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Tolkien was well know as one of the leading scholars in Norse literature before he wrote the LOTR
by walshemj 8y ago
Tolkien was well know as one of the leading scholars in Norse literature before he wrote the LOTR
- iguy 8y agoAnd IIRC was largely responsible for getting people to read Beowulf in particular as literature. I mean to appreciate the work of art, as opposed to dissecting it as evidence about language etc.
- thaumasiotes 8y agoIt was my impression (not based on a lot) that Beowulf was sort of forced into the status of "great literature" by the fact that it is the only major work of Anglic literature at all, and English elites wanted something from their own native tradition (which, again, didn't really exist) to compete with the classical epics.
- labster 8y agoBeowulf is English literature though.