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Founded in 2005, the Silmarillion Writers' Guild exists for discussions of and creative fanworks based on J.R.R. Tolkien's The Silmarillion and related texts. We are a positive-focused and open-minded space that welcomes fans from all over the world and with all levels of experience with Tolkien's works. Whether you are picking up Tolkien's books for the first time or have been a fan for decades, we welcome you to join us!

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Silmarillion Writers' Guild - Mereth Aderthad 2025 - July 19, 2025 - Burlington, VT, and online - a celebration of creativity and scholarship inspired by the works of J.R.R. Tolkien

Register for Mereth Aderthad!


Mereth Aderthad Interview: Interview with Grundy by Shadow
Long fascinated with the Manhattan Project, Grundy was naturally drawn to Cindy Gates' Mereth Aderthad 2025 presentation “Tolkien, Lunatic Physicists, and Abnegation" and is making a work of glass art to accompany it. Shadow spoke to Grundy about her inspiration on the project and long love of Tolkien.

Mereth Aderthad Interview: Interview with Azh, Admirable Monster by Shadow
As a physicist themself, Azh confronts the issues around the ethical use of science in both the professional and creative realms. Shadow spoke with Azh about their story "Lightborn," written to accompany Cindy Gates' Mereth Aderthad 2025 presentation “Tolkien, Lunatic Physicists, and Abnegation,” its real-life inspirations, and the importance of fallibility in Tolkien's world.

Mereth Aderthad Interview: Interview with bunn by Shadow
Bunn's work is beloved in the Tolkien fandom, where they are both an author and an artist. Along those lines, they will be creating both a story for Mereth Aderthad 2025 and a work of art for a different presentation. Shadow spoke with bunn about their Mereth Aderthad works, the appeal of Dwarves, and the many fruitful connections between Beowulf and Tolkien's own work.

Mereth Aderthad Interview: Interview with chrissystriped by Dawn
In our series of interviews of creators for Mereth Aderthad, Dawn spoke with chrissystriped about her story, written for Shadow's "The Aromantic in Tolkien" presentation, her process as a writer, and the importance of representing aro-ace characters in fanfiction.

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New & Updated Fanworks

[Writing] Twinkle, Twinkle, Silmaril by Anérea

A reworking of Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star

[Writing] i swallowed your name // it tasted like light by atlantablack

"You should tell me to stop," Fëanáro says softly, taking the last step and pressing himself flush against Ñolofinwë.


Ñolofinwë swallows with some difficulty, tilts his head back against the door to meet Fëanáro's eyes. "You are my brother," he says, voice wavering. "We should not."

…

[Writing] High in the Clean Blue Air by StarSpray

They passed out of Lhûn and the wider coastline of Middle-earth opened up before his eyes. He had wandered those shores for centuries, and even now he felt the pull of that same wanderlust, and knew he would miss them for the rest of his life. Their wildness, the untamed waves, the rocky…

[Reference] Interview with Cynthia Gates, a.k.a. pandemonium_213 by Grundy by pandemonium_213, Grundy

Cindy Gates' presentation for Mereth Aderthad 2025, "Tolkien, Lunatic Physicists, and Abnegation," explores the ethics of refusal in the (mis)use of science and technology. A retired scientist herself, Cindy spoke to Grundy about her upcoming presentation and its inspiration in Cindy's…

[Writing] A Huntress Among Fools by Isilme_among_the_stars

If Aredhel had to listen to one more person heap praise on her brother while she stood right beside him, completely disregarded, she might scream. The praises were well deserved, she must admit. But was it only Fingon who scouted ahead over the treacherous shifting ice of the Helcaraxë? Didn…

[Writing] Like Stars We Fall by Isilme_among_the_stars

As the Sons of Fëanor set their feet on the path to the sack of Doriath, Caranthir reflects on the characters of himself and his brothers and contemplates where the responsibility lies for their predicament.

[Writing] All That Was Not Lost to the Fire by Isilme_among_the_stars

Little moments of connection that Maedhros finds with his family. A collection of drabbles and other short writings to accompany One in the Fires of the Heart of the World.

Current Challenge

Period Drama
A Matryoshka challenge where prompts are inspired by common tropes found in period dramas and historical fiction. Read more ...

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Promises Made/Promises Broken
Create a fanwork focusing on a promise. Read more ...

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Interview with Cynthia Gates, a.k.a. pandemonium_213 by Grundy by pandemonium_213, Grundy

Cindy Gates' presentation for Mereth Aderthad 2025, "Tolkien, Lunatic Physicists, and Abnegation," explores the ethics of refusal in the (mis)use of science and technology. A retired scientist herself, Cindy spoke to Grundy about her upcoming presentation and its inspiration in Cindy's fascination with the Manhattan Project.

