Amon Sûl
109 episodes - English - Latest episode: 26 days ago - ★★★★★ - 221 ratingsExploring the Tolkien Legendarium with the Christian Faith
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Episodes
100 - There's (No) Religion in Middle-earth
April 03, 2024 18:33After 99 episodes of talking about how to interpret Tolkien’s works in religious and specifically Orthodox Christian terms, in Episode 100 Fr. Andrew and Richard talk about all that religion that really is in Middle-earth. Because actually it really is in there – prayer, worship, invocation of saints, etc. The episode wraps up with a big announcement about the future of the podcast.
099 - Lenten Meditation: How to Save the Shire
March 29, 2024 15:58Richard Rohlin returns from his travels and travails with a lenten meditation on food and song, bacon and eggs, and the love of home.
098 - No Living Man Am I
January 25, 2024 19:38Author Georgia Briggs joins Fr. Andrew to talk about the character arc of the great Eowyn, Shieldmaiden of the North and White Lady of Rohan. Why is she the way that she is? Why is she so relatable? What makes her different from the other prominent women in The Lord of the Rings? And which passage in The Silmarillion has notable parallels with her confrontation with the Witch-king of Angmar?
097 - Brightest of Angels (Christmas Special)
December 25, 2023 07:00For their 2023 Christmas episode, Fr. Andrew and Richard discuss the Old English Cynewulf poem “Christ,” whoase famous line “Eala Earendel engla beorhtast” inspired the core of the Tolkien legendarium.
096 - The Last Homely House: The Star-Ship Vingilot
December 21, 2023 21:15Andrea with the Bangs comes back for Part 2 of our mini-series on the Voyages of Earendil. She and Richard talk more about what it would mean for Earendil to leave his wife and sons for the doomed voyage into the West, take a deep-dive into Tolkien’s insanely complex notes for his unfinished Earendil heptology. Finally, Andrea makes a billion-dollar pitch.
095 - Roads Go Ever Ever On
December 06, 2023 19:38Richard joins Fr. Andrew for the conclusion of his two-year walk through The Hobbit, pondering on what it means to be just a little hobbit in the wide world, reading a little Tinfang Warble, and taking a funky dive into the funkiest of all Tolkien movies.
094 - The Last Homely House: These Are the Voyages
November 16, 2023 18:08Richard is rejoined by Andrea with the Bangs for part 1 of a 2-part series on the Voyages of Earendil. They talk about stories, the necessity of properly pairing the masculine and the feminine, and various matters touching seabirds. Richard poses a billion-dollar question to Andrea and the audience.
093 - Until the World is Renewed
October 25, 2023 05:03Michael Landsman joins Fr. Andrew to look at the penultimate chapter of The Hobbit, chapter 18, “The Return Journey,” featuring many farewells and most importantly, the death of Thorin. They talk about themes of hope, asceticism, blessings, generosity, repentance, and of course dwarven eschatology.
092 - The Last Homely House: Gondolin
October 10, 2023 17:16Michael Haldas joins Richard once again to wrap up the conversation they started in 089 - The Last Homely House: The Fall of Everything. This time, they finally make it to Gondolin, and talk about how Professor Tolkien first broke their hearts. Michael also gives us a DoxaMoot after-action report, and we talk once again about the danger presented by lonely metalworkers.
091 - A Dream Some Other Mind is Weaving
September 29, 2023 15:10Unearthed from hidden archives (because you can never delve too greedily nor too deeply when it comes to lore), we present this previously unpublished 2021 DoxaMoot lecture by Richard Rohlin: "'A dream that some other mind is weaving’: Faerian Drama and the Liturgical Making of Middle-earth."
090 - Don’t Damage the Burglar
August 25, 2023 05:01Steven Christoforou joins Fr. Andrew to talk chapter 17 of The Hobbit, “The Clouds Burst,” where we finally get the Battle of Five Armies – but which five? The King Under the Mountain leaps forth, Bilbo collects war stories, and the podcast says a very fond farewell to a silent but critical contributor.
089 - The Last Homely House: The Fall of Everything
August 17, 2023 01:54Michael Haldas joins Richard to discuss “Of the Fall of Doriath,” which rivals “The Fifth Battle…” for being the bummerest chapter in The Silmarillion. They talk about weeping, Michael’s favorite character in the legendarium, and Michael schools Richard on some Rock & Roll trivia.
088 - A Diplomat in the Night
July 06, 2023 19:07Reading chapter 16, the shortest chapter in The Hobbit, “A Thief in the Night,” Dr. Cyril Jenkins and Fr. Andrew talk about what the Arkenstone means for the narrative, whether Bilbo ought to have handed it over, and how possessiveness turns us into gnostics. They also talk Oxford, Doxamoot, and finish up with a reading from one of Tolkien’s letters.
087 - The Last Homely House: Alliteration for Fun and Profit
June 13, 2023 14:24Richard is joined once again by fellow philologist Scott Brewer. Together, they passionately defend flagon-tossing, rant about the current state of medievalism as an academic discipline, and dispense hot takes about all of the latest vowel-shifting, syntax-muddling news. Also, they read a LOT of poetry.
086 - The Last Homely House: To Rule the Fate of Many
May 11, 2023 16:49Richard interviews Tom Hillman about his forthcoming book “Pity, Power, and Tolkien’s Ring: To Rule the Fate of Many.” They talk about what exactly the Ring is, how it works, and the importance of Pity in Tolkien’s legendarium. There’s also some poetry reading.
085 - Still Stinks of Dragon
April 26, 2023 18:59Tolkien scholar Dr. Lisa Coutras joins Fr. Andrew to discuss chapter 15 of The Hobbit, “The Gathering of the Clouds.” Together they ponder balding ravens and whether Thorin is acting like an Antichrist, wrapping up with a short reading from The Two Towers that introduces Eowyn.
084 - The Last Homely House: The Very Happy Tale of the Children of Hurin
April 10, 2023 17:31Richard is rejoined by Dr. Augusta Hardy. Together, they explore the saddest of all of the Great Tales of the First Age of Middle-earth: the Tale of the Children of Hurin, and discuss the dangers of Protagonist Syndrome. Also, Augusta talks about the bad boys of Middle-earth, and enrolls her name in the Amon Sul Faramir Appreciation Society.
083 - The Grim-Voiced Man
March 25, 2023 05:00Richard joins Fr. Andrew to discuss chapter 14 of The Hobbit, “Fire and Water.” Bard gets introduced, Smaug sleeps with the fishes, and the dream of gold comes back into everyone’s hearts. Richard reads a little-known Tolkien dragon poem, and Fr. Andrew makes a corvid joke.
082 - The Last Homely House: 525,600 Tears
March 10, 2023 06:00Fr. Andrew joins Richard as The Last Homely House returns after being closed for renovations. They discuss Chapter 20 of the Quenta Silmarillion: The Fifth Battle, and also talk a good bit about Beowulf and Germanic myths, legends, and poetry. What’s the coolest moment in the Silmarillion? What hath Telchar wrought in the deeps of time? What kind of submission hold DID Beowulf use on Grendel? All of this and more in this month’s installment of The Last Homely House.
081 - What on Earth or Under It
February 25, 2023 06:00Dcn. Nicholas Kotar joins Fr. Andrew to cover chapter 13 of The Hobbit, “Not at Home.” The dwarves have a look around inside the mountain while the dragon is away, and Bilbo picks up a couple souvenirs.
080 - The Real King Under the Mountain
January 25, 2023 06:00Dr. Cyril Jenkins joins Fr. Andrew to cover chapter 12 of The Hobbit, “Inside Information.” Dragons sit on gold, conversations are had with the wyrm, and key narrative links are made to Beowulf and the Volsungasaga. But what does it mean to be King Under the Mountain?
