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Résumé en français

Ce site internet a pour but de cataloguer et présenter les sources primaires concernant Merlin en Bretagne armoricaine. Le matériau arthurien dans lequel Merlin ou ses avatars n'apparaissent pas n'est pas listé ici.Ce site n'est pour l'instant disponible qu'en anglais. La plupart des sources et travaux concernant le Merlin armoricain sont disponibles en breton ou en français, rendant le matériau plus accessible aux bretonnants et francophones. Vous pouvez consulter la page Bibliography pour trouver une liste d'articles, études, et éditions de sources présentées ici.Qui plus est, certaines pages contiennent les transcriptions des originaux bretons ou français, que vous pouvez ainsi consulter directement.

Un certain nombre de textes liés au Merlin gallois (Myrddin) sont disponibles sur le site https://myrddin.cymru/ (gallois/anglais).

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Corpus

Gustave Doré, Merlin découvert par le Roi Arthur, 1868.

Below are links to all the catalogued sources from Brittany about Merlin and his avatars. They have been divided in categories (Literary Sources, The Tale of Merlin, Folk Sources about Gwenc'hlan, and Other Folk Sources) for ease of navigation. Some entries contain transcriptions and translations of texts whenever length allows. References are all in the bibliography of this website.

Literary Sources

• Miscellaneous

The Tale of Merlin

• Overview

The Popular Sources on Gwenc'hlan

Other Folk Sources

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An Dialog etre Arzur Roe dan Bretounet ha Guynglaff

The dialogue between Arthur, King of the Bretons, and Guynglaff

Type: Prophetic text, versified
Language: Middle Breton
Date: 15th or 16th c.
Manuscript: Bibliothèque Rennes Métropole (BRM) Ms 1007, pp. 1426-1441.
English Edition: Minard, Antone. 1999. “‘The dialogue between King Arthur and Gwenc'hlan’: a translation” in Comitatus: A Journal of Medieval and Renaissance Studies, Vol. 30, pp. 167–179.
French Edition: Bihan, Hervé. 2013. An Dialog etre Arzur Roe dan Bretounet ha Guynglaff (Rennes: TIR).

This text has long been considered the only example of medieval, Arthurian literature in the Breton-language, with a traditional date of composition 1450 (Bihan, 2013). However, a recent study by Shales (2025) challenged that date pushing it back to the late 16th century. Shales also argues against the view that the text is the result of several copies and rewritings from an older original, arguing that it was composed by one single author and has reached us almost intact.
Regarless of the date of composition, the text calls upon broader Breton-themes surrounding Merlin: Guynglaff is a prophetic figure living in the woods, and is captured by King Arthur to speak prophecies about the future of Brittany.
The character of Guynglaff (MBr Gwenc’hlan, also attested as Gwiklan or Guiclan) appears elsewhere in Breton folklore (see dedicated pages on this website). Bihan provides a full pedigree of the character, an indepth discussion of his ties to popular tradition (2013), as well as a demonstration of his nature as an avatar of Merlin.

Opening lines (Le Bihan’s reading) & translation (FBG)

Further reading
• Bihan, Hervé. 2013. An Dialog etre Arzur Roe dan Bretounet ha Guynclaff (Rennes: TIR).
• Bihan, Hervé. 2009. “An Dialog etre Arzur Roe d'an Bretounet ha Guynglaff and its Connections with Arthurian Tradition” in Proceedings of the Harvard Celtic Colloquium, Vol. 29, pp. 115-126.
• Constantine, Mary-Ann. 1995. “Prophecy and pastiche in the Breton ballads: Groac'h Ahès and Gwenc'hlan” in Cambrian Medieval Celtic Studies, Vol. 30, pp. 87–121.
• Ernault, Émile. 1930. “Sur le prophète Guinclaff” in Annales de Bretagne, 39/ 1, pp. 18-30.
• Minard, Antone. 1999. “‘The dialogue between King Arthur and Gwenc'hlan’: a translation” in Comitatus: A Journal of Medieval and Renaissance Studies, Vol. 30, pp. 167–179.
• Piriou, Jean-Pierre. 1985. “Un texte arthurien en moyen-breton : le dialogue entre Arthur roi des Bretons et Guynglaff” in Actes du 14ème congrès international arthurien, Tome 2 (Rennes: PUR), p. 474-499.
• Shales, Jess. 2025. “On the date of the Dialog: A re-examination of the date of composition of the earliest Arthurian poem in Middle Breton,” in Celtica, Vol. XXXVI (Dublin: Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies), pp. 193-223.

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Chronicles

Type: Historical chronicles
Languages: Latin & French
Date: 14th, 15th, & 16th c.

Breton medieval chronicles reference Arthurian material as historical sources, with a particular reliance on Geoffrey of Monmouth’s work. The three chronicles which are of importance for Merlin in Brittany are the Chronicles of Saint Brieuc (Chronicon Briocense, late 14th c.), the Compillation des cronicques et ystoires des Bretons (1480) by Pierre Le Baud, and the Grandes Chroniques de Bretagne (1514) by Alain Bouchart.The first, while oftentimes copying or adapting Monmouth, includes long reflections by the chronicler on the Prophecies of Merlin and their ties to Breton and broader Brittonic history (in particular chapters 35-45). It also includes details, anecdotes, and additions which are not from Monmouth, and the author had access to Arthurian material from Brittany that is now mostly lost, like the Vita Goeznovii (11th c.). A complete edition of the Chronicles was unfortunately never completed, but an important part of the Arthurian material, as well as these analysis of the prophecies by the anonymous chronicler, are in Le Duc and Stercx’s 1972 edition (see reference below).Pierre Le Baud’s own history of Brittany makes use of the Chronicon Briocense as well as another text, now mostly lost to us, which he calls the Livres des Faits d’Arthur le Grand (Book of the Deeds of Arthur the Great). What remains of that book is a Latin poem (Archives Départementales d’Ille-et-Vilaine, MS 1 F 1003, ff. 187-195) about Magnus Maximus and Conan Meriadec. Bourgès (2007) demonstrated that these known passages are quoted often verbatum by Le Baud, suggesting that other quotations by him are faithful to the now lost original. Le Baud also had access to some of the Chronicon Briocense's Arthurian sources such as the Vita Goeznovii.As for Alain Bouchart, he was tasked to write his chronicles after Le Baud was considered too legendary, in order to provide what was considered a more historically anchored work. As expected, Merlin appears within the covering of the pre-Arthurian and Arthurian eras.To these three texts can be added the Gesta Regum Britanniae, a 13th c. versified version of Monmouth Historia Regum Britanniae thought to have been composed in Brittany. Like in the Historia, Merlin appears in the Gesta. Further work on the Breton text is needed, and may reveal interesting additions or choices by the author, thought to be the monk William of Rennes.Finally, it is worth noting that Arthurian onomastic, including names of Merlin, is present in the Cartulaire de Redon on several occasions (see in particular Bihan, 2019).

Further reading
• Baud (Le), Pierre (author), and Karine Abélard (ed.). 2018. Compillation des cronicques et ystoires des Bretons, Sources médiévales de l'histoire de Bretagne, n° 8 (Rennes: Presses Universitaires de Rennes/SHAB).
• Bihan (Le), Hervé. 2019. "Arthur in Earlier Breton Traditions, in Ceridwen Lloyd-Morgan, and Erich Poppe, Arthur in the Celtic Languages: The Arthurian Legend in Celtic Literatures and Traditions* (Cardiff: University of Wales Press), pp. 281-303.
• Bourgès, André-Yves. 2007. “La cour ducale de Bretagne et la légende arthurienne au bas Moyen Âge: Prolégomènes à une édition critique des fragments du Livre des faits d'Arthur” in Britannia monastica, Vol. 12, p. 79-119.
• Duc (Le), Gwennaël, and Claude Stercx (ed.). 1972. Chronicon Briocense. Chronique de Saint-Brieuc, fin du XIVe siècle, éditée et traduite d'après les manuscrits BN 6003-BN 8899 (Archives départementales d'Ille-et-Vilaine 1 F 1003) (ch. I à CIX) (Rennes: Simon).
• Michel, Francisque. 1862. Gesta Regum Britanniae. A Metrical History of the Britons (Cambrian Archaeological Association). Online.

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Vita Sancti Judicaelis

The Life of Saint Juidcaël

Type: Saint Life
Language: Latin
Date: 11th or 12th c.
Manuscripts: BNF Latin 6003, ff. 51-59 & BNF Latin 9888, ff. 48-56.
French Edition: Fawtier, Robert. 1925. “Ingomar, historien breton” in Mélanges d'histoire offerts à Ferdinand Lot (Paris: Edouard Champion).

Taliesin mostly appears as a bard and as the reincarnation of Gwion Bach in Welsh medieval literature. In Brittany, he only appears in one text, the Vita Judicaelis (Life of Saint Judicael), dated by some to the early 11th century (Fleuriot, 1981), and by others to the 12th century (Bourgès, 2004), though the manuscripts themselves are later, being of the Chronicles of Saint-Brieuc (BNF Latin 6003, ff. 51-59, & Latin 9888, ff. 48-56). In this passage, which appears at the beginning of the Vita, King Judael of Domnonea has a dream that he cannot make sense of. He sends for Taliesin the Bard, who interprets it as a sign of the birth of Judicael, who will become both a great king and a holy man.Taliesin has been associated to the Welsh Myrddin, and he certainly presents in the Breton text various traits that link him to the Armorican Merlin: He lives outwith society (in a monastery), he is consulted by the king who needs to go find him in the liminal space he lives in, and he is gifted with prophetic powers. The episode is discussed by Fleuriot (1981) and Koch (2002).A similar episode appears in the Life of Saint Onenne, Judicael’s sister, collected from oral tradition in the 18th century (Piéderrière, 1860). In it, young Onenne is brought to an otherwise unknown saint called Elocan, who lives in the wood. The hermit predicts the princess’s transformation into a saint. This results in Onenne’s rebirth in Christ, leading her to a life dedicated to her faith. Elocan may be a Christianised Merlin figure, and his name related to Lalocan, the Armorican form of Lailoken (Bihan-Gallic, upcoming).

Original text (Fawtier's reading)

Et ipse i Judaelus evigilans e sompno et mane consurgens cepit intra se memorari et mirari visionis sue. Et protinus misit aliquem sibi fidelem ad provinciam Gueroti, ad locum Gilde, ubi erat, religionem suam peregrinus et exul transmarinus colens, Taliosinus bardus filius donis fatidicus presagissimus per divinationem prefugorum qui preconio mirabili fortunatas vitas et infortunatas disserebat fortunatorum virorum et infortunatorum per fatidica verba. Et consuluit eum nuncius per hanc simplicem nunciationem quasi Judaelus presens dicens : « Conjector optime conjectorum vidi sompnium mirabile quod narrans multis a nemine audivi interpretationem ejus ». Et per totum ut ante retuli enarravit nuncius Taliosinum sompnium domini sui Judhaeli de poste et ornamentis ejus. Et tunc Taliosinus e contra respondens dixit : « Sompnium quod audio mirabile est et rem mirabilem significat ac denunciat. Hoc est dominus tuus Judaelus bonus et felix in regno suo sedet et regnat et ex filia Ausochi quam antea commemorasti filium meliorem et multo feliciorem in regno terrestri et celesti habcbit de quo Deo donante oriundi sunt filii fortissimi totius nationis Britonum ex quibus orientur comites regales et sacerdotes celicole quibus obedient et servient vernaculi patrum suorum per totam regionem a minimo usque ad maximum. Et filius prothogenus de quo ortus est sermo multum prevalebit in militiam terrenam et exinde in militiam celicolam. Initium enim seculare et consummationem deicolam habebit. Laicus militavit seculo clericus serviet Deo ». Et sicut hec fatidica verba locutus est Taliosinus ex conjectura sua et a famulo suo nunciata sunt Judaelo comiti ita postea probavit eventus.

Translation (Google translate with corrections by FBG)

[King Judael had a strange dream.] And Judael himself, waking up from sleep and rising in the morning, began to remember and to wonder about his vision. And immediately he sent someone faithful to him to the province of Gueroti, to the place of Gildas, where there was a pilgrim in religious exile abroad: Taliesin the Bard, son of Donn, was a most insightful prophet and master of divination, who prophesised both the fortunes and afflictions of fortunate and unfortunate men by his words. And the messenger consulted him about this prophecy, as if Judael himself were present, saying: “O best prophet among prophets, I have seen a wonderful dream, which I have related to many, but none could interpret it.” And the messenger related to Taliesin the dream of his master Judael about the post and its ornaments, as I have related before. And then Taliesin, answering in return, said: “The dream which I hear is wonderful and signifies and announces a wonderful event. It is your lord Judael, good and happy, who sits and reigns in his kingdom, and from the daughter of Ausochus whom you mentioned before, he has a better and much happier son in the earthly and heavenly kingdom, from whom, by God’s grace, the bravest sons of the entire nation of the Britons will be born, from whom will arise royal earls and heavenly priests, whom the natives of their fathers throughout the whole region will obey and serve. And the firstborn son of whom the word has arisen will greatly prevail in the earthly host and from there in the heavenly host. For he will have a secular beginning and a divine end. A layman he will fight in the world, a cleric he will serve God.” And just as Taliesin spoke these fateful words from his prophecy, so they were reported by his servant to Lord Judael, and later events proved them true.

