Skip to main content
Join The Community
- Join our community
11
Premium Benefits
24/7
Access Available
21K+
Active Members
Commenting
Join the discussion
Exclusive Articles Coming Soon
Member-only articles
Weekly Newsletters
Weekly gaming & entertainment news
Member Badges
Earn badges as you go
Exclusive Competitions
Members-only prize draws
Curated Deals Coming Soon
Tech and gaming deals worth grabbing
GET COMMUNITY ACCESS QUICK
For the quickest way to join, simply enter your email below and get access. We will send a confirmation and sign you up to our newsletter to keep you updated on all your gaming news.
By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.
FIND OUT ABOUT OUR MAGAZINE
Want to subscribe to the magazine? Click the button below to find out more information.
Find out more
GET Community ACCESS QUICK

Join the GamesRadar community for quick access. Enter your email below and we'll send confirmation, and sign you up to our newsletter.

By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

Background
Welcome to GamesRADAR+ Community !
Hi ,

Your membership journey starts here.

Keep exploring and earning more as a member.

MY ACCOUNT

Badge picture
Earn your first badge
Read 1 article to unlock your first badge.
Keep earning badges
Explore ways to get more involved as a member.
Latest Games News

Latest Games News

Breaking gaming news and updates

Read Now
Latest Games Reviews

Latest Games Reviews

Expert verdicts on the newest releases

Read Now

See what you’ve unlocked.

Explore your membership benefits.

Explore
Member Exclusives

Stay Ahead with GamesRadar+

Get the biggest gaming news, reviews, and releases straight to your inbox.

Explore

Sign Out
GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+
US EditionUS CA EditionCanada UK EditionUK AU EditionAustralia
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
  • Games
    • Game Insights
      • Games News
      • Games Features
      • Games Reviews
      • Games Guides
      • Big in 2026
      • The Big Preview
      • On The Radar
      • Indie Spotlight
      • Future Games Show
      • Golden Joystick Awards
    • Genres
      • Action Games
      • RPGs
      • Action RPGs
      • Adventure Games
      • Third Person Shooters
      • FPS Games
    • Platforms
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X
      • PC
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Nintendo Switch 2
      • Tabletop Gaming
    • Franchises
      • Grand Theft Auto
      • Pokemon
      • Assassin's Creed
      • Monster Hunter
      • Fortnite
      • Cyberpunk
      • Red Dead
      • The Elder Scrolls
      • The Sims
  • Entertainment
    • TV Shows
      • TV News
      • TV Reviews
      • Anime Shows
      • Sci-Fi Shows
      • Superhero Shows
      • Animated Shows
      • Marvel TV Shows
      • Star Wars TV Shows
      • DC TV Shows
    • Movies
      • Movie News
      • Movie Reviews
      • Big Screen Spotlight
      • Superhero Movies
      • Action Movies
      • Anime Movies
      • Sci-Fi Movies
      • Horror Movies
      • Marvel Movies
      • DC Movies
    • Streaming
      • Apple TV Plus
      • Disney Plus
      • Netflix
      • HBO
      • Amazon Prime Video
      • Hulu
    • Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • DC Comics
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • Lego
    • Dungeons and Dragons
    • Merch
  • Hardware
    • Insights
      • Hardware News
      • Hardware Reviews
      • Hardware Features
    • Computing
      • Desktop PCs
      • Laptops
      • Handhelds
    • Peripherals
      • Headsets & Headphones
      • TVs & Monitors
      • Gaming Mice
      • Gaming Keyboards
      • Gaming Chairs
      • Speakers & Audio
    • Accessories & Tech
      • Gaming Controllers
      • Tech
      • SSDs & Hard Drives
      • VR
      • Accessories
      • Retro
  • Deals
    • Game Deals
    • Tech Deals
    • TV Deals
    • Buying Guides
  • Video
    • Video
    • GR+ Replay - Submit Your Clips
  • Newsletters
    • Quizzes
    • About Us
    • How to pitch to us
    • How we score
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
    • Total Film
  • home
  • Games
    • View Games
      • Games News
      • Games Features
      • Games Reviews
      • Games Guides
      • Big in 2026
      • The Big Preview
      • On The Radar
      • Indie Spotlight
      • Future Games Show
      • Golden Joystick Awards
      • Action Games
      • RPGs
      • Action RPGs
      • Adventure Games
      • Third Person Shooters
      • FPS Games
    • Platforms
      • View Platforms
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X
      • PC
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Nintendo Switch 2
      • Tabletop Gaming
      • Grand Theft Auto
      • Pokemon
      • Assassin's Creed
      • Monster Hunter
      • Fortnite
      • Cyberpunk
      • Red Dead
      • The Elder Scrolls
      • The Sims
  • Entertainment
    • View Entertainment
    • TV Shows
      • View TV Shows
      • TV News
      • TV Reviews
      • Anime Shows
      • Sci-Fi Shows
      • Superhero Shows
      • Animated Shows
      • Marvel TV Shows
      • Star Wars TV Shows
      • DC TV Shows
    • Movies
      • View Movies
      • Movie News
      • Movie Reviews
      • Big Screen Spotlight
      • Superhero Movies
      • Action Movies
      • Anime Movies
      • Sci-Fi Movies
      • Horror Movies
      • Marvel Movies
      • DC Movies
    • Streaming
      • View Streaming
      • Apple TV Plus
      • Disney Plus
      • Netflix
      • HBO
      • Amazon Prime Video
      • Hulu
    • Comics
      • View Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • DC Comics
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • Lego
    • Dungeons and Dragons
    • Merch
  • Hardware
    • View Hardware
      • Hardware News
      • Hardware Reviews
      • Hardware Features
      • Desktop PCs
      • Laptops
      • Handhelds
    • Peripherals
      • View Peripherals
      • Headsets & Headphones
      • TVs & Monitors
      • Gaming Mice
      • Gaming Keyboards
      • Gaming Chairs
      • Speakers & Audio
      • Gaming Controllers
      • Tech
      • SSDs & Hard Drives
      • VR
      • Accessories
      • Retro
  • Deals
    • View Deals
    • Game Deals
    • Tech Deals
    • TV Deals
    • Buying Guides
  • Video
    • View Video
    • Video
    • GR+ Replay - Submit Your Clips
  • Newsletters
    • Quizzes
    • About Us
    • How to pitch to us
    • How we score
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
    • Total Film
Trending
  • Pokemon Winds and Waves
  • New Games for 2026
  • Submit your game clips
  • GDC
Don't miss these
Best Lord of the Rings games: a screenshot of Talion on a dragon in Middle-Earth Shadow of War.
Games The best Lord of the Rings games to help you have a Middle-earth adventure
Assassin's Creed Codename Hexe
Assassin's Creed Assassin's Creed Hexe: Everything you need to know about the new flagship AC game
Lord of the Rings Timeline: Elijah Wood as Frodo holding the One Ring during The Return of the King.
Lord of the Rings Movies The Lord of the Rings timeline: A chronological trip through Middle-earth
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Lord of the Rings Movies The Hunt For Gollum release date, plot, cast, and more news
Dunk and Egg in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms
Fantasy Shows Game of Thrones fans have spotted a small A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms detail that hints Egg is hiding something
Gollum in The Lord of the Rings
Fantasy Movies Peter Jackson once pitched a Lord of the Rings' "film 3.5" which sounds exactly like what we're getting with The Hunt for Gollum
Divinity
RPGs Baldur's Gate 3 director's big Divinity mystery has apparently been solved – this detail sure wasn't an accident
Avowed Woedica's Inheritance treasure map drawing
Action RPGs How to find the Woedica's Inheritance treasure in Avowed
Viggo Mortensen in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Lord of the Rings Movies Concept art for Eidos-Montréal's canceled Lord of the Rings game has emerged
Assassin's Creed Odyssey Sphinx
Assassin's Creed Assassin's Creed Odyssey Sphinx: Location and riddles
Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad in Assassin's Creed
Netflix Netflix Assassin’s Creed adaptation finds a new cast member in A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms star
The Lord of the Rings
Fantasy Movies Upcoming Lord of the Rings re-release debuts beautiful popcorn bucket, pulled right from Peter Jackson's trilogy
Avowed Totem of Rightful Rulership in camp
Action RPGs How to find all Totem of Rightful Rulership pieces in Avowed
Sean Astin and Elijah Wood in The Lord of the Rings
Lord of the Rings Movies Elijah Wood says more Lord of the Rings films are being considered after The Hunt for Gollum
Avowed Intimidating Feline Codpiece treasure map
Action RPGs How to find the Intimidating Feline Codpiece treasure in Avowed
  1. Games
  2. Action
  3. Assassin's Creed
  4. Assassin's Creed Valhalla

Assassin's Creed Valhalla has a Lord of the Rings Easter egg

News
By Alyssa Mercante published 20 November 2020

Head to Gloucester and you'll stumble across the Tolkien reference

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Assassin's Creed Valhalla
(Image credit: Ubisoft)
  • Facebook
  • X
  • Pinterest
  • Flipboard
  • Email
Share this article
Join the conversation
Follow us
Add us as a preferred source on Google
Sign up to the GamesRadar+ Newsletter

Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more


By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

You are now subscribed

Your newsletter sign-up was successful


Want to add more newsletters?

GamesRadar+

Every Friday

GamesRadar+

Your weekly update on everything you could ever want to know about the games you already love, games we know you're going to love in the near future, and tales from the communities that surround them.

GTA 6 O'clock

Every Thursday

GTA 6 O'clock

Our special GTA 6 newsletter, with breaking news, insider info, and rumor analysis from the award-winning GTA 6 O'clock experts.

Knowledge

Every Friday

Knowledge

From the creators of Edge: A weekly videogame industry newsletter with analysis from expert writers, guidance from professionals, and insight into what's on the horizon.

The Setup

Every Thursday

The Setup

Hardware nerds unite, sign up to our free tech newsletter for a weekly digest of the hottest new tech, the latest gadgets on the test bench, and much more.

Switch 2 Spotlight

Every Wednesday

Switch 2 Spotlight

Sign up to our new Switch 2 newsletter, where we bring you the latest talking points on Nintendo's new console each week, bring you up to date on the news, and recommend what games to play.

The Watchlist

Every Saturday

The Watchlist

Subscribe for a weekly digest of the movie and TV news that matters, direct to your inbox. From first-look trailers, interviews, reviews and explainers, we've got you covered.

SFX

Once a month

SFX

Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month!


Join the club

Get full access to premium articles, exclusive features and a growing list of member rewards.


An account already exists for this email address, please log in.
Subscribe to our newsletter

Assassin's Creed Valhalla has a Lord of the Rings Easter egg that's incredibly well-researched, according to Eurogamer. 

In Assassin's Creed Valhalla, head to the west side of the city Gloucester (Glowecestre), which you'll get to later in the game, to discover the Lord of the Rings reference. There's a pagan community living in Gloucester inside moss-covered homes, and inside one of those homes is a note. The note reads: "One of the little folk asked me to make the door smaller, as he wants to keep unruly houseguests from his house. After the nonsense with the druid last fall, I can see his point." Oh, and there's a ring on top of the envelope, in case the reference wasn't obvious enough.

Moss-covered homes, "little folk", and "druid" all point to Hobbiton, Hobbits, and Gandalf. The note writer in question certainly sounds like a cranky fellow, so we can safely assume it's Bilbo Baggins trying to keep unruly folk like Gandalf out of his home. But the Easter egg goes one step further, according to Eurogamer's Emma Kent.

You may like
  • Best Lord of the Rings games: a screenshot of Talion on a dragon in Middle-Earth Shadow of War. The best Lord of the Rings games to help you have a Middle-earth adventure
  • Assassin's Creed Codename Hexe Assassin's Creed Hexe: Everything you need to know about the new flagship AC game
  • Lord of the Rings Timeline: Elijah Wood as Frodo holding the One Ring during The Return of the King. The Lord of the Rings timeline: A chronological trip through Middle-earth

J.R.R. Tolkien's seminal texts were reportedly inspired by visits to Lydney Park in Gloucestershire in 1929, so the location of the Easter egg is even more in-depth. It's clear that Ubisoft did some serious historical research when working on Assassin's Creed Valhalla, even when an Easter egg is involved. 

While you can't start a quest to bring the ring to Mordor, there's still plenty to do in Assassin's Creed Valhalla, so don't fret. 

Get Viking strong with our Assassin's Creed Valhalla tips. 

Sign up to the GamesRadar+ Newsletter

Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more

By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.
CATEGORIES
PC Gaming Xbox One PS4 Xbox Series X PS5 Platforms Xbox PlayStation
Alyssa Mercante
Alyssa Mercante
Social Links Navigation
Former Features Writer

Alyssa Mercante used to be a features writer at GamesRadar+ and is now a freelance writer and editor. Prior to entering the industry, she got her Masters's degree in Modern and Contemporary Literature at Newcastle University with a dissertation focusing on contemporary indie games. She spends most of her time playing competitive shooters and in-depth RPGs and was recently on a PAX Panel about the best bars in video games. In her spare time Alyssa rescues cats, practices her Italian, and plays soccer.

