5 ms·

Dwarfs, elves, trolls, goblins, and plenty others come from Norse mythology. Orc I think was original to Tolkien, but derived from Old English for giants and o

Dwarfs, elves, trolls, goblins, and plenty others come from Norse mythology. Orc I think was original to Tolkien, but derived from Old English for giants and ogres. Many others, like uruk-hai and hobbit, were original. Also, even though some of the races come from Norse mythology, Tolkien's description of them and their habits are unique (and many times quite different from the "sources").

saraid216 14y ago
It is worth pointing out that Tolkien was a phonologist--a linguist specializing in how words sounded--and his stated goal for the entire Middle-Earth universe was to provide a mythic backstory for England. These two facts converge to make claims of originality very strange and difficult, because the derivations themselves are examples of original work.
- raverbashing 14y ago
  I've been reading a book on Irish Mythology (Lady Gregory's compilation) and it reads a lot like LoTR Tolkien came up with new stories and characters, but the style is similar (and of course with sources from Norse Mythology and others, that mixed and grew apart, etc)
  - saraid216 14y ago
    I very much recommend Tom Shippey's Road to Middle-Earth, which discusses Tolkien's influences from the perspective of a contemporary and friend and academic colleague. http://www.amazon.com/The-Road-Middle-Earth-Tolkien-Mythology/dp/0618257608/ http://www.amazon.com/The-Road-Middle-Earth-Tolkien-Mytholog... I haven't yet read Shippey's "Author of the Century", which is about a second set of influences (like the World Wars).
- johncoltrane 14y ago
  No. He was a philologist. Whatever… I agree with the rest of your comment. For more background, Tolkien was heavily inspired by - among other material - a compilation of Finnish oral tradition called "Kalevala". I've read that he used to complain that the English culture lacked such a tradition which most certainly lead to what the Silmarillion, The Hobbit, The Lord of the rings and everything else.
  - saraid216 14y ago
    > No. He was a philologist. I forgot the exact term, googled the one I used, saw it was a thing, and assumed I had remembered it correctly. :( My bad.
    - johncoltrane 14y ago
      No problem.
calciphus 14y ago
There's some pretty strong evidence that "hobbits" existed in prior works and tales to Tolkeins. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hobbit_(word)#Evidence_of_earlier_use http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hobbit_(word)#Evidence_of_earli... OED has not, even after all this time, granted him "invention" of the term, despite long inquiries into its origins.

saraid216 14y ago

It is worth pointing out that Tolkien was a phonologist--a linguist specializing in how words sounded--and his stated goal for the entire Middle-Earth universe was to provide a mythic backstory for England. These two facts converge to make claims of originality very strange and difficult, because the derivations themselves are examples of original work.

raverbashing 14y ago
I've been reading a book on Irish Mythology (Lady Gregory's compilation) and it reads a lot like LoTR Tolkien came up with new stories and characters, but the style is similar (and of course with sources from Norse Mythology and others, that mixed and grew apart, etc)
- saraid216 14y ago
  I very much recommend Tom Shippey's Road to Middle-Earth, which discusses Tolkien's influences from the perspective of a contemporary and friend and academic colleague. http://www.amazon.com/The-Road-Middle-Earth-Tolkien-Mythology/dp/0618257608/ http://www.amazon.com/The-Road-Middle-Earth-Tolkien-Mytholog... I haven't yet read Shippey's "Author of the Century", which is about a second set of influences (like the World Wars).
johncoltrane 14y ago
No. He was a philologist. Whatever… I agree with the rest of your comment. For more background, Tolkien was heavily inspired by - among other material - a compilation of Finnish oral tradition called "Kalevala". I've read that he used to complain that the English culture lacked such a tradition which most certainly lead to what the Silmarillion, The Hobbit, The Lord of the rings and everything else.
- saraid216 14y ago
  > No. He was a philologist. I forgot the exact term, googled the one I used, saw it was a thing, and assumed I had remembered it correctly. :( My bad.
  - johncoltrane 14y ago
    No problem.

calciphus 14y ago

There's some pretty strong evidence that "hobbits" existed in prior works and tales to Tolkeins. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hobbit_(word)#Evidence_of_earlier_use http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hobbit_(word)#Evidence_of_earli... OED has not, even after all this time, granted him "invention" of the term, despite long inquiries into its origins.