Written by Elliott Coombes // Graphic by Ben Evans
Are you a sucker for grand fantasy and old myth? This club might be for you.
The Coal-biters are a group at Harding born out of love for J.R.R. Tolkien, and curious, eager students have kept it alive for over a decade. Dr. Larry Hunt, a teacher of mythology, partners with Dr. Greg Laing, a linguistic historian, to create an opportunity to translate and learn from the Northern myths and literature as well as the works of Tolkien and his contemporaries.
Tolkien himself inspired the name, as it was he who formed the original Coal-biters at Oxford University.
“The original concept was Tolkien teaching other professors at Oxford how to read Icelandic,” Hunt said.
A small group involving Tolkien, C. S. Lewis and others formed as a means of teaching and learning. The group would translate passages from the old tales and share them with each other. Within these Icelandic legends, one character type came to distinctly identify with the group, a dreamer who listens to stories told around the fire and sits so close he can almost bite the coals. Hence, these Koalbitar, or Coal-biters, came to be the namesake of the group so fond of storytelling.
Harding’s modern Coal-biters are not so different from the people who inspired it. Over the years, the student club has delved into both the old literature so inspirational to the original writers – such as the Volsunga saga and the Bjorn saga – as well as the works of the preceding Coal-biters like Lewis and Tolkien, letting their influence inspire new readers.
“These stories have deep connections to mythology, to themes bigger than any single character or storyline,” Laing said.
Just last year, the club investigated the many pieces of Atlantean mythos and how Tolkien borrows from it in the Silmarillion — his collection of short stories — to craft his land of Numenor.
Now, Hunt and Laing are offering members a look into the writing systems of Tolkien. Junior Rachel Hall described the most recent activities.
“We are working on studying the languages that Tolkien created this year, and so last meeting we studied the basics of elvish,” Hall said. “Dr. Hunt brought photocopies of this book that outlines the Koinia alphabet. We studied it and took some calligraphy pens and practiced tracing the letters, and then we figured out how to write our names, and that was so much fun.”
Hall said she recognizes the Coal-biters are not a group aiming for fluency, but people who have fun learning and exploring their favorite fiction together.
“It’s super chill,” Hall said. “We’re probably, like, the most chill club on campus.”
Coal-biters meet every other Tuesday at 5 p.m. in American Studies room 314. The number of members varies by semester, and currently, the club is looking to rebuild.
“We’re looking for new members, so if anybody is intrigued, they should join us,” Laing said.