Interview with Grundy by Shadow by Grundy, daughterofshadows

Long fascinated with the Manhattan Project, Grundy was naturally drawn to Cindy Gates' Mereth Aderthad 2025 presentation “Tolkien, Lunatic Physicists, and Abnegation" and is making a work of glass art to accompany it. Shadow spoke to Grundy about her inspiration on the project and long love of Tolkien.

Interview with Azh, Admirable Monster by Shadow by AdmirableMonster, daughterofshadows

As a physicist themself, Azh confronts the issues around the ethical use of science in both the professional and creative realms. Shadow spoke with Azh about their story "Lightborn," written to accompany Cindy Gates' Mereth Aderthad 2025 presentation “Tolkien, Lunatic Physicists, and Abnegation,” its real-life inspirations, and the importance of fallibility in Tolkien's world.

Featured Themed Collection

Orcs Are People by cuarthol

Part of our Themed Collection series for our newsletter, this collection features fiction, artwork, and essays that transcend the idea of Orcs as the enemy, instead considering their humanity.

Alliterative Verse for Arda by Rhunedhel

Part of our Themed Collection series for our newsletter, this collection features alliterative poems about Middle-earth.

Beyond the Silmarillion

[Artwork] Floating through the Forest River by Varda delle Stelle

Bilbo and Thorin's Company are arriving to Lake Town floating through the Forest River with the barrels

[Writing] The Wondrous Tale of the Bee-wolf by bunn

Once upon a time, JRR Tolkien wrote a fairy-tale retelling, an attempt to reconstruct an alternative version of the ancient poem called Beowulf, and he called it Sellic Spell: 'strange tale' or 'wondrous tale'.


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[Writing] Dáin's Saga by bunn

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Around the World and Web

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Joyful June is a fanworks event on Tumblr and AO3 where the goal is to let our favourite characters be happy.

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Numenor Week is a Tumblr event created for fans of the tragic and beautiful story of the Land of the Gift, from its birth to its downfall.

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This is an 18+ Tumblr and AO3 event for smutty fanworks involving monsters from the legendarium, put on by the Tolkien Pinup Calendar.

May Challenge at tolkienshortfanworks on Dreamwidth
The May challenge has been posted at the tolkienshortfanwork community on Dreamwidth. This month it is a number of prompts containing "may", including "May It Be", by Enya.

Teitho May/June Challenge: Weddings
The theme for Teitho's May/June contest is "weddings."

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The Ruling Queens of Númenor by Himring

| | |

Fanwork Notes

Tar-Ancalimë, first ruling Queen of Númenor, by Narisz
Narisz (Tumblr)

The three Ruling Queens of Númenor are not the most well-known of characters, as most of the information about them is found in the Unfinished Tales, but there are reasons why some fans, including myself, are interested in them.

When Tolkien filled in the gaps in his history of Númenor and the Second Age, he had already hinted at female succession and thus, necessarily, of Queens in the Appendices of The Lord of the Rings.  This led to the tale of Aldarion and Erendis, on the one hand, which begins to provide detail on the reasons why female succession came to be introduced and on the early life of the first Ruling Queen, Tar-Ancalimë, but increasingly devolves into undeveloped drafts and fragments, as the tale is unfinished. Even the exact form of the new law of succession is mired in contradictions in these drafts.

On the other hand, there is the complete narrative of the rulers of the House of Elros, which provides short biographies of all three Ruling Queens, but these are short indeed.  As a result, there are plenty of tantalizing gaps in the available canon material that invite filling in and expansion by fan interpretations.

There are additional incentives for giving the Queens attention. Of course, named female characters with any accompanying biographical information are not all that common in the Legendarium. Even fewer of these are shown exercising political power.  However, that does not amount to positive evaluation; it is difficult not to feel that Tolkien's attitude to the Ruling Queens is tepid at best. It is true that none of the three are implicated in the worst acts of the House of Elros and the final decline, but there are already hints in all three narratives that all is no longer well with Númenor, although the criticisms levelled against the Queens are different in each case. Whereas some fans have accordingly adopted a similarly critical view of these queens, others have attempted to defend them against perceived double standards, misogyny, or unfair criticism, and some have experimented with even more subversive approaches, which often connect with reinterpretation of the history of Númenor on a larger scale.

Regardless of the differences among the three Queens, in each case issues involving marriage and succession are attributed to them. Tar-Vanimeldë is the only one who freely chooses to wed according to her society’s expectations and even her marriage emerges as problematic. However, especially in the case of Tar-Ancalimë and Tar-Telperiën, from a fannish point of view, this apparent flaw or lack opens up possibilities of interpretation and more diverse representation. The tale of Tar-Ancalimë offers an unusual amount of canonical female interaction and female networks, and her characterization is complex enough to allow for different fannish takes: there are elements here that could support readings of Tar-Ancalimë as asexual, lesbian, or bisexual, as well as unhappily heterosexual, depending on the author’s preferences. The gender politics of Tar-Ancalimë’s tale are the most explicit and often evoke strong responses in readers. 

