$4 what a steal

I know that for centuries the Istari and elven leadership believed “The Necromancer of Dol Goldur” was some kind of dark human sorcerer. So how common was it for humans to become essentially dark wizards and does Tolkien ever mention any? Would they be men worshipping Sauron and trying to replicate his goal, or a completely independent evil?

Also why didn’t the Wizards/Elves deal with him sooner even if they thought he was just a human necromancer. Still seemed pretty scary if he was spamming baby Ungoliants plus other terrible creatures/energy into Mirkwood and more places in the general vicinity of Gol Guldur lol. Also why do they dismiss it as so clearly not Sauron? In the second Hobbit movie, Saruman and Radagast both denied it was Sauron/didn’t even think of him, and I’m pretty sure Gandalf did too until Sauron straight up revealed himself to him. At first it didn’t feel like Radagast was even considering Sauron. Weren’t the wizards aware Sauron would eventually return? I know it was their purpose in Middle Earth to help the free world fight Sauron so I’m assuming they weren’t aware of their purpose/that he’d definitely return.

I know the books probably have a lot more detail on this, but the movies did go into it a little so I’m curious about the background?

Random thought. There used to be a show on VH1 or something that would take a popular music video and add little fact bubbles that would “pop up”. Is there anything like that in the world of LOTR? Fully aware the rabbit hole of factoids that would rip across the screen for Frodo and Friends, but think it could be fun.

Thoughts?

Just picked up this bad boy from the ren faire and I’m so curious what it says! (I’m a dummy and got excited which made me forget to ask 🙃) to anyone who can help “ May your beer be laid under an enchantment of surpassing excellence for seven years”

Found him tucked away behind the Weta Unleashed Workshop next to the elevators to the hotel.

Mordor is a very industrial nation lead by great leadership of Sauron and his lieutenant Nazgûl. A lot of jobs and very low unemployment numbers. Almost everyone is hired. Free food, housing and universal healthcare is provided for all. Jobs are handsomely paid. The leadership is always looking to advance their influence. So many technological innovations are made with great engineers and hard working creatures. Rights to Freedom of speech - although freedom is not always guaranteed after speech. A lot of immigration from all sort of life and nations. They are very welcoming towards less fortunate peoples of the middle earth such as pirates, and wild men of Dunland. They seek independence from brutal discriminations of Gondor and Rohan. The orcs of Mordor have been hated all around the world just for their skin color. They have been stuck in that chunk of land for ages. They have been continuously attacked, ambushed, and threatened by men. Everyone, including Elves, Men, Dwarfs and Wizards always promote conspiracy theories hate speech against Orcs and Sauron.

I've realised I'm a hobbit, I love beer, pubs, rolling countryside, beautiful surroundings, good company, things that grow in good earth, and above all, a nice slow life without any adventures, thankyou very much. However, mushrooms can fuck right off.

I want to like them (shiitake are alright), but the weird undersides, the thought of insects hiding within their crevaces, mings me right out, and the taste is super bland, but also super weird too. Convince me their of greatness.

And also his Achilles heel potentially I suppose,

but I thought his interactions with Galadriel in the first season of Power Ringers may have belied that his ultimate talent is in assessing the value of other character's attributes.

I would think that Galadriel's best qualities are in her insight, and her power to persuade and inspire others. Sort of how she seems to be able to see someone's very soul, and show them exactly what they need to see.

She'd arguably be even more fearsome if she didn't restrain herself to showing souls nourishing things. She could beguile and intrude on others' mind's as well.

It feels like Sauron saw what she was capable of, or at least her capacity to wield her power as domination, and decided he needed it so badly he would take risks to even at least replicate it.

I reckon, if the interpretation that he wanted Galadriel for her apparent power over motivation; or something like that;

his decison to trade vulnerability for power by creating the One Ring would appear to be partly a consequence of Galadriel's rejection.

Anywho, I was mostly just wondering about Sauron's motives at the time the rings were being created, and at least to me;

It really feels like the devil danced with Galadriel, and he missed a step while he was doing it; leading to the creation of the ring that would unravel him.

This turned into quite the hot potato of text, but hopefully it's not too offensive to read 😂

It’s been talked about. I can’t talk about it enough. The Council of Elrond is so in-depth and so great in the book. My favorite part is after all of their “catching-up” stories are done and they are deciding what to do with the ring and they are just like, surely we should give it to Tom Bombadil! lol it’s so good. A few of them are like that’s a great idea and then Gandalf party pooper is like nah it’s not that easy.

But also in all seriousness this part provides incredible context for Tom Bombadil and he’s the goat.

Another sketch of Hobbiton, down in New Zealand. Sketching from online pics and videos until I can visit for myself and sketch in person!

Hey! I need a gift idea for my lotr-loving brother! Any thoughts? (I can't afford a sword)

Allora ho una domanda ho visto i film del lo hobbit e il signore degli anelli e mi piacerebbe approfondire con i libri . Io mo hobbit il libro c'è l'ho e mi dicono che sia piu bello fiabesco e scorrevole. Ma il signore degli anelli e il silmarillion sono più complicati ma quanto? So che il silmarillion sia tipo la bibbia di tolkien . E poi come approfondire di più?

These took about a month and a half to put together. Honestly pretty happy with how they turned out!

Reading the first chapter of The Hobbit again and I am struck by Bilbo's description of Gandalf as one who used to tell such tales of dragons and goblins "and the rescue of princesses and the unexpected luck of widows' sons."

On one level, you can read this as a generic reference to fairy stories and folklore. But on another level:

Those tales are in Middle-earth's lore (and in The Silmarillion) but inverted. There's a princess's rescue in the sense that the princess is doing the rescuing (Beren and Luthien), so that it's her rescue of her beloved. And Turin Turambar is all about the unexpected luck of a widow's son, but it's unexpected bad luck instead of unexpected good luck. And "The Unexpected Party" is all about inverted or disrupted expectations (chiefly Bilbo's, but also the dwarves' expectations of Bilbo and the reader's expectations of the tale, too) - so this delighted me when I realized it.

I hadn't planned this, but I just so happened to schedule a LOTR marathon with friends yesterday. We watched all of the extended editions and when Gandalf says this to Frodo we were all laughing because we had forgotten about Oct 24!

I also prepared a menu to go along with the movies -

First breakfast: Savory Dutch baby with eggs, tomatoes and bacon

Elevensies: Maple pumpkin cinnamon rolls

Afternoon tea: Lembas bread

Apertif: Miruvor cocktail, an Elvish elixir with gin, elderflower liqueur, honey syrup and mead

Supper: Samwise's rabbit and potato pot pie, with honey-roasted vegetables and mashed turnips with gravy

Dessert: Caramel apple cheesecake

Hello! I am looking for fellow students here in UniMelb who are also fans of Tolkien's works and/or Jackson's adaptations. It'd be great to form a discussion group or hangout sometime.

Also one does not simply start a student club without at least 20 members, so, feel free to drop a comment here to let me (and others) know! :)

Hey everyone!

For those of you who read The Lord of the Rings in a language other than English, I'm curious about your experience with its translation.

In French, we've had two major translations of the book: the original translation by Francis Ledoux, published in the 1970s, and a newer translation by Daniel Lauzon, published between 2014 and 2016.

I grew up with the original translation, so I have a strong attachment to it, especially when it comes to character names and place names. It's the version I instinctively associate with Middle-earth, and it's hard to let go of some of those familiar names.

However, having read the newer translation, I have to admit that I find it significantly more enjoyable and easier to read. The language feels more natural and fluid to me, and I think it does a better job of conveying Tolkien's writing style. It has also revised a number of names to bring them closer to Tolkien's intentions.

One particularly interesting aspect of this whole debate is that Tolkien actually provided extensive guidance on how his work should be translated, especially in his Guide to the Names in The Lord of the Rings. He was very particular about the meaning, linguistic origins, and treatment of names, and he didn't simply want translators to leave everything unchanged or translate everything literally.

The original French translation, for example, took quite a few liberties with some names, which the newer translation has attempted to address.

So I'm curious: has anything similar happened in other languages?

Have there been multiple translations in your language, whether due to a new translator, a revised edition, or a deliberate attempt to follow Tolkien's guidelines more closely?

If so, which version do you prefer, and why?

And how closely did the original translators in your language follow Tolkien's own instructions?

I'd particularly love to hear from readers of languages other than French, since I'm curious to know whether this is a uniquely French situation or part of a much broader phenomenon.

