throughout the harry potter books we hear alot merlin's name as well as his beard's but who is merlin?
what did he do to be so glourious?
why does everybody use his name for swearing?

we know that in any book or movie merlin is a name of a great wizard or magician but who is he in our beloved harry potter series.

we never knew that did we?
can he be in anyway related to any of the characters we know?
maybe godric gryffindor was related to merlin or maybe and more likely dumbledore and even maybe and less likely harry himself.

i don't know........what do you think?

All we know is that he must have had a beard!

Does it matter? JKR does not have to elaborate on every historical wizard, and I'm sure she has no further intentions with the character -- he's just the beard that people swear by.

Merlin was a very powerful wizard back in the day and probably still is dead. Or whatever he is, thats why there is Order of Merlin First Class and Third Class for like good deeds and heroic deeds and the works. Why do some people say "holy hunkey dorey", just like saying "Merlins beard"...

I definitely think that it's the same Merlin of the Arthurian legends. After all, there was a time in which Muggles and wizards were together in the same World.
I suggest to read the Marion Zimmer Bradley's series of Avalon, and the Arthurian original novels, to get a glimpse on how witches and wizards interacted with Muggles in the past times...

Witchmom )O(

Yes, I agree with witchmom. Definitely the same Merlin of Arthurian legends. He's just the definitive wizard, isn't he? From Disney films to legend. He's the ultimate wizard, the first, the most powerful, supposedly anyway. British legends are very rich with stories of Merlin, King Arthur, and the Knights of the Round Table.

This is an excellent article - and will take you to a brilliant site called Encyclopedia Mythica, which will also give you the "real" legends behind many wizards and witches mentioned in the series.

Yeah, Merlin is definately the one from the Arthurian Legends. So, I suppose that if Merlin was real (In HP-dom) then Arthur must have been too? Right? I wonder if they all expect him to come back? After all he is the Once and Future King, right?

Merlin is most often associated with the Legend of King Arthur of Camelot. He was first introducted in the earliest telling of the Arthur Legend in a book by Geoffrey of Manmouth. Although several versions of the character have been revamped over the years, and he is an extremely popular part of the legend. Over the years different writers have expanded the Arthurian Legend to produce a fuller image of Merlin. He is best known as son of a woman and an incubus who engineers the conception of Arthur through his magic, and serves as the king's boyhood tutor and later as an advisor until he is bewitched and imprisoned by the Lady of the Lake. For a funny (if not a little ridiculous) version of Merlin watch Disney's Sword in the Stone. For a detailed picture of Merlin read The Once And Future King by T. H. White...

I was reading about Merlin before Harry Potter ever hit the bookstores, so I consider him my first favorite wizard!

Merlin or Merlyn is from around the stories of King Arthur and Camelot. here is a story from A Wizard's Handbook:
Just before Merlin's grandfather died, he used his powers to transfer his powers toMerlin, who was 13. And it was a good thing that Merlin acquired these powers when he did, because they would end up saving his life! Soon afterwards Merlin was handpicked by Vortigern, Britain's king, to be sacricficed. Vortigern's fortess kept falling down for no apparant reason, and his worker's were getting tired of rebuilding it. Every one believed that a sacrifice would please the gods and prevent the castle from falling down again.
But Merlin stopped the sacrifice by excercising his visionary power and his power of prophercy. He saw the problem with fortess did not lir in the the building.The fortess was sitting on top of a pool with two dargons.

Well you get the point. I think Merlin is one or the most oldest wizard that ever lived,

There is a legend about Merlin. He was the wizard who helped King Arthur become successful. He helped Arthur beecome King of England.

Obviously Merlin is included in the Arthurian legends and because he was considered to be a great sorcerer it would be natural to include him in this series. JK has developed a pattern in regards to including historical legends in the HP books. Merlin is one example and the other is Nicholas Flamel. It is legend that Sorcerer's Stone actually exists and he was the only alchemist in a long line that actually figured out the secret. Anyway, its a clever way to find story lines in the HP series. My guess to why everyone sweares to him and his beard is because he is widely considered in legend as the greatest wizard/sorcerer of all time.

Like most of you have said, Merlin is from the Arthurian legends. But what is kind of interesting is the beard. What made it so great that people use it to curse with? "What in Merlin's beard are you doing?!" Of course, it could just be one of those sayings, like "hunky dunkey dorey" <---haven't heard that one myself until I read it in here.

In time, will they say something about Albus Dumbledore? "What in Dumbledore's glasses were you thinking?"

