“The Shadows Where the Mewlips [really] dwell” – Mapping the road to Mordor?

I’m chuffed by the eager response asking me to post the paper I presented at this year’s Oxonmoot. Well, here it is in full (with a few additional notes) for your enjoyment, if such be its fate.

Snow-Trolls and Stone-Giants in Middle-earth

The evidence for the existence of both snow-rolls and stone-giants haunting the deep, shadowy passes of Middle-earth is, at best, poor.

To begin with, we have a stronger argument in favour of giants.

The Gaffer’s Elite! Songs

Ranking all things Middle-earth

Welcome to another installment of the Gaffer’s Elite. Last week we outlined the top cinematic battles from Middle-earth. This time, we’ll be looking at the songs.

I have had to limit myself by listing only appropriately termed songs. As much as they are beautiful, no melodies featured as background music in the films have been named – perhaps for another post …

These are songs specifically characterised by being vocal compositions sung by a character or an ensemble during the films.

Now if only they’d recorded the Elves singing “O Tra la la lally…”

**Updated: Includes Éowyn’s Lament. Big thumbs up to Denzel Caragos for jogging my memory!**

The Gaffer’s Elite! Soundtracks

Ranking All Things Middle-earth

Today I’d like to introduce you to this first post in a weekly series entitle The Gaffers Elite!, in which I will attempt to do the impossible: rank all things Middle-earth films – from most to least favourite. “Least” shouldn’t even exist in this franchise but a ranking is a ranking after all, and something has to make it at the bottom of the list.

Every week I’ll be giving a quick look at the soundtracks, characters, battles, events …. and films; what I think should be at the top of said list and what should be just below.

So let’s kick things off by ranking Howard Shore’s soundtracks!

Celebrian: The Silver Crown-Gift

– You asked for it, you got it …

At the mere mention of the word “Celebrian”, the majority of Tolkien readers would stir in their seats; they would frown; and their minds switch to SEARCHING MODE.

All this in a vain attempt to try and piece together a background for this character and place the name within the stories of Middle-earth.

And I wouldn’t blame them …

Celebrian is an extremely obscure figure, whose references in any of Tolkien’s works (by which I mean not just The Lord of the Rings), amounts to only a handful of words.

So who is Celebrian?

“Celeb” meaning “silver” and “(-rian)” signifying “crown-gift” was an elf of Lórien; and more importantly, she was the daughter of Galadriel and Celeborn.

Furthermore, she was the wife of Elrond and the mother of Elladan, Elrohir and Arwen.

Other than that, we have no date of birth, nor any indication of her presence before the beginning of the Third Age.

In Unfinished Tales, in the chapter concerning ‘The History of Galadriel and Celeborn’, we get a few references to Celebrian.

Character Profile: The Great Goblin

Make way for the biggest goblin of them all …

When you think you’ve seen all sorts of goblins, orcs, and other foul creatures in Peter Jackson’s vision of Middle-earth, there comes a fancy chap by the name (or rather, title) of the Great Goblin.

When you read The Hobbit, this character comes across as a highly sarcastic individual; a vain leader of sorts; and, to a certain extent, a narcissist.

Approaching Tolkien: Tales from the Perilous Realm

Wondering through the enchanted paths of Middle-earth and the lands of Faërie …

Tales from the Perilous Realm is a collection of four independent works written by J.R.R. Tolkien. Whilst exploring Tolkien’s style of writing in different lands other than those of Middle-earth, it is interesting to see how these short works inspired or, in turn, were influenced by the author’s more famous works.

The following post shall briefly tackle each major work; outlining the general storyline/content and providing some reflections on each of them and their context within Tolkien’s other work.

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Extended Edition – Review (Part I)

– It’s finally here! Well, partially at least …

Phew! The last couple of days have been pretty hectic. Apart from the daily, real-life chores, I’ve been writing away on the reviews, adding images, and writing a bit more. This was naturally accompanied by copious amounts of viewings of the three films to complement the writing and stimulate the mind! 🙂

Character Profiles: Fili and Kili

– Fili: The Viking-esque dwarf (and the elder of the two)

For reasons explained in the novel (and thus, major spoilers) I shall not expand much on these two characters. Suffice to say, they both have their particular moments in the story, added with a modest amount of characterization (though albeit, still weak).

Character Profiles: Dori, Nori, Ori

– Dori: Bilbo’s personal “out of trouble” carrier

My impression of  Dori has always been that “decent fellow” (as written by Tolkien), who risked a lot in an attempt to physically get Bilbo out of trouble – be it the escape from the Misty Mountains, or lending a helping hand up a tree to avoid being devoured by Wargs.