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(Top) 1 Primary sources 1.1 Authors 1.2 Published works 1.2.1 By J. R. R. Tolkien 1.2.2 Edited by Christopher Tolkien 1.2.2.1 The History of Middle-earth 1.2.2.2 Other stories 1.2.3 Edited by other scholars 1.3 Audio recordings 1.4 Graphical works 2 Translations 3 Adaptations and developments 3.1 Maps 3.2 Spoken word 3.3 Radio 3.4 Films 3.5 Stage 3.6 Television 3.7 Games 3.7.1 Tabletop games 3.7.2 Video games 3.8 Parodies 4 Geography 4.1 Cosmology of Eä 4.2 Continents of Arda 4.3 Nations and regions 4.4 Natural features 4.5 Cities and other populated places 5 History 5.1 Artefacts 5.2 Events 5.3 Characters 5.3.1 First Age 5.3.2 Second Age 5.3.3 Third Age 6 Culture 6.1 Races 6.2 Languages 6.3 Folklore and poetry 7 Analysis 7.1 Influences 7.2 Components 7.3 Literary devices 7.4 Sources 7.5 Themes 7.6 Music 7.7 Scholarship 7.7.1 Institutions 7.7.2 Journals 7.7.3 Scholars 7.7.4 Biographical works 7.7.5 Works 8 See also 9 External links

Outline of Middle-earth

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The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the real-world history and notable fictional elements of J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy universe. It covers materials created by Tolkien; the works on his unpublished manuscripts, by his son Christopher Tolkien; and films, games and other media created by other people.

Middle-earth – fantasy setting created by Tolkien, home to hobbits, orcs, ents, dragons, and many other races and creatures.

Primary sources[edit]

Authors[edit]

Published works[edit]

By J. R. R. Tolkien[edit]

The Hobbit (1937)
- 2nd Edition (1951) revised to align with The Lord of the Rings
- 3rd Edition (1966) revised to assert copyright in US
The Lord of the Rings
- The Fellowship of the Ring (1954)
  - The Shadow of the Past
  - The Council of Elrond
- The Two Towers (1954)
- The Return of the King (1955)
  - The Scouring of the Shire - a "novelistic" chapter
  - The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen
The Adventures of Tom Bombadil (1962)
- Revised edition (2014) with addition of original poems, sources and images, and commentary by Christina Scull and Wayne G. Hammond
The Road Goes Ever On (1967) – music by Donald Swann, penmanship by Tolkien. See also Audio recordings
- Revised edition (1978) – including a setting for Bilbo's Last Song

Posthumously published

Bilbo's Last Song (1974) – Dutch translation published 1973
Guide to the Names in The Lord of the Rings (1975) – also known as "Nomenclature of The Lord of the Rings"
The Silmarillion (1977)
- Ainulindalë
Pictures by J. R. R. Tolkien (1979) – text by Christopher Tolkien. Most of these pictures had been previously published in calendars by Ballantine Books (1973) and George Allen & Unwin (1974, 1976–1979), some of them coloured by H. E. Riddett.
Unfinished Tales (1980)
J. R. R. Tolkien: Artist and Illustrator (1995) – text by Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull
The Art of The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien (2011) – text by Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull
The Art of The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien (2015) – text by Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull

Edited by Christopher Tolkien[edit]

These works present extended selections of Tolkien's legendarium (the large body of documents relating to The Silmarillion), with extensive notes and posthumous editing by his son Christopher. The separate 4-volume body of his comments on the drafts of The Lord of the Rings is included as volumes 6–9.

The History of Middle-earth[edit]

Early legendarium: 1The Book of Lost Tales 1 (1983); 2The Book of Lost Tales 2 (1984); 3The Lays of Beleriand (1985); 4The Shaping of Middle-earth (1986); 5The Lost Road and Other Writings (1987)

The History of The Lord of the Rings: 6 [1] The Return of the Shadow (1988); 7 [2] The Treason of Isengard (1989); 8 [3] The War of the Ring (1990); 9 [4] Sauron Defeated (1992)

The later Silmarillion: 10 [1] Morgoth's Ring (1993); 11 [2] The War of the Jewels (1994)

Further details: 12The Peoples of Middle-earth (1996)

Edited by other scholars[edit]

The Annotated Hobbit (1988) – text of The Hobbit, with many related texts by Tolkien, edited and with commentary by Douglas A. Anderson (revised edition 2002)

The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien (1981) – selected, introduced and edited by Humphrey Carpenter

The Nature of Middle-earth (2021) – essays and fragments, including on Elvish linguistics, with commentary by the scholar Carl F. Hostetter

The History of The Hobbit (2007) – 2 volumes on the construction of The Hobbit with commentary by the scholar John D. Rateliff

