121-566: The weapons and armour of Middle-earth are all those mentioned J. R. R. Tolkien 's Middle-earth fantasy writings, such as The Hobbit , The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion . Tolkien modelled his fictional warfare on the Ancient and Early Medieval periods of history. His depiction of weapons and armour particularly reflect Northern European culture as seen in Beowulf and
242-465: A Catholic , realised he had created a dilemma for himself , as if these beings were sentient and had a sense of right and wrong, then they must have souls and could not have been created wholly evil. Dragons (or "worms") appear in several varieties, distinguished by whether they have wings and whether they breathe fire (cold-drakes versus fire-drakes). The first of the fire-drakes ( Urulóki in Quenya)
363-658: A Jungian perspective in The Individuated Hobbit: Jung, Tolkien, and the Archetypes of Middle-Earth (1979). O'Neill finds Bombadil to be the manifestation of the Self archetype and a vision of man's beginning and destiny: A common and potent archetype is Original Man, which Jung often calls Anthropos , emerging as a conscious representative of the Self. Bombadil, despite his apparently humble digs in
484-542: A Maia . The Valar withdrew from direct involvement in the affairs of Middle-earth after the defeat of Morgoth, but in later years they sent the wizards or Istari to help in the struggle against Sauron. The most important wizards were Gandalf the Grey and Saruman the White . Gandalf remained true to his mission and proved crucial in the fight against Sauron. Saruman, however, became corrupted and sought to establish himself as
605-762: A tightrope unaided. Their eyesight is keen. Elves are immortal, unless killed in battle. They are re-embodied in Valinor if killed. Men were "the Secondborn" of the Children of Ilúvatar: they awoke in Middle-earth much later than the Elves. Men (and Hobbits) were the last humanoid race to appear in Middle-earth: Dwarves, Ents and Orcs also preceded them. The capitalized term "Man" (plural "Men")
726-773: A Tom Bombadil card exists in The Lord of the Rings Trading Card Game by Decipher, Inc. (part of the trilogy's merchandise). The model portraying Bombadil on this card is Harry Wellerchew. Bombadil is a non-player character in the MMORPG game The Lord of the Rings Online , serving as a main character in Book 1 of the epic quests. Bombadil appears as a playable character in the LEGO The Lord of
847-751: A bow is the main weapon of Legolas, the Elf-member of the Fellowship of the Ring . When the Fellowship meet Galadriel , she gives Legolas a new bow. He later uses it to shoot all the way across the great river Anduin and bring down an airborne Nazgûl. The Lord of the Rings film trilogy assigns a bow to Aragorn and crossbows to the Uruk-hai. However, in Tolkien's writings Aragorn is armed only with
968-793: A catastrophic transition from a flat to a spherical world, known as the Akallabeth, in which Aman became inaccessible to mortal Men. Tolkien described the region in which the Hobbits lived as "the North-West of the Old World, east of the Sea", and the north-west of the Old World is essentially Europe , especially Britain . However, as he noted in private letters, the geographies do not match, and he did not consciously make them match when he
1089-622: A heavy dint as of a club and cleft as a sword". It was later held by the Kings of Numenor, until lost in the downfall. Middle-earth Middle-earth is the setting of much of the English writer J. R. R. Tolkien 's fantasy. The term is equivalent to the Miðgarðr of Norse mythology and Middangeard in Old English works, including Beowulf . Middle-earth is the oecumene (i.e.
1210-472: A hobbit, if not quite tall enough for one of the Big People, though he made noise enough for one, stumping along with great yellow boots on his thick legs, and charging through grass and rushes like a cow going down to drink. He had a blue coat and a long brown beard; his eyes were blue and bright, and his face was red as a ripe apple, but creased into a hundred wrinkles of laughter. In his hand he carried on
1331-573: A knife made by the great weaponsmith Telchar of Nogrod, and borne by Curufin. Beren, who had taken it from Curufin, used it to cut a magical Silmaril jewel out of Morgoth 's Iron Crown; as Beren attempted to remove another, the knife snapped. In the earliest version of Beren's story in The Book of Lost Tales , he uses an ordinary household knife; the element of Curufin's involvement in Beren's affairs came later. Anguirel (Sindarin: Iron of Eternity )
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#17327757094001452-512: A large leaf as on a tray a small pile of white water-lilies. — The Fellowship of the Ring , book 1, ch. 6, "The Old Forest" In The Fellowship of the Ring , Tom Bombadil helps Frodo Baggins and his Hobbit companions on their journey to destroy the Ring. Tom and his wife, Goldberry, the "Daughter of the River", still live in their house by the source of the Withywindle, and some of
1573-476: A little glorified by enchantment of distance in time. ...if it were 'history', it would be difficult to fit the lands and events (or 'cultures') into such evidence as we possess, archaeological or geological, concerning the nearer or remoter part of what is now called Europe; though the Shire , for instance, is expressly stated to have been in this region...I hope the, evidently long but undefined gap in time between
1694-571: A long white horse-tail panache that trailed in the wind. The Crown of Gondor was a jewelled battle-helmet; Aragorn received it at his coronation. Frodo Baggins and Sam Gamgee use Orc-helmets as part of their disguise in Mordor. In the First Age, Dwarves made dragon-helms, which were said to protect against Dragons . The most famous of these was the Dragon-helm of Dor-lómin . The Second Age
1815-436: A mythical Age there must be some enigmas, as there always are. Tom Bombadil is one (intentionally)". In a letter to Stanley Unwin , Tolkien called Tom Bombadil the spirit of the vanishing landscapes of Oxfordshire and Berkshire . However, this 1937 letter was in reference to works which pre-dated the writing of The Lord of the Rings . Tolkien said little of Tom Bombadil's origins, and the character does not fit neatly into
1936-544: A pale light. This was the sword with which Fingolfin wounded Morgoth seven times, causing the first dark lord to limp forever afterward. In Tolkien's early writings, Ringil was the name of one of the two pillars supporting the Two Lamps of primeval Middle-earth. Sting is a large Elvish dagger in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings . It functioned well as a sword for the hobbits Bilbo and Frodo Baggins. Bilbo named
