Fiction featuring Merlin
The wizard Merlin features as a character in numerous works of fiction including Arthurian fiction. The following works are either told from Merlin's point of view, or are based on the earlier legends of Merlin.
Novels and plays
- Mark Twain made Merlin the villain in his 1889 novel A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court. He is presented as a complete charlatan with no real magic power, and the character seems to stand for (and to satirise) superstition, yet at the very last chapter of the book Merlin suddenly seems to have a real magic power and he puts the protagonist into a centuries-long sleep (as Merlin himself was put to sleep in the original Arthurian canon).
- C. S. Lewis used the figure of Merlin Ambrosius in his 1946 novel That Hideous Strength, the third book in the Space Trilogy. In it, Merlin has supposedly lain asleep for centuries to be awakened for the battle against the materialistic agents of the devil, able to consort with the angelic powers because he came from a time when sorcery was not yet a corrupt art. Lewis's character of Ransom has apparently inherited the title of Pendragon from the Arthurian tradition. Merlin also mentions "Numinor," a nod to J. R. R. Tolkien's Númenor.
- The Galician author Álvaro Cunqueiro published Merlín y familia in 1957. In it, Merlin dwells in the Galician forest of Esmelle and is visited by mythical figures seeking magical advice. It synthesizes Arthurian legend and Galician folktales.
- T.H. White's 1958 Arthurian retelling, The Once and Future King, in which "Merlyn", as White calls him, has the curious affliction of living backwards in time to everyone else. This affliction also appears in Dan Simmons' Hyperion as the "Merlin sickness."
- Mary Stewart's Merlin Trilogy. "Myrddin Emrys" (Merlin Ambrosius) is the protagonist of the first two novels, The Crystal Cave (1970) and The Hollow Hills (1973), which are based on earlier traditions of the character, as shown above. The last book of the trilogy, The Last Enchantment, and a related book, The Wicked Day, focus more on Arthur and Mordred, though the former is still told from his viewpoint. Stewart portrays Aurelius Ambrosius (brother to Uther Pendragon) as his father, and thus makes him Arthur's cousin. Here Merlin goes mad due to Morgause's poison.
- Marion Zimmer Bradley's 1979 The Mists of Avalon retells the Arthurian legend with Morgan Le Fay as protagonist, in the tradition of John Gardner's Grendel. It includes two distinct characters who, in succession, hold the title of "The Merlin of Britain," an office which grants leadership of the Druids in the same way that "The Lady of the Lake" is the title of the high priestess of Avalon. The division of the Merlin character of the Arthurian canon into two different persons enables Bradley to have in the early part of the story an elderly, fatherly Merlin to be Arthur's mentor, and in the later part - a younger Merlin with whom Nimue could fall tragically in love. This usage ("the Merlin") has found its way into a fair amount of subsequent Arthurian fiction.
- Arthurian scholar Nikolai Tolstoy (a relation of Leo Tolstoy) wrote a non-fiction book, The Quest For Merlin (1985), and a historical fantasy, The Coming of the King (1988), the first of an unfinished trilogy. The latter book's depiction of Merlin may be the most historically accurate of all, since he lives after Arthur's death. The hero Beowulf even appears as an invader.
- Merlin (1988) and Pendragon (1994), the second and fourth book of Stephen Lawhead's Pendragon Cycle, are narrated by Merlin (Myrddin) and seen through his viewpoint. Lawhead makes him a half-Atlantean king of Dyfed who goes insane, but recovers after years of living in the forests; he then assumes the roles of prophet, adviser and bard.
- T.A. Barron portrays Merlin as a young man in his The Lost Years of Merlin series, and as an adult in its sequel series, The Great Tree of Avalon. Merlin also figures prominently in Barron's Merlin Effect, which may be in the same fictional continuity.
- Kara Dalkey has written a trilogy called Water for young adults where Niniane and Merlin (known as Nia and Corwin respectively) must recover Excalibur to save Atlantis, the underwater city in which she lives. The books are subtitled Ascension, Reunion, and Transformation.
- René Barjavel's L'Enchanteur.
- Michel Rio's "Merlin."
- Merlin, by Robert Nye, (1978, Hamish Hamilton, ISBN 0-241-89952-4) is a bawdy, irreverent version of the Arthurian story, as relived by Merlin after Nimue has trapped him.
- William Rowley's The Birth of Merlin (play, 1622)
- Merlin was a Broadway musical in 1983 featuring illusionist Doug Henning and music by Elmer Bernstein.
- Irene Radford portrays a tragically human Merlin in Guardian of the Balance, the first book in the Merlin's Descendants series. Merlin is, through his daughter, the ancestor of other major characters in the series.
