This earlier version, titled The Shadow Man, had the same overall concept, though Tolkien had revised certain parts for the final version, which appeared in The Adventures of Tom Bombadil. The most notable changes were the first four lines of the poem, as well as the shift in the poem’s focus, from the ‘man who dwelt alone’ to ‘the lady clad in grey.’ For a more in-depth analysis of the poem and its revisions, be sure to check out Wayne and Christina’s blog.

Additionally, the husband and wife team came across another (unrecorded) poem by Tolkien, a Christian piece titled Noel.  You can find out more about that poem at Wayne and Christina’s blog.

Share with your Fellowship

14th June, 3019 [The Lord of the Rings]

• The sons of Elrond meet the escort and bring Arwen to Edoras (during the days after the fall of Sauron)

16th June, 3019 [The Lord of the Rings]

• The sons of Elrond and Arwen set out for Gondor (during the days after the fall of Sauron)

We know from the story, that Arwen is going to marry King Elessar during Mid-year’s Day.

Mid-year’s Day is the middle day of the year, according to the Shire Reckoning, between 1 Lithe and 2 Lithe. It roughly corresponds with the summer solstice, and is also known as Loëndë in Quenya. (Source: Tolkien Gateway)

Share with your Fellowship

4th June, 2941 [The Hobbit]

• The company fords the Bruinen and arrives in Rivendell

“You are come to the very edge of the Wild, as some of you may know. Hidden somewhere ahead of us is the fair valley of Rivendell where Elrond lives in the Last Homely House. I sent a message by my friends, and we are expected.”

[...]

There was only a narrow bridge of stone without a parapet, as narrow as a pony could well walk on; and over that they had to go, slow and careful, one by one, each leading his pony by the bridle. The elves had brought bright lanterns to the shore, and they sang a merry song as the party went across.

[The Hobbit, Chapter 3: A Short Rest]

• After the terrible adventure with the trolls, the Company was hosted by Elrond at his home Rivendell; they stayed more or less fourteen days in that good house.

Elvish singing is not a thing to miss, in June under the stars, not if you care for such things.

[The Hobbit, Chapter 3: A Short Rest]

Share with your Fellowship

In 2003, scientists unearthed on the Indonesian island Flores the remains of human beings who showed similar attributes to Tolkien’s halflings. Until then these hobbits of Flores went unnoticed by us “big folk“.

The remains of these small humans raised many questions and scientists were divided over the question of whether these Hobbits, scientifically known as Homo floresiensis, were just modern humans with microcephaly, or actually a distict species of humans after all.

Recent studies strengthen the assumption that “Homo Floresiensis was the dwarf version of an earlier human species. Scientists widely assume that human evolution is  typified by increases of brain and body, but “Homo floresiensis suggests this trend may go the opposite direction in special circumstances, such as when on islands” (Charles Choi NBC News).

Furthermore, Japanese researchers re-examined the size of the brain of Homo floresiensis and compared this with the brain-to-body ratio of modern humans. The findings indicate that the ancestor of Homo floresiensis was Homo erectus, contrary to previous studies:

“Our work does not prove that erectus is the ancestor of floresiensis […] But what we have shown is that it is possible (and counters the argument) by many people that floresiensis‘s brain is too small to (be consistent with the view that it is a dwarf form of erectus). Source: BBC News

The research of Dr Yousuke Kaifu, Daisuke Kubo and Reiko Kono of the National Museum of Nature and Science, Tokyo is published in the Royal Society’s Proceedings B Journal.

If you cannot access the journal, read more about these historic “hobbits” on BBC News, ABS Science, and NBC News.

Share with your Fellowship

29th/30th May, 2941 [The Hobbit]

• Gandalf keeps the trolls arguing until dawn

It was just then that Gandalf came back. But no one saw him. The trolls had just decided to roast the dwarves now and eat them later–that was Bert’s idea, and after a lot of argument they had all agreed to it. “No good roasting ‘em now, it’d take all night,” said a voice. Bert thought it was William’s.

“Don’t start the argument all over-again. Bill,” he said, “or it will take all night.”

“Who’s a-arguing?” said William, who thought it was. Bert that had spoken.

“You are,” said Bert.

“You’re a liar,” said William; and so the argument beg all over again.

[The Hobbit, Chapter 2: Roast Mutton]

There are few certain dates in The Hobbit; all the others that could be found were calculated and they are highly
hypothetical.

20th May, 3019 [The Lord of the Rings]

• The escort of Arwen leaves Lórien (during the days after the fall of Sauron)

Share with your Fellowship

Baggins, Tooks, Boffins, Bolgers, Grubbs, Chubbs, Hornblowers, and Proudfoots (Proudfeet!). They’re all here! The colorful bunch from which Bilbo Baggins traces his heritage starts all the way back with his great-grandparents, Balbo Baggins and Berylla Baggins (nee Boffin), and couldn’t be complete without the venerable Belladonna Took, the dreaded Sackville-Bagginses, and the occasional Bunce and Brownlock.

The beautiful family tree was designed and drawn by Daniel Reeve of the 3 Foot 7 art department who created the original prop for the wall of Bag End in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.

