The Norse Myth in The World of Tolkien

UNIVERSITÀ DEGLI STUDI DI PAVIA
DIPARTIMENTO DI STUDI UMANISTICI
CORSO DI LAUREA IN LINGUE E CULTURE MODERNE
THE NORSE MYTH IN THE WORLD OF

TOLKIEN
Relatore:
Prof. Marusca FRANCINI Tesi di Laurea di:
Daniele SANACORE
Correlatore: Matr. 410114
Prof. Maria Grazia SAIBENE
A.A. 2014/2015
Contents
Introduction 3
1 J.R.R. Tolkien
1.1 Biography of J.R.R. Tolkien 5
1.2 Tolkien's philological background and the Norse Pagan world 7
1.3 An introduction to The Silmarillion 8
2. The Norse myth and its sources
2.1 The Poetic Edda 13
2.1.1 Völuspá 14
2.2 The Prose Edda by Snorri Sturluson 15
3. Cosmology
3.1 Cosmology according to Norse tradition 18
3.2 Cosmology of Tolkien's universe 20
3.3 Differences and common aspects 22
4. Pantheon
4.1 The gods of Norse tradition 23
4.2 The pantheon of Tolkien's universe 27
5. Races
5.1 Elves in Norse mythology 33
5.2 Dwarves in Norse mythology 35
5.3 Elves in the world of Tolkien 37
5.4 Dwarves in the world of Tolkien 39
Conclusions 42
Riassunto 44
References 47
2
Introduction
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien is one of the most popular authors of the twentieth
century and with his stories has largely influenced what today is known as "fantasy
genre". Tolkien created his stories, and the mythology associated with them,
developing his personal scheme according to his own fantasy; nevertheless many
elements belonging to the different mythologies and religions he knew as philologist
and great historian of language represent important suggestions for his work.
Therefore, Tolkien's activity of re-creation, which he kept up throughout his whole
life, works as the "heart" of the invention of his universe1.
Many scholars agree that Tolkien with his books, especially with The
Silmarillion, wished to create a "mythology for England", in order to accomplish
what mythology had done for other countries like Greece, Italy, Iceland and
Norway2. Within his mythology Tolkien managed to trace an historical trajectory,
delineating it along with time on Middle-earth3.
J.R.R. Tolkien turned his knowledge of medieval languages and literatures

into the mythology he created, which has become increasingly interesting for
scholars and readers. Tolkien's mythmaking has thus been explored through many
studies in the recent years by critics like Tom Shippey. All these critics agree that an
important role in this background is clearly played by the Christian tradition, since
Tolkien was a devout Catholic. There is no doubt about Tolkien's stylistic model,
especially in The Silmarillion, which evidently traces the Bible and particularly the
Psalms4.
Despite this religious and stylistic devotion to Christianity, however, Tolkien

was particularly fascinated by the Germanic world. In fact, works like the Old
English Beowulf (which is probably the poem that influenced most the fantasy of
Tolkien), The Wanderer, The Ruin and The Battle of Maldon5, the Old Norse Poetic Edda
and Snorra Edda and the Finnish Kalevala (which Tolkien knew in the translation of
1 Shippey, 2005, p.65.

2 Chance, 2004, p.1
3 Chance, 2004, p.2.
4 Shippey, 2005, p.227.
5 Shippey, 2005, p.389.
3
W.F. Kirby6) have deeply influenced his creativity. The myths of Northern paganism
had a powerful effect on the literary world probably because they were almost
completely unknown, unlike the familiar Bible or the classics.7
Together with the Old Germanic world and its religion, the folklore tradition
should be considered. The fairy-tale tradition collected by the Grimm brothers and
the ballad tradition, whose greatest collection is F.J.Child's The English and Scottish
Popular Ballads, have been important archaic materials for Tolkien8.
Among all these secular traditions, the aim of this work is to focus and
detect the "suggestive elements" of one of the many mythological traditions that
fascinated and inspired J.R.R. Tolkien: the Norse mythology. As Tom Shippey
argues, Tolkien himself would not appreciate such work, since he did not approve
the academic search of what are called "the sources" of the universe he created 9. He
thought that this academic search tended to distract attention from the work of art
itself. However, a "source" to "result" match is not attempted in this thesis, this
work simply tries to offer a complete view on those elements of the Norse tradition
which have inspired, or at least may have done it, Tolkien's imagination.
Being the subject of the Norse mythology extremely large to explore, this
work focuses on what is provided by two major works: the Poetic Edda and the
Snorra Edda. The Eddas, together with the so called "sagas", are the principal source
of Norse mythology and great part of the information about the Norse gods, and
the myths which involve them, is provided by these two works.
6 Shippey, 2005, p.395.

7 Chance, 2004, p.9.
8 Shippey, 2005, p.392.
9 Shippey, 2005, p.388.
4
Chapter 1
J.R.R. Tolkien
1.1 Biography of J.R.R. Tolkien

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was born on 3 January 1892 in a little city in the Orange
Free State in South Africa10. His father, Arthur Reuel Tolkien, was an English bank
manager who had left England to head the South African Bloefmonstein office of
British Bank, for which he worked. Although the young Tolkien did not live many
years in this city, the African memories will survive in his mind in the following
phases of his life. On 15 February 1896 Arthur Tolkien died and Ronald, his
younger brother Hilary and their mother Mabel Suffield moved back to England, in
the West Midlands.
Tolkien's childhood in the West Midlands was split between the industrial
city of Birmingham, when he will eventually attend the King Edward's School, and
the extremely rural surrounding countryside. The Tolkien family in these years lived
in King's Heath, in a house close to the railway line, before moving to the more
comfortable suburb of Edgbaston in Birmingham. In 1900 an important event for
the young Tolkien occurred: Mabel Suffield decided to convert and asked to be
received into the Roman Catholic Church. From then on, both Ronald and Hilary
lived their religious lives as devout Catholics.
Still working on his first poetic attempts and on the creation of new
languages and alphabetic systems, Tolkien did not immediately join the World War
I, but finally enlisted in the Lancashire Fusiliers and embarked for France after his
marriage with Edith Mary Bratt, a woman with whom he had a relationship since he
was 16, in 1916. Among his linguistic creations, in these years Ronald developed the
one which he came to call "Quenya"11, a language heavily influenced by Finnish.
After some months in the trenches of the western front he contracted a form of
infection called "trench fever"12, which is an illness similar to typhus, and went back
to England. During the period of the war, many of his stories began to get into
10
The name of the city is Bloefmontein, which now belongs to the free province of the Orange Free State in
South Africa and is the sixth biggest city in the country.
11 Qenya (later called "Quenya") is one of the Elvish languages spoken on Middle-earth, whose events are
told in the literary works of Tolkien.

12 Shippey, 2005, p.254.
5
shape, including the work known as The Book of Lost Tales, in which many of the
events told in The Silmarillion13 appear in their first form.
Tolkien left the army in 1920 and was hired at the Oxford English
Dictionary, where he worked on words with Germanic etymologies. Afterwards he
got a professor position at the University of Leeds and produced the final version of
a Middle English vocabulary, while publishing many translations from various
languages. In 1925 he returned to Oxford as a professor of Anglo Saxon and, during
his time there, he completed The Hobbit and wrote the first two volumes of The Lord
of the Rings. In the 1920s he also made a translation of Beowulf, which he completed in
1926 although never publishing it14. Ten years after his translation, Tolkien gave the
famous lecture called Beowulf: the Monsters and the Critics which had a wide influence
on Beowulf research and triggered many discussions about criticism.
In 1945 Tolkien moved to Merton College, Oxford, becoming the Merton

professor of English Language and Literature until his retirement in 1959. Tolkien
completed The Lord of the Rings in 1948 and translated the Book of Jonah for the
Jerusalem Bible, published in 1966. During the 1960s his books registered a sudden
and partly unexpected popularity, bringing Tolkien among the group of British best
sellers in few years. His huge popularity forced him to move to the more quiet and
peaceful Bournemouth, where he spent his last years with his wife, who died on 29
November 1971. J.R.R.Tolkien was appointed a commander of the British Empire
by Queen Elizabeth II and received an honorary doctorate of Letters in 1972.
He died on 2 September 1973 at the age of 81 and was buried in the same grave of
his wife, at Wolvercote Cemetery, Oxford15.
13Both Silmarillion and The Book of Lost Tales will be published after the death of J.R.R. Tolkien.
14Tolkien's translation of Beowulf, edited by his son Cristopher, has been published in 2014 by the publishing
house HarperCollins.
15 The information contained in this section is structured and based according to what is reported in the
biographic work Tolkien: A Biography by Humphrey Carpenter.
6
1.2 Tolkien's philological background and the Norse Pagan world
The academic route which brought Tolkien to the professor role in Oxford was
marked by important achievements as a linguist and philologist, with a great
knowledge of many Germanic languages. Along with superlative talent for philology
and linguistics Tolkien was characterised by a deep and passionate commitment to
history. Like all philologists, Tolkien was constantly searching for a better "history
of the language", focusing on the comparison of the different languages, like Jacob
Grimm16 had done before. This aspect can be noticed in what he created for his
universe, Quenya and Sindarin, two languages of the Middle-earth which he created
and developed in complicated phonetic and alphabetic systems evolving in the
course of the ages. Out of Quenya and Sindarin nearly all the names of the
protagonists of Tolkien’s legends are made.
Tolkien's approach to Norse mythology, and generally to all the mythologies,

was a deep immersion in what he fundamentally interpreted as forms of art and not
religions, as Tom Shippey explains17. The sense of historical reality thus
characterised the philological activity of Tolkien18. With his books Tolkien wanted
to create a "mythology for England", as he explains in his letter of 1951 to his friend
Milton Waldman19, in order to accomplish what mythologies had done for countries
like Greece, Italy, Iceland and Norway20.
Tolkien's interest in the Northern languages and their legends began in

childhood, thanks to his mother Mabel, and year by year developed into a scholarly
concern. Tolkien did not merely enjoy privately his devotion to Norse mythology; in
fact, an important role for his studies has been played by the so called "Kolbítar"21,
a reading group which Tolkien founded in 1926, devoted to the translation of the
Poetic Edda, the Prose Edda and the sagas. This group led J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S.
Lewis, the author of The Chronicles of Narnia, into a deep friendship and involved
many other important Oxford medievalists.22
16 Jacob Grimm (1785- 1863) was a German philologist and mythologist.

