News Archive

-Name?
Becky

-Favourite character in LOTR?
Théoden (or Fëanor if we include the Silmarillion)

-Do you have any hobbies?
Drawing, reading, writing, RP, walking my dog, photography

-How old are you?
29

-When did you first join COE?
About 2 years ago

-Why did you join?
Initially I think it was because it was a place I could put up my Tolkien pics – and it didn’t look very intimidating compared to other Tolkien fan sites.

-Favourite bird?
Favourite bird?? Um … gyrfalcon probably

-If you could have any position at COE, which would it be?
My one 🙂

-What do you like about LOTR?
What don’t I like LOL! I love everything about it – the landscapes, the peoples – especially the elves. I love the language, the poems – especially the Rohirric ones. I love its scale – this huge world populated totally through Tolkien’s imagination.

-Have you read all the books of LOTR, including the Silmarillion?
Yup

-Favourite place in ME?
Edoras or the Grey Havens

-How much time do you spend on COE each week?
Far too much!

-What’s your favourite part of COE?
Middle-earth and the Books Forum from “my” bits. And of course my wonderful Realm of Nienna. And the Gallery – especially the Fan Art, Invited Artists and the film screencaps.

-How many entries to the encyclopedia do you receive each week?
It depends … anything from 5 to 30.

-What’s your favourite book?
The Silmarillion. Or outside Tolkien, maybe the Abhorsen series from Garth Nix – I love them!!

-What’s your favourite art medium?
To work with – pencil or ink. To look at – watercolours or ecoline.

-What inspired you to search for the facts about all the places/animals/races of ME?
I guess I just like knowing as much as possible about things. And once you start looking at a topic, you soon find you’re branching off all over the place into new and different areas of interest.

-What motivates you to keep up the encyclopedia work?
A few things – to get the already submitted entries are good as possible, and to get the encyclopedia as complete as possible. And just maybe to make sure our encyclopedia continues to be better than Encyclopedia of Arda…

Compiled by the Realm of Manwë

When I first joined this realm, I admit that I was a bit scared. I was surrounded by all of these new people that were a really close group, and I had no clue on how to fit in. Immediately though we began to bond, not just on the things we have in common, but our opposites as well. We even created little inside jokes within the first few days of me being around, and that’s what I really appreciated in the beginning, but now so much more has come to make me feel like I will be in this realm forever.

One thing about my personality is that I like to have fun, and if there isn’t fun I like to create it. I didn’t see the need to create it in the realm of Manwë because we had awesome games such as the quote game, and others. This has gotten better and better as the weeks have passed, and now we even have games to see how well we know each other. One of my favorite games right now is the Riddle Game because it makes me think, and every once in awhile I need to do that.

Games, however, was just one of the starting points. It brought us together and had us find out who we were to each other. The next step for me was getting involved in regular discussions. I found out that the more I was involved, the more I didn’t want to leave my computer. We talked about mainly the Lord of the Rings of course because that was what we all had in common.

One of the newest things in our realm is realm points, which encourages people to post more and be more active overall. The winner gets an avatar made for them and a signature picture as well.

For me the realms have been a great experience, meeting new people and making new friends. I would just like to encourage you all to join a realm. It doesn’t have to be Manwë; any realm is a good one.

by Gimli_and_Gollum

Manwë: The Chief of the Valar, Lord of the West called also Súlimo, the Elder King, Ruler of Arda

Manwë, brethren of Melkor in the thought of Ilúvatar, was the dearest of all the Ainur that came to the lands of Arda to Eru. His power is second only to that of Melkor or Morgoth as he was named by Fëanor after the taking of the Silmarils. Manwë was compassionate and wise yet he did not understand evil and he was deceived by his brother, Melkor, and so from his strength came darkness.

Manwë delights in the wind, clouds and all the regions of air. Súlimo as he is named means ‘the Lord of the Breath of Arda’. All swift birds he loves, those closest to his heart are the eagles that come and go at his bidding. His name, meaning ‘pure, blessed, unmarred’ is held with great reverence in the halls of all the races that dwell in Middle-Earth. With Manwë resides Varda Elentári in their halls above the everlasting snow in the uttermost tower of Taniquetil. When together Manwë sees further than all other eyes and Varda hears more clearly than all other ears.

