Originally published on JRR Tolkien Examiner.

This week in Middle-earth history:

April 12th, 3018 TA: The Shadow of the Past — Gandalf returns to The Shire to see Frodo Baggins. The next morning, he reveals the Ring’s history to Frodo, and discovers Samwise Gamgee eavesdropping at the window.

This week in Tolkien history:

April 16th, 1891 CE: Arthur Reuel Tolkien and Mabel Suffield, parents of JRR Tolkien, are married at the Cape Town Cathedral in Bloemfontien, Republic of the Orange Free State (now part of South Africa).

April 17th, 1959 CE: Shaun Mark “Sean” Bean, who portrayed Boromir in the Lord of the Rings film trilogy, is born in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England.

April 17th, 2007 CE: The Children of Húrin, a novel-length expansion of JRR Tolkien’s Narn i Chîn Húrin, compiled by son Christopher Tolkien from multiple manuscripts, is first published in the United Kingdom.