DM> DJ> Isn't it argued that Merlin isn't really a magician, but a wise
DM> DJ> man?
DM> DM> Everything I've seen says that Merlin is thw greatest wizard of his
DM> DM> time, *and* a "wise man /advisor to kings".  He was supposed to be
DM> DM> *the* one of that age.
DM> MG> If any of the legand existed in recognizable form, that is.
DM>Oh, absolutely... as I said in the post, both Gulliver and The Odyssey
DM>have a single source, whereas Merlin - and the whole Arthurian legend -
DM>is cobbled together from bits and bobs, most of which don't quite
DM>agree with each other.  I think some of the confusion arises from the
DM>fact that some books call Merlin a "sage" (a wise man), while others
DM>call him a "mage".
Merlin doesn't appear in the literature until nearly 300 years after the
first known mention of Arthur. (The tale of Excalibur is an "add-on"
that appears almost 100 years after Merlin)! In his first known
appearance, Merlin was a teacher and counselour to Arthur. The Mage part
was introduced into the cycle later.
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