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."

[Jhoffa_]

LOL!

Hey, we're all about nude elves..

(Can just leave Tolkien out of it, afaiac)

[JackelopeBreeder]

I have got to get this when it comes out. Tolkien's notes alone would put me in heaven as I spent twenty years as a linguist. In 1968 I did Beowulf in 8th grade with comparisons between Old, Middle, and Modern English.

We weren't a particularly gifted class -- we just had a very gifted pair of teachers who brought it all to life. Clifford "Pete" Devault was officially the English teacher, while John Baldino was officially the social studies teacher. In actuality they just split it down the middle and made magic happen with a bunch of 13-year old punks and punkettes for three hours per day.

Theirs was not an easy class. The grading criteria was strict, but classroom discussions were a riot. Imagine the discourses of Socrates taken over by the crew of Monty Python (No sh!t, I drank what?)...nothing was sacred, especially ego, and you had to be ready to defend your opinions with both logic and gusto.

One of my fondest memories of a misspent youth; and no I haven't grown out of it yet. These two guys could have had us translate the phone book into Sanscrit and hieroglyphics and made it interesting.

They don't make teachers like these two anymore. Last I heard, John Baldino was Superintendent of Schools for York County, Virginia. If anyone knows the whereabouts of Pete Devault, I'd appreciate knowing.

Pete, if you're on here -- yes I did end up at one point with a woman who was (personalitywise) a direct descendant of Grendl's mother. Why did you always have to be right in your prognostications?

[RightOnline]

"I thought Elvish was based on Finnish."

No.........actually, it's from Mississippi.

[insert snarl] uh Thankya........thankyavermuch.............

[JackelopeBreeder]

Wanna borrow my copy just for old time's sake?

[Lurker]

Have you heard about the new Harry Potter Book?

It's titled: "Harry Potter Passes The Socerers Stone Into The Chamber Pot Of Secrets".

I'm looking forward to it.

L

[Michael2001]

Could be interesting

[RobbyS]

I had heard about this. Never knew it had never been .published

[RobbyS]

You were lucky. Beowulf was part of my "50s English textbook, but my English teacher, even though she knew some Anglo-Saxon, could not explain what the story was about and I have avoided it ever since.

[Centurion2000]

Bump ...

[Political Junkie Too]

Cool, just as long as this doesn't go the way of L. Ron Hubbard. The way Hubbard's estate was putting out novels years after his death, you really had to read the fine-print to know that he was dead.

-PJ

[budman_2001]

Orkish Name for the budman

Gromwûsh the Pug-nose

This name is for both genders.

Yeeeewhhhhhhhhhh!!!

[zeugma]

If you like Beowulf, you should really get a copy of a new translation by Seamus Heaney. It is really beautifully done, and sounds fantastic when read aloud.

[My2Cents]

Well, I guess this new book is going to generate around 420,000 threads on Free Republic over the next 20 years.

Better than another 420,000 "Bush is a Socialist" threads.

[SLB]

My daughter (home schooled for 12 years and now a college junior with a 4.0 GPA) leaves for Oxford in 12 days. Tolkien is one of her favorites, she has read everything she can find by him, although Merton is her favorite English author.

[Eowyn-of-Rohan]

What a wonderful find--and what a coincidence it was found at this time in history...thanks for the ping!

[Rocko]

Peter Jackson should film this instead of King Kong.

[Straight Vermonter]

My kids love Beowulf, the Iliad etc. Someday I will tell them I have been sneaking classic literature into their bedtime stories, hee-hee-hee.

[Corin Stormhands]

I have a link to the Barrow Downs site on my profile page. It's where I came up with "Corin Stormhands."

[HairOfTheDog]

I figgured you would know! ;~D

[Taliesan]

Merton! Yes! The poetry is unjustifiably ignored.