Posted: April 15, 1998 at 12:07:25: by Neithan
: : I was reading through the newsgroups on Tolkien lately and saw
: : that when people mentioned what influenced Tolkien's writings
: : it is always Norse mythology. If I can recall Beowulf and The
: : Elder Edda were major influences and was wondering if anyone
: : knew where I could find some information about this connection.
: : All help will be greatly appreciated, thank you.: The information is scattered through a number of sources. Books that you may find readily available include: : THE ANNOTATED HOBBIT
: THE LETTERS OF J.R.R. TOLKIEN
: THE HISTORY OF MIDDLE-EARTH (twelve volumes) : Tolkien also drew on the Kalevala and I've seen some people mention Irish and Welsh legend/mythology. : He also drew on classical history (ancient Egypt, Rome, etc.) and I think last year someone made a good case for one medieval story but I don't recall which one it was. : "Beowulf" was not really a major influence on Tolkien. It was a major influence on some aspects of his creation. : Michael Sorry but I am very much European and VERY much Danish, I think that, if you are really interested, you should study all the European Myths, legends, and history, it all blends in, as did it for Tolkien, being a professor at an old English university gave him acces to the entire range of it, and he used it all. I recognise much Anglo-Saxon pre Britain invasion and just after it-influence as well as some Celtic and Old Norse. I seem to remember that I have a book back home entitled "Tolkien's Ring", where the author builds a case for a connection with the same Germanic legends from which "Niebelungens Ring" grew. I remember that I found it not-too-bad, but still dubious. However, as a good postmodernist historian I recommend that you do the comparison yourself to build your own view on things- which will ultimately be the best one for you. This is getting rather long and convoluted so; byeeee
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