17 Shippey, 2004, p.145.
18 Wilkin, 2006, p.62.
19 Tolkien, 2001, xi.
20 Chance, 2004, p.1.
21 In Old Norse, "Kolbítar"(literally,"Coalbiters") were a group of men who gathered around the fireplace
close enough to bite the coals as they told over the old tales.
22 Lazo, 2004, p.191.
7
1.3 An introduction to "The Silmarillion"
Tolkien, especially with The Silmarillion and The Hobbit, structured his mythology
which he inserted in Ёa, the universe he created. He did this thanks to his
philological knowledge, re-adapting many elements from different mythologies that
fed his fantasy and structured his own. Among the literary works of J.R.R Tolkien
The Silmarillion is the richest one from a mythological, linguistic and philological
point of view. As a consequence, great part of the elements which will be analysed
in the following chapters are found in this book. Furthermore, Tolkien has worked
on The Silmarillion during all his life, but unfortunately he has not seen this work
come out, since it has been edited and published after his death. For these reasons,
an introduction to this book is worth to be provided in this chapter.
Many hypotheses have been expressed about the year in which Tolkien
started writing, or at least planning, The Silmarillion. Probably he started during the
World War I, in his period in the trenches. Many critics, especially Tom Shippey,
have agreed defining the book a mythological corpus of the universe of Tolkien, and
this makes it a much different kind of book from The Lord of the Rings and The
Hobbit. In 1937, after the unexpected success obtained with The Hobbit, Tolkien
proposed The Silmarillion to his editor, but he obtained a negative response. Thanks
to the efforts of Christopher, his son, the book was assembled, edited and published
in 1977, just four years after the death of John Ronald.
The events in this book start from the creation of Ёa, the universe to which
the world of Arda belongs. The world of Arda is basically the Earth in an ancient
era and all the events of the stories of Tolkien are placed here. The events told in
The Silmarillion reach the end of the Third Era (the era in which the events of The
Lord of the Rings occur). The Silmarillion is composed of five sections: the first is
Ainulindalë, which tells the creation of the universe of Ёa and of the world of Arda.
The word Ainulindalë literally means "Music of the Ainur". The Ainur are the first
divinities created by Eru Ilŭvatar, the creator god. These divine beings are divided in
Valar and Maiar, according to their degree of divine power. Basically, like Tolkien
himself explains in his letter to Milton Waldman, the Ainur are angelic entities who
already existed before the creation of the world and base their knowledge, wisdom
and power on the direct experience of the genesis of the world 23. On the other hand
the Maiar are Ainur with less power than Valar. Each Vala has one or more Maiar as
server and helper; Tolkien refers to them as "spirits whose being also began before
the world, of the same order as the Valar but of less degree".
23 Tolkien, 2001, x-xxiv.
8
There was Eru, the One, who in
Arda is called Ilúvatar; and he
made first the Ainur, the Holy
Ones, that were the offspring of his
thought, and they were with him
before aught else was made.24
The second part of The Silmarillion is called Valaquenta (Quenya word for "Tale of
the Valar") and consists of the complete description of Valar and Maiar. The names
of the seven Valar Kings and the seven Valar Queens are listed in the first lines of
the chapter25 and among these names is not included the name of Melkor (later
called "Morgoth"). Melkor was originally the most powerful of the Ainur26, but then
challenged the only god, Eru, during the music that all the Ainur played to form the
universe and thus became the main evil entity of the cosmos. Melkor's main
servants are the Balrogs, demons of the ancient world, and the Orcs, generated by
the corruption of the Elves. The most important character who serves Melkor is
Sauron, a Maia, who plays a marginal role in this book but will act as the principal
evil entity in The Lord of the Rings. The first war between Melkor and the Valar,
whose leader is Manwё27, was to establish the supremacy on the world of Arda.
The third section of the book is called Quenta Silmarillion (Quenya word for
"Tale of the Silmarils"). In this section all the main events of the First Era of
Middle-earth are told, starting from the creation of the Silmarils. The Silmarils are
three jewels forged by Fёanor, an Elf of the family of Noldor28. These objects have
the light of the two trees of Valinor (the realm in which the Valar live) inside
them29. The Noldor, the clan of Elves to which Fёanor belongs, live with the Valar
in the realm of Valinor and the Silmarils belong to their race, but Melkor manages to
steal these jewels. Many stories connected to the principal plot of the theft of the
Silmarils are told, like the tale Beren and Lúthien30, in which the love of Beren, a man,
for Lúthien, an Elvish princess, makes him steal one of the Silmarils from Melkor's
crown. Further important episodes are the fight between Morgoth and Fingolfin,
who is the supreme king of the Noldor, and the tragedy of Túrin Turambar, the
24 Tolkien, 2001, p.15.

25 Tolkien, 2001, p.25
26 Tolkien, 2001, p.16.
27 He is actually the brother of Melkor and the "favourite one" of Eru.
28 The Elvish race is basically divided in three families: Noldor, Vanyar and Teleri.
29 Valinor is the place in which Valar decided to live; as source of light in Valinor the goddess Yavanna
through her chant created a golden and a silver tree, respectively called Laurelin and Telperion.
30 Tolkien, 2001, p.162.
9
hero haunted by a destiny of death and misery due to the curse of Morgoth against
his family. The events accounted are all events which occurred in the First Era,
ending with the War of Ira. In this war the Elves and the Valar finally defeat
Morgoth and his army of Orcs and Balrogs. Morgoth is finally imprisoned out of
the temporal world with his legs cut by the Valar and the Silmarils are finally
returned to the Elves.
The fourth section is entitled Akallabêth ("The down fallen" in the language
of Númenor) and is all about the fall of the human reign of the island of Númenor
and the swift decline of the human race of Dúnedain (or Númenóreans). To the
ancestry of Dúnedain belong their leader Elendil and his sons Isildur and Anarion;
Isildur is the ring-bearer after the fall of Sauron in The Lord of the Rings. After the fall
of Morgoth the Elves rewarded Dúnedain for their aid in the war by granting them
the island of Númenor.31 Sauron, who knows about the power of the new born
human reign and the impossibility to defeat it with a war, corrupts its king, Ar-
Pharazôn, urging him to fight against the Valar to get the immortality the gods
denied to the Dúnedain. The king of Númenor with his army challenges the Valar
and the Elves, but Eru destroys the human fleet and drowns Númenor as a
punishment for the rebellion. Also Sauron is defeated, and the Númenóreans who
survived founded two reigns in the Middle-earth: Arnor and Gondor32.
The last and the shortest section of the book is entitled Of the Rings of Power
and the Third Age. This section narrates the events of the Second Era and the Third
Era, starting from the return of Sauron after his defeat and his rise as the main evil
power of Middle-earth. The main events in this section are the creation by Sauron
of the "one ring" of power to overdo the other rings held by the different races of
Middle-earth, and the consequent last alliance of Men and Elves led by the kings
Elendil and Gil-Galadr33 to fight against his army. After the siege of Mordor and the
defeat of Sauron the ring is held by Isildur and this period of temporary peace
marks the beginning of the Third Era. The ambush of the Orcs and the death of
Isildur and his sons break this peace, and from this part start the events of The Lord
of the Rings.
When the book was published in 1977 it was criticised mainly for its
excessively seriousness and archaic language. One of the critics who reviewed The
Silmarillion, defining it an inferior work than The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, is
31 Tolkien, 2001, p.261.

32 These two reigns, especially Gondor, play an important role in the war against Sauron in The Lord of the
Rings.
33 Tolkien, 2001, p.288.
10
John Gardner. Gardner wrote a review entitled The World of Tolkien 34 which was
inserted in the edition of October 23, 1977 of the New York Times.
If "The Hobbit" is a lesser

work that the Ring trilogy
because it lacks the trilogy's high
seriousness, the collection that
makes up "The Silmarillion"
stands below the trilogy because
much of it contains only high
seriousness35.
Many other critics evaluated in the same way the book edited by Cristopher Tolkien,
defining it boring and archaic. The different structure of The Silmarillion from the
other books of Tolkien and the huge quantity of new mythological elements did not
satisfy part of the critics.
Despite that, many other reviewers praised The Silmarillion and the scope of
its creation. One of these critics is John Batchelor, who reviewed the book for the
weekly newspaper The Village Voice. He defined the book as a great work of fantasy,
though difficult to comprehend36. Anyway, The Silmarillion had a great commercial
and figures among the best sellers of 1977.
Leaving out the different opinions about the quality of this book in the
seventies, all the critics agreed that The Silmarillion recalls very much the Christian
tradition. Tom Shippey and many other critics argued that this book with its themes
like the exile from paradise and the ages of misery results as a calque on Christian
story, an answer to Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained37 by the English poet John
Milton.
34 http://www.nytimes.com/1977/10/23/books/tolkien-silmarillion.html?_r=0
35 Gardner, New York Times, edition of October 23, 1977.
36https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ReUPAAAAIBAJ&sjid=94sDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6084,838093&hl
=it
37 Shippey, 2005, p.268.
11
Chapter 2
The Norse myth and its sources
The texts which will be focused in this section are all written in the language known
as Old Norse or Old Icelandic. The attribution of the second name is easily
explainable since great part of the mythological Norse texts have been elaborated in
the Icelandic culture, the material they contain dates back to more ancient times.38
Due to the hard feudal politics of King Haraldr Hàrfagr, who led a campaign of
power centralization, many Norwegian nobles left their native country for the so far
uninhabited Iceland during 9th and 10th century. Thus the civilisation in Iceland
was established through colonisation, which represents a singular case in the
European medieval panorama. The reaction against the innovative reforms of king
Haraldr made Iceland grow as an extremely traditionalist country.
The documentation for Norse mythology which came to us is certainly large

but late, dating to the 12th century at least. The principal sources of Norse
mythology, the so called sagas, are the Snorra Edda by Snorri Sturluson and the
"ancient" or "poetic" Edda.
An important event for the history of Iceland occurred in the year 1000,
when the Thing39 established Christianity as the official religion of the Icelandic
community. The Christian religion was gradually inserted in the pagan frame of the
island, with a rather peaceful co-existence from the first centuries after the decision.
Despite this peaceful coexistence, the Christian doctrine did not completely succeed,
although being the official religion of the country, in replacing the secular pagan
traditions of the Nordic community. A convergence between the new Christian
doctrine and the magical pagan practice characterised the Icelandic society for many
years40. A concrete result of this phenomenon can be represented by the figure of
Snorri Sturluson, who received a Christian education but based his Snorra Edda on
Pagan elements, being even thought by historians like H.Kuhn 41 to practice the cult
of Odin. The question of the cult practiced by Snorri is much debated among the
critics: Faulkes, unlike Kuhn, does not mention a cult of Odin practiced by Snorri;
38 Chiesa Isnardi, 1976, p.5.

39 The "Thing" is the assembly which held the decisional power in the Icelandic society.
40 Dolfini, 1975, p.22.
41 Dolfini, 1975, p.23.
12
by contrast he defines Snorri a mythographer and historian of religion, constantly
looking for elements of the past of his own people42.
A central role in Norse tradition is played by the lays of the Poetic Edda,
divided into mythological and heroic. The heroic lays are dedicated to important
figures of the Nordic tradition like Sigurðr, Atli, the unhappy blacksmith Völundr,
Brunnhildr, the Valchiria and Guðrun. The legends of these heroes are not limited
to Iceland, but spread all over the Germanic world. While the authors of all the lays
of the Edda are unknown, the majority of the compositions of skaldic poetry are
attributed to precise figures, like Bragi Boddason, the "ancient poet" who lived in
the 9th century, or Egill Skallagrìmsson.
2.1 The Poetic Edda

The term "Edda", known as the title of the most important among the Snorri's
literary works, is not yet clear in its meaning and its origin. As Giulio Dolfini reports
in the introduction to his translation of the Snorra Edda, it has been hypothesized
that the term could be derivate from the Old Norse òdhr, which means "poetry", in
that case the term "Edda" would have to be interpreted as "poetic"43.
The Poetic Edda is probably the most conspicuous source of Norse

mythology. The largest number of Eddic lays is contained in the Codex Regius. This
manuscript was written in the second half of 13th century but its story until 1643 is
still unknown. In that year the Codex Regius came into the possession of Brynjolfur
Sveinson, a bishop, who attempted an attribution of the poems to Sæmundr the
Learned44. The bishop later sent the codex to a Danish king as a royal gift and for
centuries the book has been stored in the Royal library of Copenhagen before being
brought back to Iceland in 1971.
None of the poems contained in the Edda has been attributed to a specific
author; the different poems are thought to have basically an oral tradition matrix,
passing from minstrel to minstrel for many centuries before being written down.
The lays in the Poetic Edda often do not provide a clear organic correlation with each
other and probably belong to earlier centuries to their drafting45. There is a main
division in the Poetic Edda between mythological lays and heroic lays. The first are
42Faulkes, 1982, xvii.

