The course 'Tolkien and his Medieval Sources' offers an exploration of J.R.R. Tolkien's inspiration drawn from medieval literature, spanning six weeks with live sessions every Thursday. Participants will delve into Tolkien's transformation of epic tales and sagas into his fantasy realm, enhancing appreciation for both Tolkien's oeuvre and its historical predecessors. Each week focuses on various influences, including Norse mythology and early medieval England, ultimately connecting these ancient sources to contemporary popular culture.
For more than half a century J.R.R. Tolkien has gripped the public imagination with his tales of wizards, hobbits, orcs, and elves. But Tolkien took his inspiration from a far older body of literature, the epics, poems, lais and sagas of the Middle Ages.
This course studies a selection of Tolkien's works in concert with his earlier medieval sources in order to trace the transformation of medieval texts in the popular modern imagination.
As one of the premier medievalists of his time, Tolkien edited texts like Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and wrote extensively on Old English and Middle English.
Each weekly session of the course explores distinct influences on Tolkien's writing, from Norse mythology to early medieval England and aspects of Irish and Welsh literature.
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