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The Silmarillion and Christian Cosmology – October 4, 2021

J.R.R. Tolkien created a parallel universe.  It reimagines the Biblical story of Creation, but with the same tragedy of the Fall, including the fall of the angels, the fall of man, and the epistemological struggle of good and evil.  

The Silmarillion is a deeply Christian cosmology, albeit an imaginary one.  It explains the mythic truths of Christianity without ever mentioning them explicitly.  The same is true, of course, of The Lord of the Rings.  The Silmarillion is the pre-history of The Lord of the Rings.  It is Middle Earth’s Book of Genesis, and the Old Testament.  The Silmarillion is the Old and the Lord of the Rings is the New, but much like the Hebrew Bible and the Gospel, they are intimately connected.  One necessarily leads to the next. 

The Silmarillion begins with the beatific vision of Eru, who is called Iluvatar – a type of God the Father.  He establishes the original order and harmony of the Tolkien universe.  The harmony is created together in Great Music of life.  Iluvatar created the Ainur, the Holy Ones, who were the offspring of Iluvatar’s thought and sang music before him.  These were a type of the angels that reflect the glory of God, and also the heavenly saints of men to come.   

Yet, among the Ainur was Melkor, who had the greatest gifts of power and knowledge.  He sought to bring into being things of his own.  The discord of Melkor spread over the spread of the harmonious melodies before Iluvatar.  The melodies ceased, and Iluvatar pronounced judgment upon Melkor: 

“And thou, Melkor, shalt see that no theme may be played that hath not its uttermost source in me, nor can any alter the music in my despite.”  

And, Iluvatar revealed all things that were in store for future ages of the world to come.  

“And they saw with amazement the coming of the Children of Iluvatar, and the habitation that was prepared for them; and they perceived that they themselves in the labor of their music had been busy with the preparation of this dwelling, and yet knew not that it had any purpose beyond its own beauty.  For the Children of Iluvatar were conceived by him alone.” 

And, Iluvatar made the world, a new thing, called Ea – this, the habitation of the world, the Elves called Arda, that is, the Earth.  This is the primordial past of Earth, and of men, the preternatural Eden.  But, Melkor, the fallen Lucifer figure, the Middle Earth Satan, sought to dominate the world.  

“When therefore Earth was yet young and full of flame Melkor coveted it, and he said to the other Valar: ‘This shall be my own kingdom.'”  The envy of Melkor led to the battles of Middle Earth, first against the Elves, and later, men too.  

Yet, “slowly nonetheless the Earth was fashioned and made firm.  And thus was the habitation of the Children of Iluvatar established at the last in Deeps of Time and amidst innumerable stars.”  

Melkor, the name Elves dare not speak, they called Morgoth.  From Morgoth came all foul and fell things upon the Earth, including the Balrogs, the demon of terrors.  The greatest of Morgoth’s servants was a spirit called Sauron, who “after years he rose like a shadow of Morgoth, and a ghost of his malice, and walked behind him on the same ruinous path down into the Void.”  

This set the stage for the struggle and wars for Middle Earth in this first age at the beginning of days.  

This is reminiscent of the Fall of Man in Eden and being cast out of the Garden after Original Sin.  Satan the tempter tricked Adam and Eve into disobeyed God, and sin entered the world.  Death and destruction followed soon after.  So, it is in the world of Tolkien’s Middle Earth. 

Early in the first age of the world, the Ring of Doom is forged.  So too, are the Silmarils, which are the three ancient gems that contain the light of the Trees of Valinor, and the most precious things of the Eldar, forged by Feanor, of the original Children of Iluvatar.  

Of course, Melkor lusted for the Simarils, “the very memory of their radiance was a gnawing fire in his heart.”  The fallen Elves sent to Middle Earth seek to retain the fire of the radiance of the Edenic home in the West.  

