Speaker 1: Welcome to the I Can't Sleep Podcast. Why I help
Speaker 1: you drift off one fact at a time. I'm your
Speaker 1: host Benjamin Boster, and today's episode is about middle Earth.
Speaker 1: Middle Earth is the setting of much of the English
Speaker 1: writer J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy. The term is equivalent
Speaker 1: to miss Garthur of Norse mythology and Middingarde in Old
Speaker 1: English works, including Beowulf. Middle Earth is the ecumene i e.
Speaker 1: The human inhabited world, or the central continent of Earth
Speaker 1: in Tolkien's imagine mythological past. His most widely read works,
Speaker 1: The Hobbed and The Lord of the Rings are said
Speaker 1: entirely in Middle Earth. Middle Earth has also become a
Speaker 1: shorthand term for Tolkien's Legendarium, his large body of fantasy writings,
Speaker 1: and for the entirety of his fictional world. Middle Earth
Speaker 1: is the main continent of Earth arda in an imaginary
Speaker 1: period of the past ending with Tolkien's Third Age about
Speaker 1: six thousand years ago. Tolkien's tales of Middle Earth mostly
Speaker 1: focus on the northwest of the continent. This region is
Speaker 1: suggestive of Europe, the northwest of the Old World, with
Speaker 1: the environs of the Shire reminiscent of England, but more
Speaker 1: specifically the West Midlands, with a town at its center, Hoptum.
Speaker 1: At the same time, latitude is Oxford. Tolkien's Middle Earth
Speaker 1: is peopled not only by men, but by elves, dwarfs, ends,
Speaker 1: and hobbits, and by monsters, including dragons, trolls, and orcs.
Speaker 1: Through the imagined history, the people's others than men dwindle,
Speaker 1: leave or fade, until after the period described in the books,
Speaker 1: only men are left on the planet. Tolkien's stories chronicle
Speaker 1: the struggle to control the world called Arda and the
Speaker 1: continent of Middle Earths between on one side, the angelic Valar,
Speaker 1: the elves and their allies among men, and on the
Speaker 1: other the demonic Melchor or Morgoth a vola fallen into evil,
Speaker 1: his followers and their subjects, mostly Orc's dragons and enslaved men.
Speaker 1: In later ages, after Morgoth's defeed and expulsion from Arda,
Speaker 1: his place is taken by his lieutenant sauron a Maya.
Speaker 1: The Valar withdrew from direct involvement in the affairs of
Speaker 1: Middle Earth after the defeat of Morgoth, but in later
Speaker 1: years they sent the wizards or Astary to help in
Speaker 1: the struggle against Sauran. The most important wizards were Kandulph
Speaker 1: the Gray and Sauraryman the White and Alf remained true
Speaker 1: to his mission and proved crucial in the fight against Sauron. Saraman, however,
Speaker 1: became corrupted and sought to establish himself as a rival
Speaker 1: to Sauron or absolute power in Middle Earth. Other races
Speaker 1: involved in the struggle against evil were Dwarfs, hence and
Speaker 1: most famously, Hobbits. The early stages of the conflict are
Speaker 1: chronicled in The Silmarillion, while the final stages of the
Speaker 1: struggle to defeat Saaron are told in The Hobbit and
Speaker 1: in the Lord of the Rings. Conflict over the possession
Speaker 1: and control of precious or magical objects is a recurring
Speaker 1: theme in the stories. The first age is dominated by
Speaker 1: the doomed quest of the Elphaeenor and most of his
Speaker 1: Noldoran clan to recover three precious jewels called the Silmarils
Speaker 1: that Morgoth stole from them, hence the title the Silmarillion.
Speaker 1: The second and third age are dominated by the forging
Speaker 1: of the Rings of Power and the fate of the
Speaker 1: one ring forged by Sauron, which gives its wearer the
Speaker 1: power to control or influence those wearing the other rings
Speaker 1: of power. In ancient Germanic mythology, the world of men
Speaker 1: is known by several names. The Old English Middangard descends
Speaker 1: from an earlier Germanic word, and so has cognates, such
Speaker 1: as the Old Norse mythsgharer from Norse mythology, transliterated to
Speaker 1: modern English as mid guard. The original meaning of the
Speaker 1: second element from proto Germanic gardas was enclosure, cognate with
Speaker 1: English yard. Meddingard was assimilated by folk etymology to Middle Earth.
