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The Quest for Merlin
Using evidence culled from diverse and rare literary sources, the author concludes that Merlin is an authentic historical figure who, as a druid and a prophet, lived in the lowlands of Scotland during the sixth century
322 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1985
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About the author
Nikolai Tolstoy
33 books34 followersCount Nikolai Dmitrievich Tolstoy-Miloslavsky (Russian: Николай Дмитриевич Толстой-Милославский; born 23 June 1935) is an Anglo-Russian author who writes under the name Nikolai Tolstoy. A member of the Tolstoy family, he is a former parliamentary candidate of the UK Independence Party.
Source: Wikipedia
The photograph by Justin K Prim.
Source: Wikipedia
The photograph by Justin K Prim.
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
September 25, 2015
Nikolai Tolstoy, a distant relative to Count Leo and latterly a parliamentary representative for the deluded United Kingdom Independence Party, confesses to being hooked on Arthurian legend for as long as he can remember.
The twin fruits of his obsession were his novel, The Coming of the King, and this non-fiction work.
Tolstoy delves into the traditional sources from Welsh poetry and into the wider British myths and annals of the time to present a multi-faceted Merlin, one who was very much a historical figure as well as one of lore and romance.
He portrays him variously as a Druid, a Seer, a Shaman and a Trickster. He links him with many archetypes, but more pertinently he asserts that he very much existed, and pins him down to a specific time and place.
Interestingly, the place is neither Wales nor Western England, the two locations most commonly associated with him. Nor is the time that of Arthur, but half a century later.
The arguments Tolstoy makes based around the extant texts seemed plausible to me. Not that I have any other frame of reference to compare his conclusions against, beyond, that is, some cursory web searching.
Where he lost me a bit though was in his extended epilogue, where he made some startling observations that threw into doubt his objectivity, even his sanity!
I should have known he was a crank from his politics!
The twin fruits of his obsession were his novel, The Coming of the King, and this non-fiction work.
Tolstoy delves into the traditional sources from Welsh poetry and into the wider British myths and annals of the time to present a multi-faceted Merlin, one who was very much a historical figure as well as one of lore and romance.
He portrays him variously as a Druid, a Seer, a Shaman and a Trickster. He links him with many archetypes, but more pertinently he asserts that he very much existed, and pins him down to a specific time and place.
Interestingly, the place is neither Wales nor Western England, the two locations most commonly associated with him. Nor is the time that of Arthur, but half a century later.
The arguments Tolstoy makes based around the extant texts seemed plausible to me. Not that I have any other frame of reference to compare his conclusions against, beyond, that is, some cursory web searching.
Where he lost me a bit though was in his extended epilogue, where he made some startling observations that threw into doubt his objectivity, even his sanity!
I should have known he was a crank from his politics!
June 12, 2017
The Quest for Merlin is too scholarly to be a fun read. For a fairly sophisticated reader who is also a fan of the Arthurian Legends Tolstoy has much to teach. He overreaches his evidence, but this may add to the appeal for those who are less punctilious about rules of scholarship. This is not a bad book, but the appeal has to be limited.
Nikolai Tolstoy makes the conclusion that Merlin, the famous Merlin of Author and the Round table existed. Except that:
His name may not have been Merlin,
He lived long before the putative age of King Author
He may have been a Celtic troubadour , or a hermit priest or a warrior-prophet or a Druid religious leader of some type
Or Merlin may have been a title for the priest who supervised the religious site at Stonehenge
He may have links to 100's of other myths, legends and lore including the Norse Godhead Oden, pre-historic Indo-European tribes and if you squint hard enough, Jesus.
It comes as no surprise that Tolstoy believe that Merlin exists. Not because any definitive evidence exists, or is likely to exist but because Tolstoy passionately wants Merlin to exist. This kind of argument reads like a form of confirmation bias. That is the author wants something to be true, he finds facts as well as items barely better than lore and argues that these threads must mean what he says they mean. In this case often without listing any reasonable alternative interpretations.
