appeared in
stories as a warrior chief, a Celtic wild man and a prophet. It is Geoffrey of Monmouth,
however, who combined these characteristics in a single individual in his Vita Merlini (c.
1148). It is later, in his Historia Regum Britanniae (c.1138), that Geoffrey links Merlin to the
reign of Uther, the father of Arthur. Wace reworked Geoffrey’s text in 1155 into AngloNorman, in which he keeps Merlin’s biography and functions intact, but omits his gift of
foresight. Robert de Boron’s Merlin and in its footsteps the Lancelot-Grail Cycle from
12
develop Merlin’s connections to Uther’s reign and his wide array of supernatural gifts. Robert
even adds another aspect: that of the demonic and the divine. Similarly, the Prose Merlin and
Le Morte d’Arthur pick up on this.
1.7.
Aims of this thesis
The character of Merlin has a rich and diverse history behind him. How Merlin is used and
what his abilities are in the Prose Merlin and the Le Morte d’Arthur will be discussed in this
thesis. The Prose Merlin has been overlooked as a subject of study, and while Le Morte
d’Arthur is extremely popular, few comparative studies have been done on this text. This
thesis will deal with a few aspects of the character of Merlin: first the scope and extent of his
powers will be explored, followed by his role in the story and the authority he holds. Finally
his motivations and morality will be discussed.
1.8.
Abbreviations
From time to time, I will use abbreviations for the two main texts:
MA:
Le Morte d’Arthur
PM:
Prose Merlin
When talking about the Prose Merlin, this will indicate the Middle English version and not
the Merlin section of the Lancelot-Grail Cycle.
Thomas Malory’s text is known in a few different spellings, so some quotes will use another
spelling to indicate the same text. Throughout the thesis I will refer to it as Le Morte d’Arthur,
13
and unless it is specifically noted, this title will not refer to the English alliterative Morte
Arthure or the stanzaic Morte Arthur.
Sometimes I will also refer to the Merlin section of the Lancelot-Grail Cycle in relation to
research on the Prose Merlin. Considering that the Prose Merlin is a close translation of the
Merlin part in the cycle, relevant insights on the Vulgate part will also be relevant for the
Prose Merlin.
1.9.
PM:
Details on the specific texts
Conlee, John. (1998). Prose Merlin. Kalamazoo, Michigan: Medieval Institute
Publications.
MA:
Malory, Thomas & Caxton, William (ed.). Le Morte d'Arthur. (1470). Retrieved from
Project Gutenberg: www.gutenberg.org. at http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1251.
Because the MA is an electronic source, a paragraph number will be provided when
necessary. Many of the chapters, however, are so short they are not divided into paragraphs,
in which case only the book and chapter number are provided.
14
2. Power
2.1.
Introduction
Merlin’s function in Arthurian legend is mainly as Arthur’s advisor, but he is not an ordinary
advisor. As a magician, Merlin uses his gifts of foresight to offer counsel. He also uses
disguises and other magical means to help Arthur and his knights. These gifts are present both
in the Prose Merlin and Le Morte d’Arthur, though with subtle differences in the way
Merlin’s magic is expressed. The underlying goal behind Merlin’s magic stays the same
though, as Stephen Knight notes in his Merlin: Knowledge and Power Through the Ages: the
basis of all Merlin’s power is knowledge. His feats, with a few notable exceptions, all revolve
around presenting others with advice and displaying his superior wisdom.
2.2.
Merlin’s foresight
Merlin’s most prominent gift is his great knowledge: he is not just a wise man, but his
supernatural talents allow him to see both the present and the future. It is alluded to in MA,
and stated in the PM, that this ability comes from Merlin’s demonic heritage, this will be
looked at in more detail in chapter 3. Merlin’s gift can be divided into two categories:
knowledge of the present and knowledge of the future. In his function as advisor, he uses both
many times to help Arthur and his court.
There are quite a few instances in both texts where Merlin demonstrates knowledge of
things that were said when he was not present. In the beginning of the PM, Merlin
demonstrates his extensive knowledge, as well as several other feats, to convince his captors
that he should not be killed and that he knows how to help Vortigern build his tower:
15
And so thei seiden all four that Merlyn ne herde it not. And when thei were come to
Merlyn, he thanked hem of that they hadde seide, and that [thei] wolden hym so
moche gode. And thei were gretly abasshed and seiden, ‘We may nought sey ne do but
this childe knowes it’. (PM, ch2, lines 114-117).
He uses this gift also further along in the story.
In Malory, Merlin also shows this knowledge of things that were said and done, even
when he was not present. He uses this knowledge many times to resolve a mystery: when
Pellinore almost kills a knight in chapter 24 of book 1, Merlin interferes and reveals that the
knight in question is in fact Arthur in an attempt to convince Pellinore not to kill Arthur.
Another example of this can be found in book 3, chapter 3, when the son of a cowherd, Tor,
comes to the court and wishes to be made a knight. Merlin explains that this is a good idea,
because he is not actually the son of the cowherd, but the son of the brave sir Pellinore.
Because Merlin is present, the court is given a straightforward reason to accept the boy as
knight, with no further need for clarification or justification. It can be argued that Malory uses
Merlin’s gift as a device to reduce the amount of text in his tale: instead of resolving a
mystery through action or dialogue, Merlin comes in to explain it: a straightforward and quick
way to resolve the situation.
Merlin can also see into the future and makes predictions, such as what happens in the
MA:
After this Merlin told unto King Arthur of the prophecy that there should be a great
battle beside Salisbury, and Mordred his own son should be against him.
(MA, b2, ch9).
In the PM, he does much the same: prophesizing about important events, such as the
circumstances of Lancelot’s conception in chapter 15.
16
All this knowledge can make Merlin seem infallible, but it can be put into question
whether or not he knows everything that is happening or going to happen. In the MA, at one
point king Arthur and king Lot go into battle:
and well Merlin knew that one of the kings should be dead that day, and loath was
Merlin that any of them both should be slain; but of the twain, he had liefer King Lot
had been slain than King Arthur. (MA, b2, ch10).
Merlin knows one of the two kings will die. While he knows which one he would like to see
survive, he does not know which one will die. There is a limit to his knowledge.
A similar scene is contained in the Prose Merlin, when Uther and Pendragon go to
battle. Again, Merlin predicts that one of the two will die:
knoweth wele that ther oon of yow two moste nede passe in this bataile.
(ch3, lines35-36).
However, Merlin later reveals to Uther that he knows that it is Pendragon who will fall in
battle:
Thenke to do wele, and have no drede, for thow shalt not dye in this bataile.
(ch3, lines 65-66).
