When I think of Merlin I think of the Merlin form the book "The Sword in the Stone." This is a book I had to read back in high school. It was one of the few books I actually enjoyed reading back in high school (that and Ender's Game). This book shows Merlin as he helps a young Arthur through various training exercises. The training exercises though are different than one might think. Merlin uses his magical power to transform Arthur into various animals, like an ant or a swan and some others. While on these training exercises Arthur learns many things that will help him when he eventually becomes the king. Merlin in this book, besides having magic capable of turning Arthur into various animals, also has the power to see into the future. When I read the prose I saw this similarity between my current view of Merlin and the Merlin shown through the prose. However, the reasons behind Merlin's magical foresight comes in different form than the prose Merlin. Prose Merlin gains his foresight magic from God as a counter balance to the Devil giving him knowledge of the past. But in the book, Merlin actually ages backwards through time (not like Benjamin button but similar...). So in the Book Merlin knows the future not because he has magic that tells him the future, but because he has already experienced it. This also implies that Merlin then does not have knowledge of the past then, because he has not experienced that, the past to everyone else is Merlin's future. I thought this was a cool little detail that I now realize is based off of previous Merlins. I would like to know what version of Merlin every one else uses as their basis for Merlin. The Disney one? The British BBC TV one? Form another Movie or book? Talk about it in the comments.
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The Once and Future King was one of my favorite books as a kid, I read it multiple times in middle-school. It also has my favorite rendition of Merlin in it, a goofy old-man who helps the little Wart transform into King Arthur. I also liked how Merlin knew the future because it was his past and our past is his future. Though when you think about it is kinda of sad because Merlin already knows how people die the moment he meets them and he also meets people at their worst or best.
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