Culture Downstream of Philosophy: Wideo Wednesday

Gnosticism is a strangely insidious philosophy; one of its main tenets is that the spirit (or mind, if you will) is real and true and the body (or material world) is inherently evil. Therefore, what you 'really' are is your soul, which can never be stained by any actions of the body, so it doesn't really matter what you do with it or how you treat it. I ran across this video explicating how a number of movies seem to be pushing this 'religion', which among other stories is a basic tale reversing the Christian Creation account, with the Creator figure being an oppresser who binds spirits to the physical world and the Serpent figure being a liberator from that 'bondage'. I'm not sure that I completely buy that this is a purposeful undertaking or if it is just a natural result of various ingrained cultural assumptions. But she makes an intriguing case.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBwPw7ck4eU 

Andrew Klavan, the Conservative Commentator, recently made a similar argument about Wicked, but his post is somewhat longer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9B37wPSuv0 

 

The Lord of the Rings: The Muster of Rohan (Part One)

 

The Tale

‘Now all roads were running together to the East to meet the coming of war and the onset of the Shadow. And even as Pippin stood at the Great Gate of the City and saw the Prince of Dol Amroth ride in with his banners, the King of Rohan came down out of the hills.’

          The day is going down as they break out of the mountains into hills and the sighing fir-woods below. They follow the falling water to the bottom of the gorge and find the land of Harrowdale before them. The river Snowbourne flows down towards Edoras; to the right is the mountain Starkhorn, blue in the East but stained red in the West by the sunset.

Merry gazes in wonder at this strange land. To him it seems skyless, with steep tree-clad hills on either side. He always had liked the idea of mountains, at least marching along the borders of old tales, ‘but now he was borne down by the insupportable weight of Middle-earth.’ He wants to shut the immensity out with a cozy little room with a fire.

Merry is very tired; they have ridden for three days, slowly but with little rest. Sometimes, when the road allowed, he had ridden at Theoden’s side, telling him tales about the Shire, with the King telling him in turn tales of the Mark and its ‘mighty men of old’ in exchange. But most of the time he has ridden behind Theoden in silence, listening to the ‘slow sonorous speech’ of the Riders behind him, trying to understand it. It seems to have many familiar words, spoken in strange accents, but he cannot piece together the meaning. ‘At times some Rider would lift up his clear voice in a stirring song, and Merry felt his heart leap, though he did not know what it was about.’

But here at the day’s end he feels lonelier than ever, and wonders what Pippin is doing, or Aragorn and Gimli and Legolas. Then with a guilty start he remembers Frodo and Sam as well. He started on this adventure to help Frodo! They are more important than any of the rest, and they must be hundreds of miles away on their journey, if they are even still alive. He shivers.

Notes

Only a couple of pages of this chapter, but I think I must start slowly to position myself again and begin cranking the machinery up after my vacation, as it were. We are given a smooth transition from Pippin (who has had the last two chapters) in the soon to be besieged City to Merry, who is riding with an army to war.

Also in contrast Merry certainly seems closer to his ‘liege-lord’ than Pippin is to Denethor; Pippin’s dialogue with the Steward of Gondor has been to extract information, while Merry and Theoden have been exchanging tales. Tolkien says that some Riders are amused at the little figure of the Hobbit on his stubby grey pony talking familiarly with the King on his great white horse.

It is his contact with the Rohirrim that sparks a scholarly curiosity in Merry. Elsewhere Tolkien states that the Hobbits’ speech bears the same relation to Rohirric as our Modern English does to Anglo-Saxon; the ‘real’ languages are transposed to those of our world. Tolkien clearly means that our reaction to Anglo-Saxon should be like Merry’s: a recognition of ancient kinship, a dim but stirring echo of the past. Perhaps he is even describing his own feelings on being introduced to Anglo-Saxon. Merry’s interest and familiarity with the language of Rohan leads him to writing (among other books) Old Words and Names in the Shire, described as a ‘short treatise’, showing the relationship between the two.