43Dolfini, 1975, p.14.
44 Saemundr the Learned was an Icelandic priest who lived between the 11st and the 12nd century.
45 Dolfini, 1975, p.14.
13
concerned with the events that involve the gods, while the second recount the
stories of mortal heroes.
The first lay of the Poetic Edda is the so called Völuspá ("The prophecy of the
völva"). Since this lay contains a lot of information about the creation of the world,
the gods and their features and the "twilight of the gods" known as Ragnarök, it is
the most useful lay for the purpose of this research, together with the prose section
Gylfaginning contained in the Snorra Edda, which quotes many lines from the Völuspá
itself.
2.1.1 Völuspá
The Völuspá is thus the first and most representative (from a mythological point of
view) lay contained in the Poetic Edda and therefore one of the most important
primary sources for the study of Norse mythology. The whole poem is preserved in
the Codex Regius and Hauksbók while many parts are cited in the Snorra Edda. This
poem narrates about the creation of the world through the words of a völva46, who
tells Oðinn both past and future events regarding the Norse gods, including the
twilight of the gods known as Ragnarök. Snorri Sturluson has structured the
Gylfaginning clearly basing it on the information contained in this poem47. The
Völuspá is narrated in a rather dramatic form although having only a single speaker48,
the völva, with enigmatic shifts of scene and thought and allusions which have
triggered in the critics many different interpretations. The poem has not been
preserved in its original form without a flaw and probably during the years it has lost
some original lines49.
The clairvoyant starts her conversation with Oðinn accounting the events
involved in the creation of the world50. She mentions the primordial giant Ymir
(also called Brimir or Bláinn), which lived before the earth and the seas existed.
From the corpse of Ymir, the ancestor of all the giants, the lands and the seas had
origin. In fact the gods Oðinn, Vili and Vé, after having killed him, created the earth
from his flesh, the mountains from his bones and the oceans from his blood. Then
the völva recounts the initial war between Æsir and Vanir 51, the two ancestries of
46 A völva is a clairvoyant.
47 Turville-Petre, 1996, p.147.
48 Dronke, 1997, vol.2 p.27.
49 Dronke, 1997, p.62.
50 Völuspá, stanza 3.
51 Völuspa, stanza 24.
14
Norse gods, and the death of the god Baldr52, son of Oðinn, probably the only god
in the Norse pantheon whose behaviour can be defined as "purely good".
Therefore, the first part of this lay is about past events; on the other hand,
the second part accounts future events, especially the final battle known as Ragnarök,
or "twilight of the gods", which will involve great part of the gods of the Norse
pantheon who will fight against the monsters and lose the battle and their lives. This
part of the lay is thus concerned with the end of the world and its impeding doom.
Christian influences have been detected in Völuspá by many scholars. This lay
probably dates to the 10th century, which was a period of transition between
Paganism and Christianity. These two religions co-existed for many decades in the
society of Iceland, therefore the hypothesis of a Christian influence on the re-
elaboration of orally transmitted lays of the Norse tradition appears as rather
likely.53
2.2 The Prose Edda by Snorri Sturluson

The Snorra Edda was planned and written between 1220 and 1230 and its original
function was the professional and poetical education of the skald, the poet who
lived in the Scandinavian medieval courts. Skaldic poetry was extremely complicate
and elaborated, usually composed as a tribute for either kings or heroes and,
together with the Eddic poetry, has produced great part of the Nordic verses in the
Middle Ages. Snorri was a Christian trying to preserve material of the pagan
tradition for the cause of poetry; according to Tom Shippey, in this combination
between the respect for the tradition and a detached humour he resembles very
much J.R.R. Tolkien54.
The text is composed by three parts, which are distinct books basically
unified by the didactic purpose mentioned above. These three parts are introduced
by a prologue entitled Fyrirsögn ok Formáli ("head and prologue"). The prologue
provides the reader with an account on the origins of Norse mythology. In this
introduction the Norse gods are told to descend from the Trojans. The first book of
the Prose Edda is entitled Gylfaginning, "Deceiving of Gylfi". In its pages all the
fundamental notions and events of the Norse mythological tradition are mentioned.
This section is commonly recognised as the most prominent and best developed.
Both the creation and the destruction of the world of the Norse gods are narrated

53 Dronke, 1997, p.93.
54 Shippey, 2005, p.391.
15
to the king Gylfi ,who journeys to Asgard disguised as a beggar named Gangleri
(which is actually one of the names given to Odin ) to know more about the magical
powers of the gods and the way they ruled the events of the world. Gylfi does not
eventually manage to reach the realm of the Æsir, since he is deceived by the gods,
who use their magic powers to change his destination. The king thus finds himself
in a big palace (and not in Asgarðr) where he comes upon three figures: Hàr,
Iafnhar, and Triði (other three names given to the god Odin)55. Giorgio Dolfini
highlights in his preface to the translation of the Snorra Edda the almost obsessive
presence of the theme of the misleading appearance56 in this section, reporting the
episode of the conversation in the palace in which all the four interlocutors
presented themselves under a false name. Gangleri then "challenges" these three
figures to show their wisdom and knowledge. Hàr in the first part of the
conversation tells him about Allföðr (another name for Oðinn), the first of the
gods, and then introduces what is told in the Völuspà. Accurate descriptions of
Asgarðr and the gods follow the story of the creation of the world, with several
stories about different elements of the Norse tradition such as the origin of Oðinn's
horse Sleipnir and the death of the god Baldr and his funeral57 .
In the final part of the Gylfaginning Gylfi asks and is told about the Ragnarök,
the "twilight of the gods", the final battle with the giants and the destruction of the
world followed by its renewal, which was attested for the first time in the Poetic
Edda.
The second book, the Skàldskaparmàl, "The poetic Language", presents itself
in the form of a purely technical manual for skalds, in which great prominence is
given to the role of the so called "kenningar": periphrastic metaphors which
characterise the skaldic poetry58. This section is presented as a dialogue which takes
place at a banquet in Asgarðr between Bragi, a skaldic divinity, and Ægir, a great
wizard coming from the sea. Bragi tells Ægir about many events which occurred to
the gods and the conversation often shifts on the nature of poetry, with a list of
kennings with their meanings provided by Bragi himself, making this section
extremely technical and decreasing the potential interest of a modern reader59.
The last section of the Prose Edda is known as Hàttatal ("list of meters"), and
is the most representative section of the declared didactic aim of the book. In this
section Snorri himself uses his compositions to present the different types of verses
of the Old Norse poetry and the different situations in which they may be used.
55 Gylfaginning, section 2.
56 Dolfini, 1975, p.27.
57
Gylfaginning, section 22.
58 Dolfini,1975, p.16.
59 Chiesa Isnardi,1976, p.14.
16
Translators like Gianna Chiesa Isnardi omitted this part in their works due to its
language, extremely hard to translate. Because of its extreme technicality and
absence of mythological elements, this section does not result useful for the purpose
of this work.
There are four manuscripts which contain all the four parts (the three books
and the prologue) of the Prose Edda: these manuscripts are the Codex Regius, Codex
Wormianus, Codex Trajectinus and Codex Upsialensis. With the exception of the Codex
Trajectinus, written in the sixteenth century, the other three manuscripts have been
written during the fourteenth century60.
60 Faulkes, 1982, XXIX.
17
Chapter 3
Cosmology
3.1 Cosmology according to Norse tradition

According to what is found in the Norse sources, the universe is basically composed
of nine worlds, which are unified by a giant ash tree called Yggdrasil. These nine
worlds are never listed together in the sources61 and their positions are still not clear,
but despite some ambiguities, each one of them is attested in the Poetic Edda or in
the Snorra Edda.
Each world is inhabited by different creatures or divine beings. The first

world is Asgarðr (Old Norse for "Enclosure of the Æsir"), dwelling of the Æsir,
ruled by Oðinn and his wife Frigg. Oðinn rules the realm of Asgarðr from the
Valhöll, a huge hall, to which half of the dead in combat travel, in order to aid him
in Ragnarök62. Asgarðr is represented as a huge castle and it is surrounded by an
incomplete wall, which was built by a giant smith after the construction of Valhöll 63.
There are many palaces in Asgarðr and each palace belongs to a god, as told in
Grímnismál64, a mythological poem contained in the Poetic Edda. A rainbow bridge
called Bifröst connects the world of Asgarðr with the world of human beings,
Miðgardr. This rainbow bridge is said in the Snorra Edda to end in heaven and is
guarded by the god Heimdallr65. At the centre of the dwelling of the gods is the
plain of Iðavollr66. This plane is described in the poem Völuspá as a place in which
the gods meet with each other, discussing the destiny of humans.
Another world inhabited by gods is Vanaheimr (Old Norse for "Home of the
Vanir"), also called Vanaland67. This realm is the house of Vanir, those gods who
were initially rivals of Æsir. Vanir are divine beings associated with fertility and
nature; the most important gods belonging to this ancestry are Niörðr, Freyr and
Freyja. Vanaheimr is mentioned in chapter 23 of the Snorra Edda and in the poem
Vafþrúðnismál, contained in the Poetic Edda. The information provided by Norse
61 For the Norse sources See chapter 2.

62 The other half of the slain in combat is led to the goddess Freyja.
64 Grímnismál, verses 4-16.
66Gylfaginning, section 14.
18
sources about this world is rather poor and it is simply known as the dwelling of the
gods belonging to the family of Vanir.
The third world in this list is Miðgarðr (Old Norse for "Middle enclosure"),
in which the human race lives. This world is the only one in which men are allowed.
Miðgarðr is surrounded by a wall of water which cannot be crossed, and is
connected to the world of Asgarðr by the rainbow bridge Bifröst. According to the
Eddas this world will be destroyed after the Ragnarök, the twilight of gods. Miðgarðr
is found between Nilfheimr and Muspelheimr, which are respectively the primordial
land of ice and the primordial land of fire. From the encounter of a current of cold
and one of fire and light (which had origin in these two worlds) the primordial giant
Ymir was originated. In the Snorra Edda Muspelheimr is accounted to have an
important role also in Ragnarök, when the sons of Muspellr, which are basically fire
giants, will break down the Bifröst bridge.
Then comes Jötunheimr, the house of Jötnar, commonly known as giants.

These creatures constantly threaten both Miðgarðr and Asgarðr with their attacks
and are among the principal enemies of Æsir. This world is separated from Asgarðr
by the river Ifing, as said in the poem Vafþrúðnismál68.
Alfheimr is the house of Ljósálfar (Old Norse for "Light Elves"). Snorri
introduces it in Snorra Edda when Hár, one of the three figures that answer the
questions of Gylfi, explains him the distinction between Light Elves and Dark
Elves69. Only Light Elves live in this place, on the contrary the Dark Elves dwell in
the subsoil.
Then we find the world called Svartálfheimr (Old Norse for "house of the
Black Elves"). Svartálfar, the inhabitants of this world, are the Black Elves but many
scholars argue that it could be actually another name to refer to Dwarves 70. This
world appears in the Prose Edda; in Gylfaginning the world of Black Elves is
mentioned when Skírnir, messenger of the god Freyr, travels to Svartálfheimr to
find the creatures called Dwarves, in order to make them forge the chain known as
Gleipnir. This chain will be later used by the gods to bind the wolf Fenrir, son of
Loki. Fenrir will eventually kill Oðinn, the king of the Æsir, in the final battle of
Ragnarök.
The world of death in the cosmology of Norse sources is called Helheimr or

simply Hel. Gylfaginning reports it as the ninth world of the cosmology71. The name
68 Vafþrúðnismál, stanza 14.

