In fact, the story to which Habit’s friend referred was almost certainly ‘The Hobyahs’,9 which appeared in Joseph Jacobs’ More English Fairy Tales [1894]. Jacobs’ work, along with its earlier companion volume English Fairy Tales [1891], were once almost as well known as that of his rival Andrew Lang’s coloured fairy book series [1889ff] but much more sharply focused in their contents, including only stories once current in Great Britain (thus the inclusion of ‘The Hobyahs’ which, although collected in America, clearly harkens back to the north-of-England/southern Scotland range of traditional hobs and hobgoblins, Perth being just some forty miles north and slightly west of Edinburgh). And, just as Tolkien had suspected, the hobyahs of this tale are indeed goblins who in no way resemble his hobbits. Since it is quite brief, for purposes of comparison I give here the entire tale as it appeared in Jacobs’ source, a piece submitted by anthropologist and archeologist S. V. Proudfit to The Journal of American Folklore, vol. iv no. xiii (April-June 1891), pages 173–174.10
THE HOBYAHS: A SCOTCH NURSERY TALE. – When a child, I used to hear the following story told in a Scotch family that came from the vicinity of Perth. Whether the story came with the family I am unable to say. I have spelled the word ‘Hobyah’ as it was pronounced.
The effectiveness of the story lies in a certain sepulchral monotone in rendering the cry of the Hobyah, and his terrible ‘look me.’
S. V. Proudfit
WASHINGTON, D. C.
Once there was an old man and woman and a little girl, and they all lived in a house made of hempstalks. Now the old man had a little dog named Turpie; and one night the Hobyahs came and said, ‘Hobyah! Hobyah! Hobyah! Tear down the hempstalks, eat up the old man and woman, and carry off the little girl!’ But little dog Turpie barked so that the Hobyahs ran off; and the old man said, ‘Little dog Turpie barks so that I cannot sleep nor slumber, and if I live till morning I will cut off his tail.’ So in the morning the old man cut off little dog Turpie’s tail.
The next night the Hobyahs came again, and said, ‘Hobyah! Hobyah! Hobyah! Tear down the hempstalks, eat up the old man and woman, and carry off the little girl!’ But little dog Turpie barked so that the Hobyahs ran off; and the old man said, ‘Little dog Turpie barks so that I cannot sleep nor slumber, and if I live till morning I will cut off one of his legs.’ So in the morning the old man cut off one of little dog Turpie’s legs.
The next night the Hobyahs came again, and said, ‘Hobyah! Hobyah! Hobyah! Tear down the hempstalks, eat up the old man and woman, and carry off the little girl!’ But little dog Turpie barked so that the Hobyahs ran off; and the old man said, ‘Little dog Turpie barks so that I cannot sleep nor slumber, and if I live till morning I will cut off another of his legs.’ So in the morning the old man cut off another of little dog Turpie’s legs.
The next night the Hobyahs came again, and said, ‘Hobyah! Hobyah! Hobyah! Tear down the hempstalks, eat up the old man and woman, and carry off the little girl!’ But little dog Turpie barked so that the Hobyahs ran off; and the old man said, ‘Little dog Turpie barks so that I cannot sleep nor slumber, and if I live till morning I will cut off another of his legs.’ So in the morning the old man cut off another of little dog Turpie’s legs.
The next night the Hobyahs came again, and said, ‘Hobyah! Hobyah! Hobyah! Tear down the hempstalks, eat up the old man and woman, and carry off the little girl!’ But little dog Turpie barked so that the Hobyahs ran off; and the old man said, ‘Little dog Turpie barks so that I cannot sleep nor slumber, and if I live till morning I will cut off another of his legs.’ So in the morning the old man cut off another of little dog Turpie’s legs.
The next night the Hobyahs came again, and said, ‘Hobyah! Hobyah! Hobyah! Tear down the hempstalks, eat up the old man and woman, and carry off the little girl!’ But little dog Turpie barked so that the Hobyahs ran off; and the old man said, ‘Little dog Turpie barks so that I cannot sleep nor slumber, and if I live till morning I will cut off little dog Turpie’s head.’ So in the morning the old man cut off little dog Turpie’s head.
