Creation and Beauty in Tolkien's Catholic Vision invites readers into the world of J.R.R Tolkien through the lens of a variety of philosophers, all of whom owe a rich debt to the Neoplatonic philosophical tradition. This book places his mythology against a wider backdrop of Catholic philosophy and asks serious questions about the nature of creation, the nature of God, what it means to be good, and the problem of evil. By setting Tolkien alongside both his contemporaries and ancient authors, Halsall reveals how he was inspired by them his careful use of literary devices inspired by them to craft his own 'mythology for England'.

Foreword by Alison Milbank
Author's Preface
Acknowledgments
List of Abbreviations

1. Prolegomenon to the Sub-Creative Genius of Tolkien amongst His Contemporaries
2. Creation and the Metaphysics of Music: Tolkien's Philosophy of Createdness as 'Gift'
3. The Concept of Life as 'Being and Gift' in Tolkien's Literary Corpus
4. Tolkien, Eriugena, and the Conjoining of Borrowed Traditions
5. A Diversion towards Mutability and the Possibility of Evil
6. Concluding Comments: There and Back Again

Appendices
Appendix A: Michelangelo's Statues in the Accademia, Florence
Appendix B: A Synopsis of The Tale of Tinúviel: Of Berenand Luthien
Appendix C: Three Crosses in the Churchyard of Whalley Abbey, Lancashire
Appendix D: The Standard of the King of Gondor
Appendix E: Iconography in the Book of Kells

Bibliography

• Full List of Contents (PDF, 57 KB)

• Foreword by Alison Milbank (PDF, 69 KB)
• Author's Preface (PDF, 54 KB)
• Chapter 1: Prolegomenon to the Sub-Creative Genius of Tolkien amongst His Contemporaries (PDF, 148 KB)

Michael Halsall is a Catholic priest and teaches Philosophy at Allen Hall, London.