Athrabeth

We made it to the History of Middle-earth volume 5, “The Lost Road and Other Writings” in our Lesser-trod Histories series! This month we’re chatting about the Etymologies, a list of stems and their derivatives upon which Tolkien’s Elvish languages are built. Join us to learn about the Professor’s interest in the process of language evolution throughout history! 

Citations:

Tolkien, J. R. R. The Lost Road and Other Writings. Ed. Christopher Tolkien. The History of Middle-earth: Vol. 5. Unwin Hyman, London, 1987.

Tolkien, J. R. R. Addenda and Corrigenda to the Etymologies — Part One. Ed. Carl F. Hostetter and Patrick H. Wynne, in Vinyar Tengwar, Number 45, November 2003

Wizard Way Kris

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/WizardWayKris

Website: https://elf-boi.com/

“‘What Light Do You Dream Under?’- An Elvish Metaphor for LGBTQIA2S+”: https://elf-boi.com/blogs/elvish-freebies/what-light-do-you-dream-under-an-elvish-metaphor-for-lgbtqia2s (Accessed March 30, 2025)

Elvish language linguistic journals:

Parma Eldalamberon: http://www.eldalamberon.com/ (Accessed March 30, 2025)

Vinyar Tengwar: https://www.elvish.org/VT/ (Accessed March 30, 2025)

Elvish language linguistic websites:

Ardalambion: Of the Tongues of Arda, the invented world of J.R.R. Tolkien: https://ardalambion.net/ (Accessed March 30, 2025)

Eldamo - An Elvish Lexicon: https://eldamo.org/ (Accessed March 30, 2025)

Parf Edhellen: https://www.elfdict.com/ (Accessed March 30, 2025)

Book mentioned by Jude:

Salo, David. A Gateway to Sindarin: A Grammar of an Elvish Language from J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. University of Utah Press, 2004. 

Upcoming events

April 22, 2025: The Carrock Northern California Smail second meeting is on Zoom on April 22, 2025 (Earth Day) from 8:00–9:00 PM Pacific time. 

Find us on Bluesky: thecarrocksmial.bsky.social or Instagram: thecarrocksmial 

Link for our Google Sign-up form: https://tinyurl.com/TheCarrockSignUpForm

Join the Carrock Discord server: https://discord.gg/8DxzAhvPVn

May 9-11, 2025: Tolkien Society: Westmoot 2025

Join Jude and Stef in Kansas City, Missouri, at the National WWI Museum and Memorial. 

https://www.tolkiensociety.org/events/westmoot-2025/ (Accessed March 4, 2025)

July 5-6, 2025: Tolkien Society: Seminar 2025 – ‘Arda’s Entangled Bodies and Environments’

Run by Will Sherwood, Clare Moore and Journee Cotton

https://www.tolkiensociety.org/events/seminar-2025/ (Accessed March 4, 2025)

August 2-3, 2025: The Mythopoeic Society- Online MidSummer Seminar 2025: “More Perilous and Fair: Women and Gender in Mythopoeic Fantasy”: https://www.mythsoc.org/oms/oms-04.htm (Accessed Feb 23, 2025)

September 4-7, 2025: Tolkien Society: Oxonmoot

Join Jude and Stef at St. Anne’s College, Oxford and online! 

https://www.tolkiensociety.org/events/oxonmoot-2025/

 (Accessed March 4, 2025)

We’re back to our Lesser-trod Histories series! This month, we are looking at the History of Middle-earth Volume 4, The Shaping of Middle-earth. Jude and Stef chat about the Dagor Dagorath (a.k.a. the Last Battle, or the Second Prophecy of Mandos) from its earliest stages in the Sketch of the Mythology through to the most recent version in The War of the Jewels. We discuss why a questionable Man is involved in slaying Arda’s baddest baddie, and we discuss whether this story should have been included in the published Silmarillion. 

Citations

Histories Volume 4

Tolkien, J. R. R. The Shaping of Middle-earth. Ed. Christopher Tolkien. The History of Middle-earth: Vol. 4. George Allen and Unwin, London, 1986. 

