Tir Nan Og and Tolkiens' Valinor
Created | Updated Nov 26, 2007
I've just been struck by a thought. To what extent was Tolkien influenced in his creation of Valinor by the Folklore tale of Tir Nan Og.
Let's start with Tir Nan Og as it certainly predates Tolkien. This is a magical land of faerie in the western sea, a floating island where no-one ever dies (or at least if they do they come back to life the next rising of the sun) and remain eternally young. It was to Tir Nan Og that the Tuatha De Danaan fled from Ireland in the face of encroaching christianity, it was that or fade away as belief dwindled.
Tolkien's Valinor is in the west, the abode of the elves (Tolkien's faeries) where no-one ever dies and it was hidden from the mortal world at the time of the downfall of Neumenor. The ships carrying the elves home to Valinor are described as rising up in to the sky off the surface of the sea - a floating land. The elves faced the choice of departing from Middle Earth or fading away to become a forgotton people of forests and woods.
And just as an extra clue, the first city that travellors across the sea reach on the shores of Valinor is TIRion.
No doubt there are scolarly texts written about this similarity and it's perfectly obvious to everyone else, just me that takes a while to catch on.
Let's start with Tir Nan Og as it certainly predates Tolkien. This is a magical land of faerie in the western sea, a floating island where no-one ever dies (or at least if they do they come back to life the next rising of the sun) and remain eternally young. It was to Tir Nan Og that the Tuatha De Danaan fled from Ireland in the face of encroaching christianity, it was that or fade away as belief dwindled.
Tolkien's Valinor is in the west, the abode of the elves (Tolkien's faeries) where no-one ever dies and it was hidden from the mortal world at the time of the downfall of Neumenor. The ships carrying the elves home to Valinor are described as rising up in to the sky off the surface of the sea - a floating land. The elves faced the choice of departing from Middle Earth or fading away to become a forgotton people of forests and woods.
And just as an extra clue, the first city that travellors across the sea reach on the shores of Valinor is TIRion.
No doubt there are scolarly texts written about this similarity and it's perfectly obvious to everyone else, just me that takes a while to catch on.
