What do you think?
Rate this book
The Nature of Middle-earth: Late Writings on the Lands, Inhabitants, and Metaphysics of Middle-earth
First ever publication of J.R.R. Tolkien’s final writings on Middle-earth, covering a wide range of subjects and perfect for those who have read and enjoyed The Silmarillion, The Lord of the Rings, Unfinished Tales, and The History of Middle-earth, and want to learn more about Tolkien’s magnificent world.
It is well known that J.R.R. Tolkien published The Hobbit in 1937 and The Lord of the Rings in 1954–5. What may be less known is that he continued to write about Middle-earth in the decades that followed, right up until the years before his death in 1973.
For him, Middle-earth was part of an entire world to be explored, and the writings in The Nature of Middle-earth reveal the journeys that he took as he sought to better understand his unique creation. From sweeping themes as profound as Elvish immortality and reincarnation, and the Powers of the Valar, to the more earth-bound subjects of the lands and beasts of Númenor, the geography of the Rivers and Beacon-hills of Gondor, and even who had beards!
This new collection, which has been edited by Carl F Hostetter, one of the world’s leading Tolkien experts, is a veritable treasure-trove offering readers a chance to peer over Professor Tolkien’s shoulder at the very moment of discovery: and on every page, Middle-earth is once again brought to extraordinary life.
It is well known that J.R.R. Tolkien published The Hobbit in 1937 and The Lord of the Rings in 1954–5. What may be less known is that he continued to write about Middle-earth in the decades that followed, right up until the years before his death in 1973.
For him, Middle-earth was part of an entire world to be explored, and the writings in The Nature of Middle-earth reveal the journeys that he took as he sought to better understand his unique creation. From sweeping themes as profound as Elvish immortality and reincarnation, and the Powers of the Valar, to the more earth-bound subjects of the lands and beasts of Númenor, the geography of the Rivers and Beacon-hills of Gondor, and even who had beards!
This new collection, which has been edited by Carl F Hostetter, one of the world’s leading Tolkien experts, is a veritable treasure-trove offering readers a chance to peer over Professor Tolkien’s shoulder at the very moment of discovery: and on every page, Middle-earth is once again brought to extraordinary life.
440 pages, Hardcover
First published September 2, 2021
474 people are currently reading
5494 people want to read
About the author
J.R.R. Tolkien
797 books78k 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.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 213 reviews
November 6, 2021
This book is a complete cash-grab: a cobbled-together hodge-podge of random, unfinished notes replete with linguistic ramblings and half-developed thoughts on Elvish gestation, population sizes, and metaphysics. I LOVE IT
October 5, 2021
This book has a lot of random lore and I love it. Holy shit Tolkien's math with Elf aging reminded me of math class and stressed me out though
Also, I don't care what Tolkien says. Gandalf isn't 5'6, and Aragorn still has a beard.
Also, I don't care what Tolkien says. Gandalf isn't 5'6, and Aragorn still has a beard.
Want to read
June 22, 2021hi baby, is your name a new Tolkien book because I want you delivered to my house wrapped with a bow and nothing else
September 19, 2021
I spent the week nerding out on this collection of Tolkien's largely previously unpublished writings that deal both with the foundational nature of Middle-Earth and to some extent the natural history of ME. The first section of the book demonstrates (mathematically) aging and perception of time in the Elves and went entirely over my head. If you pick this book up to read, don't be deterred by this section. There is also a later chapter that deals with the same topic of aging among the Numenoreans, but it's not quite as baffling.
Fun fact: Elves are ambidextrous.
Fun fact: Aragorn, as a direct descendant of the Numenoreans, does not in fact have a beard, handsome Viggo Mortensen notwithstanding.
Fun fact: the Maia, of which Gandalf was one, a spirit being sent into Middle-Earth to help fight against Sauron, were notable for their lovely fragrance
Fun fact: Tolkien was not above the copious use of exclamation marks in his notes. My favorite is when he's describing the remaking of the physical world after the downfall of Numenor, and the removal of the land of the Valar, demigods of great power, from this physical world, turning that land into "(America!)" because it is the land west of where the action of the Lord of the Rings takes place.
What this book makes plain to me, more than any other volume of The History of Middle Earth, is how deeply engaged Tolkien was in this invented universe of his, and it seems to have been a place in which he could fully dwell in thought and imagination. I think all this background writing and in-dwelling is the reason the world in The Lord of the Rings seems as real as our own world to anyone who is captivated by the books. If he hadn't lived in our world in an equally engaged way, bringing up a big family, mowing his own lawn, teaching, having a pint with his pub friends, answering copious amounts of fan mail right up until the end of his life, it would be tempting to think of him as unhinged, but his glory and genius to me is that he did both--lived fully in both of these worlds, and great thanks to him for doing so, as the invention has given me hours of joy for many years.
Fun fact: Elves are ambidextrous.
Fun fact: Aragorn, as a direct descendant of the Numenoreans, does not in fact have a beard, handsome Viggo Mortensen notwithstanding.
Fun fact: the Maia, of which Gandalf was one, a spirit being sent into Middle-Earth to help fight against Sauron, were notable for their lovely fragrance
Fun fact: Tolkien was not above the copious use of exclamation marks in his notes. My favorite is when he's describing the remaking of the physical world after the downfall of Numenor, and the removal of the land of the Valar, demigods of great power, from this physical world, turning that land into "(America!)" because it is the land west of where the action of the Lord of the Rings takes place.
What this book makes plain to me, more than any other volume of The History of Middle Earth, is how deeply engaged Tolkien was in this invented universe of his, and it seems to have been a place in which he could fully dwell in thought and imagination. I think all this background writing and in-dwelling is the reason the world in The Lord of the Rings seems as real as our own world to anyone who is captivated by the books. If he hadn't lived in our world in an equally engaged way, bringing up a big family, mowing his own lawn, teaching, having a pint with his pub friends, answering copious amounts of fan mail right up until the end of his life, it would be tempting to think of him as unhinged, but his glory and genius to me is that he did both--lived fully in both of these worlds, and great thanks to him for doing so, as the invention has given me hours of joy for many years.
January 3, 2023
Having read more or less everything published by (or under the name of) J. R. R. Tolkien, I believe this is the first time I've felt like giving such a book anything under four stars. Mostly because it is a relatively incoherent collection of notes on various topics, which are individually interesting but do not give off a sense that the book as a whole is anything more than an attempt at making some money from every little hidden piece of original Tolkien writing.
It is, for all intents and purposes, a book of leftovers. Small chunks of (rather scientific) lore not necessarily fitting that well into any of the established collections, left behind as volume after volume in Tolkien's legendarium was posthumously published.
I personally found the book very enjoyable to read (albeit in small chunks, over a long period of time), but there is absolutely no point in buying or reading this unless you are also in the corner of people who obsessively need to know every little detail there is to know about Middle-Earth (or you just want to complete a collection).
It is, for all intents and purposes, a book of leftovers. Small chunks of (rather scientific) lore not necessarily fitting that well into any of the established collections, left behind as volume after volume in Tolkien's legendarium was posthumously published.
I personally found the book very enjoyable to read (albeit in small chunks, over a long period of time), but there is absolutely no point in buying or reading this unless you are also in the corner of people who obsessively need to know every little detail there is to know about Middle-Earth (or you just want to complete a collection).
May 20, 2024
INCOMING BIAS ALERT PROCEED WITH CAUTION
Rating: 5 stars
Ok, it's about time I made some sense of this gobbledygook because I finished this book over two weeks ago. But I can't help it. I loved every page of this cash grab. These Tolkien ramblings. These incoherent notes he probably never really meant to be published. They were great. Information I never knew I needed, but now can't imagine how I got by without. Tolkien, you can do no wrong!
Weeeeell... The Nature of Middle-Earth is far from perfect. Yes, I loved it, but my opinions on Tolkien books are probably best ignored because I have the most absurd amount of bias towards him that it is quite ridiculous. That is to say that most people will not like this book. In fact, I think most people will hate this book. This is for a very select few people who have these weird wonderings about Middle-earth. I suppose the foreword puts it best:
So if you are also one of "those who take particular interest" in Tolkien's works, you will (probably) also love this book. It is full of small tidbits of knowledge that no one else would think was of any value. Like Elf birth. Elf periods are an important topic in this book, and I can’t wait to tell my mum that Elves don’t have any pain in labour (I told her; she was very jealous). See? Who else needs that information? (Huh, it’s also kind of like Bajoran labour “pains” now that I think about it.)
Before starting this book, I knew that there was going to be lots of maths. By golly there was lots of maths. Tolkien really thought through every single thing in regards to his fantasy races. He was like if I’m going to write these things called elves and dwarves and hobbits, I’m going to make them as believable as possible. He has charts to show you how the Eldar age or Númenóreans age and they were actually very helpful for me. As someone who has been reading about these races since I was eight years old, I just kind of went along with it that these people were just really old, not really thinking about the specifics, like Legolas seems like a young elf even though he’s 2931 years old. Now I know that due to the ageing of the body versus the mind, and the different rates of maturation of both between races, makes it so that two characters feel a similar age despite one being physically on the earth for twelve times as long as the other. Make sense? It's a little confusing. Fortunately it is discussed at length multiple times throughout The Nature of Middle-Earth. With full on in-depth graphs and charts, equations and formulas and everything. Philologist? Pfft. I think Tolkien was an amateur mathematician on the side.
