Origins of the Wizard

[caldrail]

The modern image of the wizard is well established. An older man, long white beard, a flowing robe, and of course, a pointy hat. What wizard would be seen without one? Beyond the delights of escapist fantasy we don't tend to think of the wizard as a historical character. Is there some basis for this tradition?

 

The modern wizard descends to us through Arthurian tradition, a genre of literature that has progressed from tales around the fireside in the Dark Ages, magnified by the medieval world into an epic of chivalry, and by strange irony recast in Dark Age tones by the success of authors like JRR Tolkien.

 

In fact, the word "wizard" does actually mean something. It's a medieval phrase, meaning "Wise'ard", or person whose opinions are considered worth listening to. On the face of it, you might assume that the phrase could apply to anyone with a decent thing or two to say, but this description is based on an earlier trend in history.

 

In the Arthurian mythos, Merlin is depicted as a typical spellcaster more often than not, the standard by which wizards are described, and in a sense, partly a prototype of Gandalf, JRR Tolkiens ubiqitous magician in Lord of the Rings. however, if you read earlier versions of Arthurian tales, Merlin is specifically described as a Druid. This tallies with the 'wise man' ideal, as Druids were judges over the tribal societies of the Dark Ages on the principle that 'Knowledge is Power'.

 

Further, the richness of the Arthurian myths also reflects the adoption of much earlier storytelling traditions that were recast with Arthur and his associates as the contemporary heroes. Such stories emerged in the Iron Ages, the time when Druidism, so the Romans tell us, evolved in Britain after the spread of Halstatt Gauls across Europe and into Asia Minor.

 

The emergence of the wizard in fiction is therefore a cultural legacy of the Druids, whose power over celtic tribes was enough to bother the Romans such that they ordered their citizens not to worship their gods, and later, banned them completely and destroyed their refuge on Mona (The Island of Anglesey) in ad60. One wonders if their antipathy toward the celtic judges wasn't just one of political necessity in a time of conquest, but also because they influenced the Gauls during the sack of Rome in 387BC.

 

The story is not complete however. Whereas the 'hedge wizard', a rural hermit and well meaning mentor and supporter of the hero's cause, is something suggesting a co-operative relationship with society, there is also a tradition of the evil magician, a tyrant, an man subduing civilisation to his corrupt manner.

 

Whereas the druids oversaw the sacrifices made by gaulish tribes and interpreted the death throes of their victims as a means of divination, this was a civic and religious ceremony rather than an evil act, at least in their eyes. However, since the wizard is changed from druid to generic spellcaster in the middle ages, we sense the influnce of christianity who saw the use of such divination and magic as unholy.

 

Combine that with the advanced moslem literature, art, medicine, and science encountered in the Holy Lands during the crusades, the possibility that wizards might not be benign judges but instead people who consorted with demons to learn their craft, takes on the same patina as witchcraft in their eyes. Something to be rooted out as evil and undesirable in society. Not for nothing was Gandalf's main adversary another wizard, the malicious and conniving Saruman.

 

The modern wizard is therefore a polyglot of cultural influence. He represents power or wisdom to suit the storyteller, for both aspects can be found in his past. In one sense, we can merely enjoy the tales and laugh at their antics. But doesn't that rather miss the point?

[Crispina]

Severus Snape...good or evil?

[Sovay]

i think some of the things people think about wizards and witchs have come about from people's fears. the whole thing of the witch hunts, which did not just include women, were founded on people's fears of the unknown. it is said that a lot of victims of the witch hunts were acused after being seen on the effects of magic mushrooms (they did not understand the effects of such things back then).

[Northern Neil]

i think some of the things people think about wizards and witchs have come about from people's fears. the whole thing of the witch hunts, which did not just include women, were founded on people's fears of the unknown. it is said that a lot of victims of the witch hunts were acused after being seen on the effects of magic mushrooms (they did not understand the effects of such things back then).

Monotheistic religions were essential to the political stability of dark age and medieval society, and continue to be so in many parts of the modern world. Naturally, they have, for the past 1600 years, made wizards and witches (remnants of the older religion) into fearful figures. Whilst I agree with Sovays statement, I must say that in early Christian times witches and wizards were not - at first - feared because they were unknown, they were very much recognised. As Christianity gained support they were alleged by practitioners of the new religion to be servants of the Devil. The unknown, occult nature of such figures has been enhanced and exaggerated by monotheists ever since. The shaping of Halloween into a celebration of the gory and horrific we have today was part of that process; initially it was a pagan festival to mark the start of the dark part of the year.

[Yehudah]

I agree wholeheartedly with the OP, that druids served as a primary inspiration to the modern myth of wizards.