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Splintered Light
''Splintered Light: Logos and Language in Tolkien's World'' is an 1983 book of literary criticism by the leading Tolkien scholar Verlyn Flieger, in which she argues that light is a central theme of Tolkien's Middle-earth mythology, in particular in '' The Silmarillion''. It has been admired by other scholars to the extent that it has become a core element of Tolkien scholarship. Context J. R. R. Tolkien was an English author and philologist of ancient Germanic languages, specialising in Old English; he spent much of his career as a professor at the University of Oxford. He is best known for his novels about his invented Middle-earth, '' The Hobbit'', '' The Lord of the Rings'', and '' The Silmarillion''. A devout Roman Catholic, he described ''The Lord of the Rings'' as "a fundamentally religious and Catholic work", rich in Christian symbolism. Verlyn Flieger worked for over 30 years as a Tolkien scholar, becoming accepted as one of the foremost authors in that fi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Verlyn Flieger
Verlyn Flieger (born 1933) is an author, editor, and Professor Emerita in the Department of English at the University of Maryland at College Park, where she taught courses in comparative mythology, medieval literature, and the works of J. R. R. Tolkien. She is well known as a Tolkien scholar, especially for her books ''Splintered Light'' and ''A Question of Time''. She has won the Mythopoeic Scholarship Award four times for her work on Tolkien's Middle-earth writings. Biography Flieger holds a master's degree (1972) and doctorate (1977) from The Catholic University of America, and has been associated with the University of Maryland since 1976. In 2012, retiring from teaching at Maryland, Flieger began teaching Arthurian studies online at Signum University. Her best-known books are '' Splintered Light: Logos and Language in Tolkien's World'' (1983; revised edition, 2002), which argues that light is a central theme of Tolkien's Middle-earth mythology; ''A Question of Time: J. R. R ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mythology
Myth is a folklore genre consisting of Narrative, narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or Origin myth, origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not Objectivity (philosophy), objectively true, the identification of a narrative as a myth can be highly controversial. Many adherents of religions view their own religions' stories as truth and so object to their characterization as myth, the way they see the stories of other religions. As such, some scholars label all religious narratives "myths" for practical reasons, such as to avoid depreciating any one tradition because cultures interpret each other differently relative to one another. Other scholars avoid using the term "myth" altogether and instead use different terms like "sacred history", "holy story", or simply "history" to avoid placing pejorative overtones on any sacred narrative. Myths are often endorsed by secular and religious authorities and are close ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Valinor
Valinor (Quenya'': Land of the Valar'') or the Blessed Realms is a fictional location in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, the home of the immortal Valar on the continent of Aman, far to the west of Middle-earth; he used the name Aman mainly to mean Valinor. It included Eldamar, the land of the Elves, who as immortals were permitted to live in Valinor. Aman was known somewhat misleadingly as "the Undying Lands", but the land itself does not cause mortals to live forever., #156 to Father R. Murray, SJ, November 1954 However, only immortal beings were generally allowed to reside there. Exceptions were made for the surviving bearers of the One Ring: Bilbo and Frodo Baggins and Sam Gamgee, who dwelt there for a time, and the dwarf Gimli., "The Grey Havens", and Appendix B, entry for S.R. 1482 and 1541., #249 to Michael George Tolkien, October 1963 Scholars have described the similarity of Tolkien's myth of the attempt of Númenor to capture Aman to the biblical Tower of Babel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Two Trees Of Valinor
In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, the Two Trees of Valinor are Telperion and Laurelin, the Silver Tree and the Gold Tree, which brought light to Valinor, a paradisiacal realm also known as the Undying Lands where angelic beings lived. The Two Trees were apparently of enormous stature, and exuded dew that was a pure and magical light in liquid form. They were destroyed by the evil beings Ungoliant and Melkor, but their last flower and fruit were made into the Moon and the Sun. Commentators have seen mythic and Christian symbolism in the Two Trees; they have been called the most important symbols in the entire legendarium. Creation and destruction The first sources of light for all of Tolkien's imaginary world, Arda, were two enormous Lamps on the central continent, Middle-earth: Illuin, the silver one to the north, and Ormal, the golden one to the south. They had been created by the Valar, powerful spirit beings, but were cast down and destroyed by the Dark Lord Melkor., ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Years Of The Trees
