It is fairly well known thatJ.R.R.
Christopher later edited together a novel version of the tale, published under the titleThe Children of Hurinin 2007.
Hurins middle child, Urwen, died first at the age of five, killed by a plague.
Turin nearly died on the journey to Doriath, but was rescued by an Elf called Beleg.
He became the leader of a gang of outlaws and convinced them to kill only Orcs, not Men.
For one, consider the myths that inspired Tolkiens story.
Oedipus and Kullervo are both partial inspiration for the tragic deaths by suicide of several characters.
All three of these latter stories also feature accidental incest with dire consequences.
His mother Jocasta commits suicide and Oedipus puts out his own eyes in horror.
The poem used the same structure as typical Old English poetry, includingBeowulf.
Hurins final fate, throwing himself into the sea, also echoes another famous bit of Greek mythology.
So Aegeus decides to throw himself into the Aegean Sea, giving that body of water its name.
This is one of the earliest Middle-earth stories Tolkien wrote, and he started it around 1918.
It was during the last year of the war that he started the story of Turin.
On Fairy Stories
Even more famous than Tolkiens lecture onBeowulfis his lecture On Fairy-Stories.
Tolkien was, of course, absolutely right.
Dark does not automatically mean good.
