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PARMA ENDORION:

Essays On Middle-earth

Electronic Book Edition by Michael L. Martinez layout and design by Matt Tinaglia The Hunting Party I

Parma Endorion

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

i. Copyright.................................................................................................................................... 4

ii. Introduction to the First Edition (1996).....................................................................................

Note on

accuracy...............................................................................................................................................

...5

Stern

Warning...............................................................................................................................................

.......5

iii. Introduction to the Second Edition (1998)............................................................................... 6

iv. Introduction to the Third Edition (2001)................................................................................... 8

Chapter 1: The Geography of Arda ...............................................................................................9

The Continents Of Arda

...........................................................................................................................9

Aman (The Undying Lands)

..............................................................................................................................10

Valinor.................................................................................................................................................

..........10

Eldamar...............................................................................................................................................

..........11

Araman................................................................................................................................................

..........12

Avathar................................................................................................................................................

..........13

Elenna

(Numenor)...........................................................................................................................................

...13

The Mittalmar

(Inlands)................................................................................................................................14

The Orrostar (Northeast

lands)......................................................................................................................14

The Forostar (North

lands)............................................................................................................................14

The Andustar (West

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lands)............................................................................................................................14

The Hyarnustar (Southwest

lands)................................................................................................................15

The Hyarrostar (Southeast

lands)..................................................................................................................15

Endor (The Middle

Lands).................................................................................................................................15

Beleriand (Land of the

Valar)........................................................................................................................15

Eriador (Land Between the

Mountains)........................................................................................................16

Rhovanion

(Wilderland)................................................................................................................................17

Gondor (Land of Stone)

................................................................................................................................18

Near Harad (Near

South)...............................................................................................................................18

Far Harad (Far

South)....................................................................................................................................18

Mordor (Black Land)

....................................................................................................................................19

Rhun (the

East)..............................................................................................................................................19

Hyarmenor (The Dark

Lands)............................................................................................................................20

Romenor (The Eastern

Lands)...........................................................................................................................20

Chapter 2: A Brief History of Arda............................................................................................. 21

The

Ainur....................................................................................................................................................

.......21

The Quendi (Speakers, or

Elves)........................................................................................................................24

The Naugrim (Dwarves)

....................................................................................................................................30

The Atani

(Men).................................................................................................................................................3

Chapter 3: The Elven Peoples of Arda ........................................................................................

The

Avari....................................................................................................................................................

.......32

The Silvan

Elves................................................................................................................................................33

The

Sindar...................................................................................................................................................

.......34

The

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Noldor.................................................................................................................................................

........35

The

Falmari.................................................................................................................................................

.......37

The

Vanyar..................................................................................................................................................

.......38

Chapter 4: The Men of Arda........................................................................................................ 39

The Edainic

Peoples...............................................................................................................................39

The Edain of

Beleriand......................................................................................................................................39

The Edain of

Numenor.......................................................................................................................................41

The Edain of

Eriador..........................................................................................................................................41

The Edain of

Rhovanion....................................................................................................................................42

The

Gwathuirim..........................................................................................................................................

.......44

The

Dunlendings.........................................................................................................................................

..44

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The Men of Bree

...........................................................................................................................................45

The Men of

Dunharrow.................................................................................................................................45

The Men of

Gondor............................................................................................................................................46

The Swarthy

Men...............................................................................................................................................46

The Folk of

Bor.............................................................................................................................................47

The Folk of

Ulfang........................................................................................................................................47

Lorgan's Tribe

...............................................................................................................................................47

The

Forodwaith..........................................................................................................................................

........48

The

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Easterlings...........................................................................................................................................

........48

The First Easterlings Of The Third

Age.............................................................................................................49

The

Wainriders...........................................................................................................................................

........49

The

Balchoth...............................................................................................................................................

.......50

Later Easterlings

................................................................................................................................................50

The

Haradrim.............................................................................................................................................

........51

Chapter 5: Orcs and Other Foul Things....................................................................................... 52

Orcs.....................................................................................................................................................

...............52

What did Orcs look

like?....................................................................................................................................52

Chapter 6: A Little Bit Of Hobbit Lore .......................................................................................

Where did Hobbits come

from?.........................................................................................................................60

What happened To Smeagol's

people?...............................................................................................................62

How did Hobbits go to

sea?...............................................................................................................................63

Chapter 7: Things You Might Not Have Known About The Northmen.....................................

