 | |
| Editor | Carl F. Hostetter |
|---|---|
| Author | J. R. R. Tolkien |
| Language | English |
| Genre | High fantasy |
| Publisher | HarperCollins,Mariner Books |
Publication date | 2021 |
| Publication place | United Kingdom |
| Media type | Print (hardback and paperback) |
| Pages | 464 |
| ISBN | 978-0358454601 |
| Followed by | The Fall of Númenor |
The Nature of Middle-earth is a 2021 book of previously unpublished materials onTolkien's legendarium, compiled and edited by the scholarCarl F. Hostetter. Some essays were previously published in the Elvish linguistics journalVinyar Tengwar, where Hostetter was a long-time editor.[1]
The book was published byHarperCollins andMariner Books in 2021. It contains a selection of essays and fragments of stories byJ. R. R. Tolkien, edited by the scholarCarl F. Hostetter, on questions related to the functioning of his fantasy world,Middle-earth.[2]
The book's editor, Carl F. Hostetter, said in an interview before the book appeared that he "started work on what would becomeThe Nature of Middle-earth nearly 25 years ago, when I received a bundle of photocopies thatChristopher Tolkien referred to as 'late philological essays'."[3]
The book is in three parts, with appendices. It provides many of the elements that Tolkien described in a letter: "while many [readers] demandmaps, others wish for geological indications rather than places; many wantElvish grammars, phonologies, and specimens; some want metrics and prosodies... Musicians want tunes, and musical notation; archaeologists want ceramics and metallurgy. Botanists want a more accurate description of themallorn, ofelanor,niphredil,alfirin,mallos, andsymbelmynë; and historians want more details about the social and political structure ofGondor; general enquirers want information on theWainriders, theHarad,Dwarvish origins, the Dead Men, theBeornings, and the missing twowizards (out of five)".[4][5]
Part One consists of 23 chapters on "Time and Ageing", including the Valian Year, questions of time-scales, andwhether elvish time is different. Kane comments that the texts are "confusing" and sometimes "painfully detailed", illustrating Tolkien's remark that he found the "vast game ... only too fatally attractive".[5]
Part Two contains 17 chapters on "Body, Mind, and Spirit", including issues of beauty, goodness, gender, and sex; which beings may have beards; fate and free will;whether elves reincarnate; what theValar know and what visible forms they and the Maiar may take; and death. The material varies from "the most mundane to the most profound", examples of the latter being the way that the Valar could communicate thought, or that the Elves could create "mind-pictures" in the minds of Men, creating in Tolkien's words "Fantasy with a realism and immediacy beyond the compass of any human mechanism".[5]
Part Three consists of 22 chapters on "The World, its Lands, and its Inhabitants", including such topics as darkness and light, howLembas waybread is made, the eating of mushrooms, andGaladriel andCeleborn. The appendices cover metaphysical and theological themes, and a glossary of terms inQuenya. In "The Primal Impulse" and "The Powers of the Valar", Tolkien discusses the nature of creation in the world, and how every creative ability ultimately comes fromEru.[5]
Shaun Gunner ofThe Tolkien Society called the book "an unofficial 13th volume ofThe History of Middle-earth series".[6]
Douglas C. Kane, in theJournal of Tolkien Research, wrote, with reference to Tolkien's phrases inOn Fairy-Stories[7] on how to make a "Secondary World", that the book certainly "helps to demonstrate just how much 'labour and thought', 'special skill', and 'a kind of elvish craft' ... Tolkien applied to the creation of his Secondary World, as well as the pitfalls that resulted."[5] All the same, in Kane's view, some of the material is "unnecessarilyredundant, confusing, and contradictory."[5] Kane states that Hostetter "appears to overstep his role as editor" by presenting the materials according to his personal point of view. In particular, having quoted Tolkien's remark thatThe Lord of the Rings was fundamentally religious and Catholic (twice, at the start of Part 2 and in the first appendix), Hostetter argues that the description applies to thewhole of the legendarium. Kane calls this contrary toChristopher Tolkien's editorial practice, and "a blatant statement of intent".[5] He quotesVerlyn Flieger's remark that Tolkien's work reflects the two sides of his nature; the work can be seen both "as Catholic [and]not Christian".[5]
The historianBradley J. Birzer wrote in theNational Review that this "new volume confirms that Tolkien was the 20th century's greatest mythmaker, and that his mythology will—if there is justice in the world—rank someday with that ofHomer,Virgil, andDante. Just as Homer gave us profound insights into the Greek world, Virgil into the Roman world, and Dante into the medieval world, Tolkien gave us great insights into the modern world. Everything Tolkien wrote matters."[8]
Helios De Rosario Martínez notes inTengwestië that the volume is rich in detail about thelanguages of Middle-earth, some of it already published in the linguistic journalsParma Eldalamberon andVinyar Tengwar, some of it new.[9]