Merry’s remembrance of Frodo not only shows his concern with his cousin and his quest, but jogs our memory too, and places all the pieces on the board in relationship to each other. Little touches like this keep us in mind of Frodo and Sam and the greater mission amid the hurly-burly of war.

2020 Diary

 

1/1/20: Woke up at midnight from a dream to the sound of fireworks. Went to change my church calendar, and as I did so found out (or was reminded) that it is a Holy Day of Obligation: The Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God. Checked my Church schedule and saw Mass was at 9 AM. That changes my plans a bit. Go to bed again.

Up about 5:30 AM. Prayers, catechism, and Bible. Record dream. Post on Power of Babel. Get dressed while listening to a playthrough of Donkey Kong Country 2. Set to leave at 8 AM. Yowch. Even as I wrote, a bulb just blew at 7:44 AM, the first in a long time.

Left at 8 AM and was the 2^nd person in the pews. Fr. Dennis was a little rushed in the end as he had to go say Mass elsewhere at 10 AM, but it was still good. When it was done, I walked over and bought a TX Lotto and went into Dollar General and got some Dobie pads, hydrogen peroxide, ramen, sugar wafers, and Peach Crush (which I just had to try). Found a Star Wars(?) action figure in the park. Home about 10:30 AM.

Watched some Godzilla movies on Comet, made some ramen for breakfast/lunch, ate some sugar wafers. A little after 1 PM some neighbors went chasing their pet through the back yard and all around the area, stirring up dogs all around us. Settled down about 1:35 PM, and now I feel like a nap. The air has smelled like firework gunpowder all morning.

Never did get a nap. Kam called about 2 PM, and I grassed the Chis. Then S&A asked if I could go ahead and make the cookies from the mix Kam’s class sold, and mixed the dip from the mix they sold, then made the hot cheese dip, and they ordered pizza and put stuff they’d cleaned out of Kam’s room away. We ate at 4 PM, then it was out at 5 PM to watch The Flintstones and at 6 PM I hope to finally get a wee bit of sleep.

But at 6:30 PM I prayed the rosary. Now I mean to lay down at 7 PM. So, I laid down and started to listen to music, and John called me! We talked a lot about time and Star Wars and pop culture, and the talk was good; and now it’s 8:20 PM, and I’m going to try to sleep again.

 

1/2/20: Up at about 4:30 AM. Prayers, catechism, Bible. Tried to track down a quote, something like: “Creation is imagination checked by physics.” Couldn’t find it. Puttered around on YouTube. Now listening to Gilbert Gottfried’s Amazing Colossal Podcast, which I missed when Kam was staying here to recuperate. Making some ramen but can’t wait to go in and see if there’s any chicken soup left.

I went in at 9 AM and got some chicken soup and a piece of pizza. Came back and puttered around some more, then took a nap at 11 AM or so. Woke up at 1 PM and wrote down a dream, then went inside to thaw some chicken thighs and make rice for supper. Ate some more pizza and the last of the soup. Finally got the thighs separated and cooking. It’s now about 3:30 PM, and I mean to go in at 4 PM to do the pets’ thing and check the chicken (which was separated but still frozen). Feel sleepy, and the right side of my head still feels clogged.

I put the rice and broccoli together with the thighs on top and finished cooking at 5 PM. Sun came out for a while at the end of the day. Andy came a little before 7 PM and asked me to save the last thigh for him tomorrow. I went in at 7:30 PM to clean up, made Kam 2 pieces of pizza, grabbed the last slice and a couple of cookies. S&A came home from the store (off to get some presents – belated Christmas or New Year) as I was throwing the box out, and Susan asked me to make stir-fry for supper tomorrow. Finished up, came back, prayed rosary, and hit the hay.

 

1/3/20: Up a little before 4 AM and wrote down dream, checked e-mail, and looked at illustrator sites. Almost 5 AM, and I think I’ll lay down again and see what happens. Tolkien’s Birthday.

