Is Eärendil a Christ-Figure?

[axordil]

[Note: I split this thread off from the thread The armour of Fate. Ax, if you want to change the title, please do so. - VtF]

From a Christian theological view, the Doom of Mandos is roughly equivalent to the expulsion from Eden (self-propelled in this case). Eärendil has always pretty clearly been a figure of Christ.

[Athrabeth]

Eärendil has always pretty clearly been a figure of Christ.

I can't see many parallels there at all..........but then, I'm only familiar with the Christ story as an "outsider", as it were.

The story of Eärendil, at least to me, more closely follows the mythological standard of the "hero's journey" that Joseph Campbell examined in "The Hero with a Thousand Faces".

[axordil]

It isn't that hard to see the Christ-story as a hero's journey, Ath. There are at least echoes and sometimes clear inclusion of pretty much all of Campbell's criteria there. Depending on which gospel you look at, John the Precursor, John the Apostle, or Peter could be the close friend (the Enkidu role). Or if you like gnostic stuff, Judas. If you want a tempting female character, there's Mary M., to whom the role was given primarily post-Gospel, in church tradition...because it probably felt needful. The Harrowing of Hell, similarly expanded upon after the fact, is the journey to the underworld.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

This may need to be split off into a separate thread (:roll:) but I definitely see Eärendil as a Christ-figure - perhaps more then any other figure in Tolkien's work. Consider: (1) his birth is prophesied (Huor: "from you and from me a new star shall arise"); (2) he is the "redeemer" of "Mankind"; and (3) he "rises" (as that star) from "death" (leaving the Mortal lands).

Of course, there is no indication that he is God incarnate, but you can't have everything.

[MithLuin]

Certainly, Eärendil has a messianic role.

Other Christ figures include Gandalf, Aragorn and Frodo (prophet, king and priest). Gandalf is wise and powerful....and returns from the dead (being unrecognizable at first). Aragorn takes the paths of the Dead, heals his people, and claims the throne. Frodo takes a journey into, well, something rather like hell, to get rid of a source of evil.... and loses his life in the process.

None of these characters are Jesus - none of them is God! And there are obvious reasons to think of them as not Jesus - Frodo essentially 'fails' in his mission, falling at the final test. So, that makes him more of a Christian pilgrim and less of a saviour. And if there is a parallel of his mission to destroy the Ring with Christ's mission to overcome sin and death, then you can see an echo of this in Beren and Lúthien's quest for the Silmaril.

The incarnation is something that Tolkien hesitated to write about, confining his story to a pre-Christian time, with only a hint of a Mannish prophecy about Eru entering into Arda in the Athrabeth.

[Athrabeth]

Well, I guess I prefer to think of all these characters as archetypal "heroes" rather than "Christ figures". The "hero's journey", after all, is found in the mythologies and religions of all cultures, many (or most) predating the life of Jesus.

Ax is definitely right though, in saying that the story of Christ also contains some of the key elements of "the story of the hero". The story of many of Tolkien's "greatest": Tuor, Finrod, Beren and Lúthien, Frodo, Aragorn and Gandalf, do as well, as Mith points out. Campbell wrote that these kinds of stories are instantly recognizable to us and resonate strongly for us, regardless of our cultural/religious backgrounds, because they represent the great "monomyth" of the human experience.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

I agree with you, of course, my dear Athrabeth. But I think it is important to also acknowledge the particular influence of Tolkien's Christian faith on his work.

[axordil]

I should say, to be picky, a TYPE of Christ, that is, a fictional character whose story parallels, even invokes, that of the incarnation, but without it actually BEING Christ. It's a particular term of literary criticism (and theology for that matter). JRRT would never have made any of his characters Christ in disguise or any such silliness, but there are similarities of story and character which he certainly meant to evoke a particular response in his readers.

[Jnyusa]

Um ... forgive me for butting in here. I've been following the thread without having much to add because of my lack of familiarity with the themes and characters in HoME.

And this feels like a bit of a peculiar place for me to butt in, especially with a slightly negative remark ... but ... I'm generally interested in why an author might choose or not choose a particular archetype.

So, with that mild disclaimer ...

Ax said:

It's a particular term of literary criticism

Yes. And as such there are certain elements that a character must fulfill in order to be given this designation. Some of those elements are more important than others.

The generic monomyth varies a lot in detail from story to story. Jesus fits the monomyth, but not everyone who fits the monomyth is Jesus. And although Tolkien was a devout Catholic and could certainly be excused for inserting multiple Christ symbols into his stories, I personally don't believe that there are any at all.

