Merlin – Lee Duigon

‘In Search of Merlin’ (2017)

leeduigonDecember 31, 2020

See the source image

It’s the last day of the year, New Year’s Eve–and Merlin has been on my mind. Maybe because so many pictures make him look like Father Time. A lot of people think of him as some kind of Druid sorceror, which almost certainly was not the case. But whatever else he was, Merlin presents us with a historical mystery. But then the whole 5th-6th centuries are rich in mystery.

In Search of Merlin

I study Merlin in the works of scholar Norma Lorre Goodrich, who every now and then breaks into the most incredible assertions without the least effort made to back them up. Take her with a wheelbarrow full of salt.

Merlin’s lifetime saw Christianity in Britain pushed nearly to extinction, only to come back and conquer.

Think about that. It’s a good time for thinking about that.

The Lady of the Lake

leeduigonJune 15, 2020

Lady of the Lake Playmat – Inked Gaming

(Can I get this post written before I have to go to the supermarket? Well, let’s try.)

In ancient days when Rome wallowed in its ruin and records were but poorly kept, if at all, there was said to be a Lady of the Lake who gave King Arthur his sword, Excalibur; and when Arthur died, it had to be returned to her.

For old-time Celtic peoples on both sides of the English Channel, certain ponds and lakes and bogs were considered holy places, mysterious places, places of power; and precious things were thrown into the water as sacrifices–swords, helmets, golden cups and cauldrons, and sometimes a prince or a princess, too.

There was probably more than one Lady of the Lake. What was she? A pagan priestess? But why should Christian kings and knights consult a pagan priestess? Was she mortal or immortal? She may have been a scholar: literacy would have been a rare gift in those days. We are talking fifteen hundred years ago, or more. And of course she would have precious swords: kings and chieftains had been tossing them into the lake for centuries.

How did the Lady of the Lake come to be responsible for raising and instructing Lancelot? How came she to fall in love with Sir Pelleas? Was she a witch? Was she Merlin’s pupil, who later turned against him because he had conceived an unlawful passion for her?

These are mysteries that are probably going to stay mysteries, try as we might to unravel them. But who knows what other discoveries we will make along the way?