The Influence of Old English Literature in The Lord of the Rings

The influences of J.R.R. Tolkien are innumerable in his epic work, The Lord of The Rings. As a student and admitted lover of Anglo-Saxon literature and customs (not to mention the premier expert on the subject in his time), a distinct echo of classic Anglo-Saxon poetic feeling is woven throughout his own classic masterpiece. As the first serious scholar to take Beowulf seriously as a work of poetic art, he seamlessly weaves several of the magical elements of that beloved poem into his own created mythology, giving a new life and meaning into that which scholars had taken for granted for hundreds of years. Throughout The Lord of the Rings, whether in content or in style, the influence of the Anglo-Saxon imagination and style are proudly evident, and as a student of Old English, it is fascinating to see how the "old world" of Beowulf and Anglo-Saxon customs and ideas have become mainstream, popular culture.

A primary example of parallel happenings in Beowulf and The Lord of the Rings can be seen in the introduction of two halls: Heorot, King Hrothgar's hall, offers several parallels with Meduseld, Théoden's hall. In Beowulf, when Beowulf and his companions first reach the Danish coast, they are met by a coastguard who challenges them:

Hwæt syndon gë searohæbbendra, 237

byrnum werede, þe þus brontne cëol

ofer lagustråte lådan cwömon,

hider ofer holmas? Hwæt, ic hwïle wæs 240

endesåta, ågwearde hëold,

þë on land Dena läðra nånig

mid scipherge sceðþan ne meahte. 243

Nö hër cüðlïcor cuman ongunnon

lindhæbbende; ne gë lëafnesword

güðfremmendra gearwe ne wisson, 246

mäga gemëdu. Nåfre ic märan geseah

eorla ofer eorþan ðonne is ëower sum,

secg on searwum; nis þæt seldguma, 249

wåpnum geweorðad, - nåfre him his wlite lëoge,

ånlic ansÿn. Nü ic ëower sceal

frumcyn witan, år gë fyr heonan, 252

lëasscëaweras, on land Dena

furþur fëran. Nü gë feorbüend,

merelïðende, mïnne gehÿrað 255

änfealdne geþöht: Ofost is sëlest

tö gecÿðanne hwanan ëowre cyme syndon." (Beowulf)

English translation:

What kind of armour-owners are you, protected by mailshirts, who have thus come leading the high ship over the sea-road, here over the seas? Listen! For a long time I have been a coast-guard, kept watch by the sea, so that in the land of the Danes no enemy might do harm with a ship-army. Never have any shield-bearers begun to come here more openly; nor did you know the permission-word from the warriors, at all, the consent of the kinsmen. I have never seen a greater warrior on the earth than is one of you, man in war-gear; this is not a hall-man, dignified by weapons: may his countenance never belie him, his unique appearance! Now I need to know your origin, before you go further from here, deceitful observers, go further into the land of the Danes. Now, you far-dwellers, you sea- crossers, listen to my plain opinion: Speed is best to tell where you have come from. (my own translation, with the assistance of Catherine Ball's wonderful website for definition purposes)

In a strikingly similar passage, when Legolas, Aragorn, Gimli and Gandalf arrive in Edoras, they too are first challenged by a guard:

Who are you that come heedless over the plain thus strangely clad, riding

horses like to our own horses? Long have we kept guard here, and we have watched you from afar. Never have we seen other riders so strange, nor any horse more proud than is one of these that bear you. ... Speak now and be swift! (Book III, Chapter VI)

Both in Beowulf and in The Lord of the Rings, the visitors are accompanied to the hall and are asked to surrender their arms in markedly similar contexts with near-verbatim similarities. The resemblances do not end there, however. Throughout the chapter, echoes of Beowulf reverberate in a familiar and exciting manner. In both stories, for example, the guard is torn and has difficulty deciding whether or not to let the visitors pass; in each instance, the guard finally makes a decision based on the only thing he can count on: proverbial wisdom. When the coastguard in Beowulf does not have enough evidence but has to rely on Beowulf's own words to decide whether to allow the visitors to proceed, he says:

Åghwæþres sceal The distinction between the two

scearp scyldwiga gescäd witan, the bold shield-warrior must know,

worda ond worca, së þe wël þenceð. words and deeds, he who judges well.

(287).

When Gandalf, against Wormtongue's express wishes, wants to take his staff into the hall, Háma has to make up his mind and says, "Yet in doubt a man of worth will trust to his own wisdom" (Book III, Chapter VI).

