Upon The Pile

I am posting this article 'about Merlin', out of interest, and of a need of 'secondary evidence' concerning him, from any viable source...especially, a source on or near his own, now ancient patch. This particular article confirms, several connections, without a stone rolled over. B.J.C.

Note: According to tales, he lived in the forests of Caledonia. He had been a bard for Lord Gwenddoleu but was driven mad after witnessing the slaughter of his lord and his forces at the Battle of Arfderydd by Riderch Hael, King of Alt Clut (Strathclyde) in 573AD. Source: The Scotsman (see below)

It is further, a mystery to me, that tenure holds greater status, than truth...through investigation, as is suggested below: B.J.C.

"No respectable Cambridge historian is going to be seen as the guy who studies their lives. But I'm not a professional historian, so I don't have a reputation to look out for. What I've tried to do is make sense of the history." Source: The Scotsman


Merlin's a Weegie – (Adjective. Weegie (not comparable) Of or pertaining to Glasgow, Glaswegian.
Weegie - Wiktionary)


Merlin's A Weegie

and he hails from Partick
Published: 01:42 Monday 27 August 2007
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ONLY in the hearts of locals could Partick be described as "magical". The tenement flats in the West End of Glasgow may have given us Billy Connolly and his big banana feet, but Merlin the Magician?
Yet this is exactly the proposition of Adam Ardrey, the advocate, former SNP candidate and author of a new book which places the wizard of Disney's The Sword in the Stone as a resident of Ardery Street, just off Dumbarton Road - albeit, circa 600AD.

There is no evidence, as yet, that the Lady in the Lake lived next door.

Today, the modern red brick flats of Ardery Street are a long way from Camelot, the marble and turreted citadel where King Arthur held court and Merlin guided his hand. Yet 1,400 years ago the area was open countryside, a fertile spot where the River Kelvin meets the Clyde and where, according to Mr Ardrey's investigations, the man who would be Merlin lived in considerable comfort.

To critics, it is bad enough that an amateur historian has claimed the Arthurian hero, or villain (depending on the text you read) as a Scot, a snub to alternative claims made by the English, Welsh and French, without then going even further and identifying his postcode. "As soon as you mention Arthur and Merlin, people laugh," said Mr Ardrey, the author of Finding Merlin -The Truth Behind The Legend. "No respectable Cambridge historian is going to be seen as the guy who studies their lives. But I'm not a professional historian, so I don't have a reputation to look out for. What I've tried to do is make sense of the history."

Six years' toil has led Mr Ardrey to the conclusion that Merlin was not a wizard, but a scholar and politician. The son of a chief called Morken, who lived in central Scotland in the late 6th and early 7th centuries, he resided with his wife Gwendolin, according to the author, in what is now Ardery Street, from 600AD to 618AD. Mr Ardrey believes Merlin was assassinated on his way to Dunipace in Stirlingshire later that year and lies buried at Drumelzier in the Borders.

The idea may not be as outlandish as anyone raised on films by Disney or John Boorman's Excalibur with their decidedly English wizards, might first expect. The history and genesis of Merlin does point to a character from Scotland as inspiration for the magician.

The story begins in the 12th century with a clergyman, Geoffrey of Monmouth, who - having a flair for writing - took it upon himself to record the history of Britain. His earliest work was The Prophecies of Merlin, which was written at some point before 1135 and based on Welsh legends about a madman called Myrddin.

According to tales, he lived in the forests of Caledonia. He had been a bard for Lord Gwenddoleu but was driven mad after witnessing the slaughter of his lord and his forces at the Battle of Arfderydd by Riderch Hael, King of Alt Clut (Strathclyde) in 573AD.

Myrddin was thought to have the power of prophecy and even predicted he would die by falling, being stabbed and drowned. He was, according to legend, attacked by shepherds who drove him off a cliff. He then landed on a wooden spike in the Tweed and died with his head under the water.

Geoffrey of Monmouth changed the name Myrddin to Merlin and the prophecies became popular and widely believed. The author expanded on Merlin's background in his next work, Historia Regum Britanniae (History of the Kings of Britain) in which he lifted details about a legendary figure called Aurelius Ambrosius and wrapped them around Merlin. In a previous history of the kings of Britain, an author called Nennius told the story of an ancient British king called Vortigern. He was trying to erect a tower, but it always collapsed on completion and so his wise men told him it was necessary to sprinkle the blood of "a child born without a father".

Ambrosius was rumoured to be such a child, but when brought before the king, he revealed that the problem was the foundations - below which lay a lake containing two fighting dragons, a predicament never encountered on Location, Location, Location.