When the age of the Lamps ended and Arda plunged into darkness the land beyond the sea was not forgotten by Manwë. Hawks and eagles brought word to him of nigh all that occurred in Arda; yet some things remained hidden from his eyes. Manwë has no thought for his own honour and is not jealous of his power but rules in peace. The Vanyar he loved best of all the Elves and from him they received song and poetry. His raiment is blue, as are his eyes and he has a sceptre of sapphire wrought by the Noldor. He was appointed to be vicegerent of Ilúvatar, king of the world of the Elves and Men and chief defense against the evil of Melkor. Elves believe that men are often a grief to Manwë as they resemble most of all the Ainur.

After the ending of the Great Battle, the host of the west came to the lands of Beleriand and overthrew Morgoth’s throne, the elves of the east were admitted again to the love of Manwë and the pardon of the Valar.

by astarielle

-an interview with Aowyn

How did you find CoE?
I was doing a search for FoTR pictures and ran across CoE’s gallery. The site looked more relaxed than a lot of LoTR fan sites I had visited, so I signed up.

What are your duties here at CoE?
Adding pictures to and generally caring for the Fan Art (member’s portion) and Member Galleries.

What are your favourite areas of the site?
Gallery and Discussion Forums

How often do you visit CoE?
At least once a day on average, probably more.

How many times have you read the books?
At last estimate…..about twenty times. I generally read them once a year, sometimes more.

Who is your favourite LOTR character?
Frodo. Sam is a close second.

Do you have a favourite scene from the trilogy?
When Sam refuses to let Frodo leave for Mordor on his own.

What character left out of the films do you miss most?
Prince Imrahil.

Do you know any Sindarin or Quenya?
No.

What are you looking forward most to in ROTK:EE?
The romance of Faramir and Eowyn.

Short Bio
I’ve been a member of CoE for a little over two years, in “real life” I am a high school biology teacher who enjoys gardening, reading good books, and hiking.

-an interview with Keterai

How did you find CoE?
Well, I had been looking for another place to “hang out” online for a while. So I started putting things from Lord of the Rings into google (oddly enough: “Council of Elrond” wasn’t one of them). I think at the time I was on an Elvish kick, and looking into seeing if anyone had lessons on it. Well, after about five days of searching, I found a reference link on a random board, that sent me to another random board, that sent me to yet another random board that linked me here. One of the things I really liked was getting my welcome PM (which I still have, thanks k! :)). I wasn’t sure if it was an automated thing, or if someone took the time out and sent me one, but I thought it was a very cool way to say hi and welcome, so I stuck around longer and found the gallery :). That’s pretty much what got me hooked.

What are your duties here at CoE?
I’m a moderator of the Palantir and Collectibles forums. As well as the head of Orome.

What are your favourite areas of the site?
My forums ;). I really do like discussing the new movies out and of course there’s the gallery, and multimedia section. I have a huge amount of pictures on my computer which I made into my screen saver, plus dozens of wallpapers that I randomly change whenever I get bored with the current one. I also really enjoy the humor section, there’s some really great stuff in there. But it’s really hard picking a favorite part of the site because I enjoy all of it.

How often do you visit CoE?
I’m on here a few hours a day. Not all together and not actively all at once, but I normally have a tab or two open to something on CoE….Like right now, I’ve got a tab open to the Forum and the Gallery….as well as a few other places on the web.

How many times have you read the books?
The Hobbit, a lot. It’s a great book. I first read it way back in grade school. I picked up a copy at the airport a few years ago and read it to a kid on the plane (it wasn’t a crowded plane, and the kid liked being read too. ;))

As for the Lord of the Rings, maybe five or six times. I’ve started it a lot, but other things like my studies get in the way. Last time I read the Lord of the Rings cover to cover was winter of last year, and it took me about four days.

