The Children of Aulë: A Depressing Illustration of the Forced Migrations of the Dwarves

So I've put together geneological charts for both the elves and men of Middle-earth, and I was really looking forward to doing the same for the dwarves––they've always been my favorite anyways. However, I have to admit that after doing the work and the research to make this chart . . . I'm mostly just depressed. Those dwarfs had a crappy history. No, I'm being serious. You probably don't even want to hear about it. It was that bad.

If you don't believe me . . . well, just jump past the break and you'll see:

Friday at the Mathom-House: Nick Keller

Nick Keller is one of the concept artists that worked on TH:AUJ, and he has posted some of his Hobbit work (along with a lot of other great stuff) over at his website nickkellerart.com and shared it with folks at ComicBook Movie. Jump past the break to see some awesome artwork of warg riders, dwarves and lots of weapons and armor:

Denney's 'Exclusive' Bag End Featurette

Denney's Bag End featurette has broken loose on the interwebs . . . it's not all that secret anymore. Enjoy!

The Hobbit Reread 2: Durin's Folk

The Hobbit Reread 2: Durin's Folk

Ok . . . I know I took forever getting Part 2 of the reread out. In my defense, I've been out of town for over a week. Sorry. Anyways, today we'll be discussing the ROTK Appendix essay Durin's Folk. This essay will give us a quick overview of the history of the Longbeard dwarves leading up to the beginning of the Hobbit.

The Hobbit Reread 1: Of Dwarves and Men

The History of Middle-earth Vol. 12: The Peoples of Middle-earth - Of Dwarves and Men

Okay, before I jump into the first of many rereads, I thought I'd explain the format. Each week I'll present a summary of the chapter or essay I'll be discussing, and then move into my 'discussion' of the piece. If the piece I'm rereading is not part of the main body of the Hobbit I'll give a bit of background on it as well (mainly applicable for the first couple of weeks). In each section I'll try to include any incredibly important quotations as necessary. Here we go!

Video Blog #8: What did we learn?

Ok, so I'm a little late getting the production video up, but there's good reason for that: first, as you can see . . . the old blog has been undergoing some renovations; second, well . . . life is busy; and third, has to be my favorite production video so far, and there is a lot of info to glean from it.

So, if you haven't seen the video yet, go ahead and watch it, then jump past the break to take a look at some screen shots (courtesy of DarkJackal) and we'll talk a bit about the new hints/clues/revelations we get in this little reel!

Fridays at the Mathom-House: Frank Frazetta

Oh yes . . . it's that time of week again! You've managed to drag yourself through Monday and Tuesday. You survived the 4th of July. Thursday is gone. That means only one thing: it's FRIDAY! And that, good reader, is reason to celebrate. So here's some awesome Hobbit-ish art from the renowned artist Frank Frazetta!

The picture above is from Frazetta's limited edition portfolio of LOTR and TH illustrations. Now, I was a little confused at first because apparently this image is the title page for LOTR, but I'm pretty sure all those dwarves indicate that this picture is (or should be) a scene from the Hobbit. I got started on fantasy via the Hobbit when I was a tender eight years old, right around the end of the "Golden Age" of Swords and Sorcery Fantasy . . . you know, Conan and all that stuff. So this type of illustration is really nostalgic for me. Gandalf looks awesome!

Read on after the break for even more great illustrations!

New Hobbit Photos from EW!

EW has released a new set of awesome Hobbit pics featuring Bilbo, Gandalf, Thorin and a whole mess of other characters from the upcoming movie! This news comes to you via theonering.net! Click here to see the EW cover and read an excerpt from the article. And here you'll find the gallery of photos!

Read on past the break to see screen caps of the new photos:

Fridays at the Mathom-House: Belomlinsky

The Mathom-house it was called; for anything that Hobbits had no immediate use for, but were unwilling to throw away, they called a ‘mathom’.

–The Fellowship of the Ring; Prologue 

Yeah, I started this post like a week in advance to make sure I got it up on time. Cheating? Probably. Necessary? Definitely. 'Course, the good thing is, nobody cares if it's cheating, because today is Friday and that means two things: freedom, and great Hobbit art here at the Mathom-house!

This week we're expanding our horizons a little and looking at some great (and a little goofy) Hobbit art from the Soviet Union, as featured on the blog Real USSR (which is a fascinating blog to browse through, even if you don't consider the Tolkien-related stuff).

These illustrations were included in a Russian translation of the Hobbit (the 1971 edition, if I'm remembering correctly), and were the work of Belomlinsky, who did a bang-up job, IMO. Now, as you look through these images, you'll not that not all of them are strict interpretations of the events in the book; however, I think the artist does a good job of capturing the "feel" or "spirit" of the Hobbit . . . that fantastic element that has captivated so many of us.

