The geography of Middle-earth encompasses the physical, political, and moral geography of
J. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, ; 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''.
From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawlins ...
's fictional world of
Middle-earth
Middle-earth is the fictional 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 ...
, strictly a continent on the planet of
Arda but widely taken to mean
the physical world, and ''
Eä
The cosmology of J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium combines aspects of Christian theology and metaphysics with pre-modern cosmological concepts in the flat Earth paradigm, along with the modern spherical Earth view of the Solar System.
The created ...
'', all of creation, as well as all of his writings about it.
Arda was created as a flat world, incorporating a Western continent,
Aman
Aman may refer to:Poli
People First names
* Aman Hambleton (born 1992), Canadian chess grandmaster
* Aman Hayer (born 1979), Bhangra musician
* Aman Verma (actor) (born 1971), Indian actor
Surnames
* Mohammed Aman (born 1994), Ethiopian mi ...
, which became the home of the godlike
Valar, as well as Middle-earth. At the end of the
First Age, the Western part of Middle-earth,
Beleriand
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional legendarium, Beleriand was a region in northwestern Middle-earth during the First Age. Events in Beleriand are described chiefly in his work ''The Silmarillion'', which tells the story of the early ages of Middle ...
, was drowned in the War of Wrath. In the Second Age, a large island,
Númenor
Númenor, also called Elenna-nórë or Westernesse, is a fictional place in J. R. R. Tolkien's writings. It was the kingdom occupying a large island to the west of Middle-earth, the main setting of Tolkien's writings, and was the greatest civ ...
, was created in the Great Sea,
Belegaer, between Aman and Middle-earth; it was destroyed in a cataclysm near the end of the
Second Age
In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, the history of Arda, also called the history of Middle-earth, began when the Ainur entered Arda, following the creation events in the Ainulindalë and long ages of labour throughout Eä, the fictional unive ...
, in which Arda was remade as a spherical world, and Aman was removed so that Men could not reach it.
In ''
The Lord of the Rings
''The Lord of the Rings'' is an epic high-fantasy novel by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, intended to be Earth at some time in the distant past, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's b ...
'', Middle-earth at the end of the
Third Age
In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, the history of Arda, also called the history of Middle-earth, began when the Ainur entered Arda, following the creation events in the Ainulindalë and long ages of labour throughout Eä, the fictional un ...
is described as having free peoples, namely
Men
A man is an adult male human. Prior to adulthood, a male human is referred to as a boy (a male child or adolescent). Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chro ...
,
Hobbits
Hobbits are a fictional race of people in the novels of J. R. R. Tolkien. About half average human height, Tolkien presented hobbits as a variety of humanity, or close relatives thereof. Occasionally known as halflings in Tolkien's writings, ...
,
Elves
An elf () is a type of humanoid supernatural being in Germanic mythology and folklore. Elves appear especially in North Germanic mythology. They are subsequently mentioned in Snorri Sturluson's Icelandic Prose Edda. He distinguishes " ...
, and
Dwarves in the West, opposed to peoples under the control of the Dark Lord
Sauron
Sauron (pronounced ) is the title character and the primary antagonist, through the forging of the One Ring, of J. R. R. Tolkien's ''The Lord of the Rings'', where he rules the land of Mordor and has the ambition of ruling the whole of Midd ...
in the East. Some commentators have seen this as
implying a moral geography of Middle-earth. Tolkien scholars have traced many features of Middle-earth to literary sources such as ''
Beowulf'', the ''
Poetic Edda
The ''Poetic Edda'' is the modern name for an untitled collection of Old Norse anonymous narrative poems, which is distinct from the ''Prose Edda'' written by Snorri Sturluson. Several versions exist, all primarily of text from the Icelandic med ...
'', or the mythical ''
Myrkviðr
In Germanic mythology, Myrkviðr (Old Norse "dark wood"Simek (2007:224) or "black forest"Gentry (2002:101–102)) is the name of several European forests.
The direct derivatives of the name occur as a place name both in Sweden and Norway. Related ...
''. They have in addition suggested real-world places such as
Venice
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...
