LOTR

Nature or nurture? Is Maeglin the child of a bad marriage, or just evil in waiting by design? These are the questions that the character brings to mind when addressing his upbringing and later actions during the fall of Gondolin.

Of the legends mentioned from Middle-earth's First Age, filled with great Elves and their deeds, one is barely mentioned or remembered. Eol's tale is less a tragic one and more disturbing, telling a dark story of an Elf's obsessive nature and its consequences.

One of the most lingering aspects to me about "The Silmarillion" was the tale of Numenor, an island inhabited by the best of humanity. Its destruction was so severe, so total, that I had to examine the motivation behind it.

Caranthir is one of the sons of Feanor who gets less attention than his brothers, Maedhros, Celegorm, and Curufin. However I think there's more than meets the eye to him than is given credit for.

Welcome to my examination of the internal relationships between the Elves of Arada and their motivations.

These two brothers are rarely mentioned apart from each other. While "The Silmarillion" contains Elves acting badly, Celegorm and Curufin are perhaps the most infamous. They literally gave their entire clan a bad name on their own, and I think their motivations bear examination.

The legacy of Luthien is the most famous in the universe of Middle-earth. So much so that it is easy to lose track of who the actual person was and what made her tick.

It's been a while since I started my pet project of doing psych profiles on characters from Middle-Earth I found compelling. So I'm glad to get back to it. These profiles are done from an in-universe point of view and not what Tolkien meant to write. It's long but I hope you enjoy it.

Given the backdrop of race issues in the real world, I never noticed until recently how much of that is indirectly reflected in J.R.R. Tolkien's books and movie adaptions, so I wanted to explore that.

Next to Morgoth, Feanor is the biggest catalyst for the events of the First Age of Middle-earth. Though he dies early on, his legacy outlasts him as one of the most controversial of Middle-earth.

This profile is on the first High King of the Noldor elves and derives from the book, The Silmarillion. He has a long-lasting legacy in the history of the lore and his immediate family.

John Ronald Reuel (J.R.R.) Tolkien was an Oxford professor, poet, and author. He is best known for writing “The Hobbit” and the trilogy “The Lord of the Rings.”

This Middle-earth profile covers Nienor, daughter of Hurin and Morwen, and sister/wife of her brother Turin. For proper context, read "The Silmarillion" and "The Children of Hurin."

This is a character profile from JRR Tolkien's Middle-earth. The topic being Turin.

This article covers the wife of Hurin, Morwen, the Lady of Dorthonion from the books, The Silmarillion and The Children of Hurin.

So, I wanted to do psychological profiles of certain Middle-Earth characters from an in-universe perspective. This one is on Hurin.

An analysis of the major differences between the Fellowship of the Ring novel and movie, and why I think the movie stands above its source material.

An in-depth critique detailing the weaker aspects of The Fellowship of the Ring novel and why I’m not in love with it like most fantasy fans seem to be.

A brief look into where Tolkien may have taken some influence when creating Gandalf

The article explores the first stage of The Hero's Journey, "Departure," as it is depicted in J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Hobbit."

The dwarves are some of my favorite characters in "Lord of the Rings." Read on to learn about their vibrant culture.

Learn about the Elves in Middle Earth and farther abroad.

Gilraen, Aragorn's mother, is one of those proud, but doomed female characters in Tolkien's Middle-earth who can't seem to get a "happily ever after" ending.

While Tolkien is infamous for his scarcity of female characters (there are none in "The Hobbit"), there's actually a fair number of strong women in his Middle-earth writings.

Correlations between "Beowulf" and the works of Tolkien are discussed in this article. Videos from historians and archeologists are included, along with an audio interview with J.R.R. Tolkien. Written by a retired British Literature educator.

J.R.R. Tolkien was a medieval languages scholar and a nitpicker. Nevertheless, there's a few charming anachronisms in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.

Have you ever wondered what the Elvish runes mean on the title page of "The Lord of the Rings"? Let's take a look, and I'll translate them for you!

Here's a look at what makes J.R.R Tolkien so popular and why so many love his books. Also included is a closer look at "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings," two books that really made Tolkien the massive name he is today.

Friends told Tolkien to cut the original ending of "The Lord of the Rings." They were probably right, but it's a pity: We lost out on seeing one of the best female characters in Middle-earth.

In this article, you'll learn about the Christian symbolism found in the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, as well as characters that can be interpreted as Christ figures—in particular, how Gandalf, Aragorn, and Sam represent different aspects of Jesus Christ.

Why was Denethor a Steward? Why wasn't Aragorn king? What was his actual claim to the throne? Unsurprisingly, it's a lot more complicated in the books than the films, which didn't have the time to explain.

The solo Elf in the Fellowship of the Ring is an unusual chap, but not for the reasons you might think. Learn the fascinating story of Legolas of Mirkwood, hidden in the writings of J.R.R. Tolkien.