THE SCENE: In the 12th Century, Merlin was such a well-respected figure that even a French Abbot, Suger of St. Denis, quoted his “prophesies” with awe.
THE TEXT: About that time King Henry of the English, a very brave man who was renowned in peace and war, came into the districts of the Normans. Nearly the whole world had heard of his superior merit, and even that rustic prophet Merlin, a marvelous visionary who foretold the whole future of the English, spoke well of him in a mighty proclamation with a fine and truthful style. Breaking forth abruptly as seers usually do, he praised him prophetic voice: “There will come to the throne a lion of justice,” he said. “At his roar the Gallic towers and the dragons of the island will tremble. In his days gold will be squeezed from the lily and the nettle, and silver will flow from the hooves of mooing cattle. Men with curled locks will put on different fleeces because their exterior dress will signify their interior states. The feet of those who bark will be cut off; wild beasts will enjoy peace; making will grieve at its punishment. The token of commerce will be split in half; the half will be round. The greediness of kites will perish, and the teeth of wolves will be blunted. The cubs of the lion will be changed into fish of the sea and the eagle will build its nest on top of Mount Aravius.
Every part of this great and ancient prophesy exactly fits the valor of his person and the management of his kingdom. Neither one iota nor one word detracts from its aptness; and the prophecy seems verified beyond doubt from what is said at the end about the lion cubs. His sons and daughter were shipwrecked, and they changed their physical forms after being eaten by the fish of the sea.
– The Deeds of Louis the Fat, Suger, 12th Century AD
[Image Credit: Merlin by Gustave Doré]
