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An exploration of how Tolkien's mythology reflects his intellectual background in the philosophical traditions of Roman Catholicism.
This book hopes to invite readers into Tolkien's world through the lens of a variety of philosophers, of all of whom owe a rich debt to the Neoplatonic philosophical tradition. It places Tolkien's mythology against a wider backdrop of catholic philosophy and asks serious questions as to the nature of creation alongside the nature of God, what it means to be good, and concerning the problem of evil. This book attempts to set Tolkien alongside both his contemporaries and ancient authors, and how he used similar literary devices in order to express his desire to create a "mythology for England".
This book hopes to invite readers into Tolkien's world through the lens of a variety of philosophers, of all of whom owe a rich debt to the Neoplatonic philosophical tradition. It places Tolkien's mythology against a wider backdrop of catholic philosophy and asks serious questions as to the nature of creation alongside the nature of God, what it means to be good, and concerning the problem of evil. This book attempts to set Tolkien alongside both his contemporaries and ancient authors, and how he used similar literary devices in order to express his desire to create a "mythology for England".
Price: $36.95
Pages: 296
Publisher: Boydell & Brewer Inc.
Imprint: Lutterworth Press
Publication Date:
24 September 2020
Trim Size: 9.02 X 5.98 in
ISBN: 9780718895525
Format: Paperback
BISACs:
PHILOSOPHY / Ethics & Moral Philosophy, Ethics and moral philosophy
This is a rich engagement at all levels with Tolkien, full of suggestive comparisons with the tradition of the music of the spheres and with the modernist music of his own time. It is deeply scholarly but clear and accessible. And it is both Catholic in relating Tolkien to Catholic theology, including Maritain, and the Thomism of the early twentieth century, but also in its range of reference, which does full justice to Tolkien's intellectual background and his generosity of spirit, which had room for wild-men and oliphants, wereworms and Barliman's best bitter, all with the mark of createdness upon them, gifted to his readers.
Foreword by Alison Milbank | xi
Author's Preface | xv
Acknowledgments | xvii
List of Abbreviations | xix
Chapter 1
Prolegomenon to the Sub-Creative Genius of Tolkien amongst His Contemporaries | 3
Chapter 2
Creation and the Metaphysics of Music: Tolkien's Philosophy
Chapter 3
The Concept of Life as 'Being and Gift' in Tolkien's Literary Corpus | 105
Chapter 4
Tolkien, Eriugena, and the Conjoining of Borrowed Traditions | 167
Chapter 5
A Diversion towards Mutability and the Possibility of Evil | 213
Chapter 6
Concluding Comments: There and Back Again | 235
Appendix C: Three Crosses in the Churchyard of Whalley Abbey,
Lancashire | 254
Appendix D: The Standard of the King of Gondor | 258
Appendix E: Iconography in the Book of Kells | 259
Bibliography | 263
Author's Preface | xv
Acknowledgments | xvii
List of Abbreviations | xix
Chapter 1
Prolegomenon to the Sub-Creative Genius of Tolkien amongst His Contemporaries | 3
Chapter 2
Creation and the Metaphysics of Music: Tolkien's Philosophy
Chapter 3
The Concept of Life as 'Being and Gift' in Tolkien's Literary Corpus | 105
Chapter 4
Tolkien, Eriugena, and the Conjoining of Borrowed Traditions | 167
Chapter 5
A Diversion towards Mutability and the Possibility of Evil | 213
Chapter 6
Concluding Comments: There and Back Again | 235
Appendix C: Three Crosses in the Churchyard of Whalley Abbey,
Lancashire | 254
Appendix D: The Standard of the King of Gondor | 258
Appendix E: Iconography in the Book of Kells | 259
Bibliography | 263