129-702: Galadriel ( IPA: [ɡaˈladri.ɛl] ) is a character created by J. R. R. Tolkien in his Middle-earth writings. She appears in The Lord of the Rings , The Silmarillion , and Unfinished Tales . She was a royal Elf of both the Noldor and the Teleri , being a grandchild of both King Finwë and King Olwë. She was also close kin of King Ingwë of the Vanyar through her grandmother Indis. Galadriel
258-465: 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)
387-497: A Dwarf to Lothlórien, completely won him over. The critic Tom Shippey notes that in creating Galadriel, Tolkien was attempting to reconstruct the kind of elf hinted at by elf references in Old English (Anglo-Saxon) words. The hints are, he observes, paradoxical: while ælfscyne , "elf-beautiful", suggests a powerful allure, ælfsogoða , "lunacy", implies that getting too close to elves is dangerous. In Shippey's view, Tolkien
516-542: 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
645-762: 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")
774-543: A book that Tolkien acknowledged as an important influence, and to Tennyson 's The Lady of Shalott , which recast the Arthurian legend of Elaine of Astolat ; she notes that Ayesha was herself an Arthurian figure, transposed to 19th century Africa. Sarah Downey, in Mythlore , likens Galadriel to a medieval guide-figure such as Dante 's Beatrice and the pearl-maiden in the 14th-century English poem Pearl . Galadriel
903-793: 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
1032-592: A conflict in his writing. The pride of the Elves in Valinor resulted in a fall, analogous to the biblical fall of man . Tolkien described this by saying "The first fruit of their fall was in Paradise [Valinor], the slaying of Elves by Elves"; Gallant interprets this as an allusion to the fruit of the biblical tree of the knowledge of good and evil and the resulting exit from the Garden of Eden. The leading prideful elf
1161-433: A connection to and inner experience of nature, so that the modern situation represents a loss of that state of grace. Fitzsimmons states that the lost home motif recurs throughout Tolkien's writings. He does not suggest that Barfield influenced Tolkien, but that the ideas of the two men grew from "the same time, place, and even social circle". Kelly and Livingston state that while Aman could be home to Elves as well as Valar,
1290-601: A continent on the west of Belegaer , the ocean to the west of Middle-earth . Ekkaia , the encircling sea, surrounds both Aman and Middle-earth. Tolkien wrote that the name "Aman" was "chiefly used as the name of the land in which the Valar dwelt". The Pelóri mountains run along the east coast; their highest peak is Taniquetil. Tolkien created no detailed maps of Aman; those drawn by Karen Wynn Fonstad , based on Tolkien's rough sketch of Arda 's landmasses and seas, show Valinor about 700 miles (1,100 km) wide, west to east (from
1419-513: A fully-fledged figure of "history, true or feigned", with problems of her own making, rather than being a flat allegorical symbol of goodness and purity. The fact that Galadriel is a "penitent" seeking readmission to Aman, Downey comments, makes it clear, too, that she cannot be straightforwardly equated with a figure of perfection like the Virgin Mary. The Tolkien scholar Mac Fenwick compares Galadriel and what he sees as her monstrous opposite,
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#17327718618441548-546: A journey through Purgatory (the Catholic precursor stage to paradise), Tolkien avoids describing paradise at all. They suggest that to the Catholic Tolkien, it is impossible to describe Heaven, and it might be sacrilege to make the attempt. The Tolkien scholar Michael D. C. Drout comments that Tolkien's accounts of Eldamar "give us a good idea of his conceptions of absolute beauty ". He notes that these resemble
1677-476: 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
1806-553: A man's unconscious, and the masculine side of a woman's, respectively." He adds that in the case of Tolkien's writing, the anima is more important, but also "ambivalent", both supportive and destructive. He gives as examples of the supportive and "nourishing" anima Dante 's Beatrice , the Muses of classical mythology who provided creative inspiration, and the Virgin Mary ; on the destructive side, she can be symbolised, he writes, by
1935-571: A marvellous gift of insight into the minds of others, but judged them with mercy and understanding, and she withheld her goodwill from none save only Fëanor. In him she perceived a darkness that she hated and feared, though she did not perceive that the shadow of the same evil had fallen upon the minds of all the Noldor, and upon her own. Her sympathy for Gimli the Dwarf, when she rebuked her husband Celeborn for being tempted to regret his decision to admit