Up again about 6:30 AM, from another dream. Prayers, catechism, Bible, and rosary. Now almost 7:40 AM. Have decided to not go to Walmart today, but instead wait to see how things go. A weekend of semi-fasting wouldn’t be amiss.

A little after 9 AM, just after I had gotten my breakfast ramen and a cheese dip sandwich, and I was watching the latter half of The Thief of Bagdad (I always seem to catch it just when Abu is stealing the All-Seeing Eye), the workmen finally come bringing in the screens, and the first one they attach is the one on my kitchen window.

It only takes them about 15 minutes to do them all together. So, I go through the day able to air out the house completely. It’s a fairly sunny day, mid-60’s. I go in about 2 PM and Kam asks me to grass the Chis and fry him some eggs and bacon, and the new ventilation helps with that, too. Eat some sour cream dip as I cook.

At 3:30 PM I go out to sweep the porches and pick up some sticks. I gave Kam that action figure I found New Year’s Day; I think it is from ‘Black Panther’. At 4 PM I go to feed the animals and start supper. The stir-fry has shrimp, stir-fry vegetables, and extra broccoli, with cauliflower on the side. I run in and out putting the bags in the bin and rounding up the Chis. Eat my supper, but don’t feel like watching The Flintstones today. Thinking about writing all day, and what to do, but it doesn’t look like I’ll produce yet. Thinking about Dan Harmon’s ‘story circle’. Now 5:27 PM. Bed about 10 PM.

 

1/4/20: Woke up about 4 AM, and prayed and read catechism, then back to sleep. Then at 5:30 AM read Bible and laid down again. At 6:30 AM got up, got dressed, and made ramen. Spent much of the day finishing reading Gogol and then Turgenev short stories. About 12:30 PM had ramen for lunch. About 2 PM Susan came to tell me about a leak that they’d found in the back yard. She said that I could have the rest of the sour cream dip and later tamales. She and Andy worked on the yard for some hours, and I had the pleasure of smelling a cold mowing.

Spent much of the day pondering the best way to expend the rest of my resources; more or less decided on the roll of a die to wait until Monday and go to Walmart. I do have stuff to eat, if not the tastiest of stuff, which will get me through.

I went in at 5:30 PM and got some tamales with cheese dip. These were very good tamales, lots of meat. I spilled some watery cheese (I put water on the plate with my tamales to help ‘steam’ them) on my old grey sweater and had to take it and my shirt off. Felt sleepy by 7 PM. Prayed my rosary and conked out.

 

1/5/20: Up about 5:30 AM, after a night of up and down, with some dreams, including a very straightforward dream that I had a hard time getting out of my mind, but which I will not record. I only mention it because it was the most powerful one I’ve had in quite a while, but it’s fading as I apply myself to real life. Right side of my head still stopped up; I wonder if all these dreams are a result of fever? Anyway, took a shower and dressed, and on to the rest of my prayers, catechism, Bible.

Off to church at 7 AM; Fr. Tony (our ‘substitute’ priest) presiding. A pretty nippy morning. Home and then some ramen for breakfast, and later, ramen for lunch. Thinking about how to get to the Coliseum next Sunday.

About 2 PM S&A came in with the box from Kam’s room to store in here and we put it on the ‘room divider’ pile of bins. As they were heading for Walmart, I asked them if they could take my gift card and get me a box of ramen (not for now, but next weekend) and 3 jugs of Big Red Zero, and they very kindly said yes. As I thought there was another bin coming, I made room in the kitchen closet.

Later I found out no, there wasn’t another bin, so Andy moved the one off the divider and into the closet. I didn’t mind it, but it’s semi-transparent and doesn’t go with the other bins. Later they brought me part of chicken (back, a little breast, and a wing) with dipping sauce and that (with some ramen, that I went ahead and broke into) made my supper. Continued reading Turgenev most of the day, and even made a quote from Prose Poems my daily blog on Power of Babel. Bed at nearly 11 PM.

1/6/2020: Up about 5:30 AM, dress, prayers, catechism, and Bible. I’m pretty sure school starts today again, so planning on that, along with laundry. Write one paragraph of “Philo”.

