Tolkien Studies
Grief, Grieving, and Permission to Mourn in the "Quenta Silmarillion"
Published on 12 April 2024 | Conference Paper
In the Quenta Silmarillion, the narrator of The Silmarillion allows characters to experience grief and express mourning in different ways, reflecting the biases that he brings to the text.
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Genre: No genre listed.
Characters: Pengolodh
Pairing: No pairing listed.
The Most Important Characters Never Named: Unveiling the Narrators of The Silmarillion
Published on 6 April 2019 | Conference Paper
This paper, presented at the 2019 Tolkien at UVM Conference, considers the question of who (fictionally) wrote The Silmarillion, what evidence exists for this authorship, and what implications arise when reading and understanding a Silmarillion narrated by a fully developed character.
References to Sources in the Works of J.R.R. Tolkien
Published on 6 April 2017 | Research
This document-in-progress collects all references, direct and indirect, to the narrators of Tolkien's books and their sources of information.
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Character Biography: Vána
Published on 1 January 2011 | Essay
Barely mentioned in the published Silmarillion, Vána originally played a role as an active, assertive woman among the Valar. Her notable associations imply her role in the legendarium should be fuller than her meager mentions in the published Silmarillion suggest.
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Characters: Vána
Pairing: No pairing listed.
Character Biography: Vairë the Weaver
Published on 1 May 2012 | Essay
Although barely present in the published Silmarillion, Vairë emerges in Tolkien's earlier writings as a remarkably empathetic character and an apt foil to her cold-hearted husband Námo.
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Characters: Vairë
Pairing: No pairing listed.
Character Biography: Tulkas
Published on 1 November 2011 | Essay
Tulkas evolved from Tolkien's early work on the Silmarillion from a playful, youthful character to a character more associated with unapologetic violence.
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Characters: Tulkas
Pairing: No pairing listed.
Character Biography: Pengolodh
Published on 1 March 2016 | Essay
Pengolodh is the most important character never mentioned in the published Silmarillion. This essay discusses what he would have known of the history he wrote about and how that impacts interpreting The Silmarillion for fanfiction.
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Genre: No genre listed.
Characters: Pengolodh
Pairing: No pairing listed.
Character Biography: Nerdanel
Published on 1 August 2018 | Essay
Nerdanel is a rare character among Tolkien's woman characters, possessing skill and fortitude rather than beauty, yet due to editorial intervention, has been removed almost entirely from the published text. Fans--mostly women--have effected her rescue through transformative works.
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Characters: Nerdanel
Pairing: No pairing listed.
Character Biography: Námo Mandos
Published on 1 January 2012 | Essay
Námo Mandos occupies a common role found in world mythology: that of the god of the dead. Shrouded in mystery and beset with moral ambiguity, Námo participates in tales with parallels in other world myths, especially the Greek and the Norse.
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Characters: Námo Mandos
Pairing: No pairing listed.
Character Biography: Mahtan
Published on 1 February 2013 | Essay
The story of Mahtan, the father of Nerdanel, is one among many tales that illustrates the potential of knowledge to corrupt and lead to evil.
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Characters: Mahtan
Pairing: No pairing listed.
"A Greater Still": The Importance of Song in Tolkien's Creation Myth
Published on 3 March 2018 | Essay
Tolkien's creation story the Ainulindalë includes many archetypal elements. This essay explores the deus faber or god-as-maker element and why creation from vocal song is vitally important to legendarium.
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Characters: No characters listed.
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Take Pity upon Him: Did Maedhros Really Threaten to Kill Elrond and Elros at the Third Kinslaying?
Published on 17 November 2008 | | Award Winner
I challenge the once-popular fanon that Maedhros threatened to kill Elrond and Elros at Sirion, only to have Maglor stay his hand.
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We Are Fëanor? Thoughts on Reading Moral Ambiguity into the Characterizations of the Fëanorians
Published on 8 March 2015 | Essay
Reflecting on my experiences as a teacher at an alternative school and my fascination with the Fëanorians, I conclude that the question of what turns a person to violence is one of the most pressing--and frightening--to explore in fiction.
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Genre: No genre listed.
Characters: Fëanor
Pairing: No pairing listed.
Finding Footing in a Forest of Fins: Name Etymology as a Characterization Technique of the Finwëan Noldor
Published on 7 April 2018 | Conference Paper
Tolkien often uses etymology to develop narrative by exploring what Tom Shippey terms an "asterisk-world." This paper, presented at the 2018 Tolkien at UVM Conference, explores the concept of "asterisk characterization," or the use of characters' names to develop their personalities and narratives, with a specific emphasis on Fëanor, Finwë, Curufin, and Maedhros.
At the Root of the Tree of Tales: Using Comparative Myth and "On Fairy-Stories" to Analyze Tolkien's Cosmogony
Published on 15 December 2013 | Conference Paper
This paper explores the cosmogony of Middle-earth using the ideas that Tolkien put forth in "On Fairy-Stories," looking especially at how Tolkien drew from cosmogonical archetypes found throughout world mythology to make a creation myth worthy of a believable Secondary World.
