This is part 3 of a series on Tolkien’s Letter 131, most of which is included in the preface materials of The Silmarillion. Read Part 1 and Part 2 here. * * * Tolkien’s stated goal behind the Ainur, the gods (or “angelic powers”) was to provide being of the same order of beauty, power,... Continue Reading →
Wizards after all are Wizards
It is easy to forget that the Wizards, or Istari, of Tolkien's works are a kind of lower-order angel. Then again, Christians love to point this out, so perhaps it's not so easy to forget. In a passage that Christopher Tolkien dates to 1972, Tolkien writes, "We must assume that they [the Istari] were all... Continue Reading →
