‘A Mighty Matter of Legend’

J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings is one of the most popular works of fiction of the twentieth century and beyond. It has been sold over 100 million times in different countries around the world and has been translated into more than 30 languages. One of the factors responsible for its popularity is the feeling that the story is more than just fantasy. Peri Sipahi tries to get a grip on the topics and references ‘simmering beneath the surface’, using the example of the Rohirrim – their language and society – and Tolkien’s own ideas of what a good story is like. Scholars widely agree that the Rohirrim are to a greater part modelled after the Anglo-Saxons. Yet, what exactly makes the people of Rohan resemble the Anglo-Saxons, and what differences can be found?