2057-542: A rival to Sauron for absolute power in Middle-earth. Other races involved in the struggle against evil were Dwarves , Ents and most famously Hobbits . The early stages of the conflict are chronicled in The Silmarillion , while the final stages of the struggle to defeat Sauron are told in The Hobbit and in The Lord of the Rings . Conflict over the possession and control of precious or magical objects
2178-578: A swan-wing feather. He lived up under Hill, where the Withywindle ran from a grassy well down into the dingle. — " The Adventures of Tom Bombadil " The original version of Tolkien's poem "The Adventures of Tom Bombadil" was published in 1934 in The Oxford Magazine . The poem depicts Bombadil as a "merry fellow" living in a small valley close to the Withywindle river, where he wanders and explores nature at his leisure. Several of
2299-702: A tomb guarded by the Barrow-wight . After opening the barrow and freeing the hobbits, Tom Bombadil gives them the weapons, saying "Old knives are long enough as swords for hobbit-people". One of these "Barrow-blades" – that given to Merry Brandybuck – proves instrumental in bringing about the death of the Witch-king . The daggers had varying fates. The Witch-king broke Frodo's blade at the Ford of Bruinen. Sam Gamgee left his beside Frodo in Cirith Ungol ; it
2420-718: A troll-hoard, Thorin Oakenshield carries the sword through the Misty Mountains and Mirkwood before being taken prisoner by the Elves ; it was laid on his tomb after his death in the Battle of Five Armies. It is the mate of Glamdring. Ringil (Sindarin: Cold-Star / Cold-Spark ) is a sword wielded by Fingolfin in The Silmarillion and The Lays of Beleriand . It bit with chilling cold, and glittered like ice with
2541-664: Is 23 inches (580 mm) long (24 while in scabbard ) and 3 inches (76 mm) wide at the hilt. Its scabbard is made of brown leather and reinforced with metal. Belthronding (Sindarin/Ilkorin: Intractable Bow ) is the bow wielded by Beleg Cúthalion (Strongbow) in The Silmarillion and The Lays of Beleriand . The black arrow was used in Esgaroth by Bard the Bowman; he mentions that it has been used many times, always successfully, and always recovered. An heirloom from many generations of Bard's family, that he believed had been made in
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#17327757094002662-577: Is a recurring theme in the stories. The First Age is dominated by the doomed quest of the elf Fëanor and most of his Noldorin clan to recover three precious jewels called the Silmarils that Morgoth stole from them (hence the title The Silmarillion ). The Second and Third Age are dominated by the forging of the Rings of Power , and the fate of the One Ring forged by Sauron, which gives its wearer
2783-533: Is called Khuzdul , and was kept largely as a secret language for their own use. Like Hobbits, Dwarves live exclusively in Middle-earth. They generally reside under mountains, where they are specialists in mining and metalwork. Tolkien identified Hobbits as an offshoot of the race of Men. Another name for Hobbit is 'Halfling', as they were generally only half the size of Men. In their lifestyle and habits they closely resemble Men, and in particular Englishmen, except for their preference for living in holes underground. By
2904-564: Is one of the Maiar , angelic beings sent from Valinor . The Tolkien scholar and philosopher Gene Hargrove argued in Mythlore in 1986 that Tolkien understood who Bombadil is, but purposefully made him enigmatic. Hargrove suggested that Tolkien left clues that Bombadil is one of the Valar , a god of Middle-Earth, specifically Aulë , the archangelic demigod who created the dwarves . Along with
3025-476: Is the known world, "recalling the Norse Midgard and the equivalent words in early English", noting that Tolkien made it clear that this was " our world ... in a purely imaginary ... period of antiquity". Tolkien explained in a letter to his publisher that it "is just a use of Middle English middle-erde (or erthe ), altered from Old English Middangeard : the name for the inhabited lands of men 'between
3146-527: Is the sword forged by Eöl the Dark Elf, similar to Anglachel which was given to Thingol of Doriath in The Silmarillion . It was the mate of Anglachel, was made of the same meteoritic iron, and had the same physical properties and capabilities as Anglachel, but there is no evidence of sentience in Anguirel. Anguirel was kept by Eöl until it was stolen by his son, Maeglin. Aranrúth (Sindarin: King's Ire )
3267-603: Is the sword that belonged to Théoden . Narsil ( Quenya : roughly, Red and White Flame ) is a sword in The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion , influenced by the legendary Arthurian sword Excalibur and by Sigurd 's sword Gram, as described in the Old Norse Völsunga saga . The sword was forged during the First Age by the Dwarf Telchar of Nogrod, a famous weaponsmith and artificer who also made
3388-537: Is the sword wielded by King Thingol of Doriath in The Silmarillion . Later the sword of the Kings of Númenor. Glamdring (Sindarin: Foe-hammer ) is a sword in The Hobbit , The Lord of the Rings and Unfinished Tales forged in the First Age by the High Elves of the hidden city of Gondolin. It belonged first to Turgon , the King of Gondolin. Thousands of years later, in T.A. 2941, Gandalf discovered it among
3509-543: Is used as a gender-neutral racial description, to distinguish humans from the other human-like races of Middle-earth. In appearance they are much like Elves, but on average less beautiful. Unlike Elves, Men are mortal, ageing and dying quickly, usually living 40–80 years. However the Númenóreans could live several centuries, and their descendants the Dúnedain also tended to live longer than regular humans. This tendency
3630-746: The Elder Edda and Gram in the Völsunga saga . The items illustrate the passage of time and the transfer of power or fate to their future bearers. Anglachel ( Sindarin : Iron of the Flaming Star ) was a sword forged of meteoritic iron by Eöl the Dark Elf , given to Thingol King of Doriath as a fee for leave to dwell in Nan Elmoth. It could cleave all earth-delved iron. Later wielded by Beleg Strongbow and ultimately Túrin ; Anglachel
3751-661: The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, the Red Arrow is omitted and its role is conflated with the Beacons of Gondor . Hobbits "shot well with the bow". The Shire sent archers to the battles of the Fall of Arnor. Body armour in Tolkien's fiction is mainly in the form of mail or scale shirts, in keeping with Ancient and Early Medieval periods of history. In contrast, the Lord of
