Turtle-fish: Difference between revisions
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[[Image:Fell turtles.jpg|frame|''Fell turtle'' by [[Quinton Hoover]]]] | [[Image:Fell turtles.jpg|frame|''Fell turtle'' by [[Quinton Hoover]]]] | ||
'''Turtle- | '''Turtle-fish''' was a legendary race of giant sea monsters, mentioned only in [[Hobbits|Hobbit]] verse. The last of the Turtle-fish was named ''[[Fastitocalon]]''.<ref name=Poem>{{AB|Fastitocalon}}</ref> | ||
Turtle-fish appeared as treacherous islands, really being monsters capable of drowning seafarers.<ref name=L255>{{L|255}}; see also "[[Eileen Elgar 5 March 1964]]" (letter)</ref><ref name=Poem/> | |||
==Inspiration== | ==Inspiration== | ||
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==Portrayal in adaptations== | ==Portrayal in adaptations== | ||
''[[Middle-earth Role Playing]]'':''' | ''[[Middle-earth Role Playing]]'':''' | ||
:Turtle- | :Turtle-fish, also called ''Fell Turtles'' and ''Festitycelyn'', are described as monsters that can grow as large as fifty feet in length, and that live both in the seas and in the large rivers and lakes.<ref>{{ICE|2012}}</ref><ref>{{ICE|2025}}</ref><ref>{{ICE|8040}}</ref> | ||
''[[Middle-earth Collectible Card Game]]'':''' | ''[[Middle-earth Collectible Card Game]]'':''' |
Revision as of 20:26, 16 October 2010
Turtle-fish was a legendary race of giant sea monsters, mentioned only in Hobbit verse. The last of the Turtle-fish was named Fastitocalon.[1]
Turtle-fish appeared as treacherous islands, really being monsters capable of drowning seafarers.[2][1]
Inspiration
J.R.R. Tolkien was inspired by an Old English bestiary, appearing in the Exeter Book. The idea of giant marine turtles ultimately derives from Eastern myths, and in the European versions the monster is often confused with whales.[2]
The fastitocalon also reminds of the biblical/kanaanite leviathan.[3]
Other version of the legendarium
It is never explained whether the turtle-fish was an actual race or just a fictional character for the poem "Fastitocalon". In an earlier version of the legendarium, Ulmo, Lord of the Waters, uses his giant whale, Uin, to drag Tol Eressëa towards Aman.[4] This whale reappears in J.R.R. Tolkien's story Roverandom. It is thinkable that Tolkien, in an early phase of the mythology, imagined the fastitocalon to be another one of Ulmo's creatures.
Portrayal in adaptations
- Turtle-fish, also called Fell Turtles and Festitycelyn, are described as monsters that can grow as large as fifty feet in length, and that live both in the seas and in the large rivers and lakes.[5][6][7]
Middle-earth Collectible Card Game:
- The card "Fell Turtle", released in the set METW, is a Hazard Creature.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, The Adventures of Tom Bombadil, "Fastitocalon"
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 J.R.R. Tolkien; Humphrey Carpenter, Christopher Tolkien (eds.), The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, Letter 255, (dated 5 March 1964); see also "Eileen Elgar 5 March 1964" (letter)
- ↑ The Bible, Job 41:1-34.
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Book of Lost Tales Part One
- ↑ Ruth Sochard Pitt, Jeff O'Hare, Peter C. Fenlon, Jr. (1994), Creatures of Middle-earth (2nd edition) (#2012)
- ↑ Randy Maxwell (1997), The Northern Waste (#2025)
- ↑ Jeff McKeage (1984), Hillmen of the Trollshaws (#8040)
Legendary races of Arda | |
Animals: | Dumbledors · Gorcrows · Hummerhorns · Pards · Swans of Gorbelgod · Turtle-fish |
---|---|
Dragon-kind: | Sea-serpents · Spark-dragons · Were-worms |
Evil Races: | Ettens · Giants · Half-trolls · Hobgoblins · Ogres · Snow-trolls · Two-headed Trolls |
Other: | Badger-folk · Great beasts · Lintips · Mewlips · Nameless things · Spectres |
Individuals: | Talking Gurthang · Talking purse · The Hunter · Lady of the Sun · Lonely Troll · Man in the Moon · The Rider · River-woman · Tarlang · Tim · Tom · White cow |