Middle-earth |
What are the names for Middle-earth? |
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Middle-earth |
What are the names for Middle-earth? |
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What are the names for Middle-earth? |
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It is commonly believed, though incorrectly so, that Tolkien's Elvish name for Middle-earth was Arda. Perhaps one reason for why this misunderstanding is so wide spread is that Arda does sound a little bit like Earth. In fact, it very closely resembles the Dutch word for Earth, Aard. And while the resemblance is probably no coincidence, by the time Tolkien began writing The Lord of the Rings in 1937, he had already abandoned the idea of naming his fictional world Arda. Instead, Arda had become something more.
After Tolkien published The Lord of the Rings, he turned to other materials in the hope of eventually publishing The Silmarillion, a prequel set even before the time of The Hobbit which would explain the whole cosmology of Middle-earth. But everything had to be explained, and as Tolkien found himself explaining and expanding the cosmology, he faced new questions. He often wrote extensive essays to explain simple concepts, and from those essays might arise interesting new stories or even more questions. One such story was "Athrabeth Finrod ah Andreth" (the Debate of Finrod and Andreth). In this tale of the First Age, the Elven king Finrod Felagund visits with a mortal wise-woman, Andreth, and he debates with her about the nature of Elves and Men, and the special dooms appointed to each race. The dialogue, resembling many ancient Greek dialogues in which philosophers expounded their ideas, provides a rare insight into the Elvish point of view. Tolkien further expanded on these insights by adding a commentary on the story. Note 2 of the Commentary says: Arda, or 'The Kingdom of Arda' (as being directly under the kingship of Eru's vice-regent Manwë) is not easy to translate, since neither 'earth' nor 'world' are entirely suitable. Physically Arda was what we should call the Solar System. Presumably the Eldar could have had as much and as accurate information concerning this, its structure, origin, and its relation to the rest of Ëa (the Universe) as they could comprehend. Probably those who were interested did aquire this knowledge. Not all the Eldar were interested in everything; most of them concentrated their attention on (or as they said 'were in love with') the Earth.Further on, Tolkien wrote: It is certainly the case with the Elvish traditions that the principal part of Arda was the Earth (Imbar 'The Habitation'), as the scene of the Drama of the war of the Valar and the Children of Eru with Melkor: so that loosely used Arda often seems to mean the Earth: and that from this point of view the function of the Solar System was to make possible the existence of Imbar. With regard to the relation of Arda to Ëa, the assertion that the principal demiurgic Ainur (the Valar), including the originally greatest of all, Melkor, had taken up their 'residence' in Arda, ever since its establishment, also implies that however minute Arda was dramatically the chief point in Ëa.Elsewhere, in a note written about the same time as the "Athrabeth", Tolkien had this to say: Since the minds of Men (and even of the Elves) were inclined to confuse the 'Void', as a conception of the state of Not-being, outside Creation or Ea, with the conception of vast spaces within Ëa, especially those conceived to lie all about the enisled 'Kingdom of Arda' (which we should probably call the Solar System).Further complicating matters, Tolkien had used another name in older writings, Ambar, to refer to the world. He decided to retain this name in the newer mythology, but he assigned it to the Valinorean language in a note attached to a long work titled "Quendi and Eldar": "Ambar 'the Earth', meaning 'habitation'. Though the Eldar often used Arda in much the same sense, the proper meaning of Ambar was the Earth only, as the place where the Aratar had taken up their dwelling, and the Incarnate were destined to appear.The older use of Ambar goes back to an early version of the pre-LoTR mythology. Christopher Tolkien mentioned this in a note he attached to section 38 of "The Annals of Aman", a text published in Morgoth's Ring, volume X of The History of Middle-earth. The reference to the site of Kuivienen is interesting. Of this no more is said in the other tradition than that it lay 'in the East of the Middle-earth' (QS $20, preserved throughout the later tests). In AAm Kuivienen lay N.E. of Endon, the midmost point. In the list of names accompanying the Ambarkanta (IV. 241) appears 'ambar-endya or Middle Earth of which Endor is the midmost point', and Endor is written over the centre of the middle-land in the Ambarkanta diagrams (IV.243,245) -- on the map (IV.248-9) it is marked as a point: 'Endor Earth-middle', and here it was corrected to Endon, the form in the present passage of AAm, though later changed back again to Endor (so also on the typescript of AAm my father corrected Endon to Endor here and in $41, p. 80). See IV.254-5.In the index entry for "Endor" in The Silmarillion Christopher Tolkien translated the word as "Middle Land" and identified it with Middle-earth (because that is the idenfication made in "The Flight of the Noldor"). So, Endor was a part of Ambar/Imbar, which originally was flat and then later made round (or always was round in the transformed mythology). Arda proper encompassed Ambar/Imbar. How Middle-earth was createdA related matter where much confusion exists concerns the creation of Middle-earth. Who made it? Most people say that the Ainur sang it into existence, and that is far from the truth."Ainulindale" is that part of The Silmarillion which explains who the Valar and Maiar are, where they come from, and what the universe is. In "Ainulindale" we are told that Iluvatar (God) created the Ainur (Holy Ones, angels) first in the Timeless Halls. At length, Iluvatar taught the Ainur the principles of music, and they began developing their skills in music. After an indeterminate period, Iluvatar commanded the Ainur to make a great music (the Ainulindale for which the story is named) which would propound a theme of Iluvatar's making. That is, Iluvatar gave