Summary
Middle-Earth is one of the most famous realms in all fiction, and the many corners of its world have been adored by fans ofThe Lord of the Ringsfor nearly a century. From the white walls of Minas Tirith to the grassy knolls of the Shire, the landscapes created by J.R.R. Tolkien help to make Middle-Earth feel full of vibrant and full of history. Because of the depth of this world-building, however, it can become difficult to answer a fairly simple question: what parts of this fictional world actually count as Middle-Earth?
The answer seems like it would be rather self-explanatory, but as with most things in Tolkien’s legendarium, the minutiae can get pretty complicated. For the vast majority of fans, the term “Middle-Earth” is usually used to refer to the entire world in which the stories ofThe Lord of the RingsandThe Hobbittake place. In reality, Middle-Earth is merely a continent found on Arda — AKA Tolkien’s version of Earth. In order to understand just how deep these distinctions go, it requires a deep dive into the inspiration for much of Tolkien’s lore, as well as how it was later implemented into his best known stories.
What is Arda?
For an incoming fan first trying to familiarize themselves with the lore ofLOTRand beyond, the difference between “Arda” and “Middle-Earth” can be pretty confusing. In short,Arda is the name given to Tolkien’s interpretation of Earth.It includes multiple continents, and presumably extends much farther than any of Tolkien’s books actually explore.
The most important continent found on Arda, and the one on which nearly everyLOTR-related story is set, is Middle-Earth. This is where fans will find kingdoms like Gondor and Rohan, natural wonders such as the Misty Mountains, and evenlong-lost regions like Beleriand. Because basically every important event over the course of Tolkien’s history occurs here, it makes sense that many fans interpret Middle-Earth as the all-encompassing term for his fictional world. In fact, even among the most dedicated circles of fans, there are still plenty of people who use “Middle-Earth” as a shorthand for talking about his entire legendarium.
Ultimately, the distinction between Arda and Middle-Earth is pretty trivial, but it does exemplify just how wide-reaching Tolkien’s world-building was. For most fantasy writers, a single continent would be more than to inspire many volumes of storytelling. The fact that Tolkien chose to expand his world-building to an entire planet is actually mind-boggling, and really serves as a testament to his creativity and commitment to the craft of fantasy.
How Arda Changed
As told in Tolkien’s lore-bible,The Silmarillion, Arda has evolved quite a bit throughout its fictional history. In the very beginning, Arda is created by the divine being Eru Ilúvatar and his god-like followers, the Valar. In these early stages, Arda is flat, and the only continent is a nearly symmetrical circle with a large lake in the center. This orderly design was not to last, however, since the evil Melkor soon saw fit to disrupt things with his chaos.
In retaliation to Melkor’s mischief, the Valar completely changed the face of Arda. They separated the land-mass, creating two distinct continents now separated by a vast sea.One of these continents was moved to the west, and was called Aman. The other was pushed to the east, and this became Middle-Earth. The two were connected by a deadly region of ice sheets and glaciers, known as the Helcaraxë. Aman became the home of the Valar, and Middle-Earth became the dwelling place of Men, Elves, Dwarves, as well as the evils of Melkor.
Over thousands of years, the face of Arda would change slightly as the result of titanic battles between the Valar and Melkor. The most significant change occured in the late years of the Second Age, however, (roughly 3,000 years before the events ofThe Lord of the Rings) when the island nation ofNúmenor launched an attack against the Valar. They crossed the sea between Middle-Earth and Aman, and set foot upon the eastern continent. This was viewed as a terrible transgression, and as punishment Eru Ilúvatar opened a massive chasm which swallowed Númenor and shattered the shape of Arda.After this cataclysmic event, Arda was permanently altered into a spherical shape, and the continent of Aman was removed from the world and placed on a spiritual plane only accessible to those who were granted access.
What Other Continents Are Found on Arda?
After Arda was transformed into a globe, the geography of the world remained unchanged for the rest of known history. This is the state of the world during the events ofThe Lord of the Rings, and this is the lay of the land that every fan is most familiar with. Besides Middle-Earth, there are a few continents that Tolkien alludes to within his works, and while concrete details on them are scant, their existence only deepens his already vast world.
The other most famous continent is, of course, Aman, where the blessed realm of Valinor lies. After the Númenoreans failed conquest, this entire land-mass was separated from the physical world and made only accessible by a single route. This route is known only by the Elven Ship-Wrights of the Grey Havens, and it is by this path that the Elves depart from Middle-Earth duringThe Lord of the Rings.
Besides Aman, the only other known continent of Arda is the vast land-mass referred to by Tolkien as the Dark Lands, or Southlands. (It’s a common misconception that the southern region of Middle-Earth known asHarad is part of the Southlands, but this is inaccurate). Aside from a scattering of references in his works, however, nothing is known about this region aside from its existence. There have never been any confirmed inhabitants of this continent, and there are some fans who speculate it might have been destroyed by Ilúvatar as an “empty land.”
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