I have published two draft posts, on topics which in hindsight were beyond my skill as a writer to complete and beyond the scope of this 'blog to bother worrying about. I have edited nothing. The one is about (or at least was intended to be about) Christian elements in Gandalf and the wizards of Middle-earth in general, the other about similarities between the codification of the Sacred Canons and a canonical Silmarillion narrative. Both are vastly unfinished and incoherent, and I have left the ''notes'' I am accustomed to jot down as I get new ideas (it grew in the telling, sort of thing). They were composed weeks ago, and weeks apart.
I just gave up. Enjoy! If you think they are worth completing I may return to them later.
Saturday, 22 September 2012
Not in glory, but in humility...
''Many are the strange chances of the world,'' said Mithrandir, ''and help oft comes from the hands of the weak when the Wise falter.'' (J.R.R Tolkien, The Silmarillion, Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age).
One of the core leitmotifs in The Lord of the Rings is the enoblement of the simple and the triumph of the meek over the powerful, or as Elrond put it: This is the hour of the Shire-folk, when they arise from their quiet fields to shake the towers and counsels of the Great. Of course he had, and I expect you have, the hobbits in mind, and I may return them in another post. But here I am thinking of Gandalf. Gandalf! Dearest of counsellors, Enemy of Sauron, chief among the Wise, pick any passage in The Lord of the Rings and you are presented with many different perceptions - of his person, his character, deportment, wisdom; at once of a rather comic figure who adopts a somewhat avuncular attitude towards hobbits, drinks ale and blows smoke rings from his pipe; at some points that of a frail old man, bent with many labours, or pitted against powers too great to withstand; but most of all that of a great and noble sage, wisdom on his brow, power, albeit a power he conceals, in his hands, a man who works many wonders. And yet, he isn't ''out of place'' anywhere - in the Shire, in Bree, in Rivendell, in Gondor, etc. To the hobbits he was a curiosity, someone who turned up after many long years, made fabulous firework displays and was otherwise a damned nuissance; he was beloved of the Elves, and it's said that only to Galadriel, Elrond and Círdan did he reveal his true nature and purpose; to the Men of Gondor and the Dúnedain of the North he was a master of lore, and they perceived that he did not die, though ancient of days, and some among Men (Aragorn and probably Denethor also) guessed at his true end; in Rohan, during the days of the domination of Saruman, he was seen as a bringer of woe (Láthspell he was named in scorn by Wormtongue, ill news sent to quail men's hearts); in Mordor as a spy of the Valar.
I think he's wonderful. It was young Faramir who remarked that Mithrandir (the ''Grey Pilgrim,'' for so the Grey Elves and the Men of Gondor loved to call him, and he was content) was ''more than a lore-master,'' but ''a great mover of the deeds that are done in our time.'' For so he was. He ''proved mightiest,'' as Treebeard observed, and by his labours did much for the succour of Elves and Men at the end of the Third Age.Who, then, was ''Gandalf,'' which is but Old Norse for ''Elf of the Wand?'' Like Pippin in the halls of Denethor, do we not wonder in what far distant time and place he entered into the lives of Men, in raiment as of a traveller, yet concealing a power over the hearts of Men and wisdom beyond the lore of the Elves?
The Istari (that is, ''wizards'') belonged to the Third Age. There seem to have been five, each ranked according to their ''Valinórean stature'' in an ''order,'' the Heren Istarion. It was at the behest of the Valar and with the blessing of God that they came; the Valar who, though Valinor was removed from the world and all roads are now bent, still took counsel for the right governance of Middle-earth. The Istari were chosen from among the Maiar, angelic spirits of the order of the Valar, mighty peers of Sauron, and they were sent in forms as of Men, aged but hale, and foregoing open display of power, to contend with the overweening might of Sauron, and to unite the remnant of the Dúnedain and the Elves in the North to courage and good deeds against him, lest each singly be destroyed. It must here be stressed that they were real Men, their bodies were not feigned, as it were images constructed in the imagination of the Maia; each wizard (much like Christ) was subject to the pain, weariness and temptations of Earth, and could fall from their high purpose (as indeed afterward befell), either being enamoured of Middle-earth and seeing Valinor as a vision afar off, or being tempted to power and the domination of others. According to the Tale of Years they appeared in the West of Middle-earth in about TA year 1000, when the Great Ships came over the Sea, just as the shadow of Sauron began to take shape in Mirkwood. Curumo came first, and came alone, and was accounted the greatest among the Istari in arts and lore; he who in after days was known as Saruman among Men, for he was marvellously skilled. Next, it seems, came the Blue Wizards, whose names are remembered in no tale for they went into the East of Middle-earth with Saruman and came not back. There, I expect, they did what they would until they failed of their purpose, either starting mystery cults or being overcome by Sauron (which is more likely). Aiwendil came with the Blue Wizards, he who was of the Maiar of Yavanna, and he travelled not far but befriended all the beasts and birds of Middle-earth and settled at Rhosgobel. In later days he was known to Men in Wilderland as Radagast and his raiment was brown.
