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Lore of Middle-earth

The Three Ages of Arda, the Free Peoples, the languages of Tolkien’s world, and the long shadow of the One Ring.

Cosmology

The Ages of Arda

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Before the First Age

Before Time — The Music of the Ainur

Before the world existed, Ilúvatar (Eru, the One) created the Ainur — immortal spirits — from his thought. He set before them a great musical theme, and from their singing Arda (the world) was fashioned. Melkor, the mightiest of the Ainur, wove discord into the Music, and from this discord came darkness, cold, heat, and ultimately the drama of all subsequent history. Those Ainur who chose to descend into Arda to guide its peoples became the Valar (the Powers) and the Maiar (their servants).

I

c. 1 – 583 of the Years of the Sun

The First Age

The Age of the Elves and the long struggle against Morgoth (Melkor), who had stolen the three Silmarils — jewels containing the light of the Two Trees of Valinor — and plunged Middle-earth into shadow. The Noldor Elves returned from Valinor to reclaim them, leading to the Wars of Beleriand. The Age ended with the War of Wrath: the Valar themselves came to Middle-earth, Morgoth was cast into the Void, and Beleriand was drowned beneath the sea. Eärendil the Mariner carried a Silmaril to Valinor, and his voyage was the spark that kindled the Valar's intervention.

II

1 – 3441 S.A.

The Second Age

The Age of the Númenóreans and the Rings of Power. Sauron, Morgoth's greatest servant and himself a Maia, rose to power in Middle-earth. As Annatar (Lord of Gifts), he taught the Elven-smiths of Eregion to forge the Rings of Power, then secretly forged the One Ring in the fires of Mount Doom to control them all. The Númenóreans — Men gifted by the Valar — built a great sea-empire but were corrupted by Sauron and drowned by Ilúvatar when they sailed to Valinor. The Second Age ended with the Last Alliance of Elves and Men: Sauron's physical form was defeated, and Isildur cut the One Ring from his hand — but refused to destroy it.

III

1 – 3021 T.A.

The Third Age

The Third Age spans 3,021 years, from the fall of Sauron at the end of the Second Age to the departure of the Ring-bearers from the Grey Havens. For much of it, Sauron rebuilt his strength in Dol Guldur and Mordor while Men forgot their ancient dignity and the Elves faded. The age reached its crisis in T.A. 3018–3019 with the War of the Ring. Frodo destroyed the One Ring on 25 March, T.A. 3019. The Third Age formally ended on 29 September, T.A. 3021, when Gandalf, Frodo, Bilbo, Galadriel, and Elrond sailed from the Grey Havens into the West — ending the dominion of the Elves.

IV

Begins T.A. 3021 / F.A. 1

The Fourth Age

The Age of Men. King Elessar (Aragorn) and Queen Arwen ruled the Reunited Kingdom of Gondor and Arnor. The remaining Elves diminished and passed into the West. The Ents, without Entwives, remained in the dwindling forests. The Dwarves of Erebor rebuilt under King Gimli's kinsmen. The Hobbits tended the Shire. The One Ring was gone. Magic faded. The world became what we know today — or so Tolkien would have it.

Peoples of Middle-earth

The Free Peoples & the Great Races

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The Elves

Quendi — 'the Speakers'

Immortal, tall, fair, gifted in craft, song, and wisdom. The Firstborn of Ilúvatar — the first to awake in the world. Bound to Arda until its end; when slain, their spirits go to the Halls of Mandos and are eventually rehoused. After the destruction of the Ring, the Age of the Elves passed — the remaining Eldar sailed to Valinor.

Kindreds

Vanyar (the Fair Elves), Noldor (the Deep Elves, greatest craftsmen), Teleri (sea-lovers), Sindar (Grey Elves of Beleriand), Silvan Elves (Wood-elves of Lothlórien and Mirkwood).

Notable figures

Galadriel, Elrond, Legolas, Thranduil, Círdan, Glorfindel, Celebrimbor.

👑

Men

Atani / Hildor — 'the Followers'

Mortal, adaptable, diverse in culture and capability. The Second Children of Ilúvatar, called Mortal Men because they die — a gift, Tolkien suggests, though it was hard to see as such. Their fate after death is unknown even to the Valar, and it lies 'beyond the Circles of the World.'

Kindreds

Númenóreans (the mighty sea-kings, ancestors of the Dúnedain), Rohirrim (Horse-lords of Rohan), Men of Gondor, Haradrim (Southrons), Easterlings, Dunlendings.

Notable figures

Aragorn, Boromir, Éowyn, Théoden, Faramir, Denethor, Bard the Bowman.

⛏

The Dwarves

Khazad (in their own tongue, Khuzdul)

Short, stout, immensely strong, long-lived (up to 250 years), stubborn, and supremely gifted in mining, stonework, and smithcraft. Created in secret by the Vala Aulë — who longed to have pupils — before the awakening of the Elves. Ilúvatar gave them independent life. They are resistant to the arts of others and keep their language (Khuzdul) a closely guarded secret.

Kindreds

Seven clans: Longbeards (Durin's Folk, most notable), Firebeards, Broadbeams, Ironfists, Stiffbeards, Blacklocks, Stonefoots.

Notable figures

Gimli, Thorin Oakenshield, Balin, Dwalin, Glóin, Durin the Deathless.

