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However, Geoffrey of Monmouth in his tales has Ambrosius Aurelianus as the uncle of King Arthur, who died before his birth and is a friend of Merlin. It is possible the character of Ambrosius Aurelianus, preserved in folktales and poems, may have been one of the models for the court magician of Camelot. It appears that Monmouth in his Vita Merlini based some stories on the adventures of Ambrosius Aurelianus.
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==== Myrddin Wyllt====
Many believe that the original model of Merlin was a Northern British bard, prophet, hermit, and madman. Myrddin Wyllt was a bard and he served a powerful local king in what is now Southern Scotland. The lord is at war against other local kings. In a terrible battle in about 576 AD, Myrddin witnessed the death of his king and the destruction of his army. This war was to prove a disaster, for all the parties because it weakened the Britons so much that they easily succumbed to the invading Angles, Saxons, and Jutes. Myrddin went mad after the death of his king and the destruction of his kingdom. He fled to the vast Caledonian forest and he lived with the animals. He did not wear any clothes and still grieved over the death of his king until his death.
At some point, he acquired the gift of prophecy and many came to consult him about the future. There are many prophecies attributed to him and these include a revival of Celtic power in the British Isles. In some sources, he is known as Lailoken and he is shown as living near a village in the Lowlands of Scotland. There was once a grave of Myrdin to be seen near the village of Pebbles in the Scottish Borders <ref>Ford, Patrick K. "The Death of Merlin in the Chronicle of Elis Gruffydd." Viator 7 (1976): 379-390 </ref>. There are many who believe that Geoffrey of Monmouth based Merlin on Myrddin Wyllt.
There are some similarities between the two figures. For example, the name Myrddin is somewhat similar to Merlin. It has been speculated that Monmouth changed Myrddin’s name so that it was more acceptable to an English-speaking audience <ref>Jankulak, p. 113</ref>. Then Myrddin was a prophet and Merlin is primarily a prophet in Monmouth’s work. It is only in a later version of the Arthurian legend that Merlin became a powerful sorcerer. It seems that Geoffrey may have based the great magician on the mad prophet, who roamed the Scottish forests.
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