Middle-earth

A map of the north-western part of Middle-earth at the end of the Third Age.

Middle-earth is a fictional fantasy world invented by J. R. R. Tolkien. It is the setting of several of the stories written by him, such as The Hobbit or The Lord of the Rings. Although Middle-earth is only one continent in Tolkien's world, it is often used for the whole fictional world and all stories Tolkien invented for it.

The name was derived from Midgard, the "Middle World" of Norse Mythology inhabited by people and located underneath Asgard (Norse Heaven) and above Hel (The Norse spelt Hell with one L).

Tolkien did not create another Earth for his novels, although the shape of our lands have changed since the Third Age. Middle-earth corresponds to the Eurasian land mass, "east of the Sea." The Silmarillion tells of how the Noldor, immortal Elves from the West, invade Middle-earth on a quest for three Silmarils stolen by Morgoth. There they find the younger race of mortal Men, whose souls are not bound to Arda but depart beyond the circles of the world upon death.

The First Age of Middle-earth ended with the defeat of the Vala Morgoth, who was cast into oblivion. However, in the Second Age, a Maia named Sauron, who was the servant of Morgoth, rose to great power and took his master's place as the malign spirit opposed to everything good in Middle-earth. He was defeated by the Last Alliance of Elves and Men at the foot of Mount Doom, and his great Ruling Ring was taken from him by Isildur heir of Elendil. Sauron's body was slain and his vanquished spirit fled into the wilderness, which ushered in the Third Age. However in doing so the shape of the world was forever changed, the island of Númenor destroyed and the road to Valinor hidden.

Chronology

The history of the Middle-earth world spans thousands of years. Sometimes, in the wake of great historical events, a new Age is begun, again starting with the year 1.

• First Age: The First Age can be further divided, into the "First Age of the Trees" an the "First Age of the Sun"; referring to simply the "First Age" often means the "First Age of the Sun".
  • First Age of the Trees: The long period beginning at the creation of the Two Trees, containing the Awakening of the Elves and the Dwarves, and ending with the destruction of the Two Trees.
  • First Age of the Sun (590 years): Begins with the creation of the Sun and Moon, and ends with the War of Wrath, the final imprisonment of Morgoth and the destruction of Beleriand.
• Second Age (S.A., 3441 years): Begins after the end of the War of Wrath. Contains the destruction of Númenor (T.A. 3319). Ends with the defeat of Sauron in the War of the Last Alliance.
• Third Age (T.A., 3021 years): Began after Sauron's defeat by the Last Alliance. Contains the events of The Hobbit (T.A. 2941) and the War of the Ring (T.A. 3018-3019). Ends with the destruction of the One Ring and the defeat of Sauron.
• Fourth Age: followed the defeat of Sauron and the One Ring, but started officially when the Bearers of the Three Rings left for the West. The Elves dwindle and leave, while the realms of Men prosper, becoming the dominant people of Middle-earth.

There exist several calendars, as the different peoples created their own or adapted them from older systems. Another important calendar for the books is that of the Hobbits: the Shire Calendar and the Shire Reckoning. The Shire Reckoning (S.R.) starts with the colonisation of the Shire in T.A. 1601 as year one. The Shire Calendar and Shire Reckoning was used in the Shire and in Breeland.

See also

• Middle-earth locations
• Middle-earth objects
• Tolkien's languages