Seminar paper from the year 2004 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 1,5 (A), University of Heidelberg (Anglistics), course: EPG: A Survey of Fantasy Literature, language: English, abstract: Tolkien himself wrote in one of his letters: 'The Lord of the Rings is of course afundamentally religious and Catholic work; unconsciously so at first, but consciously in therevision. That is why I have not put in, or have cut out, practically all references to anythinglike religion , to cults or practices, in the imaginary world. For the religious element isabsorbed into the story and the symbolism. 1Tolkien was a Catholic to whom religion was a very important part of his life. Consideringthis background, it seems logical to assume he made religion an important part of his stories,too. But Tolkien states that he deliberately left out religion of the imaginary world and onlyincluded it on a meta-level. This means that we will not find direct references to religion orChristianity in The Lord of the Rings, but still Christian ethics and values, maybe as well asmyths and stories, can be found on many levels and as parallels to different story- lines. Thebase of all Christian religion and belief is the person Jesus Christ, who saved all men fromdeath by taking their sins and burdens and eliminating them in his death and resurrection. IfTolkien can call The Lord of the Rings a fundamentally religious and Catholic work , onecould argue that this base of Christian religion has to be found somewhere in his story. In thispaper, I would like to discuss if there is anything like a single saviour -character in The Lord of the Rings, how and by which features one might identify him or her, and which function heor she was given. 1J.R.R. Tolkien, Letter 142
