An A-Z of Middle-earth Trivia Quiz

Answer: Annuminas

Annuminas was located on the shores of Lake Evendim. Later, as the northern kingdom struggled, it was replaced by Fornost Erain, which also fell into disuse later still. Armenelos was the capital of Numenor itself. Andunie was the westernmost region of Numenor, and its people remained loyal to the Valar, and were spared at the downfall of Numenor for this reason.

The Akallabeth is the section of "The Silmarillion" that deals with the downfall of Numenor.

Answer: Beleriand

Beleriand, west of the Blue Mountains, which in the Second and Third ages was near the western edge of Middle-earth, disappeared at the end of the First Age. The final desperate battle that ended the first age saw the Valar join the host of Beleriand.

Babel features in The Bible as the site of a famous tower that had to be abandoned half built when God mixed up people's languages, preventing them from communicating with each other. (Basque, famously different from other languages, claims to be the original language spoken before this happened.) Beregond is a member of the guard of Minas Tirith who becomes captain of Faramir's guard at Emyn Arnen later, while Beraid is the second half of the name of Emyn Beraid, the Tower Hills, west of The Shire.

Answer: Combe

The four settlements of the Bree-land are Bree itself, Archet, Staddle and Combe. During the journey from The Shire to Rivendell Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin stay in Bree itself, at the Prancing Pony, and they stay there again on their return journey at the end of the story. During the latter stay Staddle gets mentioned in conversation. Combe gets its mention during their first stay, when we are introduced to the area.

The Chetwood is in Bree-land but is not a settlement, it is a wood, and the adjacent settlement is Archet. Carn-Dum was the capital of the evil realm of Angmar, whose 'witch king' most readers know as The Lord of the Nazgul. Cerin Amroth is that part of Lothlorien that Aragorn labels "The heart of Elvendom on earth".

Answer: Dimrill Dale

Once over the Redhorn pass they were supposed to descend by way of the Dimrill Stair, into Dimrill Dale and thence to the lands beyond. As a look at the book will confirm this part of the journey does not quite go to plan!

The Dimholt is the name given by the Rohirrim to the mountain which marks the start of the Paths of the Dead, while the nearest settlement to this is Dunharrow. Dol Amroth is in the southwest of Gondor, on the sea, ruled at the time of the Lord of the Rings by Imrahil.

Answer: Eregion

Eregion, also known as Hollin, was a realm of Noldorin Elves ruled by Celebrimbor is where the rings of power were forged. They would play an important role in Middle-earth history until the end of the Third Age.

Erebor is the formal name for the Lonely Mountain, far in the east, where the Dwarves had a wealthy realm.

Answer: Fangorn

Fangorn is a fragment of the primeval forest that once stretched all the way from Dunland, the western part of Rohan, to the fringes of what is now The Shire, and the giant shepherd/steward is of course Treebeard the Ent who plays a major role in the defeat of the traitor Saruman. The party are advised in Rivendell against going there, but We find out about this forest in The Two Towers, when Merry and Pippin go there after escaping from the Orcs who took them captive, and later as part of a bargain the pair have struck Gimli the Dwarf accompanies Legolas the Elf on a trip there.

Forochel is the name of an ice bay in the far north of Middle-earth, while Fornost is the first half of Fornost Erain, one time capital of Arnor, and the four farthings are the divisions of the Shire at the time of The Lord of the Rings - later the restored king gives them the Westmarch as well.

Answer: Grey Havens

The Grey Havens are located west of The Shire, and are attended to by Cirdan the shipwright, a very wise Elf. Most of the ring bearers (those still alive that is) depart from here at the end of the third age, and it is suggested that Sam follows them after the death of his wife Rose, and that Legolas (who as an Elf has the right to do so) and Gimli (who as a Dwarf would need a formidable advocate, possibly Galadriel, to make the case for him) also depart to the West in due time. Also on the journey from Hobbiton to Crickhollow Frodo, Sam and Pippin meet a company of Elves who will soon be heading over the sea.

Gebir is the second half of Sarn Gebir, some dangerous rapids on the great river Anduin, Gorgoroth is part of Mordor, and Grond is not a place at all - it is either the hammer of the underworld, or the ram with which the gates of Minas Tirith are broken in the run up to the Battle of Pelennor Fields.

