The Salt of Middle-earth: Minor Characters Who Season the Tale
Signum University invites you to join us on Saturday, 7 November for Carolina Moot. This hybrid event will occur at the Drury Inn & Suites Charlotte Northlake in Charlotte, North Carolina, USA. For our return to the Carolinas, we gather together in celebration of those characters who do not always get the spotlight. They are the secondary ones, the glue that binds the story. They are The Salt of Middle-earth: Minor Characters Who Season the Tale.
Register Here for Carolina Moot!
Price: $50.00 USD for in-person attendance, $25.00 USD for remote attendance
Aragorn had a reforged sword. Gandalf had a ring of fire. But Barliman Butterbur had a bad memory and a good heart, and that’s enough to change the course of history. This year’s Carolina Moot celebrates the minor characters in Tolkien’s legendarium. The smaller voices, the one‑scene wonders, and the quieter souls of Middle-earth: characters who carry no rings, speak no prophecies, and wield no legendary blades, yet without them the story would taste of nothing.
Possible ideas for proposals might include:
- A study on your favorite minor character from The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion, and The History of Middle-earth.
- Creative submissions: a monologue from Bill the Pony, a letter from Ioreth, a song of the nameless Rohirrim
- Discussing what narrative work minor characters perform (comic relief, local knowledge, moral grounding)
- How minor characters reflect Tolkien’s views on ordinary life, community, or the dignity of labor
- Why readers so often remember a character who appears only a few times
The great tales are not woven by kings and warriors alone. They are seasoned by the farmer who lends a hand, the pony who carries the load, and the old woman who keeps talking long enough to jog people’s memories. We welcome proposals that give these characters the spotlight they deserve.
Submit Your Presentation Proposal Here!
Please read our Regional Moot Recording and Privacy Notice. You will be required to agree to its contents in our registration system before completing your ticket purchase.
