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J. R. R. Tolkien was attracted tomedieval literature, andmade use of it in his writings, both inhis poetry, which contained numerous pastiches of medieval verse, and in hisMiddle-earth novels where he embodied a wide range of medieval concepts.
Tolkien's prose adopts medieval ideas for much of its structure and content.The Lord of the Rings isinterlaced in medieval style.The Silmarillion has a medievalcosmology.The Lord of the Rings makes use of manyborrowings fromBeowulf, especially in the culture of theRiders of Rohan, as well as medievalweapons and armour,feudal allegiance,heraldry, languages includingOld English andOld Norse, andmagic.
In thehistory of Europe, theMiddle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to thePost-classical period ofglobal history. It began with thefall of the Western Roman Empire and transitioned into theRenaissance and theAge of Discovery.[2] In theEarly Middle Ages, theEnd of Roman rule in Britain c. 400 was soon followed by theAnglo-Saxon settlement of Britain. By the sixth century,Anglo-Saxon England, "the bit [of Medieval culture] that Tolkien knew best",[1] consisted of many small kingdoms includingNorthumbria,Mercia, andEast Anglia, engaged in ongoing warfare with each other.[3]
J. R. R. Tolkien was a scholar of English literature, aphilologist andmedievalist interested in language and poetry from theMiddle Ages, especially that ofAnglo-Saxon England and Northern Europe. His professional knowledge of works such asBeowulf andSir Gawain and the Green Knight shaped his fictional world ofMiddle-earth. His intention to create what has been called "a mythology for England"[T 1] led him to construct not only stories but a fully formed world withits own languages, peoples, cultures, andhistory, based on medieval languages includingOld English,Old Norse, andOld High German,[4] and detailed knowledge of medieval culture and mythology.[5]
We `heard of the `horns in the `hills `ringing,
the `swords `shining in the `South-`kingdom.
`Steeds went `striding to the `Stoning`land
as `wind in the `morning. `War was `kindled.
There `Théoden `fell, `Thengling `mighty,
to his `golden `halls and `green `pastures
in the `Northern `fields `never `returning,
`high lord of the `host.— from "The Mounds of Mundburg"[T 2]
Tolkien stated that whenever he read a medieval work, he wanted to write a modern one in the same tradition. He constantly created these, whetherpastiches andparodies like "Fastitocalon"; adaptations in medieval metres, like "The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun" or "asterisk texts" like his "The Man in the Moon Stayed Up Too Late" (from "Hey Diddle Diddle"); and finally "new wine in old bottles" such as "The Nameless Land" andAelfwine'sAnnals. The works are extremely varied, but all are "suffused with medieval borrowings", making them, according to the Tolkien scholarJohn D. Rateliff, "most readers' portal into medieval literature". Not all found use in Middle-earth, but they all helped Tolkien develop a medieval-style craft that found expression inhis legendarium.[6] One of the most distinctively medieval poems inThe Lord of the Rings is the Riders of Rohan's Old English-style lament forThéoden, written in what Tolkien called "the strictest form of Anglo-Saxonalliterative verse",[7] complete with balanced half-lines separated by acaesura, each half-line with two stresses, and a varying pattern of alliteration and use of multiple names for the same person.[8]
The cosmology of Middle-earth contains many medieval elements, but these are interwoven both with classical ideas likeAtlantis, and modern cosmology with a round world. Tolkien was trying to reconcile different conceptions of the world, including the medievalGermanic migrations and the culture of Anglo-Saxon England, to create his mythology.[9] The world of Middle-earth is overseen by the godlikeValar, who resemble the medieval NorseÆsir, the gods ofAsgard.[10] They function in some ways likeangels in Christianity, mediating between the creator, named asEru Ilúvatar, and the created world. They havefree will, so that theSatanic ValaMelkor is able to rebel against the will of Eru.[11]
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J. R. R. Tolkien drew on the medievalOld English poemBeowulf for multiple aspects of Middle-earth: for elements such as names, monsters, the importance of luck and courage, and the structure of society ina heroic and pagan age;[13] for aspects of style, such as creating animpression of depth[14] and adopting anelegiac tone;[15][16][17] and for its larger but hidden symbolism.[18]
