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Tolkien's Ring
The ring has been an ever-powerful, ever-present symbol in world mythologies and religions. A tradition of ring-quest tales came into being before the pyramids of Egypt were built, or the walls of Babylon raised. While the glorious civilization of Greece and the mighty Roman Empire rose and fell, that tradition lived on. It survived the fall of the pagan gods; and the rise of Buddha, Mohammed and Christ.Tolkien's Ring is a literary detective work about JRR Tolkien's inspiration and sources. It shows how The Lord of the Rings is the result of an ancient story-telling tradition that dates back to the dawn of western culture; and how, by drawing upon the world's primary myths and legends, JRR Tolkien created his own mythology for our times.Beautifully illustrated throughout, Tolkien's Ring is an extraordinary journey through the most magical and potent stories the people of our world have ever told one another.
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First published January 1, 1994
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews
July 29, 2017
Mislim da još uvek ne mogu da nađem reči kojima bih istakla važnost onoga što je Dejvid Dej uradio. Iako je fokus na inspiraciji i mitologiji iza Tolkinovog prstena, ova knjiga zapravo predstavlja zbir najfantastičnijih legendi, od Britanije do Tibeta.
March 14, 2016
Veliko veliko hvala Dejvidu Deju na ovoj knjizi.
Iako vas mozda nece pribliziti Tolkinu koliko mitologijama raznih naroda nase planete Zemlje svakako je treba procitati. Opsta kultura cuci u ovom delu.
Iako vas mozda nece pribliziti Tolkinu koliko mitologijama raznih naroda nase planete Zemlje svakako je treba procitati. Opsta kultura cuci u ovom delu.
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January 30, 2025For a book that has been sitting untouched on my bookshelf for years, Tolkien’s Ring was a surprisingly interesting walk in the mythical jungle that inspired the author of The Lord of the Rings with his writings.
By digging into the rich and diverse mythical hoard of stories that Tolkien knew throughout, David Day lays bare how Tolkien reinvented these myths, especially the archetype of the ‘ring-quest’, and reshaped them in his own mythical playground.
The asset that this exploration provides, is the invaluable insight we get into Tolkien’s work. His themes, characters, plot twists and settings all have their roots in an ancient tradition of storytelling set around the symbol of the ring. This tradition is exactly what the Oxford professor brilliantly weaved into a fresh tapestry that still strongly resonated these ancient stories, yet was written for an audience of the 20th century. These myths may seem somewhat old-fashioned for us at times, but they still narrate the fundamental questions that occupy humankind. As David Day remarks: “In his private mythic world he understood a human truth”
For every person interested in Tolkien’s legendarium or myth in general, I recommend this one.
By digging into the rich and diverse mythical hoard of stories that Tolkien knew throughout, David Day lays bare how Tolkien reinvented these myths, especially the archetype of the ‘ring-quest’, and reshaped them in his own mythical playground.
The asset that this exploration provides, is the invaluable insight we get into Tolkien’s work. His themes, characters, plot twists and settings all have their roots in an ancient tradition of storytelling set around the symbol of the ring. This tradition is exactly what the Oxford professor brilliantly weaved into a fresh tapestry that still strongly resonated these ancient stories, yet was written for an audience of the 20th century. These myths may seem somewhat old-fashioned for us at times, but they still narrate the fundamental questions that occupy humankind. As David Day remarks: “In his private mythic world he understood a human truth”
For every person interested in Tolkien’s legendarium or myth in general, I recommend this one.
April 1, 2015
I doubt I have to re-establish my fascination with The Lord of the Rings since it is a well-established fact by now. As such, it was inevitable that I would find my way to Tolkien's Ring.
Tolkien's Ring is a very interesting book. Day's focus on the symbol of the ring may seem like an obvious starting point, yet I have not read an in-depth analysis of it on its own before. Day draws from all the "normal" inspiration sources with which Tolkien has been credited: the Anglo-Saxons, the Vikings and the Gaelic culture. What was innovative and different about Tolkien's Ring was Day's close attention to the rest of European history, the importance of alchemy and the occurrence of rings in Eastern mythology. Day has introduced me to a lot of new myths and characters such as the Tibetan Gesar of Ling, Dietrich von Berne and 'The Serpent's Ring'. Unfortunately, I found that Day skipped over some points of inspiration which I thought deserved some more attention such as the Finnish Kalevala. It was, in many ways, the text that kick-started Tolkien's imagination and to consider it only as a starting point is unfair.
