Tolkien fandom

Fans of J. R. R. Tolkien

Tolkien fandom is an international, informal community of fans of the works of J. R. R. Tolkien, especially of the Middle-earth legendarium which includes The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion. The concept of Tolkien fandom as a specific type of fan subculture sprang up in the United States in the 1960s, in the context of the hippie movement, to the dismay of the author (Tolkien died in 1973), who talked of "my deplorable cultus".[1]

A Tolkienist is someone who studies the work of J. R. R. Tolkien: this usually involves the study of the Elvish languages and "Tolkienology".[2] A Ringer is a fan of The Lord of the Rings in general, and of Peter Jackson's live-action film trilogy in particular.[3] Other terms for Tolkien fans include Tolkienite or Tolkiendil.[4]

Many fans share their Tolkien fan fiction with other fans. Tolkien societies support fans in many countries around the world.

## History

[edit]

Further information: Literary reception of The Lord of the Rings

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

[edit]

Ted Johnstone (real name David McDaniel, seen here in 1974) founded the first Tolkien fan club.

Tolkien fandom began within science fiction fandom soon after The Fellowship of the Ring was published in 1954. Tolkien was discussed in science fiction fanzines and amateur press association magazines ("apazines"), both as single essays like "No Monroe In Lothlorien!" in Eric Bentcliffe's Triode, and in extended threads of comment such as by Robert Lichtman in his Psi Phi. Tolkien-inspired costumes were worn at Worldcons from 1958. An organized Tolkien fandom organization called "The Fellowship of the Ring" came together in Pittcon, the 18th World Science Fiction Convention in Pittsburgh on 4 September 1960. England's first Tolkien fanzine was Nazgul's Bane, produced by Cheslin. Many fanzines had little Tolkien content but Tolkien-inspired names such as Ancalagon, Glamdring, Lefnui, Mathom, Perian, Ringwraith, Shadowfax, and so on. Others had more meaningful Tolkien content. Ed Meskys' apazine Niekas turned into a full-fledged fanzine during this era. Pete Mansfield's Sword & Sorcery fanzine, Eldritch Dream Quest, included many Tolkien items.[7]

### 1960s America

[edit]

Foster attributes the surge of Tolkien fandom in the United States of the mid-1960s to a combination of the hippie subculture and anti-war movement pursuing "mellow freedom like that of the Shire" and "America's cultural Anglophilia" of the time, fuelled by a bootleg paperback version of The Lord of the Rings published by Ace Books followed up by an authorised edition by Ballantine Books.[8] The "hippie" following latched onto the book, giving its own spin to the work's interpretation, such as the Dark Lord Sauron representing the United States military draft during the Vietnam War, to the chagrin of the author who talked of a "deplorable cultus" and stated that "Many young Americans are involved in the stories in a way that I'm not"[1] but who nevertheless admitted that "... even the nose of a very modest idol [...] cannot remain entirely untickled by the sweet smell of incense!"[9] Fan attention became so intense that Tolkien had to take his phone number out of the public directory.[10] This embracing of the work by American 1960s counter-culture made it an easy target for mockery, as in Harvard Lampoon's parody Bored of the Rings, where Tom Bombadil becomes "Tim Benzedrine", and Bilbo Baggins becomes "Dildo Bugger".[11][12] The Lord of the Rings acquired immense popularity in the emerging hacker culture from the mid-1960s, and the technological subcultures of scientists, engineers, and computer programmers.[13] It figured as one of the major inspirations of the nascent video game industry and the evolution of fantasy role-playing games.[14]

### 1970s to 1980s

[edit]

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 Ralph Bakshi succeeded in securing the rights to produce an animated feature film version, part one of what was originally planned as a two-part adaptation of the story. Bakshi produced the film using, among other animation techniques, rotoscoping, shooting a majority of the film in live-action first before transferring the live footage to animation. While the film had, and continues to have, a mixed critical reaction, it was a financial success, costing USD 8 million to produce, and grossing over USD 30 million at the box office. Despite this fact, United Artists, the film's original distributor, refused to fund a sequel, leaving the project incomplete.[16]

### 1990s

[edit]

A cosplay of Lord of the Rings characters

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 Parma Eldalamberon and Vinyar Tengwar, published by the Elvish Linguistic Fellowship since the early 1990s. In the 2000s, several encyclopedic projects have documented Tolkien's life and work in great detail, such as the J.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia (2006) and the twin volumes The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion and The J. R. R. Tolkien Companion and Guide (2005, 2006). The dedicated journal Tolkien Studies has been appearing from 2004.