,
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
, and
Constantinople
la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه
, alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...
/
Byzantium as analogues of places in Middle-earth. The
cartographer Karen Wynn Fonstad
Karen Lea Wynn Fonstad (April 18, 1945 – March 11, 2005) was an American cartographer and academic who designed several atlases of fictional worlds, including her 1981 ''The Atlas of Middle-earth'' about J. R. R. Tolkien's creations.
Early li ...
has created detailed thematic maps for Tolkien's major Middle-earth books, ''
The Hobbit
''The Hobbit, or There and Back Again'' is a children's fantasy novel by English author J. R. R. Tolkien. It was published in 1937 to wide critical acclaim, being nominated for the Carnegie Medal and awarded a prize from the ''N ...
'', ''
The Lord of the Rings
''The Lord of the Rings'' is an epic high-fantasy novel by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, intended to be Earth at some time in the distant past, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's b ...
'', and ''
The Silmarillion
''The Silmarillion'' () is a collection of myths and stories in varying styles by the English writer J. R. R. Tolkien. It was edited and published posthumously by his son Christopher Tolkien in 1977, assisted by the fantasy author Guy Gavri ...
''.
Cosmology
![Downfall of Númenor](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/be/Downfall_of_N%C3%BAmenor.svg)
Tolkien's Middle-earth was part of his created world of
Arda. It was a flat world surrounded by ocean. It included the
Undying Lands of Aman and
Eressëa
''The Silmarillion'' () is a collection of myths and stories in varying styles by the English writer J. R. R. Tolkien. It was edited and published posthumously by his son Christopher Tolkien in 1977, assisted by the fantasy author Guy Gavri ...
, which were all part of the wider creation,
Eä
The cosmology of J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium combines aspects of Christian theology and metaphysics with pre-modern cosmological concepts in the flat Earth paradigm, along with the modern spherical Earth view of the Solar System.
The created ...
. Aman and Middle-earth were separated from each other by the Great Sea
Belegaer, analogous to the
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...
. The western continent, Aman, was the home of the
Valar, and the Elves called the
Eldar.
Initially, the western part of Middle-earth was the subcontinent
Beleriand
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional legendarium, Beleriand was a region in northwestern Middle-earth during the First Age. Events in Beleriand are described chiefly in his work ''The Silmarillion'', which tells the story of the early ages of Middle ...
; it was engulfed by the ocean at the end of the
First Age.
After the destruction of
Númenor
Númenor, also called Elenna-nórë or Westernesse, is a fictional place in J. R. R. Tolkien's writings. It was the kingdom occupying a large island to the west of Middle-earth, the main setting of Tolkien's writings, and was the greatest civ ...
near the end of the
Second Age
In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, the history of Arda, also called the history of Middle-earth, began when the Ainur entered Arda, following the creation events in the Ainulindalë and long ages of labour throughout Eä, the fictional unive ...
, Arda was remade as a round world, and the Undying Lands were removed from Arda so that
Men
A man is an adult male human. Prior to adulthood, a male human is referred to as a boy (a male child or adolescent). Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chro ...
could not reach them. The
Elves
An elf () is a type of humanoid supernatural being in Germanic mythology and folklore. Elves appear especially in North Germanic mythology. They are subsequently mentioned in Snorri Sturluson's Icelandic Prose Edda. He distinguishes " ...
could go there only by the
Straight Road and in ships capable of passing out of the sphere of the earth. Tolkien then equated Arda, consisting of both Middle-earth's planet and the heavenly Aman, with the
Solar System
The Solar System Capitalization of the name varies. The International Astronomical Union, the authoritative body regarding astronomical nomenclature, specifies capitalizing the names of all individual astronomical objects but uses mixed "Solar ...
, the Sun and Moon being celestial objects in their own right, no longer orbiting the Earth.
Physical geography
Beleriand, Lindon
![Sketch Map of Beleriand](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/46/Sketch_Map_of_Beleriand.svg)
The extreme west of Middle-earth in the First Age was
Beleriand
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional legendarium, Beleriand was a region in northwestern Middle-earth during the First Age. Events in Beleriand are described chiefly in his work ''The Silmarillion'', which tells the story of the early ages of Middle ...
