Oxonmoot 2024

In 'On Fairy Stories' (1947), Tolkien uses the analogy of a bowl of soup to argue against excessive analyses of stories, their origins, sources, and intricacies of how they came to be written, and focus on the story for what it is – an enjoyable read. Yet, Tolkien’s skilful writing and deep understanding of the English language has enabled readers – interested in looking beyond the surface – to find patterns and connections within his works. This paper aims to correlate two poetic works from the early 1930s, and supposes that the locations, events, and characters populating The Lay of Aotrou & Itroun and those in The Fall of Arthur, if not from the same timeframe, share the same Arthurian universe crafted by Tolkien. It is an exploration of the possible connections between the Breton lai of the lord and lady in Brittany, and the treacheries and tumults of King Arthur’s Britain, while delving further into Tolkien’s views and approaches to literary investigation.