Sometimes the book can get a little bit confusing. While it is Tolkien writing the background information about his world, it is also Tolkien working out the background information about his world, often as he goes. Again, the foreword best explains the reason behind the existence of this book:
You can be reading one train of thought thinking you’ve got this, you understand where Tolkien’s going, but then he notices an inconsistency and thinks "hang on a second, that doesn’t work. That would mean that this person is born too late for him to be part of this thing, so scrap that I’m gonna start something else" and you just have to erase the past chapter from your mind. I suppose it makes the "book" more of a working document of Tolkien's, one where he can iron out any contrarieties and contradictions that had turned up unnoticed as he was constructing his universe.
Because these were notes and never meant to be actually read by a wider audience, sometimes Tolkien uses terms or ideas before he actually explains/introduces them to us. For instance, he starts talking in the fourth chapter, only 18 pages in, about fëa and hröa which made me go "ok, whatever, Tolkien words" without actually stopping to try and see if I remembered/knew what they meant, but before long they became a central aspect of what was being discussed and I had to use the Tolkien Gateway (think Wikipedia but for Tolkien stuff) to figure out what these words were. Then, in a later section of the book (can't find it at present), Tolkien introduces the reader to fëa and hröa like we were reading them for the first time... but because of the content of that section it can't come before the other part where the terms were first used, and to preserve narrative authenticity Tolkien's original manuscripts have as little outside additions to them as possible, which then makes the unannounced appearance of the unfamiliar words confusing to the reader, yet more accurate to the initial authorial intent... etc. etc. etc. You can see the cycle going round and round.
Eh. I have been writing this review for ages. It's done. Whatever. This book was great. Not the best Tolkien, but that is one high bar.
Rating: 5 stars
Ok, it's about time I made some sense of this gobbledygook because I finished this book over two weeks ago. But I can't help it. I loved every page of this cash grab. These Tolkien ramblings. These incoherent notes he probably never really meant to be published. They were great. Information I never knew I needed, but now can't imagine how I got by without. Tolkien, you can do no wrong!
Weeeeell... The Nature of Middle-Earth is far from perfect. Yes, I loved it, but my opinions on Tolkien books are probably best ignored because I have the most absurd amount of bias towards him that it is quite ridiculous. That is to say that most people will not like this book. In fact, I think most people will hate this book. This is for a very select few people who have these weird wonderings about Middle-earth. I suppose the foreword puts it best:
These texts and this book are very much of a piece with significant portions of the aforementioned volumes, and will be of greatest interest to those who take particular interest in them.
So if you are also one of "those who take particular interest" in Tolkien's works, you will (probably) also love this book. It is full of small tidbits of knowledge that no one else would think was of any value. Like Elf birth. Elf periods are an important topic in this book, and I can’t wait to tell my mum that Elves don’t have any pain in labour (I told her; she was very jealous). See? Who else needs that information? (Huh, it’s also kind of like Bajoran labour “pains” now that I think about it.)
Before starting this book, I knew that there was going to be lots of maths. By golly there was lots of maths. Tolkien really thought through every single thing in regards to his fantasy races. He was like if I’m going to write these things called elves and dwarves and hobbits, I’m going to make them as believable as possible. He has charts to show you how the Eldar age or Númenóreans age and they were actually very helpful for me. As someone who has been reading about these races since I was eight years old, I just kind of went along with it that these people were just really old, not really thinking about the specifics, like Legolas seems like a young elf even though he’s 2931 years old. Now I know that due to the ageing of the body versus the mind, and the different rates of maturation of both between races, makes it so that two characters feel a similar age despite one being physically on the earth for twelve times as long as the other. Make sense? It's a little confusing. Fortunately it is discussed at length multiple times throughout The Nature of Middle-Earth. With full on in-depth graphs and charts, equations and formulas and everything. Philologist? Pfft. I think Tolkien was an amateur mathematician on the side.
Sometimes the book can get a little bit confusing. While it is Tolkien writing the background information about his world, it is also Tolkien working out the background information about his world, often as he goes. Again, the foreword best explains the reason behind the existence of this book:
Meditating long on the world that he had brought into being and was now in part unveiled, he had become absorbed in analytic speculation concerning its underlying postulates. Before he could prepare a new and final Silmarillion he must satisfy the requirements of a coherent theological and metaphysical system, rendered now more complex in its presentation by the supposition of obscure and conflicting elements in its roots and its tradition.
You can be reading one train of thought thinking you’ve got this, you understand where Tolkien’s going, but then he notices an inconsistency and thinks "hang on a second, that doesn’t work. That would mean that this person is born too late for him to be part of this thing, so scrap that I’m gonna start something else" and you just have to erase the past chapter from your mind. I suppose it makes the "book" more of a working document of Tolkien's, one where he can iron out any contrarieties and contradictions that had turned up unnoticed as he was constructing his universe.
Because these were notes and never meant to be actually read by a wider audience, sometimes Tolkien uses terms or ideas before he actually explains/introduces them to us. For instance, he starts talking in the fourth chapter, only 18 pages in, about fëa and hröa which made me go "ok, whatever, Tolkien words" without actually stopping to try and see if I remembered/knew what they meant, but before long they became a central aspect of what was being discussed and I had to use the Tolkien Gateway (think Wikipedia but for Tolkien stuff) to figure out what these words were. Then, in a later section of the book (can't find it at present), Tolkien introduces the reader to fëa and hröa like we were reading them for the first time... but because of the content of that section it can't come before the other part where the terms were first used, and to preserve narrative authenticity Tolkien's original manuscripts have as little outside additions to them as possible, which then makes the unannounced appearance of the unfamiliar words confusing to the reader, yet more accurate to the initial authorial intent... etc. etc. etc. You can see the cycle going round and round.
Eh. I have been writing this review for ages. It's done. Whatever. This book was great. Not the best Tolkien, but that is one high bar.
August 30, 2022
If you a fanatic Tolkien fan then here is the book for ya. Tons of charts and musing by Tolkien on everything form the birthrate of the Elves in the early years of Middle Earth to the types of animals that inhabit the lands. Interesting read. Recommended
October 26, 2023
Me after reading all 12 "History of Middle-earth" books, the two-part "History of the Hobbit" books, and "The Nature of Middle-earth": I pass the test. I will diminish, and go into the West and remain Mitchell.
UPDATE (10/25/23): I gathered a LOT of the important bits of information in here so I don't have to suffer through this one again, lol. Here it is for your reading pleasure:
Thingol did not want to go to Valinor, but he ultimately decided to go due to his love for Finwë.
Ingwë, Finwë, and Elwë/Thingol were direct descendants (in the sixth generation) of Imin, Tata, and Enel (the first Elves to awaken).
The Valar sent Five Guardians to watch over the Elves at Cuiviénen, and they were led by Melian. The Five would go on to become the Istari in The Lord of the Rings.
Elves had a lot more children in their beginning in comparison to later Ages. They have fewer children in each Age until (eventually) they stop having them altogether.
The Ainur's "human" appearance is a mere aesthetic choice. They can cast it off whenever they wish to. However, when the Ainur begin doing "human" things, they become more and more bound to their forms. Melian becomes bound to her form when she bears Lúthien.
Mortal aging slowed in Lórien.
The Elven rate of aging meant that Arwen was the equivalent of a 32-year-old woman when she met Aragorn. Arwen joined the normal mortal aging rating when she had Eldarion (i.e. she began to age at Aragorn's rate, which was slow for other mortals but very quick for her). She died when she was the equivalent of an 84-year-old woman.
Eldarion lived for 120 years. He retained his youth for 60 years and aged for the remaining 65. His children lived to be 80-90 years.
Eärendil's choice extended only to Elrond, his children, and Elros. It would not have gone past the second generation (i.e. if Arwen had chosen immortality and had had a child, then that child would be of the Eldar and would not have a choice in the matter).
Tolkien changed his mind a lot on this, but I think this was his final conception: Elves were in the womb for 3 years, developed full speech at 6, full growth at 72, youth lasted for 6,912 years, and they began to fade after 13,896 years.
Celebrimbor coined the name "mithril." It was called something different before, perhaps?
Pengolodh (the prime source for the information given about the War of the Jewels in The Silmarillion) was the greatest of the Lambeñgolmor (Elven Loremasters) and knew Vanyarin/Noldorin Quenya, Telerin, Sindarin, and archaic Khuzdûl.
Pengolodh finally fled Middle-earth at the end of the Second Age when Sauron arose in might.
Celebrían was born in Lindon at around SA 300.
Númenóreans reached maturity at 24, began to decline at 210 years, and they typically died at around 230 years.
