Newest References

Crossroads by Simon J. Cook

With Gildor Inglorion we finally climb the stairs of Elostirion and look on the view, and what we see appears to reveal a hidden thread in the story of Frodo Baggins. This post reads two annotated translations of two Elvish songs to step through a crossroads in the narrative to arrive at the tower on the margin of the story, wherein is a stone that is a window onto Valinor.

Published on 11 April 2024.

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Grief, Grieving, and Permission to Mourn in the "Quenta Silmarillion" by Dawn Walls-Thumma

In a book as full of death as the Quenta Silmarillion, grief and mourning are surprisingly absent. The characters who receive grief and mourning—and those who don't—appear to do so due to narrative bias. Grief and mourning (or a lack of them) serve to draw attention toward and away from objectionable actions committed by characters.

Published on 15 April 2024.

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In the House of the Fairbairns by Simon J. Cook

The first of some posts on the Elf-tower on the western margin of The Lord of the Rings attempts to frame the relationship between the narrative and the appendices of The Lord of the Rings and an analysis of Frodo's dream-visions. 

Published on 10 February 2024.

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Beyond Borders: Canon Deviations, Multifandoms, and Original Content by Dawn Walls-Thumma

Data from the 2015 and 2020 Tolkien Fanfiction Surveys shows to what extent Tolkien fanfiction writers push beyond the canon and toward or into the realm of originality, as well as whether trends exist in among the various ways authors venture beyond the borders of Middle-earth.

Published on 30 March 2024.

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Seeing Stones in Dark Towers by Simon J. Cook

As inscribed above the western doors of the Mines of Moria, that magical illustration of Elf-Dwarf collaboration, the name of the game is treachery. From Frodo’s far-seeing dream of Orthanc in his first night in the house of Tom Bombadil, the post draws in the person of Frodo Baggins the image of the Stone by which the will of the Necromancer enters a Tower.

Published on 7 March 2024.

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The Peaks of Taniquetil by Simon J. Cook

In 1946, two towers appeared in Tolkien's writings. The tower found in The Fall of Númenor may shed light on the meaning of the tower analogy of "Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics."

Published on 16 January 2024.

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Beleriand in Beowulf by Simon J. Cook

Beowulf offers an Anglo-Saxon view upon the world of the old homeland, before migration to the British Isles and conversion to Christianity. The poet takes history as a process of forgetting. In the world of the poem, knowledge of heaven above was forgotten a long age before, while what is beyond the western ocean is in the process of being forgotten.

Published on 12 July 2023.

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10 Important Moments in Tolkien Fanfiction History by Dawn Walls-Thumma

From the appearance of the first Tolkien fanfics in 1960 to the latest appreciation months, Tolkien fanfiction has weathered changes great and small—and has persisted, changed, and grown.

Published on 22 February 2024.

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Things Tolkien Fanfiction Readers and Writers Like to Do (Other Than Fanfiction) by Dawn Walls-Thumma

Tolkien fanfiction writers and readers are involved in fandom in ways other than fanfiction. What else do they do and what patterns can we find in their preferences, using Tolkien Fanfiction Survey data?

Published on 27 January 2024.

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Olwë by LadySternchen

About Olwë, the king of the Teleri in Aman, little is known, but a series of difficult events marked his life until he fades from the pages of The Silmarillion in the First Age.

Published on 24 January 2024.

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Never Mind the Dwarves by simon

This story was penned some years back as a way of marking the Peregrin Boffin of the 1939 drafts of The Lord of the Rings. Boffin was a Hobbit who walked to Moria but vanished from the story in summer 1940, when his character, Trotter, the Ranger met in Bree, became Aragorn, heir of Elendil.

Published on 8 December 2023.

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Interview with Artist Mirra Kan by Anérea

Blue Wizards, Faithful Haradrim, Black Númenóreans; I chatted with Mirra about her evocative—and somtimes provocative—art drawing attention to some of Middle-earth's Oriental cultures and the Western perception of them.

Published on 4 January 2024.

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Duel of Surveys: Comparing Tolkien Fanfiction and OTW Survey Data by Dawn Walls-Thumma

A (rough!) comparison of the Tolkien Fanfiction and OTW 16th Anniversary Surveys, looking at time active in fandom, attendance at fan conventions, and platform use.

Published on 23 December 2023.

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Fawlty Towers by Simon J. Cook

The tower analogy in "Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics" wasn't simply a poignant extended metaphor about the poem but addressed specific scholars about academic debates around Beowulf. The lack of addressing this historical context has led to misreadings of Tolkien's meaning.

Published on 14 October 2023.

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Mapping Arda, Part II: Travels through Beleriand by Anérea, Dawn Felagund

A series of articles featuring fan-made maps of all the lands of Arda. Part II explores various aspects of Beleriand.

Published on 1 December 2023.

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Mapping Arda, Part I: Terraforming by Anérea

A series of articles featuring fan-made maps of all the lands of Arda. Part I looks at diagrams of the shape of Arda as well as maps of the earliest years and the lands of Aman.

Published on 20 June 2023.

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Celegorm by Dawn Walls-Thumma

Celegorm emerged early in Tolkien's work on the "Silmarillion," but his evolution into the villain he would become in the published text is complicated, and he filled two surprising roles before coming fully into his own. The first of two parts considers how early work on the "Silmarillion" shaped his final characterization.

Published on 4 November 2023.

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Fandom Voices: Using Fanon in Fanworks by Dawn Walls-Thumma

Sixteen Tolkien fans contributed their definitions of and experiences with fanon or fan-generated theories about the legendarium.

Published on 17 November 2023.

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First Brick in the Wall by Simon J. Cook

Jane Chance's interpretation of the tower analogy in Tolkien's lecture-turned-essay "Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics" dismisses historical inquiry as a valid reading of the poem.

Published on 9 November 2023.

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Interview with artist Ruslan Shapolov by Anérea

A behind the scenes look at the creating of a book of Silmarillion illustrations by Ukranian artist Ruslan Shapolov.

Published on 18 October 2023.

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1936 by Simon J. Cook

In 1936, a shadow had fallen over Europe. Tolkien's lecture on Beowulf looked to the past to draw for the present moment a theory of courage in the face of an uncertain future. 

Published on 6 August 2023.

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The Rock Garden by Simon J. Cook

An early draft of Tolkien's essay on "Beowulf" used a rock garden analogy to show how the critics—who were actual people whom Tolkien knew—were responding incorrectly to the poem.

Published on 7 September 2023.

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Theorycrafting: Interview with Scedasticity of the "Silmarillion Headcanon Survey" by Scedasticity and Dawn Felagund

The Silmarillion Headcanon Survey is a sprawling project that seeks to document where fans fall on various fan theories. Lead researcher Scedasticity discusses its inspiration, what it shows of the fandom, and what lies ahead for the project.

Published on 17 October 2023.

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Talking amongst Ourselves: Tolkien Fanfiction and Fanon by Dawn Walls-Thumma

Fan-generated details and theories, also called fanon, are a conversation among fans about Tolkien's world. Although fanon has a fraught history in many corners of the fandom, it is growing in acceptance.

Published on 16 September 2023.

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Amlach by Himring

A dissenting voice in Marach's alliance with the Elves of Beleriand, Amlach experiences a change of mind after a mysterious twist in the story reorients his priorities toward enmity with Morgoth.

Published on 29 September 2023.

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