The Riddle of Gollum: Was Tolkien Inspired by Old Norse Gold, the Jewish Golem, and the Christian Gospel?
I would like to speculate on Tolkien’s sources for Gollum. As a start, it is likely that Tolkien’s conscious sources for Gollum were the same as his sources for ents.
Hƒdr’s Blindness and the Pledging of Ódinn’s Eye: A Study of the Symbolic Value of the Eyes of Hƒdr, Ódinn and fiórr
The supreme god of the Old Norse pantheon, Óðinn, is one-eyed, and þórr is described as having particularly sharp eyes
Vilification of Identity and the Exilic Narrative: The Illustrated Pied Piper Story
This paper situates The Pied Piper story as an exilic narrative, part of a larger repertoire of stories that follow the romantic quest-myth formula, a formula that conveys a totla metaphor for the “journey of life”.
Imagining Samarkand: Fruitful Themes in 13th-16th Century Literature on a Silk Road City
… Samarkand was seen as the last great urban Islamic stop.4 Perhaps because of this, the period between the Arab invasion of Samarkand and the Mongol invasion in 1220 fomented many of the mythologies about the city which will feature prominently in this paper.
Creativity, the trickster, and the cunning harper king: A study of the minstrel disguise entrance trick in “King Horn” and “Sir Orfeo”
What does a hero do when he finds himself in an impossible situation where customary tactics are useless; magic is not in the cards, and divine intervention unlikely? He could give up. Or he could use cunning. In both King Horn and Sir Orfeo, the hero wiggles out of just such a squeeze by using a minstrel disguise entrance trick—a sort of musical Trojan horse for which the enemy’s closely guarded gates swing open in welcome.
Cryptozoology in the Medieval and Modern Worlds
Albertus Magnus’s thirteenth-century work, De animalibus, a lengthy compilation based on Aristotle and on a handful of commentators, is as close as the Middle Ages comes to a systematic natural history in our understanding of the term.
Recreating Beowulf’s “Pregnant Moment of Poise”: Pagan Doom and Christian Eucatastrophe Made Incarnate in the Dark Age Setting of The Lord of the Rings
The following chapters will explore how Tolkien fuses themes and imagery from the pagan Norse apocalyptic myth of Ragnarök with Christian apocalyptic imagery and themes in a recreated Dark Age historical setting to create The Lord of the Rings.
VAGANTES: “I See Red: Language of Blood and Feminity in Táin Bó Cúailnge
This paper examined the role of Medb and Fedelm, the seer in the Táin. It focuses on this conversation between the seer and Medb.
The Thread of Life in the Hand of the Virgin
The motif of the Virgin at the loom occurred with frequency in Western art only after the Feast of the Presentation of the Virgin (celebrated by the Byzantine Church on November 21 from the seventh or eighth century onward) was introduced into the West in 1372.
Folk narratives and legends as sources of widespread idioms: Toward a Lexicon of Common Figurative Units
On the one hand, stories (particularly fables) have been de- rived from already existing proverbs, from antiquity up to early modern times. On the other hand, a story in its summarised form can live on in a proverb or an idiom, even if the knowledge of this story has been forgotten for a long time.
The Lebor Gabála Érenn at a Glance: an Overview of the 11th Century Irish Book of Invasions
This document is intended as an orientation for students of the Lebor Gabála Érenn (LGE), a refresher for those who have read it in the
past, and a rapid reference in relation to the genealogy of persons mentioned in the LGE.
The birth and rebirth of Venus from antiquity to the renaissance
The oldest known artistic expressions of the birth of Venus from the sea come from the classical and Hellenistic periods in Greece,
though some survive only through secondary sources. The earliest extant work is a fragment of a marble relief known as the Ludovisi Throne.
Ancient Skies of Northern Europe: Stars, Constellations, and the Moon in Nordic Mythology
Nordic mythology from 13th century Iceland contains descriptions that provide traditional depictions of the night sky, constellations, and the Moon. These were not only incorporated within the mythology but also formed the basis for their gods
On the Concept of Chernebog and Bielbog in Slavic Mythology
The origin of Slavic cosmogonic and cosmological dualism – that is, dualism as a religio-historical phenomenon – is a controversial issue.
Words and music in communion: an analysis of Guillaume de Machaut’s “Le Lay de la Fonteinne” in cultural context
In this thesis, I shall attempt to define and then analyze the multiple elements present in Guillaume de Machaut’s “Le Lay de la fonteinne,”especially those elements that encapusulate the medieval myth of secular divinity.
Lady of the Elves: The Great Germanic Goddess
The most prominent goddesses in Germany were Holda (propitious) and Berchta (bright, glorious).
Grendel’s Mother in the context of the myth of the Woman in the Water
Grendel’s Mother in the context of the myth of the Woman in the Water By Charlotte Elizabeth Ball Master’s thesis, University of Birmingham,…
The Enchanted Islands: A comparison of mythological traditions from Ireland and Iceland
The Enchanted Islands: A comparison of mythological traditions from Ireland and Iceland By Katarzyna Herd Master’s Thesis, University of Jyväskylä, 2008 Introduction: Ancient Europe…
Woman or Warrior? The Construction of Gender in Old Norse Myth
Woman or Warrior? The Construction of Gender in Old Norse Myth Norrman, Lena (Harvard University) Paper given at the 11th International Saga Conference (2000)…
TRAVEL WRITING FROM HELL? MINAMOTO NO YORIIE AND THE POLITICS OF FUJI
TRAVEL WRITING FROM HELL? MINAMOTO NO YORIIE AND THE POLITICS OF FUJI NO HITOANASŌSHI Kimbrough, Keller R. (University of Colorado, Boulder) PAJLS, Volume…
Etiology of the Dancing Plague
Etiology of the Dancing Plague O’Neill, Daniel InterCulture: An Interdisciplinary Journal, Volume 2, Issue 3, Fall (2005) Abstract The phenomenon of dancing mania (also…
Slovenian and Polish Religio-National Mythologies: A Comparative Analysis
Slovenian and Polish Religio-National Mythologies: A Comparative Analysis Velikonja, Mitja Religion, State & Society, Vol. 31, No. 3, (2003) Abstract Religio-National Mythology: Some…
Bloodfeud and Scandinavian Mythology
Bloodfeud and Scandinavian Mythology By John Lindow Alvíssmál, Vol.4 (1994) Introduction: Medieval Iceland was hardly unique in possessing a stateless society, one in…
Dogs in graves – a question of symbolism?
A 9th century female boat-grave is the starting point for a discussion about dogs in Scandinavian graves from c. 500-1100 AD.
Uses of Wodan: The development of his cult and of medieval literary responses to it
Scholars working on Germanic pre-christian religion have generally considered Wodan to have been a deity of considerable importance to most if not all Germanic tribes.