Explore every episode of the podcast Amon Sûl

Fr. Anthony talks with returning guest co-host Dr. Cyril Gary Jenkins, as we reach what Frodo had hoped was the end of his quest and begin to find that it has only just begun. Music attribution: Hidden Past and Celtic Impulse, both by Kevin MacLeod (www.incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Father Anthony talks with returning guest co-host Dr. Brad Birzer, as we reach what Frodo had hoped was the end of his quest and begin to find that it has only just begun. Music attribution: Hidden Past and Celtic Impulse, both by Kevin MacLeod (www.incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Fr. Anthony talks with returning guest co-host Steve Christoforou, as Frodo recovers in the Last Homely House and meets with many old and new friends in the House of Elrond. Music attribution: Hidden Past and Celtic Impulse, both by Kevin MacLeod (www.incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Fr. Anthony talks with returning guest co-host Zach Heller, discussing the entire sweep of the story from the house at Crickhollow to the Ford of Bruinen, as the podcast winds up Book 1 of the Fellowship of the Ring. Hidden Past and Celtic Impulse, both by Kevin MacLeod (www.incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Fr. Anthony talks with returning guest co-host Robert Clark, as a wounded Frodo and his companions make the long and difficult journey from Amon Sul to Bruinen.. Hidden Past and Celtic Impulse, both by Kevin MacLeod (www.incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Fr. Anthony talks with guest co-host (and brother) Fr. Timothy Cook, as the Hobbits follow Strider out into the Wild. Hidden Past and Celtic Impulse, both by Kevin MacLeod (www.incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Fr. Anthony talks with returning host, Deacon Seraphim Richard Rohlin, as the Hobbits have a very unsettling after-dinner conversation. Hidden Past and Celtic Impulse, both by Kevin MacLeod (www.incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Fr. Anthony talks with returning founding host, Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick, as the Hobbits move forward from their encounter with Tom Bombadil and enter the village of Bree. Hidden Past and Celtic Impulse, both by Kevin MacLeod (www.incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Fr. Anthony talks with listener Brittany Miller, about chapters 6 through 8 of the Fellowship of the Ring, as a retrospective on these chapters before proceeding through the book. Hidden Past and Celtic Impulse, both by Kevin MacLeod (www.incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Fr. Anthony talks with ten-time returning guest co-host Michael Haldas about the eighth chapter of Fellowship of the Ring, “Fog on the Barrow Downs,” as the hobbits leave the refuge of Tom Bombadil’s house and almost immediately fall into terrible peril and near disaster. Hidden Past and Celtic Impulse, both by Kevin MacLeod (www.incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Fr. Anthony talks with Rob Clark about the seventh chapter of Fellowship of the Ring, “In the House of Tom Bombadil,” as the hobbits arrive at this strange and beautiful place of refuge and respite. Hidden Past and Celtic Impulse, both by Kevin MacLeod (www.incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Fr. Anthony talks with arborist Mark Caldwell, about the sixth chapter of Fellowship of the Ring, “The Old Forest,” as the hobbits leave the Shire behind and enter into the Wide World in a place that is not at all wide and open. Hidden Past and Celtic Impulse, both by Kevin MacLeod (www.incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Fr. Anthony talks with his original Tolkien Interlocutor, Josh Cook, about the first five chapters of the Fellowship of the Ring, returning to some of the essential themes that we have identified over the past several months. Hidden Past and Celtic Impulse, both by Kevin MacLeod (www.incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Fr. Anthony talks with returning guest co-host Richard Barrett about Chapter 5 of the Fellowship of the Ring: A Conspiracy Unmasked, and they dig deeply into an entirely different sort of music in Middle Earth than Richard and Fr. Andrew discussed five years ago. Hidden Past and Celtic Impulse, both by Kevin MacLeod (www.incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

In this month's episode, Fr. Anthony assembles an intrepid panel to discuss Paschal themes in Tolkien. This episode originally aired on April 25 on the YouTube channel, so the format will be a little different this time. Music attribution: Hidden Past and Celtic Impulse, both by Kevin MacLeod (www.incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Fr. Anthony talks with first-time reader, long time movie fan Zach Heller about the beginning of the Lord of the Rings, the characters in the books, and the long slow leavetaking of the Shire. Hidden Past and Celtic Impulse, both by Kevin MacLeod (www.incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Fr. Anthony reads Chapter 3, Three is Company, with Fr. Paul Hodge as the guest host. Hidden Past and Celtic Impulse, both by Kevin MacLeod (www.incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Fr. Anthony reads Chapter 2, the Shadow of the Past, with Dr. Cyril Gary Jenkins as the guest host. Hidden Past and Celtic Impulse, both by Kevin MacLeod (www.incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Fr. Anthony begins the grand read-through of the Lord of the Rings with the first chapter, with Dr. Brad Birzer as guest host. Hidden Past and Celtic Impulse, both by Kevin MacLeod (www.incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Fr. Andrew & Richard sign off from the podcast, and Fr. Anthony joins in, and together, in the first episode with three co-hosts, they discuss some favorite memories from the past, and the preliminary material to the Lord of the Rings, especially the Foreword to the Second Edition and the Prologue Concerning Hobbits and Other Matters. Hidden Past and Celtic Impulse, both by Kevin MacLeod (www.incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Richard is rejoined by Magister Scott Brewer to round out The Last Homely House’s read-through of the Silmarillion. They discuss the Breaking of the World, and Richard pitches his own version of a TV show focused on the Second Age of Middle-earth. Folk Round, Hidden Past and Celtic Impulse, both by Kevin MacLeod (www.incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Richard is joined by Deacon Davede Thompson for the finale of our Earendil series. They talk about St. Augustine, Old English poetry, Earendil, and the Tale of the Mariner and His Wife. Hidden Past and Celtic Impulse, both by Kevin MacLeod (www.incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

