Hey everyone,

Welcome to another installment of Harry Potter Theory. In this video, we’re going to be

discussing one of if not THE most powerful wizard to have ever lived - Merlin. You’ve

probably heard of Merlin before, and if not, I’m sure you’ve at least heard the expression

‘Merlin’s Beard’ which is commonly used by Dumbledore and expresses surprise.

Merlin is a particularly interesting character because he didn’t only exist in Harry Potter

folklore, he existed in our folklore as well. We see this same sort of thing with Nicholas

Flamel. However, it should be mentioned that there are a few differences between the two

Merlins. The Merlin from our own folklore was a legendary figure known across the lands

as a prominent enchanter and wizard- he was most notably featured in Arthurian legend,

but was also a prominent figure in medieval Welsh poetry. The concept of ‘Merlin’

that we’re most familiar with first appears in Geoffrey of Monmouth’s famous work entitled:

Historia Regum Britanniae. The book was first published in 1136 and is essentially a pseudo-historical

account of British history- following the lives of the Kings of Briton over the millennia.

Merlin was created when Geoffrey combined two prominent historical figures - Myrddin

Wyltt, A north Brythonic prophet, and Ambrosius Aurelianus, a Romano-British war leader.

However, The story that we most commonly associate with Merlin in our own culture is the story

of King Arthur, and the knights of the round table. The story, which has been subject to

copious adaptations over the years, tells the tales of King Arthur, his court, his kingdom,

and his most trustworthy men. The Knights of the Round Table were a sub-order of the

Knights of Camelot created by Arthur Pendragon, and they helped him with whatever quarrels

he had to deal with. In one story, even helping him to combat his sister, Morgana Pendragon,

and her attempts to conquer Camelot. In the realm of this universes ‘Merlin’, he is

a powerful sorcerer, and the trusted and wise advisor of Arthur.

However, what is most interesting about Merlin is that he’s such an enigmatic figure. He’s

the subject of much discussion, widely because his existence has been adapted in so many

ways, and slotted in to so many different stories. There’s a certain allure about

Merlin, because he’s this figure that’s supposedly immensely wise and powerful, but

there’s still so much that is unknown about him. The fact that he appears in so many different

tales, myths and legends only adds to this mystique.

I mean, he even ended up in Harry Potter. And though Merlin isn’t explicitly mentioned

much in Harry Potter, he does pop up here and there. He’s the reason that the phrase

‘Merlins beard’ exists (as I mentioned earlier), he’s on a Hogwarts portrait, he’s

on a Chocolate Frog Card, and he’s even the founder of an organization called ‘The

Order of Merlin’.

It has been expressed that The ‘Order of Merlin’ was founded by Merlin during the

middle ages, created with the goal of promoting laws to protect and benefit muggles. While

it was once an organization, it later became an award, honouring impressive accomplishment

or good deeds. There are three different levels of the award: First Class, Second Class, and

Third Class.

The three levels of the award can be distinguished by the colour of the ribbon which holds up

a large golden medal. First class was awarded for "acts of outstanding bravery or distinction"

in magic, and was represented by a green ribbon. Second class was awarded for "achievement

or endeavour beyond the ordinary." and was represented by a purple ribbon, and Third

Class was awarded for “contributions to knowledge or entertainment’ and was represented

by a white ribbon.

Being a recipient of the Order of Merlin was a huge honour, and can be compared to being

knighted in our own world. Albus Dumbledore was the recipient of this award after his

prominent defeat of Gellert Grindelwald in 1945.

Merlin was a strong believer that the muggle and wizarding worlds should co-exist, and

founded the original organization in an effort to help alleviate any complications associated

with the coalescence of the two worlds. In the middle ages especially there was a lot

of conflict between muggles and wizards. The wizarding world was essentially wide open,

and muggles knew that witches and wizards walked among them. However, rather than embracing

them for their magical abilities, muggles were exceedingly harsh when it came to dealing

with magical folk. They treated them like freaks- like spawn of the devil, and hunted

them down in purges called ‘witch-hunts’. What this tells me about Merlin’s character

is that he was particularly pure of heart, as he was able to take the moral high ground

and still consider the greater good of the world, when his own people were being persecuted.

