Tolkien norse mythology book

In this essay the award winning intellectual historian, simon j. Elves also appear in the norse sagas, but they are altogether different. The mythology of tolkien was influenced by both norse mythology and christianity. They are also an inspiration for neil gaimans own awardbedecked. Apr 25, 2015 martin wettstein, author of the article norse elements in the work of j. Most of it is found in the poetic and the prose edda. A book written by neil gaiman about norse mythology was a book i was going to read. Lewis believed these stories he admittedly loved to be lies, he told tolkien, albeit beautiful lieslies and therefore worthless, he said, even though breathed through silver.

In this article, i will focus on a close reading of a single bit of dialogue in the lord of the rings to show how powerfully the prechristian philosophy resonates in tolkien s fantasy. Tolkien borrowed many concepts and storylines for his own legendarium, like the shieldmaiden and the names of the dwarves from the voluspa. This essay gives a short and incomplete overview on the most obvious elements. How the hobbit created problems of sentience for tolkien gregory hartley. The 10 best norse mythology books norse mythology for smart. In the norse mythology that so influenced tolkiens writings, the final battle that ends the world is called ragnarok, the doom of the gods or twilight of the gods.

May 06, 2019 one of the greatest inspirations tolkien had when writing was norse mythology. Norse mythology refers to the collection of the sagas of scandinavia. First there was the recordbreaking ticket sales for the exhibit, tolkien. They may also provide a brief and striking introduction to the world created by tolkien in the hobbit, the three books. Norse mythology by neil gaiman goodreads share book. Tolkien contain multiple characters, places and plots that remind the reader of old norse poetry. It is the bestknown version of the older common germanic mythology.

The no 1 sunday times and new york times bestseller bestselling and much loved author neil gaiman, whose novel american gods has been adapted into a major television series, brings vividly to life the stories of norse mythology that have inspired his own extraordinary writing in this number one sunday times bestseller the great norse myths are woven into the fabric of our storytelling from. While this book is in general unconnected with tolkien s own middleearth, it does shed some interesting light on it here and there. Tolkien, author of the hobbit recently adapted into several blockbuster movies, received much inspiration from ancient mythological texts. According to the norse mythology midgard is one of three.

The 10 best norse mythology books norse mythology for. Tolkien, making up the history of his world arda, and the entire extensive background to the lord of the rings. A day of wolves and shattered shields is a filmonly line, to the best of my knowledge, although it may well be based on or pulled together from tolkien s own words gandalfs name, and most dwarfnames, are from old norse sources. One country which played a major role in tolkiens early development as an author was finland, especially its national epic, the kalevala. An onomastic foray damien bador 97 civilized goblins and talking animals. Tolkien and the norse connection the norwegian american. Lewis was a professor of medieval and renaissance literature there and he invited the two fellow professors over to the college. This year, laura invited me to give the wheaton college tolkien society annual scholars corner lecture. It is a wellknown fact that tolkien had interest in the mythology and linguistics of northern europe, specifically the pagan mythologies of the norse and english peoples. It focuses not only on tolkiens fantasy works, but on the rich and intertwining interests that formed the background to his writing including old english literature, old norse literature, religious studies, poetry, fairy tale, folklore, myth and theology. You can tell a story with your style and inflections, but it is more than likely a tale that has already been told. Historical research norse mythology and tolkien mythic.

I love how deeply his fictional works integrated the material that he knew so well as a scholar and educator. Tolkien found inspiration in many cultures and mythologies from all across the world prior to finishing writing the highly. In the norse mythology that so influenced tolkien s writings, the final battle that ends the world is called ragnarok, the doom of the gods or twilight of the gods. Norse or scandinavian mythology comprises the prechristian religion, beliefs and legends of the scandinavian people, including those who settled on iceland, where the written sources for norse mythology were assembled. Dimond observes the similar fates of tolkien s elves and the norse gods. Heavily influenced by norse mythology, tolkien had been a reader of the icelandic sagas since childhood.

