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{{Pronounce|Arda.mp3|Ardamir}}
{{disambig-two|the mythological world created by [[J.R.R. Tolkien|Tolkien]]|annual published by [[Forodrim|Arda-sällskapet/Forodrim]]|[[Arda (annual)]]}}
'''Arda''' ([[Quenya]] 'The Realm') is derived from [[Valarin]] '''Aþâraphelûn''', is the world in which all of the events occur, including the continents of [[Middle-earth]] and [[Aman]]. It is a part of [[Eä]], the World and all that is in it. Arda was created, together with the rest of Eä;, through the [[Music of the Ainur]] for the Children of [[Ilúvatar]] (that is, [[Elves]] and [[Men]]).  
{{location
| image=[[File:Steven White Jr. - Arda001.gif|250px]]
| name=Arda
| othernames=
| etymology=
| type=World
| location=[[Eä]]
| inhabitants=[[Valar]], [[Maiar]], [[Elves]], [[Men]], [[Dwarves]], etc.
| realms=
| description=The World
| events=
| references=
}}
'''Arda''' ([[Quenya|Q]]: "Realm", pronounced {{IPA|[ˈarda]}}) was the [[Quenya]] name for the world as a whole. Arda was created within [[Eä]] by [[Ilúvatar|Eru Ilúvatar]]. It was then shaped by the [[Valar]], with continental masses such as [[Middle-earth]] and [[Aman]], and oceans, like [[Belegaer]].  
 
Arda was the home of [[Elves]], [[Men]], [[Dwarves]] and other [[races]] as well as the [[kelvar]] and [[olvar]]. 
 
==Beginnings==
:''Main article: [[Years of the Lamps]]''
[[File:Jacek Kopalski - Creation of Arda.jpg|thumb|Jacek Kopalski - ''Creation of Arda''|left]]
Arda was first brought into existence with the [[Music of the Ainur]], for the purpose of creating a home for the [[Children of Ilúvatar]].  Ilúvatar appointed the [[Valar]] as its masters, and they invented its geography, for at the time it was largely without feature.  They gave it symmetry and form.
 
As for light source, the Valar decided upon [[Two Lamps|two lamps]].  One, a blue light, was placed at the north, and it was called [[Illuin]].  The other, a golden light, was placed at the very southernmost point, and was called [[Ormal]].  [[Aulë]], craftsman of the Valar, forged two towers: [[Helcar]] and [[Ringil (tower)|Ringil]], placed at the north and south  respectively.  The Valar chose as their own home the green isle [[Almaren]].
 
It was at that time that [[Morgoth|Melkor]] made his first attempt, spreading chaos across Arda.  He destroyed the Lamps and the Towers, ruining the symmetry of the world.  Continents formed: especially [[Aman]], [[Endor]], the [[Dark Land]], the [[Hither Lands]], and the [[Uttermost East|Land of the Sun]]. So Arda was created.
 
==Geography==


Originally a flat world, the continents were surrounded by a mighty ocean, [[Ekkaia]] or the [[Encircling Sea]], and separated by [[Belegaer]], the Great Sea.  In the [[First Age]], the area north and west of [[Middle-earth]] was occupied by the country of [[Beleriand]], but this was destroyed during the [[War of Wrath]].  
===Before the Shifting===
[[File:Almaren.png|thumb|Original symmetric shape of Arda with [[Almaren]] in the middle. The [[Iron Mountains]] can be seen on the North, created by [[Morgoth|Melkor]] to protect himself from the Valar.]]
Arda was originally flat, like a plate.  Encircling the continents was [[Ekkaia]], the Encircling Sea.  Farthest to the West was the great continent of [[Aman]], composed primarily of two geographical features: the [[Plain of Valinor]], and the [[Pelóri]] Mountains.  [[Taniquetil]] was the highest mountain in this range, and in the world.  To the east was the great sea of [[Belegaer]].


In the [[Second Age]], [[Númenor]] was raised in the Great Sea for the [[Edain]].  This island existed through most of the Second Age, but was destroyed as a result of the pride of the [[Númenorean]] people in defying the Ban of the [[Valar]] and sailing to Aman in the west.  
Across Belegaer, to the north, was [[Endor]], or [[Middle-earth]].  The west side of this land mass was called [[Beleriand]], the north [[Dor Daidelos]], and the east [[Palisor]].  According to [[J.R.R. Tolkien|Tolkien]]'s earlier maps, it was in Palisor that there was the great inland [[Sea of Helcar]], and the shores of [[Cuiviénen]].  Middle-earth was dominated by many mountain ranges and forests.


