Newly discovered documents reveal Lord of the Rings was inspired by Narnia author in secret meeting

Updated on June 24, 2024 at 09:30 IST

The relationship between JRR Tolkien and CS Lewis has long been documented, each a literary giant in their own right. However, a new Oxford paper appears to suggest that Lewis had a much larger role to play in the creation of Middle-earth than previously thought.

Newly discovered documents reveal Lord of the Rings was inspired by Narnia author in secret meeting, image credit – Instagram

Considered the mastermind behind the fantasy world of elves and orcs, JRR Tolkien was often praised for his world-building abilities. However, a newly discovered document may provide an answer to some of its early influences.

Recently, a hidden document emerged from the archives of Magdalen College in the Oxford Archives, which sheds light on Tolkien’s creative process. He revealed that a secret meeting with his close friend, CS Lewis, proved crucial in the development of Middle-earth.

How did the two literary legends meet?

By 1930, Tolkien, then a 38-year-old professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College, Oxford, had kept secret his private hobby of constructing invented languages and mythologies for Middle-earth. Fearing ridicule, he never planned to share his “secret vice” with an audience. However, in an undisclosed meeting with Lewis and other members of the intellectual Michaelmas Club of Magdalen, Tolkien finally revealed his Elvish languages and shared stories about his fantasy world.

The enthusiastic response of the Michaelmas Club, as recorded in its minute book, encouraged Tolkien to persevere. Lewis’s influence went beyond mere inspiration; it was pure encouragement that encouraged Tolkien to continue his work. Lewis, a published poet and founder of the Michaelmas Club, had expressed great enthusiasm for Tolkien’s Elvish mythological poem, “The Gesture of Beren and Lúthien”, before the full depth of Middle-earth was revealed.

Why were these languages essential to the creation of Middle-earth?

The languages invented by Tolkien played a fundamental role in the creation of Middle-earth. As he once said: “The invention of languages is the foundation. The “stories” were created more to provide a world for languages than the other way around.

If CS Lewis and other students had downplayed Tolkien’s hobby that day or not expressed admiration for his linguistic inventions, the outcome might have been different. Professor Simon Horobin, a professor at Oxford University, speculates that Tolkien would have taken such reactions personally.

It was Lewis’s support at an early stage that allowed Tolkien to openly share his linguistic inventions. Without it, Middle-earth might have remained a private realm, hidden forever.