Memories of Aragorn

On the 2nd September, 1973 the English academic, poet and novelist J.R.R Tolkien died. He was the renowned author of the “Lord of the Rings” novels and an esteemed professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford University. He dedicated his entire career to the revival of a once distant and obscure culture, almost buried by modernity.

One of his main inspirations was the Anglo-Saxon poet Cynewulf, who proclaimed, “Hail Earendel, most bright angel!”. This was a devotional composed to an entity which we now understand as Venus, the morning star. When he read this he was so haunted by the power of the words that it summoned in him a deep atavistic longing, “I felt an unconscious thrill,” he said, “as if something had stirred me, half-wakened from sleep. There was something very remote and strange and beautiful behind those words”. This remote voice from our ancient past reawakened him, and revived his dormant imagination.

Cynewulf’s verse explored the landscapes of the ancient kingdom of Mercia, a sylvan wilderness situated deep within the heart of England. This region of England is now lost to the realm of myth, aside from a few rural areas. It no longer exists in any meaningful sense as it has been transformed by the untrammelled forces of urbanisation. Tolkien spent his early childhood in Birmingham, in the shadow of Sarehole Mill. He remembered it as a blissful, bucolic existence. This peace and harmony was shattered by the First World War and the almost ceaseless drive towards efficiency and progress.

The First World War and its aftermath was a watershed moment in our history. It was devastating, not just in terms of the lives that were lost, but also in terms of the tremendous impact that it left upon society. The old aristocracy went into rapid decline due to the loss of heirs, and the increase in taxes on estates. This impacted upon every strata of society, especially those who relied upon aristocratic noblesse oblige. Consequently, new and malign political ideologies were stirring amidst an increasingly discontented and insecure populace.

This barren and austere world provided the inspiration for “Lord of the Rings”. He depicts the old Anglo-Saxon world as a paradise threatened by the forces of evil. This evil was personified by Sauron, the Dark Monarch who reigned over a nihilistic kingdom called Mordor. This was a military-industrial complex replete with black furnaces, munitions factories and slag heaps.

Tolkien was a veteran of the Battle of the Somme and had witnessed death and destruction first hand. He saw how the destruction of human life and the natural world was simply pitiless and senseless. He imagined an alternate world, and a more benevolent ruler, the polar opposite of Mordor. This was Aragorn, the exiled King who was due to return to deliver his people from the yoke of Sauron. These tales are rich in religious symbolism, and correlate strongly with the author’s Roman Catholic faith.

The Biblical allusions were deliberate and were encouraged by his friend and Oxford contemporary C.S Lewis. Both became convinced that modernity, and modern literature in particular was devoid of purpose, and essentially moribund. They both realised that the ancient world provided a fertile ground of inspiration and also contained vital moral lessons for future generations. Lewis was definite in his assertion that re-imagining this long forgotten world was necessary for those who “wish to visit strange regions in search of such beauty, awe or terror as the actual world does not supply”. Lewis maintained his own Christian beliefs, and were the source of his literary inspirations.

Clearly, the philosophies that dominated the modern, secular world have not delivered humankind out of its own misery. In fact they have compounded it. A society that prioritises economic and scientific progression and growth is essentially lost. The decline of spirituality has corresponded with a decline in empathy and humanity. In this mindless and futile quest to achieve perfection on Earth we have simply become less human. Our ancestors had much more profound connections, and thanks to the tireless work of poets, scholars and authors like Tolkien we have learned so many valuable insights.