J.R.R. Tolkien invented a world in the Lord of the Rings.
But it didn't come from nowhere.
Tolkien drew literary inspiration from a variety of Great Books.
Here are 10 of them that you should know:
But it didn't come from nowhere.
Tolkien drew literary inspiration from a variety of Great Books.
Here are 10 of them that you should know:
1. Beowulf
Beowulf was Tolkien's academic expertise, and he consciously drew upon it in LOTR.
Ents, orcs & elves are all taken from Beowulf.
Gollum is partly based on the monster Grendel.
And the dragon Smaug (in The Hobbit) mirrors Beowulf's dragon.
But that's not all.
Beowulf was Tolkien's academic expertise, and he consciously drew upon it in LOTR.
Ents, orcs & elves are all taken from Beowulf.
Gollum is partly based on the monster Grendel.
And the dragon Smaug (in The Hobbit) mirrors Beowulf's dragon.
But that's not all.
Like Beowulf, LOTR also portrays a pagan, pre-Christ world but is by a deeply Christian author.
Tolkien sought to emulate how Beowulf nodded implicitly towards Christian eschatology through "large symbolism" about good, evil & redemptive grace but eschewed heavy-handed allegory.
Tolkien sought to emulate how Beowulf nodded implicitly towards Christian eschatology through "large symbolism" about good, evil & redemptive grace but eschewed heavy-handed allegory.
2. William Morris's The House of the Wolfings
This historical fantasy novel, set among the Gothic German tribes, was a major influence on Tolkien.
Tolkien sought to imitate the way Morris intermixed poetry with prose, and supernatural elements with a sense of historical fact.
This historical fantasy novel, set among the Gothic German tribes, was a major influence on Tolkien.
Tolkien sought to imitate the way Morris intermixed poetry with prose, and supernatural elements with a sense of historical fact.
As an artist, Morris was also the leader of the Arts & Crafts movement, which rebelled against the Industrial Revolution by returning to traditional craftsmanship, infused with medieval and romantic elements.
You can detect this aesthetic sense throughout Tolkien's work.
You can detect this aesthetic sense throughout Tolkien's work.
3. Völsunga saga
This Icelandic epic tells of Fáfnir, a dragon who hoards treasure (including a cursed magic ring), and the hero Sigurd, who must slay him to retrieve the ring.
LOTR's ring is an obvious echo of this legend, and The Hobbit's dragon Smaug echoes Fáfnir.
This Icelandic epic tells of Fáfnir, a dragon who hoards treasure (including a cursed magic ring), and the hero Sigurd, who must slay him to retrieve the ring.
LOTR's ring is an obvious echo of this legend, and The Hobbit's dragon Smaug echoes Fáfnir.
4. Andrew Lang's Red Fairy Book
Lang's Fairy Books and their adaptation of Sigurd and the dragon captivated Tolkien as a child.
He later wrote: "I desired dragons with a profound desire... the world that contained even the imagination of Fáfnir was richer and more beautiful."
Lang's Fairy Books and their adaptation of Sigurd and the dragon captivated Tolkien as a child.
He later wrote: "I desired dragons with a profound desire... the world that contained even the imagination of Fáfnir was richer and more beautiful."
5. Mabinogion
This collection of Welsh myths is a treasure trove of heroic stories with supernatural elements.
Tolkien claimed to disfavor Celtic mythology, but he did draw upon these myths and the Welsh language when crafting the Elves and their language.
This collection of Welsh myths is a treasure trove of heroic stories with supernatural elements.
Tolkien claimed to disfavor Celtic mythology, but he did draw upon these myths and the Welsh language when crafting the Elves and their language.
6. The Wanderer
A late 10th-c. Old English elegy by a warrior who lost his lord and friends in war and now lives as a wanderer.
Tolkien's "Lament of the Rohirrim" ("Where now the horse and the rider? Where is the horn that was blowing?...") is an adaptation of this poem.
A late 10th-c. Old English elegy by a warrior who lost his lord and friends in war and now lives as a wanderer.
Tolkien's "Lament of the Rohirrim" ("Where now the horse and the rider? Where is the horn that was blowing?...") is an adaptation of this poem.
7. The Worm Ouroboros by E.R. Eddison
A Norse saga-inspired fantasy by a fellow Medievalist, from 1922.
Tolkien was intrigued by Eddison's creation of a coherent, Norse-infused invented world.
But he also saw a danger he wanted to avoid -- the fantasy becoming too evil & dark.
A Norse saga-inspired fantasy by a fellow Medievalist, from 1922.
Tolkien was intrigued by Eddison's creation of a coherent, Norse-infused invented world.
But he also saw a danger he wanted to avoid -- the fantasy becoming too evil & dark.
8. Kalevala
This Finnish folk epic inspired Tolkien, who credited it with planting the "germ of [his] attempt to write legends."
The Kalevala is centered on a magic object (the Sampo) that has powers similar to the Ring and becomes the object of a war between good and evil.
This Finnish folk epic inspired Tolkien, who credited it with planting the "germ of [his] attempt to write legends."
The Kalevala is centered on a magic object (the Sampo) that has powers similar to the Ring and becomes the object of a war between good and evil.
9. John Buchan's The Thirty-Nine Steps
Tolkien was fond of this popular 1915 thriller, about a civilian who stumbles upon an assassination plot and his journey to foil it.
Tolkien took cues from Buchan's masterful pacing and suspense in plotting his own hobbit-to-hero journey.
Tolkien was fond of this popular 1915 thriller, about a civilian who stumbles upon an assassination plot and his journey to foil it.
Tolkien took cues from Buchan's masterful pacing and suspense in plotting his own hobbit-to-hero journey.
10. H. Rider Haggard's She
Tolkien said this historical fantasy adventure was his favorite as a boy and helped shape his imagination.
It tells of a perilous journey to a lost kingdom to encounter its ancient and immortal queen, the enigmatic "She-who-must-not-be-named."
Tolkien said this historical fantasy adventure was his favorite as a boy and helped shape his imagination.
It tells of a perilous journey to a lost kingdom to encounter its ancient and immortal queen, the enigmatic "She-who-must-not-be-named."
Bonus: I would be remiss to not mention the Bible.
Tolkien wrote that LOTR was a "fundamentally religious and Catholic work; unconsciously so at first, but consciously in the revision."
As discussed above, Tolkien resisted writing LOTR as a straight allegory.
But it is suffused with Christian symbolism.
Medieval scholars often saw symbols and themes in ancient myths that "previewed" the Christian revelation that would come centuries later, and Tolkien wrote LOTR so it would read similarly.
That is, LOTR was written so it would make theological sense to Christian readers who know *the whole* story but also intuitive sense to non-Christians, who are simply in the same place as his characters, living in a world without Christian revelation.
Tolkien wrote that LOTR was a "fundamentally religious and Catholic work; unconsciously so at first, but consciously in the revision."
As discussed above, Tolkien resisted writing LOTR as a straight allegory.
But it is suffused with Christian symbolism.
Medieval scholars often saw symbols and themes in ancient myths that "previewed" the Christian revelation that would come centuries later, and Tolkien wrote LOTR so it would read similarly.
That is, LOTR was written so it would make theological sense to Christian readers who know *the whole* story but also intuitive sense to non-Christians, who are simply in the same place as his characters, living in a world without Christian revelation.
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