Word War Impasse Ended: A.K.A. Middle Earth, Mythology, and Creationism…

Sorry, sister of mine, for being so slow in posting my response to your last challenge. It’s taken me awhile to get around with it.

The last challenge was to write something on Lord of the Rings and how Tolkien uses mythology. Apparently, scholars of late believe that Tolkien was trying to re-create a mythology of England. Since England was constantly invaded and re-invaded by the Romans, Angles, Saxons, Jutes, Vikings, and Normans, England does not have an origin myth. It has no history of its settlement. Perhaps, writers have tried to find the origins of England with the Celts and druids… Gaelic. But nothing really survived from that time. Or at least, it is so hard to unravel what is Celtic from the invaders that one gives up. So why not? Why couldn’t the Holy Grail show up in England with Jesus nieces and nephews? Why couldn’t King Arthur and his knights search for it? (Though officially that myth of Mary’s family and the grail originally shows up in the south of France… if I remember correctly.)

So… this is sad. I’m really stealing from another source. National Geographic has a nice little synopsis of mythology in Tolkien on their website. (accessed May 11, 2008). Author, Jane Chance, finds Tolkien’s mythological muse in Beowulf. Tolkien lectured on Beowulf, and it is really the only myth with Germanic and Christian elements. Sadly, my knowledge of German and Norse mythology is lacking. According to the website, the dwarves come from Iceland’s Petic Edda, and Gandalf comes the Finnish Kalevaia. …And the website justifies my bringing up the Grail by seeing similar plots in LOTR and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.

But sorry, Jane Chance. Did you just skip Greek and Latin mythology? Any good English boy would have teethed on the stuff. The entire creation of Middle Earth, the roles of the elves, and descent of man come from Hesiod’s Works and Days (lines 109-201) … a work that harkens back to the time of Homer. Hesiod introduces the 5 Ages of Man. (Ovid condenses it to 4 Ages of Men during the Roman period.) In the Golden Age, men lived simple lives without sorrow, and they didn’t toil as the tended their gardens. (Does anybody else sense the Garden of Eden?) They had glorious bodies and lived to extremely ages. In the silver age, things were not quiet so good, but mankind still lived past 100. This group was fair but didn’t obey the gods and lived in strife. The Bronze Age had men who were strong and powerful, but they spent then energies on warfare and eventually went to Hades. Next, came the heros… They found Elysium. They fought like the strong men of the Bronze age, but not with strife. They fought for glory and honor. Then they finished warring and tended their farms. (Cincinnatus… here are your role models.) Finally, the men of the iron age come. (And yes, archaeology uses the bronze and iron ages still as a chronology… ) Iron Age men are abundant. This age is the most populated by men, and they continue populating. According to Hesiod, it’s a time of misery… toil… moral bankruptness… and generally they are all god forsaken.

In LOTR, the time that men and elves live in harmony corresponds well with the Golden Age… This mankind is noble and strong. Then (like the Bronze age) in jealousy and strife, mankind eventually destroys themselves (Aragorn’s ancestors who broke the sword.) Then Aragorn seems to be of the Heroic age. The demi-gods are disappearing. Man is gaining dominance. But mankind is also showing some of its best traits of courage, honor, justice, bravery. Sadly, that leave an Iron Age… after the Elves leave, Middle Earth will begin the time of men. Hopefully, mankind does not suffer the pain in the future of Middle Earth that Hesiod sees in 9th cent. b.c. Greece.

So what does that have to do with Creationism? I already mentioned the Garden of Eden above. Sometimes, I just wonder where Hesiod got his ideas. It conveniently fits into a Biblical type chronology. However, even according to conservative scholars, Hesiod wrote before some of the historical books and most of the prophetic books were written. At the same time, it doesn’t really look like Biblical stories were drawing from Hesiod. Is there a shared tradition behind the stories? It’s fun to contemplate. Impossible to really say.

It is interesting that some archaeological chronology and Hesiod coincide. The neolithic time period is almost constantly portrayed as a happy time with happier, better fed people (see Jared Diamond). The bronze age is often associated with societies with bronze tools and the first large battles. It makes me think of Minoan civilization. And the heroic age would have still used bronze.. and that coincides with Troy as Hesiod suggests. And then there are the great wars as the “Sea People” as foes from the North sweep into the Greece and make life unbearable. These invaders bring the early iron technology. That perfectly sets the stage for Hesiod’s present…iron age. In Israel, David learns the art of iron making from these “Sea People” that around 1000 bc. Greece probably had it about the same time. So chronologically, there is a little truth in what Hesiod says. Nice, no?

So here is my last theory. I think the Hobbits are based on the Amish. They’re just shorter. Where is there tobacco? The Americas… Which people eat the most? Which people are the most peaceful? Which people like to live in holes in the ground… Well, Mennonites on the Great Plains during the 19th century… I guess, that’s a stretch. More convincing evidence… that Amish live on the Brandywine River in Pennsylvania. The Hobbits live next to the Brandywine River in Middle Earth. Sounds good to me.

What do you think? I’ll leave it here for now. And I will send another challenge soon!

Cooking Success!

I need to finish writing a paper, but I had to share my success!

I created dinner tonight… within my Weight Watchers points… that was tasty, filling, and easy to make. Under 30 minutes. Whole wheat penne with pesto sauce, Grilled chicken, and fresh vegetable mix (broccoli, carrots, and cauliflower). Not bad, huh?

A Beautiful Ache…

Today has been absolutely beautiful. Luckily, I’ve been able to spend some time in it. The sky is blue blue. The grass is freshly green after the storms of last night. The roses bushes are blooming white, red, and pink. Then the purple petals of the irises decadently overflow from their buds.

It’s so lovely, it almost makes me ache. Of course, my ache might have something more to do with missed points on a paper and an unsure future with job fears. But that’s too pedestrian for today. So after enjoying a pasta salad and while my TV speaks the secrets of the Sistine Chapel, I can revel in the creation and the creator.

Now, if only I didn’t have to study for my final for tomorrow…..