Speaker 1: Middle Earth was at the center of nine worlds in
Speaker 1: Norse mythology, and of three worlds was heaven above held
Speaker 1: below in some later Christian versions. Tolkien's first encounter with
Speaker 1: the term mitten guard, as he stated in a letter,
Speaker 1: was in an Old English fragment he studied in nineteen
Speaker 1: thirteen to nineteen fourteen. This is from the christ First
Speaker 1: poem by Kinnewulf. The name Aarundel was the inspiration for
Speaker 1: Tolkien's mariner Aerundel, who set sail from the lands of
Speaker 1: Middle Earth to ask for aid from the angelic powers
Speaker 1: of Alar. Tolkien's earliest poem about Arundel from nineteen fourteen,
Speaker 1: the same year he read the Christ poem refers to
Speaker 1: the midworld's rim. Tolkien CON's tittered midden Gard to be
Speaker 1: the abiding place of men, the physical world in which
Speaker 1: man lives out his life and destiny, as opposed to
Speaker 1: the unseen worlds above and below it, namely Heaven and Hell.
Speaker 1: He states that it is my mother Earth for place,
Speaker 1: but in an imaginary pastime, not some other planet. He
Speaker 1: began to use the term Middle Earth in the late
Speaker 1: nineteen thirties in place of the earlier terms great lands,
Speaker 1: outer lands, and hither lands. The first published appearance of
Speaker 1: the word middle Earth in Tolkien's works is in the
Speaker 1: prolog to the Lord of the Rings. Abbots had in
Speaker 1: fact lived quietly in Middle Earth for many long years
Speaker 1: before other folk even became aware of them. The term
Speaker 1: Middle Earth has come to be applied as a shorthand
Speaker 1: for the entirety of Tolkien's legendarium, instead of the technically
Speaker 1: more appropriate but lesser known terms Arda for the physical
Speaker 1: world and Aea for the physical reality of creation as
Speaker 1: a whole. In careful geographical terms, middle Earth is a
Speaker 1: continent on Arda excluding regions such as Amman and the
Speaker 1: Isle of numenor the alternative wider use is reflected in
Speaker 1: book titles such as The Complete Guide to Middle Earth,
Speaker 1: The Road to Middle Earth, The Atlas of Middle Earth,
Speaker 1: and Christopher Tolkien's twelve volume series The History of Middle Earth.
Speaker 1: Tolkien's biographer Humphrycarp under states that Tolkien's Middle Earth is
Speaker 1: the known world, recalling the Norse Midguard and the equivalent
Speaker 1: words in Early English, noting that Tolkien made it clear
Speaker 1: that this was our world in a purely imaginary period
Speaker 1: of antiquity. Tolkien explained in a letter to his publisher
Speaker 1: that it is just a use of Middle English middle Rada,
Speaker 1: or Earth, altered from Old English, mittinguard, the name for
Speaker 1: the inhabited lands of men between the seas. There are
Speaker 1: allusions to a similarly or identically named world in the
Speaker 1: work of other writers, both before and after him. William
Speaker 1: Morris's eighteen seventy translation of the Volsung Saga calls the
Speaker 1: world Midguard. Margaret Whittimer's nineteen eight eighteen poems The Gray
Speaker 1: Magician contains the lines I was living very merrily on
Speaker 1: Middle Earth, as merry as a maid may be till
Speaker 1: the Gray Magician came down along the road and flung
Speaker 1: his cobweb cloak on me. C. S. Lewis's nineteen thirty
Speaker 1: eight nineteen forty five Space Trilogy calls the home planet
Speaker 1: middle Earth and specifically references Tolkien's unpublished Legendarium. Both men
Speaker 1: were members of the Inkling's Literary Discussion Group. Within the
Speaker 1: overall context of his Legendarium, Tolkien's Middle Earth was part
Speaker 1: of his created world of Arda, which includes the underlying
Speaker 1: lands of Ahman and Eressa, removed from the rest of
Speaker 1: the physical world, which itself was part of the wider
Speaker 1: creation he called Aya. Aman and Middle Earth are separated
Speaker 1: from each other by the great Sea Belager, though they
Speaker 1: may contact in the far north at the Grinding Ice
Speaker 1: or Helcaraxa. The western continent Amman was the home of
Speaker 1: the Valar and the elves called the Eldar. On the
Speaker 1: eastern side of Middle Earth was the Eastern Sea. Most
Speaker 1: of the events in Tolkien's stories take place in the
Speaker 1: northwest of Middle Earth. In the First Age, Further to
Speaker 1: the northwest was the subcontinent Bellerian. It was engulfed by
Speaker 1: the ocean at the end of the First Age, Tolkien
Speaker 1: prepared several maps of Middle Earth, some were published in
Speaker 1: his lifetime. The main maps are those published in The Hobbit,
Speaker 1: The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion, and Unfinished Tales,
Speaker 1: and appear as fold outs or illustrations. Tolkien insists that
Speaker 1: maps be included in the book for the benefit of readers,
Speaker 1: despite the expense involved. The definitive and iconic map of
Speaker 1: Middle Earth was published in the Lord of the Rings.