Tar-Telperiën is the one of the three Queens who refuses marriage categorically to the end and, although her short biography offers no hints beyond that, that similarly invites a range of interpretations.

I just mention in passing that (like other Númenóreans) the Queens may also be portrayed as people of colour, whether that reflects the fan’s personal interpretation of Legendarium lore or by free fannish choice, which further increases possible diversity of representation.

Even though the amount of fanfiction and fanart featuring the Queens and treating them in depth is smaller than in the case of  better-known and more  popular characters, it is not possible to represent the whole breadth and variety of fanworks about them in the compilation of links that follows below. I am aware of gaps in the categories I represented and I am also aware that I have not included any edits, moodboards, or meta, which is not to say that there are not good examples of these out there. Therefore, I would very much welcome additional links and recommendations in the comments to this piece.

Heartfelt thanks go to pandemonium_213 for her comments and feedback on the first draft of this collection, which were very thorough and helpful. Thank you very much also to Dawn for much help with preparation for posting.

Fanwork Information

Summary:

Part of our Themed Collection series for our newsletter, this collection features fanworks about the three ruling queens of Númenor: Tar-Ancalimë, Tar-Telperiën, and Tar-Vanimeldë.

Major Characters: Tar-Ancalimë, Tar-Telperiën, Tar-Vanimeldë

Major Relationships:

Genre: Fanwork Collection

Challenges:

Rating: General

Warnings:

This fanwork belongs to the series

Themed Collections
Posted on 30 August 2024 Updated on 27 September 2024

This fanwork is complete.

I. All the Queens

"a library of all the tears in history" by Dialux

Dialux’s story covers all three Queens; in fact, it covers the known and unknown women of the House of Elros comprehensively. Dialux’s women are usually strong and often fierce and defiant. Her take on the Queens is no exception to this.

Format: Fiction
Word Count: 26,390
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chooses Not to Warn
Summary: In thirty-three centuries, twenty-five women dreamed of the sea in fair Númenor. Of these twenty-five, eighteen were crowned queens. Seven names lived on in history. Three ruled in their own right. All dreamt of death and destruction. A story of terror and defiance; a story of despair and hope; a story of seas and mountains and the women who knew the future far before they could ever understand it.

II. Tar-Ancalimë

"Tar-Ancalimë, first Ruling Queen of Númenor" by Naarisz

The art featured together with this piece is a portrait of Tar-Ancalimë by Naarisz. It is a character trait of Tar-Ancalimë that interests both artists and fic writers how torn Tar-Ancalimë is between her desire for power and control and her love for solitude and shepherding. Naarisz portrays her as Emerwen Aranel (Princess Shepherdess), carrying a sheep. How regal she looks here despite that!

Format: Art
Warnings: None

"Loving Úner" by Lyra

Lyra shows young Ancalimë in conversation with her grandmother (with plenty of misunderstandings) and already as a sexually liberated lesbian. The piece forms part of Lyra’s collection of fics about Ancalimë, Most Bright.

Format: Fiction
Word Count: 4,135
Rating: Teens
Warnings: Sexual Content (Mild)
Relationship: Ancalimë/Original Female Character
Summary: Princess Ancalimë is given the sex talk and seduces her maidservants, not necessarily in that order.

"Thoughts on Tar-Aldarion's Funeral" by 2Nienna2

2Nienna2 has a thoughtful, comparatively positive take on the canonically conflicted relationship of Tar-Ancalimë with her father Aldarion.

Format: Fiction
Word Count: 927
Rating: General
Warnings: Creator Chooses Not to Warn
Relationship: Tar-Aldarion & Tar-Ancalimë
Summary: Tar-Ancalimë thinks about her messy relationship with her father in the wake of his death, as well as her experiences growing up and into a female political figure, and about how she is not allowed to prepare his funeral.

"The Fire That Grew So Low" by The Wavesinger

The Wavesinger shows Tar-Ancalimë in a more serious lesbian relationship, under strain, with a sidelight on Tar-Ancalimë’s other canonical relationships and their dysfunctional aspects. This Tar-Ancalimë is apparently bisexual. One or two canon liberties are taken in order to facilitate the epistolary element. Stylistically varied, sometimes lyrical.

Format: Fiction
Word Count: 3,860
Rating: Teens
Warnings: Mature Themes, Sexual Content (Mild)
Summary: Two times Ancalimë stumbled, and two times she tried to make it right again. A tale of lovers in Númenor.