Thingol and Olwë had pale (almost white) hair.
Gil-galad had silver hair.
Eldarin men were around 6'5" or taller and Eldarin women were 6 feet or taller.
Gandalf knew more about wildlife than Radagast.
Númenórean (male) average height was 7 feet.
Indemmar: the ability to project visions into another's thought.
Osanwé: telepathy. It could technically be done by anyone, but it was much harder for the Eruhíni due to the fact that they had physical bodies. The Ainur were the best at it (because they did not have hröar). Elves were much better at it than Men. This is (presumably) what Gandalf, Elrond, and Galadriel were doing in the chapter "Many Partings" in LotR. It can also transcend physical distance (meaning you can communicate with another thousands of miles away).
Osanwé only works if both people are "open" to it. If one closes their mind to the other, then it cannot be done. Morgoth had to trick people into leaving their minds open to him.
Morgoth was a master linguist and could speak any language perfectly.
Órë: true feelings on what is happening or will happen in the world (similar to people saying "my heart tells me this is right/wrong, etc.).
Men were originally supposed to be like the Númenóreans (mortal but long-lived), but their lifespan was diminished after falling to Melkor in their beginning. Númenóreans were just a restoration of that original mortality rate.
Erma: the original, undifferentiated substance that all subsequent things come from. Patterns form from erma that create individualized materials out of it, and these individual materials are called nassë.
Durin is not reborn. His fëa (in Mandos) just returns to his preserved body occasionally.
The fëar in Mandos can look through the eyes of their living loved ones to see what is going on in the world.
When Eru directly intervenes in Eä (beyond what's stated in the Ainulindalë), it's called "The Finger of Eru."
Oromë taught the Three Elderwomen of the First Elves (Iminyë, Tatië, Enelyë) how to make lembas. This became known to the hávanissi (bread-women) of the Eldar. Only Elven-women knew the custom and only Elven queens could keep and distribute it. The special corn was brought and preserved by the Noldor when they came back to Middle-earth. Manwë and Varda ensured that the lembas remained pure and incorrupt throughout the First Age. After Morgoth was defeated, Galadriel was considered one of the chief inheritors of the art in the Second and Third Ages. She taught it to Celebrían and Arwen, and once Arwen died, the art of lembas-making was lost forever. Galadriel personally made the Fellowship's lembas.
Dwarves did not like agriculture and only relied on it when trade was not an option.
Doriath was almost entirely a woodland realm (except on their eastern border, where they had some open land to raise cattle. To the east of Doriath, the Sindar utilized the open prairies to grow food, and both Thingol and the Dwarves relied on them for trade.
The best iron in Middle-earth was found in Thangorodrim.
The settlement of the Vanyar after they left Tirion was called Ingwemar.
Gondolin was the only "fully-realized" Noldorin city in Beleriand.
The Sons of Fëanor came up with the name "Felagund", which was adopted by the Dwarves. Sindarin "phelga" refers to small animals burrowing into holes, so the name was originally given in derision.
The caves were already established by the Petty-dwarves before Finrod came, but he enlisted their help in creating Nargothrond. After paying them handsomely, Mîm (their leader) tried to kill Felagund in his sleep. As a result, they were all exiled.
The exiled Noldor primarily lived in Tol Eressëa (a specific part of the island) after leaving Middle-earth and could only go to Valinor and Eldamar for short amounts of time. They were still under the "ban", even after they were pardoned.
In some of his final writings, Tolkien definitively states that the Eagles are Maiar.
Rabbits were not native to Middle-earth and were introduced by the incoming Númenóreans.
Bears were tame and friendly with the Númenóreans. They'd sometimes go to Men's houses and be given honey.
The "Great Bear Dances" were strange dances performed by the bears, who were instructed by Men. Sometimes the bears would perform their dances for the entertainment of their human friends. The most famous of these was the Great Bear-dance (ruxöale) of Tompollë in the Forostar. In the autumn of every year, Númenóreans from around the island would travel to attend. Even though it looked comical, it was important to never laugh, which only confused and angered the bears.
There was an eyrie of golden eagles on top of the king's tower in Armenelos for 2,000 years. The king personally fed them. They departed when the Shadow came to Númenor.
All the eagles in Númenor were sacred to Manwë. The eagles never attacked the Dúnedain until the Shadow came.
It took many expeditions to settle all of the Edain on Númenor. It did not happen all at once. Elros led the first fleet to Númenor with a big fleet (anywhere between 150 and 300 ships), but many came after over the next 50 years. All the ships were steered by an Elven captain under Círdan's rule. The Númenóreans learned the art of shipbuilding from these Elves, and they created their first boats once on the island.
Númenor was 180,000 square miles.
200-350,000 Edain emigrated to Númenor at around SA 50. 2 million people lived in Númenor at SA 1,000, and there were 15 million at the time of the Downfall.
Archery was a sport enjoyed by both men and women in Númenor. It was just a sport in the beginning, but it became their most deadly skill during their later imperialist conquests of Middle-earth.
All Elves in Arda (both in Aman and Middle-earth) will fade. It happens much quicker in Middle-earth, though.
Galadriel and Celeborn regarded as "High Lord and Lady of the Eldar in the West" by the mid-Second Age.
Sauron thinks Galadriel is his equal.
When Imladris was initially founded, it was largely populated by refugees from Eregion.
All ancient technology used by the Eldar that was of uncertain origin was credited to Fëanor as a default.
Ñaltalma was an ancient Eldarin device that could signal to other Elves from afar (similar to a heliograph). It was small and the flashes were so quick that it could not be observed by Men. Because its origin was uncertain, it was attributed to Fëanor. However, this was likely untrue.
Telerin is the most unchanged Eldarin language.
There were many great Orcs in the east that were not a part of the War of the Jewels. They were not initially subservient to Sauron during the Second Age, and they laughed at his Annatar form. It took around 90 years after he forged the One Ring to get these Orcs under his control and build up his armies.
Dwarves had a latent linguistic passion that activated once they came into contact with other cultures.
The idea to cut runes into stone was first thought of by the Dwarves (specifically those who knew the Sons of Fëanor).
Minas Anor was initially less important than Minas Ithil, which had the most task of watching over the deserted land of Mordor. Minas Anor was chiefly used to guard the Tombs of the Kings, and it was built around the hill Amon Anor.
The Nazgûl can always perceive that the Ring is near, but it can be distorted. It was distorted when Khamûl was near Gildor's Elven company, and it also becomes distorted near water (especially bodies of water with an Elvish connection).
Dol Amroth is the capital city of Dor-en-Ernil (Land of the Prince).
All Elves were skilled at shipbuilding, but it required more skill to build ships that could endure the dangers of the Sea for long periods of time.
Gondor was initially occupied by the Faithful Númenóreans who intentionally named things in Sindarin, which was a forbidden tongue in the later days of Númenor. They made some errors in translating the original nomenclature over into Sindarin, or combining Quenya and Sindarin forms into one.
The full beacon system was established when Rohan came into being, and it was chiefly used to warn both north Gondor and Rohan of danger. There were smaller beacons and greater beacons. When things were especially dire, all the beacons would be lit up (including the lesser ones), but oftentimes the smaller ones were not lit. All the beacons are being lit when Gandalf and Pippin see them.
The Dead Men of Dunharrow were "Men of Darkness", and the Paths of the Dead was likely a place of ritual and worship. When Baldor (son of Brego) went through, the Dead Men broke his legs and left him to die.
UPDATE (10/25/23): I gathered a LOT of the important bits of information in here so I don't have to suffer through this one again, lol. Here it is for your reading pleasure:
Thingol did not want to go to Valinor, but he ultimately decided to go due to his love for Finwë.
Ingwë, Finwë, and Elwë/Thingol were direct descendants (in the sixth generation) of Imin, Tata, and Enel (the first Elves to awaken).
The Valar sent Five Guardians to watch over the Elves at Cuiviénen, and they were led by Melian. The Five would go on to become the Istari in The Lord of the Rings.
Elves had a lot more children in their beginning in comparison to later Ages. They have fewer children in each Age until (eventually) they stop having them altogether.
The Ainur's "human" appearance is a mere aesthetic choice. They can cast it off whenever they wish to. However, when the Ainur begin doing "human" things, they become more and more bound to their forms. Melian becomes bound to her form when she bears Lúthien.
Mortal aging slowed in Lórien.
The Elven rate of aging meant that Arwen was the equivalent of a 32-year-old woman when she met Aragorn. Arwen joined the normal mortal aging rating when she had Eldarion (i.e. she began to age at Aragorn's rate, which was slow for other mortals but very quick for her). She died when she was the equivalent of an 84-year-old woman.
Eldarion lived for 120 years. He retained his youth for 60 years and aged for the remaining 65. His children lived to be 80-90 years.
Eärendil's choice extended only to Elrond, his children, and Elros. It would not have gone past the second generation (i.e. if Arwen had chosen immortality and had had a child, then that child would be of the Eldar and would not have a choice in the matter).