Answer: Hobbiton

Hobbiton, from which Bilbo sets off in a great hurry in "The Hobbit" and somewhat less precipitately after his 'eleventy-first birthday' in "The Fellowship of the Ring". Seventeen years after Bilbo's second departure, his heir Frodo heads off on his own adventure. Although the Green Dragon in neighbouring Bywater features more prominently, Hobbiton has its own pub, The Ivy Bush tavern.

The Harlond is connected to Minas Tirith, The Last Homely House is of course where Elrond lives in the valley of Rivendell, and Holeburrow is an invention of my own based on the kind of homes Hobbits lived in.

Answer: Isengard

Isengard sits in a naturally fortified location at the southern end of the Misty Mountains. Treebeard and his Ents, furious at Saruman's treatment of trees, do a very thorough job of trashing the place in "The Two Towers". In the years running up to the story Saruman who has turned traitor has been bolstering the natural fortifications, turning Isengard into a fortress and assembling a huge army of orcs.

Isenmouthe is in Mordor, Ithilien is the easternmost part of Gondor, beyond the Anduin. Isengrim is a name borne by several Took Thains of the Shire.

Answer: Khazad-Dum

Khazad-Dum, the Dwarrodelf, is the name given by Gimli. While the ring party pass through it after the misfiring of the Redhorn pass plan Gimli the Dwarf sings a song about its former glories. Before the end of this journey even Gimli, loyal to the memory of the place as he is concedes that it has become dark and dreadful.

Kheled-Zaram is the Dwarvish name for the Mirrormere, a lake in the Dimrill Dale that Gimli is keen to show Frodo. Khazad-ai-menu is Gimli's battle cry, issued at the Battle of the Hornburg among others. Kili is a Dwarf, one of the two nephews of Thorin Oakenshield involved in the quest of Erebor, both of whom die defending their uncle in The Battle of the Five Armies.

Answer: Lothlorien

Lothlorien, one of the last remaining Elven realms on Middle-earth, is ruled over by the Lady Galadriel and her husband Lord Celeborn. Aragorn's warning, issued to Boromir, is prophetic because it is shortly after leaving this realm that Boromir gives way to the lure of the ring and tries to steal it, leading to the breaking of the fellowship.

Long Lake is just east and north of Mirkwood and is where you would find the town of Esgaroth. Lockholes was where 'rebels' were put when Sharkey's (Saruman) ruffians were running amok in The Shire. Lostwithiel is a place in Cornwall, significant enough to have a railway station, though the name has an Elvish ring to it.

Answer: Michel Delving

It is Michel Delving, which boasts a fine 'Town Hole', a 'Mathom-house' wherein various curios, including at one period a mithril coat, are displayed and doubtless a few other amenities.

Minas Anor ("Tower of the Sun") is the original name of Minas Tirith, and Minas Ithil ("Tower of the Moon") is the original name of Minas Morgul, the city that Aragorn orders destroyed at the end of the third age. Micheldever, superficially a similar name to Michel Delving is actually a place in Hampshire.

Answer: Numenor

Numenor is Tolkien's analogue of Plato's Atlantis. At the end of the First Age the last remaining half-elven folk, Elros and Elrond are given a choice of kindred. Elrond opts to be an Elf and Elros a Man, and Elros is granted an island west of Middle-earth to be the kingdom of himself and his kin. The Numenorians rebel against their mortality, and ultimately, egged on by Sauron, who he has presumed to take prisoner, Ar-Pharazon raised a great fleet and army and attacks the Blessed Realm, leading to that realm being removed forever from the circles of the world (hence why in later years only Elves and ring bearers can get from Middle-earth to there) and Numenor being lost below the waves.

Norbury is the name the Hobbits give Fornost Erain. The Northfarthing is the northern region of The Shire. Newton Abbot is in Devon, and the railway route through it en-route from Exeter to Plymouth is remarkably scenic.

Answer: Orodruin

Gandalf uses the name Orodruin when telling Frodo of the only place where the ruling ring can be destroyed - that where it was forged. Yes the famous artefact is indeed 'One Ring to Rule Them All, One Ring to Find Them All, One Ring to Bring Them All and in The Darkness Bind Them'. High up this mountain is a chamber called the Sammath Naur, once Sauron's HQ before the construction of nearby Barad-dur, and it is here that the ring was forged and later destroyed.

The Onodrim is the name by which Legolas refers to the Ents, the Ologhai are a breed of troll who are both stronger than the standard version and able to stand sunlight, and Olorin is the original name of Gandalf (other names by which this wanderer is known include Mithrandir, Incanus and Tharkun).

Answer: Parth Galen

Parth Galen is a lawn at the foot of Amon Hen, the hill of sight, while across the river is Amon Lhaw, the hill of hearing. Boromir makes some amends for his fellowship breaking folly, dying in the attempt to prevent orcs from capturing Merry and Pippin, and Aragorn leads Gimli and Legolas on a pursuit of the orcs that becomes legendary. Boromir's body is placed in a boat surrounded by the weapons of those he had killed before dying and sent downriver by way of a funeral. It is seen later by his brother Faramir.

Pelargir is also on the Anduin, but further downriver. The Pelennor are fields around Minas Tirith where a famous battle is fought. Proudfoot is a hobbit family name, and at least one member of the family proves he deserves it "...his name of course was Proudfoot and well merited - his feet were large, exceptionally furry and both were on the table" - from the eleventy-first birthday party.

Answer: Rivendell

Rivendell is a deep, steep sided valley just west of the Misty Mountains, through which runs the river Bruinen, over which Elrond has control - he, with the assistance of Gandalf raises the flood which drowns the horses of the black riders at the time of Frodo's arrival there. Frodo's first task, before the quest is properly established is get here bearing the ring, which he just about manages. Bilbo and the Dwarves (and Gandalf) stay there immediately before tackling the Misty Mountains in "The Hobbit", and Elrond deciphers what prove to be some very important 'moon letters' (runes that can be seen only when a moon of the same type and season as when they written is in the sky) for them. It is here also that the Council of Elrond which establishes the company of the ring for the quest to Mordor takes place.

Ravenhill adjoins The Lonely Mountain. In the days of Thror, the Dwarves were friendly with a pair of the birds for which the height is named, old Carc and his wife, while in "The Hobbit" Roac, son of Carc, plays a role. The Redhorn is another name for Mount Caradhras, a mountain famed for its cruelty, where the fellowship nearly comes to grief. Rohan is a small kingdom allied to Gondor, originally given to Eorl the Young as a reward for his assistance in battle.

Answer: Stock

Stock is a village in the east of the Shire, and the Stock Brook flows into the Brandywine river. Pippin, later Thain Peregrin, introduces it, together with the claim about the beer at the Golden Perch. Frodo gets his way, since the other member of their party, Sam, inevitably supports him. The short cut does go wrong, but the Hobbits had needed to get under cover fast - they only just escaped a black rider.

Staddle is one of the four settlements of Breeland, there is actually a Scary in The Shire, and Saddlebow is just outside the town of King's Lynn.

Answer: Tol Brandir

Tol Brandir, a tall thin rocky island in the middle of the Anduin is also known as The Tindrock. Boromir says he will accompany the fellowship as far as here before heading for Minas Tirith alone if he has earned no company.

Tol Eressea is the formal name of the island to which Elves who leave Middle-earth go, with Avallone its principal settlement. It is often just referred to as Elvenhome, and Gandalf also uses the term Eldamar for it. Tuckborough is the village of the Tooks, with the family themselves living at Great Smials. Tintagel is a ruined castle in Cornwall, reputedly the birthplace of King Arthur.

Answer: Weathertop

Weathertop is a hill between Bree and Rivendell. This is where Frodo takes the first of three major wounds, none of which will ever heal well enough for him to enjoy Middle-earth (the others are his poisoning by Shelob and having his finger bitten off by Gollum in the Sammath Naur).

Answer: Zirak-zigil

Zirak-Zigil is a particularly jagged mountain in the Misty Mountains, described by Gandalf when telling this part of the story as 'the hard horn of the world'. We are also told that the Balrog "broke the mountainside in his ruin". He mentions this again when exposing the traitor Grima Wormtongue, and a third time when he is about to be a burden once again to Gwaihir the Eagle. Gwaihir, fully aware of Gandalf's role in the defeat of Sauron, says in response "I would bear you whither you will even were you made of stone".

Zennor is a place in Cornwall.