''Merlin'' is a partly lost French

epic poem In poetry, an epic is a lengthy narrative poem typically about the extraordinary deeds of extraordinary characters who, in dealings with gods or other superhuman forces, gave shape to the mortal universe for their descendants. With regard to ...

written by

Robert de Boron Robert de Boron (also spelled in the manuscripts "Roberz", "Borron", "Bouron", "Beron") was a French poet active around the late 12th and early 13th centuries, notable as the reputed author of the poems and ''Merlin''. Although little is known of ...

Old French Old French (, , ; ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France approximately between the late 8th [2-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ...

and dating from either the end of the 12th or beginning of the 13th century. The author reworked

Geoffrey of Monmouth Geoffrey of Monmouth (; ; ) was a Catholic cleric from Monmouth, Wales, and one of the major figures in the development of British historiography and the popularity of tales of King Arthur. He is best known for his chronicle '' The History of ...

's material on the legendary

Merlin The Multi-Element Radio Linked Interferometer Network (MERLIN) is an interferometer array of radio telescopes spread across England. The array is run from Jodrell Bank Observatory in Cheshire by the University of Manchester on behalf of UK Re ...

, emphasising Merlin's power to prophesy and linking him to the Holy Grail. The poem tells of his origin and early life as a redeemed Antichrist, his role in the birth of

Arthur Arthur is a masculine given name of uncertain etymology. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. A common spelling variant used in many Slavic, Romance, and Germanic languages is Artur. In Spanish and Ital ...

, and how Arthur became King of Britain. ''Merlin''s story relates to Robert's two other reputed Grail poems, and . Its motifs became popular in medieval and later Arthuriana, notably the introduction of the sword in the stone, the redefinition of the Grail, and turning the previously peripheral Merlin into a key character in the legend of King Arthur. The poem's medieval

prose Prose is language that follows the natural flow or rhythm of speech, ordinary grammatical structures, or, in writing, typical conventions and formatting. Thus, prose ranges from informal speaking to formal academic writing. Prose differs most n ...

retelling and continuations, collectively the Prose ''Merlin'', became parts of the 13th-century

Vulgate The Vulgate () is a late-4th-century Bible translations into Latin, Latin translation of the Bible. It is largely the work of Saint Jerome who, in 382, had been commissioned by Pope Damasus I to revise the Gospels used by the Diocese of ...

and Post-Vulgate cycles of prose

chivalric romances As a literary genre, the chivalric romance is a type of prose and verse narrative that was popular in the noble courts of high medieval and early modern Europe. They were fantastic stories about marvel-filled adventures, often of a chivalric ...

. The Prose ''Merlin'' was versified into two English poems, '' Of Arthour and of Merlin'' and

Henry Lovelich Henry Lovelich (fl. mid-15th c.), also known as Herry Lovelich, and Lovelich the Skinner, was an English poet of 15th-century London. He is best known as a translator into Middle English verse of Robert de Borron's lengthy Arthurian poems writte ...

's ''Merlin''. Its Post-Vulgate version was one of the major sources for

Thomas Malory Sir Thomas Malory was an English writer, the author of ''Le Morte d'Arthur'', the classic English-language chronicle of the Arthurian legend, compiled and in most cases translated from French sources. The most popular version of ''Le Morte d'A ...

in writing ''

Le Morte d'Arthur ' (originally written as '; Anglo-Norman French for "The Death of Arthur") is a 15th-century Middle English prose reworking by Sir Thomas Malory of tales about the legendary King Arthur, Guinevere, Lancelot, Merlin and the Knights of the ...

''.

History

Writing ''Merlin'', the French knight-poet

seems to have been influenced by

Wace Wace ( 1110 – after 1174), sometimes referred to as Robert Wace, was a Medieval Norman poet, who was born in Jersey and brought up in mainland Normandy (he tells us in the ''Roman de Rou'' that he was taken as a child to Caen), ending his car ...

