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That Hideous Strength - Middle Earth

PostPosted: August 25th, 2008, 8:40 pm
by Solomons Song
Lewis mentions Middle-Earth in THS on numerous occasions. Of course, this concurs with his mentioning Numenor, a prominent place in Tolkien's myth. How does this book correspond with Tolkien's Middle-Earth. Is Tolkien's Middle-Earth the same Middle-Earth being spoken about in THS?

I guess I am asking for a good summary of the apparent correlation.

PostPosted: August 25th, 2008, 9:19 pm
by repectabiggle
I think Lewis's use has reference to Tolkien's work, but doesn't Tolkien's Middle Earth come from the Germanic Midgard?

PostPosted: August 25th, 2008, 11:18 pm
by moogdroog

PostPosted: August 25th, 2008, 11:23 pm
by A#minor

PostPosted: August 25th, 2008, 11:34 pm
by moogdroog
Lovely Cynewulf extract, A#Minor!

Midden-geard pops up in lots of Anglo-Saxon/Old English. I'm sure Lewis would have had exposure to Anglo-Saxon/Old English, but from what I have read, he tends to go for High-Late Medieval texts (i.e. things after the 12th century. Could be completely off the mark though...perhaps I am missing out a seminal Old English paper Lewis wrote? :tongue:)

My point is, if Lewis isn't big on using Old English references, he is perhaps using Midden-geard as a reference to Tolkien? Then again, I really can't remember the references in THS, apart from a 'Numinor' in-joke in the introduction.

PostPosted: August 25th, 2008, 11:50 pm
by repectabiggle

PostPosted: September 2nd, 2008, 1:28 am
by Solomons Song

PostPosted: November 23rd, 2008, 2:07 pm
by a_hnau

Re: That Hideous Strength - Middle Earth

PostPosted: December 12th, 2008, 7:14 pm
by galion
Well, I don't think Tolkien ever made any reference in his own work to works by Lewis. Lewis was famously a great supporter of Tolkien, but Tolkien didn't care (for example) for Narnia. But Lewis certainly knew Old English and its literature. In Perelandra at one point (the fight with the Unman) we are told obliquely that Ransom spoke the following verse from "The Battle of Maldon":

Hige sceal the heardra
heorte the cenre
mod sceal the mare
the ure maegen lytlath

Re: That Hideous Strength - Middle Earth

PostPosted: December 13th, 2008, 9:00 am
by moogdroog

Re: That Hideous Strength - Middle Earth

PostPosted: December 13th, 2008, 9:26 am
by galion
Oh joy! Moogdroog, where do you find those chraracters?

Re: That Hideous Strength - Middle Earth

PostPosted: December 13th, 2008, 10:43 am
by moogdroog

Re: That Hideous Strength - Middle Earth

PostPosted: December 13th, 2008, 10:57 am
by galion
Many thanks! I shall be off to those sites post-haste.