[Resource - Released v. 1.01] Of the Lore of Middle-earth (A Brief Overview of Matters of Lore)

[♔atthias♔]

I want to ask if existed some clan of dwarves in white mountains......were there any dwarves?

only after the war of the ring in the cave behind helm's deep those dwarves where under gimli's rule
greetings atthias

[Alkar]

only after the war of the ring in the cave behind helm's deep those dwarves where under gimli's rule
greetings atthias

Yep exactly what he said.

[Melvasul]

About the map, be aware that not all the map can be named "canonical" nor lore based.
Only the Atlas of the Middle Earth is a Magnificent and specialized work of cartography and still not exceeded.Some calculations should be reviewed with more recent works.

There's indeed a map, however, that even if as a member of the Tolkien Italia I should, nor could nor have to!, link you I will do it http://66.172.33.110/openlayers2.html It's not accurate however(and some of the material putted in it is un-canonical) but there are some good, and well inserted, name and regions ^^

[Alkar]

About the map, be aware that not all the map can be named "canonical" nor lore based.
Only the Atlas of the Middle Earth is a Magnificent and specialized work of cartography and still not exceeded.Some calculations should be reviewed with more recent works.

There's indeed a map, however, that even if as a member of the Tolkien Italia I should, nor could nor have to!, link you I will do it http://66.172.33.110/openlayers2.html It's not accurate however(and some of the material putted in it is un-canonical) but there are some good, and well inserted, name and regions ^^

Cool map! The only strictly lore-based map that I posted was actually the last one, the others are just role-playing game concepts.

[Melvasul]

Cool map! The only strictly lore-based map that I posted was actually the last one, the others are just role-playing game concepts.

Some maps are really not that bad, the MEDEM Tiles is used by me in a "D&D lotr" campaign, but we must remember that are "fan made" :/

[Alkar]

Some maps are really not that bad, the MEDEM Tiles is used by me in a "D&D lotr" campaign, but we must remember that are "fan made" :/

Yeah, those were just some maps of a high quality that I found by scouring the Google Image search. The links always seem to be broken though ...

[Tar-Falassion]

Frankly I am quite amazed that Fonstad's Atlas of Middle-Earth is still considered a reference, given some of the massive discrepancies that are included in her works, and her obliviousness to certain details in M-E's geography that ought to be obvious after a close reading of the Silmarillion or the HoME. In my honest opinion, her atlas is quite outdated, in the light of the later versions of Tolkien's legendarium, and her interpretation is flawed when it comes to Middle-Earth's shape in the 2nd Age and to what was really brought by the changing of the Earth ...

[Alkar]

Frankly I am quite amazed that Fonstad's Atlas of Middle-Earth is still considered a reference, given some of the massive discrepancies that are included in her works, and her obliviousness to certain details in M-E's geography that ought to be obvious after a close reading of the Silmarillion or the HoME. In my honest opinion, her atlas is quite outdated, in the light of the later versions of Tolkien's legendarium, and her interpretation is flawed when it comes to Middle-Earth's shape in the 2nd Age and to what was really brought by the changing of the Earth ...

Yep, but it's not like there are any better versions. It is overall an excellent resource, used by Christopher Tolkien himself (the Tolkiens would never dedicate their stretched time to such a large map project, I know I wouldn't. ) They barely got out a basic map for the Lord of the Rings. Please inform the community if there are any better reputable maps that you would recommend.

[Tar-Falassion]

Unfortunately I don't have any better map, except for the ones that would be considered "fanfiction" by extreme purists but would actually render a better-shaped western Middle-Earth than Fonstad's ...
I'm not in a position to offer alternative that would please everyone, I'm just trying to point at discrepancies and trying to resolve them by using the data available in the books (and if I had any authority like the one Fonstad seems to have I'd definitely dedicate my time to an accurate map project )

[Alkar]

Unfortunately I don't have any better map, except for the ones that would be considered "fanfiction" by extreme purists but would actually render a better-shaped western Middle-Earth than Fonstad's ...
I'm not in a position to offer alternative that would please everyone, I'm just trying to point at discrepancies and trying to resolve them by using the data available in the books (and if I had any authority like the one Fonstad seems to have I'd definitely dedicate my time to an accurate map project )

Well, by all means, point them out or make your own, this is a place of community acceptance (I hope).

[Tar-Falassion]

So do I hope ! I was thinking about the works made on Middle-Earth's cartography by the Other Minds web-magazine (a project destined to reconcile works made by Middle-Earth role-playing companies with Tolkien's writings, and which is supported by studies made by actual specialists of Middle-Earth).

Before anyone says anything,
1) yes alot of Other Minds' works are about roleplaying, but the companies from which originated the roleplay materials Other Minds base themselves on have had the official license of Tolkien Enterprises to create RPG content for more than 20 years, pre-PJ, and
2) the parts that focus on the evolution of north-western Middle-Earth's geography are far more accurate than Fonstad and actually correct her (many) mistakes, regarding the placement of Utumno, the disappearance of the Sea of Helcar, the consequences of Akallabêth or the flat Arda/round Arda debate ...

(if anyone's actually interested enough, link to pdf : http://othermindsmagazine.com/downlo...n_20080203.pdf )

[Alkar]

So do I hope ! I was thinking about the works made on Middle-Earth's cartography by the Other Minds web-magazine (a project destined to reconcile works made by Middle-Earth role-playing companies with Tolkien's writings, and which is supported by studies made by actual specialists of Middle-Earth).

Before anyone says anything,
1) yes alot of Other Minds' works are about roleplaying, but the companies from which originated the roleplay materials Other Minds base themselves on have had the official license of Tolkien Enterprises to create RPG content for more than 20 years, pre-PJ, and
2) the parts that focus on the evolution of north-western Middle-Earth's geography are far more accurate than Fonstad and actually correct her (many) mistakes, regarding the placement of Utumno, the disappearance of the Sea of Helcar, the consequences of Akallabêth or the flat Arda/round Arda debate ...

(if anyone's actually interested enough, link to pdf : http://othermindsmagazine.com/downlo...n_20080203.pdf )

Very interesting, I liked the maps near the end. Is there a place where they provide more detail for their maps, such as zooming onto specific locations?

[Tar-Falassion]

Unfortunately as far as I know there is not ... studies of the whole of Middle-Earth's shifting geography throughout the ages goes on in the following issue, along with proper names for regions of the Hither Lands, coming straight up from the MERP materials (canonicity is subject to conjecture, I'll admit), and for more detailed information about specific areas of Southern Middle-Earth i'd have to advise you to give a look at MERP's rpg modules ...

But detailed areas in terms of mapping are never the concern of this group, as they tend to focus more on cultural studies, rectification of discrepancies towards one or another important aspect of one culture - but sometimes they also study really interesting topics (for instance : why did the Three really lose their power in the end ?)

[Alkar]

Updated the Engine section with applicability to the mod in which I also briefly went over the viability of the movies over the books in certain cases of inspiration. v. 1.1