Hop over to http://universeinwords.blogspot.co.uk... for the rest of the review :)
Although my review may seem rather negative, this may in part be due to the fact that I have read many books on this, and the surrounding, subject. Day's Tolkien's Ring is very interesting and brings up a lot of new comparisons and sources of inspiration. Although at times the book leaves more to be desired, it would make a amazing introduction into the fascinating world behind The Lord of the Rings.
Tolkien's Ring is a very interesting book. Day's focus on the symbol of the ring may seem like an obvious starting point, yet I have not read an in-depth analysis of it on its own before. Day draws from all the "normal" inspiration sources with which Tolkien has been credited: the Anglo-Saxons, the Vikings and the Gaelic culture. What was innovative and different about Tolkien's Ring was Day's close attention to the rest of European history, the importance of alchemy and the occurrence of rings in Eastern mythology. Day has introduced me to a lot of new myths and characters such as the Tibetan Gesar of Ling, Dietrich von Berne and 'The Serpent's Ring'. Unfortunately, I found that Day skipped over some points of inspiration which I thought deserved some more attention such as the Finnish Kalevala. It was, in many ways, the text that kick-started Tolkien's imagination and to consider it only as a starting point is unfair.
Hop over to http://universeinwords.blogspot.co.uk... for the rest of the review :)
Although my review may seem rather negative, this may in part be due to the fact that I have read many books on this, and the surrounding, subject. Day's Tolkien's Ring is very interesting and brings up a lot of new comparisons and sources of inspiration. Although at times the book leaves more to be desired, it would make a amazing introduction into the fascinating world behind The Lord of the Rings.
August 7, 2019
David Day už si pravděpodobně tu nerelevantnost některých informací prostě neodpáře. A i když se Tolkien nechal inspirovat různými mytologiemi, pořád toho spoustu vymyslel sám. Ale zde to vypadá, jako by se Day snažil na každý Tolkienův motiv něco vyšťárat. Nezastírám, že některé informace byly zajímavé a poutavé, rozhodně ale bylo zbytečné převyprávět do detailů různé eposy. U některých se totiž právě motiv Prstenu hodně vzdaloval.
January 16, 2011
This reminded me of a school essay, and not a particularly good one. The kind where you are not entirely sure of the connection between your assigned subjects, but you have to write about it anyway. And then you are about 500 words short of your requirement, so you have to add in some other stuff that really doesn't need to be there.
There may be some good information here, but after the first few errors that I noticed, I begin to wonder how many I didn't see and how accurate the whole book was. I was never quite sure who the intended audience was, or exactly what the point of the book was. Some of the supposed connections between The Lord of the Rings and earlier ring stories seemed far-fetched. Still, the overview of the different legends was interesting, and probably largely correct. It actually may have been better without trying to make the Tolkien connection, but then I probably wouldn't have bought it if it had been entitled something like "Essays on Ring Quest Tales from Biblical Times to Modern Day" with no mention of Tolkien.
The illustrations are superb; both the ink drawings and the paintings fit the various legends and are simply beautiful. 5 stars for the pictures, probably 2 for the text.
There may be some good information here, but after the first few errors that I noticed, I begin to wonder how many I didn't see and how accurate the whole book was. I was never quite sure who the intended audience was, or exactly what the point of the book was. Some of the supposed connections between The Lord of the Rings and earlier ring stories seemed far-fetched. Still, the overview of the different legends was interesting, and probably largely correct. It actually may have been better without trying to make the Tolkien connection, but then I probably wouldn't have bought it if it had been entitled something like "Essays on Ring Quest Tales from Biblical Times to Modern Day" with no mention of Tolkien.
The illustrations are superb; both the ink drawings and the paintings fit the various legends and are simply beautiful. 5 stars for the pictures, probably 2 for the text.
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May 19, 2022Un recorrido por las principales historias, leyendas y mitos que inspiraron el conflicto del anillo de Tolkien.
A la vez que el lector (a) se sumerge en las respectivas comparaciones entre las características de la obra de Tolkien, y las historias de diversos pueblos y culturas del mundo que se vinculan de una u otra forma con lo representado en la obra del primero, es posible conocer aspectos generales de estos mismos, concluyendo que conociendo tales relatos, comprendemos las figuraciones de particularidades culturales que hacen eco hasta nuestros días.
Referencia bíblicas, nórdicas, germánicas, orientales, entre otras, se encuentran en este estudio.
A la vez que el lector (a) se sumerge en las respectivas comparaciones entre las características de la obra de Tolkien, y las historias de diversos pueblos y culturas del mundo que se vinculan de una u otra forma con lo representado en la obra del primero, es posible conocer aspectos generales de estos mismos, concluyendo que conociendo tales relatos, comprendemos las figuraciones de particularidades culturales que hacen eco hasta nuestros días.
