Tolkien's Histories;
Homer's epics;
the history of the Hyborian Age.
Montivalan story-tellers recount tales of King Conan and there is a detailed history of the Hyborian Age with maps similar to Tolkien's. What is significant for our purposes is that Poul Anderson contributed a tale of Conan. See here.
It is suggested that Tolkien was inspired by the Valar, did not know how true his visions were and may have bent them slightly. In this, he would have resembled Olaf Stapledon whose future history, regarded as fiction by its author, was inspired by one of the Last Men. See here.
The Sword of the Lady bestows knowledge of Elvish that goes beyond what was written in the Histories so who knows?
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
I have to admit, when I first read THE LORD OF THE RINGS, esp. Appendix A, giving some of the annals of the Numenorean kings and rulers, it certainly FELT historical to me! And Tolkien's use of DETAILED dates and chronologies made it even more convincing to my younger self.
I can see why, by and large, Poul Anderson did not use such a detailed scheme of exact and precise dates for his Technic Civilization series. Because it could have led too easily to DESTRUCTIVE inconsistencies and contradictions in the stories. But a part of wishes he had done so--because then we would have an AUTHORITATIVE chronology of his Technic series. Rather than either Sandra Meisel's chronology or my revision of it.
Sean
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