Tolkien and the Viking Heritage“
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DIPLOMARBEIT Titel der Diplomarbeit „Tolkien and the Viking Heritage“ verfasst von Sophie Hinger angestrebter akademischer Grad Magistra der Philosophie (Mag.phil.) Wien, 2014 Studienkennzahl lt. Studienblatt: A 190 344 313 Studienrichtung lt. Studienblatt: Lehramtsstudium UF Englisch UF Geschichte, Sozialkunde, Politische Bildung Betreut von: Univ.-Prof. Dr. Werner Huber Acknowledgements I would like to say thank you to all those people without whom the writing of this thesis would not have been possible. First and foremost, I would like to express my gratitude to Prof. Dr. Werner Huber for agreeing to supervise my diploma thesis and accepting the topic. I am thankful for his support during the writing process and his valuable feedback. I would also like to thank Prof. Christina Lee of the University of Nottingham for giving me the idea for thesis with her interesting lecture on the Viking World. Thank you to my mum for lending me her flip chart to organise my thoughts and for proofreading this thesis. Thank you to both my parents for supporting me throughout my studies and allowing me the time I needed to finish them. I also owe them my gratitude for introducing me to Tolkien’s books at an early age and thus kindling my enthusiasm for them. Special thanks to my sister, brother and cousins for never letting this enthusiasm weaken. Thank you for showing me that I can still enjoy The Lord of the Rings after writing this thesis. Table of Contents 1. Introduction ................................................................................................. 3 2. Background ................................................................................................. 5 2.1. J.R.R. Tolkien ......................................................................................... 5 2.1.1. Biography ......................................................................................... 5 2.1.2. Middle-earth ..................................................................................... 6 2.1.3. The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings .............................................. 8 2.1.4. Mythology and History ...................................................................... 9 2.3. The Film Adaptations ............................................................................ 11 2.4. The Vikings ........................................................................................... 13 2.4.1. Their Origins .................................................................................. 13 2.4.2. The Vikings in England ................................................................... 14 2.4.3. A Growing Interest in Vikings ......................................................... 15 3. Mythology and Literature ......................................................................... 16 3.1. Norse Mythology ................................................................................... 16 3.1.1. Overview ........................................................................................ 16 3.1.2. Sources .......................................................................................... 18 3.2. Parallels with Norse Mythology in Tolkien’s Legendarium ..................... 21 3.3. Remembering the Past in The Lord of the Rings (Book) ....................... 24 3.3.1. Oral Tradition ................................................................................. 24 3.3.2. Poetry ............................................................................................ 25 3.4. Remembering the Past in The Lord of the Rings (Film) ........................ 30 4. History ....................................................................................................... 34 4.1. Historical Events as Source of Inspiration ............................................. 34 4.2. Languages ............................................................................................ 40 4.3. Runes ................................................................................................... 44 5. Social System ............................................................................................ 46 5.1. Political Organisation ............................................................................ 46 5.2. Women’s Roles in Society .................................................................... 48 5.2.1. Viking Women and Their Representation in Old Norse Literature ... 48 5.2.2. Representation of Women in The Lord of the Rings ....................... 49 6. Art and Archaeology ................................................................................. 51 6.1. Burial Customs ..................................................................................... 51 6.1.1. Viking Burial Customs .................................................................... 51 6.1.2. Burial Customs in The Lord of the Rings ........................................ 53 6.2. Viking Art .............................................................................................. 57 6.3. Architecture .......................................................................................... 59 6.3.1. Viking Houses and Settlement Structure ........................................ 59 6.3.2. The Viking Hall in Archaeology and Literature ................................ 60 6.3.3. Settlement Structure and Houses in Rohan.................................... 63 6.3.4. The Golden Hall Meduseld in Book and Film .................................. 64 6.4. Arms and Armour ................................................................................. 71 6.4.1. Viking Arms and Armour ................................................................ 71 6.4.2. Arms and Armour in The Lord of the Rings (Book) ......................... 74 6.4.3. Arms and Armour in The Lord of the Rings (Film) .......................... 77 6.5. Viking and Rohirrim Physical Appearance and Clothing ....................... 83 7. Conclusion ................................................................................................ 85 8. Bibliography .............................................................................................. 89 9. Table of Figures ........................................................................................ 96 10. Appendix .................................................................................................. 97 Abstract (English) ........................................................................................ 97 Deutsche Zusammenfassung (German Abstract) ........................................ 98 Curriculum Vitae .......................................................................................... 99 3 1. Introduction The Oxford Companion to English Literature calls J.R.R Tolkien “the greatest influence within the fantasy genre” (Birch 360). His The Lord of the Rings can be seen as the first epic fantasy novel and the foundation stone for modern fantasy literature. Many fantasy novels followed it, but The Lord of the Rings still is unique and differs from its successors. The reason for its uniqueness is Tolkien’s wish to create a mythology rather than a fantasy. He wanted to write a mythology for England and therefore created Middle-earth as a mythological version of Europe rather than creating a new and separate world as many fantasy authors after him did. For this reason he had to create a world as realistic as possible and similar to cultures that had a rich mythological tradition. Two cultures which fulfil these requirements are the cultures of the Anglo- Saxons and the Vikings, both being Germanic peoples. The Anglo-Saxons are an important part of English history, while Viking culture has widely influenced Northern European culture and history. Norse mythology is still fascinating for many people today. Much has already been written about the influence of Norse mythology on The Lord of the Rings (e.g. DuBois&Scott; Burns Realms). Less research has so far been done about how other aspects of the culture and history of the Vikings and Anglo-Saxons influenced Tolkien’s writing. This thesis will take a step in that direction. The Germanic influence is most prominent in the depiction of the people of Rohan. So far some scholars have compared them to ‘Anglo Saxons on horseback’ (Bueno&Jorge; Drout; Honegger). There are, however, several similarities between the Rohirrim and the Vikings that support the assumption that Viking culture also played a role in the creation of the people of Rohan. These similarities can, for example, be found in burial customs, the representation of women and historical events. The Germanic, and especially Viking, influence on The Lord of the Rings is, however, not only restricted to the people of Rohan. It can also be seen in the general treatment of mythology and poetry and in parallels between some characters in Norse sagas and The Lord of the Rings, as for example Odin and Gandalf. Peter Jackson’s film adaptation of The Lord of the Rings of 2001, 2002, and 2003 was a worldwide success. As Tolkien’s novel differs from other fantasy 4 novels, Jackson’s films differ from other films of this genre. Jackson and his crew have several times expressed the wish to make historically realistic films rather than pure fantasy films. Jackson “wanted Middle-earth to be as realistic as possible” (LotR II Anhänge, Disc 3, “Designing Middle-earth”, 00:10:16ff.), and Andrew Lesnie, Director of Photography, said that the creators of the films “wanted everything