{"product_id":"9780300189292","title":"The True History of Merlin the Magician","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA medieval historian examines what we really know about the man who was “Merlin the Magician” and his impact on Britain.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Merlin has remained an enthralling and curious individual since he was first introduced in the twelfth century in Geoffrey of Monmouth’s \u003ci\u003eHistoria Regum Britanniae\u003c\/i\u003e.  But although the Merlin of literature and Arthurian myth is well known, his “historical” figure and his relation to medieval magic are less familiar. In this book Anne Lawrence-Mathers explores just who he was and what he has meant to Britain.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe historical Merlin was no rough magician: he was a learned figure from the cutting edge of medieval science and adept in astrology, cosmology, prophecy, and natural magic, as well as being a seer and a proto-alchemist. His powers were convincingly real—and useful, for they helped to add credibility to the “long-lost” history of Britain which first revealed them to a European public. Merlin’s prophecies reassuringly foretold Britain’s path, establishing an ancient ancestral line and linking biblical prophecy with more recent times. Merlin helped to put British history into world history.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLawrence-Mathers also explores the meaning of Merlin’s magic across the centuries, arguing that he embodied ancient Christian and pagan magical traditions, recreated for a medieval court and shaped to fit a new moral framework. Linking Merlin’s reality and power with the culture of the Middle Ages, this remarkable book reveals the true impact of the most famous magician of all time.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e“The story of how the image of Merlin as political prophet, magician and half-demon evolved in the Middle Ages is as fascinating as any romance.”—Euan Cameron\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Yale University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47068996141296,"sku":"9780300189292","price":24.49,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9780300189292_p0.jpg?v=1769886756","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9780300189292","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}