So even though he does not reveal it at the start, Merlin does have all the knowledge.
In many ways, including the depiction of his foresight, in the PM Merlin is a
superhuman being; his knowledge is great, and his predictions are always right. In the MA
Merlin has much the same knowledge and foresight, except that his skills seem more limited:
he does not know everything and while he is still powerful, his presence is much more limited
as well.
2.3.
Disguises
17
Another pre-eminent feature of Merlin is his penchant for disguises. Merlin disguises himself
often and in many ways. Some disguises are mundane, while others are over-the-top and
magical. Sometimes he appears in disguise before people who are looking for him to fool
them. Sometimes he comes before people to give them certain information without them
knowing that it is him.
Merlin can appear as a peasant, an old woman, a small boy, a stag: but these
manifestations will always bring some form of knowledge to bear on the text. The
transformed Merlin will guide, help, save, predict, judge – that is, use knowledge on
behalf of those in power, and so in some way, and ultimately in an unacceptable way,
expose the limits of the powerful. (Knight, intro p12).
There is a good example of Merlin’s penchant for disguises in an event that occurs in
both texts: after Uther falls in love with Ygerne, he sends one of his men, Ulfius (MA) or
Ulfin (PM) to look for Merlin, who might be able to help him. In both texts, Merlin
approaches the other one in disguise:
So Ulfius departed, and by adventure he met Merlin in a beggar's array. (MA, b1, ch),
compare this to:
And on a day, as Ulfin rode thourgh the oste, he mette with a man that he nothinge –
kenned. (PM, ch4, lines 324-335).
There is a playfulness to this episode in that there is no need for Merlin to disguise himself
other than to confuse the other one. It is also noteworthy that the MA makes it seem as if
Merlin disguised himself by ordinary means, while the same scene in the PM makes it seem
more magical: “a man that he nothinge – kenned” sounds much more mysterious than simply
“in a beggar's array”.
In the PM, Merlin approaches Ulfin twice: once as a cripple and once as a beggar, and
Ulfin does not realize that it is the same person as Merlin is completely unrecognizable. This
18
is the case with all his disguises, and he is only recognized when he himself gives hints as to
his real identity. The MA keeps it much more ambiguous on whether or not magic is
involved. Whenever Merlin disguises himself in this text, these disguises are referred to in in
non-magical, often plain terms.
And Merlin was so disguised that King Arthur knew him not, for he was all befurred
in black sheep-skins [...]Then Ulfius and Brastias knew him well enough, and smiled.
Sir, said these two knights, it is Merlin that so speaketh unto you. (MA, b1, ch17).
One would say that this disguise is brought about by normal means. There is a whole
description of what he is wearing, and the deception seems a simple matter of attire, and most
notably, even though Arthur does not recognise him, his knights do. The only time when his
disguise cannot have possibly been accomplished by normal means is when Merlin appears to
Uther as young boy and later on as an old man in chapter 17, whereas the PM describes all his
disguises either as downright magical, or in abstract terms.
Merlin can do more than just disguise himself however. When Uther falls for Ygerne,
Merlin disguises him as the Duke, her husband, so he can sleep with her. At the same time, he
also disguises himself and Ulfin as the duke’s two most trusted men. With the help of
Merlin’s magic, this allows for the conception of Arthur. There is a notable difference in the
way this disguise came about in the texts:
Merlin hadde don his art, he toke an herbe and brought it to the kynge and seide,
"Frote youre visage with this herbe, and youre handes." And the kynge toke the herbe
and rubbid his handes and his visage and his feet; and anoon as he hadde thus idon, he
hadde aperteliche the semblaunce of the Duke.”(PM, ch4, lines 451-463).
“This night ye shall lie with Igraine in the castle of Tintagil; and ye shall be like the
duke her husband, Ulfius shall be like Sir Brastias, a knight of the duke's, and I will be
19
like a knight that hight Sir Jordanus, a knight of the duke's [...]so this was done as they
devised. (MA, b1, ch2).
In the PM, the transformation is brought about with the help of a herb,while there is no such
explanation for the king’s transformation into the Duke in MA, it just happens: Merlin says
‘ye shalle be like the duke her husband’, and he does. The PM detail of adding a herb to aid
the transformation seems to fit with the renditions of the same episode in other works. In
Geoffrey of Monmouth’s Historia Regum Britanniae, for example, they drink a concoction
that Merlin has devised. The text speaks of “the force of [Merlins] medicines, to give you the
exact likeness of Gorlois”(Thompson, p167). Malory, as said before, greatly reduced the story
matter he had to deal with and removed many of the details, the herb or other concoction is
one of those reductions.
Malory, as a good English writer, is more realistic, practical, and down-to-earth than
comparable French writers. As evidence of his realism critics have cited changes by
which Malory makes his version of some action or episode more particularized and
concrete than the French one. (Lambert, p68).
Malory’s stance on magic is a point of discussion for many scholars, and this thesis is not the
place for it. A synopsis of the different sides of the argument can be found in Reading Mort
d’Arthur by McCarthy. Suffice it to say that Malory, in great contrast to the writer of the PM,
does not write in magical terms: he does not bedazzle or obscure, making what appear
brilliant and strange disguises in the PM seem much more mundane in the MA. He also
reduces his material often, removing details such as the herb used for the transformation of
Uther.
2.4.
Other magical feats
20
Though knowledge and disguise are Merlin’s trademark gifts, Merlin accomplishes other
magical feats, such as casting sleeping spells or turning invisible. These feats he accomplishes
in both texts, but there are some that are quite unique to their respective texts.
In the PM, Merlin is much more involved in battle, not just in using his wisdom to tell
others what to do, but also in a much more direct manner: during the first confrontation
between Arthur and the rebel barons, he sets their tents on fire by way of magic. In the course
of the many battles described in the PM, Merlin calls on storms and fog, raises a river and
uses sleep spells against the enemy force. This direct military involvement does not occur in
the MA.
Also in the PM, there is an account of how Merlin created Stonehenge:
And than Merlin made by crafte of his arte to bringe the stones that weren in Irlonde to
the playn of Salesbury. And the kynge and moche peple wente to se the merveile. [...]
And Merlin badde they sholde be dressed upright for thei sholde seme feyrer so than
liggynge. And the kynge seide that myght no man do, saf only God. Than seide
Merlyn, ‘Let me worthen therwith, and I shall aquyte me of the covenaunt that I
made.’ (PM, Ch 3, lines 116-122).
