The Origins of Merlin, by Thomas Bulfinch

The conception of Merlin by an incubus (from a medieval manuscript)

One of the great compendiums of European myth and legend is Bulfinch's Mythology, compiled by the American banker Thomas Bulfinch and published after his death in 1867. 

Scholars have said it once was "one of the most popular books ever published in the United States and the standard work on classical mythology for nearly a century." It's still popular today, although modern readers may have a little trouble with its outdated language.

The book begins with the usual catalog of Greek, then Latin, then Norse mythology, but goes on to cover King Arthur and other British heroes (Beowulf, Cuchulain, Hereward the Wake, and Robin Hood), and then on to the continent for Charlemagne and his nephew Roland.

Here I've given you one version of the origins of that fascinating character Merlin, kingmaker and sucker for a pretty face. I have put certain words in bold and added definitions at the bottom; I've also added a list of characters to help you keep them straight. Enjoy!

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Merlin was the son of no mortal father, but of an Incubus, one of a class of beings not absolutely wicked, but far from good, who inhabit the regions of the air. Merlin's mother was a virtuous young woman, who, on the birth of her son, entrusted him to a priest, who hurried him to the baptismal font, and so saved him from sharing the lot of his father, though he retained many marks of his unearthly origin.

At this time Vortigern reigned in Britain. He was a usurper, who had caused the death of his sovereign, Moines, and driven the two brothers of the late king, whose names were Uther and Pendragon, into banishment. Vortigern, who lived in constant fear of the return of the rightful heirs of the kingdom, began to erect a strong tower for defense. The edifice, when brought by the workmen to a certain height, three times fell to the ground, without any apparent cause. The king consulted his astrologers on this wonderful event, and learned from them that it would be necessary to bathe the cornerstone of the foundation with the blood of a child born without a mortal father.

In search of such an infant, Vortigern sent his messengers all over the kingdom, and they by accident discovered Merlin, whose lineage seemed to point him out as the individual wanted. They took him to the king; but Merlin, young as he was, explained to the king the absurdity of attempting to rescue the fabric by such means, for he told him the true cause of the instability of the tower was its being placed over the den of two immense dragons, whose combats shook the earth above them. The king ordered his workmen to dig beneath the tower, and when they had done so they discovered two enormous serpents, the one white as milk, the other red as fire. The multitude looked on with amazement, till the serpents, slowly rising from their den, and expanding their enormous folds, began the combat, when everyone fled in terror, except Merlin, who stood by clapping his hands and cheering on the conflict. The red dragon was slain, and the white one, gliding through a cleft in the rock, disappeared.

These animals typified, as Merlin afterwards explained, the invasion of Uther and Pendragon, the rightful princes, who soon after landed with a great army. Vortigern was defeated, and afterwards burned alive in the castle he had taken such pains to construct. On the death of Vortigern, Pendragon ascended the throne. Merlin became his chief adviser, and often assisted the king by his magical arts.

Among other endowments, he had the power of transforming himself into any shape he pleased. At one time he appeared as a dwarf, at others as a damsel, a page, or even a greyhound or a stag. This faculty he often employed for the service of the king, and sometimes also for the diversion of the court and the sovereign.

Merlin continued to be a favorite counsellor through the reigns of Pendragon, Uther, and Arthur, and at last disappeared from view, and was no more found among men, through the treachery of his mistress, Viviane, the Fairy...

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Vocabulary:

• absurdity: ridiculousness
• banishment: exile; the state of being sent out of one's land
• baptismal font: a "bowl" of water in a church where babies (and others) are baptized (have water poured on them to make them members oft the church)
• cornerstone: the first stone laid in the corner of a foundation; the first walls extend from here
• damsel: a young unmarried woman; a "maiden"
• den: a home for wild animals like bears or foxes
• diversion: entertainment; amusement
• edifice: building; structure
• endowments: gifts
• fabric: the material of which something is made; here, probably, stone. (it can also mean a building.)
• faculty: an ability; skill
• Incubus: a magical being, perhaps a devil or demon, thought to have sex with sleeping women
• instability: lack of solidness; weakness
• lineage: heritage; genealogy
• lot: fate; result
• page: a young man acting as a personal servant to a powerful person
• stag: a male deer
• treachery: betrayal of trust; faithlessness
• usurper: person who seizes power without the legal right
• wonderful: here, not "good," but "causing wonder"

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Characters:

• Arthur: "star" of the Arthurian stories; Merlin will become his advisor
• Merlin: the prototype of wizards in western literature, and thus the "father" of Gandalf, Dumbledore, and others
• Moines: the king deposed and replaced by Vortigern. Bulfinch has him as brother to Uther and Pendragon, all three sons of King Constans.
• Pendragon: brother to Uther (and Moines). After Pendragon was killed by the Saxons, Uther (and later sometimes Arthur) took his name as a sort of last name: Uther Pendragon. 
• Uther: father of Arthur, and King of England on the death of his brother Pendragon
• Viviane: the "fairy" (sorceress) who bewitched Merlin near the end of his life
• Vortigern: a quasi-historical usurper who claimed to be king of England. He may have been the one to invite the Saxons to England to aid him in fighting the Picts and the Scots. But they had their own plans, and settled in...