2064-458: A prisoner, and after three Ages is brought before the Valar; he sues for pardon, vowing to assist the Valar and make amends for the hurts he has done. Manwë grants him pardon, but confines him within Valmar to remain under watch. After his release, Melkor starts planting seeds of dissent in the minds of the Elves, including between Fëanor and his brothers Fingolfin and Finarfin. Fëanor uses some of
2193-603: A result, Galadriel departed to Lórien via the gates of Moria , but Celeborn refused to enter the dwarves' stronghold and stayed behind. Her distrust was justified, for Annatar turned out to be the Dark Lord, Sauron . When Sauron attacked Eregion, Celebrimbor entrusted Galadriel with Nenya , one of the Three Rings of the Elves. Celeborn joined up with Elrond, whose force was unable to relieve Eregion but managed to escape back to Imladris . Celeborn reunited with Galadriel when
2322-542: 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
2451-496: A searching look, testing their resolve—though Boromir interpreted this test as a temptation. She was in turn tested when Frodo Baggins offered to place the Ring in her keeping. Knowing that its corrupting influence would make her "great and terrible", and recalling the ambitions that had once brought her to Middle-earth, she refused the Ring. She accepted that her own ring's power would fail, that her people would diminish and fade with
2580-531: A symbol of faith, hope and goodwill. Her husband Celeborn likewise provided the Fellowship with Elven-boats. On the day that the Fellowship left Lórien, but unknown to them, Gandalf arrived, carried by the eagle Gwaihir . Galadriel healed his wounds and re-clothed him in white, signalling his new status as head of the Istari, the order of wizards. After Sauron perished, Celeborn led the host of Lórien across
2709-475: A time, and the dwarf Gimli . Tolkien's myth of the attempt of Númenor to capture Aman has been likened to the biblical Tower of Babel and the ancient Greek Atlantis , and the resulting destruction in both cases. They note, too, that a mortal's stay in Valinor is only temporary, not conferring immortality, just as, in medieval Christian theology, the Earthly Paradise is only a preparation for
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#17327718618442838-596: Is "tall and white and fair", while the pearl-maiden appears in white and gold, and Beatrice shimmers "clothed in the colour of a living flame". In Downey's view, Galadriel's colours, and her association with both light and with water, connect her with the celestial ladies of the Middle Ages. On the other hand, those figures are allegorical . Downey notes that Tolkien's protestation that he "cordially dislike[d] allegory" has not spared him from much analysis of his writings to be interpreted, but states that Galadriel appears as
2967-482: Is Fëanor, whose actions, Gallant writes, set off the whole dark narrative of strife among the Elves described in The Silmarillion ; the Elves fight and leave Valinor for Middle-earth. The passage at the start of the Old English poem Beowulf about Scyld Scefing contains a cryptic mention of þā ("those") who have sent Scyld as a baby in a boat, presumably from across the sea, and to whom Scyld's body
3096-577: 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
3225-533: 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
3354-725: Is named "Faerie". The land is well-wooded, as Finrod "walk[ed] with his father under the trees in Eldamar" and the Teleri Elves have timber to build their ships. The city of the Teleri, on the north shore of the Bay is Alqualondë, the Haven of the Swans, whose halls and mansions are made of pearl. The harbour is entered through a natural arch of rock, and the beaches are strewn with gems given by
3483-579: Is no record of the day when at last he sought the Grey Havens". The Dúnedain said that her height was two rangar , or "man-high" – some 6 feet 4 inches (193 cm). However, Galadriel's most striking feature was her beautiful long silver-golden hair. The Elves of Tirion said it captured the radiance of the Two Trees Laurelin and Telperion themselves. Even among the Eldar she
3612-455: Is returned in a ship funeral , the vessel sailing by itself. Shippey suggests that Tolkien may have seen in this both an implication of a Valar-like group who behave much like gods, and a glimmer of his Old Straight Road , the way across the sea to Valinor forever closed to mortal Men by the remaking of the world after Númenor's attack on Valinor. Phillip Joe Fitzsimmons compares The Silmarillion's faraway Valinor, forbidden to Men and lost to
3741-531: Is said that these two kinsfolk, being considered the greatest of the Eldar of Valinor, remain unfriends forever." Her character was a blend of characteristics of the Eldar from whom she was descended. She had the pride and ambition of the Noldor, but in her they were tempered by the gentleness and insight of the Vanyar. She shared the latter virtues of character with her father Finarfin and her brother Finrod . She
