麻豆淫院

As a philologist, the author of The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings trilogy drew extensively from Nordic language and mythology when creating the world of Middle Earth, notes CU Boulder expert who teaches a popular course on the topic

As the school year at the University of Colorado Boulder begins, one group of students is learning the origins of orcs, elves, goblins, dwarves, wizards and other fantastical creatures inhabiting Middle Earth, as conceived by English author J.R.R. Tolkien, who died 50 years ago this month.听

The class, Tolkien鈥檚 Nordic Sources and The Lord of the Rings, is a deep dive into all things Middle Earth, with a particular focus on Tolkien鈥檚 use of mythology, folklore and epic tales borrowed from Nordic sources, specifically those of Northern Europe during the Middle Ages.

While Tolkien today is remembered and lauded for his works of fiction, that鈥檚 not how he primarily viewed himself, says听Avedan Raggio,听teaching assistant professor for the听Nordic Program听at CU Boulder, who teaches the class on Tolkien and his Nordic sources.

鈥淔ans of Middle Earth are very familiar with Tolkien as a fiction author, but he would have first referred to himself as a scholar and a philologist,鈥� she says. As such, he was deeply invested in the study of language, history and literature, with an expertise in Old English and Old Viking texts.

However, while he was steeped in the knowledge of those Nordic languages and mythology, Raggio stresses that Tolkien didn鈥檛 copy sagas or epics, but instead drew upon themes, adopting them to fit his own narratives.听

鈥淔or example, Tolkien didn鈥檛 necessarily read听Beowulf听and say, 鈥業 like this story; I鈥檓 going to re-write it.鈥� There are very few direct, one-to-one comparisons you can make,鈥� she says. 鈥淚nstead, it seems more that Tolkien drew upon his decades of experience and immersion in the literature and took themes from the literature. It was less like copy and paste but more borrowed and then adapted.鈥�

Some examples from Tolkien鈥檚 works more closely resemble Norse mythology than others, Raggio says, pointing to the similarities between the epic Old English poem听叠别辞飞耻濒蹿听and Tolkien鈥檚听The Hobbit. Both share a story of a thief stealing a cup from a dragon鈥檚 treasure hoard and the dragon retaliating by burning down a nearby village.

鈥淭hat is one of the most direct and clear one-to-one borrowings,鈥� she says, adding it is a fairly rare, direct, corresponding story.

Who is that guy with the long beard, staff and pointy hat?

In other cases, readers of Tolkien鈥檚 books may make connections with Nordic myths that don鈥檛 actually stand up under scrutiny, such as the idea that the wizard Gandalf the Gray from听The Hobbit听补苍诲听The Lord of the Rings听trilogy is a representation of the Norse god Odin.

鈥淭his is something that I actually have a rant about,鈥� Raggio says with a knowing laugh, having worked to dispel the idea to many a student in the seven years she has been teaching the class. 鈥淩ather than rant here, what I鈥檒l say is that the more you learn about Gandalf and Odin, the less similar they seem.听

鈥淥n the surface, when Odin is described in Norse literature, he鈥檚 an old guy with a beard and a staff and a pointy hat and a cloak, and he gives advice. Gandalf, in the opening to听The Hobbit, is an old man with a big beard, a staff, a cloak and a pointy hat, and he gives advice.鈥�

However, the two characters vary greatly when it comes to their actions and intentions, according to Raggio.听

鈥淭he advice Odin gives is usually bad advice,鈥� she says. 鈥淭he advice Odin gives to human heroes is designed to make them achieve glory鈥攁nd then die. That鈥檚 because Odin is preoccupied with evading his fate at the apocalypse, at Ragnar枚k, where it鈥檚 prophesied that he is going to die. And Odin doesn鈥檛 want to die, so he thinks if he gets the best human warriors and heroes to die in their prime, 鈥楾hey will come to Valhalla, and then they can fight on my side in Ragnar枚k, so maybe I won鈥檛 die.鈥�

鈥淚n short, Odin鈥檚 a bit of a jerk.鈥�

In contrast to Odin, the legend that Tolkien created for Gandalf was one in which the wizard was a 鈥淢aiar,鈥� a sort of lesser angel, whose mission was to assist the people of Middle Earth, according to Raggio. And while Gandalf鈥攍ike Odin鈥攅ngaged in trickery on occasion, no one was hurt by Gandalf鈥檚 dishonesty and his actions were done with the intent of saving lives, she says, 鈥渨hereas Odin doesn鈥檛 care about collateral damage.鈥�

