Tolkien fandom
Tolkien fandom is an international, informal community of
A Tolkienist is someone who studies the work of
History
Tolkien's The Hobbit, a children's book, was first published in 1937, and it proved popular. But The Lord of the Rings, first published in three volumes in 1954 and 1955, gave rise to fandom as a cultural phenomenon from the 1960s onwards.[5][6]
1950s
Tolkien fandom began within
1960s America
Foster attributes the surge of Tolkien fandom in the United States of the mid-1960s to a combination of the
1970s to 1980s
Isaac Asimov, who had read The Lord of the Rings three times by Tolkien's death in September 1973, wrote a Black Widowers short story as tribute to the fellow author. "Nothing Like Murder" (1974) mentions college students forming Tolkien societies at Columbia and elsewhere.[15]
Interest in The Lord of the Rings led to several attempts to adapt it for the film medium, most of which were largely unsuccessful. Filmmaker
1990s
The 1990s saw the conclusion of The History of Middle-earth series. A series of minor texts by Tolkien were edited in journals such as
2000s
Tolkien fandom changed in character with the release of
A "Tolkien Reading Day", held annually on 25 March, an anniversary of the fall of
Online
Tolkien discussion took place in many newsgroups from the earliest days of
Notable points of contention in online discussions surround the origin of
TheOneRing.net (or TORn)
One of the most prominent fansites of Jackson's movies is TheOneRing.net, which was popular even with the cast and crew of the film. TORn, as it is called, was originally a small movie-news site that gained in prestige as movie-rumors became reality. The filmmakers put special effort into winning over the fans, not simply tolerating but actually actively supporting fansites for Ringers. The site was founded in 1999 by a group of Tolkien fans eager for the upcoming The Lord of the Rings film trilogy who were gathering information about the film. In 1998, Michael 'Xoanon' Regina and Erica 'Tehanu' Challis started a website using all of the information they could get related to the filming of The Lord of the Rings, including exclusive "spy" reports from Tehanu's visit to the New Zealand set. This activity first got her escorted off the set, and then invited back on to take an official look around and meet director Peter Jackson. In early 1999, a designer by the username of Calisuri came across the site and asked if they needed some design and technical help to grow the site and make it a central web location for other Tolkien fans. Calisuri's friend Corvar, who he was acquainted with from the Nightmare LPMud, was brought aboard to provide server and business help. Xoanon, Tehanu, Calisuri and Corvar then formed The One Ring, Inc. and are the sole owners/founders of TheOneRing.net.[23]
The site is unique in that there was a mutual working relationship between the crew of TheOneRing.net and that of The Lord of the Rings films, and later The Hobbit films. This relationship enabled the site to bring its readers exclusive news from the set, as when Peter Jackson emailed TheOneRing.net in an effort to get his side heard when a lawsuit threatened his chance to film The Hobbit.[24]
Events
Like other fan sites, members gather in small groups called moots, form personal friendships (even marriages), hold extended online discussions with archives, and so on. In 2003 Cold Spring Press released TORn's book The People's Guide to J.R.R. Tolkien. Written by five major contributors to TheOneRing.net, it includes essays ranging from a spirited defense of fantasy as a genre, discussions of Tolkien's views of good and evil, an examination of
Other sites
TheOneRing.com (TORc), "The Home of Tolkien Online" is a Tolkien fan site that positions itself as catering more to the fans of Tolkien's literary works rather than Jackson's films. It was founded by Jonathan Watson, Ted Tschopp and David Mullich in April 1999. As of 2022, Watson has continued to run the website.[32] The site was consulted by the Tolkien scholar Kris Swank for details of the etymology of the word lintips, which Tolkien used in his 1965 poem "Once Upon a Time".[33]
The Encyclopedia of Arda provides a detailed online reference to Middle-earth, mirrored at GlyphWeb.[34]
A fan edit of the theatrical cut of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers exists, called The Two Towers: The Purist Edit.[35] Most of the changes in 2007 were incorporated into The Lord of the Rings – The Purist Edition, a fan edit which turns the entire trilogy into an eight-hour film without most of the changes.[35][36]
Tolkienology
Tolkienology is a term used by fans to describe the study of the works of
- writing systems, the most known being the Tengwar, and possible reconstruction for everyday use, including by the Elvish Linguistic Fellowship.
