Newest References

Who Are We? Tolkien Fanfiction and Demographics by Dawn Walls-Thumma

When you picture a Tolkien fanfiction writer, who comes to mind? The Tolkien Fanfiction Surveys of 2015 and 2020 provide insight on who is present in the fandom and which fans are missing.

Published on 24 September 2022.

On Oaths by Angelica

Oaths were a part of the history of many cultures across time and feature heavily in the legendarium as well.

Published on 9 September 2022.

A Tribute to the Library of Moria by Dawn Felagund, Himring, and Talullah

As the Library of Moria prepares to close its doors, we look back at twenty years of the archive's history and consider the ways that the Library contributed to making slash and femslash a part of mainstream Tolkien fanworks fandom.

Table of Contents

Published on 30 July 2022.

The Easterling Hostages in Middle-earth and Their Parallels in Welsh Medieval History by MirienSilowende

The use of hostages as a political strategy in Third Age Gondor has historical parallels in medieval Welsh history, and the bloody outcome of the real history may explain some of the tensions between the Easterlings and Gondorians as Sauron's power grew.

Published on 18 August 2022.

Túrin by firstamazon

Túrin's life illustrates Tolkien's concept of dyscatastrophe: an unexpected turn toward the tragic. The first part of this three-part biography of Túrin considers the early tragedies and downfalls of his life, through his years as an outlaw.

Published on 5 August 2022.

Elemmakil by Narya

Introduced relatively late in Tolkien's work on the legendarium, Elemmakil escorts Tuor to Gondolin, drawing on archetypes from elsewhere in folklore and the legendarium.

Published on 3 June 2022.

Review of "The Great Tales Never End: Essays in Memory of Christopher Tolkien" by Grundy

The Great Tales Never End: Essays in Memory of Christopher Tolkien is a collection that pays homage not only to the extraordinary achievement of Christopher Tolkien's work on the legendarium but that acknowledges him as a person and scholar whose impact ranged beyond the borders of Middle-earth.

Published on 15 July 2022.

Bór by Himring

As one of the loyal Easterlings during the Nirnaeth Arnoediad, Bór and his sons reflect Tolkien's development of lands and peoples beyond Beleriand.

Published on 1 July 2022.

Cauldron of Fanfic: The Use of Jackson's Films in Constructing Tolkien-Based Fanfiction by Dawn Walls-Thumma

Peter Jackson's film trilogies become one of several text that writers of Tolkien-based fanfiction use in constructing their stories. This article considers how they select and use details from the films as inspiration, the reconcile the films and books, and to critique the films.

Published on 18 June 2022.

Telchar of Nogrod by Lindariel

Telchar emerges in some of Tolkien's early writings but remains elusive, despite his status as a great Dwarven smith. However, some of what is known about his character is revealed in his creations.

Published on 5 May 2022.

Point of View and In-Universe Authorship of the "Silmarillion" by Dawn Walls-Thumma

Who wrote The Silmarillion? This paper briefly discusses the evidence from Morgoth's Ring that supports the idea that that "Silmarillion" narrator is Elven.

Published on 16 April 2022.

Maedhros by oshun

Maedhros is one of the most popular—and controversial—characters in The Silmarillion. The first part of this two-part biography considers his early years, before his capture and torment by Melkor, and how he was shaped by his years in Aman, his impetuous father, and the mediating influence of Nerdanel.

Published on 8 April 2022.

Becoming Bookverse: Jackson's Films as an Initiation Point for Tolkien's Book Fandom by Dawn Walls-Thumma

As the debut of Amazon's Rings of Power series approaches, fans wonder how their Tolkien fandom communities will be changed by the new show. Using Tolkien Fanfiction Survey data, this article makes the case that, while Tolkien-based media franchises bring new fans to the fanfiction fandom, the stories those fans write become almost wholly book-based.

Published on 26 March 2022.

A Sudden Outcry: The Tolkien Estate and Fanworks by SWG Newsletter Staff

In March 2022, the Tolkien Estate opened a newly designed website, including an FAQ that left fans asking: Did the Tolkien Estate just ban fanworks? We use the Estate's history, along with copyright law, to make the case that fans have nothing to fear.

Published on 11 March 2022.

Ossë by Dawn Walls-Thumma

One of the longest-enduring characters in the legendarium, Ossë evolved over the decades from a perilous character adjacent to Melkor himself to a figure both dangerous and benevolent.

Published on 3 March 2022.

Burning in the House: Éowyn's Outcry and the Death of Aerin by Himring

In an attempt to allow widely separated parts of the Legendarium to throw light on each other, Aerin's final acts are compared to the imagery in which Éowyn's expresses her concerns in The Lord of the Rings. The relevant passages share the motif of the burning house. The handling of this motif suggests authorial sympathy with Éowyn's plight.

Published on 22 June 2018.

Uinen by Dawn Walls-Thumma

Over the course of Tolkien's development of the legendarium, Uinen evolved from a morally murky nature deity to a protector of Arda's mariners.

Published on 22 September 2021.

A Woman in Few Words: The Character of Nerdanel and Her Treatment in Canon and Fandom by Dawn Walls-Thumma

A review of the canon facts available on Nerdanel and discussion of why she remains so popular with fans despite her scarce appearances in the texts.

Published on 15 January 2008.

Stars Less Strange: An Analysis of Fanfiction and Representation within the Tolkien Fan Community by Dawn Walls-Thumma

Originally presented at the 2021 Tolkien Society Seminar "Tolkien and Diversity," this paper considers the historical and current use of fanfiction to address issues of representation in Tolkien’s canon.

Published on 27 July 2021.

Idril Celebrindal by Lindariel

Idril Celebrindal's footprint in the canon is light and hard to discern beyond the bare bones given in The Silmarillion and The Fall of Gondolin, yet she exists at the epicenter of the most ancient and shifting ground of Tolkien's entire legendarium.

Published on 4 July 2021.

The Pillar and the Vastness: A Longitudinal View of the Tolkien Fanfiction Fandom by Dawn Walls-Thumma

Using the 2015 and 2020 Tolkien Fanfiction Survey data, this presentation reviews fandom demographics, use of sources, influence of the films, and use of sites and archives to post fanfiction, reviewing changes across the two data sets.

Published on 3 June 2021.

As I Say and As I Do: Negotiating Transformational Impulses in Tolkien-Based Fanfiction by Dawn Walls-Thumma

Data from the 2020 Tolkien Fanfiction Survey shows that, while authors and readers of Tolkien-based fanfiction are growing more comfortable with perceiving their work as having a critical purpose, they are still more likely to describe fanfiction as literary criticism when the process is not depicted as a challenge to Tolkien's authority as the author.

Published on 2 June 2021.

Ox Bones and Silver Ladles: The Construction of the Ainulindalë by Dawn Walls-Thumma

The deus faber and demiurgic motifs of creation mythology are used in the Ainulindalë, selected and manipulated by Tolkien to advance ideas that rest at the foundation of the legendarium.

Published on 10 April 2021.

Tar-Minastir by oshun

A man of his times, Tar-Minastir perpetuated Númenórean policies of the past and foreshadowed those that would follow.

Published on 30 April 2021.

Galdor of Gondolin by oshun

Galdor of the Tree appears in The Book of Lost Tales, in the story of the Fall of Gondolin, a notable supporting character in this central tale of the legendarium.

Published on 3 April 2021.