3870-596: Is telling the literal truth that "beauty is itself dangerous", as Chaucer did in The Wife of Bath's Tale where both elves and friars are sexually rapacious. So when Faramir says to Sam Gamgee in Ithilien that Galadriel must be "perilously fair", Shippey comments that this is a "highly accurate remark"; Sam replies that "folk takes their peril with them into Lorien... But perhaps you could call her perilous, because she's so strong in herself." Shippey also considers
3999-475: Is the oecumene (i.e. 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
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4128-476: 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
4257-497: Is 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
4386-543: 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
4515-642: Is voiced by Lani Minella . In the 2022 television series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power , young Galadriel was portrayed by Morfydd Clark , and her younger version by Amelie Child Villiers. 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
4644-742: 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
4773-657: 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
4902-756: The Celestial Paradise that is above. Others have compared the account of the beautiful Elvish part of the Undying Lands to the Middle English poem Pearl , and stated that the closest literary equivalents of Tolkien's descriptions of these lands are the imrama Celtic tales such as those about Saint Brendan from the early Middle Ages . The Christian theme of good and light (from Valinor) opposing evil and dark (from Mordor ) has also been discussed. Valinor lies in Aman ("Unmarred" ),
5031-620: The Dark Tower of Sauron in Mordor : she notes Timothy O'Neill 's view that the white benevolent feminine symbol opposes the evil masculine symbol. Further, Burns suggests, Galadriel is an Elf from Valinor "in the Blessed Realm", bringing Varda's influence with her to Middle-earth. This is seen in the phial of light that she gives to Frodo , and that Sam uses to defeat the evil giant spider Shelob : Sam invokes Elbereth when he uses
5160-811: The Fall of Man . The Celestial Paradise of Tolkien's "Leaf by Niggle" lies "beyond (or above)", as it does, they note, in Dante 's Paradiso . Matthew Dickerson notes that Valinor resembles the Garden of Eden in having two trees. The scholar of English literature Marjorie Burns writes that one of the female Vala, Varda (Elbereth to the Elves) is sung to by the Elf-queen of Middle-earth Galadriel . Burns notes that Varda "sits far off in Valinor on Oiolossë", looking from her mountain-peak tower in Aman towards Middle-earth and
5289-616: The Men of Middle-earth. Other residents of Valinor include the related but less powerful spirits, the Maiar , and most of the Elves. Each Vala has his or her own region of the land. The Mansions of Manwë and Varda, two of the most powerful spirits, stands upon the top of Taniquetil. Yavanna, the Vala of Earth, Growth, and Harvest, resides in the Pastures of Yavanna in the south of the land, west of
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5418-729: The Noldor Elves. In the bay is the island of Tol Eressëa. Calacirya ( Quenya : "Light Cleft", for the light of the Two Trees that streams through the pass into the world beyond) is the pass in the Pelóri mountains where the Elven city Tirion is set. It is close to the Girdle of Arda (the Equator ). After the hiding of Valinor, this is the only gap through the mountains of Aman. In
5547-671: The One Ring , opposed to Shelob , the giant and evil female spider of darkness, have been compared to Homer 's opposed female characters in the Odyssey : Circe and Calypso as Odysseus 's powerful and wise benefactors on his quest, against the perils of the attractive Sirens , and the deadly Scylla and Charybdis . Modern songwriters have created songs about Galadriel; Tolkien's Quenya poem " Namárië " has been set to music by Donald Swann . Galadriel has appeared in both animated and live-action films and television. Cate Blanchett played her in Peter Jackson 's film series, while Morfydd Clark played her in an earlier age in The Lord of
5676-417: The Phial of Galadriel , which by her power contains the light of Eärendil 's star, able to blind and ward off Shelob in her darkest of dark lairs. Galadriel's gifts, too, are Homeric, including cloaks, food, and wisdom as well as light, just like those of Circe and Calypso. Patrick Grant, a scholar of Renaissance literature, notes the multiple character pairings in The Lord of the Rings . He interprets
5805-458: The Silmarils and Morgoth's killing of Finwë, but did not mention the kinslaying of elves by elves. Galadriel and Celeborn travelled first to Lindon , where they ruled over a group of Elves, and were themselves ruled by Gil-galad . According to Concerning Galadriel and Celeborn, they then removed to the shores of Lake Nenuial (Evendim) and were accounted the Lord and Lady of all the Elves of Eriador. Later, they moved eastward and established
