The Passing of the Elves and the Dominion of Men: An Analysis of Tolkien’s Work in the Light of Ecocriticism and the ‘Interpretatio Mediaevalia’

Details

Supervisors

Latre, Guido

Faculty

Faculté de philosophie, arts et lettres

Degree label

Master [120] en langues et lettres modernes, orientation germaniques

Abstract

enIn an attempt to bring together ecocriticism and medieval studies, this study aims at bringing more light into the relation between Tolkien’s ecological vision and his proclivity for the medieval period and for myths, thus using an ‘interpretatio mediaevalia’. While putting the emphasis on the relationship between the human and the nonhuman, be it from a material or a philosophical – or even theological – perspective, this study focusses on the similarities between Tolkien’s work and medieval-related materials, ranging from medievalist studies to literary works from the Middle Ages, such as the Anglo-Saxon epic Beowulf or the work of Geoffrey Chaucer. More precisely, it analyses the analogies between, on the one hand, the transition from a pagan animist world to a more anthropocentric Christian world and, on the other hand, the transition from the world of Elves to the world of Men in Tolkien's legendarium. Venturing beyond the material and economic origins of the ecological crisis, thus adopting a more ideological perspective, this study anchors the ecocritical analysis of Tolkien's work in a philosophical and theological framework while using a diachronic – or rather historical – perspective ranging from the pagan age to the Anthropocene.