Fans who are waiting to hear further news about a possible Lord of the Rings television series can keep themselves busy for a while with a new publication of Tolkien’s poem, The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun. Although this work was released by UK publishers Harper Collins last year, it is available today from American publishers Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Here’s what they tell us about the book:
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt is proud to announce the publication on November 7, 2017 of THE LAY OF AOTROU AND ITROUN by J.R.R. Tolkien, edited by Verlyn Flieger. Unavailable for more than 70 years, this early but important work is published for the first time with Tolkien’s ‘Corrigan’ poems and other supporting material, including a prefatory note by Christopher Tolkien.
Set ‘In Britain’s land beyond the seas’ during the Age of Chivalry, THE LAY OF AOTROU AND ITROUN tells of a childless Breton Lord and Lady (the ‘Aotrou’ and ‘Itroun’ of the title) and the tragedy that befalls them when Aotrou seeks to remedy their situation with the aid of a magic potion obtained from a corrigan, or malevolent fairy. When the potion succeeds and Itroun bears twins, the corrigan returns seeking her fee, and Aotrou is forced to choose between betraying his marriage and losing his life.
Coming from the darker side of J.R.R. Tolkien’s imagination, THE LAY OF AOTROU AND ITROUN, together with the two shorter ‘Corrigan’ poems that lead up to it and which are also included, was the outcome of a comparatively short but intense period in Tolkien’s life when he was deeply engaged with Celtic, and particularly Breton, myth and legend.
Originally written in 1930 and long out of print, this early but seminal work is an important addition to the non-Middle-earth portion of his canon and should be set alongside Tolkien’s other retellings of myth and legend, The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún, The Fall of Arthur and The Story of Kullervo. Like these works, it belongs to a small but important corpus of his ventures into ‘real-world’ mythologies, each of which in its own way would be a formative influence on his own legendarium.
We have FIVE copies to give away to lucky fans in the US! To enter, simply complete the entry form, and answer the following question:
Who is the editor of this new edition of The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun?
Complete the entry form by 5pm EST on Monday 13th November. [Enter Here] Five winners will then be chosen at random, and a copy of the latest Tolkien publication will be mailed to them. Good luck! (Sorry, this competition is only available to fans living in the United States.)
For those who don’t win, you can buy the book here; and it is also available as an e-book.
UPDATE: Many thanks to all who entered our competition. The winners have been notified by email, and their books are on the way to them!
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As is to be expected, the internet, our discussion forums, and comments to our story from yesterday are abuzz with the news broken by Variety magazine yesterday of talks between Warner Brothers and Amazon to make a series adaptation based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings. Since there are many outstanding questions, we thought we’d go back over some of the background related to the movie and television rights to The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, as well as relate some additional information also published yesterday at Deadline Hollywood.
Continue reading “LOTR TV series: some background and more information”
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During Comic-Con 2017 our friends at Weta Workshop released what very well may turn out to be a statue of the year contender. The Mouth of Sauron on Steed impressed fans with just how detailed the paint, and pose were, during Comic-Con and now that the production piece has shipped we’re blown away again. Everything about the production piece is superb and equal to the Prototype. After 14 years of waiting for this character to get a full 1:6 statue the wait was without a doubt worth it. You’ll see in the review just how much I love this thing. Limited to just 750 pieces and with a payment plan this is going to be disappearing at retail quite soon.
Continue reading “Collecting The Precious – Weta Workshop’s The Mouth of Sauron on Steed Review”
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Ringer TheHutt was recently at the 2017 Medieval Fantasy Convention in Germany. Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit actors Adam Brown, Sean Astin, Manu Bennett and David Wenham were among the many guests. Read on for TheHutt’s full report!
Medieval Fantasy Convention in Germany: a report from TheHutt
By TheHutt
Photos: Silv
Originally published at Henneth-Annun.ru
Readers following actors from The Hobbit on social networks might have noticed that some of them suddenly started posing with owls in front of picturesque medieval walls. No wonder: the atmosphere of the Castle Burg in the German town of Solingen is quite inviting for taking pictures.
Historical info: Castle Burg (“Schloss Burg”, literally meaning “Castle Castle”) was built in the 12th century by the Count von Berg. It was destroyed in the 14xx’s and then rebuilt in the 19th century. It is situated on a mountain over the river Wupper.
Continue reading “Medieval Fantasy Convention in Germany: a report from TheHutt”
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Join several staffers from TheOneRing.net next weekend for the last big TORn hosted event of the year. We will have a panel at Stan Lee’s Los Angeles Comic Con on Saturday, October 28 at 10am, room 403A at the LA Convention Center. Our panel is titled “80 years in Middle-earth, why Tolkien is still so relevant” and will cover several of the themes Tolkien uses in his stories, and discuss some of the many tangible ways Middle-earth is still being brought to life. We have a sneak peak at the new Shadow of War game and some more casting rumors for the Tolkien Biopic in the works. And best of all, they’ve given us 75 minutes to talk, rather than the regular 50 minutes we normally get, so maybe a little Tolkien singalong is in order.
Tickets and schedule information can be found at the Convention website and you can let us know you are coming at our Facebook Event Page by RSVPing.
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Grond is one of the pieces on the list of never-been-made collectibles that our friends at Weta Workshop have now checked off for us. This amazing piece made its first appearance during NYCC a couple years ago, and was also at the last two San Diego Comic-Con’s. After years of waiting, fans were chomping at the bit to order Grond. Now after 15 years of waiting, we fans can have this in our respective collections, and Grond represents yet another home run by Weta Workshop. Limited to 500 pieces worldwide, and currently sitting at low stock, this isn’t gonna last long and as you can see by the pictures below and the review.
Continue reading “Collecting The Precious – Weta Workshop’s Grond Environment Review”
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Fans who are waiting to hear further news about a possible Lord of the Rings television series can keep themselves busy for a while with a new publication of Tolkien’s poem, The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun. Although this work was released by UK publishers Harper Collins last year, it is available today from American publishers Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Here’s what they tell us about the book:
