A Merlin—Cathbad Connection? The Druidic Origins of the World’s Most Famous Wizard

Before Dumbledore, before Obi-Wan, before Dr. Strange, before Yen Sid (yes, that’s the name of the sorcerer from Fantasia—it’s Disney spelled backwards), before Gandalf, there was Merlin.

The famed wizard from Arthurian legend can shapeshift, control the weather, predict the future, move megaliths—basically anything the heart desires or a plot requires.

But is this robed, long-bearded, and occasionally pointy-hatted seer/enchanter/demon-offspring and Antichrist (we’ll get into it) also a druid?

Pssst. You can watch a video adaptation of this essay right here. Text continues below.

Does Merlin Fit the Definition of “Druid”?

According to Scottish journalist and scholar Lewis Spence, the answer is an unequivocal “yes.” And I quote: 

“Merlin is, in fact, the typical Druid or wise man of Celtic tradition.”

As someone who’s written extensively about druids, I tend to agree with this assessment. 

From a purely historical standpoint, druids were intellectual elites who studied both natural and moral philosophy, and who used their extensive knowledge to settle disputes and advise Celtic chieftains. 

Indeed, writing in the first century CE, the Greek philosopher and orator Dio Chrysostom noted that the druids were “devoted to the prophetic art and to wisdom in general,” and that kings were “not permitted to do or plan anything without the assistance of these wise men, so that in truth it was they who ruled, while the kings became their subordinates and instruments of their judgment.”

Turns out Merlin fits this description to a T.

He is, of course, famous for being King Arthur’s right-hand magic man.

But more than that, Merlin is the one who sets King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table on their quest for the Holy Grail.

And before that, it is Merlin who foretells the birth of Arthur’s dastardly descendant Mordred and the fall of Arthur’s kingdom.

And before that, it is Merlin who sets up the whole sword-in-the-stone contest that will establish Arthur’s right to rule.

And before that, it is Merlin who selects the original fifty Knights of the Round Table.

And before that, it is Merlin who casts a spell that changes Arthur’s father Uther Pendragon’s appearance, thus allowing him to beget Arthur in the first place.

Oh, right, and before that, it is Merlin who interprets a dragon-shaped comet as a sign that Uther will become king, and when that prophecy comes true, it sets all of the aforementioned events in motion.

Sooo yeah, in true druidic fashion, Merlin is really the one running the show at Camelot.

Was Merlin Inspired by the Mythical Irish Druid Cathbad?

Now, anyone familiar with the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology might have noticed some parallels between Merlin and the chief druid Cathbad, who, famously, is the right-hand magic man of the Ulster king Conchobar mac Nessa.

In Conchobar’s court at Emain Macha, no one is allowed to speak to him, the king, lest he has spoken first…with the exception of Cathbad the druid.

When Cathbad is present, it is the king who must wait to speak. 

Thus, at Emain Macha, Cathbad is the one who is really running the show, a fact that is further evidenced by…

• A) Cathbad playing a major role in getting Conchobar conceived in the first place; 
• B) Cathbad making a prophecy about the rise of Conchobar’s—and Ulster’s—and, arguably, all of Ireland’s—greatest champion, Cú Chulainn; and 
• C) Cathbad foretelling that the legendary beauty of Deirdre of the Sorrows would ultimately lead to the destruction of Conchobar’s kingdom—a prophecy that inevitably comes true.

There’s enough connective tissue here to make one wonder:

Was the mythical magician Merlin based on the mythical druid Cathbad? 

Because there is a theory that Arthurian legend is essentially an offshoot or reimagining of Irish mythology’s Ulster cycle.

Look no further than the Green Knight for an example of this reimagination process in action.

And there’s an even wilder theory that suggests King Arthur and Cú Chulainn are both manifestations of Halley’s Comet.

Of course, it’s also possible that the Merlin myths and Cathbad myths are similar because both are rooted in Celtic lore. 

To quote British historian Peter Berresford Ellis:

“The fact that one can see relationships and counterparts demonstrates that Irish mythology is not a separate entity from the rest of the Celtic world. In it we find echoes of a common Celtic mythological, religious and, perhaps, historical experience (source: A Dictionary of Irish Mythology.”

And that leads us to another way of thinking about the “Is Merlin a druid?” question.

Geoffrey of Monmouth’s Alleged Merlin Muses

Thus far we’ve focused on the fictional character of Merlin. But what about the historical or quasi-historical figures Merlin was based on? Were any of them druids?

