The Fall of Arthur
The Fall of Arthur is an unfinished poem by J.R.R. Tolkien that is concerned with the legend of King Arthur. It was published in 2013, together with three essays by Christopher Tolkien.
The poem is in an alliterative form, extending to nearly 1,000 verses imitating the Old English Beowulf metre in Modern English, and inspired by high medieval Arthurian fiction.
Background
The poem's existence was first revealed in 1981 when The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien was published. In a 1955 letter to Houghton Mifflin, Tolkien, discussing his use of alliterative verse, mentioned that he hoped to finish his "long poem" The Fall of Arthur.
In his 1977 biography of Tolkien, Humphrey Carpenter published a few brief extracts of the poem and commented that it "has alliteration but no rhyme [and] did not touch on the Grail but began an individual rendering of the Morte d'Arthur, in which the king and Gawain go to war in 'Saxon lands' but are summoned home by news of Mordred's treachery". It was also revealed that "The Fall of Arthur" was read and approved by both E.V. Gordon and R.W. Chambers, and that the writing of the poem was abandoned in the mid 1930s.
Table of content
- Foreword
- The Fall of Arthur
- Notes on the Text of The Fall of Arthur
- The Poem in Arthurian Tradition
- The Unwritten Poem and its Relation to The Silmarillion
- The Evolution of the Poem
- Appendix: Old English Verse
From the publisher
<!--
Reception
Christopher Tolkien
John Garth
Shaun Gunner
HarperCollins
-->
Publication history and gallery
UK editions
- HarperCollins hardcover (2013), pp. 240. ISBN 0007489943
- HarperCollins hardcover with slipcase (2013), ISBN 0007489897
- HarperCollins paperback (2014), ISBN 000748996X
- HarperCollins paperback (2015), ISBN 0007557302
- 2015 paperback edition, 6th or 7th impression (2021)
- HarperCollins hardcover with reversable dustjacket (2025), ISBN 978-0008737757 (box) - (Centenary set #5)
- 2015 paperback edition, 10th impression (2026)
Errata
There are some typos in the book:
- According to Nelson Goering at Tolkien Society facebook group: "at line 182 we learn that 'hosemen hastened'. Now I'm wondering just what the role of the hoseman was. Perhaps it's a kind of squire, who travels with his knight to ensure he always has clean, dry, well-pressed trousers. Or perhaps it is something nobler, a high chivalric order marked out by their elegant legwear".
- Nelson Goering also said "Canto II, line 76 is mislineated. It says 'He hastens home, and his / host summons', but should be 'He hastens home, / and his host summons'".
Referencias
1. Esta ficha se ha importado inicialmente de TolkienGateway.net el día 30/05/2026.
