News Archive

For a chance to win a copy of The Rough Guide to The Lord of the Rings enter the competition at BBC Somerset.

The closing date is the 6th September.

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was born on January 3, 1892, in Bloemfontein, South Africa. The oldest son of Arthur Reuel Tolkien and Mabel Suffield, he was known as Ronald, and loved trees and nature. When he was four, his mother, younger brother Hilary, and he went on a trip to visit relatives in England, leaving his father in Africa. Arthur promised to join them soon, after an emergency at the bank he worked at was dealt with. But on February 15, 1896, Mabel received notification the Arthur had suffered a haemorrhage and died.

The family then moved from place to place around the West Midlands region of England, because Mabel was trying to support her family, and problems seemed to arouse wherever they tried to settle down. Mabel, along with her sons and her sister May, converted to Catholicism in England, for Mabel felt more in tune with the Catholic religion than any other. From then on, Ronald and Hilary were raised Pio Nono and remained devout Catholics for the rest of their lives. Sadly, Mabel’s conversion estranged her from the rest of her family, even causing one uncle to cut off monetary support, but this did in no way sway her decision.

Tolkien was sent to King Edward’s School, where he mainly studied languages. He loved the older languages, like Anglo-Saxon, Middle English, and Medieval and Modern Welsh. During his last years at the school, he started creating his own languages, based on Finnish and Welsh. He had also made a number of close friends at King Edward’s; in his later years at school they met regularly after school hours as the T.C.B.S. (Tea Club, Barrovian Society) and they continued to correspond closely and criticise each other’s writing until 1916 for during the war, all but one of his close friends of the T.C.B.S. was killed in action.

Sadly, Mabel Suffield never lived to see her sons leave school. She was diagnosed with diabetes and died in a diabetic coma on October 15, 1904. Hilary and he had to live with a family friend, Father Francis Morgan, for a time.

During the time he was in Father Francis’ care, Ronald met and fell in love with Edith Bratt, a girl three years his senior. But when Father Francis found out about his relationship, he forbade the boy to contact Edith until he was 21.

At 21, Tolkien had entered Exeter College, part of Oxford University, on his second try and was completing his studies in linguistics. He eagerly wrote to Edith, expressing his love and how he wished to marry her. But he had to fight to win her back, for when they had not spoken for three years, she had thought he didn’t love her, and had started a relationship with another man. But finally, Ronald and Edith were married on March 22, 1916. He was then enlisted in the army and had to serve in World War 1, much to the grief of Edith. During his time in the field, Tolkien contracted trench fever and had to be sent home, never to fight again, although he did later train recruits. It was in the hospital, while he was recovering, that he started writing what would become an entire mythology. This organising of his mind developed into the Book of Lost Tales (sadly not published in his lifetime), in which most of the major stories of the Silmarillion appeared for the first time.

Tolkien became a Reader of English Language at the University of Leeds in 1920. At Leeds, along with teaching, he collaborated with E.V. Gordon on the famous edition of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. In addition, he and Gordon founded a “Viking Club” for undergraduates devoted mainly to reading Old Norse sagas and drinking beer. It was for this club that he and Gordon originally wrote their Songs for the Philologists, a mixture of traditional songs and original verses translated into Old English, Old Norse and Gothic to fit traditional English tunes. Leeds also saw the birth of two more sons: Michael Hilary Reuel in October 1920 and Christopher Reuel in 1924. The couple’s first son, John Francis Reuel (later Father John Tolkien) had already been born on November 16, 1917. Then in 1925, the position of Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford fell vacant and Tolkien successfully applied for the post.

Edith bore their last child and only daughter, Priscilla, in 1929. In having to tell bedtime stories to all four of his children, Tolkien became incredibly good at writing children’s stories, and harnessed that ability in writing his famous story, ‘The Hobbit’.

Forming a literary club called The Inklings with his friend C.S. Lewis, he started focusing on writing his masterpieces. ‘The Hobbit’ was published in 1973 and was an instant success, though some of his fellows at Oxford denounced it and his following fantasy works. He followed up with ‘The Lord of the Rings’ in 1954-55. These works grew to cult book status, and were met with huge praise, even becoming Oscar winning movies.

