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.
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:
