JRR Tolkien and the fall of Arthur

Discovering the unfinished poem by John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, published posthumously in 2013, and its link with the Arthurian cycle.


di Lorenzo Pennacchi
cover: James Archer, "The death of King Arthur"

ย 

ยซBut he faced death and darkness
before opening the way and conquering his world ยป

ย 

Probably never as in this period, in Italy, had there been talk of John Ronald Reuel Tolkien. From the new translation scheduled for The Lord of the Rings, at the release of the biographical film on the figure of the professor, up to the Amazon TV series with a stellar budget but still in its infancy, the figure of Tolkien occupies a central role in today's panorama.

Yet, there are still many of his works that have not reached the general public, remaining in the domain of a few. One of these is certainly The fall of Arthur, an alliterative poem that remained unfinished and published posthumously in 2013 by HarperCollins. As usual, the edition is edited by JRR's eldest son, Christopher, who has put together his father's material (including the drafts), enriching it with remarkably interesting contributions. In the course of this discussion we will often refer to this critical apparatus, in order to frame Tolkien's work in space and time.

Arthur 1
The volume published by Bompiani

First, a brief introduction. As emerges from the famous letter sent to Collins' editor, Milton Waldman, written towards the end of 1951, Tolkien, at least in those years, was not particularly attracted to the Arthurian cycle:

"Also, and here I hope not to sound absurd, from an early age I was saddened by the poverty of my beloved country, which had no stories of its own (related to its language and its land), not of the quality I was looking for, and I found (as an ingredient) in the legends of other lands. There were Greek, Celtic, Romance, Germanic, Scandinavian and Finnish (which had a lot of effect on me); but nothing in English, except impoverished material for popular librettos. Of course there was and is the whole Arthurian world, but despite its strength it is imperfectly naturalized, associated with the land of Brittany but not with England.; and he doesn't replace what I lacked. On the one hand, his "fantasy" is too exaggerated, and extravagant, incoherent and repetitive. On the other hand, more importantly: it concerns, and explicitly contains, the Christian religion ยป

As a sincere and profound Catholic, Tolkien certainly does not lash out against the Christian faith itself, but against its literal application in the fantastic, as it must "like all art, reflect and contain dissolved elements of moral and religious truth (or errors) but not explicitly, not in the known form of the primary" real "world". But, beyond this clarification, what is surprising in this letter is the clear criticism of a cycle that he had appreciated and reworked some time before.

In its Preface, Christopher points out that in his father's papers there is no indication regarding the temporal aspects of the work. The reconstruction of him places him between the 1931 and the 1934, after completing the Legend of Sigurd and Gudrรนn and having interrupted the composition on Beren and Lรบthien. The reasons for abandoning the work would be entirely contingent: from the academic commitments derived from his position as a professor at Oxford, to the needs related to the family. Impediments that will increase from 1937 with the publication of The Hobbit and the professor's growing intent to create one own mythology. In any case, the passage from 1951 just reported could presage further reasons, strictly content.

READ MOREย  The dark soul of Michael Moorcock's Elric of Melnibonรฉ, the ยซanti-Tolkienยป
Arthur 2
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (1892-1973)

Before presenting the structure and content of the Tolkien poem it is necessary to briefly retrace the nature of the Arthurian cycle in history, as Christopher skilfully does in his critical apparatus. The nature of this mythology is undoubtedly complex and the reconstruction itself needs to be re-read several times, given the multiple points of encounter and clash between the various versions. Summarizing Two types of approaches to Arthur and his world can be recognized in history: that chronicle and that romantico.

Chrรฉtien de Troyes it is undoubtedly the greatest exponent of this last trend. His courteous novels, written in the second half of the twelfth century, contributed to creating the Arthurian imagery that is certainly more widespread today, that of a stereotypical court life, full of, as Gianfranco de Turris and Sebastiano Fusco point out, "nobles sentiments, of errant knights, in which "the courtesies, the daring deeds" of brave characters without blemish and without fear shine forth, a fairy-tale world full of magicยป. There is no trace of this narrative in the Tolkien poem. The first approach is completely different, chronologically previous and typically Anglo-Saxon, to which Tolkien clearly refers. The two critics continue:

ยซ There the events are much bloodier and more violent, the passions more murky, the characters agitated by much more earthly feelings than the abstract conception of honor.. The objectives are much more concrete than the conquest of a mythical and elusive Grail: they are power, wealth, domination, women not as visions to be revered but as sexual objects to be enjoyed. Less delicacy and troubadour idealization, more crude reality of the early Middle Ages ยป

The founder of this current is Embossed Monmouth with her Historia Regum Britanniae, published around 1136. That of the History it is a pseudo-historical chronicle of the events of the Britons (or the Celts, more or less Romanized according to the periods) over the course of nine hundred years. The Arthurian cycle, which occupies a very important role, is placed in the fifth century, in the last phase of the Empire, when the Roman legions have already abandoned the region.