Tolkien changed his mind a lot on this, but I think this was his final conception: Elves were in the womb for 3 years, developed full speech at 6, full growth at 72, youth lasted for 6,912 years, and they began to fade after 13,896 years.
Celebrimbor coined the name "mithril." It was called something different before, perhaps?
Pengolodh (the prime source for the information given about the War of the Jewels in The Silmarillion) was the greatest of the Lambeñgolmor (Elven Loremasters) and knew Vanyarin/Noldorin Quenya, Telerin, Sindarin, and archaic Khuzdûl.
Pengolodh finally fled Middle-earth at the end of the Second Age when Sauron arose in might.
Celebrían was born in Lindon at around SA 300.
Númenóreans reached maturity at 24, began to decline at 210 years, and they typically died at around 230 years.
Thingol and Olwë had pale (almost white) hair.
Gil-galad had silver hair.
Eldarin men were around 6'5" or taller and Eldarin women were 6 feet or taller.
Gandalf knew more about wildlife than Radagast.
Númenórean (male) average height was 7 feet.
Indemmar: the ability to project visions into another's thought.
Osanwé: telepathy. It could technically be done by anyone, but it was much harder for the Eruhíni due to the fact that they had physical bodies. The Ainur were the best at it (because they did not have hröar). Elves were much better at it than Men. This is (presumably) what Gandalf, Elrond, and Galadriel were doing in the chapter "Many Partings" in LotR. It can also transcend physical distance (meaning you can communicate with another thousands of miles away).
Osanwé only works if both people are "open" to it. If one closes their mind to the other, then it cannot be done. Morgoth had to trick people into leaving their minds open to him.
Morgoth was a master linguist and could speak any language perfectly.
Órë: true feelings on what is happening or will happen in the world (similar to people saying "my heart tells me this is right/wrong, etc.).
Men were originally supposed to be like the Númenóreans (mortal but long-lived), but their lifespan was diminished after falling to Melkor in their beginning. Númenóreans were just a restoration of that original mortality rate.
Erma: the original, undifferentiated substance that all subsequent things come from. Patterns form from erma that create individualized materials out of it, and these individual materials are called nassë.
Durin is not reborn. His fëa (in Mandos) just returns to his preserved body occasionally.
The fëar in Mandos can look through the eyes of their living loved ones to see what is going on in the world.
When Eru directly intervenes in Eä (beyond what's stated in the Ainulindalë), it's called "The Finger of Eru."
Oromë taught the Three Elderwomen of the First Elves (Iminyë, Tatië, Enelyë) how to make lembas. This became known to the hávanissi (bread-women) of the Eldar. Only Elven-women knew the custom and only Elven queens could keep and distribute it. The special corn was brought and preserved by the Noldor when they came back to Middle-earth. Manwë and Varda ensured that the lembas remained pure and incorrupt throughout the First Age. After Morgoth was defeated, Galadriel was considered one of the chief inheritors of the art in the Second and Third Ages. She taught it to Celebrían and Arwen, and once Arwen died, the art of lembas-making was lost forever. Galadriel personally made the Fellowship's lembas.
Dwarves did not like agriculture and only relied on it when trade was not an option.
Doriath was almost entirely a woodland realm (except on their eastern border, where they had some open land to raise cattle. To the east of Doriath, the Sindar utilized the open prairies to grow food, and both Thingol and the Dwarves relied on them for trade.
The best iron in Middle-earth was found in Thangorodrim.
The settlement of the Vanyar after they left Tirion was called Ingwemar.
Gondolin was the only "fully-realized" Noldorin city in Beleriand.
The Sons of Fëanor came up with the name "Felagund", which was adopted by the Dwarves. Sindarin "phelga" refers to small animals burrowing into holes, so the name was originally given in derision.
The caves were already established by the Petty-dwarves before Finrod came, but he enlisted their help in creating Nargothrond. After paying them handsomely, Mîm (their leader) tried to kill Felagund in his sleep. As a result, they were all exiled.
The exiled Noldor primarily lived in Tol Eressëa (a specific part of the island) after leaving Middle-earth and could only go to Valinor and Eldamar for short amounts of time. They were still under the "ban", even after they were pardoned.
In some of his final writings, Tolkien definitively states that the Eagles are Maiar.
Rabbits were not native to Middle-earth and were introduced by the incoming Númenóreans.
Bears were tame and friendly with the Númenóreans. They'd sometimes go to Men's houses and be given honey.
The "Great Bear Dances" were strange dances performed by the bears, who were instructed by Men. Sometimes the bears would perform their dances for the entertainment of their human friends. The most famous of these was the Great Bear-dance (ruxöale) of Tompollë in the Forostar. In the autumn of every year, Númenóreans from around the island would travel to attend. Even though it looked comical, it was important to never laugh, which only confused and angered the bears.
There was an eyrie of golden eagles on top of the king's tower in Armenelos for 2,000 years. The king personally fed them. They departed when the Shadow came to Númenor.
All the eagles in Númenor were sacred to Manwë. The eagles never attacked the Dúnedain until the Shadow came.
It took many expeditions to settle all of the Edain on Númenor. It did not happen all at once. Elros led the first fleet to Númenor with a big fleet (anywhere between 150 and 300 ships), but many came after over the next 50 years. All the ships were steered by an Elven captain under Círdan's rule. The Númenóreans learned the art of shipbuilding from these Elves, and they created their first boats once on the island.
Númenor was 180,000 square miles.
200-350,000 Edain emigrated to Númenor at around SA 50. 2 million people lived in Númenor at SA 1,000, and there were 15 million at the time of the Downfall.
Archery was a sport enjoyed by both men and women in Númenor. It was just a sport in the beginning, but it became their most deadly skill during their later imperialist conquests of Middle-earth.
All Elves in Arda (both in Aman and Middle-earth) will fade. It happens much quicker in Middle-earth, though.
Galadriel and Celeborn regarded as "High Lord and Lady of the Eldar in the West" by the mid-Second Age.
Sauron thinks Galadriel is his equal.
When Imladris was initially founded, it was largely populated by refugees from Eregion.
All ancient technology used by the Eldar that was of uncertain origin was credited to Fëanor as a default.
Ñaltalma was an ancient Eldarin device that could signal to other Elves from afar (similar to a heliograph). It was small and the flashes were so quick that it could not be observed by Men. Because its origin was uncertain, it was attributed to Fëanor. However, this was likely untrue.
Telerin is the most unchanged Eldarin language.
There were many great Orcs in the east that were not a part of the War of the Jewels. They were not initially subservient to Sauron during the Second Age, and they laughed at his Annatar form. It took around 90 years after he forged the One Ring to get these Orcs under his control and build up his armies.
Dwarves had a latent linguistic passion that activated once they came into contact with other cultures.
The idea to cut runes into stone was first thought of by the Dwarves (specifically those who knew the Sons of Fëanor).
Minas Anor was initially less important than Minas Ithil, which had the most task of watching over the deserted land of Mordor. Minas Anor was chiefly used to guard the Tombs of the Kings, and it was built around the hill Amon Anor.
The Nazgûl can always perceive that the Ring is near, but it can be distorted. It was distorted when Khamûl was near Gildor's Elven company, and it also becomes distorted near water (especially bodies of water with an Elvish connection).
Dol Amroth is the capital city of Dor-en-Ernil (Land of the Prince).
All Elves were skilled at shipbuilding, but it required more skill to build ships that could endure the dangers of the Sea for long periods of time.
Gondor was initially occupied by the Faithful Númenóreans who intentionally named things in Sindarin, which was a forbidden tongue in the later days of Númenor. They made some errors in translating the original nomenclature over into Sindarin, or combining Quenya and Sindarin forms into one.
The full beacon system was established when Rohan came into being, and it was chiefly used to warn both north Gondor and Rohan of danger. There were smaller beacons and greater beacons. When things were especially dire, all the beacons would be lit up (including the lesser ones), but oftentimes the smaller ones were not lit. All the beacons are being lit when Gandalf and Pippin see them.
The Dead Men of Dunharrow were "Men of Darkness", and the Paths of the Dead was likely a place of ritual and worship. When Baldor (son of Brego) went through, the Dead Men broke his legs and left him to die.
September 5, 2021
No one should have let Tolkien attempt maths and/or try to theorise Elven gestation periods.
February 5, 2026
Samo za die hard fanove. Ko je citao Istoriju Srednje Zemlje odmah ce znati o cemu se ovde radi. Ovo se moze i voditi kao 13. deo tog serijala. Stim sto ovde imamo pocetke jedne ozbiljne revizije celokupne mitologije Arde, sveta koji jeste. Kada pricamo o svetu u koji su smesteni, izmedju ostalog, Silmarilion i Gospodaar prstenova pricamo o nasem svetu. Kao sto svi znamo ovaj nas svet podleze raznim pravilima fizike, astrologije, biologije.... A Tolkin je je definitivno, barem sto se tice poslednje revizije svakog dela bio jedan perfekcionista. Malo pre pomenuta biologija ga je sprecila da do kraja oblikuje svoj svet. Medjutim ova knjiga neke stvari dovodi u red, ali kao sto to obicno biva jedna stvar povlaci drugu. Mnogo sta je promenjeno ili bi tek moralo da bude izmenjeno kako bi se doslo do sklada i dobila preciznost kojoj je Tolkin tezio. Pored toga ova knjiga se bavi jos nekim neobjavljenim zapisima i zamislima. Cak i nekoliko redova, pa makar i samo jedna recenica koja nam do sada nije bila dostupna je pravo zlato i uredjivac ove knjige to razume.