After the destruction of Númenor, Arda was made round. Aman (the "Undying Lands") was taken out of the world, and could only be reached by the Elves, following the ''straight road'' that was granted to them. As Aman was taken away from Arda, new lands and continents were created.
To the south of Endor, connected by the [[Straits of the World]], was the [[Hither Lands]] according to Tolkien's earlier maps.


South of Middle-earth was the [[Dark Land]] and east of it was the [[Land of the Sun]].
Across the great [[East Sea]] was the [[Dark Land]], also known as the South Land.


[[J.R.R. Tolkien|Tolkien]] stated many times that Arda was our world in a fictional time, so we can interpret the known regions of Middle-earth as Europe. Tolkien stated that [[The Shire]]'s geographic location rouhgly corresponded to the Midlands of England, while [[Minas Tirith]] in [[Gondor]] corresponded roughly to Vienna, putting [[Mount Doom]] and [[Mordor]] in the general region of Asia Minor.  However, the entire continent of Middle-earth extends beyond the regions known to Gondor, far into the uncharted East and South, and Middle-earth probably encompassed all of what later became Eurasia.  Information regarding both was very vague.  To the south were the [[Hither Lands]] including [[Harad]], though "Harad" means "South" and while properly used for the region immediately south of Gondor and [[Mordor]] was often loosely used to refer to the every land to the south. [[Near Harad]] and [[Far Harad]] probably corresponded to North Africa and sub-Saharran Africa, respectively.  The there were many stretches of sun-scorched desert in [[Near Harad]], but like Africa there was supposedly a jungle beyond it which few had ever ventured to, from which the great [[Oliphaunts]] were found. Tolkien also said that the Haradrim loosely corresponded to the Berbers (though "[[Haradrim]]" refers to a group of many races, not just the one).  Men of Far Harad are also described as being black skinned.  The vast lands East were collectively referred to as [[Rhun]], though this may have only referred to those immediately east of the [[Sea of Rhun]] and River Running.  The [[Easterlings]], like the Haradrim, were a diverse collection of many races, ranging from Saracen-like peoples to numerous barbarian hordes form open grasslands that would later become the Russian steppe.  There was even less knowledge of the extreme eastern end of Middle-earth, where the land was supposed to stop at another sea.  It is known that in ancient times the great chain of the Red Mountains ran north to south near here, and was roughly analogous to the [[Blue Mountains]] of the west (all of the world was once symmetrical at the dawn of time).  The race of Elves first originated near here, though their original home of [[Cuiviénen]]  doubtlessly no longer existed by the [[Third Age]].  It is not known if the [[Red Mountains]] themselves survived into the Third Age, either intact or in some reduced form (like the Blue Mountains).  The lands of the east between the coast and the Red Mountains probably corresponded to east Asia and the Orient, specifically China and Japan.  It is said that the [[Blue Wizards]] went far into the east of Rhun and beyond to stir up rebellions against [[Sauron]] in the lands he held sway over, though the tales of these struggles never reached the west in detail.  It is also said that the Blue Wizards somehow failed in their mission; this is interpreted several ways, either that like [[Saruman]] they set themselves up as lords of men, or that like [[Radagast]] they started to care more for the local people they were charged with protecting than Middle-earth as a whole and then refused to return. Tolkien did state that many of the "magic cults" and orders that exist today can trace their origins back to the Blue Wizards teaching local peoples of the east the magical arts.
To the farthest east possible was the [[Uttermost East]], with a great curved mountain range called the [[Wall of the Sun]].  In the ''[[Ambarkanta]]'' it is called the “''Dark Land of the Sun''”.  Corresponding to Taniquetil was the mountain [[Kalormë]].


There was also a separate continent south and east of Middle-earth called the [[Dark Land]], which could correspond to Australia.  Another separate continent to the east of Middle-earth was the [[Land of the Sun]], so called because when the world was flat the Gates of the Sun were near there, and it would be scorched.  After the fall of Númenor, Arda is made round and new lands are created east of Middle-earth (and west too, now that the world is round and can be circumnavigated), out of these Sun Lands that are apparently meant to be North and South America, though none of Tolkien's mythology deals with what happens there.
===Second Age and Beyond===
During the tumultuous [[War of Wrath]], the Valar broke and reshaped much of the world.  The most prominent change was the drowning of Beleriand.  Also [[Ossë]] raised [[Andor]] – a large, star-shaped isle – out of Belegaer.


