Next Level Tolkien II

All right. Here are the answers to the pop quiz I offered last week.

1. Read the concise Ainulindalë at the beginning of The Silmarillion for the best treatment of who and what the Valar are. I always viewed them as archangel-type having analogues with the gods of the ancient Greeks.

2. Saruman the White, Gandalf the Grey, Radagast the Brown, and two “blue wizards” named Alatar and Pallando.

3. Númenor was destroyed by the Valar for attempting to seize the Undying Lands. The faithful of Númenor landed at Middle-earth and set up the kingdoms of Arnor (in the north) and Gondor (in the south). Tragedy struck the heirs. Arnor split into three kingdoms and faded under Sauron’s influence. Gondor survived under the Stewards.

4. Wow. That would take up a full day of writing – I don’t get paid for this, you know! Consult the appendices in The Silmarillion and The Lord of the Rings. A working overview of the Ages makes for clearer reading of the Rings.

5. See previous answer. Read the short and sweet Akallabêth found in The Silmarillion for the history and downfall of Númenor.

6. Vilya, the Ring of Air, with a blue stone, wielded by Elrond; Nenya, the Ring of Water, with a pale stone, worn by Galadriel; and Narya, the Ring of Fire, with a red stone, given to Gandalf by Elven lord Círdan the Shipwright.

7. Four Dwarven Rings were consumed, with their owners, by Dragons. Three Rings were recovered by Sauron. The last was taken from Thorin Oakenshield’s father while undergoing torture in Dol Guldur. (Thorin plays a big role in The Hobbit.)

8. Glaurung, Ancalagon the Black, Smaug the Golden, Scatha the Worm.

9. Ungoliant, Shelob.

10. The Noldor and the Sindar.

11. Grey Havens, Rivendell, Lothlórien, and the Woodland Realm.

12. Try it!

13. Old Forest, Fangorn, Lothlórien, the Mirkwood.

14. Elves led by Gil-Galad and Men (Númenoreans now in Gondor and Arnor) led by Elendil. Both died in the Battle. Elendil’s eldest son Anárion died early in the siege. His youngest, Isildur, was killed by Orc arrows two years into the Third Age when the One Ring he was wearing slipped off his finger as he was swimming a river to escape.

15. Yikes! That’s another dissertation. Suffice it to say that the prime antagonist of The Lord of the Rings was a maiar gone bad. Followed Melkor, survived First Age overthrow. Became fair, seduced Elves, forged One Ring. Beaten by Númenoreans than worked his seductions on them. Beaten at the Last Alliance; can no longer assume bodily form. Waited patiently, gained strength, hunted for Rings in Third Age. You know the rest.

16. One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them. Ash nazg durbatulûk, ash nazg gimbatul, ash nazg thrakatulûk agh burzum ishi krimpatul.

17. Sauron, Gandalf, Saruman, Radagast, the Balrog, Tom Bombadil, Goldberry, the Ainur, the Valar, the Maiar, Eru / Ilúvatar. Did I forget any?

18. Aragorn is descended of the long line of kings of Gondor, Arnor, and Númenor. Denethor is descended of the long line of Stewards of Gondor, tasked with running the kingdom until the king returns.

19. Consult the short chapters of XIX for the story of Beren and Lúthien and XXI for Túrin Turambar in the Quenta Silmarillion.

20. Three jewels of exquisite almost unearthly beauty containing the light of Two Trees of Valinor. They were fashioned by the greatest craftsman of the First Age, Fëanor. They were stolen by Morgoth with assistance from Ungoliant. One was recovered from Morgoth by Beren. The other two were recovered by the Valar after the great war of the age, only to be stolen again by two sons of Fëanor. Ultimately, one was cast into a great chasm, the other into the sea.

21. Ered = Mountains; Amon = Hill/Mount, Emyn = Hills/Mounts; Minas = Tower, Dor = Land, Dol = Hill/Mount, Nan = Vale, Valley; Tol = Isle/Island.