The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun

Hardback

Main Details

Title The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun
Authors and Contributors      By (author) J. R. R. Tolkien
Edited by Verlyn Flieger
Physical Properties
Format:Hardback
Pages:128
Dimensions(mm): Height 228,Width 149
Category/GenrePoetry
Poetry by individual poets
Fantasy
Myth and legend told as fiction
ISBN/Barcode 9780008202132
ClassificationsDewey:821.912
Audience
General
Illustrations 5 b/w illus, 1 col plates

Publishing Details

Publisher HarperCollins Publishers
Imprint HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
Publication Date 3 November 2016
Publication Country United Kingdom

Description

Unavailable for more than 70 years, this early but important work is published for the first time with Tolkien's 'Corrigan' poems and other supporting material, including a prefatory note by Christopher Tolkien. Set 'In Britain's land beyond the seas' during the Age of Chivalry, The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun tells of a childless Breton Lord and Lady (the 'Aotrou' and 'Itroun' of the title) and the tragedy that befalls them when Aotrou seeks to remedy their situation with the aid of a magic potion obtained from a corrigan, or malevolent fairy. When the potion succeeds and Itroun bears twins, the corrigan returns seeking her fee, and Aotrou is forced to choose between betraying his marriage and losing his life. Coming from the darker side of J.R.R. Tolkien's imagination, The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun, together with the two shorter 'Corrigan' poems that lead up to it and which are also included, was the outcome of a comparatively short but intense period in Tolkien's life when he was deeply engaged with Celtic, and particularly Breton, myth and legend. Originally written in 1930 and long out of print, this early but seminal work is an important addition to the non-Middle-earth portion of his canon and should be set alongside Tolkien's other retellings of myth and legend, The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun, The Fall of Arthur and The Story of Kullervo. Like these works, it belongs to a small but important corpus of his ventures into 'real-world' mythologies, each of which in its own way would be a formative influence on his own legendarium.

Author Biography

J.R.R.Tolkien (1892-1973) was a distinguished academic, though he is best known for writing The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion, plus other stories and essays. His books have been translated into over 60 languages and have sold many millions of copies worldwide.

Reviews

'The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun is a poem in the tradition of the medieval "lay", also illustrated by the Lay of the Children of Hurin, and in the Lay of Leithian. This 556-verse-long poem tells the tragic story of a lord who sacrifices his life by love: in order to have a child with his wife, then to remain faithful to his spouse, he gives his life to a witch.' The J.R.R. Tolkien Estate website 'The language is as time-worn as a Runic engraving yet clear as a bell ... The holy and the unholy imbue everything. It is a world captured in stained glass.' Daily Telegraph