lord-of-the-rings-the-fellowship-of-the-ring-nazgul  
Why do some Nazgûl thrive when commanded to hunt their master’s stolen Ring while others falter under pressure?

Why do some revel in the responsibility of throwing down their enemy when others wither like fog in strong sunlight?

You might not know it, but nine (count them!) keenly honed success habits keep them hot on the trail.

Nazgûl apprentices, here are those nine instinctive habits that the most successful Ringwraiths employ to keep the Dark Lord number one.

Read and learn. Continue reading “The nine habits of the highly successful Nazgûl”

If you have a Tolkien/Middle-earth inspired poem you’d like to share, then send it to poetry@theonering.net. One poem per person may be submitted each month. Please make sure to proofread your work before sending it in. TheOneRing.net is not responsible for poems posting with spelling or grammatical errors.

LOTRProject Emil over at LOTRProject has painstakingly assembled a new graphic comparing the distance each of our protagonists (Bilbo and Frodo) travel in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.

I am very happy to reveal this interactive distance vs time chart of the journeys by Bilbo and Frodo in the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings. It contains information about each day. I hope you will find it interesting.

Continue reading “Compare the time and distance travelled in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings”

If you have a Tolkien/Middle-earth inspired poem you’d like to share, then send it to poetry@theonering.net. One poem per person may be submitted each month. Please make sure to proofread your work before sending it in. TheOneRing.net is not responsible for poems posting with spelling or grammatical errors.

hobbit_gandalf In our latest Library feature, Tedoras muses on how we can view Gandalf as the prime extension of the will of J.R.R. Tolkien within The Lord of Rings.


Gandalf as Tolkien’s Will

By Tedoras

“Hobbits really are amazing creatures,” a wise man once remarked. While Gandalf was indeed right about that, it is a rather fatuous comment for such a sage to make. The praises of the halflings are sung perpetually in our fandom, as they rightfully are affirmed by their deeds in the legendarium. But it is certainly time we reexamined our relationship with Gandalf — for here, truly, is an amazing creature.

Continue reading “Gandalf as Tolkien’s Will”

If you have a Tolkien/Middle-earth inspired poem you’d like to share, then send it to poetry@theonering.net. One poem per person may be submitted each month. Please make sure to proofread your work before sending it in. TheOneRing.net is not responsible for poems posting with spelling or grammatical errors.

Tolkien_2692769b An audio recording of J.R.R. Tolkien speaking at a dinner in Rotterdam in 1958 is set to undergo restoration and may offer new insights into The Lord of the Rings. Significantly, for Tolkien scholarship, it includes a previously unpublished poem.

Tolkien’s Dutch publisher and bookseller Voorhoeve en Dietrich hosted the dinner on 28 March, 1958. More than 200 fans gathered to listen Tolkien speak, and someone had the presence of mind to record his speech on reel-to-reel tape.

However the recording was lost for decades until avid Tolkien collector René van Rossenberg (who runs a Tolkien bookstore called TolkienShop) found the tape in a Rotterdam basement in 1993. Van Rossenberg held onto the tape until SF website and publisher Legendarium approached him with an offer to restore the recording.

Continue reading “Audio of lost Tolkien speech promises new insights into The Lord of the Rings”

Sheila ChandraAmong some of the most profound pieces of Tolkien’s writings are those concerning the concepts of death and immortality, and the ultimate fates of Elves and Men. And a little more than a decade ago, as the tale of Aragorn and Arwen unfolded in The Two Towers, it was the evocative voice of Sheila Chandra that spoke to the hope and heartache of their destinies.

A vocalist of Indian descent hailing from the UK, Sheila Chandra performed “The Breath Of Life” (also titled “The Grace Of The Valar“) as Aragorn’s unconscious form floats downriver while Arwen holds him in thought and sends him a blessing from afar – “May the grace of the Valar protect you“.

The song’s lyrics (adapted from Tolkien’s writings) were written by Fran Walsh:

Shadow lies between us, as you came, so you shall leave from us.
Time and storm shall scatter all things. 

Sorrowing you must go, and yet you are not without hope,
For you are not bound to the circles of this world, you are not bound to loss and to silence.

As our exclusive series of interviews with vocalists from The Lord of the Rings continues, join us today as we talk to Sheila Chandra about how the song, its mood, and her delivery of it were all carefully crafted with the aim of conveying the understanding and mature love that is shared between Arwen and Aragorn.

Continue reading “TORn Exclusive: Interview With Sheila Chandra”

memadness2014-champion-fb The results are in! After three weeks of intense competition we can finally crown a winner! In the end, Thranduil — the Sindarin king of the Woodland Realm — has taken the crown in our 2014 Middle-earth March Madness contest!

We received more than 20,000 votes in the final, and Thranduil (Thrandy to his nearest and dearest?) soundly defeated his worthy opponent Legolas (aka Leggy) with 64.18% of those votes! I guess it is good to be king!

We’d like to thank you all for participating in this year’s event and hope you had a fun time discussing the finer points of your favourite Middle-earth characters and objects, regardless of whether you viewed the contests as a physical battle, a game of wits, or a popularity contest (all valid ways to vote!). It’s also a neat way to explore what makes these characters such interesting and vital parts of Tolkien’s Middle-earth.

Continue reading “Congratulations to our 2014 Middle-earth March Madness champion: Thranduil!”