Hobbit Day

Today is Hobbit Day, the day fans of J.R.R. Tolkien celebrate his work. Why the 22nd of September? Because it is the date of the birthday of Bilbo and Frodo Baggins. It kind of make sense that their birthday is on the 22nd of September: autumnal equinox, time for change, call for adventure. How would you observe Hobbit Day? I guess most would read The Lord of The Rings, particularly the chapters surrounding Bilbo's birthday. Here I mark it with an illustration of Alan Lee: Frodo (or is it Bilbo? I do think it's Frodo) discussing with Gandalf. But if I could, I'd spend the day with my brothers playing a game of Dungeons & Dragons, set in a halfling village. Like for many people, Tolkien's world brought us to D&Dr and it inspired us a lot, so it would make perfect sense.

Grendel

As I was planning to do soon after I bought this book, I read Beowulf. And I have a terrible confession to make: I was not overly enthusiastic about it. Not nearly as much as I was reading the saga of the Volsungs, which I really, really loved and could not get enough of. I don't know why, it did not click with Beowulf. This is not to say that I did not enjoy the read, just that I did not love it as much as I thought I would. Shame on me.

That said, I loved, loved, loved the Grendel character. You can see him here, as drawn by illustrator Alan Lee. He looks very much like Gollum in this picture. It gives a certain vulnerability in spite of his malevolence. Grendel's physique is only very vaguely described in the epic poem. We have verses like these:

"Rage-inflamed, wreckage-bent, he ripped open
the jaws of the hall. Hastening on,
The foe then stepped onto the unstained floor,
Angrily advanced: out of his eyes stood
An unlovely light like that of fire"

Grendel is described through his actions (here its display of strength) and emotions, this ever present anger. It is evocative rather than descriptive. Grendel is one kind of monster: descendant of Cain, he thus has a human parentage. He is not quite a giant, although larger than a man, he has the appetites of an ogre, but his motivations are at the core vindictive: it is the songs and laughter coming from Heorot that drive him to take vengeful actions. In its simplicity, it is a powerful plot. An inspiring one too. I mentioned in my previous post on Beowulf that I intended to read it partially to calm my longing for Dungeons & Dragons. Now I kind of regret not reading the story a few years ago. A monster inspired by Grendel could have made an excellent foil for a few adventures.

An oak, a sword and a Norse god

As Christmas is coming, I am getting deep into its Pagan roots, and more precisely its Viking elements. So yes, yes, this is actually a post that is about Christmas, troll the ancient Yuletide carol everyone. I am reading this book about the Völsunga saga. And there is a particular episode of the saga that has some Christmas overtone. You see it illustrated by Alan Lee on your left. A beautiful, powerful image. You see Odin Allfather, in his usual disguise of an old wanderer, sliding a magical sword in the trunk of a tree. It is often said to be an oak tree, but the word used for oak is often a generic for tree, or so I read. The tree is named Branstock, and it was at the center of the house of the Volsungs. Odin offered the sword to anyone who could pull it off the tree. Prince Sigmund, the son of Volsüng, who was to become the father of the hero Sigurd, was the one who succeeded to pull it off.

Now, of course the first thing you can think of is King Arthur, but it has many Christmas elements. There is the tree in the center of the hall, for one. I always thought Christmas trees were descendent of Yggdrasil, and Branstock was meant to be a direct descendent of Yggdrasil. Odin himself is a possible ancestor of Santa Claus, who sees all, asserts the behavior of men and also is a gift bringer, like in this story. A gift he places under/in a tree. So there you have it. A Yule story to tell your children, grandchildren, godchildren and to read.