by David Day
First published by Mitchell Beazley, a division of Octopus Publishing Group Ltd
as A Guide to Tolkien. Some or all of the material in this book originally appeared in A-Z of Tolkien, The Tolkien Bestiary and/or The Tolkien Encyclopedia published by Octopus Publishing Group 1979, 1991, 1993
This edition published in 2013 by Thunder Bay Press
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Volume copyright © Octopus Publishing Group 1993, 2001, 2013
Text copyright © David Day 1993, 2001
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ISBN-13: 978-1-60710-969-3
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Introduction
If you’ve never heard of J. R. R. Tolkien and know absolutely nothing about his most famous books The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion, the only possible explanation is that you have spent your entire life living at the bottom of a coal pit on the other side of the galaxy. Even for those who have never read a word of his writing, Tolkien’s influence has been inescapable. The virtual inventor of the epic fantasy novel, there have been literally thousands of “sword and sorcery” imitators who have come after him with a veritable avalanche of books and films.
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was born of British parents in Bloemfontein, South Africa on January 3, 1892. Orphaned in childhood, he survived the carnage of the Great War and went on to a career as a noted Anglo-Saxon scholar at Oxford before becoming the author of imaginative fiction. As authors go, Tolkien was a late-starter. Although he was a relatively youthful 45 when his first work of fiction, The Hobbit, was published, it was not until 1954, when he was 62, that his second novel, the epic fantasy, The Lord Of The Rings, was published. He never published another novel during his lifetime, but in the 19 years between the publication of The Lord Of The Rings and his death in 1973, he became one of the most celebrated and widely-read authors of the twentieth century.
Today, Tolkien’s Hobbits are as convincing a part of the English heritage as leprechauns are to the Irish, gnomes are to the Germans, and trolls are to the Scandinavians. Indeed, many people are now unaware that Hobbits were invented by Tolkien, and assume that, like fairies and pixies, they have, more or less, always been with us. However, Hobbits are not the only creations of Tolkien’s mind that have invaded our world. Orcs, Ents and Balrogs have also found their way through; and the Elf, Dwarf, Dragon and Wizard are very different creatures today because of Tolkien.
So great was Tolkien’s enthusiasm for creating and inhabiting his invented world that it can convincingly be argued that the undoubted literary merit of Tolkien’s epic tale of The Lord Of The Rings was a secondary concern. Important as the novel is, any analysis of Tolkien’s life and work will show that his greatest passion and grandest ambition was focused on the creation of an entire mythological system.
Tolkien once wrote about his motivation for creating his mythical world of Middle-earth: “I was from early days grieved by the poverty of my own beloved country: it had no stories of its own, not of the quality that I sought, and found in legends of other lands. There was Greek, and Celtic, and Romance, Germanic, Scandinavian, and Finnish,, but nothing English, save impoverished chapbook stuff.” Later, in a personal letter, Tolkien further explained his efforts: “I had a mind to make a body of more or less connected legend, ranging from the large and cosmogonic, to the level of romantic fairy-story … which I could dedicate simply: to England; to my country.”
The enormity of this undertaking is staggering. It would be as if Homer, before writing the Iliad and Odyssey, had first to invent the whole of Greek mythology and history. The degree to which Tolkien actually succeeded is remarkable. Today, Tolkien’s invented mythology in the popular imagination has to a considerable degree become that of England. He has been translated into every major language, and many of his characters and creatures have come to inhabit the world of popular culture everywhere.
As time passes, more and more of Tolkien’s Middle-earth is invading our world. Computers are called Gandalf, bookstores called Bilbo’s, hovercraft called Shadowfax, restaurants called Frodo’s, archery suppliers called Legolas, jewellers called Gimli’s, multi-national corporations called Aragorn, and computer games called Gondor, Rohan, Imladris and Lothlorien.
