It is time to say goodbye to 2011 and hello to 2012 – a year in which we will not only see the first installment of The Hobbit, but also a year of some huge announcements from us here at TheOneRing.net!  Below you will find links to the top 20 TheOneRing.net stories of 2011 based on popularity, visits and shares. We can’t say we are surprised to find that nearly all of the stories relate directly to Peter Jackson’s upcoming ‘The Hobbit‘ films, but a few LOTR specific stories manage to sneak in. Our resolution to you this year: Provide unique, relevant and exciting content inspired by the words and world of JRR Tolkien. Wishing you and years a very Happy New Year! Reminisce and enjoy!

  1. TheOneRing.net Exclusive: Behold! Thorin Oakenshield and Orcrist!
  2. First Hobbit trailer: TORn’s frame-by-frame analysis
  3. Dwarf Composite from Peter Jackson!
  4. Analysis: TheOneRing.net Staff Talk Dwarves
  5. Frame by Frame: Production Video Number 2
  6. Balin and Dwalin
  7. The Return Of The Rings: LOTR’s Extended Editions Coming To The Big Screen
  8. Just who is Tauriel? Let the Speculation Begin!
  9. More Hobbiton Set Photos
  10. Dori, Nori, and Ori
  11. Beorn? Radagast? Super set pics from South Island!
  12. Lord of the Rings Extended Editon Blu-ray review
  13. Elijah Wood will be in ‘The Hobbit’ (and we know how!)
  14. Thorin and Company – Full Body Rendering
  15. Empire Magazine’s Massive LOTR Issue
  16. Bombur, Bifur and Bofur
  17. Official Film Titles Announced – March 2nd Titles Confirmed
  18. Photo Analysis: Bilbo, Dwarves and Bag End
  19. First close-up of Beorn’s Hall?
  20. Production begins in New Zealand on The Hobbit

The Mythgard Institute will be continuing their look at the life and works of J.R.R. Tolkien – while delving into new territory – by offering the course “The Making of Myth: C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien” this spring.  The 15-week course can be taken for master’s level credit or audited and will focus on examining the work of Tolkien and Lewis hand-in-hand.  The class will engage in a careful comparison of Lewis’ and Tolkien’s fiction, paying close attention to those moments when they are both exploring similar ideas or undertaking comparable literary enterprises.  Not only will the course look at what they shared in common, but will also examine their primary differences.  Books and essays to be discussed include but are not limited to The HobbitThe Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, “Ainulindale,” The Magician’s Nephew, “Leaf by Niggle,” Till We have Faces, “The Lost Road,” The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, and “Smith of Wootton Major.” [Spring 2012 Courses]

Continue reading “Spring Enrollment Open at Mythgard Institute for “The Making of Myth” and “Taking Harry Seriously” until January 13th”

LONG-lost letters written by Lord of the Rings author JRR Tolkien have been returned to their rightful owner and will get top notch protection. Former Oxford University student and professor, Tolkien was the guest of honour at the opening of Deddington Library in December 1956. He wrote one letter accepting librarian Miss Stanley-Smith’s invitation, including lunch, which he said: “was impossible for him to refuse”. And a second letter following the visit, on December 19, where he thanked the librarian for her kindness, but said he was “depressed by his performance” which was “wretched and inadequate” and he did not deserve a fee. In the letter, Tolkien also promised to give a volume of his next book to the library. More..

Welcome to our collection of TORn’s hottest topics for the past week. If you’ve fallen behind on what’s happening on the Message Boards, here’s a great way to catch the highlights. Or if you’re new to TORn and want to enjoy some great conversations, just follow the links to some of our most popular discussions. Watch this space as every weekend we will spotlight the most popular buzz on TORn’s Message Boards. Everyone is welcome, so come on in and join in the fun!

Continue reading “TORn Message Boards Weekly Roundup – December 11, 2011”

At Oxford in the nineteen-forties, Professor John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was generally considered the most boring lecturer around, teaching the most boring subject known to man, Anglo-Saxon philology and literature, in the most boring way imaginable. “Incoherent and often inaudible” was Kingsley Amis’s verdict on his teacher. Tolkien, he reported, would write long lists of words on the blackboard, obscuring them with his body as he droned on, then would absent-mindedly erase them without turning around. “I can just about stand learning the filthy lingo it’s written in,” Philip Larkin, another Tolkien student, complained about the old man’s lectures on “Beowulf.” “What gets me down is being expected to admire the bloody stuff.” More..

An exploration of J.R.R Tolkien’s works, his Welsh inspirations and his influence on others

Buckland Hall, a stunning Victorian mansion in the heart of the Welsh borders, opens its doors on Sunday 11th December, 2011 to celebrate everything J.R.R Tolkien. Learn about the great fantasy writer in front a roaring fire, enjoying a glass of mulled wine in friendly company. Continue reading “A Taste of Tolkien”