Tolkien Gleanings #395
* The Tolkien Society has released YouTube videos from Westmoot 2025 (9th-11th May 2025). Too many to list here, but among others they include…
– Tolkien’s War from Cannock Chase to the Somme and Little Haywood.
– The Tolkien Brothers in World War I.
– Freedom From History in Tolkien (on little kingdoms, hidden kingdoms, and middle kingdoms in Middle-earth).
– Hallowed Ground: Naturally Santified Earth in Tolkien’s Legendarium.
– Tolkien’s Myth-making and Dreams of Earendil (chronological survey of various appearances of Earendil in Tolkien’s work).
– Collecting Sir Gawain and the Green Knight: Tolkien’s life-long passion.
* Miriam Ellis was asked to make the logo for the forthcoming Oxonmoot 2026.
* The Tolkien Society is to bring back the Sarehole Festival in 2026. Sarehole Mill is in south Birmingham, and its surroundings were a key childhood place for the young Tolkien brothers. Volunteers, traders and food vendors are all wanted for the event. I’m guessing they might consider sponsors offering little bags of dragon-gold, as well? The date is two months away, on 30th to 31st May 2026.
* Artist Matej Cadil’s new article on “Gardens in Middle‑earth”, accompanied by his painted illustrations. (Substack, but free).
* On YouTube, a quick broadcast TV interview about a new Italian film about Tolkien, titled From Middle-earth to Italy, an Unexpected Journey. This is a…
“documentary about Tolkien, directed by Nicola De Toma and Raffaele Rago, available on RaiPlay. In the TV studio, Oronzo Cilli, President of the Italian Tolkien Collectors, discusses the documentary, the connection between Tolkien and Dante, and how their works are similar.”
RaiPlay has the film for Italian subscribers…
“Exclusive […] A journey into the emotions and words of those who have read, loved and studied it: journalists, translators, art historians, essayists, Franciscan friars, songwriters, theologians and passionate readers. Directors: Nicola De Toma, Raffaele Rago.”
Other sources reveal it was partly funded by Italy’s Ministry of Culture, and that the finished film is 52 minutes and has been available online since 25th March on RaiPlay. It evidently attempts to cover a lot of ground, but visually it takes advantage of Tolkien’s 1955 visit to Venice and Assisi, and also the comparisons to Dante, being partly informed by Oronzo Cilli’s book Il mio viaggio in Italia. Tolkien e l’Italia (2016) (‘My trip to Italy: Tolkien and Italy’).
* Elfenomeno interviews Martin Simonson…
“I would like to continue transforming academic content into engaging essays for the average reader, presenting them in beautiful editions accompanied by artistic expressions such as illustrations, music, creative graphic design, cartographic works, etc. Making books in some way full of enchantment. Right now, I am working on several projects of this type: one linked to the forces of nature in The Hobbit, and another to the echoes of Norse mythology in Tolkien’s legendarium.”
* The Church Times newspaper concludes its Lent / Inklings series of articles, with “How fantasy can enrich reality”. Freely available online.
* And finally, Malcolm Guite on YouTube, on Sir Gawain and the Tolkien Fireplace.