Middle Earth and Medieval England

[Lalwendë]

Who is the author of this article?

I always note how commentators pick up straight away on the influence of Cynewulf for the words 'Middle-earth' and don't follow this up with an even earlier origin (by around 200 years) in Caedmon's Hymn:

nu scylun hergan hefaenricaes uard
metudæs maecti end his modgidanc
uerc uuldurfadur swe he uundra gihwaes
eci dryctin or astelidæ
he aerist scop aelda barnum
heben til hrofe haleg scepen.
tha middungeard moncynnæs uard
eci dryctin æfter tiadæ
firum foldu frea allmectig

In modern English, because Northumbrian is a bit difficult, the following line perfectly describes Tolkien's creation:

Then the middle earth, the guardian of mankind
the eternal lord, afterwards appointed
the lands for men

However, I would strongly disagree with the following:

A chief reason that Tolkien felt a certain lack of folklore for his culture is the fact that his homeland, England, can at times have a lack of identity.

England lacks only a grand myth cycle, it has no lack of either folklore or regional identity.

[Valesse]

One "Jonathan Massullo", Lalwendë. I am without any other information as to who this person is.

I completely agree with you about that 'lack of English cultural identity' comment, I believe he might have been seduced by his own poetic license by that part of the article.

From what we know about Tolkien's life it's clear that he could have pulled the term "Middle Earth" out of either considering his 'day job' would have put him in the path of both works. I do tend to prefer the idea of him taking it from Caedmon's Hymn rather than Cynewulf as it is, in my opinion, 'more his style reading' and as you pointed out Lalwendë, uncannily close to the Middle Earth this forum is most familiar with.