Tolkien's Ring [Hardcover]

David Day (Author), Alan Lee (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 2002

J.R.R. Tolkien had a great knowledge of, and love for, world mythology when he wrote his beloved trilogy of Middle Earth. In particular, the symbol of the Ring has a rich and fascinating heritage, and this beautifully illustrated literary detective work searches down Tolkien's sources and inspiration. To understand the roots of The Lord of the Rings, we must go far back, to a tradition of ring-quest tales that came into being before the pyramids of Egypt were built, or the walls of Babylon raised. The extraordinary journey passes through the most magical stories told: Norse myths, including the Volsunga Saga; the Arthurian legends; the Carolingian tales, linked to the Holy Roman Emperor, Charlemagne; Celtic and Saxon myths; German romances, such as the Nibelungenlied; and more. By drawing on these potent primary myths and legends, Tolkien was able himself to create a new mythology for the 20th century--and beyond.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A mighty achievement, effectively described and celebrated in this lavish, handsomely presented volume."  —Times Educational Supplement

"Day's enthusiasm is infectious, and he concisely retells the myths he examines with some verve."  —SFX Magazine

--This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

About the Author

David Day is a Canadia author living in the UK and Canada. His highly successful books on Tolkien, including The Hobbit Companion, have brought him world renown, appearing in 14 languages with two million copies in print. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 184 pages
• Publisher: Barnes & Noble (February 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1586635271
• ISBN-13: 978-1586635275
• Product Dimensions: 11.5 x 8.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,931,502 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The history and mythology that inspired Tolkien, January 2, 2002

By 

Bruce H (Toronto, Ontario, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tolkien's Ring (Hardcover)

This book is a piece of "literary detective work"; it seeks to find the myths and stories that inspired Tolkien in his creation of his three great works: The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and the Silmarillion.

The author states something of a disclaimer at the beginning though:
"In Tolkien's Ring, we will survey a vast body of myth and legend in search of Tolkien's sources. We will look at other rings and ring quests, and we will see where many elements of his epic tale were provoked into existence. However, we should never mistake Tolkien's creative process as a mere cobbling together of ancient lore. Richer and more profound through Tolkien's writing is for the ancient tradition it draws on, Tolkien's art is by no means imitation. The Lord of the Rings is a highly realized and originally conceived novel that has renewed, invigorated and finally reinvented the ring quest for the twentieth century." (page 17)

I think the author correctly identifies the primary time period and location that served as the prime inspiration for Tolkien. To use England as a benchmark, the time period runs from the end of the Roman period in England (406 AD) to the Conquest of William the Conqueror (1066 AD). The location is that is northern Europe; Scandinavia and Germany in particular.

The author also makes some interesting insights regarding metallurgy, the Iron Age, alchemy and ring-based mythology. The ring in that time period (especially in Scandinavia) was a symbol of power (e.g. Kings are "ring-givers") and it became the central symbol of the struggling pagan religions of Europe against the Christian symbol of the Cross. In many of the ring myths, the hero is always questing for a ring, which will provide him the power to rule the world, increase his physical strength, increase his wisdom or provide him with other such powers. This reflects the discovery of iron making; those who know how to make iron had a clear advantage of those who did not. Iron knowledge was thus precious and often kept secret. The knowledge to control and manipulate iron was often combined with magical/alchemical ideas; this led to the idea of the sorcerer-smith.

The Niebelungenlied (a Germanic epic) and the Volsunga Saga (Norse; unknown date. Probably within 400-1000 AD) were the prime examples of what Tolkien called the "noble northern spirit," of Germany and Scandinavia. Tolkien's tale leans more towards to German epic with its sense of morality reinforced by strong elements of Arthurian legend. The idea of a sorcerer/magician as a wandering old man with beard and hat was clearly modeled on the depiction of Odin (to draw a rough analogy; he is the Norse version of Zeus) in the Volsunga Saga.

In reading this book, there were times where I thought the author was really stretching his source material. It may be interesting to investigate the ring mythology of Tibet, but this was not exactly a significant influence on Tolkien. There were other times where the author simply summarized the myth; an entire chapter could go buy without reference to Tolkien or his works. With respect, when I buy a book on Tolkien, I expect to find analysis and discussion OF Tolkien. The author's analysis could have been improved by investigating Tolkien's life; what sagas were his favorites? Why did he like them? Did he read the sagas in the original languages (I happen to know he did, from reading one of his biographies).