Further reading
• Fleuriot, Léon. 1981. “Sur quatre textes bretons en latin : le «Liber vetustissimus» de Geoffroy de Monmouth et le séjour de Taliesin en Bretagne,” in Etudes Celtiques, Vol. 18, pp. 197-213.
• Koch, John T. 2002. “De Sancto Iudicaelo rege historia and its implications for the Welsh Taliesin” in Nagy & Jones, Heroic Poets and Poetic Heroes in Celtic Traditions (Dublin: Four Courts Press), pp. 247-62.

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Buez Santez Nonn ha Sant Dewi

The Life of Saint Nonn and Saint Dewi

Type: Mystery Play
Language: Middle Breton
Date: 15th c.
Manuscript: BNF, MS celtique 5, Buez Santez Nonn ha Sant Dewi. Available online on Codecs Vanhamel, f. 15.
French Editions: Ernault, Emile (ed). 1887. "Vie de Sainte Nonn" in Revue Celtique, Vol. VIII, pp. 230-301 & 406-491.
Le Berre, Yves, Bernard Tanguy, and Yves-Pascal Castel. 1999. Buez Santez Nonn, Mystère Breton, Vie de sainte Nonne (Rennes: C.R.B.C. & Minihi-Levenez).

The Life of Saint Nonne is a 15th century, Middle-Breton mystery play telling the life of the eponymous saint and of her son, Saint Dewi. The text calls upon several characters of Brittany’s early history, such as Saint Gildas and Saint Patrick. Before the birth of Dewi, Merlin (here named Ambrosius Merlinus) appears to prophecise the birth of the child. He no longer appears in the play after that.

Original text and translation

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Fragment de Madame de Saint-Prix

A Fragment from Madame de Saint-Prix

Type: Song
Singer: Unknown (probably from Trégor)
Language: Modern Breton
Date: 19th c.
Manuscript: La Villemarqué, Théodore Hersart (1815-1895 ; vicomte de), “Premier carnet de collecte de Théodore Hersart de La Villemarqué,” Bibliothèque numérique du Centre de recherche bretonne et celtique (CRBC). Online.
French Edition: Laurent, Donatien. 1989. Aux Sources du Barzaz-Breiz : La mémoire d’un peuple (Douarnenez: ArMen), p. 289.

Madame de Saint-Prix (Emilie-Barbe-Marie Guitton) is one of the pioneers of folklore collection in Brittany. While she never published her findings herself, she acted as a mentor to many younger collectors, not least La Villemarqué. The following poem is often referred to as “Fragment de Madame de Saint-Prix”. While uncertain, Laurent (1989) states that there is a good chance this was collected by her and sent to La Villemarqué to help his research on popular Breton traditions around Merlin. It was mentioned by him in his Barzaz Breiz (1839) as having sent him on the tracks of Merlin in his own area. The original was found by Donatien Laurent in the first fieldwork notebook of La Villemarqué, and he commented on it in his 1989 work on the subject (p. 289-90). The piece appears to belong to the Tale of Merlin type, and has clear parallels with Merlin-Barde. It is this original that is transcribed here.The fragment is hastily written and the narrative is at times difficult to follow due to its fragmentary nature, especially in translation. In particular, episodes appear to be missing, such as the race. I have stayed faithful to the original, but provide some clarifications below, from the other known versions of the story.

Transcript (Laurent’s reading) & translation (FBG)

Clarification: The first part appears to connected to another traditional song, Marv al Laouenan (The Death of the Wren), which Christian Souchon argues is a popular evolution of the Merlin original. This seems confirmed by the capture of Merlin as a bird in Georgic and Merlin (see dedicated page on this website). Then, the competition for the princess’s hand corresponds to the longer Merlin lay collected by La Villemarqué. The unclear dialogue at the end can be rendered as follows, in line with the episode of Merlin’s capture in other parts of the tradition:
The king told the boy that if he would not bring Merlin the Great to him, he would kill him. And the boy took a cart to go fetch him. And [upon meeting a man on the road] the boy asked him whether he had not seen somebody passing by with the king’s daughter. “Yes,” the man said, “I have seen a man passing here and the king’s daughter was with him, and he took my fiddle.” And the boy said to him: “Come with me in my cart and we will both go get it [the fiddle].” And he caught Merlin in an iron cage and locked him in, and he went to the king’s palace to show him and when Merlin was seen, he was let go.

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Gwerz Skolvan

The Lay of Skolvan

Type: Gwerz (lay)
Singers: Many from various parts of Brittany, see Laurent (1971) for a more complete list of versions
Language: Breton
Date: 19th & 20th c.

Gwerz Skolvan (The Lay of Skolvan) is known throughout Lower Brittany with many variations. They all describe how Skolvan (or Skolan), who has committed many atrocities in his life, seeks forgiveness on his way to the afterlife. He is forgiven by all but his mother, who describes the many crimes he has committed: Assaulted and killed his sisters (and/or their children), burnt churches, killed a priest, and (most importantly to her) lost her little book, which was written with the blood of Jesus Christ himself. Skolvan restores the book, which had been submerged, and she forgives him, allowing him access to Heaven.This lay not only bears clear parallels with other Celtic traditions (notably the Gaelic Suibhne Geilt and the Welsh Myrddin), but a version of it is found in the Black Book of Carmarthen (Llyfr Du Caerfyrddin, 13th c.) under the title Ysgolan. Donatien Laurent (1971) produced an in-depth study of the known versions, tying it to the broader Merlin tradition. Below is one 20th c. popular version with a translation.

Transcript (as sung by Marie-Josèphe Bertrand, 1886-1970) & translation

Further reading:
• Laurent, Donatien. 1971. “La gwerz de Skolan et la légende de Merlin” in Ethnologie française, Tome 1, No. 3/4, pp. 19-54.

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La Princesse Yvonne

Princess Yvonne

Type: Folktale
Storyteller: Julien Niobé (Canné, Paimpont region)
Language: French (likely from a gallo original)
Name of Merlin: Merlin
French Edition: Orain, Adolphe. 1904. Contes du pays Gallo (Rennes : Honoré Champion), pp. 135-156. Online.

Original text

Le roi de Plélan aimait passionnément la chasse, et s’en allait souvent poursuivre les sangliers dans la forêt de Brocéliande. Connaissant parfaitement le pays et les essences d’arbres qu’on y rencontre, il fut un jour bien surpris de trouver un oranger chargé de dix oranges. Il en cueillit une, et son étonnement devint de la stupeur en voyant la branche saigner, à l’endroit où le fruit venait d’être détaché.
Le roi se souvint que l’enchanteur Merlin habitait la forêt, et il l’envoya quérir aussitôt, pour avoir l’explication de ce prodige si nouveau pour lui. Lorsque Merlin arriva Sa Majesté lui dit :
— Toi qui sais tout, peux-tu éclaircir cet étrange phénomène ?
— Parfaitement, Sire. Cet oranger cache un être vivant, métamorphosé par une fée ou un magicien. Les neuf oranges, qui restent à cette arbre représentent les doigts de l’infortuné qui est devant vous et qui nous entend. Le dixième doigt était le fruit que vous avez cueilli, et c’est pour cela que le sang coule.
— Peux-tu rendre à ce malheureux sa forme première ?
— Oui, répondit le magicien, car ma baguette est plus puissante que celle de la fée qui a opéré ce changement.
L’enchanteur toucha l’oranger, le jeune prince apparut aux yeux de tous et alla se jeter dans les bras du roi. Qu’on juge de la joie de ce dernier en embrassant son cher neveu, dont il n’avait plus entendu parler depuis son départ. Lorsque leurs premiers transports furent un peu calmés, le roi fit au prince toutes sortes de questions pour connaître par quelle suite de circonstances, il le retrouvait sous l’écorce d’un oranger.
Le jeune homme lui répondit :
— Mon oncle, je vous ferai plus tard le récit détaillé de mon voyage ; mais, pour le moment, permettez que je m’occupe de ma cousine, que j’ai eu le bonheur de retrouver et qui, elle, se trouve changée en abeille. Tenez, la voyez-vous qui voltige autour de votre tête en nous écoutant ?
Le magicien rendit le même service à la jeune fille. Son père, en la voyant si belle, si charmante, était fou de bonheur, et ne se lassait pas de la contempler. Comme on le pense bien, la chasse en resta là. On retourna promptement au Gué de Plélan, où le mariage des deux jeunes gens ne tarda pas à être célébré.
Le roi céda sa couronne à son neveu qui, pendant de longues années, fit le bonheur de son peuple.

Translation

The King of Plélan [i.e. Yvonne’s father] loved hunting with a passion, and often went after wild boars in the Brocéliande forest. He knew the land perfectly and all the species of trees found there, and he was surprised one day to find an orange tree bearing ten oranges. He picked on, and his surprised turned into awe when he saw the branch bleeding where the fruit had been.
The king remembered that the enchanter Merlin lived in the woods, and he sent for him at once in order for him to explain this phenomenen so new to him. When Merlin arrived, His Majesty told him:
-You who know everything, can you shed a light on this strange phenomenon?
-Indeed I can, Sire. This orange tree hides a living being, shapeshifted by a fairy or a wizard. The nine oranges that are left on the tree are the fingers of the poor soul in front of you, who can hear you. The tenth finger is the fruit that you picked, and that is why blood is flowing.
-Can you turn this unfortunate person back to their original shape?
-Yes, answerd the wizard, because my wand is more powerful than the one of the fairy who operated this metamorphosis.
The enchanter touched the orange tree, and the young prince appeared for everyone to see and embrassed the king. One can guess how happy the latter was to hug his nephew, of whom he had had no news since he left. When their emotion has quieted, the king asked the prince many questions to know the circumstances that had led him to be changed into an orange tree.
The young man answered him:
-Uncle, I will tell you of my travel in details later; but for now, allow me to take care of my cousin, whom I had the joy to find, and who was changed into a bee. Here, can you see her flying around your head, listening to us?
The wizard did for the young lady as he had for the boy. Her father, seeing her so beautiful, so charming, was full of joy, and would not stop looking at her. As you may think, the hunt stopped there. They quickly went back to the Ford of Plélan, where the wedding of the two young people was celebrated without delay.
The king gave his crown to his nephew who, for many long years, made his people happy.

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La Fée aux Trois Dents

The Faery of the Three Teeth

Type: Folktale
Storyteller: Niobé family, perhaps Julien Niobé (Canné, Paimpont region)
Language: French (likely from a gallo original)
Name of Merlin: Merlin
French Edition: Orain, Adolphe. 1901. "Les contes de l’antique forêt de Brocéliande" in Revue de Bretagne, de Vendée et d’Anjou, Vol. 26, pp. 180-186. Online.

This tale was collected by Adolphe Orain in Canée (Paimpont) from the Niobé family, who provided him with many tales in that region of Higher Brittany.
Merlin is the main character of this tale, that does not correspond to any other narrative type in which the sorcerer appears, at least in Brittany. He is presented here as a young man who gets wealth and success from a magical talisman, rather than a character imbued with magic powers. He also does not correspond to the figure of the Wild Man. It is therefore possible that the association between Merlin and this narrative is a later development due to the relative fame of the character in that part of western Brittany.

Summary

At the beginning of this tale, a couple of wood cutters welcome an old woman in their home during a cold winter night. The old woman reveals herself to be the Queen of Fairies, and to thank them for their kindness she gives their newborn baby a nut containing three teeth from her mother. Each has the ability to grant the child a wish. Once used, the child will need to keep them to avoid the ill-will of evil fairies.
The child, named Merlin, grows to be clever and well-liked, and upon his twentieth birthday his mother reveals to him the power of the teeth. This prompts the young man to leave and see the world, hoping to gain wealth and fame from his talisman.
On his way, Merlin finds an old castle in which he decides to spend the night despite being warned that it is haunted. After having fallen asleep in the most luxurious room in the castle, he is awaken by the ghosts of two knights coming in to discuss a debt one owes the other. Merlin, using his first wish, banishes them forever. He then discovers them to be the long-dead lords of Ponthus and Comper who had fought over the love of a young lady. Ponthus had taken Comper prisoner, and the latter had been unable to pay the ransom, even in death.
Merlin also learns that lord Ponthus had used magic to deprive the neighbouring land of water. The young man offers the inhabitants to restore their water for a small sum of money, which they accept, and he uses his second wish to make the tree blocking the source disappear.
Continuing ahead, Merlin reaches Vannes, where the king is at war with the Franks. Being about to lose, the monarch is offering his daughter’s hand to the warrior who will chase away the invaders. Merlin offers his services, and touching the third tooth, becomes invisible and goes to the Frankish king’s tent to learn his battle plans. This grants Merlin victory in battle, and he marries the princess, offering her a jewel in which the now powerless teeth are encased.
Later on, the jewel is stolen by thieves and Merlin castle’s burn, the harvest fails, and a disease strikes the land. Merlin remembers the warning of the Fairy Queen and goes to retrieve the teeth. He dresses as a monk and gets captured by the thieves. Once in their lair, he sees the jewel worn by the bandit chief’s daughter. He ingratiates himself to her so that he becomes free to come and go, and one day steals the teeth back. Once back home, he gives the talisman back to his wife and opulence is restored to their land.

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The Tale of Merlin

Type: Folktales
Language: Breton & French
Date: 19th & 20th c.
Editions: See individual entries.

