In the ‘pretty darn cool’ department, an ‘authentic’ Hobbit hole in Orondo Washington, U.S.A., is now available to…
Continue Reading
In the ‘pretty darn cool’ department, an ‘authentic’ Hobbit hole in Orondo Washington, U.S.A., is now available to rent. While we’ve reported on similar things before, the accommodations at this dwelling come compete with rustic furniture, a nice little garden, an absolutely gorgeous mountain view and, yes, shampoo. Whether you use the shampoo on your head, your feet, or both, is up to you.
Continue reading “Hobbit hole for rent in the Pacific Northwest”
We’ve teamed up with our friends at HarperCollins to give away not one, but 10 of these awesome coloring books. Plus, not only are we giving 10 of these away, the contest is open to fans all over the world!
I’ve had a chance to personally look at one and it’s one of the coolest coloring books I’ve ever seen. Covering the entire The Lord of the Rings Movie Trilogy you can add your own spice of color to various scenes from the best trilogy ever put on film. Even if you decide not to color it, the book makes for one heck of a cool addition to any collection. So make sure you enter this contest that starts today and ends this Friday at midnight PST.
When filling out the contest form in the special notes section please make sure to give us your full mailing address and a contact phone number, and if you’re entering from outside the US, please don’t forget your international dialling code.
A long-standing Spring tradition was repeated this weekend in the Czech Republic. Hundreds of fans recreated a battle from J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth literature. This year it was The Battle of the Five Armies from The Hobbit. Fans choose sides, join together, then march until they meet the enemy. Armed with plastic and/or foam-tipped weapons, the worst of the injuries from the battle that ensues are bumps and bruises. However, where costumes are concerned, the competition gets serious, producing some very impressive and intimating-looking warriors on both sides. Check out this story, and great video footage, from the U.K. Telegraph, and let us know in our comment section, or on our Forums, which side you’d be on if you could join the battle. Would your choice be based on which side you’d like to fight on, which would be the best cosplay opportunity, or both? Read more…
Our friends at La Sociedad Tolkien Española (STE) have informed us that they are now taking submissions for their 12 annual Ælfwine Awards contest. Held every year to further the study of the works and life of J.R.R. Tolkien, the contest is open to anyone who has an interest in writing about Tolkien and/or his writings, from amateurs to professionals. Essays may be submitted in either Spanish or English and are due no later than October 1, 2016 to the following email address: premiosaelfwine
The winning essays will be published on their website in November, 2016. First prize includes 120 Euros and a year’s free membership in the Spanish Tolkien Society. Second prize is a year’s free membership in their Tolkien Society. Keep reading for the complete rules.
Continue reading “Spanish Tolkien Society’s 12th annual AElfwine Awards”
The Bodleian Libraries, home to the largest collection of Tolkien manuscripts and drawings in the world, has acquired a recently discovered map of Middle-earth annotated by J.R.R. Tolkien and artist Pauline Baynes during her early preparations to produce a poster map of Middle-earth that was later published in 1970. The fold-out map was pulled from one of Baynes’ copies of The Lord of the Rings. In order to help her represent Middle-earth as accurately as possible, Tolkien made notes on the map (those in green ink and pencil) regarding the climate of various areas, often equating them to real places in England and Europe, in order to give Baynes an accurate idea of the area’s flora and fauna.
The map was kept by Baynes, who passed away in 2008. It resurfaced in 2015 and was acquired by the Libraries. According to the Libraries:
“The annotated map went unseen for decades until October 2015 when Blackwell’s Rare Books in Oxford put the map on display and offered it for sale. The purchase of the map was funded with assistance from the Victoria & Albert Purchase Grant Fund and the Friends of the Bodleian.
This working document reveals that the creatures which enliven the final poster map – wolves, horses, cattle, elephants and camels – were all suggested by Tolkien and that Baynes drew the animals in the exact locations he specified. ‘Elephants appear in the Great battle outside Minas Tirith (as they did in Italy under Pyrrhus) but they would be in place in the blank squares of Harad – also Camels,’ wrote Tolkien.”
The Bodleian Libraries hopes to put the map on display to the public in the near future – a great reason to plan a special trip! In the meantime, read the fascinating full article here.
While Tolkien was a British writer, his readership and influence extend far beyond the English language. Middle-earth transcends both time and culture as we have seen again and again when having the pleasure to meet fellow fans from around the globe through both TheOneRing and Happy Hobbit. That said, sometimes it takes a little longer for Tolkien events and/or specials in other languages and countries to reach our ears. Fortunately for you, dear reader, famed Tolkien artist and scholar John Howe sent a message our way via thrush to let us know about a delightful Franco-English documentary he narrated in 2015 about the source material for Tolkien’s The Hobbit titled A la Recherche du Hobbit (Looking for the Hobbit).
You can watch the first episode of five in English below:
Looking for the Hobbit ep1 from CERIGO Films on Vimeo.
If you’re confident enough to navigate the French website (all you have to do is click on the shopping cart icon!) you can purchase a region-free English version here, and the series is available in French on DVD and streaming here (along with a preview). You can also peruse several delightful behind the scenes photos on their Facebook page.
What’s more, John Howe has taken the time to provide us with his thoughts on why, even after all this time, he was excited to contribute to yet another exploration of Tolkien.