5934-404: The Silmarils . Many thought that this saying first gave to Fëanor the thought of imprisoning and blending the light of the Trees that later took shape in his hands as the Silmarils. For Fëanor beheld the hair of Galadriel with wonder and delight. Nevertheless, Galadriel never repaid Fëanor's admiration. Fëanor "had begged her thrice for a tress and thrice she refused to give him even one hair. It
6063-424: The siren of mythology who lures a man to disaster, or a "poisonous and malevolent" witch . Grant states that the anima and animus are "further from consciousness" than the shadow archetype. Both the anima/animus and the shadow are presented in conjunction with the hero archetype, signifying an "individuation process which is approaching wholeness". The set of archetypes creates an image of the self. Burns adds that
6192-421: 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
6321-423: The Anduin and captured Dol Guldur. Galadriel came forth and "threw down its walls and laid bare its pits". She travelled to Minas Tirith for the wedding of her granddaughter Arwen to King Aragorn Elessar after the end of the war. Galadriel passed over the Great Sea with Elrond, Gandalf , and the Ring-bearers Bilbo and Frodo, marking the end of the Third Age. Celeborn remained behind, and Tolkien writes that "there
6450-409: The Christian Middle English attitude of the South English Legendary , a hagiographic work which he supposes Tolkien must have read, that elves were angels . In Shippey's view, Tolkien's elves are much like fallen angels, above Men but below the angelic Maiar and the godlike Valar . He comments at once that Galadriel is in one way certainly not "fallen", as the elves avoided the war on Melkor in
6579-403: 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
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#17327718618446708-407: The Elves that remained in Middle-earth" (after the death of Gil-galad ) and the "greatest of elven women". The Tolkien scholar Tom Shippey has written that Galadriel represented Tolkien's attempt to re-create the kind of elf hinted at by surviving references in Old English . He has compared his elves also to those in a Christian Middle English source, The Early South English Legendary , where
6837-500: The Elves, though it constantly calls to them to return, to Tolkien's fellow- Inkling , Owen Barfield 's "lost home". Barfield writes of the loss of "an Edenic relationship with nature", part of his theory that man's purpose is to serve as "the Earth's self-consciousness". Barfield argued that rationalism creates individualism, "unhappy isolation ... [and] the loss of a mutual relationship with nature." Further, Barfield believed that ancient civilisations, as recorded in their languages, had
6966-433: 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
7095-528: The First Age; but all the same, "Galadriel has been expelled from a kind of Heaven, the Deathless land of Valinor, and has been forbidden to return." Shippey suggests that the Men of Middle-earth might have thought the fall of Melkor and the expulsion of Galadriel added up to a similar fallen status; and he praises Tolkien for taking both sides of the story of elves into account. The Tolkien scholar Marjorie Burns compares Galadriel to Rider Haggard 's heroine Ayesha in his 1887 novel She: A History of Adventure ,
7224-408: The Gardens of Lórien. In east-central Valinor at the Girdle of Arda is Valmar, the capital of Valinor (also called Valimar, the City of Bells), the residence of the Valar and the Maiar in Valinor. The first house of the Elves, the Vanyar , settles there as well. The mound of Ezellohar, on which stand the Two Trees , and Máhanaxar, the Ring of Doom, are outside Valmar. Farther east is the Calacirya,
7353-406: The Great Sea to the Outer Sea), and about 3,000 miles (4,800 km) long north to south. The continent of Aman extends from the Arctic latitudes of the Helcaraxë to the subpolar southern region of Arda – about 7,000 miles (11,000 km). Eldamar is "Elvenhome", the "coastal region of Aman, settled by the Elves", wrote Tolkien. Eldamar was the true Eldarin name of Aman. In The Hobbit it
7482-418: The Men of Arda. Arda itself becomes spherical, and is left for Men to govern. The Elves can go to Valinor only by the Straight Road and in ships capable of passing out of the spheres of the earth. Keith Kelly and Michael Livingston, writing in Mythlore , note that Frodo 's final destination, mentioned at the end of The Lord of the Rings , is Aman, the Undying Lands. In Tolkien's mythology, they write,
7611-439: The Morning and the Night! Fair as the Sea and the Sun and the Snow upon the Mountain! Dreadful as the Storm and the Lightning! Stronger than the foundations of the earth. All shall love me and despair!' [Galadriel] lifted up her hand and from the ring that she wore there issued a great light that illuminated her alone and left all else dark... Then she let her hand fall, and the light faded, and suddenly she laughed again, and lo! she
