WHERE NOW THE HORSE AND THE RIDER-Aka how I just had a Tolkien related freak out on the train

I can't believe what just happened to me. As in, it's such a weird chain of events that it has left me a little dizzy.

I was reading "Les Nourritures Terrestres" by Gide, and I got to a point he cites parts of a poem which I liked very much. The notes informed me that it's a French translation of "an 8th century saxon elegy called 'The Wanderer' "

That intrigued me, and, being on a train with a lot of time to pass (plus being a little tired of reading in French), I took out my phone and searched for the poem.

I found it here. It's the lament of a warrior in exile who has lost his lord and mourns the joy and glory of a world that has now disappeared. I was enjoying it a lot.

And then I got to this point:

And my mouth actually dropped open, because what?

Are you telling me that the Lament for the Rohirrim, one of my favourite poems in LOTR, which I learnt by heart at 13 and later took care to learn in the original English, which I sing when I do the dishes and which routinely makes me cry, is Tolkien's translation of an 8th century Saxon elegy?

Well, the notes at the end of the page confirmed it:

"Tolkien's rendition is hard to resist" I bet it is. I love that professional philologists add notes to their work saying "yeah, by the way, this bit here? It's in your favourite fantasy novel, and I am kinda jealous of how well it was translated, but it's Tolkien, the man spoke Old English, what can you do? Carry on, xoxo"

I mean, I had gathered that the Tolkien poem played on themes used in medieval literature, but I had no idea it was based on an actual, specific text. That makes it a hundred times cooler!

Maybe it's common knowledge, but it was a delicious tidbit of good news to me. Especially since I wasn't expecting it in the least, so I was blindsided by it.

Cherry on top? I had ignored the Old English text, since I don't understand it, but at the end I gave it a cursory read , and the line "Alas for the splendor of the prince"? "Eala þeodnes þrym!"

Now, I have never studied Old English, but I know roughly how to pronounce it (what kind of Silmarillion fan would I be if I didn’t recognize the thorn?). þeodnes has to be where "Theoden" comes from, right?

Apparently yes. I googled the "Lament for the Rohirrim", and Tolkien Gathaway has a nice little parapraph in which they explain all this. I don't know why I had never read it before, but it was a lot more fun learning it as an unexpected detour from my French practice, not gonna lie.

Bottom line: Tolkien was a both a nerd and a genius and continues to make my life brighter, and this is one of those moments in which I am very happy I have spent years of my life learning languages.

Thanks for coming to my impromptu TedTalk.

OK GO OFF

so i have a phd in middle english lit and dabble in old english and read it pretty well and obviously am aware of the 'ubi sunt' poetic formula [literally 'where are...' which is, you know, the 'alas look at all these things that we have lost' structure used here]

and when teaching classes have always triangulated between two examples: 'hey look, tolkien used this formula in a way derived directly from old english poetry' and 'hey look chaucer used this in an apostrophe in Troilus and Criseyde to make a cunt joke[1]'

and i never once realised this is a direct translation of a specific poem rather than just him writing in that style using that formula and do you know what this reminds me of

my sister saying 'well, now you've reached the peak of your career, go home I guess' when I found the exact letter in Froissart's account of the opening years of the 100 year war that must surely have been the direct inspiration for Peter's challenge letter to Miraz in Prince Caspian.

(don't forget to spell 'abhominable' with an 'h', doctor.)

[1] troilus addressing criseyde's house after she's left, approximately: 'oh house! oh house where is the etc etc, oh house of which queynte [quenched/cunt] is the light'

@nopekaat 's DTIYS !

Eu realmente sou muito fã de xmen, até me inseri em uma equipe

Obs: eu acho que seria uma boa equipe já que a Tempestade seria a líder (ela é uma deusa). O Daken é o alivio cômico kkkkkkkkkk

haleth and caranthir

“You alright, Laura?”

He loves her sm. It’s the offering of hands for me.

Her taking his hands is so symbolic because in Madripoor he offered his hand and she said no. I’m 1,000% sure this was not intended for that kind of symbolism but I make my own rules up in here and I’m declaring it intentional.

Galadriel inspired by that one Joan of Arc painting

13thC Venetian noblewomen in love 🧡

Reunion WIP

Don't leave this in the tags, it's so sweet 😭

A high-profile Italian author has accused Rai of censorship after his antifascist monologue was abruptly stopped from being aired, in what he called the “definitive demonstration” of alleged attempts by Giorgia Meloni’s government to wield its power over the state broadcaster.