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3872-742: The Ainur entered Arda, following the creation events in the Ainulindalë and long ages of labour throughout Eä , the fictional universe . Time from that point was measured using Valian Years , though the subsequent history of Arda was divided into three time periods using different years, known as the Years of the Lamps , the Years of the Trees and the Years of the Sun . A separate, overlapping chronology divides
3993-710: The Black Speech (Burzum) for his slaves (such as Orcs ) to speak. In the Third Age , five of the Maiar were embodied and sent to Middle-earth to help the free peoples to overthrow Sauron. These are the Istari or Wizards , including Gandalf , Saruman , and Radagast . The Elves are known as "the Firstborn" of Ilúvatar: intelligent beings created by Ilúvatar alone, with many different clans . Originally Elves all spoke
4114-452: The Book of Exodus , an idea which Tolkien denied as an influence. The Tolkien scholar David Elton Gay writes that Tolkien was inspired by the poetry of the Kalevala , Elias Lönnrot 's 1849 collection of Finland's oral tradition. Gay suggests with a detailed comparison that Tom Bombadil was directly modelled on the Kalevala 's central character, the demigod Väinämöinen . The Tolkien scholar Verlyn Flieger writes that if there
4235-457: The Ents . At the very end of The Lord of the Rings , as Frodo sails into the West and leaves Middle-earth forever, he has what seems to him the very experience that appeared to him in the house of Bombadil in his dream of the second night. Tolkien stated that he invented Tom Bombadil in memory of his children's Dutch doll . His Bombadil poems far pre-date the writing of The Lord of the Rings , into which Tolkien introduced Tom Bombadil from
4356-513: The Maia ): "Thus Melian is a 'fay', (as, in all probability, are Goldberry and Bombadil; the one a nymph, the other a genius loci )". The later poem "Bombadil Goes Boating" anchors Bombadil in Middle-earth, featuring a journey down the Withywindle to the Brandywine river, where Hobbits ("Little Folk I know there") live at Hays-end. Bombadil is challenged by various river residents on his journey, including birds , otters , and Hobbits, but charms them all with his voice, ending his journey at
4477-848: The Norse sagas . Tolkien established this relationship in The Fall of Gondolin , the first story in his legendarium to be written. In this story, the Elves of Gondolin use the mail armour , swords , shields , spears , axes and bows of Northern European warfare. In Tolkien's writings, such Medieval weapons and armour are used by his fictional races , including Elves , Dwarves , Men , Hobbits , and Orcs . As in his sources, Tolkien's characters often gave names to their weapons , sometimes with runic inscriptions to show they are magical and have their own history and power. Tolkien devised several constructed languages with terms for types of weapons. Swords symbolized physical prowess in battle for Tolkien, following Northern European culture. Tolkien writes that Elves and Dwarves produced
4598-474: The Old Forest . The idea for this meeting and the appearances of Old Man Willow and the barrow-wight can be found in some of Tolkien's earliest notes for a sequel to The Hobbit . Bombadil is mentioned, but not seen, near the end of The Return of the King , where Gandalf plans to pay him a long visit. Tom Bombadil has been omitted in radio adaptations of The Lord of the Rings , the 1978 animated film , and Peter Jackson's film trilogy , as nonessential to
4719-463: The One Ring , whose only purpose is power and domination. Jane Beal, in the Journal of Tolkien Research , writes that Bombadil can be considered using "the four levels of meaning found in medieval scriptural exegesis and literary interpretation". These are different ways of understanding a text, rather than necessarily contradicting each other. The psychologist, fiction author and camouflage expert Timothy R. O'Neill interpreted Bombadil from
4840-433: The Prancing Pony Inn at Bree . Towards the end of The Return of the King , when Gandalf leaves the Hobbits, he mentions that he wants to have a long talk with Bombadil, calling him a "moss-gatherer". Gandalf says, in response to Frodo's query of how well Bombadil is getting along, that Bombadil is "as well as ever", "quite untroubled" and "not much interested in anything that we have done and seen", save their visits to
4961-431: The Riddermark in The Lord of the Rings . The name is found in the Old English poem Beowulf , where the hero uses the word as an epithet for the sword Hrunting, lent to him by Hrothgar 's thane Unferth for the fight with Grendel's mother . Hadhafang is the sword invented for Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, where it was wielded by Arwen , although she is never actually seen using it in combat, as
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5082-405: The Tower Hills and speaks of "Tall Watchers by the Ford, Shadows on the Marches". There was another burst of song, and then suddenly, hopping and dancing along the path, there appeared above the reeds an old battered hat with a tall crown and a long blue feather stuck in the band. With another hop and a bound there came into view a man, or so it seemed. At any rate he was too large and heavy for
5203-430: The barrow-wight , from whom he rescues the hobbits . They were not then explicitly part of the older legends that became The Silmarillion , and are not mentioned in The Hobbit . Bombadil is best known from his appearance as a supporting character in Tolkien's novel The Lord of the Rings , published in 1954 and 1955. In the first volume, The Fellowship of the Ring , Frodo Baggins and company meet Bombadil in
5324-421: The Ainur entered Eä, and the greatest of these were called the Valar . Melkor , the chief agent of evil in Eä, and later called Morgoth , was initially one of the Valar. With the Valar came lesser spirits of the Ainur, called the Maiar . Melian, the wife of the Elven King Thingol in the First Age , was a Maia. There were also evil Maiar, including the Balrogs and the second Dark Lord, Sauron . Sauron devised
5445-403: The Crebain, evil crows who become spies for Saruman , and the Ravens of Erebor , who brought news to the Dwarves. The horse-line of the Mearas of Rohan, especially Gandalf's mount, Shadowfax, also appear to be intelligent and understand human speech. The bear-man Beorn had a number of animal friends about his house. The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings , both set in Middle-earth, have been
