Merlin
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Le Morte D'Arthur
The Mists of Avalon

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


Le Morte D'Arthur
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Other Names - [none]
Mother - a nun
Father - "the devil himself"
Foster Parents/Siblings - [none]
Siblings - [none]
Wife - [none]
Other Lovers - Nyneve
Children - [none]
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Merlin was the magical teacher of Arthur.  He roughly exited the novel around the time that Arthur married Guenevere.  He taught Arthur to be a good king.  With his help, Arthur becomes the greates king the world has ever seen.  No one knows really where he came from. Mallory states somewhere that he was the only son of a nun and "the devil himself".  That makes for a strange combination.  He was magical and could shift his shape into anything he wanted.  He also often made predictions about the future.  It was he that disguised Uther and let him into the castle to impregnate Igraine and make Arthur.  It was he that whisked Arthur away and put him under the care of his foster parents.  And it was he that finally brought together Arthur and his mother.  In the end of his part of the story, he was imprisoned by his love, the sorceress, Nyneve.
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The Mists of Avalon
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Other Names - Talisin
Mother - [we don't know]
Father - "no mortal father"
Foster Parents/Siblings - [none]
Siblings - [none]
Wife - [none]
Other Lovers - Ana, other
Children -  Viviane, Igraine, Morgause
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Talisin is the Druid that filled the post of Merlin of Britain during most of King Arthur's reign.  He is the Merlin that most people associate with Arthur. He was born of no mortal father.  We don't know what happened to him and how he grew up but he first enters the picture when we realize that he is the father of Igraine, Arthur's mother.  That would make him Arthur's grandfather.  He was also the Chief Druid and the Chief Bard at one time or another.  He trained his successor, Kevin, and then we lose track of him.  In Mists, Bradley doesn't give us any real indication of what happens to him.  He just gets older and eventually stops leaving Avalon alltogether.  That's when Kevin takes over.  She doesn't tell us anything of Nyneve or a love that helps him to his death.
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