The similarities between the two tales continue throughout the chapter. When Beowulf finally makes it into Hrothgar's hall and has already started on the difficult process of being accepted as potential rescuer of the Danes from the ravages of the monster Grendel, he is, for a while, stopped by one of Hrothgar's advisers who bears a startling and eerie resemblance to Wormtongue:

Unferth spoke, Ecglaf's son, Unferth spoke, Ecglaf's son

þe æt fötum sæt frëan Scyldinga, who sat at the feet of the Scyldings' lord,

onband beadurüne; wæs him Bëowulfes sïð, loosened a battle-rune; Beowulf's journey,

mödges merefaran, micel æfþunca the brave-seafarer's, was great vexation to him

(500).

While the evil counselor out for destruction could be an archetype, an even greater resemblance is seen between Unferth and Wormtongue in the exciting (but questionable) Heaney translation of Beowulf, in which Unferth is described as "[crouching] at the king's feet...sick with envy: he could not brook or abide the fact that anyone else alive under heaven might enjoy greater regard than he did" (500-504). This neophyte scholar cannot help but wonder how heavily Heaney relied upon Lord of the Rings in his translation! That aside, in The Lord of the Rings, the evil counselor Wormtongue is shown sitting upon the steps at the feet of his master, Theodon. Even in this one chapter, the resemblance are numerous and startling in not only their number, but their ability to drive the story and lend a sense of urgency, mythology and circumstance to the tale.

Another correspondence can be seen between the Balrog of The Lord of the Rings and Grendel of Beowulf. Both figures are described only in shadows; what description there is, however, has a strikingly similar chord woven throughout. In Beowulf, Grendel is described only briefly:

Raþe æfter þon Soon afterwards

on fägne flör fëond treddode, the enemy stepped on the decorated floor,

ëode yrremöd; him of ëagum stöd the angry-minded one went; from his eyes there came,

ligge gelïcost lëoht unfæger. most similar to fire, an ugly light. (724-28)

We also hear about the fact that he is, by and large, man-shaped:

öðer earmsceapen the other wretched one

on weres wæstmum wræclästas træd, trod the exile-tracks in man's shape,

næfne hë wæs mära þonne ånig man öðer; except he was larger than any other man;

(Jensen) (Norton)

This description is vague in its detail; rather like that of the Balrog in The Lord of the Rings. In an earlier draft, however, the Balrog is shown in a bit more detail:

A figure strode to the fissure, no more than man-high yet terror seemed to go before it. They could see the furnace-fire of its yellow eyes from afar; its arms were very long; it had a red tongue. (Tolkien, C.)

In this view of the shadowy evil that takes Gandalf to a darker place, the fiery eyes of Grendel are echoed in the eyes of the Balrog. In the final version, Tolkien gives up that description but still pays homage to Beowulf:

What it was could not be seen: it was like a great shadow, in the

middle of which was a dark form, of man-shape maybe, yet greater;

and a power and terror seemed to be in it and to go before it.

(Book II, Chapter V)

In this, the Balrog is seen only in glimpse of darkness: an evil, taking after Grendel, that can never be fully comprehended as he is sprung from a darkness that can yield no light. Throughout this description, Tolkien's reverence of Beowulf can be seen, as borrowed bits are used and reshaped to create a magical world where, as in times of old, good must battle evil for the benefit of all.

Homage is not only paid to Beowulf, however; elements from many other Old English and Anglo-Saxon literature are clearly evident throughout The Lord of the Rings. Again using the example in which the four members of the fellowhip, Gandalf, Gimli, Legolas and Aragorn, arrive in Edoras, Aragorn starts to chant in the in the language of the Rohirrim:

Where now the horse and rider? Where is the horn that was blowing?

Where is the helm and the hauberk, and the bright hair flowing?

Where is the hand on the harpstring, and the red fire glowing?

Where is the spring and the harvest and the tall corn growing?

They have passed like rain on the mountain, like a wind in the meadow;

The days have gone down in the West behind the hills into shadow.

Who shall gather the smoke of the dead wood burning,

Or behold the flowing years from the Sea returning? (Book III, Ch VI)

Described as "rich and rolling in part, and else hard and stern as the mountains...laden with the sadness of Mortal Men" (Book III, Chapter VI), Aragorn's chant is an elegy, mourning and somber in its tone. Furthermore, a caesura is implied in the middle of each line, as would be appropriate in Old English prosody. Remarkable in its sad beauty, the Rohirrim chant appears to be inspired by the Old English poem, The Wanderer (I include the original Old English and the Modern English translation, so the original rhythm can be seen and the modern meaning can be obtained):

Hwær cwom mearg? Hwær cwom mago? Hwær cwom maþþumgyfa?
Hwær cwom symbla gesetu? Hwær sindon seledreamas?
Eala beorht bune! Eala byrnwiga!