The dwarves dwell in Khazad-dum in the latter times called Moria, beyond the Misty Mountains.  Moria is, also, Tolkiens inserting the truths and even names of Scripture into his grand tale, as Christ was crucified on Mount Moriah in Jerusalem.  

Tolkien also introduces “new tidings” to Middle Earth with the arrival of Feanor and Men to Middle Earth.  The new tidings are also reminiscent of Scripture, in the words of the prophet Isaiah: 

“Get you up to a high mountain,
    O Zion, herald of good tidings; 
lift up your voice with strength,
    O Jerusalem, herald of good tidings, 
    lift it up, fear not;
say to the cities of Judah,
    “Behold your God!”
Behold, the Lord God comes with might,
    and his arm rules for him;
behold, his reward is with him,
    and his recompense before him.

He will feed his flock like a shepherd,
    he will gather the lambs in his arms,
he will carry them in his bosom,
    and gently lead those that are with young.”

                                                                        (Isaiah 40:9-11)

Elrond and Galadriel, part of the original Eldar of the Elves were there, and the race of Eagles, who were sent forth “to dwell in the crags of the North, and to keep watch upon Morgoth.”  Galadriel is a type of the Virgin Mary helping guide and protect Middle Earth from the enmity of Morgoth and Sauron and the forces of evil.

Lembas is another type.  It is the Elven waybread, “a wafer of white wax shaped as a single flower of Telperion.”  It was holy to the Eldar, “for the Eldar had never before allowed Men to use this waybread, and seldom did so again.”  Lembas helped them through their journey, “and he took also the lembas of Melian to strengthen them in the wild.”  It was their manna from Heaven, as the Israelites on their journey and Exodus through the desert wilderness wandering of forty years, and as King David wrote in the psalms, “Man ate the bread of Angels.”  (Psalm 77:25)  And so, now too, in the new and greater dispensation, man again eats the bread of angels, or in our case, Catholics consume the Body and Blood, and Soul and Divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ in the most Holy Eucharist.  

Elves, and even Men, set sail on ships to the West, into the eternity of their immortal shores: “gazing from afar upon the light of the Silmaril, and it was very great.  Then Earendil, first of living Men, landed on the immortal shores.”  “In those days there was a great building of ships upon the shores of the Western Sea; and thence in many a fleet the Eldar set sail into the West, and came never back to the lands of the weeping and of war.”  Those who take the shores to the immortal shores of the West break the circular cycles of life and death, and arrive, alas, into the peace of eternity.  

Men fell quickly under the power and sway of Morgoth, or that is, Satan.  “It is said by the Eldar that Men came into the world in the time of the Shadow of Morgoth, and they fell swiftly under his dominion.” 

It is under this dark dominion that Sauron wielded the One Ring of power and of doom.  In that, Saruon the Deceiver forged Nine Rings to ensnare the kings of Men.  These became the Ring Wraiths, the Nazgul haunting Middle Earth in service to Sauron and the One Ring.  

And Melkor and Sauron set up a new religion to worship the Darkness.  Yet, there remained “a remnant of the Faithful,” who refused to bow down to the Darkness.  Leading the remnant of the Faithful was the King of Numenor, and his sons including Isildur.  

“The days are dark, and there is no hope for Men, for the Faithful are few.”  Such was the situation that Men found themselves in the darkness of Middle Earth under Morgoth and Sauron.  It was in these dark times that the spirit of Sauron took on a new form: 

“There he took up again his great Ring in Barad-dur, and dwelt there, dark and silent, until he wrought himself a new guise, an image of malice and hatred made visible; and the Eye of Sauron the Terrible few could endure.”  Sauron forged the One Ring of Power in the Mountain of Fire in the Land of Shadow.   And, Sauron destroyed the land of Men in Numenor and burned the White Tree.  

Yet, the exiles of Numenor established themselves in the realm of Gondor, and Sauron prepared himself for a great war against the Eldar and Men of the West.  By way of necessity, there was established a great alliance between Elves and Men.  

During the last siege “Sauron himself came forth; and he wrestled with Gil-galad and Elendil, and they both were slain, and the sword of Elendil broke under him as he fell.  But Sauron also was thrown down, and with the hilt-shard of Narsil Isildur cut the Ruling Ring from the hand of Sauron and took it for his own.  Then Sauron was for that time vanquished, and he forsook his body, and his spirit fled far away and his in waste places; and he took no visible shape again for many long years.”  

Yet, the Ring betrayed Isildur and the Ring was lost to history for a time.  “For the blood of the Numenoreans became mingled with that of other men, and their power and wisdom diminished, and their life-span was shortened, and the watch upon Mordor slumbered.”  

It was in this diminished state that Sauron was allowed to return again in the third age of Men.  “But the Dominion of Men was preparing and all things were changing, until at last the Dark Lord arose in Mirkwood again.”  

It was in these dire times that the Lords of the West sent messengers – in reality, a type of the prophets of Old – back to Middle Earth to contest the power of Sauron, and “if he should arise again, and to move Elves and Men and all living things of good will to valiant deeds.”  Chief among the messengers was Mithrandir, who the Men of the North called Gandalf.  And, Elrond prophesied to Gandalf, “Nonetheless I forebode that the One will yet be found, and then war will arise again, and in that war this Age will be ended.”  

These are the wars and rumors of wars of the Antichrist, and the siege of Christendom and every faithful remnant of Christian.

Yet, in this dark hour, arose the return of the King, the Heir of Isildur, Aragorn, the son of Arathorn, in the line of Elendil, tall in stature, part of the ancient heroes of old of Men, Elf friends to the Eldar.  

However, it was the small in stature, a Halfling, Frodo the Hobbit, who would carry the burden of destroying the One Ring of Power.  The smallest and humblest of creatures would take the evil ring into the Fires of Mount Doom for its ultimate destruction.  

Christ and the Return of the King will ultimately destroy the power of Satan forever casting him back into the pit of fire from whence he came.  The humble and the faithful will thence rest forevermore in the Kingdom Come in peaceful bliss.

“And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes: and death shall be no more, nor mourning, nor crying, nor sorrow shall be any more, for the former things are passed away.”                                                                   

                                                                                                (Revelation 21:4)

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The Lord of the Rings and the Eucharist

As J.R.R. Tolkien declared, “The Lord of the Rings is, of course, a fundamentally religious and Catholic work… the religion is absorbed into the story and the symbolism.” This is possibly no more obvious than in Tolkien’s description of lembas. As Tolkien introduced them into The Lord of the Rings, “The food was mostly in the form of very thin cakes, made of a meal that was baked a light brown on the outside, and inside was the colour of cream. Gimli took up one of the cakes and looked at it with a doubtful eye.” It was a special, almost supernatural, bread-like food given by the Elves of Lothlorien to the hobbit members of the fellowship on their journey. The elves describe the lembas to them saying, “..we call it lembas or waybread, and it is more strengthening than any food made by Men, and it is more pleasant then cram, by all accounts. … Eat little at a time and only at need. For these things are given to serve you when all else fails.” Lembas, or the “waybread,” is meant to sustain them in their deepest and darkest trials.

The Eucharistic tones and parallels are undeniable. The Eucharist has been called the “food of angels,” or as in Tolkien terms, the food of Elves. Gimli, the dwarf, initially even looked at it with a “doubtful eye” thinking it was just ordinary bread made by men, harkening the disbelief in the Eucharist among many, especially in the modern world. He quickly realizes this is not any ordinary bread. The unique and special qualities of lembas are depicted throughout the tale. As Merry and Pippin talk of it at one particularly stressful moment in the journey while trying to escape Orcs, “The cakes were broken, but good, still in their leaf wrappings. The hobbits each ate two or three pieces. The tasted brought back to them the memory of fair faces, and laughter, and wholesome food in quiet days, heedless of the cries and sounds of battle nearby.” They continue saying, “Lembas does put heart into you! A more wholesome sort of feeling, too, than the heat of that orc-draught. I wonder what it was made of.”

