“A Time of Fire and Cataclysm”: The Centrality of Cosmic War in Tolkien’s Round World Cosmologies

Authors

Kristine Larsen, Central Connecticut State UniversityFollow

Abstract

In the etiological mythology of Middle-earth, heavenly battles routinely invoke astronomical events, signs of Melkor’s marring of the world or mighty weapons in his arsenal of destruction. In this conference paper I specifically focus on battles involving the Sun and Moon, especially in Tolkien's later "Round Earth" cosmologies, where the Sun Maiden is "ravished" by Melkor.

Comments

This paper was presented (as is) at the Tolkien in Vermont Conference, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, on April 5, 2025.

Recommended Citation

Larsen, Kristine (2025) "“A Time of Fire and Cataclysm”: The Centrality of Cosmic War in Tolkien’s Round World Cosmologies," Journal of Tolkien Research: Vol. 22: Iss. 1, Article 4.
Available at: https://scholar.valpo.edu/journaloftolkienresearch/vol22/iss1/4