. It and Eriador were separated from much of the south of Middle-earth by the Great Gulf. Beleriand was largely destroyed in the cataclysm of the
War of Wrath
In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, the history of Arda, also called the history of Middle-earth, began when the Ainur entered Arda, following the creation events in the Ainulindalë and long ages of labour throughout Eä, the fictional unive ...
, leaving only a remnant coastal plain, Lindon, just to the west of the Ered Luin (also called Ered Lindon or Blue Mountains). The cataclysm divided Ered Luin and Lindon by the newly-created Gulf of Lune; the northern part was Forlindon, the southern Harlindon.
Eriador
![Sketch Map of Middle-earth](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b7/Sketch_Map_of_Middle-earth.svg)
In the northwest of Middle-earth, Eriador was the region between the Ered Luin and the Misty Mountains. Early in the Third Age, the northern kingdom of Arnor founded by
Elendil
Elendil is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. He is mentioned in ''The Lord of the Rings'', ''The Silmarillion'' and ''Unfinished Tales''. He was the father of Isildur and Anárion, last lord of Andúnië on the island of ...
occupied much of the region. After its collapse, much of Eriador became wild. A small part of the region was occupied by hobbits to form the Shire. To the northwest lay Lake Evendim, once called Nenuial by the Elves. A remnant of the ancient forest of Eriador survived throughout the Third Age just to the east of the Shire as the
Old Forest
In J. R. R. Tolkien’s fictional universe of Middle-earth, the Old Forest was a daunting and ancient woodland just beyond the eastern borders of the Shire. Its first and main appearance in print was in ''The Fellowship of the Ring'', especia ...
, the domain of
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 (Tom's wife), Old Man Willow ...
.
Northeast of there is
Bree, the only place where hobbits and Men live in the same villages. Further east from there is the hill of Weathertop, the hill with the ancient fortress of Amon Sûl, and then
Rivendell
Rivendell ('' sjn, Imladris'') is a valley in J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional world of Middle-earth, representing both a homely place of sanctuary and a magical Elvish otherworld. It is an important location in '' The Hobbit'' and '' The Lord of ...
, the home of
Elrond
Elrond Half-elven is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. Both of his parents, Eärendil and Elwing, were half-elven, having both Men and Elves as ancestors. He is the bearer of the elven-ring Vilya, the Ring of ...
. South from there is the ancient land of Hollin, once the elvish land of Eregion, where the
Rings of Power
The Rings of Power are magical artefacts in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, most prominently in his high fantasy novel ''The Lord of the Rings''. The One Ring first appeared as a plot device, a magic ring in Tolkien's children's fantasy n ...
were forged.
At the Grey Havens (Mithlond), on the Gulf of Lune,
Cirdan
In J. R. R. Tolkien's writings, Elves are the first fictional race to appear in Middle-earth. Unlike Men and Dwarves, Elves are immortal. They feature in ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. Their history is described in detail in ''T ...
built the ships in which the Elves departed from Middle-earth to Valinor.
Misty Mountains
The Misty Mountains were thrown up by the Dark Lord
Melkor
Morgoth Bauglir (; originally Melkor ) is a character, one of the godlike Valar, from Tolkien's legendarium. He is the main antagonist of ''The Silmarillion'', ''The Children of Húrin'', '' Beren and Lúthien'' and ''The Fall of Gondolin''.
...
in the
First Age to impede Oromë, one of the
Valar who often rode across Middle-earth hunting.
The
Dwarf
Dwarf or dwarves may refer to:
Common uses
*Dwarf (folklore), a being from Germanic mythology and folklore
* Dwarf, a person or animal with dwarfism
Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities
* Dwarf (''Dungeons & Dragons''), a humanoid ...