The building of Stonehenge is described in more detail by Geoffrey of Monmouth and Wace,
though they give a different reason for its construction. By making Merlin perform this
incredible feat, his superhuman capabilities are once more stressed. It is also notable that in
the PM no mention is made of the properties Stonehenge is believed to have, such as healing,
which are explicitly mentioned in the other tales.
The MA contains an account of Merlin making a magical bridge:
Then Merlin let make a bridge of iron and of steel into that island, and it was but half a
foot broad, and there shall never man pass that bridge, nor have hardiness to go over,
21
but if he were a passing good man and a good knight without treachery or villainy.
(MA, book 2, ch19).
This specific account does not occur in the PM, but objects that function as a test of character
or lineage occur more than once in Arthurian tales. An example of such an object that does
occur in the PM (and in the MA as well) is that of the sword in the stone that can only be
pulled out by the true king. Another example, which does not appear in the PM, is at the start
of Balin’s adventures, where a sword is described that can only be unsheathed by a truly noble
knight. These objects are an easy way to determine one’s character. A particular character
does not have to prove his worth through actions and decisions when by pulling out a sword
or walking a bridge they are instantly established. Knight argues in chapter 2 of Merlin:
Knowledge and Power Through the Ages that this is another device that Malory likes to use to
shorten a text.
2.5.
Religious approach of the Prose Merlin
There is clearly a religious aspect to the Prose Merlin: knights often pray before a battle, and
the text contains many religious miracles and prophecies. The Grail quest, an integral part of
the Lancelot-Grail Cycle, has its influence on the PM as well. The figure of Merlin is also
imbued with deep religious symbolism, the next chapter will discuss this further. This could
also be the reason for the changes made to the Stonehenge episode: attributing the feat solely
to Merlin to make him appear greater and removing the element of the healing qualities of the
stone circle to avoid pagan connotations.
Merlin’s background and abilities are explored and explained in the Prose Merlin
more fully, and more of his feats are clearly attributed to magic and miracles. He seems more
powerful and knowledgeable, but one could also argue that he is more influenced by Christian
22
morals; that his powers are infinite because they are granted by God. Merlin is very much
linked to the Christian ideal and pagan elements from his magic are removed as much as
possible.
2.6.
Conclusion
Merlin’s lesser role in MA at least partly accounts for the difference in presentation of
his magic; in the end, it is the knights, the secular powers, that rule and guide the story, not
magic. The PM, on the other hand, is filled with magic: it is brimming with miracles and
prophecies. Merlin is the focus of his story, and his magic and advice shape its course.
Another reason for the greatness of his magic is that Merlin is following Gods plan, and is
thus infallible.
23
3. Duality
3.1.
Introduction
The Lancelot-Grail Cycle was composed in order to illuminate: Arthurian tales were
extremely popular and a huge number of tales were made connecting to Arthur. The LancelotGrail Cycle attempts to put all the many different Arthurian tales in order and somehow
connect them into a coherent sequence of stories. The Lancelot-Grail Cycle also handles the
Arthurian material as a historical event and gives it strong religious connotations, the most
obvious being the Grail quest. The Cycle also attempts to explain the character of Merlin
somewhat, the most important issue being the source of his power. In this new religious
framework, Merlin is given a demonic heritage. He is the son of a demon, and this is the
reason for his great gifts. Arthurian tales that take inspiration from the Lancelot-Grail Cycle,
like the PM and the MA, take over many of these religious undertones, including the origins
of Merlin. It is interesting to see how the figure of Merlin has been changed to fit this new
theme, especially considering the very pagan background he came from, and the many nonreligious archetypes that are incorporated within him, such as the Celtic Wildman, the advisor
and the trickster.
3.2.
Merlin’s demonic heritage in the PM
The Prose Merlin starts before Merlin was born and follows him throughout his life, as
opposed to Le Morte d’Arthur, where Merlin is introduced later in the story when he has
already established a reputation. Because the PM follows Merlin much more closely, many
aspects of his character are explained in more detail, including the source of his power:
24
Merlin is the child of a demon and a mortal woman, meant to serve as the antichrist, but saved
through the virtue of his mother, the help of a holy man named Blaise and the aid of God.
And when he was born it hadde the engyne and the witt of a feende, after the kynde of
hym that begate hym. But the devell wrought so folily that our Lorde toke it to His
owne use, be the very repentaunce of the modir, that hir put in the mercy and
ordenaunce of God and holicherche, and hilde wele the doctryne of His mynystres.
And therfore, oure Lorde wolde not lese that shulde be His. And ther the devell was
disseyved of his purpos, that he hadde ordeyned that childe to have his art and witte to
knowe alle thynges don and seide, bothe that were paste and that were to come.
(Prose Merlin, ch1, Lines 239-247).
In the PM, the negative connotations of his demonic heritage are hardly ever brought up, and
Merlin can always convince others of his goodness when they doubt him, like Blaise did at
the start of PM:
I have herde thee sey, and I leve well that thow art the sone of the devell. Wherfore I
doute thee sore, lest thow me disceyve and begyle." (397-398).
Merlin convinces Blaise of his goodness, and he earns the other’s trust. His heritage may
account for his gifts, but it is his choice to follow God which makes him ultimately a good
man.
It is this heritage that gives Merlin his power of foresight.
And ther the devell was disseyved of his purpos, that he hadde ordeyned
that childe to have his art and witte to knowe alle thynges don and seide, bothe
that were paste and that were to come. And oure Lorde, that alle thynges knoweth,
[when He] sye the repentaunce of the moder and that it was not her will that was
so befellen, He wolde have hym on His parte; nevertheles, He yaf hym fre choys
to do what he wolde, for yef he wolde he myght yelde God His parte, unto the
25
fende his also. (PM, ch1, lines245-251).
So while he is influenced by the devils, he is also equally influenced by God. Other abilities
Merlin possesses also fit neatly into this background: devils are notorious shape shifters, and
that is not a gift saints or prophets ever have.
In order to understand the way the changes to Merlin’s heritage came about, one must
understand where the Suite du Merlin, the source of the PM, comes from. The duality in
Merlin’s character, the way he is influenced by both God and the devil, have gained fame and
acceptance through the Lancelot-Grail Cycle. Merlin’s part of the Cycle is told in the Suite du
Merlin, which is divided in two parts, a Merlin part and a Sequel. The Merlin is written by
Robert de Boron before the construction of the Lancelot-Grail Cycle, and it was at first part of
a triptych, before it was inserted, with some minor modifications, into the Lancelot-Grail
Cycle.