The Tale of Merlin is the most extensive corpus concerning this character in Breton popular tradition. At least seven versions were collected, six in Breton-speaking Brittany (Western), and one in Gallo-speaking Brittany (Eastern). Luzel mentions it as being quite popular in many regions of Brittany (see Luzel's Anecdote). To these need to be added two sung versions: The gwerz of Merlin Varz (Merlin Bard) collected by La Villemarqué, as well as the fragment collected by Madame de Saint-Prix.The tale is usually, though not universally, divided in two parts. The first one recounts the capture of the Wild Man (ATU502) by a young woman disguised as a man. In most versions, the girl does so as her father cannot fulfil his military duties towards the King, being too old and without a son. The young girl attracts the Queen’s ire, who attempts to get rid of her. She says to her husband that the girl (whom they believe to be a young knight or page) boasted about being able to capture Merlin, a fit deemed impossible. The girl accepts the challenge and uses her cunning to set a trap, usually attracting her pray with food and drink, and using a bed as a cage. In some versions, she is helped by an old witch or fairy to do the deed. The details of this episode vary, but the overall action remains the same. This corresponds to Robert de Boron’s Grisandole episode in the Merlin-Prose, sometimes extremely closely. Paton (1907) studied this episode but seemed to only have been aware of the Captain Lixur version of the tale, therefore looking at it simply as another version of ATU502 in relation to De Boron rather than comparing the full Breton tradition to the Arthurian romance.The tale then usually goes on to a second part, though not in all versions. In that second part, the King’s son frees Merlin despite his father’s orders. As this would mean him being put to death, he flees the court with the help of the Wild Man, who promises to come to his aid when time comes. The young Prince becomes a servant in a distant court that is threatened by a multi-headed dragon who demands human sacrifices. The Princess is to be next, but the Prince summons Merlin to help him fight off the beast and save her. The young man, taking the appearance of three different knights, fights the dragon for three days. The Princess is saved but does not know the identity of her saviour. He is finally revealed by presenting the tongues of the dragon, or alternatively through a lock of his hair that the Princess cut on the third day. They marry and the Prince is allowed to see his parents again. In some versions, this results in the curse that had made Merlin a beast be lifted.

Collected Versions

Further reading:
• Marquand, Patrice. 2006. "Merlin, de la tradition brittonique médiévale à la littérature orale de Basse-Bretagne" in Session de formation de la Société de Mythologie Française (Landeleau). Online. Accessed July 2025.
• Paton, Lucy Allen. 1907. "The Story of Grisandole: A Study in the Legend of Merlin" in PMLA 22/2, pp. 234-276.
• Philipot, Emmanuel. 1927. "Contes bretons relatifs à la légende de Merlin" in Mélanges bretons et celtiques offerts à M. J. Loth (Rennes, Paris), pp. 349-363.
• Philippe, Jef. 1986. War roudoù Merlin e Breizh (Lannuon: Hor Yezh).

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Jozebig ha Merlin

Jozebig and Merlin

Type: Folktale
Storyteller: Jean-Louis Rolland (Trabriant, Cornouaille)
Language: Breton
Name of Merlin: Merlin
Breton Edition: Philippe, Jef. 1986. War roudoù Merlin e Breizh (Lannuon: Hor Yezh).
Recordings: • Rolland (le), Jean-Louis (1904-1985), recorded by Donatien Laurent in 1965. Jozébig (in three parts), available on Dastumedia, Fiches Numériques 67620106, 67620201, and 67620301. Part 1 online ; Part 2 online ; Part 3 online.
• Rolland (le), Jean-Louis (1904-1985), recorded by Albert Trévidic in 1957-1967 (uncertain). Jozebig ha Merlin, available on Dastumedia, Fiches Numériques 26527, 26528, 26529, and 26530. Part 1 online ; Part 2 online ; Part 3 online ; Part 4 online.
• Rolland (le), Jean-Louis (1904-1985), recorded by Mikael Madeg on 23/07/1976. Josebig ha Merlin, available on Youtube. Part 1 online, Part 2 to come on Brezhoneg Bew.

Summary

In this version of the tale, a general named Duge retires after having been the most successful officer to the king. War breaks and he is called back to duty, but is now too old to go and has no son to send in his stead, only three daughters. The oldest and second one offer to go for him, disguised as boys, but they quickly come home after having been scared off by brigands. In truth, it was their father disguised to test them. The youngest daughter then goes in turn and does not get scared off, finally reaching the court. The young woman wins every battle she is sent to and attracts the jealousy of others, who trick the King into asking her to capture Merlin, a task deemed impossible. After laying a trap in the forest (using food, drinks, and an iron bed that closes on its own), she brings Merlin to the King. The young girl is revealed and marries the King, giving him a son named Jozébig.
In the second part of the tale, Jozébig is playing with three golden spheres. They each fall into the dungeon were they are kept by Merlin, who refuses to give them back. When the third one falls, Merlin asks the boy the retrieve the key to the cell in exchange for the ball. The boy does it, but as it comes under penalty of death, he is forced to flee with Merlin’s promise to help him when in need. Starving in the woods, Jozébig is given a magic napkin by Merlin that provides food. While eating a feast out of his napkin, he meets three big men who alternatively offer him magical items in exchange for it (a staff that summons four knights, a hammer that creates a silver or a golden house, and a bombard that resuscitates the dead). Jozébig agrees to the trade but every time uses the summoned knights to retrieve the napkin from the sleeping giants, allowing him to keep all of the items. With the help of Merlin he then crosses three kingdoms: The one of geese, ducks, and ants. All three people promise their help when the time comes.
Jozébig finally reaches a kingdom in which he is hired as a shepherd, watching over the royal flock. The Princess falls in love with him and comes everyday to court him, but he ignores her and shows disdain to her affection. While herding, he visits the nearby woods in which three monstruous giants live. He kills them over the course of three days, eventually gaining access to their castle and three sets of magical clothing and horses.
Later, the Princess is to be sacrificed to a terrible, multi-headed dragon. Jozébig, disguised as a knight with his magical clothing and horse, comes to rescue her and the monster asks for postponing the fight to the next day. This repeats twice more, with Jozébig being each time disguised as a different knight. He wins and disappears, keeping the dragon’s severed tongues. The Princess and the King decide to look for their benefactor, and attempts to capture him thrice, but he every time gets away. Eventually he reveals himself by showing the tongues and is promised the Princess.
In the last episode, Jozébig returns home to reunite with his parents, but is emprisoned due to his original crime. Using his magical items, he succeeds in securing his pardon and reveals that Merlin had been bewitched, and is now freed from the spell. He also frees the three animal Kings (goose, duck, ant) who were under the same spell.

• See also: Learning Jozebig

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Learning Jozebig Ha Merlin

Type: Information about a folktale
Storyteller: Jean-Louis Rolland (Trabriant, Cornouaille)
Language: Breton
Name of Merlin: Merlin
Recording: Rolland (le), Jean-Louis (1904-1985), recorded by Donatien Laurent in 1965. Questions sur la technique de mémorisation des épisodes du conte “Jozébig et Merlin” available on Dastumedia, Fiche Numérique 67620302. Online.

In this recording, Donatien Laurent asks Jean-Louis Rolland about the nature of Merlin (see transcript below), and about his memorisation techniques. Rolland explains the tale was only told to him twice on purpose by the storyteller he learnt it from. Laurent published an article about that exchange in 1981 (see ref. below).
The excerpt below is the very beginning of the recording about the nature of Merlin. He is said to have been a king, a direct ancestor of the King of France, who by the 19th c. had become the default king of Breton stories.

Transcript (Gurvan Lozac'h, Brezhoneg Bew), bennozh dezhañ & translation (FBG)

Further reading:
• Laurent, Donatien. 1981. “Les procédés mnémotechniques d'un conteur breton” in Cahiers de Fontenay, 23, pp. 34-42.

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Kavalier ar Gergoat

The Knight of Kergoat

Type: Folktale
Storytellers: Louis le Corre (Gourin, Cornouaille) ; Yeun ar Gow (Pleiben, Cornouaille).
Language: Breton
Name of Merlin: Merlik
Breton Edition: Gow (ar), Yeun. 2013. Marc’heger ar Gergoad (Lannuon: Hor Yezh).
Recording: Corre (le), Louis, recorded by Donatien Laurent in 1968. Kavalier ar Gergoad (in two parts), available on Dastumedia, Fiches Numériques 68400307 and 68400401. Part 1 online ; Part 2 online.

Summary
The following is a summary of the Pleiben version.

This version begins as an elderly noble is called to serve in the war. Failure to do so would mean losing his domain, but he has become too old and has no son left to go in his stead. His three daughters alternatively offer to go disguised as men, but the two oldest quickly get scared off by brigands after having disrespected an old woman asking for some help. Eventually, the youngest daughter goes and is not scared off. She also shows kindness to the same old woman in the woods, who reveals herself to be more than a mere beggar and promises to come help the young woman when need arises. Arrived at the court, the knight is tasked to attend to the Queen Mother, who decides to marry her off to a young lady-in-waiting. The disguised daughter refuses, upsetting the Queen Mother. She is condemned to try and capture Merlik as a punishment, a task deemed impossible. With the help of the old woman she met earlier, she captures Merlik using birds and an iron cage that closes on its own. Merlin is paraded in the street, where he reveals that the knight is in fact a woman, but people do not believe him.
In the following episode, the Queen Mother, still upset, gets the young knight on a mission to India to ask the hand of the local queen for her son, the young King of Brittany. Once again, the diguised daughter asks for the assistance of the old witch, who comes to advise her. On her way to India, she helps the King of the Fish, the King of Geese and Ducks, and the Queen of Ants, who all promise to come to her help when need arises.
Arrived in India, the knight is asked to fulfil some tasks to obtain the Queen’s hand, which is done with the help of geese, ducks, and ants. The Queen of India accepts to go to Brittany then, but once arrived, refuses to marry the King until a golden key that she let fall at the bottom of the sea is found. The young knight obtains the key with the help of the fish, and the wedding is planned.
During the banquet, Merlik, who is now the King’s bard, reveals once more that the young knight is in fact a woman. Seeing it, the Queen of India asks to break the engagement so that the King can marry the young heroin, which is done.

• See also: The nature of Merlik

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The Nature of Merlik

Type: Information about a folktale
Storyteller: Louis le Corre (Gourin, Cornouaille)
Language: Breton
Name of Merlin: Merlik
Recording: Corre (le), Louis, recorded by Donatien Laurent in 1968. Questions diverses sur le conte "Kavalier ar Gergoad", available on Dastumedia, Fiches Numériques 68400402. Online.

In this short recording (1:35), Donatien Laurent and Louis Le Corre discuss the nature of Merlik, the Merlin avatar of the tale Kavalier ar Gergoat. The storyteller had no knowledge of the background of the character, but clearly states the following at the beginning (my transcript and translation):

Transcript of the original and translation

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Merc'h Markiz Koatleger

The Daughter of the Marquess of Koatleger

Type: Folktale
Storyteller: Unknown (likely from Trégor)
Language: Breton
Name of Merlin: Aerlin
Breton Edition: Uhel (an), Fañch [François-Marie Luzel]. 1988. Kontadennoù ar Bobl 3 (Rennes: Al Liamm), pp. 107-121. Online.

Summary

In this tale, an old aristocrat comes back from the war but is asked to return to fight almost immediately. His three daughters offer to go in his stead, but he scares off the oldest two disguised as a brigand, to test them. His youngest daughter pushes through, not letting herself be scared. In the woods, she meets an old woman whom she helps cross a river. As a reward, the old woman reveals herself to be called Gwrac’h Koz an Inkonu (Old Witch of the Inkonu) and promises to come to her help whenever the need arises. Later on, the young knight meets four incredible people who become her servants: Fañch Kreñv (a man with supernatural strength), Yann Kofek (a man who can blow powerfully from his enormous belly), Youen ar Reder (a man who can run several miles in one step), and Job al Lagadek (a man who can hit a target miles away).
They all arrive in Paris, where the diguised daughter becomes attendant to the Queen. The latter wishes to court the young page, thinking her to be a boy, but is rejected and plans for a revenge. She gets her husband the King to send the daughter to find Caesar with the order to bring back his crown and a tooth from his mouth. The young knight goes to Caesar and with the help of her four comrades obtains his treasures, his crown, and a tooth.
Once she is back, the disguised daughter is once again set up by the Queen, and asked by the King to capture the Aerlin, a horned snake that has been terrorising the country. To help her, the knight calls upon Gwrac’h Koz an Inkonu, and the Aerlin is trapped. The beast then speaks: “It was said to me I would be captured by a girl disguised as a knight.” (Lavaret mat e oa ’vijen kemeret gant eur plac’h yaouank gwisket en marc’heg.).
Once back at the palace, the Aerlin reveals the Queen’s lies and she is executed. The Aerlin also reveals the young knight’s true identity, and she is married to the King.

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Le Conte de Merlin

The Tale of Merlin

Type: Folktale
Storyteller: Véronique Paris (Talensac, December 1859)
Language: French (likely from a gallo original)
Name of Merlin: Merlin
French Edition: Foulon-Ménard, Joseph. 1878. “La tradition de Merlin dans la forêt de Brocéliande” in Mélanges historiques, littéraires, bibliographiques, Vol. 1 (Nantes: Société des bibliophiles bretons et de l’histoire de Bretagne). Online.