- debate on the "true" nature of balrogsetc. and debate on the "real" motivations of characters in the stories
- Genealogies of Hobbit families and kings
- The accuracy of Tolkien's calendars and how can they be used today
- Reconstruction of history (of Elven kingdoms, Arnor and Rohanor the more unknown lands)
- .
- Possible census of population about each race.
- Astronomic descriptions in the books (moon phases, positions of stars), and what can be inferred about Middle-earth geography from them.
- Strategies of wars and battles, if they were right and what alternatives might have been
- Possible folkloric impressions Hobbits had about places of the Shireand other whereabouts, determined by translating placenames.
Fandom and Tolkienian linguistics
The studies of Tolkien's
By region
Dedicated Tolkien Societies provide platforms for a combination of fandom and academic literary study in several countries.
United States
The first recorded organized Tolkien fan group was "The Fellowship of the Ring", founded by
The
United Kingdom
German-speaking Europe
The German translation of The Hobbit appeared in 1957 (translated by Walter Scherf), and that of The Lord of the Rings in 1972 (translated by Margaret Carroux and Ebba-Margareta von Freymann).
The Deutsche Tolkien Gesellschaft (DTG) is a German association dedicated to the study of the life and works of J. R. R. Tolkien. Founded in 1997, it is based in Cologne. The DTG has more than 500 members (as of 2005) and is organized in a widespread network of local chapters. It is the main driving force of Tolkien reception in the
Hungary
The Magyar Tolkien Társaság (Hungarian Tolkien Society) is a registered
Czech Republic
Společnost přátel díla pana J. R. R. Tolkiena (Society of Friends of the Works of J.R.R. Tolkien), often abbreviated SPDPJRRT, is the Tolkien Society in the Czech Republic founded in 1992 to commemorate the centenary of J.R.R. Tolkien's birthday. The members of the Society have the opportunity to gather at various meetings. The two main events organized by the society are: The Celebration of the Destruction of the Ring in the end of March and the Bilbo and Frodo's Birthday in September. In addition to that, there is another event called TolkienCon held in Prague annually in January since 2003. It is not officially organized by the Society, but the organizers are in close contact with the Society. It usually starts late afternoon on Friday and ends midday on Sunday. It is based at a school, including facilities for ‘sleeping rough’ in classrooms.[61]
Slovakia
The main Slovak organization for fans of Tolkien's fiction is the non-profit civic association Spoločenstvo Tolkiena (The Fellowship of Tolkien), founded in 2002.[62] Its main goal is to unite fans of Tolkien's works and discuss them, as well as discuss other related fantasy fiction by non-Tolkien authors. In the past, the association published its own irregular fanzine, dubbed Athelas.[63] Other activities of the association include reenactment and live-action roleplaying, and between 2006 and 2019, serving as the co-founder and co-organiser of the annual Slovak fantasy fiction festival SlavCon (now run by its own dedicated association).[64]
Nordic countries
Sweden
The Tolkien Society of Sweden was the first J. R. R. Tolkien society in Europe. It was started in Gothenburg, Sweden, in 1968 by members of Club Cosmos.[65] They published the members' magazine Långbottenbladet. Originally it was just called "The Tolkien Society" but when the British society of the same name was created the members added "of Sweden" to its name.[66][67]
The Tolkien Society Forodrim (
Denmark
In Denmark, Tolkien became well known in the 1970s and has considerably influenced Danish language fantasy literature since. In 1977, Queen
Norway
The Hobbit appeared in Norwegian translation in 1972 and The Lord of the Rings followed from 1973 to 1975 (Tiden Norsk Forlag). Both translations were harshly criticized for errors and inconsistencies and complaints resulted in a new translation of The Lord of the Rings, published in 1980/81. By the late 1980s, Tolkien's works were well known to the Norwegian public. A translation of the Silmarillion appeared in 1994. The unsatisfactory Hobbit translation was replaced only in 1997. By the mid-1990s, the popularity of Tolkien had risen to a level that made viable translations of his minor works.
