An Encyclopedia of Tolkien

by David Day

A comprehensive, illustrated guide to the history, lands, and inhabitants of Middle-earth.
 

The fantasy world of J. R. R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth contains a rich assortment of people, cities, and creatures—as well as a deep, intertwined history that spans thousands of years. In this beautifully illustrated volume, best-selling author and Tolkien scholar David Day presents four decades of research and writing on the lands and inhabitants Middle-earth. Sections of this A-to-Z dictionary are devoted to discussion of the battles, history, beasts, and heroes of Tolkien’s stories. This comprehensive volume on Tolkien’s world also includes an appendix of three primary legends that served as sources for Tolkien’s creations—the Volsunga saga, the Nibelungenlied, and Richard Wagner’s Ring Cycle—and more than 200 black-and-white illustrations
 

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Reference, Classics, Mythology, Collections, Science Fiction Fantasy

544 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2019

About the author

David Day (b. 14 October 1947 in Victoria, British Columbia) is a Canadian author of over forty books: poetry, natural history, ecology, mythology, fantasy, and children's literature. Internationally he is most notably known for his literary criticism on J. R. R. Tolkien and his works.

After finishing high school in Victoria, British Columbia, Day worked as a logger for five years on Vancouver Island before graduating from the University of Victoria. Subsequently he has travelled widely, most frequently to Greece and Britain.

Day has published six books of poems for adults and ten illustrated children's books of fiction and poetry. His non-fiction books on natural history include The Doomsday Book of Animals, The Whale War, Eco Wars: a Layman Guide to the Environmental Movement, Noah's Choice and most recently Nevermore: A Book of Hours - Meditations on Extinction (2012).

His Doomsday Book was a Time Magazine Book of the Year and became the basis for the 100 part animated-short TV series "Lost Animals of the 20th Century".

David Days best-selling books on the life and works of JRR Tolkien include: A Tolkien Bestiary, Tolkien: the Illustrated Encyclopedia, Tolkien's Ring, The World of Tolkien and The Hobbit Companion.

Day's Tolkien's Ring was illustrated by academy award-winning artist Alan Lee, as was Castles, The Animals Within, Gothic and Quest For King Arthur.

Reviews

[Daniel Ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m going to take my time reading this. But I want to see what I know and don’t know about his works. And I want to continue to read as many of his works that I can find.

[CR · Rating 5 out of 5]

The encyclopedia of Tolkien David Day is a must read for any Tolkien fan. An insightful encyclopedia with beautiful illustrations and informative charts. I loved how the author included Tolkien’s inspiration for the characters and places instead of just information about them. Even though this is not in conjunction with the Tolkien Estate I still feel that David Day captured the essence of the Tolkien Legacy!

[Mary BookHounds · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a gorgeous book that is something that I will treasure always.  I was so excited to open this and page through quickly at first and then savor each page of character descriptions, family trees, the lists of related characters and their characteristics.  The illustrations are beautiful and every day I pick it up.  This is a book that you will reference every time you pick up a Tolkien book.

There is so much information and so many dots connected for me in ways that I didn't figure out myself even though I have read them more times than I can remember. While this review is short and can't do justice to the book, it would make a welcome gift to any Tolkien lover.  I have made all my nerdy friends jealous by just having this book on my shelf.

[Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a must-have for anyone who loves The Lord of the Rings. This book is a collection of anything and everything that either informed, inspired, or was included in Tolkien’s world of Middle-Earth. Also, the illustrations are so beautiful and make the read even more enjoyable.

[Δημήτριος Καραγιάννης · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kudos for the beautiful illustrations and the overall feel of the book. Most of the mythological and historical information regarding Tolkien's influences, however, were quite simplistic and already heard-of things. I was not impressed, nor was I stunned, for example, to see a chapter devoted to how Aragorn resembles Arthur. You can get my meaning. This is, undoubtedly, a beautiful book for the Tolkien collector to have, but very little more than that.

[Jay Gabler · Rating 5 out of 5]

An Encyclopedia of Tolkien doesn’t exactly sound like a page-turner. When you first lay hands on a copy of David Day’s new book, with its embossed leather binding, gold-leaf pages, lavish illustrations, and bookmark ribbon, you might imagine putting it on the shelf next to The Lord of the Rings, maybe dipping into it occasionally when you’re trying to remember what Meduseld or Umbar was.

