Amon Sûl

Dr. Cyril Jenkins joins Richard Rohlin to both catch up with Deacon Nicholas Kotar on guest appearances and also discuss the Sun, the Moon, and the Hiding of Valinor. Is the Sun masculine or feminine in Tolkien? And how well does one of Amon Sul’s most frequent guests remember trivia questions he’s answered before?

“Roast Mutton,” Chapter Two of The Hobbit, is toasting slowly over the fire for our continued walk-through, and Fr. Andrew is joined by Dcn. Anthony Gaelan Gilbert to dodge trolls, ponder the proper roasting of dwarves, and where exactly the trolls were planning to spend all that gold they were hoarding.

John Heitzenrater joins the podcast to begin with Fr. Andrew a chapter-by-chapter walk-through of Tolkien’s seminal work, the novel that introduced most of us to Middle-earth – The Hobbit. In “An Unexpected Party,” we are introduced to Bag End, to Hobbits, to Bilbo Baggins, to Gandalf, to Dwarves, to the Quest for Erebor and… to Sauron(?!). Lay aside your walking-sticks and put on your swords, everyone, because it’s time to go There and Back Again.

Richard and Fr. Andrew resume their deep-read of the Silmarillion with Chapter 10 “Of the Sindar.” We find out what has been happening in Beleriand while Feanor was busy ruining paradise, talk about where trolls come from, and find possibly the only time anyone ever took Melian’s advice. Fr. Andrew shares his favorite bits about orc-speech.

What does Legolas and Gimli's conversation in "The Last Debate" about rebuilding Minas Tirith tell us about creativity? Dcn. Nicholas Kotar and Jonathan Pageau team up with Fr. Andrew to discuss Elvish and Dwarvish making in Middle-earth and what that means for us Men, whose deeds hold both promise and disappointment.

In this special edition of The Last Homely House, Richard interviews Dr. Timothy Patitsas, Interim Dean of Hellenic College and Assistant Professor of Ethics at Holy Cross Seminary. Dr. Patitsas is also the author of a book called The Ethics of Beauty, which Richard tries to mention every time he records a podcast. Today, Dr. Patitsas joins us to talk about Tolkien and how he relates to Orthodoxy in America, and about a new Tolkien course at Hellenic College...

Dr. Cyril Jenkins, Richard and Fr. Andrew get together to look at three passages from The Nature of Middle-earth: “Beauty and Goodness,” “Mind Pictures / Knowledge and Memory,” and “Manwë’s Ban.” But first they discuss two listener comments -- on how Tolkien’s works inform one’s Christian faith and whether Tolkien risks being “canonized,” thus stifling further mythopoeic creativity.

Richard is joined by Fr Andrew and legendary Tolkien scholar Carl Hostetter for Part 1 of their discussion of Carl’s (and JRR Tolkien’s!) new book, The Nature of Middle-earth. If you’ve ever wondered about the question of “canon” in Tolkien’s legendarium, how old Elves are when they marry, or what an E.L.F. is anyway, you won’t want to miss this episode.

Fresh from keynoting DoxaMoot 2021, Richard joins Fr. Andrew in his Emmaus studio to debrief the moot experience. They also discuss a grab bag of topics suggested by the mooters, including Old English and its relationship to Orthodox Christianity and Tolkien, what it means to see things through Morgoth’s eyes, Gandalf’s last words to the hobbits before the Scouring of the Shire, what Richard thinks of the 2021 “Green Knight” film, and whatever else comes to mind in this freewheeling chat.

Richard is rejoined by Tom Hillman as they discuss the qualities you need to get into the high-pressure, fast-paced, and unbelievably profitable world of Tolkien scholarship! They also finish their discussion of “Of the Flight of the Noldor” and a new epithet for Ulmo is coined.