The One hundred and seventy-fifth Roving Ranger

-:- Strange as news from Bree -:-

Life and Works

February 17, 1894. Hilary Tolkien (Si apre in una nuova finestra), J.R.R. Tolkien's brother, is born.
February 18, 1857. Arthur Tolkien (Si apre in una nuova finestra) is born on Handsworth, Staffordshire, England.
February 20, 1938. In response to an article (Si apre in una nuova finestra) in the Observer, a letter (Si apre in una nuova finestra) by Tolkien is published, explaining the name and inception of the intriguing hero, which would, according to the Observer, "save many research students so very much trouble in the generations to come."
February 21, 1958. Tolkien writes Letter 205 (Si apre in una nuova finestra), on Christopher's lecture presentation at Oxford.
February 22, 1964. Jane Neave (Si apre in una nuova finestra), aunt of Tolkien, dies.
February 23, 1945. A letter by Tolkien, "The Name Coventry (Si apre in una nuova finestra)", is published in the Catholic Herald (Si apre in una nuova finestra).

• Third Age (Si apre in una nuova finestra), 301 (Si apre in una nuova finestra)9: The Fellowship is ambushed near Sarn Gebir (Si apre in una nuova finestra) at night. A frightened Gollum (Si apre in una nuova finestra) flees to the eastern bank and hides in the Emyn Muil (Si apre in una nuova finestra). A flying shadow approaches but Legolas shoots it with the bow of Galadriel. [Feb 23]

Events & Shows

Meet the Tolkien Society (Si apre in una nuova finestra) at William & Mary College (Si apre in una nuova finestra).

Daniel Hubin will give his talk A Long Defeat: Tolkien's Vision of History in The Lord of the Rings (Si apre in una nuova finestra) [Pusey House, Oxford, Feb 24]

For all events check out the Tolkien Guide (Si apre in una nuova finestra).

My podcast: A Talk with the Tolkienist [Spotify (Si apre in una nuova finestra) | YT (Si apre in una nuova finestra) | RSS feed (Si apre in una nuova finestra)]

Scholarship & Fandom

#TolkienTrewsday (Si apre in una nuova finestra) - which took up my idea of #TolkienTuesday on Xitter, inspired by #FolkloreThursday - is celebrating its Three Years Anniversary this week. [Bluesky]

Abigail Nussbaum has The Great Tolkien Reread: The Old Forest (Si apre in una nuova finestra) [Lawyers, Guns & Money]

doubtfulsea has Do You Speak Villain? (2) (Si apre in una nuova finestra)

Miriam Ellis has So special a gift: The tender bond between J.R.R. and Christopher Tolkien (Si apre in una nuova finestra) and Tolkien's Sweetest Love Story: Sam Gamgee and Rose Cotton (Si apre in una nuova finestra).

Edinburgh University Press made sure to mention the Journal of Inklings Studies (Si apre in una nuova finestra) (vol 15, issue 2) again, including John Garth’s Revealed: Tolkien's 1939 Lecture on Fairy-stories (Si apre in una nuova finestra) (free to read online).

Nicholas Birns has The Tower and the Ruin: J.R.R. Tolkien’s Creation (2025) (Si apre in una nuova finestra) by Michael D.C. Drout [Journal of Tolkien Research]

Janet Croft shared Volume 37, Number 3 Mythlore At 50: A Celebration (2026) (Si apre in una nuova finestra).

Robert S. Blackham who had published several books on Tolkien’s life (Si apre in una nuova finestra) has passed away.¹

Stephen C. Winter has “As a Father You Shall Be to Me.” Thoughts on Fathers and Sons as Merry Lays His Sword on Théoden’s Lap (Si apre in una nuova finestra).

Merchandise & Franchise

Lord of the Rings Online explains why its world is an ‘ecosystem’ rather than a themepark (Si apre in una nuova finestra) [MMORPG]

Hasbro Reveals Three MTG Set Release Dates to Complete 2026 Calendar (Si apre in una nuova finestra) [MTGRocks; Hobbit is coming Aug 14]

Concept Art from Eidos-Montréal’s LOTR Game [MP1st; project cancelled (Si apre in una nuova finestra)]

Leibniz, Tolkien et Wilde : les rois des enchères en 2025 (Si apre in una nuova finestra) [Actualitté]

Inter alia

George R.R. Martin has The Dreaming Spires (Si apre in una nuova finestra).

The illustrated edition (Jim Kay) of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Si apre in una nuova finestra) may have appeared in 2019 - but it is only now that a fan noticed Ron Weasley reading Tolkien? (Si apre in una nuova finestra) [reddit]

Podcast Octothorpe’s 153rd episode (Si apre in una nuova finestra) has cover art titled “Alison the White” [by Alison Scott]

Online comic Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal has a statement on Grimm’s Fairy Tales (Si apre in una nuova finestra) (and Disney) Tolkien might have agreed with, despite its ramifications (Si apre in una nuova finestra).

The Wade has the manuscript of Gaudy Night (Si apre in una nuova finestra) [Youtube]

10 Thoughts On “AI, (Si apre in una nuova finestra)” February 2026 Edition [John Scalzi]

David Bratman has museum report: A Larger Reality, Ursula K. Le Guin (Si apre in una nuova finestra) [Blogspot]

Good Omens will release May 13 (Si apre in una nuova finestra) [File 770]

British Library celebrates fairy tales (Si apre in una nuova finestra) in a major new exhibition² [March 27 ff.]

Onodrim Industries Raises €40 Million in Seed Funding (Si apre in una nuova finestra) to Accelerate Europe's Defence & Industrial Technology Renaissance [Yahoo Finance]

Palantir CEO Alex Karp Recorded a Video About ICE for His Employees [Wired; potential paywall]

Palantir leadership sometimes refers to employees as “hobbits,” after the fictional Lord of the Rings characters.

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If you are interested in my other Tolkien-related work please have a look:
The Tolkienist Blog (Si apre in una nuova finestra) : Facebook (Si apre in una nuova finestra) : Bluesky (Si apre in una nuova finestra) : Instagram (Si apre in una nuova finestra) : Threads (Si apre in una nuova finestra) : Mastodon (Si apre in una nuova finestra) - and have a look at all Roving Rangers published so far. (Si apre in una nuova finestra)

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. Family note on Linkedin (Si apre in una nuova finestra). ↩

2. h/t File 770 (Si apre in una nuova finestra). ↩