September 11, 2021
This work that deeply explores the foundation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-Earth is dedicated to his son Christopher who we regrettably lost in January 2020. Christopher had dedicated much of his life to fully realizing his father’s vision of a complete and detailed history of Middle-Earth and the result were deep explorations into things that were not captured in his most famous work, THE LORD OF THE RINGS Trilogy. In fact, J.R.R. Tolkien always considered THE SILMARILLION his most important work.
The literary ball was picked up by Carl F. Hostetter, one of the world’s leading Tolkien experts and respected head of the Elvish Linguistic Fellowship. Yes, such a thing does actually exist, and it is primarily for dedicated readers of Tolkien and historical experts of Middle-Earth that this work, THE NATURE OF MIDDLE-EARTH, is intended. Typically, you would not want to exclude potential readers when you release a fictional title, but this particular work has no qualms with averring that a full and complete knowledge and understanding of THE SILMARILLION, UNFINISHED TALES, and Volumes X – XII of the History of Middle-Earth are required to fully appreciate what is contained within this tome.
THE NATURE OF MIDDLE-EARTH is like reading an Advanced Placement work with many parts of it resembling the details you might find in a Calculus textbook. As a lifelong Tolkien reader, I will attempt to explain what is found within this eye-opening and impressive tome of Middle-Earth historical, economical, spiritual, and religious detail. Hostetter himself, in order to make the text here more readable with minimal editorial intrusion, expanded abbreviations and supplied punctuation, conjunctions, and other minor connecting words where Tolkien writing in greater haste had omitted them. One thing I continued to enjoy reading was at the top of each new section where it was revealed that much of the writing came off handwritten pages with the black-nib pen as the instrument in which Tolkien produced his brilliant ideas.
Much of this work is consumed with the concept of time --- both literally as well as from the perspective of how certain types of Middle-Earth denizens age in relation to each other. For instance, the growth age of 12:1 (in comparison with mortal years) was maintained until and Elf-man reached ‘age 24’. Perhaps the most famous of Tolkien’s Elves was Elrond, who was born 58 years before the end of the First Age in the overthrow of Morgoth, but he was born in Middle-Earth and so inherited from the beginning the rate of 100:1. When he left Middle-Earth he was 6,520 Elvish years --- 65 years old in human terms and in full vigour.
The exploration of age in relation to the Elvish characters would cause some problems for Tolkien, making characters like Elrond and Galadriel rather older in the later ages. It would then make difficulties with Arwen and Aragorn (who was mortal). Body, Mind, and Spirit is an important and vital section of THE NATURE OF MIDDLE-EARTH. Consideration of bodies and spirits, and the closely related matters of minds, continued into the last years of Tolkien’s life, and ran in both metaphysical and mundane directions: from the nature of being and identity, the relation of freewill to divine foreknowledge, thought-communication, and the manner and mode of Elvish reincarnation.
It will be further seen that the metaphysics of Middle-Earth as reflected here is firmly Catholic: that is, it is clearly informed by the metaphysics espoused by St. Thomas Aquinas, which enjoyed a dramatic reaffirmation by the Catholic Church during Tolkien’s youth, under Pope Leo XIII. However, it is the great and memorable characters that are the lifeblood of Tolkien’s Middle-Earth. Gandalf, an Immortal and emissary of the Valar. Legolas, Elvish Prince of the Sindarin race and tall and strong as a young tree. Hobbits or Halflings, which was derived from the Numenorean name for them (in Sindarin Periannath). Gollum, who according to Gandalf was one of the riverside Hobbit people – and therefore in origin a member of a small variety of the human race.
Tolkien was greatly concerned to achieve astronomical and chronological verisimilitude in THE LORD OF THE RINGS. He expended great effort, for example, to make the movements of the various members of the separated Fellowship realistic, in terms of distance covered on foot or mounted each day (matters of which, as a former British Army officer with equestrian training, he had much experience). THE NATURE OF MIDDLE-EARTH is a treat for the serious Tolkien reader and scholar with so much detail packed in there it gives a taste of how impressive the scope of Tolkien’s vision for his beloved Middle-Earth realm.
Reviewed by Ray Palen for Book Reporter
The literary ball was picked up by Carl F. Hostetter, one of the world’s leading Tolkien experts and respected head of the Elvish Linguistic Fellowship. Yes, such a thing does actually exist, and it is primarily for dedicated readers of Tolkien and historical experts of Middle-Earth that this work, THE NATURE OF MIDDLE-EARTH, is intended. Typically, you would not want to exclude potential readers when you release a fictional title, but this particular work has no qualms with averring that a full and complete knowledge and understanding of THE SILMARILLION, UNFINISHED TALES, and Volumes X – XII of the History of Middle-Earth are required to fully appreciate what is contained within this tome.
THE NATURE OF MIDDLE-EARTH is like reading an Advanced Placement work with many parts of it resembling the details you might find in a Calculus textbook. As a lifelong Tolkien reader, I will attempt to explain what is found within this eye-opening and impressive tome of Middle-Earth historical, economical, spiritual, and religious detail. Hostetter himself, in order to make the text here more readable with minimal editorial intrusion, expanded abbreviations and supplied punctuation, conjunctions, and other minor connecting words where Tolkien writing in greater haste had omitted them. One thing I continued to enjoy reading was at the top of each new section where it was revealed that much of the writing came off handwritten pages with the black-nib pen as the instrument in which Tolkien produced his brilliant ideas.
Much of this work is consumed with the concept of time --- both literally as well as from the perspective of how certain types of Middle-Earth denizens age in relation to each other. For instance, the growth age of 12:1 (in comparison with mortal years) was maintained until and Elf-man reached ‘age 24’. Perhaps the most famous of Tolkien’s Elves was Elrond, who was born 58 years before the end of the First Age in the overthrow of Morgoth, but he was born in Middle-Earth and so inherited from the beginning the rate of 100:1. When he left Middle-Earth he was 6,520 Elvish years --- 65 years old in human terms and in full vigour.
The exploration of age in relation to the Elvish characters would cause some problems for Tolkien, making characters like Elrond and Galadriel rather older in the later ages. It would then make difficulties with Arwen and Aragorn (who was mortal). Body, Mind, and Spirit is an important and vital section of THE NATURE OF MIDDLE-EARTH. Consideration of bodies and spirits, and the closely related matters of minds, continued into the last years of Tolkien’s life, and ran in both metaphysical and mundane directions: from the nature of being and identity, the relation of freewill to divine foreknowledge, thought-communication, and the manner and mode of Elvish reincarnation.
It will be further seen that the metaphysics of Middle-Earth as reflected here is firmly Catholic: that is, it is clearly informed by the metaphysics espoused by St. Thomas Aquinas, which enjoyed a dramatic reaffirmation by the Catholic Church during Tolkien’s youth, under Pope Leo XIII. However, it is the great and memorable characters that are the lifeblood of Tolkien’s Middle-Earth. Gandalf, an Immortal and emissary of the Valar. Legolas, Elvish Prince of the Sindarin race and tall and strong as a young tree. Hobbits or Halflings, which was derived from the Numenorean name for them (in Sindarin Periannath). Gollum, who according to Gandalf was one of the riverside Hobbit people – and therefore in origin a member of a small variety of the human race.
Tolkien was greatly concerned to achieve astronomical and chronological verisimilitude in THE LORD OF THE RINGS. He expended great effort, for example, to make the movements of the various members of the separated Fellowship realistic, in terms of distance covered on foot or mounted each day (matters of which, as a former British Army officer with equestrian training, he had much experience). THE NATURE OF MIDDLE-EARTH is a treat for the serious Tolkien reader and scholar with so much detail packed in there it gives a taste of how impressive the scope of Tolkien’s vision for his beloved Middle-Earth realm.
Reviewed by Ray Palen for Book Reporter
February 20, 2024
The Nature of Middle-Earth is in many ways a fascinating read with its detailed look at everything from geography to the measurement of Elvish lifetimes and reproductive cycles. However, because of this, I must stress it's not a 'story' set in Middle-Earth, but rather a collection of Tolkien's background notes about the world he created. To follow this book, you need to have read everything published under Tolkien's name, including the full History of Middle-Earth series. I have read it all, but that was a fair time ago, so even I had to try to refresh my memory as different characters and events were referenced. In conclusion, I would say this is an interesting resource for die-fan Tolkien fans but perhaps not so captivating if you pick it up simply on the basis of enjoying the movies. As such, I am giving it 4 stars.
