Hey! So I’m re-reading the Hobbit and I remember you saying one of the ways you came to follow Odin was through Gandalf and it got me wondering, could you share in what ways Gandalf represents or is the archetype of Odin? I’m really curious!
Gandalf IS Odin, with very little changed.
Tolkien was a professor of Norse and Anglo-Saxon literature, remember. He was absolutely steeped in the sagas, and his translation of Beowulf is still one of the finest ever done.
When Tolkien made a world for his languages to live in, he wrote them in an alphabet he called ‘Cirth’. And if you look at them, you can see exactly what he based them on;
A blending of the Elder and Younger Futharks and Anglo-Saxon runes is what made the Cirth.
The names of the dwarves in the hobbit? All lifted wholesale from a list of names of dwarves in the beginning of the Poetic Edda, the Voluspa. It is, incidentally, the words of a witch raised from the grave by Odin, who is seeking knowledge from her;
Then sought the gods | their assembly-seats,
The holy ones, | and council held,
To find who should raise | the race of dwarfs
Out of Brimir's blood | and the legs of Blain.
There was Motsognir | the mightiest made
Of all the dwarfs, | and Durin next;
Many a likeness | of men they made,
The dwarfs in the earth, | as Durin said.
Nyi and Nithi, | Northri and Suthri,
Austri and Vestri, | Althjof, Dvalin,
Nar and Nain, | Niping, Dain,
Bifur, Bofur, | Bombur, Nori,
An and Onar, | Ai, Mjothvitnir.
Vigg and Gandalf) | Vindalf, Thrain,
Thekk and Thorin, | Thror, Vit and Lit,
Nyr and Nyrath,-- | now have I told--
Regin and Rathsvith-- | the list aright.
Fili, Kili, | Fundin, Nali,
Heptifili, | Hannar, Sviur,
Frar, Hornbori, | Fræg and Loni,
Aurvang, Jari, | Eikinskjaldi.
The race of the dwarfs | in Dvalin's throng
Down to Lofar | the list must I tell;
The rocks they left, | and through wet lands
They sought a home | in the fields of sand.
You probably recognize some of those names, including Gandalf.
Then, think of what Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings is; a wandering wise man, probably a little mad, who carries a staff and is gray-bearded, known by many names in many places, and trouble is known to follow him. He has great power, which he often hides. He shapes the world around him to his purpose, and many people don’t realize how deeply his hand has been in the shaping of things.
Remind you of anyone? And it was not by accident. Tolkien lifted the image of Odin from the saga, re-worked his story a bit to suit the fantasy he wrote, and gave him a different name, and Gandalf walked into the cultural consciousness of the world. He’s influenced it so thoroughly and so deeply that he is the great-grandfather of every portrayal of a wizard in popular culture to this very day.
And Odin walks with him, barely disguised, and it was not at all an accident that Tolkien chose to use the image of the Allfather for Gandalf. Odin is the father of stories, after all, and the god of inspiration. Tolkien may have been Catholic, but the Father of Gods and Men had his hand on him as well.
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