J.R.R. Tolkien's inspirations/notes: Difference between revisions

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*Hornblower, bracegirdle – from the hornblower books ?
*Hornblower, bracegirdle – from the Hornblower books ?
*Radcliffe camera
*Radcliffe camera
*Ilmen – from ilma, or Ilmarinen i Kalevala?
*Ilmen – from ilma, or Ilmarinen in Kalevala?
*Tom bombadil – from Väinämöinen? Check http://www.minastirith.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=17;t=000024;p=5#000107
*Tom bombadil – from Väinämöinen? Check http://www.minastirith.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=17;t=000024;p=5#000107
*Meneltarma, the mountain i Dorthonion – koli, sinai?
*Meneltarma, the mountain in Dorthonion – koli, sinai?
*Manwë – ukko, zeus, thor?
*Manwë – ukko, zeus, thor?
*Talking (sentient) animals – talking animals in Kalevala ?
*Talking (sentient) animals – talking animals in Kalevala ?
*Maglor, daeron – väinämöinen (mighty singer) ?
*Maglor, daeron – väinämöinen (mighty singer) ?
*Singing contest of sauron and felagund – singing contest between väinämöinen and joukahainen ?
*Singing contest of sauron and felagund – singing contest between väinämöinen and joukahainen ?
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*Hísilómë (the name) – Hiisi in kalevala?
*Hísilómë (the name) – Hiisi in kalevala?
*Bard's black arrow – joukahainen's special bow and arrows
*Bard's black arrow – joukahainen's special bow and arrows
*riding on eagle - väinämöinen riding on eagle to Pohja ?
*riding on eagle - väinämöinen riding on eagle to Pohja?
*Tolkien's favorite fantasy/sci-fi authors were:  
*Tolkien's favorite fantasy/sci-fi authors were:  
**E.R. Eddison  
**E.R. Eddison  
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*máhanaxar - Then said Gangleri: "Where is the chief abode or holy place of the gods?" Hárr answered: 'That is at the Ash of Yggdrasill; there the gods must give judgment everyday."
*máhanaxar - Then said Gangleri: "Where is the chief abode or holy place of the gods?" Hárr answered: 'That is at the Ash of Yggdrasill; there the gods must give judgment everyday."
**“The third root of the Ash stands in heaven; and under that root is the well which is very holy, that is called the Well of Urdr; there the gods hold their tribunal.” in Prose Edda
**“The third root of the Ash stands in heaven; and under that root is the well which is very holy, that is called the Well of Urdr; there the gods hold their tribunal.” in Prose Edda
*mîm (the name) – mîmir i Prose eller Poetic Edda
*mîm (the name) – mîmir in Prose or Poetic Edda
*tulkas: “He delights in wrestling and in contests of strength; and he rides no steed, for he can outrun all things that go on feet, and he is tireless.” – thor i Prose Edda: “Thor walks to the judgment, and wades those rivers which are called thus”
*tulkas: “He delights in wrestling and in contests of strength; and he rides no steed, for he can outrun all things that go on feet, and he is tireless.” – Thor in Prose Edda: “Thor walks to the judgment, and wades those rivers which are called thus”
*elvenhome – alfheimr in Prose Edda
*elvenhome – alfheimr in Prose Edda
*Vanyar (light elves) – light-elves in Prose Edda ?
*Vanyar (light elves) – light-elves in Prose Edda ?
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*Master of brandy hall – RC pg. 15
*Master of brandy hall – RC pg. 15
*As for the Bounty of 1420... it always reminded me of the giddiness in West following the two World Wars: baby-booms and economic growths following long years under a Shadow.
*As for the Bounty of 1420... it always reminded me of the giddiness in West following the two World Wars: baby-booms and economic growths following long years under a Shadow.
*The Shire] is in fact more or less a Warwickshire village of about the period of the Diamond Jubilee ...     Letters, 230 (#178)
*The Shire] is in fact more or less a Warwickshire village of about the period of the Diamond Jubilee ... Letters, 230 (#178)
*But, of course, if we drop the 'fiction' of long ago, 'The Shire' is  
*But, of course, if we drop the 'fiction' of long ago, 'The Shire' is  
     based on rural England and not any other country in the world...  
     based on rural England and not any other country in the world...  
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*Este – rest?
*Este – rest?
