- Vita Merlini
"Vita Merlini", or "The Life of Merlin", is a work by the Norman-Welsh author
Geoffrey of Monmouth , composed inLatin around AD1150 . It retells incidents from the life of theBrython ic seerMerlin , and is based on traditional material about him.Merlin is described as a prophet in the text. There are a number of episodes in which he loses his mind and lives in the wilderness like a wild animal, like Nebuchadnezzar in the
Book of Daniel . It is also the first work to describe the Arthurian sorceressMorgan le Fay , as "Morgen".Geoffrey had written of Merlin in his two previous works, the "Prophetiae Merlini", purported to be a series of prophecies from the sage, and the "
Historia Regum Britanniae ", which is the first work presenting a link between Merlin andKing Arthur . The "Vita Merlini" presents an account of Merlin much more faithful to the Welsh traditions aboutMyrddin Wyllt , the archetype behind Geoffrey's composite figure of Merlin. Whereas the "Historia" had Merlin associating with Arthur, his fatherUther Pendragon , and his uncle Ambrosius in the 5th century, the "Vita"'s timeframe is during the late 6th century, and includes references to various figures from that period, including Gwenddoleu andTaliesin . Geoffrey attempts to synchronize the the "Vita" with his earlier work by having Merlin mention he had been with Arthur long before.References
*"Vita Merlini", Basil Clarke's English translation from "Life of Merlin: Vita Merlini" (Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1973) from [http://www.maryjones.us/ctexts/merlini.html Jones Celtic Encyclopedia]
* The Vita Merlini Latin text by Geoffrey of Monmouth and Translated by John Jay Parry from [http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/eng/vm/index.htm Sacred-Texts.com] .
* "A Close Translation of the Vita Merlini" by Michael Skupin (www.skupinbooks.com)
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