Merlin DID exist

                              

A chance discovery has led to the unearthing of fragments of a manuscript from the Middle Ages which tells the story of Merlin the magician.

The seven pieces are thought to come from the Old French sequence of texts known as the Vulgate Cycle or Lancelot-Grail Cycle, dating back to the 13th century.

They were found hidden in a series of 16th century books deep in the archive of Bristol Central Library and are now being analysed by academics from Bristol and Durham universities.

Parts of the Vulgate Cycle were probably used by Sir Thomas Malory as a source for his Le Morte D’Arthur, which is itself the main source text for many modern retellings of the Arthurian legend in English.

Dr Tether, from the University of Bristol, said: “These fragments of the Story Of Merlin are a wonderfully exciting find, which may have implications for the study not just of this text but also of other related and later texts that have shaped our modern understanding of the Arthurian legend.

“Time and research will reveal what further secrets about the legends of Arthur, Merlin and the Holy Grail these fragments might hold.

“The South West and Wales are, of course, closely bound up with the many locations made famous by the Arthurian legend, so it is all the more special to find an early fragment of the legend – one pre-dating any version written in English – here in Bristol.”

Who does not love the stories of Merlin the Magician? Whether they are Disney stories, or from elsewhere. I do too. I have always loved them, and I still do. I'm enchanted by the idea of a proper magician, from the mists of time. Yes, mist, most definitely. I totally associate Merlin with mist.

About 30 years ago I had a vision, which I felt was from the past, although, paradoxically, it was very much in the present. It was, I felt, to do with the Times of Merlin. It was early morning, there was heavy mist (fog!), in the countryside. There was a small cloche of wispy trees, and behind it, was a small river. Very other-worldly. Then, I saw, very clearly, a knight in chunky armour, on horseback emerge from the trees. I was transfixed. The horse was quite big, much bigger than the horses of my home, New Zealand, and it had on a lot of paraphernalia, just like I would imagine from all of those centuries ago. And the horse looked like one from the British Isles. 

I so knew that knight! I couldn't figure out whether it was a memory from my past, or, the past had come into the future. One of those rare 'moments in time'. After the knight came out of the trees, he disappeared. But the memory of that magic moment has always remained.  Lucky me.

I was training a healer one day, many years ago. I was lying on the floor, eyes closed, as they went about the healing on me. Suddenly I could feel myself smiling, feeling so happy, so full of anticipation. My mind had slipped into the past. I was on a river, in a small boat, like an old fashioned English rowing canoe. There was mist everywhere. I could "see" reeds in the water. It was very quiet, we were moving stealthily along the river. I heard myself say to the trainee healer: "I'm going to see Merlin". Of course, he probably had a different, but similar, name, in reality. I also said that I never made it, that I got killed. I felt that it wasn't my first visit to him.

Why would a person going to see someone of Merlin's stature get killed so that they would not reach him? Why did I have to slink through the mist in a very quiet craft? I was not alone on that craft, there was someone steering it with a pole, and it wasn't that person who was the killer. There could have been many reasons, but some came to light over the years, as I gave readings and regressions.

The person from whom all the legends of Merlin emerged, did exist. He was a powerful person. A true mystic. I often wonder if he was a genuine spirituality advanced Druid. Or was he a Celt? (clearly, I have no idea....) There was a castle close by to where he lived. I felt that, in the lifetime above that I described, that he was my Spiritual Master. I suppose these days it could be likened to a Guru. Maori would call him a Tohunga. He had a massive following, but it was more than that: he was a guide for the people, and as such had incredible influence over them. I felt that he was a good person. In readings I have never, ever, seen anything to indicate otherwise. I saw that he did do incantations (invocations, words of power, mantra, karakia; whatever you might like to call them). He worked with nature, plants, to provide what was needed for a person, which indicates that he was a healer too. He  may have been the last of his spiritual lineage.

It came to pass that people had to come to see him, like going undercover, for safety reasons: theirs and his. Bad times were afoot. In one reading I "saw" an invading army which was determined to get rid of Merlin. To put an end to his influence, to end "the old ways".  And to impose their own culture on the people of the land. 

I feel that Merlin was part of an old culture, a good one, that paid homage to the land, the cycles of nature & of all life, of birth, death, decay, restoration. Of dignity. We might call such a way of life pagan, but if this was indeed pagan, I'm all for it. There have been, and still are, many old cultures which worked with the Gods of Nature, and the unseen forces around us.

As I write this, I feel full of a deep love. I know that it is from within myself, and that it has to do with someone I once knew. Forever residing in my heart. A Great Being. Merlin.