Merlin

Legendary magician and seer to King Arthur. Welsh bardic literature has a cycle of poems attributed to him, and he may have been a real person. His legend is related in Vita Merlini by the 12th-century chronicler Geoffrey of Monmouth.

In Arthurian romance, Merlin foretold the future of Britain, and enabled Uther Pendragon to father Arthur, who remained under the magician's care until the disclosure of his royal parentage.

He was reputedly the son of a demon but had been saved from evil by baptism, although he retained his father's gifts of magic and divination; his wizardry was embellished as the legend developed. In prose versions Merlin taught his crafts to the enchantress Morgan le Fay, and gave his magic secrets to his lover Niniane, who imprisoned him in the Forest of Broceliande, after which he was seen no more.

In the poem Mort Artu by Robert de Boron, Merlin retired to the castle of the Holy Grail.

Later traditons hold that he supported the English ruler Vortigern in fighting Hengist and the Saxons, and went mad during the battle of Arthuret (Arfderydd) in AD 573. He is said to have been buried in a cave in the park of Dynevor Castle, Dyfed.

merlin

Small falcon of Europe, Asia, and North America, where it is also called a pigeon hawk. The male, 26 cm/10 in long, has a grey-blue back and reddish-brown barred front; the female, 32 cm/13 in long, has a dark brown back and lighter front with streaks. Merlins fly relatively low over the ground when hunting and ‘stoop’ quickly onto their prey, which consists mainly of small birds. (Species Falco columbarius, order Falconiformes.)

They are found mainly on rocks and moors. On moorland the nest is generally built on a slope among the heather, and in other localities on rock ledges. The eggs are bluish-white, blotched with brown markings; four or five are laid.