Speaker 1: It was refined with Tolkien's approval by the illustrator of
Speaker 1: Pauline Baines, using Tolkien's detailed annotations with vignette images and
Speaker 1: larger paintings at top and bottom into a standalone poster.
Speaker 1: A map of Middle Earth in Tolkien's conception art was
Speaker 1: created specifically as the habitation Imbar and Ambar, where the
Speaker 1: children of a Luvitar elves and men. It is envisaged
Speaker 1: in a flat earth cosmology for the stars and later
Speaker 1: also the sun and moon revolving around it. Tolkien's sketches
Speaker 1: show a disc like face for the world, which looked
Speaker 1: up to the stars. However, Tolkien's Legendarium addresses the spherical
Speaker 1: Earth paradigm by depicting a catastrophic transition from a flat
Speaker 1: to a spherical world known as the yak Lebath, in
Speaker 1: which Ahman became inaccessible to mortal men. Tolkien described the
Speaker 1: region in which the Hobbits lived as the northwest of
Speaker 1: the Old World, east of the Sea, and the northwest
Speaker 1: of the Old World is essentially Europe, especially Britain. However,
Speaker 1: as he noted in private letters, the geographies do not match,
Speaker 1: and he did not consciously make them match when he
Speaker 1: was writing. He did confirm, however, that the Shire, the
Speaker 1: land of his Hobbit heroes, was based on England, in
Speaker 1: particular the West Midlands of his childhood. In the prologue
Speaker 1: to The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien writes, those days
Speaker 1: the Third Age of Middle Earth are now long past,
Speaker 1: and the shape of all lands has been changed. The
Speaker 1: appendacees make several references in both history and etymology of
Speaker 1: topics now in modern English languages and then ancient languages.
Speaker 1: Both the appendices and the Silmarillian mention constellations stars planets
Speaker 1: that correspond to those seen in the northern hemisphere of Earth,
Speaker 1: including the Sun, the Moon, Orion and his belt, Ursa
Speaker 1: Major and Mars. A map annotated by Tolkien places Hobbitant
Speaker 1: on the same latitude as Oxford, a ministerius at the
Speaker 1: latitude of Ravenna, Italy. He used Belgrade, Cyprus, and Jerusalem
Speaker 1: as further reference points. The history of Middle Earth, as
Speaker 1: described in The Silmarillion, began when the Anur entered Arda,
Speaker 1: following the creation events in the Ainulindale and long ages
Speaker 1: of labors throughout Aa. The fictional universe. Time from that
Speaker 1: point was measured using valley in years, though the subsequent
Speaker 1: hist history of Arda was divided into three time periods
Speaker 1: using different years, known as the Years of the Lamps,
Speaker 1: the Years of the Trees, and the Years of the Sun.
Speaker 1: A separate overlapping chronology divides the history into ages of
Speaker 1: the children of a Lubatar. The first such age began
Speaker 1: with the awakening of the elves during the Years of
Speaker 1: the Trees, by which time the Anor had already long
Speaker 1: inhabited Arta, and continued for the first six centuries of
Speaker 1: the Years of the Sun. All the subsequent ages took
Speaker 1: place during the Years of the Sun. Arta is, as
Speaker 1: critics have noted, our own green and solid Earth at
Speaker 1: some quite remote epic in the past. As such, it
Speaker 1: has not only an immediate story, but a history, and
Speaker 1: the whole thing is an imagined prehistory of the Earth
Speaker 1: as it is now. The Ainre were angelic beings created
Speaker 1: by the one god of Aa Eru Elluvatar. The cosmological
Speaker 1: myth called the Nulindale or Music of the Ainore, describes
Speaker 1: how the Anor sang for Alluvatar, who then created Aya
Speaker 1: to give material form to their music. Many of the
Speaker 1: Ainre entered Aya, and the greatest of these were called
Speaker 1: the Valar. Melchor, the chief agent of evil an Aa
Speaker 1: and later called Morgoth, was initially one of the Valar.
