The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum


Visit The *EVEN NEWER* Barrow-Downs Photo Page

Go Back   The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum > Middle-Earth Discussions > The Books
User Name
Password
Register FAQ Members List Calendar Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read


Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 11-18-2012, 02:22 PM   #1
Galin
Ghost Prince of Cardolan
 
Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 1,036
Galin is a guest at the Prancing Pony.Galin is a guest at the Prancing Pony.
It's interesting that, as late as the Etymologies ('late' when compared to The Book of Lost Tales anyway)

Quote:
'Q Ingolonde Land of the Gnomes (Beleriand, but before applied to parts of Valinor). N Angolonn or Geleidhien.
And in the Silmarillion of the mid to later 1930s, the Land of Leithian survives the breaking of Beleriand. The character of Elfwine lived even longer (externally), granted he became a figure of transmission more than an active player, but he was an Englishman and was supposed to render all these legends into Old English, and (I would argue) would still make connections between the Valar and the Norse gods.

Anyway, in 1956 Tolkien wrote a draft letter, which included:

Quote:
'Having set myself a task, the arrogance of which I fully recognized and trembled at: being precisely to restore to the English an epic tradition and present them with a mythology of their own: it is a wonderful thing to be told that I have succeeded, at least with those who have still the undarkened heart and mind.'

'It has been a considerable labour, beginning really as soon as I was able to begin anything, but effectively beginning when I was an undergraduate and began to explore my own linguistic aesthetic in language composition. It was just as the 1914 War burst on me that I made the discovery that 'legends' depend on the language to which they belong; but a living language depends equally on the 'legends' which it conveys by tradition. (...)'
So while 'a mythology for England' has turned out to be a misquote, the Waldman letter isn't the only source behind the general notion.

I happen to like the Eriol story myself, the question of the Romans aside. It seems a bold move to play England as not yet in the geographical position of England; but as noted Tolkien certainly abandoned this.
Galin is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 02:36 AM.



Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.9 Beta 4
Copyright ©2000 - 2025, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.