Download Free The Quest For Merlin Book in PDF and EPUB Free Download. You can read online The Quest For Merlin and write the review.

A new and exciting work of detection and analysis. Did Merlin really exist or is he a figure of legend? Where does myth end and history begin?
Merlin is celebrated as the archetypal wizard, an enigmatic mage whose gifts of prophecy and miracle-working have made him the greatest magician of all time. Bringing his unmatched knowledge of medieval history, myth, and magick to the legend of Merlin, Gordon Strong vividly reconstructs the famed wizard's life among kings and knights, damsels and dragons, and lost kingdoms. From serving as King Arthur's adviser to obtaining intimate knowledge of Atlantis to launching the quest for the Holy Grail, each aspect of Merlin is illuminated as never before. Piecing together fascinating connections to Druidry, Celtic and Welsh culture, and Tarot, Strong offers new depths of insight into an existence steeped in war, madness, love, lust, and above all, sorcery. Praise: "This is not a book about a dead king in a past and distant land, but an evocation of an impulse within all our psyches, which can vivify our future."—Alan Richardson, author of Aleister Crowley and Dion Fortune
When two boys save an old man from robbers, they learn of a competition in Londinium to decide the next king of Britain. The elder, Kay, is determined to prove himself worthy as a knight or a king. The younger is Arthur, a farm boy through and through - until he sees the sword in the stone.
This book deals with all aspects of the Merlin legend, from its origins to its expression in medieval and modern literature, film, and popular culture. Following an extended introduction and a full bibliography, the volume offers nearly twenty essays--some newly commissioned for this volume, others selected from the most important scholarly and critical studies of Merlin and his role. Two of the reprinted essays are translated into English for the first time.
Geoffrey Ashe's book on this legendary figure offers a succession of surprises. The Merlin of legend was born to be a magician. He was 'immaculately' conceived and was able to interpret dreams and utter prophecies. Even his fate was imbued with magic. Like Arthur, he acquired immortality and sleeps on Bardsey Island, in a subterranean chamber with nine companions. Ashe reveals the man behind the myth, establishing beyond doubt the historicity of a Welsh prophet called Myrddin Emrys. Despite his 'supernatural' status it is Merlin, of all the great characters of the Arthurian world, who has the strongest claim to have existed.
Merlin, the wizard of Arthurian legend, has been a source of enduring fascination for centuries. In this authoritative, entertaining, and generously illustrated book, Stephen Knight traces the myth of Merlin back to its earliest roots in the early Welsh figure of Myrddin. He then follows Merlin as he is imagined and reimagined through centuries of literature and art, beginning with Geoffrey of Monmouth, whose immensely popular History of the Kings of Britain (1138) transmitted the story of Merlin to Europe at large. He covers French and German as well as Anglophone elements of the myth and brings the story up to the present with discussions of a globalized Merlin who finds his way into popular literature, film, television, and New Age philosophy. Knight argues that Merlin in all his guises represents a conflict basic to Western societies-the clash between knowledge and power. While the Merlin story varies over time, the underlying structural tension remains the same whether it takes the form of bard versus lord, magician versus monarch, scientist versus capitalist, or academic versus politician. As Knight sees it, Merlin embodies the contentious duality inherent to organized societies. In tracing the applied meanings of knowledge in a range of social contexts, Knight reveals the four main stages of the Merlin myth: Wisdom (early Celtic British), Advice (medieval European), Cleverness (early modern English), and Education (worldwide since the nineteenth century). If a wizard can be captured within the pages of a book, Knight has accomplished the feat.
Was Merlin a mythical character or a real person? If he was a real person, when and where did he live? In this provocative survey of all the known literary and historical sources, Jean Markale pieces together a compelling story of who and what Merlin might have been. Combining his investigation of the sources with fragments of Celtic mythology, Druidic culture, and the esoteric tradition, Markale draws an enlightening portrait of the archetypal Wild Man and shaman known as Merlin, who lived in the Lowlands of Scotland late in the sixth century, some fifty years after the reign of King Arthur. In a state of divine madness Merlin sought refuge in the forest, where he inherited the gift of prophecy. With him was his companion, Vivian, an essential element of the Merlin legend. Their sacred clearing in the woods--described in some legends as an invisible castle of glass or air--was the site of their ecstatic journey of enlightenment and union with nature. From his place in the Cosmic Tree and outside of time, Merlin the enchanter challenges us to reexamine our way of life. When the Merlin legend resurfaced in the twelth century, his message of the universal brotherhood of all beings and things called out to a rapidly urbanizing society that was losing touch with nature. His warning, which went unheeded, is no less relevant to us today than it was at the dawn of the modern era.
In post-Arthurian England, ten-year old Amby and the troupe of traveling players he belongs to are on the run from a conqueror. He has been gifted with second-sight, and when the troupe stumbles upon an unoccupied castle he is the only one in the group who senses the power that lies within the stone building. In the near future, the Fisher King, Mordred and Morgan le Fay seek to gain control of Dr. Elaine Brusen’s hypostater, a machine capable of altering fundamental reality. Both Amby and Elaine are unwittingly drawn into a power struggle that spans centuries and spills into the realm of fairy and beyond. Saberhagen reworks Arthurian legend and puts Arthur’s survival, the succession of New Camelot and Merlin’s bones on the line with an exciting blend of romance, danger and adventure.
The Quest series from Luath Press continues with the quest for all things Celtic, an investigation into aspects of Celtic history that have previously been neglected or lost. The authors argue strongly that the evidence they have uncovered within folklore, legends, the guilds, and the oral traditions of secret societies in Scotland, link together with striking similarities. They further suggest that these links are not coincidence but the last visible threads of belief systems that have been at the center of the Scottish psyche for centuries. The Celtic Key makes sense of the underlying beliefs that have contributed to, motivated, and shaped a nation through the ages. REVIEWS A fascinating journey through the mystery and magic of Scotland's past...the authors describe the people, places and traditions -- Watkins Review, London, Winter 2002, Issue no. 4A refreshing look at Scotland's past...we are presented with such a wealth of information; well worth reading -- Dalriada, journal of Celtic heritage, Scotland, 2003A spellbinding step into the...world of ancient Caledonia and the people who laid the foundations of Scotland -- West Lothian Courier newspaper, 27 June 2002An enthralling and informative journey through time which deserves a place on every Scottish bookshelf...their sources are well documented -- Scots magazine, Vol 158 No.2, 2003Without resorting to colourful conjecture...it nevertheless adds its own voice to the enduring mysteries of Scotland's Celtic heritage -- Historic Scotland magazine, Winter 2002-3 issue