Search Results: Merlin

Merlin (also known as Myrddin, Merlinus) is the great wizard of the Arthurian Legends best known from Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte D'Arthur (1469 CE). The character was created by Geoffrey of Monmouth in his History of the Kings of Britain...

A detail of an illustration from a 14th Century CE manuscript of Roman de Brut, a legendary history of Britain by the Norman poet Wace (c. 1110 - c. 1170 CE). The young Merlin is depicted, alongside his mother, approaching King Vortigern...

Merlin showing King Vortigern (c. 5th Century CE) the dragons beneath his castle. From the Vulgate Cycle manuscript (1316 CE) in the British Library, London.

A detail of a 14th Century CE illustration of Roman de Brut, a legendary history by the Norman poet Wace (c. 1110 - c. 1170 CE). Merlin is depicted directing the giants to build Stonehenge. The Anglo-Norman manuscript containing this illustration...

Merlin reads his prophecies to King Vortigern. British Library MS Cotton Claudius B VII f.224, Geoffrey of Monmouth's Prophetiae Merlini. Unknown illustrator, c. 1250-1270 CE.

Vortigern was a 5th-century British ruler best known for inviting the Saxons to Britain to stop the incursions of the Picts and Scots and allowing them to take control of the land. 'Vortigern' is a title, not a given name, and means 'Great...

A detail of a miniature portraying God opening Hell, in which devils gather and plot to create an evil being by fathering a child on a mortal woman. This child, through baptism and blessings, is made good and grows up to be the wizard Merlin...

Detail from Lambeth Palace Library MS 6 folio 43v illustrating an episode in Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae. Unknown illustrator, c. 15th century CE.

Excalibur is the sword of King Arthur in Sir Thomas Malory's iconic work Le Morte D'Arthur published in in 1485 CE. The sword was originally introduced in Geoffrey of Monmouth's History of the Kings of Britain (1136 CE) as Caliburnus (or...

King Arthur is among the most famous literary characters of all time. The Arthurian legend of the Knights of the Round Table, Camelot, the Quest for the Holy Grail, the love affair of Lancelot and Guinevere, and the wizard Merlin have informed...