Tolkien discussion took place in many newsgroups from the earliest days of Usenet. The Tolklang mailing list was started in 1990. The alt.fan.tolkien and rec.arts.books.tolkien newsgroups have been active since 1992 and 1993, respectively. Notable points of contention in online discussions surround the origin of orcs, whether elves have pointy ears, whether balrogs have wings, and the nature of Tom Bombadil. Following the announcement of Jackson's movies (from 2001), online fandom became divided between "Revisionists" and "Purists" over controversy surrounding changes to the novel made for the movies, such as those made to the character of Arwen and the absence of Tom Bombadil.[17][18]

### 2000s

[edit]

Tolkien fandom changed in character with the release of Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings film trilogy between 2001 and 2003, attracting both a wide audience of existing fans ("book-firsters") and many people who had not read Tolkien's books ("film-firsters").[19][a] The large audience made the artistic conception of Jackson's artists influential, indeed creating a stereotyped image of Middle-earth and its races of Elves, Dwarves, Orcs and Hobbits shared by fans and artists alike.[20] Some fans, known as Tolkien tourists, travel to places in New Zealand to visit sites where scenes in the films were shot.[21]

A "Tolkien Reading Day", held annually on 25 March, an anniversary of the fall of Barad-dûr,[22] was proposed by Sean Kirst, a columnist at The Post-Standard in Syracuse, New York, and launched by the Tolkien Society in 2003.[23]

The New York Times suggested in a 2021 article that regular viewing of the Jackson film series had become a particular phenomenon for "millennial women", likening it to Star Wars.[24]

## "Essential" websites

[edit]

Four websites are described as "essential"[25] in Stuart D. Lee's 2014 scholarly handbook A Companion to J. R. R. Tolkien: the Tolkien Gateway, The One Ring.Net, The Tolkien Library (which is mainly a book site),[b] and The Tolkien Society (which is an educational charity and literary society).[25][26]

### Tolkien Gateway

[edit]

The Tolkien Gateway is a factual site that documents all Middle-earth characters, places, objects, and events, with citations to Tolkien's texts. It provides some coverage of related non-Tolkien items such as films, actors, games, music, images, and scholarly books.[27] The site is described in A Companion to J. R. R. Tolkien as "the main source to start a review of the plethora of Tolkien-based online materials."[26] It is referenced in scholarly works such as VII,[28] Journal of Tolkien Research,[29] and Social Science Computer Review.[30]

### TheOneRing.net (or TORn)

[edit]

The Tolkien scholar Tom Shippey is renowned among scholars and Tolkienologists.

A fansite of Jackson's movies is TheOneRing.net (TORn), which was popular with the cast and crew of the film series. TORn was originally a small movie-news site. The filmmakers put effort into winning over fans, actively supporting sites for Ringers. The site was founded in 1999 by a group of Tolkien fans eager for the upcoming trilogy. In 1998, Michael 'Xoanon' Regina and Erica 'Tehanu' Challis started a website related to the filming, including "spy" reports from Tehanu's visit to the New Zealand set. This activity 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 offered technical help. 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.[31]

The site is unique in having had a mutual working relationship between its crew and that of The Lord of the Rings films, and later of The Hobbit films. This enabled the site to bring its readers exclusive news from the set, as when Peter Jackson emailed TheOneRing.net to get his side heard when a lawsuit threatened his chance to film The Hobbit.[32]

In 2003, Cold Spring Press released TORn's book The People's Guide to J.R.R. Tolkien with essays defending fantasy as a genre, discussions of Tolkien's views of good and evil, and an examination of cultural norms.[33] The foreword by the Tolkien scholar Tom Shippey says: "The Internet, the experience of continually answering questions and receiving comments ... give the organizers of TheOneRing.net a perspective which is uniquely broad, and uniquely full of surprises, some of which would have pleased Tolkien very much, but which he could not have expected." A second volume was published in 2004.[34] Over 1,500 "Ringers" (Lord of the Rings fans) came to the TheOneRing.net Oscar party at the Hollywood, American Legion on 28 February 2004, attended by Jackson, Fran Walsh, Elijah Wood and other cast and crew.[35] On 2 September 2004, eleven commemorative kauri trees, paid for by TORn members, were planted in Willowbank Park in Wellington, New Zealand, Peter Jackson's home town. The number eleven represented the nine members of the Fellowship of the Ring, plus one each for Jackson and Tolkien.[36] TheOneRing.net teamed up with Creation Entertainment to present The One Ring Celebration (ORC) in 2005,[37] 2006, and 2007. Its sister convention, Eastern LOTR Fan Gathering (ELF), met in the eastern U.S. in 2005 and 2006.[38] These conventions included panels and signings by leading members of the cast. In November 2008 and December 2011, TheOneRing.net and Red Carpet Tours staged a 14-night cruise between Auckland and Sydney, including excursions to film locations.[39]

