Abby Epplett, Historian

May 31, 2026 was the birthday of the blog, but since it fell on a Sunday during my regular Lord of the Rings: The Animated Musical posting, I am posting it today instead. As in past years, I will give some statistics and give a countdown of the top ten most popular posts. Viewership has climbed dramatically in the past few months thanks to resolving issues with search engines. In the past year, I receive around 60,400 views, which is about double the number of views I received in the previous three years combined. This month marks the highest number of views in a month to date at 11,182. Here are the top ten most popular posts from this year, along with an explanation on their popularity.

During the Last Alliance, Gil-galad and the Ñoldor were joined by Elendil and the Númenóreans in a desperate effort to defeat the dark forces of Sauron. Since I detailed the armor of Gil-galad and his fellow elves last week, I will reveal my designs for the Númenóreans this week, including their arms and armor, the symbol of the White Tree, and illustrations created by other artists.

In March 2026, I went to the Samuel Slater Experience , a museum in Webster, MA that had been on my list since it opened a few years ago. The museum tells the story of inventor and entrepreneur Samuel Slater with a focus on the industrial town he created and named after his political friend, Senator Daniel Webster (W-MA). The modern museum blends audiovisual effects, digital interactives, accurate reproductions, and historical artifacts.

In January 2026, I saw Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel: The Exhibition created by SEE Global Entertainment during its stop at Warwick Mall in Warwick, RI, which was advertised as Providence. The exhibit contained life-sized reproductions of the frescoes found on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican sporadically and reluctantly painted by Michelangelo between 1508 and 1541 and restored between 1984 and 1994. The tour came with an audio guide app describing the artwork and sharing fun facts about the UNESCO world heritage site .

Gil-galad was the mysterious last King of the Ñoldor, part of a royal family that included Celebrimbor and Galadriel . The exact relationship is part of his mystery, as three different elves have been listed as his father in the legendarium. This enigma is discussed at length by Tolkien scholar Renee Vink , so I will give only a brief summary here.

With all my excitement about my winter holiday trip, I forgot to share my adventure at Aldrich School in Whitinsville, MA back in November 2025! This former public school was recently purchased by Whitin Community Center with plans to renovate the building , turning it into a childcare facility as part of a $10 million project, $8 million of which is earmarked for the school. I had the chance to explore the inside before its pending facelift. The building was constructed in 1890 by the Whitin family using extra bricks from the Whitin Machine Works just across the street and named in honor of Eleanor Williams Aldrich , a teacher in the Northbridge public school system for almost forty years who passed away at sixty-one while still doing what she loved. The building is now part of Downtown Crossroads Historic District.

During the same trip that I visited the Grand Rapids Public Museum, I took a holiday tour of Felt Estate in Holland, MI. This three-story, early 20 th century estate was home to the Felt family, led by self-made millionaire inventor Dorr Felt . The tour covered two floors of the three-story mansion and was festively decorated for Christmas. Both the story of the property and its decor are fascinating, so I am dividing the blog into two parts. The first part covered the history of the property, and this second part will cover its design.

During the same trip that I visited the Grand Rapids Public Museum, I took a holiday tour of Felt Estate in Holland, MI. This three-story, early 20 th century estate was home to the Felt family, led by self-made millionaire inventor Dorr Felt . The tour covered two floors of the three-story mansion and was festively decorated for Christmas. Both the story of the property and its decor are fascinating, so I am dividing the blog into two parts. This post will cover the history of the property, and the next post will cover its design.

The Ringwraiths, also known as the Black Riders or the Nazgûl in Black Speech, were nine mortal Men transformed into evil, undead horrors due to their rings of power addiction. Sauron used them as his top servants, ordering them to track down the One Ring and terrorize the Free People. Despite their power, they were not particularly effective in much of what they did, to be seen in future chapters. In this week’s essay, I will explore the folkloric motifs that may have inspired Tolkien and explain the etymological differences between different categories of undead people appearing in The Lord of the Rings . I will also present a brief literature review on what other experts say about the Ringwraiths, along with sharing portrayals by other illustrators.

During the 2025-2026 winter holiday season, I took a trip to western Michigan. During this adventure, I visited the Grand Rapids Public Museum , which is receiving its own three-part mini series. The first part featured the history of the museum, the temporary dinosaur exhibit, a permanent exhibit about the people of Grand Rapids, a permanent exhibit about animals in Michigan, and a special exhibit featuring LEGO models. The second part featured an exhibit near the planetarium, signed baseballs, a large map of Michigan, skeletons, transportation, and exhibits in the Gallaria. In the third part, I visited a scale model of a city street, saw many Santas, and enjoyed a pair of unexpected artifacts just outside the giftshop.