Both tales are whimsical and quintessentially Tolkienesque in style, exploring themes such as the environment, philology, and personal growth. They were both illustrated by Pauline Baynes, with the professor's approval during his lifetime. Both stories are commonly understood as examinations of English literature within a narrative context, delving into deeper aspects of life beyond their surface narratives. I think publisher's decision to pair them in a single edition was incredibly wise. Un commento all'edizione: Il fabbro di Wootton Major è inserito anche nella raccolta Albero e foglia, ed è di quella che consiglio l'acquisto. Le pagine di quest'edizione in particolare - dal costo spropositato giustificato solo in parte dalla bellezza delle edizioni deluxe Bompiani - sono quasi interamente dedicate ad appunti di Tolkien, correzioni, apparati critici, tanto che la fiaba in sé occupa solo quaranta delle sue centoquaranta pagine, illustrazioni (di Pauline Baynes, le stesse dell'edizione originale) comprese. J. R. R. Tolkien was a scholar of English literature, a philologist and medievalist interested in language and poetry from the Middle Ages, especially that of Anglo-Saxon England and Northern Europe. [T 1] [2]

The second was definitely my favorite. The dragon is literally named Gold-guarder the Rich which is pretty great. It features exactly the sort of dragon riddling I love. I'd recommend this to the Tolkien fans out there who also enjoy some more folktale-inspired light fantasy and want a lighter read. It's super short so it's not a huge time commitment either. I wouldn't just throw it out though, it's worth a look. Plus, this edition has these wonderful drawings. I love the cover! Chrysophylax and Giles are right in the middle of riddling! Giles seems to say, "I ENT HAVIN NONE O THAT SHENANIGANS FIREWURMLING." And Cyrsophylax seems to reply, "Oh simpering human let I, mighty fire drake that I am, consider your words (WHILE I WAIT FOR A LAPSE IN YOUR JUDGMENT AND SLAY YOU WHERE YOU STAND MWAHAHA)." "For dragons always have such evil thoughts in their hearts." a b Hasirci, Baris (2021). "An Examination of Fantasy Illustration and the Illustrations of Pauline Baynes and John Howe Through the Writings of J. R. R. Tolkien" (PDF). Journal of Social Research and Behavioral Sciences. 7 (14): 44. doi: 10.52096/jsrbs.7.14.3. ISSN 2149-178X. This one was not really my favorite, I was a bit confused at points, which isn’t unusual for Tolkien, but it was short, so I thought it’d be easy going. Maybe it’d be an easier read than a listen. Personally a 4/5* for me. Carpenter, Humphrey, ed. (1981). The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 978-0-395-31555-2.

Tropes included in the tale:

Possession of the star also enables Smith to make journeys into Fairyland in a magically suspended time-warp that does not count as the ‘real’ time of the village. Only his family is aware of his absences, and even they do not know where he has wandered. In the perilous land that Tolkien called Faery, Smith sees events transpire to which he has no key, sees wonders unfold that he does not understand, and stumbles into dangers of which he is unaware. Trespassing on the dangerous Lake of Tears, he arouses the Wild Wind, but is sheltered from its wrath by a weeping birch. The tree warns him to go away, telling him outright that the Wind is hunting him and that he does not belong in the Faery land. Tolkien himself called it “an old man’s book, already weighted with the presage of bereavement”, and taking their cue from him, many have read Smith’s surrender of the star as Tolkien’s farewell to his art.”

Pictures by J.R.R. Tolkien · J.R.R. Tolkien: Life and Legend · J.R.R. Tolkien: Artist and Illustrator · In this story, the fay star has been baked into the cake by Nokes, the ignorant and insensitive Master Cook of the village of Wootton Major, who thinks the star is a mere trinket, and has no understanding of its power. But Smith’s curiosity won over time and he again entered Faery. There he met dancing maidens and one of them gave him a flower. Smith somehow managed to take this flower home, where is was kept in a special casket, and it never withered. Soon Smith went to Faery again, and met there the Queen. Their conversation was warm and long, and she asked Smith to pass a message to the King. Smith was surprised as he did not know any King, and the Queen said that he would know. The message was: “The time has come. Let him choose”.Faery is a made up magical country, which only a person who possesses faystar, may visit. Smith is the one. “ Some of his briefer visits he spent looking only at one tree or one flower”, but with his interest growing, he continued going there, and each time went far and far. In longer journeys he had seen things of “ both beauty and terror that he could not clearly remember nor report to his friends, though he knew that they dwelt deep in his heart”. This is the Realm that Tolkien called variously Fayery or Faërie or Faery – the spelling varied, but not the meaning – and which, he maintained, holds within it: ‘the seas, the sun, the moon, the sky; and the earth and all things that are in it: tree and bird, water and stone, wine and bread, and … mortal men, when [they] are enchanted’. He might have been describing his own last story, which is not about the Faery realm, but about Smith’s experiences while he is there. He is precisely a ‘mortal man’ who is ‘enchanted’ by the power of the fay star on his forehead.

