"They Began to Hum Softly", Murray Smith

[shadowfax]

Originally Posted by Estelyn Telcontar

The result of his research shows more contrast than similarity.

Yes, and this makes the author's efforts all the more commendable. Normally we consider an article good if it reveals hitherto unknow compelling similarities, direct inspirations and put everything into a clear context as has never been seen before. An author who looks at such a topic only to find that there are only few compelling parallels but lots of major differences deserves all the more praise for not giving up on the project.

If I may criticse nevertheless, I personally find the authors working definition of nationalism - and by extension nationalist music - to be very 19th and first half of 20th Century. The Anglo Saxons didn't have an equivalent of the Rule Britannia and nationalism as a whole was very different then and should be looked at more in terms of tribalism rather than identification with songs and flags. Hence the lack of such songs among most Middle-earth nations thus isn't really surprising. By having some sort of a national anthem, as Smith suggests, Gondor was thus very much ahead of its time, but having a national anthem is not in itself a qualifier for being a post enlightenment state built on nationalist principles. The national anthem of Gondor, if indeed it exists, is thus an anachronist element. Looking into this topic from that angle might have led to some interesting conclusions.