Magic in Merlin's Realm: A History of Occult Politics in Britain

by Francis Young

Belief in magic was, until relatively recent times, widespread in Britain; yet the impact of such belief on determinative political events has frequently been overlooked. In his wide-ranging new book, Francis Young explores the role of occult traditions in the history of the island of Great Merlin's realm. He argues that while the great magus and artificer invented by Geoffrey of Monmouth was a powerful model for a succession of actual royal magical advisers (including Roger Bacon and John Dee), monarchs nevertheless often lived in fear of hostile sorcery while at other times they even attempted magic themselves. Successive governments were simultaneously fascinated by astrology and alchemy, yet also deeply wary of the possibility of treasonous spellcraft. Whether deployed in warfare, rebellion or propaganda, occult traditions were of central importance to British history and, as the author reveals, these dark arts of magic and politics remain entangled to this day.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Magic, Medieval, Occult, Arthurian, Historical

406 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2022

Reviews

[K.J. Charles]

Academic book with an overview of the intersection of magic and politics in the UK (heavy emphasis on the relationship to the monarchy). Comprehensive and informative, a little dry in the way of academic books but useful if you're after the info: I have dog eared many pages. Author obviously doesn't like Dion Fortune, which I regard as a sign of good judgement.

[Ieva · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ļoti zinātnisks pētījums par maģijas lomu britu politikā cauri laikiem. Autors ir britu vēsturnieks ar doktora grādu un cik nu sapratu, specializējies reliģijas un folkloras vēsturē. Un to var just - sarakstīšanas maniere atmeta mani studiju laikos, sen nebiju lasījusi/dzirdējusi frāzi "šī darba autors uzskata".
Šis darbs neapgalvo, ka maģija bija/ir vai nebija/nav , bet gan to, ka cilvēki to uztvēra kā normālu dzīves daļu un viņiem tā bija īsta.
Grāmatā tiek secīgi izklāstīta vēsture sākot ar agrīnajiem vidusslaikiem un beidzot ar 20.gs., un tās pilnīgai uztverei droši vien būtu labi orientēties Anglijas vēsturē (labāk kā man). Bet kopumā gan tendences, gan dažādus "interesantos faktus" izdevās uzķert. Piemēram, kopš leģendas par Merlinu radīšanas visi ievērojamie britu astrologi, alķīmiķi utml gribēja kļūt par jauno Merlinu. Karaliene Elizabete I pati niekojās ar alķīmiju. Astroloģija ir vienīgā okultā nozare, kas nekad nezaudēja prestižu, bet būt par galma astrologu varēja būt bīstami, jo izskaitļojot karaļa nāvi tu kļūsti par valsts nodevēju, ko jāsoda ar nāvi (bet neskaitļot, ja karalis pavēl, arī nav lāga). Bet kopumā astroloģija ļoti labi var kalpot propogandai. Tāpat kā dažādi atrasti senie "pareģojumi". Par spīti bīstamībai, tādas baumas izplatīt, gana daudzi ticēja, ka karalis Čārlzs I bija feju ieliktenis. Un daudz kā cita.
Noteikti jūtos izglītota, garlaicīgi nebija nemaz, bet nevaru ielikt 5 zvaigznes tikai tāpēc, ka grāmatai bija nejēgā garš ievads (klausījos audio un tas ilga nedaudz vairāk kā stundu!), kura pēc gandrīz neizlasīju.

[Tim O'Neill · Rating 4 out of 5]

This interesting study centres a subject that is all too often mentioned in passing, consigned to the margins or footnotes or ignored completely in other works of history. Magic and occult powers such as conjuration, divination and alchemy are often disregarded by modern historians, largely because we don't tend to take them very seriously. This ignores the fact that many or even most people in the past (both pre-modern or even more recently) took them very seriously indeed, and so they sometimes played an often important part in British politics. Young's very useful book examines how things such as consulting angels, summoning demons or predicting the king's death were not oddities or amusing eccentricities in the medieval and early modern worlds, but we often matters of great importance. Certainly the people who rose in the ranks, fell from grace or lost their lives over such matters and those who sponsored or opposed them considered these things as serious as trade, diplomacy, war or anything else modern historians consider much more central to affairs.

Young covers a lot of ground and a span of many centuries, so sometimes very interesting elements and anecdotes come as short mentions in the onrush of broader discussion. So we get the likely occult significance of the fact that monarchs of Britain throne at coronation is placed over a very specific disc of Egyptian onyx set into the floor of Westminster Abbey. Or we are told of John de Walden, who was imprisoned in the Tower of London by 1350 by Edward III with instructions to use his arcane arts to turn out a fortune for the king (he failed). Young's extensive notes will help interested readers to read further on elements that are mention briefly or in passing. As a careful overview of a neglected subject, this is a very useful contribution to the literature on magic in history.

[Hanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

A history book, an academic study, a chronicle of belief and power - but Magic in Merlin’s Realm is also something rarer: a book that crackles with wit, intelligence, and a scholar’s deep joy in his subject. Dr. Francis Young has written one of the most fascinating academic works I’ve ever read, a sweeping history of the occult’s entanglement with British politics, from medieval kings consulting astrologers to 17th-century nobles dabbling in alchemy and angelic correspondence.

Histories of magic are often either too credulous or too dismissive. Young walks the line masterfully, treating his subjects with rigor while allowing the sheer absurdity of certain events to shine through. And shine they do.

Then, after the defeat of the English navy at the battle of Beachy Head on 1 July 1690, Wharton drew on his alchemical skills to begin assembling a device ‘for launching great stars and darts of fire’ with the help of the angels and an assistant named Milford.

Just an example of a sentence that, no matter how many times I read it, will always make me laugh.

But humor does not come at the expense of insight. This is a book about power as much as it is about magic: about how the ruling class has long wielded the occult, either as a tool or a threat, to shape the course of British history. Kings sought prophecies. Parliament feared witches. Occultists whispered in the ears of men who made nations rise and fall. And through it all, Young traces the delicate, shifting boundary between the supernatural and the political, showing how magic, whether believed in or not, has always had a place in governance.

Dense with scholarship yet endlessly readable, Magic in Merlin’s Realm is a rare book: one that informs, delights, and reminds us that history, for all its weight and consequence, is often stranger (and funnier) than fiction.

[R.J. Gilmour · Rating 4 out of 5]

Young's book looks at the relationship between magic and power in Britain from the middle ages to modern day. Beginning with the creation of the myth of Arthur and Merlin by the Welsh writer, Geoffry of Monmouth in the 11-the century, Young traces how ideas of magic and the occult were used to support claims to power and by those against those in power. It is a fascinating read that places ideas of magic in a larger historical context.

"Indeed, in many parts of the world magic and politics have never ceased to be intertwined. In lights of these developments, this book is a historical 'guide for the perplexed' for those seeking to understand the origins of ideas of occult political power and influences that, contrary to all expectations, remain important today." xvii

"Throughout the Middle Ages, and for much of the early modern period, magic was a 'rationally explicable practice with objective rationality, and the same is true of other occult traditions adjacent to magic, such as alchemy and astrology. Occult beliefs usually have their own internal consistency, often to an extremely complex and detailed degree." 13

"For one of the more confident scholarly defenders of a distinction between religion and magic, magic is 'any formalized practices by human beings designed to achieve particular ends by the manipulation and direction of supernatural power or of spiritual power concealed within the natural world." 54

"Ritual magic, sometimes called ceremonial magic, necromancy, or demonic magic, was widely considered by its critics the most dangerous form of magic throughout the Middle Ages and the early modern period, because it involved summoning supernatural entities to perform the will of the magician." 60

"The origins of alchemy can be traced to the Islamic world, whose learning began to seep into England in the twelfth century via scholars who travelled to study in European cities formerly under Muslim rule." 65

"Although Arthurianism was primarily a cult of chivalry, it was also a cult of occult wisdom, for it was Merlin who ensured Arthur's birth and made the round table for Camelot."139

"The revolution in government and the constitution of 1688, which set Parliament above the monarchy, has often been seen as the beginning of modern Britain, nearly coinciding with the publication of Isaac Newton's Principe in 1687, the defining book of the 'Age of Reason.'" 266

[Aaron · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating, well researched examination of the role of magical and occult thinking and practices in the political history of Britain from the earliest times up until the present. Very well written, clear, and entertaining, Young’s book presents Britain’s political past through a different mirror than we’re usually familiar with.

[Johan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite enjoyed this read and learned a great deal. I would argue that the last part of the study, from the 18th century onwards was less compelling as magic did not influence politics per se. However, I highly recommend reading it and the author’s style is pleasant.

[Drew · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting overview on the history of magicians, alchemist, astrologers, soothsayers, and necromancers involved with the English establishment. Being a general history though sometimes makes it so that some figures are too briefly glossed over, which prevents the book from being great.

[DW Rowlands · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting book, even if the topic wasn't that close to my interests in practice. (I read it under the misunderstanding that it was more generally about British occult practices and not specifically occult politics. I did learn a bit, though, and I'm glad I read it.

[James Council · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice work on the occult history in politics of the U.K. I was hoping for more information on how much the modern monarchy is involved in the occult though