Once you start paging through, though, you might just find yourself reading the 544-page volume cover to cover. I reviewed An Encyclopedia of Tolkien for The Tangential.

[Diana Long · Rating 5 out of 5]

This work is fully illustrated and unfortunately the illustrations are printed so dark that they are barely legible but it doesn't effect the content of the written work and that is most excellent. I decided to take the year to read it, just to take my time and enjoy the work and appreciate the time that the author spent on researching and compiling all the gathered information. This book made me want to re-read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings but it also lighted a fire in me that I wanted more...to delve more into Tolkien's middle earth, and his other stories so I now have a wonderful collection of his books, more about Tolkien, his life and his world.
I think this is a valuable volume of information for those interested in Tolkien's world and want to learn more about the man and his creativity. We go from A-Z and in the end of the book are extra informative areas, the wars with in the work, the flora and fauna, the beings that inhabit middle earth and of course the Ring Sagas, Norse, German, Tolkien and not leaving out Wagner's opera.

[Kris · Rating 5 out of 5]

First of all, this book was beautifully bound, with a ribbon marker, gilt edges, and embossed cover. A real pleasure to hold while reading. Second, the content was outstanding. I have read the Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit a dozen times or more, and Silmarillion more than once, but I had no idea how much of these stories were inspired by other mythologies. As a result, this book didn’t so much expand my knowledge of Tolkien’s Legendarium as it did the vast depth of Norse, Celtic, Germanic, and Greek stories that exist that I knew very little about. The book is organized alphabetically by topic, and as such had a fair amount of repetition, for which I am of two minds about. While I think the repetition could have been reduced by a thematic organization, the repetition did help with familiarity, which is useful when dealing with so many characters and mythological plots. The appendix to this book included retellings of a few of the referenced myths, which was very helpful. I believe this will be an oft-referenced volume next time I read the Silmarillion or dive into other collections of the Legendarium, like theUnfinished Tales or the Fall of Numenor.

[Jessica Bronder · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the go to book for anything Tolkien. When I first received the book I instantly fell in love with the leather cover and gold edged pages. But I was completely blown away when I opened the book and started reading selections here and there. This is an extensive look into the world of Tolkien punctuated with beautiful artwork.

I am just an amateur when it comes to Tolkien, I have read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Ring series but that is where my knowledge ends. I started reading the encyclopedia by referencing a couple of the names that popped out to be from the books. But it was quickly apparent that there is so much more to Tolkien’s world.

Needless to say I started really reading this book. I admit I jumped around to the different names that were associated with the last passage that I read then I filled in the spaces in between. Now I can’t wait to go back and read the four books again any anything else that I have missed from Tolkien’s world.

This book would be an amazing addition to anyone’s shelves and the perfect gift for any Tolkien lover or soon to be lover. All I can say is get this book!!

I received a complimentary copy of this book. I voluntarily chose to read and post an honest review.

[Tabitha Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you’re a Lord of the Rings fan or a lover of all things Tolkien this is a MUST buy. It’s an extensive and illustrated guide to the history, lands, and inhabitants of Middle-earth. David Day has compiled a masterpiece of combined insights and knowledge from his forty-plus years of working on Tolkein books.

The book itself is beautiful. I was struck at once with how lovely it was when I received it in the mail. It’s leather-bound, has gold leaf edge pages, and over 100 illustrations.

This is not your average Wiki-entry style encyclopedia either. Day often inserts not only the descriptions of places, people and races but gives insights into the source of Tolkien’s inspiration for each.

All-in-all this is a book that should sit on any Tolkein fan’s desk and be picked up and read/consulted often!

[Kristopher Aadahl · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings but was disappointed that I couldn't immerse myself into the full works that token had created but only hinted at in the Hobbit and scratched the surface of in LOTR. This encyclopedia takes Middle-Earth information from sources like The Silmarillon, Tolkien's notes, interviews & biographies, and also draws upon a general knowledge of Tolkien's education, background, etc. For me, the book serves as a portal to delve deeper into those books than would be possible otherwise. I do wish the entries had some kind of'companion to the books' index or something, and some of the entries can get a bit repetitive, as in Gandalf the Grey and Gandalf the White.