John Ronald retired from Oxford in 1969 and he and Edith settled in Bournemouth. Edith died on November 21, 1971. After her death, Ronald moved out of their house into rooms provided by Merton College, another part of Oxford University.

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien died on September 2, 1973, and he and Edith were buried together in a joint grave. His final book, ‘The Silmarillion’, was published four years after his death. The inscriptions on Edith’s and John’s tombstone’s read:

Edith Mary Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien
Lúthien Beren
1889-1971 1892-1973

by ~aear_fëa~

Alone in her mighty halls beyond the West.
Tall windows primed with silver glass look outward from the world’s ongoing quest.
Lit by a single black coal is her home.
The souls of Men are sent on your black ship, Mornie, wherever it may roam.
Into your brother’s Halls of Waiting you wander countless days,
Giving counsel to the many with troubled ways.
Lamentation is the song she has woven into the premise of this world.
It brought strength and spirit as it delightfully unfurled.
Your innocent reflection is mirrored by the tranquil pool of sorrow you have wept.
The painful tears of others you turn to keen wisdom they have dearly kept.
Never overwhelmed by sadness, only turning it into comfort and hope.
If only you could see the pity she has for you when she casts back her gray cloak.
Of you Olórin owes much of his intelligence.
As he was sent to Middle-earth and is renowned for his brilliance.
The suffering of those you cry for in sorrow,
know of your power and restored happiness you bestow.
Her glimmering tears like moonlit starts trickle down her porcelain face,
beneath the midnight sky you walk in gardens full of grace.
Alas! By your gentle tears, Nienna, look how the trees blossom anew.
Bringing forth the dawn of Men, this much is true.

a poem by GreenEyedElf

Totalvideogames.com has a new detailed review about the Battle for Middle-earth. The review includes quotes from Mark Skaggs, executive producer of the game.

“The shadow passes, washed away by our tears.”

When I joined the Realm, we had about 50 members, now there is nearer 250. And for that I take no credit. The credit must go to all the realm members, and especially all those who have been realm leaders, for making the Realm such a warm and friendly place to be. It is a community, a true community in a way I actually thought was pretty impossible on the web. It’s a place we run to when upset, a place we want to be to when we’re happy, when we have something to celebrate.

What can I say about how wonderful the Realm of Nienna without sounding over the top, or totally smug? And what can I say about its members without either sounding utterly trite, unemotional, or far too emotional?

Maybe I can give a flavour of the Realm by talking about some of the things we do there that make it the place we know and love.

Nienna is the Lady of Sorrow and Pity, and I suspect that when most people think of Nienna, they think of tears. Tears are necessary, they provide us with relief, absolution – and the first step to healing is the acknowledgement of the problem. And we bring our problems to the Realm, and we bring problems we see in the world in the Realm.

One of our threads is there for people to bring attention to any issue they wish, whether large or small. It’s a hard read, very hard on occasions – especially when animal cruelty is involved – but we have to acknowledge these things before we can work on trying to make it better. How many people walk past problems not seeing them? Or trying not to see them?

How can hope be gained if we don’t see the pain? Don’t see the problems all around us? That is what this thread is about. And to share pain. Sometimes something can be so awful that people need a place to share it, a place where they can feel they have brought people’s attention to it.

But Nienna is about more than pain. She teaches us that we should learn from mistakes, whether our own or those of others. And not just learn, but do something about correcting the mistakes. This we also try and do, in many different ways. Nienna was one of the realms deeply involved in the creation of the Council of Entwives, for so many of us care deeply for the environment. Within the realm, we try and offer advice and help for others – on any subject people need. And if we can’t help, we at least have a “In need of a hug” thread, where each post tends to contain at least 10 hug smilies.

