A Sense of History: In the House of the Fairbairns

A Sense of History - In the House of the Fairbairns by Simon J. Cook

Tolkien fans and scholars like to find evidence of Tolkien's professional work as one of academia's leading Anglo-Saxonists in his works about Middle-earth. What is less often embarked upon is the search for evidence of Tolkien's Middle-earth work in his scholarly work.

For the past several months, as part of our Sense of History column, Simon J. Cook has embarked upon an analysis of the tower analogy Tolkien uses in his influential lecture-turned-essay "Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics." In his latest article, Simon applies the use of towers in The Lord of the Rings to consider how a reading of this important symbol in The Lord of the Rings can be applied to Tolkien's writings on Beowulf.

You can read Simon's article "In the House of the Fairbairns" here.

Posted on 10 February 2024 (updated 9 March 2024) by SWG Moderators