's ''

Roman de Brut The ''Brut'' or ''Roman de Brut'' (completed 1155) by the poet Wace is a loose and expanded translation in almost 15,000 lines of Norman-French verse of Geoffrey of Monmouth's Latin '' History of the Kings of Britain''. It was formerly known ...

'', an Anglo-Norman adaptation of

's ''

Historia Regum Britanniae (''The History of the Kings of Britain''), originally called (''On the Deeds of the Britons''), is a fictitious account of British history, written around 1136 by Geoffrey of Monmouth. It chronicles the lives of the List of legendary kings o ...

''. ''Merlin'' is an

allegorical As a literary device or artistic form, an allegory is a narrative or visual representation in which a character, place, or event can be interpreted to represent a meaning with moral or political significance. Authors have used allegory throughou ...

tale, relating to the figure and works of

Christ Jesus ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Christianity, central figure of Christianity, the M ...

. Only 504 lines of the work in its poetic form have survived to this day (in the manuscript BNF, fr. 20047). Nevertheless, its presumed contents are known from the prose version, the latter preserved entirely in the original

Old French Old French (, , ; ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France approximately between the late 8th -4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ...

as well as in a translation to Middle English. Along with the poems attributed to Robert de Boron – the romance ''Joseph d'Arimathie'', which survives only in prose, and ''Perceval'', perhaps completely lost – ''Merlin'' forms a trilogy centered around the story of the Holy Grail. Dubbed the "Little Grail Cycle", it rewrites had the Arthurian myth as being completely centered around the Holy Grail, here for the first time presented as a thoroughly Christian relic dating from the time of Christ. Brought from the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

to Britain by followers of

Joseph of Arimathea Joseph of Arimathea () is a Biblical figure who assumed responsibility for the burial of Jesus after Crucifixion of Jesus, his crucifixion. Three of the four Biblical Canon, canonical Gospels identify him as a member of the Sanhedrin, while the ...

, the Grail is eventually recovered by Arthur's knight

Perceval Perceval (, also written Percival, Parzival, Parsifal), alternatively called Peredur (), is a figure in the legend of King Arthur, often appearing as one of the Knights of the Round Table. First mentioned by the French author Chrétien de Tro ...

, as foretold in one of the prophecies in ''Merlin''. The cycle also greatly expands the role and part of

in Arthurian legend, especially when compared to only one brief mention in all of the earlier influential poems by

Chrétien de Troyes Chrétien de Troyes (; ; 1160–1191) was a French poet and trouvère known for his writing on King Arthur, Arthurian subjects such as Gawain, Lancelot, Perceval and the Holy Grail. Chrétien's chivalric romances, including ''Erec and Enide'' ...

. An alternative theory postulated by Linda Gowans goes against the widely accepted conventional scholarship in deeming the prose text to be the original version of ''Merlin''. She argues that the Old French poetic version is unfinished because its (unknown) writer has simply given up on it. She also doubts Robert's authorship of either of these works or of ''Perceval'', attributing only ''Joseph'' to him.

Synopsis

:Note: All names and events as in the later Middle English anonymous prose version (edited by John Conlee). The first part introduces the character of , a cleric and clerk who is pictured as writing down Merlin's deeds, explaining how they came to be known and preserved. The text claims that it is actually only his translation of a

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

book written by a Blaise as dictated to him by Merlin himself. ''Merlin'' begins with the scene of a council of demons plotting to create the future Merlin as their agent on Earth to undo the work of Christ, but their plan is foiled and the mother names the child Merlin after her father. It continues with the story of the usurper king Vortiger (

Vortigern Vortigern (; , ; ; ; Old Breton: ''Gurdiern'', ''Gurthiern''; ; , , , etc.), also spelled Vortiger, Vortigan, Voertigern and Vortigen, was a 5th-century warlord in Sub-Roman Britain, Britain, known perhaps as a king of the Britons or at least ...