Although Tolkien never anticipated the massive popular and commercial success of his mythology, he had hoped for a more specialized appeal to those fascinated by myth and folklore. In that same letter in which he wrote of his desire to create a mythology for England, Tolkien outlined the extent of his ambitions and how in his most extravagant imaginings he hoped others might involve themselves in his world. “I would draw some of the great tales in fullness, and leave many only placed in the scheme, and sketched. The cycles should be linked to a majestic whole, and yet leave scope for other minds and hands, wielding paint and music and drama.”
Once again, Tolkien has achieved those aims: many “other minds and hands” have been at work. His writing has inspired artists, musicians and dramatists who continue to illuminate and celebrate – in Tolkien’s words – the “majestic whole” of the most complex and detailed invented world in all literature.
The Tolkien Companion was written in celebration of this aspect of J. R. R. Tolkien’s genius. It was compiled and designed as a compact and easy-to-use guide to Tolkien’s world. The purpose is to inform and entertain those readers who wish to use the Companion to help them in their personal exploration of the extraordinarily complex invented world and mythology of Middle-earth and the Undying Lands.
The Tolkien Companion is a complete dictionary of all flora and fauna in Tolkien’s writings. It describes every species and sub-species of flower, tree, plant, all birds, beasts, insects and every kind of spirit, spectre, ghost, demon and monster. It is also a complete guide to all the races, nations and tribes of Men, Elves, Dwarves, Hobbits, Ents, Maiar and Valar that ever populated Tolkien’s world of Arda.
Furthermore, the Companion serves as a selective biographical dictionary and geographical gazetteer. It is a Who’s Who of the major characters of his epic world, and an A to Z of all the prominent cities, countries, mountains, forests, rivers, lakes and seas of Middle-earth and the Undying Lands. It is hoped that the combination of the book’s remarkable illustrations and its detailed text in this compact format will make The Tolkien Companion both a useful and an entertaining reference work for any reader interested in J. R. R. Tolkien’s epic world.
Chronology
1892 - John Ronald Reuel Tolk
ien born 3rd January of British parents in Bloemfontein, South Africa. Brother, Hilary, born 1894
1895 - Mother (Mabel Tolkien) takes children back to Birmingham, England. Father (Arthur Tolkien) dies in South Africa.
1900 - Ronald begins to attend King Edward’s Grammar School.
1904 - Mother dies of diabetes, aged 34.
1905 - Orphaned boys move to Aunt’s home in Birmingham.
1908 - Ronald begins first term at Oxford.
1913 - Ronald takes Honours Moderations exams.
1914 - Ronald is betrothed to childhood sweetheart Edith Bratt. Great War declared. Returns to Oxford to complete his degree.
1915 - Awarded First Class Honours degree in English Language and Literature.
Commissioned in Lancashire Fusiliers.
1916 - Married Edith Bratt. Goes to war in France. Sees action on the Somme as second lieutenant. Returns to England suffering from shell shock.
1917 - While convalescing begins writing The Silmarillion.
Birth of first son, John.
1918 - Promoted to full lieutenant, posted to Staffordshire. War ends. Returns with family to Oxford, joins staff of New English Dictionary.
1919 - Works as a freelance tutor in Oxford.
1920 - Appointed Reader in English Language at Leeds University.
Birth of second son, Michael.
1924 - Becomes Professor of English Language at Leeds. Third son, Christopher, is born.
1925 - Tolkien and E. V. Gordon publish Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Tolkien elected Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford.
1926 - Friendship with C. S. Lewis begins.
1929 - Fourth child, Priscilla, is born.
1936 - Tolkien completes The Hobbit. Delivers his lecture, Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics.
1937 - The Hobbit is published. Tolkien begins to write a sequel, which eventually becomes The Lord of the Rings.
1939 - Tolkien delivers his lecture Fairy Stories. Works on The Lord of the Rings fitfully throughout the war years.
1945 - War ends. Tolkien elected Merton Professor of English Language and Literature at Oxford.
1947 - Draft of The Lord of the Rings sent to publishers.
1948 - The Lord of the Rings completed.
1949 - Publication of Farmer Giles of Ham.
1954 - Publication of The Lord of the Rings, Volumes One and Two.
1955 - Publication of The Lord of the Rings, Volume Three.
1959 - Tolkien retires his professorship.
