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#1 |
Guard of the Citadel
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Oxon
Posts: 2,205
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True, true, and he was no Germanophile either.
But yeah, the Finns are the best example, especially since the Professor knew their mythology so extensively. And if you think about it, it makes sense for all these people who descended from hunter-gatherers living in forests to worship bears. After all, if you live in the forest, what is probably the most dangerous thing to come across as a human... a bear! So, as a not so intelligent prehistoric man you make up stories and legends to explain yourself the power of the bear and you pass them on to your children and so on. Bears ftw! ![]()
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“The invisible and the non-existent look very much alike.”
Delos B. McKown |
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#2 | |
Ghost Prince of Cardolan
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![]() More seriously, why did Tolkien (in The Hobbit) portray crows as bad but ravens as good and noble? Is there some northern mythological reason?
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The poster formerly known as Tuor of Gondolin. Walking To Rivendell and beyond 12,555 miles passed Nt./Day 5: Pass the beacon on Nardol, the 'Fire Hill.' |
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#3 |
Guard of the Citadel
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Oxon
Posts: 2,205
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I really love Colbert's reports on bears, I watched a compilation of several clips some time ago. I actually at first only watched the Daily Show, but now I'm a big fan of the Colbert Report as well.
![]() Ok, enough about that, talking about them birds: Crows, and especially ravens, often feature in European legends or mythology as portents or harbingers of doom or death, because of their dark plumage, unnerving calls, and tendency to eat carrion. Now this is strange, since it would seem that crows and ravens are to be seen more or less as belonging to a similar mythlogical category, evil carrion-eating war-bringing birds. However, in the case of the ravens there is one special case I know of. Odin was connected to ravens in Norse mythology, I believe they served as his eyes and ears. As such, ravens were useful and good birds rather than bad ones. And isn't there a story that says that England will fall if the ravens leave the Tower of London? I believe I heard something like that whilst in London this summer on some tourist tour. So, Tolkien may have had some reason to portray ravens as good birds and crows as bad. I do however believe that there is a lot more to the whole mythological background of these creatures, I think the matter deserves a thread of its own which I'll be starting soon. ![]() EDIT: xed with Morth and I missed that in Andsigil's post leading to the repetition.
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“The invisible and the non-existent look very much alike.”
Delos B. McKown |
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#4 | ||
Flame Imperishable
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Right here
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Welcome to the Barrow Do-owns Forum / Such a lovely place
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#5 | ||
Ghost Prince of Cardolan
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: The Deepest Forges of Ered Luin
Posts: 733
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Even as fog continues to lie in the valleys, so does ancient sin cling to the low places, the depression in the world consciousness. |
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#6 |
Shade of Carn Dûm
Join Date: Jun 2007
Posts: 435
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I always just assumed that Beorn along with his sons and the rest of the Beornings were the third age remmnants and decendants of the House of Beor. Obviosly Beorn isnt a dircet decendent of Beren, but there were probably other members of the House. Also my Silmarillion momory is a bit rusty but wasnth there a bit about all of Beren's folk having the skin chaging ability, with Beren just been better at it?
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#7 | |
Gruesome Spectre
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Heaven's doorstep
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Music alone proves the existence of God. |
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#8 |
Guard of the Citadel
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Oxon
Posts: 2,205
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I don't believe there is any indication that the Beornings were descendants of Beor, although the names are similar.
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“The invisible and the non-existent look very much alike.”
Delos B. McKown |
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