I haven’t read the other back stories yet purely because I have a lack of time on my hands, but they are on my reading list. Since it is summer now, and I can take a break from studying all the time, maybe I can knock off a few :).

Who is your favourite LOTR character?
Tom Bombadil. I found him charming.

Do you have a favourite scene from the trilogy?
I have two favorite scenes. The first one is when Gandalf and Bilbo are sitting before the party and blowing smoke circles, and the second is the ending when Sam comes home. I think it was a terrific way to end the trilogy, it was just calm, and laid back compared to the rest of the book with it’s battles and adventure.

While the battles and special effects are pretty cool, nothing beats a calm quiet ending. It’s just so much more special when it ends on a soft note.

What character left out of the films do you miss most?
Well, Glorfindel wasn’t really left out, but he was replaced, and I can totally understand why Jackson decided to do that. But I think it would have been pretty cool to see him on the screen. For a character that was completely cut out, I would have liked to see Goldberry.

Do you know any Sindarin or Quenya?
I gave up on that a long time ago, lol. I know Suilad and Navaer. And…that’s pretty much it. I still have my workbook….I printed it out and hand bound it….but then life got the better of me and I never go to work in it.

What are you looking forward most to in ROTK:EE?
The extended scenes. I hear so much got cut out to make it short (ha!) for the theatrical release, and I really want to see how it all fits together with all the footage put back in.

Short Bio
I’m a college student studying Computer Science at a local University. I love animals and science fiction. You can normally find me online, playing the latest RTS game, or curled up with a good book. Unless it’s winter, then I’m probably trying to convince someone to go skiing with me.

-an interview with BingoTook

How did you find CoE?
I joined Council of Elrond on October 12, 2003, after the incessant badgerings of fellow Tolkien-philes michey04 and InweSilimaure that I do so.

What are your favourite areas of the site?
I’ve been seen around the RPG forums adding comic relief, and on the book discussion forums, but my true love is the humor section, which I constantly bombard with comics and song parodies.

How many times have you read the books?
I’ve been a Tolkien fan since I was a kid and first picked up The Hobbit, and I’ve read that and the trilogy on an annual basis ever since, as well as The Silmarillion.

Who is your favourite LOTR character?
As for a favorite character…well, who don’t I like, besides Denethor? I’m an especial fan of Smeagol, Faramir, Frodo, Eomer, Boromir, Eowyn, Pippin, and the orcs, collectively.

Do you have a favourite scene from the trilogy?
My favorite scenes are Smeagol and Sam’s “sneaking” conversation on the steps of Cirith Ungol, and Pippin’s meeting Bergil, son of Beregond, at Minas Tirith.

What character left out of the films do you miss most?
It breaks my heart that Beregond and Bergil were left out of the films, along with Glorfindel and Tom Bombadil (I mean, come on! The guy sings to trees!)

Do you know any Sindarin or Quenya?
I can’t speak Elvish to save my life, but I AM fluent in Dwarven runes!

What are you looking forward most to in ROTK:EE?
What I’m looking forward to most in RotK:EE is the houses of the healing, and the Faramir/Eowyn romance, one of my favorite moments from the book.

Short Bio
Bingo is a freshman at the University of Arizona, in the honors program at the School of Fine Arts, majoring in studio art. The career goal is to be a full-time cartoonist. (Want to see stuff? Look here.) Bingo loves all kinds of movies, music, literature, and food.

-Name?
My name is Matt in real life, but CoE is my escape from real life so you may call me GaG.

-Favourite character in LOTR?
My favorite character would definitely be Gimli, I can’t see why so many people dislike him. Yeah, the girls don’t like him because of the fangirl type, but a lot of people say they don’t like the movies because of that so I’m puzzled.

-Do you have any hobbies?
Indeed I do have hobbies. CoE is one of course. I also enjoy playing tennis and making websites of my own. What I really like doing is doing graphic art of some kind, though I’m very new to it still.

-How old are you?
I am 15, yes, that means I get my permit soon!

-When did you first join COE?
That’s a tough one. It says I registered 8/14/03, so I’ll say that.

