I've been reading /The Sword of Welleran and Other Stories/ by Lord
Dunsany. It's in Project Gutenberg [EBook #10806]. My favorite so far
is "The Kith of the Elf Folk", wherein a nature-spirit who longs for a
soul finds that there is more to it than she bargained for.
I see lots of parallels to Tolkien in these stories. JRRT did read
Dunsany, and say he liked the stories, did he not?
In "The Fortress Unvanquishable, Save for Sacnoth" (kind of a lame
title, really), the sword Sacnoth fights by itself in the hand of the
hero, just like Farmer Giles' sword. The Fortress itself is rather
Angband-like:
in the wall stood doors like precipices of steel, all studded
with boulders of iron, and above every window were terrible
gargoyles of stone . . . the name of the door was The ****te
Resonant,
the Way of Egress for War
On his way through the fortress, the hero encounters a web of ropes
that he can't push through, but his magic sword parts them easily,
just like Frodo in Shelob's lair. The spider-like being who made them
speaks to him, but gives way without a fight.
This description doesn't match in any detail, but reminds me very
strongly of Minas Morgul:
Far down the dim precipice on which the pillars stood he could see
windows small and closely barred, and between the bars there showed
at moments, and disappeared again, things that I shall not speak
of.
and I just love the description of the narrow way across the abyss
(reminiscent of Moria)
he stood
upon a narrow way between two abysses. To left and right of him,
as
far as he could see, the walls of the fortress ended in a profound
precipice, though the roof still stretched above him; and before
him
lay the two abysses full of stars, for they cut their way through
the whole Earth and revealed the under sky
The last guardian of the throne is a very Carcharoth-like beast
(though dragon-like rather than wolf-like)
This was the last and faithfullest guard of Gaz****, and came from
slobbering just now his master's hand.
More as a child than a dragon was Gaz**** wont to treat him, giving
him often in his fingers tender pieces of man all smoking from his
table.
Of course, there are elements aplenty that are not echoed in LotR.
Some is reminiscent of the Arabian Nights, and I am sure there are
parallels with other story-telling traditions of which I am totally
unaware. But we need /something/ to talk about here: traffic has been
very sparse! Any comments, analyses, or drug-addled ramblings from the
group? ;-)
Jim Deutch (JimboCat)
--
Old farmer MacPhee had a plough,
Two horses, nine pigs, and a cough
He often said "Though
I do not mind the snough
I'd rather see rain anyhough."
|