鈥淪o, I think the explanation for the Gandalf-Odin similarities is not that Odin inspired Gandalf, but instead that Odin and Gandalf share the same archetype鈥攁n old, wise wizard, bearded dude who dispenses information,鈥� she adds. 鈥淭hat archetype is everywhere.鈥�

Raggio says other creatures inhabiting Middle Earth were Tolkien鈥檚 own creation鈥攎ost notably Hobbits, the fictional race of diminutive halflings with leathery soles and furry feet tops, big appetites and great courage.听

Notably, Tolkien had a particular people in mind when he gave literary life to the Hobbits.

鈥淵ou could make an argument that there are some similar figures (in Nordic tradition), but the Hobbits are a native invention of Tolkien,鈥� she says. 鈥淗e saw the Hobbits as the personification of rustic English culture. 鈥� He said of himself, 鈥業 am a Hobbit in all but size.鈥欌��

Meanwhile, the Hobbits鈥� home, The Shire, represented the best aspects of pastoral England from his own childhood memories, she adds.听

Some limitations on comparisons with Middle Earth

In comparing Tolkien鈥檚 created world of Middle Earth with Nordic myths, there also is a natural inclination to compare his works of fiction with things in the real world, Raggio acknowledges. For example, some Tolkien readers have come to view听The Lord of the Rings听story as an allegory for the clash of Axis and Allied forces in World War II, or as the battle between good and evil in the Bible, thus reflecting Tolkien鈥檚 Catholic faith.听

For his part, Tolkien famously disliked allegory, which he believed reduced a work to being derivative, according to Raggio.听

鈥淲hen he saw people saying a work was allegorical, he also saw them reducing it,鈥� she says. 鈥淭olkien wanted his work 鈥� to be appreciated as art, as something in and of itself. And many times, in his experience, if someone says, 鈥楾his is an allegory about Jesus,鈥� or 鈥楾he ring is clearly an atomic bomb鈥欌�攐nce someone declares that, they think no more about it. I think Tolkien had too many bad experiences about people reducing his work to mere allegory.鈥�

Still, that鈥檚 not to say Tolkien did not draw from a variety of sources from around him, including his faith, to create a rich and complex world, she adds.

Tolkien also was not a fan of source criticism, which is a way of evaluating the听way an author or work interacts with their source material.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 because his experience with source criticism was people doing it badly鈥攔ipping apart something to find out where it was from and ignoring that it had value as a piece of art,鈥� Raggio says.

In her class on Tolkien, students start by learning about source criticism, but she says they practice doing it in a way that isn鈥檛 destructive. Once students have learned relevant parts of Old Norse literature and Old English literature, they can learn to establish connections between those sources and听The Hobbit听补苍诲听The Lord of the Rings听books, which they read as part of the course.

As one might imagine, Raggio says her Tolkien class is popular with die-hard fans of the English writer鈥檚 famous fantasy novels. At the same time, she says the class draws from a much broader student demographic, including student athletes, business majors and students pursuing the sciences, to name a few.

This year, Raggio鈥檚 Tolkien course is being taught via Zoom, and in the first semester more than 80 students were enrolled. In past years, the class was offered in two in-person courses per semester that were open to 30 students each, and there was always a lengthy waiting list, according to Raggio.

鈥淚 have taught this class as an 8 a.m. course, and I remember many students saying, 鈥極nly Tolkien could get me out of bed at this time,鈥� she says with a laugh.

Raggio says that whether students who take her class are ardent fans of Tolkien鈥檚 works or more casual readers, her goals for them are the same.

鈥淚 want them to leave the class liking Tolkien as much, if not more, than they did coming into it,鈥� she says. 鈥淲e鈥檝e all had experiences where we liked a piece of media, and then by analyzing it and over-analyzing it, we can鈥檛 like it any more. There is a right way to do this. So, my goal is that, by thinking about source information, they leave this class with more inspiration, liking Tolkien even better and having more to appreciate.鈥�

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