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Wizards

The document discusses the concept of wizards, detailing various types such as warlocks, diviners, and alchemists, each with distinct magical abilities and reputations. It highlights the famous wizard Merlin, his origins, and his significant role in the legend of King Arthur. Additionally, it touches on the historical roots of the term 'wizard' and references ancient Egyptian tales of magic found in the Westcar Papyrus.

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Victoria Inzaurralde
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51 views3 pages

Wizards

The document discusses the concept of wizards, detailing various types such as warlocks, diviners, and alchemists, each with distinct magical abilities and reputations. It highlights the famous wizard Merlin, his origins, and his significant role in the legend of King Arthur. Additionally, it touches on the historical roots of the term 'wizard' and references ancient Egyptian tales of magic found in the Westcar Papyrus.

Uploaded by

Victoria Inzaurralde
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Who/What they are

A wizard is a man who has magical powers, especially in legends and fairy tales.
There are various kinds of wizards.

Warlock- This term is used for male magic users that practice witchcraft. They
are similar to wizards; however, they are generally dark or evil. They often deal
with dark magic or evil creatures and have a bad reputation. Many stories use
warlock as a term once they have become bad or corrupted.

Diviner- This term is related to magic users who use their powers to see into the
future or effect time in some way. Sometimes this type of magic can also include
dreams and other psychic type abilities depending on the author.

Alchemists- Traditionally, alchemy was concerned with turning one metal into
another or discovering a universal elixir that could turn any base metal into gold.
Rather than focusing solely on metal to gold, alchemists are typically portrayed
as potion and poison makers, often infusing magic into their creations.
This could mean making love potions or elixirs that turn you invisible. It could
also mean coming up with poisons that erase memories or put someone under
your control.

Etc

A famous wizard
A very famous wizard is Merlin.
Merlin is a mythical figure in the legend of King Arthur and best known as a
magician, with several other main roles.

Here is a brief outline of his story. Merlin was born well before Arthur. He is
brought to the court of the evil Vortigern and plays an important role in ensuring
the downfall of its kingdom. He later uses his prophetic knowledge and
extensive magical skills to enable Arthur’s conception and birth. He then helps
foster and educate the young king and helps Arthur win his place on the throne
of England. He helps him establish the round table and fight off the many people
who threaten the young king.
Merlin fundamentally shapes the kingdom that King Arthur develops. Arthur
would not be king without Merlin.

Merlin’s origins in the Middle Ages, however, tell quite a different story..
He was born from a demon and a nun, he was meant to be the antichrist but
ended up being good. What is kind of interesting is that he retains the demonic
powers of his father even despite renouncing them. And on renouncing the
demons, he is also given powers from God: his ability to see the future comes
from God.

So, Merlin ends up with powers from both demons and from God. He is basically
all-powerful as a result. He can see everything in the past, everything in the
present, and everything in the future. He draws his extensive magical abilities
from both sources and is able to perform extraordinary magic as a result.

Origins:
The word ‘wizard’ is derived from the Middle English word ‘wys’ (meaning wise)
and the suffix ‘-ard.’ Therefore, a wizard was basically a wise man, up until
around the middle of the 16th century AD. Prior to this period, the distinction
between magic and philosophy was blurred.
It was only after the 1550s that the word ‘wizard’ gained its present meaning, i.e.
one who has magical abilities. In this sense, the word ‘wizard’ may be used
interchangeably with such words as ‘sorcerer,’ ‘magician,’ ‘warlock,’ ‘sorceress,’
(female) and ‘witch’ (female).

Ancient Egyptian Wizards


A set of tales regarding wizards can be found in an ancient Egyptian text known
as the Westcar Papyrus. There are five known stories, though only the
conclusion of the first one has survived. This text is thought to have been
composed during the Middle Kingdom or Second Intermediate Period. The tales
may be regarded as ‘stories within a story,’ as the Westcar Papyrus is essentially
a story of magical stories told at the court of Khufu

A third tale tells of Dedi, who is said to live during the time of Khufu, and, among
other things, he is said to have had the power to magically re-attach the heads of
decapitated animals to their bodies.
Resources:
Origins: https://www.ancient-origins.net/history/blurring-between-magic-and-
philosophy-legendary-wizards-ancient-world-005693
Timeline: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_magic

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