Speaker 1: With the Valar came less her spirits of the Anor
Speaker 1: called the Mayar Melian. The wife of the Elvin king
Speaker 1: Singhal in the First Age was a Maaya. There were
Speaker 1: also evil Mayar, including the Baurogs and the second dark
Speaker 1: lord Sauron. Sauran devised the black speech Bursum for his
Speaker 1: slaves such as orks, to speak. In the Third Age,
Speaker 1: five of the Mayar were embodied and sent to Middle
Speaker 1: Earth to help the free peoples to overthrow Sauron. These
Speaker 1: are the Astari or wizards, including Gandalf, Sauraman, and Ratagast.
Speaker 1: The elves are known as the first born of a Luvatar,
Speaker 1: intelligent beings created by a Luvatar alone, with many different clans. Originally,
Speaker 1: elves all spoke the same common Eldern ancestral tongue, but
Speaker 1: over thousands of years it diverged into different languages. The
Speaker 1: two main Elven languages were Quenya, spoken by the light elves,
Speaker 1: and Sindarin, spoken by the dark Elves. Physically, the elves
Speaker 1: resemble humans. Indeed, they can marry and have children with them,
Speaker 1: as shown by the few half Elvin in the Legendarium.
Speaker 1: The Elves are agile and quick footed, being able to
Speaker 1: walk a tight rope unaided. Their eyesight is keen. Elves
Speaker 1: are immortal unless killed in battle. They are re embodied
Speaker 1: in Vallenore if killed. Men were the second born of
Speaker 1: the children of a Luvatar. They awoke in Middle Earth
Speaker 1: much later than the Elves. Men and Hobbuds were the
Speaker 1: last humanoid race to appear in Middle Earth. Dwarfs, ense
Speaker 1: and Orcs also preceded them. The capitalized term man plural
Speaker 1: men is used as a gender neutral racial description to
Speaker 1: distinguish humans from other human like races of Middle Earth.
Speaker 1: In appearance, they are much like elves, but on average
Speaker 1: less beautiful. Unlike elves, men are mortal, aging and dying quickly,
Speaker 1: usually living forty to eighty years. However, the Numenorians could
Speaker 1: live several centuries, and their descendants, the Dunodine, also tended
Speaker 1: to live long and regular humans. This tendency was weakened
Speaker 1: both by time and by intermingling with lesser peoples. The
Speaker 1: Dwarfs are a race of humanoids who are shorter than
Speaker 1: men but larger than hobbits. The dwarfs were created by
Speaker 1: the Valla Allah before the first born awoke, due to
Speaker 1: his impatience for the arrival of the children of a
Speaker 1: Luvatar to teach and to cherish. When confronted and shamed
Speaker 1: for his presumption by a Luvatar, Heeru took pity on
Speaker 1: Allah and gave his creation the gift of life, but
Speaker 1: under the condition that they be taken and put to
Speaker 1: sleep in widely separated locations a Middle Earth, and not
Speaker 1: to awaken until after the first born were upon the Earth.
Speaker 1: They are mortal like men, but live much longer, usually
Speaker 1: several hundred years. A peculiarity of dwarves is that Both
Speaker 1: males and females are bearded, and thus appear identical to outsiders.
Speaker 1: The language spoken by dwarves is called Kustoul and was
Speaker 1: kept largely as a secret language for their own use.
Speaker 1: Like Hobbods, dwarves live exclusively in Middle Earth. They generally
Speaker 1: reside under mountains, where they are specialists in mining and metalwork.
Speaker 1: Tolkien identified Hobbits as an offshoot of the race of men.
Speaker 1: Another name for Hobbits is halfling, as they were generally
Speaker 1: only half the size of men. In their lifestyle and habits,
Speaker 1: they closely resemble men and in particular Englishmen, except for
Speaker 1: their preference for living in holes underground. By the time
Speaker 1: of the Hobbit, most of them lived in the Shire,
Speaker 1: a region of the northwest of Middle Earth, having migrated
Speaker 1: there from further east. The Nts were treelike shepherds of trees,
Speaker 1: their name coming from an Old English word for giant.