To counteract the deeper and more personal threads, we have a big games sub-forum, with the infamous Purple Duck Pub and its attendant spin-off threads. We understand the significance of Galadriel’s make-overs, Balrog, green tinsel, Jock Parrot, what underwear Boromir wears, and exactly how bad Théoden’s poetry is. We write sentences showcasing especially stupid sibilant sounds or wonder about whether we would save a dwarf from a pack of orcs, or an orc from a pack of dwarves (the overwhelming consensus was saving the orc).

Maybe that in some way will give you an idea of the Realm. But what we write, the games we play, is nothing compared to the way so many people in the realm have become good friends, the way we all feel we’ve come home when we come into the realm forum.

Special thanks for making the Realm what it is today should go to all the people who have been realm leaders now, or in the past:
Nienna-of-the-Valar, Annúnagar, Foshpickle~Greenleaf, Bronwynn, Rosearialelven
And also to WitchQueenofAngmar – Nienna’s original Realm Head!

by atalante_star

Middle-earth is the section of Elrond’s Library where longer and more in-depth articles about Tolkien’s world are found. The main categories, with some sample articles, are shown below:

-Dwarves: History and Heroes – Introduction to Dwarven History, History of Durin’s Folk
-Dwelling Places of Arda – Imladris, Gondolin
-Elvish Cultures and Traditions – Naming of the Noldor
-Elvish Races and Dynasties – The Noldor, The Vanyar, The Nandor and Laiquendi
-Evil in Middle-earth – The One Ring, Melkor, Balrogs
-Family Trees – The Noldor, Kings of the Mark, The Baggins Family, Kings of Númenor, House of Bëor – significant names link through to the encyclopedia
-Hobbit History and Heroes – Pippin, The Brandybucks and Buckland
-Mortal Races of Middle-earth – The History of the Numenoreans, The History of the Rohirrim, The Houses of the Edain
-Noted Elves – Fëanor, Eöl, Galadriel, Elrond, Celeborn, Lúthien
-Noted Men and Women – Théoden, Aragorn, Beren, Helm Hammerhand
-The Maiar – Saruman, Gandalf, Radagast, Eönwë, Melian, Ossë
-The Natural World – Stars of Middle-earth, The Two Trees and their Heritage
-The Valar – Manwë, Ulmo, Aulë, Nienna, Yavanna, Varda
-Timelines – Second Age, Third Age, Fourth Age – significant names link through to the encyclopedia
-Wars and Battles of Middle-earth – Nirnaeth Arnoediad, Dagor Bragollach, War of the Last Alliance, Fall of Gondolin

Submissions procedure

We welcome any in-depth articles on any aspect of Arda – whether it fits in the above categories or not! New categories keep appearing all the time …

There is a submissions page here.

We need your help!

We want to give the Middle-earth section a new name. Since it was given in present name early in CoE history, the section has expanded beyond just Middle-earth, into Aman, and even the skies of Arda. We want to find something that will better reflect that – and also reflect the fact it contains in-depth articles about Tolkien’s world.

If you have any ideas, please PM them to atalante_star. If someone submits a name that the staff really likes, we’ll use that to rename the section and wave a few user points around as well.

by atalante_star

Decipher has a new article about the making of the WETA book cards. The article has information about the concepts and photo shoot.The cards featured include; Anárion, Tom Bombadil and Glorfindel.

Even now, after all three Theatrical Releases have made their rounds through theaters across the world, the Movies Forum remains one of the most popular forums on Council of Elrond.

The Movies Forum is used for the discussion of everything pertaining to the New Line Cinema productions of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings. Within the forum, you can find many different topics ranging from members wondering why Legolas might be likened to a ‘Captain Obvious’, to the great series of topics started by our very own Figwit called: ‘Sequence by Sequence’, where there is discussion about each and every scene of the movies, from the very beginning of The Fellowship of the Ring to the last scene in The Return of the King.

Upon entering the forum, your first stop will likely be the threads that are topped on the page. Those threads include one that is full of links to all the most popular threads in the Movies Forum, as well as the forum rules and our ever popular ‘Things That Bug Me’ threads which go into great detail about all the parts of both The Two Towers and The Return of the King that bugged our members or were mistakes in the movies.

