MerlinMyrddin

1
Merlin-Myrddin

• The pre-Geoffrey evidence

2
Merlin-Myrddin

• In the Vita Merlini, Geoffrey of Monmouth
  presents a very different view of Merlin.
• It has its basis in the traditional legendary
  material found in early Welsh literature and some
  medieval Scottish hagiographic texts.
• Briefly, the Merlin that Geoffrey develops here
  is the primitive motif of the Wild Man of the
  Forest.

3
Merlin-Myrddin

• The Welsh texts which give us a picture of how
  traditional narrative had viewed Merlin (or
  rather Myrddin to use the form of the name in
  pre-Geoffrey material).
• The texts all in verse form come from The Black
  Book of Carmarthen and The Red Book of Hergest.

4
Merlin-Myrddin

• The Appletrees (Yr Afallennau)
• The Greetings (Yr Oianau)
• The Dialogue of Myrddin and Taliesin
• The Conversation of Myrddin and Gwenddydd
• The Diffused song of Myrddin in the Grave
• Peiran Faban

5
Merlin-Myrddin

• All of the above texts which are in 12-13th
  manuscripts give passages of legendary character
  (ie information about Myrddin) and as well the
  prophetic sayings of Myrddin.

6
The Apple-Trees (Yr Afallennau)

• The text presents two different sets of material
  the old Welsh tale about Myrddin the Wildman and
  prophecies about the Cymry (Britons of Wales) in
  their battles against their enemies.
• It is suggested that this poems can be dated to
  the 9th or 10th century. It is therefore the
  oldest narrative concerning the Welsh Myrddin.
• It is Myrddins ability to prophecy that brings
  the two strands together.

7
The Apple-Trees (Yr Afallennau) The narrative

• After the Battle of Arfderydd, and the defeat of
  Gwenddolau (a Chieftain), Myrddin escapes to the
  forest where for 50 years in the Caledonian Wilds
  he wanders in madness and with other madmen.
• He fears persecution from the enemy chieftain
  Rhydderch and a character called Gwasawg. Myrddin
  is described as having killed Gwenddolaus son.

8
The Apple-Trees (Yr Afallennau

• One of the results of the madness that has
  befallen Myrddin is that he is now able to
  prophesy and offer divination.
• The poem is constructed around Myrddins dialogue
  with the Appletrees.
• Apples are frequently associated with the Celtic
  Otherworld, comp. the name Avalon and Afallach
  (Insula pomarum- Geoffrey of Monmouth).

9
The Apple-Trees (Yr Afallennau

• Each stanza spoken by Myrddin refers to a special
  attribute of the apple tree he speaks to
• One of these is the ability to hide Myrddin from
  his pursuers especially Rhydderch.
• The prophecies included in the poem are later,
  and include mention of the Normans (ie post
  1066).

10
The Greetings Oianau

• Immediately after the Apple-Tree verses in the
  Black Book comes the longer verse sequence called
  The Greetings.
• In this text Myrddin is also in the forest
  accompanied by a young boar which he addresses.
• Myrddin refers to the sorrow he has suffered over
  the past 50 years. As in the previous poem he
  refers to the death of his lord Gwenddolau.

11
The Greetings Oianau

• Myrddin as he gives his prophecies, describes
  himself graphically in the Caledonian Forest
• He suffers from insomnia, he has snow up to his
  thighs, he is tracked by wild dogs (?wolves), he
  has icicles in his hair and his glory as a
  warrior gone. His hair is grey and growing thin,
  his clothing threadbare.
• Myrddin warns the pig to watch for Rhydderch and
  his men. He waits for Gwenddydd.

12
The Greetings Oianau

• He has memories of the slaughter at the battle of
  Arfderydd that keep him awake.
• Myrddin makes the reference to Cynan (Geoffreys
  Conanus, also Conan in Breton) and Cadwaladr as
  the saviours of the Britons in the face of
  invasion (Norman this time).

13
The Conversation between Myrddin and Gwenddydd
the Cyfoesi

• This text (130 stanzas) occurs in the The Red
  Book of Hergest. C 1300AD. In this dialogue
  Gwenddydd asks questions about the future to her
  brother Myrddin.
• Apart from listing the names of Welsh and English
  kings, the poem also refers to kings of the Old
  North and also the by- now familiar names of
  Rhydderch, Gwenddolau and the battle of
  Arfderydd.
• The poem states that Myrddin is bitter and
  wrathful, and that he has lost his sanity. It
  also refers to an earlier estrangement.