Given that Tolstoy has sent himself on a mission that is almost certain to lack artifacts and must depend on written records from generations after the events and people he has targeted; anything other than tentative, tenuous conclusions looks like confirmation bias. In this case it makes for a better read but not better history or archaeology.
If we can agree that Tolstoy has let his enthusiasm carry him beyond his evidence, there is much in the Quest for Merlin to admire. He is a recognized scholar in the field of Celtic and Ancient Wales. Britian beyond Hadrian's Wall and before Roman time is a field wherein he has written several respected books. The footnotes indicate a vast amount of research. He demonstrates facility in the subtleties of long dead languages. His ability to link desperate sources is hard to imagine given that he was working years (Publication date 1985) before internet searches made this easy. It is not possible to believe that this book was easy to write, except by a person with a love for his topic.
Part of the charm of what is mostly an academic exercise is the willingness of the author to give himself to the romantic and the mystical. His focus remains scholarly. His personal feelings about religion are hinted at but not detailed until the epilogue.
Nikolai Tolstoy makes the conclusion that Merlin, the famous Merlin of Author and the Round table existed. Except that:
His name may not have been Merlin,
He lived long before the putative age of King Author
He may have been a Celtic troubadour , or a hermit priest or a warrior-prophet or a Druid religious leader of some type
Or Merlin may have been a title for the priest who supervised the religious site at Stonehenge
He may have links to 100's of other myths, legends and lore including the Norse Godhead Oden, pre-historic Indo-European tribes and if you squint hard enough, Jesus.
It comes as no surprise that Tolstoy believe that Merlin exists. Not because any definitive evidence exists, or is likely to exist but because Tolstoy passionately wants Merlin to exist. This kind of argument reads like a form of confirmation bias. That is the author wants something to be true, he finds facts as well as items barely better than lore and argues that these threads must mean what he says they mean. In this case often without listing any reasonable alternative interpretations.
Given that Tolstoy has sent himself on a mission that is almost certain to lack artifacts and must depend on written records from generations after the events and people he has targeted; anything other than tentative, tenuous conclusions looks like confirmation bias. In this case it makes for a better read but not better history or archaeology.
If we can agree that Tolstoy has let his enthusiasm carry him beyond his evidence, there is much in the Quest for Merlin to admire. He is a recognized scholar in the field of Celtic and Ancient Wales. Britian beyond Hadrian's Wall and before Roman time is a field wherein he has written several respected books. The footnotes indicate a vast amount of research. He demonstrates facility in the subtleties of long dead languages. His ability to link desperate sources is hard to imagine given that he was working years (Publication date 1985) before internet searches made this easy. It is not possible to believe that this book was easy to write, except by a person with a love for his topic.
Part of the charm of what is mostly an academic exercise is the willingness of the author to give himself to the romantic and the mystical. His focus remains scholarly. His personal feelings about religion are hinted at but not detailed until the epilogue.
December 12, 2008
Much like what has been done in multiple books with Arthur and a few with Robin Hood, Tolstoy makes a case for Merlin being a real life person and tries to seperate truth from fiction with everything pertaining to Merlin.
Tolstoy delves into a lot of different areas in this book. He looks into the Lugh/Odin connection to Merlin and his final theory on Merlin is that he was a priest of Lugh/Odin. Tolstoy also thinks Merlin had no connection to the real Arthur. Besides that lots of interesting observations on dark ages Britain, Celtic Heathens, Taliesin, Lugh/Odin, shamanism, the Mabinogion and other Welsh lore, plus lots of other stuff.
I don't necessarily agree with everything Tolstoy comes up with in this but this book is still essential reading for Pan Aryan Odinists, or any student of Celtic Heathenry or Arthurian lore.
Tolstoy delves into a lot of different areas in this book. He looks into the Lugh/Odin connection to Merlin and his final theory on Merlin is that he was a priest of Lugh/Odin. Tolstoy also thinks Merlin had no connection to the real Arthur. Besides that lots of interesting observations on dark ages Britain, Celtic Heathens, Taliesin, Lugh/Odin, shamanism, the Mabinogion and other Welsh lore, plus lots of other stuff.
I don't necessarily agree with everything Tolstoy comes up with in this but this book is still essential reading for Pan Aryan Odinists, or any student of Celtic Heathenry or Arthurian lore.
April 11, 2025
Rich and complete with intoxicating and transporting writing. The combination of analysis of oral and written stories mixed with accounts of exploration done by the author paints as a clear a picture into Merlin as possible. I found myself seeing visions of misty woods rocky hills, rustic halls and war parties on the move.
July 11, 2008
Read this ages ago. Speculation + re-examination of primary sources = plausible version of Dark Ages Hx. Read this, Warlords And Holy Men, and the Gododdin to get a view of Scotland before it was Scotland.
November 29, 2014
There will never be a final end to the quest but this is worth the reading. A novelist's account of the myths and history surrounding Merlin
May 18, 2025
Tolstoy makes a fascinating albeit a little convoluted case for Merlin being a real historical person, possibly the amalgamation of two real historical persons, and he does so using a wide variety of sources ranging from traditional Celtic poetry, songs, and stories to more scholarly writings made by educated people (men) over the centuries. While some of the conclusions are a little bit of a stretch as some of the source material itself is known to have been either exaggerated or simply invented at the time of writing or has been rewritten to suit the views/requirements of the time, Tolstoy does offer an intriguing portrayal of Merlin as Druid and prophet living in what is now the Scottish Lowlands with a potential Merlin also having lived somewhere in Wales centuries before. The writing does get a little repetitive at times as Tolstoy builds his case and comes back to the same conclusions so it's not the most readable but it is thought provoking none the less (although being Welsh I would've much preferred that Merlin stayed as ours, thanks muchly).
May 28, 2025
Parts were good, and particularly when Tolstoy does a deep dive into Celtic mythology, the fay, and the recurring magi madman in the wild. Much got lost with Malory's Merlin, and much more is lost today with all the abhorrent young adult fiction that is far too unoriginal and plagiarizing of T.H. White's original and whimsical "backwards in time take" on the wizard. If anything, this book restores the mystery and the link that Merlin becomes between the human and divine, a guide to the Otherworldly.
I take off a star for the lengthy and meandering epilogue that took me everywhere and nowhere at once.
I take off a star for the lengthy and meandering epilogue that took me everywhere and nowhere at once.
April 17, 2023
Historical scientific research meets Fantasy. Very inspiring and not totally easy to read book. Every chapter follows the same scheme of thesis and proof, so the reader get used to it . A lot to learn about Celtic Tradition and Shamanism. After this book even Christianity and Buddhism seem to follow the same archaic believes found everywhere in the world, coming from the deepest layers of Homo Sapiens's History and consciousness.
August 8, 2019
Possibly 2.5*, interesting, but repetitive and I didn't feel it was very well organised. Less harping on his conclusions would have made it a more readable length. Gave up with the epilogue that went into Jung!
August 3, 2017
Threw in the towel about 100 pages in. Circular arguments that are based on wishful speculation than true research.
January 9, 2025
Interesting; uses lots of research and evidence to conclude that Merlin did indeed exist but maybe not in the way he has long been portrayed
October 28, 2016
It's years since I read it, but it's brilliant.
March 26, 2016
This was a really excellent read for anyone interested in European myth and Celtic Lore. Tolstoy's work draws on the oldest fragments of Welsh poetry along with ethnography and some actual field work to place Merlin within the historical context of people moving from Celtic religion to Christianity, and the subsequent consumption of the Merlin myth by the church.