The secondary goal of Merlin’s organization was to create laws and legislation surrounding

the use of magic on muggles. I think that this was definitely a step in the right direction,

but unfortunately, the conflict between muggles and wizardkind proved too difficult to manage,

as the worlds eventually needed to separate entirely for balance to be found. The wizarding

world, which had a much smaller population, had to retreat into the shadows- creating

their own new world with the use of concealment charms.

Though the exact year is not specified, we know that the Merlin from the Harry Potter

universe was born sometime in the medieval era- a period in history ranging from the

fifth century to fifteenth century. This is quite a broad range of dates, but fortunately,

given the fact that we know he attended Hogwarts, we can narrow this down a bit more. Some sources

indicate that Merlin was born in 982 AD which would make him one of the very first students

at Hogwarts. Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry was founded in the year 990 AD,

which would mean that Merlin attended the school just a few years after it opened its

doors. When he started at the school, he was sorted in to Slytherin, so IF Merlin attended

the school during this period, then it would also mean that he would have been directly

taught by founder Salazar Slytherin. Other sources speculate that he was a student sometime

between the 11th and 15th century, however I am inclined to lean towards the former theory

because I think that some of Merlin’s power could be attributed to him having a teacher

as powerful as Salazar Slytherin. However, based on Merlin’s perspective on muggle/wizarding

relations, I don’t expect that Salazar rubbed off on him TOO much. A birth year of 982 would

also likely be more consistent with Arthurian legend, as those stories took place in the

11th/12th century, and Merlin was already quite old and wise. No one knows exactly how

Merlin was born, or who his parents were, but there are some theories, and I’m going

to share the one that seems to be most consistent with Arthurian Legend:

“Legend has it that Merlin was the son of a noble woman and an incubus or demon. Some

versions of the tale portray her as the daughter of the King of Northumberland. Shortly after

Merlin’s birth, the little one was baptized and cleansed of his demonic inheritance. A

paradoxical figure, he embodies an encounter between good and evil: a kindly servant endowed

by his father with supernatural powers.”

However, as we’ve seen, there are a lot of differences between the Merlin of Arthurian

legend, and the Merlin in the Harry Potter universe, so this could potentially be all

wrong. 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 is also the source of much pride for Slytherin house, as they were the house that

produced perhaps the most powerful, and definitely the most famous wizard in history. While attending

the school, Merlin studied the Cursed Vaults of Hogwarts in great detail- five legendary

rooms hidden inside Hogwarts walls that housed priceless treasures and powerful magical artefacts.

Before his death, Merlin further immortalized himself by painting his own portrait, then

enchanting it and hanging it on the wall of the school. His portrait would then serve

to inform people about the cursed vaults-however, his messages were cryptic and hard to understand.

The only character that we’ve seen that we know Merlin to have definitively interacted

with was Sir Cadogan- who was a fellow wizard and knight of the round table. Like Merlin,

Sir Cadogan’s portrait hangs on the walls of Hogwarts, and his particular portrait can

be found at the end of the Divination corridor. Cadogan might just be the closest connection

we have to the enigma that is Merlin.

Many speculate that Merlin was the most powerful wizard of all time, no questions asked, and

I think that there’s certainly an argument here. His title of ‘the prince of enchanters’

tells us right away that he was more versed in charms magic than anyone else, and charms

are one of the most difficult forms of magic to master. He was also a master of wandless

magic, though he did have a wand, and he even created a number of the spells that witches

and wizards commonly use today. Expelliarmus, have you heard of it? That was Merlin.

Merlin is such an interesting figure- the most powerful and famous wizard to have ever

lived, yet, we still don’t know so much about him. Who were his primary adversaries?

Did he know Raczidian or Ekrizdis? How did he achieve such high levels of power? Who

were his parents? Was he a pure-blood, half-blood, muggle-born? We just don’t know, and I think

that these are the things that make his character so compelling.

What do you guys know about Merlin? There are so many different stories and myths and

tales that speak of him, I know I’ve only scratched the surface. Do me a favour and

comment down below what YOU know about Merlin so that I can learn a little bit more myself.

Until next time

YER A WIZARD ARRY