Art and Literature News

An Eagle’s View of Middle-earth – May 14, 2014

We’ve decided to turn “An Eagle’s View of Middle-earth” from a weekly post to a daily post! We noticed that there were so many Tolkien/Hobbit/LOTR related stories making headlines that it only seemed fair to keep you up-to-date with all of awesomeness happening in the fandom on a daily basis.

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James Rostron created this minimalist poster showing the route of the fellowship from Rivendell to Mordor over a year ago, but it’s being passed around a lot these days, and we wanted to make sure you got to see it. He describes it as “one of the most awesome and geekiest posts I’ve ever done,” and we are totally on board with that! Make sure you look closely and track each character’s journey. (spotted by Middle-earth News reporter Lily)

Lickey Hills Country Park takes the top spot on this list of 10 Great Places to Relax in and around Birmingham over the Bank Holiday. According to The Birmingham Mail, in 1904, a 12-year-old J.R.R. Tolkien moved to Rednal with his mother, and the hills became an inspiration for the Shire. So many places seem to want to claim to be inspirations for Tolkien’s works, but if you have some time to spare over the upcoming bank holiday, why not visit the place and decide for yourself? (spotted by Middle-earth News reporter Evie)

In this essay by Roger Echo-Hawk, author of Tolkien in Pawneeland, he argues that J.R.R. Tolkien drew on three Skidi Pawnee fantasy tales to create “The Adventures of Tom Bombadil” and that Tolkien returned to the same source-material for help in constructing an incident associated with Tom Bombadil’s initial appearance in The Fellowship of the Ring. (spotted by Middle-earth News reporter Lily)

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Hobbit actors Adam Brown (Ori, NOT Nori) and Stephen Hunter (Bombur) will be featured guests on NBD Media’s show The Mark this coming Sunday from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Ready your questions, and call in to talk to the dwarf duo! (spotted by Middle-earth News reporter Myla)

If you missed out on your chance to attend Mythgard Institute this Spring, you’ll be happy to know that the course pack recordings are now available for your listening enjoyment. From Dr. Corey Olsen, known around these parts as “The Tolkien Professor,” comes “Chaucer: Visions of Love,” a playful romp through the work of Geoffrey Chaucer – in Middle English. Dr. Amy H. Sturgis returned with her “The Gothic Tradition” – dark tales for the bright light of Summer. And the Institute was joined for the first time by Dr. Dimitra Fimi and her course “Celtic Myth in Children’s Fantasy,” a look at both classic and modern tales. Check all three out today! (spotted by Middle-earth News reporter Oloriel)

In an interview with The Telegraph, Viggo Mortensen, who played Aragorn in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, spilled that the filmmakers weren’t sure the trilogy would be a success until they screened some footage from The Fellowship of the Ring at the Cannes film festival. They needed more money to finish The Two Towers and The Return of the King, and as Mortensen explained, they “would have never been given the extra money to do those if the first one hadn’t been a huge success. The second and third ones would have been straight to video.” (spotted by Middle-earth News reporter Maria)

Brass Líbitum are a brass trio from Oviedo, Spain. They recently performed this arrangement of The Misty Mountains at a concert. Can’t you imagine this ringing through the halls of Erebor? (spotted by Olaya and María of The Hobbit Quest)

Every day, 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.

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