The Tolkien Society Seminar 2016 was held in Leeds on Sunday 3 July, a few days after the 100^th anniversary of the beginning of the Battle of the Somme.

To commemorate Tolkien, the T.C.B.S., and the First World War, the Seminar featured 13 papers on the theme of Life, Death, and Immortality. Seven of the presentations were filmed and are available below.

Matthew B. Rose – Tolkien and the Battle of the Somme

Irina Metzler – Tolkien and disability: the narrative function of disabled characters in Middle-earth

Dimitra Fimi, “Tears are the very wine of blessedness”: joyful sorrow in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings

Andrew Higgins – ‘Gifts in harmony?’: a philological exploration of Tolkien’s invented words for ‘life’ and ‘death’

Anna Milon – Mortal immortals: the irony of elven immortality in the writing of J.R.R. Tolkien and W.B. Yeats

Adam B. Shaeffer – Frodo and Saruman: euformation, dysformation, and immortality in The Lord of the Rings

Aurelie Bremont – Glorfindel of the Green Island: Celtic inspirations in Tolkien’s reincarnation model

About the Author: Daniel Helen

Daniel is an Officer without Portfolio and Trustee of The Tolkien Society. Elected in 2014, he is mainly responsible for the Society's digital operations, including this website.