Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons™
Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 2 of 2
Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Extending Arda: Mapping Beyond The Lord Of The Rings And Silmarillion, Stentor Danielson
Extending Arda: Mapping Beyond The Lord Of The Rings And Silmarillion, Stentor Danielson
Journal of Tolkien Research
The canonical maps by Christopher Tolkien from The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion cover only a small portion of the world of J.R.R. Tolkien's legendarium. In the years since their publication, many artists have been inspired to try to create maps of the entire world. In doing so, they have both curated the canonical information provided by Tolkien as well as engaged in their own sub-creation, drawing on geographical ideas from the primary world. This paper examines a broad set of fan-made maps of Arda to trace the lineages of their geographical conceptions and the principles behind their …
Deconstructing Durin’S Day: Science, Scientific Fan Fiction, And The Fan-Scholar, Kristine Larsen
Deconstructing Durin’S Day: Science, Scientific Fan Fiction, And The Fan-Scholar, Kristine Larsen
Journal of Tolkien Research
An analysis of attempts by fans (including scientists) to either ascribe a Real World date or a consistent Secondary World date to the fictional luni-solar holiday "Durin's Day" in The Hobbit demonstrates the value of such "scientific fan fiction." In particular, such endeavors can increase the scientific knowledge of both the fan-author and audience. These examples can also be used in the classroom or outreach to demonstrate both the impressive level of Tolkien's integration of real-world science in his sub-creation of Middle-earth, as well as highlight the limitations of Tolkien's understanding (an educational endeavor in and of itself).