Audio recordings[edit]

Poems and Songs of Middle Earth (1967) – poems read by Tolkien; songs sung by William Elvin, accompanied by composer Donald Swann (as published in The Road Goes Ever On)
J. R. R. Tolkien Reads and Sings his The Hobbit & The Lord of the Rings (1975), Caedmon TC 1477, TC 1478 (based on an August, 1952 recording by George Sayer)

Graphical works[edit]

Translations[edit]

Adaptations and developments[edit]

Maps[edit]

A Map of Middle-earth, meaning either of two posters:
- byBarbara Remington (1965)
- byPauline Baynes (1970)
The Atlas of Middle-earth (1981, revised ed 1991) by Karen Wynn Fonstad
Journeys of Frodo: An Atlas of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings (1981) by Barbara Strachey

Spoken word[edit]

The Hobbit (1974) – Nicol Williamson recorded an abridged, dramatic version for Decca Records on the Argo label
The Lord of the Rings (1990) – unabridged recording by Rob Inglis for Recorded Books
The Hobbit (1991) – unabridged recording by Rob Inglis for Recorded Books
The Children of Húrin (2007) – Christopher Lee recorded an unabridged audiobook
The Hobbit (2020) – Andy Serkis live-streamed an unabridged reading to raise money for NHS Charities Together
The Hobbit (2020) – unabridged recording by Andy Serkis for HarperCollinsUK and Recorded Books
The Lord of the Rings (2021) – unabridged recording by Andy Serkis for HarperCollinsUK and Recorded Books

Radio[edit]

The Lord of the Rings (1955) – BBC: six 45-minute episodes for The Fellowship of the Ring, then six 30-minute episodes for all of The Two Towers and The Return of the King, adapted by Terence Tiller
The Hobbit (1968) – BBC: eight half-hour episodes, adapted by Michael Kilgarriff
The Lord of the Rings (1979) – National Public Radio: totalling over 11 hours, adapted by Bernard Mayes
The Lord of the Rings (1981) – BBC: 26 half-hour instalments, later re-cut to 13 hour-long instalments, adapted by Brian Sibley and Michael Bakewell
Der Herr der Ringe (1991) – Südwestrundfunk and Westdeutscher Rundfunk: German adaptation of The Lord of the Rings in 30 half-hour episodes, by Peter F. Steinbach [de]

Films[edit]

The Hobbit (1967) – Gene Deitch's short animated adaptation
The Hobbit (1977) – an animated musical television special by Rankin/Bass
The Lord of the Rings (1978) – an animated film of the first half of the book by Ralph Bakshi
The Return of the King (1980) – the animated sequel to 1977's The Hobbit
Khraniteli (1991) - a "lost" Russian television play, now recovered
Hobitit (1993) - a Finnish rendering of the Hobbits' journey in The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings film series – the live-action trilogy by Peter Jackson
- The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
- The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
- The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
The Hobbit film series – Jackson's three-part prequel to his The Lord of the Rings series
- The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)
- The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013)
- The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014)

Stage[edit]

Rob Inglis wrote and performed one-man adaptations of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings starting in the 1970s
Lord of the Rings (2006) – Musical staged in Toronto, re-written for London in 2007

Television[edit]

The Hobbit (1979) – children's program Jackanory broadcast ten 15-minute episodes
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (2022) – prequel series by Amazon Studios

Games[edit]

Tabletop games[edit]

Middle-earth Role Playing (1984) – Iron Crown Enterprises
Lord of the Rings Adventure Game (1991) – Iron Crown Enterprises
The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying Game (2002) –Decipher, Inc.
The One Ring: Adventures over the Edge of the Wild (2011) – Cubicle 7
Adventures in Middle-earth (2016) – OGL supplement by Cubicle 7

Video games[edit]

The Hobbit (1982)
Elendor (1991)
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
The Hobbit (2003)
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age (2004)
The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth (2004)
The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age (Game Boy Advance) (2004)
The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II (2006)
The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II: The Rise of the Witch-king (2006)
The Lord of the Rings: The White Council (2007; cancelled)
The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar (2007)
The Lord of the Rings: Conquest (2009)
The Lord of the Rings: Tactics (2009)
The Lord of the Rings: Aragorn's Quest (2010)
The Lord of the Rings: War in the North (2011)
Guardians of Middle-earth (2012)
Lego The Lord of the Rings (2012)
Lego The Hobbit (2014)
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor (2014)
Middle-earth: Shadow of War (2017)

Parodies[edit]