Summary

Two sisters, Jeanne and Marie, dress as boys to find employement at the court. The former becomes a cook and the latter a page. The Queen takes a dislike to Marie and has her sent to the dungeon. She is suspected of being a girl, and a witch is consulted who says that if the young page manages to capture Merlin, then he is in fact a girl. Using birds, food, and an iron cage, Marie manages to trick Merlin and captures him, after what she is revealed along with her sister. Both being liked however, they are kept in their employement and Merlin is locked in the dungeon.
The King’s only son, Pelo, is one day playing with a golden sphere that falls into Merlin’s cell. In exchange for the toy, Merlin asks him to open the gate, which the boy does. The sorcerer promises to help him when the time comes, and Pelo has to run away to avoid execution for having freed Merlin. Marie comes with him at the behest of the Queen, and becomes his foster-mother.
They both reach the kingdom of Barenton, where a seven-headed beast terrorises the land, asking for sacrifices. The young Princess, who has befriended Pelo, is chosen. With the help of Merlin, Pelo fights the dragon for three days, each day coming disguised as a different knight. The King and Princess look for her saviour, and eventually Pelo comes forth by showing the severed tongues of the dragon. Merlin reveals that he was under a spell and is now freed, and marries Marie. Pelo marries the Princess and is forgiven by his father.

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Ar Murlu

The Murlu

Type: Folktale
Storyteller: Guillaume Garandel (Plouaret, 1871)
Language: Breton
Name of Merlin: Murlu
French Edition: Luzel, François-Marie. 1887. Contes populaires de Basse-Bretagne, Tome 2 (Paris: Maisonneuve & Ch. Leclerc), pp. 296-313.
Online.

Summary

An old lord has three daughters who dress as knights to go serve under the King of France. The first two are scared off by their father dressed as a brigand, but the youngest succeeds and reaches the court. The young girl, Aliette, becomes the Queen’s page. The Queen falls in love with her (thinking she is a man), but dies shortly after from sadness due to being rejected. Then, Aliette is wrongly blamed for having made a servant girl pregnant, and is revealed to be a woman. Eventually, the King marries her and they have a son.
Later, a Murlu (an extraordinary creature) is seen in the woods and the King demands that he is captured. The Murlu is captured by soliders using food and an iron cage. The creature tricks the young Prince into freeing him, promising to help him when need arises. To avoid execution, the Prince runs away on the Murlu’s back.
They both arrive in the kingdom of Naples, where the boy becomes a shepherd. The Murlu gives the Prince a magic sword to defeat a giant threatening his flock, and the boy takes ownership of the giant’s castle, which is full of treasures.
One day, as he is in the wood, he meets the local Princess being sent as a sacrifice to a seven-headed monster. The Murlu, transformed into a steed, takes both young people to the dragon’s den, where they fight, the Murlu vomitting water on the monster’s fire. After two days of fighting, the dragon is killed. The Prince refuses to go to the castle with the Princess, and both her and the King look for him. He is eventually revealed and maries the Princess.
During the banquet, the Murlu appears and turns into the first wife of the King of France, who was cursed after falling in love with her page (the Prince’s mother). Now, the curse is lifted, and she is free.

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Le Capitaine Lixur

Captain Lixur

Type: Folktale
Storyteller: Jacques ar Falc’her (Plouaret, January 1870)
Language: Breton
Name of Merlin: Santirine (br) or Satyre (fr)
French Editions: Luzel, François-Marie. 1887. Contes populaires de Basse-Bretagne, Tome 2 (Paris: Maisonneuve & Ch. Leclerc), p. 314-340. Online.
Luzel, François-Marie. 1871. “Cinquième Rapport sur une Mission en Basse Bretagne,” in Archives des Missions Scientifiques et Littéraires, Troisième Série, Vol. I (Paris: Imprimerie Nationale), pp. 18-20.

Summary

An old lord is called to the war. He has three daughters who one after the other offer to dress as knights and go in his stead. The first two are scared off by their father dressed as a brigand, but the youngest succeeds and reaches the court. She is so good with weapons that after a year, she becomes a captain. The Queen asks that the young officer be made her page, and the disguised girl becomes known as Captain Lixur. The Queen falls in love with Lixur, not knowing she is in fact a woman, and her favours create jealousy in the court.
To get rid of the young knight, they have her sent to the forest to hunt a terrible boar that no-one has been able to vanquish. Once in the forest, Lixur helps an old woman who turns out to be a fairy, and who in return tells her how to kill the beast. It is done and the knight comes back victorious.
The Queen, vexed that Lixur still pays no attention to her, has her sent to capture the Unicorn that no-one has been able to defeat. Back in the woods, the knight meets the old fairy again, who once again helps the disguised girl to vanquish her foe, which is done.
The Queen, exasperated, has Lixur sent to capture the Satyre, a terrible monster. On the way, the knight meets once again the fairy, who advises her. Lixur uses milk in copper vessels to lure the beast and capture it. It follows the knight back to the court without a fight.
On their way, they meet a procession going to bury a child and the Satyre laughs. Later, they pass by a gallows on which a criminal is about to be hung, and the Satyre cries. Finally, they travel by the shore, where they see a ship about to be wrecked and the crew praying together, and the Satyre laughs once more. They eventually reach the royal palace, where a great celebration is held.
The Satyre then talks to the young woman, asking her to have the King gather all his troops so it can reveal his truths to all. Once in front of everyone, the creature explains the following: He laughed at the procession because he knew the priest was in fact the real father of the deceased; he then cried because the criminal did not want to repent and was about to be taken to Hell; he laughed at the shipwreck because he saw the angels that were about to take the sailors to heaven for their devotion. Then, the Satyre reveals that the Queen’s two ladies in waiting are in fact men. Finally, the creature reveals that Lixur is in fact a young woman, as only a woman could capture him.
The Queen is executed and Lixur marries the King. As for the Satyre, it becomes the King’s prime minister.

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Georgic and Merlin

Type: Folktale
Storyteller: Unknown (perhaps from Morbihan)
Language: Breton
Name of Merlin: Merlin
Date: Early 20th c.
French Edition: Cadic, François. 1922. “Georgic et Merlin” in Contes et Légendes de Bretagne (Paris: Maison du Peuple Breton), pp. 207-220.
English Edition: Delarue, Paul. 1956. The Borzoi Book of French Folk-Tales (New York: Alfred A. Knopf), p. 384.

Summary

A marvellous bird is captured by a lord, who threatens of death whoever frees it. The bird, named Merlin, asks the lord’s son Georgic to free him, in exchange of which it will come when called to help the boy. To avoid death at his father’s hand, the boy runs away with a merchant and becomes a shepherd. When the merchant refuses to pay Georgic, the latter calls upon Merlin who uses his powers to get the money. He then gives the boy a whistle to protect him and his flock from roaming wolves.
Later on, the daughter of Georgic’s master is to be fed to a seven-headed dragon who demands yearly sacrifices. With the help of Merlin, Georgic accompanies the princess with a cloak, horse, and sword, and the dragon refuses to come out of its lair, asking them to come back the next day. Georgic comes back thus the next day and the one after, each time wearing a different cloak, and eventually kills the dragon and cuts off its tongues. Three banquets are held and Georgic appears each time wearing one of the three cloaks but vanishing before he can be identified. On the third day he is recognised and marries the girl.
In a second part of the tale, which echoes other Breton fairytales (but not Merlin-related ones), Georgic’s father-in-law becomes ill. In order to cure him, the boy must retrieve three things: A slice of orange from a distant tree, water from the Fountain of Life, and bread and wine from the Yellow Queen. With the help of a magic wand given by a hermit, Georgic retrieves the items.

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Merlin Varz

Merlin the Bard

Type: Gwerz (Lay)
Singer: Unclear, perhaps Annaïk Le Breton, née Huon (Kerigazul, Nizon, Cornouailles), see Laurent (1989: 296)
Language: Breton
Date: 19th c.
Manuscript: La Villemarqué, Théodore Hersart (1815-1895 ; vicomte de), “Premier carnet de collecte de Théodore Hersart de La Villemarqué,” Bibliothèque numérique du Centre de recherche bretonne et celtique (CRBC). Online, pp. 303-305 & 295-295.
French Edition: Laurent, Donatien. 1989. Aux Sources du Barzaz-Breiz : La mémoire d’un peuple (Douarnenez: ArMen), p. 238-244.

This gwerz (lay) clearly belongs to the Tale of Merlin tradition. In it, a young lad is tasked by the king to steal from Merlin (also named Melin in the original). With the help of his mother, who has magical abilities, he manages to do so before finally capturing Merlin himself. With the Fragment de Madame de Saint-Prix and Georgic and Merlin, it is the only version of the Tale of Merlin in which the protagonist is male rather than female. However here it is not the protagonist who captures Merlin, but his mother, therefore connecting back to the gender aspects of the tale.The version presented by La Villemarqué in his Barzaz Breiz (1839) was at the heart of the controversy that led many to consider him a fraud, and the gwerz was deemed to have been written by him entirely. Laurent (1989: 287-296) carefully studied the original fieldnotes of La Villemarqué and concluded that while the published version is heavily edited, it is indeed originally from popular tradition. The first part of La Villemarqué’s version is missing from the manuscript, a fact that Laurent associates to missing pages based on material evidence (1989: 287). What is now available starts as the king tasks the hero to steal Merlin’s ring, following the horse race (see Fragment de Madame de Saint-Prix).The text below is only from the manuscript, the missing 82 first lines being available in editions of the Barzaz Breiz and online.

Original text (Laurent’s reading with FBG additional readings) & translation (FBG, with revised punctuation for clarity)

The presence of ??? marks a passage that neither Laurent nor myself could read due to challenging shorthand. The presence of ... reproduces suspension marks left by the collector himself.
Laurent's edition also gives the variations recorded by La Villemarqué from different versions. I have omitted them here, but for more, refer to pp. 240-244 in Laurent, 1989.

Further reading:
• Laurent, Donatien. 1989. Aux Sources du Barzaz-Breiz : La mémoire d’un peuple (Douarnenez: ArMen).
• Villemarqué (de la), Théodore Hersart. Barzaz Breiz (First edition 1839).

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Paket eo Merlig

Merlig is caught

Type: Rhyme (possible excerpt from a song or lay)
Informant: Pierre-Jakez Hélias (1914-1995, Pouldreuzic, Cornouailles)
Language: Breton
Name of Merlin: Merlig
Date: 20th c.
French Edition: Fleuriot, Léon, Jean-Claude Lozac’hmeur, Louis Prat (eds), & Pierre-Jakez Hélias (foreword). 1981. Récits et Poèmes Celtiques. Domaine brittonique VIe-XVe siècles (Paris: Stock), p. 9.

In his foreword to the collection of texts presented by Fleuriot, Lozac’hmeur, and Prat, Pierre-Jakez Hélias reflects on the fact that many of the old tales are now unknown, or only known as fragments. This is when he presents the following bit of verse from the regions of Menez Are and Menez Du, in Cornouailles. This may be from a song or lay similar to the Fragment de Madame de Saint-Prix or the Merlin Barde, or in any case it seems to relate to the capture of Merlin episode. The name Merlig corresponds to the Kavalier ar Gergoat version of the Tale of Merlin.

Original text and translation

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Sayings: Sot evel Merlin

Foolish like Merlin

Type: Sayings
Language: Breton
Date: 19th c.

These two sayings have in common that they equate Merlin with a lack of senses. Despite Sauvé’s confusion (see below), this notion seems to correspond quite well with the folkloric figure of Merlin as a Wild Man striken with some form of madness. Both contexts do allow for the meaning "mad/crazy" to be assumed rather than "stupid".

• Sotoc'h eget Merlin

Meaning: "More foolish than Merlin", i.e. very foolish.
Edition (Bilingual Breton/French): Sauvé, Léopold-François. 1878. Proverbes et dictons de la Basse-Bretagne. Lavarou koz a Vreiz-Izel (Paris: H. Champion), p. 206, n°931. Originally published in the Revue Celtique between 1870 and 1878. Online.

Original text and translation

• Fin evel Merlin

Meaning: "Clever like Merlin", meant sarcastically, i.e. foolish, crazy.
Edition (Breton): "Iannic a Vil Vicher" in Feiz ha Breiz, n°135 (31/08/1867), p. 245. Online.

Original text and translation

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Marzin en e Gavell & Distro Marzin

Marzin in his Crib & The Return of Marzin

Type: Gwerzioù (lays)
Singer(s): Unknown (likely from Cornouailles)
Language: Breton
Date: 19th c.