### Other sites

[edit]

TheOneRing.com (TORc) is a Tolkien fan site that caters more to the fans of Tolkien's literary works than Jackson's films. It was founded by Jonathan Watson, Ted Tschopp and David Mullich in April 1999. As of 2025[update], Watson has continued to run the website.[40] The site is referenced by Tolkien Studies.[41]

The Encyclopedia of Arda provides a detailed online reference to Middle-earth, mirrored at GlyphWeb.[42]

A fan edit of the theatrical cut of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers exists, called The Two Towers: The Purist Edit.[43] 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.[43][44]

## Tolkienology

[edit]

Further information: Middle-earth canon

Tolkienology is a term used by fans to describe the study of the works of J. R. R. Tolkien treating Middle-earth as a real ancient history, conducting research from an "in-universe" perspective. This differs from Tolkien studies in that it ignores the real-world history of composition by the author, and assumes an underlying internally consistent Middle-earth canon. Tolkienology may include:[45][46][47]

* Tolkienian linguistics: Study of the most complete languages Tolkien designed for Middle-earth, (usually Quenya and Sindarin), study of the 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 Tom Bombadil, of balrogs etc. 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 Gondor, Rohan or the more unknown lands).
* Morality issues such as whether an omnipotent, omniscient and omnibenevolent Ilúvatar (God) would destroy Númenor, if the 'bad' Dunlendings had any right rivalling the 'good' Rohirrim and if Gondor committed genocides.
* Possible census of population about each race.
* Astronomic descriptions in the books (moon phases, positions of stars), and what can be inferred about the geography of Middle-earth 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 Shire and other whereabouts, determined by translating placenames.

### Linguistics

[edit]

Further information: Languages of Middle-earth

The studies of Tolkien's artistic languages (notably Quenya and Sindarin) is a field where fandom and scholarly Tolkien studies overlap. The resulting friction between scholarly students of the languages focusing on their conceptual evolution and fandom-oriented students taking an "in-universe" view became visible in the "Elfconners" controversy of the late 1990s, involving among others the linguists David Salo and Carl F. Hostetter, the editor of Vinyar Tengwar.[48][49] There is a "reconstructionist" camp, which pursues the reconstruction of unattested Elvish forms, and a "philological" or "purist" camp which focuses entirely on the edition of the fragments in Tolkien's unpublished papers. By its nature, reconstructionism aims for a "canon" of "correct" standard Elvish (Neo-Eldarin), while the philological study of the evolution of Tolkien's conceptions cannot assume that the languages had ever reached a complete or internally consistent final form. The "reconstructionist" camp is represented by Salo, who translated the poems in the libretto by Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens for the Music of The Lord of the Rings film series, creating additional words in languages including Sindarin where necessary, while the "purist" camp is represented by Hostetter.[50][51][52]

## Fan creativity

[edit]

### Fan fiction

[edit]

Main article: Tolkien fan fiction

Tolkien fan fiction is fantasy fiction, often published on the Internet, by Tolkien fans. It is based either directly on some aspect of Tolkien's books on his fantasy world of Middle-earth, or on a depiction of this world, especially in Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings film series or other film depictions of that world. A wide range of types of writing have resulted, including homoerotic slash fiction and several strands of feminist storytelling.[53][54][55]

### Fan art

[edit]

Further information: Tolkien fan art

Arwen sewing Aragorn's banner, by Anna Kulisz, 2015

Jackson's films made the work of the artists involved influential, indeed creating a stereotyped image of Middle-earth and its races of Elves, Dwarves, Orcs and Hobbits shared by fans and artists alike.[56] Some fan artists draw inspiration from other sources; Anna Kulisz states that she based her painting of Arwen sewing Aragorn's banner on Edmund Leighton's 1911 painting Stitching the Standard.[57] The German illustrator Anke Eißmann started out creating fan art,[58] illustrating the German Tolkien Society's Der Flammifer von Westernis from 1991.[59][60] She went on to make numerous paintings of scenes from The Silmarillion.[61] Jenny Dolfen too has made paintings of scenes from The Silmarillion,[62] making the transition from self-taught fan art to becoming a recognised and published artist.[63]

## By region

[edit]

Main article: List of Tolkien societies

Dedicated Tolkien Societies provide platforms for a combination of fandom and academic literary study in several countries.

