Myrddin


    1. Myrddin Emrys
      Llallawc, Llallogan Vyrdin

      The original Welsh name for the wizard Merlin. Myrddin's story is related through a series of early Welsh verses, collectively called the Myrddin Poems, which seems to have had only fragmentary influence on later Arthurian writers. Myrddin fought at the battle of Arthuret (Arfderydd), where his lord Gwenddoleu (Gwenddalou), in a war against King Rhydderch of Cumbria, was killed.

      He went insane after he accidentally slew the son of his sister, Gwenddydd. Thereafter, he spent the rest of his life as a hermit living wild in the forest of Celyddon (Caledon), lamenting Gwenddoleu's death. In his frenzy he acquired the gift of prophecy, which at the historical time of the Arthurian cycle would have been seen as magic of the most potent kind. He had mysterious prophecies of Britain's future and his own death.

      This story relates Myrddin to the Irish King Suibhne Geilt, from whose legend the tale may be derived, although Myrddin is first referred to in the tenth-century poem Armes Prydein, while the Buile Suibhne, which recounts the Irish legend, is probably two centuries older. It is hard to tell which tale influenced the other, or if both derive from independent sources. It has been suggested that Myrddin derives from a mistaken analysis of Caerfyrddin (Carmarthen). In other early Welsh poems he is called Llallawc and Llallogan Vyrdin.

      As to his name, one theory argues that it began with the Roman stronghold of Maridunum in Wales, which means "sea fortress". In time, Maridunum was altered and corrupted into "Merddin" or "Myrddin". With it’s original name lost, a Caer ("city") was placed in front of the name. Since Caer Myrddin would have signified "City of Myrddin", people assumed that "Myrddin" was a personal name, and the Welsh began telling stories of a certain prophetic bard named Myrddin who roamed the forests of northern England and southern Scotland.

      See also
      Madog Morfryn | The Legend of King Arthur
      Morgan Frych | The Legend of King Arthur


    2. Myrddin's Precinct

      According to Welsh legend, the first name of the island of Britain. It was conquered, and became known as the Island of Honey. Ostensibly, the name would seem to refer to Myrddin or Merlin, but one would assume that the earliest name of the island would necessarily precede the sixth-century Myrddin. This suggests that, in origin, Myrddin may have been something more than a warrior or mad prophet.

      See also
      Prydein | The Legend of King Arthur


    3. Myrddin Wyllt

      Living in the forests and wildernesses of Scotland at the same chronological time as Myrddin Emrys, this character has sometimes been incorrectly identified as the historical person who became better known as the wizard Merlin. The true Wizard of the Arthurian legends was the Welsh Myrddin Emrys, who was born and raised in Carmarthen.