The West of Middle-earth at the End of the Third Age

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The West of Middle-earth at the End of the Third Age is the title of a map depicting Northwestern Middle-earth during the War of the Ring.

The map is a re-drawing by Christopher Tolkien of his original, unnamed "General Map of Middle-earth"[note 1] made in late 1953 for the first edition of The Lord of the Rings.[1][2][3]

The map is reproduced in the Unfinished Tales and since 2005 in the HarperCollins editions of The Lord of the Rings.[1]

Description

Smaller in scope than the original, this map excluded locations such as the Northern Waste in the north, or Umbar and Far Harad in the south.

The Sea is now filled with contour lines radiating from the coasts, like the inland bodies of water. The island of Himring is now included.

The Icebay of Forochel is now labelled with an arrow pointing to the larger northeast part of the bay, and not the small gulf. Christopher Tolkien stated that his original map was marked incorrectly.[4]

The areas of Gondor and Rohan are more detailed with streets and roads, also seen in the Map of Rohan, Gondor, and Mordor. Westfold and Eastfold, separated by the Snowburn are marked, as well as the Mering Stream. The Old South Road is renamed North-South Road and extend along the White Mountains.

New names:

Notes

  1. The name "General Map of Middle-earth" appears to be coined by Hammond and Scull.

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull (eds), The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion, "The Maps of The Lord of the Rings", pp. lv-lxvii
  2. J.R.R. Tolkien; Humphrey Carpenter, Christopher Tolkien (eds.), The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, Letter 187, (undated, written April 1956), p. 247
  3. J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), Unfinished Tales, "Introduction", "The Map of Middle-earth"
  4. J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), Unfinished Tales, "Introduction", The Map of Middle-earth
Maps of Arda made by or for J.R.R. Tolkien
The Hobbit:  Thrór's Map · Map of Wilderland
 TLOTR:  A Part of the Shire · General Map of Middle-earth · Map of Rohan, Gondor, and Mordor · The West of Middle-earth at the End of the Third Age
Other:  Map of Beleriand and the Lands to the North · Númenórë‎
Baynes:  A Map of Middle-earth · There and Back Again
Early maps:  The earliest map‎ · I Vene Kemen · The First 'Silmarillion' Map · Ambarkanta maps · The Second 'Silmarillion' Map · The First Map of 'The Lord of the Rings' · The 1943 Map of 'The Lord of the Rings' · The Second Map of 'The Lord of the Rings' · The Third Map of 'The Lord of the Rings'