Volume 8 Number 4 Article 3

12-15-1982

The Irish Mythological Cycle and Tolkien's Eldar

Gerald V. Gillespie University of Massachusetts

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Recommended Citation Gillespie, Gerald V. (1982) "The Irish Mythological Cycle and Tolkien's Eldar," Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature: Vol. 8 : No. 4 , Article 3. Available at: https://dc.swosu.edu/mythlore/vol8/iss4/3

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Abstract Compares aspects of The Silmarillion and The Lord of the Rings to The Mythological Cycle of , specifically the Book of Invasions. Claims the history of the Eldar shows “a similarity to Irish sources much closer and more extensive than any critic has heretofore remarked.”

Additional Keywords —Influence on J.R.R olkien;T Irish literature—Influence on J.R.R. olkien;T Tolkien, J.R.R.—Characters—Elves—Sources

This article is available in Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature: https://dc.swosu.edu/mythlore/vol8/iss4/3 MYTHLORE 30: Winter 1982 page 8

The Irish Mythological Cycle and Tolkien's Eldar Gerald V. Gillespie

Fair Lady, w ill you travel vel across the sea from the east. This reminds us of Tb the m arvellous land of stars? Tolkien's Elves and the men in the Silm arillion, who origi­ Early Irish poem1 nate in the east of Middle Earth and slowly move westward. A rriving in , the Nemedians encounter the , Critic s have seen in the creatures of Tolkien's Middle representatives of night and chaos, the demons of Irish Earth a sort of m ythological League of N ations, or in the mythology. The Fom orians are described as one-armed, one- case of the "free peoples” a pan-Northern European alliance. legged, and one-eyed. They are vanquished by the Nemedians, The Hobbits are idealised English rural dw ellers. The with the aid of a helper from across the sea, who in fil­ Dwarves (sic) come from Nordic sources; in many cases th eir trates the Fomorians' tower and causes its collapse. Again names are drawn directly from the pages of the Elder Edda. the story is rem iniscent of Tolkien - here of Gandalf and The Rohirrim , TO lkien's horsemen of the plains, are over­ his in filtratio n of Dol Guldor. Exhausted by this struggle, whelmingly Teutonic/Anglo-Saxon in th eir language, social the follow ers of divide into two main groups and leave structure, and, even, physical appearance. And many feel Ireland for the w hile. One group, consisting mainly of the that the sources of the Eldar, Tolkien's Elves, are C eltic, F ir Bolg, goes off to Greece. The other group voyages more specifically Irish. A close study of the Eldar and across the sea, westward and northward to magic isles, where their "history" w ill show a sim ilarity to Irish sources they learn magical knowledge and w izardry. These are the much closer and more extensive than any c ritic has hereto­ Tuatha De Danaan. The Eldar in the Silm arillion also origi­ fore remarked. nate in the east, move westward, and voyage across the sea to Valinor to learn magical sk ills and crafts. Tolkien certainly had some knowledge of C eltic language and literatu re. He remarks in his O'Donnell lecture that Eventually, the F ir Bolg return to Ireland and assume his early enthusiasm for languages was excited by the Welsh its rulership, to be followed soon after by the Tuatha, placenames he would observe on passing train s.2 Indeed, one flying in clouds. The clerical interpretation of this fly­ of his Eldarin languages, Sindarin, is modelled on W elsh.3 ing entrance in the Book of the Invasions is that the Parker claim s that the Elves are C eltic, and that the men Tuatha burned th eir ships behind them so that no one would nearest the Elves, the Numenoreans, are "C elt-like".4 Com­ be tempted to return to the islands from which they came, menting on T olkien's poem "Imram" (the Irish word for voyage), thus causing great clouds of smoke. So the Eldar burned Kbcher remarks that the Undying lands' "closest counterpart their ships on returning to the Middle Earth, so that no in literatu re is in those early medieval C eltic tales known one would be tempted to retreat.9 In the F irst B attle of as Imrama." The comparisons between the m atter of Tolkien's Moytura, the fight with the tuatha for the ruler- Eldar and early Irish literatu re, however, seem to go deeper ship of Ireland. The F ir Bolg are shown consistently as than a few allusions. The whole created history and nature being