Customer Reviews

Merlin: Priest of Nature

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4 star:		(3)
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Merlin, the wizard, has always attracted our attention whether as children or adults. Personally, I can't say exactly why, but after reading Markale's book, I was convinced he might have some answers for that question.

A wonderful and very complete research work; this book contains quite a lot about Merlin and all the mythology around the character. I started reading this book merely to spend my free time in something insightful, but after a couple of pages, I was really interested in the content.

Covering nearly every aspect of Merlin's figure, it analyses not only ancient texts regarding Merlin the wizard, but parallel texts and poems, middle ages' romances and even some doubtful sources. I found quite interesting not only the focus on the legend but also the analysis of related subjects such as Vivian, the Lady of the Lake; or Merlin's druidic heritage and its implications in modern western way of thought.

The book might not be the best choice for a neophyte willing to start familiarizing with the myths and truths about Merlin, since it seems to be written in quite a formal and scholar style, but after one gets used to this, the fun part begins. I never was such a fan of Merlin and all the Arthurian legends, but this book turned me into a celtophile!

Merlin, the wizard, has always attracted our attention whether as children or adults. Personally, I can't say exactly why, but after reading Markale's book, I was convinced he might have some answers for that question.

A wonderful and very complete research work; this book contains quite a lot about Merlin and all the mythology around the character. I started reading this book merely to spend my free time in something insightful, but after a couple of pages, I was really interested in the content.

Covering nearly every aspect of Merlin's figure, it analyses not only ancient texts regarding Merlin the wizard, but parallel texts and poems, middle ages' romances and even some doubtful sources. I found quite interesting not only the focus on the legend but also the analysis of related subjects such as Vivian, the Lady of the Lake; or Merlin's druidic heritage and its implications in modern western way of thought.

The book might not be the best choice for a neophyte willing to start familiarizing with the myths and truths about Merlin, since it seems to be written in quite a formal and scholar style, but after one gets used to this, the fun part begins. I never was such a fan of Merlin and all the Arthurian legends, but this book turned me into a celtophile!

_If you are primarily looking for the Merlin of the Arthurian romances, you will find little of him here. This book places him far to the north in the Scottish lowlands- 50 years after the time of Arthur.

_Yet, this is absolutely the best study of Merlin that I have ever seen. It is not some dry-as-dust "scholarly" work, for Merkale understands the deepest archetypical meaning of Merlin. While he does a thorough job in examining the literary texts, he then proceeds to delve deeper. He sees in Merlin the classic Celtic shaman- the successor to the Druids. Merlin occupies a very specific place in the cult of the ancient Celts- a place in the absolute Center, transcendent of time and space. Here is the archetype of the initiated master of ecstasy who is responsible for the ritual communication with divinity- for the benefit of the community, but apart from it. He is the embodyment of Cernunnos. He is also a madman. Like Dagda or Gargantua, he has to be. He is the Wild Man at one with nature. As such he disturbs the order of the "civilized" world and forces it to re-examine itself. This is the mission of the wise man.

Don't be mistaken into thinking that this is "only" a book about
Merlin. It is also a study of the deepest and most powerful core of spiritual tradition.

Markale always writes deep, rich prose which communicates on many levels. In this book, he reveals his multiple dimensions as poet, philosopher, historian, and storyteller. Every observation, every inference is almost a universe in itself, drawing on complex contexts which in turn resonate with wider implications. Markale's erudition is staggering, at times almost overwhelming for the reader who has not yet established some background knowledge of Celtic myth and the person of Merlin. Markale is as challenging as he is rewarding to experience if one is willing to immerse him- or herself in magical waters. One cannot assimilate Markale's perspective without undergoing a personal change in one's own way of being. Markale is his own Merlin in this respect. If you look at his photo on the back cover, you will understand what I mean.

Wild man of the woods. Madman. Shaman. Druid. Wise fool. Trickster. These are all of the themes Markale (aka Jean Bertrand) explores in great depth concerning the famous wizard from Arthurian legend. Drawing from a large range of sources, he waxes mystical and profound on the deeper meaning of the figure of Merlin, starting with his own translations of the primary sources from Wales, Brittany, Ireland, and more, and weaving together a startling portrait of the young-old wizard in his quest to understand the meaning of Merlin and his sister-wife the fairy Vivian, Lady of the Lake. This is heavy stuff.

But reader be warned: Markale is not your everyday "Celtic Scholar"--he is controversial and has been accused of sloppy scholarship. His work is therefore challenging from this perspective, as he often makes startling connections and makes bold statements without giving the reader a reference to look for him/herself, though a careful reading can separate out the wild from the wonderful. And as you read through this work, you may notice that more than a little of the Merlin of legend lives on in the author, being somewhat of curious blend of wise man, illusionist, seer, mystic, and even with a touch of the madman. But what a glorious work!

Markale seems to be fond of depth psychology, though he rarely cites much beyond the odd reference to Freud, which is strange since his primary inspiration should have been Jung: the entire book could be argued as an amplification of the archeytpal sorcerer-shaman, and indeed some of the material here has been touched on by Emma Jung (Carl Jung's wife) in her book "The Grail Legend", only that book adopts a much more principled approach and a careful delineation of source, analysis, and theory that is sometimes difficult to untangle here.

Nevertheless, despite these difficulties, Markale makes some remarkable insights and has much to offer, as well as an obvious passion for the material. He not only goes over most of the sources that deal with Merlin, but also he reviews the numerous parallels that exist, of mysterious madmen who retreat into the woods to be with their fairy lovers, those who speak with animals, prophesy, and weave spells. And he does not stop there, but continues to theorize on what it all means for Western civilization, in an attempt to explain why, at the dawn of the 12th century, such a tenacious legend coalesced into one of the most unforgettable mythic characters in the world. Obviously this is not simply a matter of "folk tradition", because why Merlin? Why the same themes over and over? Why did it persist? Markale offers some penetrating guesses to these questions.

In all, however, I would not recommend this work to a beginner. Markale's sometimes dizzying forays into comparative material, speculation, poetic utterance and philosophizing is likely to overwhelm and confuse the neophyte. Rather, for those interested, I would recommend the work of Geoffrey Ashe, who has written more accessible (and less controversial) books on Merlin and Arthur, followed by Emma Jung and von Franz's classic Jungian analysis of the Grail legend, before tackling this misty, blurry, but brilliant feast of Merlin-Magic, shrouded as it is in druid mist but full of knowledgeable salmon.

I hope this review has been useful to you.