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Search: Posts Made By: Alcuin
Forum: The Books 03-09-2018, 02:35 AM
Replies: 1
Views: 5,182
Posted By Alcuin
Was Gil-galad born in Middle-earth or Eldamar?

I cannot find anything about where Gil-galad was born. Is anyone aware of any indication by Tolkien or Christopher Tolkien?
Forum: The Books 07-07-2016, 02:40 PM
Replies: 93
Views: 34,983
Posted By Alcuin
We know the Númenóreans mined. They obtained...

We know the Númenóreans mined. They obtained metal for farming and tools, then later for weapons; and the only other place in Arda mentioned to have (ore) loads of mithril was Númenor, so they must...
Forum: The Books 06-18-2016, 12:47 AM
Replies: 50
Views: 24,044
Posted By Alcuin
Assuming that Tolkien has not made a “slip of the...

Assuming that Tolkien has not made a “slip of the pen”, that his son Christopher has somehow overlooked his father’s intention to change the story, and that Carl Hofstetter (for whose work I have...
Forum: The Books 06-17-2016, 11:18 AM
Replies: 50
Views: 24,044
Posted By Alcuin
I wrote an essay...

I wrote an essay (http://www.zarkanya.net/Tolkien/origins_of_Nazgul.htm) on this many years ago. “The Shadow falls on Númenor” is probably a reference to Sauron’s ensnaring three lords of the...
Forum: The Books 06-15-2016, 09:40 PM
Replies: 50
Views: 24,044
Posted By Alcuin
No doubt the Númenóreans knew who and what kind...

No doubt the Númenóreans knew who and what kind of creature Sauron was; but it still must have come as quite a shock to them when he reformed a physical body (thanks in part to the Ring) following...
Forum: The Books 06-10-2016, 05:14 PM
Replies: 50
Views: 24,044
Posted By Alcuin
I think it was perhaps a mitigating of the fading...

I think it was perhaps a mitigating of the fading effecting Elves that Felagund said was already apparent in the First Age that had such an effect on mortals. The Rings were meant to stay time,...
Forum: The Books 06-08-2016, 05:43 PM
Replies: 50
Views: 24,044
Posted By Alcuin
In Letter 211, Tolkien wrote, You might ask...

In Letter 211, Tolkien wrote,

You might ask why Sauron did not or could not do this after Elendil and Gil-galad killed him on the slopes of Orodruin, preventing Isildur from cutting off his...
Forum: The Books 06-07-2016, 10:23 PM
Replies: 50
Views: 24,044
Posted By Alcuin
For my two bits on this – FWIW, that is – ...

For my two bits on this – FWIW, that is –

I’m inclined to agree with a number of points: Hammond and Scull’s assertion (http://forum.barrowdowns.com/showpost.php?p=700181&postcount=1),
“[T]he...
Forum: The Books 06-06-2016, 10:16 PM
Replies: 18
Views: 10,923
Posted By Alcuin
Arthur C. Clarke...

Arthur C. Clarke (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_C._Clarke) wrote the script of 2001: A Space Odyssey (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2001:_A_Space_Odyssey_%28film%29) with filmmaker Stanley...
Forum: The Books 06-01-2016, 11:45 AM
Replies: 93
Views: 34,983
Posted By Alcuin
There are certainly bridges built by the Noldor. ...

There are certainly bridges built by the Noldor. The stone bridge over the Narog built at the behest of Turin in Nargothrond is one. But the construction techniques of the Noldor were unrivalled by...
Forum: The Books 05-27-2016, 01:00 AM
Replies: 31
Views: 18,421
Posted By Alcuin
The High Kingship of the Noldor appears to have...

The High Kingship of the Noldor appears to have passed by agnatic succession (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_succession#Agnatic_succession). In short, when a High King died, his eldest...
Forum: The Books 05-26-2016, 08:18 PM
Replies: 70
Views: 24,068
Posted By Alcuin
Mandos did not make rules: He enforced them. And...

Mandos did not make rules: He enforced them. And he did that aggressively.

From Silmarillion, “Of Beren and Lúthien”, after Lúthien sang to Mandos in his halls of the suffering of Elves and Men,...
Forum: The Books 10-11-2015, 01:51 AM
Replies: 55
Views: 31,130
Posted By Alcuin
Tolkien describes the Rings as machines, though I...

Tolkien describes the Rings as machines, though I don’t think he meant of the cog-and-wheel (or steampunk) variety: they seem more like computers on steroids. (Phones, cars, televisions, and nearly...
Forum: The Books 08-20-2014, 11:17 PM
Replies: 41
Views: 21,354
Posted By Alcuin
Tale of Years (Appendix B) says that Shagrat...

Tale of Years (Appendix B) says that Shagrat arrived at Barad-dûr with Frodo’s cloak, mail-shirt, and sword on March 17. Even if we assume the Nazgûl that descended upon Cirith Ungol informed Sauron...
Forum: The Books 12-30-2013, 06:22 PM
Replies: 24
Views: 9,574
Posted By Alcuin
Melkor, “he who arises in might” > Morgoth,...

Melkor, “he who arises in might” > Morgoth, “black enemy”, was given to the evil Vala by Fëanor in his grief and anguish.

Fëanor was the chief of the Lambengolmor, “Loremasters of Tongues”, a...
Forum: The Books 12-23-2013, 02:09 AM
Replies: 13
Views: 11,760
Posted By Alcuin
You elided the quotation from Letters 183. The...

You elided the quotation from Letters 183. The phrase you have highlighted is actually a footnote to this sentence,

Tolkien indicates in several places in his writings that there are greater and...
Forum: The Movies 02-06-2011, 02:04 PM
Replies: 198
Views: 88,043
Posted By Alcuin
Beorn replaced by Radagast? Well I’m aghast! ...

Beorn replaced by Radagast?
Well I’m aghast!

Since Beorn transformed into an enormous bear, will Radagast transform into an enormous goat?

Was it the psychedelic coloring of the goat that...
Forum: The Movies 02-04-2011, 04:42 PM
Replies: 198
Views: 88,043
Posted By Alcuin
Rankin/Bass...

Rankin/Bass (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hobbit_%281977_film%29) looks more and more respectable as time goes on.

I once worked for a guy who told me to never let anyone competent take your...
Forum: The Movies 02-04-2011, 12:39 PM
Replies: 198
Views: 88,043
Posted By Alcuin
Then Eorache daughter of Eorlobe is exactly what...

Then Eorache daughter of Eorlobe is exactly what Hollywood needs! More from “The Riders of Roi-Tan” (ibid.), See? Ready-made Hollywood heroine with minimum rewrite. And if they want more, the sheep...
Forum: The Movies 02-03-2011, 09:55 PM
Replies: 198
Views: 88,043
Posted By Alcuin
Why doesn’t Hollywood just dispense with all this...

Why doesn’t Hollywood just dispense with all this pretense and do what it really wants to do – make Bored of the Rings...
Forum: The Books 01-31-2011, 09:51 PM
Replies: 8
Views: 4,829
Posted By Alcuin
Tolkien was living at 20 Northmoor Road in North...

Tolkien was living at 20 Northmoor Road in North Oxford when this article was written. That’s about 140-150 miles due south of Sheffield, but only about 100 miles from Birmingham, where he grew up....
Forum: The Books 01-15-2011, 02:55 AM
Replies: 26
Views: 10,539
Posted By Alcuin
There certainly seems to be some cause-and-effect...

There certainly seems to be some cause-and-effect associated with Middle-earth curses. (cf Legate... (http://forum.barrowdowns.com/showpost.php?p=626429&postcount=3)) And there also seems to be a...
Forum: The Books 12-29-2010, 11:02 AM
Replies: 11
Views: 14,978
Posted By Alcuin
Your assessment of the text and Aragorn’s...

Your assessment of the text and Aragorn’s aversion to entering Moria is right on the mark, IMO.

Hence this thread.
Forum: The Books 12-27-2010, 10:11 PM
Replies: 19
Views: 11,359
Posted By Alcuin
My copy of Unfinished Tales for this passage...

My copy of Unfinished Tales for this passage reads a little differently. I have underlined the part that seems to have been elided:
That seems to me to make more sense.
Forum: The Books 12-27-2010, 07:01 PM
Replies: 11
Views: 14,978
Posted By Alcuin
That depends upon when Aragorn went to Moria. ...

That depends upon when Aragorn went to Moria.

According to the Tale of Years, Aragorn was in Lórien in 2980. Then he met Arwen there, and their engagement began (they “plighted their troth”). ...
Showing results 1 to 25 of 72

 
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