Mereth Aderthad Presentations Available
The majority of the presentations from Mereth Aderthad are now available as videos with accompanying transcripts or full papers. If you missed a presentation or want to give one a second (or more!) look, we invite you to check them out! Everything Mereth Aderthad-related can be found on the interactive program, which is continuously updated as new material comes in.
Here are the videos that have been posted, alphabetical by title:
The Aromantic in Tolkien by Shadow (video and transcript)
Presented at Mereth Aderthad 2025, this paper makes the case that, although the term "aromantic" had not yet been coined in Tolkien's day, many of his characters can be read as aromantic. The paper takes a closer look at Aredhel, Bilbo, and Boromir as three examples of characters who can be read as aromantic.
By Guile Committed: Comparing Tolkien’s Thieves to Beowulf by Savannah Horrell (video, full paper, and handout)
Theft is heavily stigmatized in the Old English legal literature. This stigma carries over to fictional sources, including Beowulf. As a professor of Anglo-Saxon, Tolkien was heavily influenced by these sources. Multiple characters in Middle-earth shy away from the label of "thief", even as they take actions which many would describe as stealing (see Bilbo, Beren, Lúthien). The balance between historical stigma and the more modern hero thief is mediated by judicious word choice and framing.
Cherished Antagonist, Despised Protagonist- a defence of Elu Thingol by Stella Getreuer-Kostrouch (video and full paper)
Elu Thingol is a complicated character in The Silmarillion. Faced with tough choices, he makes both good and bad decisions. But, as this paper argues, the Silmarillion fandom tends to file Thingol away as a convenient villain. This paper makes the case that many of his decisions are more complex than fans tend to assume and defends his place as one of the legendarium's complex characters and deserving of empathy.
Gil-galad was an Elven King: Kingship and Personhood in the last High King of the Noldor by Maglor (video and transcript)
This Mereth Aderthad 2025 presentation considers what we know of Gil-galad beyond his primary role in the text as king. While we have some information about his character, such as his appearance, other facts—names and parentage, for instance—remain unsettled. In other areas, we know almost nothing about Gil-galad, especially compared to the other Noldorin kings, which "leads to him feeling unmoored in the narrative." Gil-galad does not speak, performs no actions outside of kingship, and is given no meaningful relationships. Basic facts, such as his burial, are missing. He is seen from the outside, becoming a side character despite being the longest-reigning Noldorin king. It becomes the task of fans to answer the question Merry asks in "The Lord of the Rings": Who was Gil-galad? Fan creativity plus tantalizing glimpses of his character have filled in the blanks Tolkien left.
"Kidnap Fam" and the Living Legendarium by polutropos (video and transcript)
This paper looks at the origins of the popular fanfiction "kidnap fam" trope in the editorial history of the published "Silmarillion." With much of the attack on Sirion written in 1930, prior to Tolkien writing The Lord of the Rings, Christopher Tolkien was faced with an editorial choice in how to reconcile this event with the later invention of the character of Gil-galad. Adding Gil-galad and Círdan to the tale of Sirion's destruction, however, raises questions for many readers about the motives and choices of Maglor and Maedhros in choosing to take Elwing's sons. Survey data, shows that readers tend to interpret characters' morals and motives based on what they believe those characters knew. The introduction of Gil-galad and Círdan by Christopher Tolkien, therefore, generates the moral complexity that drives the wealth of fanfiction about the "kidnap family." These many layers of intervention in the story—by Tolkien, by Christopher, by fan creators—mimics the storytelling tradition and creates a living legendarium: not a mess, as some readers despair of the multiple contradictory "Silmarillion" texts, but an opportunity.
Love, Grief, and Alliterative Verse in Tolkien's Legendarium by Paul D. Deane (video and transcript)
Presented at Mereth Aderthad 2025, this paper considers how the themes of love and grief run parallel throughout The Silmarillion and are central to Tolkien's imagination. Also central is alliterative verse, and the paper discusses Tolkien's use of alliterative verse in the legendarium, his literary and scholarly influences, and his professional interest in alliterative verse. The paper draws parallels between alliterative verse in the legendarium and in the English literary tradition, making the case that alliterative verse was used in-universe by the Elves. Finally, the paper uses this evidence to advocate for fanworks that use alliterative verse.
The Mythmakers vs. the made myths: Exploring a reader’s levels of religious alienation and connection in works about and by J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis by Acha Rezak (Quente; video and full paper)
Or, a critical reading and primary source reinterpretation of documents that contributed to John Hendrix’s The Mythmakers.
Twilight, Child Of: Comparisons Between Tinúviel, Lómion, and Undómiel by Jaz (video and transcript)
This presentation for Mereth Aderthad 2025 discusses the many similarities between Tolkien's three "twilight children," Tinúviel, Lómion, and Undómiel (Luthien, Maeglin, and Arwen) in terms of appearance, plot, and cultural background. Yet these three characters play very different roles in the text.
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