The next night the Hobyahs came and said, ‘Hobyah! Hobyah! Hobyah! Tear down the hempstalks, eat up the old man and woman, and carry off the little girl!’ And when the Hobyahs found that little dog Turpie’s head was off they tore down the hempstalks, ate up the old man and woman, and carried the little girl off in a bag.
And when the Hobyahs came to their home they hung up the bag with the little girl in it, and every Hobyah knocked on top of the bag and said, ‘Look me! look me!’ and then they went to sleep until the next night, for the Hobyahs slept in the daytime.
The little girl cried a great deal, and a man with a big dog came that way and heard her crying. When he asked her how she came there and she had told him, he put the dog in the bag and took the little girl to his home.
The next night the Hobyahs took down the bag and knocked on the top of it and said, ‘Look me! look me!’ and when they opened the bag the big dog jumped out and ate them all up; so there are no Hobyahs now.
Although almost forgotten in the United States and England, this gruesome little tale remained well-known in Australia, thanks to an adaptation that appeared in the Victorian Readers Second Book, a second-grade reader used in elementary schools in the southeast Australian state of Victoria for decades, from the mid-1920s until the early 1950s. Unsurprisingly, this version took liberties with the story, replacing little dog Turpie with yellow dog Dingo, the house made of hempstalks with a hut made of bark, and leaving out the little girl altogether; instead of simply ‘the Hobyahs came’ its hobyahs came ‘creep, creep, creeping’. There have also been several modern versions in recent years, by far the best of which is that by Simon Stern [1977], which draws its visual imagery of what hobyahs look like from the original illustrations (by John D. Batten) to Jacobs’ version but moderates the brutality of the original story towards little dog Turpie.
In the end, it is clear that neither Proudfit’s folk tale nor Knatchbull-Hugessen’s fairy story has a prior claim to the invention of the name ‘hobbit’. Both are in fact red herrings, neither of which had any influence on our story at all, making it overwhelmingly likely that no story called ‘The Hobbit’ existed until Tolkien himself wrote one. It is however interesting to note that by Proudfit’s account he is the first to set down a previously oral tale. Without his having done so, all trace of hobyahs would have vanished, just as whatever story originally underlay Denham’s hobbit (see Appendix I) did vanish forever. All we can say is that it was almost certainly wholly unlike Tolkien’s story; his claim to have invented hobbits as we know them stands unassailed.
Appendix III
The Dvergatal (The Dwarf Names)
As Tolkien himself noted, ‘The dwarf-names, and the wizard’s, are from the Elder Edda’ (see page 859). In fact, they come from a list known as the Dvergatal (‘dwarf-tally’). This list appears both in the Völuspá [c.1000 AD], the first poem in the collection variously known as the Elder Edda or Poetic Edda, in what is generally considered to be an interpolation to the original poem,1 as well as in the Gylfaginning (‘The Deluding of Gylfi’) in Snorri Sturluson’s Prose Edda (also sometimes known as the Younger Edda [1223]). We have it on Tolkien’s own authority that he took the dwarf-names from the Elder Edda rather than the Prose Edda, but close comparison of the two reveals that in fact he consulted both. Accordingly, I give here both versions, starting with the relevant passage from the former. The Old Norse text I have taken from Finnur Jónsson’s famous edition (Sæmundar-Edda [1905], pages 3–5), which seems to have been considered the definitive standard at the time Tolkien was writing The Hobbit. The translation comes from Ursula Dronke’s edition (Volume II, pages 9–11) which, while still in progress,2 sets the modern standard with its exhaustive editorial apparatus and insightful and informative commentary. In the following presentation of the Völuspá’s version of the Dvergatal, I italicize names of significance for The Hobbit; readers of The Lord of the Rings will recognize sev
eral more names used in the sequel (e.g., Nar), but for the most part I pass over these for our present purpose. I have not attempted to standardize the names, since Tolkien himself sometimes chose a variant from one source, sometimes from another, and deliberately altered some of the names he took (e.g. Dvalin > Dwalin and probably also Blain > Balin).
9. Þá gengu regin öll
á rökstóla,
ginnheilög god,
ok gættusk of þat,
hvárt skyldi dverga
dróttir skepja
ór Brimis blódi
ok ór Bláins leggjum. 9. Then the powers all strode
to their thrones of fate,
sacrosanct gods,
and gave thought to this:
whether they should create
companies of dwarfs
from Brimer’s Blood
and from Bláinn’s limbs.
