Middle-earth & J.R.R. Tolkien Blog

Could Tolkien Dwarves Swim? ANSWER: Yes. Well, in the sense that it wasn’t physically impossible for them to, that’s the short answer. Convincing people that […]

Q: Could Aragorn and Boromir have Helped Gandalf against the Balrog? ANSWER: This is one of those questions that invites speculation. While I don’t recall […]

Q: What Does It Mean to Cast Up A Sword? ANSWER: Tolkien often used obscure meanings for common, everyday English words. Deciphering what he meant […]

Q: Why Did Aragorn Forget Thranduil’s Name in the “Two Towers” Movie? ANSWER: A fan-made video uploaded to YouTube has been circulating for years, claiming […]

Q: Why Didn’t Sauron Know that Aragorn Existed? ANSWER: I received the following question in July 2020: Could Sauron have discovered from Saruman that Isildur’s […]

Q: Random Questions from a Single Reader ANSWER: Normally when people submit multiple questions I try to space out the answers for them across multiple […]

Q: Did the Noldor Dig Their Own Mines? ANSWER: This is a variation on a more generalized question about mining in Middle-earth. Everyone knows the […]

Q: What did Sauron Use the Sammath Naur for? ANSWER: This will undoubtedly be one of those questions where despite my quoting the book, people […]

Q: Where Did the Second Age Númenoreans Live in Eriador? ANSWER: The short answer is “almost everywhere”. The following question was submitted in February 2020: […]

Q: How Much Damage Would the Valar have Caused If They Attacked Sauron? ANSWER: This is a difficult question to rephrase into a simple headline. […]