These two songs were published by La Villemarqué in his third edition of the Barzaz Breiz (1867). They figure amongst the lays that were not collected by anybody else, and whose originals cannot be found in La Villemarqué fieldnotes. This means it is difficult to assess their relation to Breton oral tradition. Laurent’s work on the sources of La Villemarqué (1989) would suggest that both songs derive from genuine traditions, but without his fieldnotes, the nature of the original texts he collected is unknown, as well as the extant to which he edited them.Marzin en e gavell (Marzin in his crib) is a lullaby. The name of Merlin does not appear in the song itself, but the collector believed it to be about the origins of Merlin, begotten by a demon and a princess, due to the narration, which is about a princess being tricked by a strange creature in the woods, and lamenting her encounter now that she is rocking the cradle of her child. At the end, the newborn speaks to her, promising he will not be a burden.The second text, Distro Marzin (The Return of Marzin), shows how the wild man met Saint Kado and is converted by him to Christianity. This echoes the character of Lailoken in Vita S. Kentigerni as well Welsh traditions in the Black Book of Carmarthen (Dialogue with Saint Columban).See Christian Souchon’s discussion of both pieces for more details:
• Marzin en e Gavell http://chrsouchon.free.fr/gavellfe.htm (bilingual French/English)
• Distro Marzin http://chrsouchon.free.fr/distrofe.htm (bilingual French/English)

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Ar rannoù: Teir Rouantelez Varzin

The Series: Three Kingdoms of Merlin

Type: Folksong
Singers: Louis Olivier & Henri Olivier (Kerdonnarz, Scaër, Cornouailles)
Language: Breton
Date: 19th & 20th c.
French & Breton Edition: Boidron, Jean-Jacques. 1993. “Gousperoù ar Raned” ha gourspered “Ar Rannoù”. Les “Vêpres des Grenouilles” ou “Les Séries” des druides (Dastum).
See also: Villemarqué (La), Théodore Hersart. Barzaz Breiz (from the second edition, 1845)

Many versions of this strange song were collected throughout Brittany. The song is divided in stanzas corresponding to numbers, usually from one to twelve. A chorus of sort asks for the next stanza to be sung, and it is, followed by every stanza sung until then in the following pattern: Chorus, stanza 1, chorus, stanza 2 & 1, chorus, stanza 3, 2 & 1, etc. The content of the text is often mysterious or unclear. It was therefore no wonder that La Villemarqué saw in it a corrupted, ancient druidic lesson containing information about Breton history. While this has been greatly questioned, the lyrics do contain what at times seems to be echoes of older tales. The study by Boidron is by far the most complete and in-depth approach, comparing the version published in the Barzaz Breiz to every other known one.There are three versions of particular interest for the study of Merlin in Brittany: The one published by La Villemarqué, from a collect in Cornouailles, the one later published by Pierre de la Villemarqué (son of the former), said to have been collected by Brizeux in Kerdonnarz (Scaër), from Henri Olivier in 1854, and one collected and published by Luzel in 1868 in Kerdonnarz, from Louis Olivier (father of Henri). They are entitled respectively “Version de La Villemarqué” and “Version de Scaër 1, 2” by Boidron. For stanza 3, they give:• Teir rouantelez Varzin - Three kingdoms of Merlin (La Villemarqué & Scaër 1)
• Ter rouantelès Marzinn - Three kingdoms of Merlin (Scaër 2)Unfortunately, this third stanza is in most version one of the most mysterious one in meaning, and the “three kingdom of Merlin” may have come from the collector's interpretation. The theme of the three kingdoms does appear in Breton folktales, and the connection with Merlin is found in Jozebig ha Merlin with the three kingdoms (Geese, Ducks, Ants) tied to his fate.The alternative versions containing this unidentified word are (Boidron’s classification):
• Ter gentifarinn (Scaër 3)
• Pider zatefarsin (number 4 here, from Saint-Thurien 1)
• Teir zadefarin (from Saint-Thurien 2)Otherwise, the remaining versions have variations that may come from a similar origin but have since changed significantly, such as:• Ter rouanès er Mendi - Three queens in the palace (?) (Plouaret 1, Pluzunet 2, Loguivy-Plougras 2, Magnet/Elliant)
• Tri bis arc’hant da c’hoari - Three silver fingers to play (Penguern, Cleuzioù, Kerembrun)
• Tri bis arc’hant da Vari - Three silver fingers for Mari (ms 1023-128, Quellien/Pontrieux, and others)

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Research anecdotes: La Villemarqué in Brocéliande

Type: Research commentaries
Storyteller: An old woman from the Paimpont region, shortly before 1837
Language: French (perhaps originally in gallo)
Date: 1830s
French Edition: Villemarqué (de la), Théodore Hersart. 1837. "Visite au Tombeau de Merlin" in Revue de Paris, 41, pp. 45-62.

This article by La Villemarqué recounts several anecdotes from his visit to the region around what is known as Brécilien or Brocéliande’s forest in the 1830s (nowadays Paimpont’s Forest). La Villemarqué’s interest in the Arthurian legend led him to enquire about Merlin when discussing with local people, and this anecdote is a retelling of an interaction. While La Villemarqué was accused of inventing traditions, his sincerity has been fairly strongly established by Laurent in the second half of the 20th century (Laurent, 1989), though is methodology remains problematic. There is no reason to believe he would have made up this anecdote, especially as the Merlin tradition is attested in the area by other collectors (see Foulon-Ménard and Orain).

Original text

[...] Telles étaient les traditions qui avaient cours au moyen-âge sur la forêt de Brécilien, le val des druidesses, leur fontaine, et Merlin; mais aujourd'hui, sur les lieux même, que pense-t-on de toutes ces choses? Je fus curieux de l'apprendre, et quoiqu'on n'y parle plus breton, je voulus consulter cependant les pâtres de la lande.
Une vieille filait en gardant ses moutons; je m'approchai d'elle, et l'interrogeai.
—Ah! on conte bien des histoires, mon fils, me dit-elle; j'ai ouï parler d'un nommé Eon, qui faisait
nuitamment le sabbat avec ses gens au bord de la fontaine; ils disaient des prières, ils dansaient en
rond; après quoi ils festoyaient tous ensemble; ils étaient sorciers, m'est avis, et le diable s'en mêlait pour sûr...
Cet Éon vivait au xiie siècle.Un jour qu'il entrait dans une église, ayant entendu le prêtre prononcer ces paroles de la messe : Per EUM qui venlurus est, etc., il s'en était fait l'application, et se mit à dogmatiser. Y aurait-il eu dans ses pratiques quelque reste de druidisme?
— On conte aussi de Merlin.
— Ah! Merlin, fis-je vivement; et qu'est-ce qu'on en dit, s'il vous plaît ?
— On dit qu'il gît là-haut sous cette grosse pierre, que sa dame l'a occis par engin, mais sans mau vouloir, et qu'il y a un trésor en son tombeau. Dans une grande famine où le blé valait trente livres le boisseau, les gars de Beauvais s'en vinrent avec des pioches pour fouir dessous; mais ils n'en purent venir à bout. On dit bien d'autres choses encore, que je ne me rappelle plus, car je suis un tantet vieillotte, et j'ai perdu ma mémoire.

Translation

[...] These were the traditions current during the Middle Ages about the Brecilien forest, the Valley of Druids, their fountain, and Merlin; but today, in this same area, what does one think of such things? I was curious to learn it, and even though people no longer speak Breton there, I still wanted to consult the shepherds on the moor.
A old lady was spinning while keeping her sheep; I went towards her and asked.
-Ah! Quite a few tales are told, son, she said to me; I heard of one they call Eon, who would perform sabbaths with people by the fountain; they would say prayers and dance in circles; and then they would feast together; they were sorcerers, methinks, and the Devil had something to do with it...
This Eon lived in the 12th century. One day that he entered the church, hearing the priest say these words during mass: Per EUM qui venlurus est, etc., he thought he was the one concerned and started preaching.* Were there remnants of druidism there?
-There is also talk of Merlin.
-Ah! Merlin, said I with excitement; and what is said of him, please?
-It is said that he lies up there, under this big rock, and that his lady killed him by trickery, but without meaning to, and that there is a treasure in his tomb. During a great famine, when wheat was worth thirty pounds the bushel, the lads from Beauvais came with pickaxes to look there; but there couldn’t get through to it. They say many other things I cannot remember because I am a bit old, and my memory is failing me.*Eon de l’Etoile was a heretic and bandit of the 12th century.

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Research anecdotes: Luzel in Cornouailles

Type: Research commentaries and folktale summaries
Storytellers: Jean Le Ny (Plounevez-du-Faou, Cornouailles) ; Jean Couchennec (Collorec, Cornouailles)
Language: French (likely from Breton originals)
Date: 19th c.
French Edition: Luzel, François-Marie. 1871. "Deuxième Rapport sur une Mission en Basse Bretagne" in Archives des Missions Scientifiques et Littéraires, Tome VII (Paris: Imprimerie Nationale), pp. 125-147.

Luzel had long held the opinion that no traces of the Arthurian legends were to be found in Breton popular tradition as he had found none in the part of Trégor (NW Brittany) where he carried out his work. When he was given a grant to pursue further fieldwork elsewhere in Brittany, he got to explore regions unknown to him, including Cornouailles, where La Villemarqué had done his own work. This passage from his second research report shows that Luzel did find legends of Merlin there, to his surprise. Luzel also collected versions of the Merlin tale which he published in his Cinquième Rapport (pp. 18-20) and in other collections (see Tale of Merlin).
The following elements tie back to the Tale of Merlin narrative, summarised.

Original text

C'est aussi à Plounevez-du-Faou [p. 134] que j'ai trouvé pour la première fois le nom de Merlin, altéré, dans la bouche des gens du peuple. Un laboureur, nommé Jean Le Ny, me dit avoir su autrefois un conte où il était question de lui, et il prononça nettement son nom, Merlinn. Je le pressai vivement de me dire ce qu'il avait retenu de ce conte , et voici tout ce que je pus tirer de lui :
Merlin avait dit qu'il ne serait pris que par une jeune fille. Et, en effet , le héros (ou plutôt l'héroïne ) du conte est une jeune fille déguisée en homme, et crue tel. Après s'être déjà tirée à son honneur de deux autres épreuves, elle fut envoyée, en troisième lieu, pour s'emparer de Merlin, avec menace de mort si elle n'y réussissait. Elle fit fabriquer un lit de fer, un lit clos, qui devait se fermer de lui-même sur toute personne qui y entrerait, et l'y prendre comme dans une vraie boîte de fer. Elle fit porter le lit sous un grand arbre, dans la forêt qu'habitait Merlin. Puis elle monta sur l'arbre, emportant des poulets rôtis, des gâteaux et plusieurs flacons de bon vin. Quand Merlin vint à passer sous l'arbre, elle lui jeta gâteaux, poulets et vin. N'étant pas habitué, dans sa forêt, à de semblables friandises, il mangea et but, si bien qu'il se trouva ivre. Apercevant alors le lit , il y entra. Les ressorts jouèrent d'eux-mêmes, et le voilà prisonnier. La jeune fille descendit aussitôt de l'arbre, attela quatre chevaux au lit et conduisit Merlin au palais du roi...
On le voit, cela est loin de la fable du roman français ; mais dans d'autres versions j'ai trouvé des épisodes qui s'en rapprochent davantage.
Interrogé sur la nature de Merlin, si c'était un homme ou un animal, un monstre quelconque, mon conteur répondit qu'il l'ignorait, mais qu'il pensait pourtant que c'était un animal redoutable. A Collorec, je trouvai un charpentier, nommé Jean Couchennec, qui me dit qu'il savait aussi le conte de Merlig ( il l'appelait ainsi ) ; mais malheureusement il était de baptême, par conséquent ivre, et devait l'être encore le lendemain et peut-être le surlendemain. Je compte retourner le voir, car il m'a affirmé qu'il sait plusieurs autres contes. Et, en effet, je me suis assuré qu'il a dans le pays la réputation d'un maître conteur.
Dans le pays de Tréguier, j'avais trouvé le nom de Erlinn dans un conte où une jeune fille, également déguisée en homme, est [p. 135] aussi envoyée, comme troisième et dernière épreuve, pour s'emparer d'un animal qui habite une forêt, et qui est la terreur de pays.
Dans une autre version, dont la fable est construite sur les mêmes ressorts, l'animal s'appelle Santirinn, et des armées entières envoyées contre lui ont été complétement détruites. Ce qui me fait croire que la Santirine est encore une altération du nom de Merlin, qui, comme on sait, prenait telle forme qu'il lui plaisait, c'est que je trouve dans le conte breton un épisode qui est aussi, presque mot pour mot, dans le roman français de Merlin, de Robert de Borron.
Quand la Santirine est prise et qu'elle suit docilement, sous la forme d'un poulain, la jeune fille qui l'amène à la cour du roi de France (du roi Vortigern , dans le roman français), ils rencontrent en route le convoi d'un enfant, que l'on porte en grand deuil au cimetière. Le bedeau chante devant le cercueil, et le père, ou du moins celui qui est cru tel, pleure par derrière. Tout le monde est triste. La Santirine se met à rire bruyamment. Interrogée par la jeune fille pourquoi elle rit quand les autres pleurent, elle répond : Je ris de voir le vrai père qui chante devant (le bedeau), et cet imbécile, qui n'est que le père nourricier, sa femme le sait bien, qui pleure par derrière ! La Santirine fait encore plusieurs autres révélations semblables.
Je trouve souvent dans nos contes bretons des souvenirs des romans français du moyen âge, comme Huon de Bordeaux, Orson et Valentin, les Quatre fils Aymon, etc... Ces romans étaient lus dans les châteaux, et de là ils descendaient dans le peuple, qui les arrangeait et les modifiait à sa guise, les altérant, les interpolant et les mêlant à d'autres fables populaires. C'est sans doute de cette manière que le nom de Merlin s'est conservé dans les récits de nos paysans ; dans la poésie, je ne l'ai jamais rencontré .

