"Tolkien's Modern Middle Ages" - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

Zigûr · 12-07-2015, 07:14 AM

Hello everyone,

Has anyone read Tolkien's Modern Middle Ages, a book of critical essays edited by Jane Chance and Alfred K Siewers and published by Palgrave Macmillan in 2005?

I stumbled upon it a couple of weeks ago in the literary criticism section of a local bookstore and it caught my eye because my PhD thesis (currently under examination) is partially concerned with understanding connections between the medieval and the modern in Professor Tolkien's narratives.

In general, the essays argue for various understandings of Professor Tolkien's work as part of a conversation between the medieval and the modern in literature. Several of the essays situate the narratives of Arda, and The Lord of the Rings in particular, in a milieu populated largely by nineteenth-century fictions such as the works of Walter Scott, Tennyson and of course William Morris. It has also introduced me to the (constructed) legend of Ossian and the works of James Macpherson, which I was in fact not familiar with before, and which set a precedent for the Red Book of Westmarch.

The first essay, by Verlyn Flieger, makes a vigorous and compelling argument for the consideration of The Lord of the Rings as a postmodern narrative, discussing the way in which Frodo and Sam recognise themselves, effectively, as characters in a story - the ongoing narrative of the history of Arda, with the light of the Phial of Galadriel as their connection to the mythic past.

While I realise academic scrutiny of Professor Tolkien's work is not always everyone's cup of tea - I appreciate that many prefer to view the narrative of Eä as a thing in itself, to be discussed according to its own terms - I was curious to start a discussion, if possible, about how people perceive the modern and the medieval in these texts, and how Professor Tolkien perhaps uses one to comment on the other, and both to comment on his own context.

One thing that does irk me about these essays, and others of their kind, is that they are typically heavily The Lord of the Rings-centric and are often very reluctant to explore The Silmarillion or any of the enormous number of further narratives published in The History of Middle-earth which also elucidate and comment upon each other and open up new avenues of discourse, so that might be a worthy thing to consider.

So, what is your opinion of the role of the modern and the medieval in Professor Tolkien's work?

12-07-2015, 07:14 AM	#1
Zigûr Ghost Prince of Cardolan Join Date: Aug 2012 Posts: 785	"Tolkien's Modern Middle Ages" Hello everyone, Has anyone read Tolkien's Modern Middle Ages, a book of critical essays edited by Jane Chance and Alfred K Siewers and published by Palgrave Macmillan in 2005? I stumbled upon it a couple of weeks ago in the literary criticism section of a local bookstore and it caught my eye because my PhD thesis (currently under examination) is partially concerned with understanding connections between the medieval and the modern in Professor Tolkien's narratives. In general, the essays argue for various understandings of Professor Tolkien's work as part of a conversation between the medieval and the modern in literature. Several of the essays situate the narratives of Arda, and The Lord of the Rings in particular, in a milieu populated largely by nineteenth-century fictions such as the works of Walter Scott, Tennyson and of course William Morris. It has also introduced me to the (constructed) legend of Ossian and the works of James Macpherson, which I was in fact not familiar with before, and which set a precedent for the Red Book of Westmarch. The first essay, by Verlyn Flieger, makes a vigorous and compelling argument for the consideration of The Lord of the Rings as a postmodern narrative, discussing the way in which Frodo and Sam recognise themselves, effectively, as characters in a story - the ongoing narrative of the history of Arda, with the light of the Phial of Galadriel as their connection to the mythic past. While I realise academic scrutiny of Professor Tolkien's work is not always everyone's cup of tea - I appreciate that many prefer to view the narrative of Eä as a thing in itself, to be discussed according to its own terms - I was curious to start a discussion, if possible, about how people perceive the modern and the medieval in these texts, and how Professor Tolkien perhaps uses one to comment on the other, and both to comment on his own context. One thing that does irk me about these essays, and others of their kind, is that they are typically heavily The Lord of the Rings-centric and are often very reluctant to explore The Silmarillion or any of the enormous number of further narratives published in The History of Middle-earth which also elucidate and comment upon each other and open up new avenues of discourse, so that might be a worthy thing to consider. So, what is your opinion of the role of the modern and the medieval in Professor Tolkien's work? __________________ "Since the evening of that day we have journeyed from the shadow of Tol Brandir." "On foot?" cried Éomer.