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The Lord of the Rings is the book that turned me into an avid reader when I was 13 or so. I remember sitting in the school library studying the maps and transla
by pault 10y ago
The Lord of the Rings is the book that turned me into an avid reader when I was 13 or so. I remember sitting in the school library studying the maps and translating the runes with a reference book I found. I was so excited when I discovered that the runes on the maps in the Hobbit turned out to be the riddle for opening the way to the lonely mountain. I still read it every few years, and was just listening to the audiobook while browsing HN and saw this article! I do get tired of all the singing though. :)
- aisofteng 10y agoTangentially related, in the sense of inspiring imagination - this summer I was in Switzerland and looked up Wiki articles on where I was visiting, and came across this Tolkien-related tidbit: >J. R. R. Tolkien hiked from Interlaken to the Lauterbrunnen Valley while on a trip to the Continent in 1911. The landscape of the valley later provided the concept and pictorial model for his sketches and watercolours of the fictitious valley of Rivendell, the dwelling place of Elrond Half-elven and his people. Source: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lauterbrunnen https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lauterbrunnen Having accidentally recreated this trek, I can attest to its natural beauty, and I can see how it inspired his imagination. I highly recommend doing the same if you're lucky enough to be able to. A photo of Lauterbrunnen: http://gotravelaz.com/wp-content/uploads/images/Lauterbrunnen_16610.jpg http://gotravelaz.com/wp-content/uploads/images/Lauterbrunne...
- hanoz 10y ago> I highly recommend doing the same if you're lucky enough to be able to. Thank you, it looks wonderful. I want to see mountains again.
- fnayr 10y agoI did that exact hike in 2014 and didn't know that. That's incredible! It is the most beautiful place I have ever seen with my eyes for sure. I highly agree with your recommendation.
- irrational 10y agoWow! I have never seen that before. What an incredible location!
- veddox 10y agoHey, that's interesting! We were right there ourselves two weeks ago on our family holiday :D Didn't hear about it being the inspiration for Rivendell, though. But I can well imagine it.
- lintiness 10y agoyour post reminded me of a very salient point: tolkien's artwork / drawings are AMAZING. https://www.brainpickings.org/2014/01/03/tolkien-artist-illustrator/ https://www.brainpickings.org/2014/01/03/tolkien-artist-illu...
- abakker 10y agoI remember the same thing - World Book Encyclopedia 'R' had Runes in it that corresponded to Thorin's map. Thankfully, the alphabet lined up, and tolkien wrote those runes in english.