Creating a Modern Mythos

Myth is not something in the past—it is alive, happening now.

Tolkien’s Desire to Create a Mythology for England

  • He believed England lacked a true indigenous mythology, as the Arthurian legends were too recent and infused with Christian elements.
  • Middle-earth was designed to be a primal myth, emerging from language and landscape rather than religious dogma.
  • He wanted his mythology to feel as though it had always existed, as though it had been lost and then rediscovered.