Tolkienian legendarium & The Lord of the Rings

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::-Indranil Sarkar-::
The Lord of the Rings trilogy is the real masterpiece of
J.R.R.Tolkein.

It is

certainly not The Hobbit for which he has been mainly acclaimed as writer so

long. The Lord of the Rings is called an epic high fantasy novel. Originally Tolkien proposed the story to be a sequel to his 1937 children's fantasy The Hobbit. But, the trilogyThe Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King have come out to be the most popular read at present. Prof.Tolkein, the eminent Oxford Don and philologist, wrote much of it during the Second World War. He worked from 1937 to 1949 i,e nearly 12 years to complete it. It has earned the status of the second best-selling

novel ever written. To date, it has earned a record of over 150 million copies sell. Tolkien proved that he is still the king, said Wagner, in the Toronto Star review of the book in 2007. The success of J.K.Rowlings Harry-Potter series of stories owes a lot to these Tolkienian tales because it was he who rejuvenated the fantasy literature of the early periods that was lost in the materialistic, scientific and experimental modernism.
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The Bigin of the beginning: The novel is called a high fantasy. Although a major work in itself, the story is only the last and final last movement (a sequel) of his children fantasy The Hobbit, which created Professor Tolkiens identity as a writer. He described it as Mythopoeia.i

Here the readers are taken to the fantasy world of Middle-earth in Arda. It is the land of the Hobbits. But the starting point is Shire, not unlike any typical countryside (Shires)in England. The move occurs following the course of the War of the Rings through the eyes of its characters, the hobbits Frodo Baggins, Samwise Sam Gamgee, Meriadoc Merry, Brandy buck Gamgee, Peregrin Pippin Took. The hobbits' chief allies and travelling companions arethe Men Aragoan, a Ranger of the North and Boromir, a Captain of Gondor; Gimli, a Dwarf Warrior; Legolas, an Elven prince; and Gandalf, a wizard. Long before the events of the novel, the Dark Lord Sauron forges the One Ring to rule the other Rings of Power, the leaders of Men, Elves and Dwarves. Sauron also infuses the magic quality of corrupting the wearer of the Ring. He is vanquished in battle by an alliance of Elves and Men. Isildur cuts the One Ring from Sauron's finger, claiming it as an heirloom for his line, and Sauron loses his physical form. When Isildur is later ambushed and killed by Orcs, the Ring is lost in the River Anduin at Gladden Fields. Nearly two thousand years later, the Ring is found by one of the river-folk called Deagol. His friend Smagol immediately falls under the Ring's influence and strangles Deagol to acquire it. Smagol is banished. He hides himself under the Misty Mountains, where the Ring extends his lifespan and transforms him
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Middle-earth in Arda. over the course of hundreds of years into a twisted, corrupted creature called Gollum. He loses the Ring, his "precious", and, as recounted in The Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins finds it. Meanwhile, Sauron re-assumes his physical form and takes back his old realm of Mordor. Gollum sets out in search of the Ring, but is captured by Sauron, who learns from him that Baggins" in the Shire has been in possession of it. Gollum is set loose, and Sauron, who needs the Ring to regain his full power, sends forth his powerful servants, the Nazguil, to seize it.

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The Ring

The beginning:-The whole story of The Lord of the Rings is

divided into three separate books. And all the books are divided into two parts each. The first one is titled The Fellowship of the Ring.

The Fellowship of the Ring: The story begins in the Shire. The
Hobbit Frodo Baggins inherits the One Ring from Bilbo, his cousin and guardian. Neither is aware of its origin and nature, but Gandalf the Grey,

a wizard and old friend of Bilbo, suspects the Ring's identity. When he becomes certain, he strongly advises Frodo to take it away from the Shire. Frodo leaves, accompanied by his gardener and friend, Samwise Sam Gamgee, and two cousins, Meriadoc Merry Brandy buck and Peregrin Pippin Took. They nearly encounter the Nazgl while still in the Shire, but shake off pursuit by cutting through the Old Forest, where they are aided by the enigmatic Tom
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Bombadil, who alone is unaffected by the Ring's corrupting influence. After

leaving the forest, they stop in the town of Bree where they meet Strider, who is later revealed to be Aragorn, Isildur's heir. He persuades them to take him on as guide and protector. They flee from Bree after narrowly escaping another assault, but the Nazgl follow and attack them on the hill of Weather top, wounding Frodo with a Morgul blade. Aragorn leads the hobbits toward the Elven refuge of Rivendell, while Frodo gradually succumbs to the wound. The Ring wraiths nearly overtake Frodo at the Ford of Bruinen, but flood waters summoned by Elrond, master of Rivendell, rise up and overwhelm them. Frodo recovers in Rivendell under the care of Elrond. The Council of Elrond reveals much significant history about Sauron and the Ring, as well as the news that Sauron has corrupted Gandalf's fellow wizard, Saruman. The Council decides that the Ring must be destroyed, but that can only be done by

