That article whihc was quoted in full was rubbish. Everything about it.
Right, now onto my points:
Tolkien was making a mythology for England. (Which happens to be an island surrounded by Sea, but I don't tink that's a basis for saying Great Sea originated form England's geography).
Now, the lands of Beleriand are
under the sea. They were the Western most, because that meant there was the Great Sea between them and Valinor, so they couldn't just run home to the Valar in danger.
And so...oh for god's sake, I don't ahve time to waste AGAIN coutnering people like that Shapiro who think Dwarves = Scots...
http://forum.barrowdowns.com/cgi-bin...c&f=1&t=002648
expalins well many points of why that shapiro man's an idiot.
I'm going out.
And for those who want to say Rhun = Asia, so Tolkien hated Asians, etc, remember that Valinor was the wwestern continent...and Tokien didn't go round worshipping Americans as gods or guardians of the planet.