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Lalwendë · 04-17-2006, 04:38 PM

What interests me is that not only did the Normans virtually cut off Anglo Saxon culture, but the coming of Christianity to Britain virtually cut off the culture of the Britons. And then Tolkien attempted to write a mythology he could dedicate to England?

I think it is clear that he recognised and tried to recover something of the pre-Christian England as it is there in his work. He speculates on what Barrows might have been used for, creates characters from the tree spirits of the Wild Wood, creates mysterious remains of ancient civilisations in Rohan, makes Goldberry and the River Woman from tales of water goddesses. Numenor has a direct line from ancient British legends of lost lands - possibly an echo in real British legends of the time when the seas rose to form the English Channel. He even makes use of language to recover some of this lost History. The Elves in particular have echoes of Faerie, and Faeries may be the lost Britons who went to the edges of the islands, together with their rich culture.

What is fascinating is that even after over 1,000 years the old Britain is not totally lost. Speaking for myself, I am one of those who was woken up by Tolkien to go and find it again.

04-17-2006, 04:38 PM	#58
Lalwendë A Mere Boggart Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: under the bed Posts: 4,737	What interests me is that not only did the Normans virtually cut off Anglo Saxon culture, but the coming of Christianity to Britain virtually cut off the culture of the Britons. And then Tolkien attempted to write a mythology he could dedicate to England? I think it is clear that he recognised and tried to recover something of the pre-Christian England as it is there in his work. He speculates on what Barrows might have been used for, creates characters from the tree spirits of the Wild Wood, creates mysterious remains of ancient civilisations in Rohan, makes Goldberry and the River Woman from tales of water goddesses. Numenor has a direct line from ancient British legends of lost lands - possibly an echo in real British legends of the time when the seas rose to form the English Channel. He even makes use of language to recover some of this lost History. The Elves in particular have echoes of Faerie, and Faeries may be the lost Britons who went to the edges of the islands, together with their rich culture. What is fascinating is that even after over 1,000 years the old Britain is not totally lost. Speaking for myself, I am one of those who was woken up by Tolkien to go and find it again. __________________ Gordon's alive!