returning it to the flames of Mount Doom in Mordor, where it was forged. Frodo volunteers to take on this daunting task, and a "Fellowship of the Ring" is formed to aid him: Sam, Merry, Pippin, Aragorn, Gandalf, Gimli the Dwarf, Legoals the Elf, and the Man Boromir, son of the Ruling Steward Deneth or of the realm of Gondor. After a failed attempt to cross the Misty Mountains via the pass below Caradhr as, the company is forced to try a more perilous path through the Mines of Moria, where they are attacked by the Watcher before the gate. Inside, they discover the fate of Balin and his colony of Dwarves. After repulsing an attack, they are pursued by orcs and an ancient and powerful demonic creature called a Balrog. Gandalf confronts the Balrog, but in their struggle, both fall into a deep chasm. The others escape and take refuge in the Elven forest of Lothlorien, where they are counselled by Galadriel and Celeborn. With boats and gifts from Galadriel, the company travel down the River Anduin to the hill of Amon Hen. Boromir succumbs to the lure of the Ring and attempts to take it from Frodo. Frodo escapes and determines continue the quest alone, though Sam guesses perils of the pursuit. However, a part of the Ring is broken in the tussell.
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The Two Towers: Orcs sent by Saruman and Sauron kill

Boromir and kidnap Merry and Pippin. After agonizing over which pair of hobbits to follow, Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas pursue the orcs bearing Merry and Pippin to Saruman. In the kingdom of Rohan, the orcs are slain by a company of the Rohirrim. Merry and Pippin escape into Fangorn Forest, where they are befriended by Treebeard, and the oldest of the tree-like Ents. Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas track the hobbits to Fangorn, and encounter Gandalf, resurrected as the significantly more powerful "Gandalf the White" after his mutually fatal duel with the Balrog. Gandalf assures them that Merry and Pippin are safe. They then ride to Edoras, the capital of Rohan, where they free Theoden, King of Rohan, from the influence of Saruman's henchman Grima Worm Tongue.

Thoden musters his fighting strength and rides to the ancient fortress of Helms Deep, but en route Gandalf leaves to seek help from Treebeard. Meanwhile, the Ents, roused from their customarily peaceful ways by Merry and Pippin, attack Isengard, Saruman's stronghold, and trap the wizard in the tower of Orthanc. Gandalf convinces Treebeard to send an army of Huorns to Theodens aid. Gandalf and Rohirrim reinforcements arrive at Helm's Deep just in time to defeat and scatter Saruman's army. The Huorns dispose of the fleeing orcs. Gandalf then parleys with Saruman at Orthanc. When Saruman rejects his offer of redemption, Gandalf strips him of his rank and most of his powers. Pippin looks into a palantir, a seeing-stone that Saruman had used to communicate with Sauron and through which he was enslaved. Gandalf rides for Minas Tirith, chief city of Gondor, taking Pippin with him. Frodo and Sam capture Gollum, who had been following them from Moria, and force him to guide them to Mordor. Finding Mordor's Black Gate too well guarded to attempt, they travel instead, to a secret passage Gollum knows. Torn between his loyalty to Frodo and his desire for the Ring, Gollum eventually betrays Frodo by leading him to the great spider Shelob in the tunnels of Cirith Ungol. Frodo is felled by Shelob's bite, but Sam fights her off. Sam takes the Ring and leaves Frodo, believing him to be dead. When orcs find Frodo, Sam
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overhears them say that Frodo is only unconscious, and chases after them.

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The Return of the King: Sauron unleashes a heavy assault

upon Gondor. Gandalf arrives at Minas Tirith to alert Denethor of the impending attack. The city is besieged, and Denethor, deceived by Sauron, gives up hope and commits suicide, nearly taking his remaining

son Faramir with him. With time running out, Aragorn feels he has no choice but to take the Paths of the Dead, accompanied by Legolas, Gimli and the

Dnedain Rangers from the North. There Aragorn raises an undead army of
oath-breakers bound by an ancient curse. The ghostly army helps them to defeat the Corsairs of Umbar invading southern Gondor. Commandeering the ships of the Corsairs, Aragorn leads reinforcements up the Anduin to relieve the siege of Minas Tirith, and the forces of Gondor and Rohan defeat Sauron's army in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields. Meanwhile, Sam rescues Frodo from

the tower of Cirith Ungol, and they set out across Mordor. In order to distract Sauron from his true danger, Aragorn leads the armies of Gondor and Rohan in a march on the Black Gate of Mordor. His vastly outnumbered troops fight desperately against Sauron's forces. Reaching the edge of the Cracks of Doom, Frodo is unable to resist the Ring any longer, and suddenly and fiercely claims it for himself. But Gollum suddenly reappears, struggles with Frodo and bites off his finger, Ring and all. Celebrating wildly, Gollum accidentally falls into the fire, taking the Ring with him; and so Frodo's mission is completed. With the destruction of the One Ring, Sauron is permanently shorn of his power, the
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Nazgl perish, and his armies are thrown into such disarray that Aragorn's
forces emerge victorious. With the end of the War of the Ring, Aragorn is crowned Elessar, King of Arnor and Gondor, and marries his long-time love, Arwen, daughter of Elrond. Saruman escapes from Isengard and, seeking to carve out a new kingdom, enslaves the Shire through Lotho Sackville-Baggins bearing the name

