The Old Oak - Carmarthen, Wales.
N 51° 51.649 W 004° 17.942
30U E 410546 N 5746355
Merlin's Oak is a famous oak tree, with a prophecy of doom for the Town of Carmarthen. The tree once stood on the corner of Oak Lane and Priory Street in Carmarthen, South Wales.
Waymark Code: WMVHQB
Location: United Kingdom
Date Posted: 04/22/2017
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MERLIN’S Oak stood in the centre of a Welsh town amid the legend that King Arthur’s famous wizard had placed a protective curse on it – until it was poisoned, then its stump removed 30 years ago.
Merlin’s Oak is back in Carmarthen, the town which he said would fall “when Merlin’s Tree shall tumble down”.
Merlin's prophecy
"In local tradition, Carmarthen is said to be the birthplace of the mythical magician Merlin, claiming that the origin of the name Carmarthen, or Caerfyrddin comes from Myrddin, the Welsh name for Merlin. Merlin is said to have made a prophecy regarding the old oak tree:
When Merlin's Oak shall tumble down,
Then shall fall Carmarthen Town.
Other versions of the prophecy state that when the tree falls, the town will drown or flood.
History[edit]
Merlin's Oak was probably planted by a schoolmaster in 1659 or 1660, to celebrate the return of King Charles II of England to the throne.
In the early 19th century, a local man appears to have poisoned the tree, with the intention to stop people from meeting under it, and the oak is believed to have died in 1856.
In 1951, a branch was broken off the tree. This fragment can still be seen in Carmarthenshire County Museum.
In 1978, the last fragment of the tree was removed from its original place, and is now in Saint Peter's Civic Hall in Nott Square, Carmarthen." Text Source:
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