Hey everyone,
Welcome to another installment of Harry Potter Theory. In today’s video, we’re going
to be discussing a powerful wizard whose name you’ve probably heard before- just not in
the context of Harry Potter, and that wizard’s name is Merlin. More specifically- we’re
going to be addressing the question: did Merlin, the most powerful wizard to have ever lived,
attend HOGWARTS?
Before we get started it’s certainly worth mentioning that the enigmatic figure known
as ‘Merlin’ has existed for many many years across many different tales and fables.
Most notably, Merlin is known for his prevalence in Arthurian Legend- in which he is associated
with King Arthur and the Knights of the round table. The tales surrounding King Arthur,
Merlin, and his knights have been subject to copious adaptations over the years- but
one thing seems to be mostly consistent across all of them: Merlin is a powerful, wise sorcerer-
and a trusted advisor of Arthur.
According to legend, this version of Merlin is said to be ‘the son of a noble woman
and an incubus or demon’ and that shortly after Merlin’s birth, he was baptized and
cleansed of his demonic inheritance. This explains his supernatural powers.
But while Merlin was very well established in Arthurian Legend, it didn’t take long
for him to also crop up in Harry Potter- for you see, Merlin, the wise and powerful, also
existed in the same wizarding world as Voldemort and Harry Potter. Right from the beginning
of the story, we hear mentions of Merlin’s name in different contexts- ‘Merlin’s
Beard’ the common wizarding expression, ‘The Order of Merlin’ - a wizarding achievement
award named after a society he founded, and even on chocolate frog cards. Given Merlin’s
heritage and prevalence in modern wizarding society- this leaves one big question wide
open: did Merlin, the most powerful wizard to have ever lived- attend HOGWARTS?
Originally founded in the 10th century, Hogwarts has been the home to many powerful witches
and wizards over the years, and you might not be surprised to hear that YES- Merlin
did attend the famous wizarding school. However- it’s also worth mentioning that the Merlin
from Arthurian Legend is said to have existed prior to the 10th century, which means that
Rowling’s version of Merlin came in to existence a little later.
When Merlin actually went to Hogwarts is unknown- but if I had to theorize I would say that
it was somewhere near the beginning- making him one of the schools first students. So
now that we’ve established that he went to the school, we need to answer the next
big question on people’s minds: which house was he in? As it turns out, he was a Slytherin.
Historically, Merlin has been a source of much pride for Slytherin house, as they were
in fact the house that produced perhaps the most powerful, and definitely the most famous
wizard in history. What’s interesting about this, however, is that historically Slytherin
has been the house most closely associated with prejudice toward muggles- particularly
in that era. Merlin, however, did not share these same beliefs- and was actually a strong
believer that the muggle and wizarding worlds should co-exist.
While attending the school, Merlin proved to be an exceptionally gifted wizard, particularly
in the realm of charms, earning his title of ‘The Prince of Enchanters’. This is
supported by Merlin’s very own chocolate frog card, which was created to immortalize
him after his demise:
"Medieval, dates unknown. Most famous wizard of all time. Sometimes known as the Prince
of Enchanters. Part of the Court of King Arthur."
Merlin of course eventually graduated from Hogwarts, but did return later in life to
paint his own portrait- which he hung on the walls of the school.
Did you all know about Merlin? Let me know in the comment section below.
Until next time
Merlin’s Beard!