Histories Volume 10

Tolkien, J. R. R. Morgoth’s Ring. Ed. Christopher Tolkien. The History of Middle-earth: Vol. 10. HarperCollins, London, 1993. 

Histories Volume 11

Tolkien, J. R. R. War of the Jewels. Ed. Christopher Tolkien. The History of Middle-earth: Vol. 11. HarperCollins, London, 1994. 

Histories Volume 12

Tolkien, J. R. R. The Peoples of Middle-earth. Ed. Christopher Tolkien. The History of Middle-earth: Vol. 12. HarperCollins, London, 1996. 

The Silmarillion:

Tolkien, J. R. R. The Silmarillion. Edited by Christopher Tolkien. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Apple Books edition.  (March 4, 2025)

Tolkien And The Great War: The Threshold of Middle-earth

Garth, John. Tolkien And The Great War: The Threshold of Middle-earth. First Mariner Books edition 2005. eISBN 978-0-544-26372-7. V2.0519. (Accessed February 15, 2025)

Upcoming events

March 25, 2025: The Carrock Northern California Smail inaugural meeting is on Zoom on March 25 (Tolkien Reading Day) from 8:00–9:00 PM Pacific time. 

Find us on Bluesky: thecarrocksmial.bsky.social or Instagram: thecarrocksmial 

Link for our Google Sign-up form: https://tinyurl.com/TheCarrockSignUpForm

Join the Carrock Discord server: https://discord.gg/8DxzAhvPVn

May 9-11, 2025: Tolkien Society: Westmoot 2025

Join Jude and Stef in Kansas City, Missouri, at the National WWI Museum and Memorial. 

https://www.tolkiensociety.org/events/westmoot-2025/ (Accessed March 4, 2025)

July 5-6, 2025: Tolkien Society: Seminar 2025 – ‘Arda’s Entangled Bodies and Environments’

Run by Will Sherwood, Clare Moore and Journee Cotton

https://www.tolkiensociety.org/events/seminar-2025/ (Accessed March 4, 2025)

August 2-3, 2025: The Mythopoeic Society- Online MidSummer Seminar 2025: “More Perilous and Fair: Women and Gender in Mythopoeic Fantasy”: https://www.mythsoc.org/oms/oms-04.htm (Accessed Feb 23, 2025)

September 4-7, 2025: Tolkien Society: Oxonmoot

Join Jude and Stef at St. Anne’s College, Oxford and online! 

https://www.tolkiensociety.org/events/oxonmoot-2025/ (Accessed March 4, 2025)

This month we are joined by Tolkien professor and scholar, Dr. Sara Brown! Join us for Sara’s lesser-trod path, Feminist criticism of Tolkien’s work! In context of the four waves of feminism, Sara gives us an overview of the past and present of feminist criticism of Tolkien’s work, as well as some thoughts on the future. Thanks for joining us, Sara! 

Citations

Thank you to our guest host, Dr. Sara Brown! 

How to find Sara:

Bluesky: @aranelparmadil.bksy.social

Sara’s publications can be found at: https://tinyurl.com/DrSaraBrown (Accessed Feb 3, 2025)

Sara on Signum University’s website: https://signumuniversity.org/people/sara-brown/ (Accessed Feb 2, 2025)

Sara’s entry on Tolkienists.org: https://tolkienists.org/sara-brown/ (Accessed Feb 2, 2025)

Sara’s upcoming projects in 2025:

-Look out for the upcoming Oxford Handbook of Tolkien- Sara is contributing a chapter on feminist criticism of Tolkien.

-Look out for an upcoming book about queer readings of Tolkien for which Sara has written a chapter about Shelob as a queer mother.

-With Dr. Kristine Larsen, Sara is editing a collection about Tolkien and psychology for The Journal of Tolkien Research.

-Sara is the keynote speaker for Signum University’s Mythmoot XII- June 19-22, 2025.

-Sara is giving a paper at Leeds International Medieval Congress called, 'No One Listens to Melian: When Women Speak and Men Ignore Them in Middle-earth'- 7-10 July 2025.

-Sara will be at the Tolkien Society’s gathering Oxonmoot, September 4-7, 2025.

