Beowulf

[Lady Ashley]

We have finally gotten to the epic in English Literature and boy! is it great! I love it. One, it's just a great adventure, and two did I see things in it that are in LOTR! Prof Tolkien really liked 'Beowulf'. (the name-thing is a given, so I won't mention them futher.)

Since we only have exerts in our books from the epic, I went online to find the fleshed out version. And that provided even more LOTR stuff!

~ Herot is called a mead hall, also referred to as a "gold hall".
Theoden's Meduseld means "mead hall", and is called the Golden Hall.

~ The whole thing with the guard on the coast when Beowulf arrives reminded me starkly of the Three Hunters encountering Eomer. (The spear shoved in the face is there too!)

~ in the version of Beowulf I found online, Hrothgar refers to the world "this middle earth".

~ Hrothgar, Herot (the hall) etc. bring all of Rohan to mind.

~ maybe it's just me, or does Unferth Hrothgar's warrior bring Grima to mind?

Or perhaps all of this i just me? Anyone else got any other parellels between LOTR and Beowulf that they saw?

I think I might need to go find me "Beowulf - The Monsters and the Critics"....

[Gwaihir]

What you're saying is really interesting. I think Tolkien really used some of those that you mention in LotR. I love Beowulf, though when I read the book when I was small, the part where he cuts off the arms of the ogre scared me.lol

I think the story of Beowulf and the dragon is very much like Tolkien's work in a way. The only ones brave enough to fight were Beowulf and another guy. The rest were too cowardly.

[Ramble On]

i can't wait to start reading it, i just picked up the book a few days ago.

[Periantari Andruil]

Yeah, i think i would like to read Beowulf as well since Tolkien was so influenced and inspired by that classic...i might actually write my research paper on it for my Folktale class... i can't wait... :stomper: =)

BTW, thanks for the comparisons, LA :thumbs:

[Radagast]

Who is Beowulf?.. I cant remember him in the Danish transl.?

[Periantari Andruil]

Beowulf is a Scandinavian hero who saves his town from a monsterous creature... it's a very popular folktale which influenced lots of folktales that we hear of now... It's the typical "Dragon-slayer" story... and Tolkien derived some of his elements from that in writing LotR. Beowulf was one of his biggest inspiration...

Discussion about that is in this thread:
http://www.warofthering.net/forums/vbulletin225/upload/showthread.php?s=&threadid=5041

[heru-in-dûrnár]

one of the reviewers for lotr said "just like the dutch have there literature masterpiece beowulf england now has lotr" hmmm takes a master to make a master as i always say

[Evenstar]

Originally posted by Gwaihir
I think the story of Beowulf and the dragon is very much like Tolkien's work in a way. The only ones brave enough to fight were Beowulf and another guy. The rest were too cowardly.

hmmmm..... Turin and Glaurung?

[Finwe]

Maybe: Bilbo's greed for the Arkenstone and the ring (Beowulf's love of gold... or so i recall), Smaug's love of gold (the Beowulf dragon's love of gold).

[Fallen Shadow]

I STILL need to read that. :P