Athrabeth

Jude Vais & Stef Midlock

Athrabeth is a monthly podcast that invites you down the lesser trod paths of Tolkien's Legendarium. Each episode we pick a single chapter, essay, fragment, or topic, and do a deep dive, exploring it as both fans and scholars.

  1. Aug 5

    Episode 97: Lesser-trod Paths with David the Ñoldo

    Join us this month for a special Lesser-trod Paths episode with David the Ñoldo! Springing from our last Lesser-trod History episode about The War of the Jewels, David joins us to discuss the dwarves in Tolkien’s legendarium. Looking through a lens of source criticism of secondary world authorship, David challenges us to consider who in the legendarium is writing about the dwarves, where these authors get their sources, and what potential biases are present. David asks us to consider whose history is written down and whose is silenced, and question why.    Citations:  Thank you to our guest, David the Ñoldo!  David’s linktree: https://linktr.ee/davidthengoldo Voices of Arda Episode 65: David the Ñoldo, May 29, 2026, Season 1 episode 65 https://poddtoppen.se/podcast/1647183649/voices-of-arda-podcast/voices-of-arda-episode-65-david-the-noldo (Accessed July 9, 2026) David’s Bibliography Agøy, Nils Ivar, “Viewpoints, Audiences and Lost Texts” in The Silmarillion Thirty Years On, ed. by Allan Turner, p.149-163.   Fimi, Dimitra. Tolkien, Race, and Cultural History: From Fairies to Hobbits Flieger, Verlyn, Interrupted Music: The Making of Tolkien's Mythology   Hynes, Gerard, "From Nauglath to Durin's Folk: The Hobbit and Tolkien's Dwarves" in The Hobbit and Tolkien's Mythology: Essays on Revisions and Influences, ed. by Bradford Lee Eden, p.20-37   Nagy, Gergely, "The Adapted Text: The Lost Play of Beleriand" in Tolkien Studies: An Annual Scholarly Review vol. I, ed. by Michael D.C. Drout, Verlyn Flieger, and David Bratman, p.21-41. —"The Silmarillion: Tolkien's Theory of Myth, Text, and Culture" in A Companion to J.R. R. Tolkien, ed. by Stuart D. Lee, p.107-118   Sena, Kenton; Harris, Kaelyn, "Re-enchanting Built Spaces: On Dwarves and Dwarven Places" in Cities and Strongholds of Middle-earth: Essays on the Habitations of Tolkien's Legendarium, ed. by Cami Agan, p.55-81   Tauber, James, Digital Tolkien Project, https://search.digitaltolkien.com/?terms=Naugrim   Tolkien, J.R.R., Gnomish Lexicon in PE11 p.30; Qenya Lexicon in PE12 p.67; Words, Phrases, and Passages, in PE17 p.181, in Parma Eldalamberon, ed. by Christopher Gilson. — The Silmarillion, ed. by Christopher Tolkien (New York: Ballantine Books, 1979). — The Lost Road and Other Writings, ed. by Christopher Tolkien (New York: Del Rey Books, 1996) — Morgoth’s Ring, ed. by Christopher Tolkien (London: HarperCollins Publishers, 2002). — The War of the Jewels, ed. by Christopher Tolkien (London: HarperCollins Publishers, 2002). — The Peoples of Middle-earth, ed. by Christopher Tolkien (London: HarperCollins Publishers, 2015)   Trouillot, Michel-Rolph, Silencing the Past: Power and the Production of History, 20th Anniversary Edition.   Walls-Thumma, Dawn, "Attainable Vistas: Historical Bias in Tolkien's Legendarium as a Motive for Transformative Fanworks," Journal of Tolkien Research: Vol. 3: Iss. 3, Article 3. Available at: https://scholar.valpo.edu/journaloftolkienresearch/vol3/iss3/3   Upcoming events Tolkien and Middle-earth Online Art Exhibition- August 15, 2026 https://sites.google.com/breecrossroadsartexhibitionevent.com/home/home The Big Read- Ongoing, every other Monday https://erikjampa.substack.com/p/tolkien-society-seminar-and-tolkien Oxonmoot- September 3-6, 2026 https://www.tolkiensociety.org/events/oxonmoot-2026/

  2. Jan 7

    Episode 90: Lesser-trod Histories 11: Sauron Defeated

    In this episode, Jude and Stef discuss History of Middle-earth Volume 9: Sauron Defeated, the final book in the History of the Lord of the Rings. Jude introduces The Drowning of Anadûnê,  discussing the different versions of the tale of the Drowning of Númenor and the cultural traditions for which they were written. Jude also talks about the importance of adaptation and fan fiction in relation to Tolkien's works. Later, Stef presents the omitted Epilogue to the Lord of the Rings, which gives us a glimpse of Sam’s life and family after the event of the Lord of the Rings. Citations  Join our Discord! https://discord.gg/4rZynfWv3f Tolkien, J. R. R. Sauron Defeated. Ed. Christopher Tolkien. The History of Middle-earth: Vol. 9. HarperCollins, London, 1992. Tolkien, J. R.R. Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien: Revised and Expanded Edition. Ed. Humphrey Carpenter with Christopher Tolkien. HarperCollins Publishers Inc., New York. “Digital Edition NOVEMBER 2023 ISBN: 978-0-06-337435-5, Version 09282023, Print ISBN: 978-0-35-865298-4” (Accessed Dec 31, 2025).  Fliss, William M, and Schaefer, Sarah C., J.R.R. Tolkien: The Art of the Manuscript. The Haggerty Museum of Art, Marquette University, August 19-December 23, 2022. ISBN 978-0-945366-36-2. Images 30, 31, 32, 33 and 34.  Tolkien Gateway entry for “King’s Letter” https://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/King%27s_Letter (Accessed Dec 31, 2025) Tolkien Gateway entry for “Sauron Defeated”  https://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Sauron_Defeated (Accessed 10/1/25) Tolkien Gateway entry for “Vinyar Tengwar 29” https://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Vinyar_Tengwar_29 (Accessed Dec 31, 2025) Reddit post, “Where can I find the unpublished epilogue to Lord of the Rings?” by user “mammothman64” https://www.reddit.com/r/tolkienfans/comments/ydejtq/where_can_i_find_the_unpublished_epilogue_to_lord/ (Accessed Dec 31, 2025) -Response from “gynnis-scholasticus” Mentioned in the episode: Lee Knox Ostertag, 2021 (username is mollyknox) On AO3: “Sam and Frodo Comics, Chapter 5: The Unpublished Epilogue”  https://archiveofourown.org/works/27478819/chapters/72409524 (Accessed Dec 31, 2025) Miriam Ellis, “The Importance of The Epilogue to The Lord of the Rings” (posted April 29, 2024) https://www.miriamellis.com/post/the-importance-of-the-epilogue-to-the-lord-of-the-rings (Accessed Dec 31, 2025) “Tolkien’s Unpublished Epilogue to The Lord of the Rings” by In Deep Geek, published Dec 23, 2023,  https://youtu.be/H2yRW4xmZFY?si=iZNDS8MaItSA8PFL  (Accessed Dec 31, 2025)

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Athrabeth is a monthly podcast that invites you down the lesser trod paths of Tolkien's Legendarium. Each episode we pick a single chapter, essay, fragment, or topic, and do a deep dive, exploring it as both fans and scholars.

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