Tolkien, Martin, Homer, and Truths
By: ALBERT JAMES KNABE
The world writers live in is rife with giants of history. As writers today, we stand upon the shoulders of all that has been seen, heard, and written. We are thusly inspired not just by what we experience in our lives, but by the stories we are told of big fish and far away places. Art imitates life, and life’s writers imitate and embellish the lives and tales we live and breathe.
To what degree did Tolkien, Martin, and Homer base their stories on actual fact, either knowingly or unknowingly, and how are we to know? We still have Martin who has out right said, ‘Yes, many of my stories are based on real people and events.’ With Homer, Schliemann unearthed a massive walled city, precisely where he predicted to find a Troy, based on his reading of the Iliad and Odyssey. Where would one even begin to look for Tolkien’s Middle Earth?
-Tolkien & Martin
Having only recently been fully exposed to Martin’s Games of Thrones, a retelling of the Song of Fire and Ice, I had no idea it could be compared to Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings. The first seeming coincidence was the physical similarity between Frodo and Arya, small brunette’s with striking eyes, and each with a short sword- one named Sting and the other Needle.
The other crossovers are limitless and could easily become a complete study in and of themselves. Both stories have a singing Merri & Pip, a Ranger- King from the North of a lost house, sub-hero Sam, Dragon(s), Battle of the Five Armies, Magic, and the Hand of the King wears what, but a hand holding one ring!?
They are not the same story, as Jon Snow is not named King and the Dragon(s) play very different roles. What does seem evident is that both authors could have used the same source material to begin the re-creation of their mythological story. Whereas, we still have Martin to pose questions specifically, as to which characters in history he was inspired by, Tolkien and Homer have left us.
What we know of Tolkien is that he studied the creation of language(s). In so doing, he undoubtedly read the first stories ever written, the first songs ever sang, the first cave art ever pressed into existence. If Martin openly admits being inspired by true events, and his stories share this overlap with Tolkien, might we not accuse Tolkien of being inspired by true events, either knowingly, or unknowingly?
-“The Beacons of Gondor are Lit!”
Master’s thesis research on Thomas Jefferson’s Rectangle Survey System landed me in the middle of Spanish and French sources of North American Western incursion by English colonists. Most of the American records on First Nations Peoples’ individual land ownership and land division have been historically erased. One entry from Coronado stood out in a rather glaring way and immediately reminded me of Tolkien.
In a book called Historical Tales on page 102, Charles Morris wrote: “…This march of six weeks took the expedition to within twenty-six miles of Cibola. ‘They saw for the first time the natives of this singular kingdom, but the latter immediately took to flight, spreading the alarm throughout the country by means of great fires, which they kindled on the high mountains:…”
Tolkien was a master of historical texts and tales, so no doubt I thought, this was the source of Tolkien’s ‘Beacons of Gondor.’ Initially, thoughts of plagiary and theft kept to mind, ‘Tolkien stole this concept, or rather he must have borrowed it!’ as this was common practice among Native People in New Mexico. Yet, the specificity of ‘singular kingdom,’ ‘great fires,’ and ‘high mountains’ spurred the imagination…what if…Coronado was invading Gondor?
-Google Earthing Middle America
Modern satellite imagery provides common users access to actual geological features. Whereas most textbooks are given to brightly colored state divisions, elevation maps, and green, brown and tan versions to depict mountains, planes, and deserts. How might history students benefit from using tools such as Google Earth to tie tales to real geological features?
Just as Schliemann did to find his Troy, attempts were made to converge Tolkien’s Middle Earth’s rivers and mountains to Coronado’s entry to the Western Territories of North America, or ‘Middle America.’ These initial attempts were entirely fruitless. While Middle Earth and Middle America seemed oddly similar, direct comparison could not be made, until I happened upon a curious map key.
Muddled in a pile of Tolkien Art I happened upon a Map Cypher that seemed ‘Tolkien’ish.’ It looked hand-drawn, colored in light green, navy blue, and brown. Upon each letter were strange arrows, each one pointing an opposite direction. Placed behind the compass is a light green ribbon, that forms a green “S” right beside the “N” for North. Simple addition to me, meant that the artist intended the viewer to ‘turn the map upside-down.’
