Posted by:
kimball
(
)
Date: October 14, 2013 08:14PM
Thanks to a growing body of research by Tolkien and Near West experts, the mountain of evidence against Lord of the Rings as an actual history is growing smaller every day. Whereas once the alleged work of fantasy was scoffed at and accused of being merely a literary curiosity, scholars now agree that the evidence in favor of Tolkien's masterpiece is growing.
Part of the trilogy takes place in a kingdom known as Rohan, which is described as being situated just east of a gap in a mountain range that runs north-south. This gap, known as the Gap of Rohan, separates the rustic and relatively untamed lands to the west from a valley through which runs the great river Anduin, a separator of the lands of men from the evil industrial land of Mordor.
Tolkien, in a letter known as Number 183, explicitly stated "I am historically minded. Middle-earth is not an imaginary world... the theatre of my tale is this earth, the one in which we now live." He then goes on to say "it would be difficult to fit the lands and events (or 'cultures') into such evidence as we possess, archaeological or geological, concerning the nearer or remoter part of what is now called Europe; though the Shire, for instance, is expressly stated to have been in this region (England)."
Unaware of the actual locations in The Lord of the Rings other than the Shire, and only with a vague understanding that it took place somewhere in Europe, Tolkien apparently did not understand how remarkably well his history would align with real places.
On the Eastern edge of France runs a north-south range called the Vosges Mountains, the last piece of France one can pass through before entering the more modern and industrious nation of Germany. As you drive through modern France along Freeway "A4" heading East, the road bends sharply to the south in order to avoid the tall Vosges Mountains. Then, turning east, the freeway passes through a small gap in the mountains, just east of which lies the French town of Saverne.
Tolkien wouldn't have known it, but Saverne is home to what is known as "Rohan Castle," a neoclassicist structure open to the public that was erected in the late 18th century, though the name dates back to a much earlier time. Situated on the edge of the Vosges Mountains, Rohan Castle marks the entrance to a great valley through which runs the mighty Rhine River, the border between modern day France and Germany. As one reaches the end of the A4 freeway in Strasbourg one can cast their pole into the great river, a body of water that runs north and south, and hope to catch a tug from a dorades - a native fish common in the area with a name eerily similar to "Edoras." It was this river that formed part of the Western Front, a war line marked by heavy battle and bloodshed in the First and Second Great World Wars.
Is it coincidence that Tolkien happened to describe a specific region of France which he had most likely never visited with perfect detail without having ever realized it? Or is it not simply more logical to assume the obvious - that Tolkien received his information from a more divine source? As research continues, I am confident more evidence will be found confirming Eastern France as the actual location for the historical events recorded in Lord of the Rings.