The Anglo-Saxon

Myth......................................................................................................................................64

Why did Tolkien use Old English to represent the language of

Rohan?............................................................64

But what about "Beowulf?" Didn't Tolkien use material from the classic Anglo-Saxon poem?

......................66

Okay, but were The Rohirrim unlike the Anglo-Saxons in any Significant way?

.............................................67

What About The Burial Mounds outside

Edoras?..............................................................................................70

The Kingdom of Dale

........................................................................................................................................76

The Great King

Bladorthin.................................................................................................................................78

Chapter 8: What Does An Elf Do In Aman? ...............................................................................

Chapter 9: What Does A Woodman Do All Day?.......................................................................

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Chapter 10: Planning The Middle-earth Wedding....................................................................... 84

Rehearsals and

Receptions.................................................................................................................................86

Chapter 11: The Wonders of Middle-earth.................................................................................. 87

Wonders of the First

Age........................................................................................................................87

Menegroth...........................................................................................................................................

...............87

Gondolin

............................................................................................................................................................

Khazad-dum........................................................................................................................................

...............90

Wonders of the Second

Age...................................................................................................................94

The Statues of Dunharrow

.................................................................................................................................94

Wonders of the Third

Age......................................................................................................................96

The

Argonath..............................................................................................................................................

.......96

The Bridge of

Osgiliath......................................................................................................................................99

The Twin Fortresses of Aglarond and

Angrenost............................................................................................100

Chapter 12: A Chronology For Tolkien's Four Ages.................................................................

103

Chapter 13: Sources Used For Research.................................................................................... 110

Appendix A: New Information.................................................................................................. 112

Orcs.....................................................................................................................................................

.............112

Parma Endorion

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i. Copyright

2001 by Michael L. Martinez.

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The Hunting Party I

Beren Recovers a Silmaril

The Quest Fulfilled

The Host of Nargothrond

The Riders of Rohan

Balin's Tomb

Orc

Luthien prepares her escape from Hirilorn

For information about permission to reproduce selections from this work, send email to Michael

L. Martinez at Michael@xenite.org. Please indicate which passages you wish to use and for what purpose.

Essays On Middle-earth

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ii. Introduction to the First Edition (1996)

There are several web sites that offer fairly standard information about J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth. The essays you'll find here are intended to provide some insight into the histories and cultures of Middle-earth. Each "page" is a chapter in the "Book of the Middle Lands". The essays are written for your reading enjoyment. They contain some speculative remarks intended to point the reader toward some possible conclusions. It is not my aim to "finish the creation"

for

Professor Tolkien.

In working on a larger project I've come across a great deal of material that I'd like to share with people. I decided to put it up on this web site rather than try and publish it in a traditional manner because I have little hope of seeing it published (by me, at least).

Also, I've decided to have a little fun with this material. So be sure to take it with a grain of salt.

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Note on accuracy

Christopher Tolkien has now published volume XII of THE HISTORY OF MIDDLE-EARTH.

I've read it and am in the process of updating my essays based on information in that book.

Wherever possible, to preserve Gwidon's sanity, I have tried to add new material rather than revise the old. But some of the essays are indeed changed and the Polish version of PARMA ENDORION may not match this one for some time.

There is indeed a historical analysis of the source materials for THE HOBBIT in preparation.

I'm looking forward to reading it with high hopes.

Stern Warning

I'm not here to do your homework for you. Anyone who's looking for a quick, cheap essay on Tolkien should keep in mind that I write in a style that won't be mistaken for a student's 500-word theme. If you are stupid and lazy enough to cheat, you'll probably get what you deserve when you try to hand in this stuff.

Enjoy.

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iii. Introduction to the Second Edition (1998)

Since I first created Parma Endorion: Essays On Middle-earth, the web site has received thousands of visits from interested Tolkien fans. It has "worn out" a few hit counters along the way and I've lost track of how many people have actually dropped in on the main page of the original site. That really no longer matters to me, to be honest. I've received so much email from well-wishers that I know Parma Endorion is a success, and that it serves a purpose in helping to explain a few of the mysteries of J.R.R. Tolkien's world.

Like THE LORD OF THE RINGS, Parma Endorion has grown in the telling. It was an ongoing project in late 1996 and early 1997, until I finished the last of the essays I had envisioned for it.

And like LOTR the work has consistently received one complaint: it is too short.

I cannot promise to add any more essays to the collection. I have other projects, some related to Middle-earth and some not. My time is fleeting and my energies are sometimes depleted. But with this new edition I hope to take care of the one other complaint I have often received: Parma Endorion is too hard to read. To be honest, I intentionally made it difficult to copy, but that had the unfortunate effect of making it nearly illegible. So I've decided to stop playing with my readers and just present the book as a book, with simple black on white text. I hope this decision meets with general approval.

Many people have written to me asking for permission to copy the essays. I have reluctantly agreed to this process on numerous occasions. After all, I can hardly prevent people from doing so, and it's quite thoughtful of those who ask me to do so. So, if you do print out these pages, please remember that this is my work, Copyrighted, owned by me. Unlike the authors of a printed books, I get no compensation for my labors. This project has been a labor of love.

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To the many students, teachers, and librarians who have written to me, I want to thank you for your interest in my researches. Students, please check with your instructors before using this or any other Web site as a source for your reports and term papers. I've found that a lot of educators are encouraging students to use the Web, but you really owe it to yourselves to make sure it's okay. It sounds trite, but if you cheat on a term paper, you're only cheating yourself.

For those of you who have asked, time and again: no, Parma Endorion is not my last word on Tolkien research. I hope to one day find a publisher for a very detailed book that explores the pseudo-histories and cultures of Tolkien's Middle-earth unlike any book previously published.

The world J.R.R. Tolkien created is so rich and diverse it simply never ceases to amaze me. I have not finished the book but work on it progresses as I wend my way through life and debate.

Admittedly if Xenite.org didn't contain so many Web sites I'd probably have finished the book by now, but I do intend to finish the task and hope to have it done by the end of 1998.

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Finally, I should point out that I've added some new material and have corrected many typos.

None of the graphics from the First Edition are being carried over to this new edition. One of my goals is to speed up the download time for each page. So the book metaphor is useful in that the pages are all considerably shorter.

As ever, I hope you enjoy Parma Endorion. If you send me email and don't hear back, please don't be offended. At this writing Xenite.org receives more than 1500 visitors a day and I sometimes get a lot of email.

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iv. Introduction to the Third Edition (2001)

How does one introduce a third edition? In early 1998, I revised Parma Endorion and I never expected to do so again, but I've since found many typographical errors in the essays, and some of the information is now outdated. I've also received many requests for new essays.

The past few years have brought me into contact with several Tolkien projects. I have written essays under contract for Toy Vault's Middle-earth Toys. Since August 1999, I have also written essays for Suite101.com's Tolkien and Middle-earth topic. Some of the earliest Suite101 essays were included in VISUALIZING MIDDLE-EARTH, a book I published in October 2000. I had intended to include some Suite101 essays in Parma Endorion, but time slipped away from me and that is no longer possible for this edition. I hope to publish a sequel to VISUALIZING

MIDDLE-EARTH sometime in 2002. And, I don't mind saying, I've had the privilege of performing research for several media companies. At this writing (December 2001), I am participating in an extraordinary Tolkien research project with several other people. I don't believe these opportunities would have opened up for me had I not written Parma Endorion.

Since I first undertook writing these essays, the world of Tolkien fandom has been turned upside down by the Peter Jackson film adaptation of THE LORD OF THE RINGS. Another film project, "Ancanar", has been inspired by THE SILMARILLION. And there have been Page 8

numerous

Hobbit plays staged throughout the world. At the same time, I have found myself consulted by any number of companies on Tolkien and Middle-earth. The attention directed upon J.R.R.

Tolkien and his fans over the past few years has been overwhelming. It has also been distracting.

This third edition was originally supposed to be published in 2000. It was to be translated into several languages. Regrettably, I had to defer the whole project for over a year, and in the process lost several of the translation teams.

Had it not been for the interest expressed in the project by Matt Tinaglia, the third edition might still be waiting for me to get back to it. But once he set the wheels into motion, taking on responsibility for the whole project, from editing to designing the book, I realized that this edition required something special. And since we had decided to publish it as a downloadable eBook, I thought, why not include some fan artwork?

Two artists, Anke Eissmann and Rich Sullivan, responded to my inquiries. I had hoped to feature works by a few other artists whose talents I had come to appreciate, but I was unable to locate them. So, I hope you enjoy the selections I've made, and the updated essays as well. And a Spanish-language translation team, organized by Leandro of Elfenomeno, has worked steadfastly on two translations of the book. I'm still hopeful of seeing the Spanish edition completed.

Thank you for your support and interest through the years. We have corrected as many errors as possible, and some of the information has been updated, too. May all your Tolkien reading be enjoyable.

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