“The rule of no realm is mine, neither of Gondor nor any other, great or small.” Gandalf refused to use his power to control the free peoples of Middle Earth, but no race or collection of people can long survive without some means of government or authority, to maintain order, uphold justice and protect the weakest and most helpless members of the society.<\/p>\n
Although monarchies in various forms seem most common, almost every type of government is represented by Tolkien in his works; the oppressive totalitarian rule of Sauron, the Stewardship of Gondor, the communal collective of Rivendell and the vaguely democratic governing of the Shire, to name just a few. <\/p>\n
How do each of these systems function, and which seem the most effective? Does absolute power corrupt whomever wields it? How did the different systems develop? Come to cast your vote for your favourite government when you join us this week in #thehalloffire as we look at “Political Systems in Middle Earth”<\/p>\n
===
Upcoming topics:<\/p>\n
10\/30\/04, 10\/31\/04: “The Nazgul\/Ringwraiths” <\/p>\n
Hall of Fire Special Event<\/p>\n
Anne Petty to take a seat in The Hall of Fire.<\/p>\n
Hall of Fire staff are very pleased to announce that author Anne Petty will be our special guest during our scheduled HoF chat on Sunday, November 7 at 2:00 P.M. EST. Ms. Petty will be sharing her views on Tolkien as a myth-based writer, as well as ideas for those writing their own mythopoeic fiction. She will also be answering our questions on Tolkien, mythology and creative writing, especially creating characters and world-building. All are welcome to join us for this exciting event.<\/p>\n
Note: Hall of Fire on Saturday, November 6 will be an open discussion on various authors who write books based on or critiquing J.R.R. Tolkien. <\/p>\n
===
Place:<\/p>\n
#thehalloffire on theonering.net IRC server. Need instructions? Go here:
http:\/\/www.theonering.net\/barlimans\/instructions.html<\/p>\n
===
Chat Times:<\/p>\n
Saturday Chat:
5:30pm EST (17:30)
[also 11:30pm (23:30) CET and 7:30am Sunday morning AEST]<\/p>\n
Sunday Chat:
8:00 pm (20:00) CET
[also 2:00pm (14:00) EST and 4:00am Monday morning AEST]<\/p>\n
EST = Eastern Time, USA’s East Coast
CET = Central European Time, Central Europe
AEST = Australian East Coast<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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