One of the most beloved themes of The Lord of the Rings is the ability of the humble and small to succeed where the powerful cannot and do not. It's unlikely that Tolkien had this notion in mind when he wrote so many minor characters and let them carry powerful ideas, but Vidumavi of the Northmen is one such character. Relegated to the appendices, Vidumavi is not only a catalyst in the histories of Rohan and Gondor but advances some of Tolkien's most important themes in the story of her love and marriage to the Gondorian prince Valacar.
In our newest article in Character of the Month, Secondborn discusses the life of Vidumavi and her importance to the legendarium. No one familiar with Character of the Month will be surprised to learn that, with just two mentions in the appendices of The Lord of the Rings, Vidumavi carries a lot, thematically, on her shoulders. Secondborn explores ideas ranging from the division of various peoples throughout Tolkien's works based on bloodline—an idea with troubling echoes in our own world—to the conflicting meanings of fellowship to the role of characters like Vidumavi in illustrating a world from which the faerie-element is fading.
Furthermore, Vidumavi offers multiple inroads for creating fanworks. There is the love story. Secondborn writes of Vidumavi that "her marriage strikes me as one of the best and most genuine in Tolkien’s works, a truly moving example of love for love’s sake that endured harsh tests without failure." There is the hardship she experienced as one of the Northmen in a city that did not fully approve of her or her marriage, a trial that she bore with honor and courage, ultimately illustrating the fallacy of declaring one group of people superior to the other. Her story is entangled with the Kinstrife, with Castamir's coup, and with the eventual installment of the Stewards of Gondor. All this from a woman relegated to the appendices.
You can read Secondborn's biography of Vidumavi here.
Vidumavi's biography is a good time, too, to remind those of you who create fanworks that Third Age works are allowed on our site. This is a frequent point of confusion, but any works except those set during The Hobbit or The Lord of the Rings are eligible for the SWG. The full FAQ on "Silmworks" is here.
And a final reminder of upcoming dates:
- Proposals for meta presentations for Mereth Aderthad are due on January 15, which is Wednesday. Check out our session on proposal-writing here and remember that this is an event that is specifically seeking contributions from fans! We want to feature your work at our event and are happy to support potential presenters in doing so! Reply to this email or contact us for help or with questions. We're happy to bounce ideas, look over drafts, or whatever you need. Find the call for proposals here.
- Next weekend, January 18 and 19, we are instadrabbling on our Discord server. Find more about how to participate here.
SWG News
New Challenge: Epic 80s
This month's challenge features hundreds of fresh prompts from the bodacious decade of the 1980s.
Cultus Dispatches: Communities Do Comment
Comment data from the SWG underscores community as an essential component to a robust commenting culture.
Instadrabbling Sessions for July, August, and September
Instadrabbling continues on the first Saturday of each month on our Discord server.

Fun and Games

We will periodically feature Tolkien-themed puzzles made by our members! The New York Times' game Connections requires players to group a set of words into four groups of four. Try our first Tolkien Connections here or click the puzzle below! Find full directions on how to play here. If you'd like to make a puzzle, reply to this newsletter or contact us.


Featured Article
Vidumavi of the Northmen by Secondborn
A seemingly minor character, Vidumavi's story illustrates the themes of fellowship, the fading of faerie, and the dangers of racial hierarchy.
Art Credit: Vidumavi with Valacar by Mirach (Tumblr | DeviantArt | AO3)
New Fanworks
Is it raining with you? by AdmirableMonster [Writing]
In the last days of Númenor, two very different men meet in Umbar and fall in love.
(Please note that while this work is heavily inspired by Disco Elysium, no knowledge of the game is necessary to read the fic!)
Read more ...Wrensong and Roses by Isilme_among_the_stars [Writing]
Concerned by his responses to the paraphernalia of healing, Fingon steals Maedhros from his room for an impromptu garden excursion. Maedhros battles with dark thoughts.
Read more ...Bon(e)fire by Fuin [Writing]
On the night before the battle, Caranthir and his ally share thoughts about their peoples' traditions:
Burning bones ward off evil.
Read more ...McShady by Babblecat [Writing]
Melkor has himself a bad time in the Void.
Read more ...
Updated Fanworks
A Thousand Winds that Blow by StarSpray [Writing]
When uneasy dreams bring him back into Beleriand, Daeron finds a pair of twins who have lost their home, and an enemy who has lost himself. The Shadow's reach is growing ever longer, and if they are to survive, they must do it together.
Read more ...Nasyalossë by Lovimmy3365 [Writing]
Erestor lay up against a tree, brown washed to black in the wet of the snow. The black disc of the new moon sailed across the dark sky. Erestor wished it were gone. He had no need to look into dark eyes any longer.
He was dying.
(AKA Erestor unwittingly travels back in time to the days between the Dagor Bragollach and the Nirnaeth Arnoediad, meets the sons of Feanor, Thingol and his ilk, many Laiquendi, many Dwarves, and Men besides, and THEN decides to solve the drowning of Beleriand himself. This has nothing to do with his personal problems. Nope. Not at all. Erestor is having regular feelings.)
Read more ...Until the Stars are All Alight by Dagstjarna [Writing]
Reembodied in Aman, Celebrimbor decides to return to Middle earth to help heal the darkness and hurt wrought by the ring.
Read more ...From That Rubble by StarSpray [Writing]
Fëanor shrugged, studying the contents of his wine glass. “Something must be done about that house. It will fall down eventually.”
“It does not follow that it must be you that tears it down single-handedly. Are you sure you do not want help?”
“It’s not as though I have much else to do. I need to build something new there,” he said after a few moments. “To do that, I must first clear away the old and broken things.”
Decades out of Mandos, too many things in Fëanor's life remain broken. He can't do anything except wait for his sons to come to him, but he can do something about the old and crumbling house where they once lived.
Read more ...The Mirror Crack'd by AdmirableMonster [Writing]
Rescued from a brutal Angband hunt, an ex-thrall with a strange and powerful artifact embedded in his spine is brought to Himring, for it is one of the only places in Beleriand which welcomes such folk. Though he has no memories of his life before, Anniavas slowly becomes accustomed to his new life and finds he has a queer connection with Maedhros, Himring's lord. As their intimacy grows, however, so do the dangers surrounding them, both without and within. What secrets are hidden inside the depths of Anniavas's lost memories--and how will those with whom he is forging and deepening bonds react, when those secrets are at last revealed?
Read more ...Eä's Redemption by AaronAzrael [Writing]
This is my new poetical attempt to add my own interpretation to Tolkien's Cosmology as to Eru's Creation and the Valar's minds and behind-the-scene providence reasons and mechanisms.. I often review Eä as part of our own world, just in another dimension, this is why I have always seriously thought on the matter who the Ainur are, who Eru is, how he matches our own religious pantheon, and this has been conducted after serious research of many esoteric teachings of our own planet's heritage.
Read more ...Around the World and Web
Scribbles and Drabbles 2026
Scribbles & Drabbles is a fic and art exchange with a minimum word count of 100 words.
Tolkien Disability Pride 2026
This Tumblr event focuses on ALL creative works focusing on disability in Tolkien's universe.
Tolkien Gen Week 2026
Tolkien Gen Week will run from July 6-12, 2026 to appreciate all of the incredible characters and relationships within Tolkien’s legendarium that fall under the broad category of “gen.”