concerned w ith war and rulership, while the Tuatha, of the Eldar echo the history and tales of the Tuatha De like Tolkien's Elves, are people of sk ills and power over, Danaan in Irish literatu re and folklore. or rapport w ith, nature. And it is through these attributes that the Tuatha defeat the Fir Bolg, or at least fight them Pagan Irish literatu re was passed down orally by genera­ to a stan d still.10 tions of filid (combination priests and poets) and finally w ritten down by C hristian clerics. It has been divided into A fter the battle, the Tuatha assume rulership of Ire­ four main cycles: the M ythological, U lster, Fenian and land, and, for some reason, make , a half-Fom orian, H istorical Cycles. The M ythological Cycle concerns the their king. He is a terrible king, suffering fron that most several different waves of m ythological beings who invaded unlrish failing, cheapness. One could v isit him , a s th e and inhabited Ireland before the arrival of the M ilesians, tale goes, and get neither grease upon one's knife, nor, eponymous ancestors of the modern, m ortal Irish . The U lster w hat's worse, ale down one's throat. He enslaves the Tuatha, Cycle contains the tales of the U lster w arriors, their king exploiting their sk ills for his own gains. The Tuatha Oonchobor, and th eir main hero, the Irish A chilles, finally unseat him, and he goes off to the islands to gather CuChulainn. The Fenian Cycle relates the exploits of Finn an army of his relatives. On the eve of the Second Battle McCool and his wandering band of w arriors, the Fiana. The of Moytura, the Tuatha are gathered in their h all, when they H istorical Cycle recounts the histories and genealogies, are visited by , another half-Fomorian, who has ccme mainly invented, of early Irish kings.6 In a ll these tales, from across the sea to assist them. He possesses many to varying degrees, there is C eltic magic and traffic with sk ills, and Nuadu, the Tuatha king, taiporarily cedes his the otherw orld. The M ythological Cycle, however, is of kingship to him. We have a parallel here to the situation primary interest in any study of Tolkien. in the Lord of the Rings where a ll the leaders of the West tem porarily cede th eir leadership to Gandalf, another helper The M ythological Cycle lends itse lf to division into from across the sea. two parts - the Book of Invasions, and sane assorted later tales. The Book of Invasions was compiled by early Irish In the b attle which follow s, Tuatha w itches and wizards clerics attem pting to do for Ireland what Nennius had done again employ th eir power over nature. The main contest of for B ritain with his H istoria Brittanorum , to relate the the day, however, is between Lugh and , the Fomorian to that of the B iblical and classical champion. Balor has only one eye, but its glance is baleful world. They drew heavily from native Irish sources, and the and w ill destroy anyone upon whom it rests. (Sauron is result, until th is century, has been considered a mainly always represented in the Lord of the Rings as a red, burn­ accurate, if somewhat garbled, history of early Ireland. ing eye.) As B alor's eye is about to open in battle, Lugh C eltic scholars now view th is m aterial not as history, but h its it with a stone so that it turns upon the Fomorians, as the remnants of an early C eltic cosmogeny and theogeny. who are completely and finally routed. So too is Sauron In distorted form, the Bock of Invasions gives a descrip­ destroyed by the loss of his own ring, his own weapon. tion of the physical form ation of Ireland, and an account of an early C eltic pantheon, the Tuatha De Danaan.7 A fter th is triu mph, the M orrigan, a Tuatha war goddess, announces the victory to the h ills and estuaries of Ireland. The framework of the Book of Invasions is the account The , another Tuatha figure, recites a poem about the of different waves of invaders of Ireland.8 The first two end of the world. This seems rather gloomy for such a joy­ invasions are by the peoples of and Partholon. Both ous occasion, unless one understands that the M ythological of these groups are elim inated by flood and famine, except Cycle deals with endings and transitions. They are not for one member who survives to te ll their tale. Next came always happy ones, as when the M ilesians arrive in Ireland Nemed and his follow ers, who like the earlier invaders tra­ and defeat the Tuatha at the B attle of T ailtiu. MYTHLORE 30: Winter 1982 page 9

