Then he called for his messengers and sent them throughout the whole land to seek Merlin. And Merlin, who had known that the king was summoning him since he spoke to Blaise, went as quickly as he could to the town where the messengers were who had gone out looking for him. And he came like a woodsman into the town, with a great axe at his neck and stout shoes on his feet, dressed in a short tunic torn to shreds; his hair was standing out and his beard was quite long. He looked very much indeed like a wildman.

Vulgate Merlin