Tolkien’s Library

J. R. R. Tolkien's creative imagination was famously inspired by his wide reading in medieval texts from northwestern Europe, drawing from Old English, Old Icelandic, and other vernacular literatures. This course reads across the genres of literature familiar to Tolkien, including Beowulf and other Old English literature, Njáls Saga and other Icelandic sagas, excerpts from the Finnish Kalevala, and Irish literature like the Táin Bó Cúailnge. The readings are in translation, with facing-page original texts where possible (especially Old English). Primary texts are supplemented by relevant works of criticism. We also dip into Tolkien's Lord of the Rings and his other high fantasy to note parallels.