Elessar Telcontar Magnus, Rex Pater Gondor, Restitutor Imperii (original) (raw)
Related papers
Heroes in The Lord of the Rings: Tradition and Modernity
2014
First, I wish to express my profound gratitude and deep honour for having been invited to speak for a little while about the Lord of the Rings, its heroes and wanderings. I thank the organizing committee for all the commodities so kindly placed at my disposal, and a special mention is due to Prof. Filomena for the kind emails exchanged between us in the past months, her prompt reply and relentless patience. Thank you. Now, before starting the analysis of some of Tolkien's heroes from my point of view, I would suggest trying to start on a smoother path, before attempting to climb the mountainous and labyrinthine shores of Middle-earth, following an odd company of fellow travellers. I would like to share with you what would be a joke if it had not been actual: This pile of now old and battered books you see here, they were my companions during long sleepless nights over eight years, while I was struggling with my PhD thesis. However, to tell you the truth, they found their way to my desk after I stumbled
'We don't need another hero' – Problematic Heroes and their Function in Some of Tolkien's Works
Journal of Tolkien Research 9.2, article 8, 2020
This paper discusses the potentially problematic nature of certain forms of heroism in Tolkien’s works and their representatives, such as Túrin Turambar or Beorhtnoth. It analyses not only the problems that may arise on the battlefield from an excess of pride (ofermod), but it also investigates the problem of how to contain and deal with the more aggressive forms of military prowess when its energies are not employed on the battlefield or in fighting an adversary such as a dragon. As will be shown, Tolkien contrasts his ‘unlucky’ heroes implicitly with heroic figures such as Aragorn Elessar, who tempers heroism with humility, wisdom, and self-restraint.
Journal of Tolkien Research, 2020
Two important characters in J. R. R. Tolkien’s Legendarium are pivotable to a Germanic narrative of the Eldar: Fëanor and Galadriel. Fëanor pivots the narrative of the Eldar to one resembling the Germanic heroic epic by invoking a wyrd, through his free choice, against himself and the Noldor who followed him, which leads to their doom. Galadriel, on the other hand, as the last of the Noldorin rebels and a penitent, pivots the fatalistic and heroic Elvish narrative to eucatastrophe through own her free will and choice. This article examines First Age themes of free will, banishment and exile, doom and providence through textual cue such as the spatial imagery, tonality, and character action. In doing so, themes and motifs become clearer and interweave together to form a rich tapestry of the Eldar’s Germanic narrative. This tapestry of Germanic heroism, or Northern courage as Tolkien called it, comes to an end with Galadriel’s eucatastrophe as she resist the temptation of the One Ring as well as ancient desires. The eucatastrophe allows the penitent Galadriel to not only redeem herself but also the remnant Noldor in Middle-earth. Galadriel, through her own redemption and consequently the redemption of the remnant Noldor, ends the Germanic narrative in the Lord of the Rings.
Lembas, 2021
Last year, I stumbled upon an intriguing piece of The Lord of the Rings / The Last Kingdom crossover fanfiction, entitled “The Heredity and Magnanimity of King Alfred”. In this Aragorn/Alfred mashup, fanfiction author Freikugels sketches a scene in which an ideal king in disguise sits in the corner of an old Inn; thinking, pondering, softly singing. As the title already indicates, at the end of the story, passers-by confirm that this ideal king is King Alfred of Wessex. But throughout the story, by his thoughts and the short conversation with Merewenna, it becomes clear that all the indications of his heredity - his inherited characteristics, title and rights - as well as of his magnanimity - the virtue of being great of mind and heart - are expressed by means of identity markers and citations of Aragorn. Apparently, for Freikugels, the image of the ideal king is Aragorn. Therefore, in this essay, I would like to explore how the popular image of Aragorn is expressed to echo ideas around friendship, loyalty, heredity, and kingship, that resonate with the heredity and magnanimity of the Ideal King.
Gondor Needs No King: Images of Kingship in the Ramayana and JRR Tolkien's Lord of the Rings
3rd Conference on Middle-Earth, 2011
An analysis of idealised, sacred kingship using the theories of Georges Dumézil as a lens to examine Rama in the Indian epic, "The Ramayana" and Aragorn in JRR Tolkien's modern myth, "The Lord of the Rings." Kingship is a construct of a man of surpassing virtue, and the way that ideal is constructed varies in its cultural context but ultimately reaches for divine justifications to rule, suggesting that kingship itself is a matter of faith rather than a natural consequence of organising a society.