Last and seeming the least, for he was not tall and was more aged than the others, came Olórin, clad in raiment grey as ash. He was welcomed at the Grey Havens by Círdan the Shipwright, who divined in him, by a sense other than sight, the greatest power and wisdom, and with reverence said unto him: ''Take now this Ring, for thy labours and thy cares will be heavy, but in all it will support thee and defend thee from weariness. For this is the Ring of Fire, and herewith, maybe, thou shalt rekindle hearts to the valour of old in a world that grows chill.'' And the Grey Pilgrim took the Ring, and kept it ever secret; but Curumo the White, ever skilled to uncover secrets, learned of this gift and begrudged it. It was a curious gift, and of manifold significance to the Grey Messenger, arising at once from the nature of the Great Rings (not, of course, the One), which were bethought them of old in Eregion under tutelage of Celebrimbor the Gnome, having as their primary end the preservation of art, slowing of decay, which under the Sun of this world is doom for all things, and the desire to make ever present the regal Tradition of the West in the waking memory of all men of good will (wherein is seen at once their supreme beauty and folly); and the nature of the Grey Messenger himself, who came of the Maiar of Manwë, the Elder King, an archetype of Archangel Michael in the defence against the evil of the Diabolos Melkor; and Varda, the bringer of Light; light to illumine the Great Lands and herald the arising of the Children of God, and light to dispel the Shadow of Death, vis-à-vis Sam's supplication unto her in Cirith Ungol pass:
O Queen of the Stars, Star-kindler, from heaven gazing afar, to thee I cry now beneath the shadow of death, O look towards me, Everwhite! Almost it could be a prayer to St Mary, and it has a rather child-like quality about it, does it not? Again exemplifying the triumph of innocence and humility over pride.
wielder of the flame of Anor - the light of the unsullied Sun before the coming of Melkor, a light to shine in dark places, the stabbing of a sudden white light into a dark place
...significance of Narya for Gandalf, servant of the Secret Fire, fire that kindles and warms opposed to the fire that lays waste, servant of the Holy Ghost, servant of Creation against servant of Morgoth, servant of chaos.
The mission of the Istari had no clear means; they were not commanded to act together at any given time, nor I think would this have been possible. Of the Blue Wizards we know nothing. They went ''into the blue,'' as it were, and came never back, and whatever they did in the Enemy-occupied lands to which they went is remembered by none in the West. Saruman went with them, but returned into the West of Middle-earth, settling at Isengard in TA year 2759 and devoting himself to the study of the devices of Sauron and the lore of the Great Rings. Radagast achieved nothing, but was received well by the Beornings and the other inhabitants of Wilderland. Gandalf travelled far and wide over Middle-earth, though is remembered in no chronicles or annals for much of the Third Age, for he went in many guises and had no abiding place, nor did he gather followers unto himself. I expect the purpose of these early wanderings was simply to get to know Middle-earth and its peoples, building trust, and being sent in the bodies of Men the Wizards had to learn much from slow experience. Even in the Elder Days the Maiar were seen seldom in Middle-earth. But Gandalf...
History of Gandalf's wanderings, dealings with Elves, Men (and hobbits)
curious name Olorin, memory, dreams, visions, Tradition. Preservation of Tradition.
Merry - destruction of the Witch-king
Pippin - salvation of the line of the Stewards.
Sauron was worshipped by the Men of Darkness, for he surrounded his abode with fire
Of the fate of Radagast, no tale tells. His house at Rhosgobel was empty at the time of the War of the Ring
the more I think of it, the more I believe the work to be truly catholic because of the presence of Gandalf.
By his labours he brought about the destruction of Smaug, who might otherwise have wrought
power, machine, domination as opposed to ''the fire that kindles,'' inspiration to courage
Elvish ''power'' in art, healing rather than display of power
could anything be more Christian than this?
this is the great paradox of the Christian Faith, that which ends life has brought life more abundantly, that Christ, humiliated, hideously tortured, naked on the Cross, actually reigns therefrom
include something about Gandalf's counsel to Elrond during the formation of the Fellowship, about trusting to the friendship of the hobbits rather than to the lords of Elrond's house...
And when at last Gandalf the White returned into the West. It is significant in the light of Saruman's fate, that he looked to the West and was blown away
One of the core leitmotifs in The Lord of the Rings is the enoblement of the simple and the triumph of the meek over the powerful, or as Elrond put it: This is the hour of the Shire-folk, when they arise from their quiet fields to shake the towers and counsels of the Great. Of course he had, and I expect you have, the hobbits in mind, and I may return them in another post. But here I am thinking of Gandalf. Gandalf! Dearest of counsellors, Enemy of Sauron, chief among the Wise, pick any passage in The Lord of the Rings and you are presented with many different perceptions - of his person, his character, deportment, wisdom; at once of a rather comic figure who adopts a somewhat avuncular attitude towards hobbits, drinks ale and blows smoke rings from his pipe; at some points that of a frail old man, bent with many labours, or pitted against powers too great to withstand; but most of all that of a great and noble sage, wisdom on his brow, power, albeit a power he conceals, in his hands, a man who works many wonders. And yet, he isn't ''out of place'' anywhere - in the Shire, in Bree, in Rivendell, in Gondor, etc. To the hobbits he was a curiosity, someone who turned up after many long years, made fabulous firework displays and was otherwise a damned nuissance; he was beloved of the Elves, and it's said that only to Galadriel, Elrond and Círdan did he reveal his true nature and purpose; to the Men of Gondor and the Dúnedain of the North he was a master of lore, and they perceived that he did not die, though ancient of days, and some among Men (Aragorn and probably Denethor also) guessed at his true end; in Rohan, during the days of the domination of Saruman, he was seen as a bringer of woe (Láthspell he was named in scorn by Wormtongue, ill news sent to quail men's hearts); in Mordor as a spy of the Valar.
I think he's wonderful. It was young Faramir who remarked that Mithrandir (the ''Grey Pilgrim,'' for so the Grey Elves and the Men of Gondor loved to call him, and he was content) was ''more than a lore-master,'' but ''a great mover of the deeds that are done in our time.'' For so he was. He ''proved mightiest,'' as Treebeard observed, and by his labours did much for the succour of Elves and Men at the end of the Third Age.Who, then, was ''Gandalf,'' which is but Old Norse for ''Elf of the Wand?'' Like Pippin in the halls of Denethor, do we not wonder in what far distant time and place he entered into the lives of Men, in raiment as of a traveller, yet concealing a power over the hearts of Men and wisdom beyond the lore of the Elves?
The Istari (that is, ''wizards'') belonged to the Third Age. There seem to have been five, each ranked according to their ''Valinórean stature'' in an ''order,'' the Heren Istarion. It was at the behest of the Valar and with the blessing of God that they came; the Valar who, though Valinor was removed from the world and all roads are now bent, still took counsel for the right governance of Middle-earth. The Istari were chosen from among the Maiar, angelic spirits of the order of the Valar, mighty peers of Sauron, and they were sent in forms as of Men, aged but hale, and foregoing open display of power, to contend with the overweening might of Sauron, and to unite the remnant of the Dúnedain and the Elves in the North to courage and good deeds against him, lest each singly be destroyed. It must here be stressed that they were real Men, their bodies were not feigned, as it were images constructed in the imagination of the Maia; each wizard (much like Christ) was subject to the pain, weariness and temptations of Earth, and could fall from their high purpose (as indeed afterward befell), either being enamoured of Middle-earth and seeing Valinor as a vision afar off, or being tempted to power and the domination of others. According to the Tale of Years they appeared in the West of Middle-earth in about TA year 1000, when the Great Ships came over the Sea, just as the shadow of Sauron began to take shape in Mirkwood. Curumo came first, and came alone, and was accounted the greatest among the Istari in arts and lore; he who in after days was known as Saruman among Men, for he was marvellously skilled. Next, it seems, came the Blue Wizards, whose names are remembered in no tale for they went into the East of Middle-earth with Saruman and came not back. There, I expect, they did what they would until they failed of their purpose, either starting mystery cults or being overcome by Sauron (which is more likely). Aiwendil came with the Blue Wizards, he who was of the Maiar of Yavanna, and he travelled not far but befriended all the beasts and birds of Middle-earth and settled at Rhosgobel. In later days he was known to Men in Wilderland as Radagast and his raiment was brown.
Last and seeming the least, for he was not tall and was more aged than the others, came Olórin, clad in raiment grey as ash. He was welcomed at the Grey Havens by Círdan the Shipwright, who divined in him, by a sense other than sight, the greatest power and wisdom, and with reverence said unto him: ''Take now this Ring, for thy labours and thy cares will be heavy, but in all it will support thee and defend thee from weariness. For this is the Ring of Fire, and herewith, maybe, thou shalt rekindle hearts to the valour of old in a world that grows chill.'' And the Grey Pilgrim took the Ring, and kept it ever secret; but Curumo the White, ever skilled to uncover secrets, learned of this gift and begrudged it. It was a curious gift, and of manifold significance to the Grey Messenger, arising at once from the nature of the Great Rings (not, of course, the One), which were bethought them of old in Eregion under tutelage of Celebrimbor the Gnome, having as their primary end the preservation of art, slowing of decay, which under the Sun of this world is doom for all things, and the desire to make ever present the regal Tradition of the West in the waking memory of all men of good will (wherein is seen at once their supreme beauty and folly); and the nature of the Grey Messenger himself, who came of the Maiar of Manwë, the Elder King, an archetype of Archangel Michael in the defence against the evil of the Diabolos Melkor; and Varda, the bringer of Light; light to illumine the Great Lands and herald the arising of the Children of God, and light to dispel the Shadow of Death, vis-à-vis Sam's supplication unto her in Cirith Ungol pass:
A Elbereth Gilthoniel
o menel palan-díriel,
le nallon sí di'-nguruthos!
A tíro nin, Fanuilos!
O Queen of the Stars, Star-kindler, from heaven gazing afar, to thee I cry now beneath the shadow of death, O look towards me, Everwhite! Almost it could be a prayer to St Mary, and it has a rather child-like quality about it, does it not? Again exemplifying the triumph of innocence and humility over pride.
wielder of the flame of Anor - the light of the unsullied Sun before the coming of Melkor, a light to shine in dark places, the stabbing of a sudden white light into a dark place
...significance of Narya for Gandalf, servant of the Secret Fire, fire that kindles and warms opposed to the fire that lays waste, servant of the Holy Ghost, servant of Creation against servant of Morgoth, servant of chaos.
The mission of the Istari had no clear means; they were not commanded to act together at any given time, nor I think would this have been possible. Of the Blue Wizards we know nothing. They went ''into the blue,'' as it were, and came never back, and whatever they did in the Enemy-occupied lands to which they went is remembered by none in the West. Saruman went with them, but returned into the West of Middle-earth, settling at Isengard in TA year 2759 and devoting himself to the study of the devices of Sauron and the lore of the Great Rings. Radagast achieved nothing, but was received well by the Beornings and the other inhabitants of Wilderland. Gandalf travelled far and wide over Middle-earth, though is remembered in no chronicles or annals for much of the Third Age, for he went in many guises and had no abiding place, nor did he gather followers unto himself. I expect the purpose of these early wanderings was simply to get to know Middle-earth and its peoples, building trust, and being sent in the bodies of Men the Wizards had to learn much from slow experience. Even in the Elder Days the Maiar were seen seldom in Middle-earth. But Gandalf...
History of Gandalf's wanderings, dealings with Elves, Men (and hobbits)
curious name Olorin, memory, dreams, visions, Tradition. Preservation of Tradition.
Merry - destruction of the Witch-king
Pippin - salvation of the line of the Stewards.
Sauron was worshipped by the Men of Darkness, for he surrounded his abode with fire
Of the fate of Radagast, no tale tells. His house at Rhosgobel was empty at the time of the War of the Ring
the more I think of it, the more I believe the work to be truly catholic because of the presence of Gandalf.
By his labours he brought about the destruction of Smaug, who might otherwise have wrought
power, machine, domination as opposed to ''the fire that kindles,'' inspiration to courage
Elvish ''power'' in art, healing rather than display of power
could anything be more Christian than this?
this is the great paradox of the Christian Faith, that which ends life has brought life more abundantly, that Christ, humiliated, hideously tortured, naked on the Cross, actually reigns therefrom
include something about Gandalf's counsel to Elrond during the formation of the Fellowship, about trusting to the friendship of the hobbits rather than to the lords of Elrond's house...
And when at last Gandalf the White returned into the West. It is significant in the light of Saruman's fate, that he looked to the West and was blown away
Essekenta Eldarinwa...
Having disavowed religion, I spend the days musing on old churches (how ironic!), studying Tolkien, and playing retro video games. Tolkien is a blessing, I must say. The Lay of Leithian is my favourite. Imagine, a dark Lord on his throne in the North, an unbroken forest-kingdom, a shining jewel and the octo-syllabic couplets of romance; it ought to be made into a ballet, and I have thought so for a while now. Imagine the dance of Tinúviel before Beren among the hemlocks in the forest of Region (pronounced with a short 'e' and hard 'g,' reg-ee-on, not as the English ''region'' - there are no Italianisms in Tolkien!). Who could dance the contest of Sauron and Felagund on the Isle of Wolves? Could you imagine the fires of Angband flaring up at the sound of the great Wolf? Or the song of Lúthien before the judgement seat of Mandos, which moved even he to pity for the sorrows of the Eldar and Fathers of Men? My heart is full of it.
Now, more than ever before, I turn to The History of Middle-earth rather than The Silmarillion. In fact, I cannot remember the last time I read The Silmarillion cover to cover. 10 years ago, as a not-very-well-read teenager, I thought it the best thing ever written. Today I would say it would be better if The Silmarillion had never been published. What Christopher Tolkien attempted therein was not dissimilar to the process of the ''codification'' of the Sacred Canons, bethought of pope Sarto, where at the expense of a rich, variegated tradition of legendarium, you have a ''canonical,'' linear work, cut short, and true only to The Lord of the Rings, as though that were the climax of the history of Arda. The codification of the Sacred Canons into the Pio-Benedictine Code of Canon Law (ironically seen by the traditionalists as an arthetype and paragon of Church Tradition!), while largely based on the work of Gratian and St Raymund, distorts the relationship of contemporary magisterium to Time, and the authority of Law relative to the same. Where before the auctoritas of a particular law depended on eld, the new code sets a very high store by the authority of the most recent law promulgated, even if it overturns that which went before; a novel idea which comes to us from the Enlightenment. Traditionally it was seen as axiomatic that Men were ruled by two things: the Natural Law, understood as the precepts established of the Lord before all ages, which can be known by the use of right reason
In the same way the canonical stuff in the published Silmarillion, by its status of canonicity, is seen as superior to the varying accounts given in The History of Middle-earth, richer though they be.
It is nothing short of a revolution in the understanding of law, the nature thereof being defined anew according to the whim of the Age.
