@article{harrisonNothingTolkienUngoliant2024,
title = {On {{Nothing}} - {{Tolkien}}, {{Ungoliant}}, and {{Anselmian Thought}}},
author = {Harrison, Perry Neil},
year = 2024,
journal = {Mallorn: The Journal of the Tolkien Society},
volume = {65},
issn = {0308-6674},
abstract = {The Dark Spider Ungoliant has long presented a unique conundrum to fans and scholars of Tolkien's legendarium. Because of her uncertain origins and her link to the concept of "nothingness," readers are left to question how Ungoliant fits into Tolkien's carefully-crafted cosmology. The purpose of this study is to consider Ungoliant's place in the legendarium through the lens of the writings of St. Anselm of Canterbury, a tenth- and elventhen-century theologian who signfiicantly explored the concept of "nothingness" in his works. Ungoliant's creation from “the substance of nothingness” reflects the concepts of “nothing” that\ Anselm explores, but ultimately denies, in the Monologion. By demonstrating an origin that Anselm deems to be inconceivable, Ungoliant stands as a unique horror within Tolkien’s cosmological paradigm.},
copyright = {Copyright (c) 2024 Perry Neil Harrison},
langid = {english},
keywords = {Cosmology,Evil,Saint Anselm,Theodicy,Ungoliant}
}