the Ainur the basic concepts for their great composition. He allowed them to extrapolate and enhance the music as their hearts led them to. Melkor, greatest of the Ainur, had become selfish and arrogant, and he started a counter theme, hoping to overwhelm Iluvatar's theme. After Melkor's theme became powerful and disturbing, many of the Ainur stopped participating in the music, while many others were following Melkor's theme instead of Iluvatar. In response, Iluvatar created a new theme, and for a while Melkor's theme was drowned out by the Second Theme. But Melkor persisted in his disruption and eventually Iluvatar introduced a new, third theme. Although the Ainur sang the first and second themes, they had no idea of where the Third Theme came from. The Third Theme was so complex and sophisticated that it incorporated Melkor's music into itself. That is, Melkor's brash and mechanistic theme was absorbed by Iluvatar's intricate and much more masterful theme. The clash between Melkor's Ainur and the Ainur loyal to Iluvatar became so chaotic that Iluvatar suddenly halted the music. He then created a vision which revealed to the Ainur a foreshadowing of the history of the universe -- they now understood that their music had been a model for Iluvatar's vision. But Iluvatar then created the universe he had envisioned for the Ainur. He did so by speaking a single word, Ëa, "Let it be!" He then allowed some of the Ainur to enter into this universe on the condition that they would remain here until its time had run its course. But though the Ainur had hoped to enter the universe at the zenith of its history, they instead found themselves at the beginning of time, when the universe was chaotic and unformed. The Ainur thus had to labor for many ages to bring shape and order to the universe, building the stars throughout the heavens. After many uncounted ages, the Valar (those Ainur who had entered Ëa first) began making the place where the Children of Iluvatar (Elves, represented by the Second Theme, and Men, represented by the Third Theme) would dwell. That is, the Valar began to make Arda itself. Melkor eventually joined the Valar and challenged them for control over Arda. The remainder of their conflicts would be played out in Arda itself. So, according to "Ainulindale", the Ainur did not sing anything into existence. They simply made a great music, and that music provided the model for the vision Iluvatar created. But Iluvatar then gave that vision reality by creating the universe, and in allowing the Ainur to enter the universe, he gave them the freedom to play out their roles from the music, or to make some changes. However, as time passed, the Valar became less and less capable of altering the course of events. Iluvatar's will remained free to alter history, but the Valar became less and less critical to the unfolding drama of events. The shaping of Arda represents almost the last act of demi-urgic creation by the Valar. While they could not give substance to their thoughts, their thoughts could alter the shape of the substance which Iluvatar had created. Hence, they did build Arda out of the materials of Ëa but this was many long ages after they had entered the universe. By this time, the Music was only a faint memory to them. Where does The Lord of the Rings take place?Finally, another question which is often answered incorrectly is, "Does The Lord of the Rings take place in Europe?"In the Prologue to The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien identified the region where Hobbits dwelt at the end of the Third Age with northwestern Europe today, "the North-west of the Old World, east of the Sea". Europe, Asia, and Africa have historically been identified as the Old World, whereas the Americas, Australia, and Antarctica comprise the New World (although most people associate only North and South America with the New World). Technically speaking, England is not exactly "east of the Sea". Rather, it is in the sea, and this fact is often overlooked by many people who try to determine a correspondence between the Shire and England and the remaining lands of the map published in The Lord of the Rings with Europe. Tolkien himself wrote (in Letter 294): ...The action of the story takes place in the North-west of 'Middle-earth', equivalent in latitude to the coastlands of Europe and the north shores of the Mediterranean. But this is not a purely 'Nordic' area in any sense. If Hobbiton and Rivendell are taken (as intended) to be at about the latitude of Oxford, then Minas Tirith, 600 miles sout, is at about the latitude of Florence. The Mouths of Anduin and the ancient city of Pelargir are at about the latitude of ancient Troy.Tolkien specifically suggests placing Hobbiton and Rivendell "at about the latitude of Oxford", but he does not identify either location with Oxford. In fact, he fails to include any reference to longitude. So, quite often people conclude that Tolkien intended Hobbiton to be placed where Oxford is. There is simply no basis for reaching such as conclusion. What this means is that the reader only has enough information to infer that Hobbiton and Rivendell were situated about as far north from the equator as Oxford, but we cannot know where either should be identified on a modern map. In fact, the geography of Middle-earth doesn't conform to modern geography at all, as Tolkien himself pointed out: ... if it were 'history', it would be difficult to fit the lands and events (or 'cultures') into such evidence as we possess, archaeo- logical or geological, concerning the nearer or remoter part of what is now called Europe; though the Shire, for instance, is expressly stated to have been in this region [FR, 11]. I could have fitted things in with greater versimilitude, if the story had not become too far developed, before the question ever occurred to me. I doubt if there would have been much gain; ... (Letter 211) ... As for the shape of the world of the Third Age, I am afraid that was devised 'dramatically' rather than geologically, or paleonto- logically. I do sometimes wish that I had made some sort of agree- ment between the imaginations or theories of the geologists and my map a little more possible. But that would only have made more trouble with human history. (Letter 169)
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