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Priya · 10-03-2025, 10:40 AM

… continued from my previous post

Having discussed Tolkien’s documented thoughts about a ‘green sun’ and other ‘time’, I think that it’s worth delving a little more into fairy lore, and so I want to briefly talk about ‘hills’ and ‘mist’.

Now Fairyland as a locally accessible otherworld in historical literature has always had a strong connection to ‘green hills’ in our world. The fairy tale accounts are numerous – and as examples I have listed an assortment below from both Britain and Ireland.

Celtic Tales:

“ ‘I come from the Plains of the Ever Living,’ she said, ‘there where there is neither death nor sin. … And in all our pleasure we have no strife. And because we have our homes in the round green hills , men call us the Hill Folk.’ ”, 
– Celtic Fairy Tales, Connla and the Fairy Maiden – pg. 1, J. Jacobs, 1892 (my underlined emphasis)

“The Queen o Fairies she caught me,  In yon green hill to dwell.”, 
– The English and Scottish Popular Ballads – Part II, Tam Lin – pg. 342, F.J. Child, 1898 (my underlined emphasis)

“On a certain night the old man told him the green round hill, where the fairies kept the boy, would be open.” 
– Popular Tales of the West Highlands Vol. II, The Smith and the Fairies – pg. 29, J.F. Campbell, 1890 (my underlined emphasis)

English Tales:

“Away rode the prince and Kate through the greenwood, … They rode on and on till they came to a green hill. The prince here drew bridle and spoke, ‘Open, open, green hill, and let the young prince in …’ ”, 
– English Fairy Tales, Kate Crackernuts – pg. 200, J. Jacobs, 1890 (my underlined emphasis)

“ ‘Go on a little further,’ said the henwife, ‘till you come to a round green hill, surrounded with terrace-rings, from the bottom to the top; go round it three times, widershins, and each time say: Open, door! Open, door! And let me come in. …’ ”, 
– English Fairy Tales, Childe Rowland – pg. 120, J. Jacobs, 1890 (my underlined emphasis)

“Once upon a time … there was wont to walk many harmless spirits called fairies, dancing in brave order in fairy rings on green hills with sweet music.” 
– Fairy Gold: A Book of Old English Fairy Tales, Robin Goodfellow – pg. 129, E. Rhys, 1906 (my underlined emphasis)

Not only ‘hills’, but a connection of ‘mist’ with fairies has also been extensively reported. The Tuatha Dé Danann concealed themselves at times with the féth fíada or fairy mist (also known as the: ceo Sídhe). The Welsh fairies, the Tylwyth Teg, according to Sir John Rhys’ investigations* frequented mountainsides covered with mist. And we’ve already seen two other fairy tales (per my post of 9/24/25) where mist/fog is somehow involved whenever entry is granted into fairyland.

So what we might surmise is that as well as a standing stone and foggy conditions, it was particularly important that a ‘hill’ was present. For from a fairy tale standpoint, time and again, this would be the place where magical happenings first sprung.

So getting back to Fog on the Barrow-downs, our mysterious hill with its ominously erect stone was possibly the key to opening a portal linking two different planes of reality. A dangerous place it was for common folk, amid equally dangerous barrows close by. But no matter what the peril – aid would be there for those who asked. For, I believe, the hobbits had a mighty fay being on their side. An angelic knight would emerge from between two magical menhirs – perhaps modeled on those real ones adjacent to Tara. And a green girdle may not have been Tom’s only magical garb. An ability to travel speedily may have been fairy tale linked to those standout big yellow boots.

It would not be at all surprising if Tolkien had endowed Tom with a pair of legendary ‘seven-league boots’**. These automatically adjust to the wearer, allowing him, when needed, to traverse seven leagues for every stride taken. Was myth and fairy tale behind why:

“… his feet are faster.” ?
 – The Fellowship of the Ring, Fog on the Barrow-downs

Is that how he appeared so quickly at the barrow?

