Perilous Realms

Perilous Realms

Cover of first edition
Author	Marjorie Burns
Language	English
Subject	Tolkien studies
Genre	Scholarly analysis
Publisher	University of Toronto Press
Publication date	2005
Media type	Paperback
Pages	225
ISBN	978-0-8020-3806-7
OCLC	254993213

Perilous Realms: Celtic and Norse in Tolkien's Middle-earthis a 2005 scholarly book about the origins ofJ. R. R. Tolkien'sMiddle-earth,and the nature of his characterisation, by the scholar of literatureMarjorie Burns.Some of the chapters discuss "Celtic" and "Norse" influence on Tolkien's writing, while others explore literary themes. The book won aMythopoeic Award for Inklings' Studiesin 2008.

Reviewers have praised the book for helping to balance out earlier work onMiddle-earth's Norse origins,for the way it shows the importance of "Celtic" -style crossings of rivers or gateways intoElvishand other realms, and for showing thefantasyauthor andArts and CraftsadvocateWilliam Morris's influence onThe Hobbit.Scholars have been less sure about the book's use of the shifting terms "Celtic" and "Norse", which are no longer used as they were in Tolkien's time.

Publication history

Perilous Realmswas published in paperback by theUniversity of Toronto Pressin 2005.They brought out a second edition in 2015.

Synopsis

Further information:Beowulf and Middle-earth

Burns argues thatBilbo's character and adventures match many details ofWilliam Morris's expedition in Iceland. Cartoon of Morris riding a pony by his travelling companionEdward Burne-Jones(1870)

Marjorie Burnsintroduces the book with a chapter on "Two Norths", meaning the "Celtic" and the "Norse", noting the history of the idealised "North" with theRomantic movement.She looks at the skin-changerBeorn,one of several loner characters "on the side of good but who carry an aura of risk", tracing him toSir Gawain and the Green Knightas well as toBeowulf.She comments that Tolkien is often more subtle than people think, offering "contrasting viewpoints" rather than a simple good-versus-evil story. The chapter on "Bridges, Gates, and Doors" examines the "Celtic"otherworld's influence, with crossings of rivers or other gateways (such as into theBarrow-wight's ancient abode) marking the descent into strange andElvish realms.Burns then explores the influence ofWilliam Morrison Tolkien, proposing that hisIcelandic Journalsmay have suggested the character ofBilbo Baggins.

Returning to the theme of more complex characters with both good and bad sides, Burns notes in passingthe pairingofFrodowithGollum,orThéodenwithDenethor.She suggests thatGandalfis anOdinicfigure, taking on some of the attributes of that undependable Norse god, such as wandering in disguise as "an old man in a battered hat", whileGaladrielborrows from "an impressive collection of influential [Celtic] figures" including the mother goddess Dana; the fertility goddessRhiannon;and the battlefield goddesses likethe Morrígan.She discusses, too, Galadriel's enchantress role, and compares her to the powerfulMelianinThe Silmarillion.Burns then looks at the apparently fewwomen in Middle-earth;Burns notes that women may seem distant, but that both Elves and Hobbits "exhibit traits that are typically thought feminine", whether at "ethereal" or "earthly" levels, and his "most admirable males" have a softer side, whereas the "least desirable species" likeTrollsandOrcsare "brutally male (and excessively Norse as well)".

Burns discusses food as an aspect of character, writing that the Elves have a delicate vegetarian diet whereas Orc food is quite the opposite. Further,The Hobbitindicates Bilbo's fear of being eaten, and with his homeBag End's multiple kitchens, dining rooms, and pantries, his fear of not having enough to eat. She writes that he faces the risk of becoming a meal for, in turn "trolls,goblins,and Gollum;wolves,spiders, andSmaug,each of them mightily hungry ". She looks, too, at the consuming emptiness of the monstrous figures inThe Lord of the Rings,naming "Lobelia [Sackville-Baggins],Gollum,Wormtongue,Saruman,Denethor ",Shelob,and the Dark LordSauron's "lonely, raging emptiness".

Awards

The book won aMythopoeic Awardin Inklings Studies in 2008.

Reception

Further information:Tolkien and the CelticandTolkien and the Norse

C. W. Sullivan III, reviewingPerilous Realmsfor theJournal of Folklore Research,found it both praiseworthy and problematic. He liked Burns's discussion of the English prejudice against theCelts,and ofTolkien's dislike of frivolous post-Shakespeare fairies.He noted that many of the chapters were published as separate papers, so there was some repetition. He commented that she had failed to note the Celtic origin ofSir Gawain:the IrishBricriu's Feastdescribes a beheading challenge much like that ofSir Gawain.He wondered, too, why the chapter on eating and devouring barely mentioned Celtic or Norse, when there were "certainly important scenes of feasting and devouring, selfishness and selflessness" in those traditions' stories. "But she had written a" valuable window into Tolkien's sources "and the way he blended" Celtic enchantment and Norse vitality ", and the book was accessible to scholars and the public alike.

Gandalf-like:Odin,the WandererbyGeorg von Rosen,1886

Kathryn Stelmach, reviewing the book forComitatus,found Burns's exploration of Norse "more compelling" than her "overly simplified" approach to the "Celtic" identity and the use of unreliable sources. Stelmach writes that both "Celtic" and "Norse" have a "complicated and shifting nexus... of identity", and that Burns's introductory chapter gives the reader an impression of the two identities based more on language than on culture. Stelmach is happier with the "Norse" discussion, such as of Gandalf's Norse counterpart, Odin, as it is based onTom Shippey's "solid grounding", while the analysis of the influence of theIcelandic Journalsof William Morris onThe Hobbitoffers "rare insights".

The folkloristDimitra Fimi,inTolkien Studies,writes that the book is mainly a collection of revised papers, with two new chapters, and that the focus is on Tolkien's created characters rather than the source analysis that its title might suggest. She finds Burns's introductory account of history "sometimes simplified" but a useful overview of the contested terms "Celtic" and "Teutonic"at Tolkien's time. She finds convincing Burns's argument that the" water barriers, the timelessness and the underground connotations of many Elvish realms in Middle-earth, such asRivendell,MirkwoodandLothlórien,come from ideas of theCeltic otherworld."She praises, too, the linking of William Morris toThe Hobbit,writing that this "gave it much of its 'Northern' atmosphere." The two additional chapters, on male/female balance and on food, she finds somewhat out of place in the book, not least because they don't mention "Celtic or Norse sources or parallels". In sum, Fimi finds the book "thought-provoking and well researched", adding a "Celtic" balance to the mainly Norse emphasis of earlier scholars. She praises the analysis of Tolkien's characters and the book's freedom from "'defending' Tolkien". Fimi suggests that Burns had intended the book for the public rather than scholars as she uses "accessible language" and avoids the scholarly debate over "Celticity", preferring to use the terms of Tolkien's time.

Faye Ringel, reviewing the book inJournal of the Fantastic in the Arts,calls it "a valuable, beautifully crafted addition to the study of Tolkien's sources and influences", with the proviso that people suspicious of any appearance of ideology inhigh fantasymay not agree with her discussion ofgenderandrace.She comments that Burns responds indirectly to such critics by providing evidence in favour of Tolkien's approach, such as by presenting his own "complexity through double attitudes".She suggests that the book may serve as a "counterweight" to the popular and "nonce" books that appeared alongside Peter Jackson's films.

Sources

• Burns, Marjorie(2005).Perilous Realms: Celtic and Norse in Tolkien's Middle-earth.Toronto [Ontario]:Toronto University Press.ISBN978-1-4426-2725-3.OCLC903968395.