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A yellowing manuscript by J.R.R.Tolkien discovered in an Oxford library could become one of the publishing sensations of 2003. The 2000 handwritten pages include Tolkien's translation and appraisal of Beowulf, the epic 8th century Anglo-Saxon poem of bravery, friendship and monster-slaying that is thought to have inspired The Lord of the Rings. He borrowed from early English verse to concoct the imaginary language spoken by Arwen, played by Liv Tyler, and other elves in the second film made from the Rings books, The Two Towers. A US academic, Michael Drout, found the Tolkien material by accident in a box of...

On Thursday JRR Tolkien's early story The Story of Kullervo will be published for the first time. The dark tale reveals that Tolkien's Middle Earth was inspired not only by England and Wales… but also by Finland. "Hapless Kullervo," Tolkien called him. Kullervo, an orphan boy raised into slavery, a tragic hero who commits incest in the dark forests of Karelia and hurls himself on his own blade.

A lost story set in the "Lord of the Rings" universe is about to see the light of day in a new book out later this summer. "The Story of Kullervo" is about the titular Kullervo, a boy sold into slavery who vows revenge on a cruel wizard who killed his father. Here's how the novel's Amazon listing describes it:

As a person who has written on Tolkien for almost fifteen years and read Tolkien for thirty-six years, I am often asked about his political views. In a sense, this is a funny question, as Tolkien really despised most politics. In fact, he really thought of himself as very anti-political. His few statements on the matter reveal just how unpolitical and apolitical and anti-political he could be. It is also, however, a natural question for someone to ask about the great man, as we live in a highly politicized age. So, what do we know? First, Tolkien was a conservative...

Had J.R.R. Tolkien lived in the Middle-earth of his own creation, the festivities surrounding his annual birthday celebration would likely involve tables full of honey-cakes and lembas, and many a glass of miruvor schlepped in from the Woodland Realm of the Elves.

hortly after the climactic battle scene of this final instalment of Peter Jackson’s Hobbit series gets underway, an outsize troll-like monstrosity with a pointed stone headpiece runs full tilt into a fortress wall, making a breach through which a bunch of orcs and other malevolent nasties can pour through. The troll, or whatever it is, lies full length on the ground, stunned; entirely disregarded as its compadres swarm past. Well, I can sympathise entirely; I reeled out of the cinema in bit of a daze myself after this extended dose of Jackson’s patented ye olde Middle Earth cranium-smashing.

JRR Tolkien in 1967 (Photo: PA) Books blog: Dr Holly Ordway's Not God's Type recounts a fascinating and uplifting journeyI have been reading Dr Holly OrdwayÂ’s Not GodÂ’s Type: an Atheist Academic Lays Down her Arms (Ignatius Press, or Gracewing in the UK). It is always uplifting to read books like this, not in a triumphalist way but because it is a reminder that underneath all the glaring human weaknesses in the Church as an institution, which we all know so well, there are still people out there who are searching for answers to fundamental questions and then finding...

Billy Boyd's The Last Goodbye - closing song on The Hobbit http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=aRGTHLNNEOc

snip "Filmgoers and shire admirers have become as used to Peter Jackson and his J.R.R. Tolkien adaptations over the years as they have the obligatory “extended cuts” of every already long film. The Hobbit films have been no different and now comes The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug – The Extended Edition. The extended cut, like other Jackson extended cuts, is not a light one. It’s packed with 25 minutes of new footage. I debate to simply reveal said extended and new scenes, but one of the true pleasures of this extended cut is to go in cold and discover...

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies – Main Trailer

Perhaps explaining why those Hobbit movies cost so much damn money to make, Entertainment Weekly has revealed that The Hobbit: The Battle Of Five Armies will end with a 45-minute battle scene. Director Peter Jackson spoke with EW about the logistics of creating such an epic climax. “We have dwarves and men and elves and orcs, all with different cultures, with different weapons, and different shields and patterns and tactics,” Jackson explains, before sharing the highly scientific way he maps out his fight scenes:

Whilst a synopsis is maybe not entirely necessary given that the title of The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies pretty much sums up what the films about - a battle involving five different armies. Warner Brothers have released the official synopsis. Okay, so it goes into a bit more detail than "there are five armies and they do battle" so it isn't entirely a lost cause like the 'Snakes on a Plane' synopsis might've been, and I'm pretty much allowing my prejudice against the third Hobbit film's name change shine through. I liked 'There and Back Again' dammit!

Spoilers and details of the third installment of The Hobbit franchise, called The Battle of Five Armies, are making fans excited as the first look draws near

According to Enstars on Saturday, Peter Jackson's third film "The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies", has fans petitioning for the plot to take a different route than that of the J.R.R. Tolkien book. The first major change that was announced with the movie title which was originally "The Hobbit: There and Back Again" and now fans are demanding to change the outcome of Thorin Oakenshield's destiny. Jackson's change to the title was motivated by the appropriateness of the film as he kept up with it during its course. The director thought since Bilbo was already "there" at the...

According to the Tolkien Society and confirmed by Amazon UK a 60th Anniversary hard copy edition box set of "The Lord of the Rings" to be published in the United Kingdom (probably in the US soon afterward) on June 18th, 2014. It is not cheap. Right now it is listed at £80 ($133). This year, new editions of other Tolkien novels will be released including a new illustrated copy of The Hobbit for children and adults of all ages and new edition of The Simarillion and Unfinished Tales.

Now this is precious. $6.2 billion and counting. That's how much films based on J. R. R. Tolkien's books have made in all at the box office so far. And there's still one part of The Hobbit trilogy to come. The Lord Of The Rings (LOTR) and The Hobbit are also on the list of Top 10 best selling books of all time - LOTR at No. 2 with 150 million copies sold. The Hobbit is No. 6 with 100 million copies sold.

March 25 is officially Tolkien Reading Day. Yes you heard us! In 2002 a New York journalist inquired with the Tolkien Society if there was such a thing and low and behold they set it up. So why March 25? Well it's Tolkien’s birthday Jan 3 and Bilbo & Frodo’s birthday on Sept 22nd but March 25 is the perfect day as it's the date of the downfall of Sauron! To honor the Tolkien Reading Day we thought it apt to look at the fact that his world of Middle Earth is based on the Burren, in County Clare.

Almost 90 years after JRR Tolkien translated the 11th-century poem Beowulf, The Lord of the Rings author's version of the epic story is to be published for the first time in an edition which his son Christopher Tolkien says sees his father "enter[ing] into the imagined past" of the heroes. Telling of how the Geatish prince Beowulf comes to the aid of Danish king Hroðgar, slaying the monster Grendel and his mother before - spoiler alert - being mortally wounded by a dragon years later, Beowulf is is the longest epic poem in Old English, and is dated to the...

Hit the jump to check out The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug character designs

The harrowing battle scenes and heartache in J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy masterpiece The Lord Of The Rings were inspired by the author’s own First World War nightmare and the death of close friends from Birmingham.