The second last chapter is a synopsis of Richard Wagner's huge opera, "The Ring of Nibelung." The author makes the point that every age retells and adapts the ring myth for its own time and that this opera was written for 19th century Germany. However, if the reader has been paying attention to the previous chapters, this is simply a repeat of the previous stories with some changes.

The last chapter is a chapter of speculation on, "The Lord of the Rings." The author seeks to understand why it has become so popular and how the message of the novel can be applied to our times. Thankfully, the author includes this disclaimer:

"That is not to say that The Lord of the Rings is an allegory of our time. Tolkien rightly rejected the allegorical view as too narrow for his tale. He especially abhorred questions of the 'Are Orcs Nazis or Communists?' kind. Tolkien's purpose was both more specific and universal than that." (page 177)

My main criticism of this book is the total lack of documentation. There are no footnotes, no endnotes, and no bibliography. One wonders where the author got some of his ideas (e.g. a legend about Solomon controlling demons) and it would be helpful if the author could have recommended good translations of the relevant epics and other such information.

Reading this book was somewhat difficult for a person who is not familiar with the literature of the "noble northern spirit"; the barrage of unfamiliar names, places, spirits, Gods etc is difficult to keep track of. It is unfortunate that this literature is given almost no time in school curricula compared to the time given to the Roman and Greek mythology. Western civilization is based on Greco-Roman culture and Christianity, but that does mean the literature and culture of the so-called "Dark Ages" ought to be neglected.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars "Tolkien's Ring" a tight fit, May 6, 2004

By 

E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Tolkien's Ring (Hardcover)

J.R.R. Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" is rooted in mythology. That much is evident if you check out just a few Norse legends, with their gods and dwarves and elves and so forth. But in investigating the legends that lead up to "Lord of the Rings," David Day goes wide of the mark.

He describes the legends about rings and ancient civilizations, dating back to the earliest recorded history. He dips into legends from all times -- the Celts, Arthurian legend, the Norse legends of gods, elves, dwarves and human heroes, the opera "Ring of the Nibelung," and many others. He includes synopses, analysis, and plenty of speculation.

So what does this have to do with Tolkien? Not much, unfortunately. Day flounders in just about every ring-related legend he can find, and cobbles mythical material from every mythology he can get his hands on. Filler makes up most of this . Just because a legend has a ring doesn't mean it's in any way connected to "Lord of the Rings," or that they are in any way the roots of Tolkien's Ring saga.

As a result, this book is a crazy quilt that will drive Tolkien fans nuts. Tolkien famously drew on Norse and Anglo-Saxon legends for his books, but not a lot else. Arthurian legend (a sketchy source itself) is cited too heavily, as is Celtic legend. What does the Celtic ogre Balor have to do with Sauron? Uh, well, they both have one eye... they're powerful... they're evil... bingo! says Day. Connection made.

Day's scholarly ramblings also have a lot to be desired. He paraphrases things from "Lord of the Rings" without telling readers that he is doing so, and offers his speculation as unadorned fact. He even stoops to trashing Christianity despite Tolkien's devout beliefs. Even legends are misquoted, such as his half-made-up descriptions of the silver horse Grani. No sources, no citations. Those familiar with the background of Tolkien's work will be incensed, and those who aren't familiar will be grossly misled.

The saving grace of Day's book is Alan Lee's exceptional artwork, which is elegant and magical as always. But even Lee's wonderful pictures cannot save a fetid, self-important volume with more fiction than fact.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars interesting, but not particularly well written, January 4, 2003

By 

David Hofmayer (Orinda, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tolkien's Ring (Hardcover)

as other reviewers have suggested, the book is attractive because Tolkien fans are ravenous for more materials and this book has Tolkien's name on it in big gold letters. However, I must stress that this is not sufficient reason to buy it:

Pros: comprehensive discussion of the history of the ring as a symbol in lore and of its use in Tolkien. Also fascinating illustrations by incomparable Tolkien illustrator Alan Lee.

Cons: First, to be called Tolkien's Ring, it ought to have more analysis of Tolkien's Ring. On the contrary, it only spends a chapter on that. The title is almost false, so called to attract Tolkien fans. Also, to put it bluntly, Day is boring to read and although the subject matter is interesting, his style is not engaging.

It was a decent read, and i recommend it to anyone interested in the history of the use of rings in lore. But Tolkien fans will not learn anything new or interesting about Tolkien or his work.