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Tales from the Perilous Realm

2010-05-23T21:42:42Z

173.81.86.165: /* 2008 edition */

{{stub}}

{{book|
title=Tales from the Perilous Realm|
image=[[Image:Tales from the Perilous Realm 2008 cover.jpg|250px]]|
author=[[J.R.R. Tolkien]]|
isbn=0261103423|
publisher=[[HarperCollins]]|
date=January [[1997]]|
format=Hardback in dustwrapper|
pages= 178|
amazon=http://www.amazon.com/Tales-Perilous-Realm-J-Tolkien/dp/0261103423/|
amazonprice=Out of stock
}}

'''Tales from the Perilous Realm''', first published in 1997, is a compilation of several short stories and poems by [[J.R.R. Tolkien]], which had been previously published separately or in other compilations:

* [[Farmer Giles of Ham]]
* [[Leaf by Niggle]]
* [[The Adventures of Tom Bombadil]]
* [[Smith of Wootton Major]]

== From the publisher ==
The fat and unheroic Farmer Giles of Ham is called upon to do battle with the dragon Chrysophylax; Niggle the painter sets out to paint the perfect tree in Leaf by Niggle; hobbits, princesses, dwarves and trolls partake in The Adventures of Tom Bombadil; and Smith of Wootton Major journeys to the Land of Faery via the magical ingredients of a giant cake.

==2008 edition==
A new edition was published in September [[2008]], followed by the [[Tales from the Perilous Realm (1992 radio series)|full-cast dramatization]] in October. ''Tales from the Perilous Realm'' was 2008's "flagship book"; ''[[Roverandom]]'' was added to the compilation.<sup>[http://www.tolkienlibrary.com/press/836-Tales_from_the_Perilous_Realm.php]</sup>

[[Category:Books by J.R.R. Tolkien]]
[[de:Fabelhafte Geschichten]]
[[de:Tales from the Perilous Realm]]
[[fr:tolkien/biblio/faerie]]
[[fr:tolkien/biblio/faerie2]]

Farmer Giles of Ham

2010-05-23T21:34:12Z

173.81.86.165: /* Editions, selection */

{{book
|title=Farmer Giles of Ham
|image=[[Image:Farmer Giles of Ham 1949.jpg|225 px]]
|author=[[J.R.R. Tolkien]]
|publisher=[[George Allen and Unwin|George Allen & Unwin]]
|date=[[October 20]], [[1949]]
|format=
|pages=
|isbn=
|amazon=
|amazonprice=
}}

"'''Farmer Giles of Ham'''" (written in 1947, published in [[1949]]) is a short story written by [[J.R.R. Tolkien]]. The story describes a series of encounters between Farmer Giles and a wily dragon named [[Chrysophylax]]. It is set in a fantasy Britain of long ago, which has mythical creatures, medieval knights, and primitive firearms.

The book was originally illustrated by [[Pauline Baynes]].

==Summary==

[[Image:Farmer Giles of Ham 50th.jpg|Houghton Mifflin Harcourt 50th Anniv. edition|left|thumb]]

Farmer Giles was not a hero. He was fat and red-bearded and enjoyed a slow, comfortable life. One day a rather deaf and short-sighted giant blundered on to his land. Farmer Giles managed to scare him away with a blunderbuss shot in its general direction. The people of the village cheered: Farmer Giles was a hero.
His reputation spread far and wide across the kingdom. Giles was rewarded by the King of the Middle Kingdom, with a sword named Caudimordax or "Tailbiter", a powerful weapon against dragons.

The giant reports to its monstrous friends that there are no more knights, just stinging flies (actually scrap metal from Giles' blunderbuss), in the Middle Kingdom. This prompts a dragon, Chrysophylax Dives, to investigate the area — and everyone turns to the accidental hero Farmer Giles to deal with it.

The story makes light of the great dragon-slaying traditions. The knights who are supposed to do the job are useless fops more intent on "precedence and etiquette" than on noticing huge dragon footprints littering the landscape. "Giles" is also an interesting commentary on how people react to danger. Heroes aren't simply called for, they are demanded and hapless farmers can be forced to be heroes.

The Latin names and references imply that Giles is a Briton, a late generation remnant of the old empire after the decline of the western authority of the Romans. All the Giles place-names are supposed to occur relatively close to Oxford, along the Thames or on the route from London to Oxford.

Among the jokes is a question put to "the four wise clerks of Oxenford"; Tolkien then quotes from the ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'', on which Tolkien had worked. The phrase 'wise clerk of Oxenford' is also a reference to Chaucer's Clerk.

==Editions, selection==

[[Image:Farmer Giles of Ham 60th.jpg|HarperCollins 60th Anniv. edition|left|thumb]]

*[[1949]]: ''Farmer Giles of Ham: Aegidii Ahenobarbi Julii Agricole de Hammo, Domini de Domito, Aule Draconarie Comitis, Regni Minimi Regis et Basilei mira facinora et mirablis exortus, or in the vulgar tongue, The Rise and Wonderful Adventures of Farmer Giles, Lord of Tame, Count of Worminghall and King of the Little Kingdom.'' Embellished by Pauline Baynes. London: George Allen & Unwin, [October] 1949. 78, [1] pp., [2] plates.
*[[1966]]: Reprinted in ''[[The Tolkien Reader]]''.
*[[1969]]: ''Smith of Wootton Major and Farmer Giles of Ham.'' Illustrations by Pauline Diana Baynes. New York: Ballantine Books, March 1969. 156 pp.
*[[1975]]: ''Farmer Giles of Ham, The Adventures of Tom Bombadil.'' London: Unwin Books, [30 October] 1975. 144 pp. ISBN 0-04-823125-8
*[[1980]]: Reprinted in ''[[Poems and Stories]]''
*[[1997]]: Reprinted in ''[[Tales from the Perilous Realm]]''
*[[1999]]: ''Farmer Giles of Ham (60th Anniversary edition)''. Edited by Christina Scull and Wayne G. Hammond. Illustrated by Pauline Baynes. HarperCollins Publishers Ltd (4 Oct 1999). ISBN-13: 978-0261103771. 144 pages, hardcover.
*[[1999]]: ''Farmer Giles of Ham (50th Anniversary edition)''. Edited by Christina Scull and Wayne G. Hammond. Illustrated by Pauline Baynes. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; 50 Anv edition (November 15, 1999). ISBN-13: 978-0618009367. 127 pages, hardcover.
*[[2002]]: Reprinted in ''A Tolkien Miscellany''. Garden City, N.Y.: Science Fiction Book Club, [July] 2002. 369 pp. (SFBC; #51697)

== External links ==

*[http://mysite.verizon.net/wghammond/addenda/farmer.html Addenda and Corrigenda to the 50th anniversary edition of Farmer Giles of Ham]

[[Category:Books by J.R.R. Tolkien]]
[[de:Bauer Giles von Ham]]
[[fi:Maamies ja lohikäärme]]

The Atlas of Middle-earth

2010-02-02T06:54:33Z

173.81.86.165:

{{book
|title=The Atlas of Middle-Earth
|image=[[Image:The Atlas of Middle-earth.jpg|200px]]
|author=[[Karen Wynn Fonstad]]
|publisher=[[Houghton Mifflin]]
|date=1991 (revised edition)
|format=Paperback
|pages=210
|isbn=0618126996
|amazon=http://www.amazon.com/Atlas-Middle-Earth-Revised-Karen-Fonstad/dp/0618126996/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/002-4874231-7435249?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1181657902&sr=1-1
|amazonprice=$25.00
}}

'''''The Atlas of Middle-earth''''' by [[Karen Wynn Fonstad]] is an atlas of various lands in [[Arda]]. It includes specific maps for ''[[The Silmarillion]]'', ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'' and ''[[The Hobbit]]'' for which is intended as a reading companion.

==Contents==
The maps are treated as if they are of real landscapes, and are drawn according to the same rules that a real atlas is drawn: for each area the history of the land is taken into account, as well as geography on a larger scale and from there maps are drawn. Discussion includes suggestions as to the geology that could explain various formations, and points that are contradictory between multiple accounts.

City maps and floor plans for important buildings are also included; these are very often useful for making sense of the narratives, especially in ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]''. As well, many battles such as [[Battles of Beleriand|those]] of [[Beleriand]], the [[Last Alliance]] and the [[War of the Ring]] are illustrated.

The book was published in [[1981]], but in [[1991]] a revised and updated version was published, which took information from ''[[The History of Middle-earth]]'' into account.

Fonstad also made a bold attempt to fill the gaps by using early conceptual work, mainly from ''[[The Book of Lost Tales]]'' and the ''[[Ambarkanta]]'', combining the later known maps with the sketches used by Tolkien to provide "world maps" of [[Arda]] in its entirity and show [[Aman]], [[Beleriand]]'s position relative to [[Eriador]], and the place of [[Númenor]] in the Sea.

It was, however, published before the final three volumes of ''[[The History of Middle-earth]]'' were published, and thus some maps are based on [[Tolkien]]'s early works, which were revised in later writings.

==Errors and criticism==
Despite being a thorough and well-respected reference book, the ''Atlas'' has been known for several mistakes.
*Page 2: [[Sea of Ringil]] is written as "Ringol"
*Page 7: [[Ezellohar]] is written as "Ezollahar"
*Page 13: [[Gabilgathol]] is once written as "Gabilgathod".
:*Belegost and Nogrod seem to have switched positions: [[Silmarillion]] mentions that Nogrod was the southern one. Also, Tolkien mentions that Galbigathol was "north of the great height of Mount Dolmed" while Fonstad has both of them south.
*Page 12 and page 53: [[Dorthonion]] and [[Himring]] are located slightly above parallel J. However much later, [[Tol Fuin]] and [[Himling]] are seen much northern, above parallel I.
*Page ??: [[Oatbarton]] is written as "Oakbottom".
*Page 148: [[Gamling|Gamling the Old]] is called "Gambling the Old".
*Page 189: The language of the [[Dwarves]] is labeled "[[Khazâd]]" instead of [[Khuzdul]].

The usage of early concepts of the ''[[Book of Lost Tales]]'' alongside the established [[canon]], are also arguably controversial. In [[Aman]], Fonstad identified the early name "[[Hanstovánen]]" and also she points out the dwellings of the [[Valar]] in [[Valinor]]. Same happens with [[Tol Eressëa]] whose (tentative) maps portray [[Tavrobel]] and [[Kortirion]] as well as some places in [[Gondolin]].

In the [[First Age]] maps, the [[Sea of Helcar]] is seen to cover the area of future [[Mordor]], [[Khand]], and [[Rhûn]]; the [[Sea of Rhûn]] and [[Sea of Núrnen]] are shown as its remnants. In ''[[The Peoples of Middle-earth]]'' there are references to the Sea of Rhûn existing in the [[First Age]], but no indication as to whether it should be equated with the Sea of Helcar or not.
[[Category:Books|Atlas of Middle-earth, The]]
[[Category:Maps| Atlas of Middle-earth, The]]