A Roman de l’Estoire dou Graal (also known as Joseph d’Arimathie) was written in
prose c. 1205. This is the narrative that precedes the Merlin and is followed by a
Perceval in two of the manuscripts. Together they form a prose trilogy attributed to
Robert de Boron. [...] The Joseph romance relates the origin of the Grail by linking it
to Christ’s passion. Its theological perspective is identical to the one we find at the
beginning of the Merlin, which has been enlarged with the addition of a struggle
between God and the devil. (Dover, p77).
Merlin is a continuation of themes found in its original triptych, and while it does not bite
with the place it will get in the Cycle, it does explain why Merlin is reimagined in such a way.
Merlin has a profound duality that stems from his birth, the conceptions by the devil
yet his resistance to this background and insistence to follow God, and the connection forged
between the birth of Merlin and the birth of Christ: Merlin’s conception is
26
a diabolical imitation of one of the greatest Christian mysteries, the conception of
Christ by the Holy Spirit. (Dover, p78).
The diabolical plan the devils put in motion is not so much thwarted as facilitated by God,
who wishes for a creature such as Merlin to be conceived can it be damage control by God?
and even helps him by giving him knowledge of the future. While his great knowledge and
arguably his shape shifting abilities come from the devil, his foresight comes from God. There
are also other, more positive religious connotations found throughout the PM. He displays
several Christian virtues, like for example compassion. In chapter 2 of the PM, Merlin
forgives the wise men that plotted his death after they renounce their practicing of the black
arts, confess themselves, and receive penance.
In the PM, Merlin rides out into battle bearing Arthur’s banner. This active role in war
can be attributed to his more active role in the story in general, but the bearing of the banner
also has other, more contemporary models:
nobly born churchmen could ride to war like Archbishop Turpin or William 1’s cousin
Bishop Odo, and when Merlin brings the Breton army to Arthur he, in the spirit of
those famous warrior-priests, ‘led them riding in front on a great black horse’
(Knight, p61).
Merlin’s moving of the stones of Stonehenge also has a parallel with saintly feats: In the life
of Saint Bridget, she moves an immovable millstone. (O’Hanlon, ch15, ¶5).
Merlin’s connection to the demonic is as strong as his connections to the divine in the PM. He
is a knowledgeable, demonic shape shifter, fulfills the role of the warrior-priest, has parallels
with saints, and is a prophet.
3.3.
Merlin’s demonic heritage in the MA
27
A lot less is known about Merlin in the MA. There is no detailed description of his conception
or youth, like in the PM, but there are some allusions to his heritage scattered throughout the
text. The first of these occurs in book 3, chapter 14 when two knights scheme about how to
take down Arthur: “Beware, said the other knight, of Merlin, for he knoweth all things by the
devil's craft.” Of course, the knights are not very favourable towards Merlin, and it makes
sense to vilify him in this manner. Yet Merlin’s heritage is mentioned some other times, and
never in any positive way. Nimue distrusts and even fears Merlin “because he was a devil's
son” (b4, ch1). When he fights his mother, Morgan le Fay, Uwain mentions Merlin’s
parentage in connection to his own: “Men saith that Merlin was begotten of a devil, but I may
say an earthly devil bare me” (book 4, ch13).
There are no more allusions to Merlin’s heritage: notably, at no time Merlin is present,
and so he never confirms it himself. However, it seems common knowledge in Malory’s
world that Merlin is begotten from a devil. In the PM, all negative connotations towards his
heritage are smoothed over by his pious mother and devotion to God, and the fact that at least
as much of his magic has divine connotations as demonic. No such thing happens in the MA,
Merlin is kept much more in the dark, and though he is respected and trusted in Arthur’s
court, it tarnishes his reputation.
Malory is not interested in Merlin as a Christian and moral authority, in fact, he is not
interested in putting anyone forward in the MA as a Christian and moral authority. MA is a
chivalric story, focussed on the adventures of small bands or individual knights, not on big
armies or big symbolism. That is not to say that Malory is not interested in the religious: he
just approaches it from a different standpoint. Comparisons between knightly values and
religious values are constantly made, and the knights adhere strongly to a code that includes
Christian codes of conduct. The Grail quest is also featured.
28
But Malory also suggests [...] the limitedness of human achievements, communicating
to the reader that sense of deeply felt piety which can only be called religious.
(Brewer, p25).
MA is a text that constantly reminds us to doubt Merlin, yet also to trust his advice. His magic
is of great help, yet there is something dark and unknown about him.
But then the Morte Darthur splendidly confuses the religious and the profane; we are
not always sure whether the supernatural soliciting is ill or good. The archbishop of
Canterbury works on Merlin’s orders and Morgan le Fay learnt her sorcery, we are
told, in a nunnery! (McCarthy, p15).
3.4.
Merlin as his own narrative’s source
Another aspect which strengthens the figure of Merlin as a Christian symbol in the PM is his
involvement with Blaise. This character does not appear in the MA. He is with Merlin from
the start, helping his mother when she discovers that she is pregnant with a demon’s child,
defending her, but most importantly, he writes Merlin’s predictions and stories down.
Throughout the PM, Merlin regularly leaves the court to be with Blaise in the forest. There
Blaise writes everything down that Merlin tells him, and Merlin returns to the outside world.
These in-between episodes with Blaise establish Merlin as a learned Christian figure.
Secular as his main advice may be, there is still a recurrent recognition of Merlin’s
role as a cleric in the Christian, even priestly, sense. (Knight, p65).
By keeping Blaise up to date on events, and on occasion also on future events, Merlin is also
creating his own story.
[Merlin] actually dictates to Blaise the subject matter of a book that is, it seems, the
one we are reading. (Dover, p81).
29
In Medieval times, authorship was different from now. A writer did not boost his uniqueness,
but rather the sources he used. By using important and well-known sources he gains
credibility, because they are highly regarded. They are also there to add credibility to the tale,
the idea that because someone used a well-known source, what he writes must be true. This is
the motive behind having Merlin dictate the story we are reading now:
Merlin speaks the truth, therefore what he narrates to Blaise is true, and whatever we
are reading is also true. (Dover, p82).
It also suggests that what we are reading is a first-hand account of someone (Merlin) who
witnessed these events in person.
There is another interesting aspect to Merlin’s visits to Blaise, namely his need for
solitude. Geoffrey of Monmouth wrote the Prophetiae Merlini, where the titular character
goes mad from the horrors of war and hides in the woods.
The authorial trait has been grafted onto the wild-man trait inherited from the earlier
texts. [...] However, the seer no longer needs solitude; instead he joins Blaise.
(Dover, p81).
It is an interesting mixture of older traditions and new ones.
3.5.
