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Wizards
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A literary heading rather than a religious one, for wielders of magic and arcane knowledge who act as mentors or as agents of supernatural power. Merlin shows why the heading sits awkwardly in an atlas of belief: no tradition worshipped him or held him to have lived. The figure took its present shape in twelfth-century writing that drew on earlier Welsh material about a prophet driven mad, and the counsellor of Arthur belongs to the romances that followed.
Facts
Overview
What Defines This GroupingFigures of legend renowned for magic and hidden knowledge. The heading is the atlas's own rather than a category of any tradition, and the figures under it belong to literary legend: Merlin is a creation of medieval Welsh and Latin writing, not of a religion. 2 Learn More
The wizards
This group holds wizards: figures of legend renowned for magic, arcane knowledge and power over the hidden forces of the world, standing at the border between sage, sorcerer and mythic counsellor.
The browser will find the figure the atlas classes here. The entries describe the character's legend and the tradition that carries it.
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