The Harrowing of Hell in Middle Earth

How J.R.R. Tolkien Depicts Christ's Victory over Death in The Lord of the Rings

Gandalf Confronts the Balrog in the Underworld of Middle Earth. (Image by Nimarra)

In our last post, we explored how 🦁 C.S. Lewis depicted the harrowing of Hell in The Chronicles of Narnia. Today, we are going to explore how 🧙‍♂️ J.R.R. Tolkien depicted this doctrine in The Lord of the Rings. You can also explore my most recent 🎥 video and article on the topic of Christ’s descent into Hades (sheol, the realm of the dead) in order to set the captives free.

Tolkien on the Harrowing of Hell

Throughout his letters and literary works, J.R.R. Tolkien was deeply influenced by his liturgical experience of the Mass. One example comes from the Exultet, which is a beautiful hymn chanted in the Easter Vigil:

“This is the night, when Christ broke the prison-bars of death and rose victorious from the underworld (infernem, hades, sheol). Our birth would have been no gain, had we not been redeemed.”

Tolkien would have not only heard these words of Christ’s descent into the realm of the dead on Easter, but he would have also believed this doctrine as taught by the historic Christian church.

Harrowing of Hell, Illustrated scroll of the Exultet, Barberini Exultet Roll, Created in Italy in the 11th century

He also embeds this doctrine into the underworld of Middle Earth. Although ‘The Lord of the Rings’ is not an allegorical work (compared to Narnia where Aslan is Christ), it certainly has many Christian allusions and references, which we will see in regards to the harrowing of hell.

Let’s explore four different examples from Middle Earth:

1. In The Fellowship of the Ring, the 9 companions descend into the mines of Moria in order to continue their journey in a more hidden fashion. Unfortunately, it has been overrun by the enemy and has become a type of tomb or even realm for the dead (hades, sheol). It is here that Gandalf confronts one of his darkest foes, a Balrog, which is a flaming, dragon-like beast. Together they fall and descend even further into the belly of the earth where the grey pilgrim eventually defeats this demon of the underworld. I personally love how the movie captures Gandalf and the Balrog falling into the waters of an underground cavern, (see video clip below) which is certainly ancient imagery for Sheol in the Old Testament. Because of Gandalf’s ‘harrowing of hell’ and slaying of the dragon, the fellowship is freed from the prison of Moria and are able to continue their mission.

2. In The Return of the King, King Aragorn is destined to enter into a forbidden