The One hundred and eighty-sixth Roving Ranger

Life & Works

May 18, 1972 Tolkien writes Letter 335 (Abre numa nova janela), telling a fan “that if he wanted to finish The Silmarillion (Abre numa nova janela), he did not have time for answering fan-letters.”
May 19, 2006 The Ring of Words (Abre numa nova janela) is published.
May 20, 1965 Tolkien writes Letter 270 (Abre numa nova janela), on Smith of Wootton Major (Abre numa nova janela), (&) revising The Lord of the Rings (Abre numa nova janela) to fight Ace Books (Abre numa nova janela).
May 21, 2013 The Fall of Arthur (Abre numa nova janela) is published.
May 22, 2014 Beowulf: A Translation and Commentary (Abre numa nova janela) is published.
May 24, 1932 R.W. Chambers (Abre numa nova janela) sends J.R.R. Tolkien (Abre numa nova janela) an inscribed copy of Beowulf: An Introduction to the Study of the Poem (Abre numa nova janela).
May 25, 1944 Tolkien writes Letter 71 (Abre numa nova janela), on Africa, The Lord of the Rings (Abre numa nova janela) writing, Orcs (Abre numa nova janela), dislike of Dorothy Sayers' (Abre numa nova janela) works.

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 Société française d’héraldique et de sigillographie has an exceptional online event coming up: “Tolkien héraldiste. Place et histoire des armoiries dans les œuvres de J.R.R. Tolkien (1892-1973)” [May 21; via Zoom (Abre numa nova janela)]¹

Olympia Family Theater (Abre numa nova janela) is showing ‘The Hobbit’ [until Jun 7; Olympia, Washington, USA]

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

Katie from Bree Crossroads has "I think I'm quite ready for another adventure!" (Abre numa nova janela) - an invitation to a global Tolkien fan community space via Discord.

Robin Reid has Handout on Scene 20 (EE) The Two Towers (Abre numa nova janela) as well as Recent Queer Tolkien Scholarship (Abre numa nova janela) [Substack]

David Bratman has Tiptree on Tolkien (Abre numa nova janela) [Blogspot]

The Joy of Old Books has I own a book that Tolkien scribbled in (Abre numa nova janela) [Substack]

doubtfulsea has Saruman’s Sigh (Abre numa nova janela).

Stephen C. Winter has “Speak Not The Soft Words of Wormtongue in My Old Ears”. Théoden Thinks About Ageing and Death in Harrowdale (Abre numa nova janela).

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

500 posts in 5 years with Steady. More on this next week.

Merchandise & Franchise

Charles III and the film trilogy go hand in hand with the Royal Mint - here you can register your interest (Abre numa nova janela).

Inter alia

File770 has the Grauniad list but just the fantasy/ scifi novels named (Abre numa nova janela).

'It's a Real Shame' — Peter Jackson, Architect of the Much-Loved Lord of the Rings Extended Edition DVDs, Laments the Decline of Physical Media (Abre numa nova janela) [IGN]²

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 Sarah C. Schaefer. (Abre numa nova janela) ↩

2. h/t File770 (Abre numa nova janela). ↩