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Middle-earth & J.R.R. Tolkien Blog
A picture of a globe featuring the classic map of Middle-earth. The globe is surrounded by human arms of various skin tones reaching toward it under the words 'What Did Tolkien Mean When He Used 'Swart' And 'Swarthy' To Describe Elves And Men?'

What Did Tolkien Mean When He Used ‘Swart’ And ‘Swarthy’ To Describe Elves And Men?

  • Questions and Answers
August 13, 2026August 12, 2026 Michael Martinez 1 comment

Q: What Did Tolkien Mean When He Used ‘Swart’ And ‘Swarthy’ To Describe Elves And Men? ANSWER: I have deferred answering this question because of […]

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A highly stylized rendering of northern Arda inspired by the Ambarkanta map overlaid with the words 'Why Did The Valar Settle In The West In Flat-world Arda?'

Why Did The Valar Settle In The West In Flat-world Arda?

  • Questions and Answers
August 10, 2026August 12, 2026 Michael Martinez 4 comments

Q: Why Did The Valar Settle In The West In Flat-world Arda? ANSWER: People occasionally ask me about pre-LoTR topics. The transition from The Book […]

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An artistic rendering of Elrond holding Vilya in his hand on a hillside. A volcano erupts in the distance. The scene is overlaid by the words 'Why Didn't The Elves Destroy The Three Rings?'

Why Didn’t The Elves Destroy The Three Rings?

  • Questions and Answers
August 6, 2026August 6, 2026 Michael Martinez 14 comments

Q: Why Didn’t The Elves Destroy The Three Rings? ANSWER: People have asked many questions about the Rings of Power. I received the following question […]

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An imaginative illustration of Tolkien scholar and blogger Michael Martinez speaking to a group of people in front of a bookshelf under the words 'When Does A Tolkien Question Stop Being About Tolkien?'

When Does A Tolkien Question Stop Being About Tolkien?

  • Questions and Answers
August 3, 2026 Michael Martinez 2 comments

Q: When Does A Tolkien Question Stop Being About Tolkien? ANSWER: Through the years I receive occasional thoughtful opinions or responses to recent posts on […]

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A broken mosaic of the mithril crown of Gondor and the Sceptre of Annuminas under the words 'Why Were Arnor And Gondor Separate After Isildur Died?'

Why Were Arnor And Gondor Separate After Isildur Died?

  • Questions and Answers
July 31, 2026July 31, 2026 Michael Martinez 11 comments

Q: Why Were Arnor And Gondor Separate After Isildur Died? ANSWER: I received the following question from a reader in November 2025: Why were Arnor […]

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A man in a black cloak rides a black horse away from a massive black fortress under the words 'Could The Mouth Of Sauron Have Survived The War Of The Ring?'

Could The Mouth Of Sauron Have Survived The War Of The Ring?

  • Questions and Answers
July 27, 2026July 29, 2026 Michael Martinez 21 comments

Q: Did The Mouth Of Sauron Survive The War Of The Ring? ANSWER: I received this question in October 2025: Do you think the Mouth […]

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Were The Shire Hobbits White-skinned?

  • Questions and Answers
July 23, 2026July 27, 2026 Michael Martinez 26 comments

Q: Were The Shire Hobbits White-skinned? ANSWER: This question was inspired by Andy Serkis’ recent response to criticisms about his casting for The Hunt for […]

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A generic male elf and generic male orc stand side-by-side under the words 'Are Orcs And Elves The Same Race Or Not?'

Are Orcs And Elves The Same Race Or Not?

  • Questions and Answers
July 20, 2026July 24, 2026 Michael Martinez 18 comments

Q: Are Orcs And Elves The Same Race Or Not? ANSWER: People have asked variations on this question since The Silmarillion was first published. Maybe […]

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A man walks toward a village by a hill under the words 'Could Halbarad Have Spent Time In The Shire Or At Bree?'

Could Halbarad Have Spent Time In The Shire Or At Bree?

  • Questions and Answers
July 16, 2026July 16, 2026 Michael Martinez 3 comments

Q: Could Halbarad Have Spent Time In The Shire Or At Bree? ANSWER: I received the following question in August 2025: Could Halbarad have spent […]

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Two Ents resembling elm trees talk to hobbit children on a farm under the words 'If Ents Were In The Shire, How Could Treebeard Not Know?'

If Ents Were In The Shire, How Could Treebeard Not Know?

  • Questions and Answers
July 13, 2026July 24, 2026 Michael Martinez 6 comments

Q: If Ents Were In The Shire, How Could Treebeard Not Know? ANSWER: Earlier this year, a stunning letter by J.R.R. Tolkien came to light. […]

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An artistic rendering of a cave wall carved with runes under the words 'Middle-earth Trivia: Orc Graffiti'

Orc Graffiti

  • Trivia
July 6, 2026 Michael Martinez 4 comments

There’s a recent discussion in the SF-Fandom forums about ‘Orc literacy’. The idea reminded me of one of the more bizarre connections I have to […]

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An illustration in the style of an old oil painting showing Aragorn and Elrond fighting over Arwen under the words 'Aragorn vs Elrond: Who Wins?'

Aragorn vs Elrond: Who Wins?

  • Questions and Answers
July 2, 2026July 3, 2026 Michael Martinez 11 comments

Q: Aragorn vs Elrond: Who Wins? ANSWER: Yes, this is a real question. A reader submitted it in July 2025: …Aragorn vs Elrond, who wins? […]

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An old road leading through a dark forest under the words 'Was The Old Forest Road Reopened Before The War Of The Ring?'

Was The Old Forest Road Reopened Before The War Of The Ring?

  • Questions and Answers
June 29, 2026June 29, 2026 Michael Martinez 3 comments

Q: Was The Old Forest Road Reopened Before The War Of The Ring? ANSWER: I received the following question in June 2025: Was anything done […]

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A picture of northern mountains under the words 'Why Didn't Dwarves Obsess Over Returning To The Grey Mountains?'

Why Didn’t Dwarves Obsess Over Returning To The Grey Mountains?

  • Questions and Answers
June 11, 2026 Michael Martinez 5 comments

Q: Why Didn’t Dwarves Obsess Over Returning To The Ered Lindon? ANSWER: I received this question from a reader in May 2025 (slightly reformatted to […]

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A picture of an ancient or medieval manuscript laid out in book form under the words 'How To Pronounce Names In The Lord Of The Rings'

How To Pronounce Names In ‘The Lord of the Rings’

  • Trivia
June 8, 2026July 24, 2026 Michael Martinez 11 comments

I’m not sure how to classify this article. I’ve added it to the Trivia category but it’s not really trivia. And the article was inspired […]

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An illustration in the style of an old oil painting of Saruman looking down on Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli under the words 'Why Didn't Saruman Attack Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli in Fangorn Forest?'

Why Didn’t Saruman Attack Aragorn, Legolas, And Gimli In Fangorn?

  • Questions and Answers
May 28, 2026 Michael Martinez 15 comments

Q: Why Didn’t Saruman Attack Aragorn, Legolas, And Gimli In Fangorn? ANSWER: I received the following set of questions from a reader in June 2025: […]

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RECENT POSTS

  • What Did Tolkien Mean When He Used ‘Swart’ And ‘Swarthy’ To Describe Elves And Men?
  • Why Did The Valar Settle In The West In Flat-world Arda?
  • Why Didn’t The Elves Destroy The Three Rings?
  • When Does A Tolkien Question Stop Being About Tolkien?
  • Why Were Arnor And Gondor Separate After Isildur Died?

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