Spirits and Celtic Traditions
We're pausing in the midst of this discussion of Merlin, to clarify some Celtic spiritual traditions.
It is vital to understand the blurry boundaries between the literal and figurative elements in the Merlin legends.
The Celtic storytelling tradition sounds literal on the face of it. However, if you try to sort things out logically, it clearly won't work, as we've just seen in the article about Merlin and Stonehenge.
Similar storytelling traditions
We see similar apparent conflicts in the Bible.
For example, the Jewish storytelling tradition placed Jesus on the Mount as he delivered important spiritual messages. That location demonstrated a parallel to Moses, delivering the Ten Commandments from the mountain.
When you understand that the significance of the Mount is the link to Moses (and other elements), the conflicts in the "Sermon of the Mount" stories--from one Gospel to the next--become less important. The literal accuracy is secondary to the message of the story.
Similarly, the Celtic storytelling tradition might not always be historically accurate.
So let's take a few minutes to review history.
Who where the Celts, and why did the Romans care?
"Celtic" is a term which includes people who lived all over Europe, and parts of Asia and Africa. It's mostly a linguistic term, not a nationality.
In fact, for a long time, Celts ruled most of the Western world, and even burned the city of Rome.
The "Holy Roman Empire" concept was the angry response of the Romans who grew tired of having sand kicked in their collective faces, by the Celts.
How the Romans changed Celtic mythology
The Romans, under the Caesars, stormed across lands previously controlled by the Celts. The Romans seized control in what was, at times, a blind rage. Think of Xena, in terms of politics.
As they conquered lands, they transformed the beliefs and practices of the people. Celtic gods became Roman gods, with statues and more literal histories than before.
However, the Romans were not always successful. Where the Romans faltered or failed, we find pockets of Celtic tradition.
Some Celtic legends remain
We can see some of the purest pre-Roman and Celtic traditions in Ireland, Scotland, and the more isolated areas of Wales. This is why, when you say "Celtic" today, most people think of Ireland and the UK.
And these areas, particularly in western Wales and parts of Scotland, are where we find the strongest physical evidence of Merlin.
However, digging for hard evidence of King Arthur and Merlin is the kind of tangle we hope to avoid, by reviewing the Celtic storytelling traditions.
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