Upon doing so and adjusting the Google Earth map scale to match Tolkien’s Middle Earth, magic happened. Major rivers and mountains overlapped precisely. The King’s Road becomes Route 66, the Misty Mountain the Rockies, and Mordor the Utan Basin. Tolkien’s Middle Earth map does suffer Northern distortions, as though it were drawn from five to ten thousand feet above the spherical Earth, and not a digitally rendered 2D flat Google Earth.
-Tripple Triangulation
In order affix any map to any geological area, one must triangulate or coordinate multiple sites to one another in placement and scale. Middle Earth and Middle America share mountains, rivers, forests, highways, and as will be demonstrated, a familial nomenclature.
To look upon the Rockies and see Misty Mountains would surely be easy, but that they share size and central placement was an easy first sighting. Although the comedic nature of the following discoveries and locating them becomes an exercise in literary irony. The next two items that leapt into comparative analysis are a large white desert region directly South of what is today ‘Gila Forest.’ The large flat desert area is today the ‘Rael Horse Ranch Pasture’ or a rather interesting replacement for ‘Rohan, Home of the Horse Lords.’ What is a Gila, but a ‘Monster,’ yielding Fangorn Forest today known as ‘Monster Forest.’
These are all large geographical features that appear, at initial glance. Finding others became an exercise in knowing the map and Tolkien’s story. Helm’s Deep would need to be due South of Rohan, Bag End to the West, and Minas Tirith to the East. Finding ‘Hobbs’ Texas where ‘the Shire’ should be, or ‘Laguna’ New Mexico in place of ‘Helm’s Deep’ was as amusing as finding ‘Castle Mountain’ where ‘Minas Tirith’ should be, exactly 250 miles from the afore mention Keep. To date I have located about 70% of specific places, strongholds, and cities. However to truly identify these places as those described in Tolkien’s work, first-hand evidence would need to be collected.
-Bag End, Hobbs Texas
Hobbs Texas today shares little with the rolling hills of the Shire in Lord of the Rings. It is a most flat treeless landscape, interrupted only by a few passing streams. Finding Bag End itself in this sea of flat would require maps beyond that of the Trilogy, but smaller more detailed ones, as those found in the Silmarillion.
The Shire is expressed in three maps, one features a square mill pond, the other a stone quarry, and the third, Bag End itself complete with chimney placement. Upon a 150 acre parcel of land, in Hobbs Texas rests one 150 acre parcel containing a properly placed square mill pond, open quarry, and what appears to be Bag End complete with round front and back doors, a front sidewalk, and a chimney still poking out of the ground, each where they should be! All of this was captured with drone footage and is available for review.
-Helm’s Deep, Laguna New Mexico
Due South of the Rael Horse Ranch Pasture is today ‘Laguna’ New Mexico, ironically named, as it is in a deep basin. Driving into the area, the first sites are of darkened walls rising out of the desert floor, funneling traffic into blind canyons requiring ramps and overpasses. From the air, they lead to a perfectly round 200 foot tall mound, intimately connected to the fortified area.
In comparison to the Silmarillion, Laguna rests behind now broken walls with a meandering stream to its West and Mountains to its East. Drone images from directly atop the Keep today revealed stone walkways, walls, and potentially bunkers. Direct exploration of these ruins were hampered by both COVID and Tribal limits on outside visitors.
-Sites Yet Confirmed
Looking back to the broader macro-Middle Earth, I have so far found and or located many but not all of the map’s specific locations. The ones thus far identified, all have a humorous or site similar name, as with Hobbs and Laguna. Isengard is today in a place called Osengood. Rivendell is today Dell or Dale Texas. The Tower of Sauron is today the Temple of Soleman. Located atop Castle Mountain are a sprawl of white trees, amongst white rock ruins, and a jutting spire, exactly where Minas Tirith should be.
Plans are to visit each site, drone for footage to directly compare to the maps found in the Silmarillion, to triangulate each micro example to its Middle America modern counterpart. Most of the following are on places owned by tribal authorities.
Sourced Material Images:
Coronado Quote: https://imgur.com/gallery/9la21bh
Cypher Key : https://imgur.com/gallery/Qakrqda
Bag End: https://imgur.com/gallery/g0zsqx0 Drone Footage : https://youtu.be/lTPi5XeUFjQ
Helm’s Deep: https://imgur.com/gallery/EpD0Ddn
Deeping Walls: https://imgur.com/gallery/wSrljJf
Top of the Keep: https://imgur.com/gallery/bx3GL0S
