Chapter 7 of The Hobbit begins with a rude awakening in an Eagle’s eyrie. But our heroes are soon off on their way again, and find themselves at the home of Beorn the skin-changer. Is he a man that changes into a bear, or a bear that changes into a man? Find out as we explore the linguistic and mythical inspirations for one of Middle-earth’s most enigmatic characters. We also remember a poignant letter J.R.R. once received from a friend on This Week in Tolkien History, and ask you to bear with us as we discuss our favorite music inspired by the legendarium.
Recommended Reading:
Tolkien, J. R. R. The Hobbit (Mariner Books, paperback) pp. 105-118, “Queer Lodgings”
Tolkien, J. R. R. and Douglas A. Anderson, ed. The Annotated Hobbit (HarperCollins, hardcover)
Rateliff, John D. The History of the Hobbit (HarperCollins, one-volume hardcover)
Olsen, Corey. Exploring J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit (Mariner Books, paperback)
Carpenter, Humphrey, ed. The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien (Mariner Books, paperback)
Garth, John. Tolkien and the Great War: The Threshold of Middle-earth (Mariner Books, hardcover)
There are several death and black metal bands named for the Legendarium. My personal favorite is Rhode Island band Witch King, but their music would probably scare you guys.
PS. The Dio reference a few episodes into the 100s cracked me up. I wonder how many listeners got the reference.
I’m glad someone got it. 🙂 You’re probably right about Witch King; Alan isn’t a big fan of metal and I’m mostly into stuff from the ’80s (I love Iron Maiden, Dio, etc.) but I’ll give them a shot!
If there isn’t a Run to the Hills reference when the Three Hunters chase after the orcs I will be disappointed.
Gandalf does tell Beorn about being rescued by the eagles. I did not see any reaction from Beorn to this encounter. The eagles do prey on livestock, and I think Beorn’s home is in the birds’ range. Do they know to avoid Beorn’s lands? Or have there been incidents?
I’m listening to the Prancing Pony Podcast from the beginning and just listened to this episode. My favourite Tolkien music (other than the film score) is made by Clamavi de Profundis. They’re a family on YouTube and have put many Tolkien poems to music, like Tte Song of Eärendil, The Lament for Boromir and many more. They have also written some songs of their own, based on Tolkien and other fantasy novels. I would recommend the song of Hammerdeep. They are very good in my opinion
(50:00): Medwed does sound like “медведь” in Russian language, which translates as “bear”. The stress is on the last syllable. The word “медведь” derives from the noun “мёд” (honey), and the verb “ведать” (to know). Медведь is literally “(the one who) knows honey”.
I love Russian etymology.
Thank you for your awesome podcast!