Eärendil might be an exception. I'm ashamed to say that I don't recall the details of his death, even though his name begins with E and not F.

According to my understanding, the essential element of a formal Christ symbol is that they must willingly surrender their own life to save others. They must know that this is what they are doing and accept it as such.

Weaker requirements:

• To be of parentage unknown or only partially known, sometimes accompanied by a prophesy of the birth. This is what allows for the possibility of divine origin. Tolkien spent effort on the lineage of his characters and there is no one I can think of who fits this picture. Gandalf is not born, though he appears among the Hobbits in acceptable mortal form; there is no suggestion that he or they believe that he is sent to live among them as if one of them. He is a sort of angelic being and his role is to guide, not to redeem. And there is no one for whom Tolkien deliberately creates a possibility of divinity.

Frodo's relation to Bilbo fits the sister-son convention of heroic quests in the English tradition, as does the relation of Éomer and Éowyn to Théoden. One can say that their orphanhood fits the monomyth, but it really fits the uniquely Anglo-Saxon convention much better and was certainly (imo) chosen for that reason. The Anglo-Saxon convention has a whole ... inheritance law thingie behind it ... and I won't bore you with that except to say that it's not about divinity.

• A Christ symbol really should be human - perceived by all to be 'one of us.' I think Frodo would count here, because the story is Hobbit-centric. In the Sil, it would need to be an elf. It would be outside the convention, I think, for an elf to be a Christ symbol to Hobbits, or vice versa, or for any angelic being such as Gandalf to be used this way.

Frodo could fit the bill except that he fails at the end. This seems to me to be designed more to show that no mortal could really succeed to do what Christ supposedly did. Given that Tolkien believed in Jesus' divinity, Frodo's failure seems to me more aimed at affirmation of the divinity needed to accomplish redemption than a comparison of the character to Christ.

It also makes slightly greater sense to me that Tolkien would eschew Christ symbols as such, as a literary convention, because it would force him to either insert a divine character into the story or else fashion a story in which a character could be 'the Christ' without being divine.

It's my personal opinion (with a capital 'o') that he chose not to do the former and could not have brought himself to do the latter.

So, I tend to agree with Athrabeth that the elements of the monomyth are very strong in all of Tolkien's stories - not least because he borrowed so much from existing myth. But I don't believe that any of his characters have the formal properties of a Christ symbol.

Jn

[Voronwë the Faithful]

Um ... forgive me for butting in here.

Forgive you? Don't you know how happy it makes me to see you post here?

According to my understanding, the essential element of a formal Christ symbol is that they must willingly surrender their own life to save others. They must know that this is what they are doing and accept it as such.

From Of the Voyage of Eärendil, the last chapter of the Quenta Silmarillion

Then Eärendil, first of living Men, landed onthe immortal shores; and he spoke there to Elwing and to those that were with him, and they were three mariners who had sailed all the seas besides him: Falthar, Erellont, and Aerandir were their names. And Eärendil said to them: "Here none but myself shall set foot, lest you fall under the wrath of the Valar. But that peril I will take on myself alone, for the sake of the the Two Kindreds.

Eärendil "died" as a result of taking on this peril, in the sense that he was refused permission to return to mortal lands, and instead was set to sail the heavens.

To be of parentage unknown or only partially known, sometimes accompanied by a prophesy of the birth.

Eärendil's parentage was known, but as I said before there was a prophesy of his birth.

[Edited to add: While his parentage was known, he was described by Eönwë, herald of Manwë, as "the looked for that cometh at unawares, the longed for that cometh beyond hope!"]

A Christ symbol really should be human - perceived by all to be 'one of us.' I think Frodo would count here, because the story is Hobbit-centric. In the Sil, it would need to be an elf.

Eärendil fit's this role perfectly because he is half-human and half-Elvish. Tolkien said on a number of different occasions that the Elves and Men represented different aspects of humanity.

I should also mention that I think it is significant that Eärendil had "divine blood" in him from Melian.

(And now I am going to split this off, because it has become a separate discussion from the original topic.)

[Jnyusa]

Thank you, Voronwë. Yes, I think from what you've said that Eärendil might qualify.

But he is also borrowed from an earlier Norse myth, is he not? I don't know how closely his origins and his fate parallel those of the earlier myth.

