Section divider

Tag: Lord of the Rings

Lots more Middle-earth on the way as new things are previewed and fans assemble on Bilbo & Frodo’s birthday this year.

Tales of the Shire preview & new release date

Weta Workshop & Private Division gave select fans and gamers a playable demo of Tales of the Shire, a console & PC game coming to all platforms – Nintendo Switch, Xbox, Playstation, PC, and mobile via Netflix Games. Developers also announced the release date has been pushed to March 25, 2025. We have a full writeup and video playthroughs in another article.

Game producer Calliope Ryder was at TwitchCon San Diego this weekend for a panel on Tales of the Shire, and posted a “fun facts” thread about shirefolk on X.

It was also revealed that the duck with a dwarven helmet is a featured character, and its name is Ladle (sp?)!

Richard Taylor and the team at Weta Workshop posted a 20-minute behind the scenes video of the game in progress.

War of the Rohirrim gets a poster & Warhammer tie-in

New Line Cinema’s feature anime film The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim debuted its theatrical poster for Hobbit Day!

Also announced, Warhammer is bringing Rohirrim into its Middle-earthℱ Strategy Battle Game with The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrimℱ – Battle of Edoras starter set. The 56 piece package includes a board map, some Edoras structures, and a ton of miniature painted figures that the Tabletop RPG is known for. Get all the details over at Warhammer website.

Official WB social accounts reawaken

The Hobbit Movie posted a charming little video to celebrate Hobbit Day.

Middle-earth music in concert in Los Angeles

Fans spotted that an orchestra concert of ‘The music of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit’ is coming to Pasadena in March 2025, and tickets are now available at Ticketmaster. (Note this is not the full scores being played with the movie – stay tuned for news of The Return of the King with live orchestra coming to NYC early next year!)

Prime Video celebrates Sauron on Hobbit Day

Also posting on Bilbo’s birthday was official accounts for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, focusing on Sauron. This fan wants to know: is Harfoot Nori’s birthday also September 22?

New Fan Podcast Launches

While a lot of your favorite Tolkien influencers are being featured in official The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power marketing, including our own greendragon, more fans are getting into the TolkienTube game. The newest is Makers of Middle-earth from Anna MarĂ­a, who has previously joined us for SDCC panels and livestreams. Her first interview is with the legendary Jed Brophy!

Fans celebrate together worldwide for Hobbit Day 2024

New Zealand fans visited Hobbiton with Red Carpet Tours.

Los Angeles fans got together for a potluck at Mineral Wells area in Griffith Park

Header photo is from Diane in the TORN Discord, taken under the party tree at Hobbiton! We hope all our fellow fans had a happy, hobbity day of fun and festivity – and are enjoying the riches of this era in the Tolkien fandom.

Posted in: Share: Divide line
Adar

This week in Reflections from the Shire we have a guest post from Tolkien lover, and Tiktok and Threads regular, Lea/Silmarilleanne about The Shibboleth of FĂ«anor and it’s appearance in The Rings of Power episode four. Enjoy!

~ Staffer Kelvarhin

Reflections from the Shire – The Shibboleth of FĂ«anor

Guest post by: Lea/Silmarilleanne

Keen-eared Tolkien fans may have noticed an interesting linguistic quirk spoken by Adar at the end of episode four of The Rings of Power. He greets Galadriel with a familiar Quenyan phrase – one used by Frodo to greet Gildor Ingolrion in The Lord of the Rings: “elen sĂ­la lĂșmenn omentielvo”, to quote Frodo. But Adar’s is slightly different, raising some interesting possibilities about his original elven identity.

Firstly, there’s the fact that Adar is speaking Quenya at all. This suggests he is a Noldo of Valinor – just as Galadriel is; Quenya the language originated in Valinor and is the the language of the High Elves. It was dropped in favour of Sindarin shortly after the exiled Noldor arrived in Middle-earth, thanks to the ban placed upon it being spoken by the Sindar King, Elu Thingol, after he was informed of the Kinslaying at AlqualondĂ«, the victims of which were his own people, the Teleri. It was never spoken by any of the other elves of Middle-earth, becoming something of an archaic language of lore. Furthermore, Adar calls Galadriel “AltĂĄriel”, the Quenyan form of the name Galadriel – an epessĂ« (a kind of nickname) she was given in Valinor, and which was Sindarised to Galadriel in Middle-earth. This is all to say, were he anything other than a Noldo, it is extremely unlikely he would have spoken Quenya and known Galadriel’s Quenyan epessĂ«.

The most intriguing part of all this though is instead of sĂ­la, Adar pronounces the word as thĂ­la – or, more accurately ĂŸĂ­la. This usage of the thorn in place of s suggests he is not only speaking Quenya, but a very specific dialect of Quenya – FĂ«anorian Quenya, known amongst many fans as ‘the FĂ«anorian lisp’ (indeed, those who spoke this way were dubbed ‘the Lispers’).