The Sword in the Stone
A good example of the difference in mentality between the PM and the MA would be the
Sword in the Stone episode. This tale is included in both texts, and is almost identical in both
texts as well. This makes the differences between the two accounts significant. The sword in
the Stone tale is the iconic tale of how Arthur became king by pulling a legendary sword out
of a stone (or anvil, depending on the version).
30
Although Malory's rendition of these events is more abbreviated, the two versions
accord with each other in almost every significant detail - which is rarely the case for
this pair of contrastive works. (Conlee, p5).
A very interesting aspect of this tale is that it is the one moment in both MA and PM where
Merlin steps back, explicitly stating that it is not his authority to choose the new king.
[A]s in Robert, the Vulgate Arthur’s sword-drawing is not arranged by Merlin. All he
does is predict that God will provide a sign on Christmas day: the installing, like the
passing, of a king is not a matter of human knowledge, or for Merlin. (Knight, p60).
In the PM, Merlin refers to God to give a sign, and urges people to pray for his help.
Once the king, Arthur, is found, Merlin again steps back to allow a Bishop to crown the king.
He deliberately allows an official Christian authority to take the stage.
Malory’s Merlin is much more practical:
In the events around the choice of Arthur as king, Merlin conveys a firm aura of
contemporary practices as, like a fifteenth-century senior bureaucrat, he writes busily
and repeatedly with instructions to the archbishop: in earlier versions he had just urged
people to pray. (Knight, p94).
Malory’s practical approach gives a different view of Merlin in that episode, namely that of a
bureaucrat, a man who sits behind the scenes and guides others. PM’s Merlin is much more
devout, but also much more theatrical, he compels a Miracle through prayer. One could also
argue that the MA Merlin in this episode is a lot less humble: in both versions, Merlin steps
back, but it is in the MA where Merlin continues to be active, regulating events while not
actually participating directly.
3.6.
Conclusion
31
In the PM, Merlin functions in many ways as a symbol for Christian beliefs. Malory, with his
focus on the fallibility of men, shows less of these symbols. Instead he pulls Merlin into the
background and makes him more mysterious, more ambiguous. Malory’s focus is secular, but
the text has Christian undertones, while the PM is much more dramatic in its symbology,
Merlin is linked to saints, bishops and even Christ. MA puts Merlin’s conception forward as a
reason to distrust him, while PM gives it as an explanation for Merlin’s power and a parallel
for Christ, and in that way completely turns the negative connotations around.
32
4. Role & Authority
4.1.
Role
In both texts, and actually all of Arthurian literature, Merlin primarily functions as the king’s
advisor. His supernatural gifts help greatly with this, and he is shown guiding Arthur and
others. He helps others by solving mysteries, advising on a course of action or predicting the
future. As also noted in the previous chapter, virtually all of Merlin’s magic is enhances his
function as dispenser of knowledge.
A big difference between the texts is Merlin’s involvement in the events of the story.
As the main character, Merlin is of course much more present in the PM than he is in the MA,
but the range of his functions is also broader, especially when it comes to battle. Not only
does Merlin advice the king, he also functions as a tactician:
Regularly he helps Arthur strategically, such as arranging for Ban and Bors to come to
Britain with their army, and also tactically, advising Arthur to hide their forces in a
great ambush against the rebel barons. He offers detailed planning in the battles, and
some supportive magic: as Arthur faces the rebel barons for the first time Merlin sets
their tents on fire by means of a spell. (Knight, p60).
Merlin also encourages Arthur, Ban, and Bors several times when they threaten to lose a
battle or lose their courage: he berates them and the insults move the others to disprove him
and consequently win the battle. That is not all, however, Merlin is also an active participant
in battle.
In contrast to Malory, where Merlin operates primarily behind the scenes, here Merlin
is a character of great vitality who does not hesitate to ride in front of Arthur's troops
33
as they go into battle, personally carrying Arthur's fire-spewing-dragon battle standard,
an emblem (and weapon) of Merlin's own devising. (Conlee, p8).
In the Battle of Bredigan Forest, Merlin rides out into battle holding Arthur’s banner (Conlee,
p104). He also repeatedly uses his magic to gain tactical advantages. So while Merlin might
not actually fight with a sword, his value on the battlefield is not to be underestimated. Aside
from this, he also functions as a transmitter of Christian morality and a supervisor of the
events of the tales, as we have seen in chapters 2 and 3.
Merlin is not as involved in the story in the MA as he is in the PM, but he still has a
number of roles. Like in the PM, he encourages his king:
Then within two years King Uther fell sick of a great malady. And in the meanwhile
his enemies usurped upon him, and did a great battle upon his men, and slew many of
his people. Sir, said Merlin, ye may not lie so as ye do, for ye must to the field though
ye ride on an horse-litter: for ye shall never have the better of your enemies but if your
person be there, and then shall ye have the victory. So it was done as Merlin had
devised, and they carried the king forth in an horse-litter with a great host towards his
enemies. (MA, b1, ch4).
In the sword in the stone story, Merlin emerges as a bureaucrat, and his counsel is valued
throughout the MA.
“What Malory did not do was make Merlin in any way a dignitary who supervises the
long series of knightly adventures” (Knight, p93). Instead of making Merlin a figure of
Christian morality, whose knowledge is used throughout the story, Malory instead uses
Merlin briefly in establishing Arthurian society before removing him from the story entirely.
[Malory uses Merlin] efficiently early in the story to establish the Arthurian platform
on which both knightly adventures and the strongly moralized later action will
34
develop. Merlin’s knowledge establishes Arthur’s power, but does not go very far in
supervising or, especially, criticizing it. (Knight, p96).
The MA and the PM belong to two different cultures: the PM is based on the 13th century
French Arthurian culture, and Malory belongs to a much later, 15th century English tradition.
Though it is true that Malory is greatly influenced by the older, French sources, his audience
is the English nobility.
In England the stories of Arthur and Merlin took a path different from their
sophisticated courtly and Christian development in French. The English-speaking
audience was much less likely to be aristocratic and leisured, even learned, and there
was almost no interest in massive structures using Merlin as a Christian and moral
authority, as in the early grail stories and the post-Vulgate, or a social and military
adviser as in the Vulgate. Robust single-hero romances were the English favourites,
and in these stories, as in those of Chrétien and his followers, Merlin had very little
role. (Knight, p81).
4.2.
Authority
Merlin functions as a Christian authority. However, the overall devout tone the PM starts with
soon becomes swamped by secular activities at the court and on the battlefield. Merlin’s
function, when it comes down to it, is to support the king. At the start, this is the usurper
Vortigern, later replaced by Uther and ultimately by Arthur. This support contains the giving
of advice, clearing up mysteries, aiding in love affairs, and supporting in battle.
