A PDF version of the article can be found here. Until now, it was generally assumed that Tolkien’s decision to change the length of the Valian year to make it equal to 144 solar years (instead of 10 or 9.582 solar years as in earlier writings) was a consequence of
Essays
“It Always Had Been a Vast Globe…”
A PDF version of the article can be found here. It is well-known that in the late 1950s Tolkien made an attempt to revise the cosmology of his imaginary world in order to make it more realistic and scientifically credible than, as he put it, “the Flat Earth and the
Linguistic Review of The Rings of Power (first 2 episodes)
I’m not sure if lay-fans have noticed, but something obvious to Tolkien-language scholars is that the Elven languages aren’t being used exactly the same way in the TV show as they were in the Peter Jackson movies, and the languages themselves are slightly different too. There are a few things
Dog Commands in Elvish
Over the years, I’ve translated dog commands for a few people, so I’ve decided to make it a short article for all you nerdy dog trainers. Before I started translating, I looked up some research on what exactly dogs hear when we speak. Turns out that what they hear best
Basics of Tengwar for Tattoo Artists
Have you ever seen someone unfamiliar with the Latin alphabet trying to write it? It can end up pretty awkward and hard to read, even if they are a great artist. They just don’t know how to differentiate the symbols from each other, where they can elaborate, or even how
Basics of Tengwar for Tattoo Seekers
The reasons for getting an Elvish tattoo are many. It marks us to fellow fans. It’s a way to write a secret message on your skin for others who can read it. It proves to the world that you love Tolkien’s works. And most of all, it looks really cool!
GISHing for Tengwar?
Moral of the lesson: This is why you don’t want an inexperienced transcriber doing Tengwar for you. For two days now, I, and Tolkien expert friends of mine, have been bombarded by people doing the GISH scavenger hunt. It’s starting to get old. Mostly because this transcription is truly awful.
Starting New YouTube Series
This is one of the things I’ve been working on! It’s idea I’ve been knocking around for ages. Here’s the first episode!
Tolkien’s Magic
I’m not speaking of his incredible writing voice or his powerful poetry; I’m speaking of the magic in Eä, the World that Is. There seems to be a lot of confusion on this topic in the fanfiction and RP world. With many fans left clueless, they turn to other fandoms
Vampires and Werewolves in Middle-earth
We all know what the stereotypes of vampires and werewolves are in our modern fiction. They’re based off a combination of Bram Stokers’ Dracula and old European folktales. Tolkien, however, didn’t have brooding, humanoid, mysterious vampires or werewolves in his work. Here, I shall cover the brief mentions of Tolkien’s
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