J. R. R. Tolkien was inspired by Morris's reconstructions of early Germanic life in "The House of the Wolfings" and "The Roots of the Mountains". The young Tolkien attempted a retelling of the story of Kullervo from the "Kalevala" in the style of "The House of the Wolfings"; Tolkien considered much of his literary work to have been inspired by an early reading of Morris, even suggesting that he was unable to better Morris's work; the names of characters such as "Gandolf" and the horse Silverfax appear in "The Well at the World's End".