Posted: February 04, 2000 at 14:47:31: by Forkbeard
: : In a very basic sense The Lord of the Rings is firmly based in
: : the world of Mediaeval thought. The novel is essentially a
: : Mediaeval invention. The Classical World came up with most
: : forms of literature, epic, comedy, satire, history etc etc but
: : as far as a longish fictional story in prose (a novel) is
: : concerned, we have to look for its genesis in Mediaeval
: : Byzantium and the "Romances" of byzantine writers. A later
: : flowering occurred in the west, probably under indirect
: : byzantine influence, in such writing as the Catalan Tirant lo
: : Blanc etc. So, at least in its form, LOTR owes all to
: : Mediaevality.: Yes, I would agree THE LORD OF THE RINGS owes a great deal to medievality. I'll just never agree that things which can be found outside of medieval culture are in any way innately medieval. :) Which means what, exactly? I keep reading you saying that there is no medievalism in Tolkien, and here you say there is a great deal. And precisely what things do you refer to in Tolkien which can be found outside of medieval culture but which aren't medieval? I think a more useful line of inquiry if you wish to disprove medieval influence is to ask what other sources is Tolkien LIKELY to have used/been influenced by other than the medieval ones with which he was so familiar?
|
