July 02, 2021

28. Is He Hot Or Is He Tall?

1 hour 16 minutes

Jared, Oriana and Ned talk about Ned’s choice of topic: The Children of

Húrin. The final posthumously published form of one of Tolkien’s original

creations from the Book of Lost Tales, the 2007 book, edited and retouched

slightly by Christopher Tolkien, The Children of Húrin primarily tells the

story of the oldest child, Túrin. One of Tolkien’s most compelling figures,

Túrin not merely verges on the antiheroic but at points nonheroic,

simultaneously a figure driven by vengeance and justice for his losses and

those of his family but ultimately causing the death and destruction of most

of what he holds dear—he slays one of Morgoth’s chief lieutenants, the dragon

Glaurung, but Glaurung exacts a terrible cost even in death. Is Túrin’s course

in life truly the working out of a curse by Morgoth or is it the result of

rash actions taken in the face of wiser counsel almost every step of the way?

What does it say that it is one of Tolkien’s most vividly physical stories,

including various humiliating fates, at one point the threat of rape, and in

the end, drawing on one of humanity’s deepest taboos, unwitting incest? For

all that various flawed or doomed heterosexual relationships define much of

Túrin’s life, what does it say that the deepest connection he feels is to the

Elf Beleg, and what does his own tragic death signify? And maybe to end on a

lighter note, are those potatoes that the Petty-dwarves are digging up or

what?

Show Notes.

Jared’s

doodle. Tol

Morwen, one of Middle-earth’s loveliest and saddest places.

Yes, Ned is a fan of RuPaul’s Drag

Race in all its forms. He

could go on.

The announcement of Warner Bros’s planned anime

film, The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim.

Kenji Kamiyama has quite the

rep, trust us.

And yes, as we talked about in episode

25, plenty of history already with

Japanese animators and Tolkien!

That Fellowship of Fans Twitter

thread with

the Amazon contract details. Cross yer fingers...

TheOneRing.net’s

piece with its

best speculation about the whole issue of rights divisions going on about now.

The Children of

Húrin—and there’s

a lot going on.

That Tumblr post with Túrin describing himself as

the ultimate goth. He would.

Kullervo, the Finnish anti-hero that

was the general source for Túrin but not the sole one. Tolkien’s

translation, created

before he created the Book of Lost Tales but only published formally in 2015,

is one of his earliest works.

It’s a little obvious to mention—and Kullervo’s story overall is closer—but

yes, Oedipus Rex is also a key

template for the dramatic end of the story.

Ned’s old 2007 blog entry on reading The Children of Hurin.

Episode 2—and Tuor is still just a

guy.

Glaurung, Tolkien’s other main

dragon creation in Middle-earth...is a piece of work.

Is there Turin and Beleg fan

art?

C’mon, you know the answer.

Alan Lee’s illustration from the

book of Glaurung approaching Brethil.

The Petty-dwarves have their

own tangled tale, mostly unknown.

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By Jared Pechaček, Oriana Scwindt, and Ned Raggett

4.8

2828 ratings