The Peoples of Middle-earth

The Peoples of Middle-earth
Publication Information
Author	J.R.R. Tolkien
Editor	Christopher Tolkien
Publisher	HarperCollins (UK) Houghton Mifflin (US)
Released	2 September 1996 (UK) 6 December 1996 (US)
Format	Hardcover; paperback
Pages	496
ISBN	0261103377
Preceded by	J.R.R. Tolkien: Artist and Illustrator (1995)
Followed by	The History of Middle-earth Index (2002)

The Peoples of Middle-earth, published in 1996, is the twelfth and final volume of Christopher Tolkien's 12-volume book series, The History of Middle-earth, in which he analyzes the unpublished manuscripts of J.R.R. Tolkien.

This book covers the development of the Prologue and Appendices of The Lord of the Rings, information on Elvish tongues and other languages of Middle-earth as provided by Pengoloð, and two stories Tolkien didn't finish: The New Shadow (a quickly-abandoned sequel to TLotR) and an account of Númenóreans of which Tal-Elmar is the protagonist.

Contents

• Foreword

• Part One: The Prologue and Appendices to The Lord of the Rings
  • I. "The Prologue"
  • II. "The Appendix on Languages"
  • III. "The Family Trees"
  • IV. "The Calendars"
  • V. "The History of the Akallabeth"
  • VI. "The Tale of Years of the Second Age"
  • VII. "The Heirs of Elendil"
  • VIII. "The Tale of Years of the Third Age"
  • IX. "The Making of Appendix A"
    • (i) The Realms in Exile
    • (ii) The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen
    • (iii) The House of Eorl
    • (iv) Durin's Folk

• Part Two: Late Writings
  • X. "Of Dwarves and Men"
  • XI. "The Shibboleth of Fëanor"
  • XII. "The Problem of Ros"
  • XIII. "Last Writings"

• Part Three: Teachings of Pengoloð
  • XIV. "Dangweth Pengoloð"
  • XV. "Of Lembas"

• Part Four: Unfinished Tales
  • XVI. "The New Shadow"
  • XVII. "Tal-Elmar"

• Index

Inscriptions

There is an inscription in the Tengwar characters in the first pages of every History of Middle-earth volume, written by Christopher Tolkien and describing the contents of the book. The inscription in Book XII reads:

"This is the last volume of the work of Christopher Tolkien in which he has collected a great part of all that his father John Ronald Reuel Tolkien wrote of Middle-earth and Valinor. In this book is traced the devising of the history of the later ages in the Northwest of Middle-earth after the Great Battle and the Fall of Morgoth."

From the publisher

The concluding volume of The History of Middle-earth series, which examines the Appendices to The Lord of the Rings.
The Peoples of Middle-earth traces the evolution of the Appendices to The Lord of The Rings, which provide a comprehensive historical structure of the Second and Third Ages, including Calendars, Hobbit genealogies and the Westron language. The book concludes with two unique abandoned stories: The New Shadow, set in Gondor during the Fourth Age, and the tale of Tal-Elmar, in which the coming of the dreaded Númenórean ships is seen through the eyes of men of Middle-earth in the Dark Years.
With the publication of this book, the long history of J.R.R. Tolkien’s creation is completed and the enigmatic state of his work can be understood.

Publication history and gallery

UK editions

• 

  1996 hardcover

• 

  1997 paperback

• 

  2002 & 2015 paperback

• 

  2010 hardcover

• 

  2024 paperback

• 

  2024 hardcover

• HarperCollins hardcover (1996), pp. 496. ISBN 0261103377
• HarperCollins paperback (1997), ISBN 0261103482 - (cover art by John Howe)
  • 1997 paperback edition, reset in 2002, then in 2015
• HarperCollins hardcover (2010), ISBN 0007365365
  • 2015 paperback edition, 24th impression (2024)
• HarperCollins hardcover with reversable dustjacket (2024), ISBN 978-0063390843 (set) - (Centenary Boxed Sets #4)

External links

• A content guide for this volume at Tolkienbooks.net