New Tolkien book discovered

News.com.au ^ | 12/30/02

[John Farson]

A yellowing manuscript by J.R.R.Tolkien discovered in an Oxford library could become one of the publishing sensations of 2003.

The 2000 handwritten pages include Tolkien's translation and appraisal of Beowulf, the epic 8th century Anglo-Saxon poem of bravery, friendship and monster-slaying that is thought to have inspired The Lord of the Rings.

He borrowed from early English verse to concoct the imaginary language spoken by Arwen, played by Liv Tyler, and other elves in the second film made from the Rings books, The Two Towers.

A US academic, Michael Drout, found the Tolkien material by accident in a box of papers at the Bodleian Library in Oxford.

An assistant professor of English at Wheaton College in Norton, Massachusetts, Dr Drout was researching Anglo- Saxon scholarship at the Bodleian, and asked to see a copy of a lecture on Beowulf given by Tolkien in 1936.

It was brought to him in a reading room in a large box. Professor Drout, who reads Anglo-Saxon prose to his two-year-old daughter at bedtime, said: "I was sitting there going through the transcripts when I saw these four bound volumes at the bottom of the box.

"I started looking through, and realised I had found an entire book of material that had never seen the light of day. As I turned the page, there was Tolkien's fingerprint in a smudge of ink."

After obtaining permission from the Tolkien estate, Professor Drout published Beowulf and the Critics, a version of Tolkien's 1936 lecture, in the US earlier this month.

Even more exciting will be Tolkien's translation of the poem and his line-by-line interpretation of its meaning, which will be published next summer.

Tolkien's name on the cover is likely to make the translation a bestseller.

Professor Drout says Tolkien found inspiration for many of his storylines and characters in Beowulf. The Anglo-Saxon hero's friendship with Wiglaf is mirrored in the relationship between Frodo and Sam in The Lord of the Rings.

Elves, orcs and ents, the latter a type of giant that becomes a walking and talking tree in Tolkien's work, are all mentioned in Beowulf.

Merlin Unwin, son of Tolkien's original publisher, said: "Beowulf is a wonderful story, and if you put Tolkien's name to it, it would probably be a great commercial success."

[NovemberCharlie]

Interesting.

According to the Red Book of Westmarch,
In Middle-earth, Aaron Michael Pollock was a
Ale-drinking Beorning


Elven Name Possibilities for Aaron Michael Pollock
The root name suitable for feminine and masculine is:
Malnar
Another masculine version is:
Malnarion
More feminine versions are:
Malnariel
Malnarien
Malnarwen


Hobbit lad name for Aaron Michael Pollock
Marcho  from Deephallow
Hobbit lass name for Aaron Michael Pollock
Camellia  from Deephallow


Dwarven Name for Aaron Michael Pollock
Pundin Skyfist
This name is for both genders.


Orkish Name for Aaron Michael Pollock
Lugluk the Obtuse
This name is for both genders.

---

Lugluk the Obtuse has a certain ring to it.

[Willie Green]

Lugluk the Obtuse has a certain ring to it.

I just checked and it's apparently still available as a screen name.
But it also looks like one of those that would get the quick ZOT! from the Admin Moderator.

[HairOfTheDog]

Shame on you.

[ZULU]

"He borrowed from early English verse to concoct the imaginary language spoken by Arwen, played by Liv Tyler,.."

I think he borrowed more from celtic for the language of the Elves. Anglo-Saxon was a Germanic tonuge and had a harsh Germaic tone to it.

Also, I believe that although he did use Anglo-Saxon themes in his writing, he also borrowed heavily from a Finnish national epic, whose name escapes me.

[Jhoffa_]

If the movies have nudity, I might reconsider..

[HairOfTheDog]

Not happening...

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the heads up!

[Alkhin]

HA HA! Mine was:

Elven Name Possibilities for Alkhin Senaiis
The root name suitable for feminine and masculine is:
Quelletathra
Another masculine version is:
Quelletathraion
More feminine versions are:
Quelletathraiel Quelletathraien Quelletathrawen

Dwarven Name for Alkhin Senaiis
Varin Halflingfury

What a riot!

[John Farson]

he also borrowed heavily from a Finnish national epic, whose name escapes me.

The Kalevala. He also borrowed from the Icelandic sagas.

[Alkhin]

Then there was:

Elven Name Possibilities for Sharon Ferguson The root name suitable for feminine and masculine is: Telfennas Another masculine version is: Telfennasion More feminine versions are: Telfennasiel Telfennasien Telfennaswen

Hobbit lad name for Sharon Ferguson Porto Sandyman from Rushy Hobbit lass name for Sharon Ferguson Prisca Sandyman from Rushy

Dwarven Name for Sharon Ferguson Fili Thunderwater This name is for both genders.

Orkish Name for Sharon Ferguson Shardúsh the Nasty This name is for both genders.

[Jhoffa_]

Ahh, I dunno.. couple of nude elf chicks or sumptin would class it up a little.

[Illbay]

Don't get too excited, though. Please recall that Prof. Tolkien was first and foremost a linguist, and a specialist in what is essentially a "dead language": Anglo-Saxon or "Middle English," the language spoken in England prior to the coming of the Normans.

When I was a college Freshman--and a lot more inquisitive--I read portions of his translation of the epic poem "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight." It was VERY, VERY dry, even the annotations. This is stuff that only another academic could love.

Tolkien stood astride two worlds: That of the scholar, and that of the author of fanciful fiction.

The twain really didn't meet at very many points.

[HairOfTheDog]

"Class" is not what it would add to it!

Liv Tyler isn't wearing any skivvies under her dress, that is as close as you are gonna get.

[Bear_in_RoseBear]

Cool! Something to look forward to! Making sure Jen gets a ping for her return....

[Illbay]

Yes, the major going theory is that he based it on a very old dialect of Finnish, a non-written form in which the Finnish national epic, the Kalevala was cast (it was not written down originally, but memorized in its entirety in the original language. National Geographic had a really interesting bit about it in their documentary on LOTR inlcuded in the "Deluxe" DVD box set).

[HairOfTheDog]

Yes! - Goodnight Bear

[Bear_in_RoseBear]

Oh great, something else to inspire 400 orgasmic threads

What, you have something against orgasms?

[Illbay]

Did you ever happen to read "Bored of the Rings," the Harvard Lampoon send-up?

Lots of nubile elf-maidens in that one!

[Sam Cree]

How about some "Blantons?"

[Sam Cree]

"port-listing"

What a cool expression! Are you a boater?