Lore & Legends
The Roots of Middle-earth: Norse Mythology and the Heroic Sagas
J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth feels timeless, as though its stories and characters have always existed. But beneath its mythical surface lies a world shaped by...
On Love Between Elves and Men
While both Elves and Men were considered the “children of Ilúvatar,” it is well known that in the world of Middle-Earth, both races encounter...
Dragons in Middle-earth
“Never laugh at live dragons…”
J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit
“The bells were ringing in the dale
And men looked up with faces pale;
The dragon’s ire more fierce...
Tolkien’s Cosmology and the Afterlife Part II
In Tolkien’s Cosmology and the Afterlife Part I, we discussed the destinies of the Ainur, Valar, Maiar, and the Children of Illuvatar. In Part...
Biblical Redemptive Themes in Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings is a masterpiece of modern literature. While it is well-documented that he was not trying to write a Christian...
On Being-Essential: The Flame Imperishable
In the school of classical metaphysics, it is taught that the creator gives being to the creature in a similar way to how a...
Spiders in Middle-earth
In a ravine she lived, and took shape as a spider of monstrous form, weaving her black webs in a cleft of the mountains....
Tolkien’s Cosmology and the Afterlife: Part I
Astute readers of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Arda mythology will have noticed a complex cosmology emerging through Tolkien’s writing: an all-powerful, uncreated and transcendent God known...
Tolkien’s Universe: Facing Your Own Soul in the Battle of Light and Darkness on ‘Real Earth.’
“All have their worth and each contributes to the worth of the others”. The Silmarillion.
The creativity in the construct of the fantasy genre holds...
The Silmarillion Summary
The story starts with Iluvatars creation of spirits, who had less power than him. These spirits he named Ainur, which means «Holy Ones».
Iluvatar taught...
Vikings in Middle-Earth
The Norse and Germanic influences that Tolkien applies in his legendarium is finely interwoven to create a rich fantasy world. A world that is...
The Supernatural Reality Within the Realm of Middle Earth
Hello to all those of Middle Earth, my name is Joshua Griffith and I’m a Cherokee storyteller and supernatural horror author. My body of...
The Dwarf-Elf Conflict from The Silmarillion to The Rings of Power
If you have kept up with Amazon’s The Rings of Power, you are well aware of the arrangement between the elves of Eregion and...
Corruptive Items in Middle-Earth
The Seven Sons of Fëanor swore their terrible oath of hatred forever against all, Gods or Elves or Men, who should hold the Silmarils...
Origins of the One Ring – History and Ideas Behind It
Origins of the One Ring – history and ideas behind it
The One Ring, also known as the Ring of Power, is a central...
Time and Distance in Lord of the Rings: Part One – The Hobbits
“One does not simply walk into Mordor.” Sean Bean as Boromir, in Peter Jackson’s The Fellowship of the Ring (film)
The famous line uttered by...
The Five Wizards, Part Two
Gandalf the Grey appeared in print for the first time on September 21, 1937. The Hobbit received high praise from critics (internal link to...
The Five Wizards
Origins
Wizards, pointy hat and all, originated in some form long before Tolkien. Tolkien himself probably drew on old descriptions of the Norse god Odin,...
