The world of Middle-earth that Tolkien created is incredibly expansive, even just within the continent itself. The Lord of the Rings storyline takes place in Middle-earth, but there are references throughout Tolkien's writing to places that exist outside of it. Middle-earth is huge, but is there more to Tolkien's world than just that one continent? The answer is yes, but since these other areas don't factor into the Lord of the Rings story very much, not a lot is known about them.
The other problem is that some of these areas outside of Middle-earth were lost to history, through various great events that destroyed or sunk whole civilizations. A lot of the information about Tolkien's created universes is taken from his assorted notes, so some of it is based on putting pieces together and making some educated guesses, but there is still a bit of information that's known about the rest of the world outside Middle-earth.
LOTR: The 3 Great Time Periods of Arda, Explained
The ancient history of Middle-earth covers the creation of the planet and its long path to becoming the fantastical land fans know and love.
What Is Arda?
Arda is the word that Tolkien uses to reference the world at large, the Lord of the Rings version of Earth, essentially. Arda is the planet, while the word Eä refers to the whole universe within which Arda is found. Arda consists of two main land masses, Middle-earth and Aman, as well as the seas and oceans that surround them. Arda was created through the Music of the Ainur, and was originally flat rather than spherical, though it still had topography like mountains and valleys. This changed when Eru Ilúvatar, the creator, changed the earth to make it round to prevent people from getting to Aman.
Most of the continents of Arda were separated by the Belegaer, or the Great Sea, and in the Valar's war against Melkor, many of the western areas of Middle-earth sunk below the sea. At the end of the First Age, Beleriand (in the north of Middle-earth) was destroyed during the War of Wrath, and Númenor was famously destroyed in the Second Age when its people were punished for trying to skirt the Ban of the Valar and sail to Aman.
What Is Aman?
If Middle-earth was the mortal realm, where Men inhabited the earth, then Aman was the immortal realm, where beings like the Valar, Maiar, and Vanyar, Ñoldor, and Teleri Elves lived. In the ancient days of Arda, the Valar created their dwelling, Valinor, in the continent of Aman and isolated themselves from the mortal world, putting obstacles like the Enchanted Isles in the ocean to prevent sea travelers from stumbling upon them. Eärendil, however, was able to make it past these Isles and into Valinor to ask the Valar for aid against Morgoth (formerly Melkor).
After the Númenóreans tried to break the Ban of the Valar (which stated that Men were not allowed to come to Aman) the Valar called on Eru Ilúvatar and he changed the world into a spherical shape, removing Aman from it and making it so that any Man who tried to sail to Aman would bypass it and end up in the far east. He made a special path for the Elves, however, that allowed them to travel to Aman, where the Undying Lands were. Only a few non-Elves have been allowed to come this way, including Frodo and Bilbo Baggins, and Gimli the Dwarf.
How Many Continents Exist In Arda?
Middle-earth was one of the main continents of Arda, with the Dark Land in the south, the Burnt Land of the Sun to the east, and Aman in the west. Very little is known about the history or geography of these other continents that Tolkien mentioned, save for Aman. The main part of Tolkien's story takes place in Middle-earth, so it is the place with the most developed canonical lore. The few things that are known about the other continents are cobbled together from small mentions within the story and what Tolkien had written in his notes.
The Dark Land has some mountain ranges running through it, including the Yellow Mountains, and used to be a part of Middle-earth before the land was split during the Battle of the Powers. The Burnt Land of the Sun, also known by various other names like Easterness and the Eastlands, was the empty land east of Middle-earth where the sun rose. The only thing that's known about its geography is that it had a curved mountain range called the Walls of the Sun. The only real mention of th world comes from a description in The Silmarillion where the Númenóreans visited it while on their journeys around the sea, even seeing the Gates of Morning in the east where the sun rose every day.
The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings is one of the most iconic names in entertainment. The franchise started with novels from J. R. R. Tolkien before being adapted onto the big screen by Peter Jackson in one of the most critically-acclaimed film trilogies of all time. There have also been numerous The Lord of the Rings video games of varying quality.
- Created by
- J. R. R. Tolkien
LOTR: Why Do Fans Prefer The Extended Editions?
These longer versions of the LOTR movies add a ton of value to the story, even with the smallest scenes.