January 8, 2022
This was slow read, with all the footnotes and end notes. And math! I do like math well enough, but I didn't expect it from Tolkien. But that's what made this book very interesting: it really showed how broad Tolkien's interests were, especially with respect to his mythos. It's definitely not an easy skim, but I thought it was well worth the effort.
July 21, 2022
I have a somewhat ambivalent attitude towards Tolkien’s later writings on middle-earth. On the one hand there are some real gems and tantalizing glimpses of what might have been if only the professor had had more time, or been slightly less of a perfectionist, such as the beginning of a more novelistic tale of Turin as seen in Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-Earth, or the many fascinating essays on a variety of topics, peoples, and characters that helped to flesh out his creation. On the other hand, I tend to be more leery of many of his late revisions to his Silmarillion-related material whose goal seemed to be to correct what was ‘wrong’, at least as far as known science went...a somewhat strange attitude to take towards a work of mythology. I guess I feel that some of these changes tend to undermine things that I don’t personally feel were in need of fixing. One example would be his apparent wish to make Galadriel a much less flawed (and thus in my opinion less interesting) character and instead have her modelled more along the lines of the Virgin Mary in regards to moral perfection. Another was his desire to make the Silmarillion mythos coherent with actual physics (insofar as he was able) and known pre-history: so no more flat earth becoming round, or birth of the sun and moon as fruit and flower of the Trees of Valinor; both exemplify a tragic loss of mythic and poetic beauty and power as far as I’m concerned. Well, this book covers much of the implications of these latter-day changes and shows just how far Tolkien progressed in his reimagining of his mythology. Luckily for lovers of Tolkien’s older stories such as myself it is apparent that Tolkien seemed to want to keep as much as he could of his original stories and mythic plot, while applying to it a more rigorous rationale for truth and likelihood when compared to (at least some) known facts about the world.
This book reads, and is presented, very much like a volume in the HoMe series, though technically it should be considered an addendum to it as opposed to a part of it. It also, to my mind, shares a number of similarities with _Unfinished Tales_, especially in its somewhat ‘hodgepodge’ construction: covering many different aspects of the ‘nature of middle-earth’ in a variety of sections and essays. Indeed, in some ways this book could be seen as a companion to UT since many of the entries, especially in the latter half of the book, include new and expanded material related to subjects covered in UT, but not previously published.
The first section of the book is likely to shock most readers of Tolkien simply by virtue of the sheer amount of math on display. It is primarily given over to Tolkien’s re-working of the story of the awakening of the elves and dives deeply into explicit details regarding their nature and number (esp. their procreative habits), with exhaustive (and sometimes exhausting) numeric charts calculating the growth of elvish generations from their awakening to their migration to Valinor. Tolkien goes through several different iterations of this data, always starting from the beginning when he reaches a point he find untenable or unfitting in his mind and the sheer amount of time and effort he spent on this seemingly simple and 'background' aspect of his elves, one that most people probably wouldn't even consider or care much about if it was pointed out to them, shows just how invested he was in the verisimilitude of his world.
Next we see discussions on the physical and spiritual nature of the beings of Arda, philosophical and metaphysical ruminations on the implications of elvish and human interactions with each other and the world around them, and a miscellany of topics covering everything from beards, hair, and elvish horsemanship to the proper way to make lembas, the geography of Gondor, and the tonal quality of dwarven voices. Many of the entries are, unsurprisingly, in the form of linguistic treatises, but prove to be much more than simple dictionary entries or purely dry linguistic jargon. There are a multitude of world building (and character expanding) seeds that flower within them and which yet again prove the centrality of the ‘linguistic side’ to nearly all of Tolkien’s creative work, if there were any out there who still doubted it. Even the plethora of mathematical tables about elven birth rates prove to be fertile ground and, as with his linguistic work, it is amazing to see the stories that emerge from amongst them.
That said this is definitely only for hard-core Tolkien aficionados, but it provides yet another fascinating glimpse into the mind of the man who created one of the most comprehensive and well-loved fictional universes ever devised.
This book reads, and is presented, very much like a volume in the HoMe series, though technically it should be considered an addendum to it as opposed to a part of it. It also, to my mind, shares a number of similarities with _Unfinished Tales_, especially in its somewhat ‘hodgepodge’ construction: covering many different aspects of the ‘nature of middle-earth’ in a variety of sections and essays. Indeed, in some ways this book could be seen as a companion to UT since many of the entries, especially in the latter half of the book, include new and expanded material related to subjects covered in UT, but not previously published.
The first section of the book is likely to shock most readers of Tolkien simply by virtue of the sheer amount of math on display. It is primarily given over to Tolkien’s re-working of the story of the awakening of the elves and dives deeply into explicit details regarding their nature and number (esp. their procreative habits), with exhaustive (and sometimes exhausting) numeric charts calculating the growth of elvish generations from their awakening to their migration to Valinor. Tolkien goes through several different iterations of this data, always starting from the beginning when he reaches a point he find untenable or unfitting in his mind and the sheer amount of time and effort he spent on this seemingly simple and 'background' aspect of his elves, one that most people probably wouldn't even consider or care much about if it was pointed out to them, shows just how invested he was in the verisimilitude of his world.
Next we see discussions on the physical and spiritual nature of the beings of Arda, philosophical and metaphysical ruminations on the implications of elvish and human interactions with each other and the world around them, and a miscellany of topics covering everything from beards, hair, and elvish horsemanship to the proper way to make lembas, the geography of Gondor, and the tonal quality of dwarven voices. Many of the entries are, unsurprisingly, in the form of linguistic treatises, but prove to be much more than simple dictionary entries or purely dry linguistic jargon. There are a multitude of world building (and character expanding) seeds that flower within them and which yet again prove the centrality of the ‘linguistic side’ to nearly all of Tolkien’s creative work, if there were any out there who still doubted it. Even the plethora of mathematical tables about elven birth rates prove to be fertile ground and, as with his linguistic work, it is amazing to see the stories that emerge from amongst them.
That said this is definitely only for hard-core Tolkien aficionados, but it provides yet another fascinating glimpse into the mind of the man who created one of the most comprehensive and well-loved fictional universes ever devised.
February 20, 2022
This is a must have for a true hard Tolkien fan. It is very technical in places and is not for the casual reader.
Part 1 of the book deals with the years and the aging of elves. There is a lot of mathematical equations and tables here and be a very difficult section unless you are into math.
Part 2 gets more into the philosophy and religion of the red and of Arda. It explains just how much power Eru gave to the Valar. It also looks at some of the linguistic concepts from the various elvish tongues.
Part 3 is heavy on the Numenorians and how they adopted elvish dialects.
Appendix I tried to show how Middle-Earth was fundamentally Catholic.
For a more detailed, video review, check out my YouTube channel at
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC82t...
Part 1 of the book deals with the years and the aging of elves. There is a lot of mathematical equations and tables here and be a very difficult section unless you are into math.
Part 2 gets more into the philosophy and religion of the red and of Arda. It explains just how much power Eru gave to the Valar. It also looks at some of the linguistic concepts from the various elvish tongues.
Part 3 is heavy on the Numenorians and how they adopted elvish dialects.
Appendix I tried to show how Middle-Earth was fundamentally Catholic.
For a more detailed, video review, check out my YouTube channel at
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC82t...
December 30, 2023
OK, so there are narwhals in Middle Earth? 😂 Tolkien said so!
This book took me a while (over three months) because to be honest, I was bored with it. It's a collection of scraps written by Tolkien during his career. Most of these didn't really need to be released, otherwise Christopher would have done that earlier. But in all, it contains some interesting bits. With a title like this, you'd expect a bit like a biology book (that would have been amazing), but it has something of everything, even some math on elvish aging/time. At the end of the book I found myself skimming some parts. Only for hardcore Tolkien fans and scholars.
This book took me a while (over three months) because to be honest, I was bored with it. It's a collection of scraps written by Tolkien during his career. Most of these didn't really need to be released, otherwise Christopher would have done that earlier. But in all, it contains some interesting bits. With a title like this, you'd expect a bit like a biology book (that would have been amazing), but it has something of everything, even some math on elvish aging/time. At the end of the book I found myself skimming some parts. Only for hardcore Tolkien fans and scholars.
March 25, 2023
Scraps from the bottom of the barrel
June 14, 2022
Questo è in cima alla "food chain" dei nerdoni di Tolkien.
Non solamente ci sono testi spezzettati, etimologie assurde, conti di anni e progeniture elfiche, ma il tutto è fine a sé stesso (contrariamente al resto delle Histories, che ha quantomeno un riferimento diretto all'evoluzione delle opere principali).
Consigliato? NO! Meno della metà della metà vorrebbe bene alla metà del libro la metà di quanto gliene vuole l'1% dei fan.
