Merlin, sometimes spelled ‘Merlyn’, is a magician most commonly known for the role that he plays in legends about Arthur. Merlin uses his foresight and other magical abilities to help guide Arthur. Merlin knows that Arthur is to be the king of Britain, and so he works to help protect him. Merlin is also well known for the stories written about his childhood and youth. Merlin possessed great power, and he used it to help others around him. The legends also discuss the involvement of Nimue, also known as Vivien, in Merlin’s life. Merlin loved her, but in some of the legends, she is written to be his ultimate downfall. Many authors have portrayed Merlin differently in their papers throughout the years. T.H. White writes Merlin as a wise mentor …show more content…
Nimue has many names throughout the different stories written about Merlin such as Vivien and The Lady of the Lake. The role of Nimue throughout the different stories written about Merlin portray her differently, but in most of them she is written as Merlin’s ultimate downfall. Merlin first met Nimue when she was sixteen. He fell deeply in love with her and was usually in her company. He showed her his power, and began to teach in some legends, it is also written that Merlin got the sword that he places in the stone, Excalibur, from Nimue. Using his powers, Merlin foresaw his death involving Nimue, but because he was so infatuated with her, he was unable to avoid his eventual demise (“Merlin and Nimue”). Once Merlin dies, Nimue becomes Arthur’s new mentor. The death of Merlin is different throughout the different stories, but they all have described Nimue’s involvement. In some of the legends, it is said that Nimue grows tired of Merlin and turns one of his own spells against him to imprison him inside of a cave forever. In another version of his death, Nimue turns Merlin into a tree where on occasion his voice can be heard. There are some versions of the legend where Merlin “dies” and is buried in a cave, but he awakens after a while and he is stripped of his magic. He eventually breaks out and returns to live with Arthur and Nimue. In this version, Nimue does not seem to be an antagonist, but rather still a companion of
In Chapter 5, the role of social stratification and power struggle are shown. Social stratification is shown in the quote “Merlin, in his malice, had woven a spell about this dungeon, and there bides not the man in theses kingdoms that would be desperate enough to essay to cross it lines with you!” (Twain PG 22). This shows how Merlin is feared by many. A power struggle is also shown by the quote “He was frightened even to marrow, and was minded to give order for your instant enlargement, and that you be clothed in fine raiment and lodged as befitted one so great; but then came Merlin and spoiled it all.” (Twain PG 24). This shows the power struggle between Hank and Merlin, which will be more in later chapters.
King Arthur, a courageous man, who was able to pull out a sword from a rock as simple as possible. As for everyone else who tired, it was almost impossible. This was just the beginning stage of Arthur becoming a king. The thing that Merlin didn’...
Newton knight was a farmer in mississippi who fought for freedom and secession of Jones county. Knight and the people of jones county put their lives so they could be free from the grip from the confederacy. The confederacy took many of non-slave farmers and put their lives on the front line to fight for what they didn’t even believe in. Knight opposed the state seceding from the United States, saying that white farmers like himself did not support slavery. He was a man of individual rights and equality, which was what the united states did not have at the time.
Charles Cullen was born on February 22, 1960, in West Orange, New Jersey. He was the youngest of eight siblings. His father worked as a bus driver, and died at age 58 when Cullen was only seven months old. Two of his siblings also died in adulthood. His mother was a stay at home mom who raised the eight children. Charles Cullen described his life as miserable, he attempted suicide at age nine by drinking chemicals he got out of a chemistry set, he attempted suicide a total of twenty times throughout his life. On December 6, 1977, when Cullen was 17 years old his mother died in a car accident, while his sister was behind the wheel. After this accident, Charles Cullen was devastated and decided to drop out of high school and join the Navy. Cullen
The figure of Gawain throughout Arthurian literature is an interesting one; he appears in more texts as a secondary character than any other knight named, and often gains glory even at the expense of the main hero (Busby 1980, 5). The first characteristic which separates him from the other knights is his relationship to Arthur: it is usually stated that he is Arthur's sister's son, a kinship that is found from William of Malmesbury's Gesta Regum Anglorum (c. 1125) and Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae (c. 1136) onward (Busby 1980, 31). However, it is notable that Gawain often seems more like a type than an individual; in Old French literature he is never the subject of a biographical romance, as are most of the other knights, he never has one particular lady's name associated with him, and he is frequently used as a constant against which other knights are judged, the perfect embodiment of good qualities, more a symbol of perfection than an actual person (Busby 1980, 7).
