Is MERLIN the WIZARD a real man or a Fictional CHARACTER?
Tough question. If you go to Geoffry of Monmouth’s version of the Arthurian Legends, which is the first version to mention Merlin, you’ll find a composite character that is a sort of combination of some of the tales of Merlinus Caledonensis and Aurelius Ambrosius. Merlinus Caledonensis was more commonly known as Myrddin Wyllt. Mryddin Wyllt was a real person, but he probably had little in common with the legends that were told about him long after he died. Aurelius Ambrosius was also a real person, but the accounts of his life are confused, conflicting, and sketchy. If anything, he seems like a better model for Arthur than for Merlin, but I suppose that certain aspects of his story (“the last true Roman in Britain”, according to one version) appealed to Geoffrey when he was coming up with the idea for Merlin. So, I suppose you could say that Merlin was a fictional character based on fictionalized accounts of two different historical characters (real people). Make of that what you will.
