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The king's prayer: "Ho crown of Lower Egypt! Ho red-crown! Ho Great Crown! Ho Crown great of magic! Ho Fiery Serpent! Grant that the dread of me be like the dread of you; grant that the fear of me be like the fear of you; grant that the acclaim of me be like the acclaim of you; grant that the love of me be like the love of you! Set by aba-scepter at the head of the living, set my sm-scepter at the head of the spirits, and grant that my sword prevail over my foes. Ho red-crown! If you have gone forth from me, so have I gone forth from you."

Reply by the crown: "If Ikhet the Great has borne you, Ikhet the Serpent has adorned you; if Ikhet the Serpent has borne you, Ikhet the Great has adorned you, because you are Horus encircled with the protection of his Eye."

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Posts: 8889 | Registered: May 2005  |  IP: Logged | 

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n Norse mythology, Brísingamen (brisinga flaming, glowing; men jewellry, ornament) is the necklace of the goddess Freyja (or Frigg in some mythological writings). It is believed that when she wore it no man or god could withstand her charms, which was obviously a matter of great concern to the other goddesses during springtime when she reputedly wore it. The necklace also gave support to any army which she favoured on the battlefield.

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From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Br%C3%ADsingamen


http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/menit.htm

http://www.egyptartsite.com/symlst.html

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Originally posted by nur23_you55ouf:
Richard Crawshaw, a trustee for the Tolkien Society, said: "There was definitely no racial intent in his work. He detested racism."

^ What do you guys think of that statement? An utter lie(make note of the last sentence...)?

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Posts: 15202 | Registered: Jun 2004  |  IP: Logged | 

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Originally posted by Djehuti:
^ Yeah, and the goddess's necklace story sounds alot like that of Amaterasu, the Japanese sun goddess as well as a Chinese deity.

Again, you're off Africa here.

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Posts: 8889 | Registered: May 2005  |  IP: Logged | 

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Originally posted by alTakruri:
I'm not missing nothing.

Africa is not Europe.
I can't stand anymore of this:
"See, Africa has what Europe has" roorag.
Always nothing said about Africa unless
you put Europe or "de y man" in there somewhere.

Africa has no penis envy of Europe
Learn to see Africa through African eyes
and stop making Europe some kind yardmark
that Africa must match mirror image like.

Shoo what're we going to read next?
That Tinkerbell was ripped off from Africa?

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n his book, Of Mice and Magic, Leonard Maltin states that this early version of Bosko "was in fact a cartoonized version of a young black boy... he spoke in a Southern Negro dialect... in subsequent films this characterization was eschewed, or perhaps forgotten. This could be called sloppiness on the part of Harman and Ising, but it also indicates the uncertain nature of the character itself." [5]
...
Although Harman and Ising based Bosko's looks on Felix the Cat, Bosko, like Mickey, got his personality from the blackface characters of the minstrel and vaudeville shows popular in the 1930s. Whereas Disney masked Mickey by making him a mouse, Harman and Ising made Bosko a genuine black boy.

Keeping with the stereotypes of the minstrel shows, Bosko is a natural at singing, dancing, and playing any instrument he encounters. In fact, Bosko has the ability to play virtually anything as an instrument, be it a wooden bridge-turned-xylophone or a Dachshund-turned-accordion. In early cartoons, Bosko (voiced by Carmen Maxwell) even speaks in an exaggerated version of black speech (later cartoons would give him a falsetto voice). Despite the parallels between Bosko and the blackface performers, Ising in later years would deny that the character was ever supposed to be a black caricature.

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From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bosko

Bosko:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ka2VLxjd3rA


And, of course, Bugs Bunny is heavily influenced by the African trickster tradition.

Oswald the Lucky Rabbit:

http://www.toonopedia.com/oswald.htm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9LmDpMO2k0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46EQ90poN2k&feature=related


Real black face actor: Al Jolson (white gloves and all):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X04Tmtq6hw0&feature=related

Posts: 8889 | Registered: May 2005  |  IP: Logged | 

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Originally posted by Doug M:


But talk to the children and ask them about African folklore and legends about dragons, kings and queens.

