162. Morgoth’s Curse and the Pride of Men : The Children of Húrin #1

We finally return to Tolkien’s First Age for a new deep-dive series on The Children of Húrin, starting with Christopher Tolkien’s introduction. We discuss why Tolkien considered Turin’s tale one of his “three great stories” alongside Beren and Luthien and the Fall of Gondolin, the central themes of pride, what Morgoth’s curse actually was, and more!

We also look at:

• The three great houses of men—and why they matter in this story
• The encroaching darkness of Morgoth and the echoes of Greek tragedy
• Whether Turin’s fate is his own making, or shaped by the will of a Dark Lord
• The role of pride—of Húrin, Morwen, Turin, and even Morgoth himself
• View the The Map of Beleriand we talked about

In our extended episode (available for members at https://theonering.com/members), we talk about:

• Listener pushback on Finnish vs. Russian naming traditions in epic storytelling
• How The Hunt for Gollum is progressing

🎉 To get the extended episode, become a member at https://theonering.com/members ($4/mo and free for the 1st month) or at Patreon (https://theonering.com/patreon).

🔗 Episode Links
The Children of Húrin
The Story of Kullervo
The Silmarillion
Unfinished Tales
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🔍 If You Like Tolkien
The Expanded Letters of JRR Tolkien (audiobook)
The Expanded Letters of JRR Tolkien (book)
The Silmarillion
The Children of Húrin
The Atlas of Middle-earth
Make Tolkien Great Again – Tengwar Hat