🌿

Hobbits

Halflings / Periannath (in Sindarin)

Small (2–4 feet tall), stout, with large, hairy feet and a preference for peace, food, pipe-weed, and home. Their origin is obscure — Tolkien believed they were a branch of Men. They are surprisingly hardy, difficult to daunt, and their small stature and light tread makes them near-invisible when they choose to be. They resist the One Ring longer than any other mortal race.

Kindreds

Harfoots (most common), Stoors (the group from which Sméagol came), Fallohides (adventurous, friends of Elves).

Notable figures

Frodo, Samwise, Merry, Pippin, Bilbo, Gollum (Sméagol).

🌳

The Ents

Onodrim / Fangorn

The Shepherds of the Trees — ancient, patient, slow to rouse and slow to speak, walking trees of great height and strength. Created (according to legend) because Yavanna, Vala of growing things, desired protectors for her forests after learning of the Dwarves who would fell trees. Treebeard (Fangorn) is the oldest living creature in Middle-earth. They lost the Entwives — who preferred cultivated gardens — before the Third Age began.

Kindreds

Not divided into clans, but vary greatly in appearance — some resemble oak, birch, beech, or rowan.

Notable figures

Treebeard (Fangorn), Quickbeam (Bregalad).

🔮

The Istari (Wizards)

Heren Istarion — 'Order of Wizards'

Five Maiar sent by the Valar in the Third Age to aid the peoples of Middle-earth against Sauron's re-emergence. They appeared as old Men but were immortal spirits. Forbidden to use their power to dominate — only to inspire and guide. Gandalf alone fully honoured this mandate.

Kindreds

Gandalf (the Grey / White), Saruman (the White), Radagast (the Brown), and the two Blue Wizards (Alatar/Morinehtar and Pallando/Rómestámo) who went into the East.

Notable figures

Gandalf, Saruman, Radagast.

Philology

The Languages of Middle-earth

Tolkien was a professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford, and he began with the languages — constructing them before writing the stories. The legendarium of Middle-earth exists, in part, to give his invented languages a history and a context in which to live.

Quenya

High-elven, the 'Latin' of Middle-earth

Namárië! — Farewell! (the most famous Quenya word in the books)

The ancient tongue of the Noldor Elves, preserved as a language of lore and ceremony after the Noldor returned to Middle-earth. It is the language of the Ainulindalë and the Valaquenta. Tolkien based its sound on Finnish. The One Ring inscription is in the Black Speech, but Tolkien composed many poems in Quenya — including the Namárië sung by Galadriel as the Fellowship departed Lothlórien.

Sindarin

Grey-elven, the 'Welsh' of Middle-earth

Elen síla lúmenn' omentielvo — 'A star shines on the hour of our meeting'

The everyday tongue of the Sindar Elves of Beleriand, and the language most commonly spoken by Elves in the Third Age. Tolkien based it on Welsh in phonology. Place names in Middle-earth are predominantly Sindarin: Imladris (Rivendell), Minas Tirith, Khazad-dûm. The Elvish words Frodo hears are almost always Sindarin.

Westron

The Common Speech

All dialogue in The Lord of the Rings is 'translated' Westron.

The lingua franca of the Third Age — descended from the Adûnaic language of Númenor, spread by the Númenórean colonies and later the kingdoms of Gondor and Arnor. All of The Lord of the Rings is presented as a 'translation' of the Red Book of Westmarch from Westron into English — Tolkien's famous conceit.

The Black Speech

Sauron's language of Mordor

Ash nazg durbatulûk — 'One Ring to rule them all'

Devised by Sauron in the Second Age as a language for all his servants, replacing the varied tongues of his forces. Only the Nazgûl and Sauron himself spoke it fluently. The complete inscription on the One Ring is the only significant text in the Black Speech: 'Ash nazg durbatulûk, ash nazg gimbatul, ash nazg thrakatulûk agh burzum-ishi krimpatul.'

Khuzdul

The secret tongue of the Dwarves

Baruk Khazâd! Khazâd ai-mênu! — 'Axes of the Dwarves! The Dwarves are upon you!'

The language of the Dwarves, based phonologically on Semitic languages (Hebrew, Arabic). The Dwarves kept it jealously private — they did not even give their true names in it to outsiders. The words inscribed on the West Gate of Moria ('Speak, friend, and enter') are in Sindarin, but the door's maker Celebrimbor worked alongside Khazad craftsmen.

The Powers

The Valar & Maiar

The Valar are the fourteen great Ainur who entered Arda at its creation to shape it according to Ilúvatar’s vision. Often compared to gods, they are better understood as archangels — powerful and semi-divine, but themselves created beings subject to Ilúvatar. The Maiar are lesser Ainur who entered Arda alongside them. Both Sauron and Gandalf are Maiar.

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Manwë

King of the Valar, Lord of the Winds

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Varda (Elbereth)

Queen of the Stars, Light-kindler

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Ulmo

Lord of Waters, friend of the Elves

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Yavanna

Giver of Fruits, lover of growing things

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Aulë

Smith of the Valar, maker of the Dwarves

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Mandos (Námo)

Doomsman of the Valar, Keeper of the Dead

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Melkor / Morgoth

The Dark Enemy — cast into the Void

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Nienna

Lady of Mercy, teacher of Gandalf

Explore further

See the world these peoples inhabited

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