In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, the history of Arda, also called the history of Middle-earth, began when the Ainur entered Arda, following the creation events in the Ainulindalë and long ages of labour throughout Eä, the fictional universe. Time from that point was measured using Valian Years, though the subsequent history of Arda was divided into three time periods using different years, known as the Years of the Lamps, the Years of the Trees and the Years of the Sun. A separate, overlapping chronology divides the history into 'Ages of the Children of Ilúvatar'. The first such Age began with the Awakening of the Elves during the Years of the Trees and continued for the first six centuries of the Years of the Sun. All the subsequent Ages took place during the Years of the Sun. Most Middle-earth stories take place in the first three Ages of the Children of Ilúvatar. Major themes of the history are the divine creation of the world, followed by the splintering of the cre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Melkor
Morgoth Bauglir (; originally Melkor ) is a character, one of the godlike Valar, from Tolkien's legendarium. He is the main antagonist of ''The Silmarillion'', '' The Children of Húrin'', ''Beren and Lúthien'' and ''The Fall of Gondolin''. Melkor was the most powerful of the Valar but turned to darkness and was renamed Morgoth, the definitive antagonist of Arda. All evil in the world of Middle-earth ultimately stems from him. One of the Maiar of Aulë betrayed his kind and became Morgoth's principal lieutenant and successor, Sauron. Melkor has been interpreted as analogous to Satan, once the greatest of all God's angels, Lucifer, but fallen through pride; he rebels against his creator. Scholars have likened Morgoth, too, to John Milton's fallen angel in ''Paradise Lost''. Tom Shippey has written that ''The Silmarillion'' maps the book of Genesis with its creation and its fall, even Melkor having begun with good intentions. Marjorie Burns has commented that Tolkien used ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ormal
In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, the history of Arda, also called the history of Middle-earth, began when the Ainur entered Arda, following the creation events in the Ainulindalë and long ages of labour throughout Eä, the fictional universe. Time from that point was measured using Valian Years, though the subsequent history of Arda was divided into three time periods using different years, known as the Years of the Lamps, the Years of the Trees and the Years of the Sun. A separate, overlapping chronology divides the history into 'Ages of the Children of Ilúvatar'. The first such Age began with the Awakening of the Elves during the Years of the Trees and continued for the first six centuries of the Years of the Sun. All the subsequent Ages took place during the Years of the Sun. Most Middle-earth stories take place in the first three Ages of the Children of Ilúvatar. Major themes of the history are the divine creation of the world, followed by the splintering of the cre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Years Of The Lamps
In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, the history of Arda, also called the history of Middle-earth, began when the Ainur entered Arda, following the creation events in the Ainulindalë and long ages of labour throughout Eä, the fictional universe. Time from that point was measured using Valian Years, though the subsequent history of Arda was divided into three time periods using different years, known as the Years of the Lamps, the Years of the Trees and the Years of the Sun. A separate, overlapping chronology divides the history into 'Ages of the Children of Ilúvatar'. The first such Age began with the Awakening of the Elves during the Years of the Trees and continued for the first six centuries of the Years of the Sun. All the subsequent Ages took place during the Years of the Sun. Most Middle-earth stories take place in the first three Ages of the Children of Ilúvatar. Major themes of the history are the divine creation of the world, followed by the splintering of the creat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Man (Middle-earth)
In J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth fiction, Man and Men denote humans, whether male or female, in contrast to Elves, Dwarves, Orcs, and other humanoid races. Men are described as the second or younger people, created after the Elves, and differing from them in being mortal. Along with Ents and Dwarves, these are the "free peoples" of Middle-earth, differing from the enslaved peoples such as Orcs. Tolkien uses the Men of Middle-earth, interacting with immortal Elves, to explore a variety of themes in ''The Lord of the Rings'', especially death and immortality. This appears throughout, but is the central theme of an appendix, " The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen". Where the Hobbits stand for simple, earthbound, comfort-loving people, Men are far more varied, from petty villains and slow-witted publicans to the gentle warrior Faramir and the genuinely heroic Aragorn; Tolkien had wanted to create a heroic romance suitable for the modern age. Scholars have identified real-world ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
