MYRDDIN ON A POLE AND THE GOD ESUS/VITIRIS

Mogons Vitiris Altar Dedicated by Aelius Secundus, Netherby, Cumbria

In the past, I had pretty much come to the conclusion that Myrddin (the later Merlin) was either  Lugus/Lleu himself or an avatar of that god.  However, I also called into question this identification because of three factors.  One, Myrddin's lord Gwenddolau belonged very near the Netherby Roman fort, where the god Vitiris (and several alternate spellings) was worshipped.  Vitiris, whether the Willow-king or the Hunter-king (or even simply 'the Old One'), appears to be an honorific for the god Esus of Aesica, the Greatchesters Roman fort on Hadrian's Wall.  And, second, the place of Myrddin's death is a Willow Pool - in this case, the one on the Esk near its confluence with the Liddel Water.  [The Liddel's Tweeden Burn and the Willow Pool were relocated in legend to the Tweed and Powsail Burn much further north.]  Third, Myrddin's other name, Llallogan/Llallog, means the same thing as Latin Secundus, the name of a man who dedicated an altar to Vitiris at Netherby.

To explore the possibility that Myrddin may have some connection with Esus the Willow God (who appears to have been identified with the Classical Orion the Hunter; see https://mistshadows.blogspot.com/2019/04/the-bull-and-three-cranes-extrapolation.html), I needed to more thoroughly investigate the former's apparent connection with the willow.  The god Lleu in Welsh tradition, in the guise of a dead Jupiter-eagle, is perched atop an oak tree.  NOT a willow tree.

Fortunately, the early Welsh sources preserve a tradition about Myrddin being suspended (or impaled?) on a pole.  The pole in question is part of a fish weir, and we know that willows were often used for posts as well as fish traps or baskets.  According to the Classical writers (see p. 46 of THE LIFE AND DEATH OF A DRUID PRINCE by Anne Ross and Don Robins), victims were sacrificed to Esus by being "hanged from sacred trees or stabbed to death or both."

The following is from P. 571 of P.C Bartram's A CLASSICAL WELSH DICTIONARY:

"Myrddin on a Pole

There are some obscure references in Welsh poetry and prose to Myrddin ar Pawl, ‘Myrddin on a Pole’. There was a proverb: To talk as much as the son of seven locks [of hair], To talk as much as Myrddin on a Pole. (See Thomas Parry, Gwaith Dafydd ap Gwilym, p.538). The ‘pole’ seems to have been the pole of a weir although this may have been forgotten in some of the allusions. There are references in poetry to Myrddin's talking ‘on a pole’ and to his dying on the pole of a weir: More he says without ceasing ... than Myrddin ... son of seven locks. (Gwaith Dafydd ap Gwilym, p.347), and in Gwaith Lewys Môn, p.17: I am Myrddin ... dignified, who was in torment on the top of a pole. And again in Cwrtmawr MS.14 p.18: Myrddin when he went to his end on the Pole of the Weir, there was his destiny. The whole prophecy went with Scolan. In the dialogue between Myrddin(?) and Ysgolan in the Black Book of Carmarthen (BBC p.81) are the words: For a whole year I was placed in wattle on the pole of a weir. Eurys Rowlands considers that the references can only be reconciled by supposing that Myrddin lived in agony, transfixed on a pole for a period and died on it in the end. There is a clear connection here with the death of Lailoken, transfixed on a pole in a fishpond (see Llallogan). Also perhaps with the birth of Taliesin. See also s.n. Ysgolan. ‘Son of seven locks’ was presumably a surname of Myrddin referring to his wild appearance and dishevelled hair. See articles by Eurys Rowlands in Llên Cymru, IV.117-9, V.87-88, and by Thomas Jones in Llên Cymru, IV.179-180."

If we are to allow for Myrddin being associated with Esus, I would hazard a guess that originally he was a sacred warrior serving under Gwenddolau (or in the region of Gwenddolau, as this last means 'White Dales').  He may have been named Llallogan (hypocoristic form Llallog) in honor of the Vitiris-worshipping Secundus of the Netherby altar.  Prior to or during the Battle of Arderydd (the 'Height of the Ford', modern Arthuret Knowes), he was "given" to Esus through hanging/impalement on a willow pole, perhaps to help ensure victory in battle.  His name Myrddin means 'Specter-man', and may be a designation given to him only after he began a post-death existence among the 'wild ones' (gwyllon) and 'pale wanderers' (sing. hwimleian) of the Scottish Lowland forest.

Myrddin's sister Gwenddydd or 'White Day', like the Welsh goddess Goleuddydd, 'Bright or Shining Day', is probably a manifestation of Diana/Artemis the moon goddess, perhaps as Diana Lucina (see https://books.google.com/books?id=3GL6XjgU0HoC&q=lucina#v=snippet&q=lucina&f=false).  The Classical writer Lucan (PHARSALIA) mentions Diana in the context of the barbaric worship of Esus:

And those who pacify with blood accursed
Savage Teutates, Hesus' horrid shrines,
And Taranis' altars cruel as were those
Loved by Diana, goddess of the north...