Tolkien and the Book

[Lalwendë]

Originally Posted by davem

the way a race or culture's lore is retained (in fact the very nature & form :fixed or changeable, active or static, open -ended or precisely defined) is a product of that race/culture's nature.

I think this is right, and the example of the Rohirrim keeping oral histories can be explained by the fact that they have a very different culture to the Gondorians. Rohan is a relatively young nation and it is a culture which is quite literally 'moving' all the time; in LotR chapters dealing with the Rohirrim tend to be filled with movement, conveying the idea of an active people. The culture of Minas Tirith on the other hand is very static, almost stagnant; this is a much older culture, well established and is represented by a lack of movement, and with much self-examination by characters such as Denethor. A comparison might be found between the US (or Australia or India etc) and the UK at the time of gaining independence; the former striving and growing, the latter tending to build upon itself rather than looking outwards.

This is not to say that the Rohirrim are 'uncultured' because they do not (as far as we know) keep written histories; their culture is more fluid than that of Gondor. In contrast, the Gondorians seek to 'save' their past and to protect it from the passage of many long years by recording it.

I think that the Elves would broadly have little use for written histories due to their long lives, however, Elves can still be killed and do not return to Middle-earth so some need for written histories may have been necessary. In the case of Rivendell having books, it seems to have been a place which was not entirely closed off to Men and other mortals, who would have need of books and histories. No doubt it would have been useful for Elrond and his kin to be able to despatch visitors to a library rather than recount long tales to each and every visitor! In contrast, Lothlorien was not a place which Men would tend to visit, and so I would imagine it had much less need for written histories.

What is very odd indeed is that such a person as Tolkien who was clearly well and truly a bookworm should leave out mention of extensive libraries in his own story. Have other writers done this too? There is a fabulous library in Gormenghast, and a book collector in Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell; Harry Potter also features a wonderful library and uses the 'book' as a plot device. Maybe Tolkien cared more for what books did, or what they contained (i.e. stories) than books as artefacts or repositories?