Anyone who has read the books will remember the illustration of the Doors of Durin, the west gate to the Dwarf city of Khazad-dum.
If you've read my review of Beowulf, you know that I discuss the very creditable hypothesis that J.R.R. Tolkien got a few ideas for The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings from that work. It's natural that he would draw on the land and legends he was familiar with for inspiration. Anyone who has read the books will remember the illustration of the Doors of Durin, the west gate to the Dwarf city of Khazad-dum. Peter Jackson's film had a very accurate representation of it: It's a beautiful door; in the book Tolkien tells us it was built by the dwarves and carved by the elves. But where did he get the design? Most think it was inspired by the north door on St. Edward's Church in Stow-on-the-Wold, England. The church dates back to the 11th century, and has had bits and pieces added to it over the centuries. The north door mouldings were done during the 13th century, and are framed by yew trees. It all looks vaguely familiar... I actually have been to Stow-on-the-Wold, which is in the Cotswolds. Unfortunately I didn't have a lot of time and stayed around the center of town, taking pictures of things like the market cross. Incidentally, during the 1646 Battle of Stow-on-the-Wold, the leader of the Royalist army, Sir Jacob Astley, retreated into the town and, sitting on the base of the cross, surrendered to the Parliamentarian army, ending the first English Civil War. The royalist prisoners were then held in St. Edward church. As I said, I didn't have time to explore the church but had I known about the north door at the time, I think I probably would have gone anyway and missed my bus.
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