Myrddin Wyllt
Myrddin Wyllt | |
|---|---|
 Myrddin andSt. Kentigern(Stobo Kirk,Scotland) | |
| Born | Carmarthen |
| Nationality | Welsh |
| Known for | Prophet and madman in Welsh legend; served as the inspiration forMerlininArthurian legend |
Myrddin Wyllt(Welsh:[ˈmərðɪnˈwɨɬt]— "Myrddin the Wild",Cornish:Merdhyn Gwyls,Breton:Marzhin Gouez) is a figure in medievalWelsh legend.InMiddle Welshpoetry he is accounted a chief bard, the speaker of several poems in TheBlack Book of Carmarthenand TheRed Book of Hergest.He is calledWyllt— "the Wild" —byElis Gruffydd,[1]and elsewhereMyrddin Emrys( "Ambrosius" ),Merlinus Caledonensis( "of Caledonia" ) orMerlin Sylvestris( "of the woods" ).[2] Myrddin Wylt was born in 540 CE.[citation needed]
Although his legend centres on aknown Celtic theme,Myrddin's legend is rooted in history, for he is said to have gone mad after theBattle of Arfderydd(Arthuret) at whichRhydderch HaelofStrathclydedefeated theBrythonickingGwenddoleu.According to theAnnales Cambriaethis took place in 573.[2]Myrddin fled into the forest, lived with the beasts and received the gift of prophecy.[3]
Myrddin Wyllt's legend closely resembles that of anorth-Britishfigure calledLailoken,which appears inJocelyn of Furness' 12th-centuryLife of Kentigern.Scholars differ as to the independence or identity of Lailoken and Myrddin, though there is more agreement as to Myrddin's original independence from later Welsh legends.
Myrddin's grave is reputed to lie near theRiver Tweedin the village ofDrumelziernearPeebles,although nothing remains above ground level at the site.[2]
In Welsh literature
[edit]The earliest (pre-12th century) Welsh poems about the Myrddin legend present him as a madman living an existence in theCaledonian Forest.He was born in 540.[citation needed]In the forest he ruminates on his former existence and the events of theBattle of Arfderydd,whereRiderch Hael,King ofAlt Clut(Strathclyde) slaughtered the forces ofGwenddoleu ap Ceidio,and Myrddin went mad watching this defeat. TheAnnales Cambriaedate this battle to 573,[4]naming Gwenddoleu's adversaries as the sons ofEliffer,presumablyGwrgi and Peredur.[5]This battle, the subsequent assassination ofUrien Rhegedand the defeat of theGododdinatCatraethare cited as reasons for the collapse of the alliance of early British kingdoms in the north before the Angles, Scots and Picts.
Welsh historianJohn Edward Lloydsuggests there were three traditions that were conflated. The first, “Merlinus Ambrosius”(the ArthurianMerlin), identified byGiraldus CambrensisasMyrddin Emrys—theWelshform ofAmbrosius—, who was found at Carmarthen and prophesied beforeVortigern.The second, “Merlinus Silvester”or “Merlinus Caledonius”who came from the North (Alba) and was a contemporary of Arthur, saw a horrible portent in the sky while fighting in a battle and spent the rest of his days a madman in the woods. The third one is “Myrddin Wyllt”, whom Lloyd identifies with theLailokenmentioned inJocelyn of Furness'Life of St. Kentigern.[6]
Although Lailoken is identified with Merlin in the late 15th-centuryLailoken and Kentigern,the alternative name may already have been present in theMiddle WelshpoemDialogue of Myrddin with his sister Gwendydd(also namedGwenddyddor Languoreth), for she addresses him several times asLlallwg,for which the diminutive would beLlallwgan.[7]
A version of this legend is preserved in the late-15th-centuryLailoken and Kentigern.In this narrativeSt. Kentigernmeets a naked, hairy madman calledLailoken,said by some to be calledMerlynumorMerlin,in a deserted place. He has been condemned for his sins to wander in the company of beasts, having been the cause of the deaths of all of the persons killed in the battle foughton the plain between Liddel and Carwannok.Having told his story, the madman leaps up and flees from the presence of the saint back into the wilderness. He appears several times more in the narrative until at last asking St. Kentigern for theSacrament,prophesying that he was about to die atriple death.After some hesitation, the saint grants the madman's wish, and later that day the shepherds of King Meldred capture him, beat him with clubs, then cast him into the river Tweed where his body is pierced by a stake, thus fulfilling his prophecy.
Legend has it that second part ofCarmarthen'sname (in Welsh-fyrddin) was derived from Myrddin and identified his place of birth. However, whenBritanniawas a Roman province, Carmarthen was the civitas capital of theDemetaetribe, known asMoridunum(fromBrittonic*mori-dunonmeaning "sea fort" ), and this is the true source of the town's name. Celticist A. O. H. Jarman suggests that instead the name Myrddin was derived from Carmarthen's name.[8]
Welsh literaturehas examples of a prophetic literature, predicting the military victory of all of the Celtic peoples of Great Britain who will join and drive the English – and later the Normans – back into the sea. Some of these works were presented as prophecies of Myrddin. TheArmes Prydein(one of the earliest mentions of him) contains the line “Myrddin foretells that they will meet”. The tradition was apparently shared withCornishliterature, however only a single Latin translation of a lost Cornish-language originalProphecy of Merlinexists in the Vatican library byJohn of Cornwall. In theBlack Book of Carmarthenthe poemsYr AfallennauandYr Oianaudescribe Myrddin talking to an apple tree and a pig, prophesying the success or failure of the Welsh army in battles with the Normans in South Wales.
Clas Myrddin,orMerlin's Enclosure,is an early name for Great Britain stated in the Third Series ofWelsh Triads.[9]
Geoffrey of Monmouth
[edit]The modern depiction ofMerlinbegan withGeoffrey of Monmouth,who portrayed Merlin as a prophet and a madman, and introduced him intoArthurian legend.Geoffrey of Monmouth popularised Merlin the wizard, associated with the town ofCarmartheninSouth Wales.His bookProphetiae Merliniwas intended to be a collection of the prophecies of the Welsh figure of Myrddin, whom he calledMerlin.He included theProphetiaein his more famous second work, theHistoria Regum Britanniae.In this work, however, he constructed an account of Merlin's life that placed him in the time ofAmbrosius AurelianusandKing Arthur,decades before the lifetime of Myrddin Wyllt. He also attached to him an episode originally ascribed to Ambrosius, and others that appear to be of his own invention.
Geoffrey later wrote theVita Merlini,an account based more closely on the earlier Welsh stories about Myrddin and his experiences at Arfderyd, and explained that the action was taking place long after Merlin's involvement with Arthur. However, theVita Merlinidid not prove popular enough to counter the version of Merlin in theHistoria,which went on to influence most later accounts of the character.
References
[edit]- ^The Story of Myrddin Wyllt
- ^abcSeymour, Page 9
- ^"Merlin" in 'Jones's Celtic Encyclopedia'
- ^Arthurian Period Sources, Page 45.
- ^Phillimore, Page 175.
- ^Lloyd, John Edward(1894). "Myrddin Wyllt".InLee, Sidney(ed.).Dictionary of National Biography.Vol. 40. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.
- ^Knight, Stephen Thomas;Merlin: Knowledge and Power Through the Ages,Cornell University Press, 2009[1]
- ^Koch, John T. (2006).Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia.ABC-CLIO. p. 321.ISBN978-1-85109-440-0.Retrieved23 November2009.
- ^Rhys: Hibbert Lectures, p. 168.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain:"Myrddin Wyllt".Dictionary of National Biography.London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.
Sources
[edit]- Seymour, Camilla & Randall, John (2007)Stobo Kirk: a guide to the building and its history.Peebles: John Randall
- Tolstoy, Nikolai (1985)The Quest for Merlin.ISBN0-241-11356-3
- Morris, John (gen. ed.) (1980) Arthurian Period Sources volume 8, Phillimore & Co, Chichester (includes full text of The Annales Cambriae & Nennius)
- Phillimore, Egerton (1888), "The Annales Cambriae and Old Welsh Genealogies, from Harleian MS. 3859", in Phillimore, Egerton, Y Cymmrodor, IX, Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion, pp. 141 – 183.
External links
[edit]
- The Vita Merlini; translated by John Jay Parry
- Welsh poem: Dialogue between Myrddin and his sister Gwendydd
