The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun

Unavailable for more than seventy years this early but important work is published for the first time with Tolkiens “Corrigan” poems and other supporting material including a prefatory note by Christopher Tolkien. Set In Britains land beyond the seas during the Age of Chivalry The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun tells of a childless Breton Lord and Lady (the Aotrou and Itroun of the title) and the tragedy that befalls them when Aotrou seeks to remedy their situation with the aid of a magic potion obtained from a corrigan or malevolent fairy. When the potion succeeds and Itroun bears twins the corrigan returns seeking her fee and Aotrou is forced to choose between betraying his marriage and losing his life. Coming from the darker side of J.R.R. Tolkiens imagination The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun together with the two shorter Corrigan poems (which lead up to it and are also included in this volume) were the outcome of a comparatively short but intense period in Tolkiens life when he was deeply engaged with Celtic and particularly Breton myth and legend. Originally written in 1930 and long out of print this early but seminal work is an important addition to the non-Middle-earth portion of his canon and should be set alongside The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrn The Fall of Arthur and The Story of Kullervo. Like these works it belongs to a small but important corpus of his ventures into real-world mythologies each of which in its own way would be a formative influence on his own legendarium. Edited with notes and commentary by Verlyn Flieger and a prefatory note on the text by Christopher Tolkien.