The lay of Aotrou and Itroun : together with the Corrigan poems

Unavailable for more than seventy years, this early but important work is published for the first time with Tolkien’s "Corrigan" poems and other supporting material, including a prefatory note by Christopher Tolkien. Set ‘In Britain’s land beyond the seas’ during the Age of Chivalry, The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun tells of a childless Breton Lord and Lady (the ‘Aotrou’ and ‘Itroun’ of the title) and the tragedy that befalls them when Aotrou seeks to remedy their situation with the aid of a magic potion obtained from a corrigan, or malevolent fairy. When the potion succeeds and Itroun bears twins, the corrigan returns seeking her fee, and Aotrou is forced to choose between betraying his marriage and losing his life. Coming from the darker side of J.R.R. Tolkien’s imagination, The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun , together with the two shorter ‘Corrigan’ poems (which lead up to it and are also included in this volume), were the outcome of a comparatively short but intense period in Tolkien's life when he was deeply engaged with Celtic, and particularly Breton, myth and legend. Originally written in 1930 and long out of print, this early but seminal work is an important addition to the non-Middle-earth portion of his canon and should be set alongside The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún , The Fall of Arthur and The Story of Kullervo . Like these works, it belongs to a small but important corpus of his ventures into ‘real-world’ mythologies, each of which in its own way would be a formative influence on his own legendarium. Edited with notes and commentary by Verlyn Flieger and a prefatory note on the text by Christopher Tolkien. Front Cover Front Flap Front Matter Half Title Other Books by this Author Title Copyright Contents List of Plates Epigraph Note on the Text Introduction Acknowledgments Part One: THE LAY OF AOTROU AND ITROUN The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun Notes and Commentary Part Two: THE CORRIGAN POEMS Introduction ‘The Corrigan’ I Notes and Commentary ‘The Corrigan’ II Notes and Commentary Part Three: THE FRAGMENT, MANUSCRIPT DRAFTS AND TYPESCRIPT The Fragment The Manuscript Drafts Aotrou & Itroun fair copy manuscript Notes and Commentary The Typescript Commentary Part Four: COMPARATIVE VERSES Comparative Verses Opening verses: Breton, French, English; Tolkien Closing verses: Breton, French, English; Tolkien Back Matter Works Cited Back Flap Back Cover Spine Coming from the darker side of J.R.R. Tolkien's imagination, this is an important non Middle-earth work to set alongside his other retellings of existing myth and legend, "The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún," "The Fall of Arthur," and "The Story of Kullervo."