## See also

[edit]

* 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

[edit]

1. ^ 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.[19]
2. ^ The Tolkien library mainly describes books, but also runs articles, reviews, and news.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b Lev Grossman, Feeding on Fantasy Time.com, 24 November 2002
2. ^ thetolkienwiki.org
3. ^ the term appears on alt.fan.tolkien in December 2001 [1]; "Ringer community" Kohman (2005) p. 10.; cf. Ringers: Lord of the Fans (2005)
4. ^ an Anglo-Quenya compound, meaning "Tolkien-lover", mostly known as the name of a French Tolkien society.
5. ^ Carpenter, Humphrey (1978) [1977]. J. R. R. Tolkien: A Biography. Unwin Paperbacks. pp. 111, 200, 266 and throughout. ISBN 978-0-04928-039-7.
6. ^ Seiler, Andy (16 December 2003). "'Rings' Comes Full Circle". USA Today. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
7. ^ Hunnewell, Sumner Gary ("Hildefons Took") (2010). Tolkien Fandom Review: from its beginnings to 1964 (PDF). Arnold, Missouri: New England Tolkien Society. pp. 3–4.
8. ^ Foster 2006.
9. ^ Carpenter 2023, #336 to P. Browne, May 1972
10. ^ Carpenter 2023, #332 to Michael Tolkien, January 1972
11. ^ Beard, Henry (2001) [1969]. Bored of the Rings: a Parody of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. London: Gollancz. ISBN 978-0-575-07362-3. OCLC 47036020.
12. ^ Barnett, David (8 February 2011). "After Tolkien, get Bored of the Rings". The Guardian Books Blog.
13. ^ Spangenberg 2006.
14. ^ Burdge 2006.
15. ^ Asimov, Isaac (1976). "Nothing Like Murder". More Tales of the Black Widowers. Doubleday. pp. 62–76. ISBN 0-385-11176-2.
16. ^ Gaslin, Glenn (21 November 2001). "Ralph Bakshi's unfairly maligned Lord of the Rings". Slate.
17. ^ "Fellowship of the Ring" – Wired, October 2001
18. ^ "The campaign for real Tolkien", The Independent, November 2001
19. ^ a b Thompson, Kristin (2011). "Gollum Talks to Himself: Problems and Solutions in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings". In Bogstad, Janice M.; Kaveny, Philip E. (eds.). Picturing Tolkien: Essays on Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings Film Trilogy. McFarland & Company. pp. 25–45\. ISBN 978-0-7864-8473-7. Archived from the original on 13 July 2021. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
20. ^ Noury, Aurore (2020). Où se trouve la Terre du Milieu? De l'incarnation d'un nouvel imaginaire collectif dans l'espace quotidien [Where is Middle-earth? On the incarnation of a new collective imagination in everyday space]. Actes du colloque 2020 du Laboratoire des Imaginaires (in French). pp. 185–205, note 9. ISBN 978-2-9574143-0-7. hal-03884812.
21. ^ "Lord of the Rings locations". Department of Conservation. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
22. ^ Shippey, Tom (2005) [1982]. The Road to Middle-Earth (Third ed.). HarperCollins. p. 227\. ISBN 978-0261102750.
23. ^ The International Tolkien Reading Day: How it started. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
24. ^ Richardson, Nikita (19 December 2021). "How 'Lord of the Rings' Became 'Star Wars' for Millennial Women". The New York Times. Retrieved 1 July 2025.
25. ^ a b Lee, Stuart D., ed. (2020) [2014]. A Companion to J. R. R. Tolkien. Wiley Blackwell. p. 554 "Further reading". ISBN 978-1119656029. OCLC 1183854105.
26. ^ a b Bueno-Alonso, Jorge Luis (2015). "A Companion to J.R.R. Tolkien ed. by Stuart D. Lee (review)". Tolkien Studies. 12 (1): 177–189\. doi:10.1353/tks.2015.0016.
27. ^ "Tolkien Gateway: The J. R. R. Tolkien encyclopedia built by fans". Tolkien Gateway. Retrieved 5 January 2025.
28. ^ Dodds, David (2021). "Review of 'Law, Government, and Society in JRR Tolkien's Works': José María Miranda Boto (Walking Tree, 2022)". VII: Journal of the Marion E. Wade Center: e144 – e147. "The exhilarating packed paragraph detailing the ring's history may invite readers to spend a long time among the indexes (with or without a visit to Tolkien Gateway)"