Dimond observes the similar fates of tolkiens elves and the norse gods. Watching fans of the lord of the rings movies from 20 years ago insist that peter jacksons changes to tolkien s story are. But tolkien brought some strong differences even if magic is always present. Professor lindows norse mythology mostly consists of an alphabetical encyclopedia of some of the most important personages, cosmological locations, and other such key terms in norse mythology. Tolkien gave the world his childhood fascination with. The norse god hoenir is very confused from what i can tell, but my question is about his mention in the book the legend of sigurd and gudrun by j. Tolkiens fantasy books on middleearth drew on a wide of influences including. The hobbit as old norse fairystory jane chance 78 from the silmarillion to the hobbit and back again.

The elves and dwarves, among other creatures featured less heavily in tolkiens works, were originally by name mythological creatures of old norse sagas. May 07, 2009 tolkien was a professor of literature and philology at oxford, of course, and theres been much interpretive work done on the etymological sources of names and places in the lord of the rings. What do tolkiens writings have to do with scandinavia. As a young boy, tolkien fell in love with scandinavia and its ancient stories. Jul 17, 2015 this year, laura invited me to give the wheaton college tolkien society annual scholars corner lecture. Cook, explores tolkien s lifelong project of reconstructing the ancient traditions of the north myths and legends once at the heart of english culture but forgotten after the anglosaxon settlement of the. A guide to the gods, heroes, rituals, and beliefs by john lindow. Then you are going to want to hear about norse mythology and icelandic folktales. The two videos are invaluable to anyone whos explored the world created by tolkien, intimately touched as it is by medieval european legend and norse mythology.

Tolkien, compares the numerous similarities between the hobbit and the lord of the rings to that of nordic mythology. Tolkien s immediate paternal ancestors were middleclass craftsmen who made and sold clocks, watches and pianos in london and birmingham. Norse mythology and icelandic folktales inspired tolkien. The tolkien family originated in the east prussian town kreuzburg near konigsberg, which was founded during medieval german eastward expansion, where his earliestknown paternal ancestor michel tolkien was born around 1620. This great conflagration not only destroys the norse gods of the higher realm of asgard, such as odin and thor, but also ends up. The four middle chapters of this book deal squarely with the influences of norse myth on tolkien, all written by way smarter folks than i. How norse mythology influenced tolkien middleearth.

Tolkien had a particular love for the northern myths, myths associated with the cultures of northern europe. The author has included information on all of the major characters and locations in tolkiens world. While guy gavriel kays fionvar trilogy was an obvious homage to tolkien, his other works diverge sharply and most owe more to realworld history clothed in a fantastic venue. Apr 01, 2012 lewis was intimately familiar with the classical mythology of greece and rome, and was even more enamored of the norse myths of scandinavia and iceland. Out of these influences he created a unique world in which he attempted and hoped to show a portion of the universal truth. Books how icelandic norse mythology influenced tolkien. This is fairly consistent with what ive read about him as a companion of odin. Tolkien s son, christopher, has provided fascinating introductory information and explanatory notes that really make the reader feel like a serious student of norse mythology and old norse poetry. Nov 16, 2017 tolkien is always good to talk about, so if you can comment about norse mythology influence on the hobbit and lord of the rings, that would be great. Lewis was intimately familiar with the classical mythology of greece and rome, and was even more enamored of the norse myths of scandinavia and iceland. Tolkien archives at wheaton college, part one norse mythology.

What tolkien has done is to recreate a unified norse mythology and given us. Dec 14, 2019 in old norse mythology, wargs vargr, a synonym for wolf, ulfr are in particular the wolf fenrir and his sons skoll and hati. Aspects of the landscape, the language, folk tales, and norse mythology were influential in shaping the legendary fantasy world of middle earth. Everyone discovers parts of his own imagination and belief in his books. The viking spirit is an introduction to norse mythology like no other. Considers the influence of norse mythology on the hobbit in particular, both in story elements and in northern courage.

