merlinlocations | dinas emrys, the afanc and merlin's oak (Reply)

My father years ago bought me a copy of Merlin and Wales: A Magician's Landscape which is a book that connects Arthurian legends, limited to Wales (and constrained to Merlin) to physical landmarks. It's a very interesting read, though the author often states that the symbolism is fact, which irks me, never the less, it offers quite a bit of information that can't be found via wikipedia, or even the official websites, therefore I present to you a few scans. If you want more of the book it is available on Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble and pretty much wherever books are sold. I don't have the screencap, but if you watch The Real Merlin and Arthur and they look at some books in the library at Mold, you can see the spine of the book!

Before this gets started I just wanted to show: the cover, copyrights and table of contents and two maps

Dinas Emrys: Vortigern and Merlin's Tower
located: near Beddgelert in Gwynedd

The story centers around early Roman/British/Saxon legends of a young boy (Merlin) who saw two sleeping dragons (one red, one white) beneath a tower that Vortigern was trying to build, but which kept collapsing. The dragons woke and fought. The red won.

Historia Brittonum by Nennius - full view via google books
Dinas Emrys is owned by the National Trust, but is not easy to find on their website. IT IS AVAIABLE via PDF | BBC Info Page

Snowdonia: Merlin and the Afanc + Llyn Dinas Emrys
The lake lies right below Dinas Emrys (mentioned above) and each May Day a ceremony which marked the end of winter and the beginning of summer was held there. The ceremony symbolized the life story of Merlin). I haven't scanned the entire ceremony, because it goes on...and on...and on...

But, it does contain some really interesting information about the Afanc, which was not a creature of earth and water, but was actually a giant beaver. Phallic references I did not see coming at first look are included.

Snowdon on wikipedia | walking routes up the mountain | local guide | via google maps

Wikipedia tells us that "Snowdon (Welsh: Yr Wyddfa) is the highest mountain in Wales and is Great Britain's highest mountain south of the Scottish Highlands. It has been described as "probably the busiest mountain in Britain."[1] It is located in Snowdonia National Park (Welsh: Parc Cenedlaethol Eryri), in Gwynedd. The summit is known as Yr Wyddfa (IPA: [əɾ ˈwɪðva], Welsh for "the tumulus"[2]) and lies at an altitude of 1,085 metres (3,560 ft) above sea level. In terms of 'absolute height' it is the same height as Table Mountain in South Africa."

Merlin's Oak: Carmarthenshire County Museum
a link to their website
on wikipedia
culture24 link, with more information
OPEN: Mon-Sat 10.00-16.30
FREE ADMISSION
The website says that "this is where the New Testament was first translated into Welsh and where the last piece of Merlin’s Oak can be found - legend has it that the day the oak is removed from Carmarthen, the town will fall."