The House of the Wolfings: A Book That Influenced J. R. R. Tolkien

William Morris

Inkling Books, 2003 - Fiction - 162 pages

J. R. R. Tolkien was inspired in the writing of The Lord of the Rings by this tale of a magical coat of mail and the temptation to use its protection in a war between the Rohan-like Wolfings and the enslaving armies of Rome.

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Contents

• Foreword: 7
• Introduction: 13
• The Dwellings of Midmark: 15
• The Flitting of the WarArrow: 19
• Thiodolf Talketh with the WoodSun: 23
• The House Fareth to the War: 30
• Concerning the HallSun: 35
• They Talk on the Way to the FolkThing: 43
• They Gather to the FolkMote: 49
• The Folkmote of the Markmen: 55
• The Ancient Man of the Daylings: 65
• That Carline Cometh to the Roof of the Wolfings: 67
• The HallSun Speaketh: 69
• Tidings of the Battle in Mirkwood: 71
• The HallSun Saith Another Word: 75
• The HallSun Is Careful Concerning the Passes of the Wood: 77
• They Hear Tell of the Battle on the Ridge: 80
• How the DwarfWrought Hauberk Was Brought Away from the Hall of the Daylings: 86
• The WoodSun Speaketh with Thiodolf: 88
• Tidings Brought to the WainBurg: 94
• 19 Those Messengers Come to Thiodolf: 98
• Otter and his Folk Come into Midmark: 104
• They Bicker about the Ford: 110
• Otter Falls on Against his Wall: 113
• Thiodolf Meeteth the Romans in the Wolfing Meadow: 118
• The Goths Are Overthrown by the Romans: 122
• The Host of the Markmen Cometh into the Wildwood: 125
• Thiodolf Talketh with the Woodsun: 130
• They Wend to the Morning Battle: 137
• Of the Storm of Dawning: 141
• Of Thiodolfs Storm: 146
• Thiodolf Is Borne Out of the Hall and Otter Is Laid Beside Him: 153
• Old Asmund Speaketh Over the Wardukes The Dead Are Laid in Mound: 158

About the author

Morris was the Victorian Age's model of the Renaissance man. Arrested in 1885 for preaching socialism on a London street corner (he was head of the Hammersmith Socialist League and editor of its paper, The Commonweal, at the time), he was called before a magistrate and asked for identification. He modestly described himself upon publication (1868--70) as "Author of "The Earthly Paradise,' pretty well known, I think, throughout Europe." He might have added that he was also the head of Morris and Company, makers of fine furniture, carpets, wallpapers, stained glass, and other crafts; founder of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings; and founder, as well as chief designer, for the Kelmscott Press, which set a standard for fine book design that has carried through to the present. His connection to design is significant. Morris and Company, for example, did much to revolutionize the art of house decoration and furniture in England. Morris's literary productions spanned the spectrum of styles and subjects. He began under the influence of Dante Gabriel Rossetti with a Pre-Raphaelite volume called The Defence of Guenevere and Other Poems (1858); he turned to narrative verse, first in the pastoral mode ("The Earthly Paradise") and then under the influence of the Scandinavian sagas ("Sigurd the Volsung"). After "Sigurd," his masterpiece, Morris devoted himself for a time exclusively to social and political affairs, becoming known as a master of the public address; then, during the last decade of his life, he fused these two concerns in a series of socialist romances, the most famous of which is News from Nowhere (1891).

Bibliographic information

• Title: The House of the Wolfings: A Book That Influenced J. R. R. Tolkien
• Author: William Morris
• Edition: reprint
• Publisher: Inkling Books, 2003
• ISBN: 1587420252, 9781587420252
• Length: 162 pages
• Subjects: Fiction / Fantasy / General; Literary Collections / General