From my own research, Merlin probably was a real historical figure, being a Celtic Druid. From his time line in history, he may have been influenced, not only by his own druidic beliefs, but by early Christianity… and the Sybil prophecies, from Roman influences. It is also possible that druidism was influenced by or an offshoot from ancient Jewish mysticism, as one studies the probablilty that the Prophet Jeremiah landed in Eire.
Merlin is not the only prophetic voice coming from ancient England, as we have Mother Shipton, and Coinneach Odhar Fiosaiche to name a couple. History tells us St. Paul visited the British Isles and his teachings may have influenced these prophets.
England holds some very curious prophetic history, architecture, literature, etc.
Below is a clip from the History Channel Merlin Documentary
Extracts from:
Did Merlin Exist?
Merlin and King Arthur of Britain
By N.S. Gill – About.com
Geoffrey of Monmouth on the Dates of Arthur
The 12th century cleric Geoffrey of Monmouth provides us with our earliest information on Merlin. Geoffrey of Monmouth wrote about the early history of Britain in Historia regum Britanniae (the “History of the Kings of Britain”) and Vita Merlini (“Merlin’s Life”), which was adapted from Celtic mythology. Being mythology-based, Merlin’s Life is not enough to say Merlin ever lived. To determine when Merlin may have lived, one way would be to date King Arthur, the legendary king with whom Merlin is associated.
Geoffrey Ashe, an historian and co-founder and secretary of the Camelot Research Committee, wrote about Geoffrey of Monmouth and the Arthurian legend. Ashe says Geoffrey of Monmouth connects Arthur with the tail end of the Roman Empire, in the late 5th century A.D.:
“Arthur went over to Gaul, the country now called France, which was still in the grip of the Western Roman Empire, if rather shakily.”
“This is one of the clues, of course, to when Geoffrey [of Monmouth] thinks all this is happening, because the Western Roman Empire ended in 476, so, presumably, he’s somewhere in the 5th Century. Arthur conquered the Romans, or defeated them at least, and took over a goodly part of Gaul….”
- from (www.britannia.com/history/arthur2.html) Basic Arthur, by Geoffrey Ashe
The 1st Use of the Name Artorius (Arthur)
The name of King Arthur in Latin is Artorius. The following is a further attempt to date and identify King Arthur that places Arthur earlier in time than the end of the Roman Empire, and suggests the name Arthur may have been used as an honorary title rather than a personal name.
“184 – Lucius Artorius Castus, commander of a detachment of Sarmatian conscripts stationed in Britain, led his troops to Gaul to quell a rebellion. This is the first appearance of the name, Artorius, in history and some believe that this Roman military man is the original, or basis, for the Arthurian legend. The theory says that Castus’ exploits in Gaul, at the head of a contingent of mounted troops, are the basis for later, similar traditions about King Arthur, and, further, that the name Artorius became a title, or honorific, which was ascribed to a famous warrior in the fifth century.”
- from (/www.britannia.com/history/timearth.html) Britannia’s
Timeline
Does King Arthur Belong to the Middle Ages?
Certainly the legend of King Arthur’s court started in the Middle Ages and the Medieval History Guide has a fine collection of links on the subject, but the putative figures on which the legends are based, appear to come from before the Fall of Rome.
In the shadows between Classical Antiquity and the Dark Ages lived prophets and warlords, druids and Christians, Roman Christians and the outlawed Pelagians, in an area sometimes referred to as Sub-Roman Britain, a pejorative label suggesting that the native British elements were less advanced than their Roman counterparts.
It was a time of civil war and plague — which helps explain the lack of contemporary information. Geoffrey Ashe says:
“In dark age Britain we have to recognize various adverse factor, such as the loss and destruction of manuscripts by invading armies; the character of the early material, oral rather than written; the decline of learning and even literacy among the Welsh monks who might have kept reliable records. The whole period is plunged in obscurity from the same causes. People who were certainly real and important are no better attested.”
Since we don’t have the necessary fifth and sixth century records, it’s impossible to say absolutely that Merlin did or did not exist.
Legendary Roots – Possible Merlins
Transformation of Celtic Mythology in Arthurian Legend
•There may have been a real Merlin, such as the one Nikolai Tolstoy describes in Quest for Merlin:
•The Merlin prototype may have been a Celtic druid named Lailoken who gained second sight after he went mad and escaped society to live in the forest.
•A poem from A.D. 600 describes a Welsh prophet named Myrddin.
Nennius
The 9th century monk Nennius, described as “inventive” in his history writing, wrote about Merlin, a fatherless Ambrosius, and prophesies. Despite Nennius’ lack of reliability, he is a source for us today because Nennius used fifth century sources that are no longer extant.
Math The Son of Mathonwy
(www.cyberphile.co.uk/~taff/taffnet/mabinogion/math.html)
In Math The Son of Mathonwy, from the classic collection of Welsh tales known as the Mabinogion, Gwydion, a bard and magician, performs love spells and uses cunning to protect and help an infant boy. While some see this Gwydion trickster as Arthur, others see in him Merlin.
Historical Foundations
Passages from Nennius’ History
(www.britannia.com/history/docs/nennius.html)
Sections on Vortigern include the following prophecy referred to in Part I of the Merlin television mini-series:
“You must find a child born without a father, put him to death, and sprinkle with his blood the ground on which the citadel is to be built, or you will never accomplish your purpose.” The child was Ambrose.
I was reading “The Legends of King Aurthur and His Knights” by Sir James Knowles last year. Knowles wrote that Merlin’s father was a demon, and he’d been sired to be the Antichrist, but timely Church intervention via exorcism, or whatever the procedure would be to “unevilize” a half-demon, saved him and the world from evil. This was done to prevent the end-times from occurring. This half-demon blood gave Merlin his powers.
Really cool deal on Myrddin’s Nostradamus sounding prophecies, but the global warming that one of the writer’s posited seems rather laughable. But that’s always the case with predicting the predictions! Like when the Nostradamus aficionados were all lathered up in the 90′s that Saddam Hussein was the “prince in the blue turban” who brought on the final war. Easy enough to figure these things out after they occur, but hard to divine the prophecies ahead of time. That’s why they’re prophets and I’m not I guess!