079 - The Last Homely House: I Will Tell You the Tale of Tinuviel
December 10, 2022 06:00Fr. Anthony Cook returns to The Last Homely House to talk about the autobiographical origins of the earliest version of the story of Beren & Luthien. Richard and Fr. Anthony read the wild and wonderful Tale of Tinuviel, discussing love, marriage, cats, dogs, and spiders along the way. And, we find out that actually, Fr. Anthony doesn’t need his legs.
078 - Durin’s Day
November 25, 2022 06:00Pop culture columnist and fantasy fiction writer Elizabeth Dresdow joins the podcast to discuss chapter 11 of The Hobbit, “On the Doorstep.” She shares her thoughts on “The Rings of Power” and its reception and explores with Fr. Andrew why the Dwarves can’t seem to remember that they have a key. They wrap up with reading an iconic moment from LOTR and a prophetic jaunt toward Isengard.
077 - The Last Homely House: Elf Girl Summer
November 10, 2022 06:00In this second installment of our mini-series on Beren and Luthien, Richard Rohlin is joined by Andrea with the Bangs. Together, they talk about the masculine and the feminine, the difference between masculine and feminine heroic archetypes, and the way that those archetypes come together to create what is not just one of the most important stories of the legendarium, but one of the most beautiful stories ever written.
076 - Thag You Very Buch
October 26, 2022 04:57Michael Haldas returns to the podcast to talk with Fr. Andrew about chapter 10 of The Hobbit, “A Warm Welcome,” in which Bilbo and the Dwarves arrive at Laketown. But what is the lost history of the city-state of Dale? What does it mean to be the Master? And what happens when your legends show up and walk through town? They discuss all this and more, but first they respond to a listener question about whether Sam might have actually been the better Ring-bearer.
075 - The Last Homely House: Of Leaves and Lindon Trees
October 11, 2022 13:52Richard Rohlin is rejoined by guest co-host Tom Hillman who shows up… prepared to talk about something else entirely? It all works out in the end, though, as Rohlin and Hillman begin a discussion of Beren & Luthien. What makes this story so beautiful, and what did Legolas mean when he said that the line of Luthien would never end?
074 - This Sneaking Sort of Life
October 10, 2022 13:30Richard joins Fr. Andrew to read chapter 9 of The Hobbit, “Barrels Out of Bond.” We meet the Elvenking, learn about the Wood Elves’ fondness for wine, and Bilbo does what it takes to acquire his great title of “Barrel Rider.” Also, there is no Tauriel. Not even a little bit. And where is Legolas? No idea.
073 - The Last Homely House: Fingolfin’s Last Ride
September 10, 2022 05:01 - 2 hours - 84.8 MBRichard Rohlin is joined by Fr. Anthony Cook. Together, they read Chapter 18 of the Silmarillion “Of the Ruin of Beleriand and the Fall of Fingolfin” and discuss the primacy of poetry in the Legendarium. And yeah, there’s also a little Rings of Power chatter in here, but we promise, not too much.
073 - The Last Homely House: Fingolfin's Last Ride
September 08, 2022 17:16Richard Rohlin is joined by Fr. Anthony Cook. Together, they read Chapter 18 of the Silmarillion “Of the Ruin of Beleriand and the Fall of Fingolfin” and discuss the primacy of poetry in the Legendarium. And yeah, there’s also a little Rings of Power chatter in here, but we promise, not too much.
072 - “What is Heat?” and Other Hot Takes from “The Rings of Power”
September 02, 2022 16:47Fresh from watching the first two episodes of the new Amazon Tolkien series “The Rings of Power,” Fr. Andrew and Richard give their initial impressions – what they liked, what they didn’t like, and that haunting, uncomfortable feeling Richard has that there is a lot of acne in Amazon’s Middle-earth. Spoilers included!
071 - I Shall Call You Sting
August 16, 2022 21:34Rev. Michael Landsman (Fr. Andrew’s co-host on the Areopagus Podcast) finally joins the podcast to talk about chapter 8 of The Hobbit with its spiders, enchanted forest, and that elven dinner party that you can’t quite reach. The episode wraps up with Michael serving up a melancholic slice of shared beauty.
