For the Archie character, see Merlin Prower.

Merlin was a wizard from the world of Camelot who is mentioned in Sonic and the Black Knight and the grandfather of Merlina the Wizard. He never appears in the game, and his fate within the Sonic and the Black Knight continuity goes conspicuously unaddressed.

HistoryEdit

Years previously in the Arthurian world, Merlin created the illusion of King Arthur as a means of bringing peace and just rule to the Grand Kingdom (explained by Merlina just before Knight's Passage). However, the Lady of the Lake gave Arthur the Scabbard of Excalibur, thus making him immortal. The power corrupted Arthur, plunging the Kingdom into darkness. Indeed, Merlina describes the fallen King as "my grandfather's greatest mistake".

Merlin's status is left unknown throughout the story of Sonic and the Black Knight. However, because Merlina mentions that her grandfather "made a mistake", it is assumed that he has most likely passed away under unknown circumstances.

Real World BackgroundEdit

Merlin is a legendary figure, most famous as a wizard and the advisor of King Arthur. The standard depiction of the character first appears in Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae, written c. 1136, and is based on an amalgamation of previous historical and legendary figures, including Myrddin Wyllt (a madman and bard from the north of Britain) and Ambrosius Aurelianus (a Roman war leader).

The stories involving Merlin are many and varied, having been retold and re-interpreted many times over the last nine hundred years. Stories involving Merlin typically include that he was fathered by a demon, thus explaining the origin of his magic powers, that he helped build Stonehenge, and that he used his magic to help Uther Pendragon to father a son (later King Arthur) on his enemy's wife, Igraine. Merlin is also described as tutoring the young Arthur and advising him once he becomes King, and of placing the Sword in the Stone to prove Arthur's right to rule.

Merlin is usually depicted as disappearing during King Arthur's rule, having fallen in love with a woman named Nimue, Niniane, Niviane, or Viviane (depending on the version of the legend). Nimue (sometimes considered also to be the Lady of the Lake, as in Sonic and the Black Knight) traps Merlin in a tree, cave, tomb or tower with his own magic.

External linksEdit

• Merlin at Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia