By the time Frodo reaches Weathertop, Amon Sûl is only a ruined ring of stone above the wild. It is remembered most easily as the place where the Nazgûl found the Ring-bearer. But centuries before that attack, the hill had already stood at the center of another disaster: the slow political failure of the North-kingdom. … Read more
The great ships of Númenor usually enter Middle-earth as wonders. They bring tall mariners from beyond the Sea, heirs of the Edain who once fought beside the Elves. In the wider histories of the Second Age, their arrival can mean renewed friendship, exploration, havens, trade, war against Sauron, and eventually the rise of kingdoms whose … Read more
When Boromir rode north toward Rivendell in Third Age 3018, he came to a crossing that had once joined two kingdoms. At Tharbad, the great bridge over the Greyflood had become ruins, and the ford among those ruins was dangerous enough to cost him his horse. It is a striking fate for a place once … Read more
When Fingon rescued Maedhros from the cliffs of Thangorodrim, he did more than save the life of Fëanor's eldest son. His extraordinary act of courage helped change the political future of the Noldor in Middle-earth. Maedhros had inherited his father's position as the foremost prince of the House of Fëanor. Yet after his rescue, he … Read more
When Frodo first enters Lothlórien, he discovers a place that seems almost untouched by time. Golden leaves shine above the paths, ancient trees shelter the dwellings of the Galadhrim, and Celeborn and Galadriel preside over a realm unlike anything the hobbits have seen. Yet this extraordinary kingdom has a surprisingly quiet ending. After Sauron's defeat, … Read more
The Shire is remembered for its peaceful hills, comfortable hobbit-holes, and inhabitants who generally preferred a good meal to an adventure. Yet in the Northfarthing, a place called Greenfields carried the memory of something decidedly un-Hobbit-like: a battle against invading Orcs. Long before Frodo Baggins carried the One Ring out of the Shire, Hobbits had … Read more
At the Cross-roads in Ithilien, Frodo and Sam discover something more revealing than an abandoned road. Four ancient routes meet beneath the trees, and beside them sits the broken statue of a king whose kingdom has lost control of the surrounding land. The roads still lead where they always led. But the political world that … Read more
The Blue Mountains stand at the western edge of the familiar map of Middle-earth, beyond the Shire and near the ancient Elven lands of Lindon. To a traveler looking at their long, rugged heights, they might appear to be a natural wall: a barrier separating one region from another. Yet their history tells a different … Read more
The Tower of Cirith Ungol stands above one of the most dreadful passages into Mordor. Its dark walls, narrow windows, and forbidding gate seem perfectly suited to Sauron’s realm. When Samwise Gamgee reaches it in The Return of the King, the fortress is occupied by Orcs, and Frodo lies imprisoned somewhere within. Yet there is … Read more
Long before Túrin Turambar wore the Dragon-helm of Dor-lómin, it had already passed through the hands of some of the greatest lords of the First Age. Its grey steel had been fashioned by a Dwarf, entrusted to a Dwarf-lord, given to a prince of the Noldor, passed between Elven kinsmen, and finally bestowed upon a … Read more