== Arda Unmarred ==
[[File:Darrell Sweet - The Fall of Numenor.jpg|thumb|left|200px|[[Darrell Sweet]] - ''The Fall of Númenor'']]The second great change was the [[Akallabêth|Drowning of Númenor]], which marked the end of the Second Age.  The world was stretched and made into the shape of a sphere. The continents shifted.  At that time Aman and the island of [[Tol Eressëa]] were removed from the [[Circles of the World]], and became inaccessible save by the [[Straight Way]].
Because the original Music in which Eä was conceived was altered by the Discords of [[Melkor]], ''Arda Unmarred'' (called ''Aþâraphelûn Amanaišal'' by the Valar) in the strictest sense has never had any real existence, since the entire Universe in which it is set was "polluted" from the very beginning. The land of Aman comes the nearest to reflecting it, but it too has been stained by the evils of Arda Marred (most notably in the destruction of the [[Two Trees]]).


Thus, the term "Arda Unmarred" has become more of a concept, which can be visualized by every good person who desires to see it, of the perfect world. It was said by the Valar that the way in which the Children of Ilúvatar can have hope ([[Estel (philosophical concept)|estel]]) is to "see the Unmarred in the Marred" and believe in the possibility of bringing such goodness into Arda as it is.
==Eschatology==
The [[Elves]] held to the concept of [[Arda Marred]].  In the beginning, at the time of the Music of the Ainur, was [[Arda Unmarred]].  According to the idea of Arda Unmarred, the world was originally “unstained” by evil. It became Arda Marred after Melkor entered and introduced chaos.  They also clung to the idea that one day the world would become [[Arda Healed]].  According to this belief, Arda Healed will not come about until the [[Dagor Dagorath]], the Last Battle.


== Arda Marred ==
==Other names==
Arda Marred (Valarin ''Aþâraphelûn Dušamanûðân''; ''Arda Hastaina'' in [[Quenya]]) is a term referring to the world as it now is, stained by the evil of Melkor. The Discords of Melkor in the Music of the Ainur, and especially his later actions upon Earth, have caused evil and suffering that were not part of the original plan of Eä, according to the Elves. It is this world from which are formed the [[hröar]] of the [[Children of Ilúvatar]], and it is at times a cruel and evil world with plagues, extreme colds and heats, and other concepts which do not exist in Arda Unmarred. Melkor's very essence seeped into the fabric of Arda, so that nothing in it, and nothing that is sustained by it, is free from the Marring. This is why the Free Peoples of Arda can be deceived and enticed to evil.
''Arda'' is the [[Quenya]] name of the World, with its atmosphere and the celestial objects. The term [[Ambar]] is roughly equivalent and it probably refers to Earth without the celestial objects. It was also called Kingdom of Earth/Arda/Manwë and Little Kingdom.  


Arda Marred also broke the design of [[Elvish]] immortality: in Arda Marred Elves slowly fade, until at last they are little more than wraiths. Only in Valinor was this fading delayed, which is one reason all Elves had no choice but to go to Valinor in the end, if they wished to retain their bodies. One of the special abilities of the [[Rings of Power]] was that they could delay time, and as such were used by [[Elrond]] and [[Galadriel]] to preserve their realms. After the loss of the [[One Ring]] the Elves could not halt the change of their lands, and therefore in the [[Fourth Age]] the last [[Eldar]] left for Valinor.
In [[Adûnaic]] the world was called ''kamât''<!--sd311-->, ''dāira''<!--sd247--> or ''aban'' (as in [[Ar-Abattârik]]).{{fact}}


There are rumors that Eru will come to the Arda and amend the Marring himself, and that a new world will one day be made: Arda Healed (''Arda Envinyanta''); but no one in Arda, possibly not even the Valar, knows this for sure.
The [[Valarin]] name, from which Quenya ''Arda'' derived, was '''''Aþāraphelūn''''' ("appointed dwelling").<ref>{{WJ|AD1}}, p. 401</ref>