29. ^ Larsen, Kristine (2022). "Nailing jell-o to the wall: Canonicity in middle-earth". Journal of Tolkien Research. 15 (1). article 5.
30. ^ Bainbridge, William S. (2023). "Dimensions of Online Role-Playing: Anchored in the Tolkien Mythos". Social Science Computer Review. 41 (4): 1473–1492\. doi:10.1177/08944393211072268.
31. ^ "About". Theonering.net. 21 November 2012. Retrieved 17 December 2012.
32. ^ xoanon  \- (19 November 2006). "Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh Talk The Hobbit". Theonering.net. Retrieved 17 December 2012.
33. ^ Tehanu (26 February 2003). "TORn's Own Book: The People's Guide to J.R.R. Tolkien". Theonering.net. Retrieved 17 December 2012.
34. ^ weetanya (27 October 2004). "TORn Announces the More People's Guide". Theonering.net. Retrieved 17 December 2012.
35. ^ Freydkin, Donna (2 March 2004). "Oscar parties lord over the night". Usa Today. Retrieved 17 December 2012.
36. ^ Herbert, Richard. "Friends of Tawa Bush Reserves – Memorial Trees of Tawa". Tawabush.wellington.net.nz. Retrieved 17 December 2012.
37. ^ xoanon (13 January 2005). "Orc Or Bust!". Theonering.net. Retrieved 17 December 2012.
38. ^ "One Ring Celebration – The LOTR Convention". Creationent.com. Retrieved 17 December 2012.
39. ^ Celeborn (28 August 2007). "TORn wants YOU to Cruise Middle-earth!". Theonering.net. Retrieved 17 December 2012.
40. ^ "About". The One Ring.com. Retrieved 18 May 2025.
41. ^ Swank, Kris (2013). "Tom Bombadil's Last Song: Tolkien's 'Once Upon A Time'". Tolkien Studies. 10 (1): 185–197\. doi:10.1353/tks.2013.0013.
42. ^ "Welcome to The Encyclopedia of Arda". The Encyclopedia of Arda. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
43. ^ a b Leo Grin. "Tolkien Purists Strike Back!". Archived from the original on 28 December 2007. Retrieved 28 December 2007.
44. ^ "The Lord of the Rings: the purist edition". Archived from the original on 22 September 2007. Retrieved 28 December 2007.
45. ^ "Lalaith's Middle-earth Science Pages". lalaith.vpsurf.de. Archived from the original on 8 March 2013. Retrieved 5 June 2025.
46. ^ "Tolkien Meta-FAQ". tolkien.slimy.com. Retrieved 5 June 2025.
47. ^ "Could the eagles have flown Frodo into Mordor?". www.sean-crist.com. Retrieved 5 June 2025.
48. ^ Salo, David (6 November 1996). "Inside Information". The Tolkien Language List.
49. ^ Hostetter, Carl (7 November 1996). "Re: 'Inside Information'". The Tolkien Language List.
50. ^ The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King "Appendices" (DVD). New Line Cinema. 2004.
51. ^ Wilonsky, Robert. "Talkin' Tolkien". Phoenix New Times. Archived from the original on 28 July 2012. Retrieved 14 November 2007.
52. ^ 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.
53. ^ Viars & Coker 2015.
54. ^ Coker 2022.
55. ^ Sturgis 2006.
56. ^ Noury 2020, Note 9.
57. ^ "Arwen by Anna Kulisz". Commons. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
58. ^ Manifold, Marjorie C. (2005). "Life as theater and theater as life: Art expressions of information-age youth". Journal of Cultural Research in Art Education. 25: 1.
59. ^ Gand, André (21 November 2009). "Interview with Anke Eißmann". Tolkien Bücher. Archived from the original on 14 March 2010. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
60. ^ "Deutsche Tolkien Gesellschaft" (in German). German Tolkien Society. Archived from the original on 14 March 2010. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
61. ^ LaSala, Jeff (14 September 2016). "Lúthien: Tolkien's Badass Elf Princess". Retrieved 11 November 2023.
62. ^ "Awards - Previous Winners". The Tolkien Society. 29 October 2016. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
63. ^ Noury 2020, Note 11.