Jn

[Athrabeth]

]I should also mention that I think it is significant that Eärendil had "divine blood" in him from Melian.

But Eärendil isn't descended from Melian. It's his wife, Elwing, who is Melian's great-granddaughter.

There's more I'd like to respond to, but right now, I don't have the time.

Until later!

[axordil]

It is certainly the case that not all monomythic heroes are types of Christ, nor even that all Christ figures are monomythic heroes (look at, say, Billy Budd, as clear a Christ figure as one could want).

But for me the key elements of a Christ figure are sacrifice, as Jny notes, and/or redemption. The presence of either, I think is sufficient, although the strongest types will of course have both.

Eärendil redeems both his peoples. But what does he sacrifice? Well, I guess it depends on whether you consider trading your humanity/elvishness for an apotheosis a sacrifice. Consider that he never saw his sons mature and pick their destinies, or even met his grandchildren. Mundane considerations perhaps, but valid ones I think nonetheless. He gave up his life...he just didn't DIE doing it.


edit to add: And now that I think about it, JRRT makes a very clear comparision of Frodo to Eärendil, does he not, when Sam ruminates on what Frodo may become?

[Voronwë the Faithful]

]I should also mention that I think it is significant that Eärendil had "divine blood" in him from Melian.

But Eärendil isn't descended from Melian. It's his wife, Elwing, who is Melian's great-granddaughter.

There's more I'd like to respond to, but right now, I don't have the time.

Until later!

(You're right of course. I wasn't thinking.)

[axordil]

What's this about divine blood and the wife of a Christ figure? Which forum is this, anyway?

[Voronwë the Faithful]

[Old_Tom_Bombadil]

I certainly consider Gandalf, Aragorn, and Frodo as exhibiting aspects of Christ. I’ve never thought of Eärendil as a Christ figure, but now that I think of it I can see that he is. I think more of Eärendil as being part of that “mythology for England” that Tolkien had set out to write.

Tolkien borrowed the name from the Anglo-Saxon word Earendel, which means “shining light”, and referred to the morning and evening star, which we now know is the planet Venus.

Eala Earendel engla beorhtast
ofer middangeard monnum sended.

(Hail Earendel, angel brightest
over middle-earth unto men sent.)

There's a lovely setting of it performed by The Fellowship on their CD entitled "In Elven Lands". You can listen a sample of it on THIS PAGE (track 12) at Amazon.com.

[MithLuin]

Track 11 (but it's called 'Eala Earendel' so I think you'll figure it out )

You are right, that is pretty But then, I like flutes... Is their 'Battle of Evermore' a cover of the Led Zeppelin song? I couldn't tell from the short blip, but that would be fun to listen to!

The 'Earendel' of the poem is of ambiguous identification. Often enough, the morning star represented John the Baptist, who heralded the coming of Christ (the Sun). But in other versions (ie, the Bible!) Christ is referred to as the bright and morning star. So, quite possibly, the name 'Earendel' refers to Christ, even though he is called 'brightest of angels.' That is why (I think) Tolkien interpretted the word for 'angel' (engla) to mean 'star' in this case....making Earendel a star.... OE has another word for star, but this is poetry, after all.

The poem that those two verses are from is 'Crist' by Cynewulf. In this translation, Earendel is translated 'Day Star', and clearly refers to Christ (the rest of that stanza talks of him being 'Son of the True Father' and such). See the top of page 4 for this part of the poem. The stanzas before speak of Mary, so perhaps an identification with her is possible? (with a different translation)

For just under $7,000, you too may own Tolkien's transcription of these two lines of poetry....

And then of course there are the people (ie, Ramandu) who are stars in Narnia, if you want Lewis' take on the whole business. (Ramandu is a star, but not a saviour or Christ-figure...he appears in The Voyage of the Dawn-Treader)

[Old_Tom_Bombadil]

Track 11 (but it's called 'Eala Earendel' so I think you'll figure it out )

Whoops! You are correct, it's track 11. The final track, Evening Star, is also about Eärendil. It's written as though Elwing is singing it.

Is their 'Battle of Evermore' a cover of the Led Zeppelin song? I couldn't tell from the short blip, but that would be fun to listen to!;

Yes, it is. The guy who sounds a bit like David Bowie.

[Jnyusa]

Ax: when Sam ruminates on what Frodo may become?

I believe it's Gandalf who speculates that Frodo may become like a glass full of light for those who can to see him. (don't recall the exact words, but yes, he is answering Sam)

Jn