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galaxyofhair · 10 months

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Early Medieval LOTR

To follow up my previous post about having more works of fantasy that take their cues from the Early Medieval era: LOTR is the big one for me. So much of what Tolkien poured into LOTR were myths, legends, and motifs that were very specific to not only the Vikings, but Early Medieval Europe in general(and well beyond).

Going through “Ring Legends of Tolkien” by David Day, he goes over the many different stories that had a direct influence on LOTR. Some of the best known examples are Beowulf, and Arthurian Legend, both of which contributed to motifs such as the slaying of great monsters, the folly and destruction of evil kings, and the acquisition of holy/special swords.

The Volsunga Saga and the Nibelungenlied both deal with the slaying of dragons, and with the motif of cursed treasure--and I forget if its just one of them or both of them but they specifically deal with a cursed ring that is the figurehead of a larger cursed fortune and is ultimately the tool of everyone’s downfall.

This also isn’t new news---Even the films had a pretty good grasp on the Early Medieval influences on Tolkien's work and brought that out in their depiction of Rohan; Rohan’s seat of government in Edoras is essentially a viking longhouse situated on top of a large stone foundation. The Rohirrim themselves are dressed in armor that is either directly inspired by northern armor, or at least decorated in Nordic designs and knots. Even their swords are reminiscent of older Celtic and Viking swords.

But then Two Towers ends, and when we get into Return of The King we find ourselves in Gondor---and we return to that more Late Medieval inspired, standard fantasy setting we’re used to seeing.

((Side note, I can’t tell you how disappointed I was that ROP had the Númenóreans wearing scale mail but actually it’s scale molding into plate armor. What a tease.))

A popular interpretation of LOTR is that it’s an analogy for WWII, but (and I am putting aside Tolkien’s disdain for analogy) I have really come to view LOTR as being largely applicable to the political concerns and structures of the Early Medieval era:

The Shire isn’t England, it’s that all of Arnor is England, but split into many smaller states after [the romans] left some centuries earlier. Rohan could be roughly those of as Denmark, or Scandinavia in general---and Gondor is roughly analogous to the Holy Roman Empire or Frankia (Where Aragorn would be Charlemagne’s heir). It’s not a perfect analogy, but then it didn’t have to be either---the theme that’s being brought across here that didn’t end up being well communicated in the films is that the world of LOTR is a world in recovery. Previously, Arnor and Gondor had been a single kingdom, and at one time a much larger kingdom. This empire was smashed apart over time by various wars and issue with corruption, and as a result Arnor no longer exists, and Gondor has no king---and this applies pretty neatly to the conditions of the early medieval period, depending on which side of the Age of The Vikings you’re on:

The Western Empire was destroyed in 476, and western Europe had to be slowly rebuilt by the dozens and dozens of petty kingdoms that rose up in it’s wake. Charlemagne was the first in a long time to build an empire in western europe---although his empire also split and quickly fell into disrepair, so you could think of Aragorn as Charlemagne himself, or think of Elendil as Charlemagne and Aragorn as heir to the throne etc etc.

All of this to say: I wish I could see a version of LOTR than takes more heavily from these early medieval roots. A version that leaves out the plate armor, the late medieval weaponry, and embraces a visual world that more keenly fits the themes of the text. It would be a world that tells it’s own story visually: One of past prosperity turned to modern scarcity. But also, one that isn’t afraid to really let loose with some of the more viking/anglo-saxon/carolingian aspects of the story really shine through as a key aspect of the world and not just the icing on top.

Idk, it’s a long and stupid ask---there are many other influences on LOTR, including stuff that in non-European (which I realize I focused on here). It’s a big part of: I want to see more fantasy that takes advantage of different eras of technology and culture. Seeing LOTR sort of artificially transposed to a different era because we can’t seem to wrap our heads around any fantasy that doesn’t include big stupid plate armor and two-handed swords just feels like a tragic waste to me.

#lotr #lotr movies #lotr oc #early medieval #vikings #history #writing

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