Another September 22 — the birthdays of Bilbo and Frodo — has just passed. In our latest Library piece, TORn feature writer Tedoras reflects on Letter #214 from The Letters of J.R.R Tolkien and examines Tolkien’s thoughts on birthday customs in hobbit society and culture.
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.
Ranks of skilled archers cleverly readying their bows. Organized groups of infantrymen waiting for the signal to attack. One word and any intruders will find themselves facing serious consequences.
It is hard to conjure up the imagery of an army within the Shire, based on the rather rustic and easy-going characteristics.
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.
Here’s a thought-provoking article from Slate.com. We couldn’t help but notice the correction at the bottom of the story: “The caption for this story originally stated that Arwen and Aragorn are half-elf and half-human. Their lineage is apparently much more complicated than that.” Knowing fellow Tolkien fans, we imagine they received a comment or two (or twenty) to set them straight!
Are hobbits human and just really short? Or are they some entirely other species, like a gold-hoarding dragon? In high-school biology class they teach you to define species in terms of interbreeding. A horse is something that can make nonsterile babies with other horses; it may mate with a donkey, but since their offspring are sterile mules, horses and donkeys count as separate species. By that standard, the most relevant J.R.R. Tolkien passage comes from Appendix A of the Return of the King:
There were three unions of the Eldar and the Edain: Lúthien and Beren; Idril and Tuor; Arwen and Aragorn. By the last the long-sundered branches of the Half-elven were reunited and their line was restored.
It helps to recall here that Eldar is another word for elf and Edain is another word for human. Tolkien is saying here that there were two human-elf pairings in the backstory to the Lord of the Rings. One between Lúthien and Beren and another between Idril and Tuor. Both Arwen and Aragorn are descendants of one of these pairings. So when they get together in the course of the series, they reunite the half-elven lines. [Read More]
It’s great news that New Line and the Tolkien Estate have settled their lawsuit, but looking at the amount of work going on at the Hobbiton set in the past month, it seems as though the outcome was never in doubt. Here’s images from Holly, who saw this during her Red Carpet Tour through Hobbiton in August.
Hobbiton sprouts new hedgerowsNew Row? Hobbiton seems to be growingWorking on Hobbiton's roads
Ringer Karl Falconer, who attended the BFI IMAX LOTR All-night screening managed to snag the following video of Sir Ian McKellen at last night’s event. The video is on Karl’s Facebook page, so I’ll need to login to see it – but its worth it! First off, Sir Ian revels he will be in New Zealand in March to begin filming for approximately a year, with the first of two films being released Christmas 2011. (as expected, but great to hear from Ian!) As our earlier reports have revealed, Sir Ian also states he ‘pretty well knows’ who will play “Frodo” (maybe a small slip up, and he meant Bilbo) and that we will be happy with the casting (2:22 mark of video). A huge thanks to Karl for sending us the link to his video. [Ian McKellen Video] And while you are on facebook, don’t forget to become a fan of TheOneRing.net! [TORn on Facebook]
Greetings all in the world of Tolkien fandom! I recently spoke with Guillermo Del Toro at a book-signing event in Westwood, California, for his new vampire book “The Strain” (co-authored by Chuck Hogan) and how it ties in with his work on “The Hobbit” films.
Here is the complete transcript of our conversation…
Another September 22 — the birthdays of Bilbo and Frodo — has just passed. In our latest Library piece, TORn feature writer Tedoras reflects on Letter #214 from The Letters of J.R.R Tolkien and examines Tolkien’s thoughts on birthday customs in hobbit society and culture. 
Ringer Karl Falconer, who attended the BFI IMAX LOTR All-night screening managed to snag the following video of Sir Ian McKellen at last night’s event. The video is on Karl’s Facebook page, so I’ll need to login to see it – but its worth it! First off, Sir Ian revels he will be in New Zealand in March to begin filming for approximately a year, with the first of two films being released Christmas 2011. (as expected, but great to hear from Ian!) As our earlier reports have revealed, Sir Ian also states he ‘pretty well knows’ who will play “Frodo” (maybe a small slip up, and he meant Bilbo) and that we will be happy with the casting (2:22 mark of video). A huge thanks to Karl for sending us the link to his video. [