heroic sagas

[Mouzafphaerre]

Tolkien's works are considered a saga? In that case, its my favorite one. I love it. Great stuff. Rohhirrim are deffiently the most interesting. Not the nicest fellows, but certaintly amongst the bravest, and anyone who loves horses gets my vote.

And what does Shahnameh mean? King what?

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Shahnameh (شهنامه): The book of kings. Starting from the creation of man, coming to the end of the Sasanids. 99% legendary (with kings ruling for n-thousand years, Rostem singlehandedly destroying an army of 30,000[?] etc.) and partly transported from Vedic sources (the story of Dahhak) but most fun reading, especially in Firdowsi's pen (which ingeniously camouflages the Zaraostrianist backbone with a fake Islamic flavour ), even beneath a dry translation.

Why shouldn't Tolkien be considered saga? Does it have to be of anonymous origin? IMO no. Traditional sagas were also artwork in their origin, later mutating through multiple anonymous hands. In Tolkien's case, the process is backwards (traditional material stylized by an artist) not much unlike the Shahnameh or Kalavela.
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