The Lord of the Rings is an epic fantasy novel written by philologist and University of Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien. It is the second best selling novel ever written with over 150 million copies sold.
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In Tolkien's mythology, why did the reign of Men collapse after Sauron's army was defeated for the first time?
Was it related to Isildur's death? What was the reason for the collapse ?
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Did Hobbits originate from the Lord of the Rings book?
A little bit history about hobbits ? Did they exist before the time of LOTR books ?
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How much did Tolkien write about the worshippers of Sauron? The Easterlings, the Harad, the Khand
Watching The Lord of the Rings movies I was really captivated by the elephant riders and the men in brazen scale armor who aided the orcs against the forces of Gondor and Rohan. From what I know they ...
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What are the cats of Queen Beruthiel?
When the fellowship is traveling through Moria, some of them become afraid. When Aragorn sees this, he gives a big speech telling them not to be afraid. At the end of this speech, he tells the company ...
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Why did the theatrical version of LoTR portray the undead as it did?
The theatrical adaptation of LoTR portrays the undead from Dunharrow considerably differently than the books (see this question, this answer, and wikipedia). It also changes the role they play from ...
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Why did the fellowship not choose to pass the misty mountains further north or south?
At the Council of Elrond, it is known that:
Saruman is a traitor, thus it’s not possible for the Ring to pass through the fords of Isen
Nobody has heard any news of Balin and Moria for a long time; ...
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How did Tom Bombadil respond to Frodo's call so fast?
When Frodo was in the Barrow, He sang Bombadil's rhyme. This rhyme summoned Bombadil to help them. How was Bombadil able to come within a moments notice? If Bombadil was at his house wouldn't it take ...
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Why could Aragorn heal Éowyn but not Frodo?
Aragorn could heal Éowyn with Athelas, but he could not heal Frodo of a similar wound. Why not? Both wounds resulted from a Black Rider.
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Why didn't Aragorn and Glorfindel attack some of the Black Riders?
When Gandalf is recounting to Frodo what happened at the Ford of Bruinen, he says that Aragorn and Glorfindel had moved out of the way of the Black Riders to avoid being trampled.
Your friends ...
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Where did Bilbo wander?
When Bilbo was talking with Frodo when he arrived at Rivendell, Bilbo said that he had wandered for a while. After he wandered for a while, He arrived at Rivendell and went to Dain with some dwarves. ...
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What is the point of Sauron making the One Ring?
Why would Sauron make himself a ring that he invested most of his power in? Wouldn't it be better to keep the power in his physical form and not risk leaving his power in a physical form that could be ...
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Why can the dead men of Dunharrow kill the corsairs from the South?
When I read this question, I had another question: Why can the dead men of Dunharrow kill the corsairs from the south if they are immaterial ghost?
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Why did the Old Forest respond to the hobbits?
In the Fellowship of the Ring, why was the Old Forest able to respond to what the hobbits said or did? The forest is not composed of Ents, which can think, feel, and walk, yet the trees shift and ...
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Why did Frodo travel with the elves who were leaving Middle Earth?
In the book The Fellowship of the Ring, the elves that Frodo, Pippin, and Sam meet on the road were High Elves leaving Middle Earth by way of the Grey Havens. Yet the Hobbits travel with them for a ...
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Why was a fox able to think about the hobbits on the road to Rivendell?
When Frodo, Pippin, and Sam were traveling to Rivendell, they slept under a tree the first night. Tolkien writes about a fox that wonders to himself why three hobbits were sleeping under a tree. Why ...
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How could Saruman imprison Gandalf?
One thing I've never understood is how Saruman was able to imprison Gandalf in Orthanc by (presumably) magical means. Even if he was the nominal head of the Order they were both Maiar and Gandalf had ...
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How can an old dead tree suddenly spring to life and cast its petals on Aragorn's coronation?
There's a dead, gnarly old tree in the courtyard outside of Denethor's 'throne room' on the top level of Minas Tirith. Gandalf told Pippin that it's called the White Tree of Gondor. We see it several ...
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Where did “you shall not pass” come from?
One of the most memorable lines from the Lord of the Rings movies is when Gandalf stands before the Balrog and says "You shall not pass."
He doesn't actually say that in the book.
In the ...
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How do Orcs breed/reproduce? [duplicate]
Okay, I know this question has come up many many times before.
But let's approach one more time.
Yet this is held true by the wise of Eressea, that all those of the Quendi who came into the ...
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How big were Hobbit children?
We know that Hobbits were 3 to 3.5 feet tall, Bandobras Took almost 4. But how big were hobbit children (relative to their age, of course)?
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Why didn't the Nazgûl stab more people to create more wraiths?
My understanding is those stabbed by a Morgul blade slowly turn into a wraith.
Is there a reason the Nazgûl and the Witch King of Angmar did not go around stabbing people and turning them into ...
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How can Aragorn fight with a broken sword?
In the book, Aragorn has Anduril in his scabbard, but it is broken, as he shows
Sam. How could he defend himself in the wild? Is there any reference from LOTR or HoME?
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Why does Grima Wormtongue have black hair?
In the LOTR movie, Wormtongue is depicted as having black hair, which is out of place, since the Rohirrim all have blond hair. Is there any in-universe reason for giving him black hair?
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Did Saruman copy from Radagast?
We know that, although publicly he scorned Gandalf, Saruman copied him and also smoked, and imitated Sauron, as often said in The Lord of the Rings. But I just saw a quote about Radagast, saying that
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Did Faramir see Boromir's actual body, or have a vision?
In The Two Towers, when Frodo and Sam meet Faramir, he tells them something that happened a few days earlier:
'I sat at night by the waters of Anduin, in the grey dark under the young pale moon,
...
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Reading order of Tolkien's middle-earth books [duplicate]
I have these books written by J.R.R. Tolkien:
The Silmarillion
The Hobbit
All three LOTRs
Which reading order is the best to get the complete story?
The one I wrote up above, or?
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How many men were really at Helm's Deep?
According to LOTR:TT movie, there were 300 men at Helm's Deep:
Legolas: [in Elvish] And they should be. Three hundred... against ten thousand! (src)
Is that "300" number a Jackson special, or ...
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What was the earliest point at which Saruman knew of the One Ring not being lost?
According to Tolkien canon (e.g. sourced from JRRT ot CT), what was the earliest point that:
Saruman suspected that the One Ring was not fully lost and is recoverable
Realized that the One Ring was ...
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Would Smaug have been able to identify and claim the One Ring?
Reputed to be intimately familiar with every last item within his hoard, Smaug instantly noticed the theft of a relatively inconsequential cup by Bilbo Baggins. Had he been able to defeat the barrel ...
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Why did Peter Jackson significanty change the story line in the Lord of the Rings movie? [closed]
Peter Jackson changed a lot of large and small details from LOTR the book toLOTR the movie.
Is there any reference from Jackson himself that states specifically why he changed some of the following ...
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What did Numenorean swords / Andúril look like?
I was wondering what Andúril looks like, and I know that distinctive look John Howe gives it, with the holes on the ends.
As far as I remember, John Howe wrote in his site that all Numenorean ...
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What do we know about the Black Speech of Mordor?
We know the Ring Verse (Ash Nazg . . .), and single words like 'Ghâsh' (Fire). Do we know any more about canonical Black Speech?
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Is the “^” significant in the word Nazgûl?
I noticed how Nazgûl always has a "^" over the u. Does that mean anything about how I pronounce the word? Or is it just decoration?
Or, in other words:
What does the "^" mean in Tolkien's Languages?
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What happened to Frodo's sword?
In 'A Knife in the Dark', Frodo slashes at the Black Rider.
Later in the Book, it is said that no weapons can harm the Nazgûl and survive. Why didn't Frodo's blade melt? He still has it afterwards, as ...
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I think the reason why the eagles didn't fly Frodo to Mount Doom is this: [closed]
It's made rather plain in the novels that the eagles can't be too bothered with the business of humans, they have their own business to attend to, their own very separate existence, though they do ...
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How were hobbits created?
How were hobbits created? I can't find any reference in the Silmarillion about this. Are they just men who have shrunken over generations or what?
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What are the original titles of books I-VI of the Lord of the Rings?
I read that Tolkien didn't want to make the Lord of the Rings three books, and that the only
"natural divisions are the 'books' I-VI (which originally had titles)"
What are those titles?
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What became of the other 19 Rings of Power after the One Ring was destroyed?
After the destruction of Sauron's One Ring, what happened to the other 19 rings of power (3 Elven, 7 Dwarven, 9 Men)? Did they become powerless, remain cursed, become cleansed, disintegrate, or ...
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How big were various armies in the War of the Ring?
I'd like to know (roughly) how big various armies in the war of the Ring were, and if possible how they were made up.
That includes for example
Saruman's Forces
Gondor's Soldiors
The Rohirrim
The ...
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Looking for canonical descriptions of Orthanc
I'm trying to make a model of Orthanc, but am having trouble deciding what it looks like. I'd love to have some material, including Tolkien's pictures and sketches.
Please write from what chapter any ...
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Was Legolas a regular elf?
In The Lord of the Rings (both film and book), Legolas shows great skill in a wide variety of ways. He's an excellent fighter, archer, and tracker. He also shows some awareness of magic at times ...
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What did Bilbo Baggins do while the Fellowship of the Ring went on their quest?
Bilbo is responsible for leaving the One Ring for Frodo, who subsequently became hunted by the Nazgûl, Saruman, Sauron, and even Boromir in a way. Yet in the Peter Jackson film Fellowship of the Ring, ...
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How long did it take for the Black Speech of Mordor to fade from the One Ring?
I'm wondering how long it took for the Black Speech of Mordor inscribed around the One Ring to fade after Isildur took the ring from Sauron?
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How did the Witch King of Angmar get his sword back?
Spoilers for Peter Jackson's The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey:
The Witch King clearly has his sword in The Fellowship of the Ring. How and when did he get his sword back? Judging by the shape of ...
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Could Denethor have told Sauron about the ring's location
In LOTR "The siege of Gondor" Denethor learns that the ring is going over Cirith Ungol. Later he uses the Palantir to communicate with Sauron: What did Denethor do in the secret room? We also know ...
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Numenorean Interaction With Other Men
I'm interested in the relationship between the Numenoreans and other men. Specifically early in the history of Middle Earth
LOTR, Appendix F; 1. "Of men":
After the overthrow of the Dark Power, ...
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Middle Earth JRRT and CT maps
I am looking for a list* of maps of Middle Earth which appear only in JRR Tolkien's and CT's books and writings or were authorized by JRRT**? From my reading so far I have:
The Hobbit:
"Thror's ...
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Early history of men
I am trying to figure out the early history of men. After reading just LOTR and its appendices I have several questions revolving around which groups are which:
Edain, Dunedain, Numenorians, and ...
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How did Merry and Pippin get their Barrow blades back?
The swords that the Hobbits got from the Barrow Downs were apparently magical in some way: in "The Departure of Boromir", Aragorn says this of Merry and Pippin's blades: Doubtless the Orcs despoiled ...
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Do any sea creatures exist in The Lord of the Rings?
Are there any water based creatures in The Lord of the Rings aside from the Watcher in the Water who attacked the Fellowship in Moria?
