Questions tagged [tolkiens-legendarium]
For questions about any works in J.R.R. Tolkien's Legendarium - The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, The Silmarillion, and other works set in the same universe - or about that universe as a whole. Questions about movies, games, or other media set in the same universe should also use this tag. Questions about Tolkien himself or works by him which are not part of the Middle-earth universe should NOT use this tag use [j-r-r-tolkien] instead.
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Did Tolkien give his son explicit permission to publish all that unfinished material?
As I've been reading the books/stories published by his son after his death, which are very much unfinished, I can't help but think of how embarrassing I would find it if somebody managed to dig up ...
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Does LOTR have a shattered glass type alternate reality [closed]
Shattered glass is basically where the good and the bad team (morally speaking) switch, both within the general sides and individuals as a whole. It is primarily seen in The Transformers, but perhaps ...
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Elves leaving for Aman by the Fourth Age, while bound to the world and its fate
Aman was detached from the world itself by Eru Ilúvatar after the Númenóreans tried to invade it, and, in a sense, it is a place in another dimension; so elves moving there permanently while still ...
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Why does Gandalf question Thorin after he had found the note?
Why does Gandalf question Thorin about their orc hunters, AFTER he had already found a note in black speech offering payment for Thorin's head and showing him this in the tavern.
Gandalf and Balin ...
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Why does nobody in Tolkien's stories ever attempt to question or reason with Melkor?
I've read The Hobbit, LotR, The Silmarillion and am now well into the second "Lost tales" book.
That poor father that Melkor put in a prison on a high hill to force him to sit there and ...
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What's so special about Frodo?
There's constant reference to courage and good-will of Hobbits, which makes them a natural choice for resisting the Ring, as well as being more easily overlooked than any other race, when delivering ...
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What real-life plant stood in for Simbelmynë in "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers"?
You might recall the scene in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers where Théoden (played by the late great Bernard Hill) is at his son Théodred's tomb with Gandalf.
As they pay their respects, ...
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Why does Frodo choose to commit suicide?
I'm new to the LOTR fandom and I only just finished the movies and am going to now work my way through the books.
Why does Frodo choose suicide at the end? When he gets on the boat with the elves it ...
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Which plant was used as Athelas in LOTR / Hobbit movies?
There is already an exquisite thread concerning the plant described in the book
link here and its relative real life counterpart,
but my question is about the one actually used in the movies .
Any ...
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How are Gimli's athletic abilities in the books?
Three specific examples from the movie adaption of The Two Towers come to mind.
When Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli chase the Uruk-hai to rescue Merry
and Pippin, Gimli is constantly out of breath and ...
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Extent of the Westron language
Westron (and/or its predecessor "Adûnaic") serve as the Common tongue in Middle-Earth and as with all languages, easily the most "fun" thing to do with them, is taking some words ...
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How did Samwise/Gimli/Bilbo/Frodo/Galadriel know they were allowed into Valinor?
At the end of the Third Age / early Fourth Age, Samwise/Gimli/Bilbo/Frodo/Galadriel got on boats and went to Valinor. How did they know that they would be allowed into Valinor? Valinor is usually ...
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Spoken language of the Hobbits in LotR [closed]
Yesterday, while milling over iconic lines from the Lord of the Rings trilogy, something started bugging me – Whenever the Hobbits are amongst themselves wouldn't they speak… well 'Hobbitish' or at ...
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Could Maedhros and Maglor have returned the Silmarils?
At the end of the War of Wrath, Maedhros and Maglor stole into the Eönwë's camp and stole the Silmarils. They were caught, but Eönwë allowed them to leave. Afterwards Maedhros committed suicide while ...
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In The Lord of the Rings, did anyone ever say "The fellowship is now complete."?
I have seen some references to this quote, but can't confirm if it was a real line, in either the books or movies. Is it perhaps a Mandela effect, or a reference from something else?
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How did the elves learn to fight in Valinor?
There's supposed to be no evil in Valinor (at least, not since Melkor left it).