Also topped you can find a thread that links to downloads of songs from the movie soundtracks as well as a thread were you can be a movie critic for a day, and put up your very own review of The Return of the King.

With the impending release of, what we believe at this time will be, the final DVD for the series, The Return of the King Extended Edition, we are expecting the traffic in the Movie Forum to pick up. If you are looking for the inside scoop on anything pertaining to the RotK EE, check out the Movies Forum where our members come to post updates that they have found.

All in all the Movies Forum is a great place to go and discuss our favorite movies! If you have any questions or suggestions about how to make the forum better, please feel free to contact woodstar, Nienna-of-the-Valar, or Mara! Come visit us and jump into an already posted thread or start one of your own!

by Nienna-of-the-Valar

1) How did you find CoE, and what drew you to it?

Ringhilwen: Oh, it’s probably a long, torturous tale…full of suspense…and intrigue! Intrigue and suspense!
Trignifty: …All I did was run through a search engine. And the little ‘join our site!’ thing was taunting me. Man, I wanna trade.
Ringhilwen: at least you remember….I think I typed in the wrong link or something, and ended up on CoE. I like it here, even if people are trying to get rid of me.
Trignifty: Wrong link? You were looking for a bad site, weren’t you? *shifts eyes*
Ringhilwen: Er….possibly.

2) How long have you been a member?

Ringhilwen: Let me check….almost 2 years now. I feel old. I’m like, the First Age of CoE
Trignifty: Almost two years, are you serious?
Ringhilwen: I joined in August 2002, I think.
Trignifty: Crap, that means I’ve been here over two years.
Ringhilwen: If I’m old…you’re ANCIENT.
Trignifty: SHADDAP!!!
Ringhilwen: You’re like, the old spinster of CoE.

3) How much time do you spend on CoE on a daily basis?

Trignifty: Hah….lately?
Ringhilwen: Yeah, lately…or maybe an average over the last year
Trignifty: Average….probably an hour. Maybe more. I stopped moderating forums so it took a chunk of time out.
Ringhilwen: I probably spend a couple hours a day. I’m not saying I “work” that entire time, of course.
Trignifty: Might as well say that, score some points with Riv.

4) What are your responsibilities as a humor admin?

Ringhilwen: Is this a trick question?
Trignifty: Responsibility……
Ringhilwen: We oversee Captions, format and upload parodies, write parodies, validate Karaoke songs and Haldir’s Pretty Pictures, think up new ideas for the section, and have fun…..I think. At least, that’s what my “Guide to being a Humor Admin” says.
Trignifty: Anything that you think is funny, we did. Anything that you don’t think is funny…it was all Veaglarwen’s fault.
Ringhilwen: Yeah. We take no responsibility for unfunny things.

5) What do you like about your “job” on CoE?

Trignifty: I get to act like an immature little girl who thinks she’s very funny. And people don’t mind. Not that I’d act any differently anyways.
Ringhilwen: I like being able to write funny things for other people’s entertainment, and force them to read it. I also like all the health benefits.

6) If there was no humor to look after, what other part of the site would you like to oversee?

Ringhilwen: *gasp!* No Humor?!
Trignifty: I suspect I’d still be doing Games and Ringer over there would be on Multimedia…like she is now. And we might have kept doing Newsletter. We gave up a bit to do Humor.
Ringhilwen: I liked doing the Newsletter….but we had to give it up to do Humor. But yeah, I’d still be doing Multimedia, though I’d like to give Themes a shot. Either that or I’d become a CoE-bum, and file for unemployment benefits.
Trignifty: I’d try to get Rivka to invent the position ‘CoE SlaveDriver.’ I think I’d be good at that.
Ringhilwen: Oooh, you would be!
Trignifty: I know. I might even get to hit people. Over the computer. Play some Devo, it’d be great.
Ringhilwen: Whip it good!
Trignifty: Fo sho.

7) Other than the humor section, where do you spend a lot of your time at CoE?

