Abby Epplett, Historian

Today marks the second birthday of Abby Epplett, Historian . Two years ago, I posted my first review, which featured the “How Do You See the World?” Experience & Mapparium . Last year, on the first birthday of the blog , I counted down my top ten best performing posts, along with giving a general overview about blog viewership, and I will do the same this year. This is the 281 st post for the blog, bringing me to 156 posts in my second year, compared to 125 posts in my first year.

For the second week of my miniseries on the Appendixes of The Lord of the Rings , I look at the brief introduction to “Appendix A: Annals of the Kings and Rulers”, which appears on page 341 of Part Three The Return of the King , directly opposite the final page of dialogue. Annals — written histories focusing on political leaders — are found across the real world in literate cultures, but few survived in legible forms or are deemed interesting enough to study. J.R.R. Tolkien successfully managed both when construction the fictional history of Middle-earth. This introduction described how the following parts of the section were written in-universe. Bilbo Baggins had an interest in the First Age, as Elrond’s family was influential during that time, although the text does not clarify if these sections were part of his translations from Elvish languages that he gifted to Frodo. “Appendix A III Durin’s Folk” was based on work by Gimli, noted in the text for maintaining a friends...

Last Sunday, March 19, I visited Old Slater Mill from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. and joined a host of community groups advocating for the building of a fish passage. This is the third event I have attended to raise awareness around this issue, the first two being the Fish Passage Celebration in May 2023 , and Be the Voice of Kittacuck in October 2022 . Since the construction of dams in the 18th century to control water power on the Blackstone River and its tributaries, herring and other migratory fish have been unable to properly make their seasonal journeys. This has disrupted the ecosystem and badly affected fishers.

As a current resident of Whitinsville and fan of all things Blackstone River Valley, I’m always looking for ways to learn more about the area. When I heard that local historian Ken Warchol was presenting his final Historic Trolley Tour of Whitinsville dressed as Paul Whitin , I booked right away. The ninety-minute tour took place last Saturday, May 18, 2024, beginning at 9:00 a.m., with three more tours happening throughout the day. While the weather was rainy, the atmosphere was upbeat.

This week, I return to the sacred text, not the first chapter of Part One: The Fellowship of the Ring but the end of Part Three: The Return of the King . This section has 150 pages of materials, from 341 to 491, that according to J.R.R. Tolkien did not fit within the structure of the narrative, to which I ask, “What structure, sir?” This arrangement has never been replicated, nor will it likely ever be seen again, as modern editors and publishers do not allow such unconventional formats. The information in the Appendixes and Index reads like an academic textbook yet maintains a uniquely Tolkien sense of humor. Over the next several weeks, I will cover these appendixes using comparative history, linguistics, and mythology to better understand their content.

For all my gallivanting across Massachusetts, I have never toured the Massachusetts State House! Fortunately, the government website provides a virtual tour of these space , allowing me to see panoramic images on the interior from the comfort of my home. This tour highlights nine areas in the statehouse with unique artwork and furniture. 1 st Floor The 1 st Floor of the State House has no artifacts and lists only a few points of interest: house clerk, house council, hearing rooms, house minority, and state bookstore. I wish some explanation had been offered on why this section was left blank, or that details were giving for what business happened in each of the points of interest. 2 nd Floor The 2 nd listed the state auditor, state treasurer, senate counsel, and another hearing room as points of interests in addition to listing several featured areas. Each featured area was represented by a colorful circle on the map of the floor and also in a list underneat...

J.R.R. Tolkien was a professional philologist, an Ancient Greek word meaning “lover of words”. This branch of linguistics focuses on etymologies, the historical meaning behind words and how they evolve over time. Because of his interest, an unusually high number of characters within The Lord of the Rings are writers, translators, and linguists.

I had been meaning to watch the Ann & Hope Documentary by David Lawlor from  Run of the Mill , which debuted on YouTube in August 2023, and I finally got around to doing it! This fact-paced film gave the history of the three iterations of Ann & Hope — a boat, a mill, and a department store chain — through twelve chapters, with plenty of interviews, drone shots, music, and animation segments. Rhode Islanders who grew up near an Ann & Hope store will have the chance to reminisce, historians will enjoy the fact-packed content, and cinefiles will appreciate the clever editing. After an opening music video, “Chapter 1: The Creation of the Blackstone River Valley” and “Chapter 2: William Blackstone” focused on the history of the Blackstone valley before the Industrial Revolution. The film introduced park rangers Allison Horrocks (who frequent readers of the blog will remember from Parked at Home ) and Kevin Klyberg of Blackstone River Valley National Historical P...

In my second week of hiatus from texts written by J.R.R. Tolkien, I wanted to talk about documentaries, one of the most popular ways to learn about history, science, and nearly any other topic. Tolkien’s works are pseudo-historical, presented as translations of a heavily edited ancient text with a modern historical essay added to the front as a Prologue and a series of Appendixes added to the back by various authors. Additionally, characters within the book halt the narrative to describe historically and culturally significant people, places, events, and ideas using both prose and song. Today, screens have largely replaced writing, with documentaries serving the population that once read textbooks. A film adaption faithful to the text could utilize the elements of a documentary to convey its layers of world-building information. Defining the Documentary When creating a documentary, filmmakers collect artifacts in a range of media, then turn the varied experiences into a...

My latest online exhibit adventure was visiting A Portrait of Tenochtitlan by Dutch technical artist Thomas Kole . Debuting a few months ago in September 2023, this blend of digital models and modern drone photography taken by Andrés Semo Garcia allows visitors to better understand the early 16 th century layout of what is now Ciudad de México [Mexico City] . Translations of the informational signage into Spanish and Nahuatl provided by Rodrigo Ortega Acoltzi add authenticity to the project. Tenochtitlan was the capital of the Mexica empire, a people also known as the Aztecs. Located inside the salty sea that once flooded the Basin of Mexico, the metropolis merged with its twin city, Tlateloco, to become a major place of trade. At its height, the population of Tenochtilan reached 200,000 people, about the size of the nearest city to me, Worcester, MA . As for the entire Triple Alliance [ Triple Alianza , Excan Tlahtoloyan ] formed with the city-states of Tlacopan and T...

While researching for the Lord of the Rings: The Animated Musical installment “Prologue, 2 Concerning Pipeweed” , I came across an online exhibit hosted by Forbes House Museum , a historic house in nearby Milton, MA not far from Historic New England’s Eustis Estate , which I last visited in December 2022 and posted about exactly a year ago . This straightforward, to the point exhibit presents a candid look to one wealthy American family’s contribution to addiction and war in China during the Qing Dynasty , or late 18 th to mid-19 th century. The exhibit give a quick introduction and museum statement before diving into six topics concerning the China trade. Introduction & Museum Statement In 1784, American merchants began their trade with China in a range of products, including tea, porcelain, and opium. A long list of Boston Brahmin families — a term once used for wealthy Anglo-Americans who ran the government in colonial, federalist, and early constitutional Am...