From Sara’s outline: (in alphabetical order)

-Cami D. Agan: "Lúthien Tinúviel and Bodily Desire in the Lay of Leithian" from Perilous and Fair: Women in the Works and Life of J.R.R. Tolkien, ed. Janet Brennan Croft and Leslie A. Donovan, Mythopoeic Press, 2015

-Sara Brown: “‘Éowyn it was, and Dernhelm also’: Reading the ‘Wild Shieldmaiden’ Through a Queer Lens.” from The Journal of Tolkien Research, Volume 18, Issue 2, 2018

https://scholar.valpo.edu/journaloftolkienresearch/vol18/iss2/4/ (Accessed Feb 2, 2025)

-Edith Crowe: “Power in Arda: Sources, Uses, and Misuses” from Perilous and Fair: Women in the Works and Life of J.R.R. Tolkien, ed. Janet Brennan Croft and Leslie A. Donovan, Mythopoeic Press, 2015

-Leslie Donovan: "The Valkyrie Reflex in J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings: Galadriel, Shelob, Éowyn, and Arwen" from Perilous and Fair: Women in the Works and Life of J.R.R. Tolkien, ed. Janet Brennan Croft and Leslie A. Donovan, Mythopoeic Press, 2015

-Melissa McCrory Hatcher: "Finding Woman's Role in The Lord of the Rings." from Mythlore 97/98, Volume 25, Issue 3/4, 2007

-Lisa Hopkins: “Female Authority Figures in the Works of Tolkien, C.S. Lewis and Charles Williams” from Mythlore, Volume 21, Number 2, 1996

-Kristine Larsen: "The Power of Pity and Tears: The Evolution of Nienna in the Legendarium" from Perilous and Fair: Women in the Works and Life of J.R.R. Tolkien, ed. Janet Brennan Croft and Leslie A. Donovan, Mythopoeic Press, 2015

-Edwin Muir: Review of “The Return of the King” in The Observer on Nov. 27, 1955

-Doris T. Myers: “Brave New World: The Status of Women According to Tolkien, Lewis, and. Williams.” Cimarron Review. 17 (1971): 13-19.

-Brenda Partridge: “No Sex Please–We’re Hobbits: The Construction of Female Sexuality in The Lord of the Rings” from J.R.R. Tolkien: This Far Land, ed. Robert Giddings, New Jersey: Barnes & Noble Press, 1983

-Melanie Rawls: “The Feminine Principle in Tolkien” from Mythlore, Volume 10, Number 4, 1984

-Robin Reid: "The History of Scholarship on Female Characters in J. R. R. Tolkien's Legendarium: A Feminist Bibliographic Essay" from Perilous and Fair: Women in the Works and Life of J.R.R. Tolkien, ed. Janet Brennan Croft and Leslie A. Donovan, Mythopoeic Press, 2015

-Catherine Stimpson: “J.R.R. Tolkien” Published by Columbia University Press, 1969

-J.R.R. Tolkien’s letters - 33a; 38a; 39; 42a; 43; 44; 50; 53; 78; 142; 179a; 250; 267; 331; 332; 340.

Other sources mentioned beyond Sara’s outline:

-Amy Amendt-Raduege  “Revising Lobelia” from book “Tolkien and Alterity” (pp.77-93) edited by Christopher Vaccaro and Yvette Kisor, 2017

-The work of Cameron Borquien: https://cameronbourquein.com/ (Accessed Feb 2, 2025)

-The work of Clare Moore: https://tolkienists.org/clare-moore/ (Accessed Feb 2, 2025)

-The work of Mercury Natis: https://lushthemagicdragon.carrd.co/ (Accessed Feb 2, 2025)

-Keep your eyes peeled for an upcoming anthology: ‘Great Heart and Strength:’ New Essays on Women and Gender in the Works of J.R.R. Tolkien, edited by Cami D. Agan and Clare Moore.

Join us this month for a deep dive on Tolkien’s bodacious baddie, the one and only Sauron. Tolkien scholar and Sauron expert, Cameron Bourquein, leads us down her lesser-trod path exploring Sauron’s evolving nature, the meanings of his name, and his changing role in the legendarium throughout its development. 

Citations: 

Thank you to our guest host, Cameron Bourquein! 