"Sharkey", an orc term for "Old Man". The four hobbits, upon returning
home, raise a rebellion and overthrow him. Grma turns on Saruman and kills him, and is slain in turn by hobbit archers. The War of the Ring thus comes to its true end on Frodo's very doorstep. Merry and Pippin are acclaimed heroes,

while Sam marries Rosie Cotton and uses his gifts from Galadriel to help heal the Shire. He later becomes mayor of the shire. Frodo, however, remains wounded in body and spirit after having borne the spiritual weight of the One Ring so long. Several years later, accompanied by Bilbo and Gandalf, he sails from the Grey Havens west over the Sea to the Undying Lands to find peace. After Rosie's death, Sam gives his daughter the Red Book of West march, containing the account of Bilbo's adventures and the War of the Ring as witnessed by the hobbits. Sam is then said to have crossed west over the Sea himself, the last of the Ring-bearer. The events in the story occur between Bilbo's announcement of his September 22, 3001 birthday party and Sam's re-arrival to Bag End on October 6, 3021. Most of the events portrayed in the story occur in 3018 and 3019, with Frodo heading out from Bag End on September 23, 3018, and the destruction of the Ring six months later on March, 25, 3019.
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Authors bio.:-

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (January 1892 2 September

1973) was an English writer, poet, neologist, and Oxford university professor. Together with his one time friend C.S.Lewis, he formed an informal literary discussion group called Inkling. He is called the father of modern fantasy literature, more precisely known as High fantasy. His main works are The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion. He created a fantasy world and named it Arda. Middle-earth is the heartland of Arda. Middle-earth

is derived from Norse Mythology. It was a dwelling place of the humans. Tolkien called all his writings on Middleearth as Legendarium.

Trivia:- Mythopoeia means "myth-making". It is a narrative genre in

modern literature and film. Here, a fictional mythology is created by integrating traditional mythological stories and Classics into fiction. The word mythopoeia comes to be used following its use by revered Oxford Professor and neologist J. R. R. Tolkien in the 1930s. ii. MiddleEarth: Its a fantasy land created by Tolkien following the tradition of Jonathon Swifts Laputa, the flying island and the Country of the Houyhnhnms. iii."Tolkienian" and "Tolkienesque" have been recorded in the Oxford English Dictionary following the popularity of Tolkiens The Lord of the Rings. [Gulliver, Peter (2006). The Ring of Words: Tolkien and the Oxford English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-861069-6]

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The individual names for books in the new imprint

763555-9

ISBN 0-00-

was decided posthumously, based on a combination of suggestions

Tolkien had made during his lifetime and the titles of the existing volumes viz:

T O L K I E N

Book I: The Return of the Shadow Book II: The Fellowship of the Ring Book III: The Treason of Isengard Book IV: The Journey to Mordor Book V: The War of the Ring Book VI: The Return of the King Appendices
'LOTR',
FR, FOTR,

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5. The name of the complete work is often abbreviated to 'LotR', simply

FotR
ROTK,

or or
RK,

'LR'

(Tolkien himself used L.R.), and the three volumes as

TT

(The Fellowship of the Ring),

or

TTT

(The Two Towers), and

or RotK (The Return of the King)

6. One Ring- One Ring is a fictional artifact that appears as the central plot element in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth fantasy novels. It gives its owner mastery of the world, and also works to corrupt the minds and wills of its possessors. It was created by Sauron, the Dark Lord as part of his design to win domination over Middle-earth. The Elven smiths heard him chanting them, and thereupon became aware of his purpose and took off their own Rings to foil his plan. The Ring was made of gold. It had no gems. It could

be destroyed only by throwing into the pit of the volcanic Mount Doom where it was originally forged. The following words in Black language were inscribed in the Ring:
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The English translation of the inscription is:One ring to rule them all, one ring to find them, One ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them. The inscribed lines are taken from a rhyme of the lore
Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky, Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone, Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die, One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie. One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,

One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.
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One Ring

Links, References and Acknowledgements:i.www.lotr.wikia.com/wiki/The_Lord_of_the_Rings ii. www.ringgame.net/summary iii. www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lord_of_the_Rings iv. www.nintendolife.com v.www.missionsnes.blogspot.com
NB.Most

of the contents and information are taken [extracted] from Wikipedia, the free and open library. Creative commons attributes are respected-i.s

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