070 - The Last Homely House: Go West, Young Men
August 10, 2022 16:15Richard Rohlin is joined by Aaron Irber, the host of the “I Might Believe in Fairies” podcast. They continue Richard’s deep-read through the Silmarillion with Chapter 17 “Of the Coming of Men into the West” and talk about why it turns out to have been one of the most important and overlooked chapters in the book.
069 - Waiter, There’s a Were-bear in my Mead Hall
July 25, 2022 05:01 - 2 hours - 100 MBFr. Anthony Cook returns to the podcast to talk about everyone’s favorite were-bear in “Queer Lodgings,” chapter 7 of The Hobbit, not to mention animals who walk upright, the proper greetings of eagles, the many blessings in The Hobbit, and Gandalf as the match-maker who introduces Beorn to his future Missus. References to Beowulf and Icelandic sagas naturally abound.
069 - Waiter, There's a Were-bear in my Mead Hall
July 15, 2022 13:22Fr. Anthony Cook returns to the podcast to talk about everyone’s favorite were-bear in “Queer Lodgings,” chapter 7 of The Hobbit, not to mention animals who walk upright, the proper greetings of eagles, the many blessings in The Hobbit, and Gandalf as the match-maker who introduces Beorn to his future Missus. References to Beowulf and Icelandic sagas naturally abound.
068 - The Last Homely House: Tolkien Doesn't Have Enough Dark Characters
July 11, 2022 14:45Richard is joined by recurring guest Deacon Nicholas Kotar to discuss Chapter 16 of the Quenta Silmarillion “Of Maeglin.” They talk about the dark side of Tolkien, dish on the new Obi-Wan Kenobi show, and answer some of your questions about recommendations for contemporary fantasy authors.
068 - The Last Homely House: Tolkien Doesn’t Have Enough Dark Characters
July 10, 2022 05:01 - 1 hour - 70.4 MBRichard is joined by recurring guest Deacon Nicholas Kotar to discuss Chapter 16 of the Quenta Silmarillion “Of Maeglin.” They talk about the dark side of Tolkien, dish on the new Obi-Wan Kenobi show, and answer some of your questions about recommendations for contemporary fantasy authors.
067 - Eagles Aren’t Forks
June 25, 2022 05:01 - 2 hours - 97.2 MBDr. Cyril Jenkins returns to the podcast to discuss “Out of the Frying-pan Into the Fire,” chapter 6 of The Hobbit. Is this the real turning point in Bilbo’s career? What does the virtue of duty mean? And are eagles the anti-dragons? Includes a big “save the date” announcement!
067 - Eagles Aren't Forks
June 08, 2022 22:36Dr. Cyril Jenkins returns to the podcast to discuss “Out of the Frying-pan Into the Fire,” chapter 6 of The Hobbit. Is this the real turning point in Bilbo’s career? What does the virtue of duty mean? And are eagles the anti-dragons? Includes a big “save the date” announcement!
066 - The Last Homely House: Philology for Fun and Profit
June 06, 2022 17:19Richard is joined by fellow parishioner and philologist Scott Brewer, and the two of them finally cut loose about their deep love of lenition, morphology, and the English language. They read Chapter 15 “Of the Noldor in Beleriand,” drop some hot takes and weird language lore, and pull back the veil on the wild and scandalous world of linguistics.
065 - That Chancy Quest of Erebor
May 25, 2022 18:51Fr. Andrew and Richard tackle “The Quest of Erebor,” a text found in Unfinished Tales that provides depth and context for The Hobbit. They talk about whether and how texts like this count as “Tolkien Apocrypha,” Thorin’s real opinion of Bilbo, and how flawed heroes fit into the larger story of both the Tolkien legendarium and the salvation of the world in Christ.
064 - The Last Homely House: The Scary Geography Chapter
May 06, 2022 16:37Richard is joined by Fr. Andrew for this month’s installment of The Last Homely House as they discuss orcs, ogres, and take a deep dive into the notorious lucky number chapter fourteen of the Quenta Silmarillion: Of Beleriand and Its Realms. In this podcast, you’ll learn everything you ever wanted to know about vowel shifts in Sindarin, the exciting and highly profitable field of onomastics, and who would win in a fight: Aragorn or Tuor?