The beard reminds me of Chuck Norris. If you don't know, there are jokes about his beard where it fights for him and saves lives, etc. But I suppose it isn't the same thing when it comes down to Merlin.

i know how is merlin i mean all i know about him is that he was a wizard he was porbably someone really inportant in the wizarding world

i too think that it is the same Merlin from Arthur's times. i think J.K stuck that name in there because according to legend he was extremly powerful and well he is well known because of legends. i think J.K used his character so that her story was more...believeable. i don't know if you will get where i am coming from but what i mean is by using a great wizard character well known by many she gives us a link...a link that ties us (our real world) with her world of Harry Potter. it makes everything seems not so ...random. am i making any sense? random as in the sense that there is something that is from this world in her's and therefore that world of magic doesn't seem so far-featched or so far away.

My theory about Merlin is that he's the wizard of wizards. LOL. What I wonder is if he started off the whole wizarding world or whatever. Is he maybe the first wizard to live?

the dude that helped out king arther right?

Merlin was/is the greatest wizard that ever lived. He was the one the helped Arturious and advised him while he was king of camolot. For the age that Merlin lived, the Dark Ages, he advanced magic futrher than any wizard has. I'm pretty sure Merlin is some how connected to Harry, Voldemort, Dumbledore, Kingsley, Tonks, Mrs Weasley, Hermione, Sirrius, Luna, and others. There are those he isn't connected to as well. Merlin's magic was strong enough to stop not just one, but many dragons if he needed to. Merlin did have a wand, made of the Ironwood tree, but he didn't need a wand to do magic, his wand really brought his magic to the point of invincibility. Merlin's magic could turn the old to young and the young to old, and if I remembercorrectly, he didn't need houcruxes to live forever, his magic could keep him alive until he didn't want it to.

According to Harry Potter Wiki;

"Merlin was the most famous wizard of all time. Active during the medieval era, he was part of the court of King Arthur and regarded as a Charms specialist. Known as the Prince of Enchanters, Merlin believed that wizards should help Muggles and live peacefully with them. To this end, he created the Order of Merlin.

The popular Wizarding exclaimation, "Merlin's Beard!", is in reference to him."

I've read many books set in medieval times where people, instead of actually using a blasphemy, would often say "God's feet, hair, etc.". Perhaps saying Merlin's Beard is something like that.

Yeah, the Wikipedia page thinks what I thought. He was this great wizard ages ago. I always thought that he was one of the knights of the round table. I suppose thats all to do with the Medieval era.

Plus, in the disney version of the sword and the stone, there's a Wizard called Merlin who helps the person who gets the sword out of the stone (sorry can't remember who).

'Merlins Beard' would be the equivalent of saying 'Oh my god' in the wizarding world. Again showing, if you think about it, that they think he deserves high accord!

Merlin was a great wizard and King Arthur's advisor. Perhaps, and because he lived way back in time, he was the founder of magic. I believe that he is reffered to in many of the books concerning wizards. Anyway the Sword in the Stone tells of how clever he is and how he uses his magic to help Arthur learn while he is enjoying himself. Merlin had to be some great wizard because there is the Order of Merlin and all that.

personally i think that maybe he is one of those myth wizards you know ? like Sir ppoonnccee de Leon was on a quest to finding this so called fountain of youth. considered to be a myth . so maybe merlins a story that are told to young wizard kids for fun . either that or JKR is just putting some sort of humor in there since , as it has been mentioned, a character always mentioned in magic movies . so maybe she found it humorous to add it in this magic story

... and his pants, don't forget that. There are a few references to Merlin's pants.

Anyways, I think the Merlin of the HP world is similar, if not the same as, the Merlin of our world. You know King Arthur, the sword in the stone all that medieval sorcery. Sort of the Dumbledore of his day, you know what I mean.

Merlin's a furry little beast that does a death meow during the night when everyone's asleep and the lights are off. He has separation anxiety issues and a shoe/suitcase fetish. He has furry buttchaps but no known beard that I've seen - though his body is entirely covered with fur...

Merlin is my snobby mainecoon kitty cat !

I know you don't want to know about my cat, but that's his name, and you asked ! I'm sure he's not from the Harry Potter world, and if his little paws could hold a wand I'd of been imperio'd a million times over so he could be fed and left alone and pet whenever he wished and not whenever I felt like it ! I'd most likely be crucio'd as well for the numerous irritation events I've sprung upon him.

Alright, alright. The original question then. Merlin wasn't anyone necessarily important during the HP books (imo), but just a great wizard who was widely known. I agree, he is probably a lot like the Merlin we imagine to have been acquianted with King Arthur. I can't imagine Merlin not having a beard, but I must say, I personally prefer Shrek's version of Merlin. Who doesn't want to see a crazy Merlin that can't perform magic right and doesn't wear pants ! And socks with sandals - hilarious.

~ihkny

Check out this link! Info. on Merlin I hope this helps you out some.