Given that, there's presumably no need for elves to learn to fight. They can spend all their time on the poetry, music, ...
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What's Sauron up to these days? [duplicate]
"If [the Ring] is destroyed, then [Sauron] will fall; and his fall will be so low that none can foresee his arising ever again. For he will lose the best part of the strength that was native to ...
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What does the inscription on the pot of gold in "A Conversation with Smaug" say?
Tolkien painted a watercolour picture of "A Conversation with Smaug" for the cover of The Hobbit.
In the lower left corner there is a pot containing a pile of gold with an Elvish(?) ...
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What does it mean when Faramir says "I would not snare even an orc with a falsehood"?
While interrogating Frodo, Faramir asks whether Frodo would grieve to know Boromir is dead. Frodo replies: "You have been trying to trap me in words, playing with me? Or are you now trying to ...
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Who was Bilbo's / Frodo's mithril chain mail made for?
Bilbo's / Frodo's mithril chain mail was made for an Elven prince, that much is established. A friend now sent me this article: Frodo's Mithril Shirt Once Belonged to Another Lord of the Rings Hero
...
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Did Sauron worship Morgoth during the Third Age?
In the Akallabêth it says that when Sauron is imprisoned in Númenor, he convinces Ar-Pharazôn to give up the worship of Ilúvatar for the worship of Morgoth.
Does Sauron keep worshipping Morgoth during ...
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Is there any backstory for the "extraordinary luck of widow's sons"?
“Gandalf, Gandalf! Good gracious me! Not the wandering wizard that gave Old Took a pair of magic diamond studs that fastened themselves and never came undone till ordered? Not the fellow who used ...
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What two things did Bilbo say that Gandalf interpreted as asking for an adventure?
I mean, you used to upset things pretty badly in these parts once upon a time. I beg your pardon, but I had no idea you were still in business.” “Where else should I be?” said the wizard. “All ...
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What are all the prophecies in The Lord of the Rings?
I'm looking for a definitive list of all of the prophecies* that have been made within the world of The Lord of the Rings.
The only one I can think of (off the top of my head) is when Glorfindel 2.0 ...
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Can dwarves forge magical weapons as well as Elves can?
Tolkien's elves forged some magical weapons like Sting, Orcrist, Glamdring (a sword that could kill a Balrog), and maybe even Anduril. Magical weapons are considered the most strong, durable, and high-...
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Does Sauron wane?
Apparently Tolkien's Middle-Earth is in continuous decline - the greatness of the past is always ebbing away.
Given that, is Sauron also waning? Could he for example conquer Middle Earth, then wane to ...
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What is this wrong inscription at the Doors of Durin, the gate of moria?
I've been seeing around the internet this version of the gates of moria:
Would anyone know what is the inscription saying? It doesn't match the official image from Tolkien. Every resource that I look ...
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What Did Tolkien Write About the Sizes of Hobbits, Dwarves, & Men? [duplicate]
This is a simple question, Asking what Tolkien wrote about the sizes of Hobbits, Dwarves, and humans.
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How smart are Tolkien orcs?
I was reading the comments of this answer about what an orc would do if it found the One Ring, and realized the question of orc intelligence ought to be asked, and I found no such answer on this site.
...
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What is the mechanism behind the continuous decline in Middle Earth?
From Why couldn't the dwarves beat/kill the Balrog?
Tolkien's Middle-earth is fundamentally a fallen world, in which the greatness of the past is always ebbing away, because of the way the world had ...
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Did Tolkien change the description of Hobbits in The Hobbit?
In my answer to this question https://www.quora.com/Did-Tolkien-ever-say-anything-about-the-relative-heights-of-dwarves-and-hobbits I quoted Tolkien:
The Fellowship of the Ring, the Prolog 1 ...
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Would Tolkien's elves have faded if not originally summoned to Valinor?
I was reading this answer about why elves were "diminished" and thought it possibly inconsistent with the purpose Iluvatar gave to his first children. Specifically:
The doom of the Elves is ...
