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 It covers materials created by Tolkien; the works on his unpublished manuscripts, by his son Christopher Tolkien; and films, games and other media created by other people.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

Authors

Published works

By J. R. R. Tolkien

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)
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 Christopher Tolkien

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

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)

Edited by other scholars

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)

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

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

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

Audio recordings

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

Translation

Translations of The Hobbit
Translating The Lord of the Rings (issues, challenges, approaches)
- Translation of The Lord of the Rings into Swedish
- List of translations of The Lord of the Rings

Adaptations and developments

Maps

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

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

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]

Motion pictures

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

Peter Jackson

The Lord of the Rings film series – the live-action trilogy by Peter Jackson
- Films
  - 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)
- Production
  - Wētā Workshop
- Music
  - Recordings
- Peter Jackson's interpretation

The Hobbit film series – Jackson's three-part prequel to his The Lord of the Rings series
- Films
  - The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)
  - The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013)
  - The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014)
- Music

Stage

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

Games

Tabletop games

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

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

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

Cosmology of Eä

Two Trees of Valinor

Continents of Arda

Nations and regions

Natural features

Cities and other populated places

History

Artefacts

Events

First Age

Sundering of the Elves

Third Age

Characters

First Age

House of Finwë

House of Elwë and Olwë

House of Marach

Others

Second Age

Third Age

Thorin and Company

The Fellowship of the Ring

Wizards:

Gandalf
Radagast
Saruman

Elves

Arwen
Galadriel
Glorfindel
Legolas
Thranduil

Men

Other characters

Culture

Races

Ainur

Valar
Maiar
- Balrogs
- Wizards