Most people have heard of The Lord of the Rings trilogy by J.R.R Tolkien. But what many people have not heard of is where the monsters and magic in it come from. The truth is, the creatures from The Lord of the Rings, which include giants, dwarves, orcs, trolls, elves, have origins that can be traced back to the beginning of civilization and can also be followed into the world of modern-day novels. The same is true with the magic from The Lord of the Rings. This legendary novel very deep roots in both the mythology of ancient times and the stories and books of modern days. Creatures Many creatures from The Lord of the Rings come from Norse and Greek mythology and other ancient legends. These creatures include giants, dwarves, elves, orcs, and trolls. You can both trace these creatures’ origins very far back in history, or look at how they have impacted modern-day novels. Giants Giants are very ancient creatures. They are basically just enlarged humanoids and originate from Greek mythology. The “Gigantes,” Gaea’s (Mother Earth) offspring, were huge giants, even bigger than the Titans, that were birthed to overthrow the Olympians. Each Olympian had a corresponding giant made to defeat it; Porphyrion was made to defeat Zeus, Polybotes was made to defeat Poseidon, Alcyoneus was made to defeat Hades, etc. Polyphemus and the Titans were also giants. Giants pretty much always play an antagonist role; out of all the Titans and Giants, the only protagonists were Prometheus and Epimetheus. The Lord of the Rings is no exception; all of the giants fight for Sauron, the main antagonist in the novel. And the giants’ influence doesn’t stop there; they are also the main antagonists of the Percy Jackson (Titans) and Heroes of Olympus (Giants) series, both by Rick Riordan. Dwarves Dwarves originate from ancient Norse mythology. According to the site “Dwarves-North Mythology For Smart People”, dwarves were once called dvergr (Old Norse), dweorg (Old English), twerg (Old High German), and dwergaz (Proto-Germanic). In Norse mythology, dwarves are craftsmen. They crafted Thor’s hammer, Mjollnir, the chain that bound Fenrir the Wolf, Gleipnir, Freyr’s magical ship, Skidbladnir, etc. In The Lord of the Rings, the dwarves are also craftsmen; most of the weapons in The Lord of the Rings were crafted by dwarves. The most recent novel that incorporates dwarves is the bestselling series Artemis Fowl. However, they do not play a craftsmen role in this series. Rather, they are depicted as creatures that burrow through the dirt and get nutrition from the soil. Elves Nowadays, elves are often depicted as little creatures that help Santa deliver presents. But they are much older than the time that the myth of Santa Claus started. In Norse mythology, elves are depicted as demigod-like (half man and half god) beings. Elves have the power to cause human illnesses, but they also have the power to cure them. Elves are protagonists in many stories and are very wise. In fact, when Frodo, Sam, and Pippin depart on their journey, Sam wishes that he could meet some elves on the journey, and he was very glad when he did. Like Norse mythology, elves look very much like humans in The Lord of the Rings and also have magical powers. Elves are depicted in the same way in the new series Keeper of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger; the elves in this series are basically near-immortal humans, and some of them have magical powers. Orcs Orcs also originate from Norse mythology. According to Britannica.com, the word “orc” was first used to describe a demon or an ogre in the poem “Beowulf,” a very famous epic from Norse mythology about a hero, Beowulf, and his friends fighting a monster. The word orc most likely derives from the Latin Orcus, which was the name of a god of the underworld. Like many other stories, orcs are antagonists in The Lord of the Rings, simply because of their reputation as evil creatures. While orcs may not be very common in modern-day novels, they are in many different board games, card games, and video games, such as Dungeons and Dragons, Magic: The Gathering, and Warcraft. Trolls Trolls originate from the Scandinavian area. While many people think that trolls are usually short and stout, Mythology.net says that there is another type of troll in Scandinavian mythology that is as big as a giant! The short and stout type is called huldrefolk, and the big type is called jotnar. The jotnar is the type of troll in The Lord of the Rings; In the movie, they can grow up to be 10-50 feet tall! They are basically always antagonists, also because of their reputation as evil beings. However, a recent movie, Trolls, depicts the trolls as funny and happy. The trolls in this movie are short, but not as stout as the huldrefolk, and are very colorful and cheery. Magic Along with the amazing creatures in The Lord of the Rings, there is also a lot of magic. This includes elven magic, wizard magic, and dark magic. These ideas of these types of magic are also very old, and can also be found in