Comparing Sturluson, Tolkien, Rowling
Tolkien did not merely borrow themes from Old Norse material; he reused names, roles, and mythic structures, often with only minimal adaptation. Below is a non-exhaustive but solidly attested list of Middle-earth characters and places that appear in name or recognisable form in Old Norse sources, especially those attributed to Snorri Sturluson. Core textual source Prose Edda (c. 1220), especially Gylfaginning and Skáldskaparmál Supplemented by the Poetic Edda (Codex Regius) Tolkien explicitly acknowledged these texts and taught them professionally. Direct name borrowings (near-identical) Dwarves (this is the big one) Almost all of Tolkien’s dwarf-names come directly from the Völuspá dwarf-catalogue. Tolkien Old Norse source Gimli Gimli – a heavenly hall in Gylfaginning Thorin Þorinn Balin Balinn Dwalin Dvalinn Fíli Fíli Kíli Kíli Bifur Bíforr Bofur Báfurr Bombur Bomburr Óin Óinn Glóin Glóinn Tolkien did not hide this; he said explicitly that he lifted the...