Abstract
This study explores the influence of Celtic supernatural folklore, particularly the banshee tradition, on Tolkien’s depiction of the Nazgûl in The Fellowship of the Ring. Using W.B. Yeats’ Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry (1888) and the Celtic Twilight movement as a comparative framework, it analyses “A Short Cut to Mushrooms” and “A Knife in the Dark”, focusing on liminality, spectral presence, and supernatural dread. These parallels are further contextualised through reference to early Irish texts The Táin Bó Cúailnge and The Boyhood Deeds of Fionn, central works within the Celtic literary compilation known to Tolkien and reflective of his engagement with Celtic materials.
Recommended Citation
Ramos, Noelia
(2025)
"“Neither Living Nor Dead”: From Nazgûl to the Sídhe in Tolkien's The Fellowship of the Ring (1954),"
Journal of Tolkien Research: Vol. 23:
Iss.
2, Article 2.
Available at:
https://scholar.valpo.edu/journaloftolkienresearch/vol23/iss2/2
Included in
Celtic Studies Commons, Comparative Literature Commons, Literature in English, British Isles Commons, Modern Literature Commons