Since the first time I read C.S. Lewis’ peculiar and beautiful memoir, Surprised by Joy, I have been fascinated by Lewis’ numinous experience of joy that came with his encounter between a moment in Wagner’s Ring Cycle and one of … The post Which Image Triggered C. S. Lewis’ Enthusiasm for Wagner’s Ring Cycle? A Proposal by Norbert Feinendegen first appeared on A Pilgrim in Narnia ..read more

The Inklings and Paganism Before he became a Christian, C.S. Lewis was deeply inspired by ancient Pagan mythology, and he continued to value it as mythopoeia after his conversion, and seems to have sought to reconcile the Christian worldview with … The post Gods or Angels? A guest post by Yvonne Aburrow first appeared on A Pilgrim in Narnia ..read more

We discovered on Monday that Lewis mocked his best friend for comparing works that are as different as the Old English epic with the late Middle English romance by Malory. He then went on to do this very thing: set … The post “Thor: Ragnarok and C.S. Lewis’ Mythic Passions” by Josiah Peterson first appeared on A Pilgrim in Narnia ..read more

What is it we feel when the eagles swoop in during the final moments of the battle of the five armies in  Do our emotions reveal the true depth of the fantasy genre that has captured the hearts of pop-culture? … The post Eucatastrophe: J.R.R Tolkien & C.S. Lewis’s Magic Formula for Hope by Tim Willard first appeared on A Pilgrim in Narnia ..read more

This is the book I never imagined would appear in this day and age. I first heard of Songs of the Metamythos at a reading circle in Massachusetts in 2014. I was attending my first Mythcon and late one night, … The post Songs of the Metamythos by C.F. Cooper first appeared on A Pilgrim in Narnia ..read more

One day a young C.S. Lewis casually turned to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s death-dirge in the tradition of a northern epic poem, Tegner’s Drapa. He read these words that forever changed him: I heard a voice that cried, Balder the beautiful … The post Balder the Beautiful Is Dead, Is Dead: C.S. Lewis’ Imaginative Conversion first appeared on A Pilgrim in Narnia ..read more

Since the first time I read C.S. Lewis’ peculiar and beautiful memoir, Surprised by Joy, I have been fascinated by Lewis’ numinous experience of joy that came with his encounter between a moment in Wagner’s Ring Cycle and one of Arthur Rackham’s illustrations. In a sense, A Pilgrim in Narnia has become a curated sandbox to think about the spiritual and artistic importance of this moment in Lewis’ life.  One of my early blog posts was, “Balder the Beautiful Is Dead, Is Dead: C.S. Lewis’ Imaginative Conversion.” I really should rewrite that piece. However, I was correct in making links to t ..read more

The Inklings and Paganism Before he became a Christian, C.S. Lewis was deeply inspired by ancient Pagan mythology, and he continued to value it as mythopoeia after his conversion, and seems to have sought to reconcile the Christian worldview with the ancient Pagan one (for example in That Hideous Strength). Lewis was also fascinated by the symbolism of astrology: a practice and worldview which started in Pagan antiquity and continued well into the Christian era. Lewis’ book, The Discarded Image: An Introduction to Medieval and Renaissance Literature, deals in part with astrological symbolism a ..read more

We discovered on Monday that Lewis mocked his best friend for comparing works that are as different as the Old English epic with the late Middle English romance by Malory. He then went on to do this very thing: set side-by-side the Beowulf poet not only with Malory, but also Austen, Morris, Shakespeare, and Brontë. Lewis’ mythic imagination is broad enough to draw from all these storytellers, but he deeply loved the legends rooted in the early dark ages as they find their way into the Beowulf poem and the grand Arthuriad. Conceived as a loose series, we are pleased to tug at the edge ..read more

My son and I have been talking about Ragnarök. Besides the super cool sound of this Norse word and the deep world behind it, we are being fueled by Neil Gaiman’s new book, Norse Mythology. I listened to the author read it when it came out, and Nicolas has just been able to land a (beautifully designed) copy from the library. That it is timed with a new apocalyptic-looking Thor film has kept the Twilight of the Gods on our minds. And, on top of all of this, I found out that Dr. Carl Anderson is offering a free three-part seminar at Signum University on Tolkien’s Sigurd and Gudrún ..read more