In this piece, Matt Lebovic of The Times of Israel explores the eternally fascinating question of the parallels between Tolkien’s dwarves and the Jewish people. Allegory is almost certainly too strong a word for the relationship, the quotes that Lebovic draws from Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien and various interviews make clear Tolkien’s dislike of the allegorical style (although Leaf by Niggle makes one wonder and Letters #241 and #153 provide conflicting evidence there), and his sincere admiration of the Jewish people.
Edit to quote from Letter #153:
…I might say in my myth I have used ‘subcreation’ in a special way (not the same as ‘subcreation’ as a term in criticism in art, though I tried allegorically [emphasis mine] how that might come to be taken up into Creation in some plane in my ‘purgatorial’ story Leaf by Niggle (Dublin Review 1945))…
Couple of quick points of nit-picking: the Company has 13 dwarves, not 12, it’s Middle-earth not Middle Earth, and arguably Khazad-dûm (Moria) is more accurately the spiritual home of the Dwarves (especially of the Longbeards of Durin’s line) rather than Erebor. As a point of trivia, the Dwarves eventually reclaim Khazad-dum under Durin VII sometime in the Fourth Age. As for the Arkenstone, some people hold that, within the Legendarium, it might have been a Silmaril, but that seems unlikely to this writer. Continue reading “Are Tolkien’s dwarves an allegory for the Jewish people?”
If you have a Tolkien/Middle-earth inspired poem you’d like to share, then send it to poetry@theonering.net. One poem per person may be submitted each month. Please make sure to proofread your work before sending it in. TheOneRing.net is not responsible for poems posting with spelling or grammatical errors.
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This is a very cool, very interesting Middle-earth history lesson wrapped into a list of its seven greatest architectural wonders. I find myself hard-pressed to disagree with any of the author’s choices. The ancient Dwarven cities of Nogrod and Belegost — and even Erebor — paled in comparison to Khazad-dûm’s lost glory.
Perhaps, at its peak, Osgiliath’s grandeur might have outstripped that of Minas Anor, but it lacked Minas Anor’s mountainous, physics-defying scale. The strange Pukel Men of Dunharrow might offer another option. And what of Thangorodrim and Angband, Morgoth’s fortresses from the First age and earlier? Would they have been mightier than Barad-dûr?
Anyway, have a read and add your thoughts in the comments. I’d encourage you to follow the links and read the full (and very extensive) entries on each wonder!
Continue reading “Discover the seven greatest architectural wonders of Middle-earth”
If you have a Tolkien/Middle-earth inspired poem you’d like to share, then send it to poetry@theonering.net. One poem per person may be submitted each month. Please make sure to proofread your work before sending it in. TheOneRing.net is not responsible for poems posting with spelling or grammatical errors.
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Over at Radio Station Podastery, one can find the charming gents who host Country Squire Radio. These fellows are avid pipe smokers (and run a tabacco store); they are also huge Tolkien fans. When they wanted to discuss pipes, pipeweed and Middle-earth, they turned to TheOneRing.net, and staffer greendragon – not a pipe smoker herself, but the daughter of one! – answered the call. The conversation covers topics such as the latest Hobbit movie, the Rankin Bass animated Hobbit, how pipeweed first came to Middle-earth, and what Tolkien thought about pipe smoking. (Clue – he was a fan!) You can hear the chat they had in the latest Country Squire Radio podcast, which can be found here.
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If you’ve ever pondered what a Tom Bombadil sequence might look like on film, this amateur short that adapts Tolkien’s chapter In the House of Tom Bombadil The Fellowship of the Ring offers one interesting perspective. It does take its own textual liberties though.
After the four hobbits; Merry, Pippin, Frodo and Sam leave the Shire for Bree, they encounter some trouble with a Willow Tree, only to be rescued by the mysterious yet whimsical character, Tom Bombadil. As the hobbits linger in Bombadil’s hollow, danger lurks outside the Old Forest, and Frodo begins to question secrets the One Ring may hold. When morning dawns again the hobbits must face an important question; “Who is Tom Bombadil?”
Continue reading “Film short: in the house of Tom Bombadil”
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Thanks to all who entered our competition to win the complete set of new Hobbit publications from Harper Collins. We had thousands of entries – but alas, only four people could win, picked at random from all the correct answers. Congratulations to Karen in America, Asimakis in Greece, Liudmila in Russia and Teresa in America!
Continue reading “Harper Collins competition – winners!”
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WARNING: Spoilers for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug and The Hobbit book.
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug has drawn a lot of heat (see what I did there?) for deviating from the book. As stated in my review of the film, A Feast of Starlight, I have no problem with the new material and in fact, have enjoyed the depth and emotion the changes have brought to the story. However, the changes, and several fans’ resistance to them, have made me look at the story from an alternate view.
Continue reading “Are we Watching Bilbo’s Memories?”
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