*A long expected party – RC pg. 52
*A long expected party – RC pg. 52
*Baggins, bag end – RC pg. 51 http://forums.theonering.com/viewtopic.php?p=577381
*Baggins, bag end – RC pg. 51 http://forums.theonering.com/viewtopic.php?p=577381
*Eleventy-first – RC pg. 52
*Eleventy-first – RC pg. 52
*The Hill – RC pg. 52
*The Hill – RC pg. 52
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*valinor - Valhall
*valinor - Valhall
*arveduis ship - lemminkäinens ship
*arveduis ship - lemminkäinens ship
*gold and silver - gold and silver in kalevala
*gold and silver - gold and silver in kalevala
*gold, silver, sun, moon - rune 49 in kalevala
*gold, silver, sun, moon - rune 49 in kalevala

Revision as of 23:55, 17 March 2007

  • Hornblower, bracegirdle – from the Hornblower books ?
  • Radcliffe camera
  • Ilmen – from ilma, or Ilmarinen in Kalevala?
  • Tom bombadil – from Väinämöinen? Check http://www.minastirith.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=17;t=000024;p=5#000107
  • Meneltarma, the mountain in Dorthonion – koli, sinai?
  • Manwë – ukko, zeus, thor?
  • Talking (sentient) animals – talking animals in Kalevala ?
  • Maglor, daeron – väinämöinen (mighty singer) ?
  • Singing contest of sauron and felagund – singing contest between väinämöinen and joukahainen ?
  • Art of singing – art of singing in Kalevala
  • Hísilómë (the name) – Hiisi in kalevala?
  • Bard's black arrow – joukahainen's special bow and arrows
  • riding on eagle - väinämöinen riding on eagle to Pohja?
  • Tolkien's favorite fantasy/sci-fi authors were:
    • E.R. Eddison
    • John Christopher
    • Isaac Asimov
    • Mary Renault
  • it is said that they [Lossoth] can run on the ice with bones on their feet, and have carts without wheels. – skies and sleds in Kalevala?
  • Woods of hísilómë – Hiisi's dark forest ?
  • Galadriel – mielikki in kalevala ?
  • Treebeard – tapio in kalevala ?
  • Ents – talking trees in kalevala?
    • Now she asks the trees the question,
    • And the forest gives this answer:
    • "We have care enough already,
    • Cannot think about thy matters;
    • Cruel fates have we to battle,
    • Pitiful our own misfortunes!
    • We are felled and chopped in pieces,
    • Cut in blocks for hero-fancy,
    • We are burned to death as fuel,
    • No one cares how much we suffer."
  • Galadriel - the fairy godmother figure in "The Princess and the Goblin": http://www.electricpenguin.com/blatherings/lotr/archives/00000022.html
  • http://www.mythfolklore.net/andrewlang/images/red.jpg
  • chapter in red fairy book: “soria moria castle”
  • maia (the name) – The Strange Adventures of Little Maia in The Olive Fairy Book
  • journey into mordor – The Golden Key of George MacDonald, two children search for the mysterious "land from where the shadows fall."
  • Hobbits – lilliputs in early versions of The Hobbit
  • Goblins – gibbelins in Lord Dunsany
  • Balin – sir Balin in Arthurian legends
  • The shire - Or, if I had pretended that 'the Shire' was some fictitious Loamshire of actual England. Yet actually in an imaginary country and period, as this one, coherently made, the nomenclature is a more important element than in an 'historical' novel. But, of course, if we drop the 'fiction' of long ago, 'The Shire' is based on rural England and not any other country in the world – least perhaps of any in Europe on Holland, which is topographically wholly dissimilar. (In fact so different is it, that in spite of the affinity of its language, and in many respects of its idiom, which should ease some part of the translator's labour, its toponymy is specially unsuitable for the purpose.) The toponymy of The Shire, to take the first list, is a 'parody' ofthat of rural England, in much the same sense as are its inhabitants: they go together and are meant to. After all the book is English, and by an Englishman, and presumably even those who wish its narrative and dialogue turned into an idiom that they understand, will not ask of a translator that he should deliberately attempt to destroy the local colour.
  • Middle-earth – middangeard
  • Mirkwood – myrkwood in the Prose Edda
  • Gandalf (the name) – in heimskringla
  • Elvenhome – alfheim in heimskringla
  • Red Book of Westmarch - Red Book of Hergest in the Mabinogion (http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/celt/mab/index.htm)
  • Ea - in the The Seven Evil Spirits
  • Erech – in The Seven Tablets of Creation
  • Swans – in kalevala?
  • Kalevala (http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext04/kalec10.txt):
    • Puhuri, the north-wind, the father of Pakkanen (frost) is sometimes personified as a gigantic eagle.
  • Eagles – eagles in kalevala?
  • Black stream in The hobbit – black Tuoni river in kalevala?
  • Vala – from finnish valo?