Bored of the Rings (1969) – Harvard Lampoon novel
Hordes of the Things (1980) – BBC radio series
Bored of the Rings (1985) – Delta 4 video game
The Boggit: Bored Too (1986) – Delta 4 video game
Muddle Earth (2003) – children's novel by Paul Stewart
Fellowship! (2004) – musical

Geography[edit]

Cosmology of Eä[edit]

The Two Trees

Continents of Arda[edit]

Nations and regions[edit]

Natural features[edit]

Cities and other populated places[edit]

History[edit]

Artefacts[edit]

Events[edit]

First Age

Sundering of the Elves

Third Age

Characters[edit]

First Age[edit]

House of Finwë

House of Elwë and Olwë

House of Marach

Others

Second Age[edit]

Third Age[edit]

Thorin and Company

The Fellowship of the Ring

Wizards:

Gandalf
Radagast
Saruman

Elves

Arwen
Galadriel
Glorfindel
Legolas
Thranduil

Men

Other characters

Culture[edit]

Races[edit]

Ainur

Valar
Maiar
- Balrogs
- Wizards

Men

Monsters

Other

Languages[edit]

Elvish languages

Other

Folklore and poetry[edit]

Analysis[edit]

Influences[edit]

Components[edit]

Artwork
Family trees
Heraldry
for Tolkien's invented Languages, see above
Maps
Non-narrative elements
Poetry
- see above for individual poems

Literary devices[edit]

Anachronism
Character pairing
Editorial framing
Frame stories
- Ælfwine
- (see also The Lost Road)
- The Notion Club Papers
- Red Book of Westmarch
Impression of depth
Interlacing
Narrative structure
Prose style
- Ambiguity

Sources[edit]

Themes[edit]

Music[edit]

Scholarship[edit]

Institutions[edit]

Elvish Linguistic Fellowship

Journals[edit]

Scholars[edit]

Biographical works[edit]

J. R. R. Tolkien: A Biography (1977) – by Humphrey Carpenter
Tolkien and the Great War (2003) – by John Garth
The Ring of Words: Tolkien and the Oxford English Dictionary (2006) – by Peter Gilliver, Jeremy Marshall and Edmund Weiner

Works[edit]

Tolkien: A Look Behind "The Lord of the Rings" (1969) – by Lin Carter (revised 2003 by Adam Roberts)
The Complete Guide to Middle-earth (1971) – ed. Robert Foster (revised 1978, 2001)
Master of Middle-Earth (1972) – by Paul H. Kocher
Tolkien's Art: 'A Mythology for England' (1979) – by Jane Chance
The Road to Middle-Earth (1982) – by Tom Shippey (revised 1993, 2005)
Splintered Light (1983) – by Verlyn Flieger
J. R. R. Tolkien: Author of the Century (2000) – by Tom Shippey
Tolkien's Legendarium: Essays on The History of Middle-earth (2000) – eds Verlyn Flieger and Carl F. Hostetter
Tolkien: A Cultural Phenomenon (2003) – by Brian Rosebury
The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion (2005) – by Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull
The J. R. R. Tolkien Companion and Guide (2006) – by Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull
The J. R. R. Tolkien Encyclopedia (2006) – ed. Michael D. C. Drout
A Companion to J. R. R. Tolkien (2014) – ed. Stuart D. Lee
Tolkien: Maker of Middle-earth (2018) – by Catherine McIlwaine
The Worlds of J. R. R. Tolkien (2020) – by John Garth

External links[edit]

Definitions from Wiktionary

Media from Commons

News from Wikinews

Quotations from Wikiquote

Texts from Wikisource

Textbooks from Wikibooks

Resources from Wikiversity

Tolkien Gateway – wiki about Middle-earth and Tolkien.
The Tolkien Meta-FAQ – answers to commonly asked questions about Tolkien and Middle-earth.
J. R. R. Tolkien Collection at Marquette University – manuscripts of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, and related documents

Middle-earth

Works

In Tolkien's
lifetime

Posthumous

1977 The Silmarillion
- "Ainulindalë"
1980 Unfinished Tales
1981 The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien
1990 Bilbo's Last Song
The three "Great Tales"
- 2007 The Children of Húrin
- 2017 Beren and Lúthien
- 2018 The Fall of Gondolin
2022 The Fall of Númenor

History of
composition

History of
Middle-earth

[1–2] 1983–84 The Book of Lost Tales
- Ælfwine
[3] 1985 The Lays of Beleriand
[4] 1986 The Shaping of Middle-earth
[5] 1987 The Lost Road and Other Writings
- The Etymologies
- Lhammas
[6–9] 1988–92 The History of The Lord of the Rings
- The Notion Club Papers
[10] 1993 Morgoth's Ring
[11] 1994 The War of the Jewels
[12] 1996 The Peoples of Middle-earth

