The Great Music, the act of creation by which the world was brought into being. Iluvatar proposed themes of music to the...

Maiar fire spirits corrupted by Morgoth in the earliest days of the world, among the most terrible of his servants. They...

A sturdy, proud race created by the Vala Aule, who could not wait for the coming of Iluvatar's Children. Though Iluvatar...

The Firstborn Children of Iluvatar, who awoke by the shores of Cuivienen under the stars before the rising of the Sun an...

Ancient tree-like beings, the Shepherds of the Trees, created to protect the forests of Middle-earth from those who woul...

The greatest kingdom of Men in the west of Middle-earth, the South-kingdom of the Dunedain, founded by Isildur and Anari...

A small, peaceful folk of Middle-earth, averaging about three and a half feet tall, with large hairy feet and a love of ...

Eru Iluvatar, the Creator, the supreme being who brought the Ainur (the Valar and Maiar) into existence through his thou...

A fortress at the southern end of the Misty Mountains, centred on the tower of Orthanc, an unbreakable pinnacle of black...

The five Wizards sent by the Valar to Middle-earth around the year 1000 of the Third Age to rally resistance against Sau...

Elvish waybread, a sustaining food prepared by the Elves for long journeys. Thin cakes wrapped in mallorn leaves, lembas...

The Golden Wood, an Elvish realm on the banks of the Silverlode and the Great River Anduin, ruled by Galadriel and Celeb...

Lesser angelic spirits who serve the Valar, of the same order but lesser in power. Many Maiar are bound to specific Vala...

A precious silver metal found only in the mines of Khazad-dum (Moria), prized above gold for its beauty, lightness, and ...

The dark realm of Sauron in the southeast of Middle-earth, a barren land enclosed on three sides by mountain ranges - th...

The first and greatest Dark Lord, originally named Melkor, the mightiest of the Valar. Consumed by pride and the desire ...

The great Dwarf-kingdom of Khazad-dum beneath the Misty Mountains, the most magnificent of all Dwarven realms. Its vast ...

Also called Orodruin (Mountain of Fire), a great volcano in the heart of Mordor where Sauron forged the One Ring in its ...

The nine Ringwraiths, once great kings and sorcerers of Men who were given nine of the Rings of Power by Sauron. The Rin...

A great island kingdom raised from the sea by the Valar as a gift to the Men who fought against Morgoth in the First Age...

The master Ring forged by Sauron in the fires of Mount Doom during the Second Age, into which he poured much of his own ...

Corrupted creatures bred by Morgoth in the First Age, possibly from captured and tortured Elves. Orcs are cruel, cowardl...

The Seeing Stones, seven indestructible crystal spheres made by the Noldor in the Blessed Realm and brought to Middle-ea...

The ancient tongue of the Noldor and Vanyar Elves, developed in Valinor and brought back to Middle-earth by the returnin...

Magical rings forged during the Second Age. Sauron, disguised as Annatar ('Lord of Gifts'), taught the Elven-smiths of E...

The hidden valley refuge of Elrond Half-elven, called Imladris in Elvish, located in the foothills of the Misty Mountain...

An inland kingdom of horsemen on the great grasslands between the White Mountains and Fangorn Forest, allied to Gondor. ...

The Dark Lord of the Second and Third Ages, originally a Maia spirit in the service of Aule the Smith before being corru...

The homeland of the Hobbits in the northwest of Middle-earth, a fertile, well-ordered country of gentle hills, tilled fi...

Three jewels of surpassing beauty crafted by Feanor, greatest of the Noldor, from silima - a crystalline substance that ...

The Elvish language of the Sindar (Grey Elves) of Beleriand, which became the common Elvish tongue of Middle-earth after...

Telperion (the Silver Tree) and Laurelin (the Golden Tree), the great trees that lit the Blessed Realm before the creati...

The collective name for Valinor and the island of Tol Eressea, the blessed realm in the uttermost West where the Valar d...

The fourteen great Powers of Arda, angelic beings who entered the world after its creation to shape and govern it. They ...

The Blessed Realm, the land of the Valar in the uttermost West of the world. Also called the Undying Lands, Valinor is t...

The centuries-long conflict in Beleriand during the First Age, driven by the Noldor's quest to recover the Silmarils fro...

The great conflict at the end of the Third Age, precipitated by the discovery that the Ring found by Bilbo Baggins in Go...

The final battle of the First Age, in which the Valar at last intervened directly against Morgoth. The Host of Valinor, ...