The Lord of the Rings is of course a fundamentally religious and Catholic work; unconsciously so at first, but consciously in the revision. That is why I have not put in, or have cut out, practically all references to anything like 'religion', to cults or practices, in the imaginary world. In a 1953 letter Tolkien described “The Lord of the Rings” as a “fundamentally religious and Catholic work.”. But Tolkien’s views — on both religion and fiction — were complex. In another letter, Tolkien outlined his aspiration to create a new mythology for England, describing the existing body of Arthurian legend as inadequate
“Tolkien said that ‘The Lord of the Rings’ is, of course, a fundamentally religious and Catholic work,” Pearce said. “Elsewhere he said that the fact that he was a Christian and in fact a Roman Catholic was the most important connection between his role as author and the nature of the work, adding that the Catholic dimension can be
Suffice it to say, the Eucharist was a big deal to him, and the elven bread is a symbol for it. Aragorn, Gandalf, and Frodo all portray Jesus in different ways. Aragorn is Christ the King, the returning King who will come back and claim his throne (basically, the Catholic equivalent of when Jesus comes back). Email us at support@wordonfire.org or call (866) 928-1237. Tolkien described The Lord of the Rings as “a fundamentally religious and Catholic work” and declared, “I am a Christian (which can be deduced from my stories).”. Yet he insisted his writings were not allegories, and Middle-earth is loved by millions who do not share his The key to understanding religion and The Lord of the Rings is the now-unfamiliar, once-everyday method of typology. You can read The Lord of the Rings the way you would “read” cathedral sculpture or frescoes. This sounds drab and scholarly, I suppose, but I aimed at a lively and readable style. Give my piece a read and see if I succeeded. 0VlKLxR.
