''The Peoples of Middle-earth'' (1996) is the 12th and final volume of ''

The History of Middle-earth ''The History of Middle-earth'' is a 12-volume series of books published between 1983 and 1996 that collect and analyse much of Tolkien's legendarium, compiled and edited by his son, Christopher Tolkien. The series shows the development over ti ...

'', edited by

Christopher Tolkien Christopher John Reuel Tolkien (21 November 1924 – 16 January 2020) was an English academic editor, becoming a French citizen in later life. The son of author and academic J. R. R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien edited much of his father ...

from the unpublished manuscripts of his father

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 ...

. Some characters (including Anairë, the wife of

Fingolfin Fingolfin () is a character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, appearing in ''The Silmarillion''. He was the son of Finwë, High King of the Noldor. He was threatened by his half-brother Fëanor, who held him in contempt for not being a pure-br ...

) only appear here, as do a few other works that did not fit anywhere else.

Each volume of ''

'' bears on the title page spread an inscription by Christopher Tolkien in Fëanorian letters (in

Tengwar The Tengwar script is an artificial script, one of several scripts created by J. R. R. Tolkien, the author of ''The Lord of the Rings''. Within the fictional context of Middle-earth, the Tengwar were invented by the Elf Fëanor, and use ...

, an alphabet J. R. R. Tolkien devised for the High-Elves), that describes the contents of the book. The inscription in Volume XII reads: "This is the last volume of the work of Christopher Tolkien in which he has collected a great part of all that his father John Ronald Reuel Tolkien wrote of Middle-earth and

Valinor Valinor ( Quenya'': Land of the Valar'') or the Blessed Realms 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 the name Aman mainly to m ...

. In this book is traced the devising of the history of the later ages in the Northwest of Middle-earth after the Great Battle and the Fall of Morgoth."

Part One: The Prologue and Appendices to ''The Lord of the Rings''

This section focuses on covering the development of the Prologue and Appendices of ''

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 ...

'' as well as the ''

Akallabêth ''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 Gavriel ...

'', along with themes and ideas associated with them. It is by far the most substantial section of the book, consisting of nearly 300 of the book's 480 text pages. It includes early drafts of the novel's Prologue and the appendices on languages, family trees, and calendars, as well as the history of the ''Akallabêth'', "The Tale of Years" (chronologies of the Second and

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 ...

s), the heirs of

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 ...

, and the making of Appendix A.

Part Two: Late Writings

Materials mostly postdating 1969, consisting of the essays "Of Dwarves and Men", on the development of the languages of these races; "The Shibboleth of Fëanor", on the linguistics of the Elvish language of Quenya and giving etymologies for the names of the princes of the Noldor; "The Problem of Ros", exploring the suffix "-ros" found in certain names such as Elros and Maedhros; and some "last writings" addressing the subjects of the '' Istari'' (Wizards),

Glorfindel Glorfindel () is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. He is a member of the Noldor, one of the three groups of the Calaquendi or High Elves. The character and his name, which means "blond" or "golden-haired", w ...

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 ...

and

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 Círdan the Shipwright.

Part Three: The Teachings of Pengoloð

A brief narrative going back to the '' Book of Lost Tales'' period, presenting information provided by Pengoloð of Gondolin to Ælfwine of England in regard to the sundering of the Elven tongues.

Part Four: Incomplete Tales

Two stories written in the 1950s.

The New Shadow

"The New Shadow" is a sequel to ''The Lord of the Rings'', set a little over a century later in the time of King Eldarion,

Aragorn Aragorn is a fictional character and a protagonist in J. R. R. Tolkien's ''The Lord of the Rings''. Aragorn was a Ranger of the North, first introduced with the name Strider and later revealed to be the heir of Isildur, an ancient King of Ar ...

's son. The editor mentions (p. 409) that Tolkien wrote three versions of the beginning of this story, but all were abandoned after a few pages.

Tal-Elmar

"Tal-Elmar" is set in 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 ...

and tells of the Númenórean colonization 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 ...

from the point of view of the Wild Men. The title character and protagonist, one of the ancient inhabitants of the lands of

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 ...

, is partly descended from Númenórean settlers.

References

External links

tolkien-online.com
"An in-depth overview of J.R.R. Tolkien's ''The Peoples of Middle-earth'', the final volume of ''The History of Middle-earth''". {{DEFAULTSORT:Peoples Of Middle-earth, The Middle-earth books *12 1996 books History of Middle-earth Vol XII: Peoples of Middle-earth, The Unfinished books Books published posthumously

Contents