The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun

The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun

The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun is a poem of 508 lines, written by J. R. R. Tolkien in 1930 and published in "Welsh Review" in December, 1945.

"Aotrou" and "Itrou" are Breton words for "lord" and "lady". The poem is modelled on the genre of the "Breton lay" popular in Middle English literature of the 12th century, and it explores the conflict of heroic or chivalric values and Christianity, and their relation to the institution of marriage.

In the poem, Aotrou and Itroun are a couple of Breton nobility. They are childless, and Aotrou seeks the help of a witch. When Itroun is with child, the witch reappears, revealing herself as the Corrigan, and asks for Aotrou's love as payment. Aotrou sacrifices his knightly honour to Christian values, and breaks his word.

:"I gave no love. My love is wed;":"my wife now lieth in child-bed,":"and I curse the beast that cheated me":"and drew me to this dell to thee."

Cursed by the Corrigan to die in three days, Aotrou takes the consequences and places his trust in Providence:

:"In three days I shall live at ease":"and die but when it God doth please":"in eld, or in some time to come":"in the brave wars of Christendom."

Aotrou passes away after three days, his wife dies of broken heart and they are buried together, and they do not live to see their offspring grow up.

ee also

*List of poems by J. R. R. Tolkien

External links

*http://ttt.by.ru/sl/aotrou.shtml


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun — Le Lai d Aotrou et Itroun Auteur J. R. R. Tolkien Genre Fantastique Version originale Titre original The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun Éditeur original Welsh Review Langue originale …   Wikipédia en Français

  • La balada de Aotrou e Itroun — «La balada de Aotrou e Itroun» (The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun en el original inglés) es un poema de 508 versos, compuesto por el escritor británico J. R. R. Tolkien en 1930 y publicado en la revista The Welsh Review de Cardiff de diciembre de 1945 …   Wikipedia Español

  • The Children of Húrin —   …   Wikipedia

  • The Book of Lost Tales — The History of Middle earth Volumes I and II Volume III Volume IV Volume V Volumes VI–IX Volume X Volume XI Volume XII …   Wikipedia

  • The History of The Hobbit —   Author(s) J. R. R. Tolkien John D. Rateliff …   Wikipedia

  • The History of The Hobbit — (abrégé en HotH) est un ouvrage rédigé par John D. Rateliff. Il propose une analyse du roman de J. R. R. Tolkien : Bilbo le Hobbit. Cet ouvrage est divisé en deux volumes intitulés Part One : Mr Baggins et Part Two : Return to Bag… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • The Road Goes Ever On — est un cycle musical publié sous forme de partitions et d enregistrement audio. La musique a été composée par Donald Swann et les textes ont été extraits des ouvrages de J. R. R. Tolkien. Le titre de cette œuvre, « The Road Goes Ever… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Lay of Leithian — Das Lay of Leithian ist eines von zwei großen unvollendeten epischen Gedichten des englischen Schriftstellers J. R. R. Tolkien. Der komplette Titel lautet The Gest of Beren son of Barahir and Lúthien the Fay called Tinúviel the Nightingale or the …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • The Lord of the Rings — This article is about the novel. For other uses, see The Lord of the Rings (disambiguation). The Lord of the Rings Tolkien s own cover designs for the three volumes Volumes: The Fellowship of the Ring …   Wikipedia

  • The Fellowship of the Ring — For other uses, see The Fellowship of the Ring (disambiguation). The Fellowship of the Ring   …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”