Translation

It is also at Plounevez-du-Faou [p. 134] that I found for the first time the name of Merlin, altered, in the mouth of the people. A fieldworker, named Jean Le Ny, said that he once knew a tale about him, and he clearly said his name, Merlinn. I prompted him excitingly to tell me what he remembered of the tale, and this is everything I could get:
Merlin had said he would only be taken by a young lady. And, indeed, the hero (or rather heroin) of the tale is a young lady disguised as a man, and believed to be so. After having honourably gone through two other trials, she was sent, in the third instance, to capture Merlin, and threatened of death should she fail. She built an iron bed, a closed bed, that would close by itself on anyone that would enter it, and capture them like a real iron box. She had the bed brought under a big tree in the forest in which Merlin lived. Then she climbed on the tree, taking with her roast chickens, cakes, and several flasks of good wine. When Merlin came under the tree, she threw the cakes, chickens, and wine to him. Not being used to such treats in his woods, he ate and drank, and ended up drunk. Seeing the bed, he came in. The mechanism worked and he was a prisoner. The young lady came down the tree, attached four horses to the bed, and took Merlin to the king’s palace...
We can see that this is far removed from the French romances ; but in another version I found episodes closer to it.
When I asked the storyteller about the nature of Merlin, whether he was a man or an animal, a sort of monster, he said he did not know, but that he thought it was a dreadful animal. In Collorec, I found a carpenter named Jean Couchennec who said he also knew the tale of Merlig (it was his name for him) ; but unfortunately he had been at a baptism and was therefore intoxicated, and was still so the next day and perhaps the one after that. I intend on going back to see him, because he said he knows several other tales. And indeed I made sure that he is reputed as a master storyteller in the area.
In the Tréguier region, I had found the name of Erlinn in a tale in which a young lady, also disguised as a man, is [p. 135] also sent, in her third and final trial, to capture a beast that lives in the woods, and that terrifies the country.
In another version, of which the fable uses the same devices, the animal is called Santirinn, and entire armies sent after him were completely destroyed. What is leading me to believe that the Santirinn is just another alteration of the name of Merlin who, we know it, took whichever shape he fancied, is that I find in the Breton tale an episode that is almost word-for-word in the Romance of Merlin, by Robert de Borron.
When the Santirine is taken and follows calmly, under the shape of a foal, the young lady who is taking it to the court of the French king (King Vortigern in the French Romance), they meet on the way the procession taking a child to the cemetery with great grief. The beadle sings before the coffin, and the father, or at least the one believed to be so, cries behind it. Everybody is sad. The Santirine then laughs loudly. The young lady asks it why it is laughing when others cry, and it answers: I laugh to see the real father singing at the front (the beadle), and this imbecile, who is only the foster father, his wife knows well, crying behind! The Santirine goes on to make other such revelations.
I often find in our Breton tales the memory of French Romances from the Middle Ages, like Huon of Bordeaux, Orson and Valentin, the Four Sons of Aymon, etc... These romances were read in castles, and thence got to the people who would rearrange them and modify them in their own way, altering them and taking them further and mixing them with other popular fables. It is probably thus that the name of Merlin was preserved by the tales of our peasants ; in the poetry, I never met it.

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Miscellaneous

Type: Various literary mentions

This category groups together various anecdotal mentions of Merlin in literary sources from Brittany.

Merlin and Brécilien

The location of the mythical forest of Brocéliande (or Brécilien, Brécheliant, etc.) has been associated with various areas of woodland in Brittany since the Middle Ages, and in particular the region around Paimpont due to the local name of Brécilien on part of the woods there, alongside a fountain named Barenton or Bellanton. This association was strengthened in the late Middle Ages by the families of Laval and Rohan, whose competing claim on the area was accompanied by assertion of the prestigious past of the place. While many of the Arthurian names now associated to the forest of Paimpont are likely to come from 19th c. romantic fantasies, some are older, such as the location of the Perron de Merlin, near Barenton. The following extract is from the late 16th c.

Source: Baillif (le), Roch. 1578. Le Demosterion (Rennes: Pierre le Bret), p. 7. Online.

Original text and translation

Merlin's mention in the Prophecie de Bretaigne

The Prophecie de Bretaigne was composed anonymously sometime in 1488, after the final defeat of the Breton armies against the French at the Battle of Saint-Aubin du Cormier. This text of Breton origin, in French, only contains a brief mention of Merlin among other prophets. The original text was reedited by L. Grégoire in 1853 alongside other anonymous Breton compositions of the same period.

Source: Anonymous. 1488. Le testament de monseigneur des Barres et la prinse de Fougières et la prophécie de Bretaigne (Paris: Pierre Levet). Online.
French Edition: Grégoire, L. 1853. "Le testament de monseigneur des Barres et la prinse de Fougières et la prophécie de Bretaigne" in Revue des Provinces de l'Ouest, Vol. I/2, pp. 60-70. Online.

Original text and translation

Merlin and the English

There are a few mentions of Merlin as a character of romance in relation to England, and in particular to the great interest of English-men for the Prophecies of Merlin, which some considered to have genuine divinatory value.The first such text is the French-language poem of Breton origin, La Bataille de Trente Anglois et de Trente Bretons in laisse XIX (verses 246-251) & laisse XXX (verses 392-396). See Brush, Henry Raymond. 1912. "La Bataille de Trente Anglois et de Trente Bretons" in Modern Philology, Vol. 9/4, pp. 511-544.The second is the Chronique anonyme de Sir Bertrand Du Guesclin (chapters XXIII & XLI). See Charrière, E. 1839. Chronique de Bertrand du Guesclin par Cuvelier (Paris: Firmin Didot).

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Vers prophétiques de Guiclan

Prophetic Verses by Guiclan

Type: Poetry
Language: Breton
Date: 19th c.
Manuscript: M. le Chanoine du Cleuzioù's family manuscript
French Edition: Menn (Le), Gwennole. 1982. “Du nouveau sur les prophéties de Gwenc’hlan: du texte moyen-breton (XVe s.) aux traditions populaires” in Société d’Emulation des Côtes-du-Nord, Vol. CXI, pp. 45-71.
Bihan (Le), Hervé. 2013. An Dialog etre Arzur Roe dan Bretounet ha Guynclaff (Rennes: TIR), pp. 149-150.

Thirty-three lines of prophetic poetry attributed to Guiclan, followed by a prose continuation, in 3 folios. The first few lines are given below for an idea of the content, which is mostly about the various things that will befall the country.

Original text and translation

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Guiglan used in court

Type: Legal proceedings
Language: French
Date: 1st February 1677
Manuscript: Archives Départementales des Côtes-d’Armor, Procédure civile des Religieux de Bégard contre Claude Le Bivic, Yves Le Galery, Jan Le Cozic et Yvonette Le Roux pour refus de payer la dîme (Pleumeur-Bodou), 1677, cote H 182 Abbaye de ND de Bégard, pièce 1.
French Edition: Bihan (Le), Hervé. 2013. An Dialog etre Arzur Roe dan Bretounet ha Guynclaff (Rennes: TIR), pp. 151.

This manuscript is the transcript of a court procedure made by the Abbey of Our Lady of Bégard against tenants who refused to pay the dime. Guinglan (who is said to have lived during the reign of King Gradlon or Gralon) is called upon by the plaintiffs (the abbey) to show that the defendants (the tenants) have no reason to refuse paying their dues.

Original text (Le Bihan's reading) & translation (FBG)

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Guinclaff in Grégoire de Rostrenen

Type: Dictionary
Languages: Breton & French
Date: 1732
French Edition: Rostrenen (de), Grégoire. 1732. Dictionnaire françois-celtique ou françois-breton (Rennes), p. 481. Online
Rostrenen (de), Grégoire. 1738. Grammaire françoise-celtique ou françoise-bretonne (Rennes), p. XVI. Online, 1794 reedition.

The main information (transcribed and translated below) comes from the dictionary.
In his 1738 French-Breton Grammar, the author corrects the dictionary’s assertion that the prophecies are from 240 AD to the date of 450 AD, which was canonical for the document (An Dialog, see corpus) until more contemporary studies looked at the matter.

Original text and translation

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Diouganou al Manach Guinclan

The Prophecies of the Monk Guinclan

Type: Epistolary publication
Languages: French
Date: 1744
French Edition: Chretien Errant (pseudonyme). 1744. L'Espion Civil et Politique, ou Lettres d'un Voyageur sur toutes Sortes de Sujets (London: Thomas Cooper), pp. 101-105. Online.

This book contains various letters with anecdotes, reflections, and other content. The tenth letter is concerned with the origin of almanacs, which it ascribes to Gwenc’hlan according to a friend of the author. This story is found nowhere else in Breton folklore and literature, and it is difficult to assess just how much is invented by the author. Guinclan is here a monk, and plays a rather negative role as an ambitious advisor trying to seize power for himself.The story told here however clearly takes from the Breton tradition of Merlin. We find Guinclan gifted with prophetic powers, having a special relationship to birds, and spending some of his life in an isolated place outwith society, all the while having an ambiguous relationship to royal power.The text below is a full transcription and translation of the letter.

Original text

[p. 101] Monsieur,
Un de mes Amis m’a communiqué une petite dissertation, ou plutôt un trait d’Histoire touchant l’origine des Almanacs. Je vous l’envoie aussi, ne doutant pas qu’elle ne vous fasse plaisir à lire, d’autant que vous êtes plus en état que personne de pénétrer au-delà de l’écorce.
Environ au milieu du troisième siècle de l’Ere Chrétienne, vivoit dans l’Armorique nommée depuis Petite Bretagne, & règnoit paisiblement sur cette partie du Monde, Lusbras, qui s’étoit acquis une grande réputation dans son Royaume & bien au-delà, tant par son esprit supérieur, que par sa valeur & ses autres qualités éminentes. Cependant tout ce qu’il y avoit de bon, d’excellent & d’admirable en lui, n’étoit dû qu’à la simple Nature ; car dès sa tendre jeunesse il avoit été, pour ainsi dire, livré à lui-même, sans Précepteur, sans Gouverneur ; à peine avoit-il eu un Maître pour lire & écrire, aussi ne sut-il jamais bien faire l’un & l’autre ; mais il en savoit plus que tous les Livres ensemble, & sa mémoire valoit mieux que tous les Régistres du Royaume. Etant devenu fort vieux, son esprit commença un peu à perdre de sa [p. 102] vigueur. Il avoit un petit-fils, héritier présomtif de sa Couronne, qui dans sa tendre jeunesse promettoit beaucoup. Le grand père crut faire merveille en lui cherchant un Précepteur, pour l’instruire dans les Sciences qui étoient alors en vogue, & qui consistoient seulement à savoir lire, écrire, entendre un peu le Latin, & spéculer les Astres. Or ces Sciences étoient toutes renfermées dans les Cloîtres chez les Moines de ce tems-là. Il y en avoit un entre autres nommé Guinclan, qui passoit pour un prodige de science. Ce fut lui qui publia dans le Pays le premier Livret concernant le cours du Soleil & de la Lune, & qui en fit une espèce de Calendrier. Chaque année il en faisoit un nouveau, que cinquante-cinq Copistes transcrivoient pour le répandre dans tout le Royaume. Il l’avoit intitulé, en Langue Celtique, qui étoit la seule en usage dans l’Armorique, Diouganou al Manach Guinclan, c’est-à-dire, Prédictions du Moine Guinclan. Comme ce titre étoit un peu long, on appella peu à peu ce Livret annuel Al Manach, le Moine, titre qu’on donna par excellence à Guinclan.
Ce fut sur ce grand personnage que le Roi Lusbras jetta les yeux pour avoir soin de l’éducation du jeune Lusbihen son petit-fils. Mais si ce Moine étoit le plus savant de son siècle, il étoit aussi le plus rusé & le plus ambitieux ; qualités qu’il savoit parfaitement bien déguiser sous un air de modestie capable d’en imposer à toute la Terre. Que croyez-vous qu’il apprit à son Disciple ? Rien qu’à [p. 103] lire & écrire l’Alphabet, & ensuite à se laisser conduire aveuglèment au gré de son Pédagogue. C’est une maxime constante, mon Prince, lui disoit-il continuellement, qu’il faut savoir obéir pour apprendre à commander. J’avoue que je ne suis rien en comparaison de vous, qui êtes la seconde personne du Royaume ; mais Dieu & le Roi m’ont établi sur votre conduite pour la règler, & pour vous former au gouvernement de l’Etat qui vous est destiné. Quand je vous remontre votre devoir, pensez que c’est Dieu & le Roi qui vous parlent par ma bouche. Voudriez-vous, en méprisant mes leçons & mes conseils, vous rendre coupable de Lèze-Majesté Divine & Humaine ?
Le Prince Lusbihen étoit d’un naturel docile, & propre à être conduit où on le vouloit ; mais quand il n’auroit pas été tel, il faloit bien qu’il le devînt. Al Manach Guinclan s’étoit déjà acquis une autorité sans bornes dans la maison de Lusbihen. Tout jusqu’aux actions les plus naturelles & même les moins importantes, ne devoit se faire que par un ordre exprès d’Al Manach. S’agissoit-il de faire des parties de chasse, de pêche, de plaisir ou de dévotion, on alloit consulter l’oracle, & s’il l’approuvoit, aussi-tôt on entendoit retentir de bouche en bouche dans tout le Palais du Prince, Evez al Manach, le Moine le dit. Il n’y avoit pas jusqu’aux Pies, aux Geais & autres Oiseaux parlans, qui ne répétassent cent fois le jour, Evez al Manach. Guinclan se voyant assujetti chez l’héritier [p. 104] présomtif du Trône, eut la témérité de vouloir étendre son despotisme jusques dans le Palais du vieux Roi Lusbras ; mais ce Souverain, qui n’entendoit pas raillerie sur cet article, ne s’en fut pas plutôt aperçu, qu’il relegua Al Manach dans l’Ile d’Oüessan, qui étoit alors la Chersonèse de l’Armorique. Ce fut-là que Guinclan puni & non humilié, composa ses Prédictions Astrologiques sous le nom d’Almanach ; Prédictions qui sont encore en grande vogue aujourd’hui, & qui se sont vérifiées en partie. Il y dressa aussi son Système de Politique au moyen duquel il est devenu fameux dans tout le Pays & bien au-delà.
Il avoit prédit en allant à Oüessan, que Lusbras mourroit précisément dans un an & un jour, & la prophétie s’accomplit à la lettre. Ce vieux Roi, qui avoit connu toute l’étendue de l’ambition du Moine, & qui la considéroit comme très dangereuse à l’Etat, ordonna par son testament qu’il resteroit dans son exil, ou du moins qu’il seroit pour toujours exclu de la Cour : mais Guinclan fit persuader au jeune Roi Lusbihen, par les émissaires qu’il entretenoit auprès de lui, de faire annuler ce testament, qui imposoit des loix à un Roi qui n’en devoit recevoir de personne. Cette prémière démarche aiant réussi, Guinclan fut bientôt rappellé à la Cour, où il reprit tout l’ascendant qu’il avoit su s’acquérir sur l’esprit de Lusbihen. Il l’obligea même d’éloigner le Prince Tiernborn son parent, qui s’étoit chargé du soin des Affaires depuis la mort de Lusbras. Alors son [p. 105] pouvoir devint sans bornes. Ce fut lui qui décida de la Paix, de la Guerre, des Alliances, non seulement dans l’Armorique, mais beaucoup au-delà. Sa douceur & sa modestie artificielles en imposérent pendant un certain tems à tout le monde ; le masque tomba néanmoins à la fin ; il embrouilla tout, il gâta tout. Il survécut encore longtems à sa réputation. Il voulut malgré cela être regretté, savez-vous comment il s’y prit ? Il se choisit un successeur pire que lui. Tout ceci n’est qu’une ébauche légère d’une excellente Histoire ancienne que l’on se propose de donner un jour en son entier.

