Merlin
According to the Annals of Wales, Merlin was Bard or Chief Adviser to the Dark Age Warlord Gwenddoleu. Warrior, shaman, prophet, druid, shape-shifter, magician and adviser of kings, Merlin is the most enigmatic figure in the entire Arthurian Cycle.
Some believe he may have been a priest of the pagan god Mabon, linked to the cult of the Northern Apollo. Echoes of that solar deity still linger in local place names like Clackmabenstane and Lochmaben.
So was it at Liddel Strength, when the warbands of Gwenddoleu prepared for battle, that Merlin invoked the powers of the Old Celtic gods?
It is said that during the slaughter at Arthuret, Merlin experienced an horrific vision, went mad and fled into the forest where he lived like a wild animal until, according to one account, he was murdered by shepherds.
If you think it strange that the Welsh Annals should mention a place that now forms the Border of England and Scotland, it is best to remember that in those far off days, before either of those countries existed, the language spoken in this part of Britain was Britonic, a form of Old Welsh.
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