Apr 08, 2020 norse mythology and icelandic folktales inspired tolkien have you read or seen the lord of the rings or the hobbit. Tolkien s reading of childrens fairy tales provided his first major influence of norse mythology. I teach a semesterlong course teasing out the many elements of norse myth that permeate the hobbit alone. Norse elements in the works of jrr tolkien youtube. On the other hand, if you dont care or dont know much about tolkien s own invented mythology, this book will still fascinate you if you have an interest in old english or medieval icelandic literature. The elves and dwarves, among other creatures featured less heavily in tolkien s works, were originally by name mythological creatures of old norse sagas. Tolkiens heathen feminist, part one norse mythology. In the hobbit, tolkien s dwarves communicate using mystical runes. Second of all, everything has already been written. Before norse mythology, i read the beautifully illustrated daulaires book of norse myths 1967 for children. The poetic edda, the most important existing source on norse mythology and germanic heroic legends, is part of the literature that influenced tolkiens inner. It is the bestknown version of the older common germanic mythology, which also includes the closely related anglosaxon mythology. Her main topic is how tolkien combines norse and celtic mythology in his fiction to make a mythology for england, but burns also show how tolkien maintains a balance between several other beliefs or viewpoints. What do tolkien s writings have to do with scandinavia.

Mar 20, 2020 the tolkien project is for those with an interest in the work of j. He was inspired primarily by his profession, philology. His mother provided him with numerous books, and tolkien willingly devoured them. Very readable as a general interest work as well as from an academic standpoint. One of the greatest inspirations tolkien had when writing was norse mythology. The famed author of the lord of the rings trilogy and other subsequent novels about the same fantasy world, j. Tolkien s deep love for the literary heritage of northern europe can be felt throughout his works. A pathbreaking account of tolkien s middleearth as the lost world of ancient english mythology. Tolkien was a professor of literature and philology at oxford, of course, and theres been much interpretive work done on the etymological sources of names and places in the lord of the rings. The daulaires book of norse myths by ingri and edgar parin daulaire. As a scholar of european languages and cultures, tolkien took his inspiration from many different sources, including norse mythology, arthurian legends, and wagner operas. This material occupies at least as many pages as the poems themselves.

Many scholars agree that tolkien with his books, especially with the silmarillion, wished to create a mythology for england, in order to accomplish what. First of all, tolkien was a norse scholar and the similarities between his works and norse mythology are many indeed. As youd expect from daniel mccoy, the creator of the enduringly popular website norse mythology for smart people, its written to scholarly standards, but in a simple, clear, and entertaining style thats easy to understand and a pleasure to read. Tolkien, lewis, and christian mythology the imaginative. Tolkien confessed that it inspired him for the hobbit.

Tolkien studied the old norse literature and mythology. He translates midgard one of the three realms of the norse world, into english as middleearth, his prime setting. The norse myths will take you to a world of legend with thor, odin, loki, gods, goddesses, monsters, giants, and dwarves doing what they can to help or hurt each other. I found that the humor, violence, imagination, pathos, and plots are essentially the same in both, but that gaiman gives more emotional, psychological, and physical detail. After eating, the three men strolled along the banks of the river cherwell, and the talk turned to mythology. What tolkien has done is to recreate a unified norse mythology and given us new lays, written in english, but following the classic 8 line stanzaic style of the elder eddas, the old norse poetry form. Wettstein compares many aspects the works of tolkien to that of nordic mythology. How norse mythology influenced tolkien middleearth origins. Like much in life, tolkiens use of norse materials has positive and negative elements. Here are a few samples, the first of which are excerpted from andy dimonds essay, the twilight of the elves, where mr. Even tolkien s use of language can be traced to the vikings. Tolkien mythology and the legendarium are terms for the system of connected, fantastical stories imagined and written of by j.

