AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Merlin's Historical Roots and Madness
- Early Welsh annals mention Merlin in a historical context around a 573 battle indicating a possible real bard existed.
- Merlin is portrayed as a 'wild man' driven mad by battle, acting as a mediator between the king's world and the wilderness.
Oral Tradition Shapes Merlin
- Merlin stories emerged from a powerful oral tradition where memory was highly developed in bardic schools.
- These oral cultures preserved and transmitted legends like Merlin and Arthur through generations before they were written down.
Merlin Talks to His Pig
- Early poems depict Merlin speaking sadly to his only companion, a pig, reflecting on lost friends and hardship.
- This enigmatic, intense style is typical of early Celtic poetry about Merlin's sorrow and madness.