Andy knocks at the door about 7:45 AM and tells me that the plumber is coming this morning, and not to run water. I say okay. This sets my wash back a few hours, and I boil the eggs for egg salad (and the ten Susan asked me to make yesterday) using jug water. It takes surprisingly little. Listen to GGACP. S&A come at 11:30 AM and tell me the water is on, so I start my laundry. For tomorrow, they want turkey chili and gumbo, as well as the broccoli salad I make today.

My right leg still in shooting pain, my right arm weak, the right side of my head still plugged up and ringing (infection?). Am I on the way out? What could I do if I am?

Well, at 1 PM I started making broccoli salad (having the kitchen table clear certainly helped), finished, and about 2 PM let the Chis out. My first load was done, and I put it in the dryer and started my second load in the washer. Something is going on with the washer, which has further added to my hump today. And such a beautiful day, warm and clear and blue. Please God I get to the end of it.

Also ate Pumpkin Delights, which I’d forgotten I still had.

So at 4 PM I started supper (fish rings and couscous), let the Chis out again, and checked my uncooperative wash. Finished cooking supper, ate my portion (Kam also gave me a taco of his from Saturday; I used some of the salsa in my ramen/couscous). Susan had gone off walking but was back at 6 PM. I told her what was going on with my wash, and apparently, it’s something that happens when the water’s been shut off, so no reprisals there. Andy gets home soon thereafter and helps me with the machine. A little later I help Kameron with his Thank You cards, clear away after supper, and at 8:40 PM my wash is at last finished. I go in, hang it up, and feel sleepy, but not without first praying my rosary. Then I crash, a little after 10 PM.

E-mail from John:  He [Mike] has been showing up a lot in my dreams lately as well.  He's a busy man for someone who hasn't walked the face of the earth for over thirteen years.  The weather has been perfect lately, but of course, there is grumbling room still- the lack of cold or especially moisture bodes ill for certain aspects of the future- but, in the face of such perfection one feels churlish to harbor such grumbles. We had a nice weekend, M and I went to a few spots in San Marcos on Saturday for our Daddy/Daughter Day, and Amy and I had our "first Sunday of the month " lunch date at one of our favorite restaurants in Lockhart. I investigated a nearby record store which had such an amazingly Babel-ish stock of CD's at rock bottom prices that I had to confirm that it was reality and not one of those "perfect store" dreams- I ended up with six CD's for less than $25, and all amazing finds! Just crazy. There was lots there still for future raids, if, God willing, the store persists for a while. I have been reading Gulag still, but also the writings of Marcus Aurelius on the side. I have really been getting a lot out of his work- have you ever read it?

Notes

The Flintstones had only recently returned to locally available TV, and as I had not seen it for many years, I was interested in watching it again. It is strange to look back at the time Kameron was still going to school and how absolutely regimented my schedule was to that. Also, strange to see how attuned the time was to Russian literature just it is this year: John was reading Gulag by Solzhenitsyn and now I am reading Cancer Ward. I notice I wasn’t writing very much then either; probably has to do with the holiday season and recovering from it. Despite all my handwringing I’m still here, plugging away. Seems to be part of my perennial bouts of self-pity. I had read some of Marcus Aurelius, but rather spottily. Man, I miss listening to Gilbert Gottfried and his guests.

Epiphany, January 6: Coming Soon

 

"This day, called Twelfth-Day, as being in that number after Christmas, and Epiphany from the Greek 'Ε∏ιΦáνєια', signifying appearance, is a festival of the Church, in commemoration of the Manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles; more expressly to the three Magi, or Wise Men of the East, who came, led by a star, to worship him immediately after his birth. (Matt. ii. 1-12.) The Epiphany appears to have been first 'observed as a separate feast in the year 813. Pope Julius I is, however, reputed to have taught the Church to distinguish the Feasts of the Nativity and Epiphany, so early as about the middle of the fourth century.