7740-445: The One Ring's destruction, and that her only escape from the fading of the Elves and the dominion of Men would be to return at last to Valinor. It is implied, backed up by other writings, that in acknowledgement of this renunciation of power her personal ban from Valinor was lifted. When the Fellowship left Lothlórien, she gave each member a gift and an Elven cloak, and furnished the party with supplies, both as practical support and as
7869-427: The Pelóri. Nearby are the mansions of Yavanna's spouse, Aulë the Smith. Oromë, the Vala of the Hunt, lives in the Woods of Oromë to the north-east of the pastures. Nienna lives in the far west of the island. Just south of Nienna's home, and to the north of the pastures, are the Halls of Mandos; he lives with his spouse Vairë the weaver. To the east of the Halls of Mandos is the Isle of Estë, in the lake of Lórellin within
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#17327718618447998-420: The Rings and The Hobbit trilogies, Galadriel is played by Cate Blanchett . In The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring , Galadriel narrates the prologue that explains the creation of the One Ring, as well as appearing in Lothlórien. While Galadriel does not feature in Tolkien's The Hobbit , the story was amended so that she could appear in Jackson's films based on the book . On stage, Galadriel
8127-514: 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
8256-1008: 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
8385-419: The Rings: The Rings of Power . Stories of Galadriel's life prior to the War of the Ring appear in both The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales . She was the only daughter and youngest child of Finarfin, prince of the Noldor , and of Eärwen, daughter of Olwë and cousin to Lúthien . Her elder brothers were Finrod Felagund , Angrod, and Aegnor. She was born in Valinor . She had the ability to peer into
8514-501: The Two Trees, Telperion, and one last luminous fruit from the other, Laurelin. These become the Moon and the Sun. The Valar carry out further titanic labours to improve the defences of Valinor. They raise the Pelóri mountains to even greater and sheerer heights. Off the coast, eastwards of Tol Eressëa, they create the Shadowy Seas and their Enchanted Isles; both the Seas and the Isles present numerous perils to anyone attempting to get to Valinor by sea. For centuries, Valinor take no part in
8643-408: The Valar create the island of Númenor as a reward to the Edain , Men who had fought alongside the Noldor. Centuries later the kingdom of Númenor grows so powerful and so arrogant that Ar-Pharazôn, the twenty-fifth and last king, dares to attempt an invasion of Valinor. When the creator Eru Ilúvatar responds to the call of the Valar, Númenor sinks into the sea, and Aman is removed beyond the reach of
8772-404: The West" for the closing credits of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King . Originally sung by Lennox, the song was conceived as Galadriel's bittersweet lament for those who have sailed across the Sundering Seas . The lyrics include phrases from the final chapter of the original novel. The song has since been covered by Yulia Townsend and Will Martin . On their album Once Again ,
8901-540: 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,
9030-415: The band Barclay James Harvest featured a song called "Galadriel". It gained notability because guitarist John Lees played John Lennon 's Epiphone Casino guitar on this track, an event later recounted in a song on the band's 1990 album Welcome To The Show titled "John Lennon's Guitar". Hank Marvin and John Farrar wrote a song "Galadriel", recorded by Cliff Richard ; the four five-line stanzas include
9159-418: 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
9288-571: The couplet "Galadriel, spirit of starlight / Eagle and dove gave birth to thee". An Australian band named Galadriel released a self-titled album in 1971 which "became a highly sought-after collectors' item among European progressive rock circles". Galadriel was voiced by Annette Crosbie in Ralph Bakshi 's 1978 animated film of The Lord of the Rings , and by Marian Diamond in BBC Radio 's 1981 serialisation . In Peter Jackson's Lord of
9417-480: The elves were angels . Sarah Downey likens Galadriel to a celestial lady of medieval allegory, a guide-figure such as Dante 's Beatrice and the pearl-maiden in the 14th-century English poem Pearl . Another scholar, Marjorie Burns , compares Galadriel in multiple details to Rider Haggard 's heroine Ayesha , and to Tennyson 's The Lady of Shalott , both being reworked figures of Arthurian legend . Galadriel, lady of light, assisting Frodo on his quest to destroy
9546-628: 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
