Tolkien never claimed he invented a mythology, he said he inherited one.
What I love about this piece is how clearly it traces the thread, from Beowulf's doomed courage through the Norse twilight, to Gawain's quiet shame, and shows that Middle-earth was not built from nothing. It was built from everything that came before it, the way a cathedral is built from the quarry beneath it.
And the Dunsany section is particularly worth sitting with. That shift from whimsical fairy tale to something ancient and strange. Tolkien saw it, recognised it, and took it further than anyone thought possible.
Thanks to the popularity of The Lord of the Rings, Ballantine books hired Lin Carter to edit a series of adult fantasy books, sometimes publishing books that had been long out of print and introducing new readers to authors such as Dunsany, Morris, MacDonald, Mervyn Peake, and so many others.
I'm glad to see that the Bible makes the list. People forget that Tolkien and Huge Dyson were largely responsible for the conversion of C.S. Lewis from atheist/agnostic to Christian. One of the ways in which Tolkien incorporated Christian themes was with Aragorn's elevation of the hobbits at the end of The Return of the King. It's also one of the areas where the book and movie differ. If anything Jackson transferred the imagery directly into dialogue. The pagan world was far more hierarchal than the Christian world which displaced it, although often the power structures and close to caste-like class division which were inherited persisted for centuries. Sadly the marriage of Church to State under Constantine and Theodosius largely supressed Christianity's early natural radical egalitarianism for close to 1,000 years.
It's interesting that Tolkien rarely seemed to reference Tyndale. One of the few idioms he did use was “Out of the Frying-Pan into the Fire”. It's first recorded use was by Thomas More in 1532 during a debate with Tyndale. Overall, Tolkien aimed to create his own idioms rather than use Tyndale's.
As an interesting piece of trivia, apparently Tolkien didn't like Frank Herbert's Dune. A friend sent him a copy. I imagine he didn't like it because the book treated religion cynically. Like LOTR it's a recurrent favourite of mine. Ironically, Dune holds the key to God's dilemma and the answer to both suffering and evil.
Here's the quote in question: “It is impossible for an author still writing to be fair to another author working along the same lines. At least I find it so. In fact I dislike Dune with some intensity, and in that unfortunate case it is much the best and fairest to another author to keep silent and refuse to comment.”
This is so interesting! Learning that Gawain and the Green Knight inspired Tolkien makes me immediately think of Boromir; he fails the test of the ring just as Gawain failed Bertilak’s test in keeping the green girdle (which he wears like a “ring” around his body). However, both characters see the error of their ways and are redeemed. In a way, maybe Tolkien puts every character in LOTR through Gawain’s trial, the One Ring Tolkien's own version of the medieval green girdle. From sage Gandalf to humble Samwise, all must face the question: Will I hide behind this totem to accomplish my personal goals, or do I have ideals that I place above even my own life?
Certainly not a 1:1 analogy, but I’d never thought of it that way before!
Would you consider a way for non-subscribers to donate a chosen amount to you from time to time? I appreciate your work and want to support it, but cannot afford a subscription. Thanks for your consideration.
The Worm Ouroboros by E.R. Eddison is the most obvious influence I've ever read. Structurally very similar to LorR, has striking coincidences like having two parallel narratives of war/quest, or featuring an evil magician dark lord that doesn't directly intervene and has been defeated before...
Other works like the ones of William Morris and Lord Dunsany are way more different and their influence is limited to motifs at much.
Tolkien hired a nanny from Iceland who would tell young Christopher the Icelandic saga stories before bed…truly envision Poppa JRR listening at the door and making notes in his study…
Thank you for the article. I always enjoy learning more about Tolkien and about older books, so this is up my alley. I want to get the King of Elfland's Daughter now! I find fantasy a really fun and inspiring genre that has sadly become oversaturated and, in many cases, debauched in recent times. The barnes and noble selection horrifies me at times, haha!
I love this article. It reveals so much about Tolkien’s process and dare I say, what should be ours. His was an informed practice which many writers and screenwriters lack. We all need to learn from the genres we are writing and allow them to inform our own stories.
We can all identify with a decaying world and we can either it seems respond with despair or heroism.
Tolkien never claimed he invented a mythology, he said he inherited one.
What I love about this piece is how clearly it traces the thread, from Beowulf's doomed courage through the Norse twilight, to Gawain's quiet shame, and shows that Middle-earth was not built from nothing. It was built from everything that came before it, the way a cathedral is built from the quarry beneath it.
