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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 It covers materials created by Tolkien; the works on his unpublished manuscripts, by his son Christopher Tolkien; and films, games and other media created by other people.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

Authors

• J. R. R. Tolkien
• Christopher Tolkien

Published works

By J. R. R. Tolkien

• 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

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

Early legendarium

1 The Book of Lost Tales 1 (1983)

2 The Book of Lost Tales 2 (1984)

3 The Lays of Beleriand (1985)

4 The Shaping of Middle-earth (1986)

5 The Lost Road and Other Writings (1987)

The History of The Lord of the Rings

6 The Return of the Shadow (1988)

7 The Treason of Isengard (1989)

8 The War of the Ring (1990)

9 Sauron Defeated (1992)

The later Silmarillion

10 Morgoth's Ring (1993)

11 The War of the Jewels (1994)

Further details

12 The Peoples of Middle-earth (1996)

Other stories

• The Tolkien Reader and Tales from the Perilous Realm both reprint The Adventures of Tom Bombadil

Additional materials from the legendarium, with Christopher Tolkien's commentary.

• The Children of Húrin (2007)
• Beren and Lúthien (2017)
• The Fall of Gondolin (2018)

Edited by other scholars

• 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

• Poems and Songs of Middle Earth (1967), Caedmon TC 1231 – 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)
• J. R. R. Tolkien The Silmarillion Of Beren And Lúthien (1977), Caedmon TC 1564 – Christopher Tolkien reads chapter 19 of The Silmarillion, slightly abridged

Graphical works

• Tolkien's artwork
• Tolkien's maps
• Tolkien's scripts
  • Cirth
  • Sarati
  • Tengwar

Translation

• Translations of The Hobbit
• Translating The Lord of the Rings (issues, challenges, approaches)
  • Translation of The Lord of the Rings into Swedish
  • List of translations of The Lord of the Rings

Adaptations and developments

Maps

• A Map of Middle-earth, meaning either of two posters:
  • by Barbara Remington (1965)
  • by Pauline 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

• 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

• 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]

Motion pictures

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

Peter Jackson

• The Lord of the Rings film series – the live-action trilogy by Peter Jackson
  • Films
    • 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)
  • Production
    • Wētā Workshop
  • Music
    • Recordings
  • Peter Jackson's interpretation

• The Hobbit film series – Jackson's three-part prequel to his The Lord of the Rings series
  • Films
    • The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)
    • The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013)
    • The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014)
  • Music

Stage

• 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

Games

Tabletop games

• 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

• 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

• 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

Cosmology of Eä

• Two Trees of Valinor

Continents of Arda

• Middle-earth
• Númenor
• Valinor (on Aman)

Nations and regions

• Beleriand
• Gondor
• Harad
• Lothlórien
• Mordor
• Rohan
• The Shire

Natural features

• The Lonely Mountain
• Mirkwood
• The Old Forest

Cities and other populated places

• Bag End
• Bree
• Esgaroth
• Isengard
• Moria
• Rivendell

History

Artefacts

• Mithril
• The Palantíri
• Phial of Galadriel
• Rings of Power
  • The One Ring
• The Silmarils
• Weapons and armour

Events

First Age

• Sundering of the Elves

Third Age

• Battle of Helm's Deep
• Battle of the Pelennor Fields
• Battle of the Morannon
• The Scouring of the Shire

Characters

First Age

House of Finwë

• Finwë
• Fëanor
• Maedhros
• Finrod Felagund
• Galadriel
• Glorfindel

House of Elwë and Olwë

• Thingol
• Lúthien

House of Marach

• Húrin
• Túrin Turambar
• Tuor
• Eärendil and Elwing
• Elrond
• Arwen

Others

• Beren
• Sauron
• Ungoliant

Second Age

• Elendil
• Gil-galad
• Isildur

Third Age

Thorin and Company

• Thorin Oakenshield
• Balin
• Bilbo Baggins
• Gandalf

The Company of the Ring

• Frodo Baggins
• Samwise Gamgee
• Merry Brandybuck
• Pippin Took
• Aragorn
• Boromir
• Gandalf
• Legolas
• Gimli