Similarly the compilation of a linear, streamline Silmarillion narrative detracts from the nature of Mythology itself. The legends that make up The Silmarillion went through many changes over the 60 years of their composition; from early verses about the mariner Earendel (derived from Crist of Cynewulf) when Tolkien was a student, The Book of Lost Tales (some of the most exquisite and imaginative), the Lays of Beleriand (which C.S Lewis critiqued in 1929), the Sketch of the Mythology, the 1930 Quenta Silmarillion, and the first Annals; the 1937 Quenta Silmarillion, the later Quenta, and the final Annals. That is not to mention the many other writings, stories, legends, essays, unfinished material, letters, drawings, paintings, and fundamentally also the plethora of languages (which themselves underwent extensive revision over the years), etc which compliment this vast work (which covers twelve volumes in The History of Middle-earth). Tolkien died in 1973, and it is no surprise that a work so vast should have remained largely unfinished. There are many ''gaps'' in the Tale of Years, and much more could have been written of Númenor, of Galadriel and Celeborn, of Ost-in-Edhil, of Middle-earth in the Second Age, etc. Chapter 22 of The Silmarillion was composed entirely by Christopher Tolkien due to a gap in the mythology, loose ends left by the unfinished Tale of Turambar, the actual fate of Doriath, the motives of the Dwarves of Nogrod, the curse of the Nauglamír (was it the curse of Mîm the Dwarf, or was the gold (brought by whom out of Nargothrond?) accursed from having lain long in the hoard of Glaurung?) and on indecision about the ...of the Curse of Morgoth upon Hurin. It is not to be wondered at. Since the legendarium is conceived of as tales told in Tol Eressëa to the mariner Ælfwine of England, who having become lost off the west coast of Ireland, had found the Lonely Isle and befriended the Elves that dwelt there; and by the Dúnedain of Gondor, gaps are attributed by Tolkien to lost records, the waning of lore among Men, etc, though it is said that the whole history of Arda is recorded by Míriel Serindë in the halls of Vairë on the shores of the Outer Sea. Christopher Tolkien makes some concession to ''custom,'' conflicting narrative, etc, both in
Some of Tolkien's later writings, to be found in Volume X of The History of Middle-earth, are
humility, and acceptance of human error - in both the Canon Law and Silmarillion; canon law deference to older laws, Silmarillion deference to differing accounts of the same event.
No doubt intelligible motives, tie in comment about delays in implementation, and the reasonable desire for clarity in the work.
For precisely the same reason - order, the pigeon hole - the very things Saruman spoke of in his discourse with Gandalf in the Tower of Orthanc.
Of course Christopher Tolkien remarks in Volume XI of The History of Middle-earth (at the end of the Wanderings of Hurin) that even for the case of Hurin's wanderings an attempt to compile a Silmarillion narrative was futile, or at least questionable.
in the same way the ''codification'' of the Silmarillion narrative, consonant with the names, times, places, etc of The Lord of the Rings, distorts the relative import of the Elder Days to the history of Arda, as recorded by Miriel Serinde in the halls of Vaire by the shores of the Outer Sea, and told by Pengolodh to AElfwine of England. While the War of the Ring, in a sense, ''concludes'' the story of
Christopher Tolkien makes some concession to ''custom'' in the published Children of Hurin, where at the capture of Mim the Dwarf by the soldiery of Morgoth he adds a footnote as to Mim's intentions in betraying the House of Ransom, but
However; the problem is that the interpretation of ancient law in a modern context has a tendency to lead to anything from irrelevance to injustice, usually via delay and expense
They are fundamentally legends of the Elder Days, told by Pengolodh to AElfwine, a Saxon living in the 9th century on the Lonely Isle who, having strayed off the west coast of Ireland, had found the Straight Road and sailed into the true West (thereby keeping something of the original Book of Lost Tales
The fate of the Children of Hurin was inextricably tied up with the fate of the three great realms of the Eldar in the Elder Days - Turin brought about the ruin of Nargothrond, Hurin's wandering brought the location of the hidden city of Gondolin to the counsels of Morgoth, being stalked by the spies of the Dark Lord, the cursed gold of Nargothrond to Thingol in Doriath and thereby
Anyway, contrary to what I said hitherto, I haven't completely ''disavowed'' religion - just religious people. Nothing angers me more these days than having ever belonged to a sick finger-pointing culture. To put it bluntly, I don't give a shit about which sycophant-bishop was appointed to a curial office in the Vatican; I don't give a shit about the ordinariate or traditionalist pressure groups who make a fuss about candles and vestments. You're all welcome to the rubbish; just don't expect me to share your enthusiasm for tat and spuriousness. It has nothing whatever to do with Christianity. Have I become worldly? Or perhaps fretting over petty religious squabbles, who will triumph over whom, which ideology in the churches is best aligned with the Word of God unchanging, is a worldly pursuit? It was nice, once upon a time (now seeming immeasurably remote), having liturgy as a ''supplement,'' as it were, and complimentary element to my love of Tolkien, ballet, and art, but I perceive the work of the Lord as much (perhaps more) in beautiful works as any service I ever attended. At least the works of Tolkien remain constant, and a ballet is rehearsed! Constant and unchanging to the end of Time, hallowed by their own greatness, though there come a time when all great catholic works are forbidden and men are constrained to conceal them in vaults deep underground. To feel close to God surely entails some degree of separation from emotions and dispositions destructive of soul? Anger (even righteous anger), prejudice, regret. Attendance at most churches just fuels such things.
