Articles related to "Second Age"



Make Room for Dragons
Is it possible to explain why Tolkien did not write about dragons in the Second Age? Some new twists on old ideas may reveal the truth about where the dragons went and what they were (or were not) up to.
dragons melkor morgoth sauron gil-galad

Them Dwarves, Them Dwarves, Part II
A continuation of the discussion of Tolkien's Dwarves: their history, culture, and relationships with other peoples.
dwarves middle-earth tolkien eriador hobbits

Scaling the Walls of War in Middle-Earth
An examination of how Numenorean architecture may reflect a fundamental aspect of Numenor's imperial strategy and the flaw in Gondor's imperial ambitions.
numenor sauron gondor arnor umbar

The Sauron Strategies: Footsteps into Failure
The first of two articles examining Sauron's strategies and objectives. In the Second Age, Sauron proved to be flexible and resilient, but he consistently underestimated his enemies' abilities and resources.
sauron elendil anardil numenor of the rings of power and the third age

Middle-earth Connections: Lore of the Rings
A detailed examination of the motivations behind the Elves' creaion of the Rings of Power, and some speculations on how the Rings may have been used.
rings of power sauron eregion gil-galad tolkien

The Sauron Strategies: One War to Win Them All, Except...
The second of two essays examining the strategies Sauron employed during the Second and Third Ages. Striving to be like Morgoth, Sauron took on the world. Perhaps he bit off more than he could chew.
sauron gondor arnor lords of the eldar council of elrond

Life in an Elven Fishing Town
Tolkien wrote little concerning the lives and crafts of Cirdan's mariners, but these hearty Elves of the sea fought in all of Middle-earth's great wars. They were also among the last Eldarin people to vanish from the world of men.
cirdan brithombar and eglarest mithlond the grey havens teleri

Before the Numenoreans Came
What was Eriador like in the years between the departure of the Numenoreans over Sea and their eventual return? We can extrapolate a few ideas based on things J.R.R. Tolkien said concerning the history of the Dunedain.
gil-galad elrond lindon beleriand cirdan

The Wild, Wild, Wood-elf West
A discussion of the complex history of the Wood-elves, exploring their roots and various cultural sources.
wood-elves silvan elves eldar noldor minyar

A History of the Last Alliance of Elves and Men, Part 3
Part three of a three-part article examining the causes and events of the War of the Last Alliance of Elves and Men. This section includes the end notes and bibliography of sources.
aule valinor war of the last alliance of elves and men concerning galadriel and celeborn unfinished tales

A History of the Last Alliance of Elves and Men, Part 1
First of three parts of a research paper covering the history of the Last Alliance of Elves and Men. Part one covers events leading up the war.
the last alliance of elves and men gil-galad elendil the tall isildur anarion

Do Elves Dream of Eclectic Sleep?
What does it mean to be an Elf? The answer to that question changes with the passing of the ages, and eventually an Elf must choose between sorrow and uncertainty. The growing burden of Elvish regret may, in fact, have compelled the Elves to grow beyond their own fears and misconceptions.
uncertainty aman valinor feanor finwe

Kryptic Tales of Middle-earth
A review of the various tales of horror and dread that Tolkien slipped into the Middle-earth canon.
ghost stories horror stores dead men sorcery necromancy

Shhh! It's a Secret Ring!
Who knew about the Rings of Power at the end of the Third Age? It requires some historical detective work to figure out who knew about them in the first place, who learned about them later, and who would have been around to forget about them.
rings of power the one ring numenor eregion noldor

He Shall Be Like a Tree Planted By the Rivers of Water
The trees of Middle-earth reveal Tolkien's deep love for nature's graceful giants. But though the Ents championed the cause of trees in a world of two legged hewers, they seemed to reveal little about themselves. We must magnify Tolkien's words with our imaginations if we are to behold the all the trees in the silent, wild wood.
ents entwives entish aragorn galadriel

The Merchants of Middle-earth
A discussion of money and economics in J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth through the ages.
money middle-earth j.r.r. tolkien economy trade

Armagnac - King of French Brandies
Armagnac is a smooth amber coloured brandy from South West France which can be drunk as an aperitif, a digestive, or as a 'medicinal' pick me up cocktail!
armagnac cocktails brandy based cocktails armagnac french brandy cocktail recipes armagnac gascony

The Magic of the Minstrels
Middle-earth had few professional entertainers, and that may be because the greatest entertainers of all had been the Elves, whose magic was still in some ways remembered.
minstrels entertainment treebeard arnor gondor

Gil-galad was an Elven-king...
A discussion of Gil-galad's history and genealogy, and the importance of The Silmarillion in studying Gil-galad.
gil-galad elendil numenor finwe lindon

How did Tolkien actually portray the Rohirrim?
A discussion of how Tolkien portrayed the Rohirrim, comparing and contrasting them with the peoples of the Icelandic sagas and ancient Germanic tribes.
j.r.r. tolkien middle-earth rohan iceland sagas

The Wars of the Glorfindels
Glorfindel has been the subject of much curiosity and discussion through the years despite how little J.R.R. Tolkien actually told us about this character. And yet it wasn't always that way....
glorfindel gondolin turgon noldor vanyar

The Middle-earth Mysteries
A brief discussion of some of the unanswerable questions about Middle-earth's peoples, creatures, and history.
ents spiders dunedain woses druedain

Resurrecting Dale, City of A Thousand Untold Stories
An examination of the events and peoples connected with the city of Dale, and some of the possibilities Tolkien would have considered had he devoted more time to its history and kings.
dale erebor tolkien the hobbit the lord of the rings

All the King's Horses and All the King's Men...
This is the third in a series of articles exploring previously unpublished texts about Middle-earth. The 'Osanwe-kenta' text is closely identified with J.R.R. Tolkien's 'Orcs' essay and 'Quendi and Eldar'. But there may also be a connection with the much later 'Shibboleth of Feanor'.
osanwe-kenta shibboleth of feanor quendi and eldar

Seeking the Wayward Children of Numenor
How did Arnor and Gondor come to be, and what were the fundamental differences between the characters of the two realms? And what was the contribution of Numenor to their founding? A discussion of the origins of Arnor and Gondor explores the dynamics of Numenorean culture and how it laid the foundation for the two realms in exile.
tolkien osgiliath annuminas pelargir fornost erain

Strange as news from Bree...
A discussion of Bree's significance and probable history in the Third Age.
bree hobbits arnor dunedain middle-earth

Which parts of Middle-earth will we not see?
A discussion of several places in Middle-earth which are never seen in either Tolkien's book or Peter Jackson's movies, but of which J.R.R. Tolkien told us much.
belfalas calenardhon tharbad rohan aldburg

Lonely Wanderers and the Tales That Almost Were
The story of Earendil changed considerably through the years of Tolkien's life. In a similar fashion, the history of the Lords of Dol Amroth also underwent changes. The promise of both stories was thus never fully achieved.
earendil the book of lost tales imrazor the numenorean mithrellas nimrodel

Magic by Melkor, No Returns Accepted
How did magic work in Middle-earth, and was it really as unlimited as some people believe?
magic goiteia magia melkor morgoth the lord of the rings

It's All in the Family: The Finweans
The second of two articles examining the families of the Eldarin kings. With the publication of The Peoples of Middle-earth, we learned Tolkien's final decisions on who was related to whom, and how.
finweans the lord of the rings the silmarillion morgoth's ring tolkien

Shakespeare's All the world's a stage
According to the Shakespeare character, Jaques, in the play, As You Like It, a man's lifetime undergoes seven distinct ages.
shakespeare all the world's a stage seven acts of life infancy school-boy

Exalted: A Product Review
In August of 2001, White Wolf released its highly anticipated new fantasy rpg. What is the game like? Read the review.
exalted white wolf age of sorrows rpg geoffrey c. grabowski

Introducing Middle-earth Television Entertainment Group...
Some speculations about the directions in which Hollywood's television industry could take Middle-earth, as may surely happen once Peter Jackson's movies strike gold and set the innovative minds in the Entertainment Industry to thinking....
middle-earth television rangers dunedain hobbits

Beorning questions...
Where the Beornings may have come from, and what they may have been like as a people...
beorn beornings gandalf bilbo thorin

