Lore archive
Peoples & Cultures
Not every people is alike. A race is a kind of being; a culture is a shared people, language and custom; a kingdom or realm is a political territory; an organization is a body with a purpose; and an army is a force raised for war. Each entry states plainly which kind it is, so a kingdom is never mistaken for a culture, nor an army for a people.
30 entries
RaceHobbits
A small, quietly hardy people of the Shire, fond of food, comfort and peace, whose unobtrusive courage repeatedly decided the fate of the Ring.
RaceElves
The Firstborn Children of Ilúvatar, deathless and beautiful, whose long history spans the awakening at Cuiviénen, the wars of Beleriand and the slow fading of the Third Age.
RaceDwarves
A stone-hewing race of great craft and endurance, made by Aulë before the Children awoke and famed for their smithing, their halls and their long grudges.
RaceMen
The Secondborn Children of Ilúvatar, mortal and brief-lived, whose kingdoms and choices dominate the later ages of Middle-earth.
RaceOrcs
A cruel and warlike race bred or corrupted into the service of the Dark Powers, the standing soldiery of Morgoth and Sauron.
Ents
Ancient tree-herds created to guard the forests, slow of speech and thought, who awoke to march against Isengard in the War of the Ring.
OrganizationIstari
The five Wizards sent from the West in the guise of old men to move the free peoples against Sauron, of whom only Gandalf remained faithful to the end.
RaceDragons
Vast winged and fire-breathing serpents bred by Morgoth, the most terrible creatures of the Elder Days and the ruin of dwarven and mannish kingdoms alike.
CultureNoldor
The second great kindred of the Eldar, master craftsmen and lore-masters, whose exile and wars against Morgoth shaped the whole history of the First Age.
CultureSindar
The Grey Elves of Beleriand, the great kindred who remained in Middle-earth under Thingol and Melian and whose tongue became the common Elvish speech of later ages.
CultureSilvan Elves
The woodland Elves of Mirkwood and Lothlórien, largely of Nandorin descent, who loved the forests and never journeyed to the West.
CultureDurin’s Folk
The eldest house of the Dwarves, descended from Durin the Deathless and long seated at Khazad-dûm and later at the Lonely Mountain.