The Book of Invasions contains a cosmogeny and theogony, The fate of Arwen echoes even more strongly The Fate of for Ireland, as does the S ilm arillion for T olkien's created the Children of L ir. In th is ta le , four of the Tuatha De w orld. It deals w ith the origins and youth of the Tuatha Danaan, three m ales and one fem ale, Fionnula, return to Ire­ De Danaan, as the S ilm arillion deals w ith the origin and land after a m agically imposed ex ile, only to discover it youth of the E ldar. And both in th eir youths are lusty and empty of the Tuatha, and inhabited by m ortals. They return pow erful. The Book of Invasions, however, is also about the to the fairy mounds and find them covered w ith thorn and ends of ages and the passings of peoples. W ith its la st weed. They wander disconsolate searching for th eir kinfolk. invasion, th at of the M ilesians, the passing away of the So too did Arwen, a fte r the death of A ragorn, wander the Tuatha begins. They begin to wane, as the ancestors of mor­ deserted groves of L orien. "And she went out from the city ta l man begin to grow in power. The Tuatha w ithdraw into of M inas T irith and passed away to the land of L orien, and th eir fairy mounds, and slow ly disappear. dw elt there alone under the fading tre e s ..." .18

Parker is of the opinion th at the Lord of the Rings is In both T olkien's saga and the Irish M ythological Cycle, too about the "end of an age", and not su much about the an im m ortal, g ifted folk have learned m agical sk ills over­ "endless struggle of good and ev il".11 In the trilo g y , the seas, and have returned to m ortal lands to contest sover­ Third Age of M iddle E arth draws to an end, the E ldar return eignty w ith demonic figures. In both tales they were figures overseas or dw indle, and men assure rulership over M iddle of power and determ ination. And in both tales they lose E a r t h . th eir power to m ortals and wane, fin ally disappearing frcm m ortal ken, to rem ain in the memory as figures of great In the Lord of the R ings, the E ldar are shadows of beauty and nostalgia. th eir form er m ighty, w arlike selves as they are portrayed in the S ilm arillion. They have started to withdraw frcm M iddle We go back to Elvenhcm e, E arth, and they long fo r the solace of the Undying Lands. where the w hite tree is growing In the trilo g y , th eir role is m ainly an advisory one. W ith and the sta r shines upon the foam a few exceptions, such as Legolas, they have lo st th eir war­ on the la st shore flow ing.19 rio r's ardor. And even Legolas becomes consumed w ith longing for the sea, and for what lie s beyond it, after his fatefu l voyage w ith A ragorn.12 E arly in the trilo g y , G ildor, an NOTES: E lf, says to Frodo, "We are ex iles, and m ost of our kindred have long ago departed and we too are only tarrying here for 1. "The Wooing of E tain." in The Book of Irish Verse a w hile, ere we return over the G reat Sea."13 G aladriel, (New York: M acm illan, 1976), stanza 1, lin es 1-2. talking of the prospects for her people if Frodo's quests 2. Himphrey C arpenter, T olkien: A Biography. (Boston: succeeds, says, "We m ust depart into the W est, or dw indle to Houghton M ifflin Company, 1977), pp. 56-57. a ru stic folk of d ell and cave."14 W ith the fin al defeat of 3. Ibid., p. 94. Sauron, the E ldar leave M iddle E arth, surrendering, half 4. D ouglass P arker, "Ewaet We Holbytla.. The H u d s o n gladly, and half sorrow fully, th eir sovereignty to m ortal Review IX (W inter 1956-1957) : 606. men. It is the beginning of the Fourth Age, the age of man, 5. Paul H. Kbcher, M aster of M iddle E arth. (Boston: o u r a g e . Houghton M ifflin Company, 1972), p. 12. 