  • Ilúvatar – from finnish
  • whole shire was invited – in kalevala:
    • Thereupon the trusted maiden
    • Spread the wedding-invitations
    • To the people of Pohyola,
    • To the tribes of Kalevala;
    • Asked the friendless, asked the homeless
    • Asked the laborers and shepherds,
    • Asked the fishermen and hunters,
    • Asked the deaf, the dumb, the crippled,
    • Asked the young, and asked the aged,
    • Asked the rich, and asked the needy;
    • Did not give an invitation
    • To the reckless Lemminkainen,
    • Island-dweller of the ocean.
  • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farthing
  • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hundred_%28division%29
  • farthings on iceland
  • three farthing stone - Even more exciting, we found the Four Shire Stone (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v111/Lizallinos/Knitted%20Hobbits/Moreton%20in%20the%20Marsh/fourshirestone.jpg), Tolkien's inspiration for his own Three Farthing Stone! It was so easy to imagine him stopping there on his way to visit his brother in Evesham, having a little rest and thinking to himself, "I must put something of the sort in my book.."! The Four Shire Stone marks the spot where four Shires came together in Tolkien's day.
  • Treriksröset in sweden?
  • Bree – moreton-in-marsh?
  • shire – english shire
  • ingvë – yngve, frej in prose edda?
  • Ingvi (?) – ynglings in prose edda
  • Brand – in prose edda
  • Golden hair – thor's and sif's hair in prose edda
  • Hobbits' interest in genealogy – icelanders'
  • http://www.wagner-dc.org/haymes04_lec.html
  • gondor – venice: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/1858273.stm
  • gimli – gimle (the sky) in prose edda
  • eldar (the name) – from norse (?) eld, eldar
  • island ferry: in prose edda:
    • She took from the north, out of Jötunheim, four oxen which were the soils of a certain giant and, herself, and set them before the plow. And the plow cut so wide and so deep that it loosened up the land; and the oxen drew the land out into the sea and to the westward, and stopped in a certain sound. There Gefjun set the land, and gave it a name, calling it Selund. And from that time on, the spot whence the land had been torn up is water: it is now called the Lögr in Sweden; and bays lie in that lake even as the headlands in Selund. Thus says Bragi, the ancient skald:
    • Gefjun drew from Gylfi | gladly the wave-trove's free-hold,
    • Till from the running beasts | sweat reeked, to Denmark's increase;
    • The oxen bore, moreover, | eight eyes, gleaming brow-lights,
    • O'er the field's wide: booty, | and four heads in their plowing
  • http://www.sffworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9282
  • http://www.sffworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11556
  • http://www.sffworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8522&page=1&pp=15
  • http://groups.google.com/group/rec.arts.books.tolkien/msg/3fad9c3c879f5a2c?output=gplain
  • http://groups.google.com/group/alt.fan.tolkien/msg/bdb4b12467dc0ad1?output=gplain
  • golfimbul – golf and fimbultul
  • middle-earth – midgard
  • And Hárr answered: "She is ring-shaped without, and round about her without lieth the deep sea; and along the strand of that sea they gave lands to the races of giants for habitation. But on the inner earth they made a citadel round about the world against the hostility of the giants, and for their citadel they raised up the brows of Ymir the giant, and called that place Midgard.
  • Aulë at the prayer of Yavanna wrought two mighty lamps for the lighting of the Middle-earth which he had built amid the encircling seas.
  • Middle-earth (the name) – “midgard”
  • Valimar - Asgard in Prose Edda
  • Telperion and Laurelin – Ash and Embla in Prose Edda
  • Their halls are above the everlasting snow, upon Oiolossë, the uttermost tower of Taniquetil, tallest of all the mountains upon Earth. When Manwë there ascends his throne and looks forth, if Varda is beside him, he sees further than all other eyes, through mist, and through darkness, and over the leagues of the sea. – “There is one abode called Hlidskjálf, and when Allfather sat in the high-seat there, he looked out over the whole world and saw every man's acts, and knew all things which he saw.” in Prose Edda
  • Greatest in strength and deeds of prowess is Tulkas, who is surnamed Astaldo, the Valiant. He came last to Arda, to aid the Valar in the first battles with Melkor. He delights in wrestling and in contests of strength; and he rides no steed, for he can outrun all things that go on feet, and he is tireless. His hair and beard are golden, and his flesh ruddy; his weapons are his hands. He has little heed for either the past or the future, and is of no avail as a counsellor, but is a hardy friend. – “The Earth was his daughter and his wife; on her he begot the first son, which is Ása-Thor: strength and prowess attend him, wherewith he overcometh all living things.” in Prose Edda