5566-433: The Fall of Barad-dûr and our Days is sufficient for 'literary credibility', even for readers acquainted with what is known as 'pre-history'. I have, I suppose, constructed an imaginary time, but kept my feet on my own mother-earth for place. I prefer that to the contemporary mode of seeking remote globes in 'space'. In another letter, Tolkien made correspondences in latitude between Europe and Middle-earth: The action of
5687-400: The First Age of Middle-earth is the Elf Beleg ; his bow was named Belthronding , and his arrow Dailir . Infamously Curufin, a lord of the Noldor , attempts to shoot the Elf-princess Lúthien with the bow of his brother Celegorm . His first arrow is intercepted by Huan ; Beren attempts to intercept the second shot, and is wounded. In The Lord of the Rings , set in the late Third Age ,
5808-487: The Old Forest, is the prototype of the Children of God , that Original Man and the template which will influence the final form of Man... he is the cosmic seed from which Man develops." The Tolkien scholar Patrick Grant notes that "Jung also talks of a common figure, the 'vegetation numen,' king of the forest, who is associated with wood and water in a manner that recalls Tom Bombadil." Robert Foster , author of an early guide to Middle-earth, suggested in 1978 that Bombadil
5929-484: The Ring makes him invisible to others and can wear it himself with no effect. He even tosses the Ring in the air and makes it disappear but then produces it from his other hand and returns it to Frodo. The idea of giving him the Ring for safekeeping is rejected in Book Two's second chapter, "The Council of Elrond". Gandalf says that it is unwise to consider Tom as having power over the Ring and that rather, "the Ring has no power over him...". He suggests that Tom would not find
6050-433: The Ring to be very important and so might simply misplace it. Before sending the Hobbits on their way, Tom teaches them a rhyme to summon him if they fall into danger again within his borders. This proves fortunate, as the four are trapped by a barrow-wight . After rescuing them, Tom gives each Hobbit a long dagger taken from the treasure in the barrow . He refuses to pass the borders of his own land, but he directs them to
6171-399: The Rings and The Hobbit video games. He has no impact in the main story for either game, as the games are direct adaptations of the Peter Jackson films rather than the original novels, but he later appears as an unlockable character in the Middle Earth hub world and can be used in free-play mode. He appears, too, on a "God" type card in the Magic: The Gathering expansion The Lord of
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#17327757094006292-459: The Rings and The Hobbit film adaptations, Sting is depicted as leaf-shaped, with gentle curving edges. Engraved on the blade and cross-guard are letters in Sindarin that read phonetically, Maegnas aen estar nin dagnir in yngyl im . Translated into English, they read, " Maegnas is my name, I am the spider's bane." According to the Appendix of The Silmarillion , the element maeg in Sindarin means "sharp" or "piercing". The film version of Sting
6413-445: The Rings film trilogy features later medieval plate armour suits. These kinds of plate armour are not found in Tolkien's writings, but plate does appear in the form of individual pieces such as vambraces (forearm guards) or greaves (leg and shin guards). As with other items of war, Elves and Dwarves produced the best armour. The mail shirt forged by Dwarves from the fictional metal mithril appears in The Hobbit and The Lord of
6534-399: The Rings film trilogy, Gimli the Dwarf was assigned various axes of different makes during the course of the films. The Sindarin Elves of Doriath favoured axes as weapons during the First Age . Other notable axe-bearers were Tuor (the wielder of the axe Dramborleg), the Men of the White Mountains who marched to the defence of Minas Tirith in The Lord of the Rings movie (replacing
6655-514: 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..." The Appendices make several references in both history and etymology of topics "now" (in modern English languages) and "then" (ancient languages); The year no doubt was of the same length,¹ [ the footnote here reads : 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, 46 seconds.] for long ago as those times are now reckoned in years and lives of men, they were not very remote according to
6776-451: The Rings , worn in turn by the protagonists Bilbo and Frodo Baggins. In Letter 211 of The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien , the author compared the war-gear of the Rohirrim to the Bayeux Tapestry , made during the Norman Conquest of Anglo-Saxon England. Battle helmets are commonly used by virtually all races in Tolkien's writings. The Rohirrim were partly modelled on the Anglo-Saxons , who wore elaborate helmets ; Éomer 's helmet had
6897-1008: The Rings: The Return of the King received 11 Academy Award nominations and won all of them, matching the totals awarded to Ben-Hur and Titanic . Two well-made fan films of Middle-earth, The Hunt for Gollum and Born of Hope , were uploaded to YouTube on 8 May 2009 and 11 December 2009 respectively. Numerous computer and video games have been inspired by J. R. R. Tolkien 's works set in Middle-earth. Titles have been produced by studios such as Electronic Arts , Vivendi Games , Melbourne House , and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment . Aside from officially licensed games, many Tolkien-inspired mods , custom maps and total conversions have been made for many games, such as Warcraft III , Minecraft , Rome: Total War , Medieval II: Total War , The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim . In addition, there are many text-based MMORPGs (known as MU*s ) based on Middle-earth. The oldest of these dates back to 1991, and
7018-403: The Sword of Elendil, Aiglos and Narsil, none could withstand." The Dragon-helm of Dor-lómin, also called the Helm of Hador , is the fabulous helmet of the lords of the House of Hador, including Húrin and Túrin. The helm was made of heavy steel, decorated with gold and runes ; a gold likeness of Glaurung the Dragon was set upon its crest. It was made for the Dwarf-king Azaghâl by Telchar ,
7139-436: The Sword that was Broken , remained an heirloom of Isildur's heirs throughout the Third Age, and were thus inherited by Aragorn. Elvish smiths re-forged the sword for Aragorn before the Fellowship of the Ring began their quest; Aragorn renamed it Andúril (Quenya: Flame of the West ). The reforged Andúril is described as very bright, shining red and white with the light of the sun and moon. The Silmarillion further states that
