To quote Richard:

The way to find the texts in the languages of Middle-earth was difficult. First of course was the careful and watchful hearing in the cinemas. Richard traveled far from Poland to Ireland to watch the movie 2 weeks before the Polish premiere. The first results were published thanks to the work of Miriam “Niranare” Simon of the German forum Mellyn Lammath and Cerebrum of the Hungarian website Parf-en-Ereglas. Then the international community of the Tolkien linguists with Helge K. Fauskanger (of Norse Ardalambion) and Andrew Higgins (of Elfling list) helped to find the detailed explanation of David Salo’s conlang forms.

The dialogues, together with lyrics and inscriptions, in the languages of Tolkien were created for the movies by David Salo, an American linguist. Richard’s analysis is a work in progress, continually updated based on suggestions from fans contributed via comments to his blog-style posts, and the results of his work on The Hobbit thus far can be found as follows:

• Analysis of the Sindarin dialogues.
• Analysis of the Quenya, Khuzdûl/Neo-Khuzdûl, and Orkish/Gundabad dialect of the Black Speech dialogues.
• Analysis of the lyrics in the soundtrack can be found here and here.
• Analysis of the runic inscriptions (scroll down to the section titled INSCRIPTIONS).

The analyses of the dialogues, lyrics and inscriptions in the Lord of the Rings films can be found at Elvish.org.

Elendilion.pl is also famous for the investigation of the oldest ancestry of the Tolkien family. This family name emerges for the first time in the mediaeval sources of the German Order in Prussia, in small village in today’s Poland, Tołkiny, cf. http://www.elendilion.pl/2010/02/02/tokiny-in-warmia-a-nest-of-the-tolkien-family-ii/

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Wishing all of you a safe and happy New Year! May the best of your 2012 be the worst of your 2013. Cheers All from grammaboodawg and Kelvarhin

When I was eight I fell in love for the first time. Miss Arnell was a supply teacher who stepped in to replace the grumpy, crabby Mrs Rogers.

I didn’t know it was love back then; I was just eight and keen on Action Man and climbing trees. What I do know is that I couldn’t wait to see her, and when I did my heart would skip a beat. She was a breath of fresh air and every time I went home I longed to see her again. I relished every moment with her and craved her attention. I couldn’t stop thinking about her and still do.

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This afternoon the “Return of the Ring” event, held by the Tolkien Society at the University of Loughborough from 16 to 20 August, ended. In programming it, the organizers sought to bring together academic studies of “the Professor,” fan activities, and figures from entertainment—the latter being represented by Brian Sibley and others active in various adaptations of Tolkien’s work. With as many as seven separate panels and activities competing with each other in some time slots, there was something for all interests and some tough decisions about which ones to attend.

My own inclinations being more toward the academic, I can report more on the lectures and panels than on the Masquerade or the classes on Tengwar, costuming, and other skills appropriate to Middle-earth and its fans. Even there I can only mention the highlights briefly.

That said, even I couldn’t miss one group of guests: the French team La Compagnie du Dragon Vert (The Company of the Green Dragon). These young people, dedicated to reviving the crafts, costumes, and way of life of the Medieval era, pitched their white tents right outside one of the two main buildings in which the event was being held. Each day they gave demonstrations of archery, cookery, sword-fighting, arms and armor, and music. The photo shows an area devoted to embroidery and making wax candles.

My own paper was scheduled for the first afternoon (Thursday, August 16). The panel led off with a talk by Martin Barker, known to many TORn readers as the director of the “Lord of the Rings Audience Research Project” back in 2003-2004. He presented an interesting survey of the lingering ways in which Gollum has been referenced in public discourse in the years since the Peter Jackson film came out. I spoke about anachronisms in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, discussing how The Shire contains many objects and references appropriate to a rural region in the late Victorian era.

Immediately after our session ended, the opening ceremony was held in a large open atrium where the impressive art show was set up (featuring works by Cor Blok, Ted Nasmith, Ruth Lacon, and others). This area also contained vendors selling books, jewelry, costumes, and all sorts of items relating to the film. During the ceremony, some of the prominent scholars present, including Tom Shippey (right), made brief statements from an upper story opening out onto the room. A completely unexpected treat was a video message from Peter Jackson, John Howe, and Alan Lee, projected on a wall and greeted with enthusiasm (see top).