[Nicholas Kinney · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a Beautiful book in appearance—the binding is nice, the spine is elegant and fitting for the content, I like the gold-edged pages, and I especially loved the drawings which are interspersed throughout the book from a variety of artists. Undoubtedly this will look great on the shelf. The text is interesting enough, but it is clearly not meant to be read cover to cover; there is a lot of overlap in the dictionary portion, including several paragraphs which are repeated verbatim four or five times throughout the book. It will be a great reference book (which is what it’s meant for, I’m sure), but I ended up skimming a fair portion of it. It ended with a very poetic section on the significance of Frodo’s journey which I found very satisfying.

[Josiah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book for Tolkien fans. Love his insights into how linguistics and northern European mythology inspired Tolkien. The essays at the end of the book about the "ring legends" of the Volsong Saga etc. were the highlights of the book--and how Tolkien wanted to reverse the story. Only have two complaints. I think Day is a little repetitive by focusing on a handful of core mythological inspirations, and I think he downplays the significance of Tolkien's Christian and Biblical influence. This book would have been even better if co-written by someone with a theological background, especially someone who shared Tolkien's faith.

[Vincent · Rating 5 out of 5]

Don't expect an exhaustive encyclopedia covering everything found in Tolkien's world. I still found this an invaluable resource for learning about the history of Tolkien's own scholarship and how he used that to create Middle Earth. It took away the mystique of the man, but also made me appreciate how the world of the Lord of the Rings was able to be thanks to a literal lifetime of study. Awesome resource!

[Natasha Joy · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are someone that LOVES Tolkien and wants to know more about his lands and what's in them, this is the book for you! Very well written with a beautiful cover and illustrations. You can tell that it was written by someone who knows his stuff!

[Kirsten Hinds · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m torn about the value of this encyclopedia. On one hand, it is redundant, repeating information in multiple places (I.e. the same passages under Gandolf, Odin & Mercury). It would have been more efficient to just have LOTR related sections. It also drags on and on about the Roman Empire and Anglo-Saxon migrations which, while important sources for Tolkien , were none the less tiresome to read.

However, I learned easily the details of the Second Age as referenced in the LOTR’s songs and brief stories. It was also a good introduction to the craziness that is the First Age. It is filled with interesting inspiration tidbits from Macbeth to the Bible to Beowulf. I think for an ultra fan, it’s worth the effort.

I’d recommend first reading the four essays at the end of the book about the ring epics to better understand the nuance between each as referenced through out the book.

[Jeni · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good as some of the other books just because it's an encyclopedia and it seems like there's a lot of Norse and other cultures rather than just straight up Middle Earth.

[clumsyplankton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an amazing book for any Tolkien fan. Very detailed and some beautiful illustrations.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting and detailed look at how Tolkien developed the mythology for The Hobbit and LOTR. I really enjoyed all the connections to various lores and the background information. However, I think the last few stories could have been removed.

[Carma Spence]

“An Encyclopedia of Tolkien: the History and Mythology of Middle-earth has been compiled as an easily accessible compendium for general readers” of J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic fantasy tales “who are interested in the mythological, literary, historical, and philological sources that inspired the author in his creation of Middle-earth and the Undying Lands.”

Thank you David Day, I don’t think I could have described this book much better myself.

Summary of An Encyclopedia of Tolkien
Author David Day is at it again. A little over a year ago, I had the pleasure of perusing The Battles of Tolkien and although Day has written numerous books about Tolkien before, he still was able to bring his A-game to this title. As with any good encyclopedia, entries are arranged in alphabetical order from Aegir (a Norse nature spirit) to Zirakzigil (the great peak above the Dwarven city of Khazad-dum). There are also additional chapters of charts, on battles and sharing the three primary ring legends (Norse, German and Wagner’s).

What Worked for Me
As with the previous title I reviewed, this book is beautifully illustrated. Artists who contributed to this work include Ian Miller (known for his fantasy art in the gaming world), John Blanche (Fantasy and science fiction illustrator and modeler), and Victor Ambrus (Hungarian-British illustrator of history, folk tale, and animal story books).

So that you won’t confuse entries that relate to terms outside the Tolkienverse and those within, different formatting is used. External sources, such as “Fenrir” the wolf that kills Odin in Norse mythology, are in a plain font and flush left. Tolkien terms, such as “Mumakil or Mumak” the elephant-like animals used in battle by the Haradrim, are in a specialized font and indented.

