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Welcome to The Encyclopedia of ArdaThe Encyclopedia of Arda is a personal project - a tribute to and a celebration of the works of J.R.R. Tolkien. The site is evolving into an illustrated hypertext encyclopedia of Tolkien's realms and peoples. It already contains about four thousand entries, and we're constantly adding new entries and expanding existing ones. Inside the encyclopediaThe Encyclopedia of Arda contains thousands of articles covering topics from J.R.R. Tolkien's world, some brief, some lengthy and some containing detailed essays and discussions. You'll also find a selection of interactive tools, including a chronicle to help you explore Tolkien's fictional history, and calendar to translate dates and events, a lexicon of names, a glossary of old and rare words, and much more. Context and approachThe content of the Encyclopedia is written in the same context as Tolkien himself used; he presented himself simply as a translator, rather than originator of the tales. Hence, we try to describe his world from a 'historical' rather than a literary perspective, though sometimes it's useful to explore ideas in their wider context. Where relevant, therefore, you'll also find a few references to Tolkien's life or opinions, or to real historical or mythological parallels to events in his universe. About the name ArdaArda was the name given by the Elves to their world and all it contained, and so 'Encyclopedia of Arda' seemed a peculiarly apt title for this project. Special thanksThanks to all those who've e-mailed us over the years with their suggestions, corrections, ideas and just general support. But the real Special Thanks, though, belong to the memory of J.R.R. Tolkien for his extraordinary and unparalleled creation. For acknowledgements and references, see the Disclaimer & Bibliography page. Original content © copyright Mark Fisher 1997-2024. All rights reserved. For conditions of reuse, see the Site FAQ. Website services kindly sponsored by Discus from Axiom Software Ltd.Discus is a powerful, flexible DISC profile solution - find out much more in our free guide. |
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Featured EntryAranarthFirst of the Chieftains of the DúnedainThe elder son of King Arvedui of Arthedain, who would have become King himself in turn, if not for the destruction his father's Kingdom by the Witch-king of Angmar. When Aranarth was still a young man by the reckoning of his people, the Witch-king's armies swept into Arthedain and overran it. Fornost was taken, but the King and his son escaped. Arvedui fled into the north, but Aranarth, like most of his people, escaped westwards across the River Lhûn into Lindon. At Aranarth's urging, Círdan sent a ship into the north to recover his father the King, but it never returned. It was later learned that the ship had succeeded in rescuing Arvedui, but had been lost with him aboard in the icy northern seas. So Aranarth inherited the leadership of the scattered and diminished northern Dúnedain, but he took the title Chieftain, rather than King, since his father's realm was lost. |
