Farmer Giles of Ham - obviously Catholic?

[Estelyn Telcontar]

A question posted by The Elf-warrior on the 'Minor works' trivia thread got me to thinking about the Catholic influence in that story. Since it is set in the Middle Ages, that is inevitable, I suppose - there was no other Christian church in England at that time. However, the fact that so much makes its way into what is supposed to be a children's story (although it is actually a parody for adults) is rather surprising. In the light of the recent revival of the "consciously Catholic in the revision" discussion, it may be interesting to consider this topic more closely.

For a start, the fact that the names of people and places are given in Latin as well as in the vernacular could be a remnant of Roman settlement on the island, but I think that the use of that language in the Church was the reason.


Saints' days and other holy days are mentioned quite matter-of-factly, as a way of keeping track of time. We have:

The feast of St Michael - the King sends Farmer Giles a magnificent letter after he scared the giant away

Christmas - the customary dish served for the King's feast was Dragon's Tail. The knight who hunted the dragon set out upon:

St Nicholas' Day (December 6)

On Christmas Eve - the Mock Dragon's Tail was carried into the hall, then served on Christmas Day

(a week before Christmas - Chrysophylax came to the Kingdom)

St John's Day - the knights compete in a tournament (This mention puzzles me; any references I have been able to find place St. John's Day in midsummer.)

New Year's Day - the dragon comes too close for ignoring

Twelfthnight - Giles' "armour" is made. That would be January 5.

Epiphany - he sets out to encounter the dragon. That's January 6. According to Wikipedia, it's "a Christian feast intended to celebrate the 'shining forth' or revelation of God to mankind in human form"

"a nice end to Christmas", Farmer Giles says apprehensively as he begins his adventure

St Hilarius and St Felix feast - supposedly eight days later, which is January 14*, though I cannot find a reference to actual Catholic days or saints of that name. Perhaps someone has more information. It seems to be a facetious parody to me. Perhaps a reference to JRRT's brother Hilary? 'Felix' means 'happy', which may be a just-for-fun play on the word.

Candlemas day - Giles meets the dragon the second time and captures him. This is February 2, "a Christian feast commemorating the purification of the Virgin Mary and the presentation of the infant Jesus in the Temple", according to Wikipedia.

St Matthias' Day - Farmer Giles meet the King on the bridge, to the latter's disadvantage. For a time, he paid nominal tribute to the king on that day, which is February 24.



The dragon gives up after being chased - just outside the church.

Chrysophylax specifically mentions killing (and eating) the parson of Oakley.


Another interesting fact: It is the parson (of Ham) who brings enlightenment on the origin and significance of the sword that the King gave to Farmer Giles, as well as suggesting the use of rope, an important help in capturing the dragon. He also translates the king's letter and reads it from the pulpit. Giles later rewards him generously and makes him a bishop.


Now, it seems that those dates are just casually mentioned as an alternative way of keeping track of the calendar. But we can speculate, of course, on whether there is some significance to Tolkien's choice, some symbolism that goes with the events of the story. After all, we do know that he consciously chose Christian dates for some of the events of LotR. What do you think?



*Interestingly, though not actually Catholic, January 14 is New Year's Day in Eastern Orthodoxy and on the Julian calendar.

[ninja91]

Now, I dont mean to sound rash, but I dont understand why, even if it is obvious, that Tolkien's works seem to be "Catholic". I mean, he is a Catholic himself, and some of the decisions one will make in writing are sub-conscious. Do you really expect him to be "politically correct" while writing these books 50-60 years ago?

[Child of the 7th Age]

Esty -

I hadn't really thought before in a systemized way about the influence of Tolkien's Catholicism on this particular work. However, your long list of time references, the fact that Latin is sometimes used, and the other examples you give does suggest that this is more than simple coincidence.

Ninja91--There are many times when sub-conscious elements do slip in. But the explicit Catholic elements in this work seem to be too consistent to be an example of that. Surely we have some conscious planning here for whatever reason.
I'm going to have to think about this some before I can add anything more than that.

[Lalwendë]

Esty, I think you've answered the question yourself! It's written as a medieval tale and as such reflects medieval life. The calendar of the time was filled with colourful Saints' Days, times of feasting and liminality/license, and based on much older rituals and festivals.

You're correct about the use of Latin being a church influence, as the language was just not used outside the church and legal system after the Romans left. In fact, there is considerable evidence that the Saxons were in many ways deeply frightened and disturbed by the Roman buildings that had been left and in many cases were stil inhabited by the Romano-British; they certainly felt that their own language was quite good enough for everyday use! Though some of the old British languages remained in use, including Cymric, or North Welsh, used in Lancashire and up into Cumbria. However, the church almost exclusively used Latin - held by academics nowadays to be a means of controlling power by restricting the hoi polloi from reading the Bible and interpreting it for themselves. I remember a lovely Sunday School tale about the earliest Welsh Bibles in the late Victorian period and how a girl saved up all her money in order to buy one and had to walk fifty miles to Cardiff to get one...

Anyway, in keping with the medieval essence which Tolkien hoped to recapture in the story, he will have picked up on significant dates as common people at the time (who made up many of the original tales) would 'shape' their year in such a way. Instead of saying "A week on Monday" for example, they might say "10 days til Candlemass"; the Church also controlled the communal calendar!

So, yes, I think you've found the answer already, that it's a Medieval tale and as such reflects Medieval colour (bright reds and golds no doubt...) and festivals. And now you've posted this and put that list up, methinks this text could prove to be a rich mine of English folklore and folktale! Straight away I can spot a link there between Mummers' plays and this tale, as St George was a huge favourite play for Mummers - if anyone wants to see this elsewhere look in Return Of The Native by Thomas Hardy! And there's another - the dragon eating the parson? That's the tale of Black Shuck!

[Beleg Cuthalion]

Originally Posted by Estelyn Telcontar

*Interestingly, though not actually Catholic, January 14 is New Year's Day in Eastern Orthodoxy and on the Julian calendar.

I think that's the day it was observed by the Catholic church untill the adoption of the Gregorian calendar in 1582.

[Estelyn Telcontar]

Thanks for the answers so far!

Ninja, I'm not actually attempting to interpret this particular work of Tolkien's as being religious - it's just that the saints' name days, used here to mark time instead of months and dates, are Catholic in origin. Since I now live in a region that is traditionally Catholic, I have grown familiar with this concept. Some saints' days are called by the saint's name in normal secular usage here in Germany, and everyone knows which date is meant.

Child, as always, I look forward to reading your thoughts on this topic!

Lal, you're right, of course, as to the reason for the use of the saints' days as the calendarium of the Middle Ages - a logical result of the medieval time frame chosen for this story. I find your insights on the folk tale backgrounds of elements in the story fascinating!

Thanks, Beleg, for that additional bit of information on January 14 as New Year's Day.

My thoughts were not so much on the reason for using Catholic elements in the story, since I'm enough aware of church history to know how important the only Christian church's influence was at that time. I'm more interested in finding connections between the dates/name days and the events Tolkien has placed there - why, for example, are both of Giles' encounters with the dragon set on days associated with light?

And I would like to hear if anyone has more information on "St. Hilarius" and "St. Felix" - Formendacil, are you reading this? Do you know anything that can enlighten us, or are these parodic saints' names?

[Anguirel]

More later on this fascinating topic, but for now, I shall content myself with revealing Pope, later Saint, Hilarius

Perhaps the most amusing of all Popes...were I elected I would struggle to resist becoming Hilarius II...

Perhaps more interestingly, there was a Latin poet of the same name, active in 1125 I beleive, who was thought to have been an Englishman due to one poem entitled "An English Boy", or something of the sort.

More generally, Hilarius and Felix both indicate levity and set the tale's light tone.

[Lalwendë]

Hilarius? AKA Hilary? Yes, Esty, Tolkien could indeed be making a parody of his own brother! Maybe to make the children laugh?

I had a look in the C&G (listen, I'll wear you all down eventually and you will all be asking for this truly eye-poppingly superb and superior tome for Christmas, it is, quite literally, 'definitive') about Farmer Giles, and it was originally conceived as a story for his children (just like The Hobbit!). Tolkien fancied publishing it after The Hobbit, and young Rayner Unwin even reviewed it positively. but for several reasons it took some time to be put into print, by which time Tolkien had done numerous rewrites. It does seem he wanted it to be light-hearted and humorous, so no 'message', but he did want it to be seen as a tale that might have come from the 3rd to the 5th centuries.

[Encaitare]

Originally Posted by Lal

It does seem he wanted it to be light-hearted and humorous, so no 'message', but he did want it to be seen as a tale that might have come from the 3rd to the 5th centuries.

That was the impression I got, not that it was a Catholic work in that it was trying to put out a message, but that the religious elements were just a part of the culture of the characters. I find that a much more agreeable way of looking at it than the other way around, too.