6. Alwyn Rees and B rinley Rees, C eltic H eritage. There is a type of m ythological tim e present in many (London : Thames and Hudson, 1961), p. 26. folklores. It is a tim e when anim als speak, and m iracles are 7. Ibid., p. 104. a n atter of course. It is sometimes referred- to as "in illo 8. P roinsias MacCana, C eltic M ythology. (New York: tem pore", and always ju st precedes real tim e, or h isto ry . Hamlyn, 1970), pp. 57-64. The Irish M ythological Cycle follow s a progression frcm magi­ 9. J.R .R . Tolkien, The S ilm arillion. (Boston: cal tim e to m ortal h isto ry , however inaccurate th at history Houghton M ifflin Company, 1977), p. 90. may be. The later tales of the cycle chart the waning of the 10. Rees, C eltic H eritage, pp. 29-30. Tuatha. The haunting, nostalgic beauty of these tales of 11. Parker, "Hwaet We H olbytla...", p. 603. the C eltic T w ilight is very lik e the bittersw eet endings in 12. J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King. (Boston: the Lord of the Rings. Two of the later tales of th is cycle Houghton M ifflin Company, 1966), p. 149. are of special relevance here - The Tale of the House of the 13. J.R .R . T olkien, The Fellow ship of the Ring. Two M edars and The Fate of C hildren of L ir. (B oston: Houghton M ifflin Company, 1966), p . 89. 14. Ibid., p. 381. In the firs t of these two tales, the action begins in a 1 5 . Myles D illon, . (Chicago: fairy mound where the defeated Tuatha have gathered a fte r U niversity of Chicago P ress, 1948), p. 67. the B attle of T ailtiu to pick a new king. O verseeing the 16. This is a la te r developm ent of the figure of. discussion is Manannan Mac L ir, the C eltic god of the sea. Manannan, as the Rees brothers point out (C eltic H eritage, M yles D illon points out th a t, in th is ta le , w hile Manannan p. 39), and reflec ts possibly the coming journey of seme is an overlord of the Tuatha, he is not one of them . "He Tuatha across the sea. dw ells outside of Irelan d ...and belongs to the nobles of the 17. Tolkien, Return of the King, p. 344. l a n d o f P r o m i s e ." 1 5 H i s people seem to be of a higher order 18. Ib id ., p. 344. of supernatural being than the T uatha,!6 though in ferio r in 19. J.R .R . Tolkien, "The In st Ship." in The Tolkien th eir turn to the one true C hristian God. This situation is Reader. (New York: B all an tin e Books, 1966), stanza 8, s o m e w h a t a k i n to the hierarchy in T olkien's created w orld, l i n e s 5 - 8 . w h e r e t h e E l d a r rank below the V alar of the Undying lands, who in turn are subordinates of Eru, the one true God. BIBLIOGRAPHY The p lo t of th is ta le , however, is m ainly concerned w ith C arpenter, Humphrey. T olkien: A Biography. Boston: the Tuatha m aiden, E thne, who becomes m ortal a fte r an in ­ Houghton M ifflin Company, 1977. su ltin g comment is passed about her, and loses her ab ility to see her form er kinspeople. She becomes a disciple of the C ross, Tom and Slaver, d ark . A ncient Irish T ales. New m ortal Saint P atrick, and after a b attle for her, which the York: H. H olt and Company, 1936. Tuatha lose, she becomes fu lly m ortal and d ies. Having new a soul, unlike the soulless Tuatha, she supposedly goes to D illon, Myles. Early Irish Literature. Chicago: Univer­ Heaven. In E thne's fate, her sundering frcm her inm ortal kinfolk, her assum ption of m ortality and a soul, and her g ift sity of Chicago Press, 1948. of a m ortal's a fte rlife , one can perhaps see a model for Arwen Evenstar and her fate in the Lord of the R ings. She Kbcher, Paul. M aster of M iddle E arth. Boston: Houghton is an inmorta l elven m aiden who also assum es m ortality, in M ifflin Company, 1972. her case in order to m arry A ragorn. She loses contact w ith Leabhar Gahhala Erenn. E dited by R.A. Stew art M acalister. her im m ortal kin when they desert th is w orld. And she too, D ublin: Irish Texts Society, 1938. it is in tim ated by Tolkien, gains w ith her m ortality a soul which en titles her to a m ortal's a fte rlife .17 continued on page 42 MYTHLORE 30: W inter 1982 page 42