Now, more than ever before, I turn to The History of Middle-earth rather than The Silmarillion. In fact, I cannot remember the last time I read The Silmarillion cover to cover. 10 years ago, as a not-very-well-read teenager, I thought it the best thing ever written. Today I would say it would be better if The Silmarillion had never been published. What Christopher Tolkien attempted therein was not dissimilar to the process of the ''codification'' of the Sacred Canons, bethought of pope Sarto, where at the expense of a rich, variegated tradition of legendarium, you have a ''canonical,'' linear work, cut short, and true only to The Lord of the Rings, as though that were the climax of the history of Arda. The codification of the Sacred Canons into the Pio-Benedictine Code of Canon Law (ironically seen by the traditionalists as an arthetype and paragon of Church Tradition!), while largely based on the work of Gratian and St Raymund, distorts the relationship of contemporary magisterium to Time, and the authority of Law relative to the same. Where before the auctoritas of a particular law depended on eld, the new code sets a very high store by the authority of the most recent law promulgated, even if it overturns that which went before; a novel idea which comes to us from the Enlightenment. Traditionally it was seen as axiomatic that Men were ruled by two things: the Natural Law, understood as the precepts established of the Lord before all ages, which can be known by the use of right reason
In the same way the canonical stuff in the published Silmarillion, by its status of canonicity, is seen as superior to the varying accounts given in The History of Middle-earth, richer though they be.
It is nothing short of a revolution in the understanding of law, the nature thereof being defined anew according to the whim of the Age.
Similarly the compilation of a linear, streamline Silmarillion narrative detracts from the nature of Mythology itself. The legends that make up The Silmarillion went through many changes over the 60 years of their composition; from early verses about the mariner Earendel (derived from Crist of Cynewulf) when Tolkien was a student, The Book of Lost Tales (some of the most exquisite and imaginative), the Lays of Beleriand (which C.S Lewis critiqued in 1929), the Sketch of the Mythology, the 1930 Quenta Silmarillion, and the first Annals; the 1937 Quenta Silmarillion, the later Quenta, and the final Annals. That is not to mention the many other writings, stories, legends, essays, unfinished material, letters, drawings, paintings, and fundamentally also the plethora of languages (which themselves underwent extensive revision over the years), etc which compliment this vast work (which covers twelve volumes in The History of Middle-earth). Tolkien died in 1973, and it is no surprise that a work so vast should have remained largely unfinished. There are many ''gaps'' in the Tale of Years, and much more could have been written of Númenor, of Galadriel and Celeborn, of Ost-in-Edhil, of Middle-earth in the Second Age, etc. Chapter 22 of The Silmarillion was composed entirely by Christopher Tolkien due to a gap in the mythology, loose ends left by the unfinished Tale of Turambar, the actual fate of Doriath, the motives of the Dwarves of Nogrod, the curse of the Nauglamír (was it the curse of Mîm the Dwarf, or was the gold (brought by whom out of Nargothrond?) accursed from having lain long in the hoard of Glaurung?) and on indecision about the ...of the Curse of Morgoth upon Hurin. It is not to be wondered at. Since the legendarium is conceived of as tales told in Tol Eressëa to the mariner Ælfwine of England, who having become lost off the west coast of Ireland, had found the Lonely Isle and befriended the Elves that dwelt there; and by the Dúnedain of Gondor, gaps are attributed by Tolkien to lost records, the waning of lore among Men, etc, though it is said that the whole history of Arda is recorded by Míriel Serindë in the halls of Vairë on the shores of the Outer Sea. Christopher Tolkien makes some concession to ''custom,'' conflicting narrative, etc, both in
Some of Tolkien's later writings, to be found in Volume X of The History of Middle-earth, are
humility, and acceptance of human error - in both the Canon Law and Silmarillion; canon law deference to older laws, Silmarillion deference to differing accounts of the same event.
No doubt intelligible motives, tie in comment about delays in implementation, and the reasonable desire for clarity in the work.
For precisely the same reason - order, the pigeon hole - the very things Saruman spoke of in his discourse with Gandalf in the Tower of Orthanc.
