And when Arthur saw him leaving, he said to King Bors that there was a very worthy gentleman in Merlin, and without a doubt he was full of knightly valor, and he was strong of body and limb, but he was dark-skinned and thin, more hairy than any other man, yet he was highborn on his mother’s side. But of his father I will tell you nothing more, for you have earlier heard a great deal about the one who fathered him. But as we read, we do not find that he ever laid a hand on any man to hurt him, but it happened often that, when he was fighting in a press, he would strike down both man and horse.

Vulgate Merlin