From Mike Mott's book, Caverns, Cauldrons and Concealed Creatures:
http://www.hiddenmysteries.com/cartwebtv/af/hm01/index0.html
5. J.R.R. Tolkien.
Another British author whose work contains "cavern-world" themes is J.R.R.
Tolkien. Like MacDonald, he drew on Norse, Germanic, and Celtic folk and
mythic traditions for much of his cosmology. His "orcs," or goblins, are
essentially the "dark elves" and trolls of Scandinavian myth, and he also
took his version of the dwarves from the same folk traditions. In Norse
myth, there seem to be two camps of dwarves, one dark, swarthy, and hostile
(like Andvardi / Alberich), the other reclusive, but not so nasty. Tolkien's
"dwerrows" or dwarves fall into the latter category. His "elves" are similar
to the Scandinavian variety, but actually more closely resemble "the gentry"
of Ireland, the aristocratic Tuatha de Danaan. Like the Danaan, they also
exhibit idealized "Aryan" or "Nordic" attributes. Deep mountain tunnels and
hidden cavern palaces are the haunts of orcs, elves, and dwarves alike.
He also made reference to the "mound folk, " in this case the undead
(similar to Scandinavian "draugs" or revenants), and to "trolls," who, like
their Norse counterparts, cannot stand the light of day. His hill-burrowing
hobbits were modeled in some respects after both the 'trooping faeries" of
the British Isles, and the "solitary faeries" such as leprechauns and
cluricauns (see the in-depth works of Lady Gregory, Lady Wilde, and
Katherine Briggs, on the "faerie" or fairy topic), and the brownies (who
also have hairy feet like hobbits--and hairy hides in general).
His orcs in particular are generally reptilian in appearance, yet humanoid,
and "Gollum," a hobbit who has been horribly mutated by the "radiation" of
the One Ring, is definitely amphibian or reptilian in aspect. Here is an
echo of Alberich again, in Gollum's lust for the ring, and here also is the
hint of "technology," i.e., ancient and mysterious magic, which can
genetically alter living beings for evil or unknown purposes. One
side-effect of the ring is the extreme prolongation of Gollum's lifespan
(another underworld "secret," that of immortality, as in the story of
Gilgamesh and Enkidu). Throw in cavern-dwelling dragons guarding "treasure,"
(i.e., secret knowledge), and the archetypal symbolism is complete and in
fact predictable. He uses all of the aforementioned underworld themes in his
books The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, and The Silmarillion (all
published in the U.S. by Houghton Mifflin Co.
Since Tlokien " drew " on tradition, perhaps we can learn about the
inhabitants of these cavern worlds by reading him. I think that I am going
to get into Tolkien. I am keen on understanding those worlds.
NOT-THAT-I-WANT-TO-VISIT-THEM!
Posted by Dharma/Dean