Middle-earth Madness officially starts today! We’ve split our field of 64 characters and objects into four divisions: The Shire, Erebor, Angmar and Mordor.
As noted in previous comments and on FB, there are some very interesting match-ups in this first round. In a semi-rematch, can the brave Hobbit Merry take out The Witch-king in a division that includes his own name? Who will win in the battle of brothers as Kili and Fili face off in the Erebor division? And what about last year’s champion Samwise Gamgee?! Can he really take out the ever popular Balrog of Moria? Imagine what “Bullroarer” Took will do against Shelob in the Mordor division. Can the dragon Ancalagon the Black take out Legolas’s father Thranduil in The Shire division?
A note to those of you whom may not know some of the names in the bracket. A great way to educate yourself on the vote is by simply googling the name. We found that Wikipedia has a plethora of information on each character.
Voting in Round 1 will remain open until March 21st at 10pm ET. At that point, we’ll calculate the winners and post the next round on March 22nd. Follow after the break for a complete bracket image (download it), and to vote on all of our Round 1 match-ups! [Round 1 Bracket] (If you are interested in how we came up with this bracket and why some characters are left off (*cough Legolas*), check the note at the bottom of this post)
Continue reading “Middle-earth March Madness 2013 – Round 1 – Voting Begins!”
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We teased it last week, and now it is finally here: The 2013 Middle-earth March Madness Tournament!
If you recall, the brave Samwise Gamgee came out as the 2012 victor after a series of amazing match-ups and votes that were decided by a single vote!
After weeks of deliberation, our Selection Committee have chosen our combatants and assigned them appropriate seeding on our 64 character/object tournament sheet. Yes, that’s right, we decided that instead of seeding the tournament with only ‘popular’ characters, we should shake things up a bit and offer a more diverse range of characters and objects that span the entire history of Middle-earth.
This year’s divisions are geographic based: The Shire, Angmar, Erebor and Mordor. Like the NCAA Tournament, being assigned into a division does not necessarily mean the character or object comes from that area.
Get ready for a few weeks of unique match-ups and non-stop excitement! Voting will start tomorrow right here on TheOneRing.net, so download your bracket today and fill it out. See if you can predict who will be our 2013 champion! [Download Bracket] [Last Year’s March Madness Results] (And of course, feel free to rant and rave against our Selection Committee in our comments – after all, that is also part of the whole March Madness experience!)
Continue reading “Middle-earth March Madness 2013 – Tournament Bracket Revealed!”
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I quite enjoyed this short piece explaining the sacrifice that Gilraen, the mother of Aragorn, makes for her people. There’s also a bit of linguistic geekery for the word nerds. Enjoy. Continue reading “The tragedy of Gilraen, Aragorn’s mother”
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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If you are a collector of unique and distinctive Tolkien memorabilia, including signed letters and first editions, you’ll want to pay attention to Bonham’s of London auction taking place on March 19th 2013. The four lots available are:
Book – TOLKIEN (J.R.R.) The Hobbit or There and Back Again… Illustrated by the Author, FIRST EDITION, second impression, dust-jacket, 1937 [Auction]
Letter – LEWIS (C.S.) Autograph letter signed (“C.S. Lewis”), to Father Dominic, concerning the success of ‘Lord of the Rings’ [Auction]
Letter – TOLKIEN (J.R.R.) Autograph Letter signed, 1971 [Auction]
Letter – TOLKIEN (J.R.R.) Typed letter signed, 1972 [Auction]
We’d like to thank the owner of the last lot for alerting us to these auctions! If you happen take home any of these amazing items, send us a note about it to spymaster@theonering.net!
[Auctions]
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In this two-part feature, Norse mythologist Dr Karl Seigfried writes about Éowyn as an exemplar of Nordic literary tradition and a feminist icon. It’s interesting stuff.
TOLKIEN’S deep love for the literary heritage of northern Europe can be felt throughout his works. I teach a semester-long course teasing out the many elements of Norse myth that permeate The Hobbit alone. In this article, I will focus on a close reading of a single bit of dialogue in The Lord of the Rings to show how powerfully the pre-Christian philosophy resonates in Tolkien’s fantasy.
In “The Passing of the Grey Company”, the second chapter of The Return of the King, Aragorn tells Éowyn that she may not ride with him to battle, but must remain behind as the men go off to war. Her response immediately shows her allegiance to heathen ideals.
‘You are a stern lord and resolute,’ she said; ‘and thus do men win renown.’ She paused. ‘Lord.’ she said, ‘if you must go, then let me ride in your following. For I am weary of skulking in the hills, and wish to face peril and battle.’ Continue reading “Éowyn: Tolkien’s Nordic feminist”
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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David Salo who you may know from his work as a linguist, language constructor and translator for Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit movies has recently started his own language blog called Midgardsmal. Salo intends to blog about his thoughts about his work on the films, as well as the new languages he created for The Hobbit. Continue reading “Linguist David Salo now blogging at Midgardsmal”
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