The Outline of Mythology

Thomas Bulfinch's whole mythic world — the gods of Olympus, King Arthur's Round Table, the Mabinogeon, Beowulf and the paladins of Charlemagne — told as stories, the way 1913 read them.

Merlin

4 pages in this part of The Outline of Mythology.

Merlin

MERLIN was the son of no mortal father, but of an Incubus, one of a class of beings not absolutely wicked, but far from good, who inhabit…

Merlin: Pendragon

These animals typified, as Merlin afterwards explained, the invasion of Uther and Pendragon, the rightful princes, who soon after landed…

Merlin: Arthur

After this event Merlin was never more known to hold converse with any mortal but Viviane, except on one occasion. Arthur, having for some…

Merlin: Spenser

Merlin is frequently introduced in the tales of chivalry, but it is chiefly on great occasions, and at a period subsequent to his death, or…

Rights & ReuseThe complete text of The Outline of Mythology (1913) is in the public domain in the United States — like all works published before 1928 — and is free to read, download, quote, teach from, and reuse. This digital edition (its transcription, restored images, and site design) is © 2026 PhotoOpAI, and any editorial commentary we add is clearly marked as ours; the underlying public-domain text carries no such restriction.