Trignifty: I don’t, really.
Ringhilwen: Well, I’m still a slave to the Multimedia section…
Trignifty: I slavedrive Ringer and BingoTook. It takes a lot of my time.
Ringhilwen: and we love you for it. In reality though, Trigs and I created the majority of the Humor Section last March. It’s been our primary focus since then. It’s like our CoE love child!

8) What’s your favorite Tolkien book and why?

Ringhilwen: Silmarillion. Elves Elves Elves! But I also love “Farmer Giles of Ham”, Tolkien’s “Anti-Heroic” story. It’s fantastic and fun. Plus, Chrysophylax Dives, the name of the story’s dragon, is the coolest name Tolkien ever came up with.
Trignifty: Tolkien…who’s he again?
Ringhilwen: Er, J.R.R. Tolkien….the guy who wrote the books Peter Jackson made movies out of?
Trignifty: ….Peter Jackson….nope, not ringing a bell.
Ringhilwen: The movie where Haldir died? And where Celeborn got like *no* lines? You must remember…
Trignifty: Wait…this isn’t a Harry Potter site?! I knew that elf was too pretty to be related to Dobby…
Ringhilwen: Um….perhaps we should skip the rest of this question then?
Trignifty: Does that mean there’s no Anakin either?

9) What’s your favorite non-Tolkien book?

Trignifty: Oh that’s a dangerous question. And for anyone who cared, my favorite Tolkien book is the Hobbit.
Ringhilwen: Your fans will be pleased that you answered.
Trignifty: I should hope so. And I can’t pick just one favorite book. It depends on my mood, you know? Sometimes I like a little Catcher in the Rye. Some days I like a little Oliver Twist or the short stories of James Joyce. Just a dangerous question overall. I suppose my favorite works of literature could be summed into Shakespeare’s Hamlet, and Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey.
Ringhilwen: I think I’ve read “The Mists Of Avalon” like five times….so that’s one of my favorites. I love reading Beowulf (I learned Old English), and Greek epics also, like The Iliad.
Trignifty: Aw we have so much in common…
Ringhilwen: yeah, we’re so compatible. It’s weird that we were sceptical of each other way back when.
Trignifty: Yeah. It really is. But then you factor in that I have about 30 complexes and it’s not so weird.

10) What’s the funniest thing you’ve ever seen at CoE?

Trignifty: Anything I’ve written. Actually…not entirely untrue.
Ringhilwen: Ehem. Anything *we’ve* written. Actually, you’re funnier.
Trignifty: After I wrote the Gollum for Governor article and the site got overloaded with hits. The staff was going crazy, it was cool. Hilarious, too. Because everyone was all ‘THEY LINKED TO THE ARTICLE’ and I’m all ‘What article?’ and they say ‘YOURS’ and I said ‘oh. ooooooooh……’
Ringhilwen: That “Which Overworked CoE Staff member are you?” quiz that you made was pretty darn funny too. Actually, if you all want to read something HILARIOUS, check out the item descriptions in the CoE Store for all the action figures. Parmadur and Rivka wrote them, and they’re hilarious. Almost as hilarious as anything Trigs and I write.

11) What’s the funniest quote you’ve ever seen/heard?

Ringhilwen: Quotes! “What’s this? Another sock? For your whole body?”
Trignifty Oh don’t get us started. Please. Just don’t.
Ringhilwen: “Oh?……..Oh!”
Trignifty: Too late. “You’ve the brains of a butterfly! You were floating!”
Ringhilwen: “Is that sufficiently high for you to break your neck, little squirrel?”
Trignifty: And actually..if you’d like the honest funniest quote I’ve ever heard, it would be “Tell me this, right: why would I shoot a bloke, bang, then put him in the bloody car and whizz him off to the bloody hospital at a hundred miles an hour? I-It defeats the purpose of having shot him in the first place.” which is from the film Chopper.
Ringhilwen: Heh. Also very funny. “To hell with the bloody mantra! MINE!” and ““Put the teapot down, Legolas, before you spill it and scald one of us.” You really shouldn’t get us started.
Trignifty: We make quotes for a living on this site…I mean…just don’t do it.

