# Ragnarok and Theoden's battle speech



## Rivendell_librarian (Feb 9, 2021)

From Ragnarok in The Norse Myths retold by Kevin Crossley-Holland
"_An axe-age, a sword-age, shields will be gashed: there will be a wind-age and a wolf-age before the world is wrecked"_

From RotK Chapter 5 The Ride of the Rohirrim:
_Arise, arise, Riders of Théoden!
Fell deeds awake: fire and slaughter!
spear shall be shaken, shield be splintered,
a sword-day, a red day, ere the sun rises!
Ride now, ride now! Ride to Gondor!_

I don't think the similarity is a coincidence!

Any other similar examples you know of?


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## Aldarion (Feb 10, 2021)

It isn't. I think that Tolkien also shoplifted the Edoras scene from Beowulf?


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## 1stvermont (Feb 10, 2021)

Rivendell_librarian said:


> From Ragnarok in The Norse Myths retold by Kevin Crossley-Holland
> "_An axe-age, a sword-age, shields will be gashed: there will be a wind-age and a wolf-age before the world is wrecked"_
> 
> From RotK Chapter 5 The Ride of the Rohirrim:
> ...




I just finished up the younger and elder sagas. I noticed a few thing in tolkiens world for sure.


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## Culaeron (Feb 27, 2021)

Turin Turambar’s tale is very similar to Sigurd’s. Both slay their Dragon. Both are prophesied to return for the final showdown at the world’s Ending.


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## Olorgando (Mar 1, 2021)

Culaeron said:


> Turin Turambar’s tale is very similar to Sigurd’s. Both slay their Dragon. Both are prophesied to return for the final showdown at the world’s Ending.


Túrin is mainly based on the figure of Kullervo from the Finnish "national epic" Kalevala. Verlyn Flieger published an edition of this part of the epic in her 2015 edition "The Story of Kullervo". Mainly I say because JRRT *never* just did a "copy 'n' paste" with any of his sources. He always did some thinking of his own ...


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## Culaeron (Mar 8, 2021)

Olorgando said:


> Túrin is mainly based on the figure of Kullervo from the Finnish "national epic" Kalevala. Verlyn Flieger published an edition of this part of the epic in her 2015 edition "The Story of Kullervo". Mainly I say because JRRT *never* just did a "copy 'n' paste" with any of his sources. He always did some thinking of his own ...


Thanks! I’d forgotten that. I actually have Tolkien’s “Kullervo”, along with his “The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun”. It was one of those happy discoveries at a bookstore, finding them side by side.


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