Here [in the Merlin continuation of the Vulgate Cycle] the image of Merlin and his
knowledge is substantially extended, from confidant to kings he has been in Robert’s
35
Merlin to a figure who is central to the management and continuance of the kingdom:
it is the image of a grand vizier to the throne. (Knight, p60).
While being a lot less present, the authority of Merlin in MA should not be
underestimated, as he is a powerful force behind the throne:
Yet many kings and lords held great war against him for that cause, but well Arthur
overcame them all, for the most part the days of his life he was ruled much by the
counsel of Merlin. (MA b3, ch1).
At the same time, there are more negative connotations given to his influence, characters are
warned of his background, and Merlin guides Arthur into arguably the most morally
questionable act of the whole MA:
King Arthur let send for all the children born on May-day, begotten of lords and born
of ladies; for Merlin told King Arthur that he that should destroy him should be born
on May-day, wherefore he sent for them all, upon pain of death; and so there were
found many lords' sons, and all were sent unto the king, and so was Mordred sent by
King Lot's wife, and all were put in a ship to the sea, and some were four weeks old,
and some less. (MA b1, ch27).
Merlin wanted to prevent Mordred from growing up and killing Arthur, yet the method is
cruel. In the end, all but Mordred die when the ship sinks.
So many lords and barons of this realm were displeased, for their children were so
lost, and many put the wite on Merlin more than on Arthur; so what for dread and for
love, they held their peace. (MA, b1, ch27).
The blame is put on Merlin and one could argue that this incident is the start of Merlin’s
downfall. Important to not however, is that this is the only incident where Merlin does
something morally questionable.
36
Despite his irregular appearances in the MA, Merlin is still greatly respected, as he also
is in the PM.
All the barons said they would pray him and desire him. So Merlin was sent for, and
fair desired of all the barons to give them best counsel. (MA, b1, ch10).
And ther shalle I be the beste beleved man that ever was, sef all only God that is
Almyghty. (PM, Ch 2, lines 70-71).
Yet despite his good relations with authority, it also becomes clear that Merlin has the power
to challenge authority. In chapter 4 of the PM, a baron sits on the last unoccupied chair at the
round table, which Merlin has explicitly stated should remain unoccupied, and the baron
promptly melts.
The dramatic insertion positions Merlin as a figure whose great knowledge means he
need have no awe of the powerful, and he is aware of this. [...] The startling scene of
the melted baron brings to head the issue of the real secular power which the Vulgate
bestows on Merlin: advisory knowledge can become a real challenge to authority.
(Knight, p59).
4.3.
Motives
In the MA, Merlin is a mysterious figure who one day shows up to help Uther bed Ygerne.
There is no explanation given for his motivations for appearing and helping Uther, and Merlin
makes it immediately clear that he wishes to be rewarded for this task:
and if King Uther will well reward me, and be sworn unto me to fulfil my desire, that
shall be his honour and profit more than mine; for I shall cause him to have all his
desire. (MA, book 1, ch1).
37
Merlin’s request is that the child Uther begets with Ygerne, i.e. Arthur, will be handed to him.
This way, the Merlin of the MA is connected to Arthur from the start, and only to him. In the
PM, Merlin is the advisor of Vortigern and Uther before Arthur enters the tale. It is also
important to note that the relationship Merlin has with both Uther and Arthur is one of mutual
friendship and respect, a great contrast to the professional relationship Merlin has with the
king in the MA. When Uther falls in love with Ygerne in the PM, he is hesitant to call on
Merlin, for he has broken his word and fears the other will be mad. Uther also fears that
Merlin will not be willing to help him bed another man’s wife. Ulfin, Uther’s confidant,
replies:
‘I am in certeyn of oon thynge, that he farith well and is in hele. Yef he love yow as he
was wonte to do, he knoweth what distresse that ye beth ynne, and it shall not be longe
er ye here of hym tydynges’(PM, Ch 4, lines 306-318).
This episode underscores both the respect Uther has for Merlin’s opinion of him, and Merlin’s
morality. Uther is not convinced that Merlin will help him do something immoral. In the end,
Merlin does help Uther reach Ygerne, meanwhile ensuring that Arthur will be born in
wedlock. Merlin’s first priority is towards Uther, and he only asks for his reward afterwards.
This friendship is in great contrast to the MA, where he is a respected, but distant figure.
4.4.
The Trickster
Merlin, with all his wisdom and power, can be a whimsical figure. He misguides people with
his disguises, and often displays a somewhat morbid sense of humour as he often laughs at the
misfortune he sees in someone’s future. The PM offers quite a few instances where this aspect
of Merlin’s character is exposed, the first of which is in chapter 2:
38
And the massagiers rode forth till thei come thourgh a town in whiche was a market.
And when thei were passed thorugh thei overtoke a carl that hadde bought a payre of
stronge shone, and also stronge lether to clowte hem with. And when Merlyn sye the
carle, he began to laughe. The messagiers axed hym wherfore he lough. "I laugh,"
quod he, "at this cherl that hath bought hym so stronge shoone, and also clowte lether,
and I telle yow certeynly that he shal be dead before he com fully to his howse.
(PM, Ch 2, lines 100-106).
In the same chapter, Merlin laughs when they see the funeral of a child. When asked, Merlin
explains that the man who is weeping for the loss of his child is not the real father, but the
priest leading the procession is. A similar scene occurs in the Vita Merlini, by Geoffrey of
Monmouth. In Les sources de la Suite Vulgate du Merlin, Alexandre Micha connects the
trickster tendencies of Merlin to stories of folklore the Vulgate Cycle incorporates in its
material. The trickster is a common figure in folktales, found for example in the medieval
Dutch poem Van den Vos Reynaerde, the Norse figure Loki, MacRùsgail in Scotland, and
figures like Puck, Brownies and Robin Hood from British folktales. The archetype is
applicable to Merlin and his ambiguity.
Merlin expresses his sense of humour only rarely in Le Morte d’Arthur:
And anon after Balin was dead, Merlin took his sword, and took off the pommel and
set on another pommel. So Merlin bade a knight that stood afore him handle that
sword, and he assayed, and he might not handle it. Then Merlin laughed. Why laugh
ye? said the knight. This is the cause, said Merlin: there shall never man handle this
sword but the best knight of the world, and that shall be Sir Launcelot or else Galahad
his son, and Launcelot with this sword shall slay the man that in the world he loved
best, that shall be Sir Gawaine. All this he let write in the pommel of the sword.
(MA, Book2, ch18).
39
Malory does not incorporate much humour in the MA: his characters are action oriented and
pragmatic. There is no time for idle chitchat or pranks.
