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CS Lewis poem unearthed in University of Leeds collection

CS Lewis Pte Ltd Poem by CS LewisCS Lewis Pte Ltd
The poem was found among a number of items acquired by the University of Leeds in 2014

A poem by The Chronicles of Narnia author CS Lewis has been unearthed by a University of Leeds researcher.

The work reveals links between Lewis and two academics, who also knew The Lord of the Rings author JRR Tolkien.

The poem, with the Old English title Mód Þrýþe Ne Wæg, was among documents acquired by the university in 2014.

Researcher Dr Andoni Cossio said he was "enraptured" by the 1935 piece he found while exploring the university's JRR Tolkien and EV Gordon collection.

He said the poem had passed unnoticed since it was transferred to the university 10 years ago.

The poem was written to Eric Valentine Gordon, a professor of English, and his wife Dr Ida Gordon under the pen name Nat Whilk - meaning "someone" in Old English.

Getty Images CS LewisGetty Images
The author wrote the poem to thank Eric Valentine and Ida Gordon for their hospitality during a visit to their home in Manchester

Dr Cossio, who is based at the University of the Basque Country and the University of Glasgow, said: "The moment I first read the manuscript I was enraptured by its content.

"It had everything I could wish for - biographical details, Old English, alliterative metre and Lewis' writing at its best."

The Gordons were influential among fantasy writers, the university said, with Lewis' poem thanking the couple for their hospitality after a stay at their home in Manchester.

While EV Gordon and Tolkien worked in Leeds' English department, they started a "Viking club" where they would read Old Norse texts while drinking beer, the university said.

Lewis and Tolkien became friends at Oxford and began an informal society of writers called The Inklings, which played a part in the development of both Narnia and Middle-earth.

CS Lewis Pte Ltd Sarah Prescott, literary archivist in Special Collections at the University of LeedsCS Lewis Pte Ltd
Literary archivist Sarah Prescott said the poem was an "exciting discovery"

Dr Cossio said poetry was used as way to explore their love of "language and lore".

"The thing I like most about this poem is that it opens a little door to that world," he said.

Sarah Prescott, a literary archivist at the university, said: "This exciting discovery really brings the significance of this period at Leeds to life.

"We're very excited to now be able to say we have an original CS Lewis poem in our collections too."

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