modern-day novels. Elven Magic (Enchantment) As mentioned earlier, elves are magical creatures. Their magic is very powerful. In fact, the three rings that they crafted are the second most powerful Rings of Power out of all twenty rings; only the One Rings, which was crafted by Sauron himself, is more powerful, They were also able to enchant items and objects. One king had a river as a border that would make people fall asleep and dream deeply! Enchanters and enchantresses can be found in almost every major mythology; many weapons, such as Thor’s hammer, Odin’s spear, Helen of Troy’s dagger, etc. and other items used in war were enchanted to grant the wearer safety and/or give them an offensive advantage. Enchantment is a very commonly used type of magic in the modern-day series The Kane
Stone Soup Magazine for young readers, writers, and artists
Saturday Newsletter: November 16, 2019
“I, Grace Sadlon, sister of Chloë Sadlon, vow to never ever break the Sister Code” by Phoebe Wagoner, 11 (Carlisle, Kentucky), published in Stone Soup March/April 2015, illustrating “The Treehouse” by Ermeen Choudhury, 12 (Scarsdale, New York). A note from William Rubel I am very pleased to be able to announce that we have hired Laura Moran, a cultural anthropologist who has just published a book on her research with refugee children in Australia to lead the Stone Soup refugee project (see below). As most of you know, the first stage in this project is publishing a special issue of Stone Soup devoted to creative work by refugee children. If any of you know people working with refugee children, including with children caught up in US border enforcement actions on the Mexican border, please send Laura an email: laura@stonesoup.com. Stone Soup author Sabrina Guo, whose personal initiative is really the inspiration for this project, has been honored with an invitation to attend the 2020 Harvard Global Women’s Empowerment Expo with Laura Doggett, who is the American artist working with refugee children in the Za’atari camp in Jordan that Sabrina wrote about in a Stone Soup blog post. Congratulations Sabrina! On the subject of blogs. I haven’t put out a call for new blog authors in a while. Writing for our blog is different from writing for Stone Soup. Stone Soup is a literary magazine—so its focus is fiction, poetry, and art. In the blogs you can write on any subject you like so you have the freedom to explore other genres besides fiction and poetry. If you haven’t visited our blogs recently, please do. As you’d expect from Stone Soup writers, the quality of the blog entries is high. At the end of every year we select an issue’s worth of blog posts to include in our Annual. If you are interested in writing for our blog please go to the Stone Soup submissions page and submit a writing sample. On a personal note, I have been working in my garden over the past few weeks. There is an unused treehouse in a big plum tree which we are converting into a space for us adults to relax. It’s so much fun to climb the ladder and sit in the tree, so I was happy to see this illustration from a past issue of Stone Soup in this week’s Newsletter! Do you have a tree house? Why not spend some time in it and send us a picture of the view, or write something inspired by sitting up amongst the branches. Until next week, Current Contest: Personal Narrative The way we approach fiction, nonfiction, and poetry, as both readers and writers, is drastically different. For this reason, we’re happy to announce that Stone Soup is partnering with Society of Young Inklings in our very first nonfiction contest and that, in 2020, we will begin to publish all nonfiction under its very own label in the magazine. What makes this contest extra special is our partnership with Society of Young Inklings (SYI): we are very excited to share that their team of professional writers has designed a mentorship experience for both the youth and the educators who take part in this contest. Check out the details on our website here, including links to SYI’s video series to help in writing a personal narrative. Contest deadline is December 15th! Highlights from the past week online Don’t miss the latest content from our Book Reviewers and Young Bloggers at Stonesoup.com! Maya writes a blog this week called “Playing in the Youth Orchestra.” Read about her experience preparing for performing a challenging piece for a concert. Remember Tristan Hui’s story “Coconut Pudding” from the November issue? She takes us behind the scenes in a post that details the inspiration for the story. Read more in “Coconut Pudding: Behind the Story.” We’re always accepting blog submissions through the Submittable category– if you know a young person with an interesting perspective, encourage them to submit their work! “I, Grace Sadlon, sister of Chloë Sadlon, vow to never ever break the Sister Code” From Stone Soup, March/April 2015 The Treehouse By Ermeen Choudhury, 12 (Scarsdale, New York) Illustrated by Phoebe Wagoner, 11 (Carlisle, Kentucky) Chloë. Chloë, wake