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Posts: 8014 | From: the Tekrur in the Western Sahel | Registered: Feb 2006  |  IP: Logged | 

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Hitler intended to save Europe. He said so himself.

Can you prove that this was not his intent?

Why would you try, unless you are a sucker easily led off-point. [by action, Hitler murdered millions, regardless of "intent"]

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ie -> "there came from out of Far Harad Black men like half-trolls with white eyes and red tongues." - Tolkien.

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This is true regardless of what is professed, often disingenuously about *intent*, by the artist himself or by anyone else.

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Posts: 214 | Registered: Feb 2006  |  IP: Logged | 

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Originally posted by Doug M:

No I am not. As I said, there is a similarity. Such similarity in this case does not necessarily reflect influence, but in other cases it may.

And again, it is important for people to see that such legends and myths are not exclusive to Europe and that in many cases the African variety is far older.

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Originally posted by alTakruri:

I'm not missing nothing.

Africa is not Europe.
I can't stand anymore of this:
"See, Africa has what Europe has" roorag.
Always nothing said about Africa unless
you put Europe or "de y man" in there somewhere.

Africa has no penis envy of Europe
Learn to see Africa through African eyes
and stop making Europe some kind yardmark
that Africa must match mirror image like.

Shoo what're we going to read next?
That Tinkerbell was ripped off from Africa?

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quote:

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Originally posted by Doug M:

And how about some symbolism:

This:


and this:

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Posts: 26239 | From: Atlanta, Georgia, USA | Registered: Feb 2005  |  IP: Logged | 

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Originally posted by Djehuti:

quote:

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Originally posted by Doug M:

No I am not. As I said, there is a similarity. Such similarity in this case does not necessarily reflect influence, but in other cases it may.

And again, it is important for people to see that such legends and myths are not exclusive to Europe and that in many cases the African variety is far older.

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^ So why even bring such similarities up unless you want to convey a human universal commonlity?

quote:

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Originally posted by alTakruri:

I'm not missing nothing.

Africa is not Europe.
I can't stand anymore of this:
"See, Africa has what Europe has" roorag.
Always nothing said about Africa unless
you put Europe or "de y man" in there somewhere.

Africa has no penis envy of Europe
Learn to see Africa through African eyes
and stop making Europe some kind yardmark
that Africa must match mirror image like.

Shoo what're we going to read next?
That Tinkerbell was ripped off from Africa?

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Exactly! That is one main line where I disagree with Doug is his quest to validate Africa through comparison with Europe, as if Europe is the standard to all regional cultures!

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Originally posted by Djehuti:

Thus we get nonsense like this past post...

quote:

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Originally posted by Doug M:

And how about some symbolism:

This:


and this:

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I don't know if it's more hilarious or pathetic.

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With the possible exceptions of DaVincis' Mona Lisa and Last Supper, this is perhaps the most universally recognized image in the entire history of art.

It is also an image that historians love to hate.

Painted in Dusseldorf, Germany around 1851, the artist had lived in America as a boy, and after going back to Germany, had returned to America many times (years later he would emigrate here). While here, he visited the Smithsonian and examined Washingtons uniform and sword, and carefully studied paintings and sculpture of the Great General which were done in Washingtons lifetime. Yet, despite this intensive research into historical accuracies, Leutze then let his artistic license run wild. Perhaps that is why this painting is usually classified in the "Romantic" school of art.

The actual crossing was done in the dead of night, during a driving snowstorm, and was completed by three a. m. Leutze indulged in symbolism showing Washington leading his men out of a stormy darkness into a new dawn of freedom. Indeed, although you can't make it out in our electronic image, in the original, in the sky directly above the foremost oarsman, Leutze painted in the morning star, invoking the legend of the wise ones following the star at Christmas.

