I've read them all over the years including the recent installment. As i was reading the others i either forgot or overlooked the use of the name "merlin" a lot. They would say "merlins beard", "merlins pants", "in the name of merlin" so just who is/was Merlin?
2007-07-22 14:42:25 · 11 answers · asked by MissLady0608 n 5 in Arts & Humanities ➔ Books & Authors
The references to Merlin in Harry Potter are not referencing a character specific to the series. They are referring to Merlin, the wizard in the legend of King Arthur. There is a long tradition of incorporating and expanding the character Merlin in literature and popular culture. You can find him in anything from Quantum Leap to Stargate SG-1 to Shrek to Mark Twain, to C.S.Lewis, to Stephen King
My personal favorite reference in book 7 was "In the name of Merlin's baggy Y-fronts." as said by Ron. (Y-fronts are what Brits call tighty-whiteys or standard men's briefs)
2007-07-22 14:55:38 · answer #1 · answered by Rosa T 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Merlin is best known as the wizard featured in Arthurian legend. The standard depiction of the character first appears in Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae, and is based on an amalgamation of previous historical and legendary figures. Geoffrey combined existing stories of Myrddin Wyllt (Merlinus Caledonensis), a northern madman with no connection to King Arthur, with tales of Aurelius Ambrosius to form the figure he called Merlin Ambrosius.
Geoffrey's version of the character was immediately popular, and later writers expanded the account to produce a fuller image of the wizard. His traditional biography has him born the son of an incubus and a mortal woman who inherits his powers from his strange birth.[1] He grows up to be a sage and engineers the birth of Arthur through magic. Later Merlin serves as the king's advisor until he is bewitched and imprisoned by the Lady of the Lake.
2007-07-22 21:46:07 · answer #2 · answered by ME® 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Merlin was King Arthur's wizard teacher.
2007-07-22 21:53:14 · answer #3 · answered by redunicorn 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If I remember correctly, Merlin is/was an old wizard and was supposedly one of the greatest.
And he had a beard and pants... hopefully...
It's asumed that he's the same Merlin from King Arthur.
2007-07-22 21:45:36 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Merlin is the wizard from the King Arthur legends. He is thought of as the greatest wizard of all time.
2007-07-22 21:48:05 · answer #5 · answered by The Squish 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Merlin was the great magician in the King Arthur stories from hundreds of years ago.
2007-07-22 21:45:46 · answer #6 · answered by cmm_home 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Merlin is a famous fictional wizard, not a Harry Potter character specifically, so don't worry. There are lots of legends about him.
2007-07-22 21:45:19 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Merlin was/is the greatest wizard of all time.
2007-07-22 21:46:54 · answer #8 · answered by Teenie 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merlin
2007-07-22 21:48:09 · answer #9 · answered by dnrh1989 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
He was the most famous (and probably first named) wizard of medival times, basically. ^_^
2007-07-22 21:46:27 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