House of the Wolfings: The William Morris Book that Inspired J. R. R. Tolkiena *s The Lord of the Rings (35 page)

But the mound whereunder the Markmen were
laid was called Thiodolf’s Howe for many generations of men, and
many are the tales told of him; for men were loth to lose him and
forget him: and in the latter days men deemed of him that he sits
in that Howe not dead but sleeping, with Throng-plough laid before
him on the board; and that when the sons of the Goths are at their
sorest need and the falcons cease to sit on the ridge of the Great
Roof of the Wolfings, he will wake and come forth from the Howe for
their helping. But none have dared to break open that Howe and
behold what is therein.

But that swelling of the meadow where the
Goths had their overthrow at the hands of the Romans, and Thiodolf
fell to earth unwounded, got a name also, and was called the
Swooning Knowe; and it kept that name long after men had forgotten
wherefore it was so called.

Now when all this was done, and the warriors
of the kindreds were departed each to his own stead, the Wolfings
gathered in wheat-harvest, and set themselves to make good all that
the Romans had undone; and they cleansed and mended their Great
Roof and made it fairer than before, and took from it all signs of
the burning, save that they left the charring and marks of the
flames on one tie-beam, the second from the dais, for a token of
the past tidings. Also when Harvest was over the Wolfings, the
Beamings, the Galtings, and the Elkings, set to work with the
Bearings to rebuild their Great Roof and the other dwellings and
booths which the Romans had burned; and right fair was that
house.

But the Wolfings throve in field and fold,
and they begat children who grew up to be mighty men and deft of
hand, and the House grew more glorious year by year.

The tale tells not that the Romans ever fell
on the Mark again; for about this time they began to stay the
spreading of their dominion, or even to draw in its boundaries
somewhat.

And this is all that the tale has to tell
concerning the House of the Wolfings and the Kindreds of the
Mark.

The End

This book contains the complete text of William
Morris’ great classic,
The House of the
Wolfings.
It offers fans of J. R. R.
Tolkien an inexpensive edition of a tale that greatly influenced
Tolkien's
The Lord of the Rings.
It includes a foreword explaining the literary
links between William Morris and J. R. R. Tolkien as well as an
introduction to the book. This book is also available in print
editions: 978-1-58742-025-2 (paperback) 978-1-58742-026-9
(hardback). For more information about our books, visit
http://www.InklingBooks.com/

Publisher’s Note

The House of the
Wolfings
was first published in December
1888 by Reeves and Turner. A 1904 edition by Longmans, Green and
Co. was used to prepare this text, which was then checked against
the 1912 edition of
The Collected Works of
William Morris
(Volume 14) by that same
publisher. On an internal page, the book carried a more lengthy
title: “A Tale of the House of the Wolfings and All the Kindreds of
the Mark Written in Prose and in Verse.”

As Morris’ daughter, May Morris, noted in
the 1912 collection, there was some inconsistencies in how her
father handled the capitalization of “proper names and
place-names.” She corrected some of those inconsistencies and left
others intact. (This book has followed a similar policy.) As she
explained, the tales were written with a “slight hurry and
inattention to unessential things, and a sure touch and
deliberation in the graver moments.”

The House of the
Wolfings
is also available in print
editions through most bookstores: 978-1-58742-025-2 (paperback)
978-1-58742-026-9 (hardback).

Other Books from Inkling Books

The Roots of the
Mountains
by William Morris. Tells of a
romance that unites two peoples in long-ago Europe and of the
battle they fight to defend their freedom against cruel invading
Huns. Paperback: 978-1-58742-027-6 and hardback:
978-1-58742-028-3.

More to William Morris by
William Morris
. In a 1960 letter, Tolkien
said that parts of The Lord of the Ring owed much “to William
Morris . . . in The House of the Wolfing and The Roots of the
Mountains.” This book has both those tales under one cover.
Paperback: 978-1-58742-023-8.

On the Lines of William
Morris
by William Morris. In a 1914 letter
to his future wife, Tolkien wrote that he was writing a story “on
the lines of Morris’ romances.” Here, in one inexpensive volume,
are two of the best known of his tales of great quests much like
those taken by Bilbo and Frodo: The Well at the World’s End and The
Wood Beyond the World. Paperback: 978-1-58742-024-5.

Untangling Tolkien
by Michael W. Perry. Here is the book Tolkien fans
have been waiting for—a detailed, day-by-day, book-length
chronology of The Lord of the Rings. Whether you are a serious
Tolkien fan or simply someone who enjoys reading the story over and
over again, this is the book for you. Paperback:
978-1-58742-019-1.

Celebrating
Middle-earth
edited by John G. West Jr. Six
Tolkien scholars give the literary, political and spiritual
background to The Lord of the Rings. Contributors are John West,
Peter Kreeft, Janet Leslie Blumberg, Joseph Pearce, Kerry Dearborn,
and Phillip Goggans. Paperback: 978-1-58742-012-2 Hardback:
978-1-58742-013-9.

For more information about our books, visit
http://www.InklingBooks.com/