The Lay Of Aotrou And Itroun

In Britain’s land beyond the seas
The wind blows ever through the trees;
in Britain’s land beyond the waves
are stony shores and stony caves.

So begins The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun, an early but seminal work that grew, along with the two “Corrigan” poems presented alongside it in this volume, from a comparatively short but intense period in Tolkien’s life when he was deeply engaged with Celtic, and particularly Breton, myth and legend.
Aotrou and Itroun are a Breton lord and lady residing “in...