Myths and Legends (Boxed Set) 2: The Old English Exodus, Finn and Hengest, the Story of Kullervo, the Lay of Aotrou & Itroun, & the Battle of Maldon

A stunning hardcover boxed set celebrating J.R.R. Tolkien’s work inspired by the myths and legends of Europe, featuring double-sided dustjackets. This unique set contains Finn and Hengest, The Story of Kullervo, The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun and The Battle of Maldon, along with The Old English Exodus, reprinted for the first time in 50 years.

This brand-new boxed set of five hardbacks includes:

The Old English Exodus, a translation of the Old English Exodus poem telling the story of the Israelites fleeing Egypt, appearing in print for the first time since it was first published in the 1980s. Tolkien’s aim with this translation was to interpret the poem, reconstruct what the original may have looked like, and demonstrate how it fits into the broader tradition of Old English poetry. Edited by fellow Old English scholar and former pupil, Joan Turville-Petre, this version gives readers the best sense of Tolkien’s methods and his important contributions to understanding this poem along, and includes a new preface by the editor’s son, Thorlac Turville-Petre.

Finn and Hengest, the tale of two fifth-century heroes in Northern Europe, is told both in Beowulf and in a fragmentary Anglo-Saxon poem known as The Fight at Finnesburg, but so obscurely and allusively that its interpretation had been a matter of controversy for over 100 years. Tolkien reveals a classic tragedy of divided loyalties, vengeance, blood and death.

The Story of Kullervo is a work of fantasy by J.R.R. Tolkien, which tells the powerful story of a doomed young man who is sold into slavery and who swears revenge on the magician who killed his father. ‘Hapless Kullervo’, as Tolkien called him, is a luckless orphan boy with supernatural powers and a tragic destiny, and is perhaps the darkest and most tragic of all J.R.R. Tolkien’s characters.

Set ‘In Britain’s land beyond the seas’ during the Age of Chivalry, The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun tells of a childless Breton Lord and Lady 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.

In 991 AD, vikings attacked an Anglo-Saxon defence-force led by their duke, Beorhtnoth, resulting in brutal fighting along the banks of the river Blackwater, near Maldon in Essex. The attack was immortalized in the poem, The Battle of Maldon. Written shortly after the battle, the poem survives now as a 325-line fragment, and is an invaluable example of both a heroic tale and the vivid expression of the lost language of our ancestors. Tolkien’s prose translation of the poem is presented by leading Tolkien scholar, Peter Grybauskas, alongside the definitive treatment of The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth, Tolkien’s own dramatic verse-dialogue inspired by The Battle of Maldon.

J.R.R.Tolkien (1892-1973) was a distinguished academic, though he is best known for writing The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion, plus other stories and essays. His books have been translated into over 80 languages and have sold many millions of copies worldwide.

Verlyn Flieger is a Professor of English at the University of Maryland and is a specialist in comparative mythology with a concentration in J.R.R. Tolkien. She teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in Celtic, Arthurian, Hindu, Native American, and Norse myth.

Peter Grybauskas is Senior Lecturer in English at the University of Maryland, where he leads courses on fantasy and food. His work has featured in Tolkien Studies, Mythlore, and collections in English and Italian. His monograph, A Sense of Tales Untold: Exploring the Edges of Tolkien’s Literary Canvas, was named a 2022 Mythopoeic Award finalist.