Two future Presidents of the United States crossed the river that fateful night, James Madison and James Monroe. Also along with the army were a future Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, John Marshall, and famous rivals Aarron Burr and Alexander Hamilton.

Besides Washington, only two of the figures in the boat have been identified. Look closely at the fellow holding the flag, and you'll see James Monroe. He was quartered in the house where Washington made the decision to cross, and served as a scout and trusted adviser to the General, but there's nothing in the historical records to indicate he crossed in the same boat. Note the so-called "Betsy Ross" flag, with the stars in a circle. This design first came into existence some six months after the crossing.

The other recognizable figure, pulling on an oar at Washingtons knee, is Prince Whipple, a black patriot who has become a minor legend of the Revolution. As an early biographer said of him: "Prince Whipple was born in Amabou, Africa, of comparatively wealthy parents. When about ten years of age, he was sent by them, in company with a cousin, to America to be educated. An elder brother had returned four years before, and his parents were anxious that their child should receive the same benefits. The captain who brought the two boys over proved a treacherous villain, and carried them to Baltimore, where he exposed them for sale, and they were both purchased by Portsmouth men, Prince falling to Gen. Whipple. He was emancipated during the [Revolutionary] war, was much esteemed, and was once entrusted by the General with a large sum of money to carry from Salem to Portsmouth. He was attacked on the road, near Newburyport, by two ruffians; one was struck with a loaded whip, the other he shot...Prince was beloved by all who knew him. He was the "Caleb Quotom" of Portsmouth. where he died at the age of thirty-two leaving a widow and children."

But, while many black soldiers served in Glovers Marblehead Regiment, the unit that ferried the army across the river, Prince Whipple wasn't one of them. In fact, in December of 1776 he was in Baltimore.

Of course, few of the soldiers who crossed the river that horrible night to fight what was to be one of the few battles that can be said to have changed the course of the history of the entire world were as fortunate as Monroe or Madison. Major James Wilkinson, who was on his way to join Washington, found his route easy to follow: "There was a little snow on the ground, which was tinged here and there with blood from the feet of the men who wore broken shoes." Primary documents differ about Patriot casualties, but even the most pessimistic reflect that the only American dead after the battle were two soldiers who froze to death.

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Posts: 8889 | Registered: May 2005  |  IP: Logged | 

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Originally posted by Doug M:
Mordor from Lord of the Rings is in many was a reflection of the dark Islamic minions, the Moors, who were always a symbol of savagery and evil in Christianized European propaganda.

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Posts: 8014 | From: the Tekrur in the Western Sahel | Registered: Feb 2006  |  IP: Logged | 

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Like Europeans, most Americans today take for granted the Egyptian symbols and forms that are part of their own cultural and historical baggage. The Washington Monument is, after all, a classic obelisk as Egyptian in design - and even in purpose - as the "Cleopatra's needles" found in New York's Central Park, on the banks of the Thames in London or in Rome.

Then too, half the Great Seal of the Republic is decidedly Egyptian. Look at the back of a dollar bill: to the right is the familiar eagle gripping a banner reading: E Pluribus, Unum - "Out of Many, One." But on the other side? On the other side is a pyramid surmounted by a human eye, over the legend, Novus Ordo Sedorum (sic) - roughly, "The New Order of the Ages."

As they saw it, Americans were creating a new order, and that meant establishing a bit of instant credibility through association with an old one. "With a newly won national identity," says Carrott, "Americans sought to achieve an ancient past for their land."

In this, Americans weren't too different from the Romans who dreamed up Romulus and Remus, and a wolf to suckle them, as founders of the state, later improving upon that by crediting Aeneas with the job. Aeneas, the Roman story went, came from Troy - every bit as ancient and as refined a place as the Greek city states that Rome was busily conquering.

