Animal transformations: Merlin possesses a well-developed ability to shape-shift as he was able to change into various animals, including a fish, a squirrel, a turtle, a hare, a caterpillar, a walrus, a mouse, a crab, a goat (all of which were blue), and a germ.
After convincing Sir Ector, Wart's adoptive father, to stay in his castle in Wart's care, Merlin uses his powers as a wizard to transform both himself and Wart into animals such as fish or squirrels to teach the boy lessons about life.
At different points in the novel, the Wart becomes a hawk, an ant, an owl, a wild goose, and a badger: Each animal reveals to the Wart a different way of life, political philosophy, or attitude toward war.
Archimedes is Merlin's Pet Owl and the tritagonist in the Arthur and Morgan segment. He initially disliked the Pendragon siblings, before growing to know them.
What animals does Merlin turn himself into in The Sword in the Stone?
While walking outside along the castle's moat, Merlin explains that he can turn into a fish, making Arthur excited. So Merlin turns himself and Arthur into fish to explore the moat. However, a much larger fish soon gives chase to young Arthur, who is saved Archimedes.
Old Merlin, otherwise known as Emrys, is Merlin's alter ego. The young warlock uses an aging spell to transform himself into an old man and must take a potion to transform back to his young self.
Merlin in the TV adaptation is black, which is strange for two reasons: First, Merlin is not black in the books. He is effectively a priest of a people that were almost entirely white, and an elder. I'm sure Nathaniel Martello-White is a fine actor, but he is also not old enough to play the Merlin from these books.
The French Vulgate texts establish the idea that Viviane is Merlin's student as well as the woman that he is in love with. We also learn that Merlin is the son of the devil. Viviane and Merlin are in love, and Viviane wishes to preserve the state of happiness that they are in.
Merlin spends a part of his life as a madman in the woods and marries a woman named Guendoloena (a character inspired by the male Gwenddoleu ap Ceidio).
Merlin is the leader of the F7, a group that combats monsters and beasts on Fairy Tale Island. However, after Merlin and his comrades accidentally mistake the Fairy Princess for a witch and attack her, they are cursed to become green dwarfs whenever people look at them.
Kilgharrah is among the show's most powerful beings. He is resistant to most forms of magic, even Merlin's, and has the might of a thousand men. His attack on Camelot would've been lethal had Merlin not intervened, and even then, the young warlock prevailed because of his dragonlord abilities.
As for the story, it begins with a young “hero worshipper” called “the Wart, because it more or less rhymed with Art, which was short for his real name.” Young Arthur is a sweet, unassuming boy blissfully unaware of his destiny to become Britain's greatest and most tragic king.
If it is accepted that Merlin lived in the age of King Arthur (i.e. in the fifth or sixth century), he would have been a combination of a priest and a witch doctor, more akin to a shaman or druid than a wizard as such.
According to the legend, Merlin was born to a human mother and a demon father. He gained his magical powers from the demon. Some stories said that Merlin was evil. Others said that he was good, despite his demonic background.
Merlin did not, in any myth about him with King Arthur. He was betrayed by Nimue on Morgana's orders in Malory's version. In the alternative version, Nimue acted on her own decisions, and Morgana took advantage of Merlin's absence.
Avalon: In some versions of the legend, it is said that after King Arthur's death, he was taken to the mystical island of Avalon to be healed or to await his eventual return.
Mordred as a young boy keeps calling Merlin "Emrys", which is actually Merlin's name as a Celtic druid and sorcerer. In Welsh, Merlin's full real name is actually Myrddin Wynn Emrys. Myrddin is his first name, Wynn is his family name and Emrys is his druid name.
Guinevere is childless in most stories. The few exceptions of that include Arthur's son named Loholt or Ilinot in Perlesvaus and Parzival (first mentioned in Erec and Enide).
In the actual legend Merlin never married, nor did he have any children - though the woman Nimue did indeed cause his downfall by seducing him. Here, Merlin breaks his vows of celibacy before the story of Arthur begins (which we learn in a brief prologue) and is punished for it by the gods.
He added: "I know that some people thought Merlin couldn't possibly be Black, but since watching the series I've actually found some mediaeval documents that claim that he was 'dark' – and they're talking about his skin colour. "So I think [the casting director(s)] actually were ahead of the curve on that one.
According to legend, Arthur was the son of King Uther Pendragon. Immediately after his birth, Arthur was given into the keeping of Merlin, the magician.
It is unknown how he acquired his pet owl, Archimedes, but he certainly gave him an education, which he would later attempt to pass down to Arthur Pendragon, a feat of which Merlin seems to be proud. He also met Madam Mim and became a bitter enemy to her.
Although Merlin the wizard was Geoffrey's own creation he was actually based on another figure who already featured in stories and poems. This was Myrddin (pronounced 'Mir-thin'), a character well-known among Geoffrey's contemporaries in his native Wales.
Through the series, Merlin has two names: Merlin, and a second, sacred name, Emrys, known only to the most devout members of The Old Religion, the Druids.
