Are Easterlings Evil?

Easterlings are… complicated. Basically, any time they appear in Tolkien’s stories they’re acting as the antagonists. Fighting in Sauron’s armies, Gondor’s enemies, etc – they’re never the “good guys.” But this is very different from being evil. Basically, here’s the thing: the Edain (and some of the Middle Men) got very lucky. By virtue of living…

Aragorn Beyond Middle Earth

So, during the Council of Elrond, Aragorn mentions “I have crossed many mountains and many rivers, and trodden many plains, even into the far countries of Rhun and Harad where thestars are strange.” Given how very very little Tolkien wrote about either of these regions, I really really wish he’d written more about Aragorn’s travels there.…

Hostages of Harad

It is! As is so often the case with Tolkien, we have a very brief mention of an interesting historical detail that the imagination could easily turn into a dozen fascinating stories. In the LotR Appendices Tolkien is describing the height of Gondor’s power, under the rule of Hyarmendacil I (1050-1149TA). He says: The realm…

Racism and Middle Earth: Part 3/6: Tolkien and the Men of Darkness

Okay, this is part of an ongoing series, and also a draft (the final, complete version will be offered as a downloadable pdf.) As such there are a couple un-attached pages that you will probably want to know about:

• My overall disclaimer and outline of the series
• Part I of the series (“People of Color in Middle Earth”)
• Part II of the series (“The Numenorean Hierarchy of Men”)

This is the segment I was the most intimidated by, and hesitant to write, so I’ll be especially grateful for any feedback (as mentioned, this is a draft, so any feedback could be used during revision, before I offer the completed series as a download.) But, of course, keep in mind that this is part 3 of 6, so if you feel I’ve left something out, there’s a chance I’ve already talked about it in a previous part (links above.)

Ruins of Middle Earth in the Fourth Age

So many ruins. Like, so many. Below you’ll see a map of the major ruins mentioned in Tolkien’s stories – I wasn’t sure if you were only interested in ruins in/near Dunland, so I just went for broke, lol: Elvish Ruins (Green) Amon Lanc (aka Dol Guldur): When Oropher and his group of Sindarin friends…