This piece is an excerpt from a larger work exploring visual responses to Tolkien's legendarium.

In Pyre of Denethor (1989) (Fig. 1, below.), Iukhimov has presented an image of strong vertical symmetry, based around the central axis of an old man with white hair and beard, enveloped by the flames of a stylised funeral pyre. The pyre is set on a large black and blue dais, and, if any doubt still existed as to the identity of the central figure, a titulus at the front of the dais reads DENETHOR II. The surrounding architectural features of chequered floor, pillars and arched windows are mirrored vertically along the axis of Denethor’s body. The Steward himself is adorned with an elaborately patterned burnished gold halo which surrounds his head and upper torso. The halo contains seven black and white crosses, bordering an inner radiating pattern of blue, red and black rays. At his chest, Denethor also clasps a glowing orb; the colour of which is suggestive of the "inner flame" of the palantír. [1] From this, it is possible to infer that the seven crosses of the halo may be symbolic of the seven palantíri; the great scrying stones made by Fëanor, of which (at the time of the War of the Ring) the Minas Anor stone was one of four extant in Middle-earth.[2] Overall, then, the halo could be intended as a visual expression of the supernatural power of the palantír.

On either side of Denethor, situated between the edge of the great halo and the framing vertical lines of two black pillars is an additional two-part titulus which reads RATH DINEN. This is a Sindarin name meaning "Silent Street" and refers to the road which leads to the House of Stewards in the Hallows of Minas Tirith (rather than the actual House itself, which its placement in Iukhimov’s image appears to infer).[3] To the rear of Denethor, positioned in front of two identical arched doorways are three figures resembling knights, all of them clad in plate armour with plumes on their helmets. On Denethor’s left are two of the knights; one with a red cloak who appears to be disarmed and fleeing, and a second with a green cloak who looks as though he may have just entered through the door behind. It could be that the green cloaked knight represents Pippin, and the red cloaked character one of Denethor’s attendants, perhaps attempting to escape from the drawn sword of the lone knight on the right. This third knight may be Beregond, although his red plume and cloak differ from the canonical Beregond whose livery (like Pippin’s) was said to have been "the black and silver of the Guard".[4] However, Iukhimov’s knight does bear a shield with a T device which theoretically could be intended to signify the knight’s rank as a member of the Guard of the Tower of Gondor, therefore making the case for Beregond somewhat stronger.

The image of Denethor on the pyre echoes the burning martyr motif seen in images such as Jan Hus at the Stake from the Jena Codex (circa 1490-1510) (Fig. 2, below.) or the 16^th century Richard Bayfield being burnt at the stake (Fig. 3, below.).

However, Iukhimov’s image appears most closely associated with images of Polycarp, the 2^nd century Bishop of the Greek city of Smyrna, on the Anatolian coast, who was sentenced to death for refusing to show reverence to the Roman Emperor. [5] Initially, Polycarp was burnt at the stake: an attempt by the Romans to destroy his body, an act, they believed, would deny Polycarp any hope of resurrection. When this apparently failed, the proconsul had Polycarp stabbed to death.[6] Pictorially, Polycarp is usually depicted as a white haired old man, dressed in Byzantine vestments embroidered with black and red crosses, as can be seen in the 14^th century frescoes in the church of the Holy Ascension at Visoki Dečani monastery (Fig. 4, below.). When portrayed as a martyr he is invariably pictured engulfed in flames, sometimes tied to a stake or occasionally kneeling on his pyre with both hands raised in supplication.