Both in the Morte and in the French, Merlin keeps turning up in disguise; but in the
French it is perfectly clear that Merlin enjoys fooling people, and we are expected to
share his enjoyment. In Malory the disguises are often wholly inexplicable – or at least
unexplicated. Once he has started upon an episode involving Merlin’s japes, Malory
will usually risk bewildering his audience rather than make it clear his character’s
motivations are frivolous. (Lambert, p116).
Malory would rather risk confusing his audience than to include a joke in his tales. His action
oriented knights do not indulge in such frivolities, so it would be ill-suited in the narrative.
Playful characters are troublesome for Malory; they turn us away from the one thing
needful, and they usually require their emotions and motives to be indicated with some
explicitness. (Lambert, p115).
It is no wonder then, that Merlin is so difficult for Malory. As Chambers observes in Sir
Thomas Malory: “Merlin comes and goes, and we are never told who or what Merlin is”(p4).
The way Merlin’s presence is reduced, and the contradictory information we get about him
(the reader is to distrust his demonic heritage, yet his counsel is highly valued) is the result of
Malory’s struggle, as chambers describes it.
4.5.
Conclusion
To understand Malory’s depiction of Merlin, we have to understand what the main focus of
the MA is. As also said in the introduction, Malory’s concern lies with human fallibility, and
his focus lies mainly with the knights, and the concept of knightliness.
40
In general Malory shows less concern with individuality of character than with
motivation and consistency. If a character possesses a name, if he possesses the broad
typical traits of a good knight, or a hermit, or of a king, that must usually be sufficient,
in the Morte Darthur, to mark him off from his fellows. (Wilson, p120-12).
It is no wonder then that Malory has so much difficulty with a figure like Merlin:
The question we are likely to ask about the Morte Darthur is ‘What kind of man was
Arthur?’ Malory sees himself as a historian and is totally concerned with public
figures. The question he asks is ‘What kind of king was Arthur?’ (McCarthy, p119).
Merlin is no king or knight. He shows aspects of other archetypes such as the advisor, the
tactician and the hermit, but Malory has little to do with tricksters, liminal characters,
characters that possess a profound duality in their character, and Merlin is all this.
The Prose Merlin has no such difficulties: Merlin, as the main focus of the text, is
ever-present and every chance is grasped to focus on his special abilities, be it his knowledge,
his guidance, his fantastical disguises or his pranks. He is also directly linked to a secular
power, not just to Arthur.
41
5. Rise & Fall
5.1.
Introduction
At the end of the PM, Merlin is established as a well-respected and well-loved member of
court and the Arthurian world flourishes. It is at the peak of Arthur’s reign that Merlin
disappears. Merlin does not fall from grace, or is shunned. He just vanishes from the story. In
the MA, Merlin is much more ambiguous to start with. His attempt to kill Mordred is the first
and only morally ambiguous action he performs. Merlin advices Arthur to kill all the children
of noble houses born on Mayday so Mordred will not grow up to become Arthur’s murderer.
The attempt fails, but all children apart from Mordred die, and the Merlin is blamed for their
deaths. Merlin is always ambiguous in the MA, but apart from that one time, his advice is
good and morally sound. It can be argued that this one act is enough to warrant Merlin’s
disgrace, as all characters in MA are morally compromised at the end.
5.2.
Nimue
Nimue, the object of Merlin’s love, is a truly ambiguous character who learns Merlin’s magic
and ultimately locks him away, never to return to the story again. Her name is known in many
different forms: Ninianne, Nimenche, Nimue, Vivien, Ninian, Nimiane, and probably some
others as well. I will be using the name Nimue.
The idea that Merlin was fatefully involved with a beautiful and powerful woman first
appears in the earliest, pre-Vulgate, Lancelot, Where Ninianne [...], linked with the
Lady of the Lake, is Lancelot’s protector. (Knight, p67).
42
At the court she quickly catches Merlin’s eye and he falls head over heels in love with her.
Malory omits any description of her beauty in his version, making it less clear why she
catches Merlin’s interest so quickly. On the other hand one can maybe take her beauty for
granted. Merlin starts pursuing Nimue, but she refuses to return that love unless he teaches her
his magic. After she has learned everything from him, she traps him under a rock.
The relationship between Merlin and Nimue in the PM is an interesting one. The
Merlin Sequel of the Lancelot-Grail Cycle used their relationship as a warning: he reveals the
dangers of sexuality by showing that the downfall of Merlin is due to his attraction to Nimue.
the Merlin of the Vulgate is not only friendly to male sexuality – in Ban, and in Arthur
with both Lionors and Lot’s wife [...] – but he is also a practitioner of it. He admires
Agravadan’s daughter even after he has fallen heavily in love with Vivien.
(Knight, p67).
Merlin is not opposed to love and sexuality, and the relationship between him and Nimue is
comparable to that of courtly lovers.
Vivien is not here shown as a fatal temptress of an unwary cleric, a dark monastic
threat. It is as if the author, accepting the structure conveyed by the Lancelot, has
given it as positive a shape as possible, not as an austere moralistic account of the
dangers of a mature man of intellect might run with an entrancing young woman:
illustrations of Vivien and Merlin as courtly lovers are not rare. (Knight, p68).
The relationship between the two is friendly and courteous, quite different from the MA.
In the MA, Merlin acts a lot more aggressive towards Nimue, and she does not return
his feelings.
And always Merlin lay about the lady to have her maidenhood, and she was ever
passing weary of him, and fain would have been delivered of him, for she was afeard
of him because he was a devil's son, and she could not beskift him by no mean.
43
(MA, book 4 ch1).
Merlin is tenacious and persistent to the point where Nimue made him swear that he would
not enchant her.
And ofttimes Merlin would have had her privily away by his subtle crafts; then she
made him to swear that he should never do none enchantment upon her if he would
have his will. And so he sware. (MA, book 4, ch1).
Merlin’s relationship with Nimue, the prelude to his destruction, differs radically between
these texts. In Le Morte d’Arthur, his advances towards her are unwanted from the start. The
text also makes it clear that Merlin’s feelings for her are clearly sexual in nature. It should
however be noted that Merlin keeps his promises to Nimue and never does something morally
dubious, even if Nimue fears that. The relationship between the two in the PM is more one of
courtly lovers, i.e. still sexual, but also one of mutual affection. This creates a bit of a problem
though: if Nimue truly loves Merlin in the PM, why would she lock him up?
In the MA it is perfectly clear why Nimue locks Merlin up, i.e. she fears that he will
take her maidenhood.
So by her subtle working she made Merlin to go under that stone to let her wit of the
marvels there; but she wrought so there for him that he came never out for all the craft
he could do. And so she departed and left Merlin. (MA, b4, ch1).