Of course Christopher Tolkien remarks in Volume XI of The History of Middle-earth (at the end of the Wanderings of Hurin) that even for the case of Hurin's wanderings an attempt to compile a Silmarillion narrative was futile, or at least questionable.
in the same way the ''codification'' of the Silmarillion narrative, consonant with the names, times, places, etc of The Lord of the Rings, distorts the relative import of the Elder Days to the history of Arda, as recorded by Miriel Serinde in the halls of Vaire by the shores of the Outer Sea, and told by Pengolodh to AElfwine of England. While the War of the Ring, in a sense, ''concludes'' the story of
Christopher Tolkien makes some concession to ''custom'' in the published Children of Hurin, where at the capture of Mim the Dwarf by the soldiery of Morgoth he adds a footnote as to Mim's intentions in betraying the House of Ransom, but
However; the problem is that the interpretation of ancient law in a modern context has a tendency to lead to anything from irrelevance to injustice, usually via delay and expense
They are fundamentally legends of the Elder Days, told by Pengolodh to AElfwine, a Saxon living in the 9th century on the Lonely Isle who, having strayed off the west coast of Ireland, had found the Straight Road and sailed into the true West (thereby keeping something of the original Book of Lost Tales
The fate of the Children of Hurin was inextricably tied up with the fate of the three great realms of the Eldar in the Elder Days - Turin brought about the ruin of Nargothrond, Hurin's wandering brought the location of the hidden city of Gondolin to the counsels of Morgoth, being stalked by the spies of the Dark Lord, the cursed gold of Nargothrond to Thingol in Doriath and thereby
Anyway, contrary to what I said hitherto, I haven't completely ''disavowed'' religion - just religious people. Nothing angers me more these days than having ever belonged to a sick finger-pointing culture. To put it bluntly, I don't give a shit about which sycophant-bishop was appointed to a curial office in the Vatican; I don't give a shit about the ordinariate or traditionalist pressure groups who make a fuss about candles and vestments. You're all welcome to the rubbish; just don't expect me to share your enthusiasm for tat and spuriousness. It has nothing whatever to do with Christianity. Have I become worldly? Or perhaps fretting over petty religious squabbles, who will triumph over whom, which ideology in the churches is best aligned with the Word of God unchanging, is a worldly pursuit? It was nice, once upon a time (now seeming immeasurably remote), having liturgy as a ''supplement,'' as it were, and complimentary element to my love of Tolkien, ballet, and art, but I perceive the work of the Lord as much (perhaps more) in beautiful works as any service I ever attended. At least the works of Tolkien remain constant, and a ballet is rehearsed! Constant and unchanging to the end of Time, hallowed by their own greatness, though there come a time when all great catholic works are forbidden and men are constrained to conceal them in vaults deep underground. To feel close to God surely entails some degree of separation from emotions and dispositions destructive of soul? Anger (even righteous anger), prejudice, regret. Attendance at most churches just fuels such things.
Friday, 14 September 2012
Remember...
...pious Jesus, that I am the reason of Thy way.
Today is the 30th anniversary of the death of Her Serene Highness the Princess Grace Kelly of Monaco, one of the most beautiful and admired women of the 20th century. Sometimes I think that such ladies as Princess Grace, who must take after Our Lady in beauty and piety, are the Lord's greatest gift to us, so holy and queenly and warm in a world which is otherwise so cold and perilous. There are some goodly photos here.
I am the resurrection and the life, saith the Lord: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.
May she rest in peace. Amen.
Monday, 10 September 2012
Do good, and disappear...
I read this in The Telegraph this evening. Basically Kieran Conry, the Bishop of Arundel & Brighton, is calling for Roman Catholics to set reminders on their mobile phones about the new rules for Friday penances and to set aside a few moments at work or in some other public place, at 3 o'clock in the afternoon, for prayer. Now I am just as annoyed as the next Catholic about the obvious persecution of Christians around the world but is this not a stinking red herring? Please bear in mind that this is the same chap who said that Friday abstinance was a ''mark of identity'' - which sounds to me like the worst possible reason to fast, but then I am a miserable heretic and apostate who hurls invective against Mother Church, so what do I know? I am nevertheless reminded of a few verses from St Matthew chapter VI.
Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.
Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth:
That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.
And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
Surely it would be more meritorious to be less fussed about it all, and to follow the commands of the Lord in our dealings with people rather than open, vulgar display of prayer and alms as the Pharisees of old? So, what do you do? Follow the writ of the Lord or someone else?
About to burst...
I'm sorry, but this needs to be said. I try not to comment on things beyond Tolkien and Liturgy on this 'blog, and my very low tolerance level is now well-established, but does anybody else have some kind of moral objection to the ''paralympic'' games? I tried to figure it out years ago, but even today I struggle to understand why. I don't care for most sports or gymnastics, so that might have something to do with it, and I have to say I put myself out not to watch any of the real 2012 (or previous) Olympic games (albeit I sympathised with my parents and some of my friends who couldn't get tickets, or wouldn't pay the extortionate prices for them), but I don't know - whether it's the unedifying sight of so many cripples jumping around or people with learning difficulties trying to equal the truly gifted, or blind ballerinas dancing with a soloist of the Royal Ballet, Lord only knows. I think it's the idea of celebrating disability that I find so hateful; terms like ''handicapable'' just go against the grain. It was like that episode of Glee with the deaf choir, dear God! Music has brought me to tears in the past (and I daresay will again), but that was just ridiculous; I felt sorry for them! I know why the paralympic games were started, and at least 50 years ago the paralympic movement had intelligible motives, but is somebody with Down's Syndrome really in the same ''boat'' as someone who has lost his leg? Ere long none of us will have any convictions left; there will be no more labels (although that entails a host of other moral questions), even to have opinions will be scorned. But this is now, the beginning of the end. Is this political correctness gone mad? Is ''handicapable'' an acceptable taxonomical label for someone crippled?