== Arda Healed ==
==Tengwa==
''Arda Healed'' is Arda Marred restored: it will be like Arda Unmarred but better, since it will also incorporate all the good things of Arda Marred. In legends of the World's End, it is said that Arda Healed will be created after the [[Dagor Dagorath]], when [[Morgoth]] will be slain, and the world broken. A new world will be created then, which will be Arda Healed.
[[File:Arda (tengwa).gif|left]]''Arda'' is also the name in Quenya of the twenty-sixth letter of the [[Tengwar]] alphabet.<ref>{{App|Letters}}, Note, ''The names of the letters''</ref>  It is a modification of ''[[Rómen]]'' (letter 25).  In written Quenya ''Arda'' is used for '''RD'''.  In other modes this letter represents voiceless '''R''' (or '''RH''').<ref>{{App|Letters}}, Note, ''The additional letters''</ref>  The Westron name for this letter is '''''Rhó'''''.<ref>See [[Westron Tengwar]]</ref>


''See also:'' [[Timeline]], [[Realms of Arda]].


== Round World Version ==
<!-- The extra blank line is needed to prevent the Etymology from being indented. -->
In the late Round World version of ''[[The Silmarillion]]'' (see: ''[[The History of Middle-earth]]''), '''Arda''' was the name of the entire Star system, while the name for Earth was '''[[Ambar]]''' or '''[[Imbar]]'''.
==Etymology==
{{Pronounce|Arda.mp3|Ardamir}}
''Arda'' derives from the [[Primitive Quendian]] word ''gardā'' meaning "bounded or defined place, region".<ref>{{WJ|Quendi}}, pp. 402, 413</ref>


== The Letter Arda ==
==Theories==
'''Arda''' can also mean "region" and is the name of the Quenya letter (''[[Tengwar|tengwa]]'') that signifies the consonant cluster ''rd''.
According to the measurements of [[Karen Wynn Fonstad]], flat Arda's diameter was probably about 6,800 miles.<ref>[[Karen Wynn Fonstad]], ''[[The Atlas of Middle-earth]]''</ref>


== External Links ==
==See Also==
* [http://www.glyphweb.com/arda/ Encyclopedia of Arda]
* [[Timeline]]
* [[:Category:Arda]]
* [[:Category:Images of Arda]]
{{References}}
{{cosmology}}


[[Category:Locations]]
[[Category:Arda| Arda]]
[[Category:Quenya words]]
[[Category:Quenya locations]]
[[Category:Quenya nouns]]
[[Category:Tengwar letters]]
[[Category:Tengwar letters]]
[[de:Arda]]
[[fa:آردا]]
[[fi:Arda]]
[[fr:/encyclo/geographie/astronomie/arda]]

Revision as of 16:57, 28 July 2014

This article is about the mythological world created by Tolkien. For the annual published by Arda-sällskapet/Forodrim, see Arda (annual).
Arda
World
File:Steven White Jr. - Arda001.gif
General Information
LocationEä
TypeWorld
DescriptionThe World
InhabitantsValar, Maiar, Elves, Men, Dwarves, etc.
GalleryImages of Arda

Arda (Q: "Realm", pronounced [ˈarda]) was the Quenya name for the world as a whole. Arda was created within Eä by Eru Ilúvatar. It was then shaped by the Valar, with continental masses such as Middle-earth and Aman, and oceans, like Belegaer.

Arda was the home of Elves, Men, Dwarves and other races as well as the kelvar and olvar.

Beginnings

Main article: Years of the Lamps
Jacek Kopalski - Creation of Arda

Arda was first brought into existence with the Music of the Ainur, for the purpose of creating a home for the Children of Ilúvatar. Ilúvatar appointed the Valar as its masters, and they invented its geography, for at the time it was largely without feature. They gave it symmetry and form.

As for light source, the Valar decided upon two lamps. One, a blue light, was placed at the north, and it was called Illuin. The other, a golden light, was placed at the very southernmost point, and was called Ormal. Aulë, craftsman of the Valar, forged two towers: Helcar and Ringil, placed at the north and south respectively. The Valar chose as their own home the green isle Almaren.

It was at that time that Melkor made his first attempt, spreading chaos across Arda. He destroyed the Lamps and the Towers, ruining the symmetry of the world. Continents formed: especially Aman, Endor, the Dark Land, the Hither Lands, and the Land of the Sun. So Arda was created.

Geography

Before the Shifting

File:Almaren.png
Original symmetric shape of Arda with Almaren in the middle. The Iron Mountains can be seen on the North, created by Melkor to protect himself from the Valar.

