The One hundred and eighty-fifth Roving Ranger

Life & Works

May 11, 1926 #OTD 100 years ago - J.R.R. Tolkien & C.S. Lewis meet for the first time. Lewis lated noted in his diary:

“a smooth, pale, fluent little chap — can’t read Spenser because of the forms — thinks the language is the real thing in the school — thinks all literature is written for the amusement of men between thirty and forty — we ought to vote ourselves out of existence if we were honest — still the sound-changes and the gobbets are great fun for the dons. No harm in him: only needs a smack or so.”¹

May 12, 1933 Tolkien writes Letter 68 (Abre numa nova janela), on the way to Mordor (Abre numa nova janela) in The Lord of the Rings (Abre numa nova janela).
May 13, 1937 Tolkien writes Letter 13 (Abre numa nova janela), on Houghton Mifflin’s interest in publishing The Hobbit (Abre numa nova janela) and having US artists do illustrations for it; he agrees under the condition that he could “veto anything from or influenced by the Disney studios (Abre numa nova janela) (for all whose works I have a heartfelt loathing).”
May 15, 1945 Tolkien writes Letter 99 (Abre numa nova janela), expressing his sympathy for Mrs. Williams' loss.
May 18, 1912 Tolkien pays his Oxford Union Library fees (Abre numa nova janela).

Northmoor Road Middle-earth meets Modern Living (Abre numa nova janela) [Essential Install]²

Funnily enough The place Tolkien lived in in Leeds is up for sale (Abre numa nova janela) [yes, they have the Blue Plaque to prove it (Abre numa nova janela)].³

The way the internet is going reliable information will be more difficult to find every day - so a curated newsletter like the Roving Ranger is more needed than ever. Share it, let people know! Thank you 😊

Events & Shows

The Tolkien Society’s Sarehole Festival is looking for volunteers (Abre numa nova janela)[May 30-31; via Facebook]

Spain’s EstelCon has its date and loads of news on its updated website: Sept 24-27 (Abre numa nova janela).

Lure of Middle-earth has set its next date: Feb 12-14, 2027 (Abre numa nova janela).

The University of Exeter Tolkien Society has a movie marathon (Abre numa nova janela) [May 17; Instagram]

Taruithorn, the Oxford Tolkien Society, is offering a Quenya presentation (Abre numa nova janela) [May 13] and next week they’ll go punting [Instagram]

Switzerland’s Fantasy Basel (Abre numa nova janela) will see Lukas Ritzel (Eredgiliath regulars table, Lucerne) and podcast Typisch Ravenclaw talk about Tolkienian topics, including A NEW HOBBIT TRANSLATION (Abre numa nova janela)! [May 15-16]

The Greek Tolkien Society is doing what a lot of fans love to do - a pub quiz! (Abre numa nova janela) [May 17; Instagram; Lucky Sparrow Club, Athens]

Oxford Lifelong Learning (Abre numa nova janela) has none other than John Garth offering two summer courses - Tolkien: The Great War and the Beginnings of Middle-Earth (Abre numa nova janela) and Building Middle-Earth: Tolkien's Geography and the Power of Place (Abre numa nova janela).

Sentieri Tolkieniani (Abre numa nova janela) is taking place June 12-14 [Macello, Italy]

Cartoons on the Bay, the Italian International Animation and Transmedia Festival by Rai Com, will host a Tolkien exhibition (Abre numa nova janela) [May 27-30]

The Unitarian Universalist Church of the Desert will have “People as Things: Pratchett, Tolkien, Le Guin and the Problem of Evil” (Abre numa nova janela) [May 24; available online]

FanExpo in Philly has Dark Side Burlesque at the FAN EXPO: A Tolkien Burlesque Show (Abre numa nova janela) [Mai 30; my fav is Onyx Ondyx as Gollum]

Into the Shire: Desert Hobbit Workshop (Abre numa nova janela) is happening in Flagstaff, Arizona, USA [May 16, etc.]

In Kansas City, Missouri, USA, an event report: Grade 6 Journeys into World of "The Hobbit." (Abre numa nova janela)

Please note I am the Guest of Honour of this year’s Lustrum of the Dutch Tolkien Society, Unquendor.

Registration is now open (Abre numa nova janela) for June 19-21, 2026.

For all events check out the Tolkien Guide (Abre numa nova janela).

Scholarship & Fandom

It’s been a pleasure writing Fingolfin’s Findings LXXXII: The ALA's Celebrity READ poster campaign (Abre numa nova janela) [Steady]

Good luck to the person to get this job: One Calleva Centre Postdoctoral Researcher: C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien: A Scholarly Reappraisal (Abre numa nova janela).

Magdalen College proposes to appoint a Postdoctoral Researcher to work on the project C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien: A Scholarly Reappraisal, led by Professor Simon Horobin (Magdalen College) and Professor Giuseppe Pezzini (Corpus Christi College), based at the Calleva Research Centre. The post will commence on 1 October 2026 or as soon as possible thereafter and will be for three calendar years.

This project aims to undertake a reassessment of the scholarly legacy of one of Magdalen College’s foremost fellows, the English literary scholar C.S. Lewis, in the context of his professional, intellectual and personal relationships with his friend and colleague J.R.R. Tolkien.

Dimitra Fimi has The Slow LotR Re-read (4): Bilbo's decluttering (Abre numa nova janela) as well as part 5: the “true story” of Bilbo’s ring (Abre numa nova janela) [Substack]

John Garth has On encountering yourself in the wild (Abre numa nova janela) [Steady; partial paywall]

Robin Reid has the CFP: “Tolkien, Barfield and the Inklings: Questions of Influence” (Abre numa nova janela) (F2F) [Substack]

Miriam Ellis has Glorfindel upon the other side: one of Tolkien's most glorious glimpses in The Lord of the Rings (Abre numa nova janela).

Brad Eden has The library of Michael H.R. Tolkien (1920-1984): dispersal, reconstruction and partial bibliography (Abre numa nova janela) [Journal of Tolkien Research]

These days even the Harvard Law School has something ‘Tolkienian’ to say: A last lesson from ‘Lord of the Rings.’ (Abre numa nova janela)

The Lord of the Rings trilogy in concert - anthems for a world in peril (Abre numa nova janela) [Observer]

Abigail Nussbaum has reached Rivendell on her Great Tolkien Reread (Abre numa nova janela) [Blogspot]

Andrew Higgins has Exploring Invented Languages (Abre numa nova janela) [Substack]

Stephen C. Winter has “I Am Forgetting Them!” Merry Thinks of Frodo and Sam in The Midst of His Loneliness (Abre numa nova janela).

Ramblings on my Bookshelves has J R R Tolkien and C S Lewis in Puffin (Abre numa nova janela) [Wordpress.com]

If you are more comfortable following me and my ventures via WhatsApp - here’s the Travelling Tolkienist Channel (Abre numa nova janela). 📝

Merchandise & Franchise

“The new era” of Middle-earth merchandise & franchise is making a huge push this week.

Peter Jackson, recipient of the Palme d’Or [more about him (Abre numa nova janela)]

Amazon MGM Studios has set the premiere date for season 3 of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power - Nov 11, 2026 (Abre numa nova janela). [press release; see also Jeff LaSala’s Rauron’s Return (Abre numa nova janela)]

Asmodee announces its first slate of partner publishers in the Middle-earth Enterprises™ (MEE) category management program (Abre numa nova janela) [press release]

LEGO has started promotion for one of its biggest sets yet: Minas Tirith (Abre numa nova janela). [preview photo: © Lego]

[Oh, and you are getting GROND as well!]

• Age: 18+

• RRP: £579.99 / €649.99 / $649.99

• Pieces: 8,278

• Dimensions: over 23.5 in. (59cm) high, 24.5 in. (62 cm) wide, and 14.5 in. (37 cm) deep

• Availability:
  LEGO Insiders Early Access: 1st June 2026

  For all: 4th June 2026

Collectibles company Pure Arts’ The Lord of the Rings Nazgul King Art Mask Exclusive Edition (Abre numa nova janela) will only set you back €1.349,00 [Youtube promo (Abre numa nova janela)]

If you are a gambler you you can go for The Lord of The Rings 25th Anniversary Series 2 Blind Bag Figural Bag Clip (Abre numa nova janela) [content is random; developer Monogram has also done War of the Rohirrim (Abre numa nova janela)]⁴

The Royal Albert Hall welcomed a very special guest (Abre numa nova janela) for its Wicki concerts of the film trilogy soundtracks [Instagram]

Tolkien and his Medieval Sources (Abre numa nova janela) - a course with Medievalists.net (Abre numa nova janela) [get a 15% discount for a limited time (Abre numa nova janela)]

Mountain Runner Events (Abre numa nova janela) in South Africa is hosting the Hobbit Trail Runs (Abre numa nova janela).

Ian McKellen: ‘Of course Gandalf would beat Dumbledore in a fight’ (Abre numa nova janela) [Guardian]

Still More Magic: The Gathering Plagiarism (Abre numa nova janela) [Plagiarism Today]⁵

Andy Serkis: The Hunt for Gollum ‘Absolutely Will Be Like’ How They Made Lord of the Rings (Abre numa nova janela) [Den of Geek]

TORn has Colbert on writing a new LOTR movie: “every moment has been a joy so far. (Abre numa nova janela)”

You can Read An Excerpt From ‘The Inklings Detective Agency’ by John R. Kelly (Abre numa nova janela) [Nerd Daily]

Free League Publishing continues to provide fans with great RPG materials.

We're thrilled to announce that not one, not two, but three upcoming Middle-earth roleplaying releases will be launched on June 2.

The June lineup includes Hands of the White Wizard (Abre numa nova janela) for The One Ring™, the official tabletop roleplaying game based on the works of J.R.R. Tolkien; Trials of Saruman (Abre numa nova janela), its 5E counterpart for The Lord of the Rings™ Roleplaying; and Hobbit™ Tales (Abre numa nova janela), a supplement for The One Ring™ featuring five ready-to-play adventures across the four farthings of the Shire.

Inter alia

For those of you with an interest in language, dictionaries, and the OED in particular - there is now a podcast about it: Lexipoddery (Abre numa nova janela) [Spotify]

The New York Times has done it again - damaging decent, often desperately needed criticism’s reputation in one fell swoop: Rick Beato Versus the NY Times (Abre numa nova janela) [Ted Gioia’s Substack]

Christopher Lockett has The Implausibility of Galactic Empires (Abre numa nova janela) [Substack]

Data centers are ruining the planet in many, many ways: The AI Hard Drive Shortage Is Making It More Expensive and Harder to Archive the Internet (Abre numa nova janela) [404 Media; see also There’s a reason data centers don’t look like castles, the Shire, or a spa (Abre numa nova janela) (Fast Company)]

ICE Agents Have List of 20 Million People on Their iPhones Thanks to Palantir (Abre numa nova janela) [404 Media]

Do also read Vanishing Culture: A Report on Our Fragile Cultural Record (Abre numa nova janela) [Internet Archive]

GRRM is happy to share The Mad King Meets the Stage – Tickets on Sale Now (Abre numa nova janela) [Not a Blog]

Should you consider finally giving up on things like Goodreads - do have a look at LibraryThing (Abre numa nova janela). They do amazing work and you can put your own collection for free on the internet with TinyCat (Abre numa nova janela). You can find my library here (Abre numa nova janela).

I asked about the original artist drawing the hobbits in the D&D 1st edition.

And as always… Tom Gauld ftw.

Thinking about starting a newsletter, podcast, Patreon, Substack etc.?

Then do consider using Steady (Abre numa nova janela) - it is an exceptionally easy to use option for all needs. Built originally for an independent journalists’ collective, Krautreporter (Abre numa nova janela), it is run by creative minds for creative minds. Think Patreon, just better. It is based in Germany, free of enshittification (Abre numa nova janela) and nazis.

Do use my invite link (Abre numa nova janela) and start with three months fee-free.
[Transparency note: I get a small referral bonus with no extra costs to you.]

According to German law I have to inform you all links to enterprises, artists, products etc. are [unpaid advertisements.] Some purchase links may earn me a small commission from Blackwell's (Abre numa nova janela), Bookshop.org (Abre numa nova janela), or Genialokal (Abre numa nova janela), the (independent) bookshops of my personal trust (one with a Tolkien connection!)

If you are interested in my other Tolkien-related work please have a look:
The Tolkienist Blog (Abre numa nova janela) : Facebook (Abre numa nova janela) : Bluesky (Abre numa nova janela) : Instagram (Abre numa nova janela) : Threads (Abre numa nova janela) : Mastodon (Abre numa nova janela) - and have a look at all Roving Rangers published so far. (Abre numa nova janela)

As this is 2026 I would like to note that this newsletter is 100% human-made, curated by me, Marcel R. Bülles. This also holds true for everything I write with my blog and here at Steady. Also, the minimum time of curating this newsletter ranges from 8-12 hours every week. Please consider supporting me so I can continue offering the Roving Ranger - thank you.

1. h/t All my road before me: the diary of C.S. Lewis, 1922-1927, p. 393. ↩

2. h/t Andrew Wells, FB. ↩

3. h/t Nick Kingsley (Abre numa nova janela), Tolkien Society FB group. ↩

4. h/t MGCoco (Abre numa nova janela), Bluesky. ↩

5. h/t Trotter from the Tolkien Guide (Abre numa nova janela) team. ↩