Brocéliande

Brocéliande is the name of a legendary forest in France that first appears in literature in 1160, in the Roman de Rou, a verse chronicle written by Wace.

Brocéliande is a notable place of legend because of its uncertain location, unusual weather, and its ties with Arthurian Romance, most notably a magical fountain and the tomb of the legendary figure Merlin.

Early source works provide unclear or conflicting information on the exact location of Brocéliande; different hypotheses exist to locate Brocéliande on the map.

First mention:

Brocéliande is briefly mentioned in one historical text:

Brocéliande's unusual weather alone is noted in a handful of texts:

Earliest appearances:

By the timeframe of 1230–1240, the forest of Brocéliande is established as part of Arthurian legend, having appeared in multiple writings.

Brocéliande continues to appear throughout the Arthurian canon, in works such as Alfred, Lord Tennyson's 19th century poem Idylls of the King and 20th century works including Edwin Arlington Robinson's 1917 poem Merlin and Alan Seeger's 1916 poem Brocéliande. Jean Lorrain wrote the play Brocéliande (1898), in which the love between Myrddhin (Merlin) and Viviane (Nimue/ Elaine) is treated. As in many of the earlier Arthurian works, Brocéliande is the location where Vivien entraps Merlin inside an oak tree.

Brocéliande serves as the location of 's fantasy novel Merlin's Wood.

It is mentioned repeatedly in Andre Norton's Here Abide Monsters using the formula 'Avalon, Tara, Brocéliande, Carnac'.

The name was an inspiration for J.R.R. Tolkien's fictional realm of Beleriand in Middle-earth. The name Broseliand was used in the early sketches of The Silmarillion (1926 to 1930). It is also the setting of Tolkien's poem The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun.

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