"The primitive Christians celebrated the Feast of the Nativity for twelve days, observing the first and last with great solemnity; and both of these days were denominated Epiphany, the first the greater Epiphany, from our Lord having on that day become Incarnate, or made his appearance in "the flesh;" the latter, the lesser Epiphany, from the three-fold manifestation of His Godhead—the first, by the appearance of the blazing star which conducted Melchior, Jasper, and Balthuzar, the three Magi, or wise men, commonly styled the three Kings of Cologne, out of the East, to worship the Messiah, and to offer him presents of "Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh"—Melchior the Gold, in testimony of his royalty as the promised King of the Jews; Jasper the Frankincense, in token of his Divinity; and Balthuzar the Myrrh, in allusion to the sorrows which, in the humiliating condition of a man, our Redeemer vouchsafed to take upon him: the second, of the descent of the Holy Ghost in the form of a Dove, at the Baptism: and the third, of the first miracle of our Lord turning water into wine at the marriage in Cana. All of which three manifestations of the Divine nature happened on the same day, though not in the same year.

'To render due honour to the memory of the ancient Magi, who are supposed to have been kings, the monarch of this country himself, either personally or through his chamberlain, offers annually at the altar on this day, Gold, Frank-incense, and Myrrh; and the kings of Spain, where the Feast of Epiphany is likewise called the "Feast of the Kings," were accustomed to make the like offerings.'—Brady.

"In the middle ages, the worship by the Magi was celebrated by a little drama, called the Feast of the Star.:

'Three priests, clothed as kings, with their servants carrying offerings, met from different directions before the altar. The middle one, who came from the east, pointed with his staff to a star. A dialogue then ensued; and, after kissing each other, they began to sing, "Let us go and inquire;" after which the precentor began a responsory, "Let the Magi come." A procession then commenced; and as soon as it began to enter the nave, a crown, with a star resembling a cross, was lighted up, and pointed out to the Magi, with, "Behold the Star in the East." This being concluded, two priests standing at each side of the altar, answered meekly, "We are those whom you seek;" and, drawing a curtain, shewed them a child, whom, falling down, they worshipped. Then the servants made the offerings of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, which were divided among the priests. The Magi, meanwhile, continued praying till they dropped asleep; when a boy, clothed in an alb, like an angel, addressed them with, "All things which the prophets said are fulfilled." The festival concluded with chanting services, &c. At Soissons, a rope was let down from the roof of the church, to which was annexed an iron circle having seven tapers, intended to represent Lucifer, or the morning star; but this was not confined to the Feast of the Star.'—Fosbroke's Antiquities, ii. 700.

"At Milan, in 1336, the Festival of the Three Kings was celebrated in a manner that brings forcibly before us the tendency of the middle ages to fix attention on the historical externals of Christianity. The affair was got up by the Preaching Friars. 'The three kings appeared, crowned, on three great horses richly habited, surrounded by pages, body guards, and an innumerable retinue. A golden star was exhibited in the sky, going before them. They proceeded to the pillars of St. Lawrence, where King Herod was represented with his scribes and wise men. The three kings ask Herod where Christ should be born, and his wise men, having consulted their books, answer, at Bethlehem. On which the three kings, with their golden crowns, having in their hands golden cups filled with frankincense, myrrh, and gold, the star going before, marched to the church of St. Eustorgius, with all their attendants, preceded by trumpets, horns, asses, baboons, and a great variety of animals. In the church, on one side of the high altar, there was a manger with an ox and ass, and in it the infant Christ in the arms of his mother. Here the three kings offer Him gifts. The concourse of the people, of knights, ladies, and ecclesiastics, was such as was never before beheld.