14
The Cyfoesi

• In the third stanza she describes him (Myrddin)
  as Llallogan Myrddin and later as Llallawg.
• Another stanza refers to him as Myrddin son of
  Morvryn and his presumed brothers named as
  Morgenau, Moriel, Morien, and Mordaf.
• The same ideas are found in the Gwasgargerdd
  (Diffused Song) where Myrddin is said to be the
  son of Morvryn. As well as refering to other
  characters we have already seen, we are told that
  Myrddin lives with other wild men in the mountain.

15
The Dialogue of Myrddin and Taliesin c1075

• This next text (38 lines) has two distinct parts
• Only the second part specifically concerns the
  Myrddin narrative. This text may have been known
  to Geoffrey of Monmouth, who brings the two
  together in his Vita Merlini.
• Taliesin is the supernatural poet of Welsh
  tradition. In this poem, they meet to combine
  their ancient knowledge (compare the Vita
  Merlini)
• Apart from this, the main value of the text is
  that it refers to early battles, including the
  now familiar Arfderydd.

16
Myrddin in the Triads

• In all probability, the battle of Arfderydd and
  Myrddins madness were the subject of an
  extensive saga either in oral or written form.
• The Triads give only brief indications of the
  content of such material
• The Battle of Arfderydd is described as one of
  the Three Futile Battles fought on account of
  a larks nest-Caerlaverock.

17
Myrddin in the Triads

• Caerlaverock has been interpreted as meaning
  Larks Fortress, and is located 20 miles west of
  the probable site of the battle of Arfderydd
  (north of Carlisle in todays England).
• Another Triad mentions that the battle lasted two
  weeks after the death of Gwenddolau.

18
Myrddin in the Triads

• However, there is no mention of Myrddin as wild
  man living in the Caledonian forest in the
  Triads.
• Later Welsh poets from the extensive and rich
  tradition of bardic poetry (15th century) seem to
  be aware of the tradition nevertheless. (Gutor
  Glyn)

19
Lailoken the Wild man and the Scottish versions
of the tale.

• In the Cyfoesi, Gwenddydd calls Myrddin
  Llallogan. This name can be compared closely
  with the name Lailoken which occurs in Scottish
  versions of similar tales about the man who went
  mad after a battle.
• The important and significant Scottish source is
  the Vita Kentigerni (or Life of St Kentigern of
  Glasgow).

20
St Kentigern of Scotland

• A sixth century Brythonic saint, today associated
  with the city of Glasgow and often called St
  Mungo (the dear one).
• Glasgow is located in the Scottish lowlands in a
  region that would have been Brythonic in speech
  during the early centuries AD.

21
St Kentigern of Scotland

• The surviving versions of his Vita (Life) contain
  episodes about Lailoken (Myrddin/Merlin).
• Version 1
• Records the presence at the court of King
  Rederech (Rhydderch) of a certain fool/jester
  known as Laloicen or Laloecen who predicts
  correctly the date of the saint also correctly
  predicts the death of the king within the year.

22
St Kentigern of Scotland

• Version2
• Lailoken is portrayed not as a fool but as a
  naked, hairy madman whom Kentigern (Cyndeyrn) had
  met in the forest. Some claim he is Merlin but
  the narrator in his Vita says this is uncertain.
  L. accepts responsibility for his condition. He
  had been the cause, he states, of the battle
  fought on the plain between Lidel and Carwannok.
  He says that he saw the heavens open up

23
St Kentigern of Scotland

• And a voice told him he would bear the punishment
  for the misdeeds of all and that he would have
  communion with the creatures of the forest.
  Lailoken sees a vision in the sky of a terrible
  battle.
• L. continues to be mentioned in the Vita
  intermittently and gives prophecies. On the day
  of his death, he is described as predicting he
  will have a three-fold death.. He is murdered by
  the shepherds of King Meldred. Predicts the death
  of the most outstanding king of Britain.

24
St Kentigern of Scotland

• Version 3
• Lailoken is captured by King Meldred. The episode
  in which his queen appears with a leaf in her
  hair. L. laughs. He asks his freedom in exchange
  for an explanation. (the leaf signifies the
  queens adultery).
• He is murdered by the queens men and buried near
  Glasgow.

25
St Kentigern

• There can be little doubt about the ultimate
  connection between Lailoken and Myrddin.These
  tales must have been brought to Wales during the
  period of the collapse of the Brythonic Old North
  (c700-800 AD). Both are wild men of the forest
  who suffer loss of reason in battle.
• The association with King Rhydderch in both
  (although in the Scottish version he does not
  seem hostile to Myrddin/Lailoken.

