Lord of the Rings/The Hobbit are very successful books and film series that have gathered a huge following. The world is incredibly detailed and full of lore which makes it really fun to learn about. There are a ton of things that fans don’t know that will surprise them, I’ve gathered 10 amazing facts that I bet you don’t know!

If you do know some or even all of them, give yourself a pat on the back 😀

 

10. Strongest Dragon

In the very early stages of the life cycle of Arda (the world that holds middle-earth and the rest of the continents), there were armies of dragons and the strongest of which was Ancalagon the Black. This beast was the greatest and most powerful Dragon in existence, he was said to breath fire hotter than any other dragon flame and was as large as a mountain!

 

 

9. Lord of Balrogs

If Balrogs weren’t powerful enough, it turns out there was once a Lord of Balrogs. This Lord was called Gothmog, he was the greatest Balrog to have ever existed and was the High Captain of one of the greatest fortresses in middle-earth history; Angband. He was killed in the First Age by Ecthelion.

 

 

8. Morgoth

Morgoth, previously known as Melkor, was the first Dark Lord to ravage the lands of Arda and was the Master of Sauron. He was one of the Ainur (basically an “Angel”) created by Eru (basically “God”) that rebelled against the rest of the Ainur and Eru. He was extremely powerful and used his power to create vast armies. He created and bred Dragons, he got the Balrogs on his side, he twisted the Elves to create Orcs and eventually ended up spawning all manner of dark creatures like Trolls, Giant Spiders, Wolves, Werewolves and Vampires. He led these armies to great wars against the rest of the Ainur which would fight with Humans, Elves, Eagles, Ents, Dwarves and natural animals like Deer. Morgoth went out to devastate Arda, there are tons of tales in lore if you want to read more.

 

 

7. Why Hobbits are good ringbearers

The One Ring corrupted all who come by it, bearers would keep it as their own and fight to the death for it. So how come Hobbits could have such resilience? How could Bilbo drop the ring moderately easily at the start of the first Lord of the Rings film? The answer lies in the Ring’s trickery, it deceives its bearers with lies about how they can become strong, rich, all powerful and immortal. Most races find this too good to turn down and so they protect the ring like their own lives. The reason Hobbits are so resilient is because they ‘re perfectly happy as they are and don’t seek such greatness!

 

 

6. Why the Elves left at the end of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

The Elves are still going strong during the events of The Lord of the Rings movies. They have beautiful cities, strong warriors and many settlements around middle-earth. So why, even after the evil is defeated, did they have to leave? Well, the 3 rings that were given to them by Sauron were very powerful. So powerful in fact that they’re the reason behind the beauty of the Elvish cities, the rings preserved the cities and the Elves. However, the rings need the main ring, the One Ring to use their power. When the One Ring was destroyed, the Elven rings lost their power and so their cities would not be preserved which is why they had to leave!

 

 

5. Five Wizards

By now I’m sure everyone is aware of Gandalf the Grey, Radagast the Brown and Saruman the White. But is everyone aware of the Blue Wizards? Their names are Alatar and Pallando. These Wizards left Gandalf, Saruman and Radagast to the West of middle-earth while they went to the East. The stories of them are unknown.

The Wizards are not actually Wizards, they are Maiar spirits (lesser but still powerful Ainur that descended to Arda) who took the form of old-age humans. The reason they don’t seem that powerful compared to what they actually are is because their quest was to advise the inhabitants of Arda to oppose Morgoth and his minions.

 

 

4. Numenor

The word “Numenor” is mentioned plenty of times in the books/movies but what is it and what happened to it? It was an island West of middle-earth that was inhabited by Men who eventually became the Dunedain. The island contained many great heroes and a powerful civilisation which met a great end. Even further West was another continent that the Men of the island were not allowed access to. After Sauron (under orders by Morgoth) started to corrupt them, they became enraged by this and built a great army, they they set sail to these lands with visions of war. However, Eru himself found this unacceptable and destroyed the great army before they reached the shores, he then destroyed and sank the island. Such a catastrophe caused Arda to go from a flat realm to a sphere like our Earth but the continent the Numenorians were trying to reach was “pulled out” into another realm above this new “Earth”. The few survivors of this terrible event reached middle-earth and settle there, where they would soon be called the Dunedain or Men of the West.

 

 

3. The Fellowship

Ever wondered what happened to the fellowship? The movies don’t tell you much and honestly I haven’t read the books so I don’t know if it tells you any more in there. I’ll tell you what happened to each member anyway:

Gandalf – Travelled to the Undying lands shortly after the downfall of Sauron.

Frodo Baggins – Travelled to the Undying lands shortly after the downfall of Sauron.

Aragorn – Became King of the Reunited Kingdom and married Arwen. Ruled with prosperity and brought great happiness to his people. Eventually died of old age.

Boromir – Killed in battle during the first Lord of the Rings movie.

Samwise Gamgee – Married Rosie, had 13 children and eventually became Mayor of the Shire. After his wife died he was allowed entry to the Undying Lands as he was briefly a ringbearer and so he departed there.

Legolas – Stayed in middle-earth to help recover the forests and natural landscapes that was ravaged by war. After Aragorn’s death he travelled to the Undying Lands.

Gimli – Recruited some Dwarves and established a new kingdom in the Glittering Caves (inside Helms Deep). They rebuilt the gate of Minas Tirith with one made of Mithril and Steel. He ruled for a while before departing with Legolas for the Undying Lands, becoming the first Dwarf to do so.

Merry and Pippin – They both married beautiful Hobbit women and had children. They lived their lives in the Shire before returning to Rohan and Gondor. After their deaths they were laid next to Aragorn’s body.

 

2. Valar

The Valar are powerful Ainur that descended into Arda. They were god-like beings who would shape the world. They raised mountains and islands, created forests and animals etc. They were the ones who raised the island of Numenor as a gift to the Men who had helped them defeat Morgoth. These are more powerful than the Maiar and live in the Undying Lands. During the events of the movies they are not seen or mentioned but they played a huge part in the creation and maintenance of the world. They are the ones who combated Morgoth and his great armies.

 

 

1. Undying Lands

The Undying Lands is simply a nickname for the continent Aman. It used to be able to be reached through crossing the ocean before the great cataclysm of Numenor. After those events it was only reachable by Elves who knew a secret route and only if they were granted access by the Valar. The Valar called Aman their home and would create great halls, majestic Forests and gardens and produce materials that will never be seen on middle-earth. There are tons of events that happened in and around Aman that it’s difficult to summarise them all, I recommend watching this video to get started!

 

Hope you enjoyed the list!