In The Shibboleth of FĂ«anor, published in The Peoples of Middle-earth, volume 12 of the History of Middle-earth, Tolkien at his philological best describes how sociopolitical matters affect language and vice versa. As the Shibboleth explains, the Noldor and the Vanyar, two of the three tribes of elves, once lived together in the city of Tirion in Valinor and shared a language, Quenya. The Vanyar relocated to the city of Valmar to be closer to the Valar, and as a result of this distancing, dialectical shifts occurred between the two peoples. The Vanyar retained the ĂŸ in their language, but amongst the Noldor there was a “conscious and deliberate change
based primarily on phonetic ‘taste’ and theory” to s.

The change was attacked and opposed by loremasters, who believed it would cause damage “in confusing stems and their derivatives that had been distinct in sound and sense”. The chief linguistic loremaster at this time was FĂ«anor, who as well as being a fastidious loremaster also had a very personal reason for objecting to the change. FĂ«anor’s mother, and first queen of the Noldor, was MĂ­riel Þerinde. While the linguistic shift is said to have happened (or at least began) within her lifetime, MĂ­riel herself adhered to the pronunciation ĂŸ, and “desired that all her kin should adhere to it also, at least in the pronunciation of her name”, therefore ÞerindĂ« as opposed to SerindĂ«.

However, unprecedented amongst the elves of this time, MĂ­riel died, and refused to be re-embodied. Embittered by this, her husband FinwĂ« himself switched away from ĂŸ in favour of s, which had at this point become almost universal amongst the Noldor bar MĂ­riel’s kin. Matters were worsened further when his second wife, Indis of the Vanyar, followed suit. As a Vanya, Indis had hitherto retained the ĂŸ in her speech, but she declared, “I have joined the people of the Noldor, and I will speak as they do”. FĂ«anor, hating Indis and seeing her as somewhat of a usurper in his mother’s rightful place, believed her switch to be a grave insult and belittlement of his mother, and came to view the rejection of Þ as a symbol of rejection of both his mother MĂ­riel, and by extension himself, her son, as the chief of the Noldor next to FinwĂ«.

Thus, he became yet more vehement in his objection of the shift, even while his behaviour turned those who had previously agreed with him to the opposing side:

“Had peace been maintained there can be no doubt that the advice of FĂ«anor, with which all the other loremasters privately or openly agreed, would have prevailed. But an opinion in which he was surely right was rejected because of the follies and evil deeds into which he was later led.”

FĂ«anor remained steadfast in his opposition, pointedly calling himself ‘Son of Þerinde’ and telling his sons, when they queried the difference in their speech from that of their kin, that they “speak as is right, and as King FinwĂ« did before he was led astray”.

So even before the Rebellion of the Noldor and their exodus to Middle-earth, s in place of ĂŸ had become dominant, and this was further cemented in exile: “The s was certainly used in Beleriand by almost all the Noldor,” Tolkien writes, and this is followed by the note “It is not even certain that all FĂ«anor’s sons continued to use Þ after his death and the healing of the feud” between the FĂ«anorians and the family of Fingolfin, though it seems almost certain any elf who did retain the thorn would have been counted amongst the FĂ«anorian followers – thus is raised the question of Adar’s identity.

But Adar saying it to Galadriel adds yet another layer of significance. The Shibboleth of FĂ«anor further details how Finarfin, Galadriel’s father “loved the Vanyar (his mother’s people)” and that because of this love in his house, ĂŸ remained in standard use and he was moved neither one way nor the other by FĂ«anor’s shibboleth, acting purely as he wished. Galadriel therefore grew up in a household that retained the ĂŸ. However:

“opposition to FĂ«anor,” Tolkien writes, “soon became a dominant motive with Galadriel
 so while she knew well the history of their tongue and all the reasons of the loremasters, she certainly used s in her own daily speech.”

In other words, she purposely transitioned to using s to spite FĂ«anor. Adar’s own usage of it then could also be retaliative or in a similar vein: he is aware of its import and meaning to Galadriel and could potentially be purposely using it as a means of aggravating her.

Certainly, the implications of him speaking Quenya – and specifically the FĂ«anorian dialect of Quenya – seems to contradict earlier indications in the show about him being one of the first orcs; the first orcs were made from elves taken during the days at CuiviĂ©nen, long before the elves went to Valinor and Quenya the language even existed; at this time, they spoke only Primitive Quendian. It would also seem odd if Quenya is his mother tongue, why his name is Adar, the Sindarin word for father, as opposed to Atar as it is in Quenya. But how deep does the show want to delve? It could be a lot more straightforward – the show is going on the simplified premise of Quenya having been spoken by the elves since those early days, and the dialectical shift having happened since then simply being indicative of Adar’s extreme age. But if Adar is from amongst those first elves, as Galadriel claimed in the first series, that would put him of an age, older even, than CĂ­rdan, and yet Adar is very noticeably lacking the beard that is illustrative of CĂ­rdan’s long lifespan. On the other hand, if the show really is going this deep on the lore, exactly who is he? Theories of Adar being Maglor abound, since it would tick many of the boxes: FĂ«anorian speech, Noldo, dark hair, familiarity with the name AltĂĄriel
 But surely, even with a multitude of scars on his face, Galadriel would recognise her cousin? There is also, and perhaps most fundamentally, the issue of rights. While the Tolkien Estate has afforded Amazon some leniency and granted access to certain items outside the rights they own – most notably, the name “Annatar”, a word which does not appear in the Lord of the Rings and its appendices, which Amazon owns the rights to – it is another level entirely to grant them access to an entire character.

Regardless of whether Adar’s use of the “FĂ«anorian lisp” becomes significant and plot-relevant, or remains a little easter egg for keen-eared viewers, it has certainly conjured a lot of discussion, and a wonderful new level of interest in more casual fans, who have begun seeking out a once fairly obscure text like The Shibboleth of FĂ«anor.

About the author: Lea aka Silmarilleanne is a long-time lover of Tolkien’s works with a penchant for his languages and the House of FinwĂ«. When her nose isn’t buried in a book or a PlayStation controller in her hands, she can most often be found talking Tolkien on Tiktok and Threads.

~~ * ~~

If you’d like to discuss “The Shibboleth of FĂ«anor” further, or just want to discuss all things Tolkien in a welcoming, troll-free environment check out TheOneRing.net’s Discord or message boards.

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.

Posted in: Share: Divide line

In our latest episode of the Collecting The Precious Podcast, we are chatting about the amazing collectibles that we saw during San Diego Comic-Con 2024 from Weta Workshop, Vanderstelt Studio, Diamond Select Toys, Iron Studios, and Cliff Cramp Illustration. We’ll be discussing what we hope to see as we work towards next years SDCC, and we’ll also talk about Jim’s first time attending SDCC.

As always thanks for watching and taking the time to support what we do here at TheOneRing.net.

Continue reading “Collecting The Precious Podcast Episode 12: Comic-Con 2024 Review”

Posted in: Share: Divide line

If you’re a fan, like I am, of the awesome figures our friends at Diamond Select Toys are doing, and you’re going to be at Comic-Con this year, you’ll want to make sure you get this.

This year their exclusive collectible representing The Lord of the Rings, is a fantastic looking deluxe version figurine of Gimli. From the images we have been provided, a number of hands, weapons, and two head sculpts are included with the figurine.

Con attendees will be able to grab this for $40 at the show, and, if any are left, you can get them on Diamond Select the Monday after the Con.

Posted in: Share: Divide line

TORn is excited to announce that Jerry Vanderstelt has once again created the must have of San Diego Comic-Con Exclusive collectibles.

Last year, lucky Con attendees were able to purchase one of Jerry’s amazing The Lord of the Rings Trilogy print set collectibles. This year he’s back with a beautiful trio of prints, as a set for Comic-Con 2024. The three prints consist of Aragorn, Arwen, and the beautiful symbol of Gondor. These 12×16 prints are limited to 300 pieces, and will come signed, as well as numbered. They’re a steal as well for only $40. You’ll need to get in early as these will not last the entire show!

Continue reading “Collecting The Precious – Vanderstelt Studio Comic-Con Exclusive”

Posted in: Share: Divide line

The greatest gathering of fans happens next week! That’s right San Diego Comic-Con 2024 is coming up, so once again it’s time for MadEyeGamgee and myself to speculate on the Middle-earth collectibles we might see.

Our special guest is Tyler McClim who helps hosts The Lord of the Collections podcast on YouTube. Over our 90 minute conversation we chat about what we want to see not only at SDCC, but also in the time after Comic-Con.

We hope you enjoy this episode and we look forward to reviewing what we saw post SDCC.

Continue reading “Collecting The Precious – San Diego Comic-Con 2024 Preview Episode”

Posted in: Share: Divide line
theonering.net

This site is maintained and updated by fans of The Lord of the Rings and the name and mark ONE RING is used under license from Middle-earth Enterprises, LLC an Embracer Group company, which hold the title thereto. We in no way claim rights in the artwork displayed herein. Copyrights and trademarks for the books, films, articles, merchandise and other promotional materials are held by their respective owners and our limited use of these materials is done by permission or is allowed under the fair use clause of the Copyright Act.

theonering.net