12) Do you prefer cats or dogs?

Ringhilwen: Cats.
Trignifty: Dogs.
Ringhilwen: I guess we have to be different sometimes.
Trignifty: Yes we do. Together we love them all.

13) What’s your favorite season and why?

Trignifty: Winter. Cause it’s cold. I live in California, we cherish the cold. And it gets rainy, and I love rainy too.
Ringhilwen: I love fall because of the trees, and winter because of the snow. Straight up East Coast…. Er…in the future, remind me to leave all “ghetto phrases” to you.
Trignifty: Word.

14) What’s your favorite color?

Trignifty: Black. Which is theoretically the absence of light or the presence of all colors.
Ringhilwen: Black..and I just like it because I look really good in black
Trignifty: I look good in black too, actually.
Ringhilwen: But I’m partial to pink too.

15) You pull yourself up onto the sand of a deserted island. Turning back, you watch the ship go down. What three items did you manage to bring with you?

Ringhilwen: Orlando Bloom, Eric Bana, and a pitcher of margaritas
Trignifty: You don’t get Bana, woman.
Ringhilwen: fine. You can bring him. As long as we’re on the same island.
Trignifty: Oh that ruins my answer, I was gonna be cute and say I’d bring Eric Bana, Orlando Bloom and Ringer
Ringhilwen: So, Orlando Bloom, the margaritas, and Trigs.
Ringhilwen: well, you can bring snackfoods and I’ll bring Orlando.
Trignifty: Alright, I’ll bring snackfoods. Take Bloom.
Ringhilwen: Whoo hoo!

16) You have arranged a night out with your best friend, who hasn’t been out for ages. However, you get an invite to a Celebrity Dinner with your favorite actor, but it’s only for one. What would you do?

Trignifty: I call my best friend up, who would probably be Ringer, and I’d say ‘Ringer…I can go out with you tonight, or I can go out with Eric Bana. Which should I do?’ and she’d probably kill me if I didn’t go.
Ringhilwen: I would kill you. And I’m sure, since you’re like my best friend, that you’d understand. Plus, you’d know that I’d invite you to any after-parties.
Trignifty: Oh of course. And we could go out the next night. But if it was like ‘Celebrity Dinner with Brad Pitt’…I’d just let Ringer go in my place
Ringhilwen: Why thanks. And if it was, um, Gale? Then I’d let you go in my place.
Trignifty: Ooooh..Gale Harold…
Ringhilwen: or Sean Bean. I’d let you go then, too.
Ringhilwen: Cause then you’d OWE me.
Trignifty: SEAN BEAN!!!
Trignifty: Oh dude, my first born would be named Maverick.
Trignifty That’s how bad I’d owe you
Ringhilwen: omg, I’d love you forever.
Ringhilwen: but yeah, that would be about right…

17) If you could have any type of pet, what would it be?

Ringhilwen: Does Legolas count as a pet?
Trignifty: I’d have a pet Orlando Bloom
Trignifty: I could sell him for big bucks.
Ringhilwen: Yeah…sell him to me!
Trignifty: Actually, if I could have any type of pet, I’d probably like a pet tiger or shark.
Trignifty: Maybe a tiger shark.
Ringhilwen: Not a hammerhead like Eric Bana plays in Finding Nemo?
Trignifty: Nah. Too stalker-ish.
Ringhilwen: Good point. I think I’d maybe want a squirrel. I like squirrels.
Ringhilwen: A trained squirrel though, so it would sit on my shoulder and stuff.
Trignifty: *cough* and steal stuff…

18) What would your perfect evening out be like?

Trignifty: A perfect evening out…good conversation. The rest is just add-ons.
Ringhilwen: Mine’s simple too….I’ve had great nights out that only involve car rides to random places, as long as I’m with someone I can really talk to.
Ringhilwen: If the other person *happens* to look like Orlando Bloom and talk like Celeborn, well, that’s just a bonus, huh?

