Editing Elidor (section)

==Allusions and references==
===English folklore===
''Elidor'' begins with an [[epigraph (literature)|epigraph]] quoting from [[William Shakespeare]]'s ''[[King Lear]]'': "Childe Rowland to the Dark Tower came" (Act III, sc. 4). This is also an allusion to the [[English folklore|English folktale]] of "[[Childe Rowland]]", from which several elements of the plot of ''Elidor'' are drawn. ''Childe Rowland'' features the eponymous Rowland, his two brothers, and his sister Burd Ellen. Rowland kicks a ball over a church and when Burd Ellen attempts to retrieve it she disappears. Rowland's brothers then leave to find her but they do not return, leaving Rowland to rescue his siblings. Later Rowland must command a door to open in a hillside, wherein he finds Burd Ellen under a spell.<ref>''Childe Rowland'' [http://www.authorama.com/english-fairy-tales-24.html] from [[Joseph Jacobs]] (1892), ''English Folk And Fairy Tales''</ref>

===Irish legend===
The four castles of Elidor – Findias in the South, Falias in the West, Murias in the North, and Gorias in the East – correspond to the four cities of the [[Tuatha Dé Danann]] in [[Irish legend and old history]] – Finias (sic), Falias, Murias, and Gorias.<ref name="thehistoryofireland">Geoffrey Keating (2002), ''The History of Ireland''</ref>

The four treasures of Elidor – the Spear of Ildana held by Malebron, David's sword, Nicholas's stone, and Helen's cauldron – correspond to the [[Four Treasures of the Tuatha Dé Danann]] – the [[Spear of Lugh]], [[Claíomh Solais]], [[Lia Fáil]], and [[The Dagda's Cauldron]]. However, the associations between the treasures and the castles differ – in ''Elidor'' the Spear of Ildana is associated with Gorias, whereas the Irish mystical equivalent, the Spear of Lugh, is associated with Finias (although the treasure associated with Gorias, Claíomh Solais, is sometimes called the Sword of Lugh, which may explain the confusion).<ref name="thehistoryofireland"/>

===Medieval fable===
Late in the book a dying unicorn sings a 'swan song' and by this act brings a restitution of light to Elidor. According to the medieval legend, only the calming presence of a virgin can tame the wild and ferocious nature of the unicorn and only thus may it be killed.<ref>Webster, R., pp. 266–267. Webster, R. (2008) ''The Encyclopedia of Superstitions'' Woodbury Minnesota.</ref>