J. R. R. Tolkien provided fans of his work with all the details they could need. From the moment the deities created the world to every troop movement in the war, Tolkien is comprehensive in his storytelling. The planet that holds Middle-earth is called Arda, and though it’s canonically a prehistoric Earth, its creation myth is well documented. The time before the narrative’s events is broken into three great eras.
Lord of the Rings fans know most of the secrets beyond the initial story exist in the appendices and style guides. Most are happy knowing only what the movies explain, but fans of the obscure lore have gone to the most absurd sources to find it. While a franchise like Game of Thrones hides its ancient stories behind layers of metafiction, a dedicated Middle-earth scholar can learn every moment of its creation.
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The Days Before Days
At the beginning of time, Eru Ilúvatar, the supreme omnipotent being above all, created the Ainur with the sparks of the Flame Imperishable. The Ainur each held a portion of the deity’s mind. After their birth, Eru Ilúvatar taught them through song, eventually beckoning them to harmonize with him in the Music of the Ainur. Their perfect music gave birth to the universe, later known as Eä. Within the endless void of Ilúvatar’s creation, he forged a planet called Arda. 15 mighty Ainur traveled to Arda and took the name Valar. Many lesser Ainur followed, taking the title Maiar. The fifteenth and most powerful of the Valar, Melkor, introduced discord to the Music of the Ainur and fought to conquer Arda. Shortly after the Valar arrived, The Days Before Days began.
Melkor claimed all of Arda as he arrived. His brother Manwë opposed him, leading to thousands of years of conflict. The First War marred Arda for millennia. Melkor crushed every mountain and spilled every sea the other Valar created. Tulkas, Champion of the Valar, turned the tide of the battle and forced Melkor to hide in the void. Manwë and his brethren erected the Two Lamps to bring light to the world and, in doing so, began the Spring of Arda. Melkor rose again secretly, creating the Iron Mountains to bide his time. He destroyed the Two Lamps and ruined Arda’s perfect symmetry. The attack split the land into continents. Aman in the west, Middle-earth in the south, and the Land of the Sun in the east. Arda was in darkness again, but the planet continued.
The Years of the Trees
To replace the Two Lamps, the Valar constructed the Two Trees. Telperion and Laurelin illuminated Aman but left Middle-earth in the dark. The Years of the Trees saw the awakening of the Elves, the first of the Children of Ilúvatar. Many Elves followed the Valar to Aman, but some stayed behind. This was known as the Sundering of the Elves. While the Valar dealt with the Elves, Melkor rotted away in chains. Melkor apologized for his crimes, earning sympathy from his brethren. They freed him, and he sewed discord among the Elves. His grand scheme centered around a king named Finwë and his two sons, Feänor and Fingolfin. Melkor enlisted a giant primordial spider called Ungoliant to steal the Silmarils, which contained the light of the Two Trees. He killed Finwë and used the Silmarils to destroy the Trees. Feänor grew angry with the Valar’s inaction and led an army to fight Melkor, whom he dubbed Morgoth as a curse. He needed ships, but those who owned the vessels refused to aid him. This led to the first Kinslaying in the planet’s history. Feänor’s people were cursed and exiled, so they crossed the sea to Middle-earth.
The Years of the Sun
As the Two Trees were destroyed, the Valar took the last fruit from Laurelin and the last flower from Telperion. They set them in the sky, creating the sun and the moon. From that day forward, the Children of Ilúvatar would mark time by solar years, as in reality. The end of the First Age and all the Second, Third, and Fourth Ages occur within The Years of the Sun. Feänor died heroically in an attack on Morgoth’s Balrogs, but his sons built kingdoms in his name. Over the years, the Valar responded to Elven cries for help and cast Morgoth into the void, leaving behind Sauron to take his mantle.
The first two eras of Arda’s history are countless millennia of godlike struggles between good and evil. Morgoth’s battle with the Valar could involve some of the most compelling conflicts in the franchise, but it’s only described in brief mythological language. The Days Before Days and Time of Trees can be treated like ancient religion, though the stories are considered perfectly canonical. These tales may never get the full explanation they deserve, but it’s a fascinating crash course on how Middle-earth came to be.
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.
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