Stars and Swords: Footnoting Genre Fiction

This week, we see the fall of Fingolfin and a new war in Beleriand in Chapter XVIII of the Quenta Silmarillion in J.R.R. Tolkien's The Silmarillion. How do we understand Tolkien's perspective on race? How much direct intervention can we credit to Manwë? What is Maeglin's problem with Men?

To see the video broadcast of this episode, click here; to see the slides, click here!

Next week, we discuss the most important story in Tolkien's legendarium, Beren and Lúthien in chapter XIX of the Quenta Silmarillion, live on YouTube on Thursday, May 1st at 9PM Central.

Footnotes:

• The Silmarillion
• Stars And Swords on YouTube
• The Silmarillion Unit Production Schedule
• Stars And Swords on Bookshop.org
• Dr. Dimitra Fimi
• Joseph Fink (@planetoffinks.bsky.social‬)
• J.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia: Scholarship and Critical Assessment (Michael D.C. Drout)
• Off Book: The Improvised Musical Podcast

This week, we establish Maeglin in Gondolin and the Men in the West as we move through the end of Chapter XVII of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Silmarillion. Does the Maeglin apple fall far from the Eöl tree? Why are the connections and distinctions between languages so important? What did the elves learn from the Valar when it comes to welcoming new arrivals?

To see the video broadcast of this episode, click here; to see the slides, click here!

Next week, we reach the Ruin of Beleriand and the Fall of Fingolfin in chapter XVIII of the Quenta Silmarillion, live on YouTube on Wednesday, April 24th at 9PM Central.

Footnotes:

• The Silmarillion
• Stars And Swords on YouTube
• The Silmarillion Unit Production Schedule
• Stars And Swords on Bookshop.org

This week, we get into the weeds as we attempt something ambitious, only to spend the whole episode in and around Nan Elmoth with the story of Maeglin in Chapter XVI of the Quenta Silmarillion. Why is the suppression of language so important? How does Tolkien's essentialism change the way we understand this book? How much dramatic irony are we supposed to detect in the wisdom of our heroes? 

This week, we fast forward four hundred years, then rewind to see what really happened as we try to make it to the end of Chapter XV of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Silmarillion. What does Glaurung have in common with the Balrogs? Why does Ulmo whisper instructions to Turgon and Finrod? Does this book really pass the Bechdel-Wallace test?

To see the video broadcast of this episode, click here; to see the slides, click here!

Next week, we continue our journey with everything to the end of Chapters XVI and XVII of the Quenta Silmarillion, live on YouTube on Wednesday, April 10th at 8PM Central.

Footnotes:

• The Silmarillion
• Stars And Swords on YouTube
• The Silmarillion Unit Production Schedule
• Stars And Swords on Bookshop.org
• LOTRProject.com
• The Bechdel-Wallace Test

This week, we face battle and bloodshed in Beleriand in Chapters XIII and XIV of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Silmarillion. Is Fëanor's fate inevitable? How do we understand the rescue of Maedhros in the context of the Doom of the Noldor? Why do we get so much geography?

To see the video broadcast of this episode, click here; to see the slides, click here!

Next week, we continue our journey with everything to the end of Chapter XV of the Quenta Silmarillion, live on YouTube on Wednesday, April 2nd at 8PM Central.

Footnotes:

• The Silmarillion
• Stars And Swords on YouTube
• The Silmarillion Unit Production Schedule
• Stars And Swords on Bookshop.org
• LOTRProject.com

To join me for the live YouTube broadcast, to support the podcast, to join the conversation on Discord and to get access to monthly bonus episodes, please visit Patreon.com/NextWord and pledge your support!

In this bonus Q&A, we address the issue of inheritance among the immortal elves, the lost story of Lady of Lothlórien, the political infrastructure of The Shire, and the official power ranking of the Valar!

On Thursday, we continue our journey with Chapters XIII and XIV of the Quenta Silmarillion, live on YouTube on Thursday, March 27th at 8PM Central.

Footnotes:

• The Silmarillion
• Stars And Swords on YouTube
• The Silmarillion Unit Production Schedule
• Stars And Swords on Bookshop.org

This week, we continue our discussion of The Silmarillion with Chapters XI and XII, including the creation of the sun and the moon, the securing of Valinor, and the awakening of Men. How do we understand moral philosophy in a world of eucatastrophe? How do we judge the action (and inaction) of the Valar? 