26
Northern British traditions

• The traditions conserved in the Vita Kentigerni
  belong to the cultural milieu of the northern
  Britons who lived in what is todays northern
  England and the southern Lowlands of Scotland.
• Many of these traditions were carried to Wales as
  the various northern British kingdoms collapsed
  under Saxon domination. This suggests
  in-migration by the elites and tradition-bearers
  during this period from the north to Wales.

27
The evidence of Gerald of Wales(1146-1223)

• In his Journey through Wales, he states that
  Merlin/Myrddin lost his reason when, in battle,
  he saw a monstrous sight above, and fled to spend
  the rest of his life in the forest.
• This corresponds better with the Scottish source
  known to us, but has not survived in Welsh
  sources. However Gerald would most likely have
  known the story from a Welsh source.

28
Gerald of Wales

• The second Merlin came from Scotland. He is
  called Celidonius because he prophesied in the
  Caledonian Forest. He is also called Sylvester
  because once when he was fighting he looked up
  into the air and saw a terrible monster. He went
  mad as a result and fled to the forest where he
  passed the remainder of his life as a wild man of
  the woods.. He is said to have made more
  prophecies than his The second Merlin lived in
  the time of Arthur namesake.

29
Gerald of Wales

• Other comments
• we read that when Merlin Sylvester made his
  prophecies he was in a frenzy.
• Gerald gives one quote from Merlin
• Whenever you see a strong man with a freckled
  face cross the Rhyd Pencarn on his way to lead an
  invasion of South Wales, you can be quite sure
  that the Welsh troops will be defeated.
• Meaning ?

30
The Battle of Arfderydd

• The Battle of Arfderydd is believed to have taken
  place about 573AD (mentioned in the Annales
  Cambriae bellum Armterid).
• The sight has been located at Arthuret near
  Longtown, 8 miles north of Carlisle.
• The second name Carwanolow? Caerwenddolau (the
  fortress of Gwenddolau).
• The origins of the battle are uncertain, but may
  have been the result of conflict within the
  Coeling dynasty in the Old North.

31
Summary of information from the Scottish Vita and
Welsh poems

• Scottish sources
• Heavenly vision
• The voice speaking to Lailocen
• Association with a saint (Kentigern)
• The queens adultery
• Prophecy of his own threefold death

32
Summary of information from the Scottish Vita and
Welsh poems

• Welsh sources only
• Gwenddolau, Gwasawg, and Gwenddydd
• Battle of Arfderydd
• Appletrees
• piglet

33
Summary of information from the Scottish Vita and
Welsh poems

• Both sources
• Wild man, wild men
• Rhydderch Hael (the Generous)
• Same geographic milieu (Strathclyde)
• Loss of reason
• Moral guilt
• Llallogen/Lailoken

34
King Rhydderch

• King of Stathclyde in the 6th century. His
  headquarters and court were in Alt Clut
  (Dumbarton today).
• He is known as Rhydderch the Generous in Welsh
  tradition.
• He is mentioned in the near contemporary Life of
  Columba by Adomnan of Ireland as Rhydderch son of
  Tudwal, and as a supporter of the faith and
  probable patron of Saint Kentigern.

35
Gwenddolau

• It is more difficult to find actual historical
  references to Gwenddolau, although his
  historicity is more likely to be almost as safe
  as that of Rhydderch.
• The place name Carwinley in todays Cumbria is
  probably a deformation of Caer Wenddolau-the
  Fortress of Gwenddolau.

36
Madness and battle the Norse source

• It happensthat cowardly men run wild and lose
  their wits from the dread and fear which seize
  them. And they then run into a wood away from
  other men like wild beasts. And it is said of
  these men that when they have lived in the woods
  in that condition for 20 years, then feathers
  grow on their bodies as on birds,

37
Madness and battle the Norse source

• Whereby their bodies are protected against frost
  and cold, but the feathers are not so large that
  they can fly like birds. Yet their swiftness is
  said to be so great that other men cannot
  approach then and greyhounds just as little as
  men. For these men run along the trees almost as
  swiftly as monkeys or squirres
• (Kongs Skuggsjo).

38
The Wildman tradition in Irish tradition

• The best known example of a similar story is that
  of Suibhne Gelt (Sweeney the Wild).
• The Madness of Suibhne (after battle) is the
  title of a medieval and well-known text in Old
  Irish literature (Buile Shuibhne).

39
Suibhne

• At the battle of Moira (Mag Roth), Suibhne sees
  horrible aerial phantoms.
• His soul fluttered with hallucination and with
  many various phantasms.
• Suibhne losses his reason. He acquires the gift
  of levitation and settles on the branches of a
  yew-tree, around which people congregate to
  persuade him to return to the court.