Exploring Tolkien's Fourth Age
How Middle-earth might have appeared in the Fourth Age, had J.R.R. Tolkien finished writing The New Shadow.
new shadow j.r.r. tolkien middle-earth borlas barrow-wights

Hobbit Tales, or Never There And Back Again...
A discussion of some of the other stories Tolkien could have told about Hobbits had he explained their history in greater detail.
hobbits tolkien shire buckland gondor

Look What They've Done to the Official Web Site, Ma
A brief review of the new Lord of the Rings movie official Web site.
lord of the rings movie gordon paddison peter jackson philippa boyens tolkien and middle-earth

Much ado about Arwen: Elven Princess
A profile of Arwen as portrayed by J.R.R. Tolkien, and how the original character may have inspired Peter Jackson to extrapolate abilities she did not display in the book.
arwen j.r.r. tolkien peter jackson middle-earth aragorn

Trick or Treat? Spooky Middle-Earth
J.R.R. Tolkien brushed most of the major Western holidays with his imaginary history. It's a shame he passed over Halloween. Or did he?
halloween samhain celtic festival tolkien middle-earth

Would Sandra Bullock be a good Mrs. Isildur?
Speculations about Isildur's wife and how her life might be portrayed in a movie.
isildur middle-earth elendil sauron tolkien

Beware That Baker in the Kitchen!
What is the nature of evil in Middle-earth, and at what point does it become True Evil? Are the Orcs responsible for their own state of corruption, or are they excusable and redeemable?
orcs sauron melkor j.r.r. tolkien middle-earth

Et Tu, Faramir?
Tolkien's vivid mythology captures the imagination with a careful retelling of supposedly ancient stories which were long forgotten. But just exactly what were the imaginary sources for Tolkien's imaginary sources? Middle-earth's undiscovered literature evokes a wheels-within-wheels mystique, much as real literature draws upon older sources to build up its own power and breadth.
epic of gilgamesh indo-european tyr zeus julius caesar

Ithilien, Moon Over Gondor
Ithilien rose and fell with the fortunes of Gondor, but when all else was lost, Gondor hung on to Isildur's former home tenaciously. What did this land mean to the people Isildur left behind?
isildur anarion last alliance of elves and men gil-galad arnor

Mountains on the Left, Ruins on the Right
Tolkien Enterprises recently moved to protect its trademarks in the gaming marketplace. Can they really prevent the gaming community from exercising its imagination, or are they just delaying the inevitable?
tolkien enterprises iron crown enterprises middle-earth gaming role-playing games

Razing Arnor: How real were the Dunadan conspiracies?
Tolkien never explained how and why Arnor was divided into three kingdoms. Here are some speculations on possible causes leading up to the traumatic event, and an analysis of its consequences.
arnor gondor tarannon falastur beruthiel earendur

Have Island, Will Rebel
Did Numenorean society follow an inevitable path toward division because the kings retained, respected, and enlarged autonomous traditions? Were the noble families of Numenor able to influence the policies of the kings both directly and indirectly? This article examines the roots of Numenorean politcal power and the connections between that power and the economic forces of the Numenorean civilization.
numenor edain of beleriand beorians marachians elros tar-minyatur

Looking inside the Sauron Project
Most fantasy movie villains turn out badly. As a literary villain Sauron is unusual but successful. So what will it take to bring him to life in Peter Jackson's three LOTR movies, and to make him convincing as a strong, powerful, and terrifying villain?
sauron peter jackson tolkien the lord of the rings frodo

Ranger For Hire: Have Horse, Will Travel
A discussion of possible locations where Aragorn's people may have lived in Eriador.
aragorn eriador tolkien rangers dunedain

There Are Games Afoot!
How have role-playing games tried to depict Tolkien's world in the past? With the prospect of a new role-playing game based on The Lord of the Rings facing us, are there perhaps better methods of depicting Tolkien's vision while retaining playability?
iron crown enterprises middle-earth role-playing game new line cinema peter jackson the lord of the rings

Tip-toe Through the Toponymy
Tolkien may have left clues about his thoughts on Hobbit history and roots in the Shire place-names and family names. Rohan's linguistic ties to other lands such as Dale and the Shire may also be hidden in simple names like Upbourn and Westfold.
shire toponymy english toponymy shire place-names rohan place-names rohirric


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