III. Tar-Telperiën

"With the Tide" by Talullah

Tallulah depicts Tar-Telperiën sensitively as in an apparently stable lesbian relationship, which nevertheless is threatened by crisis, due to external pressures and conflicting goals. Tar-Telperiën’s activities as ruler are taken seriously. The author has written fic about many female Númenorean characters, especially of the earlier period, including some of which we know only the name, and does extensive world-building.

Format: Fiction
Word Count: 2,495
Rating: Teens
Warnings: None
Summary: Tar-Telperiën is eager to enjoy her month of rest in the beautiful Summer of Nindámos, but something is not quite right.

"Tar-Telperiën and Admiral Ciryatur" by lesbiansandboromir

This artwork by lesbiansandboromir (Erranruin) is a rare representation of butch lesbians (AU, as Ciryatur is apparently canonically male). The work is tagged as “tolkien of colour” by the artist. To me it stands out both because of the vigour and expressed tenderness and because of the unconventional shaping of their bodies, which nevertheless successfully conveys beauty.

Format: Art
Warnings: None
Relationship: Tar-Telperiën/Ciryatur

"The “Unmarried" Queen – Deficiencies in Númenórean Scholarship" by Sath

Sath writes a charming pseudo-academic article by a female Hobbit scholar: Tar-Telperiën is discovered to be in a lesbian marriage, with an interesting sidelight on Umbar. Influenced by recent developments in feminist history.

Format: Fiction
Word Count: 1,226
Rating: General
Warnings: None
Relationship: Tar-Telperiën/Original Female Character
Summary: Rosie Cotton and Samwise Gamgee's granddaughter, a scholar of short stature and lofty goals, finds an earth-shattering document being used to steady a table leg in Minas Tirith. 

IV. Tar-Vanimeldë

"Third Queen" by Houseofhaleth

Here the negative comments about Tar-Vanimeldë in her biography are interpreted by Houseofhaleth as resulting from the report of a disappointed Elvish diplomat. A revisionist take, with a negative interpretation of Elvish influence.  Tar-Vanimeldë is staging an opera in honour of Erendis.

Format: Fiction
Word Count: 941
Rating: General
Warnings: None
Summary: An elven representative of Gil-galad finds the Ruling Queen of Numenor's priorities are quite different to his.

"The Decadent Queen" by Scribe of Mirrormere

In this piece by Scribe of Mirrormere (Lunarium) the negative comments in the biography of Tar-Vanimeldë are  shown to be due to the propaganda of her husband Herucalmo, who later usurped the throne. Alcarin, her son, quietly reinterprets some of these for the reader, emphasizing his mother’s strengths.

Format: Fiction
Word Count: 888
Rating: General
Warnings: Author Chooses Not to Warn
Summary: Tar-Anducal and Alcarin remember Tar-Vanimeldë differently.

"Queen 'Make-Art-Not-War' Tar-Vanimeldë" by avoyagetoarcturus (Nycteris)

Tar-Vanimeldë playing a viola da gamba. Her enjoyment of the music is shown clearly. The choice of instrument by the artist is interesting, as it is uncommon.

Format: Art
Warnings: None


polutropos

9 months ago

Permalink

Great write-up and great…

Great write-up and great choice of topic for the first themed collection! I'm only just beginning to take an interest in this period and these characters so I will have to bookmark this list. 

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Himring

9 months ago

Permalink

In reply to Great write-up and great… by polutropos

Thank you very much! I hope…

Thank you very much!

I hope it will be useful to you.

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Anérea (Laiquendi snuggled in a tree)

Anérea

8 months 3 weeks ago

Permalink

Thanks so much for gathering…

Thanks so much for gathering and sharing this collection. I really enjoy reading characters who hover about the fringes of the legendarium and I've not read anyof these yet.

This also reminded me of your vignette of Tar-Vanimelde as a girl, a queen, and at the end of her life in Vanimelde Dances.

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Himring

8 months 3 weeks ago

Permalink

In reply to Thanks so much for gathering… by Anérea

Thank you very much, Anerea!…

Thank you very much, Anerea!

I've written about all three Queens, but  maybe the most about Vanimelde.

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Andreth embracing Aegnor

cuarthol

8 months 1 week ago

Permalink

I read so little about this…

I read so little about this part of the Second Age, but think I will take this delightful opportunity to really dive into these Numenorean queens and broaden my (flat-earth) horizons 😁  Thank you for the collection!

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Himring

8 months 1 week ago

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In reply to I read so little about this… by cuarthol

Hope you enjoy exploring the…

Hope you enjoy exploring the Numenorean queens!

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Talullah

6 months ago

Permalink

Thanks!

Hi! Thanks for the lovely collection and for including me. There are several titles I haven't read yet, and I'm hoping that I will have the chance to enjoy them soon, as I enter a phase of less work.

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Himring

5 months 4 weeks ago

Permalink

In reply to Thanks! by Talullah

You're very welcome! I'm…

You're very welcome! I'm glad you like the collection!

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