The Lord of the Rings

2007-06-22T14:48:09Z

71.59.90.76:

{{quote|The English-speaking world is divided into those who have read '''The Lord of the Rings''' and [[The Hobbit]] and those who are going to read them.|Sunday Times}}

{{book|
title=The Lord of the Rings|
image=[[Image:Jrrt lotr cover design.jpg|200px]]|
author=[[J.R.R. Tolkien]]|
publisher=Houghton Mifflin|
date=1954-1956|
format=Hardcover, Paperback|
pages=1210|
}}

'''''The Lord of the Rings''''' is an epic fantasy story by [[J.R.R. Tolkien]], a sequel to his earlier work, ''[[The Hobbit]]''. It was published in three volumes in 1954 and 1955. Three movie productions have been made, the first, by animator [[Ralph Bakshi]] was released in 1978 (as part one of what was originally to be a two-part adaptation of the story), the second being a 1980 television special, and the third being director [[Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings]] released in 2001, 2002, and 2003.

The story's titular character is the Dark Lord [[Sauron]] of [[Mordor]]. The primary villain of the work, he created the One Ring to control nineteen other Rings of Power, and is thus the "Lord of the Rings." Sauron, in turn, was the servant of an earlier Dark Lord, [[Morgoth]] (Melkor), who is prominent in Tolkien's ''[[The Silmarillion]]'', the history of Middle-earth.

==Books and volumes==

===Writing===

Tolkien did not originally intend to write a sequel to ''[[The Hobbit]]'', and instead wrote several other children's tales, including ''[[Roverandom]]'' and ''[[Farmer Giles of Ham]]''. As his main work, Tolkien began to outline the history of [[Arda]], telling tales of the [[Silmarils]], and many other stories of how the races and situations that we read about in the Lord of the Rings trilogy came to be. Tolkien died before he could complete and put together ''[[The Silmarillion]]'', but his son [[Christopher Tolkien]] edited his father's work, filled in gaps and published in 1977.

Tolkien had a deep desire to write a mythology for England, especially after his horrific experiences during the First World War. He was also influenced by the effects of continued industrialisation, where he saw much of the England he loved passing away and became aware of the immense evil in the world. Thus to understand his writings we must be aware of how Tolkien the scholar influences Tolkien the author. His writing of this mythology emerges as an Oxford philologist well acquainted with Northern European Medieval Literature including the great mythic works such as the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hervarar_saga Hervarar saga], the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Völsunga_Saga Völsunga saga], the influential [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beowulf Beowulf] as well as other Old Norse, Old and Middle English Texts. He was also inspired by non-Germanic works such as the Finnish epic [[Kalevala]]. A man who had created his first language by the age of seven, he was driven by a desire to write a mythology for England influenced by his exposure and expertise of these ancient traditions. The need for such a myth was often a topic of conversation in his meetings with the [[Inklings]], fellow Oxford scholars who have been described as Christian Romantics, meeting weekly and discussing Icelandic myths and their own unpublished compositions. Tolkien agreed with one of the other members of the group, [[C.S. Lewis]], that if there were no adequate myths for England then they would have to write their own. Tolkien's work has been commonly interpreted in this light.

Persuaded by his publishers, he started 'a new hobbit' in December 1937. After several false starts, the story of the One Ring soon emerged, and the book mutated from being a sequel to the Hobbit, to being, in theme, more of a sequel to the unpublished ''[[The Silmarillion|Silmarillion]]''. The idea of the first chapter (''A Long-Expected Party'') arrived fully-formed, although the reasons behind Bilbo's disappearance, and the significance of the Ring did not arrive, along with the title ''The Lord of the Rings'' until spring [[1938]]. Originally he was going to write another story in which Bilbo had used up all his treasure and was looking for another adventure to gain more; however he remembered the ring and the powers it had and decided to write about that instead. He started to write it with Bilbo as the main character but decided that the story was too serious to use the fun loving Hobbit so Tolkien looked to use a member of Bilbo's family. He thought about using Bilbo's son but this generated some difficult questions

Edain

2007-06-10T20:09:24Z

71.59.90.76:

The '''Edain''' were those [[Men]] who made their way into [[Beleriand]] during the [[Siege of Angband]] during the [[First Age]] and were close allies of the [[Elves]]. The term Edain does not refer to another group of men who entered Beleriand later in the First Age known as the [[Easterlings]] who were noted as being swarthier than the Edain and a large portion of whom would later betray the elves.

== Entymology ==

'''edain''' is the plural of ''[[adan]]'', "man" in [[Sindarin]].

The [[Sindarin]] word ''Edain'', singular ''Adan'' (Quenya ''Atani'', ''Atan'') literally meant ''Second People'', and originally referred to all Men, but later it only applied to the Men of Beleriand and their descendants. The [[Quenya]] term ''Atani'' kept its old meaning.

== The Three Houses ==

They were divided in three large houses, or tribes:

# The '''[[House of Bëor]]''': they were dark-haired and stoutly built, and most resembled the [[Ñoldor]] of all Elves. They were first discovered by [[Finrod Felagund]], Lord of [[Nargothrond]], and under his guidance later made their way to the lands of the Ñoldorin lord [[Amrod]], in a place later known as [[Estolad]], the Encampment. They remained loyal to the House of [[Finarfin]], and later settled in the lands of [[Dorthonion]].
# The Second House, later known as the '''[[Haladin]]''' or the '''House of [[Haleth]]'''. They were a reclusive folk, dark-haired but smaller in stature than the Bëorians. They kept separate from the other Men, and later received permission to settle in the forest of [[Region]], part of [[Doriath]]. They mostly kept out of the wars.
# The '''House of Marach''', later best known as the '''[[House of Hador]]'''. They were tall and golden-haired, and most resembled the [[Vanyar]] of all Elves. They were a very numerous and war-like tribe, and the [[Green-elves]] of [[Ossiriand]] feared them. They later settled in [[Hithlum]] by way of [[Estolad]]. They were loyal to [[Fingolfin]].

The Bëorians and Marachians shared a common tongue, and were known to each other before settling in Beleriand. The tongue of the Haladin was alien to them.

The House of Bëor was nearly wiped out by [[Morgoth]], and the remainder of its people merged with the Hadorians to become the [[Númenóreans]]. It would seem that the Haladin of Beleriand were completely wiped out, or at least disappeared as a separate people.

== Later History ==

After the [[War of Wrath]] the Edain were honoured and granted the island of [[Númenor]] by the [[Valar]] as a gift for their loyalty to the elves. Thus the Edain's decendants became a race far greater than all other men in Middle Earth, living within sight of the blessed realm.

When the Númenoreans returned to [[Middle-earth]] in the [[Second Age]], they encountered many Men who were obviously related to the Atani: they classified these Men as ''Middle Men'', and established friendly relations with them. Examples are the [[Rohirrim]], the Men of [[Dale]], and the [[Bree]]landers.

Other Men, such as the [[Dunlendings]], were not recognised as Middle Men because they were related to the Haladin rather than Bëorians or Marachians, and they were hostile to Númenor.

A fourth kind of Men came with the Second House, and called themselves ''[[Drûgs|Drûg]]''. This name was adopted in Sindarin as ''[[Drúedain]]'': ''Drûg'' ''Edain''. They were a strange people, living with the Haladin in the forest of [[Brethil]], some even apparently made it to [[Númenor]], but they died out or had left before the [[Akallabêth]]. In the [[Third Age]], their far kin were known as the ''Woses'' of [[Drúadan Forest]].

[[Category:Men]]
[[Category:Sindarin words]]

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The Lord of the Rings

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