 First UK edition | |
| Author | Mary Stewart |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Series | Arthurian Saga |
| Genre | Fantasy novel |
| Publisher | Hodder & Stoughton (UK) William Morrow (US) |
Publication date | 1970 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 464 pp |
| ISBN | 0-340-12872-0 |
| Followed by | The Hollow Hills |
The Crystal Cave is a 1970 fantasy novel by Mary Stewart. The first in a quintet of novels covering the Arthurian legend, it is followed by The Hollow Hills .
The protagonist of this story is a boy named Myrddin Emrys, also known as Merlin, which is the Welsh form of the word "falcon". (Welsh dd is pronounced th as in thus, so Myrddin is roughly pronounced Murthin.) This story is told in first-person narrative and includes his journey to find a home as he travels through Wales, Brittany, England and Ireland. Emrys is also known as Ambrosius, or Prince of Light.
This novel covers the time from Merlin's sixth year until he becomes a young man. The Romans have recently left Britain, which is now divided into a number of kingdoms loosely united under a High King. Merlin is the illegitimate son of a Welsh princess, who refuses to name his father. Small for his age and often abused or neglected, Merlin occasionally has clairvoyant visions. These visions and his unknown parentage cause him to be referred to as "the son of a devil" and "bastard child". Educated by a hermit, Galapas, who teaches him to use his psychic powers as well as his earthly gifts, Merlin eventually finds his way to the court of Ambrosius Aurelianus in Brittany. There, he assists in Ambrosius's preparations to invade and unify Britain, defeat Vortigern and his Saxon allies, and become its High King. Also exiled in Brittany is Uther, Ambrosius's brother, heir and supporter.
It is revealed that Merlin is Ambrosius's son, the result of a brief relationship between Ambrosius and Merlin's mother. Merlin returns to Britain but finds Galapas killed. He is captured by Vortigern who is attempting to build a fortress at Dinas Emrys - but each night the newly built walls collapse. The king's mystics say the fort will only be built when a child with no father is sacrificed and his blood spilt on the ground. Vortigern plans to use Merlin as the sacrifice. Merlin realises that the fort's foundation is unstable due to the caves below ground, but he plays to their superstition and pretends to attribute the problems to dragons beneath the ground. (The dragon is Ambrosius's emblem.) As a result of this, Merlin briefly becomes known as Vortigern's prophet. Days later, Ambrosius invades and defeats Vortigern.
Merlin uses his engineering skills to rebuild Stonehenge, but has visions of Ambrosius's death, which are fulfilled when a comet appears in the sky and Ambrosius dies. Uther, Ambrosius's younger brother, becomes King Uther Pendragon. However, Britain is thrown into chaos when Uther, besotted with Duchess Ygraine, goes to war with her husband, Gorlois, the Duke of Cornwall. Merlin helps Uther to enter Tintagel Castle by stealth, knowing the tryst will lead to the birth of King Arthur.
The crystal cave itself is a spherical mini-cave hidden in the back of a hillside cave six miles from the king's palace at Maridunum. It is described, in young Merlin's first discovery of it, as "a globe, a round chamber floored, roofed, lined with crystals. They were fine as glass, and smooth as glass, but clearer than any glass I had ever seen, brilliant as diamonds." [1] The facets are possibly those of geodes. [2] [3]
The hill is considered by the locals to be a home or haunt of a deity named Myrddin, a god of air and heights, so its cave is imbued with magical properties. Merlin lives there whenever not called upon for political duties. The small crystal cave is where he frequently retreats to seek revelations or prophecies.