Some American myth-makers found their Aeneas among Egyptian seafarers, who, they suggested, visited the shores of America, and left colonies long before Columbus or the Vikings. Robert Cary Long Jr., for example, an expert on Mayan ruins, believed the builders of pyramidal temples in Central America journeyed there from Egypt before the time of Cheops and the Great Pyramids at Giza. North America, of course, could boast no such ruins, but early Americans claimed a similar heritage anyway. "After all," says Professor Herb Kraft of Seton Hall University's Archeological Research Center on the North American Indians, "there are still... strange mounds, many of them pyramidal in shape, that dot the landscape in states like Ohio."

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Originally posted by alTakruri:
This statement is more on the money though I'm not
sure Moors always symbolized savagery as much as
they did evil.

You only have to elide the r and d from Mordor to
get Moor which immediately invokes dar al~Islam.

quote:

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Originally posted by Doug M:
Mordor from Lord of the Rings is in many was a reflection of the dark Islamic minions, the Moors, who were always a symbol of savagery and evil in Christianized European propaganda.

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Posts: 15202 | Registered: Jun 2004  |  IP: Logged | 

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Originally posted by Doug M:
... In all reality all the tales of the elves ACTUALLY are reflections on ancient cultures of Africa, Asia and elsewhere, who DID worship nature. The dwarves refer back to the ancient anu and Twa of Africa and elsewhere. The hobbits are the small people that some scientists say existed in places as far away as Australia. ...

... However, what this FANTASY story does reflect is a FANATICAL desire among Western Europeans to put THEMSELVES on top of everyone else as a way of GETTING BACK at everyone else for being the LAST to become "civilized". ...

... NONE of it is REAL, but the IDEA is what counts, which states that Europeans are must become the Kings of Kings on the world stage and return power and glory to Europe, regardless of whether ancient Europe was the HOME of civilization or not, basically WHITE supremacy 101. ...

... Actually, to the reality is that the Myths reflect a way of Europeans trying to deny the fact that the TRUTH of history was that Western Europe was on the RECIEVING end of culture and CIVLIZATION and that they were BACKWARDS compared to their neighbors in the South and East. Their embarrassment at this state of BACKWARDNESS compared to Rome, Greece, Africa(Egypt, Sudan, ets) and ultimately the golden age Islamic empires of the Moors and later the Ottomans, is what sparked their desire to become "masters" of the world, based on a FANATICAL claim of racial purity (which never existed in fact). ...

... But I am claiming that much of Europe's claim to greatness is based on a whole BOATLOAD of B.S. that is NOT based on any historical fact and that Western Europe was the LAST to become civilized among men, not the FIRST. ...

... ALL of it has its origins in the MYTHOLOGY of Western Europe being the ORIGIN of civilization and culture, when it WAS NOT.

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=============

Wow - where to start?

"In all reality all the tales of the elves ACTUALLY are reflections on ancient cultures of Africa, Asia and elsewhere, who DID worship nature."

Sorry mate, but you can't deny ANYone's worship of nature, just as much as catholics and neo-christian-romans WANTing for the whitewashing of indegenous culture of Western and Northern Europe to be forgotten in an imagined christian future, WOULD HAVE YOU BELIEVE, that nothing respectful of nature existed beforehand, only brutality, or cthonic madness, etc.

your use of "DID" in capitals, suggests you're just as racist in suggesting that nature was-not worshipped there. It did, and those that can proudly say-no to christianity/islam/judaism, STILL do so, even if having to do so while having to tell americans to stop blurring the lines when it comes to what's-religion and what's-ethinicity, with their own racist carelessnesss with what's-semitic and what's-jewish, etc.

It's important to be more EXACT in who you're talking about. "the west" , or "europeans" , is pretty vague.

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2

"The dwarves refer back to the ancient anu and Twa of Africa and elsewhere."