So, jump past the break and enjoy a little bit of Middle-Earth, brought straight to you from Mother Russia!

Wanted: Information on a mysterious dwarf

Well folks, make no mistake. There is a mystery afoot. We were all treated to the 6th Hobbit production video a few weeks ago, and towards the end of the ~12 minute video, we catch a glimpse of an unknown dwarf. Before reading any further, take a look for yourself, then jump past the break for a discussion of just who this guy might be.

The town of Dale

The super-sleuths at the German Lord of the Rings movies fan-site Herr Der Ringe Film have released the first ever photos of the town of Dale! For those of you who might not remember, Dale is the town of Men that was nestled at the foot of the Lonely Mountain. Thorin describes it to Bilbo near the start of the Hobbit:

Anyway they grew immensely rich and famous, and my grandfather was King under the Mountain again and treated with great reverence by the mortal men, who lived to the South, and were gradually spreading up the Running River as far as the valley overshadowed by the Mountain. They built the merry town of Dale there in those days.

––The Hobbit; Ch. 1: An Unexpected Party

 Sadly, Dale was destroyed by Smaug . . . and by the time Bilbo and his crew reach the Lonely Mountain, nothing remains of the once merry town but ruins.

HDRF asked that their images not be posted on other sites (sorry . . .) so I'll just give you the link to the pictures. As a quick note: the buildings all look to be in good condition, so I wonder if what we're seeing is Dale before the arrival of Smaug . . . and that just makes me wonder what the place will look like when Bilbo and the dwarves finally arrive.

For those of you who don't read German, here are the translated photo captions (courtesy of theonering.net):

• Structure of the set of Dale.
• The red roof tiles seem almost mediterranean.
• Archways, doors and arched windows in Romanesque style.
• Dale extends over several levels.
• The set is supported by shipping containers.
• Is this perhaps one of the bell towers of the town?
• The unfinished battlements of Dale.
• Plywood is the preferred building material on set.
• A set bridge or access way is built.
• A finished piece of wall with round battlements.
• The set of Dale.
• In this view one can clearly see the different levels.
• Back view of Dale and the bridge.
• A Dale building and a staircase in the building.

Fridays at the Mathom-House: Joona Kujanen

The Mathom-house it was called; for anything that Hobbits had no immediate use for, but were unwilling to throw away, they called a ‘mathom’.

–The Fellowship of the Ring; Prologue 

A little late, but always better than never, it's Friday (almost) at the Mathom-House. Luckily, Blogger let's me set the date and time automatically, so I can cheat and still make this a Friday post.

This week we're be featuring the artwork of Joona Kujanen, better known as  Tulikoura, who maintains a great gallery of his work at deviantART.com. The artist has a great sub-gallery dedicated to some fantastic LOTR and Hobbit images.

Just like the artist we featured last week, Tulikoura's work caught my eye for its use of traditional mediums instead of the ever-more-common digital stuff we're seeing all over online. Some of of these images look like the lithographic prints you'd find in an old Dicken's novel or something . . . really good stuff. So, get ready to enjoy a whole lot of good art right after the break:

The Hobbit, or There and Back Again

Fridays at the Mathom-House: Anke Eissmann

The Mathom-house it was called; for anything that Hobbits had no immediate use for, but were unwilling to throw away, they called a ‘mathom’.

–The Fellowship of the Ring; Prologue 

Seven days done and now it's time for a batch of amazing Tolkien art. Yes, good reader, it's that time again: Fridays at the Mathom-house. This week we'll be showcasing the art of Anke Eissmann, who's website has an awesome section dedicated to her Tolkien art. Anke's art caught my eye because of her use of traditional mediums like watercolor and pen-and-ink, instead of the digital art you see everywhere nowadays. In fact, her watercolor paintings remind a lot of Tolkien's own watercolors. So, limber up your scroller-finger and sit back to enjoy some great Hobbit art:

Durin's Day

History of the Dwarves: Update

So, thanks to my tech-savvy wife, I've fixed the issue with the dwarf infographic. You can now access it by clicking on the image below, which has a link to the full-resolution image. Enjoy!

A bit of dwarf-ishness: Bilbo's Contract

So, I'm  a little late getting this posted (it's been up on theonering.net for a while now) but it's pretty cool, so I thought I'd better put it up anyways.

Using some high-res images of Bilbo holding the contract from Thorin & Co, DarkJackal managed to decipher some of the test of the contract. You can read more about the process over on his blog, Heirs of Durin. And even if you don't want to read the whole process, you should head over anyway 'cause there's some cool content over there.

To keep this post shorter, I'll just put down the finished "translation" that DarkJackal came up with. Note that he's divided the contract up into lettered sections that correspond to the pictures you can see to the right.

Fridays at the Mathom-House: Justin Gerard

The Mathom-house it was called; for anything that Hobbits had no immediate use for, but were unwilling to throw away, they called a ‘mathom’.

–The Fellowship of the Ring; Prologue 

After too long a break, it's Mathom-time again! Friday is here, freedom is near . . . and I've stumbled upon what might just be my favorite Tolkien artist of all time. Here for your enjoyment is the fantastic work of Justin Gerard. He maintains several great websites, all of which can be found through the previous link; but, his blog is a particular treat, since the artist goes into detail explaining the process behind his artwork. Enjoy:

A History of the Dwarves (in color!)

So, a big apology for being so derelict in my blogging. School finally caught up with me and started kicking me in the butt, so I've been focusing on that for the past few weeks. Luckily, my responsible side took over during a time when not too much was going on on the Hobbit Movie front . . . now, I know some people who are more interested in casting and actors might disagree, but as I have next to no interest in that aspect of the movies, I don't feel too bad.

Anyways, even though I haven't been posting, I have been busy working on a little something . . . a map! I've always loved maps, and I am also a huge fan of infographics, so I thought I'd try my hand at combining the two.

So, here for your enjoyment is an infographic detailing the history and travels of the dwarves from the beginning of the First Age down to Mr. Baggin's adventures with Thorin & Co. I'm pleased with how the map turned out, but keep in mind this is my first shot at this sort of thing . . . hopefully I'll improve as time goes on.

The image below is just a crop from the whole map, which can be found and downloaded by clicking on the image:

P.S. The map is pretty detailed, so you'll have to zoom in and scroll around to get the full effect.

Later!

Fridays at the Mathom-House: Magali Villeneuve

The Mathom-house it was called; for anything that Hobbits had no immediate use for, but were unwilling to throw away, they called a ‘mathom’.

–The Fellowship of the Ring; Prologue 

Friday is here and superb Middle-Earth art has arrived! Today we'll be showcasing the Lord of the Rings artwork of Magali Villeneuve. All of the art on display today comes from the new Lord of the Rings Card Game by Fantasy Flight Games. And if you're interested in seeing more of Magali's work once you've looked through what we have here, head on over to her blog to see a bunch of other amazing artwork.

There's a ton of pictures here, so I'm not gonna comment on each and everyone. Instead, I'll just give a brief overview of why I like this artist so much. First and foremost, Magali has real talent . . . her art looks good enough to be included in a Tolkien book, which you don't see often these days. Second, Magali's artwork is filled with detail, which is what first caught my eye. Just look at Bifur, below. There's scrollwork on his hood, breath misting in the air, and his axe looks good enough to have come straight from the armories of the Lonely Mountain.

All in all, these images are good stuff. Enjoy!

Bifur of Erebor

The Strange History of Thror's Key

"Also," went on Gandalf, "I forgot to mention that with the map went a key, a small and curious key. Here it is!" he said, and handed to Thorin a key with a long barrel and intricate wards, made of silver. "Keep it safe!"

––The Hobbit; Ch. 1: An Unexpected Party; p29

It's easy to forget that in the beginning, the quest to the Lonely Mountain depended entirely on a single key and a secret door that the Dragon didn't know about. In fact, without the key, Bilbo wouldn't have been able to get into the mountain, Smaug never would have been ticked off enough by the little hobbit to fly out and attack Lake Town, and Bard the Bowman wouldn't have had the chance to shoot him (did I mention that there would be spoilers?).

So what is this all important key, and where did it come from? That, good reader, is what we'll be talking about today.

The quote above describes the moment when Gandalf first produces the key and gives it to Thorin (who, as usual, is the picture of gratitude). Along with the key came a map, a copy of which is posted right after the break:

To Talk or Not to Talk: Should Trolls Even Ask that Question?

Almost since it was announced that there would be a Hobbit movie, there's been a lot of speculation about whether or not the Trolls, Eagles and animals would talk like they do in the book, or whether they'd be like the Trolls and Eagles in the LOTR movies . . . non-speaking, in other words. People seem to be pretty divided in their opinions, with Tolkien purists asking "How on earth could they not speak if they do in the books?" and the movie-lovers complaining that making the Trolls and what not talk would make the new movies too different from the original trilogy . . . too juvenile, I guess.

So, the big question is, are the Trolls gonna be more like this:

Bert (or maybe Tom . . . or possibly Bill)

Or more like this:

The Cave Troll

Read on after the break, where there'll be more cool pics and some compelling evidence: