Episode Details

This month on Magus we're discussing maybe the most influential wizard of all time, and a true original - it's only flippin' Merlin!

We track his development through prehistory via the archetype of the "Lord of Ecstasy" - a deific entity who appears in mythologies from all over the world.

In addition to exploring his British precedents in the form of the Northern and Scots Lowland wild man of the woods Lailoken and the Welsh version of that same character in the form of Myrddin Wyllt, we also marinade ourselves in the swell of "Arthurian" stories that rose and sloshed about across the Medieval era.

After he's given the name 'Merlinus' by Geoffrey of Monmouth though, Merlin becomes central to not just tales of Camelot but the propaganda of a slew of European kings.

We track how, across the British Isles, his identity continues to twist and mutate - befitting the Latin title of his forebears, homo silvaticus.

Though at the same time, across the English Channel, the French and central European courts thought of Merlin as one of the great masters of 'Natural Magic.'

Born of a demon and a virgin princess, to alchemists and occultists from Cornelius Agrippa to the Brotherhood of the Golden Dawn he was the first building block of an extensive and rigorous magical system which offered proponents God-like powers to shape reality.

From Thomas Malory to Alfred Lord Tennyson, J.R.R. Tolkien to the Disney corporation, he is a cultural emblem whose meaning has only continued to shapeshift.

Which is only appropriate really, when you think about it...

About Three Ravens 🔮

Three Ravens is a completely independent English myth and folklore podcast where we share stories, celebrate folk culture, and fall backwards through the hedgerows of history.

Hosted by real-life couple Eleanor Conlon and Martin Vaux, and mostly recorded at our home in rural Sussex in southern England, Three Ravens is rated 4.8/5 from over 500 reviews and has grown by word of mouth care of our lovely listener community ‘The Conspiracy of Ravens.’

We release three episodes a week, on Mondays, Thursday and Saturdays, through which we explore folktales, folkways, fairy stories, folk songs, mythology, local heritage, seasonal customs and traditional beliefs.

Our research inspires our retellings of stories from across history and culture, with episodes standing alone but connected together across over 500 chatty, mostly light-hearted, swear-free installments driven by passion, kindness and curiosity.

Now ranked as an all-time Top 5 podcast across several categories by Goodpods, charting in the Spotify, Apple and Rephonic UK Fiction Top 10 across 2024, 2025 and 2026, if you’re interested in ghosts, monsters, regional beliefs, and the things that unite us all, then join us round the campfire and listen in…

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