Browsing by Subject "Middle-earth"

In this thesis, I study the role of the Christian virtues of weakness, humility and self-sacrifice, and also mortality, in the cosmology and quests of J.R.R. Tolkien’s (1892-1973) Middle-earth core legendarium, which consists of The Silmarillion, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. What I aim to show is that these virtues are what the general cosmology of Middle-earth is oriented towards and simultaneously what successful heroism requires in the quests of Middle-earth. As the Middle-earth timeline progresses, the Christian virtues become increasingly prevalent. In the close reading section on cosmology, it is observed that this development is foreshadowed in the primordial Music and Vision of Creation, where the unfolding history of Middle-earth is envisioned by divine powers. Over the timeline, the gradual shift from powerful, graceful and immortal towards weak, humble and mortal is realised through the demographic shifts, where with very few exceptions, the powerful and immortal fade away and leave in favour of the weak and mortal, who take over and gain agency. As is observe in the close reading section on the quests of Middle-earth, this development is reflected in those quests, and successful heroism is often carried out by the weak and humble mortals, notably often through self-sacrifice. Ultimately, the Christian virtues become manifested in the Hobbits and their unlikely triumph over the greatest evil.