Tales Before Tolkien
Douglas A. Anderson, ed.
trade paperback $16
ebook $4.99

Yeah, okay, this may be cheating a bit, but if we’re going to be looking at stories that preceded The Lord of the Rings and may have inspired Tolkien, why not start here?

I’m going to look at two stories in this book, one by William Morris and the other by H. Rider Haggard in an upcoming post.  For the third, I’ll read something from another source by a different author.  There’s been a lot of interest in Lord Dunsany, so I’ll probably let others focus on his stories.

For this post, I’m going to look at a piece of short fiction by William Morris, “The Folk of the Mountain Door”.  There will be minor spoilers.

Morris is best remembered today as a pioneer in textiles and wallpaper patterns, but he was also an accomplished writer.  Lin Carter reprinted four of his novels in the Ballantine Adult Fantasy series in the late 1960s and early 1970s.  I reviewed The Wood Beyond the World a few years ago at Black Gate.

Morris has a bit of a reputation of being a difficult read, but I don’t think that’s entirely accurate.  Yes, you do need to be alert to read him, but there’s a cadence to his work.  If you can get into the rhythm, he’s not bad.

He was also a strong influence on both Tolkien and C. S. Lewis.  “The Folk of the Mountain Door” contains a number of elements we see in Tolkien.  The story itself is rather simple and straightforward.  The Folk of the Mountain Door, as they are known, live a fairly peaceful existence in a mountain valley.  They are ruled by a good and noble king.  Upon the birth of his first child, a son, he throws a banquet.

As he moves among his guests, the king notices an old man of regal bearing nearly seven feet tall and his wife.  He invites the couple to join him at the head table.  They spend a pleasant evening in conversation, and when the new-born prince is brought in by a nursemaid to show to his father, the old man and his wife bless the child.

The evening goes on, and near dawn the king and the old couple are the only ones still up.  He invites them to spend the night.  The couple decline and ask him to walk with them a ways.  They head out into the winter night.

The old man and his wife identify themselves along the way (you’ll have to read the story to learn their identities).  They also give the king a warning concerning his new son.  The warning concerns evil that will stalk the boy in his young manhood.  The old couple leave, and the king returns home.

And that’s where the story ends.  In a way, I found the ending a bit dissatisfying.  The story has the feel of an introductory chapter of a novel.  If that’s the case, the novel was never written.

Tolkien was fascinated by Nordic myths.  Morris translated a number of sagas, and in this story the names of Odin and Thor are invoked.  We can see several themes here that reappear in Tolkien’s work.  There’s the prophecy of doom the old man gives regarding the new son.  The prophecy wasn’t entirely clear to me, but it did have an air of fatalism about it.  The king can prevent it, but there are certain things he must do to protect his son that must be done at certain times in the young man’s life.  It’s left to our imaginations as to whether he is successful.

There’s also  sense of history.  It’s hinted at more than explicated, but it’s there.  We get the impression that the kingdom is an old one.  There’s an atmosphere of honor among the people and a pride in their heritage and cultural identity.  Even so, Morris implies that the Folk of the Mountain Door are in decline, although they don’t realize it.  His comparison of the king with how the old man must have appeared in his youth indicate that the people not as great as they once were physically.

Morris’s writing style is deliberately archaic at times, but not so much that you can’t follow what he’s saying. Most of the dialogue the old man speaks is in verse.  This was an interesting touch.  Tolkien also included poetry in his works.

So, in conclusion, William Morris was a definite influence on Tolkien.  His influence can be clearly seen in the events and structuring of “The Folk of the Mountain Door”.

Anyone who has read or chooses to read this story, let us know what you think in the comments.