Germanic 's
Sigurd the Volsung told (in this extract from page 389) of Dwarf-Rings and swords carried by dead kings.
Tolkien was familiar with the poem, and with Morris and Magnússon's prose translation. Tolkien was influenced by
Germanic heroic legend, especially its
Norse and Old English forms. During his education at King Edward's School in Birmingham, he read and translated from the
Old Norse in his free time. One of his first Norse purchases was the
Völsunga saga. While a student, Tolkien read the only available English translation of the
Völsunga saga, the 1870 rendering by
William Morris of the Victorian
Arts and Crafts movement and Icelandic scholar
Eiríkur Magnússon. The Old Norse
Völsunga saga and the
Middle High German Nibelungenlied were coeval texts made with the use of the same ancient sources. Both of them provided some of the basis for
Richard Wagner's opera series,
Der Ring des Nibelungen, featuring in particular a magical but cursed golden ring and a broken sword reforged. In the
Völsunga saga, these items are respectively
Andvaranaut and
Gram, and they correspond broadly to the
One Ring and the sword
Narsil (reforged as Andúril). The
Völsunga saga also gives various names found in Tolkien. Tolkien's
The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún discusses the saga in relation to the myth of Sigurd and Gudrún. Tolkien was influenced by Old English poetry, especially
Beowulf; Shippey writes that this was "obviously" the work that
had most influence upon him. The dragon
Smaug in
The Hobbit is closely based on the
Beowulf dragon, the points of similarity including its ferocity, its greed for gold, flying by night, having a well-guarded hoard, and being of great age. Tolkien made use of the epic poem in
The Lord of the Rings in many ways, including elements like the great hall of
Heorot, which appears as Meduseld, the Golden Hall of the Kings of
Rohan. The Elf
Legolas describes Meduseld in a direct translation of line 311 of
Beowulf (
líxte se léoma ofer landa fela), "The light of it shines far over the land". The name Meduseld, meaning "mead hall", is itself from
Beowulf. Shippey writes that the whole chapter "The King of the Golden Hall" is constructed exactly like the section of the poem where the hero and his party approach the King's hall: the visitors are challenged twice; they pile their weapons outside the door; and they hear wise words from the guard, Háma, a man who thinks for himself and takes a risk in making his decision. Both societies have a king, and both rule over a free people where, Shippey states, just obeying orders is not enough. as an "Odinic Wanderer". in his incarnation as "The Wanderer", an old man with one eye, a long white beard, a wide brimmed hat, and a staff. Tolkien wrote in a 1946 letter that he thought of Gandalf as an "Odinic wanderer". The Balrog and the collapse of the Bridge of Khazad-dûm in Moria parallel the fire jötunn
Surtr and the foretold destruction of
Asgard's bridge, Bifröst. The "
straight road" linking Valinor with Middle-Earth after the Second Age further mirrors the Bifröst linking Midgard and Asgard, and the
Valar themselves resemble the
Æsir, the gods of
Asgard.
Thor, for example, physically the strongest of the gods, can be seen both in Oromë, who fights the monsters of Melkor, and in Tulkas, the strongest of the Valar. The light elves of Norse mythology are associated with the gods, much as the Calaquendi are associated with the Valar. Some critics have suggested that
The Lord of the Rings was directly derived from
Richard Wagner's opera cycle,
Der Ring des Nibelungen, whose plot also centres on a powerful ring from Germanic mythology. Others have argued that any similarity is due to the common influence of the
Völsunga saga and the
Nibelungenlied on both authors. Tolkien sought to dismiss critics' direct comparisons to Wagner, telling his publisher, "Both rings were round, and there the resemblance ceases." According to
Humphrey Carpenter's biography of Tolkien, the author claimed to hold Wagner's interpretation of the relevant Germanic myths in contempt, even as a young man before reaching university. Some researchers take an intermediate position: that both the authors used the same sources, but that Tolkien was influenced by Wagner's development of the mythology, especially the conception of the Ring as conferring world mastery. Wagner probably developed this element by combining the ring with a magical wand mentioned in the
Nibelungenlied that could give to its wearer the control over "the race of men". Some argue that Tolkien's denial of a Wagnerian influence was an over-reaction to statements about the Ring by
Åke Ohlmarks,
Tolkien's Swedish translator. Others believe that Tolkien was reacting against the links between Wagner's work and
Nazism.
Finnish for some Middle-earth characters. by the Finnish national epic Kalevala'', especially the tale of
Kullervo, as an influence on Middle-earth. He credited Kullervo's story with being the "germ of [his] attempt to write legends". He tried to rework the story of Kullervo into a story of his own, and though he never finished, similarities to the story can still be seen in the tale of
Túrin Turambar. Both are tragic heroes who accidentally commit incest with their sister who on finding out kills herself by leaping into water. Both heroes later kill themselves after asking their sword if it will slay them, which it confirms. Like
The Lord of the Rings, the
Kalevala centres around a magical item of great power, the
Sampo, which bestows great fortune on its owner, but whose exact nature is never made clear; it has been considered a
World pillar (
Axis mundi) among other possibilities. Scholars including
Randel Helms have suggested that the Sampo contributed to Tolkien's Silmarils that form a central element of his legendarium. Jonathan Himes has suggested further that Tolkien found the Sampo complex, and chose to split the Sampo's parts into desirable objects. The pillar became the
Two Trees of Valinor with their
Tree of life aspect, illuminating the world. The decorated lid became the brilliant Silmarils, which embodied all that was left of the light of the Two Trees, thus tying the symbols together. Like the One Ring, the Sampo is fought over by forces of good and evil, and is ultimately lost to the world as it is destroyed towards the end of the story. The work's central character,
Väinämöinen, shares with Gandalf immortal origins and wise nature, and both works end with the character's departure on a ship to lands beyond the mortal world. Tolkien also based elements of his
Elvish language Quenya on
Finnish. Other critics have identified similarities between Väinämöinen and
Tom Bombadil.