Arda was originally flat, like a plate. Encircling the continents was Ekkaia, the Encircling Sea. Farthest to the West was the great continent of Aman, composed primarily of two geographical features: the Plain of Valinor, and the Pelóri Mountains. Taniquetil was the highest mountain in this range, and in the world. To the east was the great sea of Belegaer.

Across Belegaer, to the north, was Endor, or Middle-earth. The west side of this land mass was called Beleriand, the north Dor Daidelos, and the east Palisor. According to Tolkien's earlier maps, it was in Palisor that there was the great inland Sea of Helcar, and the shores of Cuiviénen. Middle-earth was dominated by many mountain ranges and forests.

To the south of Endor, connected by the Straits of the World, was the Hither Lands according to Tolkien's earlier maps.

Across the great East Sea was the Dark Land, also known as the South Land.

To the farthest east possible was the Uttermost East, with a great curved mountain range called the Wall of the Sun. In the Ambarkanta it is called the “Dark Land of the Sun”. Corresponding to Taniquetil was the mountain Kalormë.

Second Age and Beyond

During the tumultuous War of Wrath, the Valar broke and reshaped much of the world. The most prominent change was the drowning of Beleriand. Also Ossë raised Andor – a large, star-shaped isle – out of Belegaer.

Darrell Sweet - The Fall of Númenor

The second great change was the Drowning of Númenor, which marked the end of the Second Age. The world was stretched and made into the shape of a sphere. The continents shifted. At that time Aman and the island of Tol Eressëa were removed from the Circles of the World, and became inaccessible save by the Straight Way.

Eschatology

The Elves held to the concept of Arda Marred. In the beginning, at the time of the Music of the Ainur, was Arda Unmarred. According to the idea of Arda Unmarred, the world was originally “unstained” by evil. It became Arda Marred after Melkor entered and introduced chaos. They also clung to the idea that one day the world would become Arda Healed. According to this belief, Arda Healed will not come about until the Dagor Dagorath, the Last Battle.

Other names

Arda is the Quenya name of the World, with its atmosphere and the celestial objects. The term Ambar is roughly equivalent and it probably refers to Earth without the celestial objects. It was also called Kingdom of Earth/Arda/Manwë and Little Kingdom.

In Adûnaic the world was called kamât, dāira or aban (as in Ar-Abattârik).[source?]

The Valarin name, from which Quenya Arda derived, was Aþāraphelūn ("appointed dwelling").[1]

Tengwa

Arda (tengwa).gif

Arda is also the name in Quenya of the twenty-sixth letter of the Tengwar alphabet.[2] It is a modification of Rómen (letter 25). In written Quenya Arda is used for RD. In other modes this letter represents voiceless R (or RH).[3] The Westron name for this letter is Rhó.[4]


Etymology

Arda derives from the Primitive Quendian word gardā meaning "bounded or defined place, region".[5]

Theories

According to the measurements of Karen Wynn Fonstad, flat Arda's diameter was probably about 6,800 miles.[6]

See Also

References

  1. ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The War of the Jewels, "Part Four. Quendi and Eldar: Appendix D. *Kwen, Quenya, and the Elvish (especially Ñoldorin) words for 'Language': Note on the 'Language of the Valar'", p. 401
  2. ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix E, "Writing", "The Fëanorian Letters", Note, The names of the letters
  3. ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix E, "Writing", "The Fëanorian Letters", Note, The additional letters
  4. ↑ See Westron Tengwar
  5. ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The War of the Jewels, "Part Four. Quendi and Eldar", pp. 402, 413
  6. ↑ Karen Wynn Fonstad, The Atlas of Middle-earth
Middle-earth Cosmology
 Constellations  Anarríma · Durin's Crown · Menelmacar · Remmirath · Soronúmë · Telumendil · Valacirca · Wilwarin
Stars  Alcarinquë · Borgil · Carnil · Elemmírë · Helluin · Luinil · Lumbar · Morwinyon · Nénar · Star of Eärendil · Til 
The Airs  Aiwenórë · Fanyamar · Ilmen · Menel · Vaiya · Veil of Arda · Vista
Narsilion  Arien · Moon (Isil, Ithil, Rána) · Sun (Anar, Anor, Vása) · Tilion
See also  Abyss · Arda · Circles of the World · Eä · Timeless Halls · Two Lamps · Two Trees · Void

fa:آردا

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