| Poems by J.R.R. Tolkien | |
| The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorhthelm's Son | |
|---|---|
| Poem Information | |
| Written | Early 1930s |
| Revised | Before and after 1945 |
| Published | Essays and Studies 1953, The Tolkien Reader, Tree and Leaf; Smith of Wootton Major; The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth, Poems and Stories, The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth (booklet), Tree and Leaf, The Battle of Maldon: together with The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth, The Collected Poems of J.R.R. Tolkien |
| Subject(s) | Beorhtnoth, The Battle of Maldon, Tídwald, Torhthelm |
The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorhthelm's Son is a poem written by J.R.R. Tolkien, originally published in 1953, in volume 6 of the scholarly journal Essays and Studies by Members of the English Association. It is now most available in the latest edition of Tree and Leaf.
It is a work of historical fiction, inspired by the Old English poem The Battle of Maldon. It is written in the form of an alliterative poem, but is also a play, being mainly a dialogue between two characters in the aftermath of the Battle of Maldon. The work was accompanied by two essays, also by Tolkien, one before and one after the main work. The work, as published, was thus presented as:
- "Beorhtnoth's Death" — an introductory essay concerning the battle and the Old English fragment that inspired Tolkien.
- "The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorhthelm's Son" — the actual work itself.
- "Ofermod" — an essay following on from the main work, discussing the meaning of the Old English word ofermod.
The poem is a notable yet obscure work of Tolkien's, demonstrating his ability to recreate the alliterative beauty of Old English, yet at the same time deviating from the style in decidedly modern ways.
Extracts from unpublished drafts of The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth were published in Tolkien Studies, Volume 4.
Synopsis
The play itself is the story of two characters, Tídwald (Tída) and Torhthelm (Totta), retrieving the body of Beorhtnoth, Ealdorman of Essex, from the battlefield at Maldon. After a brief search they eventually find their lord's battle-mangled body and his golden sword. In the middle of the action, Totta slays an English battlefield-looter, for which Tída chastises him.
The murder provides an opportunity for the characters to discuss the ethics of Beorhtnoth's actions. Totta is a romantic who thinks Beorhtnoth's actions were tragically noble, while Tída is the battle-experienced farmer who takes the realist position, pointing out the folly of Beorhtnoth's decision to let the Vikings cross the causeway. Eventually the two characters load the lord's body onto a cart, and the drama closes with them leaving the battlefield for a nearby abbey in Ely.
Publication history
Recording
First ever audio edition of one of J.R.R. Tolkien’s most important poetic dramas, that explores timely themes such as the nature of heroism and chivalry during war.
The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorhthelm’s Son was originally published in the 1953 edition of Essays and Studies. In December of that year, J.R.R. Tolkien took possession of a reel-to-reel tape recorder and, some time during the first few months of 1954, decided to record ‘the whole thing on tape’ as a way of ‘testing’ the performative quality of the dramatic dialogue between Tídwald and Torhthelm.
For the older Tídwald, Tolkien adopted a slower, deeper voice, perhaps akin to ‘the voice of Gandalf’ that W.H. Auden recalls hearing as an undergraduate, as noted in Humphrey Carpenter’s J.R.R. Tolkien, A Biography. For the younger, more idealistic Torhthelm, Tolkien used a lighter, more spirited tone to convey his youth. Christopher Tolkien notes that his father added sound effects, such as the ‘creaking and bumping of the waggon wheels, by moving a piece of furniture in his study’.
This recording, together with an introduction and the two accompanying essays read by Christopher Tolkien, was released on cassette tape in 1992, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the birth of J.R.R. Tolkien and the 1001st anniversary of the Battle of Maldon. It was presented as a gift to the participants of the Tolkien Centenary Conference, Keble College, Oxford, and is now available as an audiobook for the first time.[1]
There is a recording of the poem read by Tolkien, though never formally released, some copies were distributed as cassettes to the participants of a conference held in 1992.[2]
This recording has now been digitally remastered and will be released on CD for the first time, alongside the publication of the 2023 book.
Relation to the legendarium
The inclusion of the academic essays and the poem in The Tolkien Reader was questioned by Rayner Unwin, who thought it would not fit a "popular anthology". However, Tolkien was of the opinion that these texts were "very germane to the general division of sympathy exhibited in The Lord of the Rings".[3]
See also
References
- ↑ HarperCollins Publishers, "Stream The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth, By J. R. R. Tolkien, Read by J. R. R. Tolkien and Christopher Tolkien" 17 March 2023, Stream and listen to music online for free with SoundCloud, accessed 30 March 2023
- ↑ Åke Bertenstam, "A chronological bibliography of the writings of J.R.R. Tolkien" 25 December 2015, Forodrim.org, accessed 15 December 2016
- ↑ Christina Scull and Wayne G. Hammond (2006), The J.R.R. Tolkien Companion and Guide: II. Reader's Guide, p. 1024, cite from Letter to Rayner Unwin (25 April 1966)