Fastitocalon (poem)
Encyclopedia
"Fastitocalon" is a poem by J. R. R. Tolkien
about a beast of the same name. The setting is Middle-earth
. It is included in The Adventures of Tom Bombadil
, and told a similar story to that of The Whale. As such, Tolkien imported the traditional tale of the aspidochelone
into the lore of his Middle-earth.
Fastitocalon, the central character, is the last of the mighty turtle-fish. This poem is well-known to the Hobbit
s. It tells of how Fastitocalon's huge size enticed sailors to land on its back. After the sailors lit a fire upon Fastitocalon, it dove underwater, causing the sailors to drown.
The Fastitocalon was the size of a small island and vegetation would often grow on its back when not submerged, adding to the illusion that it was an actual island.
It is never explained whether the turtle-fish were an actual race in Middle-earth or fictional characters created solely for the poem. It is distinctly possible that the story is in fact an allegory of the fall of Númenor
. Like the Fastitocalon, Númenor too sank below the waves, and drowned most of its inhabitants.
. A smaller version, Fastitocalon-F also appears in the game.
In the manga
series MÄR
, Dorothy fights a puppet named Pinocchio who uses an ÄRM
called Fastitocalon.
J. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College,...
about a beast of the same name. The setting is Middle-earth
Middle-earth
Middle-earth is the fictional setting of the majority of author J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy writings. The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings take place entirely in Middle-earth, as does much of The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales....
. It is included in The Adventures of Tom Bombadil
The Adventures of Tom Bombadil
The Adventures of Tom Bombadil is a collection of poetry written by J. R. R. Tolkien and published in 1962. The book contains 16 poems, only two of which deal with Tom Bombadil, a character who is most famous for his encounter with Frodo Baggins in The Fellowship of the Ring...
, and told a similar story to that of The Whale. As such, Tolkien imported the traditional tale of the aspidochelone
Aspidochelone
According to the tradition of the Physiologus and medieval bestiaries, the aspidochelone is a fabled sea creature, variously described as a large whale or sea turtle, that is as large as an island. The name aspidochelone appears to be a compound word combining Greek aspis , and chelone, the turtle...
into the lore of his Middle-earth.
Fastitocalon, the central character, is the last of the mighty turtle-fish. This poem is well-known to the Hobbit
Hobbit
Hobbits are a fictional diminutive race who inhabit the lands of Middle-earth in J. R. R. Tolkien's fiction.Hobbits first appeared in the novel The Hobbit, in which the main protagonist, Bilbo Baggins, is the titular hobbit...
s. It tells of how Fastitocalon's huge size enticed sailors to land on its back. After the sailors lit a fire upon Fastitocalon, it dove underwater, causing the sailors to drown.
The Fastitocalon was the size of a small island and vegetation would often grow on its back when not submerged, adding to the illusion that it was an actual island.
It is never explained whether the turtle-fish were an actual race in Middle-earth or fictional characters created solely for the poem. It is distinctly possible that the story is in fact an allegory of the fall of Númenor
Númenor
Númenor is a fictional place in J. R. R. Tolkien's writings. It was a huge island located in the Sundering Seas to the west of Middle-earth, the main setting of Tolkien's writings, and was known to be the greatest realm of Men...
. Like the Fastitocalon, Númenor too sank below the waves, and drowned most of its inhabitants.
The poem
- Look, there is Fastitocalon!
An island good to land upon,
Although 'tis rather bare.
Come, leave the sea! And let us run,
Or dance, or lie down in the sun!
See, gulls are sitting there!
Beware!
In popular culture
Fastitocalon's are an enemy in the video game Final Fantasy VIIIFinal Fantasy VIII
is a role-playing video game released for the PlayStation in 1999 and for Windows-based personal computers in 2000. It was developed and published by Square as the Final Fantasy series' eighth title, removing magic point-based spell-casting and the first title to consistently use realistically...
. A smaller version, Fastitocalon-F also appears in the game.
In the manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
series MÄR
MÄR
, an acronym for Märchen Awakens Romance, is a manga series written and illustrated by Nobuyuki Anzai. The television anime based on the series is titled and was originally broadcast in Japan on the TXN station....
, Dorothy fights a puppet named Pinocchio who uses an ÄRM
Arm
In human anatomy, the arm is the part of the upper limb between the shoulder and the elbow joints. In other animals, the term arm can also be used for analogous structures, such as one of the paired forelimbs of a four-legged animal or the arms of cephalopods...
called Fastitocalon.