Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 13.djvu/379

* MERLIN. 345 MERMAID. tiowoi's Ironi infancy. Ho is made ti) predict tlie iiistory nl' Britain down to Uedilrey's own time. From (.ieollrey and otlier sourees was built up the Krencli prcse romanoe of Merlin I thirteenth century). 'ersions of this romance were made in Italian, Spanish, German, and Knglish; and parts of it were embodied in Jlalor^^'s Morte d'ArtUiir (148.5). A collection of prophecies at- tributed to him appeared in French (Paris, 14118 ). in English (London, 1520 and 1.533), and in Latin (Venice, 1554) ; and their existence is traceable as far back as the thirteenth century. Besides this Cambrian Jlcrlin I Jlerlin Ambrosius) there is the Strathclyde ilerlin, called Jlerlin the Wyllt, or Merlin Caledonius. He is supposed to have lived in the si.xth century, a contemporary of 8aint Kentigern. Bishop of Glasgow. His grave is still shown at Drummelzier on the Tweed, where, in attempting to escape across the river from a band of hostile rustics, he was im- paled <m a hidden stake. A metrical life of him, extending to more than loOO lines, professedly based on Armorie materials, and incorrectly as- cribed to Geoffrey of Monmouth, was published by the Roxburghe Club in 1833. His prophecies, published at Edinburgh in 1615. contain those ascribed to the Cambrian Merlin. Consult: GeofTrey of Monmouth, Historia Regum Britan- nia:, edited by A. Schulz (Halle, 1854) ; Mer- lin, ruman en prose du Xlllcme siccle, cd. by Paris and Llrich, Soeiete des Anciens Textes (Paris, 1880) : Merlin, or the Early Histort/ of King Arthur: A Prose Romanes (about 1450-GO), ed. by Wheatley, Early English Text Society (London, 18fi5-09) ; JIalory, Morte d'Arthur; and Tennyson. Idylls of the King. MER'LIN (OF. csmcrillon, emcriUon, Fr. ctiierilloH, merlin, augmentative form from ML. gmerillus, snierhis, merlin, probably from Lat. mrriila. blackbird). The smallest of Old World falcons (Faleo asalon). scarcely exceeding a blackbird in size, but very bold and powerful. It is bluish ash in color above : reddish yellow on the breast and belly, with longitudinal dark spots, the throat of the adult male white. It builds its nest on the ground, and is fond of localities where large stones are plentiful, whence it is often called "stone falcon.' It is common in most parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa, and was of great repute in the days of falconry. The merlin is represented in Xorth America by the pigeon-hawk (q.v.l. MERLIN DE DOUAI. niar'la>'' dr doo'a', Phili.ipe Antoine. Count ( 1754-1838) . A French politician and jurist. He was born at Arleux and studied at the College of Anchin. He began his career by practicing law at Doitai. whence the second part of bis name. In 1775 he became ad- vocate at the Parlement of Flanders, where he soon acquired reputation as an able lawyer. His frequent contributions to the law dictionary, then appearing under the title Rrprrtoire iinirersel et raisonnr dc jurisprudrnrr. increased his reputa- tion and established his authority as a juris- consult. After the outbreak of the Revolution he was elected a member of the National Assem- bly, where he attracted much attention by his report on the bill of April 4. 1780. abolishing the feudal system. In 1705 lie became ^linister of Justice, and kept this post till .January IS. 1700. After the coup d'etat of the Eighteenth Bnunaire he took the office of procureur-g6nC'ral at the Court of Cassation, and Xapoleon made him Councilor of State in ISOS, and two years afterwards created him Count. By a royal ordi- nance of July 24, 1815, he was expelled from France. On his return to France in 1830 he became a member of the Academy of Moral and Political Science. He is the author of Recueil alphabetique des questions de droit qui se pre- sentent le plus frequeminent dans les tribunuux (1810--27). MERLINO COCCAJO, mer-le'nu ku-kii'yo. otherwise known as Teofilo Folekuo, his real name (1491-1544). One of the principal maca- ronic poets of the sixteenth century. At the age of eighteen he became a member of tlie Benedictine Order, and while a monk lie wrote Latin verses in the style of Vergil. About 1515 he forsook monastic life and wandered about the country with a young woman of good family, Girolania Dieda, often in great poverty, for he had no resource but his poetic talent. His first publication was Merlini Coccaii Maearononicon (Venice, 1517 and 1521), which relates the ad- ventures of a fictitious hero named Baldus. This poem is written in macaronic verse, which Fo- lengo was the first to use with success. Coarse though it was, it contained much genuine poetry and it became very popular. Like the later Or- landino, an Italian poem in octaves dealing with adventures of the youthful Roland, the work was a parody on the heroic epic as written by Ariosto. Ruing his wayward career, Folengo returned to his Order. About this time appears the macaronic Chaos del tripperino, an autobio- graphical account of his errors and repentance ( 1527 ) . He seems to have devoted the rest of his life to the production of religious works only, such as the Palermitana o jimanita di Cristo and the play Atto delta pinta. For editions of his works, consult: Le opere maceheroniche di Mer- lino Coccaio, edited by Portioli (Mantua, 1882- 89) ; Marzo, Drammatiche rappresentazioni, vols. i.-ii. (Palermo, 1876), which contains the Atto delta pinta and the Palrrmitann : Racrolta dei piu celehri poenti eroicomici italiani, vol. i. (5Ii- lan, 1841), which contains Orlandino; Luzio, yitove ricerche sul Folengo (Turin. 1880) ; Sehneegans, Gcsehichte der grotesken Satire (Strassburg, 1804) : Zumbini, "II Folengo pre- cursore del Cervantes." in Studi di letteratura italinna (Florence, 1894). MERLON (Fr. merlon, It. merlo: perhaps connected with Lat. mfpn/.s, murus, wall). In fortification, the portion of the parapet between two embrasures. MERMAID (from mere, AS. mere. Goth. morci, OHC!. mari, Cier. Mcer, dr., Gael, muir, OChurch Slav, morye. Lat. mare, sea + maid. AS. m<egi, Goth, magafs, OIIG. magad. Ger. Magd, maid). An imaginary inhabitant of the sea. The upper parts of mermaids are repre- sented as resembling those of beautiful women, while the body terminates in a tail like (hat of a fish. The merman is also heard of. but less frequently. The commonest representation of the mermaid pictures her as holding in her hand a mirror, while in the act of combing her hair. There is an evident affinity between the stories concerning mermaids and those concerning the sirens and tritons, perhaps also the nereids, of the ancients. The probability is that these stories