Speaker 1: Orcs and trolls made of stone, were evil creatures bred
Speaker 1: by Morgoth. They were not original creations, but rather mockeries
Speaker 1: of the children of Aluvatar elves and ends, respectively. Since
Speaker 1: only a Louvatar has the ability to give conscious life
Speaker 1: to things, The precise origins of Orcs and trolls are unclear,
Speaker 1: as Tolkien considered various possibilities and sometimes changed his mind,
Speaker 1: leaving several inconsistent accounts. Late in the Third Age, the
Speaker 1: Urugs or Uruki appeared, a race of Orcs of great
Speaker 1: size and strength that tolerate sunlight better than ordinary Orcs.
Speaker 1: Tolkien also mentions men orcs and orcmen, or half orcs
Speaker 1: or goblin men. They share some characteristics with Orcs, like
Speaker 1: slinty eyes, but look more like men. Tolkien, a Catholic,
Speaker 1: realized he had created a dilemma for himself. If these
Speaker 1: beings were sentient and had a sense of right and wrong,
Speaker 1: then they must have souls and could not have been
Speaker 1: created wholly evil. Dragons or worms appear in several varieties,
Speaker 1: distinguished by whether they have wings and whether they breathe fire.
Speaker 1: Cold drakes versus fire drakes. The first of the fire
Speaker 1: dregs Uruloki in Quenya was Glaurrung, the Golden bred by
Speaker 1: Morgoth and Engbad, and called the Great Worm, the worm
Speaker 1: of Morgoth and the father of dragons. Middle Earth contains
Speaker 1: Sapian animals, including the eagles Huon the great Hound from Vallenor,
Speaker 1: and the wolf like wargs in general. The origins and
Speaker 1: nature of these animals are unclear. The horse line of
Speaker 1: the Miras of Rohan, especially Gendolf's Mount Shadow Facts, also
Speaker 1: appears to be intelligent and understand human speech. The bear
Speaker 1: man Bijorn had a number of animal friends about his house.
Speaker 1: The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings, both said
Speaker 1: in Middle Earth, have been the subject of a variety
Speaker 1: of film adaptations. There were many early failed attempts to
Speaker 1: bring the fictional universe to life on screen, some even
Speaker 1: rejected by the author himself, who is skeptical of the
Speaker 1: prospects of an adaptation. While animated and live action shorts
Speaker 1: were made of Tolkien's books in nineteen sixty seven, in
Speaker 1: nineteen seventy one, the first commercial depiction of The Hobbit
Speaker 1: on screen was the Rankin Bass animated TV special in
Speaker 1: nineteen seventy sevennineteen seventy eight, the first big screen adaptation
Speaker 1: of the fictional setting was introduced in Ralph Bakshi's animated
Speaker 1: The Lord of the Rings. New Line Cinema released the
Speaker 1: first part of director Peter Jackson's The Lord of the
Speaker 1: Rings film series in two thousand one as part of
Speaker 1: a trilogy. It was followed by a prequel trilogy in
Speaker 1: the Hobbit film series, with several of the same actors
Speaker 1: playing their old roles. In two thousand three, The Lord
Speaker 1: of the Rings The Return of the King received eleven
Speaker 1: Academy Award nominations and won all of them, matching the
Speaker 1: totals awarded to Ben Her and Titanic. Two fan films
Speaker 1: set in Middle Earth, The Hunt for Gollum and Born
Speaker 1: of Hope, were uploaded to YouTube on May eighth, two
Speaker 1: thousand nine, and December eleventh, two thousand nine, respectively. Numerous
Speaker 1: computer and video games have been inspired by J. R. R.
Speaker 1: Tolkien's works set in Middle Earth. Titles have been produced
Speaker 1: by studios such as Electronic Arts, Vendi Games, Melbourne House,
Speaker 1: and Warner Brothers Interactive Entertainment. Aside from officially licensed games,
Speaker 1: many Tolkien inspired mods, custom mAbs and total conversions have
Speaker 1: been made for many games, such as war Craft three, Minecraft, Rome,
Speaker 1: Total War, Medieval two, Total War, The Elder Scrolls four Oblivion,
Speaker 1: and The Elder Scrolls five Skyrim. In addition, there are
Speaker 1: many text bays, m m O r pgs known as
Speaker 1: m use based on Middle Earth. The oldest of these
Speaker 1: dates back to nineteen ninety one and was known as
Speaker 1: Middle Earth m U D run by using l P
Speaker 1: m U D. After the Middle Earth m U D
Speaker 1: ended in nineteen ninety two, it was followed by eleandor
Speaker 1: N m U m E