Outline of Middle-earth

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the real-world history and notable fictional elements of J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy universe. It covers materials created by Tolkien; the works on his unpublished manuscripts, by his son Christopher Tolkien; and films, games and other media created by other people.

Middle-earth – fantasy setting created by Tolkien, home to hobbits, orcs, ents, dragons, and many other races and creatures.

Primary sources[edit]

Authors[edit]

Published works[edit]

By J. R. R. Tolkien[edit]

The Hobbit (1937)
- 2nd Edition (1951) revised to align with The Lord of the Rings
- 3rd Edition (1966) revised to assert copyright in US
The Lord of the Rings
- The Fellowship of the Ring (1954)
  - The Shadow of the Past
  - The Council of Elrond
- The Two Towers (1954)
- The Return of the King (1955)
  - The Scouring of the Shire - a "novelistic" chapter
  - The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen
The Adventures of Tom Bombadil (1962)
- Revised edition (2014) with addition of original poems, sources and images, and commentary by Christina Scull and Wayne G. Hammond
The Road Goes Ever On (1967) – music by Donald Swann, penmanship by Tolkien. See also Audio recordings
- Revised edition (1978) – including a setting for Bilbo's Last Song

Posthumously published

Bilbo's Last Song (1974) – Dutch translation published 1973
Guide to the Names in The Lord of the Rings (1975) – also known as "Nomenclature of The Lord of the Rings"
The Silmarillion (1977)
- Ainulindalë
Pictures by J. R. R. Tolkien (1979) – text by Christopher Tolkien. Most of these pictures had been previously published in calendars by Ballantine Books (1973) and George Allen & Unwin (1974, 1976–1979), some of them coloured by H. E. Riddett.
Unfinished Tales (1980)
- Narn i Chîn Húrin
- The Quest of Erebor
J. R. R. Tolkien: Artist and Illustrator (1995) – text by Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull
The Art of The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien (2011) – text by Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull
The Art of The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien (2015) – text by Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull

Edited by Douglas A. Anderson[edit]

The Annotated Hobbit (1988) – text of The Hobbit, with many related texts by Tolkien, edited and with commentary by Douglas A. Anderson (revised edition 2002)

Edited by Humphrey Carpenter[edit]

The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien (1981) – selected, introduced and edited by Humphrey Carpenter

Edited by Carl F. Hostetter[edit]

The Nature of Middle-earth (2021) – essays and fragments, including on Elvish linguistics, with commentary by the scholar Carl F. Hostetter

Edited by John D. Rateliff[edit]

The History of The Hobbit (2007) – 2 volumes on the construction of The Hobbit with commentary by the scholar John D. Rateliff

Edited by Christopher Tolkien[edit]

These works present extended selections of Tolkien's legendarium (the large body of documents relating to The Silmarillion), with extensive notes and posthumous editing by his son Christopher. The separate 4-volume body of his comments on the drafts of The Lord of the Rings is included as volumes 6–9.

The History of Middle-earth[edit]

Early legendarium: 1 The Book of Lost Tales 1 (1983); 2 The Book of Lost Tales 2 (1984); 3 The Lays of Beleriand (1985); 4 The Shaping of Middle-earth (1986); 5 The Lost Road and Other Writings (1987)

The History of The Lord of the Rings: 6 [1] The Return of the Shadow (1988); 7 [2] The Treason of Isengard (1989); 8 [3] The War of the Ring (1990); 9 [4] Sauron Defeated (1992)

The later Silmarillion: 10 [1] Morgoth's Ring (1993); 11 [2] The War of the Jewels (1994)

Further details: 12 The Peoples of Middle-earth (1996)

Audio recordings[edit]

Poems and Songs of Middle Earth (1967) – poems read by Tolkien; songs sung by William Elvin, accompanied by composer Donald Swann (as published in The Road Goes Ever On)
J. R. R. Tolkien Reads and Sings his The Hobbit & The Lord of the Rings (1975), Caedmon TC 1477, TC 1478 (based on an August, 1952 recording by George Sayer)

Graphical works[edit]

Translations[edit]

Adaptations and developments[edit]

Maps[edit]

A Map of Middle-earth, meaning either of two posters:
- by Barbara Remington (1965)
- by Pauline Baynes (1970)
The Atlas of Middle-earth (1981, revised ed 1991) by Karen Wynn Fonstad
Journeys of Frodo: An Atlas of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings (1981) by Barbara Strachey

Spoken word[edit]

