O What a Tangled Web

From Tolkien Gateway
O What a Tangled Web
Tolkien and Medieval Literature: A View from Poland
O What a Tangled Web.png
EditorBarbara Kowalik
IllustratorAnke Eissmann
PublisherWalking Tree Publishers
Released23 June 2013
FormatPaperback
Pages196
ISBN978-3-905703-29-0
SeriesCormarë Series
Preceded byTolkien's Poetry
Followed byIn the Nameless Wood

O What a Tangled Web: Tolkien and Medieval Literature: A View from Poland is a collection of essays examining J.R.R. Tolkien's works with respect to medieval literature. It was published as No. 29 in the Cormarë Series.

From the publisher[edit | edit source]

The nine articles of stimulating literary criticism collected in this volume view Tolkien's work from a variety of medieval perspectives: the device of entrelacement employed in Arthurian romances is used to throw light on the narrative design of The Lord of the Rings; the cultures of Middle-earth are described with the aid of medieval orality and literacy studies; the epic figure of the queen is recalled to reveal the significance of women in Tolkien's trilogy; the character of Éowyn is analyzed in terms of the epic warrior code and the romance chivalric ethos; the role of Elbereth is shown to correspond with the position of the Virgin Mary in the world of medieval believers; the nature of evil is explored through a comparison of Melkor to John Milton's Satan; allusions to medieval Icelandic sagas are detected in Tolkien's works for children; The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth is read in the light of The Battle of Maldon; and Tolkien's literary art is illuminated by way of his own critical essays on Beowulf and fairy-stories. Since all the contributors come from Poland, the phenomenon of Tolkien's prompt and enthusiastic Polish reception is briefly discussed in the introductory chapter.

Contents[edit | edit source]

  • Introduction: Tolkien in Poland - A Medievalist Liaison
    • By: Barbara Kowalik
  • "O, what a tangled web we weave": The Lord of the Rings and the Interlacement Technique
    • By: Joanna Kokot
  • Orality and Literacy in Middle-earth
    • By: Bartłomiej Błaszkiewicz
  • Rohan and the Social Codes of Heroic Epic and Chivalric Romance
    • By: Justyna Brzezińska
  • Tolkien's Queen Women in The Lord of the Rings
    • By: Maria Błaszkiewicz
  • Elbereth the Star-Queen Seen in the Light of Medieval Marian Devotion
    • By: Barbara Kowalik
  • The Fallen: Milton's Satan and Tolkien's Melkor
    • By: Katarzyna Blacharska
  • Berserkir, Bödvar Bjarki and the Dragon Fáfnir: The Influence of Selected Medieval Icelandic Sagas on Tolkien's Works for Children
    • By: Renata Leśniakiewicz-Drzymała
  • 'He has gone to God glory seeking': Tolkien's Critique of the Northern Courage and Rejection of the Traditional Heroic Ethos in "The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorhthelm's Son"
  • What Exactly Does Tolkien Argue for in "Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics?" An Attempt at a Metacriticism
    • By: Andrzej Wicher

External links[edit | edit source]


Cormarë Series volumes
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