Tolkein clearly states they were created FROM THE EARTH, and both resistent to (magic(sic)) as well as not being skilled in it, while skilled in crafts - there may well be similarities between mytholigical / folklore characters FROM the cultures you're mentioning, but that makes it a cultural IMITATION, not a "reference". And FYI, there are similar mysterious god/s-gifts myths about dwarves in cultures in europe too - underworld, cauldron-born, horse-born, sea-born, moon-borne, etc - generally folklore/mythical stuff - often with a, 'mixture of blessings' (some abilities/familiarities better than usual, in fatalistic 'exchange', for deficiencies). Those INCLUDE dwarves, so where's your proof?

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3

"The hobbits are the small people that some scientists say existed in places as far away as Australia."

wwwwhat?
which "scientists"
took that from a google search, did you?

the hopeless, just-after-readers JOURNALISTS and REPORTERS, that cut&paste the momentary-comment, affectionate-descriptor used by the archaeoligcal anthropologist over in that island in indo near Aus, is only that - reporters and journos, TRYING TO GET YOUR ATTENTION - in archaeology, there are MANY examples of small genetic dead-ends, AND temporary SOURCE points for genetics, of human genes where a population ADJUSTED to living in cramped conditions - caves, jungle floors, old-water-carved cavern-systems, etc - you wouldn't think Afghans would have SQUAT genes in them, would you? well there you go - it's hidden in EVERYONE.

BACK TO THE TOPIC ... hobbits, in terms of his creative process, were a migratory MIX of dwarven and elven blood via humans in the middle that LIVED IN BARROWS,.. part-UNDERGROUND dwellings, which OVER TIME, long-since the days of their xenophobia of each other in the 1st rendering of the earth or whatever, in Belieriand,.. ended up using their dwarven ... mmm ... instinct, desire, skill, whatever, in a kind of BALANCE, in hills, rather than DEEPLY underground.

They were a plot-contrievance in being-NEITHER elven NOR dwarvern, but with a mix of BOTH, so as to be confusing / surprising TO Sauron - as in, they're meant to be FAVORED, by huamns, since they are LESS-predictable than both elves and dwarves.

Frodo's resistence to the ring, is meant to be at least partly from that sort of mixture, as-was Sam's ability to hand-back the ring when they're so-close to the ring of fire, and the ring tries to get a grip on his mind, but that dwarvern, perhaps, resistence, doesn't let it/Souron's will/soul, in.

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4 "...what this FANTASY story does reflect is a FANATICAL desire among Western Europeans to put THEMSELVES on top of everyone else as a way of GETTING BACK at everyone else ..."

LOL ... get over yourself man - civ developed in SMALL PARTS,.. over time, from all over the globe - there ARE no central or singular points of origin, and the pathetic flamewars in places like this just demonstrate to everyone what hypocrisy looks like when it's got temporary fingers to point at recent oppression / atrocities / dis-advantage/mistakes-of-our-nearest-generations.

"...FANATICAL desire among Western Europeans"

Tolkein, in portraying a contrast of war, versus nature-linked types like elves, is somehow GENERALLY thematic, of us-westerners-vs ..?

I can't remember how many times i've had to point out the the 'western' in LOTR, is NOT, the same western in R ;

as in ... the W in RL, is either something oringally a characterisation from chinese? who started using basic-compasses back when magnetics were first discovered, and the WINDS-FROM-THE ... of each direction, became a metaphor,
or, then a persian/turkish/mongol term for things west of them, or further south, things african/arabian from a south-asian POV ... even with that, you have 2 different concepts for what might APPEAR to be the same term, but it's not.

BACK to Tolkein's,.. HIS.. is of returning SEA POWER, in defiance-against Morgoth/Melkor/Sauron, in lands to the west being UNREACHABLE to them, and the SEA power of the elves having come to aid humans in times in the past, and-so UNLIKE in most of the world, the elves had managed to survive and humans ADOPTING being LESS-pure, LESS-human, in becoming mixed-blood,.. was actually an ELVEN power, or strength, AMONGST the human.

your and others BS about race, whiteness, and the usual, is just presumptive guesswork, guys.