## Sources

[edit]

* Broadway, Cliff; Cordova, Carlene. Ringers: Lord of the Fans (2005 documentary; entry at IMDb)
* Burdge, Anthony (2006). "Gaming". In Michael Drout (ed.). The J. R. R. Tolkien Encyclopedia. Routledge.
* Carpenter, Humphrey, ed. (2023) [1981]. The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien: Revised and Expanded Edition. New York: HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-35-865298-4.
* Coker, Cait (2022). "Fandom". A Companion to J. R. R. Tolkien (2nd ed.). Wiley-Blackwell. pp. 525–534\. ISBN 978-1-119-69140-2.
* 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.
* Spangenberg, Lisa L. (2006). "Technological subcultures, Reception of Tolkien". In Michael Drout (ed.). The J. R. R. Tolkien Encyclopedia. Routledge.
* Sturgis, Amy H. (2006). "Reimagining Rose: Portrayals of Tolkien's Rosie Cotton in Twenty-First Century Fan Fiction". Mythlore. 24 (3). Article 10.
* Viars, Karen; Coker, Cait (2015). "Constructing Lothiriel: Rewriting and Rescuing the Women of Middle-Earth from the Margins". Mythlore. 33 (2): 35–48.

## External links

[edit]

* Interview with Richard Plotz, New York Times, 1967
* Ed Mesky's Reminiscences of the early days of Tolkien fandom

* v
* t
* e

The Lord of the Rings

* J. R. R. Tolkien
* Constructing The Lord of the Rings

About|

* Volumes
* The Fellowship of the Ring
* The Two Towers
* The Return of the King
* Stories
* "The Shadow of the Past"
* "The Council of Elrond"
* "The Scouring of the Shire"
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* list
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* Reception
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Elements|

| Languages|

* Black Speech
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* Westron

|

Poetry|

* A Elbereth Gilthoniel
* Namárië
* Song of Eärendil
* The Man in the Moon Stayed Up Too Late
* The Road Goes Ever On
* A Walking Song

Other|

* Artwork
* Family trees
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* Maps
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* Tengwar

Analysis|

| Themes|

* Addiction to power
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* Company of the Ring
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* Economy
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|

Influences|

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Techniques|

* Anachronism
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* Prose style
* Ambiguity
* Epic Pooh

Peoples|

| Maiar|

* Balrogs
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|

Free
peoples|

* Dwarves
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* Éomer
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* Théoden
* Wormtongue

Monsters|

* Barrow-wight
* Gollum
* Nazgûl
* Witch-king of Angmar
* Old Man Willow
* Orcs
* Shelob
* Trolls
* Wargs
* Watcher in the Water

Other|

* Eagles
* Goldberry
* Tom Bombadil

World|

| Geography|

* Middle-earth
* Eriador
* Bree
* Old Forest
* Rivendell
* The Shire
* Bag End
* Gondor
* Harad
* Lothlórien
* Mirkwood
* Moria
* Mordor
* Rohan
* Isengard
* Undying Lands

|

Battles|

* Helm's Deep
* Pelennor Fields
* Morannon

Things|

* Mithril
* Oliphaunts
* Palantírs
* Phial of Galadriel
* Rings of Power
* One Ring
* List of weapons and armour

Related
works|

* The Hobbit
* The Adventures of Tom Bombadil
* Errantry
* Fastitocalon
* The Sea-Bell
* Donald Swann
* The Road Goes Ever On
* Bilbo's Last Song
* The Silmarillion
* Unfinished Tales
* The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien
* The History of Middle-earth
* The Children of Húrin
* The History of The Hobbit
* Beren and Lúthien
* The Fall of Gondolin
* The Nature of Middle-earth

Adaptations and derivative works

Books|

* Bored of the Rings (1969)
* The Last Ringbearer (1999)
* Muddle Earth (2003)

Illustrations|

* A Map of Middle-earth
* Pauline Baynes
* Barbara Remington
* John Howe
* Alan Lee
* Margrethe II of Denmark
* Ted Nasmith

Theatre|

* Fellowship! (2005)
* The Lord of the Rings (2006)

Music|

* Bo Hansson
* Music Inspired by Lord of the Rings (1972)
* Johan de Meij
* Symphony No. 1 The Lord of the Rings (1988)
* Led Zeppelin
* "Ramble On" (1969)
* "Misty Mountain Hop" (1971)
* "The Battle of Evermore" (1971)

Radio|

* The Lord of the Rings (BBC, 1955)
* The Lord of the Rings (NPR, 1979)
* Hordes of the Things (1980)
* The Lord of the Rings (BBC, 1981)
* Der Herr der Ringe (1992)

Film|

| Animated|

* The Lord of the Rings (Bakshi, 1978)
* The Return of the King (Rankin/Bass, 1980)
* The War of the Rohirrim (Kamiyama, 2024)

|

Peter Jackson
series|

* The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
* The Two Towers (2002)
* The Return of the King (2003)

Music|

* "Concerning Hobbits"
* "Into the West"
* "May It Be"

Approach|

* Production
* Hobbiton Movie Set
* Peter Jackson's interpretation
* Picturing Tolkien
* Tolkien on Film

Other|

* Sagan om ringen (1971)
* Khraniteli (1991)
* Hobitit (1993)
* The Rings of Power (2022)
* music

Fan-made|

* The Hunt for Gollum (2009)
* Born of Hope (2009)