) and his tower, featuring the seven-year-old Merlin with amazing

prophetic In religion, mythology, and fiction, a prophecy is a message that has been communicated to a person (typically called a ''prophet'') by a supernatural entity. Prophecies are a feature of many cultures and belief systems and usually contain divin ...

powers. Following Vortiger's death, which Merlin also predicted, he assists the new king Pendragon and his brother Uter (

Uther Pendragon Uther Pendragon ( ; the Brittonic languages, Brittonic name; , or ), also known as King Uther (or Uter), was a List of legendary kings of Britain, legendary King of the Britons and father of King Arthur. A few minor references to Uther appe ...

), soon himself the king as Uterpendragon after the death of the original Pendragon at

Salisbury Salisbury ( , ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers River Avon, Hampshire, Avon, River Nadder, Nadder and River Bourne, Wi ...

. Following the bloody war against

Saxon The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...

invaders, he erects

Stonehenge Stonehenge is a prehistoric Megalith, megalithic structure on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England, west of Amesbury. It consists of an outer ring of vertical sarsen standing stones, each around high, wide, and weighing around 25 tons, to ...

as the burial place for the fallen Britons and eventually inspires the creation of the

Round Table The Round Table (; ; ; ) is King Arthur's famed table (furniture), table in the Arthurian legend, around which he and his knights congregate. As its name suggests, it has no head, implying that everyone who sits there has equal status, unlike co ...

. This is followed by the account of Uter's war with the Duke of

Tintagel Tintagel () or Trevena (, meaning ''Village on a Mountain'') is a civil parishes in England, civil parish and village situated on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The village and nearby Tintagel Castle ...

(here unnamed, but known as

Gorlois In Matter of Britain, Arthurian legend, Gorlois () of Tintagel was the List of legendary rulers of Cornwall, Duke of Cornwall. He was the first husband of King Arthur's mother Igraine and the father of her daughters, King Arthur's family, Arthu ...

in general Arthurian tradition) for the latter's wife Ygerne (

Igraine In the Matter of Britain, Igraine () is the mother of King Arthur. Igraine is also known in Latin as Igerna, in Welsh as Eigr (Middle Welsh Eigyr), in French as Ygraine (Old French Ygerne or Igerne), in ''Le Morte d'Arthur'' as Ygrayne—ofte ...

), during which Merlin's magic, including many instances of

shapeshift In mythology, folklore and speculative fiction, shapeshifting is the ability to physically transform oneself through unnatural means. The idea of shapeshifting is found in the oldest forms of totemism and shamanism, as well as the oldest exist ...

ing, enables Uter to sleep with Ygerne and conceive

, destined to become the Emperor of Rome. After Uter kills his rival and forcibly marries Ygerne, the newborn Arthur is given into the foster care of Antor ( Ector), while Ygerne's daughters from the previous marriage are wed to

King Lot King Lot , also spelled Loth or Lott (Lleu or Llew in Welsh), is a British monarch in Arthurian legend. He was introduced in Geoffrey of Monmouth's pseudohistorical ''Historia Regum Britanniae'' (c. 1136) as King Arthur's brother-in-law, who s ...

and King Ventres ( Nentres), and her illegitimate daughter Morgan is sent away to a nunnery and becomes known as

Morgan le Fay Morgan le Fay (; Welsh language, Welsh and Cornish language, Cornish: Morgen; with ''le Fay'' being garbled French language, French ''la Fée'', thus meaning 'Morgan the Fairy'), alternatively known as Morgan , Morgain /e Morgant Mor ...

(the first account of Morgan being Igraine's daughter and learning magic in a conventCarolyne Larrington, ''King Arthur's Enchantresses'', p. 41.). The poem seems to have ended with the later "sword in the stone" story, in which Arthur proves he is to become Britain's high king by a divine destiny. This has been the first instance of this motif to appear in Arthurian literature and has become iconic after being repeated almost exactly in

's popular ''

''. The following is the complete text of the mid-15th-century English translation (medieval English versions replaced the Anglo-Saxon enemies of Britain with the

Saracen upright 1.5, Late 15th-century German woodcut depicting Saracens ''Saracen'' ( ) was a term used both in Greek and Latin writings between the 5th and 15th centuries to refer to the people who lived in and near what was designated by the Rom ...

s, the

Danes Danes (, ), or Danish people, are an ethnic group and nationality native to Denmark and a modern nation identified with the country of Denmark. This connection may be ancestral, legal, historical, or cultural. History Early history Denmark ...