In this presentation from Doxamoot 2024, Richard Rohlin presents his talk "Like Rain on the Mountain: Theodoric, Beowulf, Theoden, and Tolkien’s Elegy for Northern Courage." Hidden Past and Celtic Impulse, both by Kevin MacLeod (www.incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

In this presentation from Doxamoot 2024, Dr. Cyril Jenkins presents his talk "Love’s Obligation: Deceit and Truth - The Divide Between Virtue and Vice in Tolkien." Hidden Past and Celtic Impulse, both by Kevin MacLeod (www.incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

In this presentation from Doxamoot 2024, Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick presents his talk "'We heard of the horns in the hills ringing': Musical memory of the Rohirrim in J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings." Hidden Past and Celtic Impulse, both by Kevin MacLeod (www.incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

In this presentation from Doxamoot 2024, Richard Rohlin presents his talk "Pentecost at the Stone of Erech: Oathbreakers and Covenant Keepers in the Legendarium." Hidden Past and Celtic Impulse, both by Kevin MacLeod (www.incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Dcn. Nicholas Kotar is back on the podcast to discuss with Fr. Andrew what is probably the funniest of all of Tolkien’s stories, the non-Legendarium tale “Farmer Giles of Ham.” Pull up a chair, grab a big bowl full of Dragon’s Tail, and be prepared for some storytelling joy. Hidden Past and Celtic Impulse, both by Kevin MacLeod (www.incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Fr. Andrew comes over to this side of the podcast to discuss the tale of The Mariner’s Wife, one of the most melancholy tales in the legendarium. They talk about marriage, the sea, and Fr. Andrew even shares a beautiful piece of music to lift our spirits at the end… Hidden Past and Celtic Impulse, both by Kevin MacLeod (www.incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Podcaster and entomologist Aaron Irber of “I Might Believe in Faeries” rejoins Richard to continue his extended deep-read of the Silmarillion. They finish up the Quenta Silmarillion proper. If this series has passed from the high and the beautiful to darkness and ruin, that was of old the fate of Arda Marred; and if any change shall come and the Marring be amended, Manwë and Varda may know; but they have not revealed it, and it is not declared in the dooms of Mandos. Hidden Past and Celtic Impulse, both by Kevin MacLeod (www.incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Dr. Cyril Jenkins joins Fr. Andrew for a reading of Tolkien’s short story “Leaf by Niggle.” Is this really an allegory? What does it say about this life and the life of the age to come? Why did Tolkien write this story? Hidden Past and Celtic Impulse, both by Kevin MacLeod (www.incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

After 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. Hidden Past and Celtic Impulse, both by Kevin MacLeod (www.incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Richard Rohlin returns from his travels and travails with a lenten meditation on food and song, bacon and eggs, and the love of home. Hidden Past and Celtic Impulse, both by Kevin MacLeod (www.incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Author 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? Hidden Past and Celtic Impulse, both by Kevin MacLeod (www.incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

For their 2023 Christmas episode, Fr. Andrew and Richard discuss the Old English Cynewulf poem “Christ,” whose famous line “Eala Earendel engla beorhtast” inspired the core of the Tolkien legendarium. Hidden Past and Celtic Impulse, both by Kevin MacLeod (www.incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Andrea 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. Hidden Past and Celtic Impulse, both by Kevin MacLeod (www.incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Richard 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. Hidden Past and Celtic Impulse, both by Kevin MacLeod (www.incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Richard 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. Hidden Past and Celtic Impulse, both by Kevin MacLeod (www.incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Michael 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. Hidden Past and Celtic Impulse, both by Kevin MacLeod (www.incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Michael 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. Hidden Past and Celtic Impulse, both by Kevin MacLeod (www.incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Unearthed 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." Hidden Past and Celtic Impulse, both by Kevin MacLeod (www.incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Steven 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. Hidden Past and Celtic Impulse, both by Kevin MacLeod (www.incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Michael 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. Hidden Past and Celtic Impulse, both by Kevin MacLeod (www.incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Reading 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. Hidden Past and Celtic Impulse, both by Kevin MacLeod (www.incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Richard 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. Hidden Past and Celtic Impulse, both by Kevin MacLeod (www.incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Richard 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. Folk Round, Hidden Past and Celtic Impulse, both by Kevin MacLeod (www.incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Tolkien 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. Hidden Past and Celtic Impulse, both by Kevin MacLeod (www.incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Richard 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. Hidden Past and Celtic Impulse, both by Kevin MacLeod (www.incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Richard 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. Hidden Past and Celtic Impulse, both by Kevin MacLeod (www.incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Fr. 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. Hidden Past and Celtic Impulse, both by Kevin MacLeod (www.incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Dcn. 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. Hidden Past and Celtic Impulse, both by Kevin MacLeod (www.incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/