Beowulf in The Lord of the Rings

     Without a doubt, J. R. R. Tolkien, the famous author of The Lord of the Rings, was heavily influenced by Beowulf, the epic of the Anglo-Saxon era. He translated his own version of the tale, taught it at Oxford University where he was a professor and published an essay entitled “Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics,” in which he reignited the popularity of the tale. However, not only did he change the way the poem was viewed and valued, but he also drew heavily from its rich pages to create his incredible world of Middle-Earth. Upon diving into both worlds, there is an unmistakable resemblance between the two. 

    A first example is found when comparing the arrival of Beowulf and his men at Heorot, Hrothgar’s Hall, and Gandalf and his company in The Lord of the Rings at The Golden Hall, home of Théoden King. In both tales, the hall is described as shining over the land, glowing with gold. Heorot is a “timbered hall…radiant with gold” and its “light shone over many lands.” The Golden Hall is a “great hall of Men…thatched with gold…the light of it shines far over the land.” 

     Neither Beowulf nor Gandalf simply arrive at the halls they are going to; a guide leads both of them to their destinations. Beowulf says, “So their gallant escort guided them to that dazzling stronghold and indicated the shortest way to it…then the noble warrior…spoke these words: ‘It is time for me to go…I’m away to the sea, back on alert against enemy raiders.’” In the same way, Gandalf is led to the Golden Hall. “‘There are the doors before you,’ said the guide. ‘I must return now to my duty at the gate. Farewell!’” 

     When the both of them are greeted at the doors of the halls, they are instructed to leave their weapons at the doors. “You are free now to move forward to meet Hrothgar…but shields must stay here and spears be stacked until the outcome of the audience is clear,” says the guard at Hrothgar’s hall. Similarly, one of the guards of The Golden Hall speaks with Gandalf. “‘Here I must bid you lay aside your weapons before you enter…’”

     A second example of the similarities between the two epics is found when putting Unferth from Beowulf side by side with Wormtongue from The Lord of the Rings. In Beowulf, the man’s first appearance begins with “From where he crouched at the king’s feet…” In a comparable manner, Wormtongue is introduced. “At (the king’s) feet upon the steps sat a wizened figure of a man…” Wormtongue also seeks to strike a discordant note in Théoden’s hall the way that Unferth does in Hrothgar’s. Unferth seeks to put Beowulf down, saying he won’t win the battle against Grendel. “‘...you’ll be worsted; no one has ever outlasted an entire night against Grendel,” he says. In the same way, Wormtongue tries to make Théoden King doubt Gandalf, saying that the wizard has not come with help, and the only times he does come, he brings grave news. “‘Why indeed should we welcome you, Master Stormcrow?” he says. “Láthspell I name you, Ill-news; and ill news is an ill guest they say.’” 

     But in both instances, Beowulf and Gandalf lay bare the falsehoods of the men who try to negatively influence their kings against the visitors. “‘Now I cannot recall any fight you entered, Unferth, that bears comparison…the fact is…if you were truly as keen or courageous as you claim to be Grendel would never have got away with such unchecked atrocity…” Thus Beowulf answers Unferth. In similar fashion, Gandalf rebukes Wormtongue. “A witless worm have you become. Therefore be silent, and keep your forked tongue behind your teeth. I have not passed through fire and death to bandy crooked words with a serving-man till the lightning falls.’” In both instances, their opponents are silenced.

     A third comparable point between Beowulf  and The Lord of the Rings is found in the role of women: mainly to serve the men dining in the mead-halls. We find this played out in Beowulf. “Wealtheow came in, Hrogthar’s queen…she graciously saluted the men in hall, then handed the cup first to Hrothgar…So the Helming woman went on her rounds, queenly and dignified…treating the household and the assembled troop until it was Beowulf’s turn to take it from her hand. With measured words she welcomed the Geat…he accepted the cup…” In The Lord of the Rings, it is Théoden’s niece, Eowyn, who plays this same role. “...there also waiting upon the king was the lady Éowyn.” Later, she too passes around the cup saying, “‘Receive now this cup and drink in happy hour’…Théoden drank from the cup, and she then proffered it to the guests. As she stood before Aragorn she paused suddenly and looked upon him…‘Hail Aragorn son of Arathorn!’ she said. ‘Hail Lady of Rohan!’ he answered…”

     Lastly, a distinct plot point from Beowulf makes its way into a different, but just as famous book by Tolkien, The Hobbit. In the Anglo-Saxon epic, a dragon is awakened at the end of the tale by someone who steals a precious cup from the dragon’s treasure. This person is described as “one who…was now added as a thirteenth to their number. They press-ganged and compelled this poor creature to be their guide. Against his will he led them to the earth-vault…” Though it is not certain who the people are who made this “poor creature” be the thirteenth in their number, the resemblance between this incident and Bilbo’s story is unmistakable. 

    Bilbo is added to the dwarf party of Thorin Oakenshield as the fourteenth, which is still a very close number to that in Beowulf. Tolkien even seems to draw special attention to the number thirteen when he has Gandalf say, “‘You asked me to find the fourteenth man for your expedition, and I chose Mr. Baggins. Just let any one say I chose the wrong man…and you can stop at thirteen and have all the bad luck you like…’” 

     The specific instance in which the man steals the “gem-studded goblet” from the “sleeping dragon” in Beowulf is almost the same as when Bilbo steals “a great two-handled cup” from “the sleeping dragon.” The dragon’s response in both tales is almost identical. Beowulf’s dragon “awoke (and) trouble flared again…when he saw the footprints of the prowler who had stolen too close to his dreaming head.” Then he “hurtled forth in a fiery blaze,” and “began to belch out flames and burn bright homesteads.”  Smaug, The Hobbit’s dragon, “...passed from an uneasy dream…to a doze, and from a doze to a wide waking….He stirred and stretched forth his neck to sniff. Then he missed the cup!...His fire belched forth, the hall smoked, he shook the mountain-roots.”

     These are only a few of the most obvious of similarities between Beowulf and The Lord of the Rings. Without a doubt, they prove that Tolkien had great respect for, and had long studied, Beowulf. Without the influence of the famous epic, The Lord of the Rings possibly would never have been written, and if it had been, it certainly wouldn’t be the one we love today. The fact that Tolkien copied so many things from Beowulf proves that no story is the figment of a single man’s imagination. Tolkien’s story was not original—he clearly copied from Beowulf. Beowulf is not original—it was an oral tale that was added to, tweaked and edited as it passed from bard to bard.

     Thus it is clear that no one thing can ever be completely new. You need only read Ecclesiastes 1:9 to understand this. “What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun.” (ESV)