Yet his tale also combines a quest for holy things (eldilic help through Merlin) to heal the sickness of the land with a great, climactic battle against evil, thus merging the two characters' functions as well as their attributes. Also, as in earlier versions of the story, the Pendragon disappears after his final battle is completed, and the crowning conflict itself takes place in a dense fog which obscures everything. When Merlin arrives, his full name is given as Merlinus Ambrosius, the name he is given in one of his earliest appearances in Arthurian literature, Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Brittaniae.... ... middle of paper ... ...
The Arthurian cycle shows a sporadic awareness of the impossibility of mere humans fulfilling all the ideals that Arthur and his court represent. The story of Lancelot and Guenevere, Merlin's imprisonment by Nimu‘, and numerous other instances testify to the recognition of this tension between the real and the unrealistic.
In The United States the number of people in prison is over two million, and of those two million it is estimated that two thirds of them will be back in prison within three years (Correctional Populations). Some people argue that rehabilitation is the most effective way to handle prisoners, but the risks don’t outweigh the benefits, especially for murderers. Nobles was an example of a murderer who appeared rehabilitated, but under close examination of his actions, he was no more than a manipulating sociopath. Nobles was not rehabilitated because his actions in court showed how he felt, his faith was a facade, and he was a schizophrenic.
Sir Gawain is, undoubtably, the most varied of the Arthurian characters: from his first minor appearance as Gwalchmei in the Welsh tales to his usually side-line participation in the modern retelling of the tales, no other character has gone from such exalted heights (being regarded as a paragon of virtue) to such dismal depths (being reduced to a borderline rapist, murderer, and uncouth bore), as he. This degree of metamorphosis in character, however, has allowed for a staggering number of different approaches and studies in Gawain.
The Legend of King Arthur is in comparison to The Epic of Gilgamesh because Arthur's closest companion was Merlin, and Gilgamesh's closest companion was Enkidu and neither Gilgamesh nor Arthur forgot their friends. Enkidu only came in contact with Gilgamesh after becoming a man. Enkidu released the animals from the hunter's traps when they ere caught, so to make him a man the prostitute slept with him so that the animals would be ashamed of him and reject him. King Arthur became aware of Merlin when he was a young man. When Arthur was born Merlin placed him in the care of Sir Ector, throughout his boyhood Arthur learned the ways of chivalry, knighthood and how to become a gentleman. At the tournament one day Arthur pulled Excalibur from the stone and this is what brought upon Arthur meeting Merlin once again. In The Legend of King Arthur, Merlin exclaimed, "it is the doom of men if they forget." Gilgamesh along with Enkidu together fought and killed Humbaba, protector of the Cedar forest, and the Bull of Heaven, sent as punishment to Gilgamesh for killing Humbaba. King Arthur nor Gilgamesh forgot their faithful friends.
‘I love Guenevere, the daughter of King Leodegrance of the land of Cameliard, who holdeth in his house the table round that ye told me had been given to him by my father Uther. And this damsel is the most valiant and fairest lady that I know living, or yet that ever I could find.’ ‘Sir,; said Merlin, ‘as of her beauty and fairness she is one of the fairest alive (The Marriage of King Arthur).
Arthur was the first born son of King Uther but was advised to stay hidden until the need of his reign. However, when the King died, there was much controversy over who would be the next King. Merlin, a magician who knew of Arthur, set a sword in stone that read, "Whoso pulleth out this sword of this stone is the rightwise born king of all England." When Arthur unexpectedly stumbled across the sword and pulled it out, he humbly took his place as King of England.
Nathan, Currin. "Merlin the Magician." King Arthur & the Knights of the Round Table. Ed. Currin Nathan. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 May 2014. .
Stories of kings and queens have captivated readers for centuries, and arguably, the tales of King Arthur and Guinevere are among the most enchanting. Arthur ruled the kingdom of Camelot, and Guinevere was his queen. But were they real people or fictional characters? The debate has continued for centuries. Though many scholars have found evidence that the legendary Arthur was, at the very least, based on a real person who lived in Britain roughly between 450 and 1[Marker for question 1] 500 CE. They continue to search for the historical identity of Guinevere.
The Arthurian legends are well known in today's society. However, very few people know of the "real" Arthur -- who he was and what his accomplishments were. This paper will establish a difference between legend and truth, show evidence to support and explain who the real Arthur was, and shed some light on the sometimes confusing Arthurian legends.