Regular journals are a very late phenomenon. They evolved from the proceedings of various societies. The use of journals is very much enlightenment or post-enlightenment culture. The Proceedings of the Royal Society doesn't start until 1800.Even then, initially that's published in large, irregular volumes. Many other journals considered very old are even younger. American Mathematical Monthly is published in the 1890s (although everything in North America was scientifically behind Europe until the 20th century. Thus, for example, geocentrism was taught as the standard cosmology in the first astronomy classes at Yale and that's already in the early 1700s.) . Regular scientific journals don't become common until the second half of the 19th century.
Prior to that, one has a large number of published books, and letters sent to groups of people, but nothing that resembles a regular journal like the one briefly described in the beginning of book three. The name "Transfiguration Today" sounds like either a regular journal, or a regular pop-magic (analogizing to pop-science) publication, both of which are very modern ideas.
The question is if there's meaningful peer review.
Actually, formal peer review is another modern innovation. Until the 20th century, publication decisions were made almost exclusively by editors, and if they had questions they would consult experts in the field. In other situations a slightly different system was used: for the various Royal Society publications, the main gatekeeping mechanism was needing sponsorship from a member of the Society. These two systems gradually morphed into the modern peer review system. We think of formal peer review as a major part of the scientific method but it is pretty late.
Yes, but...
The Proceedings of the Royal Society doesn't start until 1800.
I think that's a little misleading, since the Philosophical Transactions started in 1665.
Even then, initially that's published in large, irregular volumes.
The Philosophical Transactions had volume numbers that were quite regular, either annual or biannual, depending on the time period. The Society's website implies that they were printed as volumes, but they were quarterly.
The first 50 years of the Proceedings, before it got that name, had quite irregular volume numbers, but I...
This may be old news to some people, especially the Russian speakers, but I didn't see an article about it here.
In 1999, Kirill Yeskov, a Russian paleontologist, wrote The Last Ringbearer, a 270-page take on Lord of the Rings from the point of view of a medic in Mordor's dying armies who is also a "skeptic and a rationalist." In fact, Mordor represents the forces of reason in this retelling of the story. As a Nazgúl (himself a former mathematician) explains, Mordor is "the little oasis of Reason in which your light-minded civilization had so comfortably nestled." Barad-dur is "that amazing city of alchemists and poets, mechanics and astronomers, philosophers and physicians, the heart of the only civilization in Middle-earth to bet on rational knowledge and bravely pitch its barely adolescent technology against ancient magic."
The story has been newly translated and is available in free PDF form -- in English and the original Russian. There's a recent review from Salon as well.