Discuss Letter from J.R.R. Tolkien to Edith Bratt on 26 March 1910
30 Jun, 2023
2023-6-30 5:13:26 PM UTC
2023-6-30 5:13:26 PM UTC
Letter link: Letter from J.R.R. Tolkien to Edith Bratt • 26 March 1910 (#993)
I posted a short thread on this on Twitter already, but thought I would share in a discussion connected to the letter itself. In the letter, "he encloses two devotional pamphlets, The Stations of the Cross and The Seven Words of the Cross." This is a curious bit of information. The letter is written on Holy Saturday, the day before Easter and the day after Good Friday (when Christians remember the Crucifixion of Christ). Easter will have already passed by the time Edith receives this letter. But the Stations of the Cross is a Lenten (i.e. pre-Easter) devotion. It would be unusual to pray the Stations of the Cross outside of Lent, but certainly unusual to do so during Eastertide, a time of celebration for Christians. Meditations on the Seven Words of the Cross are probably more common outside of Lent than Stations of the Cross, but again it would be unusual for someone to use devotional materials related to the Seven Words of the Cross during Eastertide and immediately after Lent.
Perhaps the simple explanation is Tolkien just sent them because his letter mentioned that he used those pamphlets the day prior (Good Friday) and he wanted to share them with Edith. Notably, at this time Edith was still Anglican (though some Anglicans also practice the Stations of the Cross devotion). So maybe they had particularly Catholic aspects to them that he wanted to share with her about his faith. Perhaps the pamphlets are also a manifestation of how the Crucifixion already had a special place in Tolkien's consciousness and devotions. Appropriately, the year of this March 26th letter, Good Friday fell on March 25th, the date Catholics traditionally believe Christ was actually crucified (and also conceived). Of course, Tolkien famously inserted this date, March 25, as the date of the destruction of the Ring in LOTR. Good Friday only fell on March 25th three times during Tolkien's adult life: the year of this letter in 1910 and then again 1921 and 1932.
I posted a short thread on this on Twitter already, but thought I would share in a discussion connected to the letter itself. In the letter, "he encloses two devotional pamphlets, The Stations of the Cross and The Seven Words of the Cross." This is a curious bit of information. The letter is written on Holy Saturday, the day before Easter and the day after Good Friday (when Christians remember the Crucifixion of Christ). Easter will have already passed by the time Edith receives this letter. But the Stations of the Cross is a Lenten (i.e. pre-Easter) devotion. It would be unusual to pray the Stations of the Cross outside of Lent, but certainly unusual to do so during Eastertide, a time of celebration for Christians. Meditations on the Seven Words of the Cross are probably more common outside of Lent than Stations of the Cross, but again it would be unusual for someone to use devotional materials related to the Seven Words of the Cross during Eastertide and immediately after Lent.
Perhaps the simple explanation is Tolkien just sent them because his letter mentioned that he used those pamphlets the day prior (Good Friday) and he wanted to share them with Edith. Notably, at this time Edith was still Anglican (though some Anglicans also practice the Stations of the Cross devotion). So maybe they had particularly Catholic aspects to them that he wanted to share with her about his faith. Perhaps the pamphlets are also a manifestation of how the Crucifixion already had a special place in Tolkien's consciousness and devotions. Appropriately, the year of this March 26th letter, Good Friday fell on March 25th, the date Catholics traditionally believe Christ was actually crucified (and also conceived). Of course, Tolkien famously inserted this date, March 25, as the date of the destruction of the Ring in LOTR. Good Friday only fell on March 25th three times during Tolkien's adult life: the year of this letter in 1910 and then again 1921 and 1932.
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