Questions tagged [the-lord-of-the-rings]
For questions about the trilogy of movies or books, 'The Fellowship of the Ring', 'The Two Towers' and 'The Return of the King'. Always use in conjunction with the [tolkiens-legendarium] tag and, for movie questions, the relevant movie tag, e.g. [fellowship-of-the-ring].
2,139
questions
98
votes
5
answers
28k
views
Why weren't the Three Rings for the Elven-kings destroyed as well?
At the end of The Return of the King, after the One Ring is destroyed in the fires of Mount Doom, the rings were carried out of Middle-Earth.
IIRC it may have been Elrond, Galadriel, and Gandalf ...
33
votes
1
answer
5k
views
What would happen to an Elf if they had used one of the Three while Sauron had the One?
Would they become wraiths and dominated by Sauron, or would they just be able to be mind-read?
151
votes
11
answers
31k
views
What is the significance of Saruman's Ring?
At the council of Elrond, Gandalf tells of his encounter with Saruman.
But I rode to the foot of Orthanc, and came to the stair of Saruman; and there he met me and led me up to his high chamber. ...
350
votes
23
answers
136k
views
Why didn't Gandalf or Frodo Fly to Mount Doom?
Why didn't Gandalf use his eagles to fly over Mount Doom and drop the ring? I know he feared what he would do if the ring overpowered him, so why not just give Frodo an eagle?
And, if there would be ...
31
votes
4
answers
6k
views
Can we date the technology in the Lord of the Rings movies?
In the discussion of When did the Lord of the Rings take place, there are several suggestions that it might be placed into the equivalent of 1300s England, or 600-700s (based on similarity to "Beowulf ...
57
votes
8
answers
87k
views
In what time period does The Lord of the Rings take place in the real world?
I know that The Lord of the Rings is located in Middle-earth and by the looks of clothes and props, we're looking at well before the 18th century.
What's the best guess at the time period that The ...
50
votes
4
answers
3k
views
Lord of the Rings written to support constructed languages or the other way round?
I've heard the claim that Tolkien wrote, or at least started writing, The Lord of the Rings to support (with a history providing cultural depth) the artificial languages he was creating at the time.
...
43
votes
4
answers
6k
views
Did the Ent-Wives become trolls? [duplicate]
In LOTR, is the disappearance of the Ent-Wives during or before the War of the Last Alliance connected with the appearance of the Trolls?
Since Orcs were corrupted Elves, did Sauron enslave the Ent-...
453
votes
16
answers
107k
views
Who or what was Tom Bombadil?
The most iconic of Middle-earth questions:
Who or what was Tom Bombadil?
Was he an elf? Was he akin to Gandalf, and one of the wizardly stock? Was he something… else?