Middle-Earth
Middle-Earth is a place that features in Middle-earth.
Contents |
History
Middle-Earth was the great continent located in the worl of Arda where the lands of mortals- Men, elves, dwarves and others- were located. Only the western region of Middle-Earth (containing the Shire, Gondor, Rivendell, Rohan and Mordor among other locales) was well-known.
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. It was then Yavanna made the Two Trees named Telperion and Laurelin in the land of Aman. The Trees illuminated Aman, leaving the rest of Arda in darkness, illuminated only by the stars. At the start of the Years of the Trees the Elves awoke at Cuiviénen in the east of Endor, and were soon approached by the Valar. Many of the Elves were persuaded to undertake the Great Journey westwards towards Aman, but not all of them completed the journey (see Sundering of the Elves). The Valar attacked and defeated Melkor in the Battle of the Powers, and he was imprisoned for several ages in the Halls of Mandos. But he appeared to repent and was released on parole. 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 persuaded most of his people, the Ñoldor, to leave Aman in pursuit of Melkor to Beleriand, cursing him with the name Morgoth. Fëanor led the first of two groups of Noldor. The larger group was led by Fingolfin. The Noldor stopped at the Teleri's port-city, Alqualondë, but the Teleri refused to give them ships to get to Middle-earth. The first Kinslaying thus ensued; Fëanor and many of his followers attacked the Teleri and stole their ships. Fëanor's host sailed on the stolen ships, leaving Fingolfin's behind to cross over to Middle-earth through the deadly Helcaraxë or Grinding Ice in the far north. Subsequently Fëanor was slain, but his sons survived and founded realms, as did Fingolfin and his heirs.
The Years of the Sun began when the Valar made the Sun and it rose over the world. After several great battles, a long peace ensued for four hundred years, during which time the first Men entered Beleriand by crossing over the Blue Mountains. When Morgoth broke the siege of Angband, one by one the Elven kingdoms fell, even the hidden city of Gondolin. The only measurable success achieved by Elves and Men came when Beren of the Edain and Lúthien, daughter of Thingol and Melian, retrieved a Silmaril from the Iron Crown of Morgoth. Afterward, Beren and Lúthien died, and were restored to life by the Valar with the understanding that Lúthien was to become mortal and Beren should never be seen by Men again. Thingol quarrelled with the Dwarves of Nogrod and they slew him, stealing the Silmaril. With the help of Ents, Beren waylaid the Dwarves and recovered the Silmaril, which he gave to Lúthien. Soon afterwards, both Beren and Lúthien died again. The Silmaril was given to their son Dior Half-elven, who had restored the Kingdom of Doriath. The sons of Fëanor demanded that Dior surrender the Silmaril to them, and he refused. The Fëanorians destroyed Doriath and killed Dior in the Second Kinslaying, but Dior's young daughter Elwing escaped with the jewel. Three sons of Fëanor – Celegorm, Curufin, and Caranthir – died trying to retake the jewel. 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, who married Elwing. But the Fëanorians again demanded the Silmaril be returned to them, and after their demand was rejected they resolved to take the jewel by force, leading to the Third Kinslaying. Eärendil and Elwing took the Silmaril across the Great Sea, to beg the Valar for pardon and aid. The Valar responded with the War of Wrath. Morgoth was captured, most of his works were destroyed, and he was banished beyond the confines of the world into the Door of Night.
Overview
Locations in Middle-Earth included:
- Shire :
- Gondor :
- Rohan :
- Rivendell :
- Isengard :
- Moria :
- Mordor :
The western continent, Aman, was the home of the Valar, and the Elves called the Eldar. On the eastern side of Middle-earth was the Eastern Sea.In the First Age, further to the north-west was the subcontinent Beleriand; it was engulfed by the ocean at the end of the First Age.
Creatures native to Middle-Earth included:
- Spiders :
- Wargs :
- Eagles :
Races native to Middle-Earth included:
- Ents :
- Elves :
- Dwarves :
- Easterlings :
- Orcs :
- Goblins :
- Trolls :
- Uruk-hai :
Languages known on Middle-earth included:
- Adûnaic : spoken by the Númenóreans
- Black Speech : devised by Sauron for his slaves to speak
- Khuzdûl : spoken by the Dwarves
- Rohanese : spoken by the Rohirrim – represented in The Lord of the Rings by Old English
- Westron : the 'Common Speech' – represented by English
- Valarin : the language of the Ainur
Inhabitants
- Sauron :
- Saruman :
- Gandalf :
- Smaug :
- Elrond :
- Legolas :
- Arwenn :
- Bilbo Baggins :
- Aragorn :
- Boromir :
- Faramir :
- Frodo Baggins :
Notes
- Middle-Earth was created by J. R. R. Tolkien where it made appeared in Middle-earth.
- It as never made clear, perhaps deliberately, where the continent of Middle-Earth was located on Earth. Most likely, it was around Europe, but this is not certain.
In other media
Television
- In The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Middle-earth featured in the setting of the live-action television series.
Films
Video games
- In The Lord of the Rings Online, Middle-earth featured in the setting of the MMORPG video game.
Appearances
- The Lord of the Rings:
