Barliman's Chat This Saturday at 6pm EDT, Hall of Fire journeys to the hidden Gondorian fastness of Henneth Annûn with Frodo and Sam as we resume our Lord of the Rings chapter chats.

There, safe from the forces The Dark Lord, Captain Faramir tries to untangle the riddle of the strange halflings that have chanced into his territory, while Frodo and Sam attempt to keep their mission, and the true nature of Isildur’s Bane, secret.

Faramir smiled grimly. `Then you would grieve to learn that Boromir is dead? ‘
‘I would grieve indeed,’ said Frodo. Then catching the look in Faramir’s eyes, he faltered. ‘Dead?’ he said. ‘Do you mean that he is dead, and that you knew it? You have been trying to trap me in words, playing with me? Or are you now trying to snare me with a falsehood?’

Continue reading “Hall of Fire chat today: the Window on the West”

Barliman's Chat This Saturday (at 6pm ET (New York time)) Hall of Fire will be talking about the valiant shieldmaiden of the Rohirrim — Éowyn, the White Lady of Rohan.

For a while she was silent, as if pondering what this might mean. Then suddenly she laid her hand on his arm. ‘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.’

Éowyn, the White Lady of Rohan Continue reading “Hall of Fire this Saturday: Éowyn, the White Lady of Rohan”

Barliman's Chat Last weekend in The Hall of Fire, we discussed sources of heroism in The Lord of the Rings. Who acts heroically, and what is it that makes them heroic anyway? For those who couldn’t attend, here’s a log.

And a reminder, next weekend (Saturday August 3 at 6pm EDT (New York time)) we’ll be discussing the next chapter in our read-through of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers: Book III, Chapter XI: The Palantir. It’s the final chapter of Book III, so don’t miss it! Continue reading “Hall of Fire chat log: the hero and the heroic 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.

Barliman's Chat
Last weekend, the Hall of Fire crew examined the confrontation between Gandalf, Theoden and Grima (plus much more) as we discussed the Two towers chapter The King the Tale of the Golden Hall. For those who couldn’t attend, here’s a log.

And remember, tomorrow (May 25 at 6pm EDT) we’ll be discussing Isildur and examining to what extent he was the shaper of the Third Age. Continue reading “Hall of Fire chat log: The King of the Golden Hall”

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.

Aragorn and Eowyn 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.