His middle earth mythology began to take shape as early as 1914, and continued, according to his son and editor christopher tolkien, throughout my fathers long life. Tolkien gave the world his childhood fascination with dragons in the hobbit the dragon smaugwho debuted in the hobbit 80 years ago today, was inspired by his early reading of mythology. I think i will get the ball rolling by adding that these apparent contradictions in tolkien s mythology or theology, as it were are because of his constant retrofitting or rewriting of older material which included not just his own imagination, but from a myriad of sources from old english literature and norse mythology, and with this. Laura was a fantastic host, the capacity audience was greatly attentive, and. The no 1 sunday times and new york times bestseller bestselling and much loved author neil gaiman, whose novel american gods has been adapted into a major television series, brings vividly to life the stories of norse mythology that have inspired his own extraordinary writing in this number one sunday times bestsellerthe great norse myths are woven into the fabric of our. Feb 12, 2017 norse mythology by neil gaiman is published by bloomsbury. Tolkien mentioned in a letter that the episode of wargs in the hobbit was in part derived from a scene in s. Two days before its closing, the film tolkien hit the theaters. Aug 25, 2019 norse mythology refers to the collection of the sagas of scandinavia.

It shall simply give an idea about how much this mythology served tolkien as a. While this book is in general unconnected with tolkiens own middleearth, it does shed some interesting light on it here and there. Tolkiens fantasy books on middleearth drew on a wide of influences including language, christianity, mythology, ancient and modern literature, and personal experience. One country which played a major role in tolkien s early development as an author was finland, especially its national epic, the kalevala. Martin wettstein, author of the article norse elements in the work of j. To end with the influence of the norse mythology we can notice that many creatures who live on arda are not totally new. Gaiman might as well have mentioned me in the dedication page and of course lyn must read this. Pdf norse mythology download full pdf book download. Tolkien mythology the one wiki to rule them all fandom. Tolkiens french connection verlyn flieger 70 tolkiens hybrid mythology. This legendarium was developed in evolving, complex stages over almost six decades of tolkien s life. The book looks nice and historic, with the leather binding. The 10 best norse mythology books norse mythology book.

The norse myths will take you to a world of legend with thor, odin, loki, gods, goddesses, monsters, giants, and dwarves. Wade center and gave a multimedia presentation on riddles, runes and icelandic dwarves. Tolkien and hugo dyson on the grounds of magdallen college, a part of oxford. In fact, because im such a tolkien nerd even my username is a tolkien reference i became more interested in mythology partly because of tolkien, and now i spend time researching legends and folklore, because theyre really interestiong in their own right too. Norse mythology the one wiki to rule them all fandom. It focuses not only on tolkien s fantasy works, but on the rich and intertwining interests that formed the background to his writing including old english literature, old norse literature, religious studies, poetry, fairy tale, folklore, myth and theology. Watching fans of the lord of the rings movies from 20 years. Norse mythological elements in the hobbit swosu digital. Unlike tolkien s writings of the far past, volsky pays more homage to the events of political revolutions in 18th century europe than ancient quests of norse legend.

An overview of the northern influences on tolkiens works. Focusing on the norse elements present in jrr tolkien s work, including similarities between the elves, dwarves, and the ring video project for medi 200 university of. Norse mythology has influenced many fantasy novels including the lord of the rings by j. I recently got very very interested in more like obsessed with the topic of tolkien and mythology, particularly norse mythology. Asserts that in the hobbit, tolkien bases each of the major elements of the quest on an identifiably northern mythological source.

You can read about him in both snorres heimskringla and flateyarbook. Pdf the norse myth in the world of tolkien daniele. On the other hand, if you dont care or dont know much about tolkiens own invented mythology, this book will still fascinate you if you have an interest in old english or medieval icelandic literature. The legend of sigurd and gudrun and millions of other books are available for.