Now she is free from his unwanted affections. These events are quite different from how the
scene plays out in the PM:
And than he seide to the damesell, "Lady, thou hast me disceived but yef ye will abide
with me, for noon but ye may undo this enchauntementes." And she seide, "Feire
swete frende, I shall often tymes go oute, and ye shull have me in youre armes, and I
yow. And fro hensforth shull ye do all youre plesier." And she hym hilde wele
covenaunt, for fewe hours ther were of the nyght ne of the day but she was with hym.
44
Ne never after com Merlin oute of that fortresse that she hadde hym in sette, but she
wente in and oute whan she wolde.” (ch 25, lines 92-98).
This is an example of PM’s tendency to put all characters in such a good light, but it makes
the episode also somewhat odd. Nimue clearly loves Merlin and intends to spend much time
with him in captivity. Nimue locks Merlin up because she wants to keep him all to herself,
and he doesn’t mind.
5.3.
Merlin’s downfall
In both texts, Merlin predicts his own end:
but I may well be sorry, said Merlin, for I shall die a shameful death, to be put in the
earth quick, and ye shall die a worshipful death. (MA, b1, ch17).
Whan the kynge herde how he seide it was the laste tyme that he sholde hym se, he
was sore abaisshed. (PM, ch25, lines 22-23).
Where the MA focusses on the shame that Merlin will call down upon himself, the PM has its
focus more on the reaction to the prediction, i.e. Merlin is loved, and this prediction is
therefore shocking to the king.
Merlin in the PM is never disgraced, like he is in the MA. In the MA, Merlin faces
more than a moral decline though: he also becomes overshadowed as a magician. Morgan le
Fay has appeared as an pre-eminent character and rivals Merlin in power. Nimue also
overshadows Merlin at the end, not only tricking him with the magic he taught her, but also
replacing him as Arthur’s adviser.
5.4.
Conclusion
45
In the PM, Merlin is an extremely positive figure, and he never loses his status as a moral
guardian. His relationship with Nimue is that of a courtly lover, and his end is peaceful and
happy. Malory seems to have an indifference towards elements like courtly love, religion and
magic. Merlin’s end is disgraceful and even before he goes he is already eclipsed in many
ways by Morgan le Fay and his reputation sullied by the killing of the children. The PM may
have elevated Merlin a bit too much though. Merlin is so powerful, knowledgeable and good
that he has become essential for the continuation of the story. It also seems strange that
despite all his power and knowledge, he was tricked by a woman. He has done his job in PM,
he has brought the Arthurian kingdom to its highest point, and after he is gone, the Arthurian
world will decline.
46
6. Conclusion
The Prose Merlin is a text from the French courtly tradition: it has large themes, flowery
language, and interest in court life. Merlin as a character is made a symbol for Christian faith,
linking him to Saints, clerics, and even Christ. Despite this, he still retains the duality that
comes from both the demonic conception and the older traditions, giving him trickster
tendencies, a love for deception, and a sense of humour. He is the main character in a text that
is endlessly positive, i.e. filled with characters who are portrayed at their best, living in a
world brimming with magic.
Le Morte d’Arthur is made in the English tradition, which means that magic, courtly
life, and ornate speeches are not of interest anymore. Malory writes in a down-to-earth style
about action-oriented knights who live in a code of brotherhood and knightliness. The focus
on function forms a stumbling block when it comes to Merlin, whose symbolic potential is of
no use to Malory. There is little magic in Malory’s world, and Merlin is pushed into the
shadows as a mysterious liminal character. He is not fully to be trusted, and he, like every
character in Le Morte d’Arthur, goes through a moral decline.
This thesis has focussed on the figure of Merlin and how he is portrayed in these two
works. Other interesting points of comparison could be the treatment of king Lot, portrayed as
a misguided but ultimately righteous individual in the PM, while seriously vilified in the MA.
Gawain could also be an interesting subject of study, since he is often portrayed quite
negatively in French literature, but gained a lot of popularity in England in the 14th century.
It is a shame that the Prose Merlin has been ignored as a subject of scholarly research
as it has been. As a “fairly accurate translation into English from a single source” (Conlee,
47
p1), it could be interesting to discover what exactly the differences between this English
translation and the French source text would be. From a feminist perspective, the PM’s
tendency to absolve virtually all female characters from serious wrongdoing could also be a
subject of research.
48
7. Bibliography
Ascham, Roger. (1570). The scholemaster. London: Iohn Daye. Retrieved from Project
Gutenberg: www.gutenberg.org.
Brewer, Derek & Takamiya, Toshiyuki. (1981). Aspects of Malory. Suffolk: Brewer.
Chambers, Edmund Kerchever. (1922). Sir Thomas Malory. Oxford: University press.
Retrieved from University of Toronto Libraries:
http://archive.org/stream/sirthomasmalory51chamuoft#page/4/mode/2up
Conlee, John. (1998). Prose Merlin. Kalamazoo, Michigan: Medieval Institute Publications.
Dillon, Bert. (1978). A Malory handbook. New York: G.K.Hall & Co.
Dover, Carol (Ed.). (2003). A companion to the lancelot-grail cycle. Suffolk: Brewer.
Fulton, Helen (Ed.). (2009). A companion to Arthurian literature. New York: WileyBlackwell publications.
Knight, Stephen. (2009). Merlin: Knowledge and power through the ages. Ithaca and London:
Cornell university press.
Kuijk, Mirjam van. (1992). Merlijn die was, is en komt, Docteraalscriptie
literatuurwetenschap. Zeist.
Lambert, Mark. (1975). Malory: Style and vision in Le Morte Darthur. New Haven and
London: Yale university press.
Malory, Thomas & Caxton, William (ed.). Le Morte d'Arthur. (1470). Retrieved from Project
Gutenberg: www.gutenberg.org. at http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1251.
McCarthy, Terence. (1988). Reading Mort d’Arthur. Suffolk: Brewer.
Micha, Alexandres. (1980). Les sources de la suite vulgate du Merlin. Geneva: Droz.
O'Hanlon, John, (1821-1905). Brigid, of Ireland, Saint, ca. 453-ca. 524. Dublin : Joseph
Dollard. Retrieved from University of Toronto Libraries:
http://archive.org/stream/lifeofstbrigidvi00ohanuoft/lifeofstbrigidvi00ohanuoft_djvu.tx
t
Thompson, A.(1842). Geoffrey of Monmouth’s British History. London: William Stevens
Wilson, R.B. (1934). Characterization in Malory: A comparison with his sources. Chicago:
University press.