Tom Thumb*** stealing a pair of seven-league boots, 1865

But back to the hill. What exactly happened? Why did a way into Middle-earth Faërie suddenly appear?

Perhaps there was a covert way into a seemingly underground faërie; perhaps it involved a hill, a hollow place, the color green, mist, a solitary menhir and the number three. Those appear to be most of the common factors extractable from our world’s fairy lore, don’t you think?

Then did Frodo and his companions somehow inadvertently and unknowingly open a doorway into Faërie?

But how? What was the trigger?

… to be continued

* See multiple instances documented in Celtic Folklore: Welsh and Manx, Vol. I, The Fairies’ Revenge & Fairy Ways and Words, 1901 by John Rhys – one of Tolkien’s lecturers at the University of Oxford.

The Welsh Fairy Book, 1908 by William Jenkyn Thomas also documents the Tylwyth Teg located on a foggy mountainside in the tale of The Forbidden Mountain.

** These boots crop up in a plethora of European fairy tales. The most notable English one is Jack the Giant Killer. Tolkien’s awareness of them is not in doubt as he makes specific mention of this classic fairy tale motif when discussing Andrew Lang’s Prince Prigio (see Tolkien On Fairy-stories, 2014 by Verlyn Flieger & Douglas Anderson, Manuscript B, pg. 250).

*** It’s quite possible that Tolkien’s thoughts went along the line that in the great ‘Cauldron of Story’ Tom Bombadil had got mixed up with Tom Thumb. Yes, that legendary diminutive English hero also owned ‘shoes of swiftness’! Who knows if Tolkien made such a connection? But remarkably in England’s earliest prose version, the ‘Queen of Fayres’ gifted the tiny man not only magical footwear but also:

“… an enchanted hat of knowledge, a ring of invisibility and a shape-changing girdle …”.
 – The History of Tom Thumbe, R. Johnson, 1621 per Wikipedia article: Tom Thumb (my underlined emphasis)