"For at its most archaic level of symbolism the shaman originates from the oldest archetype of all, the Trickster. If the shaman personifies the bridge between the conscious and uncoil us, between Man and God, it is the Trickster who stands at the original point of dislocation. The Trickster myth... represents a return to an earlier primitive state of consciousness, when indeed the conscious mind first emerged."
(I will caution I found Tolstoy's profession of his faith, both in the main body of the work and more fully in the epilogue, as completely irrelevant to his arguments and I couldn't quite understand his need to go there. Belief in Christianity bears no relevance on the power of a myth, functioning as modern meme. That's kind of the joke for anyone watching from the humanist sidelines.)
"For at its most archaic level of symbolism the shaman originates from the oldest archetype of all, the Trickster. If the shaman personifies the bridge between the conscious and uncoil us, between Man and God, it is the Trickster who stands at the original point of dislocation. The Trickster myth... represents a return to an earlier primitive state of consciousness, when indeed the conscious mind first emerged."
(I will caution I found Tolstoy's profession of his faith, both in the main body of the work and more fully in the epilogue, as completely irrelevant to his arguments and I couldn't quite understand his need to go there. Belief in Christianity bears no relevance on the power of a myth, functioning as modern meme. That's kind of the joke for anyone watching from the humanist sidelines.)
November 6, 2013
I could rate some chapters of this book 5. And the book has the most marvelous preface, a great introduction to myth, underscoring why the Arthur story has resonated. His chapters trying to trace the mythological background of Merlin are the best in the book where he relates the celebrated wizard to shamans and figures in other mythological traditions. Unfortunately, his epilogue is not very organized, too many random thoughts about myth.
All that said, for those interested in the Arthurian legends and the background of the legendary king's wise counselor, you really can't do better than this book. Several chapters really do bear reading, including his piece on "The Riddle of Stonehenge." Were I to teach a course on Arthur at the undergraduate level, I was surely assign that as well as the subsequent two chapters (and the preface)..
Tolstoy has done a thorough job researching the mage and shown considerable passion for (and insight into) both the background of his story and the meaning of his appeal.
All that said, for those interested in the Arthurian legends and the background of the legendary king's wise counselor, you really can't do better than this book. Several chapters really do bear reading, including his piece on "The Riddle of Stonehenge." Were I to teach a course on Arthur at the undergraduate level, I was surely assign that as well as the subsequent two chapters (and the preface)..
Tolstoy has done a thorough job researching the mage and shown considerable passion for (and insight into) both the background of his story and the meaning of his appeal.
unfinished
February 18, 2011I was apparently on page 110 when I had to return this to the library, says a note I just found that was written when I was in college. I do remember this book. It was very interesting and incredibly well researched, but I remember it being rather dry and a bit overwhelming in terms of lots of information in a small space. Also, I think I was starting to get out of my Arthurian love when I read this, so that may color it a bit. If you're into Arthur (and I like Merlin the best in all of the tales) this is a great scholarly delve into what could be, but be aware that it is not a pop-fiction overview.
September 12, 2008
I don't always agree with Tolstoy's interpretations or conclusions, but this is a thoroughly-researched book that can offer some new interesting insights about the greatest wizard of all.
(He's the son of Leo, by the way.)
(He's the son of Leo, by the way.)
February 18, 2014
This is 'nonfiction' about Merlin, but I am skeptical so much could be written about him since he is probably onlyy in a few pages of history.
Read
January 12, 2008Best read as a crazy novel but great fun.
December 28, 2012
Do you want to know who the real Merlin is and how he lived? Nikolai Tolstoy found him out.
Read
October 18, 2008So far, this is totally insane in the best possible way.
December 23, 2018
The thesis of this book is that Merlin was a sixth century pagan shaman living in Scotland. Tolstoy seems to me to make a good case - it's certainly very detailed and thorough - but since this isn't my field, I can't really say how plausible it really is. Its thoroughness makes it a rather stodgy read at times, and I didn't finish it.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews