A Modern-Day palantír
- Voronwë the Faithful
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A Modern-Day palantír
Here are some clips of Tolkien on the that modern-day palantír - YouTube:
Tolkien on Ring Mythology
Tolkien recites the Ring verse
Tolkien on Ring Mythology
Tolkien recites the Ring verse
"Spirits in the shape of hawks and eagles flew ever to and from his halls; and their eyes could see to the depths of the seas, and pierce the hidden caverns beneath the world."
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Thanks for sharing, Voronwë.
So - do you actually understand anything he says? (I get like one word in ten. Also interesting how absent-minded he seems. Same in the clip about how he wrote the beginning of The Hobbit on the exam paper.)
The Ring Verse reading is nice, though it's scarier when Christopher Lee reads it. Good to hear that Tolkien doesn't roll the 'r's in 'Mordor', though.
So - do you actually understand anything he says? (I get like one word in ten. Also interesting how absent-minded he seems. Same in the clip about how he wrote the beginning of The Hobbit on the exam paper.)
The Ring Verse reading is nice, though it's scarier when Christopher Lee reads it. Good to hear that Tolkien doesn't roll the 'r's in 'Mordor', though.
but being a cheerful hobbit he had not needed hope, as long as despair could be postponed.
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Re: A Modern-Day palantír
If you read the comments, if it pointed out that:Voronwë_the_Faithful wrote:Here are some clips of Tolkien on the that modern-day palantír - YouTube:
Tolkien on Ring Mythology
Tolkien recites the Ring verse
It was misattributed. The person who made the video claims that they took the audio from another site that had identified it as Tolkien, and they did not verify whether that was true or not.... unfortunately it is not Professor Tolkien reading - it is Michael Hordern and comes from the BBC radio production of The Lord of the Rings. A audio clip of Tolkien reading that verse does exist.
Michael Hordern was the voice of Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings 1981 radio series broadcasted on the BBC.
BrianIs AtYou
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- Voronwë the Faithful
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As I have bragged before, I have a recording of Tolkien reading Frodo's poem from the Prancing Pony, on my son's CD that came with book of poetry. Quite clearly, I might add.
If there was anything that depressed him more than his own cynicism, it was that quite often it still wasn't as cynical as real life.
Terry Pratchett, Guards! Guards!
Terry Pratchett, Guards! Guards!
- Voronwë the Faithful
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Here is the clip about The Hobbit that hobby mentioned above:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_36ovMYA5SA
My favorite comment is this one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_36ovMYA5SA
My favorite comment is this one:
It reminds me of "The_Dwarf" from the old m00bies forum.Is that was Judi Dench's voice?
"Spirits in the shape of hawks and eagles flew ever to and from his halls; and their eyes could see to the depths of the seas, and pierce the hidden caverns beneath the world."
- Voronwë the Faithful
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Here is an interview with Tolkien (either from 1964 or 1971):
http://youtube.com/watch?v=9-G_v6-u3hg&feature=related
Here is a transcript from the interview:
http://www.tolkienlibrary.com/press/804 ... erview.php
Here is Tolkien reciting Riddles in the Dark:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=7VOdv2RE4jg&feature=related
And here is "Of Herbs and Stewed Rabbits":
http://youtube.com/watch?v=xBQJTaMMMhI&feature=related
And finally, the Ring Verse:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=4s59oDfDoI8&feature=related
http://youtube.com/watch?v=9-G_v6-u3hg&feature=related
Here is a transcript from the interview:
http://www.tolkienlibrary.com/press/804 ... erview.php
Here is Tolkien reciting Riddles in the Dark:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=7VOdv2RE4jg&feature=related
And here is "Of Herbs and Stewed Rabbits":
http://youtube.com/watch?v=xBQJTaMMMhI&feature=related
And finally, the Ring Verse:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=4s59oDfDoI8&feature=related
"Spirits in the shape of hawks and eagles flew ever to and from his halls; and their eyes could see to the depths of the seas, and pierce the hidden caverns beneath the world."
- Sassafras
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I knew most of these clips although the interview is new to me. It is wonderful to actually hear him speak although I can't imagine his students had an easy time with his lectures. Good thing that there is a transcript because I had a hard time with the rapidity of his speech and I'm attuned to those cadences ... and he did have the most awful habit of swallowing words.
One can hear the influence on McKellen's Gandalf.
The Dwarves as Jews is interesting. I know that JRR had great respect for the Jewish people but I wonder if, in part, he made the connection based upon the fact that Jews were/are considered industrious, persevering and family-oriented and were once primarily involved in money-lending and the manufacture of precious stones (most other professions being forbidden to them).
Ever mindful of the maxim that brevity is the soul of wit, axordil sums up the Sil:
"Too many Fingolfins, not enough Sams."
Yes.
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soli, you beat me to it, I was going to say basically the same thing. Tolkien did point to those other factors that Sassy mentioned (as well as the "war-like nature" of the early Jews! ), but as is almost always the case with Tolkien (as I am particularly reminded of by reading Shippey) the primary factor was linguistic
"Spirits in the shape of hawks and eagles flew ever to and from his halls; and their eyes could see to the depths of the seas, and pierce the hidden caverns beneath the world."
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Yes, Letter 176:
I do think of the Dwarves like Jews: at once native and alien in their habitations, speaking the languages of the country, but with the accent due to their own private tongue.
I should have clarified that I was indulging in a bit of speculation ... that in addition to the language issue (Hebrew or Yiddish?? Or both?) he also took into account the association of Jews with money/gold/precious jewels.
I mean, Dwarves are inordinately fond of those things, are they not?
I do think of the Dwarves like Jews: at once native and alien in their habitations, speaking the languages of the country, but with the accent due to their own private tongue.
I should have clarified that I was indulging in a bit of speculation ... that in addition to the language issue (Hebrew or Yiddish?? Or both?) he also took into account the association of Jews with money/gold/precious jewels.
I mean, Dwarves are inordinately fond of those things, are they not?
Ever mindful of the maxim that brevity is the soul of wit, axordil sums up the Sil:
"Too many Fingolfins, not enough Sams."
Yes.
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It is also notable that the structure of Khuzdul appears to be similar to semitic languages, so he actually carried the linguistic connection over in that respect.
For more detail, see http://www.uib.no/people/hnohf/khuzdul.htm
Here is part of the discussion:
Some words in English may have relations to Semitic roots, such as "Solemn" which appears to be based on the same radical.
The S-L-M radical has to due with "submission". Islam is the religion of submission (to Allah). A Muslim is one who has submitted. The greeting "Salaam"/"Shalom" is act act of submission to the one that you are greeting (similar to the manner in which the dwarves in The Hobbit say "at your service!"--this is the radical equivalent of Salaam/Shalom, although the current connotation may be somewhat different).
A "solemn" occasion is one in which one is submits oneself to the seriousness of the occasion.
Even the English word "submit" could be seen as partially related to the radical, but the "L" in the radical has been replaced by a "B".
BrianIs AtYou
For more detail, see http://www.uib.no/people/hnohf/khuzdul.htm
Here is part of the discussion:
A simple example from real life semitic languages is the S-L-M radical, which is the root of words such as "Islam", "Muslim", "Salaam", or in Hebrew "Shalom" (originally the SH was an S--the original Shibboleth is at work here).The basic structure of Khuzdul resembles that of Semitic languages, like Arabic and Hebrew. The stems from which words are derived are not by themselves pronounceable words, but consist of consonants only. Nouns, verbs, adjectives etc. are derived not only by prefixes and suffixes (if such devices are used at all), but also by inserting certain vowels between these consonants, sometimes also by doubling one of the consonants. Often the words are actually inflected by internal vowel-changes instead of adding affixes: Rukhs means "Orc", but plural "Orcs" is Rakhâs. The root consonants - the so-called radicals - remain the same, like *R-Kh-S in this case. In Khuzdul as well as in Semitic languages, there are usually three radicals in the root; several such roots are mentioned in TI:174 and RS:466: B-R-Z "red", B-N-D "head", K-B-L "silver", N-R-G "black". An example of a biconsonantal root is Z-N "dark, dim" (RS:466).
Some words in English may have relations to Semitic roots, such as "Solemn" which appears to be based on the same radical.
The S-L-M radical has to due with "submission". Islam is the religion of submission (to Allah). A Muslim is one who has submitted. The greeting "Salaam"/"Shalom" is act act of submission to the one that you are greeting (similar to the manner in which the dwarves in The Hobbit say "at your service!"--this is the radical equivalent of Salaam/Shalom, although the current connotation may be somewhat different).
A "solemn" occasion is one in which one is submits oneself to the seriousness of the occasion.
Even the English word "submit" could be seen as partially related to the radical, but the "L" in the radical has been replaced by a "B".
BrianIs AtYou
Last edited by BrianIsSmilingAtYou on Fri Jan 18, 2008 6:08 am, edited 4 times in total.
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- Voronwë the Faithful
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Here's an interview with Rayner Unwin about The Hobbit. It is long, but definitely worth listening to:
How Bilbo Baggins Got His Start
How Bilbo Baggins Got His Start
"Spirits in the shape of hawks and eagles flew ever to and from his halls; and their eyes could see to the depths of the seas, and pierce the hidden caverns beneath the world."
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From the BBC archives:
In Their Own Words: British Novelists | Interviews with remarkable modern writers: JRR Tolkien - The views of the author and Oxford's students on Tolkien's Middle-earth epics
In Their Own Words: British Novelists | Interviews with remarkable modern writers: JRR Tolkien - The views of the author and Oxford's students on Tolkien's Middle-earth epics
"Spirits in the shape of hawks and eagles flew ever to and from his halls; and their eyes could see to the depths of the seas, and pierce the hidden caverns beneath the world."