Glamour

“She can enchant the eye that beholds her. We never knew it was her.”
— Gaius to Uther about Nimueh^[src]

Glamours are enchantments that alter the appearance of a person or object. Most of the effects produced by these spells are mere illusions, but some enchantments such as ageing spells are known to alter the caster physically.

While under the effects of these spells, a person's true appearance can often be seen in reflective surfaces such as mirrors.

History

Merlin Mary Collins — Mary Collins' true form is reflected in the mirror.

In order to take her revenge on Uther Pendragon, Mary Collins used a glamour to sneak into Camelot disguised as Lady Helen. She cast this spell by focusing her magic on an amber necklace and was able to maintain the illusion until her death three days later (The Dragon's Call).

When Nimueh posed as a maid in Bayard's employ, she likely used a glamour to ensure that no one in Camelot would recognize her (The Poisoned Chalice).

Anhora conjured a powerful illusion to test Arthur after he unleashed a curse on Camelot. The illusion took the form of Evan, a man who Arthur met in the castle stores and later in the woods outside Camelot. It is unknown whether Anhora disguised himself as Evan or merely projected his image, but Evan spoke similarly to Anhora at times and vanished in the same manner as him when he teleported (The Labyrinth of Gedref).

A troll used a glamour potion to take the form of the Lady Catrina. The enchantment was powerful enough to change her physical form completely and to prevent her reflection from revealing her true form. However, she had to take the potion at least once a day or she would revert to her troll form (Beauty and the Beast).

While possessing Gaius, a Goblin used its magic to cast a glamour on Arthur that partially transformed him into a donkey. He gained a donkey's ears and brayed when he spoke (Goblin's Gold).

Cylferth enchanted a pair of blood crystals for Dagr and Ebor, who used them to disguise themselves as Oswald and Ethan so that they could kill Arthur during Camelot's annual Mêlée. After Dagr and Ebor were killed during the battle, Gaius removed the crystals from around their necks and revealed their true identities (Gwaine).

Morgause disguised herself as an old woman so she could visit Morgana in Camelot. Though it is possible that she did so with an ageing spell, the fact that Gwen was able to see her true form reflected in a mirror suggests that she likely used a glamour enchantment (The Eye of the Phoenix).

431-Evangeline — Morgana transforms Gwen into a deer.

Morgana cast a glamour on Gwen that transformed her into a deer. The spell she used was strong enough to transform Gwen physically, as the tracks she left while fleeing from Arthur's hunting party were those of a real deer's, but Merlin was still able to see Gwen's true form reflected in a pool of water (The Hunter's Heart).

Merlin likely used a combination of glamour and ageing spells to pose as the Dolma, an elderly sorceress he'd told Arthur lived near the Cauldron of Arianrhod (With All My Heart).

Known Spells

Used by Mary Collins to disguise herself as Lady Helen (The Dragon's Call):
- "Ghefrolinz grimpoxin kouata."

Used by Cylferth to enchant Dagr and Ebor's Blood Crystals (Gwaine):
- "Þece treowee andwlitan heora fram gesiht eallra!"

Used by Morgana to transform Gwen into a deer (The Hunter's Heart):
- "Nu bebiede ic þe þæt þu lætest þine flæsc sclice gelic nysse. Wyrþ deor!"