I’ve been rather fascinated as of late with the ongoing discourse within the spiritual community over the 2024 elections. For those of you who have not had the pleasure of finding this little corner of the internet, let me summarize the drama:
A significant number of astrologers, tarot readers, spiritual practitioners, etc., told their followers that Kamala Harris would win the 2024 election. As we know, she did not.
These same practitioners then began to double down, telling their followers that the “vibes” were off and that the cards and the stars were still saying Donald Trump would never be president again.
For weeks, people thought a moment of divine intervention was about to happen, and they continued to believe these practitioners wouldn’t steer them wrong. After all, if so many people saw the same things, there had to be a reason behind it.
Well, as we are all aware, on January 20th Donald Trump did in fact become president for the second time. The sense of betrayal and false hope among the spiritual community was palpable. People began to wonder if practitioners were simply baiting people for engagement.
And, as I watched this unfold on my feed, it reminded me very much of one of my favorite cautionary tales about divination.
Now, you might be wondering how this is connected to a story about a sword and a stone, but there’s perhaps a part of the story you aren’t quite as familiar with.
Many of you may remember Merlin as the rather eccentric wizard who helped King Arthur gather the Knights of the Roundtable and build Camelot, but what if I told you there was a lot more to Merlin’s story?
What if I told you that Merlin was the real villain all along?
Now, before we begin, I need you to know there are seemingly infinite versions of the story of King Arthur, so much so that it frankly becomes a bit of a choose-your-own-adventure at points.
For example, though Sir Lancelot is one of the most famous Knights of Arthur’s Roundtable, he actually was a character from a different regional folktale that was incorporated into the lore much later.
You may have also seen many versions of the story where Arthur’s half-sister, Morgan le Fay, was the primary villain hellbent on taking the throne from Arthur. But, the earliest stories we have that involve Morgan as a character cast her as something akin to Arthur’s fairy godmother, always appearing in his moment of need to lend a helping hand.
The lore is so messy, that the best historians can do is to categorize the stories of Arthur into two distinct groups based around the first major written version of Arthur’s story, which came from Geoffrey of Monmouth.
Our friend Geoffrey was a cleric from Wales who spent the 1130s writing the Historia Regum Britanniae (History of the Kings of Britain).
Now, if you were to ask Geoffrey what his book was about, he would tell you it is a translation of a Latin text of the definitive history of Britain, which was given to him by Archbishop Walter of Oxford, and begins with the first settlement by Brutus of Troy, extending all the way from Roman rule through our favorite sad Shakespearean Kings, Lear and Cymbeline, all the way through King Arthur.
Unfortunately, most scholars would say this story is complete nonsense, but it is still quite likely that Walter of Oxford may have given Geoffrey a few different versions of various Welsh folk stories that Geoffrey managed to distill into one distinct version.
And this is why Geoffrey’s exercise in fiction is so critical when it comes to understanding this history of Arthurian folklore, because Geoffrey of Monmouth’s version of Arthur’s story became so widespread, that anything written after the fact was very likely influenced by his version.
So, there are the old Welsh and Brenton folk tales transcribed pre-Geoffrey (or pre-Galfridian, if you wish to be fancy), and then there are the post-Geoffrey/Galfridian texts impacted by the version of the story Geoffrey decided to tell.
And once we get into the post-Geoffrey times, which ends up coinciding with King Edward I of England deciding Wales needed conquering, things really go balls to the wall.
Edward I decided that a really important part of conquering Wales was making it very clear King Arthur was English—not Welsh. So, to appease the King, storytellers of the time began to remove a lot of Welsh elements from the story, which resulted in what I would pretty much argue was increasingly elaborate fanfiction. We start to see more focus on side characters like Guinevere and the Knights of the Roundtable.
Then the French get involved, and we have what is referred to as the Vulgate Cycle, which really shifts the story away from Arthur, and primarily focuses on Merlin and the adulterous love affair between Guinevere and Lancelot. It also shifts the narrative to be Christian-centric by incorporating “Holy Quests” like the search for the Holy Grail. This period culminates in one of the more well-known versions of the story, Le Morte D'Arthur, Thomas Malory’s British re-interpretation of the French Vulgate Cycle.
Not long after Malory published Le Morte D'Arthur we enter a period of time where Arthurian lore declined a bit in popularity.
Post-Middle Ages society was rapidly changing. There was a massive shift towards Protestantism in England and the pan-European Renaissance slowly began to trickle into England. The theater had become wildly popular and accessible, making the works of William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe among the most popular, and the invention of the printing press made it easier for new works and ideas to be shared and enjoyed.
It wasn’t until the 19th century that we saw a revival of interest in Romanticism and Arthurian lore, which continued well into the 20th century. These authors were not so much interested in rewriting the myths, as they were exploring the perspectives of various characters and exploring the reasons why Camelot fell.
