{"id":19106,"date":"2026-04-28T23:46:16","date_gmt":"2026-04-28T22:46:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jurn.link\/spyders\/?p=19106"},"modified":"2026-04-28T23:51:41","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T22:51:41","slug":"tolkien-gleanings-404","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jurn.link\/spyders\/2026\/04\/28\/tolkien-gleanings-404\/","title":{"rendered":"Tolkien Gleanings #404"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tolkien Gleanings<\/a> #404<\/p>\n

* Dimitra Fimi considers “Gandalf’s fireworks”<\/a>, and specifically their terminology (“squibs, crackers, backarappers, sparklers, torches, dwarf-candles, elf-fountains, goblin-barkers and thunderclaps”) in historical context. (Substack, but free).<\/p>\n

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Gandalf taking the ‘special’ fireworks to Hobbiton. Many of the lesser fireworks having already been delivered by the dwarves.<\/em><\/center><\/p>\n

* The University of Iowa’s latest Iowa Magazine<\/em> has a new faculty profile article, “Iowa Professor Explores J.R.R. Tolkien\u2019s Influence on \u201960s Counterculture”<\/a>. Who knew that Stuart Hall studied under Tolkien?<\/p>\n

“Sparked by this previously overlooked connection between two cultural giants [Hall and Tolkien], Lavezzo embarked on an academic adventure exploring Tolkien\u2019s influence on 1960s counterculture — a topic Hall first touched on in his 1968 essay, \u201cThe Hippies: An American \u2018Moment.\u2019\u201d Lavezzo\u2019s research project has taken her around the world to interview sources, inspired an upcoming book titled ‘Hobbits and Hippies: Fantasy and the Long Sixties’. [Though this is] a book still in the research stage”.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

* An article I missed noting, in the latest Mythlore<\/em>, “Tolkien\u2019s Thomist Triad: A High Medieval Response to Contemporary Jus Ad Bellum”<\/em><\/a>. Freely available online. You wouldn’t know it from the title — unless you can read Latin — but this turns out to be about the timely matter of what justifies war. The essay outlines ‘just war theory’ from the…<\/p>\n

“early medieval to early modern eras and compares its principles [to those found in Tolkien’s Middle-earth …] I conclude that Tolkien\u2019s fictional works permit broader justifications for war than do most modern just war theorists.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

* Tolkien Medieval and Modern<\/em> considers “Lost Identity and Found Myth in The Lost Road”<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n

* Just released in English, the short book Finnish Mythology: Introduction to Myths, Gods and Legends<\/a><\/em> (2026).<\/p>\n

* And finally, learn The Language of the Dwarves: A Beginner Course<\/a>. Starts 24th May 2026…<\/p>\n

“This is a fully structured course of nine lessons, designed to guide you from the very foundations of the language to practical use. It includes detailed documents, audio segments, and a wide range of exercises, with the option to receive personal feedback along the way.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tolkien Gleanings #404 * Dimitra Fimi considers “Gandalf’s fireworks”, and specifically their terminology (“squibs, crackers, backarappers, sparklers, torches, dwarf-candles, elf-fountains, goblin-barkers and thunderclaps”) in historical context. (Substack, but free). Gandalf taking the ‘special’ fireworks to Hobbiton. Many of the lesser fireworks having already been delivered by the dwarves. * The University of Iowa’s latest Iowa […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19106","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-tolkien-gleanings"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jurn.link\/spyders\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19106","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jurn.link\/spyders\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jurn.link\/spyders\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jurn.link\/spyders\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jurn.link\/spyders\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19106"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/jurn.link\/spyders\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19106\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19109,"href":"https:\/\/jurn.link\/spyders\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19106\/revisions\/19109"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jurn.link\/spyders\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19106"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jurn.link\/spyders\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19106"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jurn.link\/spyders\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19106"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}