Prophecies of Merlin

Record summary

The Prophecies of Merlin are prophetic material associated with Geoffrey of Monmouth’s Historia regum Britanniae and later Arthurian traditions. The text presents Merlin as a seer whose allegorical language can be applied to British rulers, wars, and dynastic change. It matters for comparison because its apparent predictive force often depends on post-event interpretation, manuscript circulation, and political appropriation. The historical Merlin, if any figure underlies the literary character, is uncertain, and the prophecies are generally studied as medieval political literature rather than authenticated forecasts.