There is no real image of Merlin from the Harry Potter universe. Here you can see him in The Green Knight (Image: A24, 2021).
Merlin is no stranger to the world of Harry Potter. Quite the opposite: the famous British magician from the Arthurian legend is still a real celebrity to this day. There are various references to his character within the Harry Potter lore and not all of them really make sense.
Merlin is considered one of the most powerful wizardswho have ever lived. His exact year of birth is unknown and his grave has never been found. However, that doesn’t change the fact that his reputation in the Harry Potter world still resonates today.
In the current open world game Hogwarts Legacy, Merlin is also an important figure as the creator of many puzzles, even if he does not appear directly himself. However, she regularly encounters his fans and his enjoyment of setting tricky tasks.
You can find some of the secrets in the game here in the video:
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3:01 Hogwarts Legacy – These 17 magical details are hidden in the game – These 17 magical details are hidden in the game
What do we know about Merlin?
You probably know the exclamation “By Merlin’s beard!”, which Slytherin Professor Horace Slughorn, among others, used several times in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. The so-called Order of Merlin also goes back to him and continually advocates for the peaceful coexistence of Muggles and those gifted with magic.
There is also a chocolate frog card in his honor. We can also get some information from their description text. About Merlin it says (via hp-zauberwelt.de):
“Middle Ages, dates unknown. Most famous magician of all time, also called the “Prince of Magicians”. Belonged to King Arthur’s court.”
Merlin was a student at Hogwarts when he was younger. He is also apparently responsible for some of the secrets and puzzles hidden in the castle. He also made a portrait of himself that was supposed to act like an image of himself (via harrypotter.wiki)
If you’ve played Hogwarts Legacy, you probably remember Merlin’s Riddles.
Transphobia in JK Rowling: The success of Hogwarts Legacy indirectly benefits Harry Potter author JK Rowling, who participates through existing publishing rights and the associated sales of the books. Rowling continues to actively promote anti-LGBTQIA+ rhetoric and actively supports anti-trans policies in the UK. If you would like to find out more about the topic, you can find a summary of the most important controversies surrounding Hogwarts Legacy here.
Merlin was a Slytherin, just like You-Know-Who
On the former Pottermore website, which is now called Wizarding World, you can use a quiz to assign yourself to one of the four houses after creating a profile. If you end up in Slytherin, you will receive a welcome text written by prefect Gemma Farley. The original text probably comes from JK Rowling herself. You can find it here the German translation.
Farley brags that the big one Merlin a Slytherin and you as new members can be proud of your house. Incidentally, it is fitting that Merlin’s portrait was in favor of a Slytherin school principal in a discussion with neighboring paintings and Prof. Slughorn, also a Slytherin, is very happy to mention Merlin’s name, even if this could of course also be a coincidence.
Slytherin is happy to come along dark magic and Voldemort, but ultimately the snake house stands primarily for qualities such as ambition, pride, ambition and cunning. Merlin used these peculiarities for positive goals and advocated, for example, that magically gifted people should help Muggles and live peacefully with them.
Even for those who don’t like math, it’s a clear case: This doesn’t work
However, something is wrong with Merlin’s school days. Because, as far as we know, Hogwarts was around 1,000 AD founded. The exact year is not clear, but Merlin would have to have been quite young around this time to go to school.
The events of the Arthurian saga, however, take place several centuries earlier and are approximately 500 AD dated. Even if math is not relevant to the exam at Hogwarts, it should be clear that a few centuries have somehow gone wrong here. Even for the most powerful magician of all time, it doesn’t add up.
So at this point you either have to turn a blind eye and accept that the author didn’t take it very seriously or you find a magical explanation for your personal canon that is intangible to simple Muggles like us.