Eala þeodnes þrym! Hu seo þrag gewat,
genap under nihthelm, swa heo no wære.
Stondeð nu on laste leofre duguþe
weal wundrum heah, wyrmlicum fah.
Eorlas fornoman asca þryþe,

wæpen wælgifru, wyrd seo mære,
ond þas stanhleoþu stormas cnyssað,
hrið hreosende hrusan bindeð,
wintres woma, þonne won cymeð,
nipeð nihtscua, norþan onsendeð

hreo hæglfare hæleþum on andan.
Eall is earfoðlic eorþan rice,
onwendeð wyrda gesceaft weoruld under heofonum.
Her bið feoh læne, her bið freond læne,
her bið mon læne, her bið mæg læne,

eal þis eorþan gesteal idel weorþeð! (Jensen 91-115)

Where is the horse now, where the hero gone?

Where is the bounteous lord, and where the benches

For feasting? Where are all the hoys of hall?

Alas for the bright cup, the armoured warrior,

The glory of the prince. That time is over,

Passed into the night as it had never been.

Stands now memorial to that dear band

The splendid loft wall, adorned with shapes

Of serpents; but the strong blood-greedy spear

And mighty destiny removed the heroes,

And storms now strike against these stony slopes.

The falling tempest binds in winter's vice

The earth, and darkness comes with the shades of night,

And from the north fierce hail is felt to fall

In malice against men. And all is hardship

On earth, the immutable decree of fate

Alters the world which lies beneath the heavens.

Here property and friendship pass away,

Here man himself and kinsmen pass away,

And all this earthly structure comes to nought. (Norton 101)

In comparing The Wanderer with the Rohirrim chant, Tolkien's love and respect for Old English poetry and prose is evident; the beauty and grace, along with the musical quality that compels the reader to sing the chant aloud, of Aragorn's words could only be written by one so intimately aware of the complex art of Old English elegiac laments.

Tolkien even borrows his title from Beowulf: line 2345 reads, "Oferhogaode ða hringa fengel," usually translated "Yet the prince of the rings was too proud..." This suggests Beowulf's trait of sharing gold rings and other spoils of war with his men, thus earning their loyalty. Tolkien probably translated this title of Beowulf's as "Lord of the Rings."

This awareness carries over in immeasurable ways; in the speech of Treebeard, the leader of the Ents in The Lord of the Rings, is the classic Old English verse form, in which the organizing device of the line was alliteration On average, each line would contain four stresses with each line divided into two, divided by a caesura (also evidenced in the Rohirrim lament). Beowulf is written, for the most part, with this structure. The mnemonic device of Treebeard, used to remember all the beings of Middle-earth, is a glimpse of the enticing, musical quality of this form of poetry:

Learn the lore of living creatures!

First name the four, the free peoples:

Eldest of all, the elf children;

Dwarf the delver, dark are his houses;

Ent the earthborn, old as mountains;

Man the mortal, master of horses...

Beaver the builder, buck the leaper,

Bear the bee-hunter, boar the fighter

Hound is hungry, hare is fearful...

Eagle in eyrie, ox in pasture,

Hart horn-crowned; hawk is swiftest,

Swan the whitest, serpent coldest. (Book III, Ch 4)

This verse is also gnomic in content, heralding back to the instructive and entertaining Old English poetry, as seen in poems such as Maxims II.

The influences present in The Lord of the Rings are seemingly endless; Old Norse figures and mythology, personal experiences and tragedies, and his love of languages and linguistics can all be seen. Through further study of these elements,however, a greater understanding of The Lord of the Rings can be obtained. It is through this framework of an older mythology that a new, fresh, and magical world can be introduced and understood, perhaps creating a desire for modern man to search for meaning and comprehension in a mottled world where dark and light are intermingled; even better, it introduces - through a modern, "cool" lense - the beauty of Old English verse, sparking interest in the masses. I cannot think of a better tribute to the startlingly sad, beautiful and elegantly crafted verse than to bring it back to life in this day and age. It has been my pleasure re-reading The Lord of the Rings, searching for Old English influences, hunting for Grendel myself, and feeling part of a much bigger, much older, and much more magical picture than I've ever had the opportunity to study.

Sources

Anonymous. "The Wanderer." Trans. E.T. Donaldson. The Norton Anthology of English Literature : The Middle Ages. 7^th ed. David, Alfred, ed. New York: Norton, 2000. 100-102.

Jensen, Toby. "Beowulf." Labyrinth Library: Old English. June 1, 2006. http://www.georgetown.edu/labyrinth/library/oe/texts/a3.6.html>

Jensen, Toby. "The Wanderer." Labyrinth Library: Old English. June 1, 2006. http://www.georgetown.edu/labyrinth/library/oe/texts/a3.6.html

Tolkien, Christopher. The History of Middle Earth: Volume VI: The Return of the Shadow: The History of 'The Lord of the Rings' Part One. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1988.

Tolkien, J.R.R. The Lord of the Rings. New York: Ballantine. 1965.