Video games|

* Journey to Rivendell
* Game One
* Game Two: Shadows of Mordor
* War in Middle Earth
* Vol. I (1990)
* Vol. I (SNES)
* Riders of Rohan
* Elendor
* Vol. II: The Two Towers
* The Fellowship of the Ring
* The Two Towers
* The Return of the King
* War of the Ring
* The Third Age
* Game Boy Advance
* The Battle for Middle-earth
* Tactics
* The Battle for Middle-earth II
* The Rise of the Witch-king
* Conquest
* Aragorn's Quest
* War in the North
* Lego The Lord of the Rings
* Guardians of Middle-earth
* Shadow of Mordor
* Shadow of War
* Gollum
* Return to Moria

| The Lord of the Rings Online|

* Mines of Moria
* Siege of Mirkwood
* Rise of Isengard
* Riders of Rohan
* Helm's Deep
* Mordor
* Minas Morgul
* War of Three Peaks
* Fate of Gundabad
* Before the Shadow

|

Tabletop role-
playing games|

* Middle-earth Role Playing
* The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying Game
* The One Ring Roleplaying Game
* Adventures in Middle-earth

Board games|

* Middle Earth
* War of the Ring
* Gondor: The Siege of Minas Tirith
* Sauron
* Lord of the Rings
* War of the Ring

Card games|

* Middle-earth Collectible Card Game
* The Lord of the Rings Trading Card Game
* The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game

Other games|

* Middle-earth Strategy Battle Game
* Lego The Lord of the Rings

* v
* t
* e

Fan fiction

Genres|

* Alternate universe
* Crossover
* Expanded universe
* Fan film
* Femslash
* Mpreg
* Omegaverse
* Real person fiction
* Shared universe
* Slash fiction
* Uberfic

Writing styles|

* Author surrogate
* Mary Sue
* MSTing
* Self-insertion

Works|

* All the Young Dudes
* Another Hope
* Beautiful Bastard
* Fallout: Equestria
* Fifty Shades trilogy
* Gabriel's Inferno
* Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality
* Hogwarts School of Prayer and Miracles
* The Love Hypothesis
* My Immortal
* Time's Champion

Websites and
organizations|

* FanFiction.Net
* FIMFiction
* The Gossamer Project
* Organization for Transformative Works
* Archive of Our Own
* Wattpad

Shipping|

* Discourse
* Destiel
* Drarry
* Johnlock
* Kirk/Spock
* Larries
* Wolfstar
* Scorbus
* Stucky
* Thasmin
* Wincest

Related topics|

* Doujinshi
* Fan labor
* Hanahaki disease
* Legal issues with fan fiction
* Original character
* My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic fan fiction
* Tolkien fan fiction

* v
* t
* e

Fandoms

By type|

| Genre|

* Boys' love fandom
* Fantasy fandom
* Furry fandom
* Science fiction fandom

|

Medium-specific|

* Anime and manga fandom
* in Poland
* Cinephilia
* Disney fandom
* Disney adults
* Disneyland social club
* Donaldism
* Gamer
* Sports fandom

Production-specific|

* AFOL
* A Song of Ice and Fire
* Beatlemania
* Deadhead
* Doctor Who
* Dragon Ball
* EarthBound
* Harry Potter
* James Bond
* Janeite
* Juggalo
* Larries
* Moonwalker
* My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic
* art
* charity
* criticism
* fan fiction
* music
* online communities
* slang
* MSTies
* Sherlock Holmes
* Star Wars
* Stargate
* Shrek
* Swiftie
* Tolkien
* Trekkie
* Twilight

Demographics|

* Anorak
* Anti-fan
* Bookworm
* Celebrity worship syndrome
* Cult following
* Fan
* Furry
* Kemonā
* Geek
* Groupie
* Nerd
* Otaku
* Sasaeng
* Tifosi
* Ultras

Organizations
and events|

* Amateur press association
* Car club
* Boy racer
* Cruising
* Import scene
* Hot rodding
* Kustom Kulture
* Lowrider Club
* Supercar Season
* Cosplay
* Fan club
* Fan convention
* Fandom names
* Historical reenactment
* Live action role-playing game
* Motorcycle club
* Harley Owners Group
* Organization for Transformative Works
* Railfan
* Stan Twitter

Publications
and activities|

* Anime music video
* Autograph collecting
* Doujin
* Doujin music
* Doujinshi
* Fan art
* Fan edit
* Fan fiction
* Fan film
* Fan labor
* Fan mail
* Fan rice
* Fan translation
* Fanac
* Fan game
* Doujin soft
* Mod
* Fansite
* Fan wiki
* list
* Fanspeak
* Fanzine
* Filk music
* Real person fiction
* Vidding
* Zine