-realm of
Moria was built in the First Age beneath the midpoint of the mountain range. The two major passes across the mountains were the High Pass or Pass of Imladris near
Rivendell
Rivendell ('' sjn, Imladris'') is a valley in J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional world of Middle-earth, representing both a homely place of sanctuary and a magical Elvish otherworld. It is an important location in '' The Hobbit'' and '' The Lord of ...
, with a higher and a lower route,
and the all-year Redhorn Pass further south near Moria.
Rhovanion
East of the Misty Mountains, Anduin, the Great River, flows southwards, with the forest of
Mirkwood
Mirkwood is a name used for a great dark fictional forest in novels by Sir Walter Scott and William Morris in the 19th century, and by J. R. R. Tolkien in the 20th century. The critic Tom Shippey explains that the name evoked the excitement of t ...
to its east. On its west bank opposite the southern end of Mirkwood is the
elvish land of
Lothlorien. Further south, backing on to the Misty Mountains, lies the forest of
Fangorn
Treebeard, or ''Fangorn'' in Sindarin, is a tree-giant character in J. R. R. Tolkien's ''The Lord of the Rings''. He is an Ent and is said by Gandalf to be "the oldest living thing that still walks beneath the Sun upon this Middle-earth.", b ...
, home of the tree-giants, the
ents. In a valley at the southern end of the Misty Mountains is
Isengard
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy writings, Isengard () is a large fortress in Nan Curunír, the Wizard's Vale, in the western part of Middle-earth. In the fantasy world, the name of the fortress is described as a translation of Angrenost, a word ...
, home to the
wizard Saruman.
Lands to the South
![Gondor sketch map](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/57/Gondor_sketch_map.svg)
Just to the South of both Fangorn and Isengard is the wide grassy land of the
Riders of Rohan Riders can refer to
*Leicester Riders, a British basketball team
*Riders (Cooper novel), a book by Jilly Cooper
**Riders (1993 film), a British film based on the book
*Saskatchewan Roughriders, a Canadian football team
*Steal (film), a 2002 Americ ...
, who provide
cavalry to its southerly neighbour,
Gondor
Gondor is a fictional kingdom in J. R. R. Tolkien's writings, described as the greatest realm of Men in the west of Middle-earth at the end of the Third Age. The third volume of ''The Lord of the Rings'', ''The Return of the King'', is largel ...
. The River Anduin passes the hills of Emyn Muil and the enormous rock statues of the Argonath and flows through the dangerous rapids of Sarn Gebir and over the Falls of Rauros into Gondor. Gondor's border with Rohan is the Ered Nimrais, the White Mountains, which run east-west from the sea to a point near the Anduin; at that point is Gondor's capital city,
Minas Tirith
Gondor is a fictional kingdom in J. R. R. Tolkien's writings, described as the greatest realm of Man (Middle-earth), Men in the west of Middle-earth at the end of the Third Age. The third volume of ''The Lord of the Rings'', ''The Return of the ...
.
Across the river to the East is the land of
Mordor
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional world of Middle-earth, Mordor (pronounced ; from Sindarin ''Black Land'' and Quenya ''Land of Shadow'') is the realm and base of the evil Sauron. It lay to the east of Gondor and the great river Anduin, an ...
. It is bordered to the north by the Ered Lithui, the Ash Mountains; to the west by the Ephel Duath, the Mountains of Shadow. Between those two ranges, at Mordor's northwest tip, are the Black Gates of the
Morannon
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional world of Middle-earth, Mordor (pronounced ; from Sindarin ''Black Land'' and Quenya ''Land of Shadow'') is the realm and base of the evil Sauron. It lay to the east of Gondor and the great river Anduin, and ...
. In the angle between the two ranges is the volcanic Plateau of Gorgoroth, with the tall volcano of Orodruin or
Mount Doom
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional world of Middle-earth, Mordor (pronounced ; from Sindarin ''Black Land'' and Quenya ''Land of Shadow'') is the realm and base of the evil Sauron. It lay to the east of Gondor and the great river Anduin, and to ...