(continued from page 14) ______. The Silm arillion. Boston: Houghton M ifflin, 1 9 7 7 . a friendly instructor if they would do this. Additional copies of the flyer will be sent on request. ______. The Tolkien Reader. New York: B allantine Books, D. Ask the public libraries in your area to subscribe. 1 9 6 6 . E. Ask at least one friend to subscribe, or give a gift subscription. For each new subscription for another, Journal A rticles you may receive a one issue extension of your sub­ scription, if you request it. Parker, Douglass, "Hwaet We B olbytla..." Hudson Review IX F. Represent M ythlore and the Society at a table at (W inter 1956-1957): 599-607. regional academ ic conferences, fantasy conventions. Renaissance Faires, etc., in your area. Arrangements "Felicitious Space" continued from page 17 can be made for you to receive flyers and sam ple pub­ be taken from th is edition; page numbers w ill be lications by w riting to the Editor. This is a very good indicated in parenthesis. way to let others know of our existence, but it does need you to make it happen. 3Ursula LeGuir., "Fantasy, Like Poetry, Speaks the Language of the N ight," The Language of the Night, We are a well inform ed and highly m otivated community. Ed. Susan Wood (New York! G. P. Putnam, 1979), p . 1 1 . With strong, active support and cooperation we can advance 4Gaston Bachelard, The Poetics of Space, Trans. the vision of greater things for M ythlore and its readers. Maria Jolas (Boston: Beacon Press, 1969), p. 15. Subsequent quotations w ill be taken from this edition; page num bers'will be indicated in parenthesis. Motif of the Garden,_continued from page 6 5Mervyn Peake, T itus Groan (New York: B allantine, 1976), p. 77. Bibliography 6C. N. Manlove, Modern Fantasy (Cambridge, Cam­ Cam ell, Corbin Scott. Bright Shadow of Reality; c. s. bridge U niversity Press, 1975), p. 256. Lewis and the Feeling In tellect. Grand Rapids, M ichigan: W illiam B. Eerdmans, 19?*!. PARMA ELDALAMBERON Hume, Kathryn. "C. S. Lewis'' T rilogy: A Cosmic Romance,” MFS. 20, Ho. 4 (W inter 1974-75), 505-1?. The Council of Stewards regrets to announce lew is, C. S. the Allegory of Love. London: Oxford Univer­ that Parma Eldalamberon. the Mythopoeic Society's sity Eress, 1938. Elvish language journal, must he officially dis­ continued. It has been three years since Parma 5 ------. Out of the S ilent K lanet. New York: Macmillan appeared, and a long series of letters and personal Paperbacks, 1965. approaches to the Parma staff has failed to bring another issue demonstrably nearer to publication. ------.P erlan d ra New York: Macmillan Paperbacks, I 965. While the Mythopoeic Linguistic Fellowship, a special activity group, has always undertaken ------. That, Hideous Strength. New York: M acmillan Paper­ production of the magazine, the Society as a whole b a c k s , 1965. owns Parma, is financially responsible for it, and is legally obligated to fu lfill subscriptions. The Nitzche, Jane Chance. Tolkien’s A rt: A "Mythology for Stewards have acted unanimously in the light of England." New York: St. M artin's, 1979. these responsibilities. Betty, Anne C. One Ring to Bind Them A ll: Tolkien's Though the magazine may someday be reconstitu­ Mythology. U niversity, Alabama: U niversity of Alabama ted - indeed, the entire Council hopes that this Press, 1979. w ill be the case - we are setting the hooks in order by addressing an offer of settlement to cur­ Tolkien, J. R. R. The Fellowship of the Ring; being the rent Parma subscribers. Any revival w ill be an­ firs t part of The Lord of the Rings. New Sark: n oun ced. B