Translation

[p. 101] Sir,
One of my friends has sent me a small essay, or rather a historical excerpt about the origin of almanacs. I am sending it to you as well, as I do not doubt that you shall enjoy reading it, more so as you are more likely than others to go past the bark.
Around the middle of the third century of the Christian Era lived in Armorica, since named Brittany, & reigned peacefully on that part of the world, Lusbras, who had acquired a great reputation in his Kingdom & beyond, from his superior mind as well as from his valour & other eminent qualities. However, all that was good, excellent & admirable in him was only the fruit of Nature ; because from his youth he had been left to his own device, without a teacher or a governor ; he had barely had a master to teach him reading & writing, and so he never managed to do either well ; but he knew more than all the books together, & his memory was worth more than all the registers of the kingdom. Having become quite old, his spirit began to slowly lose its [p. 102] vigour. He had a grandson, heir apparent to the crown, who in his youth had be very promising. The grandfather thought he was doing well in looking for a preceptor to instruct him in the sciences that were in fashion then, & that consisted only in reading, writing, understanding some Latin, & speculate on the stars. But all these sciences were kept in the cloisters of the monks of that era. There was one of them named Guinclan, who was considered a genius in science. It was him who published the first booklet containing the course of the sun & the moon, and who made a sort of calendar out of it. Every year he made a new one, that fifty-five scribes transcribed to spread it around the kingdom. He had entitled it, in the Celtic language, which was the only one in use in Armorica, Diouganou al Manach Guinclan, that is Predictions of the Monk Guinclan. As the title was rather long, that booklet slowly became known as Al Manach, the Monk, title that was given in particular to Guinclan.
It was upon this great character that King Lusbras set his choice to care for the education of the young Lusbihen, his grandson. But if the monk was the most learned of his age, he was also the craftiest and the most ambitious ; qualities that he knew very well how to disguise under an air of humility that the whole world would believe. What do you think he taught his pupil? Nothing more than [p. 103] to read & write the alphabet, & then to let himself be blindfully steered at his teacher’s will. It is a constant truth, my Prince, would he always say, that one must know how to obey to know how to command. I confess that I am nothing next to you, who are the second most important person in the kingdom ; but God & the King have appointed me to rule over your behaviour, & to train you in governing the state that is destined to you. When I remind you of your duty, think that it is God & the King who are speaking to you through me. Would you like, by despising my lessons & advice, to be guilty of divine and humane lese-majesty?
Prince Lusbihen was by nature docile, & easy to guide where one wanted him ; but had he not be thus, he would have had to become it. Al Manach Guiclan had already acquired a limitless authority in Lusbihen’s household. Everything, down to the most natural and least important matters, had to be done by special order of Al Manach. Be it hunting trips, fishing, pleasure and devotion, they would consult the oracle, & if he approved, straight away you would hear in the prince’s palace, from mouth to mouth, the words Evez al Manach, the monk said. Even the magpies, jays, and other speaking birds, would repeat a hundred times a day, Evez al Manach. Guinclan, having mastered the heir [p. 104] to the throne, had the audacity to try and expand his despotism to the palace of the old king Lusbras; but that monarch, that would not be taken for a fool on the matter, sent Al Manach to the Isle of Ushant, which was the Chersonesus of Armorica, as soon as he realised what was happening. It was there that Guinclan, punished and not humiliated, composed his astrological predictions under the name of Almanach; predictions that are still in fashion today, & and that have been partially verified. He also created there the political system by which he became famous in the country & beyond.
He had foreseen while on his way to Ushant that Lusbras would die in exactly a year & a day, & the prophecy came to pass as foretold. The old king, who had known everything of the ambitions of the monk, & and who thought them very dangerous to the State, ordered in his will that he would remain in exile, or at least that he forever be banned from the court: but Guiclan persuaded the young king Lusbihen, through the emissaries between them, to cancel the will that was imposing laws to a king that would not suffer the rule of others. Having succeeded in this first endeavour, Guiclan was brought back to court where he took back his power over the spirit of Lusbihen. He even forced him to send away Prince Tiernborn, his parent, who had been taken care of stately matters since the death of Lusbras. Then his [p. 105] power became limitless. It was him who decided of peace, war, alliances, not only in Armorica but way beyond. His artificial softness & modesty were convincing everyone for a time; the mask eventually fell however; he ruined everything. He survived his reputation for a long time. He wanted to be missed, and do you know how he did it? He chose a successor who was worse than him. This is but a slight outline of an excellent story of yore that we one day will offer in full.

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Gwenc'hlan and the Menez Bre

Type: Folklore
Storyteller: Marguerite Philippe, known also as Godic ar Vonzès
Languages: French
Date: Late 19th, early 20th c.
French Edition: Braz (Le), Anatole. 1927 (8th ed.). Contes du soleil et de la brume (Paris: Librairie Delagrave), pp. 10-15.

This passage, after mentions of the literary tradition (see An Dialog) around Gwenc’hlan, Le Braz gives an account of folklore told by Marguerite Philippe in the region around the Menez Bré, near Bégard. While Le Braz’s style is here lyrical and possibly embellished compared to the original account, it does give us the most information about popular tradition surrounding Gwenc’hlan. We find here some similarities with Merlin: The connection with animals, the apparent madness, the prophetic abilities, and the mysterious magic.

Original text

[p. 11] Marguerite Philippe – la reine du folklore breton – vous en pourra citer des spécimens étranges. D’elle encore vous apprendrez la véridique histoire de Gwenc’hlan, telle qu’elle se raconte aux “fileries” d’hiver, sous les chaumes. Il habitait, à l’entendre, le manoir de Rûn-ar-Goff, sur le versant occidental de la montagne. Son physique même n’était pas celui du commun des hommes. Il avait la tête mobile sur les épaules, et pour voir derrière lui n’avait pas besoin de tourner le corps. [...] Au moral, pareillement, il possédait l’omniscience. Les autres mortels ne connaissent les événements que lorsqu’ils se sont produits; lui les voyait se mettre en marche. D’humeur taciturne, il se plaisait peu à la conversation des humains, mais il avait avec les animaux de longs colloques. Les corbeaux, avant de regagner leurs gîtes des bois, venaient, le soir, lui faire leur rapport, et les oiseaux de passage s’arrêtaient sur le rebord de [p. 12] sa croisée pour lui rendre compte de ce qu’ils avaient observé d’insolite sur leur parcours.
Une année, il fut informé par eux qu’un horde innombrable de soudards saxons s’apprêtait à faire irruption sur nos côtes. Alors, [...] il revêtit son harnois de guerre, ceignit sa lourde épée qui, d’ordinaire, reposait étendue sous son traversin, et, toujours silencieux, le visage plus impénétrable encore que de coutume, se dirigea seul sur la montagne. Parvenu au sommet, il commença de brandir en l’air, tout autour de sa tête, sa flamberge, ahannant et se démenant avec un ardeur farouche, comme s’il eût eu affaire à des milliers d’assaillants invisibles. De l’aube au couchant, il ferrailla de la sorte, au grand soleil. [...] Sur le soir seulement il cessa de batailler, puisa de l’eau de pluie dans le creux d’une roche et lava sa sueur.
“Comprenez-vous, maintenant ?” demanda-t-il, de retour dans la plaine, aux personnes que sa bizarre conduite avait intriguées.
Il montrait, du geste, le ciel, la mer lointaine, où ruisselaient des pourpres sombres ; les nuages avaient l’air de traîner leurs franges dans du sang, et le vent de Manche charriait des odeurs fades et lourdes, les même qui, après les grands fauchages [p. 13] d’hommes, s’exhalent des champs de massacre. Gwenc’hlan avait exterminé jusqu’au dernier les futurs envahisseurs.
Quand approcha pour lui l’heure fatidique, un aigle de mer la lui vint annoncer. Il arracha une plume à l’aile de l’oiseau, et, avec cette plume, il écrivit son testament :
“Je vais disparaître, disait-il. Qu’on ne cherche point ma tombe : il ne sera au pouvoir de qui que ce soit de la découvrir. Je veux dormir en paix dans une sépulture inconnue. Qu’on ne cherche pas davantage mes livres et les secrets qu’ils contiennent. Je les emporte avec moi pour me servir d’oreiller. Quant à mes richesses, qui sont immenses, je les eusse volontiers léguées à mes concitoyens. Mais je leur donnerais là un présent funeste. Que les Bretons gardent leur pauvreté : elle est la source des meilleures joies.”
Cela fait, il plia le papier en quatre et le jeta au vent. Puis, à la nuit close, il se mit en route vers le Ménez. [...] Et c’était tout ce que l’on avait su de la fin de Gwenc’hlan.
J’ai rapporté fidèlement le récit de Marguerite Philippe, plus connue sous son sobriquet de Godic ar Vonzès (la Manchote).
[...]
“Tout ce que je puis ajouter, conclut-elle, c’est [p. 15] que le Ménez-Bré passe à bon droit pour être la tombe de Gwenc’hlan. Aucune autre n’eût été digne de couvrir la dépouille du grand sorcier. Vivant, il aimait à y promener ses contemplations ; mort, il y repose. Tous les cent ans, dit-on, la nuit de la première lune, la montagne s’ouvre, au moment précis où le disque argenté de l’astre effleure le bord de l’horizon. Si quelqu’un, saisissant cette minute, se risquait dans la fente, une lumière magique se lèverait devant lui, pour le guider jusqu’à Gwenc’hlan. Et il verrait le prince des sages couchés là, ses livres sous sa tête, une branche d’ajonc dans sa main gauche et sa claire épée à son côté ! Peut-être même l’entendrait-il parler comme en songe. L’esprit de Gwenc’hlan remplit les entrailles de la montagne comme la vertu de saint Hervé en parfume le sommet.”

Translation

[p. 11] Marguerite Philippe – the queen of Breton folklore – could tell you strange examples of it. From her you will learn the true story of Gwenc’hlan, as it is told in the winter “weaveries”, under the thatch. He lived, according to her, in the manor of Rûn-ar-Goff, on the western slope of the mountain [the Menez Bre]. Even his body was not the one of an ordinary man. His head was mobile on his shoulders, and he did not need to turn his body to see behind himself. [...] Similarly, mentally, he was omniscient. Other mortals only knew of events once they had occurred; he could see them as they began. Quite reserved, he did not enjoy conversing with humans much, but he would speak at length with animals. Ravens, before returning to their homes in the woods, came to make their report to him in the evening, and birds passing by would stop on his [p. 12] window sill to give him accounts of the unusual things they had seen on their way.
One year, he was told of a great host of Saxon soldiers about to come to our shores. So [...] he put on his armour and his heavy sword that usually rested under his pillow, and, still silent, his face unreadable, he walked to the mountain. Once at the top, he brandished his sword in the air around his head, shouting and moving with ferocious ardour, as if he had been facing a thousand invisible foes. From dawn til dusk, he fought thus, under the sun. [...] Only when the evening came did he stop, taking water from a rock and washing his sweat.
“Do you understand now?” he asked once back on the plain to those who were intrigued by his strange behaviour.
He was showing the sky, the distant sea, where dark red was flowing ; the clouds looked as if they were dragging in blood, and the air of the Channel was bringing the heavy smell that are found after the great harvest [p. 13] of men on the field of a massacre. Gwenc’hlan had exterminated every single one of the incoming invaders.
When his finale hour approached, an osprey came to announce it to him. He took a feather from the bird’s wing, and with it wrote his testament:
“I shall disappear, said he. Do not look for my tomb: No one will have the power to find it. I want to sleep in peace in an unknown grave. Do not look for my books either and the secrets they contain. I am taking them with me to be my pillow. As for my treasures, which are great, I would gladly leave them to my co-citizens. But it would be a fatale gift. Let the Bretons keep their poverty: It is the source of greater joys.”
Once it was done, he folded the paper and threw it to the wind. Then, at nightfall, he took the road of the Menez. [follows a description of his departure] [p.14] It was all we knew of the end of Gwenc’hlan.
I faithfully gave the story of Marguerite Philippe, most famous by her nickname of Godic ar Vonzès (the One-handed).
[...] “All I can add, she concluded, is [p.15] that the Menez Bre is rightfully thought to be the tomb of Gwenc’hlan. No other would have been worthy of harbouring the body of the great sorcerer. Alive, he loved to walk there with his contemplations ; dead, he sleeps there. Every hundred years, they say, on the night of the new moon, the mountain opens, at the very moment when the silvery disc of the moon touches the horizon. If somebody, taking that opportunity, was to go into the gap, a magical light would rise in front of them to guide them to Gwenc’hlan. And he would see the prince of the wise lying there, his books under his head, a branch of gorse in his left hand and his sword by his side! Maybe would they even hear him speak as in a dream. The spirit of Gwenc’hlan fills the entrails of the mountain like the virtue of Saint Herve blesses its summit.”