, where the Dark Lord
Sauron
Sauron (pronounced ) is the title character and the primary antagonist, through the forging of the One Ring, of J. R. R. Tolkien's ''The Lord of the Rings'', where he rules the land of Mordor and has the ambition of ruling the whole of Midd ...
forged the
One Ring
The One Ring, also called the Ruling Ring and Isildur's Bane, is a central plot element in J. R. R. Tolkien's ''The Lord of the Rings'' (1954–55). It first appeared in the earlier story ''The Hobbit'' (1937) as a magic ring that grants the ...
, at its centre. To the mountain's east is Sauron's Dark Tower,
Barad-dur.
To the south of Gondor and Mordor lie
Harad
In J. R. R. Tolkien's high fantasy ''The Lord of the Rings'', Harad is the immense land south of Gondor and Mordor. Its main port is Umbar, the base of the Corsairs of Umbar whose ships serve as the Dark Lord Sauron's fleet. Its people are the ...
and Khand.
Lands to the East
To the east of Rhovanion and to the north of Mordor lies the Sea of Rhûn, home to the Easterlings. North of that lie the Iron Hills of
Dain's
dwarves; between those and Mirkwood is
Erebor, the Lonely Mountain, once home to
Smaug
Smaug () is a dragon and the main antagonist in J. R. R. Tolkien's 1937 novel ''The Hobbit'', his treasure and the mountain he lives in being the goal of the quest. Powerful and fearsome, he invaded the Dwarf kingdom of Erebor 150 years prior ...
the
dragon, and afterwards to
Thorin's dwarves.
The large lands to the east of Rhûn and to the south and east of Harad are not described in the stories, which take place in the north-western part of Middle-earth.
Thematic mapping
The events of ''
The Hobbit
''The Hobbit, or There and Back Again'' is a children's fantasy novel by English author J. R. R. Tolkien. It was published in 1937 to wide critical acclaim, being nominated for the Carnegie Medal and awarded a prize from the ''N ...
'' and ''
The Lord of the Rings
''The Lord of the Rings'' is an epic high-fantasy novel by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, intended to be Earth at some time in the distant past, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's b ...
'' take place in the north-west of the continent of Middle-earth. Both
quests begin in
The Shire
The Shire is a region of J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional Middle-earth, described in ''The Lord of the Rings'' and other works. The Shire is an inland area settled exclusively by hobbits, the Shire-folk, largely sheltered from the goings-on in th ...
, travel east through the wilds of Eriador to
Rivendell
Rivendell ('' sjn, Imladris'') is a valley in J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional world of Middle-earth, representing both a homely place of sanctuary and a magical Elvish otherworld. It is an important location in '' The Hobbit'' and '' The Lord of ...
and then across the
Misty Mountains
The geography of Middle-earth encompasses the physical, political, and moral geography of J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional world of Middle-earth, strictly a continent on the planet of Arda (Tolkien), Arda but widely taken to mean Arda (Middle-earth), t ...
, involve further travels in the lands of
Rhovanion
Mirkwood is a name used for a great dark fictional forest in novels by Sir Walter Scott and William Morris in the 19th century, and by J. R. R. Tolkien in the 20th century. The critic Tom Shippey explains that the name evoked the excitement of ...
or Wilderland to the east of those mountains, and return home to The Shire. The cartographer
Karen Wynn Fonstad
Karen Lea Wynn Fonstad (April 18, 1945 – March 11, 2005) was an American cartographer and academic who designed several atlases of fictional worlds, including her 1981 ''The Atlas of Middle-earth'' about J. R. R. Tolkien's creations.
Early li ...
prepared ''
The Atlas of Middle-earth
''The Atlas of Middle-earth'' by Karen Wynn Fonstad is an atlas of J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional realm of Middle-earth. It was published in 1981, following Tolkien's major works ''The Hobbit'', ''The Lord of the Rings'', and ''The Silmarillion''.
...