He derived the names of Middle-earth races includingEnts,Orcs, andElves,[13] and names such asOrthanc andSaruman,[19] rather directly fromBeowulf. The were-bearBeorn inThe Hobbit has been likened tothe hero Beowulf himself; both names mean "bear", and both characters have enormous strength.[12] Scholars have compared some ofTolkien's monsters to those inBeowulf. Both his trolls[20] andGollum[21][22] share attributes withGrendel, whileSmaug's characteristics closely match those oftheBeowulf dragon.[23] Tolkien'sRiders of Rohan are distinctively Old English, and he has made use of multiple elements ofBeowulf in creating them, including their language,[24] culture,[25][26] and poetry.[8]
Tolkien admired the way thatBeowulf, written by a Christian looking back at apagan past, as he himself was, embodied a "large symbolism"[18] without ever becomingallegorical. That symbolism, of life's road and individual heroism, and that avoidance of allegory, Tolkien worked to echo inThe Lord of the Rings.[18]
Tolkien's modelledhis fictional warfare on the tactics and equipment of theAncient andEarly Medieval periods. His depictions of weapons and armour are based in particular on theNorthern European culture ofBeowulf and the Norse sagas.[27] As in his sources, Tolkien'sweapons are often named, sometimes withrunic inscriptions to show they are magical and have their own history and power.[28] In Tolkien's writings, as in the medieval epics, one weapon, the sword, announces a hero; his fate and the fate of his sword are linked closely together.[29][30]
Feudal allegiance was central to some societies in theMiddle Ages. The theme allows Tolkien to structure a complex set of relationships, to illustrate the medieval ideals of selfless courage through loyalty to one's lord, and tocontrast pairs of characters, such asThéoden King of Rohan andDenethor steward of Gondor, according to how they handle these relationships.[31][32][33]
Heraldry is a medieval system, by origin military, for displaying eachknight orlord's identity. Tolkien invented quasi-medievalheraldic devices for many of the characters and nations of Middle-earth. His descriptions were in simple English rather than in specificblazon language. The emblems correspond in nature to their bearers, and their diversity contributes to the richly detailed realism of his writings. Scholars note that Tolkien went through different phases in his use of heraldry; his early account of the Elvish heraldry ofGondolin inThe Book of Lost Tales corresponds broadly to heraldic tradition in the choice of emblems and colours. Later, when he wroteThe Lord of the Rings, he was freer in his approach; and in the complex use of symbols forAragorn's sword and banner, he clearly departs from medieval tradition to suit his storytelling.[34][35][36][37]
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Using his knowledge of medieval languages includingOld English andOld Norse, Tolkiencreated his own languages for Middle-earth.[T 4] An item that the philologist and Tolkien scholarTom Shippey suggests may have been crucial in his creation is the Old English wordSigelwara, found in theCodex Junius to mean "Aethiopian". Tolkien wondered why there should have been a word with this meaning, and after some years of research suggested it could be derived fromSigel, meaning both sun and jewel, and*hearwa, perhaps meaning soot, giving a conjectural original meaning forSigelwara as "soot-black fire-demon". The Tolkien scholarTom Shippey links this to theBalrog fire-demon and theSilmaril sun-jewels.[38]
Middle-earth is pervaded with medieval-style magic, its races such asWizards,Elves, andDwarves each possessing their own inherent powers, which they could embody in magical artefacts such as a wizard's staff, Elvish waybread, andrings of power. Magical beasts derived directly from medieval concepts include dragons with their hoards of gold, birds such as crows and ravens carrying omens, and the ability to shapeshift into the form of an animal, like Beorn and the great fighting bear ofThe Hobbit. Norse mythology is rich in seeresses, dwarves, giants, and other monsters. The medieval world held that plants and other objects had magical powers. Tolkien absorbed all of these ideas and reworked them for his version of Middle-earth.