BY TISH WELLS
McClatchy Washington Bureau
When J.R.R. Tolkien takes on the legendary King Arthur, you can expect something special.
Unpublished until now, the poem âThe Fall of Arthurâ was Tolkienâs take on the legendary leader and aftermath of the fall of Camelot.
Tolkien conceived of the poem in the 1930s, went through several drafts but ultimately abandoned his work for reasons even his third son and editor, Christopher Tolkien, doesnât know.
The younger Tolkien, who is editing his fatherâs papers, has painstakingly gathered together the many drafts and fragments.
J.R.R. Tolkien chose to write âThe Fall of Arthurâ in Old English alliterative meter. (Think âBeowulf.â) Luckily for modern readers, he also wrote it in English.
For the fans of Tolkienâs âRingsâ saga, there is a chapter on the cross-fertilization between âThe Silmarillionâ and âThe Fall of Arthur.â In fact, there is a great deal of down-in-the-weeds discussion of earlier Tolkien poems and different versions of this one that may daunt some readers.
Those lucky enough to visit Oxford University this summer may be able to see the manuscript on public display. A new exhibit at the Bodleian Library of âMagical Books: from the Middle Ages to Middle-earthâ opens May 23 and runs through October. It also will display some of Tolkienâs artwork, C.S. Lewisâ map of Narnia, and manuscripts from Philip Pullman (âHis Dark Materialsâ) and Susan Cooper (âThe Dark is Risingâ).
Christopher Tolkien doesnât want to get involved in current Arthurian controversies: âIt would lie far outside my intention here to enter into any account of the âstrainsâ or âstreamsâ of mediaeval Arthurian legend, the âpseudo-historicalâ or âchronicleâ tradition on the one hand, and the vast âromanticâ development of the âMatter of Britainâ in French prose and poetry.â
He does regret that his father didnât finish âThe Fall,â though he admits, âAs a rule, indeed, no manuscript of my fatherâs could be regarded as âfinalâ until it had safely left his hands.â
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