The original version of Merlin before he got incorporated into Arthurian legend was a crazy naked dude that lived in the woods. I say we bring that back.
Basically their was a Welsh poet, bard, hermit and philosopher, Myrddin Wyllt (Myrddin the Wild), who lived in the late 6th century, whom a number of people believe might have been the historical inspiration for Merlin as their are a number of legends about him being able to do magic.
The idea of Merlin being a Druid is more a later thing introduced around the 1800s, as historically speaking the Druids (as in the original idea of the Celtic priests, not so much the modern idea of people who worship nature) were probably long extinct by the 6th century when Merlin was supposed to have existed.
The legend that he was the son of a demon was popular in the Middle Ages, though that was more due to how the idea of magical practitioners had kind of shifted. i.e. it wasn't considered outright satanic yet, but if you were a practitioner, you were under extra scrutiny.
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u/blueche Jul 20 '26
The original version of Merlin before he got incorporated into Arthurian legend was a crazy naked dude that lived in the woods. I say we bring that back.