Lord of the Rings and the Eucharist

by Scott L. Smith Jr.

What is "the one great thing to love on earth", according to J. R. R. Tolkien, the author of The Lord of the Rings? The Eucharist! Tolkien made sure his one great love was woven throughout his books. It's easy to find if you know where to look. In Smith's new book, find Tolkien's hidden Eucharist!

The Lord of the Rings can't be fully understood without understanding its hidden Eucharistic significance. What's more, J. R. R. Tolkien can't be fully understood apart from his Catholic identity and his devotion to the Eucharist. Are you ready to read Lord of the Rings like you never have before?

Genres: Religion, Nonfiction, Christian, Catholic

111 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 17, 2019

Reviews

[Chanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this a pretty fun read. The author clearly made the connections between not just the Holy Eucharist, but also other Catholic aspects, e.g., the resurrected Christ and Mary. Tolkien can deny that his masterpieces are not allegory, but all great stories stem from The Bible. How can he, a devout Catholic, not be influenced by it?

[Dan'l Danehy-Oakes · Rating 2 out of 5]

Scott L. Smith is clearly enthusiastic about both _LotR_ and the Eucharist. Alas, he drives it too hard. The idea of _lembas_ as being a type of the Eucharistic host is perfectly reasonable, as are a number of his other ideas. Similarly, I like his schema of three Christ figures - Frodo as Christ the Victim, Aragorn as Christ the King, and Gandalf as Christ the Prophet.

But he also leaps to some very strange conclusions. The strangest thing to me his his conclusion that there is a Virgin Mary figure associated with each of these. Arwen as the Bride of the King, yeah, okay, maybe. Galadriel who tends Gandalf after his death, well, maybe, but I have my doubts. But, and I quote:

"Frodo to Eowyn, a sword shall pierce your heart, as well, both wounded by Nazgul's" [sic].

Ummm...no. There is almost no relationship between Frodo and Eowyn whatsowhoever. She certainly is not any kind of mother or bride figure to him. And her heart is never "pierced"; it's Frodo's heart that was in danger of being pierced by the fragment of the Morgul-blade. He is right, at least, that Eowyn fulfills a prophecy; but not the kind that Mary fulfills by any means.

I could have accepted this as a reasonable area for disagreement, along with some other thoughts -- though it is clear that his understanging of _LotR_ comes at least as much from Peter Jackson as from JRRT; and though the book is full of poor editing work like the example noted above. All that I could have taken at least seriously.

But then he throws in a bonus section at the end, titled "The Catholic Theology of Star Wars".

No. Just...NO.

And, as if this were not silly enough, he manages to miss the semicanonic derivation of Jedi from "Jeremiah, Ezekial, Daniel, Isaiah". (I say "semicanonical" because there are other theories, some probably more plausible, but none of them has been confirmed by George Lucas either -- and while "Jedi" belongs to the Mouse now, Lucas would be the authority on where the words and names from the classic trilogy -- and the one whose existence I deny -- came from.)

So I'm afraid I cannot recommend this book. A pity, as there is a good book to be written on the subject. But this ain't it.

[Griffin · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author reached out to me and asked if I would read this book for an honest review. I was pleasantly surprised by the offer took him up on it. I want to again express my gratitude to him for allowing me to read his book and give my opinion about it.

I felt that this book had a good solid introduction to those unfamiliar with Tolkien's feelings towards the Eucharist, and it's existence as "lembas" in the books. While I've read books on this topic before, the author's covering of it neither felt stale or uninformative.

What was new that I appreciated was the introduction of the idea of Isildur as a "Davidic figure", and the splitting of the kingdoms of Arnor and Gondor similarity to that of Israel. Both of these are subjects other books of this kind hadn't covered. Most solely focus on Aragorn's role as "king" in Jesus' Christ roles of "priest, prophet and king", which this did, but delved deeper into the ancestry of that claim with Aragorn/Jesus and Isildur/David that I haven't seen before. Kudos as well for bringing up the Trees of Valinor and of Gondor and the parallels with the "branch from Jesse's stump" that David and Jesus became.