In Stewart's obituary, The New York Times described her as an "author of romantic thrillers who jumped genres in her 50s to create an internationally best-selling trilogy of Merlin books, reimagining the Arthurian legend from a sorcerer's point of view," and said, "Reading Geoffrey of Monmouth's History of the Kings of Britain, she was inspired to retell the story of King Arthur as seen by Merlin, the king's adviser and house magician. The trilogy introduced her work to a new generation and, in many cases, to male readers for the first time. ... The books, set in the fifth century, were praised for their unusual blend of fantasy and historical detail." [4]
The Guardian spoke of Stewart's own considerations as well as that of her publishers: "The Crystal Cave (1970), the first of a fictional trilogy about Merlin, arose from her fascination with Roman-British history. The unexpected switch at first alarmed her publishers – she was, unusually, published by the same firm, Hodder & Stoughton, for her entire career, never using an agent – but the book was a No 1 bestseller for weeks. Of all her books, The Crystal Cave is the most enduring, and has lost none of its freshness. It is a masterful imagining of Merlin's upbringing that vividly evokes fifth-century Britain. The Hollow Hills (1973) and The Last Enchantment (1979) completed the trilogy, earning Stewart favourable comparisons with another leading Arthurian, TH White. They were the books of which she was most proud." [5]
Kirkus Reviews said with a touch of disdain, "With its mythic mists and galloping legends, fifth century Britain is fair game and Miss Stewart takes to whole cloth with a couturier's skill. ... Period play, ripe and windy, for ladies easily lulled--and there are many of them." [6]
The novel was adapted into a television series by the BBC in the 1990s, retitled Merlin of the Crystal Cave , and starred Robert Powell as Ambrosius.
Ambrosius Aurelianus was a war leader of the Romano-British who won an important battle against the Anglo-Saxons in the 5th century, according to Gildas. He also appeared independently in the legends of the Britons, beginning with the 9th-century Historia Brittonum. Eventually, he was transformed by Geoffrey of Monmouth into the uncle of King Arthur, the brother of Arthur's father Uther Pendragon, as a ruler who precedes and predeceases them both. He also appears as a young prophet who meets the tyrant Vortigern; in this guise, he was later transformed into the wizard Merlin.
Merlin is a mythical figure prominently featured in the legend of King Arthur and best known as an enchanter or wizard, among his various other roles. His usual depiction, based on an amalgamation of historic and legendary figures, was introduced by the 12th-century British author Geoffrey of Monmouth. It is believed that Geoffrey combined earlier tales of Myrddin and Ambrosius, two legendary Briton prophets with no connection to Arthur, to form the composite figure called Merlinus Ambrosius . Geoffrey's rendering of the character became immediately popular, especially in Wales. Later writers in France and elsewhere expanded the account to produce a fuller image, creating one of the most important figures in the imagination and literature of the Middle Ages.
Uther Pendragon, also known as King Uther, is a legendary king of sub-Roman Britain and the father of King Arthur. A few minor references to Uther appear in Old Welsh poems, but his biography was first written down in the 12th century by Geoffrey of Monmouth in his Historia Regum Britanniae, and Geoffrey's account of the character was used in most later versions. He is a fairly ambiguous individual throughout the literature, but is described as a strong king and a defender of his people.
Dinas Emrys is a rocky and wooded hillock near Beddgelert in Gwynedd, north-west Wales. Rising some 76 m (250 ft) above the floor of the Glaslyn river valley, it overlooks the southern end of Llyn Dinas in Snowdonia.
In the Matter of Britain, Igraine is the mother of King Arthur. Igraine is also known in Latin as Igerna, in Welsh as Eigr, in French as Ygraine, in Le Morte d'Arthur as Ygrayne—often modernised as Igraine or Igreine—and in Parzival as Arnive. She becomes the wife of Uther Pendragon, after the death of her first husband, Gorlois.
The Mists of Avalon is a 1983 historical fantasy novel by American writer Marion Zimmer Bradley, in which the author relates the Arthurian legends from the perspective of the female characters. The book follows the trajectory of Morgaine, a priestess fighting to save her Celtic religion in a country where Christianity threatens to destroy the pagan way of life. The epic is focused on the lives of Morgaine, Gwenhwyfar (Guinevere), Viviane, Morgause, Igraine and other women of the Arthurian legend.