up!” Grace poked her sister in the side, then gently shook her, barely able to contain her excitement. Chloë slowly opened one eyelid, and in seconds the two seven-year-olds were scampering out of the bedroom and down the hallway, leaf-dappled pajamas billowing on their small forms. After making sure their parents were asleep, they went out the back door together, giggling. The girls ran barefoot through swaying grass, scrambled up craggy rocks, maneuvered through a network of gangly trees, and finally, breathless, arrived at their destination. The treehouse stood tall and grand, silhouetted against the golden-orange sky, and the sisters ogled its brilliance for a while. A path of flat stones trailed up to the tree’s roots, and a flimsy rope ladder climbed up its length. Sitting amid a fountain of branches was the house, built of dark, ancient-looking planks of wood. “Come on. Let’s go!” Grace shrieked with delight, and began to skip from stone to stone. She was crawling up the first few rungs before Chloë snapped out of her trance and followed her. Before they entered the house, the girls stopped, their faces solemn. Grace went first. Placing a hand on her chest, she recited, “I, Grace Sadlon, sister of Chloë Sadlon, vow to never ever break the Sister Code. I will always be a loyal sister, and will never tell anyone the secrets of the treehouse.” Chloë opened her mouth, but before she could utter a sound Grace’s foot slipped on the rung above her and her leg swung around wildly as she tried to regain her footing. The ladder began to rock back and forth. “Grace, watch out!” Chloë screamed, but it was too late, and they both came crashing to the ground…./MORE Stone Soup is published by Children’s Art Foundation-Stone Soup Inc.,
Fall 2019 Contest: Personal Essays with the Society of Young Inklings
Personal Essay Contest with the Society of Young Inklings For as long as Stone Soup has been around, we have been publishing nonfiction narratives and personal essays/memoir under the “Story” label. This has frustrated me ever since I became editor two years ago because, as a writing teacher, I spend much of my time teaching my students about the importance of understanding the distinctions between genres. The way we approach fiction, nonfiction, and poetry, as both readers and writers, is drastically different. For this reason, I am very happy to announce that Stone Soup is partnering with Society of Young Inklings in our very first nonfiction contest and that, in 2020, we will begin to publish all nonfiction under its very own label in the magazine. But what makes this contest extra special is our partnership with Society of Young Inklings (SYI): we are very excited to share that their team of professional writers has designed a mentorship experience for both the youth and the educators who take part in this contest. To start, SYI invites you to stretch your ideas and elevate the impact of your narrative using the games and activities provided in their quick video series: Spill Some Ink with Stone Soup. Finally, take advantage of SYI’s Tips and Tricks for Revision cheat sheet, which guides writers through specific strategies to bring their narratives even more vividly to life. You can stay in the loop as they add material to further help write and revise your piece by RSVP’ing to their email updates here. Finally, after submission, the first 150 submitters will receive a personalized note from SYI. These notes will highlight a strength in your piece and offer guidance about how to build on that strength in future writing. We are so excited to be partnering with such a wonderful organization and thrilled to be able to offer personalized feedback to many of our writers! Contest Details For this contest, we are looking for excellent, innovative, moving, playful personal essays, or mini-memoirs. We want to hear about any of the biggest moments in your life—the scariest, the saddest, the happiest ones—as well as about some of the smallest—your walk to school or a regular Saturday at home with your brother. Make us laugh! Make us cry! Make us feel like we know you! Length: There is no minimum length. The maximum length is 10,000 words. Deadline: December 15, 11:59 p.m. (Pacific Time). Entry fee: $4 per personal narrative. You may submit as many narrative essays as you would like to the contest, but each must be submitted as a new entry. Other specifications: Please make sure there is no identifying material on the .doc or .pdf you upload: your name should not appear on any of these materials. We will have your information through Submittable. Age limit: The contest is open to writers aged 13 or younger, or those who are still in U.S. eighth grade or its equivalent. To enter: All entries should be submitted here, via our Submittable site. We will not consider entries sent via email. Results We will select and announce three winners, as well as a handful of honorable mentions, by the end of January 2020. We will publish all three placing entries in a 2020 issue of Stone Soup.
