Songs for the Philologists

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Songs for the Philologists
Songs for the Philologists 1936.png
AuthorJ.R.R. Tolkien, E.V. Gordon, and others
PublisherLondon: English Department, University College
Released1936
FormatBooklet
Pages30

Songs for the Philologists is a booklet containing thirty poems and songs, some of which are written by E.V. Gordon and J.R.R. Tolkien, others are folk songs from various traditions. It is perhaps the rarest and most difficult to find Tolkien related book.

The verses are written in a number of languages, including Modern English, Middle English, Old English, Old Norse (Icelandic and Swedish), Latin, and Gothic.

The booklet was printed privately in 1936, and it hasn't been reprinted ever since.

In 2007, a revised and edited transcript of the book was made available by Ronald Kyrmse (see the bottom of the page), corrections of Tolkien's poems are based on The Road to Middle-earth (1982) by T.A. Shippey.[1]

Physical appearance

Songs for the Philologists is privately printed in the Department of English at University College, London, in 1936. It is the first and only edition, 8vo (214mm.), pp. iv, 30, [2]; orig. printed pale blue wrappers, saddle-stitched; with staples.

The text is in both English and Anglo-Saxon and is printed in both Roman and Anglo-Saxon types. On the verso of the title: "Printed by G. Tillotson, A.H. Smith, B. Pattison and other members of the English Department, University College, London." SUNY-Buffalo and Oxford University only in OCLC.[2]

Background

During his tenure at Leeds University, Tolkien formed, with Gordon, a society known as the "Viking Club" devoted to reading Old Norse sagas and drinking beer. Sometime in 1934, Tolkien and Gordon prepared a set of typescripts of verses, including original compositions of their own devising as well as traditional songs in Old and Modern English and other languages. The typescripts were distributed to students from the club for their amusement.[3]

Among those who received copies was former student A.H. Smith, then of University College London, who used his copies of the typescripts as a printing exercise for his own students in 1936. An unknown (but undoubtedly small) number of pamphlets were hand-set and privately printed by students on a replica wooden common press (not unlike the replica press located on the 2nd floor of U.Va.’s Alderman Library in the Stettinius Gallery). Smith realized, after the pamphlets had already been printed, that he had not obtained permission from Tolkien and Gordon, so the pamphlet was never distributed. Instead, copies were kept in storage at the pressrooms on Gower Street.

The building was bombed in WWII. The pressrooms burned, along with the presses and any stock stored on the premises. The only copies of the pamphlet that survived were those that had been taken by the students who printed it. It is not known how many copies survived, though H. Winifred Husbands, one of the students involved in the printing, has estimated the number to be no less than thirteen.[4]

Two copies came into Tolkien's possession around 1940-41, which he annotated with corrections and changes, in 1966.[5]

Tolkien's songs

Tolkien’s "The Root of the Boot" as it appears in the book

Of the 30 poems and songs in the collection, 13 were contributed by Tolkien: ("#" means the number of the song as it appears in the book)

  1. From One to Five #8
    • (To the tune of Three Wise Men of Gotham)
  2. Syx Mynet #9
  3. Ruddoc Hana #10
    • (Old English, to the tune of Who Killed Cock Robin?)
  4. Ides Ælfscýne #12
  5. Bagme Bloma #13
    • (Gothic, to the tune of O Lazy Sheep!, reprinted with translation ("Flower of the Trees") in The Road to Middle-earth)
  6. Éadig Béo Þu! #14
    • (Old English, to the tune of Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star, reprinted with translation ("Good Luck to You") in The Road to Middle-earth)
  7. Ofer Wídne Gársecg #15
    • (Old English, to the tune of The Mermaid, reprinted with translation ("Across the Broad Ocean") in The Road to Middle-earth)
  8. La, Huru #17
    • (Old English, to the tune of O'Reilly)
  9. I Sat Upon a Bench #19
    • (To the tune of The Carrion Crow)
  10. Natura Apis (Morali Ricardi Eremite) #20
    • (Also to the tune of O'Reilly)
  11. The Root of the Boot #22
  12. Frenchmen Froth #26
    • (To the tune of The Vicar of Bray)
  13. Two Little Schemes [Lit' and Lang'] #28
    • (To the tune of Polly Put the Kettle On)

Four of these songs (Bagme Bloma, Éadig Béo Þu!, Ides Ælfscýne, and Ofer Wídne Gársecg) are reprinted, with Modern English translations, in Tom Shippey's 1982 book The Road to Middle-earth. Shippey has also incorporated the revisions and changes to these songs made by Tolkien himself, after Songs for the Philologists had been printed.[6]

The remaining songs

Detail on the back cover, a device used by the print shop of the University College, London
  1. Grace #1 — (To the tune of The King of France)
  2. Fara Með Vikingum #2 — (Icelandic, "To Go With the Vikings")
  3. Ja, Lattu Gamminn #3 — (Icelandic)
  4. Bring Us In Good Ale #4
  5. Bjort Mey Og Hrein #5 — (Icelandic)
  6. Rokkvisa #6 — (Icelandic, "Rock-song")
  7. Olafur Liljuros #7 — (Icelandic)
  8. Gaudeamus #11 — (Latin, "Let Us Rejoice")
  9. Icelandic Song [Það liggur svo makalaust] #16 — (Icelandic, "It's So Incomparable", to the tune of O'Reilly)
  10. Su Klukka Heljar #18 — (Icelandic, "That Bell of Hell", to the tune of The Bells of Hell, by E.V. Gordon)
  11. Gubben Noach #21 — (Swedish, "Old Man Noah", with Icelandic translation)
  12. Bi, Bi Og Blaka #23 — (Icelandic)
  13. Guþ Let [Vinper] Vaxa #24 — (Icelandic, to the tune of Laus Deo)
  14. Salve! #25 — (Latin, "Greetings!")
  15. When I'm Dead [Hwan Ic Beo Dead] #27 — (Old English, Scots, and Gothic, by E.V. Gordon)
  16. Visur Islendinga #29 — (Icelandic, "Icelandic Song")
  17. Gomul Kynni #30 — (Icelandic)

See also

External links

References

  1. ↑ E.V. Gordon, J.R.R. Tolkien, Ronald Kyrmse (ed.) Songs for the Philologists
  2. ↑ Collier, P. "Songs for the Philologists (20.02.05 by Pieter Collier)" (accessed 14 September, 2022)
  3. ↑ Carpenter, H. [1977] J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography pp. 112
  4. ↑ Schwartzburg, M. "This Just In: A Tolkien Black Swan" (accessed 14 September, 2022)
  5. ↑ Hammond, W. G., Scull, C. [1993] J.R.R. Tolkien: A Descriptive Bibliography pp. 293
  6. ↑ Shippey, T. [1982] "Appendix B "Four 'Asterisk' Poems"". The Road to Middle-earth pp. 227
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