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Mark Watson's avatar

So I have my own theory about Tolkien's time in Yorkshire, when he was Professor at the University of Leeds (and lived in the city). Back in the Early Middle Ages, West Yorkshire was covered in forest, which until the early 7th century - when it was annexed by Anglo-Saxon Northumbria - was the Kingdom of Elmet, the last Celtic kingdom in England (in Welsh/Brythonic, Elfed). At the centre of the kingdom was a manor holding, Loidis, which eventually became Leeds. Big forest, last of the old race who hadn't gone into the West? Familiar? Tolkien would have been, he was an active member of the Yorkshire archaeological society. I'm surprised not to see this mentioned more often, maybe it's a dumb correlation. And yet.

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Phil Edwards's avatar

Metamorphosis in general, and Sauron's defensive transformation into multiple forms in particular, puts me in mind of Tam Lin; I wonder if the Child Ballads were on Tolkien's radar.

See https://mainlynorfolk.info/sandy.denny/songs/tamlin.html

(the Anne Briggs text is probably the most readable)

Also, in cautious defence of JRRT, I wouldn't (and didn't) assume that a woman would give up her surname on marriage, but I don't think it was widely considered a power-play in 1916. Besides, the inscription on the tombstone reads "Edith Mary Tolkien / Luthien". But perhaps it didn't always.

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