And the Dunsany section is particularly worth sitting with. That shift from whimsical fairy tale to something ancient and strange. Tolkien saw it, recognised it, and took it further than anyone thought possible.
It’s a pity most people just clone/copy his Elves and cheapen them now.
Thank goodness for these kinds of stories — giving use new tools to tell stories!
I believe George MacDonald deserves a shout out! And Lewis of course…
As well as William Morris.
Thanks to the popularity of The Lord of the Rings, Ballantine books hired Lin Carter to edit a series of adult fantasy books, sometimes publishing books that had been long out of print and introducing new readers to authors such as Dunsany, Morris, MacDonald, Mervyn Peake, and so many others.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballantine_Adult_Fantasy_series
Thanks. This is extremely helpful.
Shocked that the Mabinogion wasn’t mentioned!
Indeed! Those Welsh tales. Taliesin. Geoffrey of Monmouth.
I'm glad to see that the Bible makes the list. People forget that Tolkien and Huge Dyson were largely responsible for the conversion of C.S. Lewis from atheist/agnostic to Christian. One of the ways in which Tolkien incorporated Christian themes was with Aragorn's elevation of the hobbits at the end of The Return of the King. It's also one of the areas where the book and movie differ. If anything Jackson transferred the imagery directly into dialogue. The pagan world was far more hierarchal than the Christian world which displaced it, although often the power structures and close to caste-like class division which were inherited persisted for centuries. Sadly the marriage of Church to State under Constantine and Theodosius largely supressed Christianity's early natural radical egalitarianism for close to 1,000 years.
It's interesting that Tolkien rarely seemed to reference Tyndale. One of the few idioms he did use was “Out of the Frying-Pan into the Fire”. It's first recorded use was by Thomas More in 1532 during a debate with Tyndale. Overall, Tolkien aimed to create his own idioms rather than use Tyndale's.
As an interesting piece of trivia, apparently Tolkien didn't like Frank Herbert's Dune. A friend sent him a copy. I imagine he didn't like it because the book treated religion cynically. Like LOTR it's a recurrent favourite of mine. Ironically, Dune holds the key to God's dilemma and the answer to both suffering and evil.
Here's the quote in question: “It is impossible for an author still writing to be fair to another author working along the same lines. At least I find it so. In fact I dislike Dune with some intensity, and in that unfortunate case it is much the best and fairest to another author to keep silent and refuse to comment.”
The Marvellous Land of Snergs is a more contemporary and lesser known influence. Fun book too
I’m amazed at how Tolkien balanced such esoteric scholarship with a vivid, rhetorical imagination, all at the same time.
This is so interesting! Learning that Gawain and the Green Knight inspired Tolkien makes me immediately think of Boromir; he fails the test of the ring just as Gawain failed Bertilak’s test in keeping the green girdle (which he wears like a “ring” around his body). However, both characters see the error of their ways and are redeemed. In a way, maybe Tolkien puts every character in LOTR through Gawain’s trial, the One Ring Tolkien's own version of the medieval green girdle. From sage Gandalf to humble Samwise, all must face the question: Will I hide behind this totem to accomplish my personal goals, or do I have ideals that I place above even my own life?
Certainly not a 1:1 analogy, but I’d never thought of it that way before!
He’s such a cool person. The way he thought… still amazes me.
The Bible..It was an easy guess!
Would you consider a way for non-subscribers to donate a chosen amount to you from time to time? I appreciate your work and want to support it, but cannot afford a subscription. Thanks for your consideration.
The Worm Ouroboros by E.R. Eddison is the most obvious influence I've ever read. Structurally very similar to LorR, has striking coincidences like having two parallel narratives of war/quest, or featuring an evil magician dark lord that doesn't directly intervene and has been defeated before...
Other works like the ones of William Morris and Lord Dunsany are way more different and their influence is limited to motifs at much.
Tolkien hired a nanny from Iceland who would tell young Christopher the Icelandic saga stories before bed…truly envision Poppa JRR listening at the door and making notes in his study…
Thank you for the article. I always enjoy learning more about Tolkien and about older books, so this is up my alley. I want to get the King of Elfland's Daughter now! I find fantasy a really fun and inspiring genre that has sadly become oversaturated and, in many cases, debauched in recent times. The barnes and noble selection horrifies me at times, haha!
I love this article. It reveals so much about Tolkien’s process and dare I say, what should be ours. His was an informed practice which many writers and screenwriters lack. We all need to learn from the genres we are writing and allow them to inform our own stories.
We can all identify with a decaying world and we can either it seems respond with despair or heroism.
Thank you!