This weekend Hall of Fire (Saturday at 6pm ET) will be discussing the story of Galadriel, guardian of the ring, Vilya, and the Lady of the Golden Wood of Lothlórien.
She was proud, strong, and self-willed, as were all the descendants of Finwë save Finarfin; and like her brother Finrod, of all her kin the nearest to her heart, she had dreams of far lands and dominions that might be her own to order as she would without tutelage.
Galadriel, Lady of the Golden Wood
One of the wisest and most powerful of the Noldor’s, Galadriel left Valinor seeking a kingdom of her own. But what precisely is the nature of her power and infleucne? And where do we see her deploy it most obviously?
Galadriel’s motivations are often nebulous — and complicated by the lack of a single, definitive version of much of her story.
Were her reasons for leaving Valinor pure? Should we consider that she was part of the host involved in the Kinslaying, or should we accept the alternate concept that she departed independently? Either way, was the subsequent — and long-standing — ban of the Valar fair?
What was her true role and purpose in Middle-earth? How important was she in Middle-earth’s history and its significant events through to the end of the Third Age? And why was she so sympathetic to Gimli?
Come share your thoughts with us on Saturday in what’s sure to be another great Hall of Fire discussion!
Some suggested reading:
Unfinished Tales: The History of Galadriel and Celeborn
Fellowship of the Ring: Bk 2, Ch VI: Lothlorien
Fellowship of the Ring: Bk 2, Ch VII: The Mirror of Galadriel
Fellowship of the Ring: Bk 2, Ch VIII: Farewell to Lorien
Upcoming chat topics:
Saturday March 19: Magic versus art
Saturday March 26: Thingol of Doriath
Saturday April 2: No Hall of Fire — I’m in the UK!
Saturday April 9: No Hall of Fire — I’m in the UK!
The Mirror of Galadriel by Alan Lee.
Time zone conversions
Not sure what time the chat will be where you are? Check this little conversion table out for some help. Alternatively, check our handy Event Announcer over on Time and Date for the correct time in your area.
America:
6.00pm EST (New York)
5.00pm CST (Chicago)
4.00pm MST (Denver)
3.00pm PST (Los Angeles)
Europe:
11.00pm BST (London)
Midnight CST (Paris)
1am EEST (Helsinki)
Asia-Pacific
8.00am AEST (Sunday) Brisbane
9.00am AEDT (Sunday) Sydney, Melbourne
11.00am NZDT (Sunday) Wellington
How long do your topic chats go for?
Our chats usually last about an hour, and are very newbie friendly. Simply drop in and join the conversation! However, our main room, #theonering.net is open 24 hours a day. We don’t always talk Tolkien there, but if you have a burning question, you’ll usually find one or two of “the regulars” up for a chat!
Where — connection details
Chat happens on #thehalloffire on irc.theonering.net — the TORn IRC server. It is based on internet relay chat technology (that means it’s hella old skool). It’s a text-only, moderated chat room full of eccentric Tolkien fans. We’re open 24/7 (although some times are busier and more active than others).
There are many ways to connect to the chat server. However, the easiest is generally to use a browser-based client. We usually direct folks to Mibbit:
* TORn Mibbit Widget
* Mibbit direct (as opposed to the widget above, this allows you to see others joining and leaving)
If you’re more oldschool or technically adept, you can install one of the scores of standalone chat clients that available for desktop and mobile devices. Just plug in our server details (see bottom) into the client and connect.
* Xchat: http://xchat.org/ (Windoze PC and Linux. Free)
* mIRC: http://www.mirc.com/ (Windoze PC. 30-day trial)
* AndChat: http://www.andchat.net/ (Android app for mobile. Free)
* Colloquy: http://colloquy.info/ (Mac OS and Apple mobile devices. Free)
Our server details:
IRC server name: irc.theonering.net
Channel/room name: #theonering.net
Port: 6667 (6697 for SSL connections)
