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SME111: The 111th episode of Secrets of Middle-earth has a name that earns it: Eleventy First. Tolkien gave Bilbo Baggins that word for the occasion of his 111th birthday, and it’s the right frame for a celebration that takes the form of a full Tolkien trivia competition.

Host Alix Murray assembled six themed rounds — hobbits, songs and verse, Tolkien’s life and works, dwarves, the films, elves, and men — plus a general bonus round and tiebreaker questions. Jeff Haecker, Rob Leonardi, Patrick Mason, and Robert Story compete under Tolkien-worthy aliases: Cram Crusher, Arkinstone, Glamdring, and the Hammer of Fëanor.

The questions come from a 1981 Tolkien Quiz Book Alix found in a bookshop. The previous owner had filled in every answer — and next to one of the official answers had written “WRONG” in capital letters. These are not beginner questions.

The hobbits round opens with obscure details: the Shire Reckoning began when? What is a “smial”? What is the lake near Hobbiton? Lawless creatures like trolls were described by hobbits as what? The dwarves round covers the Mîm, the emblems on the Doors of Durin, and the honorable title “burned dwarf” The elves round asks who made the palantíri and which elf remained mightiest in Middle-earth after the War of the Ring.

The Tolkien life and works round delivers some of the episode’s best moments. Tolkien was born where and when?. The Fellowship of the Ring was published in what year?. The first line of The Hobbit was written on what?. And Tolkien’s original name for Frodo?

The films round and the men round push everyone to their limits. Pippin’s immortal line to Merry while waiting at the Doors of Moria stumps every contestant. Aragorn’s battle cry in the books turns out to be a single word. Finally, the competition reaches a tiebreaker.

Who was crowned the champion of Tolkien trivia today?

Plus, Alix has plenty of questions left from the book. The next trivia episode may be on Hobbit Day — or episode 222.

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