Webliographies are annotated link lists devoted to specific topics. Think of them as mini-directories with editorial comments.
Finding reliable sources of information is not easy. Who vets the vetters, after all? In this case, Tolkien-studies.com recognizes sites that appeal to a broad base of research-oriented interests. That means we won't link to sites that appear to have specific agendas, to be influenced by specific agendas, or which are so incomplete as to be unreliable. There is nothing wrong with having an agenda. After you do your research you'll form your own opinions and defend them fervently. These sites will help you in as neutral a way as possible. One controversial exception is made (see the listing for Michael Martinez essays at MERP).
In learning more about Tolkien studies, you'll find there are many rivalries and many personal recriminations between experts and scholars. These hard feelings run deep in some cases. It is an unfortunate aspect of a very popular field of study, but research communities often become divided into factions centered around specific points of view and sometimes even personalities.
Finding reliable sources of information is not easy. Who vets the vetters, after all? In this case, Tolkien-studies.com recognizes sites that appeal to a broad base of research-oriented interests. That means we won't link to sites that appear to have specific agendas, to be influenced by specific agendas, or which are so incomplete as to be unreliable. There is nothing wrong with having an agenda. After you do your research you'll form your own opinions and defend them fervently. These sites will help you in as neutral a way as possible. One controversial exception is made (see the listing for Michael Martinez essays at MERP).
In learning more about Tolkien studies, you'll find there are many rivalries and many personal recriminations between experts and scholars. These hard feelings run deep in some cases. It is an unfortunate aspect of a very popular field of study, but research communities often become divided into factions centered around specific points of view and sometimes even personalities.
- Tolkien Society Education Home Page offers a list of resources for learning and studying Tolkien's world.
- One Ring: The Complete Guide To Tolkien Online is the most comprehensive directory of Tolkien Web sites we know of.
- The TolkLang List is the oldst of the three most well-known Tolkien linguistic discussion groups.
- Lambengolmor is another of the three most well-known Tolkien linguistic discussion groups.
- Elfling is the third of the most well-known Tolkien linguistic discussion groups.
- Ardalambion is linguist Helge Fauskanger's Web site devoted to the study of Tolkien's languages.
- Mellonath Daeron at Forodrim's Web site is a collection of linguistic resources. Forodrim scholars have produced some of the most notable Tolkien research in the world.
- Parma Ambernatsë The Web Book: An Online Tolkien-Encyclopedia is a now inactive project organized by Martin T. Kuschker. We are linking to the last indexed copy at archive.org. The site is not terribly reliable. You can search for the URL www.unet.univie.ac.at/~a9001168/WebBook/ at archive.org to browse the original pages on different dates prior to 2003.
- Scholarly Pursuits in the Reading Room at TheOneRing.Com (formerly known as TolkienOnline.com) provides a gallery of research articles.
- Green Books: Exploring the Words and Worlds of Tolkien is one of the best organized and most comprehensive research resources on the Web. Several Tolkien experts answer fan questions through the years.
- About the songs and Poems in The Lord of the Rings is Gene Hargrove's widely recognized collection of essays about Tolkien's poetry. Probably the premier source of commentary on the poems on the Web.
- The Electronic Tolkien Encyclopedia Project was the closest resource to a peer-review site for Tolkien studies for many years. It is no longer active but reflects a broad spectrum of opinion and research.
- Middle-earth Fan Fiction Awards is an ongoing community recognition program for fan creativity. Fan fiction is a large field and an area that occasionally merits study. The MEFA site is one of the most comprehensive Tolkien fan fiction resources around. Fan fiction archive often encourage peer review and feedback. The MEFA site goes a step further and recognizes achievement through a moderated vetting process.
- Michael Martinez essays at MERP.COM is the most extensive authorized archive of Michael's online essays about Tolkien and Middle-earth. While many people dispute some or all of Michael's work, these essays have been cited by Tolkien fan fiction authors and researchers around the world.
- A chronological bibliography of the writings of J.R.R. Tolkien at Forodrim's Web site provides an extensive resource concerning when Tolkien wrote what.
- What's In The History of Middle-earth is Forodrim member Ninni Pettersen's exhaustive listing of the topics covered by Christopher Tolkien's twelve-volume History of Middle-earth.
- The Lord of the Rings and Hobbit Movies at SF-WORLDS includes information about all the movies and radio productions based on The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit.
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Tolkien Studies on the Web, Tolkien-Studies.com, is a part of the Xenite.Org Science Fiction and Fantasy Network. We are not affiliated with Tolkien Enterprises, the Tolkien Estate, Michael Drout's Tolkien Studies Journal, or any offical, officious, ostentatious, legal, pseudo, moribund, stuffy, overbearing, pretentious, academic, or anything else entities which may have somehow associated themselves with the works of J.R.R. Tolkien by whatever means. And especially not David Day, the Encyclopedia of Arda, Wikipedia, or anyone or any group that we're not going to associate with.