, or just unidentified heathens), with

modern Modern may refer to: History *Modern history ** Early Modern period ** Late Modern period *** 18th century *** 19th century *** 20th century ** Contemporary history * Moderns, a faction of Freemasonry that existed in the 18th century Philosophy ...

conventions for punctuation and capitalization, of the prose version (sans the sequels):
The Birth of MerlinVortiger's TowerVortiger's Demise; The Battle of Salisbury; and The Death of PendragonUther and YgerneArthur and the Sword in the Stone

Legacy

Prose ''Merlin'' and its continuations

The poem ''Merlin'' itself was recast into prose as the Prose ''Merlin'' by authors unknown (highly possibly a single author, perhaps Robert himself). Known as the ''Merlin Proper'', it was then extended by a lengthy sequel sometimes known as the ''Suite du Roman de Merlin'' to become the early 13th-century

chivalric romance As a literary genre, the chivalric romance is a type of prose and verse narrative that was popular in the noble courts of high medieval and early modern Europe. They were fantastic stories about marvel-filled adventures, often of a chivalri ...

''Estoire de Merlin'' (''History of Merlin''), also known as the Vulgate ''Merlin''. The ''Estoire de Merlin'' constitutes one of the volumes of the vast

Vulgate Cycle The ''Lancelot-Grail Cycle'', also known as the Vulgate Cycle or the Pseudo-Map Cycle, is an early 13th-century French Arthurian literary cycle consisting of interconnected prose episodes of chivalric romance originally written in Old French. T ...

also known as the ''Lancelot-Grail'' cycle as probably a late addition to it. This continuation diverges from Robert's Little Grail Cycle and no longer use his name as the author. Its later major redaction, the

Post-Vulgate Cycle The Post-Vulgate Cycle, also known as the Post-Vulgate Arthuriad, the Post-Vulgate ''Roman du Graal'' (''Romance of the Grail'') or the Pseudo-Robert de Boron Cycle, is one of the major Old French -4; we might wonder whether there's a point at wh ...

, also begins with material drawn directly from ''Joseph'' and ''Merlin''. The Post-Vulgate manuscript known as the Huth ''Merlin'' actually attributes the authorship of the entire Post-Vulgate Cycle to Robert, making it sometimes dubbed the "Pseudo-Robert de Boron Cycle" (or "Pseudo-Boron Cycle"). The first of these prose continuations, included in the Vulgate ''Estoire du Merlin'', is the ''Merlin Continuation'' also known as the Vulgate ''Suite du Merlin'', the so-called 'historical' sequel telling about the various wars of Arthur and the role of Merlin in them, also focusing on

Gawain Gawain ( ), also known in many other forms and spellings, is a character in Matter of Britain, Arthurian legend, in which he is King Arthur's nephew and one of the premier Knights of the Round Table. The prototype of Gawain is mentioned und ...

as the third main character. The second, included in the later Post-Vulgate ''Suite du Merlin'' (''Suite-Huth'' or the Huth ''Merlin''), is a 'romantic' sequel that includes elements of the Vulgate ''Lancelot''. The third is an alternative version known as the ''Livre d'Artus'' (''Book of Arthur''), which too was written after the Vulgate Cycle had been completed but differs significantly from the mainstream version. The Vulgate ''Merlin'' was reworked into multiple French and Italian works of verse and prose. Its English translations and adaptations include

's poem ''Merlin'', the Middle English anonymous ''Merlin'', and the verse romance '' Of Arthour and of Merlin'', each based on different manuscripts of the Vulgate ''Merlin''. Today, the Post-Vulgate ''Merlin'' is best known as the primary source of Malory for the first four books of ''Le Morte d'Arthur''. It also served as the basis for the Merlin sections of the Castilian ''Demanda del Sancto Grial'' and Galician-Portuguese ''Demanda do Santa Graal''.