Non solamente ci sono testi spezzettati, etimologie assurde, conti di anni e progeniture elfiche, ma il tutto è fine a sé stesso (contrariamente al resto delle Histories, che ha quantomeno un riferimento diretto all'evoluzione delle opere principali).
Consigliato? NO! Meno della metà della metà vorrebbe bene alla metà del libro la metà di quanto gliene vuole l'1% dei fan.
October 4, 2021
Some questions to ask yourself (Carl) before compiling a book like this:
1. How much of these 400 pages of 'new material' is really new?
2. How much of it will interest even the most hardcore Tolkien fans/scholars?
3. What is the best way to present this difficult material?
4. What is the best order for this material? Ie- should I open the book with 185 pages of math, or should I start with the easy stuff and close the book with the mind-numbing math? In the non-math sections, what would be a logical way to order this varied material?
5. Am I an editor or an archivist? Ie- Am I beholden to the format that Christopher Tolkien used for History of Middle Earth (archivist), or can I use more editorial judgment to present this material in a way that is easier or more compelling for a reader to understand?
6. If even Christopher Tolkien thought that a certain scrap or paragraph was not worth publishing in his 10,000 pages or so of companion material, do I really need to publish it?
1. How much of these 400 pages of 'new material' is really new?
2. How much of it will interest even the most hardcore Tolkien fans/scholars?
3. What is the best way to present this difficult material?
4. What is the best order for this material? Ie- should I open the book with 185 pages of math, or should I start with the easy stuff and close the book with the mind-numbing math? In the non-math sections, what would be a logical way to order this varied material?
5. Am I an editor or an archivist? Ie- Am I beholden to the format that Christopher Tolkien used for History of Middle Earth (archivist), or can I use more editorial judgment to present this material in a way that is easier or more compelling for a reader to understand?
6. If even Christopher Tolkien thought that a certain scrap or paragraph was not worth publishing in his 10,000 pages or so of companion material, do I really need to publish it?
October 7, 2025
This book has so much math.
and this is the part where I succumb to vulnerability and tell you that I still count on my fingers, and can barely divide.
So naturally, I spent most of this book just... looking at it.
Was I reading it? Yeah.
Was I understanding it? Nope.
It is however, still getting 3 stars.
Mainly because I think it's unfair for me to say its bad- just because I myself wasn't able to understand it. The shortcoming is my own.
Also... pretty cover.
I don't understand math, but luckily I understand pretty cover.
and this is the part where I succumb to vulnerability and tell you that I still count on my fingers, and can barely divide.
So naturally, I spent most of this book just... looking at it.
Was I reading it? Yeah.
Was I understanding it? Nope.
It is however, still getting 3 stars.
Mainly because I think it's unfair for me to say its bad- just because I myself wasn't able to understand it. The shortcoming is my own.
Also... pretty cover.
I don't understand math, but luckily I understand pretty cover.
September 14, 2023
This is a very excellent collection of Tolkien’s notes with illuminating commentary that slots well as a worthy companion to The History of Middle-earth. I never knew elf aging could be such a problem.
April 5, 2022
The man was a genius. I do not think any "world" creator thought more in-depth about his creation than Tolkien did Middle-Earth
March 21, 2023
Jako fanka Śródziemia i jego bohaterów, każdą pozycję traktującą o tym fantastycznym uniwersum przyjmuję wręcz z wypiekami na twarzy. Dlatego nie mogłam przejść obojętnie obok zredagowanej przez Carla F. Hostettera publikacji pod tytułem Natura Śródziemia, gdzie autor zebrał ostatnie pisma wielkiego J.R.R. Tolkien a na temat Śródziemia.
Późne notatki wraz z komentarzami.
Nie będę Wam dokładnie opisywać rozdziałów, a tylko podrzucę dla ciekawskich, jaki podział na części został zastosowany przez Carl F. Hostettera przy zbieraniu i przedstawianiu materiałów do tej książki:.
CZĘŚĆ PIERWSZA.
Czas i starzenie się;
CZĘŚĆ DRUGA.
Ciało, umysł i dusza;
CZĘŚĆ TRZECIA
Świat, jego krainy i ich mieszkańcy.
Dla wielbicieli.
Pierwsza myśl, jak dopadła mnie podczas czytania Natury Śródziemia, to to, że ta pozycja jest niezwykła i może być doskonałym uzupełnieniem wiedzy o Śródziemiu.
Zaraz po tym bardzo wzniosłym stwierdzeniu, stwierdziłam jednak, że nie jest to pozycja dla każdego, ale jedynie dla wielbicieli autora i całego uniwersum.
Bo trzeba na prawdę kochać Śródziemie, by „zanurzyć się” w tych wszystkich detalach i dywagacjach autora. Trzeba wczuć się w rolę i razem z Tolkienem w Części Pierwszej przyjrzeć się dojrzewaniu, rozmnażaniu i starzeniu się elfów czy pokusić się o przeliczanie elfich lat na ludzkie lub odwrotnie.
Trzeba zaangażować ciało i umysł z Części Drugiej, by filozoficznie spojrzeć na całe Śródziemie i przy okazji dowiedzieć się, że Aragorn nie powinien mieć brody. ;)
I w końcu wraz z mieszkańcami Śródziemia z Części Trzeciej poczytać kilka słów o gospodarce elfów i dowiedzieć się, jak wytwarza się lembasy.
Reasumując. Jeżeli jesteście fanami Tolkiena i jego uniwersum, to Natura Śródziemia Carl F. Hostettera, jest pozycją, której nie możecie przeoczyć.
https://unserious.pl/2023/03/natura-s...
Późne notatki wraz z komentarzami.
Nie będę Wam dokładnie opisywać rozdziałów, a tylko podrzucę dla ciekawskich, jaki podział na części został zastosowany przez Carl F. Hostettera przy zbieraniu i przedstawianiu materiałów do tej książki:.
CZĘŚĆ PIERWSZA.
Czas i starzenie się;
CZĘŚĆ DRUGA.
Ciało, umysł i dusza;
CZĘŚĆ TRZECIA
Świat, jego krainy i ich mieszkańcy.
Dla wielbicieli.
Pierwsza myśl, jak dopadła mnie podczas czytania Natury Śródziemia, to to, że ta pozycja jest niezwykła i może być doskonałym uzupełnieniem wiedzy o Śródziemiu.
Zaraz po tym bardzo wzniosłym stwierdzeniu, stwierdziłam jednak, że nie jest to pozycja dla każdego, ale jedynie dla wielbicieli autora i całego uniwersum.
Bo trzeba na prawdę kochać Śródziemie, by „zanurzyć się” w tych wszystkich detalach i dywagacjach autora. Trzeba wczuć się w rolę i razem z Tolkienem w Części Pierwszej przyjrzeć się dojrzewaniu, rozmnażaniu i starzeniu się elfów czy pokusić się o przeliczanie elfich lat na ludzkie lub odwrotnie.
Trzeba zaangażować ciało i umysł z Części Drugiej, by filozoficznie spojrzeć na całe Śródziemie i przy okazji dowiedzieć się, że Aragorn nie powinien mieć brody. ;)
I w końcu wraz z mieszkańcami Śródziemia z Części Trzeciej poczytać kilka słów o gospodarce elfów i dowiedzieć się, jak wytwarza się lembasy.
Reasumując. Jeżeli jesteście fanami Tolkiena i jego uniwersum, to Natura Śródziemia Carl F. Hostettera, jest pozycją, której nie możecie przeoczyć.
https://unserious.pl/2023/03/natura-s...
April 11, 2023
Bits and pieces. The stuff on Numenor was the most interesting, the rest less so.
May 18, 2022
This is a book about which I'm intensely ambivalent. I loved the History of Middle Earth series -- it was what finally enabled me to read through the Silmarillion instead of bogging down in the middle. It was so fascinating to get a look behind the stories, to see their development from those first hastily-scribbled notebooks to the books we read. In fact, it was what gave me the courage to stand my ground and ultimately quit a writers' workshop that insisted that one must plan everything, with no room for surprise, and that writing by the seat of one's pants is the mark of an amateur.
However, while some of the material in this volume is fascinating, and it's clear that the editor loves Tolkien's life-work, Mr. Hostetter isn't quite at the same level as Christopher Tolkien in his ability to make the material fascinating to read. There just isn't quite the verve, the vibrancy in the explanatory texts as Christopher Tolkien could do.
It does not help that many of these materials are areas in which I feel as if the master himself had gone astray. In particularly, the later works on the timelines of the early First Age and the cosmology (in particular, doing away with the original Flat Earth and having it be round from the start) diminished the wonder of the creation. I like the sense of the mythical in the earliest versions, of the timelessness of those early days (not in the sense of being for the ages, but of time being irrelevant). The image of the Elves awakening under starlight and making the Great Journey in that unending not-quite-twilight has a magic that seems to fade away in these materials. Rather like the bit in "On Fairy Stories" about the door being shut and the key lost.
However, while some of the material in this volume is fascinating, and it's clear that the editor loves Tolkien's life-work, Mr. Hostetter isn't quite at the same level as Christopher Tolkien in his ability to make the material fascinating to read. There just isn't quite the verve, the vibrancy in the explanatory texts as Christopher Tolkien could do.