70 This topic will be focused in chapter 5.
19
"Hel" is also associated to a female figure which is attested in both Poetic and Snorra
Edda. This being is told to be the daughter of Loki and according to Gylfaginning she
has been appointed by Oðinn as ruler of the realm of death. This world is
mentioned many times in Norse sources; a representative episode is narrated again
in the same section contained in Snorra Edda, when the god Baldr dies and Hermóðr
the Brave72 tries to retrieve him going to the gates of Hel riding the steed Sleipnir73.
3.2 Cosmology of Tolkien's universe

In The Silmarillion many pages are dedicated to the creation of universe and the
elements which are part of it. The material universe of Tolkien is called Ёa (the
word for "to be" in Quenya); it was created by the unique creator god Eru Ilúvatar,
helped by the Ainur, the "offspring of his thought". The Ainur are angelic beings
who were generated by Eru before the birth of Ёa74,
In Ёa, together with the world of Arda, there is what is called by J.R.R.
Tolkien "The Void": a vast region of nothingness situated outside the world of
Arda; conceptually it represents the outer space, the dark void. Melkor, the most
powerful of the Ainur who rebelled and became the principal evil entity, is cast here
and chained by the Ainur after the war at the end of the First Age.
Arda, the world in which all the events told in the book of Tolkien occur, is
part of this universe called Ёa. This world is basically the ancient Earth, created as
dwelling for the "children of Ilúvatar": Men and Elves. In the origins, Arda is
created as a single flat world, encircled by the sea Ekkaia. Then the wars of Valar
against Melkor damaged the planet and resulted in its distorted shapes and in the
meantime Arda gradually abandoned its flat form for a more spherical one towards
the end of the Second Era. Furthermore the continent which were before all part of
the flat form detached from each other.
The world of Arda could be thus the only one in the universe of Ёa, or at
least it is the only world in which events told by Tolkien occur. Three main
continents are found in Arda: the Middle-earth, Aman and a third unknown
continent (about which poor information is provided by Tolkien's books). The
island of Númenór, inhabited by the human race of Númenóreans, is to be
72 Hermòðr the Brave is one of the sons of Odin, he accepts to journey to Hel, trying to bring back Baldr
from the realm of dead.
74 Tolkien, 2001, p.21.
20
considered detached from these continents, but it disappears after their rebellion,
punished by Manwë.
Aman is a continent situated in the extreme west of Arda, and is also called
in The Silmarillion "The Blessed realm". At the end of the second age, it is raised
above the surface of Earth by Valar and can no longer be reached by ordinary
means of travel. On this continent both Valar and Elves live. Valar have founded in
the centre of this continent the realm of Valinor, in which they live together. Each
Vala has its own dwelling in the realm, which is protected by the mountains called
Pelóri, a chain of mountains raised as a defence against the attack of Melkor. In the
plain region in the middle of Valinor the Valar built the capital city called Valmar75.
The part of Aman in which Elves live is the part of the coast, called Eldamar. Here
the Elvish race settled and all the three major families of Elves
(Noldor, Vanyar and Teleri) live here.
The great ocean Belegaer separates the continent of Aman from Middle-
earth76. Middle-earth is the central continent of the world of Arda. Many races live
on this continent: Men, Elves, Dwarves, Orcs, Ents77, Hobbits and so forth. The
Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit entirely take place on Middle-earth and many wars
for the control of this continent have been fought against Melkor (or Morgoth) and
his devote servant Sauron.
Originally, Middle-earth and Aman formed a single flat world. Valar, after
having formed the seas, the lands and the mountains, erected two giant lamps in
order to provide Arda with light. These two lamps were set on two towers by them
respectively in the extreme North and South of the primordial macrocontinent 78.
These huge sources of light will be later destroyed by Melkor and the Valar will
decide to leave Middle-earth for Valinor, after the detachment of Aman.
Finally, an uninhabited continent is also mentioned by Tolkien in some

occasions, like in The Book of the Lost Tales79 and in The Shaping of Middle-earth80 but he
does not provide precise information about it in any of his books. It occupies a
position in Arda much similar to the position that Africa and Australia occupy in
relation to Eurasia, as shown in the pictures contained in the volume The Shaping of
Middle-earth, edited by Christopher Tolkien.
75 Tolkien, 2001, p.38

76 Tolkien, 2001, p.37.
77 Ents are giants in the guise of trees which live in the forest of Fangorn on Middle-earth.
78 Tolkien, 2001, p.35.
79 In the chapter of The Book of the Lost Tales entitled "The Hiding of Valinor", the Vala Oromё describes the
east to the other Valar saying that "There is a silent beach and empty seas".
80 The Shaping of Middle-earth is the fourth volume composing The History of Middle Earth, edited by Cristopher
Tolkien and published in 1986.
21
3.3 Common aspects and some differences
Norse cosmology and the cosmology of the universe of Tolkien do not appear to
have many common features. The cosmology according to the Eddas is developed
on nine different worlds, which co-exist in the same universe and are populated by
different races. Unlike this model, the cosmology of Tolkien's universe is centred
almost exclusively on a single planet, which is Arda, surrounded by many stars and
other secondary cosmic elements. Despite this clear difference there are some
aspects in the cosmology of Tolkien that can be found also among the cosmological
elements of Norse tradition.
Firstly, there is a strong resemblance between Asgarðr and Valinor. Both are
conceived as the "realm of gods", and are accessible only by immortal beings. These
dwellings of the gods are surrounded by a protective wall: in the case of the house
of Æsir the wall was built by a giant smith, while the wall surrounding Valinor
consists of the mountains called Pelòri, raised as a protection from the attacks of
Melkor. In both these realms every divine being has a reserved palace or dwelling.
Both the kings of the Valar (Manwё) and the Æsir (Oðinn) rule the dwelling of the
gods from their mansions: Odin has his hall in Valhöll while Manwё and his wife
Varda have their palace on the top of the highest mountain of the Pelóri, which is
called Taniquetil.
Secondly, the correspondence between Miðgarðr and Middle-earth is easy to

notice. This resemblance starts from the names, since Tolkien took the name
"Middle-earth" for his land from the Norse "Miðgarðr" and from the corresponding
Old English "Middangeard". Both these lands are the principal battleground of
good and evil and are inhabited by several races. Moreover, Middle-earth and
Miðgarðr are the only lands in which the human race is allowed.
Finally, another analogy can be found in the houses of the Light Elves, which
are present in both the cosmologies. Alfheimr, the dwelling of Light Elves in Norse
cosmology, is briefly mentioned in Gylfaginning and it is not given much prominence.
Tolkien has chosen the name of his house of Light Elves turning the Norse
Alfheimr into "Elvenhome", Eldamar in Quenya language. Eldamar is found in the
coastal region of the continent of Aman and is much close to Valinor, it can be said
that it is almost included in Valinor territory.
22
Chapter 4
Pantheon
4.1 The gods of Norse tradition

Numerous gods are mentioned in the sources and the pantheon of Norse
mythology is rich in divine figures. The principal distinction among Norse gods that
has to be made is between two different ancestries of divine beings: Æsir and Vanir.
The Æsir are those gods who live in Asgarðr and their king is Oðinn, while Vanir
are members of a secondary pantheon; they are a group of gods mainly associated
with nature, fertility and wisdom81. These two different "families" of gods form two
different pantheons which will be eventually unified and are to be considered as
contemporary after the end of Æsir-Vanir war. The poem Völuspá accounts in its
verses this initial war between Æsir and Vanir, which is the first war after the
creation of the world:
Þá gengo regin oll Then the powers all strode

á rokstóla, to their thrones of fate,
ginnheilog goð, sacrosanct gods,
ok um þat gættuz: and gave thought to this:
hvárt skyldo æsir whether the Æsir should
afráð gialda pay such a price
eða skyldo goðin oll and all the gods
gildi eiga get recognition?
Fleygði Oðinn Oðinn flung
Ok ì folk um skaut- and shot into the host
Þat var enn fólkvíg it was war still,
fyrst í heimi. the first in the world.
brotinn var borðvegr Torn was the timber wall
borgar ása. of the Æsir's stronghold.
Knátto vanir vígspá Vanir were -by a war charm-
vollo sporna.82 live and kicking on the plain.83
81 Turville-Petre, 1996, p. 207.

82 Völuspá, stanzas 23-24.
83 Dronke, 1997, p.13.
23
As written in the text above, the conflict is the first in the world and in this war the
Vanir seriously damaged the walls of the house of Æsir.
Despite the Æsir-Vanir distinction that has to be considered, many times in

the Eddas the term Æsir is generally used to refer to all the gods independently of
the family they belong to, and after the end of the war between Æsir and Vanir
these two pantheons are to be considered unified.
A list of all male and female divinities appears in Gylfaginning, when the king
Gylfi (the protagonist of the section) under the false name "Gangleri", asks Hàr,
Iafnhar and Triði (the three figures which stand in front of him) about gods and
their identities. Hár answers that the Æsir are twelve, but he does not include Oðinn
and Loki in the list84. The latter is considered the betrayer of the gods and for this
reason is excluded from the pantheon, while the former is their king. The first who
are mentioned are the male gods; then, starting from section 35 of Gylfaginning, the
names of goddesses are listed.
Leaving out for a moment Oðinn, the first god mentioned by Hàr is Þórr,
one of Oðinn’s sons. Þórr is described as the strongest of the gods and men, the
first of warriors. His weapon is the hammer called Miöllnir, which he uses in battle
together with a belt that enhances his divine power. He is the Norse god of thunder
and fire, the principal enemy of giants and monsters. Another item used by Þórr is
his pair of iron gloves, which are necessary in order to handle Miöllnir. Þórr is the
best warrior in Asgarðr and defends both the realm of gods and the realm of
humans, which is Miðgarðr.
The second son of Oðinn is Baldr, the most beautiful of Æsir. He is also an
extremely wise and gentle god, and for this reason he is loved by all the Æsir.
According to the sources Baldr has been killed by the god Höðr, who threw against
him a branch of mistletoe; the mistletoe killed Baldr because it was the only creature
which had not vowed not to hurt him. Since Höðr is blind, he threw that branch
against Baldr because he was deceived by someone, and this someone is the god
Loki85.
The third god mentioned is Niörðr, who rules the wind and controls fire and
sea; he was raised in Vanaheimr (thus he is one of the Vanir ancestry) but the Vanir
gave him as hostage to the Æsir exchanging him with Hœnir, to end the war
between these two families. Niörðr is thus the symbol of the peace between Æsir

85
Gylfaginning, section 49.
24
and Vanir. Moreover, he is the protector of mariners and fishermen, and the closest
god to the marine realm and the deep oceans.
Niörðr has two children, their names are Freyr and Freyia (they both belong
to the family of Vanir as well). Freyr rules the rain, the shining of the light of the
sun and the growth of the fruits of the earth86. Freyia, on the other hand, is the
most venerated among goddesses and she owns half of the slain warriors in battle87.
The next god on the list is Tyr, the bravest among the gods. Tyr is hand-
maimed since he has sacrificed his right hand into the jaws of the wolf Fenrir, one
of the principal enemies of the Æsir and son of Loki. Then we find Bragi, the wise
bard of the gods. According to Prose Edda, one of the Old Norse words for poetry,
"bragr", is derived from the name of this god88. Bragi thus shares with Oðinn the
title of "god of poetry".
Another important divinity is Heimdallr, the guardian of gods, also called

"white god"89. He lives at the bridge Bifröst, which he guards to prevent attacks
from the giants. He owns a horn called Gjallahorn, whose sound is audible from
each part of the world.
In section 28 of Gylfaginning Höðr, a blind god, is briefly mentioned. Höðr

has been deceived by Loki and under his suggestion has thrown the mistletoe
against the god Baldr, causing the biggest tragedy in the realm of gods. The only
feature which emerges of this god, apart from blindness, is his considerable
strength.
Going on through the list there are Víðarr, the silent god closest to Þórr for
strength, and Ali, one of the bravest and excellent shooter with the bow. The last
god on this list is Forseti, who is defined as "the best trial for men and gods"
because of his wisdom and capacity to judge.
In section 33, outside of this list made of twelve names, Snorri mentions
Loki, the ruin of Æsir. Loki is the son of the giant Fárbauti and his mother is Laufey
(also called Nár). This evil god is described in the sources as a good looking and
smart being, but purely devilish in his soul. He is a great deceiver because of his
great intelligence and a representative episode of his deceiving ability is the already
mentioned death of Baldr, of which he is the principal responsible.
86Gylfaginning, section 24.

87 The other half of the spirits of dead warriors goes to Valhöll and will help Odin in Ragnarök.
25
Loki has many children: three of them were born from a female giant who lives in
Iötunheimr, called Angrboða. The first child of Loki is the wolf Fenrir, the second
is the giant snake Miðgarðsormr, which encircles the Earth with its body and is the
principal rival of Þórr, and the third is Hél, who is accounted as the ruler of the
realm of dead, which is called Nilfheimr.
In the Gylfaginning list of gods is not included their king. Oðinn is the lord of
the Æsir and the mightiest. He often wanders in the guise of an old man with a long
white beard. In order to acquire his immense wisdom and knowledge, Oðin
sacrificed one of his eyes. He is a promoter of war and leads the Æsir in all the wars
that they fight, until Ragnarök, in which he will be swallowed by the wolf Fenrir, as
foretold by the völva in the Völuspa.
After the list of the gods, there is a list of the female goddesses, called
"Asyniur", in section 35 of Gylfaginning. The first divinity to be mentioned in the
poem is Frigg, the wife of Oðinn and supreme goddess. Frigg is mainly associated
with wisdom and knowledge and many times advices her husband on the right
decision to take. After Frigg many other goddesses are mentioned, together with
their names and features.
The second among the goddesses according to Snorri is Sága; she is mainly
associated with wisdom and foreseeing and she lives in Søkkvabekkr90. The
character of Sága is rather ambiguous since she has many features in common with
Frigg, thus this name could be another one to refer to the queen of the Æsir. The
third goddess is Heir, she is the divinity of medicine and therefore she is associated
with healing skills. Then comes Gefiun, mother of all the maidens. Fulla is the fifth,
she carries the casket of Frigg and takes part to her secret councils. Then comes
Freyia, also called Vanadìs ("goddess of Vanir"). Siöfn is the seventh goddess of the
list; this divinity is told to be the goddess of love. Siöfn rules the love between men
and women, and from her name love is also called "Siafni". Another goddess
concerned with the domain of love is Lofn, who has the permission of Oðinn and
Frigg to unite men and women in marriage. Vàr is the goddess of vows, she listen to
all the vows pronounced by humans and to all the deals between men and women.
She also punishes those who do not maintain their promises or break their vows.
The tenth goddess is Vör, she is extremely wise and nothing can be concealed to
her. Then come Syn and Hlín: the latter cares about those men whom Frigg wants
to protect, while the former guards the doors of the great halls. The thirteenth
goddess is Snotra, wise and noble goddess. From her name, according to Snorri,
comes the word "snotr", which is used as an adjective for a man or a woman whose
26
behaviour is noble. The last goddess of this list is Gná. She rides the steed called
Hófvarpnir, which runs either on the water and the air.
A list of names of secondary female divinities is provided in section 36 of

Gylfaginning; these beings are known as the Valkyries91. Snorri says that Valkyries
help Oðinn when battles occur. They are sent on the battlefield and decide who will
die and who will survive. Valkyries live in Valhöll together with Oðinn and Frigg
and take care about wine and beer and all the services connected to banquets. Snorri
cites the names of the Valkyries listed in the Eddic lay Grímnismál ("Grímnir's
speech"): Hrist, Mist, Skeggiöld, Skögul, Hilddr, Þruðr, Hlökk, Herfiötur, Göll,
Geirahöð, Rangríð, Ráðgríð and Reginleif92.
4.2 The Pantheon of Tolkien

J.R.R. Tolkien structured the pantheon of his universe according to a schematic and
clearer way than the Norse one. An important element is the presence of a principal
creator god who is above all the other divinities, Eru Ilúvatar. Before creating the
universe we know as Ёa, Eru generated from his thought the Valar: divine-angelic
entities which aided him in the construction of the cosmos. Tolkien, in order to
introduce his Valar and realm of Valinor, used the same device used by Snorri in his
Edda, as highlighted by Marjorie J. Burns in her essay Norse and Christian Gods: The
Integrative Theology of J.R.R Tolkien93. In The Book of Lost Tales Tolkien tells the story of
Eriol, also called Ælfwine ("Elf-friend"), "a traveller from far countries, a man of
great curiosity" who is the only survivor of a shipwreck and journeys to a town in
the night asking for a lodge in a cottage. This cottage turns out to be magic and
much larger than it appears. Like in the episode of Gylfi, three figures stand in front
of Eriol in this cottage; these are three Elves and their names are Lindo, Vairё and
Rumil. Through this "interrogatory framework", involving Eriol and these three
Elves, Tolkien introduces Valar and their powers and the conversation between
these four characters continues mentioning also the other elements, starting from
Eru Ilúvatar and the initial void. The lords of the Valar are seven: Manwё, Ulmo,
Aulё, Oromё, Mandos, Lórien (also called Irmo) and Tulkas; the queens of Valar are
seven as well and their names are: Varda, Yavanna, Nienna, Estё, Vairё, Vána and
Nessa94.

92
Grímnismal, stanza 36.
93 Burns, 2004, p.165
94 Tolkien, 2001, p.25.
27
The first for authority among the Valar is Manwё, brother of Melkor (the betrayer
of Valar) and king of Arda. He rules the wind, the air and the clouds and lives at the
top of the highest mountain of Pelòri, whose name is Taniquetil. The only Vala who
is superior to Manwё is his brother Melkor.
Manwё's spouse (a term which Tolkien often uses instead of "wife", to

highlight the spirituality of the relationship) is Varda Elentári, queen of the stars,
which she created before Valar went on Earth. She is the creator of the light and she
gave shape and position to the stars.
Ulmo is the Vala lord of water and seas; he is told to be the second of Valar,
after Manwё and before Aulё95. Ulmo has no permanent dwelling in Valinor, he
prefers seas and oceans as his house.
Aulё is the third of Valar in authority, he is associated principally with

craftsmanship and thus stone, metal forging and Dwarves. Aulё created Dwarves,
who call him "Mahal", the maker. When the Elves came to Valinor, many of them
learned craftsmanship from Aulё. Among these Elves who learned from Aulё is
Fёanor, who forged the famous jewels called Silmarils.
Aulё's spouse is Yavanna, who is strongly associated with nature. She

sometimes appears in the form of a giant tree and she is the mother of Ents, the
giant trees which live in the forest of Fangorn, in Middle-earth. She is the queen of
the earth, with her chant she raised the golden and the silver tree of Valinor, which
are its principal sources of light. She is also the queen of animals and plants.
Oromё is the huntsman of the Valar, described in The Silmarillion as "hunter

of monsters and fell beasts". Although he is less strong than the other Vala Tulkas,
he is "dreadful in anger" and a great warrior96. Despite Oromё is the hunter god, he
lives in peace with the animals of Valinor, and he hunts only outside of the sacred
plane. He is one of the most active Valar in the wars against Morgoth. Oromё's
spouse is Vána, the ever-young, sister of Yavanna.
Tulkas is the champion of Valinor, known for his strength and bravery. He is
the strongest of all the Valar and he does not need any weapon but his own fist. His
wife is Nessa, who is a goddess associated with speed and agility, also referred to as
"the dancer".
95 Tolkien, 2001, p.26.

96 Tolkien, 2001, p.29.
28
Mandos, originally named Namo, is the judge of death and the lord of doom. This
god chose the name Mandos from the "Halls of Mandos" (also known as "Halls of
Awaiting"), the halls in which the soul of the killed Elves wait until their rebirth.
The basic concept of these halls is the same of the Norse Valhöll, mentioned in
previous section. Thus Mandos keeps the soul of the Elves in his halls and dwells
there with his spouse Vairё, the weaver. The halls of Awaiting are covered in her
webs with which she weaves everything97.
The last on the list of Valar kings is Lòrien, whose original name is Irmo,
master of visions and dreams. The gardens of Lórien in Valinor , from which his
name comes, are the most beautiful place on Earth. Lórien and Mandos are also
called the Fёanturi, the masters of spirits. Lórien's spouse is called Ёste. This divine
being according to The Silmarrillion is the goddess of healing and giver of rest98.
4.3 Differences and common aspects

Also for the creation of his gods Tolkien was influenced by various mythological
traditions, along with the Old Norse. Since Quenya is a language heavily influenced
by Finnish language, it is not surprising that names like Ilúvatar and Ulmo recall the
Ilmatar99 and Ilmo of the Kalevala100.
For what concerns the Norse tradition, as Marjorie J. Burns explains, Tolkien
picked and chose among the features of Norse gods for his improved pantheon. He
redistributed certain traits and removed others, adding elements that in the Norse
mythology were undeveloped.101
The narrative device used by Snorri in Gylfaginning and Tolkien in The Book of
the Lost Tales to introduce the divinities and their powers is the same, but although
this common "interrogatory framework" many differences may be noticed in the
way the gods of these pantheons had origin102. The creation of the universe
according to the Norse sources includes ice, fire, an evil giant who produces a male
and female from the sweat of his underarm and primordial cow that licks the salty
ice. On the other hand, Tolkien has avoided all these elements for the composition
of his universe. Tolkien provides a single creator god, Eru, father of all, who is
97 Tolkien, 2001, p.28.

98 Tolkien, 2001, p.28.
99 Ilmatar is the virgin spirit of the air, one of the principal characters in the Kalevala.
100 Shippey, 2005, p.275.
101 Burns, 2004, p.168
102 Burns, 2004, p.165.
29
surely compatible with his Christian values and beliefs103. Tolkien over the years has
many times revised his mythology, but the image of Eru as "the one" has never
changed.
The common behaviour of the gods of Asgarðr results quite reprehensible

for the standards of Christianity and even less acceptable for the standards of the
first decades of the twentieth century. These gods are marked by delight in
slaughter, indifference to another's pain and pride in trickery and deceit. None of
the Æsir, except for Baldr, may represent a morally positive figure. As Marjorie J.
Burns explains, a man like Tolkien, born in Victorian times, was hardly compatible
with Niörðr lying with his own sister, or with Freyja, who sleeps one night each with
four dwarfs to gain a necklace of gold104.
First of all, a binary distinction is presented by both pantheons. For the

Norse sources the gods are divided in Æsir and Vanir, which are equal in their
powers and enemies in the first war of universe. Tolkien, on the other hand,
presents the division between Valar and Maiar. These two types of gods are related
in a different way than Æsir and Vanir; Valar have much more divine power than
Maiar, who serve them and help them in their tasks.
In this comparison between the Norse and the pantheon of Tolkien is easier
to find a one-to-one correspondence for the female divinities than for the male
divinities105. As an example, the gentle healer Estё, the spouse of Lórien, may be
interpreted as Tolkien's version of Heir, goddess of healing among the Æsir106.
Moreover, Yavanna and the Asgarðr's Idhunn are similar in their title of "giver of
fruits" and mother of nature. Finally, since Yavanna is the goddess of the Tolkienian
pantheon associated with fertility and earth, she can be seen as Tolkien’s closest
goddess to the Norse family of Vanir.
To match the male gods in a simple one-by-one correspondence is much

more difficult. For instance, Oromё, the huntsman of Valar and the destroyer of
monsters shares many features with the Norse Þórr. Both are extremely strong and
are the protagonists of many fights against several enemies and monsters.
Nevertheless, also Tulkas resembles Þórr, since he is the strongest of the Valar and
his anger is intense but short lived. It can be said that the role that Þórr plays in the
Norse pantheon has been split by Tolkien between Oromё and Tulkas107.
103 Burns, 2004, p.166.