No photographs were allowed in the art exhibition/vending area itself. Still, the van of René van Rossenberg, of the Tolkien Shop/Tolkienvinkel, was proudly sitting in the park lot outside, providing spectacular visual evidence of the activities inside (see bottom).

Friday morning began with a heavily illustrated triple lecture by Bob Blackham on “Tolkien’s Birmingham,” “Tolkien’s Oxford,” and Tolkien: The War Years.” These were lively summaries of Blackham’s books on these same subjects: The Roots of Tolkien’s Middle Earth, Tolkien and the Peril of War, and Tolkien’s Oxford. An avid collector of old postcards and photographs, Blackham brought to life the era of Tolkien’s youth and showed photographs of those locations that still survive. I also particularly enjoyed Christopher Kreuzer’s lecture on “Colours in Tolkien,” an extensive look at color motifs and terms.

After lunch Charlie Ross presented his “One Man Lord of the Rings” to a packed house and loud applause. Other highlights of a packed day included a talk by Cor Blok, the artist whose work has graced the past two Tolkien calendars, as well as a book, A Tolkien Tapestry. Tolkien himself bought two of Blok’s paintings. It was a treat to see some of the originals in the exhibition, since they involve paint on textured paper. Tom Shippey spoke immediately after Blok, charming the audience as always with his humorous discussion of types of leadership in the Legendarium.

Saturday was also busy. With all the recent emphasis on decline and death in the Legendarium, it was pleasant to see a panel called “Tolkien and Fun.” In “The Significance and Place of Laughter in the Writings of J. R. R. Tolkien,” Charles Bressler took a quantitative approach, counting the number of times various characters and races are described as laughing. Maureen Mann looked at “Tolkien and Nonsense,” analyzing his use of the term “nonsense” and offering examples from Farmer Giles of Ham and other major work.

A panel on adaptations brought together the makers of three fan films: Kate Madison, director of Born of Hope; Chris Bouchard, making of The Hunt for Gollum, and Michal Kára of the Czech Republic, whose short “music video,” Niënor Níniel, was shown during the panel. They were joined by Constance G. Wagner, who worked on the London version of the stage musical of The Lord of the Rings, and Brian Sibley. Among the revelations was the fact that Madison and Bouchard both were sent warnings by Saul Zaentz’s Tolkien Enterprises (renamed Middle-earth Enterprises in 2010) and ended up signing agreements that allowed them to continue but forbade them to make further fanfilms based on Tolkien!

Michael Tolkien, grandson of J. R. R. Tolkien, presented a talk on “Fantasy: delusion of wisdom?” He discussed his grandfather’s “On Fairy Stories” and illustrated it by readings from one of his own verse fantasies. The Tolkien family resemblance was obvious, and Michael was gracious in answering questions from the audience (including mine).

Late the same afternoon Verlyn Flieger, author of Splintered Light and other familiar titles, lectured on French influences on Tolkien. She began by taking Humphrey Carter to task for claiming that Tolkien was Gallo-phobic and proceeded with her usual thoroughness and clarity to show that dislike does not preclude influence. She pointed to the use of the term “aventure” in “On Fairy Stories” and declared that The Hobbit belongs to the tradition of French Romances.

Sunday I opted for a coach tour of Oxford, since I had never seen any of the Tolkien-related places there, despite several visits to the city. The drive down and back was long enough to prevent us from stopping anywhere long. There was, however, a brief but moving visit to J. R. R. and Edith Tolkien’s grave, with a wreath-laying (below left) and singing of “Namárië.” We drove past the Tolkien residence. A walking tour of the university are took us past Exeter College, where Tolkien was an undergraduate, and on toward the Cherwell to see the Examination Schools and Merton College. A lunch at the Eagle & Child (“Bird & Baby”) pub, where the Inklings famously met, rounded out the short visit.

We were back in time for the 5:00 lectures. I opted for Benjamin Barootes’ “These Fading Days: Language, Loss, and Recovery in Tolkien’s Legendarium,” which was the “Christine Davidson Memorial Lecture.” It dealt with the waning power of language in the Legendarium, with an ingenious interpretation of Aragorn’s short coronation speech as a renewal of language’s force as the Third Age ends.