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Why did Elrond choose Legolas as representative of the Elves and Gimli as representative of the dwarves?
Beside Frodo who volunteered to be the Ring bearer and his Hobbits friends who volunteered as well, the rest of the Fellowship members were named or chosen by Elrond:
‘And I will choose you ...
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What was the final fate of Khazad-dûm (after Durin the 7th)?
What was the fate of Khazad-dûm after the War of the Ring and the defeat of Sauron?
I read that it is said that Durin the 7th led an army to Moria and purged it from the Orcs within, and then ...
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Did Gimli marry and have children?
Did the dwarf Gimli, Glóin’s son, marry and have children to continue his bloodline after settling in Aglarond?
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Sauron's knowledge of the Three [duplicate]
Was Sauron aware of the existence of the Three Elven Rings when he forged the One? I am wondering if Tolkien's letters or materials ever address this.
The reason this question arises is that the ...
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What did Saruman's ring do? [duplicate]
Saruman was a loremaster who delved deep into the lore of the rings. He was of Aulë's maiar, so knew much of making. Eventually he crafted himself a Ring which he hoped would give him power, maybe not ...
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Reading order after "The Lord of the Rings" and "The Children of Húrin" [duplicate]
I've already read The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Children of Húrin, and I'm considering where to go from here. I'm currently thinking about reading The Fall of Gondolin, The Silmarillion, ...
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Who was buried at the High Fells of Rhudaur?
I was recently rewatching the Hobbit movies and one thing stood out to me. From reading the various answers here, it was discussed that:
The Nazgul are not undead but just wraiths (i.e. faded due to ...
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Is the term "Hobbit Village" ever used canonically by Tolkien?
In November 6th, 2023's New York Times Crossword Puzzle, there was a theme answer of "HOBBIT VILLAGE" for the clue "Home for Tolkien's Bilbo and Frodo". (Spoiler for the full ...
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Do elves use money?
Is the use of money by elves mentioned anywhere in Tolkien's Legendarium? It is known that men, hobbits and dwarves used money, but what about elves?
Apparently some of the elven kingdoms had some ...
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What exactly happened politically to the Kingdom of Arthedain after King Arvedui's death?
After King Arvedui died and Aranarth refused to ascend the throne after Angmar was defeated, what happened politically to the kingdom and the people, now that no king reigned the lands? Like, who ...
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Did Sauron put his soul/spirit into all of the Rings of Power?
In the same way that Melkor grew weaker across the ages by 'expending' himself into his monstrous creations, Sauron must have similarly expended himself into the creation of his Ring, which didn't ...
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What happened to Pelmar and the originally sketched Arda?
I’m currently reading through The Silmarillion, and there is this map's discrepancy that I cannot get my head around.
First, there was this sketch of Arda with a central landmass Pelmar, the west and ...
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Were Dior, Eluréd, and Elurín given the same choice as the other Peredhil?
At the end of the First Age, the surviving Half-Elven were given the choice to be either fully Elves or fully Men.
Elrond chose Elven-kind and Elros chose Mankind. It appears that Elrond's children ...
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What are the "Houses of Lamentation"?
In The Lord of the Rings, the Witch King says
"Come not between the Nazgûl and his prey! Or he will not slay thee in
thy turn. He will bear thee away to the Houses of Lamentation, beyond
all ...
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Why didn't Treebeard attack Gimli (or vice versa)?
The Ents seem to have considerable animosity toward the Dwarfs
After the Dwarves were put to sleep by Eru to await the coming of the Elves, the Vala Aulë told his wife Yavanna, "the lover of all ...
user167831
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Did any of Tolkien's languages have gendered pronouns or grammatical gender?
As far as I can tell, none of his Elvish languages did, but is there any indication that, for example, Khuzdûl or Westron might have had gendered pronouns or grammatical gender?
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What was a "necromancer" to Tolkien? [duplicate]
In nodern fantasy fiction, everyone knows what a necromancer is: a dark wizard who traffics in magic dealing with death, and specifically undeath, calling up the dead as servants, frequently as ...
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