104 Burns, 2004, p.166.
105 Burns 2004, p. 169.
106 Burns, 2004, p.169.
107Burns, 2004, p.169.
30
To associate the characteristics of Oðinn to a single Vala is perhaps even more
difficult. The first Vala linked with Oðinn is clearly Manwё, since he is the king of
the Valar and sits on a similar throne. Moreover Manwё, like Oðinn, has power over
birds and is closely associated with poetry. It should be said that the powers of
Manwё are much limited if compared with those of the king of Æsir. Further
connections can be seen with the character of Gandalf, the "grey wizard". Although
Gandalf is not a Vala but a member of the so called Istári 108, and therefore a semi-
divine character which has to be considered not belonging to the pantheon, he
should be mentioned in this section. As a member of the Istári, Gandalf is an
emissary of Manwё, thus a semi-divine being sent by the king of Valar. In one of his
letters contained in the volume The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, edited by Humphrey
Carpenter, Tolkien explains that he has thought Gandalf as an "Odinic
wanderer"109. The grey wizard, one of the main characters of The Lord of the Rings,
rides the fastest horse on Middle-earth (Shadowfax); in the same way Oðinn rides
Sleipnir, the eight-legged horse of Norse tradition. In addition, Oðinn is often
described as a long bearded old man with a walking stick; this description is much
similar to the description of Gandalf, who is an old wizard with an old beard
holding a staff.
Despite all these connections Oðinn and Manwё are different in their
behaviours. While Oðinn is a violent, terrifying and untrustworthy god, Manwё does
not show any wickedness. However, the negative traits of Oðinn, survive in the
character of Melkor. Both are clearly ruthless and persistent promoters of war110.
If we keep our attention on Melkor, an important resemblance can be found

between his figure (later called Morgoth) and the figure of Loki. Firstly, they share
the condition of "excluded" from their respective pantheons. Loki and Melkor both
rebelled to the other gods and represent the main evil entity and their principal
enemy. Moreover, as Tom Shippey argues, what the Valar did to Melkor clearly
recalls the chaining of Loki by the Æsir111. These two gods are great deceivers and
corruptors, which makes them acquire a lot of servants who fight for them.
108 The Istári, whom men call "The Wizards", were the sent by Valar to Middle-earth to contrast the menace
of Sauron. They appear like old men and their aspect almost does not change with the passing of the years
and they always bring with them their magical sticks, fundamental elements for their powers.
109 Carpenter, 1981, p.181.
110 Chance, 2004, p.169.
111 Shippey, 2005, p.348.
31
Finally, Melkor will play its part in the final battle called "Dagor Dagorath112"
(although this battle appear only in Tolkien's project of The Silmarillion and has been
left out by the son in the first edition), like Loki and his army will fight in Ragnarök.
Tolkien has kept the concept of death and souls realm that is present also in
Norse tradition but he has made it simpler. Among Valar there is not the division of
souls as there is in Norse pantheon among Oðinn, Freyia and Hel (who receives the
souls of the dead in sickness and old age). Tolkien, as a matter of fact, has only
Mandos to keep the dead.
112Dagor Dagorath is the final battle of the universe of Ёa, foreseen by a prophecy of the god Mandos . In
this battle Melkor will manage to escape from his cosmic prison and to destroy the sun and the moon.
32
Chapter 5
Races
5.1 Elves according to Norse sources
Tolkien, exploring the Germanic tradition, in his philological activity and Old
English study had many times encountered the Elves. These creatures are deeply
embedded in several traditions of North-West Europe but the information about
their features, since the sources are extremely heterogeneous, result ambiguous and
unclear. For example, the Beowulf-poet puts Elves among the evil creatures, along
with Orcs113. The modern English word "Elf" is derived from the Old English form
ælf, related to Old High German alp and Old Norse álfr; the word has a wide
distribution in Old English and Old Norse works114. The definition of Elvish race,
for what concerns the Norse sources, is provided mainly in Snorra Edda, where
Snorri introduces these creatures. In Gylfaginning, the most important section of
Snorra Edda, Snorri defines a main division among the Elves, Døkkálfar (Old Norse
for "Dark Elves") and Ljósálfar (Old Norse for "Light Elves"). However, this
division in the Gylfaginning does not appear clear since in another passage of Snorra
Edda another type of Elves, the Svartálfar (Old Norse for "Black Elves), is
mentioned. Dark Elves and Light Elves appear for the first time in the following
section of Gylfaginning:
Hár segir: ' Margir staðir eru þar gofugligir. Sá er Har said: 'Many splendid places are there.
einn staðr þar er kallaðr er Álfheimr. Þar byggvir There is one place that is called Alfheim.
fólk þat er ljósálfar heita, en døkkálfar búa niðri í There live the folk called the light -elves,
jorðu, ok eru þeir ólíkir þeim sýnum, en døkkálfar but dark-elves live down in the ground, and
búa niðri í jorðu, ok eru þeir ólikir þeim sýnum en they are unlike them in appearance, and
myklu ólíkari reyndum. Ljósálfar eru fegri en sól even more unlike them in nature. Light-
synum, en døkkálfar eru svartari en bik115. elves are fairer than the sun to look at, but
dark-elves are blacker than pitch.116
113 Shippey, 2005, p.270.

114 Shippey, 2005, p.66.
115 Faulkes, 1999, p.19-20.
116 Wilkin, 2006, p.64.
33
According to this description, Dark Elves and Light Elves live in cosmologically
opposite places; the first live down in the ground while the second live in Alfheimr,
one of the nine worlds according to Norse cosmology117, not far from the fortress
of Asgarðr. Thus Light Elves live in the heavens while Dark Elves established their
dwellings underground. Moreover, Dark Elves and Light Elves are much different
in their aspect. The first are described as "blacker than pitch", while the latter "fairer
than the sun to look at". Turville-Petre states, in his book Religions and Myth of the
North, that ' Snorri seems to describe two aspects of the Elves, they are dead and at
the same time the promoters of fertility, they are beautiful and
hideous at once'.118
Despite this distinction, in another passage of Snorra Edda, another type of

Elves is mentioned. The messenger Skirnir119 is ordered by the god Freyr to journey
down into the world of the so called Svartálfar (Old Norse for "Black Elves"),
looking for some Dwarves who could forge a chain to bind the wolf Fenrir120121.
Thus three terms associated with Elves appear in the Snorra Edda: Døkkálfar
(Dark Elves), Ljósálfar (Light Elves) and Svartálfar (Black Elves); but should Dark
Elves and Black Elves be considered the same race? The subject is much debated:
according to Tom Shippey these two races should be considered as different122,
while Peter Wilkin in his essay Norse Influences on Tolkien’s Elves and Dwarves argues
that there is no written evidence in Snorra Edda or anywhere else about meaningful
differences between Dark Elves and Black Elves.
Furthermore, there are scholars who support another theory: since Black
Elves are described in Gylfaginning as dwellers of the subsoil, their name could be
simply another name to call Dwarves, whom Skirnir encounters during his journey.
One of the scholars who support this theory is John Lindow.
117 See chapter 3.

119 Skirnir is the messenger and Vassal of the god Freyr.
120 Fenrir is a giant wolf, son of Loki. It is attested both in prose and poetic Edda. He is foretold to kill Odin
during the events of Ragnarök, for this reason the gods bind him with a chain.
122 Wilkin, 2006, p.66.
34
5.2 Dwarves according to Norse sources
The word "Dwarf", like the word "Elf" is an old word as well. The Germanic
ancestors of this word are Old English dweorh, Old Norse dvergr and Old High
German twerg.123 Dwarves are humanlike short creatures who inhabit principally
mountains and the subsoil. In the Norse sources these creatures are called Dvergar.
They are often described as rather ugly creatures, with long hair and beard and they
are mainly associated with smithing, treasures and mining; in fact many important
objects associated with Norse gods were forged by Dwarves, like Mjöllnir (the
hammer of Þórr) and Gugnir (Odin's spear)124. In the Norse myth four Dwarves
(Austri, Vestri, Suðri and Norðri) are accounted to hold up the four corners of the
sky125.
Norse sources provide different origins of these beings; Snorri in Snorra Edda
says that Dwarves festered like worms with the flesh of the dead primordial giant
Ymir, before gods gave them reason and humanlike aspect. On the other hand, the
poem Völuspá, contained in the Poetic Edda, accounts that Dwarves were generated
by gods directly from the blood of Brimir and from Blainn's limbs 126. Blainn and
Brimir are both alternative name of Ymir, therefore according to Völuspá Dwarves
were generated from the giant and did not exist before, unlike Snorri’s account. The
creation of Dwarves is reported starting from the ninth stanza of Völuspá until the
sixteenth. This section contains the names of all the Dwarves generated from the
corpse of Ymir and is called Dvergatal (Old Norse for "Dwarves catalogue").
Þá gengo reginn oll Then the powers all strode

Á rokstóla, to their thrones of fate,
ginnheilog goð, sacrosant gods,
ok um þat gættuz, and gave thought to this:
hvárt skyldi dverga whether they should create
dróttir skepia companies of dwarfs
ór Brimis blóði from Brimir's blood
ok ór Bláin leggiom and from Bláinn's limbs
Þar[var] Mótsognir There did Mótsognir

mæztr um orðinn become most esteemed
dverga allra, of all dwarfs,
en Durinn annarr. and Durinn next,
123 Shippey, 2005, p.69.

124 Turville-Petre, 1996, p.307
126 The Poetic Edda, stanza 9.
35
Þeir manlìnkon they fashioned many,
Morg um gørðo, figurines
Dvergar, ór iorðo, these dwarfs, out of earth
Sem Durinn sagði: as Durinn told:
'Nýi ok Niði, Nyi and Nidi,

Norðri ok Suðri, Nordri, Sudri,
Austri ok Vestri, Austri and Vestri,
Alþiófr, Dvalinn, Althjof, Dvalin,
Bivorr, Bavorr, Bivor,Bavor,
Bomburr, Nóri, Bombur, Nori,
Án ok Ánarr, An and Anar,
Ái, Mioðvitnir, Ai, Mjodvitnir,
Veigr ok Gandálfr, Veignr and Gandalf,

Vindálfr, Þráinn, Vindalf, Thrain,
Þekkr ok Þorinn, Thekkur and Thorin,
Þrór, Vitr ok Litr, Thekkur, Litur, Vitur,
Nár ok Nýráðr- Nar and Nyradur,
Nú hefi ek dverga now I have the dwarfs
- Reginn ok Ráðsviðr- Reginn and Radsvidr
rétt um talða. correctly counted.
Fíli, Kíli, Fili, Kili,

Fundinn, Náli, Fundin, Nali,
Hepti, Víli, Hefti,Vili
Hannarr, Svíorr, Hanar, Sviur,
Frár, Hornbori, Fràr, Hornbori
Frægr ok Lóni, Fragr and Lóni
Aurvangr,Iari, Aurvangr,Iari,
Eikinskialdi.127 Oakenshield.128
Dwarves are often associated with wisdom and death and are told to dwell in the
subsoil. Underground caves and mountains are the house of these creatures, but
provide also important material for the forge. According to Tom Shippey, the
master-text for the portrayal of the Dwarves by Tolkien is the account of the
Hjaðningavíg, the "Everlasting battle" mentioned in the Snorra Edda129. In this battle
the king Högni holds the sword called Dáinsleif, "which must kill a man every time
it is drawn"130.
127 The Prose Edda, stanzas 9-13.

128 Dronke, 1997, p.9-10.
129 Shippey, 2005, p.71.
130 Chiesa Isnardi, 1975, p.198.
36
5.3 Elves in the world of Tolkien
The Elvish race plays an important role in many events during the different ages of
the universe of Ёa, especially in The Silmarillion. Elves were the first inhabitants of
Middle-earth and for this reason they are also called "the first born". They were
given origin by the creator god Eru Ilúvatar and they are also called "Eldar" 131. They
are described as the most beautiful race of Arda, lovers of the arts and incredibly
intelligent creatures. Their physical features vary according to the ancestry they
belong to, but all the Elves do not have beard and are generally taller and stronger
creatures than Men or Dwarves.
Tom Shippey, in The Road to Middle-earth suggests that the "master text" for
Tolkien's portrayal of the Elves is the description of the hunting king in Sir Orfeo,
the anonymous Middle English poem.132 In this poem the hunting king is a fairy
king; fairies have a long history in the Celtic folklore and can be seen also in the
Arthurian literature. Fairies in Sir Orfeo are beings of human stature wearing white
clothes133, extremely beautiful and able to use magical powers, their behaviour is
always described as good and gentle, even though they kidnapped Heurodis, and
there is nothing devilish in them. The king of Fairies is told to wear a crown made
of stone. After the death of Tolkien, his son Christopher found an unpolished
translation of Sir Orfeo and published it in an edited form with Sir Gawain and the
Green Knight.
Elves are basically immortal creatures, but they can die if killed or if they
renounce to immortality for love. It has been suggested that this choice of
immortality could derive from a compensation by Tolkien for his deep and marked
fear of death. Tolkien has passed a long time in the trenches and has faced the real
death as a survivor of the Somme, and this could have influenced his choice of a
potentially deathless race134.
The main division among the Elvish race in Tolkien is between Dark Elves
(called "Moriquendi") and Light Elves (called "Calaquendi"). The latter are those
Elves who managed to reach Valinor and see the light of the two trees135 in the
great march of the Eldar, told in Valaquenta. Three different families of Eldar
entered Valinor during this march: the first who arrived are the Vanyar, the beloved
of Manwё and Varda. Next came the Noldor and finally the largest group, called the
131 Tolkien, 2001, p.52.

