There is a buzz in Tolkiendom right now about a gold ring dating from Roman times, which may have given Tolkien a seed of an idea for his own ‘One Ring’. The ancient ring, found in 1785 in a field which was a Roman archaeological site in Silchester, Hampshire, UK, was associated with a ‘curse tablet’, cursing the man whom the original owner accused of stealing the gold trinket. Archeologist Sir Mortimer Wheeler, investigating the wording of the curse, consulted with Tolkien about the ring in 1929; and that conversation may have been part of Tolkien’s inspiration to create his own magic ring.
The Roman artifact is now being shown in a new display at National Trust property The Vyne, also in Hampshire. The display includes a first edition of The Hobbit, and was arranged with the help of the Tolkien Trust. You can read more about this fascinating item, including an excellent explanation of the associated curse, in this article from the Guardian newspaper, here. Further articles can be found here and here.
Thanks to all who wrote in to tell us about this one ring!
Welcome Ringer to the most innovative and fun live webcast this side of the River Bruinen! Our live show TORn TUESDAY, which starts in half an hour, features Clifford “Quickbeam” Broadway and special guest actor Matt Musgrove (who stormed the stage during our Oscar Party), covering all the recent news in the world of Tolkien fandom. We will revisit the wonderment of WonderCon from this past weekend, dish the dirt on the stunning DVD Hobbit sales this week, and offer a glimpse into the future of how dragons may appear (or not appear) in future advertising for THE HOBBIT Trilogy! You can pop into our Barliman’s Chat Room that is built-into our Live Event page here, bring your questions and comments during our webcast! The fun begins at 5:00pm Pacific Daylight Time (that’s in about half an hour, folks) right here — we’ll see you there! Follow Cliff on Twitter at @Quickbeam2000 and you can follow Matt at @MUSGROVIA
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!
The Final Four combatants in the 2013 edition of Middle-earth March Madness are set! With thousands of votes cast in the last round, we can now announce the champions of each division….
The Shire Division
As the number one seed in The Shire, (1) Galadriel skated through the entire division easily handling Nori, Huan, Morgoth and now Luthien. Based on her popularity in these match-ups, she is going to be a tough one to beat in the Final Four.
The Erebor Division
The Lord of Rivendell, (6) Elrond, the lowest seed left in the tournament, had a tough second and third round to make it the division lead. But can Elrond handle his old friend Gandalf the Grey?
The Mordor Division
In a surprise victory, the third seed (3) Thorin Oakenshield took out number one seed (1) Smaug. It seems Thorin is still benefiting from the RA Army, but he now has his hands full with The Lady Galadriel. Thorin’s journey to the Final Four has been nothing short of miraculous, often causing most of the heated discussions in the comments of the entire tournament.
The Angmar Division
In a battle of top Angmar division seeds, (2) Gandalf took out early tournament favorite (1) The One Ring. It can be said Gandalf had an easy time dispatching his opponents to make it to the Final Four, but how will he fair against his friend Elrond?
Voting in the Final Four starts right now and will close on April 5th at 10pm ET!
If you missed the Live Sneak Peek at The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug on March 24, and you can now access the archived version of the event at http://thehobbit.com/sneak if you have an access code from purchasing one of several versions of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. But for those of you who have not yet had the opportunity to get your hands on a copy of the film (perhaps you’re holding out for the Extended Edition, or you are in a country that it hasn’t been released in yet), don’t despair! Peter Jackson has released an excerpt from the live event on YouTube. The 6-minute clip includes Peter answering several “fan” questions, including those from Stephen Colbert and Billy Boyd.
Peter Jackson says, “Warner Bros have kindly let me post a six-minute excerpt of the Live Event we did to preview The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, to give anyone who missed it a sense of what it was like.”
Whether it was the photoshopped image of JRR Tolkien signing a document, many years after his passing, or the last line of this release, this was one of our 2013….
APRIL FOOLS
Global leader in high-quality family entertainment agrees to acquire world-renowned Middle-earth Enterprises, including THE LORD OF THE RINGS and THE HOBBIT franchises.
Acquisition continues Disney’s strategic focus on creating and monetizing the world’s best branded content, innovative technology and global growth to drive long-term shareholder value.
Middle-earth Enterprises to join company’s global portfolio of world class brands including Disney, ESPN, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars and ABC.
THE LORD OF THE RINGS: RETURN TO MIDDLE-EARTH feature animated film targeted for release in 2016.
Burbank, CA and Berkeley, CA, April 1, 2013 – Continuing its strategy of delivering exceptional creative content to audiences around the world, The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS) has agreed to acquire Middle-earth Enterprises in a stock and cash transaction. Middle-earth Enterprises, formerly known as Tolkien Enterprises, is a division of The Saul Zaentz Company, headquartered in Berkeley, California.
Under the terms of the agreement, the transaction value is $10 billion (US). The final consideration will be subject to customary post-closing balance sheet adjustments.
“Middle-earth Enterprises reflects the extraordinary passion, vision, and storytelling of JRR Tolkien, the greatest author of the 20th century,” said Robert A. Iger, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Walt Disney Company. “This transaction combines a world-class portfolio of content, with Disney’s unique and unparalleled creativity across multiple platforms, businesses, and markets to generate sustained growth and drive significant long-term value.”
here is a buzz in Tolkiendom right now about a gold ring dating from Roman times, which may have given Tolkien a seed of an idea for his own ‘One Ring’. The ancient ring, found in 1785 in a field which was a Roman archaeological site in Silchester, Hampshire, UK, was associated with a ‘curse tablet’, cursing the man whom the original owner accused of stealing the gold trinket. Archeologist Sir Mortimer Wheeler, investigating the wording of the curse, consulted with Tolkien about the ring in 1929; and that conversation may have been part of Tolkien’s inspiration to create his own magic ring.
