The detail of Merlin’s story is derived largely from single sources. The few manuscripts, which have survived, are copies of copies, made long after the actual events, and inevitably they incorporate interpretations, mistakes and contradictions.
Robin Crichton believes we shouldn’t throw away centuries of history because the records are incomplete. Listen to his video, or read on…
These sources, fall short in historical terms of modern forensic academic standards. During the 18th century Enlightenment and the 19th century, conjecture was acceptable. Historians visited the sites of events, examined the evidence of the oral and written accounts that existed, applied the tests of cause and effect and were not afraid to conjecture on the balance of the evidence. But today’s historians aim for absolute clarity through sharp distinctions, rigorous logic and binary analysis, They tend to concentrate narrowly on textual evidence, which can be checked and crosschecked to be proven beyond reasonable doubt.
The 5th and 6th centuries AD were one of the most dynamic and dramatic periods in our history when the elements which eventually formed Scotland were beginning to take shape. But the 150 years from the Romans to St Columba have been relegated to darkness or at best a passing reference. The 2021 edition of The Oxford History of Britain states that in this period “the turbulent, fractured, schizophrenic history of the Celtic nations, comes out as little more than a myth, fit for the refuse heap of history”. History is inevitably always told from the cultural perspective of the historian, and I would suggest that the English view of British History is seen predominantly from an Anglo-Saxon point of view. In the North, the traditional Celtic way of life had survived the Romanisation of the South and the process of change was more gradual.
It was a time when the traditional clan system in the North was gradually moving towards the emergence of feudal kings and kingdoms. The old pagan religion was being challenged by Christian beliefs originating from the Near East. The Welsh language, once spoken throughout the whole of Britain south of the Scottish Highlands, was being challenged in the west by the incoming Gaelic language from Ireland and in the east, the English language from what is now the German/Danish border.
In the Celtic culture, the oral transmission of history was considered more accurate than by handwritten documents. This oral system was governed by a rhythm and a complex syntax which immediately highlighted any mistakes, like a bum note in a music score. With the handwritten copying it was easier to misread, misspell or for political reasons to deliberately change a word.
Modern day social anthropologists, working with preliterate cultures, developed methods of assessing and recording oral history. A starting point is the genealogies of rulers of the various clans which undoubtedly contain inaccuracies but nevertheless provide a basic timeline and pattern of interaction between the clans. Membership of a clan is by descent,i nteraction of kith and kin associates events with particular places. Place names help position them in the landscape. Archaeological excavation, folk memory, local customs, even nursery rhymes, often reflect real people and contain the seeds of truth that hint at their origins and deeds. But there is also confusion. Incoming languages changed place names. Relocating events to local locations gave them greater immediacy. Dates can vary up to 35 years because of the difference between the Roman and Celtic calendars. Evidence is constantly open to review.
How much was subsequently slanted by clerical propaganda in later ecclesiastical copying? Stories of the past were used to promote ideals and social values and gave a sense of cultural identity. For example, Merlin is closely linked in legend, with King Arthur but the events associated with Arthur all took place two generations before Merlin was born. So, the question in interpreting this Dark Age heritage is how much poetic license is there in near contemporary accounts and how much was ‘borrowed’ to make a better story?
Merlin is a real historical figure, known in Cymric Welsh as Lailoken who lived and died in what is now southern Scotland and who has become an international legend. Over the last 1500 years, names of people and places have been changed and the events altered to make them more relevant to changing times and more entertaining, but the key elements remain the same, with heroic role-models championing modern ideals righting wrongs with sense over stupidity, good over bad and defining our place in a modern world. But somewhere, behind the myth and imagination in an often forgotten past there lies a seed of historical truth and a hidden heritage.
What is fact and what is fiction?
Much of the detail which follows is open to question but taken together I believe the whole is close to the probable truth. This is my personal interpretation, often examining various options and leaving the challenge for you, the reader, is to assemble the jigsaw for yourself.
Examine the evidence. Explore the unknown. Question the conclusions, follow the leads, and evaluate what seems most likely. Form your own hypothesis and see if stands up.
Venture into a largely forgotten Celtic world where many academics prefer to claim it is dark for scientific scrutiny. If their methods of textual analysis fail to come up with answers, is it valid to propose that for 300 years there is no history, and we must consign it to “the refuse heap of history”?
We may not have the total truth demanded by the textual parameters of the Oxford British history, but surely non-textual methods of research can be incremental, gradually revealing glimmers of light as technology develops. Surely this is better than simply writing off hundreds of years to total darkness?