- Merlin is one of the main characters in the Magic Tree House series of children's books by Mary Pope Osborne. He appears in the later volumes of the series, known as the Merlin Missions.
- Merlin is a Druid who rules over Avalon in Bernard Cornwell's The Warlord Chronicles. He is portrayed as an anti-Christian, lecherous, sarcastic and condescending mystic who is obsessed with bringing back the old gods of Britain.
- Fred Saberhagen's novel Merlin's Bones is told partly from the perspective of a young Merlin.
- In Diana Wynne Jones's book The Merlin Conspiracy, Merlin is not one person, but a title. The Merlin is entrusted with the kingdom's magical health.
- Merlin, called Aurelianus, is a character in Tim Powers's 1979 novel "The Drawing of the Dark" which describes the reincarnation of King Arthur, an Irishman named Brian Duffy, leading the forces of the West in battle against the forces of the East in 16th century Vienna.
- Merlin is the name of a powerful magician in Roger Zelazny's The Chronicles of Amber whos story cycle follows that of Corwin, this protagonists father, a warrior in the vein of King Arthur.
- Merlin is the main character in Robert Holdstock's Merlin's Codex trilogy of mythic fiction novels which traces Merlin's adventures in Europe over a span of two millennia. Merlin is also a major character in Holdstock's novel Merlin's Wood.
- Stephen R. Lawhead writes an account of Merlin in his fantasy series, The Pendragon Cycle (Merlin is Book Two of the five-book series).
- Stephen King mentions a character called Maerlyn in the Dark Tower series of novels, as well as the prequel comic The Gunslinger Born. Although this Maerlyn is an adviser to an alternative Earth's version of King Arthur, he appears to be evil, as he sires the evil sorcerer Marten Broadcloak and creates the soul-corrupting Wizard's Rainbow.
- Simon Green's Nightside series contains a character named Merlin Satanspawn, who is the son of the Devil and who was King Arthur's mentor and friend.
- Susan Cooper's The Dark Is Rising series has Merlin as the central character in an Arthurian fantasy series about the battle between "the Dark and the Light". The child characters know him as "Gummerry" (contraction of Great Uncle Merry). He is also variously known as Professor Merriman Lyon, Merry Lyon, Mer-lion and Merlin.
- Merlin also appears a the antagonist in James A Owen's The Indigo King in the Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographicum series. In the Book Owen discusses the development of Merlin into the Cartographer of the Imaginarium Geographica.
- Cyr Myrddin, the Coming of Age of Merlin by Michael de Angelo is the story of the early life of Merlin as he searches for his destiny. Gododdin Publishing 2009
- In Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling Merlin is mentioned several times throughout the series.
- Sherrilyn Kenyon (writing under the name of Kinley MacGregor) includes a "Penmerlin Emrys" of Arthurian legend in her Lords of Avalon series.
- Robert Nye published a Merlin book in 1978. Though dedicated to Malory it draws rather from the earlier texts, curiously intertwining references to Kaballah and explicit erotic passages.
- In The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher the Merlin is the title of the leader of the White Council.
Video games
Various video games, especially those with a magic or Arthurian background have presence of Merlin as a figure, sometimes just as a reference but he appears, too, as himself.
- In Gauntlet, Merlin is one of the 4 playable heroes.
- In Master of Magic, Merlin is one of the predefined wizards.
- In Zoda's Revenge: StarTropics II Merlin gives the protagonist, Mike, psychic attacks to help him throughout game.
- Young Merlin, videogame about Merlin's youth.
- In Kingdom Hearts Merlin, depicted in the same way as his appearance in Disney's The Sword in the Stone, is the wizard that gives you a tutorial on both summon magic, and elemental magic. He is one of the main bases of the game and helps widen the story.
- In Merlin's Revenge game series Merlin is the main protagonist.
- In RuneScape Merlin is a part of three quests, including Merlin's Crystal, The Holy Grail and King's Ransom.
- In Sonic and the Black Knight the character Merlina is based on Merlin. Merlin is Merlina's Grandfather.
Television
See the more comprehensive list at List of films in which Merlin appears.
Music
- Merlin is an opera composed by Karl Goldmark that premiered in 1886.
- "Merlin" is also an opera by Spanish composer Isaac Albéniz completed in 1902 but not premiered until 2004.
- A fictionalized version of Merlin appears in Ayreon's first album, The Final Experiment.
- Merlin is played by Bob Catley of Magnum on the rock operas Once and Future King Part I and Once and Future King Part II, composed by Gary Hughes of Ten.
- On Rick Wakeman's 1975 album The Myths and Legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, the fourth track is entitled "Merlin, the Magician"