The idea of the "child born without a father" was transferred from Ambrosius to Merlin, as was the story of the tower with Merlin - now the hero. In this volume he took on an even more supernatural quality, as he was born to a king's daughter who was impregnated by an incubus. He was also - most crucially for the next 1,000 years of literature and, later, movies - revealed to be an associate of King Arthur.

According to Geoffrey, it was Merlin's magic which allowed Uther Pendragon to enter the castle of his enemy and, in disguise, father Arthur on his enemy's wife, Igraine. His final volume, Vita Merlini (The Life of Merlin), was written between 1149 and 1151. Despite the popularity of Geoffrey of Monmouth's texts, not everyone believed his inventive "history". In 1190, William of Newburgh, wrote: "It is clear that everything this man wrote about Arthur and his successors, or indeed about his predecessors from Vortigern onwards, was made up, partly by himself and partly by others, either from an inordinate love of lying, or for the sake of pleasing the Britons".

Once conjured up by a vivid imagination mixed with fragments of history, Merlin, along with King Arthur and the knights of Camelot was to enjoy many more adventures, driven on by the quill of successive writers.

Merlin the Wizard and Merlin the Man, if such even existed, would be two totally different people and it was Mr Ardrey's quest to discover what facts he could about the man.

The inspiration came seven years ago when he visited the National Library of Scotland in Edinburgh to research the origins of his name.

"I found evidence connecting it to Arthur the legendary hero, which provided proof he was a Scottish warlord born in 559," he said in an interview at the weekend. "When I watch programmes or read books about Arthur and Merlin, the maps stop at the Border. Yet four of Arthur's most famous battles were fought at Loch Lomondside. In movies, he's portrayed as an English king when he's far from it. He made his reputation fighting against the English. When I found the evidence I couldn't leave it alone."

The chain of evidence that links Merlin to Partick is that as Myrddin he was at the Battle of Arderydd, the modern version of which is Ardery. The fact that there is still an Ardery Street - "the only one out of 10,000 streets in Glasgow" - is, in the author's mind at least, part of a series of historical links. "I say Merlin lived there from 600 to 618," he asserts. "I'm not saying you must believe this. All I have done is the best I can with the evidence I've found. If I'm right, I'm right and if I'm wrong, I'm wrong."

• Finding Merlin - The Truth Behind The Legend, by Adam Ardrey, is published by Mainstream at 12.99. Source:The Scotsman, Scotland's National Newspaper


There is some 'weight', born by this article, and a 'herring barrel' full of conjecture and dubious leads, I feel. But, I will add it to the growing pile...for later needs: B.J.C.


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(Upon The Pile, piece 2) History of partick

Although Partick remained a village until the middle of the 18th century, it is an ancient place. The Kings of Strathclyde had a residence there, and in 1136 David I (1124–53) granted the lands of Perdyc to the see of Glasgow. The Bishops of Glasgow had a country seat in Partick. It was later the site of Partick Castle, a country home of George Hutcheson (demolished 1836). Source: Wikipedia

Note: Now, this is interesting. 'Strathclyde/Alth Clut' Kings...or, later named 'Strathclyde Kings'? 'granted the lands of Perdyc to the see of Glasgow'. Would that be 'Saint Kentigern's' patch in Glasgow, granted to Kentigern, by Rydderch Hael, King of Alth Clut/Strathclyde? Would it have 'a link', to Kentigern, in any way?

See: 'Merlin's A Weegie-and he hails from Partick', on post...below. B.J.C.


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Posted and annotated by, Bruce James Clyde, at Deming, New Mexico

(Upon The Pile: Piece 3) Further History of Partick

Note: Question asked and answered, See: Upon The Pile: Piece 2, posted below, as well as this further 'author's note, posted here: BJC

Further Author's Note:
According to the Cistercian monk and hagiographer of St Kentigern, Jocelin of Furness, King Rhydderch had a residence in 'Pertnech' (Partick). Some archaeologists have deduced that the royal Partick estate was part of a larger elite centre of the kingdom, which included the ecclesiastical establishment just across the River Clyde at Govan. Source: Wikipedia...see beneath on this post.


(Upon The Pile: Piece 3)


Further History of Partick

Etymology of Partick[edit]
The place name Partick is derived from the Cumbric word for 'thicket'. This etymology reflects the fact that the inhabitants of the Glasgow/Strathclyde region were speakers of this Old Welsh dialect. Gaelic only became of predominant in this area with the waning and disappearance of the British Kingdom of Alt Clut/Strathclyde, perhaps in the eleventh century.[citation needed]

Dark Ages Royal centre[edit]
There is some evidence that Partick was an important centre for the Kings of Alt Clut/Strathclyde. According to the Cistercian monk and hagiographer of St Kentigern, Jocelin of Furness, King Rhydderch had a residence in 'Pertnech' (Partick). Some archaeologists have deduced that the royal Partick estate was part of a larger elite centre of the kingdom, which included the ecclesiastical establishment just across the River Clyde at Govan. Partick and Govan may have come to prominence as a political centre following the Vikings' sack of Dumbarton in 870. The lands of Partick remained royal property until King David granted them to the Bishops of Glasgow on the cathedral's dedication to Saint Kentigern, along with the lands of Govan.

