Archive for the ‘Silmarillion’ Category
April 26, 2013 at 8:32 pm by Demosthenes
This weekend, Hall of Fire will be examining one of the most uplifting stories of Middle-earth, yet which also always seems to stand a little behind Tolkien’s “great tales”.
Yet Eärendil saw now no hope left in the lands of Middle-earth, and he turned again in despair and came not home, but sought back once more to Valinor with Elwing at his side. He stood now most often at the prow of Vingilot, and the Silmaril was bound upon his brow; and ever its light grew greater as they drew into the West. The Silmarillion, Of the Voyage of Eärendil and the War of Wrath. (more…)
Posted in Barliman News, Barlimans, Hall of Fire, Silmarillion
April 25, 2013 at 12:35 am by Demosthenes
The quest for Middle-earth canon. In some ways it always feels a bit of a Sisyphean endeavour.
You know the story of the mythological Greek king, Sisyphus, right?
For those who don’t recall, Sisyphus was just too crafty for his own good. So the Greek gods, never tolerant of being made to look foolish, designed for him the most frustrating of punishments: Sisyphus was compelled to roll a huge boulder up a steep hill. Just before he could reach the top, it would roll back down, forcing him to begin all over again. (more…)
Posted in Christopher Tolkien, Green Books, J.R.R. Tolkien, Lord of the Rings, LotR Books, Other Tolkien books, Silmarillion, Tolkien
April 20, 2013 at 8:23 am by Demosthenes
Several strongholds of elves and men are besieged while Frodo and Sam are trudging laboriously through Mordor to Mount Doom. In particular, Lothlórien repels three such assaults before Galadriel and Celeborn finally lead a counter-offensive against Dol Guldur.
“…the assaults were driven back; and when the Shadow passed, Celeborn came forth and led the host of Lórien over Anduin in many boats. They took Dol Guldur, and Galadriel threw down its walls and laid bare its pits, and the forest was cleansed.” Appendix B, Lord of the Rings.
That last sentence has often puzzled; people wonder exactly how Galadriel might have accomplished such a task. More, why is she doing now what ought to have been accomplished when the White Council drove Sauron from Dol Guldur years before? (more…)
Posted in Christopher Tolkien, Fellowship of the Ring, Green Books, Hobbit Book, J.R.R. Tolkien, Lord of the Rings, LotR Books, Other Tolkien books, Return of the King, Silmarillion, The Two Towers, Tolkien
April 14, 2013 at 10:48 pm by grammaboodawg
Welcome to our collection of TORn’s hottest topics for the past week. If you’ve fallen behind on what’s happening on the Message Boards, here’s a great way to catch the highlights. Or if you’re new to TORn and want to enjoy some great conversations, just follow the links to some of our most popular discussions. Watch this space as every weekend we will spotlight the most popular buzz on TORn’s Message Boards. Everyone is welcome, so come on in and join in the fun!
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Posted in Other Tolkien books, Silmarillion, TheOneRing.net Community
April 13, 2013 at 8:05 pm by Demosthenes
A little earlier, Hall of Fire regulars and guests concluded a lively discussion about the enigma of Idril and Tuor. For those who missed it, here’s a log to peruse. Next weekend, we’ll be returning to The Two Towers and chatting about the chapter “Treebeard”. (more…)
Posted in Barlimans, Green Books, Hall of Fire, J.R.R. Tolkien, Other Tolkien books, Silmarillion
April 13, 2013 at 12:34 am by Demosthenes
Tomorrow, Hall of Fire will examine what is arguably the most enigmatic of Tolkien’s three great unions of elves and men — the story of Idril and Tuor.
In those days Tuor felt old age creep upon him, and ever a longing for the deeps of the Sea grew stronger in his heart. Therefore he built a great ship, and he named it Eärrámë, which is Sea-Wing; and with Idril Celebrindal he set sail into the sunset and the West, and came no more into any tale or song. But in after days it was sung that Tuor alone of mortal Men was numbered among the elder race, and was joined with the Noldor, whom he loved; and his fate is sundered from the fate of Men. (more…)
Posted in Barliman News, Barlimans, Hall of Fire, Silmarillion, Tolkien
March 25, 2013 at 7:15 am by Garfeimao
Middle-earth March Madness round 2 ends at 10pmET tonight, so get your votes in. [Vote] [Round 2 Bracket]
Here is how Round 2 is shaping up right now…
The Shire Division
(8) Huan is being handed his walking papers by (1) Galadriel, while the most powerful of the Ainur (4) Morgoth has a solid lead over the eldest ent (5) Treebeard. (6) Luthien seems poised to take down (3) Bilbo Baggins. But the closest story in this round appears to be the match between the Mirkwood Elvenking (7) Thranduil with a slim lead over the head of the White Council (2) Saruman.
The Erebor Division
The current Cinderella seed (16) Pippin is soundly beating ‘Hot Dwarf’ (9) Fili, can the Heir of Durin put in a late push? Last year’s champ (12) Samwise Gamgee is facing an uphill battle with (4) Beren. The owner of the Last Homely Home, (6) Elrond, is currently leading against (14) Eowyn, unless she can get some support from other Warrior Women. Can she make to the Sweet 16, possibly against Aragorn!? Speaking of (7) Aragorn, he is soundly trouncing the windlord (2) Gwaihir.