10. Þar vas Módsognir
mæztr of ordinn
dverga allra,
en Durinn annarr;
Þeir manlíkun
mörg of gerdu,
dverga í jördu,
sem Durinn sagdi. 10. There did Mootsucker
[Mótsognir]
become most esteemed
of all dwarfs,
and Doorward [Durinn] next.
They fashioned many
figurines,
these dwarfs, out of earth,
as Doorward [Durinn] told:
11. Nyi ok Nidi,
Nordri, Sudri,
Austri, Vestri,
Alþjófr, Dvalinn,
Bívurr, Bávurr,
Bömburr, Nori,Ánn ok Ánarr,
Ái, Mjödvitnir. 11. ‘New Moon [Nyi] and No
Moon [Nidi],
North [Nordri] and South [Sudri],
East [Austri] and West [Vestri],
All-thief [Althiófr], Dawdler
[Dvalinn],
Trembler [Bivorr], Trumbler
[Bávorr],
Tubby [Bomburr], Shipper [Nóri],
Friend [Án] and Fighter [Ánarr],
Old Father [Ái], Mead Wolf
[Miodvitnir],
12. Veigr ok Gandalfr,
Vindalfr, Þráinn,
Þekkr ok Þorinn,
Þrór, Vitr ok Litr,
Nár ok Nyrádr,
nú hefk dverga,
Reginn ok Rádsvidr,
rétt of talda. 12. Potion [Veigr] and Sprite Elf
[Gandálfr],
Wind Elf [Vindálfr], Yearner
[þrainn],
Docile [þekkr] and Darer
[þorinn],
Thrive [þrór], Clever [Vitr], and
Colour [Litr],
Corpse [Nár] and New Counsellor
[Nyrádr] –
now I have the dwarfs
– Power [Reginn] and Plan-wise
[Rádsvidr] –
correctly counted.
13. Fili, Kíli,
Fundinn, Náli,
Heptifili,
Hannarr, Svíurr,
Frár, Hornbori,
Frægr ok Lóni,
Aurvangr Jari,
Eikinskjaldi 13. Trunky [Fíli], Creeky [Kíli]
Found [Fundinn], Needly [Náli]
Handle [Hepti], Drudge [Vili]4
Craftsman [Hannarr], Dwindler
[Svíorr],
Buin>5
Brilliant [Frár], Horn Borer
[Hornbori],
Famous and Lagooner
Lóni,
Loam Lea [Aurvangr], Earthy [Iari],
Oakenshield Eikinskialdi.
14. Mál es dverga
í Dvalins lidi
ljóna kindum
til Lofars telja,
þeir es sóttu
frá Salarsteini
Aurvanga sjöt
til Jöruvalla. 14. It is time to trace the dwarfs in
Dawdler’s [Dvalins] troop,
for men’s progeny,
back to Praiser [Lofars] –
those dwarfs who sought,
from Mansion’s Stone [Salarsteini]
the homes of Loam Leas
[Aurvanga]
at Earth Plains [Iorovalla].
15. Þar vas Draupnir
ok DolgÞrasir,
Hár, Haugspori,
Hlévangr,Glóinn,
Skirfir, Virfir,
Skáfidr, Ái, 15. There was Dripper [Draupnir]
And Strife Eager [DólgÞrasir],
High [Hár], Grave Treader
[Haugspori],
Shelter Field [Hlévangr], Gleamer
[Glói],
Joiner [Skirvir], Groiner [Virvir]
Crooked Finn [Skáfidr], Old Father
[Ái],
16. Alfr ok Yngvi,
Eikinskjaldi,
Fjalarr ok Frosti,
Finnr ok Ginnarr;
Þat mun æ uppi
medan öld lifir,
langnidja-tal
til Lofars hafat. 16. Elf [Álfr] and Yngvi [Yngvi],
Oakenshield [Eikinskialdi],
Hider [Fialarr] and Frosty [Frosti],
Finn [Finnr] and Potent [Ginnarr].
Uplifted in memory
as long as the world lives
will be this list
of Praiser’s [Lofars] lineage.’
