The talking fox of Woody End

[FernStump]

Gonna resurrect this thread...

Three Thains of the Took line had the name "Isengrim." If you dig into the Reynard tales you will quickly find that Reynard's principle opponent was "Isengrim the Wolf."

As an aside - the name breaks down to Iron + Fierce in Anglo Saxon.

Lewis and Tolkien were both medievalists and being teachers of medieval literature would have been absolutely aware of the Reynard cycle. Given that Lord of the Rings is patterned after medieval epics (much like Narnia is after medieval allegories) it makes perfect sense from this perspective that an "English thinking" fox would make an appearance in some fashion.

I think the dissonance comes from expectation of a modern novel having a consistent voice. Works of medieval literature often have more than one author (much like the Red Book of Westmarch) and changes in the narrative voice and style of Lord of the Rings can be expected.