063 - Dark as Darkness
April 20, 2022 20:51Is it nice, my preciousss? Is it juicy? Is it scrumptiously crunchable? Christian Gonzalez joins Fr. Andrew to riddle some riddles in the dark, looking at chapter 5 of The Hobbit. They also address listener questions about the morality of Bilbo Baggins and the original owners of Gollum’s cave. Fr. Andrew also talks about his big paper for this past semester on the Harrowing of Hell in Tolkien.
062 - The Last Homely House: Finrod Gives Maedhros a Hand
April 04, 2022 20:09Stan Shin joins Richard Rohlin to talk about gaming and Tolkien, Tolkien and gaming, and field some questions from listeners about violence in our entertainment. They also read and discuss Chapter 13 of The Silmarillion, “The Return of the Noldor.”
061 - These Miserable Persons
March 24, 2022 19:41Dr. Joshua Moritz joins Fr. Andrew to discuss Chapter 4 of The Hobbit, “Over Hill and Under Hill,” where Bilbo, Gandalf, Thorin and company get dragged into the goblin underworld. It’s the first(?) and only(?) time we meet giants and the first time we meet orcs, who get bit and beat by Biter and Beater. They wrap up with a discussion of how orcs use language and reflect on life with a palantir.
060 - The Last Homely House: What Even Is Language?
March 07, 2022 17:10Richard Rohlin is joined by philologist, classical educator, and bowtie aficionado Reno Lauro as they talk about language, “recovery,” and anthropology. They barely make it 2 paragraphs into Chapter 12 of The Silmarillion “Of Men,” and Reno offers some words of comfort and wisdom about the new Amazon Rings of Power show.
059 - Smells Like Elves
February 23, 2022 20:13Maritime surveyor Davede Thompson joins Fr. Andrew to cover a pivotal chapter in The Hobbit, “A Short Rest,” where we meet Elrond the master of Rivendell in his Last Homely House. They discuss the eucatastrophe of lore consolidation that occurs in this chapter and the idea of Rivendell as an image of the rest and sanctuary of the Church, and they wrap up with a short chat about adaptations of Tolkien’s works.
058 - The Last Homely House: West of the Moon, East of the Sun
February 09, 2022 15:59Dr. Cyril Jenkins joins Richard Rohlin to both catch up with Deacon Nicholas Kotar on guest appearances and also discuss the Sun, the Moon, and the Hiding of Valinor. Is the Sun masculine or feminine in Tolkien? And how well does one of Amon Sul’s most frequent guests remember trivia questions he’s answered before?
057 - Roast Burrahobbit
January 25, 2022 03:37“Roast Mutton,” Chapter Two of The Hobbit, is toasting slowly over the fire for our continued walk-through, and Fr. Andrew is joined by Dcn. Anthony Gaelan Gilbert to dodge trolls, ponder the proper roasting of dwarves, and where exactly the trolls were planning to spend all that gold they were hoarding.
056 - An Unexpected Hole in the Ground
December 23, 2021 16:48John Heitzenrater joins the podcast to begin with Fr. Andrew a chapter-by-chapter walk-through of Tolkien’s seminal work, the novel that introduced most of us to Middle-earth – The Hobbit. In “An Unexpected Party,” we are introduced to Bag End, to Hobbits, to Bilbo Baggins, to Gandalf, to Dwarves, to the Quest for Erebor and… to Sauron(?!). Lay aside your walking-sticks and put on your swords, everyone, because it’s time to go There and Back Again.
055 - The Last Homely House: Meanwhile in Beleriand
December 09, 2021 22:33Richard and Fr. Andrew resume their deep-read of the Silmarillion with Chapter 10 “Of the Sindar.” We find out what has been happening in Beleriand while Feanor was busy ruining paradise, talk about where trolls come from, and find possibly the only time anyone ever took Melian’s advice. Fr. Andrew shares his favorite bits about orc-speech.