Merlin
by: Matt Seddelmeyer
Today on Medieval Mythbusters Sir Adam Savage and Sir
Jamie Hyneman bust into the myth of Merlin, the great sorcerer.
Did he really have magical powers and insight? Or was it his
family connections that propelled him to the position of chief adviser
to Pendragon? Find out next on Medieval Mythbusters!
"So, Jamie, how familiar are you with the story of Merlin?"
"Well, Adam, I've heard many different stories, but many of them seem
very far-fetched."
"Exactly! So today we're going to test one of the many stories
about
Merlin."
"That sounds fine, but wouldn't it be much more fun to test weapons
used by King Arthur and his knights? Merlin was magical and all,
but we can't test magic. It's not real and that is just it.
It's science."
"Jamie, you are always jumping the gun. This entire week is
dedicated to King Arthur and his Knights, but I want to start with
Merlin."
"Fine. What myth of Merlin are we going to test today?"
"It is the story of how Merlin came to be the chief adviser to the
King."
"That's easy, Adam. I'm sure his father was the chief adviser
before him."
"Actually, that is completely incorrect according to the myth we are
testing today. Merlin was born of a mortal mother and immortal
father. His father was in no way good, but not completely
evil. Merlin was baptized immediately after birth and saved."
"Adam, we can't test that in any way!"
"Then let me finish! Vortigern was King of Britain, but not by
any true right. He had stolen the throne from the brothers Uther
and Pendragon whom
he expelled from the kingdom. Every day he feared the return of
the brothers who were the true heirs to the throne. For defense
he had a great tower built. The tower fell multiple times once it
reached a certain height. Vortigern's astrologers determined that
the cornerstone of the tower must be soaked with the blood of a child
born of an immortal father. Vortigern's messengers came upon
young Merlin and delivered him to Vortigern. Merlin was
astonished by the foolishness of the astrologers and so informed
Vortigern of the true fault in the tower. Merlin informed
Vortigern that the ground was unsettled by two fighting dragons that
lay beneath the tower. After the tower was dug out underneath,
two dragons barreled out from the ground and continued their
battle. One was defeated and the other disappeared.
Merlin's life
was spared. Soon thereafter Uther and Pendragon
returned to their kingdom with an army and overtook Vortigen.
Merlin was made Pendragon's chief adviser and would continue this
office through King Arthur's reign."
"I still don't see what myth we are testing?"
"We are going to test if fighting dragons can shake the earth enough to
bring down a wall of stones! The interns have already set up the
wall over dragons' den. We are going to throw in a small piece
of meat for them to fight over."
Soon after the meat was thrown in the dragon den, a huge rumble was
felt
in the earth. The wall started to sway, but only a few stones
fell to the ground. The medieval PETA group was all over the
Mythbusters for mistreating the dragons so other means of earth-shaking
were found.
"Adam, I have an idea. Let's use that magical exploding powder to
mimic the forces of fighting dragons."
For those of you who don't know, Jamie enjoys very large
explosions. He has taken a mortar cart down to its frame before.
"Sounds great, Jamie, but I'm standing clear of your little test."
Soon Jamie had the den fixed with the magical exploding powder.
"Blast zone! Blast zone! 3...2...1!"
Adam and Jamie discuss their findings as their singed hair smokes up
the air.
"Well, Jamie, what do you say?"
"Plausible! That explosion knocked down the entire wall. If
the dragons had a serious enough fight, I believe they could have
knocked down the walls of the tower."
"I totally agree: plausible. The dragons even knocked over a few
stones with the small fight they had over their dinner. I guess
some of these myths might actually be true after all."
Author's Note:
I told the story of how Merlin became chief adviser to King Pendragon
and later King Arthur. It is set in a Medieval Mythbusters
experiment. The mythbusters are actually from King Arthur's
time. They are retelling the stories heard from the Round Table
and testing their validity. The mythbusters Sir Adam and Sir
Jamie often refer to the stories as myths because they do not believe
many of the stories. They are a very skeptical bunch, who at
times are jealous of the knights' power and popularity. I tried
to
capture the characters of the today's Mythbusters through their
dialogue. I always enjoy how serious and analytical Jamie is,
where as Adam is the polar opposite.
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Bibliography
Story Title: King Arthur and His Knights
Book Title: Age of Fable: Vol. III: The Age of Chivalry
Author: Thomas Bulfinch
Year Published: 1913
Web page: Bartleby
Image Information
Title: Merlin
Web Page: Merlin