To see the video broadcast of this episode, click here; to see the slides, click here!

Next week, we continue our journey with Chapters XIII and XIV of the Quenta Silmarillion, live on YouTube on Thursday, March 27th at 8PM Central.

Footnotes:

• The Silmarillion
• Stars And Swords on YouTube
• The Silmarillion Unit Production Schedule
• Stars And Swords on Bookshop.org
• Deontological Ethics
• Immanuel Kant
• John Stuart Mill

To join me for the live YouTube broadcast, to support the podcast, to join the conversation on Discord and to get access to monthly bonus episodes, please visit Patreon.com/NextWord and pledge your support!

Stars and Swords: Footnoting Genre Fiction is a Next Word production, written and produced by Alastair Stephens. 

Copyright © 2024 Stars and Swords. All Rights Reserved.

This week, we continue our discussion of The Silmarillion with the end of Chapter IX and all of Chapter X, including the Doom of the Noldor, a quick recap of three thousand years of the elves back in Beleriand, and some cosmic renovation. Is Mandos really a Theatre Kid? What’s so special about Lúthien Tinúviel anyway? Is it time for the dwarves to reclaim the word “cumbrous”?

To see the video broadcast of this episode, click here; to see the slides, click here!

Next week, we continue our journey with Chapters XI and XII of the Quenta Silmarillion, live on YouTube on Sunday, March 16th at 2PM Central.

Footnotes:

• The Silmarillion
• Stars And Swords on YouTube
• The Silmarillion Unit Production Schedule
• Stars And Swords on Bookshop.org
• LOTRProject.com

To join me for the live YouTube broadcast, to support the podcast, to join the conversation on Discord and to get access to monthly bonus episodes, please visit Patreon.com/NextWord and pledge your support!

Stars and Swords: Footnoting Genre Fiction is a Next Word production, written and produced by Alastair Stephens. 

Copyright © 2024 Stars and Swords. All Rights Reserved.

This week, we continue our discussion of The Silmarillion with the end of Chapter VIII and all of Chapter IX, including the the darkening of Valinor, the theft of the Silmarils, and the violence and tragedy which follows. Are any of Fëanor’s decisions defensible? How do we understand acts of creation which can’t be repeated? Is Tulkas still the MVP of the Valar?

To see the video broadcast of this episode, click here; to see the slides, click here!

Next week, we continue our journey with chapters ten and eleven of the Quenta Silmarillion, live on YouTube on Sunday, March 9th at 2PM Central.

Footnotes:

• The Silmarillion
• Stars And Swords on YouTube
• The Silmarillion Unit Production Schedule
• Stars And Swords on Bookshop.org

To join me for the live YouTube broadcast, to support the podcast, to join the conversation on Discord and to get access to monthly bonus episodes, please visit Patreon.com/NextWord and pledge your support!

Stars and Swords: Footnoting Genre Fiction is a Next Word production, written and produced by Alastair Stephens. 

Copyright © 2024 Stars and Swords. All Rights Reserved.

This week, we continue our discussion of The Silmarillion with the the forging of the Silmarils, domestic discord in the House of Finwë, and the secret origins of Tolkien’s most terrifying creation. Does anyone make a good choice in Valinor? Are the Valar living up to their responsibilities? What is Ungoliant, and where does she come from?

To see the video broadcast of this episode, click here; to see the slides, click here!

Next week, we continue our journey with chapter nine of the Quenta Silmarillion, live on YouTube on Thursday, February 27th at 7PM Central.

Footnotes:

• The Silmarillion
• Stars And Swords on YouTube
• The Silmarillion Unit Production Schedule
• Star Wars Ring Theory

To join me for the live YouTube broadcast, to support the podcast, to join the conversation on Discord and to get access to monthly bonus episodes, please visit Patreon.com/NextWord and pledge your support!

Stars and Swords: Footnoting Genre Fiction is a Next Word production, written and produced by Alastair Stephens. 

Copyright © 2024 Stars and Swords. All Rights Reserved.