Hi!! Youre One Of The Few Blogs I Know Of That Are Familiar With Both The Bbc Show And Arthuriana So

hi!! youre one of the few blogs i know of that are familiar with both the bbc show and arthuriana so i was wondering if you could point me towards texts where gawain and merlin have any sort of meaningful interaction? or is prose merlin all there is? i love their dynamic on the show and i know it's probs one of a kind in arthuriana but it would be interesting to compare and contrast :) thanks!

so far i only know of Robert de Boron's Prose Merlin for this. In that text, Merlin had lots of interactions with the teenaged Orkney siblings and especially Gawain, acting as an annoying coach to them (i.e. shapeshifting into different disguises to insult them into getting their asses together, or just messing with these royal teenagers and making them laugh.)

Welsh Myrddin did not have anything to do with Arthur and Gwalchmai in the Mabinogion either. Actually Myrrdin isn't in Mabinogion.

Myrddin and Taliesin were the only ones who had some interaction in The Black Book of Carmarthen.

In Geoffrey of Monmouth, Merlin never met Arthur and his knights. because he left Uther's court permanently after he helped Uther beget Arthur by Ygraine

Medieval French! Merlin (Robert de Boron tradition) usually just takes a backseat and disappears from the narrative once Arthur properly rules the throne after he defeats the rebelling barons.

I haven't gotten far in the Vulgate Cycle myself (it is also based on Robert de Boron's initial work). Maybe there are more there. But I have no idea yet.

In Thomas Malory, Merlin would often only appear to Knights after some tragedy happens to tell them that he knew everything all along.

I don't know much about post-Thomas Malory Arthuriana yet to tell you if there are other adaptations where Merlin is constantly involved in the (mis)adventures of Arthur's Knights either.

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Here's the thing we have to remember tho. Legendary Merlin is supposed to be this old wise trickster fart that everyone in King Arthur's court fears and respects (because of his powers and because he has advised and assisted many kings). If he forms some bonds with the knights then it's because he wanna mess with them or he knows something that they don't, or he has some quests for them.

It's what we have to keep in mind when looking at arthurian legends and even classic arthurian tv shows and movies.

BBC Adventures of Merlin is an anomaly because they made their Merlin into one of the youngest, and most inexperienced characters (who doesnt even have a court rank). As a result, he formed some rather interesting dynamics with characters that bore the same name as Arthurian Knights.

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thanks for trusting me with this question. i hope you find the stories you are looking for.