The consensus is that the Anglican bishop Geoffrey of Monmouth, who introduced Merlinus Ambrosius in his 12th-century Prophetiæ Merlini (Prophecies of Merlin), based the character on two earlier figures: 

• Ambrosius Aurelianus, a historical 5th-century Romano-British military leader who famously fended off the invading Anglo-Saxons, and…

• Myrddin Wyllt, i.e., Myrddin the Wild, a Welsh poet who fled a 6th-century battle, sought refuge in a Scottish forest, and returned to civilization with the power of prophecy. 

It is that second figure, no doubt, who seems to have had the biggest influence on the creation of Merlin. 

And according to British historian Nikolai Tolstoy:

“Myrddin was a pagan druid or bard, surviving in a predominantly Christian age…

“Possibly in name and certainly in function he was the Chief Druid, who presided over rituals necessary to preserve the harmony of the natural order (source: The Quest for Merlin).

I mean, that pretty much settles it, right?

By imbuing Merlin with Myrddin characteristics, Geoffrey of Monmouth effectively made his character a druid—even if it wasn’t a deliberate choice.

Indeed, it seems Geoffrey did his best to Christianize Merlin, explaining away what one could describe as Merlin’s druidic abilities by making him a cambion, i.e., the offspring of a mortal woman and a demon.

Such Christianization efforts would continue under the tutelage of the late 12th-/early 13th-century French poet Robert de Boron, who, on top of the whole demon-spawn angle, added that Merlin was on track to become the Antichrist until a priest intervened and baptized him.

Was Myrddin Wyllt a Real Person?

The only hiccup in this “Myrddin was a druid so Merlin is basically a druid, too” argument is that Myrddin, like Merlin, was most likely a fictional character.

Or at best, he was quasi-historical.

If Myrddin Wyllt had truly existed, there would likely be some poetry attributed to him, as is the case with the 6th-century Brittonic bard Taliesin, who (theoretically) would have been Myrddin’s contemporary.

What’s more, while Taliesin is included in the 9th-century Historia Brittonum’s list of the greatest Welsh poets, Myrddin is not.

Now, Nikolai Tolstoy would counter that Christians destroyed all of Myrddin’s poetry because of its pagan leanings and that he doesn’t appear in the Welsh poets list because he was actually Scottish.

But modern scholars would counter-counter that a lot of pagan-ish sounding Brittonic poetry was not destroyed and if Myrddin was an actual Scottish poet and not a Welsh invention, why was his name derived from the Welsh place name Caerfyrddin?

Wild Men All the Way Down: The Celtic Motif That Birthed Merlin

It is possible, however, that the character of Myrddin does have a Scottish connection, insofar as he was based on the Scottish Lailoken, a sixth-century battlefield-fleeing forest-dweller who, according to the 15th-century tale Lailoken and Kentigern, was also called Merlynum.

But when you consider that Lailoken has an Irish counterpart in the seventh-century battlefield-fleeing forest-dweller Suibne Geilt (or Mad Sweeney) and that there are three other forest-dwellers—Goll, Bolcán, and Mis—who (allegedly) fled the third-century Irish Battle of Ventry, it becomes clear that in all of these cases, what we’re dealing with here isn’t pure history but a folklore motif. 

Specifically, the Celtic Wild Man of the Woods motif. 

Could this motif perhaps have been inspired by the behaviors of actual, historical druids, who were known to convene in oak groves, and who would climb trees in order to cut down mistletoe, and whose very title, druid, can be translated as “knower of the oak”?

Let me know what you think in the comments.

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Further Reading

The Druids and King Arthur: A New View of Early Britain by Robin Melrose

The Book of Merlin: Magic, Legend and History by John Matthews

Scotland’s Merlin: A Medieval Legend and Its Dark Age Origins by Tim Clarkson 

The Lost Years of Merlin (Book One) by T. A. Barron

The Merlin Trilogy by Mary Stewart

The True History of Merlin the Magician by Anne Lawrence-Mathers

Magic in Merlin’s Realm: A History of Occult Politics in Britain by Francis Young

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Want to learn more about Arthurian Legend?

I recommend the audiobook King Arthur: History and Legend, written and narrated by Dorsey Armstrong. Use my link to get 3 free months of Audible Premium Plus and you can listen to the full 15-hour audiobook for free.

Want to learn about the darker side of Irish mythology? Check out…

Samhain in Your Pocket

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Neon Druid: An Anthology of Urban Celtic Fantasy

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