Booklet front cover, ‘The History of Tom Thumbe’, Richard Johnson, 1621

10-03-2025, 10:40 AM	#20
Priya Animated Skeleton Join Date: Sep 2023 Posts: 28	… continued from my previous post Having discussed Tolkien’s documented thoughts about a ‘green sun’ and other ‘time’, I think that it’s worth delving a little more into fairy lore, and so I want to briefly talk about ‘hills’ and ‘mist’. Now Fairyland as a locally accessible otherworld in historical literature has always had a strong connection to ‘green hills’ in our world. The fairy tale accounts are numerous – and as examples I have listed an assortment below from both Britain and Ireland. Celtic Tales: “ ‘I come from the Plains of the Ever Living,’ she said, ‘there where there is neither death nor sin. … And in all our pleasure we have no strife. And because we have our homes in the round green hills , men call us the Hill Folk.’ ”,  – Celtic Fairy Tales, Connla and the Fairy Maiden – pg. 1, J. Jacobs, 1892 (my underlined emphasis) “The Queen o Fairies she caught me,  In yon green hill to dwell.”,  – The English and Scottish Popular Ballads – Part II, Tam Lin – pg. 342, F.J. Child, 1898 (my underlined emphasis) “On a certain night the old man told him the green round hill, where the fairies kept the boy, would be open.”  – Popular Tales of the West Highlands Vol. II, The Smith and the Fairies – pg. 29, J.F. Campbell, 1890 (my underlined emphasis) English Tales: “Away rode the prince and Kate through the greenwood, … They rode on and on till they came to a green hill. The prince here drew bridle and spoke, ‘Open, open, green hill, and let the young prince in …’ ”,  – English Fairy Tales, Kate Crackernuts – pg. 200, J. Jacobs, 1890 (my underlined emphasis) “ ‘Go on a little further,’ said the henwife, ‘till you come to a round green hill, surrounded with terrace-rings, from the bottom to the top; go round it three times, widershins, and each time say: Open, door! Open, door! And let me come in. …’ ”,  – English Fairy Tales, Childe Rowland – pg. 120, J. Jacobs, 1890 (my underlined emphasis) “Once upon a time … there was wont to walk many harmless spirits called fairies, dancing in brave order in fairy rings on green hills with sweet music.”  – Fairy Gold: A Book of Old English Fairy Tales, Robin Goodfellow – pg. 129, E. Rhys, 1906 (my underlined emphasis) Not only ‘hills’, but a connection of ‘mist’ with fairies has also been extensively reported. The Tuatha Dé Danann concealed themselves at times with the féth fíada or fairy mist (also known as the: ceo Sídhe). The Welsh fairies, the Tylwyth Teg, according to Sir John Rhys’ investigations* frequented mountainsides covered with mist. And we’ve already seen two other fairy tales (per my post of 9/24/25) where mist/fog is somehow involved whenever entry is granted into fairyland. So what we might surmise is that as well as a standing stone and foggy conditions, it was particularly important that a ‘hill’ was present. For from a fairy tale standpoint, time and again, this would be the place where magical happenings first sprung. So getting back to Fog on the Barrow-downs, our mysterious hill with its ominously erect stone was possibly the key to opening a portal linking two different planes of reality. A dangerous place it was for common folk, amid equally dangerous barrows close by. But no matter what the peril – aid would be there for those who asked. For, I believe, the hobbits had a mighty fay being on their side. An angelic knight would emerge from between two magical menhirs – perhaps modeled on those real ones adjacent to Tara. And a green girdle may not have been Tom’s only magical garb. An ability to travel speedily may have been fairy tale linked to those standout big yellow boots. It would not be at all surprising if Tolkien had endowed Tom with a pair of legendary ‘seven-league boots’*. These automatically adjust to the wearer, allowing him, when needed, to traverse seven leagues for every stride taken. Was myth and fairy tale behind why: “… his feet are faster.” ?  – The Fellowship of the Ring, Fog on the Barrow-downs* Is that how he appeared so quickly at the barrow? Tom Thumb* stealing a pair of seven-league boots, 1865** But back to the hill. What exactly happened? Why did a way into Middle-earth Faërie suddenly appear? Perhaps there was a covert way into a seemingly underground faërie; perhaps it involved a hill, a hollow place, the color green, mist, a solitary menhir and the number three. Those appear to be most of the common factors extractable from our world’s fairy lore, don’t you think? Then did Frodo and his companions somehow inadvertently and unknowingly open a doorway into Faërie? But how? What was the trigger? … to be continued * See multiple instances documented in Celtic Folklore: Welsh and Manx, Vol. I, The Fairies’ Revenge & Fairy Ways and Words, 1901 by John Rhys – one of Tolkien’s lecturers at the University of Oxford. The Welsh Fairy Book, 1908 by William Jenkyn Thomas also documents the Tylwyth Teg located on a foggy mountainside in the tale of The Forbidden Mountain. ** These boots crop up in a plethora of European fairy tales. The most notable English one is Jack the Giant Killer. Tolkien’s awareness of them is not in doubt as he makes specific mention of this classic fairy tale motif when discussing Andrew Lang’s Prince Prigio (see Tolkien On Fairy-stories, 2014 by Verlyn Flieger & Douglas Anderson, Manuscript B, pg. 250). *** It’s quite possible that Tolkien’s thoughts went along the line that in the great ‘Cauldron of Story’ Tom Bombadil had got mixed up with Tom Thumb. Yes, that legendary diminutive English hero also owned ‘shoes of swiftness’! Who knows if Tolkien made such a connection? But remarkably in England’s earliest prose version, the ‘Queen of Fayres’ gifted the tiny man not only magical footwear but also: “… an enchanted hat of knowledge, a ring of invisibility and a shape-changing girdle …”.  – The History of Tom Thumbe, R. Johnson, 1621 per Wikipedia article: Tom Thumb (my underlined emphasis) Booklet front cover, ‘The History of Tom Thumbe’, Richard Johnson, 1621 Last edited by Priya; 10-07-2025 at 04:13 PM.