19) What is your lifelong ambition?

Ringhilwen: It’s like, I want to answer seriously, but I can’t….Perhaps, to fill the world with glitter?
Trignifty: To be happy.
Ringhilwen: I would say to make other people laugh…..that would make me happy.
Trignifty: I’d love to say that ‘to be happy’ is a simple goal in life…but it’s so complex when you actually think about what it takes to be happy. And I want to find that.
Ringhilwen: It’s not simple, but I’d like to think that our job allows us to bring a little bit of laughter and happiness to others….

20) Silmarillion? Brilliant or boring?

Ringhilwen: Almost as brilliant as me. Actually….more brilliant.
Trignifty: Proof indeed that obsessions are not necessarily bad, nor are overactive imaginations. So I’d call it brilliant.

21) Eomer or Legolas?

Trignifty: I wouldn’t dare try to take Eomer for fear that Ringer would kill me. And Legolas is just…too much. I’d want to thwack him upside the head every few moments.
Ringhilwen: Yeah, again I would kill you. Or, at least teach you a lesson. I have much love for both characters. I think Trig would prefer, perhaps, Boromir and Celeborn? Or maybe, Boromir and The Lt. of Barad-dur?
Trignifty: Ooooooh……Can I have all three, cause…yeah.
Ringhilwen: sure, i see no problem with that.

22) Who would you save first? A dwarf running away from a pack of marauding orcs or an orc running away from a pack of marauding dwarves?

Trignifty: The orc. Oh definitely the orc.
Ringhilwen: Save the Orcs!

23) Would you rather date Grima or Lurtz?

Ringhilwen: I plead the fifth? Can I do that?
Trignifty: Grima. I think underneath he’s a good guy.
Ringhilwen: but his complexion needs serious help
Trignifty: Yes, well. Maybe he’ll wash up on the island.
Ringhilwen: He ought to try Neutrogena…or ProActiv, or something!
Ringhilwen: yeah, he could do with a tan as well. He’s better than Lurtz though.

24) Would you rather be immortal and happy in the undying lands, or be mortal in Middle-earth?

Trignifty: Mortal. I don’t want to live forever; the thought of it terrifies me. And no one wants me to live forever. So all in all, it’s a good tradeoff.
Ringhilwen: If I was an elf, and was with a bunch of other elves, I’d choose to be immortal and eventually live in the Undying Lands. I wouldn’t want to be there forever though – I’d want to have spent some time on Middle-earth experiencing life.

25) You’re a psychoanalyst in Middle-Earth. Who would you rather have on your couch – Fëanor, Melkor, Denethor, or Grima?

Ringhilwen: Totally Fëanor. I love that elf. He did so much and chose his own art over the future of his people. I’d love to get into his head and see his motivations. To me, he’s the most complex character Tolkien ever wrote. Though, I’d probably end up on the couch with him. I think Fëanor’s got more complexes that you, Trigs.
Trignifty: If I’m a psychoanalyst, we’ve got big problems. I’d like to have Grima on my couch. There’s so many complexities to him for me to sift through. And I wanna know what that tear was all about.
Ringhilwen: Ah yes, the infamous tear. But you’re right….if either of us ended up as psychoanalysts, there’s something wrong with the world.
Trignifty: Granted if fictional characters are our studies, something’s already wrong.

compiled by the Realm of Nienna

The Witch-King of Angmar is the Lord of the Nazgûl, leader of the Black Riders. (Those would be the guys dressed in black sheets shrieking loudly at everything and nothing.) He is a very powerful wizard, former King who fell for Sauron’s trick with the Rings of Power and is now in his service. On Weathertop, he stabs Frodo to try and take the Ring, but fails. We see him again in ‘The Return of the King’, where he leads the forces of Mordor in an attack on Gondor. It is said that ‘No living man can kill him’, but he is slain in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields by Éowyn, aided by Merry.

The theatrical trailer of ROTK had some shots of a confrontation between Gandalf and the Witch-King, so if you’re a fan of this guy, you still have something to look forward to!

by Figwit