Advertisement
Videos

The Hobbit; an unexpected theological journey

The Hobbit; an unexpected theological journey

As the latest Warner Bros fantasy blockbuster, The Hobbit, hits the cinema screens, Dr Alison Milbank of the University of Nottingham’s Department of Theology and Religious Studies, offers her insights into J.R.R.Tolkien and his famous novel. The film based on the adventures of Hobbit Bilbo Baggins and his dwarf companions will, she says, fulfil deeper needs in modern society than pure entertainment.

Excerpt: JRR Tolkien was a professor at the University of Oxford most of his life, specializing in the history of the English language and the languages that fed into it, such as Anglo-Saxon. He was a devout Catholic, brought up particularly by his mother. When she died he was under the guardianship of a Catholic priest living in a flat with his brother in Birmingham. He went to go to mass daily.

Advertisement

Advertisement