Signum Draco Magno Scilicet, or, Eärendel and the Dragon: Heavenly Warfare in Medieval European and Tolkienian Annals

Authors

Kristine Larsen, Central Connecticut State UniversityFollow

Abstract

One of Middle-earth’s Primary World connections is its position as a written history of events in the distant past. Tolkien actively adopted the medieval traditions of annals, chronicles, and histories, especially in his writings concerning the First Age of Middle-earth, developing a fictional medieval historiography. This paper focuses on annalistic descriptions of three battles pitting Melkor against either the Valar, the Elves, or the united forces of both groups, and compares Tolkien’s descriptions of heavenly battles to depictions of astronomical events in Primary World medieval annals.

Comments

An abridged version of this paper was presented at the International Congress on Medieval Studies (Western Michigan University), May 13, 2021.

Recommended Citation

Larsen, Kristine (2021) "Signum Draco Magno Scilicet, or, Eärendel and the Dragon: Heavenly Warfare in Medieval European and Tolkienian Annals," Journal of Tolkien Research: Vol. 12: Iss. 2, Article 4.
Available at: https://scholar.valpo.edu/journaloftolkienresearch/vol12/iss2/4