Bishop's Residence[edit]

Coat of arms of the Burgh of Partick, showing the castle and mitre of the Bishop of Glasgow
From the time of King David's grant of land to the Bishops of Glasgow, the country residence of the Bishops of Glasgow was situated in Partick. This is supported by the existence of a deed of 1277 in which Maurice, Lord of Luss made a contract at Perthec for the sale of timber to the authorities at Glasgow Cathedral.

The Bishops' residence is depicted on the former Burgh of Partick's coat of arms as a castle. In 1362, a settlement of a dispute between the Bishop and his chapter house was made at his manor-house of Perthic. Glasgow's Bishops continued to use their residence in Partick until the reformation in 1560, when Bishop James Beaton II fled to France from there, taking with him the sacred relics from Glasgow Cathedral. Source: Wikipedia


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Posted and annotated by, Bruce James Clyde, Deming New Mexico

Cadmus

In Greek mythology, Cadmus (/ˈkædməs/; Greek: Κάδμος Kadmos), was the founder and first king of Thebes. Cadmus was the first Greek hero and, alongside Perseus and Bellerophon, the greatest hero and slayer of monsters before the days of Heracles.Initially a Phoenician prince, son of king Agenor and queen Telephassa of Tyre and the brother of Phoenix, Cilix and Europa, he was originally sent by his royal parents to seek out and escort his sister Europa back to Tyre after she was abducted from the shores of Phoenicia by Zeus. Cadmus founded the Greek city of Thebes, the acropolis of which was originally named Cadmeia in his honour.

Cadmus was credited by the ancient Greeks (Herodotus is an example) with introducing the original alphabet to the Greeks, who adapted it to form their Greek alphabet. Herodotus estimates that Cadmus lived sixteen hundred years before his time, or around 2000 BC. Herodotus had seen and described the Cadmean writing in the temple of Apollo at Thebes engraved on certain tripods. He estimated those tripods to date back to the time of Laius the great-grandson of Cadmus. On one of the tripods there was this inscription in Cadmean writing, which, as he attested, resembled Ionian letters: Ἀμφιτρύων μ᾽ ἀνέθηκ᾽ ἐνάρων ἀπὸ Τηλεβοάων ("Amphitryon dedicated me [don't forget] the spoils of [the battle of] Teleboae."). Source: Wikipedia

Art:Cadmus Sowing the Dragon's teeth, by Maxfield Parrish, 1908.



Some have said that Zeus gave Harmonia to Cadmus in recompense for having helped him to restore the harmony of the world, destroyed by Typhon's attack on heaven. For Pan, following Zeus' instructions, gave Cadmus a flute and disguised him as a shepherd, and Zeus asked Cadmus to bewitch Typhon's wits with a delusive tune. So when Cadmus tuned up, Typhon, attracted by the deceitful notes of the syrinx, appeared and Cadmus, through a stratagem, convinced him to bring the sinews of Zeus which Typhon had in his power, thus leading him to his doom. And when Zeus recovered his power, they say, he also informed Cadmus of his sister's fate. Source: 'Cadmus The Phoenician'

Note: Similarity of Pan, with Cadmus (the syrinx flute). Some accounts suggest Cadmus, as a son of Hermes...even interchangeable with Hermes, aka Mercury of the Romans. B.J.C.

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The Great God Pan

Pan
God of nature, the wild, shepherds, flocks, of mountain wilds, and is often associated with sexuality

Pan teaching his eromenos, the shepherd Daphnis, to play the pan flute, Roman copy of Greek original c. 100 BC, second century AD, found in Pompeii,
Abode Arcadia
Symbol Pan flute, goat

eromenos. Noun. (plural eromenoi) (historical, Greek history) An adolescent boy who was courted by an older man, or was in an erotic relationship with him. Source: YourDictionary

In ancient Greek religion and mythology, Pan (/pæn/; Ancient Greek: Πάν, Pan) is the god of the wild, shepherds and flocks, nature of mountain wilds, rustic music and impromptus, and companion of the nymphs. He has the hindquarters, legs, and horns of a goat, in the same manner as a faun or satyr. With his homeland in rustic Arcadia, he is also recognized as the god of fields, groves, and wooded glens; because of this, Pan is connected to fertility and the season of spring. The ancient Greeks also considered Pan to be the god of theatrical criticism] The word panic ultimately derives from the god's name.