Read more
Best Lord of the Rings games: a screenshot of Talion on a dragon in Middle-Earth Shadow of War.
Games The best Lord of the Rings games to help you have a Middle-earth adventure
 
 
Assassin's Creed Codename Hexe
Assassin's Creed Assassin's Creed Hexe: Everything you need to know about the new flagship AC game
 
 
Lord of the Rings Timeline: Elijah Wood as Frodo holding the One Ring during The Return of the King.
Lord of the Rings Movies The Lord of the Rings timeline: A chronological trip through Middle-earth
 
 
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Lord of the Rings Movies The Hunt For Gollum release date, plot, cast, and more news
 
 
Dunk and Egg in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms
Fantasy Shows Game of Thrones fans have spotted a small A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms detail that hints Egg is hiding something
 
 
Gollum in The Lord of the Rings
Fantasy Movies Peter Jackson once pitched a Lord of the Rings' "film 3.5" which sounds exactly like what we're getting with The Hunt for Gollum
 
 
Latest in Assassin's Creed
Assassin's Creed Shadows cinematic screenshot
Assassin's Creed Assassin's Creed Shadows players have sunk over 334 million hours into the game and pet 26 million cats
 
 
A player looking at a Sphinx while holding a hawk during Assassin's Creed Origins.
Assassin's Creed Assassin's Creed is "so great" because it's "based on historical knowledge," Shadows art lead says
 
 
Assassin's Creed Shadows screenshot showing Yasuke kneeling and praying while wearing a traditional purple robe
Assassin's Creed Assassin's Creed Shadows lead is simply "proud" the game launched because "shipping a game nowadays is a small miracle"
 
 
Assassin's Creed Shadows screenshot showing female protagonist Naoe
Assassin's Creed Assassin's Creed Shadows features "will make their way to other games," franchise lead says
 
 
Assassin's Creed Shadows
Assassin's Creed Assassin's Creed Shadows players protest Nvidia's controversial DLSS 5 "AI slop" filter
 
 
Artwork showing Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced, a remake of Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag, with protagonist Edward Kenway looking out from the side of ship
Assassin's Creed Assassin's Creed: Black Flag Resynced – Everything you need to know about the Assassin's Creed Black Flag remake
 
 
Latest in News
Steel Legion concept art against a plain background
Tabletop Gaming Fan-favorite Steel Legion returning to Warhammer 40K after Armageddon book closes out current edition
 
 
Armageddon Warhammer 40,000 box set on a black background
Tabletop Gaming Warhammer 11th Edition officially revealed, and your old Codex army books will still work
 
 
Hades 2
Hades "F*** me, I guess": Hades 2 actor Ben Starr "hated" himself while fighting the character he plays in the roguelike
 
 
Young, blond-haired girl smirks and makes a passive gesture
Simulation Games Disgaea dev's spooky new Stardew Valley-like is confirmed for a western release months after its Japanese announcement
 
 
Games Black Ops vet says his mystery PlayStation project wasn't a live-service game
 
 
Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock in Daredevil: Born Again season 2
Marvel TV Shows Charlie Cox says the ending of Daredevil: Born Again season 2 episode 1 will have big ramifications
 
 
LATEST ARTICLES
  1. Steel Legion concept art against a plain background
    1
    Fan-favorite Steel Legion returning to Warhammer 40K after Armageddon book closes out current edition
  2. 2
    Warhammer 11th Edition officially revealed, and your old Codex army books will still work
  3. 3
    "F*** me, I guess": Hades 2 actor Ben Starr "hated" himself while playing the roguelike because his character Prometheus is a "hard boss"
  4. 4
    Disgaea dev's spooky new Stardew Valley-like is finally confirmed for a western release months after its Japanese announcement
  5. 5
    Black Ops vet says his mystery PlayStation project wasn't a live-service game, and even if Sony shutting down his studio "f***ing sucked" he reckons it's just because "times change"

GamesRadar+ is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

Add as a preferred source on Google Add as a preferred source on Google
  • Terms and conditions
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Accessibility statement
  • Careers
  • About us
  • Advertise with us
  • Review guidelines
  • Write for us
  • Accessibility Statement

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...