The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun

'The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun is a poem in the tradition of the medieval "lay", also illustrated by the Lay of the Children of Húrin, and in the Lay of Leithian. This 556-verse-long poem tells the tragic story of a lord who sacrifices his life by love: in order to have a child with his wife, then to remain faithful to his spouse, he gives his life to a witch.' The J. R. R. Tolkien Estate website

'The language is as time-worn as a Runic engraving yet clear as a bell . . . The holy and the unholy imbue everything. It is a world captured in stained glass.' Daily Telegraph