 Did Irish and Celtic mythology influence The Lord of the Rings? The Lord of the Rings was a high fantasy novel published in the 1950s in three volumes and written by J. R. R. Tolkien, an English writer who was actually born in South Africa and philologist. The Lord of the Rings novel was later adapted into a series of films directed by Peter Jackson, starting with The Fellowship of the Ring in 2001. There are obviously various inspirations for The Lord of the Rings and Tolkien drew on various sources from the real and mythical world, with the latter he referred to, i.e. the mythical world, as the secondary world. Many argue that the elven limeges of Tolkien's world are influenced by Finnish and Welsh, for instance. There are also numerous Scandinavian references throughout his work, yet it is not hard to argue that there is an influence of the Tudidanan and the Fomorians on his work, two key pillars of Irish mythology, who had battles themselves representing a conflict between good and evil, a central theme in The Lord of the Rings in general. The Tudidanan are a supernatural race in Irish mythology, who are thought to have represented deities in pre-Christian Gaelic islands. They have supernatural powers and live in the Celtic Otherworld, skilled in ancient magic and often depicted as being akin to fallen angels. The Tudidanan later evolved into the East Shee of later folk lore, a fairy-like race. The mortal enemies of the Tudidanan were known as the Fomorians, a monstrous supernatural race in Irish mythology. They are thought to have came from the sea or the earth, and this supernatural race of evil perhaps represents the chaos and darkness in the world. There were epic wars between the Tudidanan and the Fomorians in Irish mythology at various points, including at the Battle of Matoran. To be clear, Tolkien himself denied the Celtic mythology played an integral role in his work, writing that Celtic legends have bright colour, but they are like broken stained glass windows, reassembled without design. They are in fact mad. Although Tolkien himself denied the Celtic mythology played an integral role in his work, one could make the argument that elements of Celtic mythology were incorporated into his own mythology. After all, Tolkien admitted that the elves of his work are very akin to the elves and fairies of Europe. Dr Liam Campbell, a late Tolkien scholar and writer who has examined the original J.R.R. Tolkien manuscripts and papers, said that Tolkien is very conversant with not just Celtic mythology but the specifics of the Tudidanan, and even mentioned them to his son Christopher as an inspirational founding myth for aspects of his fiction. This relates also to the great wars between the Ture and the Fomorians, which are echoed in and ring through Tolkien's major narratives in very profound ways. They connect the landscapes of the Burren and the west of Ireland to the landscapes of Middle Earth. Tolkien himself seemed to have some part of a complicated relationship with Ireland, full of contradictions, and I'll link an article in the Irish Times below. In addition to Ireland, Tolkien seemed to have a very complicated and contradictory relationship with Celtic mythology in general, loving certain aspects and finding others completely imperfect. Yet one could certainly make the argument, and there is some evidence for this. The Tolkien took many elements of Celtic mythology and infused and incorporated that into his own mythology, along with numerous other inspirations. Please let me know your thoughts in the comments below and if you have seen the Lord of the Rings trilogy and what your thoughts in the film series were. Have you also read the book? Thanks for watching, I'll speak to you next time.