-Why did you join?
I was a fan of Lord of the Rings of course, and this was the best site that I found. I first found the gallery, but never thought about joining because I didn’t need to join for pictures. Then I started lurking around for a long time, mainly in the humor section and reading the news. One day I was bored however and began snooping around and found the forum and I was stuck here until now, and hopefully for much longer.

-Favourite bird?
I like the bald eagle or the loon. They both look amazing, the eagles in the sky and the loons on the lake.

-If you could have any position at COE, which would it be?
I’d love to be the themes admin, but I don’t think I’m qualified enough so I didn’t bother applying. One day though if there is an opening I might.

-What do you like about LOTR?
I like basically all of it. The story is so amazing overall. I guess one thing that makes me like it is the scenery. It makes it seem like this place is real, which draws me in so much closer. The character personalities also help, because in most characters you can see a trait that you have, or would like to have.

-What’s your favorite place in ME?
I would have to say my favorite place is the Shire. It seems like a very happy place to be, and who wouldn’t want to be in a happy place? I am also quite short for my age so I feel like I could fit in.

-What’s your favourite part of the realm of Manwë?
The members, definitely the members. I feel like each realm is the same in a way, you can do the same games, have the same contests, but what really makes a realm different from another are the members. We all know each other very well, and we accept new people very easily. I love the fact that we are very random at times, yet we all still understand each other and are always having a blast.

-What are some of the activities the realm is currently taking part in?
Well, the most obvious is helping out with the Council Courier. Another thing we are doing is working on the Council of Entwives. We are in charge of the Link section there. We are also about to begin an art contest for our mascot, Eonwe Eagle. We came up with the idea because Eonwe was one of the Maiar and was a messenger of Manwë.

-Why are Gimli and Gollum your favourite characters? Which is your least favourite of the two?
Gimli is one of my favorite characters because of his differences from everyone else. He looks a lot different from everyone in the story, and uses a unique weapon as well. I guess I like people being different in a way. Gollum is another favorite because he’s Gollum! It’s just that odd personality of evil and good at the same time that I like. I would have to say that Gimli is for sure my favorite of the two of them just because I feel like I can relate to him more. (No, I don’t have a red beard.)

-What are your goals for the future of the realm of Manwë?
My goals are to keep the members of this realm happy. If people don’t enjoy what we do in this realm then I don’t see why they would join it. Overall I just want people to have fun and have a nice escape from the real world.

by the Realm of Manwë

To celebrate the success of the video release of Return of the King , there’s a prize draw at Sir Ian McKellen’s official site. The prize is a copy of the Return of the King book signed by Sir Ian.

The closing date for the draw is 31st July.

The latest updates at EA’s official site are some new wallpapers and a downloadable fan site kit!

One section of this wonderful site that you may not know about is the Council of Elrond store. It is one of the best ways you can support the site because some of the money you use goes toward CoE, and your item that you buy can spread the word about the Council of Elrond around to get more members.

I suppose you’re wondering why you would want a plain boring shirt saying Council of Elrond on it, but the truth is that they are not plain and boring shirts, and it’s not just shirts! Some of the items have clever sayings, such as “My other ears are leaf shaped”. They also have pictures depicting the four hobbits, and hobbit feet.

So what else is there besides t-shirts? A lot is the answer to that. They have sweat shirts, tank tops, even clothes for toddlers. If clothes are not for you, you can also support CoE by buying a bumper sticker, a coffee mug, or even a clock. One of my personal favorites is the mouse pad. They also have a teddy bear that would make a great gift.

As an extra bonus, you can also get 5 CoE user points for purchasing an item there. Those points could add up fast. All you need is a proof of receipt. You may contact Parmadur for more details on getting points.

You can still contribute to this section even if you don’t want to buy something. All you have to do is make a design for the products and submit it to Rivka. This is the chance for all of our artists to help out the Council of Elrond.

This site is one of the best, if not the best Lord of the Rings site around. I easily see this section as an awesome way to help out this great community.

by Gimli_and_Gollum