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==The sources of Merlin==
There is no one fixed version of the story of Merlin. He is first mentioned in the ''History of the Kings of Britain '' by Geoffrey de Monmouth in . The same author then wrote a book which purports to be the prophecies of Merlin (1130 AD). In these prophecies, well-known histoircal figures were represented by animalsand their futures told in riddles. Monmouth claims that the prophecies and the figure of Merlin are based on ancient oral sources. He shows Merlin to be a key member of King Arthur’s inner circle. In his later work, the Vita Merlini, he elaborated on the story of Merlinthe wizard of Camelot. Many have accused Geoffrey of Monmouth of simply inventing the famous wizard and prophet. In the 13th century a French poet, Robert de Boron, wrote an epic poem on the magician based on the work of Monmouth, in the 13th century. Some of this work is lost but it was very influential in the popularity of the character of Merlin <ref> Jankulak, Karen. Geoffrey of Monmouth (Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 2010), p. 11</ref>. In later centuries, Thomas Mallory and other writers greatly elaborated on the story of the wizard. They did not emphasise his powers of prophecy but concentrated on his supernatural powers.
==The life and adventures of Merlin==
According to most sources, Merlin was the son of an incubus or a preternatural being, often viewed as demonic. He may have been the son of a Royal Princess, from the north of England. He was baptized as a Christian and this purified him, but he was a paradoxical figure, good, but also tainted by his demonic inheritance. Merlin was a powerful prophet and magician from an early age and is shown as helping a Brythonic ruler to defeat the Anglo-Saxon invaders, while still a teenager. He was often shown to be also a shapeshifter, who is at once an old man, a handsome youth and even a deer. One of his most famous feats was to build Stonehenge by transporting stones from Ireland. He is a key figure in the Arthurian legends and is shown as an advisor to King Arthur’s father, Uther Pendragon. He helped Uther to disguise himself and to impregnate the wife of his enemy. From this act, the future King Arthur was born. Merlin is a critical figure in the ‘Story of the Sword’. It is he who predicts that the man who takes the sword from the stone (or anvil in some accounts) is the rightful monarch of Britain. Merlin is typically shown to be the mentor and teacher of Arthur. It is he who helps him to become King of the Britons. In one version, offered by Geoffrey de Monmouth, the wizard married a beautiful woman and retired to study the stars. However, in another version, Merlin becomes Arthur’s advisor and his court magician <ref>Tolstoy, p. 119</ref>. Some stories make clear that Merlin was partly responsible for Arthurs victories. He is also shown as helping him to gather enough knights for the fabled Round Table. In some French accounts, the wizard is a very important figure in the Holy Grail and the Knights of the Round Tables quest for the chalice that held Christ’s blood. In some of the legends about Merlin, he is often associated with a famous woman. In one version of the legend, he is the teacher of Morgan Le Fay. She is partly responsible for the downfall of Arthur and Camelot. In many modern renditions of the legend, Merlin and Morgan La Fay are shown to be enemies<ref> Hoffman, Donald L. "Malory’s Tragic Merlin." Merlin: A Casebook (1991): 332-41</ref>. This is not the case in the original sources. In another story, he is shown to be infatuated with a beautiful young woman by the name of Vivian. Merlin teaches her the arts of magic and when she is powerful she rejects and imprisons him in a magical forest. In one of the most popular stories on the death of Arthur, he is put to death by the enigmatic Lady of the Lake, the great sorceress, who was associated with the mystical sword Excalibur <ref>Tolstoy, p 119</ref>.
