Geoffrey of Monmouth, Vita Merlini

Riya Puttanna (Independent Scholar - Europe)

Ed. by Sebastian Sobecki, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.02: English Writing and Culture: High and Late Medieval, 1066-1485.
Vol. editors: Kate Ash-Irisarri (University of Edinburgh), Rory Critten (Université de Lausanne), David Fuller (University of Durham), Natalie Hanna (University of Liverpool), Hugh Magennis (Queen's University Belfast), Jamie McKinstry (University of Durham), Sarah Peverley (University of Liverpool), Sebastian Sobecki (Rijksuniversiteit Groningen)

Dates

First circulation or publication c. 1150

Places

Wales (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Poetry (any)

Resources

The Vita Merlini (Life of Merlin) is a poem by Geoffrey of Monmouth written in the early twelfth century. It consists of 1529 lines in Latin hexameter and exists in full in a single manuscript, British Library Cotton Vespasian E iv, which dates from the end of the thirteenth century. The poem follows Merlin’s transformation from Welsh king to wild man and ascetic, with much of the focus centring on Merlin’s madness and the supernatural powers that he acquires as a result of his insanity.

Geoffrey previously wrote about Merlin in his famous historical chronicle, Historia Regum Britanniae (History of the Kings of Britain, 12th century), where Merlin was introduced as a prophetic …

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2612 words

Citation: Puttanna, Riya. "Vita Merlini". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 08 June 2020 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=8639, accessed 23 November 2024.]

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