Middle-earth

Middle-earth is the great continent and central land of J.R.R. Tolkien's legendarium, the setting of The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and much of The Silmarillion. The name translates the old word for the lands inhabited by Men, the lands lying between the Sundering Seas, between the Undying Lands in the uttermost West and the unknown East. It is the world of Elves, Men, Dwarves, Hobbits, Ents, Orcs, and the other peoples, and the stage on which the long wars against the Dark Powers, Morgoth and his servant Sauron, are fought.

Middle-earth is not a separate planet but, in Tolkien's conception, our own world in an imagined past, in the ancient days before recorded history, when magic, immortal beings, and the Powers of the world still walked openly upon the earth.

Geography

The Middle-earth of The Lord of the Rings centers on the northwest of the continent. In the west lies Eriador, the land of the Shire, Bree, Rivendell, and the ruins of Arnor. Down the center run the Misty Mountains, beneath which lies Moria, and beyond them the vale of the great river Anduin, the forests of Mirkwood and Lothlórien, and the plains of Rohan. In the south stands Gondor, and east of it the dark land of Mordor, the realm of Sauron. Far to the west, across the Great Sea, lie the Undying Lands, removed from the world after the fall of Numenor.

History

The history of Middle-earth is divided into great Ages. In the Elder Days of the First Age, the Elves and Men warred against Morgoth, the first Dark Lord, in the lost land of Beleriand, which was drowned at his overthrow. The Second Age saw the rise of Numenor and the forging of the Rings of Power, including the One Ring made by Sauron, who was cast down by the Last Alliance of Elves and Men. The Third Age, in which The Lord of the Rings is set, ends with the destruction of the One Ring, the fall of Sauron, and the passing of the Elves into the West, giving way to the Fourth Age, the Age of Men.

In the story

The Lord of the Rings follows the quest to destroy the One Ring, a quest that ranges across much of northwest Middle-earth, from the Shire to the fire of Mount Doom. Its outcome decides the fate of all the peoples of Middle-earth, ending the dominion of Sauron and ushering in the Age of Men, as the Elves and the other immortal powers diminish or depart.