Prose ''Perceval''

''Merlin'' is believed to would have been followed by the third and final part of Robert's Grail cycle. However, such poem is either entirely lost or perhaps was never even really written. It is nevertheless uncertainly associated with the anonymous prose romance called the (''Perceval en prose''). The Prose ''Perceval'' might be either a reworked prose 'translation' of Robert's poem or just another author's unofficial attempt to complete the trilogy while borrowing from Chrétien and others, and was found in only two (Didot and Modena) of the many surviving manuscripts of the prose rendition of ''Merlin''. It is also often called the Didot ''Perceval'' (or ''Didot-Perceval'') after its better known manuscript. Its first section, known as the Prologue, is considered to be rather the conclusion of ''Merlin''. The main part tells the story of Perceval's quest for and finding of the Grail. It is then followed by the section known as the Mort Artu, telling about the subsequent death of Arthur in battle against

Mordred Mordred or Modred ( or ; Welsh: ''Medraut'' or ''Medrawt'') is a major figure in the legend of King Arthur. The earliest known mention of a possibly historical Medraut is in the Welsh chronicle ''Annales Cambriae'', wherein he and Arthur are a ...

. Patrick Moran made an argument that the entire Prose ''Perceval'' is not an autonomous text but rather an extension of ''Merlin'', to which it is attached in both manuscripts without any mark of passage from one text to another. In an early debate regarding the existence of a verse original and whether or not it was written by Robert (with Jessie Weston,

Gaston Paris Bruno Paulin Gaston Paris (; 9 August 1839 – 5 March 1903) was a French literary historian, philologist, and scholar specialized in Romance studies and medieval French literature. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1901, ...

, and Ernst Brugger arguing in favor of a lost Robert poem), some scholars opined it may not be even derived from de Boron at all, but is instead related to Chrétien's poem ''

'' and its First Continuation.

References

Bibliography

External links

Merlin: or the early History of King Arthur: a prose romance
(

Early English Text Society The Early English Text Society (EETS) is a text publication society founded in 1864 which is dedicated to the editing and publication of early English texts, especially those only available in manuscript. Most of its volumes contain editions of ...

), edited by Henry Wheatly. The complete prose Middle English translation of the Vulgate ''Merlin''. Chapter I to VI cover Robert de Boron's ''Merlin''.
''Of Arthour and Merlin: Auchinleck Manuscript''
(

National Library of Scotland The National Library of Scotland (NLS; ; ) is one of Scotland's National Collections. It is one of the largest libraries in the United Kingdom. As well as a public programme of exhibitions, events, workshops, and tours, the National Library of ...

) (1330s). A Middle English verse adaptation of the Vulgate ''Merlin'' combined with material closer to Geoffrey of Monmouth's ''Historia''. Lines 1–3059 cover approximately Robert de Boron's ''Merlin''.
''Le Roman du Saint-Graal''
an 1861 edition of Robert de Boron's gathered poems, available at

Wikimedia Commons Wikimedia Commons, or simply Commons, is a wiki-based Digital library, media repository of Open content, free-to-use images, sounds, videos and other media. It is a project of the Wikimedia Foundation. Files from Wikimedia Commons can be used ...

.
XIIIth century ''Story of Merlin'' manuscript BNF fr. 95

Bibliothèque Nationale de France The (; BnF) is the national library of France, located in Paris on two main sites, ''Richelieu'' and ''François-Mitterrand''. It is the national repository of all that is published in France. Some of its extensive collections, including bo ...

selection of illuminated folios, modern French translation, commentaries {{in lang, fr. 12th-century poems 13th-century poems Allegory Arthurian literature in French Epic poems in French Lost poems Old French texts Medieval literature Works based on Merlin Uther Pendragon