9675-709: The extreme north-east, beyond the Pelóri, is the Helcaraxë, a vast ice sheet that joins the two continents of Aman and Middle-earth before the War of Wrath. To prevent anyone from reaching the main part of Valinor's east coast by sea, the Valar create the Shadowy Seas, and within these seas they set a long chain of islands called the Enchanted Isles. Valinor is the home of the Valar (singular Vala), spirits that often take humanoid form, sometimes called "gods" by
9804-418: 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
9933-577: The giant and evil spider Shelob , with the struggle between the good and the monstrous female characters in Homer 's Odyssey . Like Galadriel, Circe and Calypso are rulers of their own secluded magical realms, and both offer help and advice to the protagonist. They help Odysseus to avoid destruction by the female monsters, the Sirens who would lure his ship on to the rocks, and Scylla and Charybdis who would smash or drown his ship; Galadriel gives Frodo
10062-458: 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
10191-586: 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
10320-433: The interactions of the characters as fitting the oppositions and other pairwise relationships of Jungian archetypes , recurring psychological symbols proposed by Carl Jung . He states that the hero 's quest can be interpreted as a personal journey of individuation . Galadriel functions as Frodo's anima , opposed by the evil giant female spider Shelob. Grant explains that the anima and animus represent "the feminine side of
10449-501: The islands of Aman are initially just the dwelling-places of the Valar (in the Ages of the Trees, while the rest of the world lies in darkness). The Valar help The One, Eru Ilúvatar , to create the world. Gradually some of the immortal and ageless Elves are allowed to live there as well, sailing across the ocean to the West. After the fall of Númenor and the reshaping of the world, Aman becomes
10578-653: 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
10707-688: The light of the Two Trees to forge the three Silmarils , beautiful and irreplaceable jewels. Belatedly, the Valar learn what Melkor has done. Knowing that he is discovered, Melkor goes to the home of the Noldor's High King Finwë , kills him and steals the Silmarils. He then destroys the Two Trees with the help of Ungoliant , plunging Valinor into darkness, the Long Night, relieved only by stars. Melkor and Ungoliant flee to Middle-earth. The Valar manage to save one last luminous flower from one of
10836-654: 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
10965-597: 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",
11094-538: The minds of others to judge them fairly. She was a member of the royal House of Finwë . Galadriel was often called the fairest of all Elves, whether in Aman or Middle-earth. According to the older account of her story, sketched by Tolkien in The Road Goes Ever On and used in The Silmarillion , Galadriel was an eager participant and leader in the rebellion of the Noldor and their flight from Valinor; she
11223-488: The name Aman mainly to mean Valinor. It includes Eldamar , the land of the Elves , who as immortals are permitted to live in Valinor. Aman is known as "the Undying Lands", but the land itself does not cause mortals to live forever. However, only immortal beings are generally allowed to reside there. Exceptions are made for the surviving bearers of the One Ring : Bilbo and Frodo Baggins and Sam Gamgee , who dwell there for
11352-507: The north of Valmar, is Fëanor 's city of Formenos, built after his banishment from Tirion. Valinor is established on the western continent Aman when Melkor (a Vala later named Morgoth, "the black foe", by the Elves) destroys the Valar's original home on the island Almaren in primeval Middle-earth, ending the Years of the Lamps . To defend their new home from attack, they raise the Pelóri Mountains. They also establish Valimar,
11481-524: The only easy pass through the Pelóri, a huge mountain range fencing Valinor on three sides, created to keep Morgoth 's forces out. The city of the Noldor (and for a time the Vanyar Elves also) is Tirion, built on the hill of Túna, inside the Calacirya mountain pass; it is just north of Taniquetil, facing both the Two Trees and the starlit seas. In the northern inner foothills of the Pelóri, far to
11610-503: The opposed characters of Galadriel and Shelob are indicated by elements such as the Phial of Galadriel, whose light contrasts with the darkness of the spider. Tolkien wrote a poem " Namárië " that Galadriel sings in farewell to the departing Fellowship, and to Frodo in particular. The song is in Quenya , and "spoke of things little-known in Middle-earth," but Frodo is said to have remembered
11739-462: The paradise described in the Middle English poem Pearl . The Tolkien scholar Tom Shippey adds that in 1927 Tolkien wrote a poem, The Nameless Land , in the complex stanza-form of Pearl . It spoke of a land further away than paradise, and more beautiful than the Irish Tír na nÓg , the deathless otherworld. Kelly and Livingston similarly draw on Pearl , noting that it states that "fair as