How to find Cameron’s work:

Website: https://cameronbourquein.com/

Blog: https://theroadtoardahealed.substack.com/

Website: https://sauronproject.com/

Twitter: @CameronBorgQeen

Bluesky: cameronbourquein.bsky.social

Blog post with Cameron’s Sauron citations:

https://theroadtoardahealed.substack.com/p/a-sauron-bibliography

Works referenced in this episode: 

Letter 66 (To Christopher Tolkien, May 6, 1944)

From Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien. Ed. Humphrey Carpenter with Christopher Tolkien. HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd, London. 

Letter 131 (To Milton Waldman, undated- probably written in late 1951)

From Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien. Ed. Humphrey Carpenter with Christopher Tolkien. HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd, London.

Dr. Richard Eliot Blackwelder

As cited in Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull, The Lord of the Rings: A Reader’s Companion, London: HarperCollins, 2014, page xii.

Link: https://harpercollins.co.uk/products/the-lord-of-the-rings-a-readers-companion-wayne-g-hammondchristina-scull?variant=32611676192846

A. R. Bossert

“Surely You Don’t Disbelieve”: Tolkien and Pius X: Anti-modernism in Middle-earth

Mythlore Vol. 25, No. 1, 2006

Link: https://dc.swosu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1289&context=mythlore

Cameron Bourquein and Nick Polk

Reading, Rending, and Queering the Web of Story: With the Lenses of "Con-creation" and Process [Conference Presentation]

Presented at MythSoc OMS on Feb 10th, 2024 

Link: https://substack.com/home/post/p-153238639

Stafford Caldecott

The Power of the Ring: The Spiritual Vision Behind the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit

The Crossroad Publishing Company, 2013

Link: https://crossroadpublishing.com/product/the-power-of-the-ring/

John Garth

Ilu's Music: The Creation of Tolkien's Creation Myth

From Sub-creating Arda: World-building in J.R.R. Tolkien's Works, its Precursors, and Legacies, Dimitra Fimi and Thomas Honegger (editors), Cormarë Series No. 40

Walking Tree Publishers, 2019

Link: http://www.walking-tree.org/books/sub-creating_arda.php#h

Gwenyth Hood

Sauron as Gorgon and Basilisk

Marshall University, 1987

Link: https://mds.marshall.edu/english_faculty/30/

Jonathan S. McIntosh

The Flame Imperishable: Tolkien, St. Thomas, and the Metaphysics of Faërie

Angelico Press, 2017

Link: https://angelicopress.com/products/the-flame-imperishable

Brian Roseberry

Tolkien: A Cultural Phenomenon

Palgrave Macmillan, 2003

Link: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1057/9780230599987

Elizabeth A. Whittingham

The Evolution of Tolkien's Mythology: A Study of the History of Middle-earth

McFarland & Company, 2007

Link: https://mcfarlandbooks.com/product/the-evolution-of-tolkiens-mythology/

The work of Mercury Natis, Tolkien Scholar

Link: https://lushthemagicdragon.carrd.co/

The work of Robin A. Reid, Tolkien Scholar

Link: https://tolkienists.org/robin-anne-reid/

In this very special AthraChat, Jude and Stef sit down to discuss the new film, Lord of the Rings: War of the Rohirrim, directed by Kenji Kamiyama. We ruminate on giant turkey legs, things that go crunch in the water, and general punching. Beware of spoilers! 

Citations:

Smith, Chris. The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim Visual Companion. William Morrow. ISBN: 9780063422223

https://www.harpercollins.com/products/the-lord-of-the-rings-the-war-of-the-rohirrim-visual-companion-chris-smith?variant=42417601511458

Find us on the web at https://podcast.athrabeth.com/

Join the conversation on the Athrabeth discord!

Athrabeth is a production of the Athrabeth Podcast Network.

Athrabeth is produced by James Kaku Pierson

Stef and Jude are joined by Tolkien collecting expert and moderator of the Tolkien Collector’s Guide, Andrew “Trotter” Ferguson. Andrew tells us about his experience collecting and sharing the Professor’s material culture. As it is the holiday season, we finish our discussion with the Father Christmas Letters. Thank you for joining us, Andrew! 

