The Atlas of Middle Earth

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As for the shape of the world of the Third Age, I am afraid that was devised 'dramatically' rather than geologically, or paleontologically. [T 12] Bilbo's Last Song [1974] • The Silmarillion [1977] • Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth [1980]

The Atlas of Middle-earth provides many detailed maps of the lands described in Tolkien's books. The maps are treated as if they are of real landscapes, drawn according to the rules of a real atlas. For each area the history of the land is taken into account, as well as geography on a larger scale; from there maps are drawn. [7] Fonstad's discussion includes suggestions as to the geology that could explain various formations, and points that are contradictory between multiple accounts. Fonstad explains in the atlas, and in her article about it, how she came to decide on such matters. For example, she compares the western Emyn Muil with its two ridges to the Weald with its pair of inward-facing downs (an anticline). [2]Tolkien stated that the geography of Middle-earth was intended to align with that of the real Earth in several particulars. ( Letter 294) Expanding upon this idea some suggest that if the map of Middle-earth is projected on our real Earth, and some of the most obvious climatological, botanical, and zoological similarities are aligned, the Hobbits' Shire might lie in the temperate climate of England, Gondor might lie in the Mediterranean, Italy and Greece, Mordor in Sicily, South Gondor and Near Harad in the deserts of Northern Africa, Rhovanion in the forests of Germany and the steppes of Western and Southern Russia, and the Ice Bay of Forochel in the fjords of Norway. Far Harad may have corresponded with Southern Africa, and Rhûn corresponded with the whole of Asia. The Ered Luin or Blue Mountains, also known as Ered Lindon, is the mountain range at the far west of Eriador. Ered Mithrin The supreme deity of Arda is called Eru Ilúvatar. In the beginning, Ilúvatar created spirits named the Ainur and he taught them to make music. After the Ainur had become proficient in their skills, Ilúvatar commanded them to make a great music based on a theme of his own design. The most powerful Ainu, Melkor (later called Morgoth or "Dark Enemy" by the Elves), Tolkien's equivalent of Satan, disrupted the theme, and in response Ilúvatar introduced new themes that enhanced the music beyond the comprehension of the Ainur. The movements of their song laid the seeds of much of the history of the as yet unmade universe and the people who were to dwell therein.

Tolkien's first encounter with the term middangeard, as he stated in a letter, was in an Old English fragment he studied in 1913-14: [T 5] The action of the story takes place in the North-west of 'Middle-earth', equivalent in latitude to the coastlands of Europe and the north shores of the Mediterranean. ... If Hobbiton and Rivendell are taken (as intended) to be at about the latitude of Oxford, then Minas Tirith, 600 miles south, is at about the latitude of Florence. The Mouths of Anduin and the ancient city of Pelargir are at about the latitude of ancient Troy. [T 14] a b Christopher, Joe R. (2012). "The Journeys To and From Purgatory Island: A Dantean Allusion at the End of C. S. Lewis's 'The Nameless Isle' ". In Khoddam, Salwa; Hall, Mark R.; Fisher, Jason (eds.). C. S. Lewis and the Inklings: Discovering Hidden Truth. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. p.206. ISBN 978-1-4438-4431-4. Bree was a village, of Men and hobbits, in Middle-earth, located east of the Shire and south of Fornost in Eriador. It’s home to the famous inn The Prancing Pony, owned and run by Barliman Butterbur. BeleriandTolkien devised two predominant Elvish languages that would later be called Quenya, spoken by the Vanyar, Ñoldor, and some Teleri, 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 is postulated. The Ents, "shepherds of the trees", were created by Ilúvatar at the Vala Yavanna's request to protect trees from the depredations of Elves, Dwarves, and Men.

Tolkien, J. R. R. (1955). The Return of the King. The Lord of the Rings. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. OCLC 519647821. 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 The Lord of the Rings film trilogy is currently being produced by Games Workshop. A board game also called War of the Ring is currently published by Fantasy Flight Games. Fimi, Dimitra (August 2006). " "Mad" Elves and "Elusive Beauty": Some Celtic Strands of Tolkien's Mythology". Dimitra Fimi. The White Mountains, or Ered Nimrais was a great mountain range that lay between Calenardhon/Rohan in the North and Gondor in the South. They ran 600 miles (965 kilometers) from Thrihyrne in the north-west to Mindolluin and Amon Tirith in the east. A low spur sprung off south-west, and ended at Ras Morthil. Eriador Lee, Stuart D.; Solopova, Elizabeth (2005). The Keys of Middle-earth: Discovering Medieval Literature Through the Fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien. Palgrave. pp.256–257. ISBN 978-1403946713.

