In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, Arda is the name given to the Earth in a period of prehistory, wherein the places mentioned in The Lord of the Rings and related material once existed. Tolkien's Legendarium (ISBN 0-313-30530-7 is a collection of scholarly essays edited by Verlyn Flieger and Carl F Eru as Creator The Quendi (ie Elves) and the Atani (ie Men) were created by Eru Background Manwë was (with his brother Melkor ie Morgoth the greatest of the Ainur and the one that best understood the will of Eru. Tolkien's Legendarium (ISBN 0-313-30530-7 is a collection of scholarly essays edited by Verlyn Flieger and Carl F The Lord of the Rings is an epic It included several seas and oceans, and the continents of Middle-earth, the Dark Lands, and Aman, as well as the island of Númenor and other lands, left largely unnamed by Tolkien. Middle-earth refers to the fictional lands where most of the stories of author J Minor places in Arda#Place Name -->;Place name description1 Further description prefix with: once Númenor (ˈnuːmɛnɔɹ is a Fictional place in J R R Tolkien 's writings which the author intended to be an allusion to the legendary Atlantis.

Overview

Main article: Middle-earth

Arda was part of Eä, the universe of all which exists. Middle-earth refers to the fictional lands where most of the stories of author J This is an overview of the Cosmology of J R R Tolkien 's Middle-earth legendarium. 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). Ainulindalë ( Quenya, "Music of the Ainur " or more literally "Singing of the Holy" is the first section and chapter of The Silmarillion Eru as Creator The Quendi (ie Elves) and the Atani (ie Men) were created by Eru In J R R Tolkien 's Legendarium, an Elf is an individual member of one of the races that inhabit the lands of Arda. The race of Men in J R R Tolkien 's Middle-earth books such as The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, refers to

Because the Sun, Moon, stars, and other objects orbited the planet in the cosmology of Middle-earth they were considered part of Arda, leading to Arda sometimes being called the 'Solar System' of Middle-earth. The term for the Earth itself, excluding these celestial bodies, was Ambar or Imbar.

Originally the Earth (Arda) was flat, the continents were surrounded by a mighty ocean (or perhaps by space), Ekkaia or Vaiya, the Encircling Sea, and separated by Belegaer, called the Great Sea and the Sundering Seas. An ocean (from Greek, ''Okeanos'' (Oceanus) is a major body of saline water, and a principal component of the Hydrosphere. Space is the extent within which Matter is physically extended and objects and Events have positions relative to one another This is an overview of the Cosmology of J R R Tolkien 's Middle-earth legendarium. In the fiction of J R R Tolkien, Belegaer, the Great Sea or the Sundering Seas, is the sea of Arda that is west of Middle-earth In the First Age, the area in the northwest of Middle-earth was occupied by the country of Beleriand, but this was destroyed during the War of Wrath. In the fiction of J R R Tolkien, the First Age, or First Age of the Children of Ilúvatar in full is the first documented time period and the setting In J R R Tolkien 's fictional legendarium, Beleriand was a region in northwestern Middle-earth during the First Age. In J R R Tolkien 's Legendarium, the War of Wrath, or the Great Battle, was the final war against Morgoth at the end of the First

There was also a separate continent south and east of Middle-earth called the Dark Land. Minor places in Arda#Place Name -->;Place name description1 Further description prefix with: once Another separate continent to the east of Middle-earth was the relatively small 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. Minor places in Arda#Place Name -->;Place name description1 Further description prefix with: once

Information regarding both was 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 every land to the south. In J R R Tolkien 's Fantasy legendarium, Harad ( Sindarin: South, in Quenya: Hyarmen) was the name for the There were many stretches of sun-scorched desert in Near Harad, but there was supposedly a jungle beyond it which few had ever ventured to, from which the great Oliphaunts were found. In J R R Tolkien's fictional lands of Middle-earth, a mûmak (plural mûmakil) is a pachyderm of the southern land of Men of Far Harad are also described as being black skinned. The vast lands East were collectively referred to as Rhûn, though this may have only referred to those immediately east of the Sea of Rhûn and River Running. In the fictional world of Middle-earth created by J R R Tolkien, Rhûn is a large region of eastern Middle-earth The Easterlings, like the Haradrim, were a diverse collection of many races. In the fiction of J R R Tolkien, " Easterling " and " Easterlings " were generic terms for Men who lived in the east of Middle-earth 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 (the world was once symmetrical at the dawn of time). In J R R Tolkien 's Fictional universe of Middle-earth, the Orocarni was a mountain range in the far east The Ered Luin or Blue Mountains, also known as Ered Lindon, is the mountain range at the far west of Eriador, in J The race of Elves first originated near here, though their original home of Cuiviénen no longer existed by the Third Age. Minor places in Arda#Place Name -->;Place name description1 Further description prefix with: once It is not known if the Red Mountains survived into the Third Age, either intact or in some reduced form (like the Blue Mountains). It is said that the Blue Wizards went far into the east of Rhûn 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. In the fiction of J R R Tolkien, the Blue Wizards (or Ithryn Luin in the Elvish tongue Sindarin) are two of the five Wizards (or It is also said that the Blue Wizards may have 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. Literature Radagast like the other Wizards, came from Valinor around the year 1000 of the Third Age of Middle-earth and was one of the Maiar

