JRR Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy is a testament to man's passion for mythology. As with his zeal for philology, Tolkien used elements of mythology to reinvent the past, creating a living, breathing, almost palpable world through great depth of detail and breadth of material. One manifestation of these interests can be found in the character Galadriel in the first book of her trio, The Fellowship of the Ring. In it, Tolkien infuses aspects of Norse mythology into Galadriel, namely the goddess Freyja with her power, beauty and magical arts, and the all-knowing Norns. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The Norse goddess Freyja's influence on the creation of Galadriel imbues her (Galadriel's) character with an aura of authority and supremacy among all other elves. An apparent manifestation of this power is in the names of Freyja and her twin brother Frey, which translate to "Lady" and "Lord" respectively (Sturluson 52). This title undoubtedly reflects the prominent status of both of these deities, with Frey called "an extremely famous god" and Freyja "the most renowned of goddesses". Celeborn and Galadriel are also referred to as "the Lord and Lady" (Tolkien 338) of the legendary Lothlorien, which Legolas describes as "the fairest of all the homes of my people". Galadriel and Celeborn have clear supremacy in this land, as do Freyja and Frey in the pantheon of gods and goddesses. The environment of Lothlorien itself is similar to Freyja and Galadriel. The mythical land is depicted as a place where “there was no shadow” and “no spot, disease, or deformity could be seen in anything that grew on the earth. On the land of Lorien there was no stain.” The ability to ward off evil, combined with this idea of ​​“without blemish,” reflects the description of Freyja to Freyr and Galadriel to Celeborn as simultaneously “beautiful and powerful” (Sturluson 52) “grave and beautiful” (Tolkien 345). Power and gravity are demonstrated in the way Freyja and Galadirel use their homes. Freyja allows half of the humans slain in battle to sit in her hall, where the warriors are soothed by her enchanting music and beauty until they are reunited with their wives (Anderson 186), while Galadriel invites the company to Lothlorien for a similar truce. “I feel like I'm in a song, if you know what I mean,” Sam says as he travels to Lothlorien, to which Haldir knowingly replies “Feel the power of the Lady of the Galadhrim.” Additional traits common to Freyja and Galadriel are their gift-giving and their affinity for jewelry. Freyja is known for craftsmanship, and some of her alternative names – notably “Gefn” (Giver) and “Syr” (Sow) – affirm this talent (Sturluson 59). One example is the magical “bird feather cloak” she made that allows the wearer to disguise herself as a bird (Cotterell and Storm 192). Galadriel also creates enchanted gifts, including cloaks described as "light to wear and warm enough or cool enough as needed" and could provide "great assistance in keeping one out of the sight of hostile eyes" (Tolkien361). Freyja's greatest treasure is a necklace likened to "a constellation of stars in the night sky" which she acquired by sleeping with four dwarves, but for having "degraded her divinity" she must "foment war in Midgard" as punishment from Odin ( Cotterell and Tempesta 198, 187). Galadriel possesses a ring that "shone as if the evening star had fallen to rest on her hand" (Tolkien 355) and is tempted by another "Great Ring", but admits that taking it would produce the.