  • In seven hours the glory of each tree waxed to full and waned again to naught; and each awoke once more to life an hour before the other ceased to shine. Thus in Valinor twice every day there came a gentle hour of softer light when both trees were faint and their gold and silver beams were mingled. Telperion was the elder of the trees and came first to full stature and to bloom; and that first hour in which he shone, the white glimmer of a silver dawn, the Valar reckoned not into the tale of hours, but named it the Opening Hour, and counted from it the ages of their reign in Valinor. Therefore at the sixth hour of the First Day, and of all the joyful days thereafter, until the Darkening of Valinor, Telperion ceased his time of flower; and at the twelfth hour Laurelin her blossoming. And each day of the Valar in Aman contained twelve hours, and ended with the second mingling of the lights, in which Laurelin was waning but Telperion was waxing. – “Nörfi or Narfi is the name of a giant that dwelt in Jötunheim: he had a daughter called Night; she was swarthy and dark, as befitted her race. She was given to the man named Naglfari; their son was Audr. Afterward she was wedded to him that was called Annarr; Jörd[1] was their daughter. Last of all Dayspring had her, and he was of the race of the Æsir; their son was Day: he was radiant and fair after his father. Then Allfather took Night, and Day her son, and gave to them two horses and two chariots, and sent them up into the heavens, to ride round about the earth every two half-days. Night rides before with the horse named Frosty-Mane, and on each morning he bedews the earth with the foam from his bit. The horse that Day has is called Sheen-Mane, and he illumines all the air and the earth from his mane." in Prose Edda
  • Moon and sun – “A certain man was named Mundilfari, who had two children; they were so fair and comely that he called his son Moon, and his daughter Sun, and wedded her to the man called Glenr. But the gods were incensed at that insolence, and took the brother and sister, and set them up in the heavens; they caused Sun to drive those horses that drew the chariot of the sun, which the gods had fashioned, for the world's illumination, from that glowing stuff which flew out of Múspellheim. Those horses are called thus: Early-Wake and All-Strong; and under the shoulders of the horses the gods set two wind-bags to cool them, but in some records that is called 'iron-coolness.' Moon steers the course of the moon, and determines its waxing and waning.”
  • But Tilion was wayward and uncertain in speed, and held not to his appointed path; and he sought to come near to Arien, being drawn by her splendour, though the flame of Anar scorched him, and the island of the Moon was darkened. – “It is no marvel that she hastens furiously: close cometh he that seeks her, and she has no escape save to run away." Then said Gangleri: "Who is he that causes her this disquiet?" Hárr replied: "It is two wolves; and he that runs after her is called Skoll; she fears him, and he shall take her. But he that leaps before her is called Hati Hródvitnisson. He is eager to seize the moon; and so it must be." in Prose Edda
  • Draugluin, carcharoth – “The saying runs thus: from this race shall come one that shall be mightiest of all, he that is named Moon-Hound; he shall be filled with the flesh of all those men that die, and he shall swallow the moon, and sprinkle with blood the heavens and all the lair; thereof-shall the sun lose her shining, and the winds in that day shall be unquiet and roar on every side.” in Prose Edda
  • Straight road - Bifröst in Prose Edda
  • Dwarves – dwarves in Prose Edda:
    • Next after this, the gods enthroned themselves in their seats and held judgment, and called to mind whence the dwarves had quickened in the mould and underneath in the earth, even as do maggots in flesh. The dwarves had first received shape and life in the flesh of Ymir, and were then maggots; but by decree of the gods had become conscious with the intelligence of men, and had human shape. And nevertheless they dwell in the earth and in stones.
  • Durin (the name) – durin in Vóluspá
  • Dwalin (the name) – dwalin in Vóluspá
  • nain (the name) – nain in Vóluspá
  • dain (the name) – dain in Vóluspá
  • bifur (the name) – bifur in Vóluspá
  • bafur (the name) – bafur in Vóluspá
  • bombur (the name) – bombur in Vóluspá
  • nori (the name) – nori in Vóluspá
  • ori (the name) – ori in Vóluspá
  • oin(the name) – oin in Vóluspá
  • thorin (the name) – thorin in Vóluspá
  • fili (the name) – fili in Vóluspá
  • fundin (the name) – fundin in Vóluspá
  • thrór (the name) – thrór in Vóluspá
  • gloin (the name) – gloin in Vóluspá
  • dori (the name) – dori in Vóluspá
  • oakenshield (the name) – eikinskjalde in Vóluspá
  • máhanaxar - Then said Gangleri: "Where is the chief abode or holy place of the gods?" Hárr answered: 'That is at the Ash of Yggdrasill; there the gods must give judgment everyday."
