Editing Farmer Giles of Ham (section)

=== Quasi-realistic geographical setting ===

[[File:Farmer Giles of Ham Sketch Map.svg|thumb|upright=1.5|Sketch map of real places in and around [[Oxfordshire]] in the English midlands, used for the "Little Kingdom" of ''Farmer Giles of Ham''. ]]

Tolkien, a [[Philology|philologist]], sprinkled philological jokes into the tale, including intentionally false [[Etymology|etymologies]]. The place-names are of places close to [[Oxford|Ox[en]ford]] including [[Oakley, Buckinghamshire|Oakley]], [[Otmoor]] and the [[Rollright Stones]].<ref>{{cite journal |last=Walker |first=R. C. |year=1984 |title=The Little Kingdom: Some Considerations and a Map |journal=[[Mythlore]] |volume=10 |issue=3 |at=Article 11 |url=https://dc.swosu.edu/mythlore/vol10/iss3/11}}</ref> At the end of the story, Giles is made Lord of [[Thame|Tame]], and Count of [[Worminghall]]. The Tolkien scholar [[John Garth (author)|John Garth]] comments that the tale is "an elaborate false explanation for the name of the Buckinghamshire village of Worminghall".<ref name="Garth 2020">{{cite web |last=Garth |first=John |author-link=John Garth (author) |title=Looking for Middle-Earth? Go to the Middle of England |url=https://lithub.com/looking-for-middle-earth-go-to-the-middle-of-england/ <!--yes, he's a famous author and Tolkien scholar, read his article--> |website=Literary Hub |access-date=26 July 2023 |date=24 June 2020}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable" style="margin:1em auto;"
|+ [[John Garth (author)|John Garth]]'s analysis of Tolkien's etymological "frolic"<br/>in ''Farmer Giles of Ham''<ref name="Garth 2020"/>
|-
! Worminghall in the story !! [[Worminghall]], Buckinghamshire
|-
| "The hall of the Wormings",<br/>people descended from a man<br/>who tamed a ''[[Wyrm (dragon)|worm]]'' (a dragon) || "Field of a man named Wyrma"
|}