Antonio Scurati was due to read the monologue marking the 25 April national holiday, which celebrates Italy’s liberation from fascism, on the Rai 3 talkshow Chesarà on Saturday night.

But as he prepared to travel to Rome, he received a note from Rai telling him his appearance had been cancelled “for editorial reasons”.

Scurati is well known in Italy for his books about the dictator Benito Mussolini and the fascist period. The cancellation of his monologue provoked fierce reaction from Rai journalists, fellow authors and opposition leaders.

His speech referenced Giacomo Matteotti, a political opponent of Mussolini who was murdered by fascist hitmen in 1924, and other massacres of the regime. It also contained a paragraph criticising Italy’s “post-fascist” leaders for not “repudiating their neofascist past”.

“Undoubtedly, this is what infuriated them,” Scurati told the Guardian. “And also because of what I represent and maintain in my books … [that] there is a continuity between the fascism of Mussolini and the populist nationalists in Europe.”

The Rai director Paolo Corsini denied that the monologue had been censored, telling the Italian media that an investigation “of an economic and contractual nature” was under way, while implying that the speech was cancelled because of the “higher than expected” fee sought by Scurati.

Scurati said his fee had been agreed and the contract signed before the monologue was due to be broadcast. “The fee was perfectly in line with those paid to authors … It was the same as in the past, when there were no issues.”

In solidarity, Serena Bortone, who presents Chesarà, read out the monologue on the show. It has also been published in full by several Italian newspapers and websites.

Meloni, whose Brothers of Italy party has neofascist origins, came to power in October 2022 with a coalition including the far-right League and the late Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia.

During the election campaign, Meloni said the rightwing parties had “handed fascism over to history for decades now”. However, Scurati claimed in his monologue that when forced to address fascism at historical anniversaries, Meloni has “obstinately stuck to the ideological line of her neofascist culture of origin”, for example by blaming the Mussolini regime’s persecution of the Jews and other massacres on Nazi Germany alone.

Meloni responded by publishing the speech on her Facebook page, while attacking Scurati and accusing the left of “shouting at the regime”.

“Rai responded by simply refusing to pay €1,800 (the monthly salary of many employees) for a minute of monologue,” she said. “I don’t know what the truth is, but I will happily publish the text of the monologue (which I hope I don’t have to pay for) for two reasons: 1) Those who have always been ostracised and censored by the public service will never ask for anyone to be censored. Not even those who think their propaganda against the government should be paid for with citizens’ money. 2) Because Italians can freely judge its content.”

Since coming to power, the Meloni government has been accused of increasingly exerting its power over Rai while edging out managers or TV hosts with leftwing views. The European Commission was last week urged to investigate the government’s alleged attempts to turn the broadcaster into a “megaphone” for the ruling parties before the European elections.

Meloni’s administration has also been accused of trying to influence other areas of the press and targeting journalists with legal action who criticise the government. A Brothers of Italy politician recently proposed toughening penalties for defamation, including jail terms of two to three years.

Elly Schlein, the leader of the centre-left Democratic party, said: “The Scurati case is serious; Rai is the megaphone for the government.” Carlo Calenda, the leader of the centrist Azione party, said: “Silencing a writer for saying unpleasant things about the government is simply unacceptable.”

Scurati said he has received solidarity from many authors and journalists who were otherwise afraid to speak out against the government.

“This episode is the definitive demonstration, as it has finally aroused the revolt of other writers, intellectuals and journalists who until now kept quiet,” he said. “This government launches violent personal attacks against you for speaking out, in my case [that] I asked for too much money.”

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Oh I love how in the film Legolas (or is it Aragorn?) says “a red dawn; blood has been spilled this night” BUT in the book Legolas says “It is a red dawn. Stranger things await us by the eaves of the forest. Good or evil, I do not know; but we are called.”

“Good or evil I do not know” being the important part, where Legolas is simply indicating that the sign he’s reading in the sky means “strange stuff is coming”, which jives with the early medieval take on Weird Color or Lights in Sky, more so than the (beloved) film version. If this were Early Modern fantasy story ppl could freak out about comets as signs of evil and also burn some witches — including that guy back in the Shire with the mushrooms, in retrospect he was totally supposed to be a wise-man wasn’t he — but even in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, a light in the sky might indicate a cataclysm, but that was just bc it indicated a change. Comets indicated change. Weird horizon glow indicated change. I have no idea what the fuck the reported double-moon indicated aside from years off my own life whenever I think about it.

(The modern phrase is “red sky at night: sailors delight / red sky in the morning: sailors take warning.” A weather thing, I’ve always assumed??.)