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Culture of the Land
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Description edit
Though not often recognized as environmental or agrarian literature, the writings of J. R. R. Tolkien demonstrate a complex and comprehensive ecological philosophy. The ecology of Middle-earth portrayed in The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion brings together three potent and... read more
Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit
Setting & Locations edit
- Middle-earth
- Treebeard
- Mordor
- Valinor
- Gondor
- Rivendell
- Tolkien
- Old Forest
- Legolas
- The Lord Of The Rings
- Faërie
- Telperion
- Saruman
- Hobbiton
- Fangorn Forest
- Laurelin
- England
- Sauron
- Valar
- Melkor
- Eriador
- Sea
- Birmingham
- Dark Lord
- Númenor
- Ulmo
- Beleriand
- The Hobbit
- Minas Tirith
- Narnia
- Ainur
- Mountains
- Moria
- Ithilien
- Beowulf
- Bamfurlong
- Irmo
First Sentence edit
In setting out to explore the legendarium of J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth and to comprehend his imaginative vision, environmental or otherwise, the first thing one must realize is that Tolkien communicates through myth and story, not primarily through a set of abstract propositions.
Table of Contents edit
Foreword by John Elder
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Conventions and Abbreviations
Part I. "The Tides of the World": Gandalfian Stewardship and the Foundations of Tolkien's Vision
Chapter 1. Varda, Yavanna, and the Value of Creation
Chapter 2. Gandalf, Stewardship, and Tomorrow's Weather
Part II. "The Succour of Those Years Wherein We Are Set": A Complex Ecology of Agriculture, Horticulture, and Feraculture
Chapter 3. Hobbits and the Agrarian Society of the Shire
Chapter 4. Horticulture and the Aesthetic of the Elves
Chapter 5. Woods, Wildness, and the Feraculture of the Ents
Chapter 6. The Necessity of Margins in Middle-earth's Mingled Ecologies
Chapter 7. The Ecology of Ham, Niggle's Parish, and Wootton Major
Part III. Uprooting the Evil in the Fields That We Know": Following the Vision, and the Consequences of Ignoring It
Chapter 8. Three Faces of Mordor
Chapter 9. Rousing the Shire
Chapter 10. Environmentalism, Transcendence, and Action
Conclusion: Some Practical Matters
Afterword by Tom Shippey
Appendix: Further Reading
Notes
Index
Glossary edit
- Feraculture: The defense and appreciation of wilderness in and of itself; abstinence from any kind of development or use of the wilderness.
Themes & Symbolism edit
- Agrarianism: Where the Ents exhibit preservationism and Elves conservationism, the Hobbits are a decidedly agrarian people. Gandalf repeatedly makes a point of defending them when their ignorance and simplicity are asserted by those who doubt their value, and it is because of the Hobbits' closeness to and familiarity with the soil that they are able to contribute to the War of the Ring, rather than despite it. The Shire is repeatedly presented as a thing worth preserving, worth giving one's own life to save. It is stated that Hobbits are suspicious of any machinery more complex than a mill, and indeed Ted Sandyman, the miller, is represented as a suspicious and closed-minded character. In contrast, Saruman, who later on despoils and almost ruins the Shire, has a mind of "metal and wheels," representing industrialism.
- Environmentalism: All forces of good have a closeness to nature. Elves awoke with starlight in their eyes, and love walking in the forests. Their homes and kingdoms are built in concert with nature, rather than in antagonism to it. Ents are treelike beings. Dwarves live in the mountains. Hobbits live in holes in the ground and are fond of gardening. Men, especially the Rohirrim, are close to horses and use them as their symbol. The tree is also on the standards of Gondor. Sauron on the other hand has no closeness to nature. His lands are barren, ashen, and poisonous, where only a few twisted brambles grow. Likewise, Saruman, the traitorous wizard, is described as having a mind "of metal and wheels."
Series & Lists edit
This book is in Culture of the Land. (standard series)
Authors & Contributors edit
- Matthew T. Dickerson (Author)
- Jonathan Evans (Author)
First Edition edit
Original Language: English
Publisher: The University Press of Kentucky
Country: USA
Publication Date: 2006
ISBN: 0813124182
Page Count: 344
Publisher: The University Press of Kentucky
Country: USA
Publication Date: 2006
ISBN: 0813124182
Page Count: 344
Classification edit
- Library of Congress: Add the Library of Congress Classification.
- Dewey: 823.912
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