As the hobbits journey deeper into danger and to the very epicenter of evil, Mount Doom, the lembas play an increasingly significant role. Sam and Frodo are following their path of self-sacrifice, even to the possible end of laying down their lives for the love of their friends, for which, in Christian terms, “there is no greater love.” They are analogously on their way of the Cross. On the contrary, the evil characters find the lembas repulsive. Tolkien describes the Orcs’ reactions saying, “But I guess they disliked the very look and smell of the lembas, worse than Gollum did. It’s scattered about and some of it is trampled and broken, but I’ve gathered it together.” When the two hobbits reached the point when there was “no hope anymore” came Tolkien’s most poignant description of the lembas: “The lembas had a virtue without which they would long ago have lain down to die. It did not satisfy desire, and at times Sam’s mind was filled with the memories of food, and the longing for simple bread and meats. And yet this waybread of the Elves had a potency that increased as travellers relied on it alone and did not mingle it with other foods. It fed the will, and it gave strength to endure, and to master sinew and limb beyond the measure of mortal kind.” The lembas sustained the two hobbit sojourners in their darkest hour, not by feeding them necessarily physically but by feeding their will. The waybread also evokes the viaticum, “a provision for the journey,” that is, the Communion given to people on their deathbed. It is the Eucharist for the journey, or the “waybread,” home towards one’s death. There are differences however. For one, lembas are not described as having any divine qualities, whereas the Eucharist is the divine sacrament of the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Christ. Additionally, the Eucharist is not just meant for times when all else fails, as lembas are described, but rather for our daily journeys. The two hobbits on their way fraught with death and destruction relied completely upon this waybread.

We too are all on our journeys to our inevitable deaths. Christ has left us His Body and Blood in the heavenly sacrament of the Eucharist.  It is our sustenance in this life. It is our waybread. Like the humble and seemingly weak hobbits, we must take our waybread in order to heroically, and against all odds, ascend the Mount Dooms in all our lives and complete our missions. As Tolkien confessed, he at first unconsciously, and later consciously, wove Catholic ideas and themes into the story. Tolkien was not out to re-create a Christian world or myth. Rather, he tried to create a literary myth to point towards the truths of the real world. The primary thrust of the story, as Tolkien said in one of his letters, is “about death and the desire for deathlessness,” two notions central to mythology and Christianity. As G.K. Chesterton spoke of Christianity as the fulfillment of myth, “The Catholic faith is the reconciliation because it is the realization both of mythology and philosophy. It is a story and in that sense one of a hundred stories; only it is a true story.”

We are the real-life Sam’s and Frodo’s. They are metaphors of us, as Christians, taking up our crosses, amidst our tribulations, while being sustained by the Eucharist. Though we are “weak” and “ordinary” people (hobbits if you will), we can achieve great and heroic ends by staying on the narrow paths of our simple faith journeys. Our lembas, the Eucharist, strengthens our wills and spirits, and presses us up the mountain, even when we would rather turn back and give up. But, it is up to us to choose: to give up or to not give up; to follow Christ or to not follow Christ. Tolkien’s literary myth spells out the lucid choice each one of us is to make of our own freewill between life and death, and good and evil. As Frodo laments the fact that the evil ring has come into his possession and the apparent hopelessness of the situation, Gandalf says to him: “All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” And so it is with each one of us to decide. Yet, as Tolkien slowly reveals Aragorn, the Christ-King archetype, he repeatedly declares to Sam and Frodo, “be not afraid.” In the end, even if, as Frodo, after our long journeys into the darkness, we remain faithful, but seemingly fall short in our mission, God’s grace can still save us.

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