Arthedain – The Tolkien Society of Norway was founded in Oslo in 1981.[71]
Finland
The Finnish Tolkien Society Kontu
Russia
Interest in Russia awoke soon after the publication of The Lord of the Rings in 1955, long before the first Russian translation. A first effort at publication was made in the 1960s, but to comply with literary censorship in Soviet Russia, the work was considerably abridged and transformed. The ideological danger of the book was seen in the "hidden allegory 'of the conflict between the individualist West and the totalitarian, Communist East.'",[75] while, ironically, Marxist readings in the west conversely identified Tolkien's anti-industrial ideas as presented in the Shire with primitive communism, in a struggle with the evil forces of technocratic capitalism. Russian translations of The Lord of the Rings were published only after the collapse of the Soviet Union, but then in great numbers, no less than ten official Russian translations appeared between 1990 and 2005.[75] Tolkien fandom in Russia grew especially rapidly during the early 1990s at Moscow State University. Many unofficial and partly fragmentary translations are in circulation. The first translation appearing in print was that by Kistyakovskij and Muravyov (volume 1, published 1982).
Notable
Japan
The Hobbit appeared in a Japanese translation in 1965 (Hobitto no Boken) and The Lord of the Rings from 1972 to 1975 (Yubiwa Monogatari), both translated by Teiji Seta (1916–1979), in 1992 revised by Seta's assistant Akiko Tanaka. In 1982, Tanaka translated the Silmarillion (Sirumariru no Monogatari). Teiji Seta was an expert in
Greece
The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings were published in Greek by Kedros during the 1970s, each by different translators. In the mid-90s Aiolos published Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales. In 2001, shortly before the release of the movies, the first Greek on-line community was formed in a promotional web site which in 2002 founded an official group of fans under the name The Prancing Pony. The group is unofficially divided in two 'smials', in Athens and Thessaloniki.[78]
Bulgaria
The Bulgarian Tolkien Society was officially established in 1998 when the Bulgarian Tolkien Fan Club Rin Ennor was first registered as a non-profit non-governmental organization by a few students from the Sofia University. Apart from the larger communities in the big cities, the Bulgarian Tolkien Society has local clubs and groups.[79]
Turkey
Interest in Turkey awoke to The Lord of the Rings in the late 1980s, long before the first Turkish translation. A translation of The Lord of the Rings into Turkish was published as Yüzüklerin Efendisi in 1997.[80] After the release of the movies, other Tolkien-related books such as The Silmarillion were translated into Turkish.
Pakistan
Interest in Prof Tolkien's work developed in Pakistan soon after its earliest inception as a separate nation[81] and has existed sporadically over the years. Interest grew manifold after the release and completion of the Lord of the Rings film trilogy and in 2003–04, the 'Lahore Tolkien Reading Group' was established there.[82]
Italy
The Italian Tolkien Society (Società Tolkeniana Italiana - STI) was founded in February 1994, after a series of lectures about Tolkien's thought and works made in Italy in 1992 by the Tolkien Society archivist, Patricia Reynolds, on the centenary of Tolkien's birth.
In 2021, a pastry chef, Nicolas Gentile, bought a piece of land at Bucchianico in Abruzzo, and walked with friends in costume as the members of the Fellowship of the Ring to throw a ring into the crater of Mount Vesuvius. He has built a hobbit-style house and is seeking crowdfunding to build more. In his view, the people of the region "have always lived as hobbits" close to nature.[84]
See also
- Tolkienmoot – a gaming convention
- Tolkien tourist– tourism related to Tolkien's books or Jackson's films
- Fantasy fandom – fan activity related to fantasy more generally
Notes
- ^ For example, as Kristin Thompson says, the terms are in use at "SCOD - Mûmakil and Rohirrim on Pelennor". The One Ring Forums. Retrieved 23 August 2020.[17]
References
- ^ Time.com, 24 November 2002
- ^ thetolkienwiki.org
- ^ the term appears on alt.fan.tolkien in December 2001 [1]; "Ringer community" Kohman (2005) p. 10.; c.f. Ringers: Lord of the Fans (2005)
- ^ an Anglo-Quenya compound, meaning "Tolkien-lover", mostly known as the name of a French Tolkien society.
- ISBN 978-0-04928-039-7.
- ^ Seiler, Andy (16 December 2003). "'Rings' Comes Full Circle". USA Today. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
- ^ Hunnewell, Sumner Gary ("Hildefons Took") (2010). Tolkien Fandom Review: from its beginnings to 1964 (PDF). Arnold, Missouri: New England Tolkien Society. pp. 3–4.
- ^ Foster 2006.
- ^ Carpenter 2023, #336 to P. Browne, May 1972
- Michael Tolkien, January 1972
- OCLC 47036020.