'' to clarify and map the two journeys – of
Bilbo Baggins
Bilbo Baggins is the title character and protagonist of J. R. R. Tolkien's 1937 novel ''The Hobbit'', a supporting character in ''The Lord of the Rings'', and the fictional narrator (along with Frodo Baggins) of many of Tolkien's Middle-ear ...
in ''The Hobbit'', and of
Frodo Baggins
Frodo Baggins is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's writings, and one of the protagonists in '' The Lord of the Rings''. Frodo is a hobbit of the Shire who inherits the One Ring from his cousin Bilbo Baggins, described familiarly ...
in ''The Lord of the Rings'' – as well as the events described in ''
The Silmarillion
''The Silmarillion'' () is a collection of myths and stories in varying styles by the English writer J. R. R. Tolkien. It was edited and published posthumously by his son Christopher Tolkien in 1977, assisted by the fantasy author Guy Gavri ...
''. The editor of ''Tolkien Studies'',
David Bratman David Bratman is a librarian and Tolkien scholar.
Biography
David Bratman was born in Chicago to Robert Bratman, a physician, and his wife Nancy, an editor. He was one of four sons in the family. He was brought up in Cleveland, Ohio and then i ...
, notes that the atlas provides historical,
geological
Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other E ...
, and battle maps, with a detailed commentary and explanation of how Fonstad approached the mapping task from the available evidence. Michael Brisbois, also in ''Tolkien Studies'', describes the atlas as "authorized",
while the cartographers Ina Habermann and Nikolaus Kuhn take Fonstad's maps as defining Middle-earth's geography.
Stentor Danielson, a Tolkien scholar, notes that Tolkien did not provide the same "elaborate textual history" to contextualise his maps
as he did for his writings. Danielson suggests that this has assisted the tendency among Tolkien's fans to treat his maps as "geographical fact"
He calls Fonstad's atlas "magisterial",
and comments that like Tolkien, Fonstad worked from the assumption that the maps, like the texts, "are objective facts" which the cartographer must fully reconcile. He gives as an instance the work that she did to make the journey of Thorin's company in ''The Hobbit'' consistent with the map, something that Tolkien found himself unable to do. Danielson writes that in addition, Fonstad created "the most comprehensive set" of thematic maps of Middle-earth, presenting geographic data including political boundaries, climate, population density, and the routes of characters or armies.
Political geography
![Sketch Map of The Shire](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Sketch_Map_of_The_Shire.svg)
At the end of the
Third Age
In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, the history of Arda, also called the history of Middle-earth, began when the Ainur entered Arda, following the creation events in the Ainulindalë and long ages of labour throughout Eä, the fictional un ...
, much of the northwest of Middle-earth is wild, with traces here and there of ruined cities and fortresses from earlier civilisations among the mountains, rivers, forests, hills, plains and marshes. The major nations that appear in ''The Lord of the Rings'' are Rohan and Gondor on the side of the Free Peoples, and Mordor and its allies Harad (Southrons) and Rhûn (Easterlings) on the side of the Dark Lord. Gondor, once extremely powerful, is by that time much reduced in its reach, and has lost control of Ithilien (bordering Mordor) and South Gondor (bordering Harad).
Forgotten by most of the rest of the world is
the Shire
The Shire is a region of J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional Middle-earth, described in ''The Lord of the Rings'' and other works. The Shire is an inland area settled exclusively by hobbits, the Shire-folk, largely sheltered from the goings-on in th ...
, a small region in the northwest of Middle-earth inhabited by hobbits amidst the abandoned lands of Eriador.
Moral geography
![Tolkien's Moral Geography of Middle-Earth](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ce/Tolkien%27s_Moral_Geography_of_Middle-Earth.svg)
With his "Southrons" from Harad, Tolkien had – in the view of John Magoun, writing in the ''
J.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia
The ''J. R. R. Tolkien Encyclopedia: Scholarship and Critical Assessment'', edited by Michael D. C. Drout, was published by Routledge in 2006. A team of 127 Tolkien scholars on 720 pages cover topics of Tolkien's fiction, his academic works, hi ...
'' – constructed a "fully expressed moral geography",
from the hobbits' home in the Northwest, evil in the East, and "imperial sophistication and decadence" in the South. Magoun explains that Gondor is both virtuous, being West, and has problems, being South; Mordor in the Southeast is hellish, while Harad in the extreme South "regresses into hot savagery".