40
Suibhne

• The refuses and continues his wanderings all over
  Ireland, mainly along the treetops. He acquires
  feathers (but doesnt fly) and the ability to
  leap upwards.
• The text includes many nature poems which he is
  said to have composed during this time.
• He is befriended by Saint Moling and briefly
  returns to court and his wife (who is now
  cohabiting with another)
• Goes to Britain and meets one like him called
  Alladhan (? Lailoken).

41
Suibhne

• Professor James Carney has postulated that the
  figure of Suibhne is based upon the narrative of
  Lailoken (Myrddin) and adapted to an Irish
  setting.
• Suibhne was originally called the Albanach
  Scot
• Suibhne Gelt. Gelt is a borrowing from
  BrythonicGwyllt.

42
Origins? Shamanism.

• The description of the late Irish druid Mog
  Ruith
• Mog Ruiths skin of the hornless, dun-coloured
  bull was brought to him then and his speckled
  bird-dress with its winged flying, and his
  druidic gear besides. And he rose up, in company
  with the fire, into the air and the heavens.

43
Shamanism

• Shamanism, Mircea Eliade.

44
Shamanism archaic techniques of ecstasy

• Ornithomorphic costume indispensible for flight
  to the otherworld domain.
• Mythic relation between the eagle and shaman
  (comp. Gwydion, Mabinogion)
• The shamans ecstatic journey.
• Functions of shaman healing, magical healing,
  prophecy (less frequently)

45
Shamanism archaic techniques of ecstasy

• Sometimes divination and clairvoyance are part of
  the shamans mystical technique.
• Relations with the animal world
• Spirit helpers in animal form, stag, wolf, etc
  (comp. Geoffreys reference to Myrddin arriving
  on the back of a stag in Vita Merlini).

46
Shamanism archaic techniques of ecstasy

• The animal symbolizes a real and direct
  connection with the beyond. This beyond can be
  seen as an impenetrable forest.
• Travelling on the back of animals comp Culhwch,
  Myrddin on the stag.
• Solidarity between the shaman and the animal
  comp

47
Shamanism archaic techniques of ecstasy

• Suibhnes nature poems, Myrddin and the young
  boar.
• The shamans trance, or ecstatic experience seem
  like mental disorders, madness. Myrddin the
  mad/wild
• The ecstatic shaman seems to have symptoms like
  epilepsy or hysteria.
• Erotic elements in shamanism the tutelary spirit
  wife, who invests him with higher knowledge and
  powers.
• The experience of coming out of himself.

48
The problem of the two Merlins

• The conflation of several characters into the
  figure of Merlin.

49
Myrddin (Merlin), Taliesin and Gwydion

• Taliesin (Telgesinus in Geoffreys work)
• Originally a northern British bardic poet.
  Praise-poet of Urien Rheged and his son Owain as
  well as other chieftains in Wales. Perhaps he was
  in origin a native of Powys in mid Wales.
• Much of his work is found in the Book of Taliesin.

50
Myrddin (Merlin), Taliesin and Gwydion

• In the ensuing centuries the figure of Taliesin
  assumed a semi-mythogicalo role and he was seen
  as a prophet similar in some ways to Myrddin
  (Merlin).
• He is mentioned in the Mabinogion as one of those
  who escaped from Ireland with Bendigeidvran.
• He may be the narrator in the Spoils of the
  Otherworld poem which includes Arthur.

51
Myrddin (Merlin), Taliesin and Gwydion

• By the tenth and the eleventh centuries a number
  of prophetic poems are attributed to him and they
  are included in the The Book of Taliesin as well
  as the Dialogue between Myrddin and Taliesin in
  which both are described as prophecying future
  events.

52
Myrddin (Merlin), Taliesin and Gwydion

• A knowledge of this Welsh poem seems to be
  reflected in Geoffrey of Monmouths Vita Merlini
  in which Telgesinus discusses with Merlin about
  geography and natural phenomena.
• In one of the Triads Taliesin is described with
  Myrddin as one of the skilful bards at Arthurs
  court.

53
Myrddin (Merlin), Taliesin and Gwydion

• An origin tale about how Taliesin gained his
  prophetic powers is called Chwedl Taliesin.
• In this tale a boy called Little Gwion receives
  the gift of poetic inspiration (and prophecy)
  from the cauldron of Ceridwen.
• He goes through a succession of transformations
  finally reborn as Taliesin.