Memories of (Ancient Roman) War in Tolkien’s Dead Marshes

Abstract: The dark, malodorous wetland called the Dead Marshes ranks among the most memorable and enigmatic landscapes in fantasy literature. While one influential line of scholarship connects the passage to Tolkien’s experiences in the Great War, this article argues that the Marshes should also be read as a reception of Tacitus’s depiction of the Teutoburg Forest. The link between the two texts is both simple and complex. Tolkien read Tacitus, and the latter’s influence has been detected elsewhere in The Lord of the Rings; yet Tolkien identified William Morris as an even more important source for the Marshes than the Great War, and the relevant passage in Morris is also a reception of Tacitus. It will be shown that Tolkien comes closer to Tacitus than Morris in his vision of the way landscapes manifest—to sight, hearing, and touch—the memory and meaning of military losses. Recognizing this reception both explains Tolkien’s ascription of such importance to Morris and offers an im.... https://www.thersites-journal.de/index.php/thr/article/view/36

Object Details

• Location: Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Frankfurt am Main
• Extent: Online-Ressource
• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Memories of (Ancient Roman) War in Tolkien’s Dead Marshes ; volume:4 ; day:14 ; month:04 ; year:2017 ; Thersites ; 4 (14.04.2017)

Contributors, Places and Time

• Creator: Marian W. Makins

Further information

• DOI: 10.34679/thersites.vol4.36
• URN: urn:nbn:de:101:1-2020050709414116743408
• Rights: Open Access; Der Zugriff auf das Objekt ist unbeschränkt möglich.
• Last update: 14.08.2025, 10:47 AM CEST