The Battle for Middle-earth: Not in the Sense of the Game

The Battle for Middle-earth: Tolkien’s Divine Design in The Lord of the Rings (2004), by Fleming Rutledge. Cover by John Howe. This is the first book of a batch that I ordered in the wake of my birthday, all books about Tolkien and his works; it was also done in anticipation (in the negative sense of the word) of what is almost sure to be the tinkling brass of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. Perhaps I will be pleasantly surprised with the show, but I’ve seen little signs of hope there so far.

          It is issued by the William B. Eerdman’s Publishing Company (“located in Grand Rapids, Michigan, it's an independent publisher of religious books, from academic books and scholarly works in theology, biblical studies, and religious history to popular titles in spirituality, ministry, and cultural criticism”). I have several titles that they’ve published through the years, including works by George Macdonald, Charles Williams, and C. S. Lewis. Rutledge’s book would fall under the heading of cultural criticism (criticism in the technical sense of analysis).

          As one might surmise from the term “Divine (in the sense of holy) Design” in the title, Rutledge has ‘divined’ (in the sense of discerned) a theological purpose or plan supporting Tolkien’s classic adventure fantasy (a plan that Tolkien himself asserted several times, and which, as a faithful practicing Catholic, he probably could not have avoided in his work). Rutledge does not try to pull these elements out of the tale for proselytizing purposes, but “has carefully avoided reducing Tolkien’s thrilling stories to doctrine or characters to typology. – Thomas H. Luxon.” (Unlike, that is, slighter books such as Walking with Frodo or Following Gandalf.) This is a big, substantial book, and I look forward to finding new and unsuspected elements.

          “Fleming Rutledge (born 1937) is an American Episcopal priest, author, and preacher. Ordained to the diaconate in 1975, she was one of the first women to be ordained to the priesthood of the Episcopal Church.

Rutledge is widely recognized in the United States, in Canada, and in the UK as a preacher and lecturer who teaches other preachers. Her particular expertise is the intersection of biblical theology with contemporary culture, current events and politics, literature, music and art. She has often been invited to preach in prominent pulpits. She is a noted Tolkien scholar, bringing a Christian perspective to the study of the writings of J. R. R. Tolkien, who was a devout Roman Catholic.” – Wikipedia.