[40][41][42] Thus for example the HobbitMerry returns from Rohan with a magic horn, brought from the North by Eorl the Young, from the dragon-hoard ofScatha the Worm. Blowing it brings joy to his friends in arms, fear to his enemies, and it awakens the Hobbits topurify the Shire of Saruman's ruffians.[39] TheTwo Trees of Valinor derive from the magical medievalTrees of the Sun and the Moon. The two magical trees drip a wonderfulbalsam, and have the power of speech. They tellAlexander the Great that he will die inBabylon. Tolkien has adapted the story; his trees emit light, not balsam; and instead of prophesying death, their own deaths bring the era ofimmortality to an end.[43]
The Lord of the Rings has an unusual and complex medievalnarrative structure,interlacing orentrelacement, in which multiple threads of story are maintained side by side. It was used especially inFrench medieval literature such as the 13th centuryQueste del Saint Graal,[44][45] and in English literature such asBeowulf[T 5] andThe Faerie Queene.[45] Tolkien uses this medieval-style framework to achieve a variety of literary effects, including maintaining suspense, keeping the reader uncertain of what will happen and even of what is happening to other characters at the same time in the story; creating surprise and an ongoing feeling of bewilderment and disorientation. More subtly, the leapfrogging of the timeline by the different story threads allows Tolkien to make hidden connections that can only be grasped retrospectively, as the reader realises on reflection that certain events happened at the same time, and that these connections imply a contest of good and evil powers.[46]
Tolkien describedThe Lord of the Rings not as a novel but as aheroic romance, meaning that it embodied medieval concepts unfamiliar or unfashionable in the 20th century, such as thehero, thequest, and interlacing. A traditional romance, according to the criticNorthrop Frye, has six phases: the hero's strange birth – Frodo's parents both drown; his innocent youth – in the countryside ofthe Shire for Frodo, in Rivendell for Aragorn; the quest – for Frodo to destroy the Ring, for Aragorn to regain his Kingdom; confrontation with evil, as inMinas Tirith andthe Battle of the Pelennor Fields; in the re-establishment of happiness, marriage, and fertility –Aragorn marriesArwen,Faramir marriesÉowyn,Sam marriesRosie; and finally, the contemplative orpenseroso phase, as characters depart or settle down – Frodo takes ship into the West, Sam becomes Mayor and has many children, Aragorn governs Gondor and Arnor as King.[47]
Elena Capra writes that Tolkien made use of themedieval poemSir Orfeo, both forThe Hobbit's Elvish kingdom, and for his story inThe Silmarillion ofBeren and Lúthien. That in turn influenced his "Tale of Aragorn and Arwen". In Capra's view,Sir Orfeo's key ingredient was the political connection "between the recovery of the main character's beloved and the return to royal responsibility."[48]Sir Orfeo is in its turn a reworking of the classical legend ofOrpheus and Eurydice.[48]
Yvette Kisor writes that Tolkien made repeated use of the Old English theme ofexile, seen in poems such asThe Wanderer,Genesis, andBeowulf. She gives as examples Aragorn, rightful King of Gondor and Arnor, living in the wild; Frodo, who exclaims "But this would mean exile, a flight from danger into danger, drawing it after me"; theNúmenóreans, the survivors of the destruction of theirAtlantis-like land, living in Middle-earth; and theNoldor Elves, living across the sea fromValinor.[49] She notes that Tolkien never describes the monster Gollum as an exile, commenting however that he meetsStanley Greenfield's four characteristics of an Old English exile.[49][50] Among the numerous parallels, Kisor notes that "wretch", used repeatedly by Gandalf, Frodo, and Sam to describe Gollum, comes directly from Old Englishwreċċa, meaning "exile"; Old English poetry frequently, she states, useswineléas wreċċa, "friendless exile".[49]
| Characteristics Stanley Greenfield[50] | Gollum The Lord of the Rings |
|---|---|
| The exile's status | Gandalf says "He is very old and very wretched." |
| The exile's state of mind | Gollum says "Poor hungry Sméagol." |
| The exile's journey | Gandalf says "He wandered in loneliness, weeping a little for the hardness of the world." |
| The exile's expression of deprivation | Gollum says "Poor, poor Sméagol, he went away long ago. They took his Precious, and he's lost now." |