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Attainable Vistas: Historical Bias in Tolkien's Legendarium as a Motive for Transformative Fanworks
Published on 1 September 2016 | Article
The Silmarillion was constructed as a pseudohistorical text and contains evident biases. Motivated as they often are by a desire to correct their source texts, Tolkien fanfiction authors use this bias as a motive for creating fanworks. However, this is not a universal impulse, and survey data coupled with data from Tolkienfic archives illustrates key cultural differences between Tolkienfic communities. Published in the Journal of Tolkien Research.
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“Thus Wrote Pengolodh”: Historical Bias, Its Evidence, and Its Implications in The Silmarillion
Published on 8 April 2017 | Conference Paper
The fictional author of The Silmarillion impacts how the story is told. This paper, presented at the 2017 Tolkien at UVM Conference, makes the case for Pengolodh as the author of much of the Quenta Silmarillion and explores how his biases manifest in the text.
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Characters: Pengolodh
Pairing: No pairing listed.
Beleriand Light & Power: Or Musings on the Silmarils, Capital-L Light, and the Hoarding of Resources in The Silmarillion
Published on 21 January 2018 | Essay
In the debate over who had the right to the Silmarils, rarely considered is the idea that the Light within them was not subcreated by the Valar but created by Eru. This essay reviews the evidence for creation (versus subcreation) of the Light and the implications of this idea for understanding the dispute over the Silmarils.
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Genre: No genre listed.
Characters: Silmarils
Pairing: No pairing listed.
The Author of the “Quenta Silmarillion”–and Why I Think He Was Elvish
Published on 7 February 2018 | Essay
In his late writings, Tolkien reversed decades of the Silmarillion tradition, with its explicitly Elvish narrator, in favor of a Númenórean. This essay makes the case that, while this is Tolkien's stated intent, he never carried out these revisions, and the texts should still be read as coming from the Elvish tradition.
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Genre: No genre listed.
Characters: Pengolodh
Pairing: No pairing listed.
The Accidental King: Five Reasons Why Finarfin Deserves More Appreciation
Published on 3 June 2007 | Essay | Award Winner
An essay and commentary looking at the canonical facts about Finarfin in contrast to the neglect and hostility that his character is given by the Silmarillion fan fiction community.
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Characters: Finarfin
Pairing: No pairing listed.
A Woman in Few Words: The Character of Nerdanel and Her Treatment in Canon and Fandom
Published on 15 January 2008 | Essay | Award Winner
A review of the canon facts available on Nerdanel and discussion of why she remains so popular with fans despite her scarce appearances in the texts.
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Characters: Nerdanel
Pairing: No pairing listed.
The Inequality Prototype: Gender, Inequality, and the Valar in Tolkien’s Silmarillion
Published on 8 July 2018 | Essay
The Valar present an interesting case study of sexism in Tolkien's legendarium because they occupy a prototypical role, representing Iluvatar's intentions on how the universe should operate. My research shows that the female Valar not only appear far less frequently in The Silmarillion than the male Valar but are less involved, less assertive, and speak less.
The Deaths of Kings: Historical Bias in the Death Scenes of Fëanor and Fingolfin
Published on 8 March 2017 | Essay
The death scenes of Fëanor and Fingolfin parallel each other closely in plot, beginning with the rash pursuit of single combat with Morgoth. Yet the manner in which the narrator of The Silmarillion, Pengolodh, employs language and symbolism leads to two very different conclusions that likely served to advance Pengolodh's political and personal agenda.
On Writing Aman, or the Balance between the Mythic and the Real
Published on 6 March 2017 | Essay
Fantasy writers, including creators of Tolkien-based fanworks, have long struggled to depict the "otherness" of realms like Aman. In the past, the Tolkien fanfiction community showed a preference for an idealistic portrayal of Aman that left little room for imperfection. My work has long taken the opposite approach, and in this essay, I argue for the artistic need and canonical basis for grounding stories set in Aman in a more recognizable reality of human experience.
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Genre: No genre listed.
Characters: Fëanor
Pairing: No pairing listed.
Caranthir the Slandered: Narrative Bias, Cross-Cultural Alliances, and Fëanor’s Angriest Son
Published on 26 July 2018 | Essay
Caranthir is relentlessly described in The Silmarillion as dark and harsh and haughty, yet these descriptions bear little resemblance to his actual deeds. Instead, I argue in this essay, Caranthir serves as one of the rare cosmopolitans of the Noldor and is deliberately cast by the Silmarillion's pseudohistorical narrator as a foil to the equally cosmopolitan Finrod Felagund in order to elevate the reputation of the latter.
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Characters: Caranthir, Elu Thingol, Finrod Felagund, Pengolodh, Turgon
Pairing: No pairing listed.