Middle-earth is the name for the lands on J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional ancient Earth where most of the tales of his legendarium take place. The term can apply generally to the entire world (Arda) depicted in The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion, or in a narrow sense relating only to the main continent (also properly called Endor).
Media:Example.ogg
Although Middle-earth's setting is often thought to be another world, it is actually a fictional period in Earth's own history — set 6000 to 7000 years ago. Tolkien emphatically insisted that Middle-earth is our Earth in several of his letters. The action of the books is largely confined to the north-west of the continent, corresponding to modern-day Europe. Little is known about the east and south of Middle-earth.
The history of Middle-earth is divided into several Ages — The Hobbit and The Lord of The Rings deal exclusively with events towards the end of the Third Age, while the Silmarillion deals mainly with the First Age. Its world was originally flat but was made round at the end of the Second Age due to divine intervention by Eru Ilúvatar, the Creator.
The name
The term "Middle-earth" was not invented by Tolkien, rather it existed in Old English as middanġeard, in Middle English as midden-erd or middel-erd; in Old Norse it was called Midgard. It is English for what the Greeks called the oikoumenē or "the abiding place of men", the physical world as opposed to the unseen worlds.
Middangeard occurs half a dozen times in Beowulf which Tolkien translated and was, arguably, the world's foremost expert in. (See also J. R. R. Tolkien on discussion of his inspirations and sources). See Midgard and Norse mythology for the older use.
Tolkien was also inspired by this fragment:
- Eala earendel engla beorhtast / ofer middangeard monnum sended.
- Hail Earendel, brightest of angels / above the middle-earth sent unto men.
in the Crist poem of Cynewulf. The name earendel (which may mean the 'morning-star' but in some contexts was a name for Christ) was the inspiration for Tolkien's mariner Eärendil.
The name was consciously used by Tolkien to place The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion, and related writings, gradually replacing the older terms Outer Lands and Great Lands.
The term Middle-earth can be interpreted in several ways:
- as the oikoumenē,
- as the "middle" land between the unreachable Aman in the west and the unknown Sun-lands in the east, and
- as the fixed land above the seas of Vaiya, but below the upper skies where Sun, Moon, and stars reside.
The name "Middle-earth" is often misspelled "Middle Earth" or "Middle-Earth" by the popular media.
The world
Although 'Middle-earth' strictly refers to a specific continent (called Endor in Quenya and Ennor in Sindarin, meaning "middle land"), representing what we know as Eurasia and Africa, the term is often used to refer to this entire 'earth' (properly called Arda). This was because Aman was removed from Arda, and the Eastlands were unknown, and thus 'Middle-earth' was the only known part of the world.
If the map of Middle-earth is projected on our real Earth (a rough approximation at best), and some of the most obvious climatological, botanical, and zoological similarities are aligned, we get the Hobbits' Shire in the temperate England, Gondor in the Mediterranean Italy and Greece, Mordor in the arid Turkey and Middle East, South Gondor in the deserts of Northern Africa, the Rhovanion in the forests of Eastern Europe and the steppes of Western and Southern Russia, and the Ice Bay of Forochel in the fjords of Norway. According to Tolkien, the Shire is supposed to reside at the approximate location of England's Midlands area (specifically Warwickshire), whereas Minas Tirith in Gondor is comparable to Venice, and Pelargir with Byzantium (Constantinople).
The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings are presented as the life work of Bilbo, Frodo and other Hobbits, and purport to be a translation of the Red Book of Westmarch. Like Shakespeare's King Lear or Robert E. Howard's Conan the Barbarian stories, the tales occupy a historical period that could not have actually existed. Dates for the length of the year and the phases of the moon, along with descriptions of constellations, firmly fix the world as Earth, no longer than several thousand years ago.
Tolkien wrote extensively about the linguistics, mythology and history of the land, which form the back-story for these stories. Most of these writings, with the exception of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, were edited and published posthumously by his son Christopher. Notable among them is The Silmarillion, which describes a larger cosmology which includes Middle-earth as well as Valinor, Númenor, and other lands. Also notable are Unfinished Tales and the multiple volumes of The History of Middle-earth, which include incomplete stories and essays as well as detailing the development of Tolkien's writings from early drafts through the last writings of his life.
Cosmology
Main article: Ainulindalë
The supreme deity of Tolkien's universe is called Eru Ilúvatar. In the beginning, Ilúvatar created spirits named the Ainur, and he led them in divine music. The Ainu Melkor, Tolkien's equivalent of Satan, broke the harmony, and in response Ilúvatar introduced new themes that enhanced the music beyond the comprehension of the Ainur. The essence of their song established the history of the as yet unmade universe and the people who were to dwell therein.
Then Ilúvatar created Eä, the universe itself, and the Ainur formed within it Arda, the Earth, "globed within the void": the world together with the airs is set apart from Kuma, the "void" without. The fifteen most powerful Ainur who came to shape and govern Arda are called the Valar.
The world of the First and Second Ages (and before) is radically different than the world of the Third and later Ages: in the First Age, Arda is a flat world, represented as a ship or an island floating on the surrounding ocean (Vaiya), which forms water below Arda and air above. The Sun and Moon, as well as some stars (including Venus), follow paths within Vaiya, and as such are a part of Arda, set apart from the Void.
In the cosmic upheaval after the Downfall of Númenor the cosmology is radically changed, as Arda is turned into a globed world much like the nonfictional Earth. The continent of Aman is removed from the world, and new lands are created "below" the old lands.
Peoples
Main article: List of Middle-earth peoples
Middle-earth is home to several distinct intelligent species. First are the Ainur, angelic beings created by Ilúvatar. The Ainur help Ilúvatar create Arda in the cosmological myth called the Ainulindalë, or Music of the Ainur. Some of the Ainur later enter Arda, and the greatest of these are called the Valar. Melkor (later called Morgoth), the representation of Evil in Middle-earth, is initially one of them.
The lesser Ainur who enter Arda are called the Maiar. In the First Age the chief example is Melian, wife of the Elven King Thingol; in the Third Age the Maiar are represented by the wizards, including Gandalf. Evil Maiar also appear, including the Balrogs and the Dark Lord Sauron.
Later come the Children of Ilúvatar: Elves and Men, intelligent beings created by Ilúvatar alone. The Silmarillion, set in the First Age and before, mainly deals with the Elves, the Elder children, although Men appear towards the end.
The tale of the Downfall of Númenor, set in the Second Age, deals with the descendants of those Men who were friends to the Elves in the First Age. Their descendants in the Third Age are the Men of Arnor and Gondor who appear in The Lord of the Rings. Hobbits are described as an offshoot of Men.
Dwarves have a special position in the legendarium, in that they are not created by Ilúvatar, but rather by the Vala Aulë. However, Aulë offers his creations to Ilúvatar, who adopts the Dwarves and gives them life and free will. The Ents, shepherds of the trees, are created by Ilúvatar at Yavanna's request to balance the Dwarves.
Orcs and Trolls are evil creatures bred by Morgoth; they are not original creations but rather "mockeries" of Elves and Ents. Their ultimate origin is uncertain, but at least some of them were bred from corrupted Elves and Men.
Seemingly sentient animals also appear, such as the Eagles, Huan the Hound, and the Wargs. The Eagles are created by Iluvatar along with the Ents, but in general these animals' origins and nature are unclear. Some of them might be Maiar in animal form or perhaps the offspring of Maiar and animal union, as Shelob and the talking spiders of Mirkwood were decendant from Ungoliant or as Lúthien was the child of Melian and Thingol.
Languages
Main article: Languages of Middle-earth
Tolkien originally started writing the Silmarillion as a spin-off from his constructed language projects. He devised two main languages, that would later become known to us as Quenya, spoken by the Elves who dwelt in Valinor, and Sindarin, spoken by the Elves who stayed in Beleriand (see below). These languages were related, and a Common Eldarin form ancestral to them both postulated.
Other languages of the world include
- Adûnaic - spoken by the Númenoreans
- Black Speech - devised by Sauron for his slaves to speak
- Khuzdul - spoken by the Dwarves
- Rohirric - spoken by the Rohirrim - represented in the Lord of the Rings by Old English
- Westron - the 'Common Speech' - represented by English
History of Middle-earth
Main article: History of Arda
The history of Middle-earth is divided into three time periods, known as the Years of the Lamps, Years of the Trees and Years of the Sun. The Years of the Sun are further subdivided into Ages. Most Middle-earth stories take place in the first three Ages of the Sun.
The Years of the Lamps began shortly after the creation of Arda by the Valar. The Valar created two large lamps, and the Vala Aulë forged great towers, one in the furthest north, and another in the deepest south. The Valar lived in the middle, at the island of Almaren. Melkor's destruction of the two Lamps marked the end of the Years of the Lamps.
Then, Yavanna made the Two Trees, named Telperion and Laurelin in the land of Aman. The Trees illuminated Aman, leaving Middle-earth in twilight. The Elves awoke in Cuiviénen in the middle of Middle-earth, and were soon approached by the Valar. Many of the Elves were persuaded to go on the Great Journey westwards towards Aman, but not all of them completed the journey (see Sundering of the Elves). The Valar had captured Melkor, but he appeared to repent and was released. He sowed great discord among the Elves, and stirred up rivalry between the Elven princes Fëanor and Fingolfin. He then slew their father, king Finwë and stole the Silmarils, three gems crafted by Fëanor that contained light of the Two Trees, from his vault, and destroyed the Trees themselves.
Fëanor and his house left to pursue Melkor to Beleriand, cursing him with the name 'Morgoth' (Black Enemy). A larger host led by Fingolfin followed. They reached the Teleri's port-city, Alqualondë, but the Teleri refused to give them boats to get to Middle-earth. The first Kinslaying thus ensued. Fëanor's host sailed on the stolen boats, leaving Fingolfin's behind to cross over to Middle-earth on the deadly Helcaraxë (or Grinding Ice) in the far north. Fëanor was soon slain, but his sons survived and founded realms, as did Fingolfin and his heirs.
The First Age of the Years of the Sun began when the Valar made the Sun and the Moon out of the final fruit and flower of the dying Trees. After several great battles, the Long Peace lasted hundreds of years, during which time Men arrived over the Blue Mountains. But one by one the Elven kingdoms fell, even those that had been hidden. By the end of the age, all that remained of the free Elves and Men in Beleriand was a settlement at the mouth of the River Sirion. Among them was Eärendil, whose wife Elwing held a Silmaril that her grandparents Beren and Luthien had recovered from Morgoth. But the Fëanorians tried to press their claim to the Silmaril by force, leading to another Kinslaying. Eärendil and Elwing took the Silmaril across the Great Sea, to beg the Valar for aid. They responded. Melkor was exiled into the Void; and most of his works destroyed. This came at a terrible cost, as Beleriand itself was broken and began to sink under the sea.
Thus began the Second Age of the Sun. The Men who had remained faithful were given the island of Númenor in the middle of the Great Sea as their home, while the Elves were allowed to return to the West. The Númenoreans became great seafarers, but became jealous of the Elves for their immortality. Meanwhile, in Middle-earth it became apparent that Sauron, Morgoth's chief servant, was still active. He worked with Elven smiths in Eregion on the craft of rings, and forged the One Ring to dominate them all. The Elves were aware of him, and ceased using their own.
The last Númenorean king, Ar-Pharazôn, humbled even Sauron and brought him to Númenor as a hostage. Eventually, Sauron persuaded Ar-Pharazôn to invade Aman, promising that he would become immortal. Amandil, chief of the faithful, tried to sail west to warn the Valar. His son Elendil and grandsons Isildur and Anárion prepared to flee east to Middle-earth. When the King's men had landed on Aman, the Valar called for Illuvatar to intervene. The world was changed into a sphere, and the straight road from Middle-earth to Aman was broken. Númenor was utterly destroyed, and with it the fair body of Sauron. Elendil and his sons escaped to found the realms of Gondor and Arnor. Sauron arose again and challenged them, but the Elves allied with the Men to form the Last Alliance which defeated him. His One Ring was taken from him by Isildur, but not destroyed.
The Third Age saw the rise in power of the realms of Arnor and Gondor, and their fall. By the time of The Lord of the Rings, Sauron had recovered again, and was seeking the One Ring. He discovered that it was in the possession of a Hobbit and sent out the Ringwraiths to retrieve it. The Ring-bearer, Frodo Baggins, traveled to Rivendell, where it was decided that the Ring had to be destroyed in the only way possible: melting in the hot fires of Mount Doom. Frodo set out on that quest with eight companions. Eventually he succeeded, and along with his companion Sam Gamgee he was lauded as a hero. Sauron was destroyed forever.
The end of the Third Age marked the end of the involvement of the Elves in human affairs. Most Elves that had lingered in Middle-earth left for Valinor; those who remained behind would "fade" and eventually diminish. The Dwarves eventually dwindled away as well. Morgoth's creatures were almost wiped out. Eventually in the Fourth Age the tales of the earlier Ages became legends, the truth behind them forgotten.
A note on "truth" and canon
It is remarkably difficult to speak of what is true in the context of Middle-earth. There are various reasons for this:
- Tolkien worked on Middle-earth over the course of decades, making substantial changes. Readers may remember, for example, the differences between The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings with regard to Gandalf and the Elves. Moreover, toward the end of his life the focus of his writing shifted from pure story telling to more philosophical concerns, which led to a considerable shift in tone and content.
- Tolkien's writing is laden with details and hints, which can be contradictory, especially in the posthumously published work. Such information should not take precedence over more explicit statements elsewhere, but it can help to flesh out our understanding of Middle-earth (even if it does at times add confusion). In general, the revised versions of The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings are considered canon, but with The Silmarillion the matter is more complex.
- To add to the confusion, in some cases, Tolkien intentionally left some gaps in his works. In one of his letters (#144) he provided both an explanation and an example of this, writing that "even in a mythical Age there must be some enigmas, as there always are. Tom Bombadil is one (intentionally)." Giving an incomplete picture in this way can be frustrating, but it also makes the invented world feel more natural.
- I am doubtful myself about the undertaking. Part of the attraction of the L.R. is, I think, due to the glimpses of a large history in the background: an attraction like that of viewing far off an unvisited island, or seeing the towers of a distant city gleaming in a sunlit mist. To go there is to destroy the magic, unless new unattainable vistas are again revealed. Also many of the older legends are purely 'mythological', and nearly all are grim and tragic: a long account of the disasters that destroyed the beauty of the Ancient World, from the darkening of Valinor to the Downfall of Númenor and the flight of Elendil.
- Tolkien's letter #247
As essentially only The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and The Adventures of Tom Bombadil were published during Tolkien's lifetime, only those works (in their latest editions) can be considered true canon, and even then questions remain about a few minor deviations from his intent (as can be seen from the drafts of LotR in the History of Middle-earth series). The Silmarillion was heavily edited for consistency with the LotR and internal consistency and therefore is by some considered to be canonical, however Christopher Tolkien himself has stated multiple times after its publication that the book contains many factual errors introduced by this editing. Unfinished Tales and the Silmarillion sections of History of Middle-earth (HoMe) have not generally received such editing for consistency, and they therefore are not only at points inconsistent with the published Silmarillion, but also with the LotR or even themselves.
An example of the canon question is the lineage of Gil-galad. In the published Silmarillion he is said to be the son of Fingon, but as disclosed in the HoMe Tolkien considered many arrangements before apparently deciding that he was the son of Orodreth, who would then also be displaced as a son of Finarfin and turned into Finarfin's grandson instead. If the published Silmarillion is taken as canon all later material must be discarded, but if the later writings by Tolkien are taken as canon the Silmarillion must be rewritten, a task which Christopher Tolkien has stated he will not do as he is now retired. So we are left with a Quenta Silmarillion which contradicts the original author's intentions, but which is the only consistent narrative in existence for most of the traditions. The latter third of the Quenta Silmarillion in particular was never rewritten by Tolkien as a whole after the early narrative of his youth.
