tolkien's World: His Sources and Inspirations, a new Tolkien anthology (25.11.13 by Pieter Collier) - Comments

"tolkien's World: His sources and Inspirations" is a multimedia anthology of some 400 items (over 250 of them books, some newly typeset for this edition) relating to the ancient legends and modern fictions that were the favorites of J.R.R. Tolkien.

The books include the source texts of the mythologies and literatures associated with tolkien's fiction (Anglo-Saxon, Middle English, Finnish, Welsh, Norse, Germanic, and so on), a variety of English translations of these, and introductory texts on them.

Also included are the collected works of tolkien's favorite modern authors---the books he read for pleasure apart from his scholarly work---including George MacDonald, John Buchan, William Morris, and others.

It is intended as a convenient package for Tolkien fans who want to dig deeper into his literary world.  For example, if you are unacquainted with Welsh or Finnish mythology, the introductory texts are there, as well as a variety of English translations of the Mabinogion and Kalevala, and, should you wish to go all the way, even the source texts in the original languages.  The modern books he enjoyed also give the fan a new perspective on his writing.

The anthology, edited by Michael Saunders, is published electronically and is available in the "store" of the free app "Biblioboard", which can be found via iPad or iTunes (with other platforms to follow). Within the "Biblioboard" this new antology quickly became one of the best-selling (sub)apps. So it is worth checking out.

With this anthology one may explore the worlds Tolkien spent a lifetime exploring. For lifelong fans of Tolkien who have read and re-read his books, or for new fans who have see only a film or two, it is the best way to come to know the fascinating man and mind that created The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarilion, and their beautiful, engrossing world of fantasy.

tolkien's World

Come in to Professor tolkien's study! Here, amid the smell of pipe smoke and the warm glow of a fire are cases stuffed with the books that inspired and delighted the world's most loved author, the things that made up tolkien's world. It is a commonplace that Western civilization has three sources: Greek, Roman, and Hebrew; but, there are others—the cultures of the European "barbarians" not assimilated by the Roman world, and it is these, especially the northern ones, the Celtic, Germanic, and Finno-Ugric, that Tolkien was a great scholar of. The ancient and medieval epics of these cultures form the bulk of his influences, and perhaps his tapping in to these neglected veins of the West account for his uncanny popularity.

His Sources and Inspirations

tolkien's World presents these and tolkien's other sources in great breadth and depth. For those who wish to dig to the deepest level, there are the ancient books with their unfamiliar alphabets, but don't be alarmed by them—there are a wealth of modern English editions for each.

These are supplemented by many texts providing background for the general reader—from erudite, scholarly studies (the province of our dear professor), to light, popular renderings, not to mention the favorite entertainments of tolkien's childhood and adulthood.

And it's not only books, but music, film, the spoken word, and performances of all sorts.

The collection

The collection is organized into nine large sections:
1 Introduction
2 Anglo-Saxon (Old English)
3 Arthurian and Middle-English
4 Finnish
5 Welsh
6 Old Norse and Icelandic
7 Germanic
8 Wagnerian (Der Ring des Nibelungen)
9 Other

In general, each subsection is organized to lead the reader from the easiest to the most difficult material. The anthology contains over 250 books, 15 audio books, 126 videos (including lectures, period performances, music, dance, 18 documentaries, 15 feature films, over 50 operas), and 14 introductory articles to guide the reader—some 400 multimedia items in all.

About BiblioBoard

BiblioBoard is a free App that gives you access to historical anthologies that explore places, events, people and themes from across the centuries. Within BiblioBoard, there are a variety of anthologies available for purchase.

Each anthology is a curated multimedia experience about a topic that generally includes 75+ pieces of unique historical content such as books, images, articles and historical documents, accompanied by expert commentary. For the price of a single paperback, you can own an entire curated universe of historical artifacts.

A global network of BiblioBoard curators explore and curate dozens of new strands of history each month and publish engaging, educational and entertaining historical anthologies that will thrill any history buff.

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