This weekend, Hall of Fire examines an elf of Middle-earth whose name is quite well-known yet whose history, and mission, remains comparatively opaque by comparison — Cirdan the Shipwright.
“As they came to the gates Círdan the Shipwright came forth to greet them. Very tall he was, and his beard was long, and he was grey and old, save that his eyes were keen as stars; and he looked at them and bowed, and said “All is now ready.”
Cirdan the Shipwright
We know Cirdan was a Sindarin elf of great age — and a lord in his own right. A kinsman of Elwe (Thingol) and Olwe, he not only founded the Falas cities on Beleriand’s western shores in the First Age, he also established the elves’ final refuge on the isle of the Balar following the destruction of Doriath and Gondolin.
By the Second Age he had become the oldest known elf remaining in Middle-earth. Yet he makes one solitary appearance in The Lord of the Rings — near the very conclusion of the novel.
He seem a reluctant warrior at best, although he did participate in both the wars of Beleriand, and in the Battle of the Last Alliance. He was a member of the White Council and for many years guardian of Narya, the Ring of Fire, and a foster parent/advisor to Gil-galad, Earendil and perhaps even Elrond.
When all else fails, Cirdan always seems to be there to help pick up the pieces. Is he just lucky? Or is he the smartest elf in Middle-earth? And what’s with that beard?
Join us this Saturday (Sept 12) at 6pm EDT when we’ll discuss Cirdan the Shipwright.
Suggested reading
TORn forum thread: Cirdan and the straight road.
Malickfan’s overview of Cirdan.
Upcoming discussions
Saturday September 12: Cirdan the Mariner
Saturday September 19: The Hobbit Ch 17: The Clouds Burst
Saturday September 26: Why did Frodo accept the Quest?
Departure at the Grey Havens by Ted Nasmith.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 EDT (New York)
5.00pm CDT (Chicago)
4.00pm MDT (Denver)
3.00pm PDT (Los Angeles)
Europe:
11.00pm BST (London)
Midnight CST (Paris)
1am EEST (Helsinki)
Asia-Pacific
8.00am AEST (Sunday) Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne
10.00am NZST (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)
