History Commons^™

The Enchanter's Spell: J.R.R. Tolkien's Mythopoetic Response To Modernism, Adam D. Gorelick

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

J.R.R. Tolkien was not only an author of fantasy but also a philologist who theorized about myth. Theorists have employed various methods of analyzing myth, and this thesis integrates several analyses, including Tolkien’s. I address the roles of doctrine, ritual, cross-cultural patterns, mythic expressions in literature, the literary effect of myth, evolution of language and consciousness, and individual invention over inheritance and diffusion. Beyond Tolkien’s English and Catholic background, I argue for eclectic influence on Tolkien, including resonance with Buddhism.

Tolkien views mythopoeia, literary mythmaking, in terms of sub-creation, human invention in the image of God as creator. Key mythopoetic …

The Morrígan: A Trinity United, Olivia L. Blessing

Olivia L Blessing

The eeriness of Poe’s words has echoed down throughout the years to enthrall generation after generation with the verses’ sense of dismay, desperation, and fatality. Yet many have forgotten that, centuries earlier, the Celts were telling their own tales of shadowy ravens and tragic futures foretold. Many remain in the form of legends about their goddess of war—Morrígan. This goddess was a complex, triune character; comprehending the entirety of her power and importance in the Celtic myths requires an in-depth examination of her appearances in the old legends and the impact those tales had on the Celts.

Gods, Heroes, & Kings: The Battle For Mythic Britain, Christopher R. Fee, David A. Leeming

Gettysburg College Faculty Books

The islands of Britain have been a crossroads of gods, heroes, and kings-those of flesh as well as those of myth-for thousands of years. Successive waves of invasion brought distinctive legends, rites, and beliefs. The ancient Celts displaced earlier indigenous peoples, only to find themselves displaced in turn by the Romans, who then abandoned the islands to Germanic tribes, a people themselves nearly overcome in time by an influx of Scandinavians. With each wave of invaders came a battle for the mythic mind of the Isles as the newcomer's belief system met with the existing systems of gods, legends, and …