Dating
It was me who initially added the calculation of when the map was created. My source (which was uncited as we were not used to citations back then) was a post by Andreas Moehn ("Lalaith") in an old mailing list, known only as "The Tolkien List" (its address is/was [email protected]).
That was years ago and right now I can't find any homepage or archive of that group so that I can add a citation. The present state of the article pinpoints the creation to TA 2789, although I can't remember if that was the exact year Lalaith calculated. Right now it looks like "Original Research", but it isn't. If you even find anything concerning the whereabouts of the Tolkien Mailing List group please let me know. Sage 09:20, 13 May 2013 (UTC)
- Is this related to what you're looking for? Sadly, the archives appear not to be online anymore.--Morgan 16:12, 13 May 2013 (UTC)
Th.Th.
I never understood what the signature Th.Th. stands for. Was the text perhaps written by Thrain, not Thror, and therefore meaning "Thrain Throrson"? Sage 14:09, 26 December 2020 (UTC)
- In The Hobbit's prefatory note, written by Tolkien himself, it states "The last two runes (referring to the initialed runic text) are the initials of Thror and Thrain."
- As for why they each initialed it, I don't know. My theories are A) They cooperated in the creation of the map. This is supported by when they escaped the Mountain together via the secret door. B) Thrain initialed his when he later gained possession of the map. C) I'm just overthinking and it's a book intended for children that didn't have the plot laid out perfectly. MilesTheHobbit (talk) 05:01, 26 March 2025 (UTC)