Do your READING FIRST, before you start pointing fingers.

i.e. MORE ELVEN ... = LESS human = LESS pure.

hey, it's FUN to tell white-supremacists that on pages like these!! take it easy man! seriously. it's ... sigh... difficult, to tell it to some such as yourselves,.. but it's sure as hell FUN to tell it to them!



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5
"...but the IDEA is what counts, which states that Europeans are must become the Kings of Kings on the world stage..."

"europeans" ... again, you're over-generalising,

and re "the world stage",
Tolkein SPECIFICALLY made a point about the limits of his SCOPE, when making the books - as in ... it was to have LIMITED, NON-global context for the most part, in the CONTEXT of what he'd experienced in war in-germany, in FIGHTING germans, this is,..

FIGHTING f***ing white-supremacists, no-less, and as a part of his LANGUAGE studies, which focused on germanic origins of some of the things in English which come from german languages, the LIMIT OF THE SCOPE of some of the LITERARY devices ... word-play more or less ... that he included in the series, including the elven / runic alphabet, in case you hadn't noticed.

He wasn't DELIBERATELY not making a story wthout most of the world in it ... he was deliberately making a story, with a west/east SCOPE, ending not-far BEYOND, germany, or vague geography 'with some stretching' ... to get a bit of a sense of that, re-read the differences between the elves that refused the journey, the avari - they'd be as-white-as-can-be ... if the germans had had their way, you might say.

If stripping LOTR of it's context after the war, they could've been ... pfff... who cares... light brown? spend a lot of time outdoors, but a lot of it under forest, so they'd not be as tanned as other elves?

Totally-not-the-point though.
to get "...world stage" from Tolkein's efforts, is rediculous. His constant theme in contrast, is WAR MACHINE like mentality, versus living in harmony with nature mentality. If you haven't got that from it, then you're way-off.

The context is one of INDUSTRIALISATION in germany, that goes back several hundred years, while the german crown DELIBERATELY UNDERDEVELOPED britain, and CREATED EMBITTERNESS / RESENTMENT in the UK, while the royal family had it's higher-branches in a german family

Only a declaration during? after? WWii , SEVERED the british royal family PERMANENTLY, from the german branches.

Not everything behind a writer's reasons,
is on-the-page man. Relax.

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6
"...a way of Europeans trying to deny the fact that the TRUTH of history was that Western Europe was on the RECIEVING end of culture and CIVLIZATION and that they were BACKWARDS compared to their neighbors in the South and East. Their embarrassment..."

I actually LIKE your writing here, and agree to some extent, but you're again generalising - culture is FLUID, and non-stagnant/static. It's best not to characterise an ENTIRE PEOPLE, mm? you're characerising MANY, entire peoples. f-off - not every European's an-imperial mate - a lot of effort and blood and tears were spent BY europeans, to defeat European empires, in case you hadn't noticed.

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7

"...their desire to become "masters" of the world..."

wwwwwhoa!

Nazis, wanted that
not "europeans".

there were plenty of europeans on the Allies side FROM THE START it wasn't just Britain/France.

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8
"...and that Western Europe was the LAST to become civilized among men, not the FIRST..."

again, that's a generalisation - culture is gradual, fluid, and relative to what you VALUE - if a society values only building huts out of spruce up in Sweeden then it will SEEM primative to a mediterranean while then outlasting some imported limestone that dissolves in the rain,.. whatever.

