Tolkien's Middle-earth doesn't look like Medieval Europe: Re: Re: Middle-Earth Medieval?

» Rasvarca - Re: Re: Middle-Earth Medieval?

Perhaps I am not understanding your meaning of "medieval", but I certainly didn't take it to mean literally medieval. I took it to mean medieval-like. Tolkien of course was not locating his story in an obviously medieval time period. Certainly, however, a fantasy story set in any actual time period - say, Tolkien's 6,000 years ago time period - can be made to be, or seem medieval-like. Whatever his intention, his stories and other materials leave a vaguely medieval-like feel. This is not a judgment one way or the other. It is simply how it occurs to me.

I asked explicitly for clarification as to where Tolkien denies medievalist connections. You state that he makes these statements again, but you do not say where. I'd simply like to read the quotes and consider their context and meaning myself.

On another point... You write:

"King", "squire", and "knights" are simply words. They are used to translate both classical and medieval terms with much the same meaning. There is therefore nothing MEDIEVAL in Tolkien's use of these words. One might as well argue that Julius Caesar was medieval, because you can find these words in translations of his works."

The exact origin and antiquity of these terms is irrelevant to my point: they conjure medievalist images. That's not Tolkien's fault. The clichés are simply more powerful even than Tolkien's powerful prose.

Same goes for his illustrations. I think the two paintings I mentioned obviously reflect a medieval-like vision.

As for your last comment - "I think people miss out on a lot when they narrow their focus to a medieval spectrum." - I agree. But Tolkien, God love him, is not entirely blameless for the "medieval spectrum." Perhaps if he were alive he would find a way to unravel the "medieval spectrum" and up-play the more ancient vision he apparently favored.

Rasvarca

-- posted by Rasvarca