Classical nearly rescues
Eurydice from Hades, only for her to die a second death. In Tolkien's version,
Lúthien plays Orpheus rather than Eurydice, three times rescuing
Beren, and they enjoy a second life together. Influence from
Greek mythology is apparent in the disappearance of the island of
Númenor, recalling
Atlantis. Tolkien's Elvish name "Atalantë" for Númenor resembles
Plato's Atlantis, furthering the illusion that his mythology simply extends the history and mythology of the real world. In his
Letters, however, Tolkien described this merely as a "curious chance." Classical mythology colours the Valar, who borrow many attributes from the
Olympian gods. The Valar, like the Olympians, live in the world, but on a high mountain, separated from mortals;
Ulmo, Lord of the Waters, owes much to
Poseidon, and
Manwë, the Lord of the Air and King of the Valar, to
Zeus.
Oedipus is mentioned in connection with Túrin in the
Children of Húrin, among other mythological figures:
Fëanor has been compared with
Prometheus by researchers such as
Verlyn Flieger. They share a symbolical and literal association with fire, are both rebels against the gods' decrees and inventors of artefacts that were sources of light, or vessels to divine flame.
Celtic Welsh and Irish ,
medieval, and
recent influences on the
geography and
peoples of Middle-earth. All locations are approximate. The extent of Celtic influence has been debated. Tolkien wrote that he gave the Elvish language
Sindarin "a linguistic character very like (though not identical with)
Welsh ... because it seems to fit the rather 'Celtic' type of legends and stories told of its speakers". Some names of characters and places in
The Hobbit and
The Lord of the Rings have Welsh origin; for instance, Crickhollow in the Shire recalls the Welsh placename
Crickhowell, while the hobbit name
Meriadoc has been suggested as an allusion to
a legendary king of Brittany, though Tolkien denied any connection. In addition, the depiction of Elves has been described as deriving from
Celtic mythology. Tolkien wrote of "a certain distaste" for Celtic legends, "largely for their fundamental unreason", but
The Silmarillion is thought by scholars to have some Celtic influence. The exile of the
Noldorin Elves, for example, has parallels with the story of the
Tuatha Dé Danann in Irish mythology. The Tuatha Dé Danann, semi-divine beings, invaded Ireland from across the sea, burning their ships when they arrived and fighting a fierce battle with the current inhabitants. The Noldor arrived in Middle-earth from Valinor and burned their ships, then turned to fight Melkor. Another parallel can be seen between the loss of a hand by
Maedhros, son of Fëanor, and the similar mutilation suffered by Nuada Airgetlám /
Llud llaw Ereint ("Silver Hand/Arm") during the battle with the Firbolg. Nuada received a hand made of silver to replace the lost one, and his later appellation has the same meaning as the Elvish name
Celebrimbor: "silver fist" or "Hand of silver" in Sindarin (
Telperinquar in Quenya).
Arthurian legends The
Arthurian legends are part of the Celtic cultural heritage. Tolkien denied their influence, but critics have found several parallels. Authors such as Donald O'Brien, Patrick Wynne,
Carl Hostetter, and
Tom Shippey have pointed out similarities between the tale of
Beren and Lúthien in
The Silmarillion and
Culhwch and Olwen, a tale in the Welsh
Mabinogion. In both, the male heroes make rash promises after having been stricken by the beauty of non-mortal maidens; both enlist the aid of great kings,
Arthur and Finrod; both show rings that prove their identities; and both are set impossible tasks that include, directly or indirectly, the hunting and killing of ferocious beasts (the wild boars,
Twrch Trwyth and Ysgithrywyn, and the wolf
Carcharoth) with the help of a supernatural hound (Cafall and
Huan). Both maidens possess such beauty that flowers grow beneath their feet when they come to meet the heroes for the first time, as if they were living embodiments of spring. The
Mabinogion was part of the
Red Book of Hergest, a source of Welsh Celtic lore, which the
Red Book of Westmarch, a supposed source of Hobbit-lore, probably imitates. Gandalf has been compared with
Merlin, Frodo and
Aragorn with Arthur, and
Galadriel with the
Lady of the Lake. She points out visible correspondences such as
Avalon and
Avallónë, and
Brocéliande and Broceliand, the original name of
Beleriand. Tolkien himself said that Frodo's and
Bilbo's departure to
Tol Eressëa (also called "Avallon" in the Legendarium) was an "Arthurian ending". Such correlations are discussed in the posthumously published
The Fall of Arthur; a section, "The Connection to the Quenta", explores Tolkien's use of Arthurian material in
The Silmarillion. Another parallel is between the Arthurian tale of
Sir Balin and that of Tolkien's
Túrin Turambar. Though Balin knows he wields an accursed sword, he continues his quest to regain King Arthur's favour. Fate catches up with him when he unwittingly kills his own brother, who mortally wounds him. Turin accidentally kills his friend Beleg with his sword.
Slavic There are a few echoes of
Slavic mythology in Tolkien's novels, such as the names of the wizard
Radagast and his home at Rhosgobel in
Rhovanion; all three appear to be connected with the
Slavic god Rodegast, a god of the sun, war, hospitality, fertility, and harvest. The
Anduin, the Sindarin name for The Great River of Rhovanion, may be related to the
Danube River, which flows mainly among the
Slavic people and played an important role in their folklore. == History ==