Lore & Learning in Middle-earth - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

Hilde Bracegirdle · 01-16-2006, 11:47 AM

Not only does it seem fitting that various cultures of Middle-earth have these elements present, but it serves build a poignant link to our own. (And apparently a very real one, judging from the earlier posts.) Whether that is intentional, I won’t pretend to know. But hearing familiar sayings, though at times garbled, does make it seem to be more of a historical account, than fiction.

I am thinking of how today I hear the changes in sayings I remember from childhood. Having moved residence in the interval might account for some changes, but I can’t help but ascribe it to the growth of the living language over time, as well as over distance. It is only a little stretch to adopt these sayings as a predecessor of own.

On a light note though, Gandalf’s musing over the “Tall ships and tall kings, three times three” does recall trying to remember history in school. “In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue.”

01-16-2006, 11:47 AM	#6
Hilde Bracegirdle Relic of Wandering Days Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: You'll See Perpetual Change. Posts: 1,480	Not only does it seem fitting that various cultures of Middle-earth have these elements present, but it serves build a poignant link to our own. (And apparently a very real one, judging from the earlier posts.) Whether that is intentional, I won’t pretend to know. But hearing familiar sayings, though at times garbled, does make it seem to be more of a historical account, than fiction. I am thinking of how today I hear the changes in sayings I remember from childhood. Having moved residence in the interval might account for some changes, but I can’t help but ascribe it to the growth of the living language over time, as well as over distance. It is only a little stretch to adopt these sayings as a predecessor of own. On a light note though, Gandalf’s musing over the “Tall ships and tall kings, three times three” does recall trying to remember history in school. “In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue.”