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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 EntryMountains of IronThe peaks of northern Middle-earthIn the depths of time, when Melkor fought against the Valar for power over Arda, his great stronghold was at Utumno in the far North of the world. To protect Utumno, the Dark Lord raised a range of mountains that arced across Middle-earth, following a curve along the edges of the arctic frosts. These were Ered Engrin or the Mountains of Iron (also commonly called the Iron Mountains). In the western part of the range, where they came closest to Valinor, he reinforced his defences by building another great fortress, Angband, which in those early times was commanded by Melkor's lieutenant, Sauron. At the end of the War of the Powers, the Valar overcame Utumno's defences and captured Melkor, taking him in chains back to Valinor. There he remained for three ages, until he returned once again to Middle-earth. Though Utumno had been destroyed, Angband remained behind the western end of the Mountains of Iron. There Melkor took up his power again, and tunnelled into the mountains. He created a way through to the south for his forces, and raised Thangorodrim, three immense towers as tall as the Iron Mountains themselves. |