"becoming civilised" is over-rated. one can argue that no-where in the world is STILL, truly-civilised, NOR, has there ever-been anywhere that was - even in ancient Greece or Egypt you still had all kinds of cruelties based on class.. UNlike in simpler lands where LESS-imperial nature led to more relaxed social-order. It is actually paradoxical that the more slagging off of the less-imperial you slag off as you're putting it "less civilised" ... the MORE ovvious you reveal yourself as a hypocryte when ignoring all the suffering that empires created / used as a means to more power - think Egypt's slaves were motivated by a change to glance at a queen's tits when she's on parade? They had massive whips mate. nasty stuff. you're talking DEGREES of suffering in ALL our ancient pasts... achievement based on technology and innovation and science is mostly OPPORTUNITY based - as in ... your capacities with it START ... when you get the chance to - not some imaginary equal-starting-line , were europeans as you're putting it, equally-STARTing from some equal-point,.. and then-what ... CHOOSING to not develop science/etc?

probably mostly a problem with communication, a lack of translators, and soon-after, imperial imposition - greeks first then the romans. You don't get a lot of time to sit around pondering the wonders of the universe, when there's a roman conscriptor knocking at your door after your son, and you have to go club him to death and bury the body.

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9
"...ALL of it has its origins in the MYTHOLOGY of Western Europe being the ORIGIN of civilization and culture..."

WHAT myth-origins are you going on about?

nothing i've ever heard or come across claims that.

some guff the Nazis came up with?

pffff. i'm as white as can be mate but i've never even looked at it. doesn't have ANY prescence in my life.

their-shit's on the fire now
when it used to be whoever they wanted's shit on the fire. enjoy the reversal eh?


==============

Why are most on this forum so careless about generalisations?

Rich imperialists from recent history from europe, do NOT represent all the PEOPLE, living, or having-lived, in europe.

it's always a mistake to choose too-inclusive a word, rather than the class-enemy / fascist-enemy, we need to be more careful about describing.

Posts: 3 | From: Australia | Registered: Aug 2022  |  IP: Logged | 

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Originally posted by rasol:

[/qb]

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Posts: 3 | From: Australia | Registered: Aug 2022  |  IP: Logged | 

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Was Ethiopia the inspiration for Middle-earth in the Lord of the Rings trilogy? That’s what a several writers and LOTR bloggers seem to think. Their theory is based on the fact that so many of the place names on the classic fantasy series by J.R.R. Tolkien are remarkably similar to Ethiopian place names – the fictional Gondor and the real-life Gondar, Rohan and Roha, Harad and Harar, Barad-dûr and Bahir Dar.

Although Tolkien never visited Ethiopia, other facts bolsters the theory that at least some of LOTR was inspired by the Horn of Africa. For one thing, Tolkien was a native African – born in Bloemfontein in South Africa’s Orange Free State in 1892. And he began writing the first book shortly after Italy’s controversial invasion of Ethiopia in 1935. So even though the author lived in England at the time he wrote the books, without doubt Africa was part of his heritage and his psyche.

Read more about the theory in The Real Middle-earth: Discovering the Origin of The Lord of the Rings, a book by Michael Muhling. You can also find discussions about the theory at these link

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Posts: 2699 | From: New York | Registered: Jun 2015  |  IP: Logged | 

posted                      

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Originally posted by Thereal:
Links?
What the hell is this suppose to mean? When are invasions not controversial?
Italy’s controversial invasion of Ethiopia in 1935.

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Posts: 2699 | From: New York | Registered: Jun 2015  |  IP: Logged | 

posted                      

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One of the underappreciated aspects of Tolkien's genius, Garth believes, is that he was a "master synthesist". As he goes on, "People tend to think simultaneously that he got all his ideas from Northern myth and that he made everything up out of nowhere. In fact, he found his inspirations in many places". Or from all four points of the compass, as Garth sets about explaining in latest book, The Worlds of JRR Tolkien: The Places that Inspired Middle-earth. From the East, for instance, came medieval legends of Alexander the Great and the Egyptian infatuation with mortuary architecture that continues in the Middle-earth kingdom of Gondor. Among the least explored are those that came from the South, the classical influences that were so dominant in Tolkien's own cultural era. The author was explicit in the role that the Atlantis legend played in shaping his Númenor, for instance, and as Garth explains, his account of its downfall – a key element of the Amazon series – builds from Plato's account of the powerful Western sea-empire destroyed by hubris.

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