2020
The dramatic confrontation which ensues on the bridge of Khazad-dûm between Gandalf and the just-awakened Balrog not only constitutes one of the turning points in the War of the Ring, but it also provides a glimpse of what Tolkien may have envisioned as a Christian reinterpretation of the traditional model of Germanic heroism. The two notions are, of course, at a clearly detectable ethical variance, the former being fundamentally defined by the self-sacrificial dedication to the cause, the latter by the self-centred pursuit of transient glory. Seen in the light of medieval literature, the bridge episode might also be read as a conceptual reimagining of the roughly analogous situation in the Old English poem The Battle of Maldon, where the far-too-confident ealdorman Byrhtnoth allows the enemy safe passage across the ford, thus placing himself and his people at a considerable strategic disadvantage. In The Lord of the Rings, the role of Byrhtnoth is obviously assigned (albeit inversely) to the character of Gandalf whose courageous efforts to protect his companions accentuate the wizard's sense of responsibility, upwards (the cause) as well as downwards (his companions).
Riders, Chivalry, and Knighthood in Tolkien
This essay is a much extended version of the paper I gave at the IMC Leeds on 5 July 2017. It examines Tolkien’s complex attitude towards the concept(s) of chivalry and knighthood. A close reading analysis of relevant key passages from The Lord of the Rings is combined with an examination of his statements on chivalry in his scholarly works. Tolkien’s views are then related to the scholarly discourse on the key elements of chivalry, which allows the reader to gain a deeper understanding of why Tolkien depicts the representatives of chivalry/knighthood in The Lord of the Rings the way he does.
Tolkien, Eucatastrophe, and the Re-Creation of Medieval Legend
Journal of Tolkien Research , 2017
Using comparative literary analysis, this essay examines three case studies from J.R.R. Tolkien’s oeuvre, in which Tolkien practiced eucatastrophic rewriting: his folk-tale, “Sellic Spell,” in which he re-creates the Old English poem Beowulf; his poem, “Princess Mee,” in which he re-envisions aspects of the myth of Narcissus and the Middle English dream vision poem, Pearl; and the character of Éowyn from The Lord of the Rings, in which he re-imagines the fate of Brynhild, a shield-maiden and valkyrie from Norse legend. In each case, Tolkien rewrites the original so that sorrow is transformed into happiness in Tolkien’s new versions. As part of the analysis of these transformations, this essay also considers a possible personal motivation as well as a larger purpose behind Tolkien’s artistic choices: his relationship to his beloved wife, Edith, and a desire to convey to others the hope he found in his own Christian faith.
In Search of a National Epic: The use of Old Norse myths in Tolkien's vision of Middle-earth
In: "The Legacy of Lauri Honko: Contemporary Conversations", Approaching Religion Vol. 4, No. 1, 2014, pp. 25-36., 2014
In this article some aspects of Tolkien’s work with regard to his relationship to folklore and nationalism are presented. It is also argued, contrary to Lauri Honko’s view of literary epics, that pre-literary sources constitute a problem for the creators of literary epics and that their elements can direct the choice of plot and form. Tolkien felt that there was a British – but no English – mythology comparable to the Greek, Finnish or Norse ones. He tried to reconstruct the ‘lost mythology’ with building blocks from existing mythologies, and dedicated his work to the English people. In this, he saw himself as a compiler of old source material. This article considers his use of Old Norse sources. With Honko’s notion of the second life of folklore it is argued that Tolkien managed to popularise folklore material while his efforts to make his work exclusively English failed; for a contemporary audience it is rather cross-cultural.
‘Tolkien through the Eyes of a Medievalist.’ (updated version 2021)
‘Tolkien through the Eyes of a Medievalist.’ Originally published in Thomas Honegger (ed.). 2005. Reconsidering Tolkien. Cormarë Series 8. Zurich and Berne: Walking Tree Publishers, 45-66. This updated version (May 2021) is the basis for the translation into Spanish for the volume 'JRR Tolkien y la Tierra Media' (Jonathan Alwars Publicaciones, 2021) .