In “The Ghosts of the Forest”, author William A. Young reveals new evidence linking the famous magician to the region.
He said: “A connection between Merlin and northern Britain has long been accepted by scholars. In the earliest legends relating to Merlin, he was made court bard to a king called Gwentholye whose capital lay just north of Carlisle. By cross-referencing the content of the legends with the latest archaeological evidence, it is possible to identify clear connections between the content of the tales and the historical kingdom of Rheged.”
Mr Young explained that his book attempts to “reconstruct portions of the lost mythology of the Celtic Britons”, the original inhabitants of southern Scotland and northern England, using evidence drawn from archaeology, folklore, and Celtic legends, some of which have only recently been translated.
He added: “Much of the content of the book is focussed on the Dumfriesshire region. It puts forward the theory that Merlin was a pagan who worshipped gods from the time of the druids, and connects a series of locations in and around Dumfriesshire to this pagan Celtic religion.
“It also reveals evidence suggesting that a number of these holy places remained in use for centuries after Merlin’s lifetime.
“If these conclusions are accurate, then it is the case that the pre-Christian religion of northern Britain survived for far longer, and in a far more complete form, than has hitherto been recognised. It is possible that the history of this island is very different from that in which we are conventionally taught to believe – and that the importance of Dumfries and Galloway in that history has been grossly under-estimated.”
The “Ghosts of the Forest” is available in print and ebook formats from Amazon, and through the author’s website at www.inter-celtic.com.