7260-540: The ability to give conscious life to things. The precise origins of Orcs and Trolls are unclear, as Tolkien considered various possibilities and sometimes changed his mind, leaving several inconsistent accounts. Late in the Third Age, the Uruks or Uruk-hai appeared: a race of Orcs of great size and strength that tolerate sunlight better than ordinary Orcs. Tolkien also mentions "Men-orcs" and "Orc-men"; or "half-orcs" or "goblin-men". They share some characteristics with Orcs (like "slanty eyes") but look more like men. Tolkien,
7381-518: The adventures in Crickhollow, the Old Forest, and the Barrow-downs, Bombadil is omitted from Peter Jackson's interpretation of The Lord of the Rings . Jackson explained that this was because he and his co-writers felt that the character does little to advance the story, and including him would make the film unnecessarily long. Christopher Lee concurred, stating the scenes were left out to make time for showing Saruman 's capture of Gandalf. Bombadil has appeared in other radio and film adaptations. He
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#17327757094007502-435: The axe-wielding men of Lossarnach from the book), and a contingent of Easterlings among the besiegers of Minas Tirith. Bows of different sizes and construction are featured in Tolkien's works. Elves of Lothlórien , Men, and Uruk-hai used longbows , while Elves of Mirkwood and Orcs of Mordor used smaller ones. These bows are said to be made of wood, horn and even steel. The most famous bowman in Tolkien's stories of
7623-460: The best swords (and other war gear) and that Elvish swords glowed blue in the presence of Orcs . Elves generally used straight swords while Orcs generally used curved swords. Both races have exceptions: Egalmoth of Gondolin used a curved sword and the Uruk-hai of Isengard used short, broad blades. Tolkien often mentions the use of shields together with one-handed swords. Knives are mentioned in Tolkien's works, sometimes as backup weapons—such as
7744-404: The blade's design was for main use on horseback, and footage of Arwen at Helm's Deep was ultimately cut. The name is derived from Tolkien's etymological word list written in the 1930s; here Tolkien provides the word hadhathang (dissimilated: havathang, hadhafang ), which he translates as "throng-cleaver", though he never used this name in his writings. Herugrim (Old English: Fierce Sword )
7865-418: The book for the benefit of readers, despite the expense involved. The definitive and iconic map of Middle-earth was published in The Lord of the Rings . It was refined with Tolkien's approval by the illustrator Pauline Baynes , using Tolkien's detailed annotations, with vignette images and larger paintings at top and bottom, into a stand-alone poster, " A Map of Middle-earth ". In Tolkien's conception, Arda
7986-450: The categories of beings Tolkien created. Bombadil calls himself the "Eldest" and the "Master". He claims to remember "the first raindrop and the first acorn", and that he "knew the dark under the stars when it was fearless—before the Dark Lord came from Outside". When Frodo asks Goldberry just who Tom Bombadil is, she responds simply by saying "He is". Some critics have taken this dialogue as a reference to God's statement " I Am that I Am " in
8107-457: The characters and situations from the original poem reappear. Tom first appears when Merry and Pippin are trapped in the Old Forest by Old Man Willow, and Frodo and Sam cry for help. Tom commands Old Man Willow to release them, singing him to sleep. The Hobbits spend two nights in Tom Bombadil's house, which serves as one of Frodo's five Homely Houses . Here it is seen that the One Ring has no power over Bombadil; he can see Frodo when
8228-401: The death of Beleg at the hand of his friend Túrin by Anglachel itself. Túrin asked the sword whether it would slay him swiftly if he cast himself on its point, and it responded at length (the only instance of Gurthang speaking with voice). The depiction of the sword was influenced by that of the sword of the Finnish character Kullervo in the Kalevala . Angrist (Sindarin: Iron-cleaver ) was
8349-411: The earliest drafts. In response to a letter, Tolkien described Tom in The Lord of the Rings as "just an invention" and "not an important person – to the narrative", even if "he represents something that I feel important, though I would not be prepared to analyse the feeling precisely. I would not, however, have left him in, if he did not have some kind of function." Specifically, Tolkien connected Tom in
8470-515: The events in Tolkien's stories take place in the north-west of Middle-earth. 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. Tolkien prepared several maps of Middle-earth. Some were published in his lifetime. The main maps are those published in The Hobbit , The Lord of the Rings , The Silmarillion , and Unfinished Tales , and appear as foldouts or illustrations. Tolkien insisted that maps be included in
8591-459: The farm of Farmer Maggot , where he drinks ale and dances with the family. At the end of the poem, the charmed birds and otters work together to bring Bombadil's boat home. The poem includes a reference to the Norse lay of Ótr , when Bombadil threatens to give the hide of a disrespectful otter to the barrow-wights, who he says will cover it with gold apart from a single whisker. The poem mentions Middle-earth locations including Hays-end, Bree , and
8712-478: The first big screen adaptation of the fictional setting was introduced in Ralph Bakshi 's animated The Lord of the Rings . New Line Cinema released the first part of director Peter Jackson 's The Lord of the Rings film series in 2001 as part of a trilogy; it was followed by a prequel trilogy in The Hobbit film series with several of the same actors playing their old roles. In 2003, The Lord of
8833-615: The forges of the King under the Mountain ; Bard recites its history, urges it to "go now and speed well", and shoots Smaug. It was lost with the Dragon's corpse in the Long Lake . Dailir is the arrow favoured by Beleg, the great bowman of the First Age of Middle-earth. Beleg was always able to retrieve this arrow for reuse. The Red Arrow is a black-feathered arrow barbed with steel; its tip
8954-458: The gift of life but under the condition that they be taken and put to sleep in widely separated locations in Middle-earth and not to awaken until after the Firstborn were upon the Earth. They are mortal like Men, but live much longer, usually several hundred years. A peculiarity of Dwarves is that both males and females are bearded, and thus appear identical to outsiders. The language spoken by Dwarves
