England's Mythology? - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

davem · 09-23-2006, 12:02 PM

If the Shire is the 'contemporary' England Tolkien grew up in, Buckland & the Old Forest are 'Faerie' England. Both 'worlds' are self-contained when we first encounter them, but there is a sense in which Buckland & the Old Forest remain untouched. Effectively the Hobbits wander into the world of the Bombadil poems & wander out again, leaving the inhabiants untouched (apart from the Barrow Wight - yet there may be more than one wight, so that world is left with the same cast of characters as it began with).

And yet Buckland & the Old Forest are part of Middle-earth, & if the inspiration for them is the English Faerie world, they are what they are.

09-23-2006, 12:02 PM	#23
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	If the Shire is the 'contemporary' England Tolkien grew up in, Buckland & the Old Forest are 'Faerie' England. Both 'worlds' are self-contained when we first encounter them, but there is a sense in which Buckland & the Old Forest remain untouched. Effectively the Hobbits wander into the world of the Bombadil poems & wander out again, leaving the inhabiants untouched (apart from the Barrow Wight - yet there may be more than one wight, so that world is left with the same cast of characters as it began with). And yet Buckland & the Old Forest are part of Middle-earth, & if the inspiration for them is the English Faerie world, they are what they are. __________________ “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."