Although there are numerous illustrations, they don’t take center stage. The information you would be seeking in an encyclopedia is given preference.

I love that he provides information on the three ring legends. I have heard of them before — I even have a copy of the Song of the Volsungs (which I haven’t read yet) — but he gives me all I really need to know about all three in just over 60 pages.

And, as I said in my review of one of his other titles, I love the Flexibound’s faux leather feel. Not only is it a pleasure to hold, but fits well the topic of the book. There’s even a ribbon bound into the book that you can use as a bookmark!

What Didn’t Work for Me
The names of the artists are listed in the beginning of the book, which means if you like a particular illustration, you have to do a little digging through that list. It seems to me that listing the artist’s name with their work wouldn’t have harmed the layout at all.

Speaking of illustrations, some of them do not translate well to black and white. Therefore, they are dark and it is difficult to make out any detail.

David Day’s writing can be a little academic at times — I have you a sample in the very first paragraph. Therefore, it may be a slog for some readers to go through the Introduction and some of the other longer chapters and entries.

For more, read the entire review at http://www.thegenretraveler.com/book-...

[begemot · Rating 3 out of 5]

The main part of the book, as the name suggests, is organized in the form of encyclopedic entries, which means the information isn’t grouped thematically, and there is a lot of repetition among different entries that are related to the same topic/character/event/source material. It’s interesting to learn about various sources that informed, inspired, and influenced Tolkien’s works, but it does often make for a tedious reading experience.

The things that frustrated me the most were:
- Lack of proofreading. I literally had to keep a pen nearby, so that I could correct misspelled words, grammatical errors, mixed up references, etc., which occurred at least once every couple of pages (the book is 544 pages long);

- Frequent, verbatim repetition of the same information. I mean, I understand that several entries can be related, and the same information would be relevant to them, but there is usually room for highlighting different aspects of it, adding more details, etc. This was rarely done. Besides, after reading another book by the same author, it was clear that he has been reusing the same texts from book to book to book, with all the proofreading issues retained every time. Essentially, he reformats/recompiles what he has previously written and publishes it as a new book. That’s cheating and self-plagiarism;

- Illustrations from various artists comprise a good chunk of the book, yet they are all in black-and-white, which makes no sense to me. And no, that’s not how they were originally - I’ve seen many of them in the other book I read, and they were all in colour.

The main thing I liked about the book was the last section, which provides the overview of each of the “ring quest” epics (Norse epic, German epic, Wagner’s Ring Cycle, and Tolkien’s epic). As someone who wasn’t closely familiar with these sources, I found this section to be very educational.

[Andrew Castaneda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rounded up from 3.5 stars for editorial errors and the fact that certain encyclopedia entries get pretty redundant. Some could have been streamlined into one entry and referenced from others (e.g., using Lay of Leithian to cover common content between Luthien and Beren), so we could have had entries on items that get an illustration or multiple mentions but are not listed, like Grond or Huorns. Also note that some entries are a bit odd, like the entry for Yahweh listing Jehovah as “another name” instead of “another transliteration.”

But I can’t complain: this is a valuable and beautiful resource on Tolkien’s lore, offering a rock-solid base of knowledge on the languages, historical events, myths, and even tourist attractions that inspired Tolkien.

I especially enjoyed the summaries of the Volsung Saga, Nibelungenlied, and Ring of the Nibelung.

This will certainly enrich your understanding of Tolkien and give you new avenues to explore his legendarium—and many other cultural works besides.

[HURRICANE Dorian · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's not as you expect it but this book is rather enjoyable what I enjoy about it is it's extensive lists of information about my other favorite movies and books it's not just a encyclopedia it's a tale... A tale of TOLKIEN

[Sean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Of the four David Day books that I have read, I think this is his best. In An Encyclopedia of Tolkien, Day presents an alphabetized list of characters, locations, and influences surrounding The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion. Compared to the three other books by Day that I've read (The Battles of Tolkien, The Heroes of Tolkien, and Tolkien: An Illustrated Atlas), I found that this book was the best-sourced and did the best job of breaking things up into proof and conjecture. That differentiation, rather than presenting everything as gospel truth, made An Encyclopedia of Tolkien much more enjoyable to read.