Other scholars such as Walter Scheps and Isabel G. MacCaffrey have noted Middle-earth's "spatial cum moral dimensions",
though not identically with Magoun's interpretation. In their view, North and West are generally good, South and East evil. That places the Shire and the elves'
Grey Havens
In J. R. R. Tolkien's writings, Elves are the first fictional race to appear in Middle-earth. Unlike Men and Dwarves, Elves are immortal. They feature in ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. Their history is described in detail in '' ...
in the Northwest as certainly good, and Mordor in the Southeast as certainly Evil; Gondor in the Southwest is in their view morally ambivalent, matching the characters of both
Boromir and
Denethor
Denethor II, son of Ecthelion II, is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's novel ''The Lord of the Rings''. He was the 26th ruling Steward of Gondor, committing suicide in the besieged city of Minas Tirith during the Battle of the Pelennor ...
. They observe further that the Shire's four quadrants or "Farthings" serve as a "microcosm" of the moral geography of Middle-earth as a whole: thus, the evil
Black Riders
Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ha ...
appear first in the Eastfarthing, while the once good but corrupted
Saruman's men arrive in the Southfarthing.
In his article "Westwards, Utopia; Eastwards, Decline: The Reception of Classical Occidentalism and Orientalism in Tolkien's Atlantic Paradise", Hamish Williams writes that the seven gates of the city of
Gondolin
In Tolkien's legendarium, Gondolin was a secret city of Elves in the First Age of Middle-earth. The story of the Fall of Gondolin tells of the founding of the city; of the arrival there of Tuor, a prince of Men; of the betrayal of the city to Mor ...
in
Beleriand
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional legendarium, Beleriand was a region in northwestern Middle-earth during the First Age. Events in Beleriand are described chiefly in his work ''The Silmarillion'', which tells the story of the early ages of Middle ...
in the
First Age may be based on
Herodotus
Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer
A geographer is a physical scientist, social scientist or humanist whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society ...
's description of the
Medean city of
Ecbatana with its multi-layered defence on a hill. Williams identifies this as a "perfect space" in the "
Utopia
A utopia ( ) typically describes an imaginary community or society that possesses highly desirable or nearly perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book '' Utopia'', describing a fictional island societ ...
n" West of Middle-earth.
Origins
![Middle-earth's Geographic Influences](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dd/Middle-earth%27s_Geographic_Influences.svg)
Tolkien scholars including
John Garth have traced many features of Middle-earth to literary sources or real-world places. Some places in Middle-earth can be more or less firmly associated with a single place in the real world, while other locations have had two or more real-world origins proposed for them.
Other elements relate to Old English poetry: several of the customs of Rohan in particular can be traced to ''
Beowulf'', on which Tolkien was an expert.
Some Middle-earth placenames were based on the sound of places named in literature; thus, Beleriand was borrowed from the
Broceliand of medieval romance.
Tolkien tried out many invented names
in search of the right sound, in Beleriand's case including Golodhinand, Noldórinan ("valley of the
Noldor"), Geleriand, Bladorinand, Belaurien, Arsiriand, Lassiriand, and Ossiriand (later used as a name for the easternmost part of Beleriand).
The Elves have been linked to Celtic mythology.
The
Battle of the Pelennor Fields
In J. R. R. Tolkien's novel ''The Lord of the Rings'', the Battle of the Pelennor Fields () was the defence of the city of Minas Tirith by the forces of Gondor and the cavalry of its ally Rohan, against the forces of the Dark Lord Sauron from ...
has parallels with the
Battle of the Catalaunian Fields
The Battle of the Catalaunian Plains (or Fields), also called the Battle of the Campus Mauriacus, Battle of Châlons, Battle of Troyes or the Battle of Maurica, took place on June 20, 451 AD, between a coalition – led by the Roman general ...
.
The Misty Mountains derive from the ''
Poetic Edda
The ''Poetic Edda'' is the modern name for an untitled collection of Old Norse anonymous narrative poems, which is distinct from the ''Prose Edda'' written by Snorri Sturluson. Several versions exist, all primarily of text from the Icelandic med ...
