The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun
Encyclopedia
The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun is a poem of 508 lines, written by J. R. R. Tolkien
in 1930 and published in Welsh Review in December, 1945.
Aotrou and Itrou are Breton
words for "lord" and "lady". The poem is modelled on the genre of the "Breton lay" popular in Middle English
literature of the 12th century, and it explores the conflict of heroic or chivalric values and Christianity
, and their relation to the institution of marriage
.
In the poem, Aotrou and Itroun are a couple of Breton nobility. They are childless, and Aotrou seeks the help of a witch. When Itroun is with child, the witch reappears, revealing herself as the Corrigan, and asks for Aotrou's love as payment. Aotrou sacrifices his knightly honour to Christian values, and breaks his word.
Cursed by the Corrigan to die in three days, Aotrou takes the consequences and places his trust in Providence:
Aotrou passes away after three days, his wife dies of broken heart and they are buried together, and they do not live to see their offspring grow up.
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,...
in 1930 and published in Welsh Review in December, 1945.
Aotrou and Itrou are Breton
Breton language
Breton is a Celtic language spoken in Brittany , France. Breton is a Brythonic language, descended from the Celtic British language brought from Great Britain to Armorica by migrating Britons during the Early Middle Ages. Like the other Brythonic languages, Welsh and Cornish, it is classified as...
words for "lord" and "lady". The poem is modelled on the genre of the "Breton lay" popular in Middle English
Middle English
Middle English is the stage in the history of the English language during the High and Late Middle Ages, or roughly during the four centuries between the late 11th and the late 15th century....
literature of the 12th century, and it explores the conflict of heroic or chivalric values and Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
, and their relation to the institution of marriage
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
.
In the poem, Aotrou and Itroun are a couple of Breton nobility. They are childless, and Aotrou seeks the help of a witch. When Itroun is with child, the witch reappears, revealing herself as the Corrigan, and asks for Aotrou's love as payment. Aotrou sacrifices his knightly honour to Christian values, and breaks his word.
- "I gave no love. My love is wed;
- my wife now lieth in child-bed,
- and I curse the beast that cheated me
- and drew me to this dell to thee."
Cursed by the Corrigan to die in three days, Aotrou takes the consequences and places his trust in Providence:
- In three days I shall live at ease
- and die but when it God doth please
- in eld, or in some time to come
- in the brave wars of Christendom.
Aotrou passes away after three days, his wife dies of broken heart and they are buried together, and they do not live to see their offspring grow up.