Aragorn
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The Harrowing Paths of the Dead
For most Western Christians, this week is “Holy Week,” the most important liturgical period of the year. The week begins with Palm Sunday, the commemoration of Christ’s entrance into Jerusalem and ends with Easter Sunday, the celebration of Christ’s resurrection from the dead. As it was for many Catholics, Holy Week was a special time… Continue reading
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Dawn, the Hope of Men
In the chapter, “Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age” in The Silmarillion, we learn about the great cities founded by the Numenoreans in exile after the Fall of Numenor: Other strong places they built also upon either hand: Minas Ithil, the Tower of the Rising Moon, eastward upon a shoulder of the… Continue reading
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Ashes in The Lord of the Rings
For Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent, I had the idea to share some thoughts on the references to “ashes” in The Lord of the Rings. Ashes are referred to about twenty times in The Lord of the Rings. Two of those references are the line from “The Riddle of Strider”: “from the ashes… Continue reading
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The Houses of Healing and Anointing of the Sick
In my last post, I discussed some of the similarities between Aragorn’s use and blessing of athelas in the Houses of Healing and the Catholic tradition of the Blessing of the Herbs. In this post, I want to look more closely at the actual process by which Aragorn heals each person and compare it to… Continue reading
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The Houses of Healing and Blessing of the Herbs
I’ve finished listening to (and thinking about) the latest two episodes (here and here) of the Prancing Pony Podcast covering the end of the Houses of Healing chapter. I’m thankful for the insightful commentary and analysis of Alan and Dr. Sara Brown. All of Alan’s co-hosts this season have been great, and Dr. Brown has… Continue reading
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Prancing Pony Ponderings
On Episode 291 of The Prancing Pony Podcast (of which I am a big fan and Patreon supporter), Alan Sisto and KnewBettaDoBetta discuss a mailbag question on the difference between Denethor’s suicide and Aragorn’s choice to lay down his life and kingship. I recommend their whole discussion to you at the episode link above, but… Continue reading
About Me
Thinking and writing about Tolkien’s life and works.