11868-467: 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
11997-522: The phial. Burns comments that Sam's request to the "Lady" sounds distinctly Catholic , and that the "female principle, embodied in Varda of Valinor and Galadriel of Middle-earth, most clearly represents the charitable Christian heart." The scholar of literature Richard Z. Gallant comments that while Tolkien made use of pagan Germanic heroism in his legendarium, and admired its Northern courage , he disliked its emphasis on "overmastering pride". This created
12126-490: 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
12255-428: 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
12384-687: The place " between (sic) Over-heaven and Middle-earth". It is accessible only in special circumstances like Frodo's, allowed to come to Aman through the offices of the Valar and of Gandalf, one of the Valar's emissaries, the Istari or Wizards. However, Aman is not, they write, exactly paradise . Firstly, being there does not confer immortality, contrary to what the Númenóreans supposed. Secondly, those mortals like Frodo who are allowed to go there will eventually choose to die. They note that in another of Tolkien's writings, " Leaf by Niggle ", understood to be
12513-498: 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 ,
12642-522: The radiant Two Trees, and their dwelling-places. Valinor is said to surpass Almaren in beauty. Later, the Valar hear of the awakening of the Elves in Middle-earth, where Melkor is unopposed. They propose to bring the Elves to the safety of Valinor, but to do that, they need to get Melkor out of the way. A war is fought, and Melkor's stronghold Utumno is destroyed. Then, many Elves come to Valinor, and establish their cities Tirion and Alqualondë, beginning Valinor's age of glory. Melkor comes back to Valinor as
12771-584: The realm of Eregion (Hollin). They made contact with a Nandorin settlement in the valley of the River Anduin , which became Lothlórien . At some point, Celeborn and Galadriel left Eregion and settled in Lothlórien. According to some of Tolkien's accounts, they became rulers of Lothlórien for a time during the Second Age; but in all accounts they returned to Lórien to take up its rule after Amroth
12900-595: 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
13029-562: 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
13158-541: 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
13287-410: 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
13416-431: The same was not true of mortal Men. The "prideful" Men of Númenor, imagining they could acquire immortality by capturing the physical lands of Aman, were punished by the destruction of their own island, which is engulfed by the sea, and the permanent removal of Aman "from the circles of the world". Kelly and Livingston note the similarity to the ancient Greek myth of Atlantis , the greatest human civilisation lost beneath
13545-669: The sea; and the resemblance to the biblical tale of the Tower of Babel , the hubristic and " sacrilegious " attempt by mortal men to climb up into God's realm. The scholar of English literature Paul H. Kocher writes that the Undying Lands of the Uttermost West including Eldamar and Valinor, is "so far outside our experience that Tolkien can only ask us to take it completely on faith." Kocher comments that these lands have an integral place both geographically and spiritually in Middle-earth, and that their closest literary equivalents are
13674-525: 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
13803-534: The song-cycle of The Road Goes Ever On . In a recording, Tolkien sings it in the style of a Gregorian chant . Galadriel's songs are omitted from Howard Shore 's music for The Lord of the Rings film series ; instead, Shore created a Lothlórien/Galadriel theme using the Arabic maqam Hijaz scale to create a sense of antiquity. Fran Walsh , Shore, and Annie Lennox co-wrote the Oscar-winning song "Into
13932-522: 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
14061-459: The struggles between the Noldor and Morgoth in Middle-earth. But near the end of the First Age , when the Noldor are in total defeat, the mariner Eärendil convinces the Valar to make a last attack on Morgoth. A mighty host of Maiar, Vanyar and the remaining Noldor in Valinor destroy Morgoth's gigantic army and his stronghold Angband , and cast Morgoth into the void. During the Second Age ,
14190-493: 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
14319-440: 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
14448-484: The war ended; according to one text, after some years in Imladris (during which Elrond first saw and fell in love with Celebrían) Galadriel's sea-longing became so strong that the couple removed to Belfalas and lived at the place later called Dol Amroth . 'And now at last it comes. You will give me the Ring freely! In place of the Dark Lord you will set up a Queen. And I shall not be dark, but beautiful and terrible as