In the Second Age, Númenor was raised in the Great Sea for the Edain. The Second Age is a time period from J R R Tolkien 's Middle-earth fantasy writings Adan redirects here Adan is also the name of a governorate of Yemen. This island existed through most of the Second Age, but was destroyed as a result of the pride of the Númenórean people in defying the Ban of the Valar and sailing to Aman in the west. Pride is a lofty view of one's self or one's own Pride often manifests itself as a high opinion of one's Nation (national pride Ethnicity (ethnic pride or appearance The Valar (singular Vala) are characters in J R R Tolkien 's legendarium.

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. In J R R Tolkien 's Legendarium, an Elf is an individual member of one of the races that inhabit the lands of Arda. As Aman was taken away from Arda, new lands and continents were created east and west of Middle-earth.

The word "Arda" was apparently conceived as a cognate of English "Earth" and its equivalents in the other Germanic languages , specifically the Afrikaans "Aarde" which has equivalent pronunciation and meaning, and unsurprising in use given Tolkien's South African origins. Other Germanic cognates inclde the Dutch aarde, and German Erde, though these are not direct sources, but rather tangential linguisitically. However, within the lengendarium it ostensibly has no relation, being a Quenya word. Quenya 'kwɛɲa is one of the fictional languages spoken by the Elves (the Quendi, "those who speak with voices" because when

Arda Unmarred

The original world as built by the Valar is called Arda Unmarred. The Valar (singular Vala) are characters in J R R Tolkien 's legendarium. This world was effectively destroyed by the wars of the Valar and Melkor, and only Valinor still resembled it in part. The name The name Morgoth is Sindarin, one of Tolkien's invented languages and means "Black Enemy" Bauglir is also Sindarin meaning Valinor (meaning Land of the Valar) is a Fictional location from J Arda Unmarred was a flat symmetrical world with everlasting light.

Arda Marred

Arda Marred is the name given to the world as it is: the world after the wars of the Valar and Melkor, and the dispersing of Melkor's fëa in the entire world. In J R R Tolkien 's legendarium, fëa and hröa are words for " Soul " (or " Spirit " and "body" It is this world from which are formed the hröa of the Children of Ilúvatar, and therefore it is at times a cruel and evil world with plagues, extreme colds, heat, and other concepts which do not exist in Arda Unmarred. In J R R Tolkien 's legendarium, fëa and hröa are words for " Soul " (or " Spirit " and "body" In the fictional works of J R R Tolkien, the Children of Ilúvatar are Elves and Men who were created by Ilúvatar, the supreme God in Tolkien's

Arda Marred also broke the design of Elvish immortality: in Arda Marred Elves slowly fade, until at last they are naught but 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. 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. The Rings of Power are fictional artifacts of J R R Tolkien 's Middle-earth Legendarium. Character overview Elrond was Lord of Rivendell, one of the mighty rulers of old that remained in Middle-earth in its Third Age. Appearances Literature Stories of Galadriel's life prior to The Lord of the Rings are collected in the Unfinished Tales. After the loss of the One Ring the Elves had no choice left and therefore in the Fourth Age the last Eldar left for Valinor. The Fourth Age and the later ages that followed it are time periods from J

Arda Healed

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. Arda Healed will be created after the Dagor Dagorath, when Morgoth will be slain, and the world broken. The Dagor Dagorath, Sindarin for 'Battle of Battles' or 'Final Battle' is an event described in the works of J The name The name Morgoth is Sindarin, one of Tolkien's invented languages and means "Black Enemy" Bauglir is also Sindarin meaning A new world will be created then, which will be Arda Healed.

See also

• Timeline of Arda
• Realms of Arda
• Minor places in Arda
• Middle-earth cosmology

Works cited

• Bolintineanu, Alexandra (2006). This article includes several chronologies relating to J R R Tolkien 's Legendarium. This is a list of the known realms of Arda in J R R Tolkien 's Legendarium. Minor places in Arda#Place Name -->;Place name description1 Further description prefix with: once This is an overview of the Cosmology of J R R Tolkien 's Middle-earth legendarium. "Arda", in Drout, Michael D. C.: J. R. R. Tolkien Encyclopedia: Scholarship and Critical Assessment. Michael D C Drout (1968-) is the Prentice Associate Professor of English at Wheaton College and an Author and editor specialzing in Anglo-Saxon The JRR Tolkien Encyclopedia, subtitled Scholarship and Critical Assessment, edited by Michael D Routledge, 24-25. Routledge is a publisher of non-fiction academic books and journals ISBN 0-415-96942-5.  

External links

• Encyclopedia of Arda