A further problem is reconciling The Hobbit with The Lord of the Rings. The Hobbit was revised by Tolkien to make it more consistent with its sequel, but there are still problems. For example, Bilbo and the Dwarves took far too long to reach Rivendell when a map from LotR is used to gauge the distance, which can only be explained with great difficulty if at all. There are additional problems as well, such as the exact location of the Troll encounter. When writing The Hobbit Tolkien did not yet consider that the world of Hobbits might be the same as his Middle-earth, but he still included several references to his (at the time) unpublished tales to give the story a sense of depth. Thus Gandalf and Thorin Oakenshield wield swords from Gondolin, and Elrond, ruler of Rivendell, is Half-elven.
For the sake of consistency, in this encyclopedia the following writings are considered canon:
- The Hobbit (second edition)
- The Lord of the Rings (second edition)
- The Silmarillion (except some editing errors)
- Unfinished Tales (except some editing errors, unless contradicted by later writings)
- The History of Middle-earth (especially late writings - obvious corrections and updates)
Thus, the article on Gil-galad states that he is the son of Orodreth, Amras mentions his death in the ships, and Argon has an article of his own.
Books
Works by Tolkien
- 1937 The Hobbit
- The Hobbit Bilbo Baggins joins a company of Dwarves and the Wizard Gandalf in a quest to reclaim an old Dwarven kingdom from the dragon Smaug.
- 1954 The Fellowship of the Ring, part 1 of The Lord of the Rings
- Bilbo's nephew and heir Frodo Baggins sets out on a quest to rid Middle-earth of the One Ring, joined by the Fellowship of the Ring.
- 1954 The Two Towers, part 2 of The Lord of the Rings
- 1955 The Return of the King, part 3 of The Lord of the Rings
- 1962 The Adventures of Tom Bombadil and Other Verses from the Red Book
- An assortment of poems, only loosely related to The Lord of the Rings
- 1967 The Road Goes Ever On
- A song cycle with the composer Donald Swann (long out of print but reprinted in 2002)
Tolkien died in 1973. All further works were edited by Christopher Tolkien. Only The Silmarillion tries to portray itself as a finished work — the others are collections of notes and draft versions.
- 1977 The Silmarillion
- The history of the Elder Days, before the Lord of the Rings, including the Downfall of Númenor
- 1980 Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth
- Stories and essays left out of the Silmarillion and Lord of the Rings because they were never completed.
The History of Middle-earth series:
- 1983 The Book of Lost Tales 1
- 1984 The Book of Lost Tales 2
- The original versions of the legendarium, introducing many ideas which were later heavily revised and rewritten
- 1985 The Lays of Beleriand
- Two long poems (the Lay of Leithian about Beren and Lúthien, and the Túrinssaga)
- 1986 The Shaping of Middle-earth
- The first steps towards the later Silmarillion
- 1987 The Lost Road and Other Writings
- The first appearance of Númenor and its downfall
- 1988 The Return of the Shadow (The History of The Lord of the Rings v.1)
- 1989 The Treason of Isengard (The History of The Lord of the Rings v.2)
- 1990 The War of the Ring (The History of The Lord of the Rings v.3)
- 1992 Sauron Defeated (The History of The Lord of the Rings v.4)
- The development of the Lord of the Rings, from 'The Hobbit 2' to what would become more a sequel for 'The Silmarillion'. Sauron Defeated also includes further development of the Númenor legend.
- 1993 Morgoth's Ring (The Later Silmarillion, part one)
- 1994 The War of the Jewels (The Later Silmarillion, part two)
- The rewriting of the Silmarillion after the Lord of the Rings was published. These include signs of an immense upheaval as the entire cosmological myth was questioned.
