gimli_et_legolas_sur_le_mur_du_gouffre_howe Here’s the second of our four semi-final contestants in our 2014 March Madness contest — Legolas, member of the Fellowship of the Ring.

In this piece, Tolkien scholar Michael Martinez discusses the paradox of Legolas — “both old and young, both wise and yet inexplicably ignorant of the wide world around him”.

Don’t forget to click the link at the bottom to continue to the full essay.

Speaking of Legolas…

by Michael Martinez

I decided to set myself a challenge and write something about Legolas which hasn’t been said before. There seems to be a lot of curiosity about this Elf. People want to know all sorts of things about him, such as what color was his hair, who was his mother, when was he born, was he at the Battle of Five Armies?

Continue reading “Speaking of Legolas…”

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.

final-fourThe Final Four are set! And in a stunning turn of events, Middle-earth has gone ‘Hot!’ In an unexpected twist of fate, the final four combatants are arguably the most swoon-worthy group of Middle-earth combatants ever.

First up, we have Thranduil facing off against Aragorn. Some staff are already dubbing this match-up as ‘Team Sparkle’ (Thranduil) vs. ‘Team Stubble’ (Aragorn).

And with Legolas dispatching Gandalf in the Elite Eight, we now have a Hobbit (film) showdown of epic proportions – Legolas vs. Thorin Oakenshield.

Will this be the first year we have an all Elven final? Can Aragorn finally put Team Sparkle out of the competition? Will the Richard Armitage Army dispatch Legolas? All is up in the air as the final four voting has begun!

Voting will last until 10pm ET on April 5th in this round. So let the Middle-earth March Madness continue! Happy Voting!
Continue reading “Vote in the Middle-earth March Madness Final Four! Some like it ‘Hot!’”

Hobbit Smaug Poster This piece by Simon J. Cook does happen to mirror some of my own thoughts on the place and benefit of any re-imagining of Tolkien’s vision of Middle-earth within the world.

Still, as much as Tolkien’s letter to Waldman (Letter #131) opens Middle-earth to new perspectives, and vivid reinterpretations, I believe it’s equally important to acknowledge the flipside: missives sent to Allen & Unwin (Letter #188) and Forest J Ackerman (Letter #210) show Tolkien also cared deeply about what others did with his works.

I think it’s a balancing act that will never be resolved to everyone’s satisfaction.

Continue reading “In praise of Peter Jackson’s Hobbit”

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.

LOTRProject Over at LOTRProject, Emil Johannson has developed a high-resolution interactive map of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth complete with key dates, events and character movements.

It’s pretty neat, and a very effective visual representation of where some of the key events of Middle-earth’s history occurred. Continue reading “A new, interactive historical map of Middle-earth from LOTRProject”

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.

Arwen and Elessar In our latest TORn library piece, Ringer Tedoras muses on the theme of love within Lord of the Rings, and how it’s more intricately– and subtly — woven into the text than we generally realise.

Continue reading “The theme of love in The Lord of the Rings”

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.

middleearthmarchmadness14-verticalWe’ve reached arguably the most exciting round of this year’s Middle-earth March Madness – The Elite Eight! Eight combatants have tested their gruff against some impressive opponents, and now face a battle for the ages! In the Lonely Mountain division we have the (16) Elrond taking on fan fav (6) Aragorn. In Erebor, (1) Thorin Oakenshield faces a much bigger challenge than gold fever when he faces (3) The One Ring. The Bag End match-up is a battle of the top seeds as (1) Bilbo takes on the trending (2) Thranduil (aka Sparkles). And last but not least, Mirkwood gives us a battle of two all-time Middle-earth juggernauts – (1) Gandalf vs. (14) Legolas. This is a round for the ages!

Voting in this round will end on April 1st (we promise to give you real results) so don’t delay – fight for your choices. Share! Tweet! Comment!

Continue reading “We’ve reached the Elite Eight! Vote Now in Middle-earth March Madness Round 4!”