'', where the protagonist in the ''
Skírnismál'' notes that his quest will involve misty mountains peopled with orcs and giants,
while the mountains' character was partly inspired by Tolkien's travels in the
Swiss Alps in 1911.
Mirkwood is based on ''
Myrkviðr
In Germanic mythology, Myrkviðr (Old Norse "dark wood"Simek (2007:224) or "black forest"Gentry (2002:101–102)) is the name of several European forests.
The direct derivatives of the name occur as a place name both in Sweden and Norway. Related ...
'', the romantic vision of the dark forests of the North.
Scholars have likened Gondor to
Byzantium (medieval Istanbul), while Tolkien connected it to Venice.
[, #168 to R. Jeffrey, September 1955] The
Corsairs of Umbar
In J. R. R. Tolkien's high fantasy ''The Lord of the Rings'', Harad is the immense land south of Gondor and Mordor. Its main port is Umbar, the base of the Corsairs of Umbar whose ships serve as the Dark Lord Sauron's fleet. Its people are the ...
have been linked to the
Barbary corsairs of the late Middle Ages.
Númenor echoes the mythical
Atlantis
Atlantis ( grc, Ἀτλαντὶς νῆσος, , island of Atlas) is a fictional island mentioned in an allegory on the hubris of nations in Plato's works '' Timaeus'' and '' Critias'', wherein it represents the antagonist naval power that b ...
described by
Plato
Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...
.
About the origins of his storytelling and
the place of cartography within it, Tolkien stated in a letter:
Writing in ''
Mythlore
''Mythlore'' is a biannual (originally quarterly) peer-reviewed academic journal founded by Glen GoodKnight and published by the Mythopoeic Society. Although it publishes articles that explore the genres of myth and fantasy in general, special a ...
'',
Jefferson P. Swycaffer suggested that the political and strategic situations of Gondor and Mordor in the
Siege of Gondor were "analogous to
Constantinople
la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه
, alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...
facing the boxshape of
Asia Minor
Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...
"; that "Dol Amroth makes a fine
Venice
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...
"; that the Rohirrim and their grasslands are comparable to "
Hungary of the Magyars, who were weak allies of Byzantine Constantinople"; and that the
Corsairs of Umbar
In J. R. R. Tolkien's high fantasy ''The Lord of the Rings'', Harad is the immense land south of Gondor and Mordor. Its main port is Umbar, the base of the Corsairs of Umbar whose ships serve as the Dark Lord Sauron's fleet. Its people are the ...
resembled the
Barbary pirates who served
Mehmed the Conqueror
Mehmed II ( ota, محمد ثانى, translit=Meḥmed-i s̱ānī; tr, II. Mehmed, ; 30 March 14323 May 1481), commonly known as Mehmed the Conqueror ( ota, ابو الفتح, Ebū'l-fetḥ, lit=the Father of Conquest, links=no; tr, Fâtih Su ...
.
The linguist
David Salo
David I. Salo is a linguist who worked on the languages of J. R. R. Tolkien for the ''Lord of the Rings'' film trilogy, expanding the Elvish languages (particularly Sindarin) by building on vocabulary already known from published works, and def ...
writes that Gondor recalls "a kind of decaying Byzantium"; its piratical enemy Umbar like the seagoing
Carthage
Carthage was the capital city of Ancient Carthage, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the cla ...
; the Southrons (of Harad) "Arab-like"; and the Easterlings "suggesting
Sarmatians
The Sarmatians (; grc, Σαρμαται, Sarmatai; Latin: ) were a large confederation of ancient Eastern Iranian equestrian nomadic peoples of classical antiquity who dominated the Pontic steppe from about the 3rd century BC to the 4th cen ...
,
Huns
The Huns were a nomadic people who lived in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe between the 4th and 6th century AD. According to European tradition, they were first reported living east of the Volga River, in an area that was part ...
and
Avars".
References
Primary
::''This list identifies each item's location in Tolkien's writings.''
Secondary
Sources
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{{Lord of the Rings
Middle-earth
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