Arthur, following the death of his father Uther Pendragon, becomes king of the Britons and faces the raids of the barbarian populations in his land. The young ruler does not just defeat the Saxons, Picts and Scots in Britain, but starts a campaign of conquest in the surrounding lands (Ireland, Iceland, Norway, Denmark, Gaul), subduing them one by one over the years. Finally, the challenge to Rome, moving against the emperor Lucius Hibero, "entrusting the defense of Britain, in his absence, to the hands of his nephew Mordred and Queen Geneva". Defeated Lucius, Arthur is determined to march on Rome, but is forced to return to Britain, due to the usurpation of the throne by Mordred and his adultery with Geneva. Christopher concludes:

โ€œIn the final battle, Mordred and Gawain are killed and Arthur is mortally wounded. Of Geneva it is said only that he, in desperation, he flees to Caerleon and becomes a nun. As for Arthur is transported to the island of Avalon to be healed of his wounds. Of Lancelot, in Historia Regum Britanniae no mention is made ยป

Goffredo's system is taken up by numerous authors, who adapt the events to their liking. So does sir Thomas malory in the fifteenth century in his The Death of Arthur. The central element of the work, which marks the discontinuity with respect to the History, is represented by the presence of Lancelot and of his intricate story, in a way, however, quite different from that advanced in the courtly novels of Chrรฉtien de Troyes: not a noble knight, but a rude warrior.

READ MOREย  โ€œBeyond the Realโ€: for a Metaphysics of the Fantastic

A faithful servant of the king, so much in love with Geneva, however, by committing adultery and engendering a heinous feud with Gawaine following the killing of his brothers (Gareth and Gaheris) during the bloody rescue of the queen condemned to be burned at the stake. Lancelot is exiled by the king, but the main reason is determined by the wrath of Gawain, who swears revenge. Yet, it is precisely Gawain, repentant on the verge of death, who invokes the return of Lancelot in defense of his king against the usurper. But the exile comes too late: the last fatal clash between Arthur and Mordred has already taken place. The story ends with the dramatic abandonment between Lancelot and Geneva, as well as with their solitary death.

Arthur 3
The Art of Godfrey in a XNUMXth century illustration

Without this basic contextualization, the understanding of The fall of Arthur it can only be superficial. Divided into five cantos, the ยซpoem immediately enters media res, without premises or introductions ":

ยซArthur turns to the east, waging war
on the vast and desolate moors,
past the sea it goes towards the land
of the Saxons to defend what remains
of the empire of Rome ยป

It is evident how Tolkien takes up the approach of Godfrey, but completely overturns its aims: Arthur is a defender and no longer an enemy of Rome, an explicit continuer of Roman Christianity against the paganism of the barbarians. It is a position that, in hindsight, stands as antithetical to that presented in the letter cited above, as here the professor makes him and reinforces the tendency that he will criticize twenty years later. As usual, however, the symbolic dimension is accentuated and the figure of the king stands as a barrier to changes in the world, so evident that they were also caught by Mordred, a cold calculator, allying himself with the invading Saxons to usurp the throne:

ยซThe times are turning;
the West vanishes, and a wind rises
from the looming East. The world is shaking.
New tides rise from the deep waters.
Just a man without fear, false or faithful,
will know how to ride the rapids, grasping among the ruins,
the glory and the power. This is my intent.
And you / Geneva / will lie by my side, either slave or lady,
whether you want or not, or marry or subject.
You are the treasure I take. Next the ruinar of the towers
And the overthrow of the thrones, this thirst of mine
I have to extinguish. Then I will be king, and crowned with gold ยป

Arthur 4
John Garrick, โ€œArthur's Deathโ€, 1862

The main narrative, marked by Arthur's expedition to the lands of the Saxons and the contemporary invasion of the barbarians in Britain, which brings the king and the faithful Gawain ("The bastion and the fortress of a ruined world") to set out on the way back to battle the usurper, is interspersed with the third canto (the first to be written), centered on the figure of Lancelot, the one who "had betrayed his king looking for love, and abandoning the 'love had not got its king back " and now in exile.

READ MOREย  JRR Tolkien, the human story of a twentieth century hobbit

For this aspect, Tolkien refers to the work of Malory, but considerably simplifies its development, completely excluding the implication of Gawain (although Gaheris and Gareth are still killed by Lancelot). With its absence ยซAn entire dimension is removed. The gulf that opened between King Arthur and Sir Lancelot takes on more defined contours, and appears impossible to bridge ". Heard of Mordred's betrayal, Lancelot's soul is torn and his thoughts conflicting:

โ€œAnd half hoped and half feared
to be called to help immediately and without hesitation
in the name of the ancient and frank alliance
of Lancelot with Arthur his lord.
And in Geneva he still turned his thoughts to torment ยป

The queen herself is not a linear character at all, being presented as a "ruthless lady, beautiful as a fairy woman and a cruel mind who advanced into the world for the ruin of men", capable of becoming indifferent to Lancelot after his impetuous rescue and able to escape even the imprisonment of Mordred. Meanwhile Arthur has returned and battles the usurper on the coast. The scene is dominated by Gawain:

โ€œHis glory was shining
like the sun at noon, bright and immaculate
before the faces of men, raised to its height,
before sunset and fall. Destiny was waiting for me.
The tide was turning again. Broken axes,
dead and drowned men, fearful wrecks,
they were left to rot along endless beaches;
from the waters emerged rocks covered with blood. "

With these words the fourth canto ends, followed by about sixty lines of reflection on the part of Arthur, who intends to postpone the decisive confrontation with Mordred, before the poem is abruptly interrupted. The questions destined to remain pending are many: from the flight of Geneva to the possible return of Lancelot, from the outcome of the war to the destiny of the characters. Despite its partiality, however, Tolkien's adaptation of the Arthurian cycle deserves to be read, possibly in the original language, to appreciate the alliterative style typical of Old English poetry, to which Christopher dedicates an entire critical contribution, but on which there is no it seems appropriate to dwell here.