The Hall of Fire

My latest article in The Postil Magazine explores the Catholic and Biblical influences on Distributism and its significant impact on The Shire.

https://www.thepostil.com/catholicism-t ... t-hobbits/

The third in the series

Christian Themes in Middle-earth: Self-Sacrifice and Choosing Good by Jeb Smith
https://fellowdustmag.com/2025/04/03/ch ... sing-good/

The first in a series on Christian influences on Tolkien's work was published in Fellowship and Fairydust Magazine.
Christian Themes in Middle-earth – Fellowship & Fairydust
https://fellowdustmag.com/2025/03/10/ch ... dle-earth/

Part two!

https://fellowdustmag.com/2025/03/08/th ... the-shire/

A wife inheriting her husband's position is not necessarily a sign of a progressive society. At least two Russian empresses ruled after their husband's death. Catherine I ruled after the death of her husband, Peter the Great until her own death. And Catherine II, aka the Great, took over from her h...

I think part of the problem of using the term "feudalism" when discussing the Shire is that there is an element of patriarchal cruelty that is commonly associated with that term that is completely antithetical to Tolkien's semi-utopian presentation of the Shire. Moreover, while Tolkien ce...

I think part of the problem of using the term "feudalism" when discussing the Shire is that there is an element of patriarchal cruelty that is commonly associated with that term that is completely antithetical to Tolkien's semi-utopian presentation of the Shire. Moreover, while Tolkien ce...

I am currently preparing a review for the Journal of Tolkien Studies of a book by three eminent Tolkien scholars who eviscerate Carpenter's biography of Tolkien, and apparently that has been a trend among a certain group of scholars, while others still consider him a worthwhile source. Since I ment...

My latest work in F and F examines the remarkable similarities between real trees and Tolkien's Ents.

https://fellowdustmag.com/2025/02/26/the-ents-among-us/

A few books and articles that you might find helpful, if you have not already read them. Tolkien and Modernity , Volume 1 and Volume 2, both edited by Thomas Honegger and Frank Weinreich for Walking Tree Publishers (both 2006) Defending Middle-Earth: Tolkien: Myth and Modernity , by Patrick Curry, ...

Great question! I also note that Tolkien was also influenced by his period of England as well. He did not like everything about Anglo-Saxon England nor despise everything modern. Further it was not an allegory for these things. But, slavery was not what it became during the transatlantic slave trad...

I note these two passages from the article (emphasis added): 1. "Religiously, culturally, and politically, Tolkien was Anglo-Saxon rather than Modern . Tolkien’s ideals seemingly match his professional area of study, the Germanic and Anglo-Saxon culture, while much of what is presented as evil...

Democracy of the Dead: A Brief Examination of Tolkien's Views on Tradition in Middle-earth.
https://bibliotecanatalie.com/home/f/de ... f-the-dead

But Tolkien knew the bio was coming and that Carpenter was the author. I'm curious to know what you base that statement on. My understanding is that Tolkien was bitterly opposed to any biography at all. Carpenter himself acknowledges that to some extent in his Author's Note at the beginning of his ...

TJRR, I'd like to clarify how you define "feudal"? Are we talking about the system where vassals hold the land from their liege, all the way up to the king, in exchange for military service? Or some other definition? Well, I guess we should have begun with this :D Most are familiar with t...

Meanwhile, since a comment was made in this thread about what I believe that was not, so far as I can tell, actually based on anything that I said about what I believe, I thought that it would behoove me to say something more about what I actually do believe about this topic. First of all, as Verly...

sorry

Carpenter was not involved in writing Tolkien's biography until after Tolkien passed away. It was Christopher that he worked with, not Chrisopher's father, in response to a request by Rayner Unwin that some kind of a biography be produced. When Carpenter completed his first draft, Christopher rejec...

In my experience, Tolkien scholars are almost never in agreement about anything. Whatever proposition made by an eminent Tolkien scholar is followed by an equally eminent Tolkien scholar making the opposite proposition. For example, you mention Carpenter with some degree of approval, but I am curre...

I'm sorry, can you remind me of the quote in which Tolkien stated that "Middle-earth was very feudal"? ETA: A search through the Index of the Revised and Expanded Letters reveals only one reference to "feudal" or "feudalism". I will leave it hear without any comment, s...