9075-544: The great Dwarf-craftsman of Nogrod. Azaghâl ruled the neighbouring city of Belegost; he gave it to Maedhros , who gave it to Fingon. Fingon then gave it to Hador, along with the lordship of Dor-lómin. The Axe of Tuor, called Dramborleg (Gnomish: Thudder-Sharp ) in The Book of Lost Tales , is the great axe belonging to Tuor, son of Huor in Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth that left wounds like "both
9196-586: The history into 'Ages of the Children of Ilúvatar'. The first such Age began with the Awakening of the Elves during the Years of the Trees (by which time the Ainur had already long inhabited Arda) and continued for the first six centuries of the Years of the Sun. All the subsequent Ages took place during the Years of the Sun. Arda is, as critics have noted, "our own green and solid Earth at some quite remote epoch in
9317-492: The hoard of the three trolls in The Hobbit , and he carried it throughout his journeys with Bilbo Baggins and the Fellowship of the Ring. It was the mate of Orcrist , and like Orcrist would glow blue whenever orcs were nearby. Glamdring was nicknamed " Beater " by the goblins of the Misty Mountains . See Anglachel Gúthwinë ( Old English : gúð-wine Battle Friend ) is the sword wielded by Éomer, third marshal of
9438-399: The human-inhabited world, or the central continent of Earth ) in Tolkien's imagined mythological past . Tolkien's most widely read works, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings , are set entirely in Middle-earth. "Middle-earth" has also become a short-hand term for Tolkien's legendarium , his large body of fantasy writings, and for the entirety of his fictional world. Middle-earth is
9559-639: The knife Angrist (which cut a Silmaril from the crown of Morgoth) and the Helm of Hador (later used by Túrin Turambar ). By the end of the Second Age Narsil was borne by Elendil ; during the Last Alliance of Elves and Men it was broken in two pieces in the war against Sauron . Isildur used the hilt-shard to cut the One Ring from Sauron's hand. The two shards, acquiring the additional name
9680-653: The latitude of ancient Troy . In another letter he stated: ...Thank you very much for your letter. ... It came while I was away, in Gondor ( sc. Venice ), as a change from the North Kingdom, or I would have answered before. 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. In the Prologue to The Lord of
9801-440: The letter to a renunciation of control, "a delight in things for themselves without reference to yourself," "Botany and Zoology (as sciences) and Poetry". In another letter, Tolkien writes that he does not think Tom is improved by philosophizing; he included the character "because I had already 'invented' him independently" (in The Oxford Magazine ) "and wanted an 'adventure' on the way". Tolkien commented further that "even in
9922-494: The main continent of Earth (Arda) in an imaginary period of the past, ending with Tolkien's Third Age , about 6,000 years ago. Tolkien's tales of Middle-earth mostly focus on the north-west of the continent. This region is suggestive of Europe, the north-west of the Old World , with the environs of the Shire reminiscent of England , but, more specifically, the West Midlands , with the town at its centre, Hobbiton , at
10043-654: The memory of the Earth. Both the Appendices and The Silmarillion mention constellations, stars and planets that correspond to those seen in the northern hemisphere of Earth, including the Sun, the Moon, Orion (and his belt), Ursa Major and Mars . A map annotated by Tolkien places Hobbiton on the same latitude as Oxford , and Minas Tirith at the latitude of Ravenna , Italy. He used Belgrade , Cyprus , and Jerusalem as further reference points. The history of Middle-earth, as described in The Silmarillion , began when
10164-546: The middle-earth sent unto men. This is from the Crist 1 poem by Cynewulf . The name Éarendel was the inspiration for Tolkien's mariner Eärendil , who set sail from the lands of Middle-earth to ask for aid from the angelic powers, the Valar . Tolkien's earliest poem about Eärendil, from 1914, the same year he read the Crist poem, refers to "the mid-world's rim". Tolkien considered middangeard to be "the abiding place of men",
10285-481: The original Narsil already shone in such a manner, but its light was extinguished when it was broken. The reforged blade had "a device of seven stars set between the crescent Moon and the rayed Sun, and about them was written many runes". Orcrist (Sindarin: Goblin-cleaver ), a sword in The Hobbit . was originally forged in Gondolin and was nicknamed " Biter " by the goblins of the Misty Mountains. After finding it in
10406-467: The past." As such, it has not only an immediate story but a history, and the whole thing is an "imagined prehistory" of the Earth as it is now. The Ainur were angelic beings created by the one god of Eä, Eru Ilúvatar . The cosmological myth called the Ainulindalë , or "Music of the Ainur", describes how the Ainur sang for Ilúvatar, who then created Eä to give material form to their music. Many of
10527-490: The physical reality of creation as a whole. In careful geographical terms, Middle-earth is a continent on Arda, excluding regions such as Aman and the isle of Númenor. The alternative wider use is reflected in book titles such as The Complete Guide to Middle-earth , The Road to Middle-earth , The Atlas of Middle-earth , and Christopher Tolkien 's 12-volume series The History of Middle-earth . Tolkien's biographer Humphrey Carpenter states that Tolkien's Middle-earth
10648-428: The physical world in which Man lives out his life and destiny, as opposed to the unseen worlds above and below it, namely Heaven and Hell . He states that it is "my own mother-earth for place ", but in an imaginary past time, not some other planet. He began to use the term "Middle-earth" in the late 1930s, in place of the earlier terms "Great Lands", "Outer Lands", and "Hither Lands". The first published appearance of
10769-538: The plot. The Witch-king of Angmar , leader of the Nazgûl , used a magical dagger called a " Morgul -blade" to wound Frodo Baggins at Weathertop . The dark magic of the knife gravely affects Frodo's well-being, threatening to turn him into a wraith, especially because its detachable point migrated in Frodo's body for more than two weeks before it could be extracted, thus causing great damage. Recurring ill effects from
10890-403: The poem, he is unconcerned by the attempts to capture him and brushes them off with the power in his words. Bombadil makes it clear that he found Goldberry in the Withywindle river, calling her "River-woman's daughter". The Tolkien scholar John D. Rateliff suggests that, at least in terms of Tolkien's early mythology, she should be seen as one of the fays , spirits, and elementals (including
11011-498: The power to control or influence those wearing the other Rings of Power. In ancient Germanic mythology , the world of Men is known by several names. The Old English middangeard descends from an earlier Germanic word and so has cognates such as the Old Norse Miðgarðr from Norse mythology , transliterated to modern English as Midgard . The original meaning of the second element, from proto-Germanic gardaz ,
11132-646: The rest of the physical world), which itself was part of the wider creation he called Eä. Aman and Middle-earth are separated from each other by the Great Sea Belegaer , though they make contact in the far north at the Grinding Ice or Helcaraxë. 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. Most of
11253-562: The road / And flung his cobweb cloak on me..." C. S. Lewis 's 1938–1945 Space Trilogy calls the home planet "Middle-earth" and specifically references Tolkien's unpublished legendarium; both men were members of the Inklings literary discussion group. Within the overall context of his legendarium , Tolkien's Middle-earth was part of his created world of Arda (which includes the Undying Lands of Aman and Eressëa , removed from
11374-593: The same Common Eldarin ancestral tongue, but over thousands of years it diverged into different languages. The two main Elven languages were Quenya , spoken by the Light Elves, and Sindarin , spoken by the Dark Elves. Physically the Elves resemble humans; indeed, they can marry and have children with them, as shown by the few Half-elven in the legendarium. The Elves are agile and quick footed, being able to walk
11495-410: The same latitude as Oxford . Tolkien's Middle-earth is peopled not only by Men , but by Elves , Dwarves , Ents , and Hobbits , and by monsters including Dragons, Trolls , and Orcs . Through the imagined history, the peoples other than Men dwindle, leave or fade, until, after the period described in the books, only Men are left on the planet. Tolkien's stories chronicle the struggle to control
11616-525: The seas'." There are allusions to a similarly- or identically-named world in the work of other writers both before and after him. William Morris 's 1870 translation of the Volsung Saga calls the world "Midgard". Margaret Widdemer 's 1918 poem "The Gray Magician" contains the lines: "I was living very merrily on Middle Earth / As merry as a maid may be / Till the Gray Magician came down along
11737-522: 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
11858-491: The story. Commentators have debated Bombadil's role and origins. A likely source is the demigod Väinämöinen in the Finnish epic poem Kalevala , with many points of resemblance. Scholars have stated that he is the spirit of a place, a genius loci . Old Tom Bombadil was a merry fellow; bright blue his jacket was and his boots were yellow, green were his girdle and his breeches all of leather; he wore in his tall hat
11979-493: The subject of a variety of film adaptations. There were many early failed attempts to bring the fictional universe to life on screen, some even rejected by the author himself, who was skeptical of the prospects of an adaptation. While animated and live-action shorts were made of Tolkien's books in 1967 and 1971, the first commercial depiction of The Hobbit onscreen was the Rankin/Bass animated TV special in 1977 . In 1978
12100-547: The sword Andúril, and crossbows are only mentioned in connection to hunting by Númenoreans in their lost homeland of Númenor. Sometimes individual arrows are given special mention in Tolkien's works. In The Hobbit , the Black Arrow was a royal heirloom used by Bard the Bowman to kill the dragon Smaug . In The Lord of the Rings , the Red Arrow was a token used by Gondor to summon its allies in time of need. In
12221-440: The time of The Hobbit , most of them lived in the Shire , a region of the northwest of Middle-earth, having migrated there from further east. The Ents were treelike shepherds of trees, their name coming from an Old English word for giant. Orcs and Trolls (made of stone) were evil creatures bred by Morgoth . They were not original creations but rather "mockeries" of the Children of Ilúvatar and Ents, since only Ilúvatar has
12342-631: The unnamed long knife of Legolas the archer. However, some individual knives are given more significance through naming (e.g. Sting , see below). In " The Scouring of the Shire ", Saruman attempts to stab Frodo with a knife, but is foiled by the mithril shirt worn under his jacket. Shortly afterwards Saruman's throat was fatally cut with a knife borne by Wormtongue . For The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, Legolas possessed twin fighting knives carried in sheaths near his quiver. There are some special types of knife in Tolkien's fiction which do not have formal names, but nevertheless play important roles in
12463-483: The valley's mysterious residents, including the "River-woman's daughter" Goldberry , the malevolent tree-spirit Old Man Willow , the Badger -folk and a barrow-wight , attempt to capture Bombadil for their own ends. However, they quail at the power of his voice, which defeats their enchantments and commands them to return to their natural existence. At the end of the poem, Bombadil captures and marries Goldberry. Throughout
12584-602: The weapon after using it to fend off the giant spiders in Mirkwood forest, then later passed it on to Frodo to use in his quest to destroy the One Ring. Sting glows blue when orcs are nearby, as in Moria . In Europe, bilbo blades were exceptionally fine swords, named after the city of Bilbao which made them. It is possible that Tolkien connected Bilbo's name with his acquisition of this weapon. In Peter Jackson 's The Lord of
12705-428: The word "Middle-earth" in Tolkien's works is in the prologue to The Lord of the Rings : "Hobbits had, in fact, lived quietly in Middle-earth for many long years before other folk even became aware of them". The term Middle-earth has come to be applied as a short-hand for the entirety of Tolkien's legendarium, instead of the technically more appropriate, but lesser known terms "Arda" for the physical world and " Eä " for
12826-413: The world (called Arda ) and the continent of Middle-earth between, on one side, the angelic Valar , the Elves and their allies among Men ; and, on the other, the demonic Melkor or Morgoth (a Vala fallen into evil), his followers, and their subjects, mostly Orcs , Dragons and enslaved Men. In later ages, after Morgoth's defeat and expulsion from Arda, his place is taken by his lieutenant Sauron ,
