Editing J. R. R. Tolkien (section)

=== Influences ===

{{Main|Influences on Tolkien}}

Tolkien's fantasy books on Middle-earth, especially ''The Lord of the Rings'' and ''The Silmarillion'', drew on a wide array of influences, including his [[Philology|philological]] interest in language,<ref>{{harvnb|Shippey|2005|pp=48–49 and throughout}}</ref> Christianity,<ref>{{cite web |last=Bofetti |first=Jason |date=November 2001 |title=Tolkien's Catholic Imagination |url=http://www.crisismagazine.com/november2001/feature7.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060821111145/http://www.crisismagazine.com/november2001/feature7.htm |archive-date=21 August 2006 |website=Crisis Magazine}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Caldecott |first=Stratford |date=January–February 2002 |title=The Lord & Lady of the Rings |work=Touchstone Magazine |url=http://touchstonemag.com/archives/article.php?id=15-01-051-f |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110426033720/http://touchstonemag.com/archives/article.php?id=15-01-051-f |archive-date=26 April 2011}}</ref> [[medievalism]],<ref name="Yolen">{{cite book|last=Yolen|first=Jane|chapter=Introduction|title=After the King: Stories in Honor of J. R. R. Tolkien|date=1992 |editor-last=Greenberg|editor-first=Martin H.|pages=vii–viii|publisher=Macmillan |isbn=0-312-85175-8}}</ref> [[mythology]], [[archaeology]],<ref>{{harvnb|Shippey|2005|pp=40–41}}</ref> ancient and modern literature, and personal experience. His philological work centred on the study of [[Old English]] literature, especially ''[[Beowulf]]'', and he acknowledged its importance to his writings.<ref>{{harvnb|Shippey|2005|pp=104, 190–197, 217 and throughout}}</ref> He was a gifted linguist, influenced by Germanic,<ref>{{harvnb|Shippey|2005|pp=66–74 and throughout}}</ref> Celtic,<ref name="Fimi">{{cite journal |last=Fimi |first=Dimitra |author-link=Dimitra Fimi |year=2006 |title='Mad' Elves and 'elusive beauty': some Celtic strands of Tolkien's mythology |journal=[[Folklore (journal)|Folklore]] |volume=117 |issue=2 |pages=156–170 |doi=10.1080/00155870600707847 |issn=1547-3155 |jstor=30035484 |s2cid=162292626}}</ref> Finnish,<ref>{{cite web |last=Handwerk |first=Brian |date=1 March 2004 |title=Lord of the Rings Inspired by an Ancient Epic |url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2001/12/1219_tolkienroots.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060316192124/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2001/12/1219_tolkienroots.html |archive-date=16 March 2006 |website=National Geographic News}}</ref> and Greek<ref name="Purtill 2003">{{cite book |last=Purtill |first=Richard L. |title=J. R. R. Tolkien: Myth, Morality, and Religion |publisher=[[Harper & Row]] |year=2003 |isbn=0-89870-948-2 |location=San Francisco |pages=52, 131 |author-link=Richard Purtill}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Flieger |first=Verlyn |chapter=Strange Powers of the Mind |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I33v5ny3NX0C&pg=PA77 |title=A Question of Time: J. R. R. Tolkien's Road to Faërie |title-link=A Question of Time (book) |publisher=[[Kent State University Press]] |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-87338-699-9 |pages=76–77 |author-link=Verlyn Flieger |access-date=3 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210526123500/https://books.google.com/books?id=I33v5ny3NX0C&pg=PA77 |archive-date=26 May 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref> language and mythology. Commentators have attempted to identify many literary and topological antecedents for characters, places and events in Tolkien's writings. Some writers were important to him, including the [[Arts and Crafts]] polymath [[William Morris]],<ref>{{harvnb|Carpenter|1977|p=77}}</ref> and he undoubtedly made use of some real place-names, such as Bag End, the name of his aunt's home.<ref name="Morton 2009">{{cite book |last=Morton |first=Andrew |title=Tolkien's Bag End |publisher=Brewin Books |year=2009 |isbn=978-1-85858-455-3 |location=Studley, Warwickshire |oclc=551485018 |author-link=Andrew Morton (writer)}} Morton wrote [http://www.tolkienlibrary.com/press/1065-Bag-End-A-Very-English-Place.php an account of his findings]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201205154649/http://www.tolkienlibrary.com/press/1065-Bag-End-A-Very-English-Place.php |date=5 December 2020 }} for the Tolkien Library.</ref> He acknowledged, too, [[John Buchan]] and [[H. Rider Haggard]], authors of [[Tolkien and Edwardian adventure stories|Edwardian adventure stories that he enjoyed]].<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Resnick |first=Henry |year=1967 |title=An Interview with Tolkien |magazine=[[Niekas]] |pages=37–47}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Lobdell |first=Jared C. |url=https://archive.org/details/worldofringslang0000lobd/page/5 |title=The World of the Rings: Language, Religion, and Adventure in Tolkien |publisher=Open Court |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-8126-9569-4 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/worldofringslang0000lobd/page/5 5–6] |author-link=Jared Lobdell}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Rogers |first1=William N. II |title=J. R. R. Tolkien and His Literary Resonances: Views of Middle-earth |last2=Underwood |first2=Michael R. |publisher=Greenwood Press |year=2000 |isbn=978-0-313-30845-1 |editor-last=Clark |editor-first=George |pages=[https://archive.org/details/jrrtolkienhislit0000unse/page/121 121–132] |chapter=Gagool and Gollum: Exemplars of Degeneration in ''King Solomon's Mines'' and ''The Hobbit'' |editor-last2=Timmons |editor-first2=Daniel |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/jrrtolkienhislit0000unse/page/121}}</ref> The effects of some specific experiences have been identified. Tolkien's childhood in the English countryside, and its urbanization by the growth of [[Birmingham]], influenced his creation of [[the Shire]],<ref>{{harvnb|Carpenter|1977|p=180}}</ref> while his personal experience of [[Trench warfare|fighting in the trenches]] of the [[First World War]] affected his depiction of [[Mordor]].<ref name="Ciabattari BBC 2014">{{cite news |last=Ciabattari |first=Jane |date=20 November 2014 |title=Hobbits and hippies: Tolkien and the counterculture |publisher=[[BBC]] |url=http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20141120-the-hobbits-and-the-hippies |url-status=live |access-date=3 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190331091048/http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20141120-the-hobbits-and-the-hippies |archive-date=31 March 2019}}</ref>