Lord of the Rings: Apocalyptic Prophecies

[Elizabeth]

     Tolkien emphasises the Kings of Gondor were sea kings,** and considering his love of all things ancient, Tolkien may have hinted to this hidden map-symbolism of the ‘sea-tree’ with the seven stars in the Mappa Mundi of ‘Middle Earth’ in his fictitious royal standard of Gondor featuring the White Tree and the Seven Stars
     On other miracles or signs in Catholic prophecies, we further note that according to Marie-Julie Jahenny there would be ‘resurrections’ during these great and terrifying times when the hidden King will appear on earth: “There will be great signs in this reign, there will be resurrections, there will be wonders of protection for My souls that I want to guard to raise up the good, to (make them) flourish once again.”38 We note resurrections of the dead occurred when Christ established His spiritual Kingdom on earth in the Church, which took place at the Crucifixion: great signs occurred, there were earthquakes, darkness covered the earth, and “the graves were opened: and many bodies of the saints that had slept arose, and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection, came into the holy city, and appeared to many.” (Matt. 27:51-53) It would seem the Great Monarch shall have the same wonders attend the commencement of his reign. Possibly, Aragorn’s journey to the Paths of the Dead to raise an invincible army in order to rescue the City of Kings and claim his throne was inspired by these momentous signs and prophecies.
     Furthermore, Tolkien’s eye for detail concerning noble weapons and their exquisite craftsmanship in Lord of the Rings suggests he may have drawn inspiration for famous jewels of old. Is it possible Aragorn’s famed sword may have several symbolical connections with the Great Monarch’s weapon as future King of France and Holy Roman Emperor? Let us recall a sentence from a prophecy quoted earlier: the Great Monarch would bear a sceptre that would be used like a spear to “... temper the tip in the blood of Romans, in the defence of the Sovereign Pontiff.” The monarchs of France possessed a very unusual sceptre in their coronation treasury, the Main de Justice, or Hand of Justice; a slender rod on which sits a delicate figure of a hand poised in a gesture of blessing representing the Hand of God. No doubt the form of the sceptre represents the Divine Right of Kings miraculously revealed through Clovis I. St. John Bosco in his vision saw this Divine Right would be renewed in the Great Monarch to come, for the hand that supported the Royal Banner had written on it in mystical letters, “The Irresistible Hand of the Lord”. In a mystical form, the Great Monarch would have God’s authority as a weapon to save the Pope and uphold the authority of the papacy similar to his ancestors, the French Kings of old. Yet, the Great Monarch also has an allegorical ‘spear’, and this may indeed refer to an historical sword. According to tradition and legends of old, the Coronation Sword of Charlemagne called Joyeuse contained a fragment from the Spear of Longinus, the spear that pierced the side of Christ at the crucifixion. We note Bl. Anne Catherine Emmerich explained the mystic significance of the spear-thrust through the side of Christ: “Jesus received the stroke of the lance in His right side, and the Church came forth fromthe same right side. When we enter the Church, we enter into the right side of Jesus, and we are in Him united to His Heavenly Father.”39 Hence, Christ’s spiritual kingdom on earth was initiated in a baptism of Water and Blood with the spear of Longinus, a piece of which is kept secure in the sword of French kings, a prized item among the surviving crown jewels of France.
     We may observe an important link with a second sword: when Imperial kings were crowned as Holy Roman Emperor, they also received an Imperial coronation sword. The Imperial Sword was decorated and embellished over the years, but it bears several interesting inscriptions in Latin: CHRISTVS : VINCIT :
CHRISTVS : REIGNAT : CHRISTVS : INPERAT , “Christ triumphs, Christ reigns, Christ rules”, which has also been interpreted as, “Christ the Victor, Christ the King, and Christ the Emperor”, a reminder that imperial rule comes from a divine origin. There is another inscription on the pommel: BENEDICTVS · DO[minv]S DE[v]S QVI DOCET MANV[s]: “Blessed be the Lord my God, who teaches the hand [to fight]”, which is an abbreviation of Psalm 143:1,40 Benedictus Dominus Deus meus, qui docet manus meas ad prælium, et digitos meos ad bellum (Blessed be the LORD my God, who teacheth my hands to fight, and my fingers to war). According to tradition, history and the prophecies, the French Kings and the Holy Emperors were duty-bound to protect the Church and defend the Faith and the Papacy. As the Great Monarch will be King of France and Emperor from the West, both swords will symbolise his reign and the great mission he will accomplish: a ‘sceptre-spear’ of kingly rule, the Hand of God that will smite the enemies of the Church, restoring both the secular and spiritual world.
     Yet, where is this mystic symbolism in Lord of the Rings? How does this symbolism of the ‘sceptre-spear’ link to Aragorn’s famed sword Narsil? Of course, the Royal sceptre and the Sword Reforged are symbols of Aragorn’s legitimacy, but we find additional clues linking them to a spear in Tolkien’s chronicles where the breaking of the blade is recounted. When the First King Elendil and the High Elf Gil-galad lead the battle against Lord Sauron after the Rings of Power are made, Gil-galad fights his enemy with a noble spear named Aiglos: both the spear and the sword are mentioned as important details in this chronicle.41 However, after the two heroes are slain, no more is heard about the spear, yet while Narsil may be shattered, it is not lost to history. The shards are kept by his heirs and eventually reside in the house of Lord Elrond until the time comes for the sword to be remade. The appointed time arrives when the Fellowship of the Ring is formed and Aragorn prepares to emerge from exile and fight his foes. Narsil is re-forged by Elvish smiths and they infuse new power into the blade. When striking an enemy or raised up on high, the blade sends forth white or red flames, thus Aragorn gives it a new name, Andúril, ‘Flame of the West’. Hence, as the French Sword of Charlemagne allegedly held a piece of the Holy Spear that impaled the Heart of Christ and established His spiritual Kingdom via the Church, it is possible the red and white flames of Andúril may symbolise the Blood and Water that poured forth from the side of Christ as the spear struck, for red and white rays are often used todepict the Blood and Water in religious art. The Great Monarch shall be a Great Renewer of the Holy Roman Empire and the Church.* Aragorn is a descendent of the Faithful Elendil and is called ‘the Renewer’.