    • “The third root of the Ash stands in heaven; and under that root is the well which is very holy, that is called the Well of Urdr; there the gods hold their tribunal.” in Prose Edda
  • mîm (the name) – mîmir in Prose or Poetic Edda
  • tulkas: “He delights in wrestling and in contests of strength; and he rides no steed, for he can outrun all things that go on feet, and he is tireless.” – Thor in Prose Edda: “Thor walks to the judgment, and wades those rivers which are called thus”
  • elvenhome – alfheimr in Prose Edda
  • Vanyar (light elves) – light-elves in Prose Edda ?
  • Noldor (deep elves) – dark-elves in Prose Edda ?
  • Elves of the light - light-elves in Prose Edda ?
  • Dark elves - dark-elves In Prose Edda ?
    • “That which is called Álfheimr[1] is one, where dwell the peoples called Light-Elves; but the Dark-Elves dwell down in the earth, and they are unlike in appearance, but by far more unlike in nature. The Light-Elves are fairer to look upon than the sun, but the Dark-Elves are blacker than pitch.
  • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Eagle_and_Child
  • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hobbit
  • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_of_the_Rings
  • http://www.minastirith.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=002123
  • http://www.bplphoto.co.uk/TolkiensBirmingham/
  • We followed a section of the Pilgrims' Way, leading to Canterbury. 'The Bull' is a common name for old pubs. It refers not to the animal but to the Papal Bull the innkeeper had purchased to permit him to traffic with pilgrims. The area is also where Tolkien came from, and the gnarled treeroots twisting out into sunken lanes certainly suggest a possible genesis for the ents.
  • http://www.tolkiensociety.org/media/Who_is_who.html
  • Goldilocks and the Three Bears
  • Sam gardener – tolkien’s love of plants (and perhaps gardening)
  • Tirith – terrace?
  • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hacker_%28folklore%29
  • minas tirith and ithil – tale of two cities?
  • Westfold – vestfold in norge
  • http://www.users.muohio.edu/shermalw/honors_2001_fall/honors_papers_2000/COMPTON_TOLKEIN.HTML
  • http://faculty.jbu.edu/jhimes/Silmarillion-Kalevala.html
  • grima in foster brothers' tale
  • Frodo – frode?
  • Melkor – loke, the devil, lucifer, satan
  • Variags – variags (varangians)
  • Ainur (valair) - Asar
  • Gandalf – odin
  • Manwë – odin
  • Ilúvatar - odin
  • Mahal – taj mahal?
  • Balrogs – fallen angels with cut wings in Bible
  • Tulkas – lithuanian tulkas
  • Tulkas – thor
  • Orome - thor
  • Grond, the Hammer of the Underworld – mjöllne
  • Gandalf, resurrection – balder
  • Gondorians – Egyptians
  • Berúthiel – skadi
  • The eye – odin's one eye ?
  • Osse, uinen – njord
  • Aldarion, erendis – njord, skadi ?
  • Cats – tolkiens dislike of cats
  • Yavanna – freja, frej
  • Rúmil, daeron – brage ?
  • Angainor – gleipne, drone, löding ?
  • Este – eir
  • Corsairs – mediterranean corsairs
  • Vala – vala (völva)
  • http://scv.bu.edu/~aarondf/Rivimages/realriv.html
  • gondors roads – roman roads
  • green dragon – pub in oxford
  • http://forums.theonering.com/viewtopic.php?p=3301734&sid=10faf5ebdebf575e0a7f6ced9ffe0660#3301734
  • valarin – protogermanic?
  • Belfalas – Belfast?
  • Huorns – brothers grimm?
  • Boromirs funeral – scylds funeral
  • Ents – McDonald’s ”phantastes”
  • Entmoot – meetings at eagle and child ?
  • I must bid you lay aside your weapons – Beowulf
  • Tuna – town?
  • Bingo – stuffed koala bears, the ‘bingos’
  • The darkness of the present days has had some effect on it [LR]. Though it is not an 'allegory'.
  • http://www.herenistarion.org/cgi-bin/bb/YaBB.cgi?board=Literary_Inspiration;action=display;num=1093379016
  • http://www.herenistarion.org/cgi-bin/bb/YaBB.cgi?board=Literary_Inspiration;action=display;num=1088739671
  • http://www.thetolkienwiki.org/wiki.cgi?Mythology/%c9arendel
  • easterlings – Asians?
  • http://www.herenistarion.org/cgi-bin/bb/YaBB.cgi?board=History;action=display;num=1088711162
  • lembas – eucharist ?
  • galadriel – virgin mary
  • Aragorn/Frodo – jesus Christ
  • http://www.herenistarion.org/parmanole/PNbiblical.html
  • http://www.herenistarion.org/parmanole/PNTracingEpic.html
  • http://www.herenistarion.org/beyondtheshire/BTS9.html
  • Hobbit (the name) – page 1-2 of RC
  • Red book (the name) – page 2 of RC
  • Device of the found manuscript – page 2 of RC
  • Hobbits – RC pg. 3, 5, 8
  • Tolkien carefully chose the date when the Fellowship began their journey to destroy the One Ring: the 25th of December, the same day that the Virgin Mary gave birth to Jesus Christ.
