J.R.R. Tolkien and Jordanes. Some resemblances in spiritual outlook

Abstract

Estudio de tres casos concretos del influjo de Jordanes sobre el legendarium de J.R.R. Tolkien: (a) la idea de que la decadencia cultural y política puede deberse al exilio de una antigua situación paradisíaca; (b) el concepto de que ganar una guerra contra el mal puede traer aparejada una involución cultural; (c) la creación de una pseudo-historia mediante la asociación con un pueblo mítico y muy adelantado del pasado legendario.

The aim of this note is to analyse three instances of the influence exerted by the works of the late ancient historian Jordanes on the spiritual landscape of J.R.R. Tolkien’s legendarium.1 Those instances are the following: (a)cultural and political decay caused by being exiled from a formerly paradisiacal situation; (b) winning a war against Evil as the unwanted cause of cultural devolution; (c) the construction of a pseudo-history by establishing genetic and cultural links with a mythical, highly evolved people from the legendary past.