Wizards:

• Gandalf
• Radagast
• Saruman

Elves

• Arwen
• Galadriel
• Glorfindel
• Legolas
• Thranduil

Men

• Aragorn
• Bard
• Boromir
• Denethor
• Éomer
• Éowyn
• Faramir
• Gríma Wormtongue
• Théoden

Other characters

• Barrow-wight
• Beorn
• Goldberry
• Gollum
• Old Man Willow
• Shelob
• Treebeard
• Tom Bombadil
• Watcher in the Water

Culture

Races

Ainur

• Valar
• Maiar
  • Balrogs
  • Wizards

Men

• Drúedain
• Dúnedain

Monsters

• Dragons
• Nazgûl
• Orcs
• Trolls
• Wargs

Other

• Dwarves
• Eagles
• Elves
• Ents
• Hobbits

Languages

Elvish languages

• Quenya
  • Grammar of late Quenya
• Sindarin

Other

• Adûnaic
• Khuzdul
• Black Speech

Folklore and poetry

• A Elbereth Gilthoniel
• A Walking Song
• Namárië
• Song of Eärendil
• Errantry
• Fastitocalon
• The Lay of Leithian
• The Lay of the Children of Húrin
• The Man in the Moon Stayed Up Too Late
• The Road Goes Ever On
• The Sea-Bell
• The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen
• Beren and Lúthien

Analysis

Influences

• J. R. R. Tolkien's influences
  • Nodens
  • Ring of Silvianus
  • Sigelwara Land
• Tolkien's impact on fantasy

Components

• Artwork
• Family trees
• Heraldry
• for Tolkien's invented Languages, see above
• Maps
• Non-narrative elements
• Tolkien's poetry
  • Poetry in The Lord of the Rings
  • see above for individual poems

Literary devices

• 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

• Antiquarianism
• Beowulf
• Celtic
• Classical world
• Finnish influences
• First World War
• Modern
• Norse
• Philology
• Shakespeare

Themes

• Addiction to power
• Ancestry as guide to character
• Architecture
• Christianity
• Decline and fall
• England
• Environmentalism
• Heroism
• Languages
• Light
• Luck and fate
• Magic
• Medieval
• Moral dilemma
• Music
• Naming of weapons
• Northern courage
• Old Straight Road
• Paganism
• Plants
• Psychological journeys
• Quests
• Race
• Sexuality
• Sound and language
• Time
• Trees and forests
• Women

Music

• Music of The Lord of the Rings film series
• The Tolkien Ensemble

Scholarship

Institutions

• The Tolkien Society
• The Mythopoeic Society

• Elvish Linguistic Fellowship

• Marion E. Wade Center
• Signum University

Journals

• Journal of Tolkien Research
• Mallorn
• Mythlore
• Tolkien Studies
• Vinyar Tengwar

Scholars

• Douglas A. Anderson
• Nicholas Birns
• Stratford Caldecott
• Jane Chance
• Patrick Curry
• Michael D. C. Drout
• Jonathan Evans
• Jason Fisher
• Verlyn Flieger
• John Garth
• Glen GoodKnight
• Wayne G. Hammond
• Stuart D. Lee
• Jared Lobdell
• Catherine McIlwaine
• Gergely Nagy
• Corey Olsen
• John D. Rateliff
• Fleming Rutledge
• Christina Scull
• Elizabeth Solopova
• Sandra Ballif Straubhaar
• Richard C. West
• Ralph C. Wood

Biographical works

• 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

• 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

See also

• List of The Hobbit characters
• List of original characters in The Lord of the Rings film series