I also enjoyed the covering of Eowyn as a Marian figure, as that role usually is focused on Galadriel who is by far the most obvious Mary figure in the books. The relationship of the "Trinity of Marys" with the "Trinity of Jesus'" in the roles of "priest, prophet and king" was one I hadn't considered before, especially Eowyn's role. I also enjoyed any book that brings up the Ents and their history.

My one criticism would be that the book didn't have much of a conclusion or wrap up, it covered the Marian figures and then immediately ended, I felt like a last chapter tying everything into one would've worked best, though that sudden end was paid of by a bonus section covering of the Catholic parallels of Star Wars which I hadn't expected, but enjoyed.

All in all, I think this is a great book for readers of Tolkien's works and fans of the films beginning their journey to investigate the Catholic roots that are spread throughout the world of Middle-Earth, as well as those who have already begun this journey, but who would enjoy a fresh perspective in a work that, in the words of the master himself, ".... is of course a fundamentally religious and Catholic work; unconsciously so at first, but consciously in the revision."

[Nick Imrie]

At first it seemed like it was going to be good. It begins with some very interesting quotes from Tolkein about the eucharist, and I was all buckled in ready to learn about the amazing spiritual meaning of the eucharist to Tolkein specifically and Catholics generally. I was ready to notice all sorts of things in LOTR that I hadn't seen the significance of before.

But it very quickly petered out into just pointing out obvious parallels - have you noticed that the eucharist was bread and lembas bread is also bread?
I could've finished, in mild disappointment, if the book had only been a bit simpler than I'd hoped, but I couldn't stomach the patronising primary school teacher tone which emerged.
You know about the 'Two Tower's' of Lord of the Rings, but what about these 'Two Trees'? Also, where else have we heard of two, very consequential trees?

Anyone? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

[Candi Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m not Catholic, but as a Protestant fan of The Lord of the Rings, I found this book interesting. Tolkien was a devout Catholic and his faith deeply impacted his writing. I can agree with a lot of what this author says about the Catholic/ Christian symbolism and themes of Tolkien’s books on Middle Earth.
👍🏼👍🏼

[Regina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exceptional! I can't believe I completely missed all of Tolkien's Catholic references in Lord of the Rings! Big fan of Smith, too. He really reveals a whole new side of the stories.

[Jeremy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Oh dear, oh dear. I think Tolkien would have given this F-. The author is clearly a devout fan of Tolkien and a devout Catholic. However, that is not sufficient to write a book that is worth publishing let alone reading. This is not a scholarly work - I suggest "The Gospel According to Tolkein" for a much more erudite and thoughtful perspective. I found this simplistic and vacuous, with eyebrow-raising child-like arguments for some of the points. Tolkien was a devout Catholic and, understandably, revered the Eucharist and said as much; the core arguments could have been covered in one page. I was surprised that there were images from the Peter Jackson films throughout without any reference to copyright. In some cases, arguments were made on the basis of these images, e.g. Aragorn's mother in the film looks like the Virgin Mary, therefore Aragorn is a Christ figure - that's almost the standard of scholarship involved. I admit that the bonus section on Star Wars really was a bonus - I enjoyed it immensely as it was so ridiculous. The great strength of this book is that it can be read in less than an hour...so the experience is not prolonged.

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting connections between Tolkien and the Bible.

[Lila Niko · Rating 1 out of 5]

brakowało mi słów, więc żeby wyrazić to, co obecnie czuję, muszę wspomóc się słownikiem - a więc jestem "pozbawiona odporności psychicznej" i ogarnięta "uczuciem bezsilności spowodowanym zwątpieniem w coś lub nieszczęściem".

chyba nie mam sił, żeby tu pisać o wszystkim, co i dlaczego jest aż tak straszne. Wymienię zatem tylko te rzeczy:
- treść
- forma
- ilustracje
.

[Prince Cad Ali Cad · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5/5 Stars. A fun read, though a stretch at times (one can see types or figurements of certain things and people in Tolkien's works, yes. Are they explicitly meant to be such? Perhaps not. The work is a Catholic work in that it is rooted in Catholic soil and a Catholic soul - that needn't mean it is at every time disguising its characters as a perfect Christ figure [which the author notes at one point]. For instance, the author compares the healing hands of Aragorn with the healing hands of Christ, but other medieval kings, such as St Edward, also had healing hands. Further, the return of Aragorn as King might be rooted just as much in the return of Bonnie Prince Charles, the Jacobite heir, as it is in Christ's Return. Of course, the context for both historical instances find their roots in Christ and His Church, so ultimately everything finds it was back there). This book isn't just about the Eucharist, but proposes parallels between other characters and events in Tolkien's works. However, the author skirts over Tolkien's distaste of allegory. And his comparison between the Trees of the Garden of Eden and the famous Trees of his own work have been addressed by Tolkien himself in at least one interview, where Tolkien said they are more akin to the Trees of the Sun and Moon of Alexandrian lore than those of Biblical history. Further, constantly appealing to the movies (which are good movies, to be sure) greatly weakens the work. The movies are a reflection of Tolkien, but they are not Tolkien.

[Sherry C · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was just ok, I probably wouldn’t recommend it. The author is clearly a fan and knows his theology, there’s no question about that. There are some clear similarities/inspirations from the Catholic Faith in Tolkien’s work. The author, however, makes some pretty big leaps of opinions regarding his idea of Mary figures that simply don’t make sense and are a big stretch.

While the author is enthusiastic, I found it to be a bit annoying as a read. Perhaps this would work better as a speech or audio book, but not for actual reading. For example, the author repeatedly made references trying to underscore the assumptions as being obvious much like you would in a speech similar to “don’t you see it?” , etc that really came off as annoying as a written piece.

He adds some theology analogies to Star Wars in the last 20% of the book, so the actual Lord of the Rings/Tolkien book is very short. If this topic interests you; I would recommend that you visit Father Roderick’s podcasts and YouTube channels for much better content:

https://www.fatherroderick.com/

[Nick Polk · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is misleading.

If this book was written with the intent to bring personal readings or devotional reflections on Tolkien and the Eucharist, this would be a decent book. There are some genuinely interesting connections made between the lengendarium, Catholic theology, and the Bible.

Instead, this book makes wild assertions that Tolkien had an evangelical agenda to influence readers through Catholic theology and biblical imagery. Rather than place Tolkien’s letters and life in context, they are twisted to fit Smith’s claims because he has no evidence to back them up.

The format of the book is messy with confusing endnotes and endless screen shots of art and stills from the Peter Jackson films to fill up space so the page count makes sense for publication. Much of the material is not original with spelling errors and many uncredited media pieces. One of the few good things about this book is its correct references to aspects of the legendarium, even if they are taken out of context.

[Daniel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lord of the Rings and the Eucharist is quite an interesting read. Fascinating and relevant connections are made between Catholicism and Tolkien's Legendarium, however, there are times when the author's zeal for comparison overextends the examples actually present in his subject matter. Tolkien claimed that he never consciously wrote in allegory, and as such, there are times when similarities in symbolism and language may occur that are not sufficient for claiming any deep-seated connection. Still, the text is thought-provoking, and it is fun to dig into Middle-Earth with a theological lens in mind. As an entertaining bit of literary analysis, Lord of the Rings and the Eucharist is a wild success. I would hesitate to ascribe to it a particularly profound scholarly relevance.

[The Book Dragon's Hoard by A.V. · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fascinating look at the underlying symbology encoded into the Lord of the Rings. I knew some of the points, but Smith exhausts the material and goes into great detail, explaining as succinctly as possible the connections. Definitely recommend for LotR fans who want to go deeper and find out more about what underpins Tolkien's thinking.

[Catherine Schue · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book was a fun and easy read, however my copy had a lot of typos and there were some points that didn’t quite have the literary sophistication I was expecting. Still very interesting!

[Max Almas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh. It was alright. But ending was so bad. Not a good analysis of Marianology.

[Maciej Wacławik · Rating 2 out of 5]

Autor bardzo ślizga się po tematyce. Brakuje głębi przemyśleń. Wątki są zarzucone i kompletnie nie rozwijane. Bez sensu wydaje się dodatek o Gwieznych Wojnach, też potraktowany bardzo powierzchniowo

[Colin Letch · Rating 2 out of 5]

Badly in need of an editor.