The Hobbit (1974) – Nicol Williamson recorded an abridged, dramatic version for Decca Records on the Argo label
The Lord of the Rings (1990) – unabridged recording by Rob Inglis for Recorded Books
The Hobbit (1991) – unabridged recording by Rob Inglis for Recorded Books
The Children of Húrin (2007) – Christopher Lee recorded an unabridged audiobook
The Hobbit (2020) – Andy Serkis live-streamed an unabridged reading to raise money for NHS Charities Together
The Hobbit (2020) – unabridged recording by Andy Serkis for HarperCollinsUK and Recorded Books
The Lord of the Rings (2021) – unabridged recording by Andy Serkis for HarperCollinsUK and Recorded Books

Radio[edit]

The Lord of the Rings (1955) – BBC: six 45-minute episodes for The Fellowship of the Ring, then six 30-minute episodes for all of The Two Towers and The Return of the King, adapted by Terence Tiller
The Hobbit (1968) – BBC: eight half-hour episodes, adapted by Michael Kilgarriff
The Lord of the Rings (1979) – National Public Radio: totalling over 11 hours, adapted by Bernard Mayes
The Lord of the Rings (1981) – BBC: 26 half-hour instalments, later re-cut to 13 hour-long instalments, adapted by Brian Sibley and Michael Bakewell
Der Herr der Ringe (1991) – Südwestrundfunk and Westdeutscher Rundfunk: German adaptation of The Lord of the Rings in 30 half-hour episodes, by Peter F. Steinbach [de]

Films[edit]

The Hobbit (1967) – Gene Deitch's short animated adaptation
The Hobbit (1977) – an animated musical television special by Rankin/Bass
The Lord of the Rings (1978) – an animated film of the first half of the book by Ralph Bakshi
The Return of the King (1980) – the animated sequel to 1977's The Hobbit
Khraniteli (1991) - a "lost" Russian television play, now recovered
Hobitit (1993) - a Finnish rendering of the Hobbits' journey in The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings film series – the live-action trilogy by Peter Jackson
- The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
- The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
- The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
The Hobbit film series – Jackson's three-part prequel to his The Lord of the Rings series
- The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)
- The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013)
- The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014)

Stage[edit]

Rob Inglis wrote and performed one-man adaptations of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings starting in the 1970s
Lord of the Rings (2006) – Musical staged in Toronto, re-written for London in 2007

Television[edit]

The Hobbit (1979) – children's program Jackanory broadcast ten 15-minute episodes
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (2022) – prequel series by Amazon Studios

Games[edit]

Tabletop games[edit]

Middle-earth Role Playing (1984) – Iron Crown Enterprises
Lord of the Rings Adventure Game (1991) – Iron Crown Enterprises
The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying Game (2002) –Decipher, Inc.
The One Ring: Adventures over the Edge of the Wild (2011) – Cubicle 7
Adventures in Middle-earth (2016) – OGL supplement by Cubicle 7

Video games[edit]

The Hobbit (1982)
Elendor (1991)
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
The Hobbit (2003)
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age (2004)
The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth (2004)
The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age (Game Boy Advance) (2004)
The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II (2006)
The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II: The Rise of the Witch-king (2006)
The Lord of the Rings: The White Council (2007; cancelled)
The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar (2007)
The Lord of the Rings: Conquest (2009)
The Lord of the Rings: Tactics (2009)
The Lord of the Rings: Aragorn's Quest (2010)
The Lord of the Rings: War in the North (2011)
Guardians of Middle-earth (2012)
Lego The Lord of the Rings (2012)
Lego The Hobbit (2014)
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor (2014)
Middle-earth: Shadow of War (2017)

Parodies[edit]

Bored of the Rings (1969) – Harvard Lampoon novel
Hordes of the Things (1980) – BBC radio series
Bored of the Rings (1985) – Delta 4 video game
The Boggit: Bored Too (1986) – Delta 4 video game
Muddle Earth (2003) – children's novel by Paul Stewart
Fellowship! (2004) – musical

Geography[edit]

Cosmology of Eä[edit]

The Two Trees

Continents of Arda[edit]

Nations and regions[edit]

Natural features[edit]

Cities and other populated places[edit]

History[edit]

Artefacts[edit]

Events[edit]

First Age

Sundering of the Elves

Third Age

Characters[edit]

First Age[edit]

House of Finwë

House of Elwë and Olwë

House of Marach

Others

Second Age[edit]

Third Age[edit]

Thorin and Company

The Fellowship of the Ring

Wizards:

Gandalf
Radagast
Saruman

Elves

Arwen
Galadriel
Glorfindel
Legolas
Thranduil

Men

Other characters

Culture[edit]

Races[edit]

Ainur

Valar
Maiar
- Balrogs
- Wizards