Monday was a half day, with papers including Zachary Rhone’s “English Elegies: Sources of Tolkien’s Mythopoeic Inspiration, a look at some of the timeless sentiments in “The Ruin,” “The Seafarer,” and “The Wanderer,” that Tolkien adapted for his own creative work; Jyrki Korpua’s “J. R. R. Tolkien’s Mythopoeia and the Familiarisation of Myth,” and Sara Brown’s “There’s No Place Like Home: Place, Protection and Belonging in Tolkien’s Legendarium.”

The closing ceremony saw much well-deserved praise and awards heaped upon the many volunteer organizers of the event. The Tolkien Society runs its annual Oxonmoot meeting, but larger events like “Return of the Ring” are scheduled only in special years—in this case, of course, the 75^th anniversary of the publication of The Hobbit. Many attendees, who toasted “The Professor” repeatedly in the course of the event, will be looking forward to the next occasion for such a celebration.

There will also be a Hobbit-style banquet, a metre-wide sponge cake in the shape of a dragon, lessons in writing names in Elvish, costumed masquerades and recreations of classic Tolkien scenes. “We want people who like the books to come and have a bit of fun,” said Shaun Gunner, trustee of the Tolkien Society and deputy chairman of the event.

Tolkien’s grandson, Michael, will also make a rare appearance. He will read out some stories of his own and take questions from the audience.

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Read more about the books in the BBC article and more about Michael Tolkien at www.MichaelTolkien.com.

“In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit.”  — J.R.R. Tolkien

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was born in Bloemfontein, S.A., on January 3, 1892.  He would eventually move to England, become an accomplished linguist and scholar, an Oxford professor and a beloved husband and father. While in his twenties, he began developing a series of stories that went on to become the rich, complex history of a place called Middle-earth: a world that millions would eventually visit, both on the written page and on the big screen, and come to love. TheOneRing.net raises a glass to “The Professor!” today, in honor of all the enjoyment and camaradarie his birth would lead to. Thank you, professor Tolkien!

And don’t forget, today is the annual Tolkien Society’s Birthday Toast to Professor Tolkien. For complete details on the toast, jump on over to the Tolkien Society’s website. [Tolkien Toast]

“The J R R Tolkien Estate has been made aware of a statement by ADC Publications concerning its cancellation of its proposed publication “Wheelbarrows at Dawn” by Angela Gardner and Neil Holford.

ADC’s statement suggests that the publication has been cancelled as a result of the Tolkien Estate’s threats to take court action preventing the release of the book.

As this statement is highly misleading, the Tolkien Estate considers it important that the true facts be clarified for those concerned.

The book in question was presented by ADC as a biography of J R R Tolkien’s brother Hilary. However, the publication included numerous personal letters from J R R Tolkien to his brother and from other family members that were reproduced virtually verbatim.

The copyright in these private, unpublished letters belongs to the Tolkien Estate. As the guardian of these rights and of the privacy of the Tolkien family, both of which it takes great care to protect, the Estate quite properly declined permission for the letters to be reproduced in this way.

However, the Estate made clear to ADC that it had no issue with the publication of the book providing the material in question – affecting only 20 pages out of a total of some 300 – was removed.

Although ADC’s response was to agree to this, what it then did in practice was to paraphrase the letters, something that had been made clear from the outset would not resolve the issue.

Despite the Estate’s devoting considerable resource to helping ADC, not least by suggesting specific editorial changes which would meet its concerns, ADC then announced the cancellation of the book.”

TheOneRing.net’s Reading Room is intended to be a forum for critical analysis and on-topic discussion of Tolkien’s literary works. Reading Room features include ongoing discussions of Tolkien-related books and topics, where volunteers lead ‘formal’ discussions, as well as posts of general interest you can make at any time!

So please feel welcome, don’t be shy (we don’t bite!) and jump right in! The Reading Room is open to all. [Reading Room]

Andrew Compton writes:
“I am sorry to have to advise that despite the tremendous work and dedication to this project by Angela Gardner, Neil Holford, the Publishers, designers, artists, and financial backing by ADC Publications Ltd I have no choice but to cancel the publication of the book for legal reasons.

Despite many revisions and changes made at the insistence of The Tolkien Estate it appears that The Tolkien Estate will seek to take court action to prevent the release of this book regardless. Everyone involved in the publication has worked hard to meet the requests of The Tolkien Estate time and time again, however it would be misleading to release a Biography on Hilary Tolkien without proper reference to his close relationship with his brother.

The launch event on Saturday 4th December has therefore been cancelled and a full refund will be made shortly to anyone has placed advanced orders.

Best wishes
Andrew Compton”