All Questions
36
questions
13
votes
3
answers
980
views
Did Tolkien actually use asterisms in the Lord of the Rings?
I own a version of The Fellowship of the Ring that I'm enjoying a lot, and now that I'm nearing the end I thought I might as well buy an ebook on Amazon containing all three books so I can go on with ...
- 95.3k
6
votes
1
answer
937
views
Did Tolkien ever discuss why rings were chosen? [duplicate]
With years of reading the books and watching movies, especially with the success of the Peter Jackson movies, the fact the main magical items of The Lord of the Rings are the rings seems ...
- 135k
19
votes
8
answers
14k
views
Why is the number of orcs thousands instead of millions in "The Lord of the Rings"?
I know that Tolkien served in World War I, in which more than 20 million died. And he also witnessed World War II, in which more than 70 million people died.
So why did Tolkien limit the number on ...
- 134k
19
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Does a transcription of Tolkien's handwriting in this image exist?
In his answer to another question I asked here, Jason Baker included the following image, taken from a page of Tolkien's "Synoptic Time Scheme for The Lord of the Rings". We had some difficulty ...
- 95.3k
3
votes
1
answer
588
views
Has Tolkien ever commented on the relative leadership skills of prominent Middle-earth figures?
If we look at some of the prominent figures in Middle-earth at the time of the War of the Ring:
Théoden
Denethor
Aragorn
Elrond
Gandalf
All of these are 'leaders' of one form or another, but some ...
- 643
9
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Did Sam really plan to attack the orcs in Shelob's lair in the very end of The Two Towers?
‘He’s going out of harm’s way, I tell you,’ answered Shagrat. ‘See? He’s precious. I don’t trust all my lads, and none of yours; nor you neither, when you’re mad for fun. He’s going where I want him, ...
- 21.6k
58
votes
3
answers
28k
views
Is "Lord of the Rings" a trilogy of books in Tolkien's opinion?
Is "Lord of the Rings" a trilogy of books?
It was published as 3 separate books, but can it be called a trilogy? Was it intended to be a trilogy by Tolkien himself?
The question arose in comment ...
- 135k
31
votes
9
answers
13k
views
Is Tolkien prejudiced against the East?
In Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings series, there are generally two groups of Men. The good ones are coming from the West (Dúnedain, Men of the West), and the bad ones, the Easterlings, mostly fight ...
- 134k
19
votes
3
answers
3k
views
Do we know what Tolkien meant when he used the word "weapontake"?
In the book The Return of the King, Tolkien uses a word that is obscure and archaic, even for a philologist who reveled in obscure and archaic words. The context is that King Theoden and his Rohirrim ...
- 95.3k
5
votes
3
answers
5k
views
What meaning(s) or message(s), if any, was Tolkien trying to convey with his books?
What overall meaning or message, if any, was Tolkien trying to convey with each of his books (The Hobbit, The Silmarillion, LOTR)?
- 243
214
votes
5
answers
252k
views
Did Tolkien really explicitly consider Sam the true hero of The Lord of the Rings?
Quoting from Crouching Moron Hidden Badass: Literature on TVTropes (TVTropes link alert!!! Don't tell me I didn't warn you!):
Perhaps even more aptly: Samwise Gamgee. His name roughly translates to ...
- 323
22
votes
2
answers
4k
views
Did Tolkien ever write that Sauron killed Shagrat?
Many wiki entries, as well as many other sources about Shagrat (one of the Orc captains who captured Frodo outside Shelob's lair) say he was killed by Sauron shortly after Frodo's escape.
In the ...
- 95.3k
8
votes
3
answers
3k
views
Are there any specific examples in Lord of the Rings that are influenced by WWII?
I know that Tolkien is greatly influenced by folklore of many cultures and WWI directly. However, I wonder if there are any specific examples that show influence from WWII?
The best conjecture so far ...
- 1
39
votes
1
answer
12k
views
Did Tolkien have Pippin die originally?
According to the movie mistakes website for Return of the King, it is mentioned that Tolkien had Pippin originally killed off at the Battle of the Black Gates. He was persuaded by his dear friend C.S. ...
- 1
22
votes
1
answer
6k
views
Are Hobbits related (distant or no) to Elves?
I have read the LOTR trilogy more than once. I feel (from many nuances and some plain text of Tolkien's) that halflings are distantly related to Elves, perhaps descending from common lineage. Whether ...
- 42k