Migrations and monuments: Introduction

Migrations and monuments: the story of the First Age in Eriador and Rhovanion

Tim Bolton
(First edition: 08/07/23)

[Note 1: I use Tolkien Gateway as points of reference due to it being the best online J.R.R. Tolkien encyclopaedia and is accessible to all readers. Other online options include the Encyclopaedia of Arda.]

[Note 2: Tolkien uses specific names for races (Elves, Dwarves, Hobbits, etc) and “Men” for humanity. I recognise that it is not ideal nor gender-neutral, but to avoid confusion when quoting/discussing, I’ll follow Tolkien’s usage.]

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“Migrations and monuments” quick links:

Contents | Introduction | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 |
Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Conclusion | Addendum 1 |
Addendum 2 | Bibliography
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📗 Introduction

The theme for this week’s Tolkien Trewsday (Week 19: 4 July 2023) was intentionally quite broad to give people who wished to join in the opportunity to choose something that mattered to them. My interests often head towards landscape, and knowing that a lot of the stories of the First Age focus on Beleriand, I posed a question to research: what did people leave on the landscape in the land of Eriador during this age?

And as has been part and parcel of my Tolkien Trewsday experience so far, looking for the answer became more complicated and a much larger project than I had initially thought.

Tolkien’s literature that covers the First Age focuses for the most part on what is happening in Beleriand, so the rest of the Westlands of Middle-earth (Eriador, Rhovanion, etc) function mostly as places to pass through rather than as storied places. This does not mean, however, that there is nothing important going on in these lands, far from it.

This is as much as tale about migration as it will be about settlements and monuments. What is happening with the peoples of Middle-earth, amidst devastating struggles of the great Powers of the West, the Eldar, and the Great Enemy, leads to the foundations of future generations across the ages. I’ll look at Tolkien’s textual evidence and try to break down the points where settlement happens as the various races move about and also encounter one another during the First Age in Eriador and Rhovanion.

Next: 
📜 Part 1] The Years of the Trees and Years of the Sun: Awakenings

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“Migrations and monuments” quick links:

Contents | Introduction | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 |
Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Conclusion | Addendum 1 |
Addendum 2 | Bibliography
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