Skip to content
Mythgard Institute
  • Mythgard
    • Privacy Policy
    • Signum University
  • Join Us
    • Meet
      • Mythmoot
      • Regional Moots
    • Watch
      • Twitch
      • YouTube
      • iTunes U
    • Listen to our Podcasts
    • Discuss
      • Forums
      • Discord
      • Rumble Chat
    • Calendar & Time
  • Academy
    • Till We Have Faces
    • War of the Jewels
    • Alice’s Adventures
    • More Free Literature Classes ≫
    • Listen to the Podcast
    • Mythgard Academy Forum
  • Mythgard Miscellany
    • Movie Club
      • Mythgard Movie Club: Dune (2021)
      • Solaris (1972)
      • The Fifth Element
      • Previous Films
      • Join the Movie Club!
      • Movie Club Forum
    • WriterSpace
  • LOTRO
    • Exploring the Lord of the Rings
    • LOTRO Forums
    • LOTRO Facebook Group
  • SilmFilm
    • Preproduction
    • Season 1
    • Season 2
    • Season 3
    • Season 4
    • Season 5
    • Season 6
    • Listen to the Podcast
    • SilmFilm Forums
Site Search
The Lays of Beleriand by J.R.R. Tolkien (header)

The Lays of Beleriand

The Lays of Beleriand by J.R.R. TolkienJoin Dr. Corey Olsen and the Mythgard Academy as they return to the History of Middle-earth for an open seminar on J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lays of Beleriand, the third book in the series.

Earlier this year, we went back to the beginning stages of Tolkien’s created world with The Book of Lost Tales Part 1 and Part 2. Written in his early twenties in the aftermath of WWI, the Lost Tales were Tolkien’s first attempt to bring his stories together into a consistent mythology. As he neared the end of the work, Tolkien’s ideas about the Lost Tales began to shift, and rather than reworking the whole collection, he abandoned it, turning instead to the fleshing out of the chief and most important of the stories from the collection, especially the tales of Turambar and Tinuviel. In The Lays of Beleriand, we will see Tolkien making his first attempt at developing a long story, and to make it even more fun, he was doing it in verse! The Lays of Beleriand is one of Tolkien’s least read and most underappreciated books; make sure to take advantage of this opportunity to read through it in good company!

The History of Middle-earth, Volume 3 is available from Amazon. It can be purchased in hardcover, paperback and electronic formats.

A Message from Dr. Corey Olsen

As part of the Mythgard Academy series, the seminar is tuition-free and open to the public. The first 100 participants for each session are able to participate in the discussion live, and both video and audio recordings of the sessions will be available on YouTube and the Mythgard podcast feed.

Like all Mythgard Academy seminars, this course is made possible by the generosity of everyone who supported our fundraising campaign last fall. The books are nominated and elected entirely by our generous donors. After taking a tour through the land of Florin in The Princess Bride, the Mythgard Academy electors – also known as the Council of the Wise – have turned back to Tolkien, choosing to continue our exploration of the History of Middle-earth with The Lays of Beleriand.

If you missed our fundraising campaign but would still like to take part in our voting process to decide our future topics for the rest of the year, it isn’t too late! Visit our donation page and help support our free discussion!

– Dr. Corey Olsen

Schedule for The Lays of Beleriand

The Lays of Beleriand seminar originally took place from July 8 – September 2, 2015, on Wednesdays evening.

Week 1: Exploring the Epic

Read: Version 1, Parts 1-2 (1-56)
Date: July 8, 2015

Week 2: Love and Loss

Read: Version 1, Part 3 (56-94)
Date: July 15, 2015

Week 3: Of Increase and Digression

Read: Version 2 (94-130)
Date: July 22, 2015

Week 4: The Epic Impulse

Read: “Poems Early Abandoned” (131-149)
Date: July 29, 2015

Week 5: The Echo of a Spell

Read: Cantos I-IV (150-198)
Bonus: In Search of Asterisk-Poetry: The Lay of Leithian as Breton lai, by MA student Alyssa House-Thomas
Date: August 5, 2015

Week 6: Release from Bondage

Read: Cantos V-VIII (198-248)
Date: August 12, 2015

Week 7: Dungeons and Great Doom

Read: Cantos IX-XIV (248-308)
Date: August 19, 2015

Week 8: The Great Escape

Read: Unwritten Cantos, C.S. Lewis Commentary, Recommenced (308-363)
Date: August 26, 2015

Week 9: The Echoes of the Lays

Read: Unwritten Cantos, C.S. Lewis Commentary, Recommenced (308-363)
Date: September 2, 2015

Artwork for The Lays of Beleriand

Artwork for The Lays of Beleriand was adapted from “Lúthien” by Ted Nasmith. Used with permission.

Support Mythgard Institute

Want to support the work that the Mythgard Institute does for fantasy and other imaginative literature? Consider making a donation today!

Video

Twitch YouTube

Participate

Discussion Forum Rumble Chat

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • Twitch
© Signum University – 1 Hardy Rd #389, Bedford, NH 03110
  • Listen
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • Twitch
  • Discord
  • LinkedIn
  • iTunes
  • Email List