- 1996 The Peoples of Middle-earth
- Various late writings, providing detailed information on various peoples, as well as linguistic essays
Works by others
A small selection of the dozens of books about Tolkien and his worlds:
- 1978 The Complete Guide to Middle-earth (ISBN 0345449762, Robert Foster, generally recognised as an excellent reference book. This guide does not have information from Unfinished Tales or the History of Middle-earth series, which leads to some errors by our choice of "canon" above.)
- 1981 The Atlas of Middle-earth (Karen Wynn Fonstad - an atlas of The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, The Silmarillion, and The Unfinished Tales; revised 1991)
- 1981 Journeys of Frodo (Barbara Strachey - an atlas of The Lord of the Rings)
- 1983 The Road to Middle-earth (Tom Shippey - literary analysis of Tolkien's stories from the perspective of a fellow philologist; last revised 2003)
- 2002 The Complete Tolkien Companion (ISBN 0330411659, J. E. A. Tyler - a reference, covers The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, The Silmarillion, and Unfinished Tales; substantially improved over the two earlier editions.)
Adaptations
Films
In Letter 202 to Christopher Tolkien; JRR Tolkien set out his policy regarding film adaptions of his works : "Art or Cash". He sold the film rights for The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings to United Artists in 1969 after being faced with a sudden tax bill. They are currently in the hands of Tolkien Enterprises, which has no relation to the Tolkien Estate, which retains film rights to The Silmarillion and other works.
The first adaption to be shown was The Hobbit in 1977, made by Rankin-Bass studios. This was initially shown on United States television.
The next year, in 1978, a movie entitled The Lord of the Rings was released, produced by Ralph Bakshi, an adaption of the first half of the story, using rotoscope animation. Although relatively faithful to the story, it was neither a commercial nor a critical success.
In 1980, Rankin-Bass produced a TV special covering roughly the last half of the Lord of the Rings called The Return of the King. However this did not follow on directly from the end of the Bakshi film.
Plans for a live-action version would wait until the late 1990s to be realised. These were directed by Peter Jackson and funded by New Line Cinema.
- The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
- The Two Towers (2002)
- The Return of the King (2003)
The films were a box-office success and together won seventeen Oscars. However, the (in some cases drastic) changes in storyline and characters offended many fans of the books and have split the fandom.
Games
The works of Tolkien have been a major influence on role-playing games along with others such as Robert E. Howard, Fritz Leiber, H. P. Lovecraft and Michael Moorcock. Although the most famous game to be inspired partially by the setting was Dungeons & Dragons, there have been two specifically Middle-earth based and licensed games. These are the Lord of the Rings Roleplaying Game from Decipher Inc. and the Middle Earth Role Play game (MERP) from Iron Crown Enterprises.
Simulations Publications created three war games based on Tolkien's work. War of the Ring covered most of the events in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Gondor focused on the battle of Pelennor Fields, and Sauron covered the Second Age battle before the gates of Mordor. A war game based on the Lord of the Rings movies is currently being produced by Games Workshop.
The computer game Angband is a free roguelike D&D-style game that features many characters from Tolkien's works. The most complete list of Tolkien-inspired computer games can be found at http://www.lysator.liu.se/tolkien-games/
Apart from this game, many commercial computer games have been released. Some of these derived their rights from the Estate, such as The Hobbit — others from the movie and merchandising rights.
External links
- Encyclopedia of Arda - the best online source for the names and facts of Tolkien's imaginary history. It has been used as a source.
- Ardalambion - This is a great site for anyone who wants to delve into the languages of Middle-earth. Recommended for anyone who wants to learn Quenya.
- The Tolkien Meta-FAQ - Summaries of common discussions about Tolkien and Middle-earth, from basic questions to expert debates as compiled by Steuard Jensen.
- The Tolkien Wiki - The first wikiweb dedicated to the literary works of J. R. R. Tolkien. Contains a compendium, book-descriptions, essays, FAQ, etc..
- A History and Complete Chronology of Numenor - A detailed chronology of Numenor, its successor states and their rulers.