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Ford, G. L. (17 January 2020). "Christopher Tolkien, 1924-2020 Keeper of Middle-earth's Legacy". Book and Film Globe . Retrieved 26 July 2020. Lewis's Space Trilogy drew on Tolkien's Middle-earth lore at several points, where he used it to deepen the mythology underlying his action. The Hobbit (1937) • The Lord of the Rings ( The Fellowship of the Ring [1954] • The Two Towers [1954] • The Return of the King [1955]) • The Adventures of Tom Bombadil [1962] • The Road Goes Ever On [1967] On the hills of the Trollshaws were shallow caves, such as the Troll’s Cave, and Mannish castles and towers. Weathertop Thus began the Second Age. The Edain were given the island of Númenor toward the west of the Great Sea as their home, while many Elves were welcomed into the West. The Númenóreans became great seafarers, but also became increasingly jealous of the Elves for their immortality. But after a few centuries, Sauron, Morgoth's chief servant, began to organize evil creatures in the eastern lands. He persuaded Elven smiths in Eregion to create Rings of Power, and secretly forged the One Ring to control the other rings. But the Elves became aware of Sauron's plan as soon as he put the One Ring on his hand, and they removed their own Rings before he could master their wills.

The term "Middle-earth" was not invented by J.R.R. Tolkien. Rather, it comes from Middle English middel-erde, itself a folk-etymology for the Old English word middangeard ( geard not meaning 'Earth', but rather 'enclosure' or 'place', thus 'yard', with the Old Norse word miðgarðr being a cognate). It is Germanic for what the Greeks called the οικουμένη ( oikoumenē) or "the abiding place of men", the physical world as opposed to the unseen worlds ( The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien, 151). The word Mediterranean comes from two Latin stems, medi- , amidst, and terra, (earth/land), meaning "the sea placed at the middle of the Earth / amidst the lands". Evendim is a region located between the Shire and the northern Forochel, and west of The North Downs. A vast region dominated by the majestic lake from which it gets its name, Lake Evendim is also known as Nenuial which is Sindarin for “Lake of Twilight”. Here the dwindling numbers of Dúnedain have struggled for long to honour their heritage. FangornEdoras is the city of Rohan. It is where the King of Rohan resides, and is where the Rohirrim live. Edoras is built at the end of the valley of Harrowdale, which lies under the great mountain Starkhorn. The river Snowbourn flows past the city on its way west towards the Entwash. The city was protected only by a high wall of timber, and a one-way road allowed access to the city. The city was built by Rohan’s second king Brego. Erebor The Days before days began shortly after the Ainulindalë, when the Valar came into the world. At first, the Valar warred against Melkor, but after his defeat they finished their labours in shaping Arda. The Valar created two lamps to illuminate the world, and the Vala Aulë forged great towers, one in the furthest north, Helcar with the lamp Illuin, and another in the deepest south, Ringil with the lamp Ormal. The Valar lived in the middle, at the island of Almaren. Melkor's destruction of the two Lamps marked the end of the Days before days. Further information: The Atlas of Middle-earth Fonstad created "the most comprehensive set" of thematic maps of Middle-earth, such as Frodo and Sam's route to Mount Doom to destroy the One Ring. [13] a b Kocher, Paul (1974) [1972]. Master of Middle-earth: The Achievement of J.R.R. Tolkien. Penguin Books. pp.8–11. ISBN 0140038779. He did confirm, however, that the Shire, the land of his Hobbit heroes, was based on England, in particular the West Midlands of his childhood. [T 15] In the Prologue to The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien writes: "Those days, the Third Age of Middle-earth, are now long past, and the shape of all lands has been changed..." [T 16] The Appendices make several references in both history and etymology of topics "now" (in modern English languages) and "then" (ancient languages);