All of this to say, there is no one definitive version of the story of King Arthur. The version of the story I’m sharing today is primarily based on some of the earlier Welsh folk tales.
And with that, let’s begin.
Merlin Reading by Frank Godwin (1927)
Merlin is often remembered as one of the most powerful sorcerers who ever lived, but he was also an incredibly talented seer with a special gift. It was said that, unlike other seers, he had the power to see only the “perfect truth”.
However, there were two problems with this:
First, while Merlin’s visions may have always been true, he could only see glimpses of the future, never the full picture. He could never see how one got from point A to B or what inciting incident caused the outcome, which made his visions potentially dangerous to share or act on.
Second, Merlin understood that the future is still mutable, which meant that while what he saw was true, it was not set in stone, and there was still time to change the outcome.
And once Merlin saw the world that could be with Camelot; there was no way he was going to leave anything to chance.
And so our story begins with a vision.
A united, utopian society.
A place called Camelot.
A great table surrounded by representatives of noble families from across the isles.
The one true King.
Merlin saw a future with a peaceful, prosperous society, united under a man named Arthur Pendragon, son of Uther Pendragon, King of the Britons, and Lady Igraine.
But, there was one tiny problem: Lady Igraine was happily married to Gorlois, Duke of Cornwall, which was a considerable problem given Camelot hinged on Pendragon and Igraine having a son.
Now, you might be thinking, it’s the Middle Ages, people probably die all the time and get remarried. No big deal, just wait it out.
Merlin, however, did not come to that same conclusion. (Remember, the future isn’t exactly set in stone.)
So, Merlin came up with a plan.
He would tell Uther Pendragon about his vision and convince him to wage war against Gorlois. Then, while Gorlois was away from his home and distracted by the battle, Merlin would sneak Uther into Gorlois’ castle and glamour him, so Lady Igraine would think she was sleeping with her husband, and be none the wiser that Uther Pendragon had potentially impregnated her.
You might be saying to yourself, this seems like a pretty insane way to guarantee two people will have a child together, and you would be correct.
However, the ultimate irony of Merlin’s scheme is that while Igraine is pregnant after that night, Gorlois had already died in battle.
Yes, this meant Igraine was free to marry again, but if people began to notice her pregnancy, there was the potential that the child’s paternity would be questioned.
Luckily for Merlin, Uther Pendragon was quick to sweep in and offer to take care of Lady Igraine and her two daughters, Morgause and Morgan. We are led to believe by the lore that Igraine never learns of Pendragon’s deception, and considers it a profound kindness that he “hides” Arthur’s potential paternity and declares him his true heir.
The question we are left with after this first step toward Camelot is: was it necessary to deceive Igraine to ensure Arthur was conceived?
Would Gorlois have died that day, regardless of the battle, leaving Igraine free to marry Pendragon? We’ll unfortunately never know the answer because the wizard never left anything to chance.
This is the point where the lore gets a bit murky.
Eventually, Uther dies and a fifteen-year-old Arthur takes his place as King, but Merlin’s work is far from done.
Yes, technically Arthur was where he needed to be for Camelot to come to pass, but the people of the Isles needed to see him as more than just another king. He needed something to set him apart, something beyond military might or overflowing coffers.
Something that could prove beyond a doubt that Arthur Pendragon was the one true king.
Something like a magic sword.
Now, there are different versions of how Arthur retrieves Excalibur. Some stories have Arthur pulling the sword from a stone in a public display, in later versions Arthur is bequeathed the sword by the Lady of the Lake, and the earliest versions have Arthur crossing into Annwfn (the Welsh Otherworld) to steal the enchanted blade.
But, regardless of the version, the way in which Excalibur is retrieved by Arthur is ultimately masterminded by Merlin as a way to show the people that Arthur is more than just a mere man; he is divinely chosen.
As the years went by, Merlin became Arthur’s closest friend and most trusted advisor. They worked together to begin to build Camelot and to establish an order of knights dedicated to the preservation of peace that would eventually be known as the Knights of the Roundtable.
But, for all that Merlin could see and plan for, he could never fully control Arthur, and his marriage to Princess Guinevere is a perfect example of that.
Arthur struggled to make allies and convince other rulers to join his cause. Merlin had instructed him to travel to the kingdom of Cameliard to meet with one of Uther Pendragon’s old allies, King Leodegrance.
What Merlin didn’t tell Arthur was that he had always known that Leodegrance would be a pivotal character in Arthur’s journey to becoming the one true king. So much so, that when Arthur was just a child, Merlin had convinced Uther Pendragon to begin to build the great roundtable that would one day sit at the heart of Camelot, and give it to Leodegrance for safekeeping.