132 Shippey, 2005, p.71.
133 Sir Orfeo, 145-150.
134 Shippey, 2005, p.371.
135 The two trees are called Laurelin and Telperion; they lit the world before the sun and the moon were
created. These two trees were raised by the chant of the goddess Yavanna.
37
Teleri136. Unlike these three families of Elves, there were Elves who did not accept
to take part in this march towards the West, called "The Avari" (The unwilling) and
many others who got lost on their way to Valinor, called the Úmanyar (those not of
Aman). These two groups of Elves together are called the Moriquendi, Elves of
Darkness, because they never beheld the light that was before the sun and the
moon.
Not much is revealed on the nature of Dark Elves, since the narrative of
Tolkien tends to focus on the Light Elves, but the vital differentiation between
them and the Light Elves seems to be that the latter beheld the light of the two trees
while the Dark Elves did not137. Peter Wilkin reports in his essay Norse Influences on
Tolkien's Elves and Dwarves the description of two Light Elves, who are Gildor and
Glorfindal, and highlights their connection with the light and their shining
appearance. In fact, Glorfindal is described as follows in his encounter with Frodo
in The Fellowship of the Ring:
To Frodo it appeared that a white light was shining through the form and raiment of the rider, as if
through a thin veil.138
No Dark Elf in the books of Tolkien is described in this way or beholds such
light. Legolas, the wood-elf, who is the most famous among the Dark Elves in the
books of Tolkien, is never described as having some kind of hidden magic power as
Glorfindal or Galadriel (another important character belonging to Light Elves) are.
Moreover, Light Elves are strongly associated with the sky and the light of the sun,
while the majority of the Dark Elves are wood-Elves who have nothing to do with
sky and light. Finally, the whole Elvish race is strongly associated with wilderness;
probably Tolkien was influenced in this by the many Old English compounds
corresponding to "wood-elf", "water-elf", "sea-elf" and so forth139.
136 Tolkien, 2001, p.53.

137 Di Lauro, 2006 , p.76.
138 Tolkien, 1966, p.221.
139 Shippey, 2005, p.73
38
5.4 Dwarves in the world of Tolkien
'It is told that in their beginning the Dwarves were made by Aulё in the darkness of Middle-earth;
for so greatly did Aulё desire the coming of the Children, to have learners to whom he could teach
this lore and his crafts, that he was unwilling to await the fulfilment of the design of Ilúvatar.'140
Dwarves in the universe of Tolkien are humanlike creatures with long hair and
beard (also the females have a beard, and this makes difficult to distinguish them for
the other races), which are often red or blonde. They mainly live in the mountains,
in which they dig much in the ground building mines to provide themselves forging
materials. Indeed Dwarves are extremely skilled smiths and have a passion for
treasures and precious materials; many objects used by Tolkien's characters were
forged by them.
For instance, the small shirt of mail which is used both by Bilbo and Frodo
Baggins was forged by Dwarves. This shirt of mail is made of Mithril, a metal which
resembles silver but is stronger than steel. Moreover, in the translation of the Old
Norse Saga of King Heidrek published by Christopher Tolkien, the sword called
Tyrfing is mentioned. This sword is said to be dwarf-made and remorless141. This is
an element clearly influenced by the Prose Edda, which mentions a sword called
Dáinsleif with the same features and forged by Dwarves as well.
Dwarves were created by the god Aulё, without the permission of Eru, to be
strong and resist to the flames of Morgoth. They are strong creatures almost
immune to all the diseases, valiant in battle and extremely strong despite their small
size.
Though Dwarves are basically mortal creatures, they live long and can reach
two centuries of age. These creatures have an important role in The Hobbit, where
Bilbo Baggins is accompanied by thirteen of them, led by Thorin Oakenshield, in his
journey to the lonely mountain of Erebor. The names of these Dwarves are Balin,
Dwalin, Kíli, Fíli, Dóri, Nori, Ori, Oin, Glóin, Bífur, Bofur e Bombur142. As the
reader can easily notice, these names were taken by the Dwarves catalogue of
Völuspá (see section 5.2). In The Hobbit the Dwarves are described as wise and
honourable creatures and they even sometimes appear funny and clumsy, and the
same does the character of Gímli in The Lord of the Rings.
140 Tolkien, 2001, p.43.

141 Shippey, 2005, p.72.
142 See The Hobbit, chapter 1 "An unexpected party".
39
5.5 Common aspects and some differences
For what concerns the Elves, the description of the Light Elves of Tolkien clearly
recalls what is accounted in the Norse sources, starting from their association with
light and their close relationship with the gods. Tolkien's conception of the Dark
Elves, on the other hand, is different from what is accounted in the Norse sources.
Tolkien has disregarded the concept of Black Elves and has given to Dark Elves a
new distinction for their own: the Dark Elves are those Elves who do not behold
the light of the two trees of Valinor and have not acquired the powers that Light
Elves gained from their close relation with the gods in Valinor. Dark Elves are not
black or dark in their skin like is said by the Norse sources; simply they have not
been "enlightened".143
For what concerns the Dwarves, the first resemblance is about the dwelling;
the Dwarves of the Eddas and the Dwarves of Tolkien both live in the subsoil and
dwell far away from the gods. However, also Tolkien's Dark Elves share this feature,
and on this aspect Tolkien was probably influenced by the Dark Elves/Black
Elves/Dwarves crossover of the Norse sources.
Secondly, for Tolkien and for Norse tradition as well, Dwarves are associated
with smithing and have forged important objects like Mjöllnir and Gugnir for the
Norse tradition and the Mithril short of mail of Bilbo for Tolkien.
The choice of the names of the Dwarves by Tolkien should also be

mentioned; many of the names listed in the so called Dvergatal144 have been used by
Tolkien for his Dwarves. The list of the name of the Dwarves who accompany
Bilbo in his journey has already been mentioned; to that list should be added the
name "Oakenshield", associated with the Dwarf Thorin. In fact, the last name found
in the Dvergatal is "Eikinskialdi", which is Oakenshield in English.
Among the names of the Dvergatal is also the name "Gandalfr", which has
been used by Tolkien for the grey wizard and not for a Dwarf, unlike the other
names listed above. Tom Shippey's hypothesis is that Tolkien regarded it with some
suspicion since it ends with -alfr, which is the Old Norse form for "Elf"; so what
was doing a compound with "elf" in it among the names of the Dwarves? And
what does "Gandalfr" mean? The Old Icelandic Dictionary of R.Cleasby and Gudbrand
Vigfusson reports that the meaning of gandr is "anything enchanted or an object
used by sorcerers"145; nevertheless this definition is dispreferred by Shippey and
143 Di Lauro, 2006, p.77.

144 See section 5.2.
145 Cleasby & Vigfusson, 1963.
40
"gandr" is more likely to mean "wand" or "staff". Völuspá in its verses mentions the
stick of the prophecy calling it spágandr146. Therefore the Gandalf of Tolkien turns
out to be not a name but a description, as with Beorn (which is the Old English
word for “bear”) and Gollum (which comes from the horrible swallowing sound he
makes with his throat)147.

147 Shippey, 2005, p.110.
41
Conclusions
This work focuses on those elements belonging to the Norse mythology which may
have influenced Tolkien's creative fantasy and the universe that resulted from it.
Since the range of mythological texts of Norse tradition is extremely broad, the
research has been restricted to the major attested sources, the Poetic Edda and the
Snorra Edda.
Three major topics of the Tolkienian universe have been explored and
compared with what is accounted in the Eddas, in order to retrieve some common
features: these topics are the cosmology, the gods and the races of Elves and
Dwarves. In the first two chapters the figure of J.R.R. Tolkien has been introduced
along with his approach to the Pagan world (chapter 1); moreover, a description of
the two major Norse mythological sources and their background has been provided
(chapter 2).
In chapter 3 the Cosmology of the universe of Tolkien, Ёa, has been

compared with what is said in the Eddas. There are not many features which turned
out to be shared between the two cosmologies, however the analysis has detected
some interesting elements that have influenced Tolkien. Firstly, the realm of Valinor
and the fortress of Asgarðr share many features: they are both the realms of the
gods, both cannot be accessed by men and are surrounded by a protective wall
(which are the mountains Pelóri in the case of Valinor). Secondly, the Middle-earth
resembles very much Midgardr and a strong resemblance is also found between the
realms of the Elves: Eldamar and Alfheimr.
In chapter 4, the attention has been shifted to the gods who form the Norse
pantheon and the pantheon of the so called Valar, created by Tolkien. The
pantheons are structured in different ways since Tolkien has created Eru, the creator
god, who is closer to the Christian God than to the Norse divinities. The Ainur are
the offspring of Eru and are divided in two kind of divine beings: Valar and Maiar.
A binary division is also found in the Norse pantheon between Æsir and Vanir. To
retrieve a one by one correspondence has been possible only for few feminine
divinities, like Ёste and Heir, or Yavanna and Idhunn. The most important male
divinities of the Norse pantheon, on the other hand, have their features in more
than one god of Tolkien. Þórr, for example, is much similar to Oromё but also to
Tulkas. Moreover, the figure of Oðinn can be seen in more than one Tolkienian
character. The first correspondence is with Manwё, the Vala king, but other
important Odinic features can be seen also in Gandalf, though the grey wizard
cannot properly be considered a god. For the character of Melkor, Tolkien has been
42
inspired by the Norse tradition as well, since many features of the evil Norse god
Loki can be recognised in him. Therefore, Tolkien has collected many features from
the gods of the Norse tradition and has made a redistribution of these features for
his gods. Moreover, many of the “bad features” which characterise the Norse gods
could not be accepted by Tolkien and are not represented in the Valar. Therefore
the gods of Tolkien behave in a better and different way than the ruthless Æsir.
Finally, chapter 5 is concerned with the Elvish and Dwarvish races, which
play an important role in the events accounted in The Silmarillion and The Hobbit.
Elves and Dwarves are mentioned in the Norse sources but their nature and their
features are not much clear. A basic distinction between Dark Elves and Light Elves
is made in the sources, although the information about the Dark Elves is rather
contradictory. A similar distinction is kept by Tolkien as well, with the Light Elves
who accessed Valinor and the Dark Elves who lost their way and stayed in the
Middle-earth. Moreover, many of the names used for the Dwarves of Tolkien are
taken from the so called Dvergatal ("The Dwarves catalogue"). The strong
association of the dwarves with treasures and precious materials can be considered
another shared characteristic between the Norse Dwarves and the Dwarves of
Tolkien. Thus, Dwarves and Elves are represented in a much similar way by Tolkien
and the Norse sources.
In the end, this research has thus highlighted many aspects of the cosmology,
the pantheon and the races that have been influenced by the Norse tradition. The
Scandinavian mythology is, however, just one of the many traditions by which
Tolkien has been influenced, and therefore a similar work could be done also for the
Christian tradition, the Beowulf and so forth, highlighting other aspects that have not
been mentioned in this thesis, thanks to the immense material provided by this
author.
43
Riassunto
John Ronal Reuel Tolkien è considerato uno dei più grandi autori inglesi del
ventesimo secolo, pioniere di quello che oggi noi conosciamo con il nome di
"genere Fantasy" e ideatore di opere che negli ultimi anni hanno vissuto una
seconda giovinezza grazie anche alle rappresentazioni cinematografiche della saga de
Il Signore degli Anelli e de Lo Hobbit, uscite negli ultimi anni.
Grande filologo, medievalista e storico della lingua, Tolkien ha saputo

raccogliere dalle sue vastissime conoscenze accademiche e letterarie una grande
quantità di elementi che lo hanno aiutato nell'ideazione delle sue opere e
dell'universo letterario che esse vanno a comporre. Sebbene egli abbia ideato le sue
opere seguendo un immaginario creativo tutto suo, molte suggestioni di carattere
linguistico, mitologico e religioso hanno contribuito alla loro formazione. In primo
luogo, J.R.R. Tolkien è legato alla tradizione cristiana: la Bibbia e i Salmi hanno
avuto un impatto decisivo nella sua vita e la loro influenza è chiaramente percepibile
nelle sue opere, specialmente ne Il Silmarillion.
La tradizione cristiana non è però la sola ad avere influenzato il fervente

