Was Middle Earth Created or Discovered? - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

davem · 04-24-2003, 02:21 AM

I think, originally, Tolkien's intention was to 're-create' England's lost mythology, taking the scraps he he could find scattered through the Eddas, Ango-saxon poems (chiefly Beowulf), folklore, etc, as well as the sources from other 'northern' cultures that appealed to him, like the Welsh Mabinogion & the Finnish Kalevala. Clearly, the intent was to sub create a world which would bring together those themes in a coherent way, but as he wrote 'the Tale grew in the telling', & became something else. Tolkien's Elves are not the Elves of Norse myth - as I said in another thread, he 'christianised' the Elves - gave them an individual soul & a moral conscience, which gave them the chance of 'salvation'.
In other words, I think the 'roots' of his 'Tree' are in the soil of the original Northern European mythology that he loved, but it grew & branched into its own form.

04-24-2003, 02:21 AM	#8
davem Illustrious Ulair Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: In the home of lost causes, and forsaken beliefs, and unpopular names,and impossible loyalties Posts: 4,240	I think, originally, Tolkien's intention was to 're-create' England's lost mythology, taking the scraps he he could find scattered through the Eddas, Ango-saxon poems (chiefly Beowulf), folklore, etc, as well as the sources from other 'northern' cultures that appealed to him, like the Welsh Mabinogion & the Finnish Kalevala. Clearly, the intent was to sub create a world which would bring together those themes in a coherent way, but as he wrote 'the Tale grew in the telling', & became something else. Tolkien's Elves are not the Elves of Norse myth - as I said in another thread, he 'christianised' the Elves - gave them an individual soul & a moral conscience, which gave them the chance of 'salvation'. In other words, I think the 'roots' of his 'Tree' are in the soil of the original Northern European mythology that he loved, but it grew & branched into its own form. __________________ “Everything was an object. If you killed a dwarf you could use it as a weapon – it was no different to other large heavy objects."