"In its character as a popular festival, Twelfth-Day stands only inferior to Christmas. The leading object held in view is to do honour to the three wise men, or, as they are more generally denominated, the three kings. It is a Christian custom, ancient past memory, and probably suggested by a pagan custom, to indulge in a pleasantry called the Election of Kings by Beans. In England, in later times, a large cake was formed, with a bean inserted, and this was called Twelfth-Cake. The family and friends being assembled, the cake was divided by lot, and who-ever got the piece containing the bean was accepted as king for the day, and called King of the Bean. The importance of this ceremony in France, where the mock sovereign is named Le Roi de la Fève, is indicated by the proverbial phrase for good luck, 'Il a trouvé la fève au gâteau,' He has found the bean in the cake. In Rome, they do not draw king and queen as in England, but indulge in a number of jocularities, very much for the amusement of children. Fruit-stalls and confectioners' shops are dressed up with great gaiety. A ridiculous. figure, called Beffana, parades the streets, amidst a storm of popular wit and nonsense. The children, on going to bed, hang up a stocking, which the Beffana is found next morning to have filled with cakes and sweetmeats if they have been good, but with stones and dirt if they have been naughty.

"In England, it appears there was always a queen as well as a king on Twelfth-Night. A writer, speaking of the celebration in the south of England in 1774, says:

'After tea, a cake is produced, with two bowls containing the fortunate chances for the different sexes. The host fills up the tickets, and the whole company, except the king and queen, are to be ministers of state, maids of honour, or ladies of the bed-chamber. Often the host and hostess, more by design, than accident, become king and queen. According to Twelfth-Day law, each party is to support his character till midnight.'

"In the sixteenth century, it would appear that some peculiar ceremonies followed the election of the king and queen. Barnaby Goodge, in his paraphrase of the curious poem of Nagcorgus, The Popish Kingdom, 1570, states that the king, on being elected, was raised up with great cries to the ceiling, where, with chalk, he inscribed crosses on the rafters to protect the house against evil spirits."

--Chambers Book of Days

New Year’s Resolutions Update

 

Well, even though today is Jan. 4, I actually began my resolutions Dec. 31, so this is my fifth day. I’m glad to report that I have been keeping my resolves in this short period of time. The one to read has been the easiest, as I have Cancer Ward by Alexander Solzhenitsyn to read. One drawback there is that I inevitably had a dream about having to check into the hospital, in which the word ‘cancer’ was never said, but the implications were hanging in the atmosphere. There was only one Holy Day of Obligation during this short period, January First, The Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. It was a little strange for me, being in church on a weekday, at a later hour. I got my one book from Amazon for the month, The Wood at Midwinter. I’m doing fairly well on diet, showers, cleaning shelves, and playing a daily DVD (one disc of Invader Zim, My Neighbors the Yamadas, Peter’s Friends, The Brothers Grimm). The only one I’m sort of fudging on is the hour of writing; I’ve been including posts and diary entries to help plump out my quota, kind of like offering carbon offsets to cover fossil fuel use. Dr Henke’s office (my foot guy) was helping me keep track of my medical schedule, sending me a reminder I have an appointment on Monday for a check-up. People say that the second Friday in January is the day most people give up on New Year’s resolutions; let’s see how long I can hold out. Time to put on today’s DVD. I think I’ll put on the animated The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (thanks, Jack, for that unwieldy title). I should be back on my regular irregular posting schedule on Monday.

Happy Birthday, J. R. R. Tolkien!

 

Well, today is the 133^rd anniversary of J. R. R. Tolkien’s birthday, and as usual I like to note the date in some way, and perhaps meditate a bit on what the Professor means to me and on the state of his legacy.

This year I’d like to especially think about what he means to what they call my ‘faith life’. While a lot of people take Middle-earth to be a pagan place, or at least a pre-Christian place, deep reading reveals the profound religious bones that underlie the work, implicitly in The Lord of the Rings and more explicitly in The Silmarillion. Tolkien always makes sure his ‘legendarium’ never directly contradicts the Christian faith, and even went to some pains to make sure it would dovetail with the Bible, perhaps an account of Genesis from another point of view. A lot of recreational readers (especially of The Hobbit or The Lord of the Rings) take the religious aspect as just so much chin-wagging or window-dressing, a bit of verisimilitude to help sell the story, no more than a piece of colorful mythology like Crom or Cthulhu. I think this attitude might be what is leading (in part) to the inadequacies of things like The Rings of Power.