allantdne Books, 1965. Meanwhile our readers and members are asked not to send Parma subscription money to the Society. ------. The Two Tow ers: being the second ta rt of The Lard Back issues remain available. A rticles on Mythopoeic of the Rings. New York: B allantine Books, 1965. languages w ill be welcome in Mythlore. ------. The Return of the >Klngi being the third -part of Lee Speth, 1981 Chairman, for The Council of Stewards The Lord of the Rings. New York: B allantine Books, 1 9 6 5 . Statement of Ownership, Management and Circulation (Required by 39 U.S.C. 3685) W illiams, Charles. Descent into H ell. Grand Rapids, Michi­ 1. Title of publication: Mythlore, ISSN 01469339. 2. Date of filing: 10-14-81. 3. Fre­ quency of issue: Quarterly. No. of issues published annually: 4. Annual subscription gan: W illiam B. Eerdmans, 1949. price: $10. 4. Location of known office of publication: 6305 Gretna, Whittier, CA 90601. 5. Location of the headquarters or general business offices of the publisher: 740 S- Hohart Ql. #4. Los Angeles. CA 90005. 6. Publisher: The Mythopoeic Society, Irish M ythological Cycle, continued from p. 9 P. O. Box 4671, Whittier. CA 90607. - Editor: Glen H. GoodKnight, 740 S. Hobart Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90005. Managing Editor: noae. 7. Owner: The Mythopoeic Society, P. O. Box 4671. Whittier, CA 90607. 8. Known bondholders. Mortgagees, and other MacCana, Proinsias. C eltic Mythology. New York: Hamlyn, security holders owning or holding 1 percent or more of total amount of bonds, mortga­ ges or other securities: none. 9. The purpose, function, and nonprofit status of this 1 9 7 0 . organization and the exempt status for Federal Income tax purposes: have not changed during preceding 12 months. 10. Extent and nature of circulation: A. Total no. copies printed - average daring preceding 12 months: 1000/ last issue: 1000. B. Paid circu­ Montague, John. The Bock of Irish Verse. Na? York: lation: 1. Sales through dealers and carries, street vendors and counter sales: 0. 2. MacMillan, 1976. Mail subscriptions: average during preceding 12 months: 471/ last issue 471. C. Total paid circalation: average daring preceding 12 months: 471/ last issue: 471. D. Free distribution by mail, carrier or other means, samples, complimentary, and other free copies:-average during preceding 12 months: 31/ last issue: 31. E. Total distribution: Rees, Alwyn and Rees, Brinley. C eltic Heritage. New York: average during preceding 12 months: 502/ last issue: 502. F. Copies not distributed. Thames Hudson, 1977. 1. Office use, left over, unaccounted, spoiled after printing: average during preceding 12 months: 498/ last issue: 498. 2. Returns from news agents: 0. G. Total: average during preceding 12 months: 1 0 0 0 / last issue: 1000. 1L I certify that the statements Tolkien, J.R.R. The Fellowship of the Ring. Boston: made by me above are correct and complete: , Editor. 12. for comple­ tion by publishers mailing at the regular rates. 39U.S.C. 3626 provides in pertinent Houghton M ifflin Ccnpany, 1966. part: rtNo person who would have been entitled to mail m atter under form er section -435S of this title shall mail such matter at the rates provided under this subsection unless he files annually with the Postal Service a written request for permission to mail matte ______. The Return of the King. Boston: Houghton at such rates." In accordance with the provision of this statute, I hereby Request per- ' M ifflin, 1966. mission to mail the publication names in Item 1 at the phased postage rates presently authorized by 39 D.S.C.3626. , Editor.