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Arda

Planet Middle-Earth

Arda was the Quenya name for the world as a whole. Arda was created within Eä by Eru Ilúvatar.

Arda (Q: "Realm") was the Quenya name for the world as a whole. Arda was created within Eä by Eru Ilúvatar. It was then shaped by the Valar, with continental masses such as Middle-earth and Aman, and oceans, like Belegaer.

Arda was the home of Elves, Men, Dwarves and other races as well as the kelvar and olvar. Some of the Ainur govern the world under Eru's mandate.

Beginnings

Arda was first brought into existence with the Music of the Ainur, for the purpose of creating a home for the Children of Ilúvatar. Ilúvatar appointed the Valar as its masters, and it was built mainly by Manwë, Aulë and Ulmo.

But even before the coming of some Ainur there were other beings inhabiting Arda, perhaps without the Ainur's involvement or knowledge. One of them was Iarwain Ben-adar and other mysterious nameless things that eventually withdrew in caves under mountains.

The Valar invented its geography, for at the time it was largely without feature and gave it symmetry and form. But then Melkor wanted Arda for himself, and the two sides engaged in the titanic First War where Arda was marred and its plan was altered.

As for light source, the Valar decided upon two lamps. One, a blue light, was placed at the north, and it was called Illuin. The other, a golden light, was placed at the very southernmost point, and was called Ormal. Aulë, craftsman of the Valar, forged two pillars : Helkar and Ringil, placed at the north and south respectively. The Valar chose as their own home the green isle Almaren in the center of Arda between the two pillars.

It was at that time that Melkor made his first attempt, spreading chaos across Arda. He destroyed the Lamps and the pillars, ruining the symmetry of the world. At this time, the continents of Aman, Endor, and the Land of the Sun were formed. In the midst of Endor where the Two Lamps fell into ruin, the Sea of Helcar and the Sea of Ringil formed.

Eschatology

The Elves held to the concept of Arda Marred. In the beginning, at the time of the Music of the Ainur, was Arda Unmarred. According to the idea of Arda Unmarred, the world was originally "unstained" by evil. It became Arda Marred after Melkor entered and introduced chaos. They also clung to the idea that one day the world would become Arda Healed. According to this belief, Arda Healed will not come about until the Dagor Dagorath, the Last Battle.

Tengwa

Arda is also the name in Quenya of the twenty-sixth letter of the Tengwar alphabet. It is a modification of Rómen (letter 25). In written Quenya Arda is used for RD. In other modes this letter represents voiceless R (or RH). The Westron name for this letter is Rhó.

Theories

Using the known sizes of Beleriand and Middle-earth when compared to the size of Beleriand on Map V of the Ambarkanta maps, Karen Wynn Fonstad has speculated that flat Arda's diameter was probably about 6,800 miles. However, Diagram III of the Ambarkanta shows that the "Old Lands" made up half of Arda made round, implying that flat Arda would have been around 12,451 miles across, half the earth's circumference. Precise estimations of the size of Arda are difficult to determine with Map V of the Ambarkanta, which is said by Christopher Tolkien to be "a very rough sketch not to be interpreted too strictly".

Middle-Earth
This continent was north of the Hither Lands shown in the Ambarkanta, and west of the Eastern Sea; and from the beginning of Arda to the end of the Second Age it underwent dramatic geographical changes, caused by Eru Ilúvatar, the Valar, and Morgoth.
Arda Continent 0 Points 9 Maps
Nether Darkness
Nether Darkness refers to the far south of Arda. In the Second Age, the Númenóreans reached the Nether Darkness by sea.
Arda Sea 0 Points
Belegaer
Belegaer, also known as the Sundering Seas or the Great Sea, was the sea of Arda that lay west of Middle-earth.
Arda Sea 2 Points
Eastern Sea
The Eastern Sea, also known as the East Sea and the Rising of the Sun, was a vast and ancient sea in Arda.
Arda Sea 0 Points
Ekkaia
Ekkaia (also known as Vaiya, the Outer Ocean, the Outer Sea, or the Encircling Sea) was a vast, cold and dark ocean completely surrounding the world of Arda, at least until the Undying Lands were removed from the " circles of the world " in the cataclysm near the end of the Second Age.
Arda Sea 0 Points
Helcaraxë
Helcaraxë was the perilous icy wastes that formerly lay between Araman (a region in the north of Aman) and Middle-earth in the far north of Arda.
Arda Desert 0 Points
Númenor
Númenor or Númenórë, known in the Common Speech as Westernesse and in Adûnaic as Anadûnê, was one of the names of the isle of Elenna, which was raised from the Great Sea by the Valar at the beginning of the Second Age.
Arda Country 1 Points 4 Maps
Oronto
The Land of the Sun, also known as the Burnt Land of the Sun, Easterness, Eastland, and Eastern Land, was a continent in the far east of Arda that corresponded symmetrically to Aman in the far west. The land was separated from Middle-earth by the waters of the East Sea.
Arda 0 Points
Inner Seas
The Inner Seas was a large body of water in Arda located between the continents of Middle-earth and the Dark Land (South Land).
Arda Sea 0 Points
Aman
Aman, the Blessed Realm, was a continent that lay to the west of Middle-earth, across the great ocean Belegaer. It contained Valinor, the home of the Valar, and Eldamar, the kingdom of the Calaquendi.
Arda Continent 0 Points 2 Maps