When did the tiny fairy trope begin? In today’s piece (part 2/2) I’m looking at the evidence from the most recent fairy scholarship, incl. by Ronald Hutton and @drfrancisyoung.bsky.social. And, of course, I am closing with a verdict on Tolkien's own view! 🧚
dimitrafimi.substack.com/p/when-did-t...
The @tolkiensociety.org instagram to the rescue:
There‘s a great illustration for that chapter from #Oxonmoot two years ago, as @drhannahmcd.bsky.social and @ashiggins.bsky.social will surely still remember :-)
Fair point…😅
Nonono, Tolkienology is „Did Orcs fuck?“
Every now and again I feel obliged to repost David E. Alter Jr's brilliant 1982 pic Bilbo's Great Adventure. Like a cross between a Victorian neo-medieval tapestry and an 8-bit platform game it condenses the whole story of The Hobbit into one image. My fave #Tolkien detail...that awesome little Bard
Eagerly awaiting the next Digital Tolkien post on this then :-)
New piece, in which I’m tracing the origins of the little people and tiny worlds tradition back to the early modern period (with Tolkien’s “On Fairy-stories as a touchstone)
dimitrafimi.substack.com/p/little-peo...
@tolkiensociety.org @folkloresociety.bsky.social
I find myself very reluctantly intrigued to know what the result of that might be.
The kind of urge that makes people look at traffic accidents etc…
yeah I’m into LOTR
Loving
Others and
Treating them with
Respect
🥰
Holding Tolkien nerds gently by the hand and saying “yes there are Christian things in the legendarium but there are other things too”
This is the most accurate translation of that exclamation to date :-)
IYKYK!
We cannot all be true digital natives; I promise to return to active duty here now :-)
Most importantly though, you are now a doctor :-)
What better occasion for my first post on Bluesky than my brilliant friend @mariebreta.bsky.social defending her PhD thesis on #Tolkien and #TolkienIllustrations at @upecofficiel.bsky.social today.
Marie, you are amazing!
#TolkienScholarship
Parents, Wife and Kids?
Given the theme of this year‘s Tolkien Reading Day, who‘s the Unlikely Hero of your PhD?
Honestly? An ideal day is getting up only a little too late, doomscrolling only a little too much, getting distracted only a little too often – but most importantly: setting realistic goals.
1 page on the screen is better than 10 in an (unfulfilled) plan that only frustrates me further.
Inconcievable! (He writes on a much-delayed train; so much so they are now offering free drinks)
You may be able to foretell the future. Witch! :-)
What snacks do you need me to pack to make sure ONE of these does not happen?
Digital Tolkien Project – the gift that keeps on giving
If only there were a Tolkien-event with an entertainments section where one could perform stuff like this.
If only there were a Society to organize such events… 😇
Don't say "neither did Turin", just DON'T say it, please!
I didn't see this turn coming!
Aber hast Du rausgefunden, was Linguisten seiner Meinung nach stattdessen tun?
I stand by that! If it were meant to be orthodox teaching – sorry but 🔜🔥
I‘ve heard of worse inspirations :-)
This particular train of thought basically inspired my master‘s thesis back in the day, and has been living rent-free in my head ever since…
That‘s what Verly Flieger means, I think, when writing „This may be philosophy, but it is philosophy couched as fiction, and Tolkien does not explain his tapestry, he displays it.“
The best time.
Gives both of us more time. Have a pair ready for next winter, and presents for @unamccormack.bsky.social in 2027?