So, Arthur traveled to Cameliard and pled his case to the king. Leodegrance believed in what Arthur was attempting to do with Camelot and agreed to an alliance between their kingdoms. It was sometime during this visit that Arthur first laid eyes on Princess Guinevere and was instantly besotted with her beauty.
Unfortunately, there were still plenty of rulers who did not like Arthur’s growing influence, and shortly after the alliance was struck, Arthur’s enemies attacked Cameliard.
The battle, however, was short-lived, for as soon as Arthur heard that Cameliard was under attack, he assembled his men and marched to Leodegrance’s aid.
Once Arthur and his men arrived, the battle was quickly won, and Arthur’s enemies retreated back to their lands. Unsurprisingly, King Leodegrance was immensely grateful for Arthur’s loyalty and true friendship and asked how best he could show his eternal gratitude to the young king.
Arthur, still thinking of the beautiful Princess Guinevere, asked the King if he would agree to unite their kingdoms through marriage to his eldest daughter, and Leodegrance agreed to his proposal and offered the giant roundtable Uther had left him as part of Guinevere’s dowry.
Now, it’s important to note that for as potentially shallow as this proposal to a woman he’d never spoken to may have been; it was still a strategic alliance that would ensure Arthur would always have an ally in the kingdom of Cameliard.
While Arthur was away, Merlin had a vision.
A vision of a faithless queen and Camelot burning to the ground.
Merlin tried to warn Arthur away from Guinevere. He told him of his vision and the calamity she would bring, but Arthur wasn’t exactly worried.
After all, if Merlin was such a great seer, surely any negative outcome could be avoided.
Arthur and Guinevere were married soon after the battle, and Camelot finally had its queen and a very large round table for its knights.
But, things were not all too well.
Though the couple tried for an heir for years, Guinevere seemed unable to bear children, and the question of succession arose. Arthur had also begun to spend more and more time questing with his knights, battling ancient monsters, and searching for mythical treasures.
It was around this period that Merlin had a vision of a young boy who would grow up and take everything from Arthur, destroying Camelot.
Merlin’s vision was not quite clear though. He could see when the child would be born, but not who his parents were or how he would amass enough power to be a threat to Arthur.
Merlin would eventually tell Arthur of the prophecy, but by then it was already too late.
You see, while Arthur was traipsing about the isles, he found himself enchanted by the wife of his enemy, King Lot; the beautiful Queen of Orkney, Morgause.
That name sounds familiar, right?
Well, buckle in, because things are about to get weird.
Lady Igraine had two daughters from her first marriage: Morgause and Morgan. And when Igraine married Uther Pendragon and became queen, the two girls were elevated in rank as well.
But, Pendragon wasn’t interested in taking care of some other man’s kids, so he quickly arranged a marriage of state for the eldest daughter, Morgause, and sent the youngest, Morgan, to a nunnery until she was old enough to be useful. By the time Arthur was born, his two half-sisters were already long gone.
It probably would have been nice if he at least remembered where they’d gone off to, but I digress.
Arthur and Morgause had a brief affair, which resulted in a pregnancy. Once Morgause realized she was pregnant by her half-brother, she quickly attempted to cover it up. But, though she had successfully convinced her husband and her people that King Lot was the father, she would not be able to protect Mordred from Arthur’s paranoia.
When Merlin finally told Arthur of the child who would be born on May Day that would be his downfall, Arthur did the only reasonable thing he could think of, which was rounding up every infant born that year on May Day and putting them on a boat to an undisclosed location.
This was not the solution Merlin would have anticipated, but by the time Arthur unveiled his plan, Merlin was long gone.
Allegedly, Arthur intended to “send the children” to a “different location”, where they would be “raised by new parents”. Unfortunately, we’ll never know if this was true or if the crew was just going to start tossing babies into the ocean, because a terrible storm ended up capsizing the boat, drowning the children and the crew.
All except for a single child by the name of Mordred.
Somehow the infant managed to float away from the wreck and make it close enough to shore to be rescued by a fisherman.
The fisherman and his wife took in the little foundling, and Mordred had a fine life with loving surrogate parents. When he was of age, he joined the King’s army and worked his way up from a lowly squire to a member of the Knights of the Round Table.
And perhaps Mordred would have lived his life happily serving his king, had he never learned who his biological parents were and what his father tried to do to him.
There are a few different ways Mordred learns about his connection to Arthur in the myths. In some versions, he is told the truth by his aunt, Morgan le Fey. In other versions, he learns about his past from a wandering fortune teller or by his birth mother seeking him out.
Regardless of how he learned the truth, Mordred was bitter. Not only had his father taken him from his mother and tried to kill him, but he had been robbed of the life and inheritance that rightfully belonged to him as the son of a king.
And this is where the term self-fulfilling prophecy comes into play.
You see if Merlin had never told Arthur about the May Day child that would be his undoing, Arthur would never have tried to subvert the prophecy, and Mordred would have grown up as a young prince in Orkney with his mother, none the wiser that King Lot was not his biological father.
That’s the problem with trying to interpret small glimpses of the future. Mordred didn’t grow up hating Arthur. In fact, until he learned what Arthur did, he loved his king and was proud to be one of his knights.
But, Mordred wasn’t the only person unhappy with Arthur; after the May Day Massacre, as the incident was later known, people began to notice his capacity for cruelty and his lack of interest in actually ruling.
It was true that Arthur preferred questing and fighting to his administrative duties as king, and that he often disappeared for long periods of time, leaving a less-than-enthusiastic Guinevere in charge.
Which is why it was incredibly easy for Mordred to enact his revenge.
All he had to do was wait for Arthur to go off on one of his silly campaigns to find a mythical object and capitalize on the civil unrest already brewing. By the time Arthur and his knights returned from their quest, Mordred had already taken his throne, his wife, and even the hearts of his people.
Mordred had been able to convince everyone that Arthur had died by forging a letter declaring he was killed in battle and since Arthur had no legitimate heir, Mordred used the chaos to convince Guinevere to marry him in order to keep the peace.
Arthur and his knights attempted to remove Mordred from the throne, but they quickly found that Mordred had far more support than Arthur could have imagined. Men previously loyal to Arthur took up arms against him, and Arthur was forced to retreat.
Arthur and Mordred met a final time at the Battle of Camlann, but neither walked away that day. Mordred had managed to mortally wound Arthur, but not before Arthur managed to wield Excalibur one last time, slicing off Mordred’s arm and skewing him with the enchanted blade.
And with that, Camelot and all it stood for had come to an end.
But, Arthur didn’t die that day.
Before he took his final breath, his other sister, Morgan, appeared and attempted to heal him. She transported his body to the mythical island of Avalon, where it is said he still lies today.
And where was Merlin for all of this?
By the time Arthur acted on the prophecy of the May Day child, Merlin had been entombed forever by the Lady of the Lake, who felt Merlin was too dangerous to continue to be free.
Now, I know what you’re going to say, if Merlin was a great seer, why didn’t he try and outwit the Lady of the Lake?
The answer is simple really: Merlin agreed that he was too dangerous.
You see, the problem with Merlin was that while his intentions were good, he failed to see that, much like the rest of us, he too was fortune’s fool.
Merlin wasn’t dangerous because he could see the future; he was dangerous because he thought he could control the future. So, Merlin accepted the punishment for the innocent lives lost in his quest for Camelot. He would forever remain trapped between worlds, forced to see all that would be, unable to warn anyone in his lonely prison.
So, what’s the lesson here?
It’s not that divination or clairvoyance are bad; it’s that people are fallible and sometimes only see what they want in the cards and the stars.
Merlin saw Camelot, but he failed to see the forest for the trees. Camelot was an idea, not a place that could simply be built.
What would Arthur have been, if he’d been allowed to grow up never knowing about Camelot or the Knights of the Roundtable?
Who would he have become, if he’d never been told he was destined to be the one true king?
Would he have endeavored to truly earn the love and respect of his people?
Would he have been a better husband to Guinevere?
Would he have been more skeptical of Merlin and his motives?
I guess we’ll never know.
And that, my friends, is the story of Merlin (or at least a version of it).
And that’s all she wrote folks…for now.
Stay tuned for part 2, where we’ll be doing a deep dive on Morgan le Fay!
Resources:
A History of Britain: At the Edge of the World 3000 B.C. - 1603 A.D. by Simon Schama
Celtic Myth and Arthurian Romance by Roger Sherman Loomis
Folklore of West and Mid-Wales by Jonathan Ceredig Davies
History of the Kings of Britain by Geoffrey of Monmouth
Lancelot-Grail: The Story of Merlin by Norris J. Lacy
Le Morte d’Arthur by Thomas Malory
Magic in Merlin's Realm: A History of Occult Politics in Britain by Francis Young
Merlin: A Casebook by Peter H. Goodrich
Merlin or the Early History of King Arthur: A Prose Romance (about 1450-1460 A.D.) by David William Nash and John Stuart Stuart-Glennie
Origins of Arthurian Romances: Early Sources for the Legends of Tristan, the Grail and the Abduction of the Queen by Flint F. Johnson
Preiddeu Annwn (The Spoils of Annwn) from the Book of Taliesin
Roman de Brut by Wace
The Arthur of the Welsh: The Arthurian Legend in Medieval Welsh Literature by Rachel Bromwich, A.O.H. Jarman, and Brynley F. Roberts
The Character of King Arthur in Medieval Literature by Rosemary Morris
The Lancelot-Grail Project: Text Editions
The Welsh Triads by Siân Echard
What are Merlin’s Prophecies? by Kathryn Walton