It will be seen that not all of the names Tolkien took for Thorin & Company come from the Dvergatal as it appears in the Elder Edda, within the Völuspá. Neither Dori nor Ori occurs therein, nor Dain and Nain. Tolkien also prefers the variant Oin (given in two manuscripts of the Prose Edda) to the Poetic Edda’s Ai. It is therefore certain that he also consulted the other major source that preserved a somewhat variant text of the Dvergatal, Snorri’s Prose Edda. That Snorri prized the dwarf-list is evident, since he only incorporates roughly half of Völuspa’s stanzas within his Gylfaginning (twenty-eight out of sixty-two) but takes pains to include all those telling of the creation of the dwarves and listing their names.
Snorri gives the passage as follows; I have taken Jean I. Young’s translation (The Prose Edda [1954], pages 41–42) as my source. As before, I italicize those names used by Tolkien within The Hobbit.
All the gods sought then
their judgment-seats,
powers that are supreme
decided how dwarfs
should be brought into being
from bloody surf
and the legs of Bláin.
There many dwarfs
resembling men
they made in earth
as Durin said.
And the sibyl gives these as their names:
Nyi, Nidi,
Nordri [North], Sudri [South],
Austri [East], Vestri [West],
Althjóf, Dvalin [One-lying-in-a-trace],
Nár [Corpse], Náin,
Niping, Dáin,
Bifur, Báfur,
Bömbör, Nori,
Óri [Raging One], Ónar,
Óin, Mjödvitnir [Mead-wolf],
Vig and Ganndálf [Sorcered-elf],
Vinndálf [Wind-elf], Thorin[Bold One],
Fili, Kili,
Fundin [Found One], Vali,
Thrór, Thróin,
Thekk [Pleasant One], Lit, Vit,
Nyr [New One], Nyrád,
Rekk, Rádsvid [Wise-in-advice].
And these too are dwarfs and they live in rocks, but the above-mentioned live in the earth:
Draupnir, Dólgthvari [Battle-stock],
Haur, Hugstari,
Hledjólf, Glóin,
Dóri, Óri,
Dúf, Andvari,
Heptifili,
Hár [Tall One], Svíar.
The following, however, came from Svarin’s grave-mound to Aurvangar in Jöruvellir, and from these have sprung Lovar; their names are
Skirvir, Virvir,
Skafid, Ái,
>
Álf, Ingi,
Eikinskjaldi [With-oak-shield],
Fal, Frosti,
Fid, Ginnar [Enticer].
—Snorri Sturluson, Gylfaginning (‘The Deluding of Gylfi’), The Prose Edda, tr. Jean Young [1954], pages 41–42.
It will be seen that despite a few variations in spelling (e.g., ‘Báfur’ instead of Bofur and ‘Thróin’ instead of Thrain), all the dwarf-names appearing in The Hobbit appear in some form within Snorri’s list.7 Furthermore, Tolkien uses some names (Dori, Ori; Dain, Nain) and forms (Oin) that only appear in Snorri’s version of the Dvergatal. Accordingly, we can be certain that Tolkien consulted both versions of this ‘asterisk text’, and continued to draw on it even after he’d completed The Hobbit.
Appendix IV
Tolkien’s Correspondence with Arthur Ransome
The following brief exchange of letters between Tolkien and fellow children’s author Arthur Ransome is of interest because it marks one of the few times when Tolkien – whom C. S. Lewis claimed, not quite truthfully, nobody could influence1 – accepted unsolicited advice on changes he might wish to make to one of his books.
At the time he wrote the letter which initiated the exchange, Ransome was already an established author, having written a book on Poe [1910] and another, controversial at the time, on Wilde [1912] and served as a foreign correspondent to Russia throughout the eventful period before, during, and after the 1917 revolution(s), and had even published a collection of Russian folktales (Old Peter’s Russian Tales [1916]). He was also, although Tolkien probably did not know this, a childhood friend of E. R. Eddison, an author Tolkien greatly admired and one of his major precursors in the field of modem fantasy.2 More importantly, in the 1930s Ransome was establishing himself as a popular children’s author in England through his ‘Swallows and Amazons’ series;3 that same year he had won the first Carnegie medal for the outstanding children’s book of the previous year for Pigeon Post, the sixth book in the series.4
The History of the Hobbit Page 106