cattolico Tolkien, che per tutta la sua vita è sempre stato attratto dalle tradizioni
religiose del mondo germanico note anche come "paganesimo germanico". Opere
come i poemi in anglosassone Beowulf e The Wanderer sono state a lungo studiate da
Tolkien e hanno certamente influenzata quella che è stata la sua creatività. Oltre che
ai poemi germanici, un importante ruolo è da attribuire al poema epico finnico noto
come Kalevala. Il vastissimo panorama di religioni e mitologie, alle quali vanno
aggiunti gli elementi del folklore popolare, che hanno influenzato l'immaginario di
Tolkien ha portato negli ultimi decenni molti critici (tra i quali spicca Tom Shippey,
uno dei maggiori esperti di Tolkien, autore di The Road to Middle-earth) a prendere in
esame l'argomento.
Oggetto di studio di questo lavoro è un'altra importante tradizione mitologica

germanica che ha affascinato Tolkien durante tutta la sua vita e ne ha influenzato
l'immaginario creativo: la mitologia norrena. Fin da bambino Tolkien, grazie a sua
madre Mabel, ha coltivato un interesse per la mitologia scandinava che poi, con il
passare degli anni è diventato sempre più forte e ha caratterizzato la sua carriera
accademica. L'obiettivo di questa tesi è stato quindi cercare all’interno della
tradizione mitologica norrena (nello specifico all’interno di ciò che viene attestato
nell’ Edda Poetica e nell’Edda di Snorri, le due maggiori fonti mitologiche scandinave
assieme alle saghe) quegli elementi che hanno o possono aver influenzato
l’immaginario creativo di J.R.R. Tolkien.
44
Il primo capitolo "J.R.R. Tolkien" e il secondo "The Norse Myth and its Sources"
descrivono i due elementi principali della tesi, ovvero il profilo di Tolkien come
scrittore, filologo e storico della lingua (con un approfondimento su The Silmarillion,
l'opera di Tolkien in cui è presente gran parte degli aspetti di interesse della ricerca) e
le principali fonti attestate di mitologia norrena, l'Edda Poetica e l'Edda di Snorri.
I seguenti tre capitoli sono invece dedicati all'analisi di tre precisi aspetti della
mitologia di Tolkien: la cosmologia, le divinità e le razze di Elfi e Nani. Questi tre
aspetti sono stati analizzati e poi comparati con la mitologia norrena e con quello
che è attestato nelle due Edde.
Per quanto riguarda la cosmologia i parallelismi più rilevanti sono risultati

essere quello tra Miðgarðr norrena e la "Terra di Mezzo" di Tolkien e quello tra i
due reami degli dei: la norrena fortezza di Asgarðr e il Tolkieniano reame
di Valinor. Gli ultimi elementi cosmologici citati, infine, sono i reami degli elfi: la
Norrena Alfheimr ed Eldamar, la dimora degli elfi ideata da Tolkien e situata nella
regione costiera del continente di Aman. Nel complesso, gli elementi cosmologici
norreni che hanno caratteristiche in comune con la cosmologia di Tolkien sono
risultati quindi essere pochi.
Il quarto capitolo è dedicato, invece, alle divinità. È doveroso precisare che

c'è una grande differenza di fondo tra il pantheon di Tolkien e quello norreno;
Tolkien introduce infatti la figura del dio creatore Eru, concettualmente simile al
Dio cristiano, per poi creare i cosiddetti Valar, divinità a lui sottoposte. Al contrario,
il pantheon norreno non prevede un unico dio creatore ma una serie di divinità
governate dal loro re, Oðinn. Nonostante questa differenza, alcune divinità norrene
condividono molti aspetti con i Valar di Tolkien, basti pensare a Loki e Melkor, le
due divinità malvagie esiliate e incatenate dagli altri dei. È stata fatta poi un'analisi
delle figure di Oðinn e þórr, i due dei più importanti del pantheon norreno, che
condividono alcune caratteristiche con Valar come Manwё, Tulkas e Oromё.
Sebbene non sia propriamente una divinità, ma un emissario dei Valar, anche il
personaggio di Gandalf, come è stato dichiarato anche da Tolkien stesso, è stato
creato con delle caratteristiche simili a quelle di Oðinn. Per creare quindi il suo
pantheon, Tolkien ha raccolto alcuni aspetti delle principali divinità norrene per poi
ridistribuirle fra i suoi dei.
Infine, nel quinto e ultimo capitolo sono state analizzate le razze degli elfi e
dei nani nelle due mitologie. Le due Edde sono poco chiare sulla natura di queste
creature: all'interno dell'Edda di Snorri vengono menzionati diversi tipi di Elfi ma
non sempre la loro differenziazione risulta chiara. Nonostante le ambiguità delle
Edde si può riconoscere una divisione tra Elfi della luce ed Elfi scuri; i primi vivono
45
a stretto contatto con gli dei ad Asgarðr, mentre gli Elfi scuri abitano principalmente
nel sottosuolo (e per questo alcuni critici hanno ipotizzato possano essere in realtà i
Nani). Tolkien adotta una distinzione simile ne Il Silmarillion, definendo "Light
Elves" e "Dark Elves"; i primi sono gli Elfi che hanno trovato la strada per Valinor
e vivono ora a fianco dei Valar, mentre gli Elfi scuri sono rimasti nella terra di
mezzo e non hanno acquisito la "luce" dei due alberi del reame degli dei. La razza
dei Nani invece presenta una forte associazione con il sottosuolo, le miniere e i
tesori sia nella mitologia scandinava sia in Tolkien. Non va dimenticata poi la scelta
di Tolkien riguardante i nomi di molti dei suoi Nani: gran parte dell'onomastica
nanica in Tolkien deriva infatti dal Dvergatal, il catalogo dei Nani presente nel poema
dell'Edda chiamato Völuspá. Nel complesso, Tolkien risulta quindi essere stato
suggestionato dalla mitologia norrena per i suoi Elfi e Nani maggiormente rispetto a
quanto visto per la cosmologia e per le divinità.
Questo lavoro ha quindi evidenziato i principali aspetti della mitologia

norrena che hanno ispirato Tolkien nei tre ambiti stabiliti come oggetto di studio.
Essendo l'universo creato da questo scrittore molto vasto, e il suo "background"
decisamente immenso, questa tesi copre una piccolissima parte di quello che è il
l'universo di Ёa nel suo complesso, un universo che è stato ispirato da decine di
tradizioni folkoristiche e mitologiche.
46
References
Anthony Faulkes. Edda: prologue and Gylfaginning (Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1982).
Andrew Lazo. Gathered Round Northern Fires in Jane Chance. Tolkien and the Invention of Myth
(Lexington, The University Press of Kentucky, 2004), pp.191-226.
E.O.G. Turville-Petre. Religione e miti del Nord (Milano, Il saggiatore, 1996).
Gianna Chiesa Isnardi. Edda di Snorri (Milano, Rusconi Libri, 1975).
Giorgio Dolfini. Edda/Snorri Sturluson (Milano, Biblioteca Adelphi, 1975).
J.R.R. Tolkien. The Silmarillion (Boston, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2001).
J.R.R. Tolkien. The Hobbit (London, Allen & Unwin, 1966).
J.R.R. Tolkien. The Lord of the Rings (London, Allen&Unwin, 1966).
Marjorie J. Burns. Norse and Christian Gods: The Integrative Theology of J.R.R. Tolkien in Jane
Chance. Tolkien and the Invention of Myth (Lexington, The University Press of Kentucky,
2004), pp. 163-178.
Peter Wilkin. Norse Influences on Tolkien’s Elves and Dwarves in Frances Di Lauro. Through a
Glass Darkly: Reflections on the sacred (Sidney, Sidney University Press, 2006).
Richard Cleasby and Gudbrand Vigfusson. An Icelandic-English Dictionary (Oxford, OUP

Oxford, 1963).
Tom Shippey. Tolkien and the Appeal of the Pagan: Edda and Kalevala J.Chance. Tolkien and the
Invention of Myth (Lexington, The University Press of Kentucky, 2004), pp.145-162.
Tom Shippey. The Road to Middle-earth (London, Harper Collins, 2006).
Ursula Dronke. The Poetic Edda (Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1997).
Web Sources
 http://www.nytimes.com/1977/10/23/books/tolkien-silmarillion.html?_r=0
 https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ReUPAAAAIBAJ&sjid=94sDAAAAIB
AJ&pg=6084,838093&hl=it
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UNIVERSITÀ DEGLI STUDI DI PAVIA

DIPARTIMENTO DI STUDI UMANISTICI

CORSO DI LAUREA IN LINGUE E CULTURE MODERNE

THE NORSE MYTH IN THE WORLD OF

J.R.R. Tolkien turned his knowledge of medieval languages and literatures

Despite this religious and stylistic devotion to Christianity, however, Tolkien

1 Shippey, 2005, p.65.

6 Shippey, 2005, p.395.

1.1 Biography of J.R.R. Tolkien

told in the literary works of Tolkien.

In 1945 Tolkien moved to Merton College, Oxford, becoming the Merton

biographic work Tolkien: A Biography by Humphrey Carpenter.

Tolkien's approach to Norse mythology, and generally to all the mythologies,

Tolkien's interest in the Northern languages and their legends began in

16 Jacob Grimm (1785- 1863) was a German philologist and mythologist.

23 Tolkien, 2001, x-xxiv.

24 Tolkien, 2001, p.15.

31 Tolkien, 2001, p.261.

If "The Hobbit" is a lesser

The documentation for Norse mythology which came to us is certainly large

38 Chiesa Isnardi, 1976, p.5.

2.1 The Poetic Edda

The Poetic Edda is probably the most conspicuous source of Norse

42Faulkes, 1982, xvii.

2.2 The Prose Edda by Snorri Sturluson

52 Völuspá, stanza 31.

60 Faulkes, 1982, XXIX.

3.1 Cosmology according to Norse tradition

Each world is inhabited by different creatures or divine beings. The first

61 For the Norse sources See chapter 2.

Then comes Jötunheimr, the house of Jötnar, commonly known as giants.

The world of death in the cosmology of Norse sources is called Helheimr or

68 Vafþrúðnismál, stanza 14.

3.2 Cosmology of Tolkien's universe

Finally, an uninhabited continent is also mentioned by Tolkien in some

75 Tolkien, 2001, p.38

Tolkien and published in 1986.

Secondly, the correspondence between Miðgarðr and Middle-earth is easy to

4.1 The gods of Norse tradition

Þá gengo regin oll Then the powers all strode

81 Turville-Petre, 1996, p. 207.

Despite the Æsir-Vanir distinction that has to be considered, many times in

84 Gylfaginning, section 20.

Another important divinity is Heimdallr, the guardian of gods, also called

In section 28 of Gylfaginning Höðr, a blind god, is briefly mentioned. Höðr

86Gylfaginning, section 24.

90 Gylfaginning, section 35.

A list of names of secondary female divinities is provided in section 36 of

4.2 The Pantheon of Tolkien

91 Gylfaginning, section 36.

Manwё's spouse (a term which Tolkien often uses instead of "wife", to

Aulё is the third of Valar in authority, he is associated principally with

Aulё's spouse is Yavanna, who is strongly associated with nature. She

Oromё is the huntsman of the Valar, described in The Silmarillion as "hunter

95 Tolkien, 2001, p.26.

4.3 Differences and common aspects

97 Tolkien, 2001, p.28.

The common behaviour of the gods of Asgarðr results quite reprehensible

First of all, a binary distinction is presented by both pantheons. For the

To match the male gods in a simple one-by-one correspondence is much

103 Burns, 2004, p.166.

If we keep our attention on Melkor, an important resemblance can be found

5.1 Elves according to Norse sources