The Mordor Division
(9) Gil-galad, the high kind of Noldor, seems destined to lose to the number one seed (1) Smaug. The Dark Lord (4) Sauron is handily beating his dwarven opponent (5) Dain Ironfoot. (11) Fingolfin has a slim lead over (3) Thorin Oakenshield, where is his ARmy? (2) Beorn seems ready to send (7) Shelob packing. If things keep going this way, we could have Smaug and Sauron in the Sweet 16.
The Angmar Division
Not quite a fair battle, but (1) The One Ring seems ready to abandon (8) Frodo Baggins. The Eldar King (12) Manwe, has a very solid lead over a descendant of Girion in (4) Bard the Bowman. Some call him ‘creepy’ and ‘sneaky’ (3) Gollum, but he’s got a lead over the imposing dwarf (6) Dwalin. And last but not least, (10) Merry seems rather outranked and outclassed by (2) Gandalf the Grey.
Voting continues until tonight at 10pm ET. [Vote Now!]
Posted in Characters, Events, Fans, Fellowship of the Ring, Gaming, Hobbit Book, Hobbit Movie, Lord of the Rings, LotR Books, Movie Fellowship of the Ring, Movie Return of the King, Movie The Two Towers, Other Events, Other Tolkien books, Return of the King, Silmarillion, The Hobbit, The Two Towers
March 22, 2013 at 11:36 pm by Garfeimao
The first official Tolkien Reading Day was held on March 25, 2003. A New York journalist was wondering if there was such a thing as Tolkien Reading Day and asked the Tolkien Society about this in 2002. It was decided that there should be a Tolkien Reading day, and then the only debate was ‘when’ should it be held? Please go to the Tolkien Society’s official page for Tolkien Reading Day to find out just how and why March 25th was chosen.
You will also see some very helpful tips on what types of activities can be done to celebrate Tolkien Reading Day, from discussions about common themes or settings, to fun games to engage children with. Tolkien Reading Day can be held at a home, a school, a library or a bookstore or you can even take it outside, maybe at a picnic and add a meal to the event. And while the Middle-earth stories tend to be the more popular at a Tolkien Reading Day event, his other works, such as Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Letters from Father Christmas or Roverandam can be just as enchanting.
The theme for this year is Landscapes, a subject that Tolkien was particularly adept at envisioning and describing in wonderful detail. Middle-earth must have had very successful travel agents, how many times have you wondered what it would be like to visit some of the realms described?
Tolkien Forever, the Tolkien Smial in Southern California, will be hosting an event this Saturday, March 23. True, it is not the correct day, but a Saturday works better for drawing more people to the event in the ever busy Megalopolis that is So Cal. For those in the Los Angeles area, stop by their Facebook event page for details.
If you have a Tolkien Reading Day event happening in your area, please let us know the details so we can post it and let others know where they can go in an area near them. You can drop a line to Spymaster@TheOneRing.net.
Posted in Events, Fans, Fellowship of the Ring, Hobbit Book, J.R.R. Tolkien, Lord of the Rings, LotR Books, Meet Ups, Other Tolkien books, Return of the King, Silmarillion, The Hobbit, The Two Towers, Tolkien, Tolkien Reading Day
March 7, 2013 at 1:50 pm by Demosthenes
| Source: Midgardsmal| No Comments »
David Salo who you may know from his work as a linguist, language constructor and translator for Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit movies has recently started his own language blog called Midgardsmal. Salo intends to blog about his thoughts about his work on the films, as well as the new languages he created for The Hobbit. (more…)
Posted in Crew News, Fellowship of the Ring, Hobbit Movie, Languages, Lord of the Rings, LotR Books, Other Tolkien books, Return of the King, Silmarillion, The Hobbit, The Two Towers, Tolkien
March 7, 2013 at 1:31 pm by Demosthenes
John D. Rateliff, author of The History of the Hobbit, explores the links between The Silmarillion and The Hobbit in this interesting paper that he delivered for the International Congress on Medieval Studies of Kalamazoo (USA) in May 2012.
IN January 1938, just months after the initial publication of The Hobbit, Tolkien was asked a series of questions about his sources for the book. (more…)
Posted in Green Books, Hobbit Book, Silmarillion, The Hobbit
March 6, 2013 at 3:23 pm by Demosthenes
This piece by Tolkien scholar Michael Martinez attempts to shed some light on the ultimate source of the ancient enmity between elves and dwarves.
MANY strongly-worded opinions have been written about the apparent enmity between Elves and Dwarves in The Lord of the Rings, although there is hardly any reference to such enmity in the story. Legolas and Gimli get off to a poor start but eventually become such close friends that it is considered remarkable. (more…)
Posted in Fellowship of the Ring, Green Books, Hobbit Book, Lord of the Rings, LotR Books, Return of the King, Silmarillion, The Two Towers
March 6, 2013 at 10:43 am by Demosthenes
| Source: Colbert Nation| No Comments »
Stephen Colbert boasts some seriously impressive knowledge of Tolkien trivia. In a segment on The Colbert Report last night, actor James Franco challeneged Colbert to name just two of the Valar. Colbert responded by rattling off Varda, Manwë, Aulë, Oromë and a few others — and their domains — without breaking sweat.
I reckon he could give our Tolkien trivia-master Elrond a run for his money.
Anyway, here are some links to the segment. Enjoy!
[View on Vulture.com] | [View on Colbert Nation]
Posted in Silmarillion, Tolkien
