fram von Eschenbach, Hartmann von Aue, Tennyson, Matthew
Arnold, Swinburne, and Wagner have all written of these legends in turn,
and to these writers we owe the most noted versions of the tales forming
the Arthurian cycle. They include, besides the story of Arthur himself, an
account of Merlin, of Lancelot, of Parzival, of the love of Tristan and
Iseult, and of the quest of the Holy Grail.

The majority of these works were written in French, which was the court
language of England in the mediaeval ages; but the story was "Englished" by
Malory in the fourteenth century. In every European language there are
versions of these stories, which interested all hearers alike, and which
exerted a softening influence upon the rude customs of the age,
"communicated a romantic spirit to literature," and taught all men
courtesy.

[The Real Merlin] The first of these romances is that of Merlin the
enchanter, in very old French, ascribed to Robert de Borron. The following
outline of the story is modified and supplemented from other sources. The
real Merlin is said to have been a bard of the fifth century, and is
supposed to have served the British chief Ambrosius Aurelianus, and then
King Arthur. This Merlin lost his reason after the battle of Solway Firth,
broke his sword, and retired into the forest, where he was soon after found
dead by a river bank.

The mythical Merlin had a more exciting and interesting career, however.
King Constans, who drove Hengist from England, was the father of three
sons,--Constantine, Aurelius Ambrosius, and Uther Pendragon. When dying he
left the throne to his eldest son, Constantine, who chose Vortigern as his
prime minister. Shortly after Constantine's accession, Hengist again
invaded England, and Constantine, deserted by his minister, was
treacherously slain. In reward for his defection at this critical moment,
Vortigern was offered the crown, which he accepted, and which he hoped to
retain, although Constans's two other sons, who, according to another
version of the story, were called Uther and Pendragon, were still in
existence.

To defend himself against any army which might try to deprive him of the
throne, Vortigern resolved to build a great fortress on the Salisbury
plains. But, although the masons worked diligently by day, and built walls
wide and thick, they always found them overturned in the morning. The
astrologers, when consulted in reference to this strange occurrence,
declared that