Citations: 

Thank you to our special guest, Andrew “Trotter” Ferguson!

Andrew’s Bsky: @trotter.tolkienguide.com

Tolkien Collector’s Guide website: https://www.tolkienguide.com/

Tolkien Collector’s Guide Calendar: https://www.tolkienguide.com/calendar/

Guide to Tolkien Letters: https://www.tolkienguide.com/guide/letters/

Tolkien Collector’s Guide YouTube channel: https://youtube.com/@tolkienguide?si=_30xJ-HNmvRKXokq

You Tube Videos featuring Andrew’s collection: 

Part 1: https://youtu.be/8LMYXyxMK9I?si=pYb3hHxxdmLvKcGH

Part 2: https://youtu.be/6ir_GzMZv5k?si=-0IvfM30qkgQDXYi

Andrew’s Prancing Pony Podcast appearance:

Episode 231 “Spirits in the Material World” December 5, 2021: https://theprancingponypodcast.com/2021/12/05/231-spirits-in-the-material-world/

Other announcements-

Tolkien Society Hybrid Seminar 2024 – Tolkien as Heritage

In partnership with with Tolkinovo društvo Srbije (the Tolkien Society of Serbia) and Centar za Muzeologiju I Heritologiju (the Centre for Museology and Heritology, the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Belgrade)

December 7-8, 2024

Information at: https://www.tolkiensociety.org/events/tolkien-society-hybrid-seminar-2024-tolkien-as-heritage/

Tolkien Society: Westmoot 2025

May 9-11 in Kansas City, Missouri, at the National WWI Museum and Memorial. 

https://www.tolkiensociety.org/events/westmoot-2025/

*Early bird Discount: Register before December 7, 2024 and use the discount code AZOG to receive a $30 discount on your registration fee!

Find us on the web at https://www.athrabethnetwork.com/athrabeth

Join the conversation on the Athrabeth discord!

Athrabeth is a production of the Athrabeth Podcast Network

Athrabeth is Produced by James Kaku Pierson

Join us this month for a special interview with Shaun Gunner, Chair of the Tolkien Society. We discuss Shaun’s time with the Society, the upcoming Christopher Tolkien Centenary Conference, and a brand new event for 2025. 

Citations:

Thank you to our special guest, Shaun Gunner! 

Twitter: @ShaunGunner

Websites: shaungunner.com

Tolkien Society-

https://www.tolkiensociety.org

@TolkienSociety

Christopher Tolkien Centenary Conference

Online only, November 23-24, 2024

Information and registration at: https://www.tolkiensociety.org/events/christopher-tolkien-centenary-conference/

Tolkien Society Hybrid Seminar 2024 – Tolkien as Heritage

In partnership with with Tolkinovo društvo Srbije (the Tolkien Society of Serbia) and Centar za Muzeologiju I Heritologiju (the Centre for Museology and Heritology, the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Belgrade)

December 7-8, 2024

Information at: https://www.tolkiensociety.org/events/tolkien-society-hybrid-seminar-2024-tolkien-as-heritage/

Find us on the web at https://www.athrabethnetwork.com/athrabeth

Join the conversation on the Athrabeth discord!

Athrabeth is a production of the Athrabeth Podcast Network

Athrabeth is Produced by James Kaku Pierson

To celebrate the ghastliest time of the year, the Weenie gang is back in this very special bonus episode of creepy chimeras and monstrous mills. Join us for Hobbitween 5, and Happy Hobbitween to one and all! 

Citations

The One Ring role playing game by Free League: https://freeleaguepublishing.com/en/games/the-one-ring/

Cast:

Lore Master: James Kaku Pierson, @jpierson

Theo Fleetfoot: Max Jiménez

Ozzie Oiolaire: Zeke Pease, @ezpease,  @greenvillearms 

Iadar Listbalarion: Jude Vais, @eremiticjude

Pumpkins Proudfoot: Stef Midlock, @thenorthfour

Title music is “Lord of the Devil Rings” by Ponymusic, courtesy of Pond5

Soundscapes provided by Tabletop Audio, https://tabletopaudio.com

Featured tracks courtesy of Epidemic Sound:

• Adriel Fair - All the Wonders
• Aiyo - Locked In
• Anna Dager, Hanna Ekström - Hesitancy
• Basixx - Shangri-La
• Binkley - Pork Chop Special
• Bonnie Grace - The Fairy Dance
• DASHI - Hiyajiru
• Dream Cave - Epic Voyage
• Dream Cave - The Investigator
• Eden Avery - Great Eagle’s Lair
• Edgar Hopp - A Million Upheavals
• Edgar Hopp - Phoenix Rising
• FormantX - Urban Chase
• Glenwood Quartet - Dvořák: String Quartet no. 12 in F major, "American" Op. 96, B. 179 I. Allegro ma non troppo
• Hampus Naeselius - Deactivator
• Hampus Naeselius - Iron Dome
• Hampus Naeselius - Team Six
• Hara Noda - Look Look
• Hunter Quinn - Chickasaw Outback
• Johannes Bornlöf - Air on the G String
• Lennon Hutton - Who’s at the Window?
• Ludvig Moulin - Forgotten Castle
• Magnus Ludvigsson - Coincidences
• Phello - Happy Feet
• Ruiqi Zhao - Ancient Spells
• Ruiqi Zhao - Behind You

Additional Music and sound effects licensed from soundstripe, https://www.soundstripe.com  

Support Zeke and check out The Greenville Arms 1889 Inn! https://www.greenvillearms.com

Find us on the web at https://www.athrabethnetwork.com/athrabeth

Join the conversation on the Athrabeth discord!

Athrabeth is a production of the Athrabeth Podcast Network

Athrabeth is Produced by James Kaku Pierson

We are bummed that Amazon’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 2 is over. Join us for one last AthraChat for episode 8, “Shadow and Flame.” Beware of spoilers and sexy Sauron. 

Find us on the web at https://podcast.athrabeth.com/

Join the conversation on the Athrabeth discord!

Athrabeth is a production of the Athrabeth Podcast Network.

Athrabeth is Produced by James Kaku Pierson

In episode 75, Jude and Stef take you on a textual safari to explore the... let's be honest… very weird magic of Sauron. Jude connects the Ósanwe-kenta to how Sauron gets the title of Necromancer, and we have a SPIRITed (hah, see what we did there) discussion of explicit descriptions of his magic in The Lord of the Rings and the Silmarillion. Come for the werewolves and stay for the vampires!

Citations:

Ósanwe-kenta:

J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), Morgoth's Ring, "Part Five. Myths Transformed", "X"

Ósanwe-kenta:

J.R.R. Tolkien, Carl F. Hostetter (ed.), The Nature of Middle-earth, "Part Two. Body, Mind and Spirit: IX. Ósanwe-kenta", pp. 205-216

Laws and Customs Among the Eldar:

J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), Morgoth's Ring, “Part Three. The Later Quenta Silmarillion”, “The Second Phase: Laws and Customs Among the Eldar"

Notes on motives in the Silmarillion:

J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), Morgoth's Ring, "Part Five. Myths Transformed:, “VII” “Notes on motives in the Silmarillion (i)”. 

Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien. Ed. Humphrey Carpenter with Christopher Tolkien. HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd, London. Apple Books Edition. Ebook Edition © 2012 ISBN: 9780007381234. Version 2019-03-07. Letter 131, letter 163, letter 257. (Accessed Sept 28, 2024)

Tolkien, J. R. R. The Lord of the Rings. HarperCollins e-books. Apple Books edition. (Accessed Sept 28, 2024)

Tolkien, J. R. R. The Silmarillion. Edited by Christopher Tolkien. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Apple Books edition.  (Accessed Sept 28, 2024)

Tolkien Gateway entry for “Sauron”

https://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Sauron (Accessed Sept 28, 2024)

Tolkien Society event “Christopher Tolkien Centenary Conference”

November 23-24, 2024

https://www.tolkiensociety.org/events/christopher-tolkien-centenary-conference/ (Accessed Oct 1, 2024)

Find us on the web at https://podcast.athrabeth.com/

Join the conversation on the Athrabeth discord!

Athrabeth is a production of the Athrabeth Podcast Network