L.O.T.R. - Sites

Websites of interest for fans of J.R.R. Tolkien and The Lord of the Rings. This is not a directory. Just a collection of sites I like. It is very hard to find Websites for Tolkien scholars. I could list many names but have no places to point to.

1. Professor Jane Chance is a Tolkien scholar who is a Professor of English at Rice University. She has written and contributed to several books on Medieval English literature and Tolkien.
2. David Bratman is a Tolkien scholar who works as an independent library consultant. He has written many papers on Tolkien and participated in organizing and promoting Tolkien conferences.
3. Professor Michael Drout is a Tolkien scholar who has been making the most noise in recent years. He started a Tolkien Studies journal and has edited the J.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia.
4. Verlyn Flieger is a Tolkien scholar who specializes in comparative mythology and teaches at the University of Maryland. She is probably best known for her book Splintered Light although she has written much more about Tolkien's world.
5. Wayned Hammond and Cristina Scull are Tolkien scholars (and husband and wife) who published J.R.R. Tolkien: Artist & Illustrator, The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion, and other notable works.
6. Professor Eugene Hargrove is a philosopher but he is widedly recognized as a Tolkien scholar for his essays on Tolkien's music and poetry.
7. Professor Tom Shippey is a Tolkien scholar who studied under Tolkien himself. Shippey also taught in the same position as Tolkien at Oxford. He is best known for books like The Road to Middle-earth and J.R.R. Tolkien: Author of the Century (20th century).
8. Carl Hostetter is a Tolkien scholar who specializes in Tolkien linguistics. Hostetter is the editor for the journal Vinyar Tengwar.
9. Michael Martinez is a Tolkien Scholar who has written several books on Middle-earth. His most famous book is Parma Endorion. Martinez also launched the Tolkien Studies on the Web project to document resources for amateur Tolkien scholars.
10. Anne Petty is a Tolkien scholar who specializes in mythology and Finnish folklore. As an expert on "The Kalevala" she wrote Tolkien in the Land of Heroes.
11. Chris Seeman is a Tolkien scholar who published the Other Hands journal for many years. His original research helped inspire authors in the game-writing community to be more faithful to Tolkien.
12. Professor Amy Sturgis is a Tolkien scholar who specializes in fantasy and medieval literature. She has written, edited, and presented many papers on Tolkien and fantasy literature at conferences around the world.
13. Patrick Wynne is a Tolkien scholar who is a member of the Elvish Linguistic Fellowship and as such works with Carl Hostetter on Vinyar Tengwar and other projects.

1. The Annals of the Nine Realms is a site that provides Tolkien Essays from a different point of view.
2. The Ansereg Website looks at sexuality and sex in Middle-earth through its Tolkien Essays.
3. Ardanolë is another fan site with a collection of Tolkien Essays for people who want to read more abot Middle-earth.
4. The Tolkien essays at Busse Library Web are a nice collection.
5. The Electronic Tolkien Encyclopedia Project was an early attempt to collect peer-reveiwed Tolkien essays on the Internet.
6. Linguist Helge Fauskanger created the Ardalambion site to present his many Tolkien essays on Middle-earth's languages.
7. A very popular writer named Finduilas offers a great collection of Tolkien Essays.
8. Stephen Geard wrote many Tolkien essays in the 1990s before he lost interest and moved on. Some of his work is a little outdated by it's still a good read.
9. The MERP (Middle-earth Role-Playing) site has many Tolkien Essays written by Michael Martinez, Chris Seeman, and others.
10. Forodrim's Mellonath Daron section contains Tolkien essays about Tolkien's languages and The History of Middle-earth.
11. Michael Martinez and Douglas Rapier wrote almost 200 Tolkien Essays for Suite101's Tolkien and Middle-earth topic.
12. Michael Martinez published many Tolkien essays in the Parma Endorion eBook.
13. SciFi Stuff has a nice collection of Tolkien Essays and some other material.
14. Stan McDaniel wrote quite a few Tolkien Essays when the Peter Jackson movies were in production.
15. Tolkien at Infinites.Net also provides a selection of Tolkien Essays for people who just want an introduction to Middle-earth.
16. The Tolkien Socity Website has a section for Tolkien Essays.
17. The Tolkienics fan site offers Tolkien Essays with an original focus on language.

1. TheOneRing.Net has a Balrogs section in their Middle-earth Tours fan site.
2. TheOneRing.Net also has a Balrog debate recap page.
3. There is a Balrogs entry in the Barrow-downs' Middle-earth Encyclopedia project.
4. Michael Martinez wrote what I think is the definitive essay for the truth about Balrogs in response to the publication of Wayne Hammond and Cristina Scull's Reader's Companion.
5. Martinez earlier wrote Do Balrogs Have Wings? Do Balrogs Fly? to address the problems with various sites' attempts to explain the whole Balrogs Wings Debate. He also shows why people get confused.
6. SciFi Stuff includes a Balrogs essay besides the other great Tolkien material on the site.
7. It may not be well known that Andre Norton was the first recipient of the Balrog Award that was only given out for a few years. The page includes an essay by Michael Martinez.
8. Tolkien at Infinites.net has a pretty interesting Balrogs essay.
9. And Balrogs are not without their fans, since someone created an entire Balrogs Website although it's not very large.
10. An essay about Balrogs on another site also provides some insight into their nature from a fannish point of view.
11. There is a good Balrogs essay in the J.R.R. Tolkien Resources Website.