  • The name Gollum comes from the terrible, swallowing-sound the poor creature makes. His original hobbit-name, Sméagol, is old-english for "caveman" or "cave-digger."
  • Sméagol's best friend is named Déagol, the old-english name for "secret." It's a very suitable name, as his murder is Gollum's secret.
  • The inspiration for the character Tom Bombadil was a puppet which was stuck in the toilet. The puppet belonged to one of Tolkien's sons, and after Tolkien had "saved" it, he wrote a poem dedicated to Tom. In the poem the character meets Goldberry, a waternymph. (A pretty bad joke, thinking about what the poor puppet experienced.)
  • Legolas is the only one in the Fellowship who prefers the bow and arrow as a weapon. This has its origins in ancient myths about elves who shot arrows down from Heaven. The myths came from tales about ancient gods who threw bolts of lightning.
  • Just as Tolkien carefully chose the date when the Fellowship set out from Rivendell, he was just as careful with choosing the date when the One Ring was destroyed: March 25th, the day Jesus Christ died and defeated Satan.
  • Hobbits – pygmies
  • Bullroarer (the name) – nomenclature
  • Use of Beowulf in "The King of the Golden Hall"
  • Tolkien in the Land of Arthur: the Old Forest Episode
  • http://www.travellady.com/Issues/Issue64/64E-hobbits.htm
  • http://pourtolkien.free.fr/jardillierArthur.html
  • Tolkien himself talks about Elrond as an allegory of lore, Lembas as an allegory or the eucharist, Galadriel as being connected with the Virgin Mary, the Eregion elves representing science and machinery; Saruman representing industrialisation; Tom Bombadil as the spirit of the vanishing Oxfordshire countryside; etc etc etc.
  • Possible sources of tolkien’s bullroarer, mythprint 37
  • Isumbras (the name ?) – RC pg. 6
  • Shire (the name) – RC pg. 7
  • Elder days (name) – RC pg. 9
  • Middle-earth – RC pg. 9-10
  • Bilbo (name) – RC pg. 10
  • Frodo (name) – RC pg. 10
  • Old world – RC pg. 10
  • Greenwood (name) – RC pg. 11
  • Misty mountains (name) – RC pg. 11-12
  • Misty mountains – RC pg. 12
  • Mirkwood (name) – RC pg. 12-13
  • Harfoots (name) – RC pg. 13
  • Stoors (name) – RC pg. 13
  • Fallohides (name) – RC pg. 14
  • Hobbits: emigration into eriador – RC pg 14
  • Weathertop (name) – RC pg 14
  • Wilderland (name) – RC pg. 14
  • Loudwater – RC pg. 14-15
  • Took – RC pg. 15
  • Master of brandy hall – RC pg. 15
  • As for the Bounty of 1420... it always reminded me of the giddiness in West following the two World Wars: baby-booms and economic growths following long years under a Shadow.
  • The Shire] is in fact more or less a Warwickshire village of about the period of the Diamond Jubilee ... Letters, 230 (#178)
  • But, of course, if we drop the 'fiction' of long ago, 'The Shire' is
   based on rural England and not any other country in the world... 
   [Later in the same letter he implied that the Shire was "an imag- 
   inary mirror" of England.]    Letters, 250 (#190) 
  • There is no special reference to England in the 'Shire' -- except
   of course that as an Englishman brought up in an 'almost rural' 
   village of Warwickshire on the edge of the prosperous bourgeoisie of 
   Birmingham (about the time of the Diamond Jubilee!) I take my models 
   like anyone else -- from such 'life' as I know. 
                                                    Letters, 235 (#181) 
  • Shire – RC pg. 23
  • But none were more dangerous than the Great Willow: his heart was rotten, but his strength was green; and he was cunning, and a master of winds – wind in the willows
  • But I suppose that the Quendi are in fact in these histories very little akin to the Elves and Fairies of Europe; and if I were pressed to rationalize, I should say that they represent really Men with greatly enhanced aesthetic and creative faculties, greater beauty and longer life, and nobility – the Elder Children, doomed to fade before the Followers (Men), and to live ultimately only by the thin line of their blood that was mingled with that of Men, among whom it was the only real claim to 'nobility'.
