Dr. Carl Phelpstead of Cardiff University has just completed a study that goes into great detail in exploring the various Welsh influences that impacted J.R.R. Tolkien's works. He has released his findings through the book, Tolkien and Wales: Language, Literature and Identity.
With access to Tolkien's unpublished manuscripts and a collection of Welsh books Tolkien had in his personal library, Dr. Phelpstead was able to do a thorough exploration of Tolkien's love for Wales, the Welsh language, country, and cult
Dr. Phelpstead states:
[J.R.R. Tolkien] knew the Welsh language extremely well - both medieval and modern Welsh. He read a lot of medieval Welsh literature, taught medieval Welsh when he was working at Leeds University and you can see the influence of the language and the literature in his creative writing and his scholarly work.Welsh is important as an influence particularly on one of the elfish languages, Sindarin. It's not so much that he borrowed Welsh words, more the sounds. This particular Elfish language is very like the sounds of Welsh and deliberately so.
Tolkien and Wales: Language, Literature and Identity is a university press release, and is available through University of Wales Press, as well as further scholarly distributors. A paperback version is schedule for future publication.
If you have the time and funding to explore this in person, a Wales literary tourism company hosts walking tours that celebrate the various geographic, literary, and cultural elements that greatly influenced Tolkien's works.
Comments