in Arthurian legend, magician, seer and teacher
Fishburn and Hughes: "A legendary figure, originally a Welsh poet and prophet of the sixth century, but remembered chiefly as the enchanter in the twelfth-century Arthurian romance. In Geoffrey of Monmouth's narrative Merlin is identified with a boy from an earlier tale who has no father and whose magic helps Arthur's father to win his bride. Merlin is reputed to have instituted the Round Table, and to have helped Arthur defeat his foes by his counsel and magic. He was said to possess knowledge of the past and of the future. The Faerie Queene, III, 2, refers to the mirror made by Merlin for King Ryence, which gave him the power to see all. It was in the form of a glass orb, shaped like the world, and enabled the viewer to look into the hearts of men and foresee the intentions of his enemies and the treachery of his friends." (128-29)
Parodi: “Pero a los hechos me atengo, dijera el sabio Merlino”: [Isidro] Parodi cita una supuesta frase del poderoso mago Merlín, personaje del ciclo de relatos célticos vinculados con la figura del Rey Arturo.