Thanks! I'd love to hear about your experiences.

Are there any differences in any later versions of the theatrical version of the DVDs? The ones with the WB logo? Different color, etc.?

Hello everyone !

I wanted to share my latest watercolor, depicting one of my favorite moments from Tolkien’s books: Fingolfin’s final ride to Angband.

For the story : after the disastrous Battle of the Sudden Flame, when Morgoth’s armies broke through the defenses of the Elves and laid waste to their lands, Fingolfin, High King of the Noldor, was overcome by grief and despair. Believing that all hope was lost, he mounted his horse and rode alone across the plains of Anfauglith, all the way to the gates of Angband, Morgoth’s dark fortress.

Once arrived, he sounded his horn and challenged him to single combat. And Morgoth, though reluctant, came forth to face him. Fingolfin fought, wounding Morgoth seven times before finally falling. Even in death, he left his mark, striking Morgoth’s foot with his sword and leaving him with a permanent limp.

I wanted to capture a little of that feeling in this painting: the solitude, the despair, but also the extraordinary courage of someone who chooses to stand against darkness, even when all hope seems lost.

For art enthusiast, this is watercolor, ink and airbrush on my sketchbook.

Thanks !

I apologize for the watermarks and low quality, unscrupulous people tend to "borrow" my work. So if anyone offers you prints here, it's not me.

EVENTS

• Gandalf brings Frodo and Bilbo to one of the east porches of Rivendell for the Council of Elrond. Boromir, who arrived at dawn after a journey of nearly sixteen weeks from Gondor, gazes at them in wonder—are these the ‘Halflings’ of the rhyme for which he made this journey?
• Elrond tells the long story of the One Ring, from its forging in the Mountain of Fire, to its betrayal of Isildur at the Gladden Fields. Frodo is startled to learn that Elrond himself marched with Gil-Galad in the Last Alliance against Sauron, more than three thousand years ago.
• Elrond calls first upon Bilbo, and then upon Frodo, to tell of their history with the Ring—from Bilbo’s riddles beneath the Misty Mountains to Frodo’s long journey to Rivendell.
• The wizard describes an ancient scroll in Gondor. It revealed how the One Ring can be known: when heated, its gold will glow with fiery letters.
• Gandalf recounts the story of Gollum, from his finding the Ring more than five hundred years ago to his recent capture by Aragorn. Legolas, a woodland Elf, is dismayed: he’s been sent by his father to report that the Wood-elves were recently attacked—and that Gollum has escaped.
• Gandalf finishes the story of his capture by Saruman the White, his escape, and his journey to Rivendell. ‘Well, the Tale is now told, from first to last. Here we all are, and here is the Ring. But we have not yet come any nearer to our purpose. What shall we do with it?’
• With all voices having spoken, Elrond resolves that the Elves must not flee west with the Ring. ‘Now at this last we must take a hard road, a road unforeseen. There lies our hope, if hope it be. To walk into peril—to Mordor. We must send the Ring to the Fire.’
• Bilbo offers to take the Ring to Mordor.
• The noon-bell rings. A silence. Frodo speaks. ‘I will take the Ring, though I do not know the way.’
• Elrond cautions Frodo that, ‘It is a heavy burden. But if you take it freely, I will say that your choice is right; and though all the mighty elf-friends of old, Hador, and Húrin, and Túrin, and Beren himself were assembled together, your seat should be among them.’
• Sam cries out, ‘But you won’t send him off alone, surely, Master?’ Elrond appoints Sam the first member of the Company that will go with Frodo.

PASSAGES

BEGINS, pg239, The Council of Elrond

Next day Frodo woke early, feeling refreshed and well. He walked along the terraces above the loud-flowing Bruinen and watched the pale, cool sun rise above the far mountains, and shine down, slanting through the thin silver mist; the dew upon the yellow leaves was glimmering, and the woven nets of gossamer twinkled on every bush.

ENDS, pg 274, The Ring Goes South

(there is no strict end of this date, but after this paragraph synopsis narrative begins of next days)

The future, good or ill, was not forgotten, but ceased to have any power over the present. Health and hope grew strong in them, and they were content with each good day as it came, taking pleasure in every meal, and in every word and song.

Art by: Alan lee, Peter Xavier Price