12947-460: The wound contribute to Frodo's eventual departure to Valinor . According to the J.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia , the weapon may owe something to the tradition of the " elf-shot " found in Old English medical texts and charms, where it denotes illnesses of presumed supernatural origin. Tom Bombadil recovers four magical daggers, forged by the Men of Westernesse to fight the powers of Angmar , from
13068-578: Was "enclosure", cognate with English "yard"; middangeard was assimilated by folk etymology to "middle earth". Middle-earth was at the centre of nine worlds in Norse mythology, and of three worlds (with heaven above, hell below) in some later Christian versions . Tolkien's first encounter with the term middangeard , as he stated in a letter, was in an Old English fragment he studied in 1913–1914: Éala éarendel engla beorhtast / ofer middangeard monnum sended. Hail Earendel, brightest of angels / above
13189-663: Was Glaurung the Golden, bred by Morgoth in Angband , and called "The Great Worm", "The Worm of Morgoth", and "The Father of Dragons". Middle-earth contains sapient animals including the Eagles , Huan the Great Hound from Valinor and the wolf-like Wargs . In general the origins and nature of these animals are unclear. Giant spiders such as Shelob descended from Ungoliant , of unknown origin. Other sapient species include
13310-490: Was an opposite to Sauron in The Lord of the Rings , it would not be Aragorn , his battlefield opponent, nor Gandalf, his spiritual enemy, but Tom Bombadil, the earthly Master who is entirely free of the desire to dominate, and hence cannot be dominated. The Christian scholar W. Christopher Stewart sees Bombadil as embodying the pursuit of knowledge purely for its own sake, driven only by his sense of wonder. In his view, this goes some way to explaining Bombadil's indifference to
13431-517: Was created specifically as "the Habitation" ( Imbar or Ambar ) for the Children of Ilúvatar ( Elves and Men ). It is envisaged in a flat Earth cosmology, with the stars, and later also the sun and moon, revolving around it. Tolkien's sketches show a disc-like face for the world which looked up to the stars. However, Tolkien's legendarium addresses the spherical Earth paradigm by depicting
13552-785: Was dominated by Númenor. The Númenórean helmet, the karma , reached particularly elaborate forms. Those of the Uinendili , a guild of mariners, were "made of overlapping plates of metal, the 'fish-crest' of leather embossed and coloured". Tolkien's coloured drawing of the karma of a Uinendili captain features on the cover of Unfinished Tales . Tolkien emulated his Northern European mythological and literary sources in having his characters give names to their weapons , marking these out as important aspects of character and sometimes as ancient heirlooms. Named weapons in Medieval literature include Hrunting and Nægling in Beowulf , Tyrfing in
13673-693: Was forthcoming from Rohan. The Red Arrow has a historical antecedent in the Old English poem Elene in which Constantine the Great summoned an army of mounted Visigoths to his aid against the Huns by sending an arrow as a "token of war". Aeglos (Sindarin: Snow Point , i.e. icicle; also spelt Aiglos ) is the spear wielded by the Elf-King Gil-galad . It was said that "the Spear of Gil-galad and
13794-518: Was known as Middle-earth MUD , run by using LPMUD . After the Middle-earth MUD ended in 1992, it was followed by Elendor and MUME . Tom Bombadil Tom Bombadil is a character in J. R. R. Tolkien 's legendarium . He first appeared in print in a 1934 poem called " The Adventures of Tom Bombadil ", which also included The Lord of the Rings characters Goldberry (his wife), Old Man Willow (an evil tree in his forest ) and
13915-485: Was painted red. It was a token used by Gondor to summon Rohan in time of dire need. In The Return of the King , the Red Arrow was presented to Théoden by Hirgon with the message: "...the Lord Denethor asks for all your strength and all your speed, lest Gondor should fall at last." Théoden pledged his assistance, but Hirgon was killed during the ride back to Minas Tirith, leading Denethor to believe that no help
14036-527: Was played by Bernard Mayes , who also voiced Gandalf. He was included, along with Goldberry and the Barrow-wight, in the 1991 Russian adaptation of The Fellowship of the Ring , Khraniteli . Tom Bombadil is portrayed by Rory Kinnear in the second season of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power . Although Bombadil was not portrayed in Ralph Bakshi's or Jackson's films,
14157-424: Was played by Norman Shelley in the 1955–1956 BBC radio adaptation of The Lord of the Rings , a performance that Tolkien thought "dreadful"; in his view even worse was that Goldberry was announced as his daughter and Willowman "an ally of Mordor (!!) " (his emphasis). He was portrayed by Esko Hukkanen in the 1993 Finnish miniseries Hobitit . He appeared, too, in the 1979 Mind's Eye recordings , where he
14278-562: Was reforged and renamed Gurthang (Sindarin: Iron of Death ). Túrin used Gurthang to kill Glaurung, the Father of Dragons , and later used the sword to take his own life in recompense for the accidental slaying of Beleg and the unjust slaying of Brandir. The stories endow the sword with a personality; Melian the Maia perceived malice in it as it was given to Beleg Cúthalion, and the elf Gwindor observed that Anglachel (so named then) seemed to mourn
14399-780: Was returned to Gandalf , along with Frodo's mithril mail-shirt, by the Mouth of Sauron . Pippin Took used his dagger in the Battle of the Black Gate to slay a Troll . Merry's blade is destroyed during his attack on the Witch-king. Battle axes are especially favoured by Dwarves in Tolkien's writings; Gimli uses the battle cry : Axes of the Dwarves! The Dwarves are upon you! ( Khuzdul : Baruk Khazâd! Khazâd ai-mênu! ). For The Lord of
14520-477: Was weakened both by time and by intermingling with lesser peoples. The Dwarves are a race of humanoids who are shorter than Men but larger than Hobbits. The Dwarves were created by the Vala Aulë, before the Firstborn awoke due to his impatience for the arrival of the children of Ilúvatar to teach and to cherish. When confronted and shamed for his presumption by Ilúvatar, Eru took pity on Aulë and gave his creation
14641-478: Was writing: As for the shape of the world of the Third Age , I am afraid that was devised 'dramatically' rather than geologically , or paleontologically . I am historically minded. Middle-earth is not an imaginary world. ... The theatre of my tale is this earth, the one in which we now live, but the historical period is imaginary. The essentials of that abiding place are all there (at any rate for inhabitants of N.W. Europe), so naturally it feels familiar, even if
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