I'm sorry if you find this post objectionable, but I have to tell someone other than my parents. At least they agree with me on this one thing! Although I won't repeat what my father said about it...
Saturday, 8 September 2012
Our Lady of China...
Strange to us of the Western Church, but I rather like this. At least the Christ Child, unlike so much modern Western Art and Iconography, isn't a babe in arms.
Happy Feast all.
Sancta Maria, ora pro nobis.
Thursday, 6 September 2012
St Cecilia, Giver of Fruits...
''In the form of a woman she is tall, and robed in green; but at times she takes other shapes. Some there are who have seen her standing like a tree under heaven, crowned with the Sun; and from all its branches there spilled a golden dew upon the barren earth, and it grew green with corn; but the roots of the tree were in the waters of Ulmo, and the winds of Manwë spoke in its leaves. Kementári, Queen of the Earth, she is surnamed in the Eldarin tongue.'' (J.R.R Tolkien, The Silmarillion, Valaquenta, p.18).
Photo courtesy of Fr Allan Barton: St Cecilia, on a Rood Screen in North Elmham, Norfolk. She reminds me very much of Yavanna in this image, more keen, closer to Earth, very wholesome, where else we might conceive of St Cecilia as more lofty than all that, more angelic, musical, beautiful beyond enduring - almost like the difference between Goldberry and Galadriel. Feast your eyes on it! She's beautiful isn't she?
Sancta Cecilia, ora pro nobis.
Sunday, 2 September 2012
Two anniversaries...
10 years ago I awoke earlier than was my wont at the time (and is still; like Tolkien, I am not a ''morning person''), and ran downstairs into the living room. My parents were seated together, my mother at the telephone table, my father in his armchair, both with grave faces. I stopped, and my father gave me the news that my grandfather had died of the cancer in his stomach, at ten minutes past five of the clock that morning. He was three weeks shy of his 78th birthday.
It is also the 39th anniversary of J.R.R Tolkien's death. I cannot really add to anything I said last year, or the year before, but of your charity I would ask you to pray for my family, and for Tolkien and his family. No long quotes or insights or anything this year; I am rather preoccupied with my own thoughts. The 75th anniversary of The Hobbit is coming up soon, so it seems fitting to start reading.
In the midst of life we are in death: of whom may we seek succour, but of Thee, O Lord, who for our sins art justly displeased? Yet, O Lord God most holy, O Lord most mighty, O holy and most merciful Saviour, deliver us not into the bitter pains of eternal death!
I heard a voice from heaven, saying unto me, Write, from henceforth blessed are the dead which die in the Lord; even so saith the Spirit; for they rest from their labours.
Saturday, 1 September 2012
Kingship...
''And this I remember of Boromir as a boy, when we together learned the tale of our sires and the history of our city, that always it displeased him that his father was not king. 'How many hundreds of years needs it to make a steward a king, if the king returns not?' he asked. 'Few years, maybe, in other places of less royalty,' my father answered. 'In Gondor, ten thousand years would not suffice.' Alas! poor Boromir. Does that not tell you something of him?'' (The Lord of the Rings, Book IV, Chapter V).
Kingship is the best form of government. It seems that Tolkien thought so too (remember what he said about δημοκρατία, that the Greeks spoke of it in scorn, and that to them it meant simply mob rule?). Of course, anyone who has read anything by Tolkien would know the esteem he had for kingship in imitation of and service to a greater kingship - in Arda, the kingship of Manwë, appointed before all ages by God Himself, or in the Christian Era that of Our Lord Jesus Christ, until recently. The matter of kingship always gets me wondering about the cult of ''Christ the King.'' Like Joe the Worker, such a modern cult (since the 1920s raised to the dignity of a liturgical feast) arose during an era of increasing faithlessness, and I would personally question its religious value since it was clearly reactionary and a counter product of the Enlightenment, with all its philosophical barbs, and political revolutions. With a Christian Monarch you wouldn't need modern cults celebrating communism or a feast dedicated to a political philosophy, you would just have Catholicism in situ - Bishops, Priests, Deacons, a Divine Liturgy (with prayers for the Sovereign), and it would all make sense. I cannot see how anyone could truly love Liturgy and despise Monarchy. This could go to explain why so many Traddies, disloyal to the Crown, seem content with spurious tat and aren't interested in historical liturgical accuracy, but we all know there's more to it than that.
And no, you are not at liberty to disagree. We don't go in for this modern notion that all opinions are equally valid on this 'blog, it all depends on the Tradition of Christian Civilisation. Kingship is the best form of government because it mirrors the Divine Kingship of Christ in Heaven. Anyone who disagrees with this truism is an enemy of Christ.
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