Packaging Polytheism as Monotheism: A Study of the Mythopoeic Deity in Tolkien's the Silmarillion

Abstract

This essay deconstructs the godhead that Tolkien constructs in his mythopoeia. Tolkien's polychronicon, The Silmarillion, splits the godhead between a creator God and a pantheon of gods and goddesses. Tolkien claims that Il vatar is a Yahweh-like God and the primary deity; on the other hand, the Valar, the fourteen gods and goddesses created by this primary God, who assist in creation, shape the world, have power over elements, and reign as 'mistaken gods' among the Elves, Dwarves, and Men, are not deities. This split of godhead is ignored, and the mythopoeic deity acclaimed as the biblical God and his angels is upheld as a Christian allegory.The essay negates the Christian parallels associated with Il vatar and Valar and establishes that Tolkien packages polytheism as monotheism. Monotheism does not permit secondary god/gods. Polytheism on the other hand often features an abstract creator God who creates a polytheistic pantheon. Tolkien's model, which features a Creator deity and a pantheon of created deities, falls under the second category. The essay infers that Tolkien's two-tier godhead firstly invalidates the norm of monotheism, and secondly conforms to creator deity and created deity structure of polytheism. © 2020 Brill Academic Publishers. All rights reserved.