One of the potential direct visual prototypes for Iukhimov’s Pyre of Denethor appears to be an iconographic model typified by a section of 16^th century, possibly Cretan school, fresco painting from Mount Athos, which depicts (according to the accompanying Greek titulus) The Martyrdom of Saint Polycarp of Smyrna (Fig. 5, below.).[7]

The most obvious similarities between Pyre of Denethor and the fresco in question concern the figures of Denethor and Polycarp. Both are depicted as venerable old men with short white hair, white beard and gaunt, lined face. Each of them is positioned within the centre of a small burning pyre, which is fed by neatly arranged pieces of wood placed at the base. Red flames shoot up from the fires, reaching waist-height on both men, but neither man appears to experience any physical pain. Both Denethor and Polycarp have their hands raised to chest height, with Denethor clutching the palantír "upon his breast" and Polycarp making a palms-outward gesture as if conversing with an unseen presence.[8] Superficially their garments may appear to differ, with Denethor’s robe being a plain ochre, whereas Polycarp’s vestments are embroidered with black and red cross designs. However, if we are to re-examine the halo which surrounds Denethor, an echo of the black-on-white cross design from Polycarp’s vestments is clearly detectable within the seven radiating "palantír" motifs. The inner circle of Denethor’s halo containing the black, red and blue rays, also closely corresponds in size with the white nimbus surrounding Polycarp’s head, whilst the portion of blue sky which frames the saint’s head and shoulders matches the approximate dimensions of Denethor’s entire halo.

The fresco also features two men (probably intended to represent servants of the Proconsul responsible for Polycarp’s execution) standing on either side of the saint, stoking the flames of his pyre. Excepting the obvious differences in scale between the two sets of figures, the position of the two men in the fresco directly mirrors the placement of the three small figures in the background of Iukhimov’s illustration. The case for a visual link between Iukhimov’s image and the Polycarp fresco is further strengthened by the correlating diagonal compositions of the sloping Rath Dinen rooftops and the mountains in the fresco.

How we might respond to the resulting hybrid of Tolkienian and Christian martyr imagery is, in part, dependent on our degree of familiarity with the Denethor and Polycarp narratives. On a superficial level, the similarities between the two are obvious; both works portray an elder statesman, (a Steward and a Bishop respectively), who have chosen to be burnt alive, rather than compromise their principles and beliefs. Firstly, there is Denethor; who, as Steward of Gondor, refuses to cede any authority to Aragorn, a man he deems "an upstart…one of a ragged house long bereft of lordship and dignity". For Denethor, if he can no longer be "Lord" of Minas Tirith himself then he will choose "naught: neither life diminished, nor love halved, nor honour abated."[9] Then there is Polycarp, who would rather embrace the flames than renounce his belief in God, or deny the vision which prophesises his own martyrdom.[10] In combining these two motifs of resolve in Pyre of Denethor, Iukhimov has imbued his Denethor illustration with the ready-made philosophical and moral complexity of the older Christian image. This new layer of meaning may reinforce the visual potency of the Iukhimov’s illustration, however for those acquainted with both narratives, it also adds an element of irony. By merging Denethor with a Christian Saint and martyr, Iukhimov’s Pyre of Denethor takes Tolkien’s canonical "heathen" suicide figure; the man who Shippey claims possessed an excess of "the ancient Ragnarök spirit" and subverts him.[11]

[1] J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King, 2nd revised reset edition (London: HarperCollins, 2011), 853.

[2] J.R.R. Tolkien, The Silmarillion, (London: HarperCollins, 2013), 418.

[3] J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King, 826.

[4] J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King, 851.

[5] Bart D. Ehrman, ed. and trans., The Apostolic Fathers Volume I (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2003), 389.

[6] Robert M. Grant, Miracle and Natural Law in Graeco-Roman and Early Christian Thought (Eugene: Wipf and Stock, 2011), 231.

[7] I make this assumption based upon the close resemblance between the Polycarp fresco and George / Tzortzis the Cretan’s depiction of the martyrdom by fire of Anastasia of Sirmium in the katholikon of the Dionysiou monastery on Mt. Athos,which can be viewed at:

http://pemptousia.com/files/2013/12/Anastasia-Farmacolitria-Dionisiou-1547.jpg

[8] J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King, 854.

[9] J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King, 854.

[10] Michael W. Holmes. ed. The Apostolic Fathers: Greek Texts and English Translations (Grand Rapids: Baker Publishing, 2007), 319.

[11] Tom Shippey, The Road to Middle-earth: How J.R.R. Tolkien Created a New Mythology, 3rd edition (London: HarperCollins, 2005), 196.