Weta’s print has been made from a scan of the original and printed in Middle-earth (New Zealand) on 140g uncoated textured stock that makes for an authentic look and feel to the print.

The Baggins of Hobbiton – Art Print is part of a range of Middle-earth maps and prints from Weta. Others in the series include:

• Thorin’s Map -Parchment Art Print
• Floor Plan of Bag End
• Map of the Shire
• Map of East Farthing
• Map of Wilderland
• Parchment Map of Middle-earth
• New Zealand Map of Middle-earth

With this beautiful print hanging on your wall, you’ll feel like part of the family!

Share with your Fellowship

In an exclusive interview with Total Film magazine, Evangeline Lilly described her character, Tauriel, who we’ll see onscreen in The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. “She’s a very, very young elf. She’s only 600 years old, unlike Legolas who’s like, 1,900 years old and Thranduil who’s about 3,000 years old. She doesn’t have quite the wisdom and pose that those two boys do; she’s a little more… gritty. A little more spontaneous, passionate perhaps.” She went on to say, “To play this character I need to have a certain amount of grace. But I’m also supposed to be an absolutely ruthless, deadly killer.” (Alice)

Did you find an amazing deal on a letter signed by J.R.R. Tolkein? Steer clear; you can bet that The Professor would never spell his name incorrectly! Pieter Collier of The Tolkien Library created a list of ten helpful tips for avoiding fake Tolkien signatures on eBay. Included in the article are photos of some forgeries and notes about how to spot them. (Lily Milos)

Do you prefer Elvish wine or Dwarvish Mead? Either way, Ramida R. has created two perfect liquor labels for your beverage of choice. (Britta)

Lord of the Rings actor Viggo Mortensen will be honored at the AMFM Fest on June 16 where he will receive the Dennis Lee Hopper award. Event director Robert Galarza told TheWrap, “Dennis believed that to be an artist, you had to embrace all the arts. Viggo has his photography, painting, writing, poetry and philosophical musings, in addition to his acting ability, and he has no great ego as an artist. He allows the art to move through him like a vessel, which is how Dennis saw the world.” (Arwen Kester)

Junk Kouture is a recycled fashion and art competition for secondary students in Ireland. The competition, launched in 2010, is famed for morphing everyday waste into high fashion. In fact, their designs turned heads at the London premiere of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey last December. Most recently, Junk Kouture appeared at the Cannes Film Festival. Founder Elizabeth O’Donnell explained, “We decided that following the success of Junk Kouture at the Royal Premiere last year we wanted to give our entrants another opportunity to showcase their designs at a high-scale event and also on an international level.” (Evie Bowman)

3RingsLeft is a band made up of three teen sisters, Christa, Hannah, and Caeli McCutchen. This song, titled “Light,” was inspired by the story of Arwen and Aragorn. (Lily Milos)

Every week, our Middle-earth News reporters seek out Tolkien/Hobbit/LOTR goodness and tag their finds with their names. If you have something to contribute, please submit it using the Got News Precious link at the bottom of the page.

Share with your Fellowship

23rd May, 2941 [The Hobbit]

• The company encounters the trolls

“Blimey, Bert, look what I’ve copped!” said William.
“What is it?” said the others coming up.
“Lumme, if I knows! What are yer?”
“Bilbo Baggins, a bur – a hobbit,” said poor Bilbo, shaking all over, and wondering how to make owl-noises before they throttled him. “A burrahobbit?” said they a bit startled. Trolls are slow in the uptake, and mighty suspicious about anything new to them.
“What’s a burrahobbit got to do with my pocket, anyways?” said William.
“And can yer cook ‘em?” said Tom.
“Yer can try,” said Bert, picking up a skewer.

[The Hobbit, Chapter 2: Roast Mutton]

20th May, 3019 [The Lord of the Rings]

• Elrond and Arwen come to Lórien (during the days after the fall of Sauron)

Share with your Fellowship

Share with your Fellowship

This is a very unlucky week, because there are no events on certain days, so we can only suppose or summarize what happened to our heroes.

May 2941 [The Hobbit]

We know that Thorin and Company departed from Bywater on April 27. In the following days, Bilbo started to understand what it meant to go on an adventure: many walks and few meals–very few by Hobbit standards. The weather was windy and rainy, and the Company had no place to shelter. They were all grumpy, and Bilbo started to think about his Hobbit hole.

“Bother burgling and everything to do with it! I wish I was at home in my nice hole by the fire, with the kettle just beginning to sing!” It was not the last time that he wished that!

[The Hobbit, Chapter 2: Roast Mutton]

Obviously, it was a very bad situation, and it was after tea-time.

Then they stopped, and Thorin muttered something about supper, “and where shall we get a dry patch to sleep on?”

[The Hobbit, Chapter 2: Roast Mutton]

The rain wasn’t stopping, Thorin and Company were tired and demoralized, and they hoped that Gandalf could resolve the situation with magic. Just then, they noticed that the wizard was gone.

“Just when a wizard would have been most useful, too,” groaned Dori and Nori.

[The Hobbit, Chapter 2: Roast Mutton]

Finally, they found a dry little piece of ground under the trees and decided to camp there. It was so windy that they couldn’t make a fire, but their adventures were not yet finished that night…

Share with your Fellowship