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Welcome to The Encyclopedia of ArdaThe Encyclopedia of Arda is a personal project - a tribute to and a celebration of the works of J.R.R. Tolkien. The site is evolving into an illustrated hypertext encyclopedia of Tolkien's realms and peoples. It already contains about four thousand entries, and we're constantly adding new entries and expanding existing ones. Inside the encyclopediaThe Encyclopedia of Arda contains thousands of articles covering topics from J.R.R. Tolkien's world, some brief, some lengthy and some containing detailed essays and discussions. You'll also find a selection of interactive tools, including a chronicle to help you explore Tolkien's fictional history, and calendar to translate dates and events, a lexicon of names, a glossary of old and rare words, and much more. Context and approachThe content of the Encyclopedia is written in the same context as Tolkien himself used; he presented himself simply as a translator, rather than originator of the tales. Hence, we try to describe his world from a 'historical' rather than a literary perspective, though sometimes it's useful to explore ideas in their wider context. Where relevant, therefore, you'll also find a few references to Tolkien's life or opinions, or to real historical or mythological parallels to events in his universe. About the name ArdaArda was the name given by the Elves to their world and all it contained, and so 'Encyclopedia of Arda' seemed a peculiarly apt title for this project. Special thanksThanks to all those who've e-mailed us over the years with their suggestions, corrections, ideas and just general support. But the real Special Thanks, though, belong to the memory of J.R.R. Tolkien for his extraordinary and unparalleled creation. For acknowledgements and references, see the Disclaimer & Bibliography page. Original content © copyright Mark Fisher 1997-2024. All rights reserved. For conditions of reuse, see the Site FAQ. Website services kindly sponsored by Discus from Axiom Software Ltd.Discus is a powerful, flexible DISC profile solution - find out much more in our free guide. |
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Featured EntryPeople of HadorThe descendants of the followers of MarachA people descended from the Men who had followed Marach across the Blue Mountains into Beleriand, taking their name from Marach's great-great-grandson, the famous Hador Lórindol. It was Hador who was granted the land of Dor-lómin by High King Fingolfin, and his people remained in that realm until the time of the Nirnaeth Arnoediad. After that disastrous battle, Dor-lómin's rightful Lord, Húrin the grandson of Hador, was held captive in Angband, and the land was overrun by Easterlings in the service of Morgoth. After the War of Wrath and Morgoth's ultimate defeat, the People of Hador were the most numerous of the surviving Edain, and formed a large part of the population of the new nation of Númenor. The first King of Númenor, Elros Tar-Minyatur, was descended from Hador's son Galdor (though his bloodlines also descended from the House of Bëor). It was the language of the People of Hador that was to become the common language of Númenor, and it was thereafter known as Adûnaic. |