For myself, Tolkien’s work is what led me obliquely to my own Roman Catholic faith. I say obliquely, because Tolkien led me to C. S. Lewis and his apologetic work (not to mention G. K. Chesterton), and Lewis, though an Anglican, through his orthodoxy, helped lead me to be a Catholic (it’s funny how often that happens to Lewis’s readers). Further delving into Tolkien’s personal life confirmed him as an admirable paradigm and did not hurt my decision to become Catholic. This was further deepened by Holly Ordway’s Tolkien’s Faith last year, which finally solidified my understanding of Tolkien as a person.

Tolkien has often been jestingly proposed as a candidate for sainthood, even to the point of having devotional candles sold on Etsy. Although certainly not a recognized saint (yet) in the Catholic Church, there is no stricture against asking any blessed soul (whether in Heaven or still in Purgatory) for help and intercession. That might be superfluous for me, considering how much he already gives me with what he left here on Earth.

What can we expect from Tolkien in 2025? I really don’t know. I have not heard any rumors about publication for any ‘new’ unpublished works; I would certainly welcome another edition of The Old English Exodus (not Middle-earth related, but the most unavailable of his scholarly works) even if only in paperback. Perhaps the most we can hope for are ‘repotted’ volumes, collecting various strands of the ‘Great Tales’, like the books Christopher Tolkien edited together for Beren and Luthien or The Children of Hurin. Or perhaps an anthology volume, gathering several shorter works together, a book like A Tolkien Miscellany or Tales from the Perilous Realm. What is almost certain is that there will be a dozen or so mediocre-to-poor books ‘about’ Tolkien and Middle-earth and maybe one or two with real insight, with perhaps a useful ‘technical’ volume somewhere in the mix. Only time will tell.

In the meantime, Middle-earth exists in that same timeless bright, shadowy realm glimpsed from afar as if through deeps of time, that can never be stained by the dirty devices of marketing or modernity. And it is for this ‘birthday gift’ from J. R. R. Tolkien that I raise a glass in remembrance to him, on this, his birthday. Peace and honor and thanks to you, Professor!

Into the Archive: The Wood at Midwinter

The Wood at Midwinter, by Susanna Clarke [Bloomsbury. October 2024]

“From the bestselling and prize-winning author of Piranesi and Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, an enchanting, beautifully illustrated short story set in the world of Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell.

'A church is a sort of wood. A wood is a sort of church. They're the same thing really.'

“Nineteen-year-old Merowdis Scot is an unusual girl. She can talk to animals and trees-and she is only ever happy when she is walking in the woods.

“One snowy afternoon, out with her dogs and Apple the pig, Merowdis encounters a blackbird and a fox. As darkness falls, a strange figure enters in their midst-and the path of her life is changed forever.

“Featuring gorgeous illustrations [by Victoria Sawdon] truly worthy of the magic of this story and an afterword by Susanna Clarke explaining how she came to write it, this is a mesmerizing, must-have addition to any fantasy reader's bookshelf.”

-Amazon

I didn’t even know this book existed until the last day of December, and I knew when I saw it that it was my one book for January. I sent off for it then, and it came today. It is a beautiful little book; the picture does not do it justice. The blue and white is wonderfully accented by the gilt lettering and figures, giving it the look of a wintery medieval manuscript.

It is listed at 64 pages; of those, only 50 of those are dedicated to the story, and those are generously illustrated, so the text is really shorter. The afterword is 8 pages long. Clarke explains how the short story was written in 2020 for Christmas broadcast on BBC 4, and how it was influenced by the work of Jorge Luis Borges and Kate Bush.

Though it takes place as the same world as Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, it can be described in one way as the exact opposite of that work; while the other book is a thick tome, this is a wafer-thin little volume. My copy arrived with thin scratches on the cover, not immediately noticeable, just slightly marring its beauty. The shipping and handling cost almost as much as the book itself. Clarke is supposed to be working on a novel-length sequel to JS&MN; I’m beginning to wonder.