Others

John D. Rateliff
- 2007 The History of The Hobbit
Carl F. Hostetter
- 2021 The Nature of Middle-earth

Fictional
universe

Peoples, monsters	Ainur Maiar Balrogs Wizards Valar Dragons Ancalagon Smaug Dwarves Eagles Elves Half-elven Noldor Sundering Ents Hobbits Men Beornings Drúedain Dúnedain Orcs Trolls
Characters	First and Second Ages Celebrimbor Eärendil and Elwing Elendil Fëanor Fingolfin Finwë and Míriel Gil-galad Húrin Isildur Lúthien and Beren Melian Morgoth Thingol Tuor and Idril Túrin Turambar Ungoliant Third Age Elrond Galadriel Gandalf Glorfindel Goldberry Gollum Saruman Sauron Tom Bombadil
Places	First and Second Ages Beleriand Númenor Valinor Third Age Bree Esgaroth Gondor Harad Isengard Lonely Mountain Lothlórien Mirkwood Mordor Moria Rivendell Rohan The Shire Bag End
Objects	Mithril Palantír Red Book of Westmarch Rings of Power One Ring Silmarils Two Trees of Valinor List of weapons and armour

Analysis

Elements	Artwork Family trees Heraldry Languages Adûnaic Black Speech Elvish Quenya Sindarin Khuzdul Maps Poetry Scripts Cirth Sarati Tengwar
Themes	Anachronism Ancestry as guide to character Architecture Christianity Cosmology Round World version Death and immortality Decline and fall Economy England Environmentalism First World War Forests Frame stories Heroism Light Luck and fate Magic Mental illness Modernism Moral dilemma Music Naming of weapons Northern courage Old Straight Road Paganism Plants Psychological journeys Quests Sound and language Time Trees
Literary	Tolkien's impact on fantasy Influences Beowulf Celtic Classical world Finnish language and literature Medieval Modern Norse Philology Shakespeare Prose style Ambiguity A mythology for England
Geographic	The Atlas of Middle-earth Journeys of Frodo A Map of Middle-earth

Adaptations,
legacy

Artists	Pauline Baynes Cor Blok Anke Eißmann Brothers Hildebrandt Jenny Dolfen Mary Fairburn Donato Giancola John Howe Tove Jansson Alexander Korotich Alan Lee Tom Loback Margrethe II of Denmark Ted Nasmith
Composers	Bo Hansson Johan de Meij Symphony No. 1 The Lord of the Rings Howard Shore Music of The Lord of the Rings film series Music of The Hobbit film series Music of The Rings of Power TV series Blind Guardian Nightfall in Middle-Earth
Settings	Donald Swann The Road Goes Ever On Poems and Songs of Middle Earth The Tolkien Ensemble An Evening in Rivendell A Night in Rivendell At Dawn in Rivendell Leaving Rivendell
Other media	Middle-earth Enterprises Works inspired by J. R. R. Tolkien Film Tolkien Calendars Video games Things named after Tolkien and his works

Literary
criticism

The Lord of the Rings

J. R. R. Tolkien

About

Analysis

Elements	Artwork Family trees Heraldry Languages Black Speech Elvish Quenya Sindarin Khuzdul Maps Poetry A Elbereth Gilthoniel Namárië Song of Eärendil The Man in the Moon Stayed Up Too Late The Road Goes Ever On A Walking Song Proverbs
Themes	Addiction to power Ancestry as guide to character Architecture Christianity Death and immortality Decline and fall Economy England Environmentalism Forests Heroism Luck and fate Magic Mental illness Moral dilemma Music Naming of weapons Northern courage Paganism Plants Psychological journeys Quests Race Sexuality Sound and language Time Trees Women
Influences	Antiquarianism Beowulf Celtic Classical world First World War Norse Medieval Modern sources Modernism A mythology for England Philology Shakespeare
Techniques	Anachronism Character pairing Editorial framing Frame stories Pseudotranslation Impression of depth Narrative structure Interlacing Prose style Ambiguity Epic Pooh

Peoples

Maiar	Balrogs Sauron Wizards Gandalf Radagast Saruman
Free peoples	Dwarves Balin Gimli Elves Galadriel Glorfindel Half-elven Arwen Elrond Legolas Thranduil Ents Treebeard Hobbits Bilbo Frodo Merry Pippin Sam Men Beornings Drúedain Dúnedain Aragorn ofGondor Boromir Denethor Faramir ofRohan Éomer Éowyn Théoden Wormtongue
Monsters	Barrow-wight Gollum Nazgûl Witch-king of Angmar Old Man Willow Orcs Shelob Trolls Wargs Watcher in the Water
Other	Eagles Goldberry Tom Bombadil