Further information: Christianity in Middle-earth Josh B. Long likens the Faery Queen with lilies to the Virgin Mary. [9] Glazed terracotta plaque The Virgin of the Lilies, Della Robbia family workshop, 16th century Smith of Wootton Major is not connected to the Middle-earth, except by the thematic "Faery" motif of the traveler who journeys to a land that lies beyond the normal world and is usually beyond the reach of mortals. (Smith can thus be likened to Beren in the realm of Thingol, or Eärendil journeying to Valinor, or Ælfwine's visit to Tol Eressëa.)Tolkien’s most popular works, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings are set in Middle-earth, an imagined world with strangely familiar settings inhabited by ancient and extraordinary peoples. Through this secondary world Tolkien writes perceptively of universal human concerns – love and loss, courage and betrayal, humility and pride – giving his books a wide and enduring appeal. King Incognito: Smith meets the queen of Faery once without realizing it. Also, Alf turns out to be the Faery King. First published in 1967, Smith of Wootton Major was the last of Tolkien’s stories to appear in his lifetime, and is of all his shorter works the most difficult to categorize. It is neither a story for ‘children’ nor ‘adults’, but rather for any reader of any age who enjoys fairy tales and can surrender to enchantment, since of all his works Smith comes closest to the spirit of a traditional fairy story. Smith of Wootton Major has been republished many times since 1967, and included in several anthologies of Tolkien’s shorter works. If "The Silmarillion" highlights Tolkien's mastery of the English language and "The Lord of the Rings" showcases his narrative and world-building skills, then "Smith of Wooton Major" and "Farmer Giles of Ham" reveal his wit and deep affection for philology.

The village of Wootton Major was well known around the countryside for its annual festivals, which were particularly famous for their culinary delights. The biggest festival of all was the Feast of Good Children. This festival was celebrated only once every twenty-four years: twenty-four children of the village were invited to a party, and the highlight of the party was the Great Cake, a career milestone by which Master Cooks were judged. In the year the story begins, the Master Cook was Nokes, who had landed the position more or less by default; he delegated much of the creative work to his apprentice Alf. Nokes crowned his Great Cake with a little doll jokingly representing the Queen of Faery. Various trinkets were hidden in the cake for the children to find; one of these was a star the Cook discovered in the old spice box. Scholars have differed on whether the story is an allegory or is, less tightly, capable of various allegorical interpretations; and if so, on what those interpretations might be. Suggestions have included autobiographical allusions such as to Tolkien's profession of philology, and religious interpretations such as that Alf is a figure of Christ. The American scholar Verlyn Flieger sees it instead as a story of Faërie in its own right. Anyway, I'm keeping this one brief; they were entertaining charming tales. There was a bit of a moralistic tinge to them like traditional folktales but also that whimsical charm we all love. I can see the more general influence he inherited from the tradition of fantasy (folktales) and his influence on future authors like Le Guin or Gaiman. Illustrations were golden. John Ronald Reuel Tolkien: writer, artist, scholar, linguist. Known to millions around the world as the author of The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien spent most of his life teaching at the University of Oxford where he was a distinguished academic in the fields of Old and Middle English and Old Norse. His creativity, confined to his spare time, found its outlet in fantasy works, stories for children, poetry, illustration and invented languages and alphabets.

Our Fairies Are Different: Discussed. Nokes has a typical modern view of fairies as fictional little sprites, which, this being Tolkien's verse, is far from the reality. However, the Faery Queen appreciates being remembered in some form. Smith's tenth birthday was in the June following the winter when he had been at the Feast. On that day Smith arose before dawn and went outside. Feeling unusual, he began to sing and the fay-star that he had eaten fell out of his mouth. Without a thought he clapped his hand to his forehead and there the star stayed. While the star went mostly unnoticed it wrought changes in him that the villagers appreciated: His eyes had a shine to them, his voice became beautiful, and his work as a smith became very skilled (the best between Far Easton and the Westwood).