Hey folks!
I thought it might be fun to write a little bit about Tolkien's concepts of Faërie and their origins. There are lots of places to start this story, but this one is my favorite: the (failed) Roman invasion of Britain.
One might ask "Hey, didn't Rome succeed in conquering Britain?" ...or maybe you didn't, because not everyone cares about pre-medieval European military conquests, I guess.
Anyway, this is a story preserved by Geoffrey of Monmouth, in the same story that he first introduces King Arthur to the world: History of the Kings of Britain.
There is, of course, lots of misinformation that came from this, but the misinformation that mattered the most was a strengthening of an old Roman legend.
Britain, at the time, was considered by Romans to be 'beyond' the known world, and some didn't even believe it existed. Like a Middle-Earth described by Treebeard, Romans told stories of an island covered in nothing but enchanted forests with living trees and dangerous, magical beings that only looked human in it.
This is, of course, not the origin of all stories about magic. But it does enforce an image of England that lasts to this day: haunted forests (Princess Bride) full of dangerous people (Robin Hood) and maybe, just maybe the supernatural. Creatures of Faërie almost always live in the woods for a reason: they're unpredictable.
2 comments:
Hi Vána,
This is a really interesting post! I just recently learned about the failed invasion of Britain by the Roman Empire and the role that it played in European history. Mostly though, I am more familiar with this history as it relates to the preservation of Celtic culture. Today, Celtic legacy and culture are mostly found in Ireland and Great Britain and it is there because the Romans eradicated much of the Celtic culture found within British mainlands. However, they were not able to invade Britain. I believe that Tolkien's concepts of Faërie have at least part Celtic inspiration. Although, I am not sure if Tolkien would have admitted it.
-Melian
Melian,
I think you're totally right that he wouldn't be likely to admit it. But how can a British person write any mythology without being at least a little bit influenced by the mythology of Britain?
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