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Diougan Gwenc'hlan

The Prophecy of Gwenc'hlan

Type: Gwerz (lay)
Singers: Annaïk Le Breton, née Huon (Kerigazul, Nizon, Cornouailles) ; Guillou Ar Gall (Melgven, Cornouailles)
Language: Breton
Date: First half of 19th c.
French Edition: Villemarqué (La), Théodore Hersart. Barzaz Breiz (first edition 1839).

While originally part of the most contested pieces of the Barzaz Breiz, it appears that like many others, this text is a genuine piece of oral folklore edited by La Villemarqué. Christian Souchon discusses the piece at length (in English & French, with original text translated).In this piece, attributed to Gwenc’hlan himself, the blind bard first mentions his art and death (including the need for all to die thrice), before describing a vision he has of a sea monster fighting a boar, which has been interpreted as a fight between Christianity and Paganism.As the original was never found in the fieldnotes of La Villemarqué that have come down to us, the extant of the editorial choices made is unclear. Welsh influence on the text is possible, and therefore themes like the tripartite death (stanza 9) may not be genuine.
This lay is interesting and may relate to An Den Koz Dall, collected by Jean-Marie de Penguern (1807-1856), one of the earliest collector of Breton folklore and lays.

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Gouinclé’s tomb in Torghen ar Sal

Type: Folklore
Language: French (likely from Breton original)
Date: 1875
French Edition: Teurs (Le). 1875-1876. letter read and published in the Bulletin de la Société Archéologique du Finistère, Vol. 3 (Quimper), p. 179.

This anecdotal information regarding the tradition of Saint-Urbain echoes Anatole Le Braz’s collections around the Menez Bre, suggesting that traditions identifying Gwenc’hlan’s tomb may have been current in various districts.

Original text and translation

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Warc’hlan in Louargat

Type: Folklore
Language: French (likely from Breton original)
Date: Before 1872
French Edition: Luzel, François-Marie. 1872. De l’authenticité des chants du Barzaz Breiz de M. de la Villemarqué (Saint-Brieuc: Guyon Francisque), p. 5.

This anecdote is shared by Luzel to contradict La Villemarqué’s assertion that Gwenc’hlan was still famous in oral tradition. The places mentioned below have often been associated by writers like La Villemarqué to Gwenc’hlan.

Original text and translation

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Bibliography

Gustave Doré, Viviane et Merlin, 1867.

This non-exhaustive bibliography offers some reading material to learn more about the Breton Merlin. It includes all references mentioned in the various pages of this website.

Books & articles

• Baud (Le), Pierre (author), and Karine Abélard (ed.). 2018. Compillation des cronicques et ystoires des Bretons, Sources médiévales de l'histoire de Bretagne, n° 8 (Rennes: Presses Universitaires de Rennes/SHAB).• Berre (Le), Yves, Bernard Tanguy, and Yves-Pascal Castel. 1999. Buez Santez Nonn, Mystère Breton, Vie de sainte Nonne (Rennes: C.R.B.C. & Minihi-Levenez).• Bihan (Le), Hervé. 2009. “An Dialog etre Arzur Roe d'an Bretounet ha Guynglaff and its Connections with Arthurian Tradition” in Proceedings of the Harvard Celtic Colloquium, Vol. 29, pp. 115-126.• Bihan (Le), Hervé. 2013. An Dialog etre Arzur Roe dan Bretounet ha Guynclaff (Rennes: TIR).• Bihan (Le), Hervé. 2019. “Arthur in Earlier Breton Traditions” in Ceridwen Lloyd-Morgan, and Erich Poppe, Arthur in the Celtic Languages: The Arthurian Legend in Celtic Literatures and Traditions (Cardiff: University of Wales Press), pp. 281-303.• Bourgès, André-Yves. 2004. “Le dossier littéraire des saints Judicaël, Méen et Léri” in Lemoine, Louis & Bernard Merdrignac (eds), Corona Monastica. Moines bretons de Landévennec : histoire et mémoire celtiques (Rennes: Presses Universitaires de Rennes), pp. 83-92. Accessed online in June 2025.• Bourgès, André-Yves. 2007. “La cour ducale de Bretagne et la légende arthurienne au bas Moyen Âge: Prolégomènes à une édition critique des fragments du Livre des faits d'Arthur” in Britannia monastica, Vol. 12, p. 79-119.• Braz (Le), Anatole. 1927 (8th ed.). Contes du soleil et de la brume (Paris: Librairie Delagrave)• Brush, Henry Raymond. 1912. "La Bataille de Trente Anglois et de Trente Bretons" in Modern Philology, Vol. 9/4, pp. 511-544.• Cadic, François. 1922. Contes et Légendes de Bretagne (Paris: Maison du Peuple Breton).• Charrière, E. 1839. Chronique de Bertrand du Guesclin par Cuvelier (Paris: Firmin Didot).• Constantine, Mary-Ann. 1995. “Prophecy and pastiche in the Breton ballads: Groac'h Ahès and Gwenc'hlan” in Cambrian Medieval Celtic Studies, Vol. 30, pp. 87–121.• Delarue, Paul. 1956. The Borzoi Book of French Folk-Tales (New York: Alfred A. Knopf).• Duc (Le), Gwennaël, and Claude Stercx (ed.). 1972. Chronicon Briocense. Chronique de Saint-Brieuc, fin du XIVe siècle, éditée et traduite d'après les manuscrits BN 6003-BN 8899 (Archives départementales d'Ille-et-Vilaine 1 F 1003) (ch. I à CIX) (Rennes: Simon).• Ernault, Emile (ed). 1887. "Vie de Sainte Nonn" in Revue Celtique, Vol. VIII, pp. 230-301 & 406-491.• Ernault, Émile. 1930. “Sur le prophète Guinclaff” in Annales de Bretagne, 39/ 1, pp. 18-30.• Fawtier, Robert. 1925. “Ingomar, historien breton” in Mélanges d'histoire offerts à Ferdinand Lot (Paris: Edouard Champion).• Fleuriot, Léon. 1981. “Sur quatre textes bretons en latin : le «Liber vetustissimus» de Geoffroy de Monmouth et le séjour de Taliesin en Bretagne,” in Etudes Celtiques, Vol. 18, pp. 197-213.• Fleuriot, Léon, Jean-Claude Lozac’hmeur, Louis Prat (eds), & Pierre-Jakez Hélias (foreword). 1981. Récits et Poèmes Celtiques. Domaine brittonique VIe-XVe siècles (Paris: Stock).• Foulon-Ménard, Joseph. 1878. “La tradition de Merlin dans la forêt de Brocéliande” in Mélanges historiques, littéraires, bibliographiques, Vol. 1 (Nantes: Société des bibliophiles bretons et de l’histoire de Bretagne).• Gow (ar), Yeun. 2013. Marc’heger ar Gergoad (Lannuon: Hor Yezh).• Koch, John T. 2002. “De Sancto Iudicaelo rege historia and its implications for the Welsh Taliesin” in Nagy & Jones, Heroic Poets and Poetic Heroes in Celtic Traditions (Dublin: Four Courts Press), pp. 247-62.• Laurent, Donatien. 1971. “La gwerz de Skolan et la légende de Merlin” in Ethnologie française, Tome 1, No. 3/4, pp. 19-54.• Laurent, Donatien. 1981. “Les procédés mnémotechniques d'un conteur breton” in Cahiers de Fontenay, 23, pp. 34-42.• Laurent, Donatien. 1989. Aux Sources du Barzaz-Breiz : La mémoire d’un peuple (Douarnenez: ArMen).• Loomis, Roger S. 1950. "Breton Folklore and Arthurian Romance" in Comparative Literature, Vol. 2/4, pp. 289-306.• Luzel, François-Marie. 1871. “Deuxième Rapport sur une Mission en Basse Bretagne,” in Archives des Missions Scientifiques et Littéraires, Deuxième Série, Vol. VII (Paris: Imprimerie Nationale), pp. 125-147.• Luzel, François-Marie. 1871. “Cinquième Rapport sur une Mission en Basse Bretagne,” in Archives des Missions Scientifiques et Littéraires, Troisième Série, Vol. I (Paris: Imprimerie Nationale), pp. 1-60.• Luzel, François-Marie. 1872. De l’authenticité des chants du Barzaz Breiz de M. de la Villemarqué (Saint-Brieuc: Guyon Francisque).• Luzel, François-Marie. 1887. Contes populaires de Basse-Bretagne, Tome 2 (Paris: Maisonneuve & Ch. Leclerc).• (Luzel) Uhel (an), Fañch. 1988. Kontadennoù ar Bobl 3 (Rennes: Al Liamm).• Marquand, Patrice. 2006. "Merlin, de la tradition brittonique médiévale à la littérature orale de Basse-Bretagne" in Session de formation de la Société de Mythologie Française (Landeleau). Online. Accessed July 2025.• Menn (Le), Gwennole. 1982. “Du nouveau sur les prophéties de Gwenc’hlan: du texte moyen-breton (XVe s.) aux traditions populaires” in Société d’Emulation des Côtes-du-Nord, Vol. CXI, pp. 45-71.• Michel, Francisque. 1862. Gesta Regum Britanniae. A Metrical History of the Britons (Cambrian Archaeological Association). Online.• Minard, Antone. 1999. “‘The dialogue between King Arthur and Gwenc'hlan’: a translation” in Comitatus: A Journal of Medieval and Renaissance Studies, Vol. 30, pp. 167–179.• Orain, Adolphe. 1901. "Les contes de l’antique forêt de Brocéliande" in Revue de Bretagne, de Vendée et d’Anjou, Vol. 26, pp. 180-186. Online.• Orain, Adolphe. 1904. Contes du pays Gallo (Rennes : Honoré Champion).• Paton, Lucy Allen. 1907. "The Story of Grisandole: A Study in the Legend of Merlin" in PMLA 22/2, pp. 234-276.• Philipot, Emmanuel. 1927. "Contes bretons relatifs à la légende de Merlin" in Mélanges bretons et celtiques offerts à M. J. Loth (Rennes, Paris), pp. 349-363.• Philippe, Jef. 1986. War roudoù Merlin e Breizh (Lannuon: Hor Yezh).• Piriou, Jean-Pierre. 1985. “Un texte arthurien en moyen-breton : le dialogue entre Arthur roi des Bretons et Guynglaff” in Actes du 14ème congrès international arthurien, Tome 2 (Rennes: PUR), p. 474-499.• Rostrenen (de), Grégoire. 1732. Dictionnaire françois-celtique ou françois-breton (Rennes), p. 481. Online• Rostrenen (de), Grégoire. 1738. Grammaire françoise-celtique ou françoise-bretonne (Rennes), p. XVI. Online, 1794 reedition.• Shales, Jess. 2025. “On the date of the Dialog: A re-examination of the date of composition of the earliest Arthurian poem in Middle Breton,” in Celtica, Vol. XXXVI (Dublin: Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies), pp. 193-223.• Teurs (Le). 1875-1876. letter read and published in the Bulletin de la Société Archéologique du Finistère, Vol. 3 (Quimper), p. 179.• Villemarqué (de la), Théodore Hersart. 1837. “Visite au Tombeau de Merlin” in Revue de Paris, 41, pp. 45-62.• Villemarqué (de la), Théodore Hersart. Barzaz Breiz (First edition, 1839).

Recordings

Available on Dastumedia.

• Corre (le), Louis, recorded by Donatien Laurent in 1968. Kavalier ar Gergoad (and related conversations), available on Dastumedia, Fiches Numériques 68400307, 68400401, 68400402, 68400303, and 68400304.• Rolland (le), Jean-Louis (1904-1985), recorded by Donatien Laurent in 1965. Jozébig (in three parts) available on Dastumedia, Fiches Numériques 67620106, 67620201, and 67620301.

Manuscripts

• Archives Départementales des Côtes-d’Armor, Procédure civile des Religieux de Bégard contre Claude Le Bivic, Yves Le Galery, Jan Le Cozic et Yvonette Le Roux pour refus de payer la dîme (Pleumeur-Bodou), 1677, cote H 182 Abbaye de ND de Bégard, pièce 1.• Bibliothèque Nationale de France (BNF), Buez Santez Nonn, MS Celtique 5. Available online.• Bibliothèque numérique du Centre de recherche bretonne et celtique (CRBC), Premier carnet de collecte de Théodore Hersart de La Villemarqué by Théodore Hersart de la Villemarqué (1815-1895 ; vicomte de). Available online.• Bibliothèque Rennes Métropole (BRM), An Dialog etre Arzur Roe dan Bretounet ha Guynglaff, Ms 1007, pp. 1426-1441.• Société Polymathique du Morbihan, Légendes de sainte Onenne et de saint Utel recueillies d’après la tradition populaire by Abbé Julien Piéderrière(1860), MS 216.

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About & Contact

This website has been created and is maintained by Dr Fañch Bihan-Gallic. Unless otherwise stated, transcriptions and translations are my own.Get in touch if you have questions, corrections, or suggestions. Do note this is a project managed by one person in their free-time, so response time may be variable.