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This week, I want to keep unloading my Tolkien-related thoughts, turning from last week’s character study to a look at the way ‘magic’ and spiritual power work in Tolkien’s legendarium and in particular to how contests between fundamentally magical beings in Middle-earth are decided. This is a topic that I think even the best adaptations … Continue reading Collections: How Gandalf Proved Mightiest: Spiritual Power in Tolkien →
2 weeks ago

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More from A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry

Fireside Friday, May 9, 2025 (On Lighter Bows)

Fireside this week! First off, it seems like last week’s post on the Hollywood myth of archery volley fire really got out there, so if you are a new reader just joining us, welcome! If you are in to discussions of historical tactics with an eye towards correcting common myths in games and film, you … Continue reading Fireside Friday, May 9, 2025 (On Lighter Bows) →

6 days ago 10 votes
Collections: Why Archers Didn’t Volley Fire

This week we’re looking at a specific visual motif common in TV and film: the arrow volley. You know the scene: the general readies his archers, he orders them to ‘draw!’ and then holds up his hand with that ‘wait for it’ gesture and then shouts ‘loose!’ (or worse yet, ‘fire!’) and all of the … Continue reading Collections: Why Archers Didn’t Volley Fire →

a week ago 5 votes
Collections: Why Celebrimbor Fell but Boromir Conquered: the Moral Universe of Tolkien

This week (and probably next) I want to talk a bit more Tolkien, but in a somewhat different vein from normal. Rather than discussing the historicity of Tolkien’s world or adaptations of it, I want to take a moment to discuss some of the themes of Tolkien’s work, which express themselves in the metaphysical architecture … Continue reading Collections: Why Celebrimbor Fell but Boromir Conquered: the Moral Universe of Tolkien →

3 weeks ago 15 votes
Collections: The Siege of Eregion, Part V: What Tactics?

This is the final part of our five part (I, II, III, IV) series on the Siege of Eregion in Amazon’s Rings of Power. Last time, we looked at the orc siege and marveled at both their lack of works and also their nonsensical siege engines, concluding that Adar had launched a siege assault which … Continue reading Collections: The Siege of Eregion, Part V: What Tactics? →

a month ago 21 votes

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An iconic Renaissance image has inspired a cutting-edge contemporary sculpture. The British Museum in London partnered with Asprey Studio’s Kent-based workshop to design hand-sculpted sterling silver rhinoceroses—each with its own digital component—inspired by Albrecht Dürer’s famous zoological drawing.   “It is exciting and fascinating to see the work from the master craftspeople of Asprey […]

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Blackpool 1984–1989

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