  • Orcs (the word is as far as I am concerned actually derived from Old English orc 'demon', but only because of its phonetic suitability) are nowhere clearly stated to be of any particular origin. But since they are servants of the Dark Power, and later of Sauron, neither of whom could, or would, produce living things, they must be 'corruptions'. They are not based on direct experience of mine; but owe, I suppose, a good deal to the goblin tradition (goblin is used as a translation in The Hobbit, where orc only occurs once, I think), especially as it appears in George MacDonald, except for the soft feet which I never believed in.
  • Westernesse – Rc pg. 16
  • Bree, chetwood – RC pg.16
  • Gondor – RC pg. 17-18
  • Belfalas – RC pg. 18
  • Lune – pg. 19
  • Marcho, blanco – RC pg. 19
  • Thain – RC pg. 21
  • Sullong – RC pg. 23
  • Orcs –RC pg. 24-26
  • Michel delving (name) – RC pg. 26
  • Mathom (name) – RC pg. 26
  • Hobbits – RC pg. 27
  • Smial – RC pg. 27
  • White downs – RC pg. 28
  • March (name) – RC pg. 28
  • “one could see the Sea from the top of that tower” – RC pg. 28-29
  • ”thatched with dry grass or straw, or roofed with turves” – RC pg. 29
  • Brandybuck (name) – RC pg. 29
  • Oldbuck (name) – RC pg. 29
  • Herblore – RC pg. 30
  • Tobold (name) – tobacco
  • Hornblower – RC pg. 31, 760
  • Isengrim – RC pg. 31
  • Prancing pony (name) – RC pg. 31
  • Prancing pony - http://www.thepublican.com/story.asp?sectioncode=7&storycode=53323
  • Farthing – RC pg. 32
  • Boffin (name) – RC pg. 33
  • Norbury (name) – RC pg. 33
  • Shire-moot – RC pg. 34
  • Shirriff (name) – RC pg. 35
  • §51 Barnabas is [added: not] an exception. Barnabas Butterbur was a Man of Bree, not a hobbit. I gave him this name for various reasons. First of all a personal one. On an old grey stone in a quiet churchyard in southern England I once saw in large letters the name Barnabas Butter. That was long ago and before I had seen the Red Book, but the name came back to me when the character of the stout innkeeper of Bree was presented to me in Frodo's record. The more so because his name, in agreement with the generally botanical type of name favoured in Bree, was actually Butterburr, or in the C.S. Zilbarāpha [> Zilbirāpha]. Barnabas has unfortunately only a very slight phonetic similarity to the real first-name of the innkeeper: Barabatta (or Batti). This was the nickname of the landlord of 'The Pony' which he had borne so long that if he ever had another given-name it had been forgotten: it means 'quick-talker or babbler'. Still, in converting Batti Zilbarāpha [> Zilbirāpha] into Barney Butterbur I do not think I have been unjust.
  • Gondor – Gondwanaland?
  • Númenor – iceland?
  • “only a feather in their caps” – RC pg. 35
  • Bounders – RC pg. 35-36
  • Gandalf (name) – RC pg. 36
  • Thorin (name) – RC pg. 36
  • Gollum – RC pg. 37
  • The One Ring – RC pg. 38
  • Meneltarma, fuin – Koli (mountain in finland)?
  • Samwise – RC pg. 39
  • The original red book has not been preserved – RC pg. 41
  • Meriadoc, peregrin, pippin (names) – RC pg. 42
  • Númenor (name) – RC pg. 42
  • Sauron (name) – RC pg. 43
  • Este – rest?
  • A long expected party – RC pg. 52
  • Baggins, bag end – RC pg. 51 http://forums.theonering.com/viewtopic.php?p=577381
  • Eleventy-first – RC pg. 52
  • The Hill – RC pg. 52
  • Sackville – RC pg. 53
  • Sackville-baggins – RC p. 762
  • Tweens – RC pg. 54
  • Gerontius, old took – RC pg. 54
  • Hamfast – RC pg. 55
  • Gamgee – RC pg. 55
  • Ivy bush – RC pg. 56
  • Holman – RC pg. 56
  • Bagshot row – RC pg. 56
  • Noakes – RC pg. 57
  • Buckland – RC pg. 57-58
  • Hobbit speech – RC 58-59
  • Gorbadoc – RC pg. 59
  • Miller – RC pg. 60
  • Warren – RC pg. 60
  • Gandalf – RC pg. 61-62
  • Shire – RC pg. 64
  • Gandalf’s fireworks – RC pg. 65 ?
