@article{Oughton2022,
  author    = {Oughton, Charles W.},
  title     = {Roman Heroes at Helm's Deep?},
  series = {thersites 15},
  volume    = {2022},
  journal   = {thersites 15},
  number    = {15},
  editor    = {Amb{\"u}hl, Annemarie and Carl{\`a}-Uhink, Filippo and Rollinger, Christian and Walde, Christine},
  issn      = {2364-7612},
  doi       = {10.34679/thersites.vol15.214},
  pages     = {123 -- 162},
  year      = {2022},
  abstract  = {This article analyzes Tolkien's narrative of the Battle of Helm's Deep as a retelling of the Horatius Cocles episode from Livy's AUC, which contains descriptions of the defenses and the bridge, a rally encouraged by Horatius, his bold stand both with his companions and alone, and the honors paid to him after the battle. Tolkien's Battle of Helm's Deep contains the same elements split across two narratives: the defense of the causeway leading to the gates of the Deep by Aragorn, {\´E}omer, and Gimli; and, after the fall of the Deeping wall, Aragorn's defiant stand alone on the stairway leading to the inner doors of the Hornburg. Aragorn's double action demonstrates a fulfillment of Livy's exemplary arc. Tolkien's knowledge of Macaulay's "Horatius" provides a possible intermediary that accounts for various additions to the story. However, the larger structure of Tolkien's narrative as well as the imagery that resonates throughout the text distinctly evoke the vivid descriptions of Livy. While both sets of heroes make brave stands against their enemies, Tolkien's warriors represent a civilizing force in their efforts to build and restore their defenses while Livy's Roman heroes destroy the bridge to save their state.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{Pezzini2022,
  author    = {Pezzini, Giuseppe},
  title     = {(Classical) Narratives of Decline in Tolkien: Renewal, Accommodation, Focalisation},
  series = {thersites 15},
  volume    = {2022},
  journal   = {thersites 15},
  number    = {15},
  editor    = {Amb{\"u}hl, Annemarie and Carl{\`a}-Uhink, Filippo and Rollinger, Christian and Walde, Christine},
  issn      = {2364-7612},
  doi       = {10.34679/thersites.vol15.213},
  pages     = {25 -- 51},
  year      = {2022},
  abstract  = {The paper investigates Tolkien's narratives of decline through the lens of their classical ancestry. Narratives of decline are widespread in ancient culture, in both philosophical and literary discourses. They normally posit a gradual degradation (moral and ontological) from an idealized Golden Age, which went hand-in-hand with increasing detachment of gods from mortal affairs. Narratives of decline are also at the core of Tolkien's mythology, constituting yet another underresearched aspect of classical influence on Tolkien. Such Classical narratives reverberate e.g. in Tolkien's division of Arda's history into ages, from an idealized First Age filled with Joy and Light to a Third Age, described as "Twilight Age (…) the first of the broken and changed world" (Letters 131). More generally, these narratives are related to Tolkien's notorious perception of history as a "long defeat" (Letters 195) and to that "heart-racking sense of the vanished past" which pervades Tolkien's works - the emotion which, in his words, moved him "supremely" and which he found "small difficulty in evoking" (Letters 91). The paper analyses the reception of narratives of decline in Tolkien's legendarium, pointing out similarities but also contrasts and differences, with the aim to discuss some key patterns of (classical) reception in Tolkien's theory and practice ('renewal', 'accommodation', 'focalization').},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{Capra2022,
  author    = {Capra, Elena Sofia},
  title     = {"Orfeo out of Care"},
  series = {thersites 15},
  volume    = {2022},
  journal   = {thersites 15},
  number    = {15},
  editor    = {Amb{\"u}hl, Annemarie and Carl{\`a}-Uhink, Filippo and Rollinger, Christian and Walde, Christine},
  issn      = {2364-7612},
  doi       = {10.34679/thersites.vol15.209},
  pages     = {52 -- 89},
  year      = {2022},
  abstract  = {The paper focuses on an example of multiple-step reception: the contribution of the classical story of Orpheus and Eurydice and the mediaeval lay Sir Orfeo to Tolkien's work. In the first part, I compare the lay with Virgilian and Ovidian versions of Orpheus' myth. This comparison shows the anonymous author's deep knowledge of the ancient texts and complex way of rewriting them through stealing and hybridization. The lay was highly esteemed by Tolkien, who translated it and took inspiration from it while describing the Elven kingdom in The Hobbit and building the storyline of Beren and L{\´u}thien in The Silmarillion. Through this key tale, Orpheus/Orfeo's romance has a deep influence also on Aragorn and Arwen's story in The Lord of the Rings. The most important element that Tolkien takes from the Sir Orfeo figuration of the ancient story is undoubtedly the insertion of political theme: the link established between the recovery of the main character's beloved and the return to royal responsability. The second part of the paper is, thus, dedicated to the reception of Sir Orfeo and the classical myth in Tolkien. It shows how in his work the different steps of the tradition of Orpheus' story are co-present, creating an inextricable substrate of inspiration that nourishes his imagination.},
  language  = {en}
}