External links

• 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

v t e The Lord of the Rings
J. R. R. Tolkien Constructing The Lord of the Rings
About	Volumes The Fellowship of the Ring The Two Towers The Return of the King Stories "The Shadow of the Past" "The Council of Elrond" "The Scouring of the Shire" "The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen" Translating List of translations Swedish Reception Impact Literary Fandom Fan fiction Oxonmoot Tolkienmoot Works inspired Tolkien's impact on fantasy
Analysis	Elements Artwork Company of the Ring 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 Dreams and visions Economy England Environmentalism Evil Forests Hell 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 Storytelling 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 of Gondor Boromir Denethor Faramir of Rohan 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
World	Geography Eriador Bree Old Forest Rivendell The Shire Bag End Gondor Harad Lothlórien Mirkwood Moria Mordor Rohan Isengard Battles Helm's Deep Pelennor Fields Morannon Things Mithril Oliphaunts Palantírs Phial of Galadriel Rings of Power One Ring List of weapons and armour
Related works	The Hobbit The Adventures of Tom Bombadil Errantry Fastitocalon The Sea-Bell The Road Goes Ever On Bilbo's Last Song The Silmarillion Unfinished Tales The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien The History of Middle-earth The Children of Húrin The History of The Hobbit Beren and Lúthien The Fall of Gondolin The Nature of Middle-earth
Adaptations and derivative works Books Bored of the Rings (1969) The Last Ringbearer (1999) Muddle Earth (2003) Illustrations A Map of Middle-earth Pauline Baynes Barbara Remington John Howe Alan Lee Margrethe II of Denmark Ted Nasmith Theatre Fellowship! (2005) Lord of the Rings (2006) Music Music Inspired by Lord of the Rings (1972) Symphony No. 1 The Lord of the Rings (1988) Led Zeppelin "Ramble On" (1969) "Misty Mountain Hop" (1971) "The Battle of Evermore" (1971) Radio The Lord of the Rings (BBC, 1955) The Lord of the Rings (NPR, 1979) Hordes of the Things (1980) The Lord of the Rings (BBC, 1981) Der Herr der Ringe (1992) Film Animated The Lord of the Rings (Bakshi, 1978) The Return of the King (Rankin/Bass, 1980) The War of the Rohirrim (Kamiyama, 2024) Peter Jackson series The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) The Two Towers (2002) The Return of the King (2003) Music "Concerning Hobbits" "Into the West" "May It Be" Approach Production Hobbiton Movie Set Peter Jackson's interpretation Picturing Tolkien Tolkien on Film Other Sagan om ringen (1971) Khraniteli (1991) Hobitit (1993) The Rings of Power (2022) music Fan-made The Hunt for Gollum (2009) Born of Hope (2009) Video games Journey to Rivendell Game One Game Two: Shadows of Mordor War in Middle Earth Vol. I (1990) Vol. I (SNES) Riders of Rohan Elendor Vol. II: The Two Towers The Fellowship of the Ring The Two Towers The Return of the King War of the Ring The Third Age Game Boy Advance The Battle for Middle-earth Tactics The Battle for Middle-earth II The Rise of the Witch-king Conquest Aragorn's Quest War in the North Lego The Lord of the Rings Guardians of Middle-earth Shadow of Mordor Shadow of War Gollum Return to Moria The Lord of the Rings Online Mines of Moria Siege of Mirkwood Rise of Isengard Riders of Rohan Helm's Deep Mordor Minas Morgul War of Three Peaks Fate of Gundabad Before the Shadow Tabletop role- playing games Middle-earth Role Playing The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying Game The One Ring Roleplaying Game Adventures in Middle-earth Board games Middle Earth War of the Ring Gondor: The Siege of Minas Tirith Sauron Lord of the Rings War of the Ring Card games Middle-earth Collectible Card Game The Lord of the Rings Trading Card Game The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game Other games Middle-earth Strategy Battle Game Lego The Lord of the Rings

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