Myrddin Wyllt is a figure in medieval Welsh legend. In Middle Welsh poetry he is accounted a chief bard, the speaker of several poems in The Black Book of Carmarthen and The Red Book of Hergest. He is called Wyllt—"the Wild"—by Elis Gruffydd, and elsewhere Myrddin Emrys ("Ambrosius"), Merlinus Caledonensis or Merlin Sylvestris("of the woods"). Myrddin Wylt is born in 540 CE.
In Arthurian legend, Gorlois of Tintagel, Duke of Cornwall, is the first husband of Igraine, whose second husband is Uther Pendragon. Gorlois's name first appears in Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae. A vassal of Ambrosius Aurelianus, his arrival at the Battle of Kaerconan ensures the defeat of Hengist. In Wace's Roman de Brut, when Hengist's son Octa and his cousin Ossa rebel, Gorlois helps Uther defeat them at York.
The Pendragon Cycle is a series of historical fantasy books based on Arthurian legend, written by Stephen R. Lawhead. The cycle was originally planned as a four-book series, but the original publisher opted to stop after the first three books, resulting in an abrupt ending to Arthur and the existence of many unexplored stories and plotlines. Lawhead moved to a new publisher a few years later. It was decided to expand on the trilogy by finishing the series, and two additional books were planned. The later book Avalon is not considered to be a true addition to the cycle but rather a "related semi-sequel" to round out the "Once and Future King" aspect of the legend.
Merlin is a two-part 1998 television miniseries which originally aired on NBC that retells the legend of King Arthur from the perspective of the wizard Merlin.
This is a bibliography of works about King Arthur, his family, his friends or his enemies. This bibliography includes works that are notable or are by notable authors.
The Hollow Hills is a novel by Mary Stewart. It is the second in a trilogy of novels covering the Arthurian Legends. This book is preceded by The Crystal Cave and succeeded by The Last Enchantment. The Hollow Hills was published in 1973.
King Arthur's family grew throughout the centuries with King Arthur's legend. Many of the legendary members of this mythical king's family became leading characters of mythical tales in their own right.
The mythical wizard Merlin is featured as a character in numerous works of fiction, especially those based on Arthurian legends.
Mary Stewart's Merlin Trilogy is an omnibus edition of the first three novels in Mary Stewart's Arthurian Saga: The Crystal Cave (1970), The Hollow Hills (1973), and The Last Enchantment (1979). The omnibus was published in 1980 by William Morrow and Company. In 1983, Stewart published a fourth instalment in the series: The Wicked Day.
Merlin and the Dragons is a 1991 animated film adapted from a story by Jane Yolen and illustrations by Alan Lee. It was directed by Dennis Woodyard and Hu Yihong and includes a musical score by composer Michel Rubini. The production is a retelling of the Arthurian legend, with Merlin the magician, based on material from Nennius and Geoffrey of Monmouth. Yolen is a prolific author of Arthurian-themed texts, and this production continues her series of retellings of the Merlin story. The half-hour film is narrated and voiced by Kevin Kline and was originally broadcast as an episode of the PBS program Long Ago and Far Away, which first aired on November 9, 1991.
The Sons of Avalon Saga is a series of Arthurian Legend novels, by American novelist, Dee Marie. The first book in the series, Sons of Avalon, Merlin’s Prophecy, begins with the birth of Merlin, and ends with the conception of King Arthur. Future books in the series explore the birth and life of King Arthur and his court.
Of Arthour and of Merlin, or Arthur and Merlin, is an anonymous Middle English verse romance giving an account of the reigns of Vortigern and Uther Pendragon and the early years of King Arthur's reign, in which the magician Merlin plays a large part. It can claim to be the earliest English Arthurian romance. It exists in two recensions: the first, of nearly 10,000 lines, dates from the second half of the 13th century, and the much-abridged second recension, of about 2000 lines, from the 15th century. The first recension breaks off somewhat inconclusively, and many scholars believe this romance was never completed. Arthur and Merlin's main source is the Estoire de Merlin, a French prose romance.