Episode 8 of the 2012 series on J.R.R. Tolkien and the Old Norse influences on his work, discussing the origins of elves as described in Old Norse texts as compared with the elves of Tolkien's legendarium. Special guest interview with Shaun Gunner, Trustee of the Tolkien Estate, then guest and Tolkien expert Prof. Ármann Jakobsson from the University of Iceland carries the discussion of elves. Please find more about this podcast at www.aldasaga.com

Episode 7 of the 2012 series on J.R.R. Tolkien and the Old Norse influences on his work, discussing the cosmology of Norse myth in the Yggdrasil, and of Tolkien's world of Arda. Special guest interview with Old Norse literature and Tolkien expert Prof. Ármann Jakobsson from the University of Iceland. Please find more about this podcast at www.aldasaga.com

Episode 6 of the 2012 series on J.R.R. Tolkien and the Old Norse influences on his work, discussing the influence of Óðinn as described in the Norse myth texts on Tolkien's Gandalf character. Returning guest Jackson Crawford, Old Norse lecturer from UCLA joins in the discussion of Óðinn. Please find more about this podcast at www.aldasaga.com

Episode 5 of the 2012 series on J.R.R. Tolkien and the Old Norse influences on his work, discussing the direct influence of the Old Norse eddaic literature on Tolkien's character names in The Hobbit and later works. Guest Jackson Crawford, Old Norse lecturer from UCLA joins in the discussion of the Dvergatal and demonstrates the original sound of spoken Old Norse. Please find more about this podcast at www.aldasaga.com

Episode 4 of the 2012 series on J.R.R. Tolkien and the Old Norse influences on his work, discussing the important 19th century translations of the Old Icelandic sagas into English, and the birth of the fantasy fiction genre resulting in part from these Norse literary influences. Please find more about this podcast at www.aldasaga.com

Episode 3 of the 2012 series on J.R.R. Tolkien and the Old Norse influences on his work, discussing the early Germanic texts that influenced Tolkien. Special guest interview with Finnish language and Kalevala interpreter, Mirja Tellervo Nelson. Please find more about this podcast at www.aldasaga.com

Episode 2 of the 2012 series on J.R.R. Tolkien and the Old Norse influences on his work, discussing Tolkien's poem "Mythopoeia." Special guest William Brondt Kamffer, Gods and Men podcaster and fantasy author of the Ossian Chronicles joins this episode. Please find more about this podcast at www.aldasaga.com

Episode 1 of the 2012 series on J.R.R. Tolkien and the Old Norse influences on his work, discussing some of the influences early in his life. Also a general introduction to the Aldasaga project and this podcast series. Please visit this podcast at www.aldasaga.com