Civilization vs.

Savagery in
Tolkiens Legendarium
Coordonator tiinific, Absolvent,
Prep. drd. Nicoleta Muat Anamaria Andreea Lupa
Lect. univ. dr. Andreea erban
 The holy and unholy trinities
The Valar Melkor He who arises in
7 Lords might -> Morgoth The
7 Queens BlackEnemy
The Maiar created the Orcs
Act as aides for the Mairon The Admirable ->
Valar Sauron The Abhorred
The Istari destroyed Numenor
5 wizards sent Saruman is stopped from
amongst the races to evolving into a new Dark Lord
protect and guide because Gandalf breaks his
them directly Mairons transformation into Sauron
staff
"their eyes beheld first of all things the stars of heaven
(Silmarillion 1998:19)
The Elves
Folk of the Stars
the star= important cultural
symbol
"quasi-angelic" beings
(Nimmo 2005: 72)
have complex marriage rites
the only race that developed
directly under the influence of
the Valar
advanced cultural system and
knowledge system -> most
advanced civilization
similarly to stars, the Elves
slowly fade away from the
world as darkness dissapears

"Elen sila lumenn' omentielvo "A star shines on the hour of our meeting"
(FotR 2012:112)
 The Elves physical traits are determined by the clan to which they belong
The Men
Folk of the Sun
awakened during "the first rising of the
Sun" (Silmarillion 1998:49)
divided into three main factions:
the Edain
House of Beor
House of Haleth
House of Hador
the Easterlings
the Hobbits
Hobbits- rustic civilization
Edain- noble/monarchical civilization
Easterlings - primitive and wild
The Ents
Folk upon Earth
act as guardians of the
trees
dying civilization -> act
solely as the world's
immune system, after
this purpose is
rendered useless,
extinction is imminent
oral culture
the Elves "cured" them
of "dumbness" (TT
2012: 72)

"We train, we teach, we walk and we weed" ( TT 2012:67)

The Dwarves
Folk below Earth
their civilization can only flourish beneath
the mountains where they use their
strength and endurance as a protective
layer against the influences of corruption
from underground
patriarchal society
beards have important cultural
significance; if they shave it they can
literally die of shame
When corrupted, they become consumed by
avarice which shakes the organization of
their communities
are able to develop strictly because of Aule's
implication
The Orcs
Twisted Folk
corrupted Elves
Primitive, vulgar and violent
society
Unstable social structure
Nomadic society
underdeveloped, tribal
"material culture"
live in small temporary camps
underdeveloped social
division- tribes
Limited to this primitive state
by Morgoth in order to easily
manipulate them
The Trolls
Twisted Folk
corrupted Ents
Extremely low intelligence
Limited to basic instincts,
most prominent of which
is hunger
"Man-eaters"
Portrayed not as savage,
but as extremely
uncivilized and
uneducated
Conclusion
Tolkien's world does not only illustrate the
eternal struggle between good and evil or
tyranny and submission but also a struggle
between progress and deterioration of
culture and civilization.
 Diola Ile!
Bibliography
NIMMO, A. (2005) 'Tolkien i thomismul: "Pmntul
de Mijloc" i strile naturii umane'. In:
NEMOIANU, V. and LAZU, R., (eds) J.R.R.
Tolkien: credin i imaginaie. Arad: Hartmann,
pp. 63-75.
TOLKIEN, J. R. R. and Tolkien, Christopher (1998)
The Silmarillion. London:HarperCollins
TOLKIEN, J. (2012). The fellowship of the ring.
Boston: Mariner Books/Houghton Mifflin
Harcourt.
TOLKIEN, J. (2012). The Two Towers. [S.l.]:
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
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