Referencia bíblicas, nórdicas, germánicas, orientales, entre otras, se encuentran en este estudio.
July 23, 2013
I cannot count the number of background books I have read about my favorite authors. My thanks to Anova Books and Net Galley for the ARC. That being said this is one outstanding tomb about the background material J.R.R. had when he went to write The Lord of the Rings. Vastly entertaining going back to the original myths, legends and material from which spring something new. Well worth the time you will spend. 5 Stars.
September 18, 2019
Un libro que tenía en mi biblioteca de Tolkien hace años y que nunca me tomaba el tiempo para leerlo y resulta que es excelente¡¡¡¡¡¡ El análisis mitológico que realiza Day relacionando cada vuelta del mundo de Tolkien y, básicamente, la mitología de todo el mundo es excepcional. Es sorprendente y muy enriquecedor para los amantes de las diversas religiones y mitologías orientales y occidentales.
September 4, 2023
This book had a really great and interesting premise of looking at other ring quests throughout different mythologies and cultures. I really liked the explanation of these other mythologies, I feel like I learned a lot.
It did read like a college English paper that is trying to fluff up the word count lol. Lots of repetition, and two times he posted full ring stories that took over 20 total pages of a 180 page book. But I'm not in the mood for a long book at the moment anyways.
It did read like a college English paper that is trying to fluff up the word count lol. Lots of repetition, and two times he posted full ring stories that took over 20 total pages of a 180 page book. But I'm not in the mood for a long book at the moment anyways.
May 28, 2025
I was expecting this book to be more on Tolkien's works, about the rings of Middle-earth, maybe some history from the Silmarillion and appendices, and an analysis on how Tolkien came up with it, but instead it's a giant essay on various stories and myths that, sometimes very loosely like with the cyclopses, actually involve magic rings. I found the writing kind of boring since it sometimes retold a story that went on for pages that barely connected at all with what Tolkien wrote, and some of the author's attempts to connect myths with Tolkien's works were too vague, but I loved all the illustrations by Alan Lee so it gets two stars.
October 2, 2015
Donekle zanimljivo, nazovi, istraživanje o motivima i temama koje su Tolkina inspirisale dok je stvarao Gospodara prstenova. Međutim, ono što je meni zasmetalo jeste superficijalni osvrt na navedene motive, bez pravilnog citiranja referenci na koje se odnose tumačenja. Neka upoređivanja se ponavljaju nekoliko puta u knjizi, što dodadno smanjuje jasnoću izlaganja. Ono što je bez premca jesu fenomenalne ilustracije Alana Lija.
August 11, 2021
Day obviously loves Tolkien's works, but he always disappoints me, getting little details wrong. A big detail he misunderstands is the primary influence on Tolkien--his Catholic faith. Day does a fair job in explaining the academic and literary influences on his works, but he fails to integrate Tolkien's Christianity into the mix. This is a good review of the ancient stories and myths of rings that Tolkien probably knew about, but Day's commentary on Tolkien's use of them leaves something to be desired.
May 22, 2022
"El anillo de Tolkien" de David Day, ilustrado por Alan Lee, y tengo que decir que me encantó 🖤, con lo que me gusta leer a Tolkien, también es genial leer de Tolkien. Este libro busca y compara las influencias de Tolkien para crear la idea del anillo, los personajes y lugares y los compara o da pistas en las mitologías tanto europeas, como orientales, o en el cristianismo y otras religiones, etc. Un libro muy interesante no solo para los fanáticos de Tolkien, si no para todos los que disfrutan de la mitología e historia.
September 16, 2024
I really loved the idea and the author describes various stories picked from different cultures and mythologies.
At the beginning the comparisons between Tolkien and the "inspiration" were described in a clear way and there was some space for a deeper analysis, but towards the final chapters I felt this effort on the author's part was getting feeble, as if he got bored.
All in all a very good book for a deeper understanding of Tolkien's inspiration, but I felt it got a bit superficial in the end.
At the beginning the comparisons between Tolkien and the "inspiration" were described in a clear way and there was some space for a deeper analysis, but towards the final chapters I felt this effort on the author's part was getting feeble, as if he got bored.
All in all a very good book for a deeper understanding of Tolkien's inspiration, but I felt it got a bit superficial in the end.
January 2, 2025
"Even after the virtual extermination of Gnosticism by the sixth century, Christian fanatics tended to view the alchemist's ring as a satanic relic.
If Tolkien's One Ring was an evil version of the Alchemist's Ring with its secret spell and language written in fire, what were the mysteries of the alchemist's rings all about?"