- ^ Barnett, David (8 February 2011). "After Tolkien, get Bored of the Rings". The Guardian Books Blog.
- ^ Spangenberg 2006.
- ^ Burdge 2006.
- ISBN 0-385-11176-2.
- ^ Gaslin, Glenn (21 November 2001). "Ralph Bakshi's unfairly maligned Lord of the Rings". Slate.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-7864-8473-7. Archivedfrom the original on 13 July 2021. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
- ISBN 978-2-9574143-0-7. hal-03884812.
- ^ "Lord of the Rings locations". doc.govt.nz. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
- ISBN 978-0261102750.
- ^ The International Tolkien Reading Day: How it started. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
- ^ "Fellowship of the Ring" – Wired, Oct. 2001; "The campaign for real Tolkien" – The Independent, Nov. 2001[dead link]
- ^ "About". Theonering.net. 21 November 2012. Retrieved 17 December 2012.
- ^ xoanon - (19 November 2006). "Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh Talk THE HOBBIT". Theonering.net. Retrieved 17 December 2012.
- ^ Tehanu - (26 February 2003). "TORN's Own Book: The People's Guide to J.R.R. Tolkien". Theonering.net. Retrieved 17 December 2012.
- ^ weetanya - (27 October 2004). "TORn Announces the More People's Guide". Theonering.net. Retrieved 17 December 2012.
- ^ Freydkin, Donna (2 March 2004). "Oscar parties lord over the night". Usatoday.com. Retrieved 17 December 2012.
- ^ Herbert, Richard. "Friends of Tawa Bush Reserves – Memorial Trees of Tawa". Tawabush.wellington.net.nz. Retrieved 17 December 2012.
- ^ xoanon - (13 January 2005). "Orc Or Bust!". Theonering.net. Retrieved 17 December 2012.
- ^ "One Ring Celebration – The LOTR Convention". Creationent.com. Retrieved 17 December 2012.
- ^ Celeborn - (28 August 2007). "TORn wants YOU to Cruise Middle-earth!". Theonering.net. Retrieved 17 December 2012.
- ^ "About". The One Ring.com. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
- ISSN 1547-3163.
- ^ "Welcome to The Encyclopedia of Arda". The Encyclopedia of Arda. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
- ^ a b Leo Grin. "Tolkien Purists Strike Back!". Archived from the original on 28 December 2007. Retrieved 28 December 2007.
- ^ "The Lord of the Rings: the purist edition". Archived from the original on 22 September 2007. Retrieved 28 December 2007.
- ^ Lalaith's Middle-earth Science Pages Archived 14 April 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ The Tolkien Meta-FAQ
- ^ Could the eagles have flown Frodo into Mordor?
- ^ Salo, David (6 November 1996). "Inside Information". The Tolkien Language List.
- ^ Hostetter, Carl (7 November 1996). "Re: 'Inside Information'". The Tolkien Language List.
- ^ The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King "Appendices" (DVD). New Line Cinema. 2004.
- ^ Wilonsky, Robert. "Talkin' Tolkien". Phoenix New Times. Archived from the original on 28 July 2012. Retrieved 14 November 2007.
- ^ Smith, Susan Lampert (19 January 2003). "Linguist Is A Specialist In Elvish, The Uw Grad Student Provides Translations For Lord Of The Rings Movies". Wisconsin State Journal. William K. Johnston. p. C1. Archived from the original on 5 December 2004. Retrieved 14 November 2007.
- ^ "Tolkien Fanzines: I Palantir, Issue 3, August 1964". Marquette University Special Collections and University Archives. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
- ^ "Mallorn Editorial Board". The Tolkien Society. 12 September 2020. Archived from the original on 28 September 2020. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
the refereed scholarly journal Mythlore
- ^ Nelson, Valerie J. (14 November 2010). "Glen Howard GoodKnight II dies at 69; Tolkien enthusiast founded the Mythopoeic Society". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 29 September 2020. Also available from the Chicago Tribune.
- Locus Magazine. 8 November 2010. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
- ^ Silver, Stephen H. "In Memoriam: 2010". SF Site. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
- ^ Taglieri, Joe (16 December 2010). "Obituary: Glen Howard GoodKnight II". Patch. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
- ^ "Beyond Bree". American Mensa. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
- ISBN 0-00-714918-2.