14577-428: 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
14706-583: The words and translated them long afterward. It is a lament in which Galadriel describes her separation from the Blessed Realm and the Valar , her longing to return there, and at the end a wish or hope that even though she herself is forbidden (by the Ban) to return, that Frodo might somehow come in the end to the city of Valimar in Valinor . The poem was set to music by Donald Swann with Tolkien's assistance. The sheet music and an audio recording are part of
14835-413: 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 ,
14964-578: 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
15093-663: 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
15222-679: Was a leader during the rebellion of the Noldor, and present in their flight from Valinor during the First Age. Towards the end of her stay in Middle-earth, she was joint ruler of Lothlórien with her husband, Celeborn , when she was known as the Lady of Lórien , the Lady of the Galadhrim , the Lady of Light , or the Lady of the Golden Wood . Her daughter Celebrían was the wife of Elrond and mother of Arwen , Elladan, and Elrohir. Tolkien describes Galadriel as "the mightiest and fairest of all
15351-419: Was accounted beautiful, and her hair is held a marvel unmatched. It is golden like the hair of her father and of her foremother Indis, but richer and more radiant, for its gold is touched by some memory of the starlike silver of her mother; and the Eldar say that the light of the Two Trees, Laurelin and Telperion, has been snared in her tresses. Fëanor greatly admired her hair; it may have inspired him to create
15480-517: 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
15609-475: 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 . Aman (Middle-earth) Valinor ( Quenya : Land of the Valar ) or the Blessed Realm is a fictional location in J. R. R. Tolkien 's legendarium , the home of the immortal Valar on the continent of Aman , far to the west of Middle-earth ; he used
15738-530: Was lost in the middle of the Third Age. Celeborn and Galadriel had a daughter, Celebrían , who married Elrond Half-elven of Rivendell . During the Second Age , when the Rings of Power were forged, Galadriel distrusted Annatar, the loremaster who taught the craft of the Rings to Celebrimbor . Again according to some of the accounts, Celebrimbor rebelled against her view and seized power in Eregion. As
15867-489: Was portrayed by Rebecca Jackson Mendoza in the 2006 Toronto musical production of The Lord of the Rings ; Mendoza's dress was hand-embroidered with some 1800 beads. The musical was revised and moved to London's Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in 2007, with Laura Michelle Kelly in the "glittering" role. Galadriel appears in video games such as The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II , where she
15996-431: Was proud, strong, and self-willed, as were all the descendants of Finwë save Finarfin; and like her brother Finrod, of all her kin the nearest to her heart, she had dreams of far lands and dominions that might be her own to order as she would without tutelage. Yet deeper still there dwelt in her the noble and generous spirit of the Vanyar, and a reverence for the Valar that she could not forget. From her earliest years she had
16125-626: Was shrunken: a slender elf-woman, clad in simple white, whose gentle voice was soft and sad. 'I pass the test', she said. 'I will diminish, and go into the West, and remain Galadriel'. J. R. R. Tolkien , The Fellowship of the Ring In The Fellowship of the Ring , Galadriel welcomed the Fellowship to Lothlórien after their escape from Moria . When she met the Fellowship in her tree-dwelling she gave each member
16254-464: Was the "only female to stand tall in those days". She had, however, long since parted ways with Fëanor and his sons. In Beleriand she lived with her brother Finrod Felagund at Nargothrond and the court of Thingol and Melian in Doriath . In this account, she met Celeborn, a kinsman of Thingol, in Doriath . She carried some dark secrets from those times; she told Melian part of the violent story of
16383-536: Was the hither shore, far lovelier was the further land" where the Dreamer could not pass. So, they write, each stage looks like paradise, until the traveller realises that beyond it lies something even more paradisiacal, glimpsed and beyond description. The Earthly Paradise can be described; Aman, the Undying Lands, can thus be compared to the Garden of Eden , the paradise that the Bible says once existed upon Earth before
16512-477: 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
16641-478: 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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