1962 - Publication of The Adventures of Tom Bombadil.
1964 - Publication of Tree and Leaf.
1965 - American paperback editions of The Lord of the Rings are published and campus cult of the novel begins.
1967 - Publication of Smith of Wootton Major, and The Road Goes Ever On.
1968 - The Tolkiens move to Poole near Bournemouth.
1971 - Edith Tolkien dies, aged 82.
1972 - Tolkien returns to Oxford.
Receives CBE from the Queen.
1973 - 2nd September, J. R. R. Tolkien dies, aged 81.
POSTHUMOUS PUBLICATIONS
1976 - The Father Christmas Letters.
1977 - The Silmarillion.
1980 - Unfinished Tales of Numenor and Middle-Earth.
1981 - The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien.
1982 - Mr Bliss.
1983 - The Monsters and The Critics and Other Essays.
The History of Middle-Earth: The Book of Lost Tales.
1984 - The History of Middle-Earth: The Book of Lost Tales – Part two.
1985 - The History of Middle-Earth: The Lays of Beleriand.
1986 - The History of Middle-Earth: The Shaping of Middle-Earth.
1987 - The History of Middle-Earth: The Lost Road and Other Writings.
1988 - The History of Middle-Earth: The Return of the Shadow.
1989 - The History of Middle-Earth: The Treason of Isengard.
1990 - The History of Middle-Earth: The War of the Ring.
1992 - The History of Middle-Earth: Sauron Defeated.
Aa
Aglarond
The great caverns beneath Helm’s Deep and the fortress called Hornburg where one of the crucial battles of the War of the Rings was fought. Here the Rohirrim horsemen had their strongest fortifications and under King Théoden they defeated the forces of the evil wizard, Saruman. The caverns themselves were of ancient origin and believed to have been delved in the Second Age of the Sun by the Númenóreans. Aglarond is Elvish for “Glittering Caves” and this vast glittering complex of caverns was one of the wonders of Middle-earth. After the War of the Ring, Gimli the Dwarf (one of the Fellowship of the Ring) returned to Aglarond with many of the Dwarves of Erebor. Gimli became the Lord of the Glittering Caves and in the Fourth Age this became the most powerful Dwarf kingdom in Middle-earth. Under Gimli’s leadership, the Dwarves of Aglarond became famous as the master smiths of Middle-earth.
Ainur
In the very beginning there was Eru, the One, who dwelt in the Void, and whose name in Elvish was Ilúvatar. As is told in the “Ainulindalë”, Thoughts came forth from Ilúvatar to which He gave eternal life through the power of the Flame Imperishable. Ilúvatar named these creations Ainur, the “holy ones”. They were the first race and they inhabited the Timeless Halls that Ilúvatar had fashioned for them.
The Ainur were great spirits and each was given a mighty voice so that he could sing before Ilúvatar for His pleasure. When He had heard each sing, Ilúvatar called them to Him and proposed that they should sing in concert. This was what the tales call the Music of the Ainur, in which great themes were made as individual spirits sought supremacy or harmony according to their nature. Some proved greater than others; some were powerful in goodness, some in evil; yet in the end, though the battle of sound was terrible, the Music was great and beautiful. From this harmony and strife Ilúvatar created a Vision that was a globed light in the Void. With a word and the Flame Imperishable Ilúvatar then made Eä, the “World that Is”; Elves and Men later named it Arda, the Earth. The Music soon became the Doom of Arda and the fate of every race was bound to it, save that of the late-coming race of Men, whose end nobody but Ilúvatar knew.
So it was that after Arda was made, some of the Ainur went down into this newly created World, where they were known as the Powers of Arda. Later they were thought by Men to be gods. Those who were good among them were guided by their knowledge of the Will of Ilúvatar, while others strove to fulfil their own ends. Whereas in the Timeless Halls they had been beings of pure spirit, within Arda they were limited in power by choosing to inhabit the bounds of Time and the small space of the World. Further, within Arda they took on separate shapes, each according to his nature and the elements he loved, and, though not bound to a visible form, they most often wore these shapes as garments, and in later Ages they were known to Elves and Men in these forms.
In the “Valaquenta” a part of the long history of the Ainur who inhabited Arda and shaped the World is written. It tells how the kingdoms of Almaren, Utumno and Angbad were built in Middle-earth; and how the kingdom of Valinor was made in the Undying Lands of Aman. It speaks also of how the Ainur brought forth Light and the Count of Time, and how there were terrible wars among them that shook Arda; and it gives the names and forms of many of the mightiest of the race.
In Arda the Elves divided this race into the Valar and the Maiar. Those of the Ainur counted among the Valar are: Manwë, the Wind King; Varda, Queen of the Stars; Ulmo, Lord of the Waters; Nienna, the Weeper; Aulë, the Smith; Yavanna, Giver of Fruits; Oromë, Lord of the Forest; Vána, the Youthful; Mandos, Keeper of the Dead; Vairë, the Weaver; Lórien, Master of Dreams; Estë, the Healer; Tulkas, the Wrestler; Nessa, the Dancer; and Melkor, later named Morgoth, the Dark Enemy.
Many of the Ainur were counted among the Maiar, but only a few are named in the histories that have come down to Men; Eönwë, Herald of Manwë; Ilmarë, Maid of Varda; Ossë, of the Waves; Uinen, of the Calm
Seas; Melian, Queen of the Sindar; Arien, the Sun; Tilion, the Moon; Sauron, the Sorcerer; Gothmog, Lord of the Balrogs; and Olórin (Gandalf), Aiwendil (Radagast), Curunír (Saruman), Alatar and Pallando – the Wizards. In the histories of Middle-earth there also appear others who may have been Maiar; Thuringwethil, the Vampire; Ungoliant, the Spider; Draugluin, the Werewolf; Goldberry, the River-daughter; and Iarwain Ben-adar (Tom Bombadil).
As has been said, only some of the Ainur went down to Arda. A greater part has always lived in the Timeless Halls, but it has been foretold that at the World’s End the Valar and the Maiar shall rejoin their kindred in the Timeless Halls, and among those who return will also be the Eruhíni, the Children of Ilúvatar, who came forth upon Arda. Once again there shall be Great Music: this shall be mightier than the first. It shall be unflawed, filled with wisdom and sadness, and beautiful beyond compare.
Alfirin
One of the many sad songs sung by the Grey-elves of Middle-earth tells of a plant called Alfirin. Its flowers were like golden bells and it grew on the green plain of Lebennin near the delta lands of the Anduin, the Great River. The sight of them in the fields, with the sea-wind blowing, would tug at the hearts of the Eldar and awaken the sea-longing that always drew these Children of Starlight westwards, over Belegaer, the Great Sea, to where their immortal brethren lived. In the minds of Elves, the Alfirin were like the great gold bells of Valinor in miniature, which always toll upon the ears of the Blessed in the Undying Lands.
Almaren
The Isle of Almaren, in the midst of a great lake in Middle-earth, was the first dwelling-place of the gods of Middle-earth, the Valar, during the Age of the Lamps. It was an idyllic island realm filled with godly dwellings and temples. However, it was destroyed when the rebel Vala, Melkor, made war on the others, destroyed the Two Lamps and cast Middle-earth down into darkness.
Alqualondë
City and port of the Teleri Elves in Eldamar, on the coast of the Undying Lands. The Teleri were the last of the Three Kindred of Elves to make their way out of Middle-earth during the Ages of the Stars. These were the Sea-Elves, Elves who above all others love the sea and know its ways best. These are the greatest of sailors who were taught the art of ship building by the sea gods. And so, on the seas about Eldamar, the Teleri sail their ships built in the shapes of the swans of Ulmo the Sea Lord. And this is the reason for the Elvish name of their principal city of Alqualondë, which means “swan haven”. For Alqualondë was a magnificent city of marble and pearl built beneath the stars on the shore of the Undying Lands in a great natural harbour which shelters their vast fleet of swan ships. It can only be entered through the arching sea-carved stone gate of their haven.