The Identification of Boru in the Tells of the Goblins

Throughout the Goblins tells there are references to five beings of great power. The first is Gullas, their Lord, who was betrayed by the second and third, his brothers. The Fourth is Grond, the successor hero demigod after the banishment of Gullas. The fifth and most intriguing, is the sister of all three, whom the Goblins call Boru.

It has been the contention of many that these tells are corruptions of tales told first among the Elder races (See Dulagdur and Abernathes and the Canons). They are perhaps the prototypes of those legends, or more likely, owe their genesis to some other lost tale which is the foundation for all of them. As I am of this latter school of thought, I have referred to the unnamed writing as Manuscript X.

In trying to harmonize Goblin Tells with other legends it is most important not to give too much creedence to the material at hand. Much of what the Goblins have memorized regarding their kind is done so as to exculpate their conduct and motivations across history. This is nowhere more evident in their explanations for the various Goblin races and the person of Boru.

If there is a Manuscript X, it stands to reason that Gullas is synonymous with Agellas, the accursed former Servant of God. Examined from the standpoint of the Fell races, the described actions of Gullas may seem laudable. What the Elder races refer to as poor conduct may only serve to endear this figure to them. Moreover, being outcasts in the world, may give them additional incentive to root for another perceived underdog.

The unnamed Brothers have posed a problem for many as there only seem to be two of them. As my previous volume indicates, I maintain that the cosmology of the Goblins must reflect their taxonomy. In other words, as the Goblin divide all other races into Ulfs and their ubiquitous Shorts, they must limit the divine personages to the gods of the Ulfs and Shorts. That there are several different types of "shorts" seems self-evident, so must it follow that there could be several interlocutors for them, even if the Goblin lumps them in together.

Boru, by far is the most interesting of the beings of Great Power in the Tells of the Goblins. At first blush, she would seem to fit well with the description of Baere in other legends. Even the construction of her name would seem to fit most cleanly, however, this is the first indication we have that this Servant of God is a female. The other legends seem unanimous in their affirmation of male interlocutors, or at the least, no gender whatever.

But the Goblins go beyond a divine personage when describing Boru. They claim that the Brothers sought to mate with her, in the manner of Gullas. And that Gullas had successfully mated with her and brought forth the various Goblinoid races. In this regard, Boru seems to be conflated with the manifestation of nature -- perhaps the flora and fauna of all Erenth. What the Hobbits call Mulnechir (see Butterchurn).

The search for and the mastery over Boru would appear to be a struggle for control of the known world and all that fits within it. This would seem to echo the charges of the Dwarven Betrayals (see Dulagdur) against the Elves specifically. Perhaps the best explanation for Boru in the Goblin Tells is that she is both a representation of Baere and of Erenth herself, a sort of fertility goddess for them to revere.