In Roman religion and myth, Pan's counterpart was Faunus, a nature god who was the father of Bona Dea, sometimes identified as Fauna; he was also closely associated with Sylvanus, due to their similar relationships with woodlands. In the 18th and 19th centuries, Pan became a significant figure in the Romantic movement of western Europe and also in the 20th-century Neopagan movement. Source: Wikipedia

Pan, god of the wild, shepherds and flocks, nature, hunting and rustic music, and companion of the nymphs, also associated with sexuality and fertility. Famous for his sexual powers and is often depicted with an erect phallus. Diogenes of Sinope, speaking in jest, related a myth of Pan learning masturbation from his father, Hermes, and teaching the habit to shepherds. Pan's greatest conquest was that of the moon goddess Selene. He accomplished this by wrapping himself in a sheepskin to hide his hairy black goat form, and drew her down from the sky into the forest where he seduced her. Source: Wikipedia

In the late 19th century Pan became an increasingly common figure in literature and art. Patricia Merivale states that between 1890 and 1926 there was an "astonishing resurgence of interest in the Pan motif". He appears in poetry, in novels and children's books, and is referenced in the name of the character Peter Pan. In the Peter Pan stories, Peter represents a golden age of pre-civilisation in both the minds of very young children, before enculturation and education, and in the natural world outside the influence of humans. Peter Pan’s character is both charming and selfish emphasizing our cultural confusion about whether human instincts are natural and good, or uncivilised and bad. J. M. Barrie describes Peter as ‘a betwixt and between’, part animal and part human, and uses this device to explore many issues of human and animal psychology within the Peter Pan stories.^[49]

He is the eponymous "Piper at the Gates of Dawn" in the seventh chapter of Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows (1908). Grahame's Pan, unnamed but clearly recognisable, is a powerful but secretive nature-god, protector of animals, who casts a spell of forgetfulness on all those he helps. He makes a brief appearance to help the Rat and Mole recover the Otter's lost son Portly.

Arthur Machen's 1894 novella "The Great God Pan" uses the god's name in a simile about the whole world being revealed as it really is: "seeing the Great God Pan". The novella is considered by many (including Stephen King) as being one of the greatest horror stories ever written.

Pan entices villagers to listen to his pipes as if in a trance in Lord Dunsany's novel The Blessing of Pan published in 1927. Although the god does not appear within the story, his energy certainly invokes the younger folk of the village to revel in the summer twilight, and the vicar of the village is the only person worried about the revival of worship for the old pagan god.

Pan is also featured as a prominent character in Tom Robbins' Jitterbug Perfume (1984). Aeronautical engineer and occultist Jack Parsons invoked Pan before test launches at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

The British writer and editor Mark Beech of Egaeus Press published in 2015 the limited-edition anthology Soliloquy for Pan which includes essays and poems such as "The Rebirthing of Pan" by Adrian Eckersley, "Pan's Pipes" by Robert Louis Stevenson, "Pan with Us" by Robert Frost, and "The Death of Pan" by Lord Dunsany. Some of the detailed illustrated depictions of Pan included in the volume are by the artists Giorgio Ghisi, Sir James Thornhill, Bernard Picart, Agostino Veneziano, Vincenzo Cartari, and Giovanni Battista Tiepolo.

Note: Check out 'Greenmantle', by author, Charles de Lint 1988, a contemporary tale, involving 'Pan', his myth and magic influence, on a small, upstate forest community of the northeast U.S. Great story. Happy ending! B.J.C.

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The Way Of The Wolf

What do you do, when it die? You howl! You howl, of remorse! You howl, as you never howled before...but it only make it worse. You know it died, and it gone to something else. You cannot bring it back, nor hope to walk along beside. So, at last you turn...into the forest ways, to let the deep and quiet...heal a broken heart.

Howwwwwll!


Written by Bruce James Clyde, at Deming, New Mexico

Art: lobo wolf howling in a forest, google pic

One Moment

What is it, in the 'old master's' paintings? 'That light' from within, the soul of a thing, 'the presence'? Who stood there, suffering the facts...gazing on those naked men and women?

Whoever they were, they had beautiful minds, with beautiful thoughts...even of directed lust, surpassing fancy. Holding gently, that enouement...of a future sight, that love, of every kind...is right.

They were the captors, of those moments on the grass, among the forest bowers, prying with keen eye, lover's in their nests...where all the powers of gods came down to this, this moment of amore'...sublime erotic bliss, life force. No wonder, they were drawn to this, one glimpse...

...of love


Written by Bruce James Clyde, at Deming, New Mexico

Art: cupid and psyche, Francois Edouard Picot