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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.

This tag is for questions about any works in J.R.R. Tolkien's legendarium, many of which also have their own associated tags:

  • The Lord of the Rings (book and movie trilogy) -
  • The Hobbit (book and movie trilogy) -
  • The Silmarillion -
  • The Unfinished Tales
  • History of Middle-earth
  • and any other works set in the same universe

Questions about that universe as a whole, or about movies, games, or other media set in the same universe, should also use this tag. Questions about works by Tolkien which are not part of the Middle-earth universe should NOT use this tag, but instead the tag. For example:

  • Farmer Giles of Ham
  • Roverandom
  • other works found here
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If Sauron wins eventually without the Ring, why weren't Elrond/Gandalf in panic mode before Frodo showed up?

Sort of a follow-up question to Why did the Council of Elrond debate hiding or sending the Ring away, if Sauron wins eventually in that scenario? If Sauron wins eventually even without finding the Ring, then it seems the situation was already…
Allure
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What unit system does Middle-earth use?

I was just reading The Fellowship of the Ring, chapter 'The Ring Goes South' when I noticed this: "...But your road and our road lie together for many hundreds of miles." - Aragorn I don't know how may times this may have come up, it is possible I…
PNS
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What is the Difference Between "Lothlórien" and "Lórien?"

Is "Lórien" just a short form of "Lothlórien" or does each one apply to something unique?
Tango
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Is the location of Rivendell a secret?

I wonder if the location of Rivendell is a secret known only by the wise such as Gandalf, or is it public to almost everyone in Middle-earth? As seen in The Hobbit movie, Gandalf leads Bilbo Baggins and the dwarves through a narrow tunnel to escape…
Harry
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Why couldn't Aragorn become one of the Eldar?

Canonically, Arwen elects for a mortal life, linking her fate to the Doom of Man. In doing so, she's the second elf to do so, after Luthien Tinuviel. My question is this: Why couldn't Aragorn have been granted immortality, and have his fate tied to…
Deseret Rose
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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 Concerning Hobbits says: “For they are a little people,…
M. A. Golding
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Did Tolkien ever write about a Heaven or Hell for Men?

I know the Gift of Men was to leave the Circles of the World, but does Tolkien ever discuss the further fate of Men? Does he talk about Heaven, Hell or Purgatory? I remember allusions to these concepts in the fate of the Elves, and how they may be…
Quasi_Stomach
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Why did the Council of Elrond debate hiding or sending the Ring away, if Sauron wins eventually in that scenario?

From Did Sauron have the military power to control all Middle-earth? it's evident that Sauron would eventually win even if he never reacquired the One Ring. Given that, why did the Council of Elrond debate things like sending the Ring across the sea…
Allure
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Were the dragons servants of Sauron after Morgoth’s defeat?

So in the War of Wrath many dragons were killed, and after the defeat of Morgoth many of the dragons seem to have fled. Late in the Third Age some of the dragons (most notable being Smaug) started doing evil in Middle-earth. Were they still beholden…
Fivesideddice
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Are there any plain-looking women in Tolkien's Middle-earth?

As far as I remember, Eowyn, Arwen, Galadriel, & others are catastrophically beautiful (as in 'if you go across the street looking at her you risk being trampled by a troll'). Are there any female characters whose appearance is: described at all…
iIiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiI
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Do we know anything about what a clock face would look like in Middle Earth?

What might a clock face look like in Middle Earth, assuming a device similar to a typical clock in the real world? Lots of sub-questions have arisen. What kind of subdivisions would there be? Are there 24 hours in a day? 60 minutes in an hour? 60…
alex.jordan
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Why doesn't Elrond care about Glamdring?

From Did Gandalf know the origin of "Glamdring"? we learn that Glamdring belonged to the King of Gondolin (Turgon) and that Elrond suspects it was looted from the remnants of the city by orcs or dragons. Rivendell was founded by Elrond and other…
Amarth
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Are there characters from Tolkien's Legendarium that came back from the dead?

Are there characters from Tolkien's Legendarium that came back to life after their death, in a way or another (resurrection, reincarnation, etc.)? I'm well aware that Maiar and Elves possessed an immortal "soul" or "spirit", and that they could not…
Sekhemty
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Why is Thranduil portrayed more noble as opposed to his Woodland Elves?

The assumption that Thranduil is more noble is conveyed in the movies by the fact that he has blonde hair and more "lighty" demeanor. As far as I understood Thranduil inherited the Elven kingdom of Thingol. Thingol (earlier called Elwë) saw the…
JoeSlav
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In The Fellowship of the Ring, why did Tolkien switch the Elvish and Dwarvish runes?

In The Fellowship of the Ring, Chapter 1; it reads: there were great bundles of fireworks of all sorts and shapes, each labeled with a large G [elvish G] and the elf- rune, [dwarvish G-rune]. That seems to indicate that the dwarvish rune is an…
Ester Montague
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