  • Took, grubb, chubb, burrows, bolger, Bracegirdle, brockhouse, goodbody, hornblower, proudfoot – RC pg. 66
  • Crackers – RC pg. 68
  • Springle-ring – RC pg. 68
  • Misty mountains – RC pg. 70
  • The road goes ever on – RC pg. 71
  • Green dragon – RC pg. 44
  • Saruman (name) – RC pg. 81
  • Sauron’s practice of giving rings – RC pg. 84
  • One ring – RC pg. 85
  • Smeagol, deagol – RC pg. 86
  • One ring – RC pg.88-89
  • One ring – The Magic Ring http://www.valancourtbooks.com/themagicring.html
  • Black country – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Country
  • Bounders – rc pg. 753-754
  • Buckland – rc pg. 754
  • Bracegirdle – rc pg. 754
  • brandybuck – rc pg. 754
  • chubb – rc pg. 755
  • corsairs – rc pg. 755
  • cotton – rc pg. 755
  • witchking – Pakkanen (?) in kalevala
  • http://www.jitterbug.com/origins/lotr.html
  • abandoned homestead – lemminkäinen returns to his house burned down in kalevala (rune 29)
  • tuor as a slave – kullervo as a slave
  • entwives –
    • Summer-daughter, magic maiden,
    • Southern mother of the woodlands,
    • Pine-tree daughter, Kateyatar,
    • Pihlayatar, of the aspen,
    • Alder-maiden, Tapio's daughter,
    • Daughter of the glen, Millikki,
    • And the mountain-maid, Tellervo,
    • Of my herds be ye protectors,
    • In kalevala
  • Goldberry –
    • Rise thou virgin of the valley,
    • From the springs arise in beauty,
    • Rise thou maiden of the fountain,
    • Beautiful, arise in ether,
    • In kalevala
  • Treebeard –
    • Knippana [Kuippana], O King of forests,
    • Thou the gray-beard of the woodlands,
    • Watch thy dogs in fen and fallow,
    • In kalevala
  • Maggot’s dogs –
    • Only laid aside some cabbage,
    • For the herdsman, Kullerwoinen;
    • Set apart some wasted fragments,
    • Leavings of the dogs at dinner,
    • Silloin Ilmarin emäntä, paimenen pajattaessa,
    • Kullervoisen kukkuessa, jo oli vuollut voivatinsa,
    • itse rieskansa reväisnyt, kakkaransa kaivaellut;
    • keittänyt vetisen vellin, kylmän kaalin Kullervolle,
    • jos' oli rakki rasvan syönyt, Musti murkinan pitänyt,
    • Merkki syönyt mielin määrin, Halli haukannut halunsa.
    • In kalevala
  • Lúthien singing back beren from mandos – Orpheus, Eurydice, hades
  • Last year a Birmingham nature reserve that is thought to have inspired parts of Tolkien's novels was renamed The Shire Country Park, after the place where hobbits dwell in Middle Earth.

It includes Moseley Bog, which dates back to the Bronze Age, and is thought to have inspired the "Old Forest" in the books. Sarehole Mill, near the family home and now a museum, is viewed as being the "great mill" of The Shire. The 96ft (29m) high Perrot's Folly and the nearby Waterworks Tower, in Edgbaston, are also seen by many as the real-life counterparts of the Two Towers of Gondor.

  • Entwives – Eurydice ?
  • Ents marching on isengard – birnam wood to dunsinane hill
  • Incest of túrin and nienor – incest of kullervo and kalervo’s daughter in kalevala
  • Nienor and lalaith – the two sisters of kullervo in kalevala
  • Death of lalaith – death of most of kullervo’s kin in kalevala
  • going out he lifted up his hand towards the North, crying: "Marrer of Middle-earth, would that I might see thee face to face, and mar thee as my lord Fingolfin did!" -
    • These the words of Kullerwoinen:
    • Wait, yea wait, thou Untamoinen,
    • Thou destroyer of my people;
    • When I meet thee in the combat,
    • I will slay thee and thy kindred,
    • I will burn thy homes to ashes!"
  • Suicide of nienor – suicide of kullervo’s sister in kalevala
  • Gurthang – kullervo’s sword in kalevala
  • Suicide of túrin – suicide of kullervo in kalevala
  • http://www.scandga.org/Insights/2001-02%20Winter/Tolkien.htm
  • hegel and tolkien - http://www.lotrplaza.com/forum/display_topic_threads.asp?ForumID=49&TopicID=194948&PagePosition=1&PagePostPosition=1
  • nazgul - it remains remarkable that nasc is the word for 'ring' in Gaelic [Irish; in Scottish usually written nasg]... I have no liking at all for *Gaelic from Old Irish downwards, as a language, but it is of course of great historical and philological interest, and I have at times studied it [With alas! very little success] ?
  • voyages of eärendil – homer’s odyssey
  • annatar – finnish antaa, anna
  • valinor - Valhall
  • arveduis ship - lemminkäinens ship
  • gold and silver - gold and silver in kalevala
  • gold, silver, sun, moon - rune 49 in kalevala