There were some downsides - a surprisingly large number of typos and grammatical errors that should have been caught and detracted from the overall quality of the book, for one. On top of that, there were significant portions of the book that seemed to be copy and pasted from one entry to another. I know that there's only so much you can say about certain characters and their influences for example, but brevity rather than redundancy would've been appreciated.

Beyond all that, the physical book itself is gorgeous. The carved leather cover is wonderful, and the many, many illustrations throughout the book are well-done, although I found some to be a bit strange.

Overall, I found this to be a great reference book for Tolkien fans - although I think it is best used as a jumping off point for further research and not a great research book in its own right.

[Library Queen · Rating 4 out of 5]

First off, this book cover is GORGEOUS. Carved leather with gold edges. It's fabulous.

So this encyclopedia covers not just Tolkien's world, but some of the stories and characters Tolkien was influenced by. Wanna know what people inspired the Southrons? It's here. Wanna know what Greek God inspired Yavanna? It's here too. Also, includes 3 ring stories - 1 Norse, 1 German, 1 opera- that definitely impacted Tolkien's writings.

Also, apparently Tolkien hated Shakespeare. Who knew? I now feel slightly validated in the fact I don't like him either. Yay!

If you like The Hobbit, or There and Back Again or The Lord of the Rings or anything else in Middle-Earth, pick this up.

[Kellie Cunningham · Rating 4 out of 5]

While rather hard to read (I suppose most encyclopedias are) I think this is a very good book.
The illustrations were mostly great... But why does Beren look like a middle-aged man with a receding hair line??? And Legolas has far too many facial wrinkles to be an elf, also the short curly hair was NOT the move...
The landscape drawings are great, but the people??? Not so much. (I've seen things today I can't unsee)
Regardless, this is enjoyable, if only for the research material I will undoubtedly need later.
*Update*
Slightly disappointed. I also strongly disagree with the statement that "Tolkien's world is resolutely pagan." Just, no. Elements of paganism? Sure, but that seems like too far of a stretch.

[Christopher Cagle · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are a mythology nerd and Tolkien fan this one is right up your alley. Yes, it is an alphabetical encyclopedia and no it doesn’t cover “everything” Tolkien. It does however give you possibly unseen connections between “the old stories” and Tolkien’s “new” mythology.

[Haley Needs a Life · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'd highly recommend this to anyone who is curious about the background of LOTR. I adore picking fantasy apart for the inspirations and that was well done in this book.

[Andrew Sitter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of good information on the various work Tolkien likely pulled from to create his works. Made me more interested in European history in addition to giving me a better appreciation of Tolkien.

[Shane · Rating 4 out of 5]

This isn't the book I thought I was getting when I bought it, but having finished it last night, it's actually better. Mr. Day's An Encyclopedia of Tolkien is not a glossary of the professor's legendarium - for that look to Tyler's The Complete Tolkien Companion (and others). Instead, this is a reference that tracks the origins and inspirations for the people, places, and things of Middle Earth to the real world, with entries for both Tolkien's inventions and the legends and mythos that inspired them.

The book is gorgeous, with compelling faux-leather covers and a gilded spine. The paper is weighty and of good quality. And It's of a great size and weight to feel good in the hand - this isn't a coffee table book, but a handy reference.

But a reference for what? As I said, if you are looking to review terms while reading the works, you're better off elsewhere. It's those looking for deep insight into Tolkien's process, the likely origins, and predecessor "ring cycles" that got his wheels turning that will dive deeply into this book.

I have admired Tolkien's works for forty years and still learned a great deal by reading these entries. There are different fonts for legendarium items and real-world references, which keeps things clean. After the alphabetical entries, there are summations and charts, including genealogies, battles fought, the Norse and German ring cycles, Wagner's ring operas, and at the very end, an essay on the meaning of Tolkien's work.

So why not five stars? First, although I appreciate the artists' skill, the line drawings throughout the work, while plentiful, don't scream "Middle Earth" to me. They are dark and brooding; of a style, just not a style I associate with these works. Maybe I've been spoiled by Alan Lee, John Howe, and the Peter Jackson creations, but these just don't seem right. Half a star off. And second, some of the entries are incorrect. They refer to the wrong god or use the wrong font (real world or Middle Earth) or whatever, especially early in the book. This isn't a deal breaker, but it shouldn't have happened.

I highly recommend this book as a beautiful but inexpensive reference.