** In addition to the stars representing the seven ships bearing a Seeing Stone, the sea was represented in the Royal Helm-crown of Gondor. On either side it bore wings in the shape of a seabird, “for it was the emblem of kings who came over the sea.” Also, the coronation declaration of the Kings of Gondor are an exact repetition of Elendil’s words as he and the Faithful Exiles set foot on Middle Earth; “Out of the Great Sea to Middle-Earth am I come. In this place will I abide, and my heirs, unto the ending of the world.” Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, pp. 1003-1004.

38 Christ to Marie-Julie, referring to the Reign of the Sacred Heart, which will also flourish in the era of the Great Monarch. (November 13, 1924). Ibid. p. 380.
39 The Life of Jesus Christ and Biblical Revelations, Vol. I, p. 84.

40 A psalm of David against Goliath. Numbering: Catholic Douay-Rheims edition.
41 Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring, p. 264,
* The Imperial Coronation regalia of the Catholic Holy Roman Emperors also features a ‘Holy Spear’, but this is believed to contain the famous relic of the nail from the Crucifixion once owned by Emperor Constantine and a not a piece of Longinus’ spear. In fact, a piece of metal consistent with the shape and size of a first-century Roman nail has been found incorporated into the spearhead. Recent metallurgy tests show the Holy Spearhead was recast circa the seventh century, making it the oldest piece in the Imperial Regalia. There is an interesting theory that the Holy Spear actually featured in Charlemagne’s coronation as King of the Lombards in 774 AD, thus explaining how it came into the possession of the Holy Roman Emperors. The Lombard kings had a tradition of using an ancient spear in their coronation ceremony, and Charlemagne may have been crowned King of Italy in the same manner as the Lombards, i.e. grasping a spear. Considering that Milan was their capital as in the times of Emperor Constantine, it is believed that this spear does indeed contain the Nail of the Crucifixion. Of interest, historians have observed that in 585 AD the Merovingian (Frankish) king Guntram officially designated his nephew Childebert II his heir by handing him his lance; it is possible that a royal lance was a symbol of kingship among the Merovingian kings in addition to the sceptre. In all, Aragorn’s royal signs of legitimacy, the Númenorean sceptre and Andúril that bears mystical flames associating it with Longinus’ spear, display consistent links with the dual kingship of the prophesied Great Monarch of France and his restoration of the Christian Holy Roman Empire represented in the Holy Spear of the Imperial Regalia.

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 Main de Justice (c. 10th century), a surviving piece of the crown jewels housed in thetreasury of St. Denis. At one time the treasury had three: this could by the St. Louis sceptre, or
another main de justice that was allegedly made from 'unicorn's horn'.+

                              

The Imperial Holy Spear, the point contains a Roman nail believed to be the Nail of the Crucifixion.

The Imperial Sword of the Holy Roman Emperors and its gold sheath.

Charlemagne's Joyeuse, sword of the French Kings.

According to tradition, a piece of Longinus' spear is concealed in the pommel.

+ Dom Michel Félibien, Histoire de L'Abbaye Royale de Saint-Denys en France (1706).