It does not help that many of these materials are areas in which I feel as if the master himself had gone astray. In particularly, the later works on the timelines of the early First Age and the cosmology (in particular, doing away with the original Flat Earth and having it be round from the start) diminished the wonder of the creation. I like the sense of the mythical in the earliest versions, of the timelessness of those early days (not in the sense of being for the ages, but of time being irrelevant). The image of the Elves awakening under starlight and making the Great Journey in that unending not-quite-twilight has a magic that seems to fade away in these materials. Rather like the bit in "On Fairy Stories" about the door being shut and the key lost.
June 18, 2023
4/5 Stars (%76/100)
I think this is a must-have for hardcore Tolkien fans. If you are not a huge Tolkien fan, you probably don't need this book. The book's format is almost like a PhD dissertation. It consists of three main parts which can be called essays. There are a lot of notes, footnotes, extra information etc. Some of the notes are not complete because of Tolkien's writing and most of the book seems to be collected to create one huge note. This is why some of the parts are not really connected to each other. However, all of this does not mean that it is a bad or disorganized book. There are A LOT of useful information in my opinion, especially in the first part where we learn about how time and ageing work in Tolkien's universe. I did not expect it to be so mathematical with all these formulas. In short, if you are a die-hard Tolkien fan, you should definitely get this and read it at least once. Otherwise, for others it might not be too appealing or fun.
I think this is a must-have for hardcore Tolkien fans. If you are not a huge Tolkien fan, you probably don't need this book. The book's format is almost like a PhD dissertation. It consists of three main parts which can be called essays. There are a lot of notes, footnotes, extra information etc. Some of the notes are not complete because of Tolkien's writing and most of the book seems to be collected to create one huge note. This is why some of the parts are not really connected to each other. However, all of this does not mean that it is a bad or disorganized book. There are A LOT of useful information in my opinion, especially in the first part where we learn about how time and ageing work in Tolkien's universe. I did not expect it to be so mathematical with all these formulas. In short, if you are a die-hard Tolkien fan, you should definitely get this and read it at least once. Otherwise, for others it might not be too appealing or fun.
September 4, 2021
"What more do you want to know?"
"The names of all the stars and of all living things, and the whole history of Middle-Earth and Over-heaven and of the Sundering Seas," laughed Pippin. "Of course! What less?"
If you are the sort of Tolkien fan who wants to know exactly how Tolkien calculated the ages of elves, including pages and pages of mathematical tables, this book is for you. If you want to know what kind of ink and paper Tolkien was using, and how neat his handwriting was on any manuscript under discussion, this book is for you.
But if you are the sort of fan who loves LOTR, but can barely tolerate "The Silmarillion," this book is not for you. (I found the title "The Nature of Middle-Earth" misleading, as the book deals mostly with Elves--not that that is bad, but I was expecting to hear more about the other peoples as well.) You will find the occasional nugget of interest, but otherwise you will be skimming through the book in dismay. (However, those of us who always wondered about the life cycle, and especially the reproductive cycle, of Elves will be repaid for staying alert.)
Not a book for the casual fan. (Soon they will be publishing Tolkien's laundry lists.) But fun for the most ardent enthusiasts.
"The names of all the stars and of all living things, and the whole history of Middle-Earth and Over-heaven and of the Sundering Seas," laughed Pippin. "Of course! What less?"
If you are the sort of Tolkien fan who wants to know exactly how Tolkien calculated the ages of elves, including pages and pages of mathematical tables, this book is for you. If you want to know what kind of ink and paper Tolkien was using, and how neat his handwriting was on any manuscript under discussion, this book is for you.
But if you are the sort of fan who loves LOTR, but can barely tolerate "The Silmarillion," this book is not for you. (I found the title "The Nature of Middle-Earth" misleading, as the book deals mostly with Elves--not that that is bad, but I was expecting to hear more about the other peoples as well.) You will find the occasional nugget of interest, but otherwise you will be skimming through the book in dismay. (However, those of us who always wondered about the life cycle, and especially the reproductive cycle, of Elves will be repaid for staying alert.)
Not a book for the casual fan. (Soon they will be publishing Tolkien's laundry lists.) But fun for the most ardent enthusiasts.
September 16, 2021
A wonderful glimpse into the creative process of a one-of-a-kind intellect. Only worth reading if you're already invested in Tolkien's legendarium.
Read
July 18, 2023
χρόνος ανάγνωσης κριτικής: 1 λεπτό και 28 δευτερόλεπτα
Στην κριτική μου για τον 12ο τόμο της Ιστορίας της Μέσης-γης
είχα πει ότι λόγω της ακαδημαϊκής φύσεως της σειράς με τις
ατέλειωτες σημειώσεις και σχολιασμούς του Κρίστοφερ Τόλκιν
που επαναλαμβάνονται με σισύφεια επανάληψη, καθώς και
των δοκιμίων γλωσσολογικής, φιλοσοφικής, και κοσμολογικής φύσεως
του Τόλκιν που αφορούν τους πολύ λίγους είπα ότι διαβάζοντας Το Σιλμαρίλλιον
και τις Ατέλειωτες ιστορίες που εκδόθηκαν 1977 και 1980 αντίστοιχα
καθώς και Τα παιδιά του Χούριν, το Μπέρεν και Λούθιεν,
τΗν Πτώση της Γκοντόλιν, τΗ φύση της Μέσης-γης
και τΗ πτώση του Νούμενορ έχεις διαβάσει το 80%
της ακαδημαϊκά δυσνόητης Ιστορίας της Μέσης-γης.
Διαβάζοντας όμως τον περασμένο μήνα την Φύση της Μέσης-γης αναιρώ
κάπως αυτό που είπα.
Διαβάστε όλα τα προαναφερθέντα βιβλία εκτός την Φύση της Μέσης-γης
διότι είναι επίσης ακαδημαϊκά δυσνόητη και ενδιαφέρει τους πολύ λίγους.
Σε αυτό το βιβλίο περιέχεται ό,τι δεν χώρεσε στους τελευταίους 3εις τόμους
της Ιστορίας της Μέσης-γης, Το Δαχτυλίδι του Μόργκοθ, τον Πόλεμο των Πετραδιών
και Τους Λαούς της Μέσης-γης .
Δηλαδή στο πρώτο μέρος είχαμε να κάνουμε με μια αναλυτική και μαθηματική μελέτη
για το προσδόκιμο ζωής των ξωτικών με πίνακες, υπολογισμούς, και χρονολογίες.
Το δεύτερο μέρος ήταν μεταφυσικής φύσεως που μιλούσε για τη ψυχή, το πνεύμα,
το φύλο, τη γνώση, και άλλα πολλά.
Τέλος στο τρίτο μέρος, που ήταν και το πιο ενδιαφέρον για μένα, ασχολούμαστε
με την φύση της Μέσης-γης, το σκοτάδι και το φως,
τους οικισμούς και τους δρόμους, τα ποτάμια και τα βουνά,
τις γλώσσες και την οικονομία.
Φυσικά δεν μετάνιωσα που το διάβασα αλλά όπως και η 12τομη Ιστορία της Μέσης-γης
έτσι και αυτός ο ανεπίσημα 13ος τόμος
είναι για τους λίγους και όχι για ανέμελο διάβασμα.
April 13, 2025
3,5 Sterne
Mehr als Nachschlagewerk und Sekundärliteratur zu sehen. Erklärt und vertieft aber viele Überlegungen. Besonders Zahlenfreaks kommen hier auf ihre Kosten, wenn Tolkien Altersberechnungen für Elben, Numenrorer und Menschen anstellt. Oft mehrmals, oft zu anderen Ergebnissen kommend, wenn eine Variabeländerung das ganze System zerschießt. Ja, ich hatte meine Freude dran. Weniger Freude hatte ich bei der seltsam katholisch anmutenden Moralvorstellung der drei vorgestellten Völker. Denn man erfährt quasi nur etwas über die großen Völker. Halblinge, Zwerge - nur ganz kurz am Rande. Natur und Wesen soll mal bloß nicht als Flora und Fauna missverstehen.
Mehr als Nachschlagewerk und Sekundärliteratur zu sehen. Erklärt und vertieft aber viele Überlegungen. Besonders Zahlenfreaks kommen hier auf ihre Kosten, wenn Tolkien Altersberechnungen für Elben, Numenrorer und Menschen anstellt. Oft mehrmals, oft zu anderen Ergebnissen kommend, wenn eine Variabeländerung das ganze System zerschießt. Ja, ich hatte meine Freude dran. Weniger Freude hatte ich bei der seltsam katholisch anmutenden Moralvorstellung der drei vorgestellten Völker. Denn man erfährt quasi nur etwas über die großen Völker. Halblinge, Zwerge - nur ganz kurz am Rande. Natur und Wesen soll mal bloß nicht als Flora und Fauna missverstehen.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 213 reviews