Enthralling and fascinating read with touch points well seemingly researched, presented, and seeded to promote further thought. Excellent quality with a great deal of comparisons and points for reflection.
If Tolkien's One Ring was an evil version of the Alchemist's Ring with its secret spell and language written in fire, what were the mysteries of the alchemist's rings all about?"
Enthralling and fascinating read with touch points well seemingly researched, presented, and seeded to promote further thought. Excellent quality with a great deal of comparisons and points for reflection.
August 4, 2025
Sin duda, es interesante al explicar de manera muy clara y resumida las distintas historias y mitos europeos que tienen relación con un anillo; sin embargo, siento que resulta forzado al encontrar lazos con el anillo de Tolkien donde no resultan tan similares. Es notorio que ése era el hilo conductor, y que relacionarlo con El Señor de los Anillos era lo que haría que la gente lo leyera con más ahínco, y quizá sin eso yo mismo no lo habría leído.
August 19, 2018
This was an in depth, thoughtful look at several myths that influenced Tolkien and his famous Lord of the Rings series, specifically all of the Ring Quest myths. It was pretty accessible for such a seemingly scholastic work, and the author also includes several of these myths. I think sometimes he makes some stretching connections, but it's still interesting all the same.
December 11, 2017
A bit too superficial and long read which just walked through all the different kinds of mythology that inspired Tolkien. I was thinking of using it for my thesis, but I'm not sure it is substancial enough. If I do, I will want the English original edition and not the Danish translation.
February 1, 2020
This is a great way to see how ring stories connect to LOTR. It's pretty good!
May 18, 2020
Interesting compendium of all the ways that the elements of "Lord of the Rings" figure in old myths, and the universality of the ring symbol.
January 15, 2021
A thorough look at ring stories in myth and how they influenced or relate to the One Ring in Tolkien (as well as some of the other rings).
June 1, 2022
Enjoyed the illustrations, beautiful.
August 30, 2022
Un gran trabajo para entender las fuentes de tolkien
June 26, 2022
"In The Lord of the Ring, in Prince Aragorn 's kiss which awakens the sleeping Princess Éowyn, we are meant to see the 'origin' of the fairy tale of Sleeping Beauty"
LOL
The images by Alan Lee are great
The text is worthless
LOL
The images by Alan Lee are great
The text is worthless
January 30, 2015
The purpose of the book is to show how Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings and overall writings on Middle Earth relate to the rings in other mythologies. It is also coupled with beautiful illustrations from Alan Lee, whose fame in depicting Tolkien's work led to his being consulted for the movies. The art in this book has a dark feel which matches well the stories being recounted. I have done very little study on European mythologies, so much of this was educational for me in that respect. Those already familiar with the stories could probably skip over large sections of the book as much of it is retelling the stories. The writing was dry at times, but a generally comprehensible read. The only part I took particular issue with is when talks about the Gnostic mythologies. In this chapter the author goes on a strange hyper biased tirade about the poor persecuted Gnostics a religion that led people either to great hedonism or suicide pacts. In this he also shows great bias against the Christian religion held by Tolkien himself. The author speaks with disdain those aspects of The Lord of the Rings that seem to counter the myths of the Gnostics. I think this bias is likely what prevented the author from honestly addressing how the Christian faith may have influenced Tolkien's work. Overall, I am glad I read the book as it gave a lot more angles with which to read Tolkien's work and gave me a better understanding of stories that have influenced not just Tolkien but many stories in western culture.
July 25, 2013
I received this via netgalley and I thank them for this. I enjoyed the reading into what Mr. Day has interpreted about the Ring’s importance and the history of rings in literature. I also enjoyed reading about some of the influences for Tolkien.
There were some I am still grasping at trying to see the link but many are fascinating.
I find Tolkien’s influence from Shakespeare to be interesting especially about Ents and how the trees in Shakespeare’s plays should be more alive based on his descriptions and were not so in come the Ents in Lord of the Rings.
The comparison of King Arthur to Strider is interesting as well. So is the concept that Odin is similar to Gandalf and Sarumon. The legends of the rings in cultures and society show that rings have always played a significant part in our lives and in folklore. The one about the city of Venice and how they would throw the ring in the sea as a gift to the sea for their success and one day the ring is found in a fish the king was eating showing the sea was now turning its back on the town and this is when their demise hit was interesting. Above all it shows how many find rings to hold powers beyound what we believe.
Comparisons of the role of the woman and the elves in norse mythology and beyound is a good one some are tenuously there about still one that is nice to see.
Overall I found this to be a nice scholoarly read into the mind of tolkien and the theory of the importance of the ring.
There were some I am still grasping at trying to see the link but many are fascinating.
I find Tolkien’s influence from Shakespeare to be interesting especially about Ents and how the trees in Shakespeare’s plays should be more alive based on his descriptions and were not so in come the Ents in Lord of the Rings.
The comparison of King Arthur to Strider is interesting as well. So is the concept that Odin is similar to Gandalf and Sarumon. The legends of the rings in cultures and society show that rings have always played a significant part in our lives and in folklore. The one about the city of Venice and how they would throw the ring in the sea as a gift to the sea for their success and one day the ring is found in a fish the king was eating showing the sea was now turning its back on the town and this is when their demise hit was interesting. Above all it shows how many find rings to hold powers beyound what we believe.
Comparisons of the role of the woman and the elves in norse mythology and beyound is a good one some are tenuously there about still one that is nice to see.
Overall I found this to be a nice scholoarly read into the mind of tolkien and the theory of the importance of the ring.
February 14, 2016
I'm not a Lord of the Rings devotee. I've read The Hobbit 3 or 4 times and started the Silmarillion a couple of times as well as Fellowship of the Ring several times. But i never finished either one. And therefore never read The Two Towers or The Return of the King. I believe someone who is a big Tolkien fan or at least a fan of the LOR trilogy would enjoy this book.
I liked it for the various explanations of Norse, Oriental, and Germanic quests or epics or poems or whatever. The author, David Day, is a Tolkien scholar/fan so I appreciate his effort on the subject. The book is very involved -just like LOR- so the more you enjoy the series the more you'd enjoy this book.
I read this before giving to one of my brother-in-laws as a birthday gift. He is a big LOR fan -both movie and books so i hope he enjoys it more than I did. My rating is less about how good the book is or isn't than I just don't have a knowledge base to enjoy it enough to give it 4 or 5 stars. Also, the illustrator, Alan Lee, is very talented. But there is not as much artwork in the book as I thought. I wish he'd publish a book of his paintings and drawings on the subject. I think that would be a good seller and coffee table book.
I liked it for the various explanations of Norse, Oriental, and Germanic quests or epics or poems or whatever. The author, David Day, is a Tolkien scholar/fan so I appreciate his effort on the subject. The book is very involved -just like LOR- so the more you enjoy the series the more you'd enjoy this book.
I read this before giving to one of my brother-in-laws as a birthday gift. He is a big LOR fan -both movie and books so i hope he enjoys it more than I did. My rating is less about how good the book is or isn't than I just don't have a knowledge base to enjoy it enough to give it 4 or 5 stars. Also, the illustrator, Alan Lee, is very talented. But there is not as much artwork in the book as I thought. I wish he'd publish a book of his paintings and drawings on the subject. I think that would be a good seller and coffee table book.
July 23, 2013
Thank you to NetGalley and Anova Books for the review copy.
There's a bit of over-explaining here (why would the audience to whom this book is directed need the end of The Return of the King explained in detail to them, for goodness' sake?), but despite that fault, I learned quite a bit and therefore enjoyed the book overall. The author may have spent too much time summarizing the Nibelungenlied/Ring Cycle, but since I've had an interest in learning more about that branch of mythology anyway, I decided to forgive him.
If you're a Tolkien fan unfamiliar with with standard mythologies and literary works (Norse, Greek/Roman, German, Anglo-Saxon, Biblical/extra-Biblical, Shakspearian), then you'll benefit greatly from this book. If you're a Tolkien fan with prior working knowledge of these literary branches, you would most likely enjoy reading just Chapters 1, 2, and 16.
The illustrations, incidentally, are incredible.
There's a bit of over-explaining here (why would the audience to whom this book is directed need the end of The Return of the King explained in detail to them, for goodness' sake?), but despite that fault, I learned quite a bit and therefore enjoyed the book overall. The author may have spent too much time summarizing the Nibelungenlied/Ring Cycle, but since I've had an interest in learning more about that branch of mythology anyway, I decided to forgive him.
If you're a Tolkien fan unfamiliar with with standard mythologies and literary works (Norse, Greek/Roman, German, Anglo-Saxon, Biblical/extra-Biblical, Shakspearian), then you'll benefit greatly from this book. If you're a Tolkien fan with prior working knowledge of these literary branches, you would most likely enjoy reading just Chapters 1, 2, and 16.
The illustrations, incidentally, are incredible.
February 6, 2017
Alan Lee's illustrations are breath taking. The deep stories and meanings behind "Ring" legends are amazing. Seeing where Tolkien may have gotten some of his inspiration is eye opening.
Just simply learning about how and why "Rings" are important or used in our lives is very interesting.
Just simply learning about how and why "Rings" are important or used in our lives is very interesting.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews