Today the latest book by J.R.R. Tolkien, The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún, became available for purchase. The book is a retelling of the Völsunga saga, featuring the great hero Sigurd, slayer of the dragon Fáfnir. On the inside flap Christoper Tolkien writes:
«Many years ago, J.R.R. Tolkien composed his own version, now published for the first time, of the great legend of Northern antiquity, in two closely related poems to which he gave the titles The New Lay of the Völsungs and The New Lay of Gudrún.
In the Lay of the Völsungs is told the ancestry of the great hero Sigurd, the slayer of Fáfnir most celebrated of dragons, whose treasure he took for his own; of his awakening of the Valkyrie Brynhild who slept surrounded by a wall of fire, and of their betrothal; and of his coming to the court of the great princes who were named the Niflungs (or Nibelungs), with whom he entered into blood-brotherhood. In that court there sprang great love but also great hate, brought about by the power of the enchantress, mother of the Niflungs, skilled in the arts of magic, of shape-changing and potions of forgetfulness.
In scenes of dramatic intensity, of confusion of identity, thwarted passion, jealousy and bitter strife, the tragedy of Sigurd and Brynhild, of Gunnar the Niflung and Gudrún his sister, mounts to its end in the murder of Sigurd at the hands of his blood-brothers, the suicide of Brynhild, and the despair of Gudrún. In the Lay of Gudrún her fate after the death of Sigurd is told, her marriage against her will to the mighty Atli, ruler of the Huns (the Attila of history), his murder of her brothers the Niflung lords, and her hideous revenge.
Deriving his version primarily from his close study of the ancient poetry of Norway and Iceland known as the Poetic Edda (and where no old poetry exists, from the later prose work the Völsunga Saga), J.R.R. Tolkien employed a verse-form of short stanzas whose lines embody in English the exacting alliterative rhythms and the concentrated energy of the poems of the Edda.»
You can buy the hardcover, special edition or audio book in our Marketplace: click here for US and here for UK/EU (these stores are in association with Amazon.com & Amazon.co.uk. Disclaimer here). The publishers have also released two videos. The first is a book trailer and the second an information video, where we’ll also hear Brian Cox reading for the audio book:
Tags: Brynhild, Christopher Tolkien, Fáfnir, Gudrun, J.R.R. Tolkien, Nibelungs, Niflungs, Sigurd, The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún, The New Lay of Gudrún, The New Lay of the Völsungs, Völsunga Saga
A new gallery has been set up, this time featuring screenshots from ‘The Last Days’, a The Lord of the Rings modification for ‘Mount & Blade’. You can check out all the images here. For more information about the mod proceed to their forum.
Variags of Khand
Tags: Gallery, J.R.R. Tolkien, LotR, M&B, Middle-earth, Mount & Blade, Screenshots, TaleWorlds, The Last Days, The Lord of the Rings, TLD
A new preview showcasing the ruins of Osgiliath has just been posted by Llew2 from the ‘The Last Days’ team. This means, of course, that we’ll be able to headshot some Orcs (or Men if you’re more into the evil side of things) surrounded by the beautiful, if ruinous, environments of the Citadel of the Stars in the next instalment of TLD. Here be screenshots!
The shadowed ruins of Osgiliath
The latest version of ‘The Last Days’ is for the old ‘Mount & Blade’ v0.808. Find out more about the mod on their forum.
Osgiliath was once the capital of Gondor
Tags: J.R.R. Tolkien, LotR, M&B, Middle-earth, Mount & Blade, Osgiliath, Preview, TaleWorlds, The Last Days, The Lord of the Rings, TLD
The Chamber of Records Middle-earth Modding Interview #4
The Grey Wizard: Leader of ‘Middle-earth Role Playing’
This interview was first posted on the 24th of March, 2007.
COR: The Grey Wizard from the ‘Middle Earth Role Playing | Total Conversion’ mod for ‘The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion’ has been gracious enough to agree to answer our questions for this fourth Middle-earth modding interview. Many thanks, Grey, and welcome.
Grey: No, thank you, it’s an honor.
COR: So, where are you from, Grey?
Grey: From Middle-earth of course 
Actually I prefer not to disclose my whereabouts.
COR: And what does the Grey Wizard do when he’s not practising his wizardy on Oblivion?
Grey: I enjoy exercising, especially swimming. I always have to keep forces such as the Balrog and the Witch King in check, and that requires good physical strength and endurance I am also a high school student, so much of my time is spent in the class room.
COR: Most people have heard of the Elder Scrolls series of games, and Oblivion, but for those who may not know anything about them, could you give us a brief description?
Grey: The Elder Scrolls games, such as Morrowind or Oblivion are Single Player Role-Playing Games. They focus on an in depth world and in depth character generation and exploration, though Morrowind retains role-playing roots more so then Oblivion does. For information on this great series check out http://elderscrolls.com
Tags: Bethesda, Interview, J.R.R. Tolkien, MERP, MERP|TC, Middle-earth, Middle-earth Role Playing, Oblivion, TESIV, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Total Conversion
«Ever wondered what might happen if a legion of Rome got lost and found itself in Middle-earth? Well, wonder no longer! Play as Rome – or any of the Middle-earth factions – and find out what happens to the brave Julii!»
‘The Lost Legion’ is the semi-retired master modder Palantir’s (also known as MasterOfNone & Dol Guldur) latest foray into the modding field. The mod is an addon to the ‘The Fourth Age: Total War’ version for ‘Rome: Total War’ v1.5, which lets you play as a Roman legion mysteriously stranded in the world of Middle-earth. The entire premise for the mod can be found in the screenshot below:
Find out more about ‘The Fourth Age: Total War’ at thefourthage.org, and grab ‘The Lost Legion’ here.
Tags: Creative Assembly, Fantasy, FATW, J.R.R. Tolkien, LotR, Middle-earth, Rome: Total War, RTW, The Fourth Age: Total War, The Lord of the Rings, The Lost Legion
The Chamber of Records Middle-earth Modding Interview #3
mrtn: ‘Head Henchman’ of ‘Lord of the Mods’
The LotM title screen
This interview was first posted on the 1st of November, 2006.
COR: In this third Middle-earth Modding Interview we are honoured to have mrtn from the Lord of the Mods modification for Civilization III as our guest. Thank you, mrtn, for taking time off from what must be a busy schedule to answer our questions.
Hi, thanks, it’s really no trouble at all.
COR: To start this interview off, perhaps you could tell us a little about yourself? Name, age, location, whether you are a student or worker – that sort of thing.
My name is Martin and I’m a 30 year old Swede from Stockholm.
COR: And what is your position within the LotM team?
We don’t have a fixed “command structure”, but I’d say I’m “Head Henchman”. That’s “Second in Command”, but without the fancy hat.
I’m mostly responsible for 2D graphics and ideas, and the usability of those ideas in a Civ 3 context.
Tags: Civ3, Civilization III, Firaxis, Interview, J.R.R. Tolkien, Lord of the Mods, LotM, Middle-earth
The Chamber of Records Middle-earth Modding Interview #2
Palantir: Coding Manager of ‘The Fourth Age: Total War’
The Guards of the Citadel await the onslaught
This interview was first posted on the 16th of October, 2006.
COR: Greetings! This is the second instalment in our series of Middle-earth modding interviews. This time we have managed to catch Palantir (MasterOfNone/Dol Guldur at other sites) of ‘The Fourth Age: Total War’ for an interview. Palantir, thank you for finding the time for a chat.
PAL: Delighted. You did well to catch me!
COR: Can you tell us a little about yourself, how old you are, where you live and what you are up to in ‘real life’?
PAL: Well, I’m thirty-cough and live in England. I am often up to many varied things one of which is modding – a terribly time-consuming hobby with a tough learning curve for something unpaid.
COR: Could you tell us what your job is in the mod team?
PAL: Currently I am the Manager of the Coding Department and also one of the three Mod Team Managers. I have a number of other roles such as a lore researcher, Middle-earth Consultant (chiefly on geographical matters), Designer (non-graphical), writer, and a game researcher (the latter of which is still much a part of coding). My task in the early days of the Mod was to research and design the concept for the campaign map. But, to be honest, I have done a bit of everything with the exception of modelling – I do not possess 3ds Max or the skills to use it.
Tags: Barbarian Invasion, BI, CI, Corsair Invasion, Creative Assembly, FATW, Interview, J.R.R. Tolkien, LotR, Middle-earth, Rome: Total War, RTW, The Fourth Age: Total War, The Lord of the Rings, The New Shadow, TNS
The Chamber of Records Middle-earth Modding Interview #1
Wlesmana: Creator of ‘The Lord of the Rings: Total War’
The charge of the Rohirrim: Forth Eorlingas!
This interview was first posted on the 23rd of September, 2006.
COR: This is the first instalment in what will be a series of interviews dealing with Middle-earth related modifications. We have been extremely fortunate to have Wlesmana, creator of Lord of the Rings: Total War, as our first interviewee. Wles, thank you for accepting our invitation to talk with us.
Thank you for having me. It is an honor.
COR: Tell us a little about the man Wlesmana: where you’re from, how old you are and what you do when you’re not busy with LOTR:TW.
I’m 29 years old and when I’m not busy with modding, I try to spend time with my wife. Usually by watching movies or playing video games. I’m born and raised in Bali, Indonesia, went to university in University of Michigan then worked in US for a while. I’m back in Bali now.
COR: Could you tell us about the premise for LOTR:TW? When it is set, which factions are, or will be, included, if there is a storyline behind it, etc.?
The premise of LOTR:TW is to control the massive armies as seen in the movie trilogy and create epic battles. The storyline is set during the War of the Ring, which will be the title of the campaign.
Tags: Alexander, Creative Assembly, Interview, J.R.R. Tolkien, LotR, LotR:TW, Middle-earth, Rome: Total War, RTW, The Lord of the Rings, The Lord of the Rings: Total War
In a recent newsletter tolkien.co.uk, the official online Tolkien book store, revealed that they would soon be publishing a new paperback edition of J.R.R. Tolkien’s ‘Tree and Leaf’. They are also offering a 30% discount on the book, and any other books bought online:
«On Monday 2nd March HarperCollins is publishing a new paperback edition of J.R.R. Tolkien’s TREE AND LEAF, which for the first time sports Tolkien’s colourful drawing of The Tree of Amalion on the cover. To celebrate, we are pleased to be offering 30% off the retail price of £7.99 – and we are extending this 30% offer across all the current titles available to purchase online. Enter the discount code TOLK31 at the basket page, and we’ll take 30% off your books.»
Disclaimer: ‘The Chamber of Records’ is not in any way affiliated with tolkien.co.uk.’
Tags: HarperCollins, J.R.R. Tolkien, Tree and Leaf
