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The History of Middle-Earth #13
The History of Middle-Earth Index
Although J.R.R Tolkien is well-known for The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion, the material which laid the groundwork for what must be the most fully realised sub-creation ever to spring from a single imagination was begun many years before the publication of The Hobbit, and indeed Tolkien continued to work upon its completion until his death in 1973.
In on of the single largest works of 'literary archaeology' ever undertaken, J.R.R. Tolkien's son and literary executor, Christopher Tolkien, edited the vast collection of manuscripts together with maps and illustrations and these were posthumously published in twelve volumes as The History of Middle-earth.
Christopher Tolkien also compiled a very detailed and through index for each of these books. This companion edition to the twelve-volume History now brings together all of the indexes in one place, and provides the reader with an invaluable sourcebook to all the peoples, places and other significant entries from The Silmarillion and The Lord of the Rings which appear in The History of Middle-earth.
In on of the single largest works of 'literary archaeology' ever undertaken, J.R.R. Tolkien's son and literary executor, Christopher Tolkien, edited the vast collection of manuscripts together with maps and illustrations and these were posthumously published in twelve volumes as The History of Middle-earth.
Christopher Tolkien also compiled a very detailed and through index for each of these books. This companion edition to the twelve-volume History now brings together all of the indexes in one place, and provides the reader with an invaluable sourcebook to all the peoples, places and other significant entries from The Silmarillion and The Lord of the Rings which appear in The History of Middle-earth.
484 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2002
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4796 people want to read
About the author
J.R.R. Tolkien
797 books77.8k followersJohn Ronald Reuel Tolkien: writer, artist, scholar, linguist. Known to millions around the world as the author of The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien spent most of his life teaching at the University of Oxford where he was a distinguished academic in the fields of Old and Middle English and Old Norse. His creativity, confined to his spare time, found its outlet in fantasy works, stories for children, poetry, illustration and invented languages and alphabets.
Tolkien’s most popular works, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings are set in Middle-earth, an imagined world with strangely familiar settings inhabited by ancient and extraordinary peoples. Through this secondary world Tolkien writes perceptively of universal human concerns – love and loss, courage and betrayal, humility and pride – giving his books a wide and enduring appeal.
Tolkien was an accomplished amateur artist who painted for pleasure and relaxation. He excelled at landscapes and often drew inspiration from his own stories. He illustrated many scenes from The Silmarillion, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, sometimes drawing or painting as he was writing in order to visualize the imagined scene more clearly.
Tolkien was a professor at the Universities of Leeds and Oxford for almost forty years, teaching Old and Middle English, as well as Old Norse and Gothic. His illuminating lectures on works such as the Old English epic poem, Beowulf, illustrate his deep knowledge of ancient languages and at the same time provide new insights into peoples and legends from a remote past.
Tolkien was born in Bloemfontein, South Africa, in 1892 to English parents. He came to England aged three and was brought up in and around Birmingham. He graduated from the University of Oxford in 1915 and saw active service in France during the First World War before being invalided home. After the war he pursued an academic career teaching Old and Middle English. Alongside his professional work, he invented his own languages and began to create what he called a mythology for England; it was this ‘legendarium’ that he would work on throughout his life. But his literary work did not start and end with Middle-earth, he also wrote poetry, children’s stories and fairy tales for adults. He died in 1973 and is buried in Oxford where he spent most of his adult life.
Tolkien’s most popular works, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings are set in Middle-earth, an imagined world with strangely familiar settings inhabited by ancient and extraordinary peoples. Through this secondary world Tolkien writes perceptively of universal human concerns – love and loss, courage and betrayal, humility and pride – giving his books a wide and enduring appeal.
Tolkien was an accomplished amateur artist who painted for pleasure and relaxation. He excelled at landscapes and often drew inspiration from his own stories. He illustrated many scenes from The Silmarillion, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, sometimes drawing or painting as he was writing in order to visualize the imagined scene more clearly.
Tolkien was a professor at the Universities of Leeds and Oxford for almost forty years, teaching Old and Middle English, as well as Old Norse and Gothic. His illuminating lectures on works such as the Old English epic poem, Beowulf, illustrate his deep knowledge of ancient languages and at the same time provide new insights into peoples and legends from a remote past.
Tolkien was born in Bloemfontein, South Africa, in 1892 to English parents. He came to England aged three and was brought up in and around Birmingham. He graduated from the University of Oxford in 1915 and saw active service in France during the First World War before being invalided home. After the war he pursued an academic career teaching Old and Middle English. Alongside his professional work, he invented his own languages and began to create what he called a mythology for England; it was this ‘legendarium’ that he would work on throughout his life. But his literary work did not start and end with Middle-earth, he also wrote poetry, children’s stories and fairy tales for adults. He died in 1973 and is buried in Oxford where he spent most of his adult life.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
October 27, 2021
How much of a Tolkien nerd you must be to want to own this book? No disrespect meant, I bought it! But this is for a very limited high levels fans market. This book is just an index, a massive, over 400 pages index of meaningful word places in books and pages of the history of Middle-Earth. Not that useful unless you want to really deep dive into it and research stuff from it. That was I say it was for a very specific kind of readers but it would be very useful to those readers! Well done!
September 23, 2009
A whole book with indexes pertaining to the previous 12 volumes of "The History of Middle-Earth"! It sounds crazy but it's an invaluable addition to the collection, without which it's almost impossible to go back and find something specific you wanted to read again.
August 9, 2019
This index goes across 12 volumes of the History of Middle Earth.
The trick is having all 12 volumes to be consistent with the Index you purchase.
I have Harper Collins published Index and five volumes from Harper Collins and seven volumes from Houghton Mifflin.
I've not cross checked to see how close the Harper Collins matches with Houghton Mifflin or how paperback matches hardcover, but it gives me a starting point to find what I need when searching across volumes (you can always see what volumes a topic appears in and then check the local index).
Great resource particularly for those researching specific aspects/characters, etc. of Middle-Earth.
The trick is having all 12 volumes to be consistent with the Index you purchase.
I have Harper Collins published Index and five volumes from Harper Collins and seven volumes from Houghton Mifflin.
I've not cross checked to see how close the Harper Collins matches with Houghton Mifflin or how paperback matches hardcover, but it gives me a starting point to find what I need when searching across volumes (you can always see what volumes a topic appears in and then check the local index).
Great resource particularly for those researching specific aspects/characters, etc. of Middle-Earth.
April 16, 2019
Realmente es interesante porque recopila parte de la historia de la tierra media, y es excelente para entender detalles y cronologías y demás.
March 25, 2020
This is the best Index in the history of Indexes. Ever. Of all time.
Anyone even remotely interested in Indexes should get his hands on it immediately! You won't regret it.
Anyone even remotely interested in Indexes should get his hands on it immediately! You won't regret it.
May 22, 2023
Used this while I was reading the whole saga and imaginarium, and I must say it was really helpful!
January 6, 2025
This rating isn't worth much, since it's an Index and not a book... but it's mighty interesting and handy to have all indexes in one book!
June 30, 2025
The English major in me is awed and overwhelmed and flabbergasted by how organized and intricate this set of indexes is. Like... I would go absolutely insane trying to do this.
January 19, 2017
This isn't so much a review as it is a recommendation. If you are interested in using The History of Middle-Earth as a source for studying Tolkien, this book is an indispensable aid. It's hard to come by, but will make for a lot less work. Not that flipping from volume to volume isn't fun.
October 6, 2013
good!
June 27, 2014
i wish he didn't die and put this collection together himself instead of his moron son !!!
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews