pTHE SONG OF THE NIBELUNGS - With Original Illustrations. A BOOK THAT INSPIRED TOLKIEN. The Song of the Nibelungs Nibelunglied, a thirteenth century Germanic epic, was a rich source of inspiration for Professor J.R.R. Tolkien, author of The Lord of the Rings. Scholars have noted the influence of its pre-Christian heroic motifs - drawn from historic events and people of the 5th and 6th centuries - on his writing of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. Tolkien was five years old when this beautifully illustrated translation by Margaret Armour was published in England under the title 'The Fall of the Nibelungs'. Undoubtedly a copy would have made its way into his hands during his boyhood. Armour uses an archaic form of English to preserve the high-flown style of the original poem. Here and there throughout The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien, too, employs this solemn, dignified and majestic form, which is reminiscent of the language of the King James Bible. A glossary of antiquated terms is p