What Is Arda In Tolkien's Lore?
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For years we have all been referring to the world of The Lord of the Rings as Middle-earth, but that is not entirely correct. Middle-earth is merely a region in a world known as Arda. Arda has changed and shifted depending on the ages and various natural disasters. Let’s take a tour!
The First Age
At this point Arda is flat. Tolkien hand-drew some simple canonical maps, and they looked like something a typical fantasy writer would quickly sketch on the back of a notepad to keep their story straight, which is probably what happened. Tolkien also changed his mind and produced two versions with some features that were never mentioned in his writings. In Tolkien’s first attempt, Valinor was in the West and the Lands of the Sun in the East. Most of the action happened in the center where there were a few familiar locations like the Southlands and the Blue Mountains (where a Hobbit would outwit a dragon), etc. Two circular seas were also featured in this version of Arda.
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Attempt two gave us more continents and rivers. Tolkien added an area called the Dark Lands, which were never brought up in the books, so we have no idea what they contain. Luckily for us, The Lord of the Rings atlases and guides now exist with a more polished version, and we do not have to rely on 1930s handwriting. A few key locations were missing like White Mountains, Númenor, and River Anduin.
The Second Age
The map looked a little different from the First Age. Middle-earth and recognizable landmarks were at the northern point with the Hither Lands in the South. During the War of Wrath, the Valar joined forces with Men and Elves against Morgoth, and it ripped the lands apart. Most of Beleriand, the setting of The Silmarillion, sank beneath the Great Sea. As a reward for their participation, Men were given the island of Númenor.
Image Source: The One Ring
When Ar-Pharazôn took the throne of Númenor near the end of the Second Age, the Númenóreans have started to lose the longevity they inherited from their Elvish ancestry. In his old age, Ar-Pharazôn became desperate for immortality. Egged on by Sauron, the king decided to sail west with an armada to see if he could gain entry to the Elves’ Undying Lands. Understandably, the Valar were not pleased. Not only did they sink the island and much of the western coastline, but they also made Arda round so that no other mortal sailor could attempt the journey. Elendil and the rest of the survivors from Númenor would form Gondor and Arnor. The forging of the rings and the subsequent war then changed the boundaries of the lands as Sauron fought for supremacy. The Second Age ended when Isildur cut the One Ring from Sauron’s finger.
The Third Age
This is the Middle-earth that we are used to seeing in the original The Lord of the Rings books. However, it only covered a small northwestern portion of a larger planet. As Sauron has been inactive for a long period of time, kingdoms of Men have sprung up. We do not know much about what happened outside Middle-earth during this time since all the action is centered on this area.
Image Source: The One Ring
Sauron had considerable influence during the War of the Ring. He would encourage others to wage wars and bring about a great plague that took out most of the population of the southern half of Middle-earth. Gondor’s borders changed frequently due to battles with the Easterlings and the Corsairs. Arnor fell but was re-established once Aragorn was crowned king. It was also during this age that the Shire and Rohan came into being.
The Fourth Age?
Tolkien always said that he believed Arda to be a version of our Earth and that one day, cataclysmic events would shape it and form the countries that we know today. The Lord of The Rings is a parable about the destructive nature of the desire for power, and how it can destroy the very ground beneath our feet. Tolkien was an avid lover of nature and a devoted believer that we are stewards of the resources that we have been given. The way Arda changes from age to age is a morality tale that we should pay closer attention to.
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Source(s): YouTube, The One Ring, Arda Maps, Tolkien Estate