Werewolf (Middle-earth)

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In J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium, werewolves were servants of Morgoth, wolf-like beasts "inhabited by dreadful spirits" that Sauron had imprisoned in the bodies. [1] Tolkien does not always distinguish between wolf and werewolf, in one place using both terms for the same creature. [2]

J. R. R. Tolkien British philologist and author, creator of classic fantasy works

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was an English writer, poet, philologist, and academic, who is best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.

Middle-earth Continent in Tolkiens legendarium

Middle-earth is the fictional setting of much of British writer J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. The term is equivalent to the term Midgard of Norse mythology, describing the human-inhabited world, that is, the central continent of the Earth in Tolkien's imagined mythological past.

Morgoth Bauglir is a character from Tolkien's legendarium. He is the main antagonist of The Silmarillion, The Children of Húrin, and The Fall of Gondolin, and is mentioned briefly in The Lord of the Rings.

Contents

History

Sauron commanded armies of werewolves in the First Age, [1] and on occasion took the shape of a werewolf himself. [1] The first werewolf was Draugluin [2] (whose name contains the root draug, "wolf"). [3] The greatest was Carcharoth, the guardian of Angband, a descendant of Draugluin as all werewolves were. [2]

In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, the First Age, or First Age of the Children of Ilúvatar is the heroic period in which most of Tolkien's early legends are set. Versions of these stories were later published in The Silmarillion, and tales from this period lend a deep sense of time and history to the later period in which the action of The Lord of the Rings takes place.

Carcharoth

In J. R. R. Tolkien's mythology of Middle-earth, Carcharoth, Sindarin for "The Red Maw", was the greatest wolf that had ever lived. He was also called Anfauglir. He was bred with the specific goal of killing Huan, the hound of Valinor, a goal in which he succeeded.

Werewolves are mentioned by Gandalf, who tells Frodo Baggins that "not all of Sauron's servants and chattels are wraiths; there are orcs and trolls, there are wargs and werewolves." [4]

Frodo Baggins is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, and the main protagonist of The Lord of the Rings. Frodo is a hobbit of the Shire who inherits the One Ring from his cousin Bilbo Baggins and undertakes the quest to destroy it in the fires of Mount Doom. He is also mentioned in Tolkien's posthumously published works, The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales.

Orc (Middle-earth) evil race from J. R. R. Tolkiens legendarium

In J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy writings, Orcs are a race of creatures who are used as soldiers and henchmen by both the greater and lesser villains of The Silmarillion, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings—Morgoth, Sauron and Saruman.

Trolls are fictional characters in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. They are portrayed as large humanoids of great strength and poor intellect.

In adaptations

Werewolves appear in the role-playing video games Middle-earth Role Playing and The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying Game and were set to appear in the role-playing video game The Lord of the Rings: The White Council before it was cancelled.

A role-playing video game is a video game genre where the player controls the actions of a character immersed in some well-defined world. Many role-playing video games have origins in tabletop role-playing games and use much of the same terminology, settings and game mechanics. Other major similarities with pen-and-paper games include developed story-telling and narrative elements, player character development, complexity, as well as replayability and immersion. The electronic medium removes the necessity for a gamemaster and increases combat resolution speed. RPGs have evolved from simple text-based console-window games into visually rich 3D experiences.

<i>Middle-earth Role Playing</i> tabletop fantasy role-playing game

Middle-earth Role Playing (MERP) is a 1984 role-playing game based on the writings of J.R.R. Tolkien under license from Tolkien Enterprises. Iron Crown Enterprises (I.C.E.) published the game until they lost the license on 22 September 1999.

<i>The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying Game</i> tabletop role-playing game

The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying Game, released by Decipher Inc. in 2002, is a role-playing game set in the Middle-earth of J. R. R. Tolkien's fiction. The game is set in the years between The Hobbit and The Fellowship of the Ring, but may be run at any time from the First to Fourth Age and contains many examples of how to do so. Sourcebooks cover the events of The Lord of the Rings and Peter Jackson's film trilogy adaptation.

See also

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References

    Citations

    Bibliography

    • Tolkien, J. R. R. (1954), The Fellowship of the Ring , The Lord of the Rings , Boston: Houghton Mifflin (published 1987), ISBN   0-395-08254-4
    • Tolkien, J. R. R. (1977), Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Silmarillion , Boston: Houghton Mifflin, ISBN   0-395-25730-1
    <i>The Fellowship of the Ring</i> 1954 book by J. R. R. Tolkien

    The Fellowship of the Ring is the first of three volumes of the epic novel The Lord of the Rings by the English author J. R. R. Tolkien. It is followed by The Two Towers and The Return of the King. It takes place in the fictional universe of Middle-earth. It was originally published on 29 July 1954 in the United Kingdom.

    International Standard Book Number Unique numeric book identifier

    The International Standard Book Number (ISBN) is a numeric commercial book identifier which is intended to be unique. Publishers purchase ISBNs from an affiliate of the International ISBN Agency.

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