- ^ Ffrench, Andrew (14 September 2012). "Hobbit fans gather to celebrate anniversary". Oxford Mail. Archived from the original on 11 November 2020. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
- ^ "Amon Hen". The Tolkien Society. Retrieved 25 October 2015.
- ^ "Mallorn". The Tolkien Society. Retrieved 25 October 2015.
- ISBN 978-0865548947
- ^ Swiss Tolkien Society: Seryn Ennor
- ^ Deutsche Tolkien Gesellschaft
- ^ "Jubileumi Tudományos Konferencia és Szabadegyetem". Hungarian Tolkien Society. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
- ^ Füzessy, Tamás. "ELTE Tolkien kurzus 2008-2009/I". Hungarian Tolkien Society. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
- ^ "Společnost Přátel Díla Pana JRRTolkiena". Tolkien Gateway. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
- ^ Slovak Tolkien fandom civic association Spoločenstvo Tolkiena
- ^ Athelas fanzine of the Spoločenstvo Tolkiena association
- ^ About the SlavCon festival and its history under Spoločenstvo Tokiena
- ISBN 978-91-87669-93-4
- ^ Engholm, Ahrvid (October 2002). "The Tolkien Society of Sweden". Enhörningen. nr 8.
- ^ Fandboken 0.91
- ^ Elfwood
- ^ Bri
- ^ imladris.dk
- ^ "Arthedain: Norges Tolkienforening". Arthedain.org. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
- ^ Kontu
- The Shire".[72]
- ^ "Yhdistyksen säännöt". Suomen Tolkien-seura Kontu ry (in Finnish). Retrieved 16 February 2022.
- ^ a b Markova 2006.
- ISBN 3-9521424-7-6.
- ^ Arduini 2006.
- ^ Greek Lord of the Rings Society
- ^ It is nowadays represented by the website https://www.endorion.org/ and the only remaining discussion board http://bgtolkienforum.org/
- OCLC 54494985.
- ^ See Hall Mark: Burn Hall School Magazine Annual 1959, Review, p.15, published by the Burn Hall School, Abbottabad, Pakistan
- ^ Affiliated with and reported in the Official Tolkien Society newsletter see http://www.tolkiensociety.org/ in the UK
- ^ "La storia della Società Tolkieniana Italiana". Società Tolkieniana Italiana (in Italian). Retrieved 26 December 2020.
- ^ Tondo, Lorenzo (6 September 2021). "'What is this if not magic?' The Italian man living as a hobbit". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
Sources
- Arduini, Roberto (2006). "Japan: Reception of Tolkien". In Michael Drout (ed.). The J. R. R. Tolkien Encyclopedia. Routledge. pp. 310–311.
- Broadway, Cliff; Cordova, Carlene. IMDb)
- Burdge, Anthony (2006). "Gaming". In Michael Drout (ed.). The J. R. R. Tolkien Encyclopedia. Routledge.
- ISBN 978-0-35-865298-4.
- Foster, Mike (2006). "America in the 1960s: Reception of Tolkien". In Michael Drout (ed.). The J. R. R. Tolkien Encyclopedia. Routledge.
- Kohman, Catherine. Lembas for the Soul: How the Lord of the Rings Enriches Everyday Life (2005), ISBN 978-0-9740841-9-0.
- Markova, Olga (2006). "Russia: Reception of Tolkien". In Michael Drout (ed.). The J. R. R. Tolkien Encyclopedia. Routledge. pp. 580–581.
- Spangenberg, Lisa L. (2006). "Technological subcultures, Reception of Tolkien". In Michael Drout (ed.). The J. R. R. Tolkien Encyclopedia. Routledge.
External links
- History
- Tolkien societies
- Tolkien Brasil – Brazil
- Elanor – Flanders, Belgium
- Bri – Denmark
- Deutsche Tolkien Gesellschaft – Germany
- Società Tolkeniana Italiana – Italy
- Unquendor – Netherlands
- Arthedain – Norway
- Forodrim – Stockholm, Sweden
- Mithlond – Goteborg, Sweden
- Seryn Ennor – Switzerland
- The Tolkien Society – United Kingdom
- The Mythopoeic Society site – United States
- Esteldore – Colombia
- Magyar Tolkien Társaság – Hungary
- Spoločenstvo Tolkiena – Slovakia
- Orta Dünya – Turkey
- Meneltarma – Romania