Yesterday we heard that, later this year, The Hobbit will be published in Latin, and you will remember that we reported a while back about the Irish language version of Tolkien’s book. Ringer spy Ealbhchara (‘Elf-friend’ in Irish Gaelic) was at the official launch of the new translation, in Dublin, and he sent along a report. Though Ealbhchara has nothing to do with the translation and publication, he prefaces his report with a confession: ‘I hope you will forgive me if my report sounds promotional – in a way it is: I am keenly interested in promoting the Irish language (currently a minority language) and the publication of TheHobbit raises the status of the language significantly. Not to mention that I want An Hobad to sell well enough so that they’ll translate The Lord Of the Rings next!’
Ealbhchara’s full report follows after the break – it’s a fascinating read! Many thanks to him for sending it along!
Latin geeks and Tolkien geeks (and Latin/Tolkien geeks?) unite! According to thebookseller.com, an edition of J R R Tolkien’s The Hobbit translated into Latin and titled Hobbitus Ille, will be published in September by HarperCollins to mark its 75th birthday:
An edition of J R R Tolkien’s The Hobbit translated into Latin and titled Hobbitus Ille, will be published in September by HarperCollins to mark its 75th birthday. The publisher said the Latin version of the tale‚ which opens “In foramine terrae habitabat hobbitus” (In a hole in the ground, there lived a hobbit)‚ would be “great for students learning Latin, but also for fans who want to dip in and find favourite passages”. The translation, by classicist Mark Walker, will also see Tolkien’s songs and verses translated into classical Latin metre. Previous Latin editions include Domus Anguli Puensis (The House at Pooh Corner) and Ursus Nomine Paddington (A Bear Called Paddington). Read More…
Radagast’s house by Angus McBride, card art for Middle-earth Collectible Card Game
Rhosgobel. The very word conjures images of poorly named bovines or countrified female pups. We’re told it means “russet village”, “walled house” or “brown town”, which is fitting since it was the last known dwelling of the mysteriously ineffective Radagast the Brown.
The fourth of the Istari to be sent by the Valar to aid Middle-earth in the fight against Sauron, Radagast essentially became a hippie, eschewing contact with Elves and Men and preferring the company of the birds and the beasts for whom he was named. (‘…which is in the tongue of Númenor of old, and signifies, it is said, “tender of beasts”.’) No word on whether he was as avid a fan of Longbottom Leaf as at least one of his fellow Wizards, but I’m guessing so.
Where he lived, exactly, has oft been debated – albeit not very hotly.
Several of our message board members have written in with the news that acting agency Kathryn Rawlings & Associates has listed actor John Rawls as playing Azog in The Hobbit.
While there hasn’t been any announcement from the production concerning this bit of casting, we might take it as “official” given that it isn’t at all unusual for bad guys to get shuffled around in productions of this magnitude.
For some geeky information concerning Azog, who Tolkien describes as “a great Orc with a huge iron-clad head, and yet agile and strong”, visit TORn’s “Azog” Character Page, maintained by our very own TORn staffers.
Just how much was Smaug’s stolen hoard worth? Tolkien fans certainly seem to think they know. So much so that Forbes had to revise their original estimate of $8.6 billion due to enthusiastic input from those very fans:
“Taking into account a variety of factors including the estimated length of a dragon (64 feet), how many scales he has on his belly (822), the percentage of air in the treasure mound (30%) and the price of gold, silver and diamonds I estimated the ancient wyrm to be worth $8.6 billion. The Internet disagreed…”
Follow the “Read More” link to read this hugely entertaining account of how they recalculated Smaug’s worth based on fan input, and what the final result was. Then follow the link in the article to find out how much the other “Fictional 15” characters are worth, including characters such as Tony Stark, Bruce Wayne and Tywin Lannister from Game of Thrones. Read More ...
Conan Stevens is an Australian actor and stuntman. After recent work on “A Game of Thrones,” the magic of the internet created a connection between TheOneRing.net and Stevens (cast as Bolg in the two-part adaptation of “The Hobbit,”) leading to the following interview. Currently TORn is embedded in the production, but that event and this interview are not related.
TheOneRing.net: Update us on everything you have going on at the moment.
Conan Stevens: Compared to the the 24 months prior, last year was a good year for me. To start with I managed to get onto “The Hobbit,” which is a story in itself. I missed the main round of auditions but managed to get a foot in the door at the last second – just as I came down with dysentery. So that was a combination of luck, tenacity and 25 years of preparation/wasting time with RPG’s the SCA, Martial Arts, Pro Wrestling, etc.
