The Christian nature of "The Lord of the Rings" by J.R.R. Tolkien

 (Whoever has not read the book, WATCH OUT - the text contains spoilers)

"Lord of the Rings is a fundamentally religious and Catholic work; unconsciously so at first, but consciously in the revision" - these are the words of one of Tolkien's letters. However, if anyone wanted to ask, how is it Christian in particular, it could be noticed in many spheres. I will focus on what I discussed in my M.A. Thesis - the relationship of the book to medieval knightly ethos.

What this ethos actually was? Above all - a model of conduct based on knightly virtues: pride, courage, piety, military ability, respect for the opponent, veracity, taking care of the oppressed and women. According to Ramon Lull, the mission of chivalry was to protect the weak and stop evil. The characters of Tolkien are under huge influence of this ethos, but they do not comply to it perfectly. The closest ones to this model are Boromir and Gimli but, interestingly, pride - the heart of medieval chivalric ideal - turns out to be a very dangerous personality trait. It is through pride that Boromir wants to capture the Ring, which leads to the breaking of the Fellowship of the Ring. In turn, and for the same reason, Gimli almost provokes the fight with the Elves in Lothlorien.

Aragorn manages to mitigate this situation; also, he and Faramir seem to present an improved, Tolkien model of knighthood. Let us add - it is more Christian (apart from the issue of Chrisitan worship, which is absent in the novel). This is because they enrich chivalric ideal with humility, wisdom and realism in evaluating the military situation (contrary to Roland from "The Song of Roland", who is always convinced of his victory). Moreover, Aragorn fulfils his mission not only by fighting, but also by leading the team by secret paths or healing others. Faramir, in turn, is pretty far from medieval canons of courtly love in his relationship with Eowyn.

However, another interesting and very Christian fact is that in the novel, evil is not defeated mainly by the great heroes like Aragorn, Faramir or Gimli. The key roles are played by Hobbit characters, which are much weaker and more "common". It is Frodo and Sam who contribute the most to destroying the Ring, but apart from it, Sam beats Shelob, and Merry (and Eyowyn) - the Lord of the Nazgul. Even Pippin kills a huge troll. When we think about it, it is similar in the Bible - God often choses weak people to realise His goals. On the other hand, Tolkien's novel emphasises the role of cooperation - frequently some small help of someone lets others fulfil the great task of defeating Sauron.

"The Lord of the Rings" is so much worth re-reading - I hope my text will allow many of you to look at this book from a new perspective.