Conventions|

* Anime and manga
* list
* Comic book
* list
* defunct
* Doujinshi
* Furry
* Gaming
* list
* Horror
* Multigenre
* My Little Pony
* Professional wrestling
* Science fiction
* list
* by date of establishment

Topics|

* Cringe culture
* Fan loyalty
* Fan service
* Odagiri effect
* Original character
* Ponysona
* Shipping
* Shipping discourse
* Waifu

* v
* t
* e

Fantasy fiction

* History
* Literature
* Magic
* Sources

Subgenres|

* Accidental travel
* Action-adventure
* Lost world
* Sword and sorcery
* Wuxia
* Alternate history
* Chuanyue
* Contemporary
* Children's fantasy
* Comedy
* Bangsian
* Dark fantasy
* Grimdark
* Fairy tale parodies
* Fairytale fantasy
* Fantastique
* Fantasy of manners
* Hard fantasy
* High fantasy
* Historical fantasy
* Isekai
* LitRPG
* Low fantasy
* Magical girl
* Mythic
* Mythpunk
* Mythopoeia
* Omegaverse
* Progression
* Romantic
* Science fantasy
* Dying Earth
* Planetary romance
* Shenmo
* Urban fantasy
* Occult detective fiction
* Paranormal romance
* Weird fiction
* New weird
* Weird West
* Fantasy Western
* Xianxia

Media|

| Film and television|

* Anime
* Films
* highest-grossing
* S&S
* Television programs

|

Literature|

* Authors
* Ballantine Adult Fantasy series
* Comics
* list
* The Encyclopedia of Fantasy
* Fantasy Masterworks
* Internet Speculative Fiction Database
* List of novels
* A–H
* I–R
* S–Z
* List of story collections
* Publishers

Magazines|

* Fantastic
* Fantastic Adventures
* Locus
* The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
* Science Fantasy
* Unknown
* Weird Tales

Other|

* Dungeons & Dragons
* Féeries
* Podcasts

Awards|

* Balrog
* British Fantasy
* Crawford
* Dragon
* Gandalf
* Gemmell
* Hugo
* International Fantasy
* Japan Fantasy
* Locus
* Méliès d'Or
* Mythopoeic
* Nebula
* Saturn
* Tähtifantasia
* World Fantasy

Fandom|

* Art
* Fanspeak
* Filk music
* Harry Potter fandom
* The Inklings
* Lovecraft fandom
* Mythopoeic Society
* Tolkien fandom
* Tolkien's influence
* Works inspired by J. R. R. Tolkien
* World Fantasy Convention

Tropes|

| Creatures|

* Angels
* Demons
* Devils
* Ghouls
* Elementals
* Faeries
* Familiars
* Fire-breathing monsters
* Chimera
* Dragons
* Gargoyles
* Imps
* Jinn
* Nymphs
* Shapeshifters
* Werecats
* Werewolves
* Skin-walkers
* Spirits
* Talking animals
* Undead
* Death
* Ghosts
* Liches
* Mummies
* Skeletons
* Vampires
* Zombies
* Unicorns
* Yōkai

|

Characters|

* Barbarian
* Caveman
* Damsel in distress
* Dark lord
* Donor
* Dragonslayer
* Fairy godmother
* Heroes
* Magicians
* Occult detective
* list
* Wild man
* Witches

Magic system|

* Hard and soft
* Elements
* Dark/neutral/light
* Ceremonial
* Love
* Moon
* Magic item
* Grimoire
* Magic ring
* Magical weapons
* Magic sword
* Runes
* Wand
* Schools
* Alchemy
* Demonology
* Divination
* Egregore
* Evocation
* Incantation
* Necromancy
* Runecraft
* Shamanism
* Shapeshifting
* Thaumaturgy
* Theurgy
* Witchcraft

Fantasy races|

* Centaurs
* Dwarves
* Elves
* Treants
* Giants
* Gnomes
* Goblins
* Gremlins
* Halflings
* Hobgoblins
* Kobolds
* Leprechauns
* Merfolk
* Mermaids
* Mermen
* Ogres
* Oni
* Orcs
* Trolls

Places and events|

* Quests
* Worlds
* list
* Maps
* Lost city
* Hollow Earth
* Astral plane
* Dreamworld
* Castle
* Enchanted forest
* Thieves' guild
* Magic school

Related|

* Allegory
* Epic poetry
* Fable
* Fairy tale
* Ghost stories
* Gothic fiction
* Horror fiction
* LGBT themes in speculative fiction
* Mecha
* Mythology
* Science fiction
* Supernatural fiction
* Superhero
* Tokusatsu
* Kaiju
* Urban legend

* Outline
* Category

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