Tolkien went to great depths, in all of his works to improve
the finer details of his world. To make his world “believable”, he created near
perfect languages, inscriptions, runes. He
made maps of the realms, he had created. According to him, believability is one
of the key features in all tales - fantasy or not, a key element which most
writers miss.
Tolkien was a professor and a writer. But he could also
sketch, a talent dwarfed by his writing-skills. He himself dismissed many
illustrators who had come up with their own versions of his texts. He himself
has left many sketches of his tales.
In his Middle-earth saga, he has written about hundreds of
cities and realms in all of Arda. And for many realms he told about, he made
special banners/flags, in other words heraldic devices, for them.
This is a descriptive (and exhaustive) list of the realms
whose heraldic devices he has drawn:
House of Finrod Felagund: Elves under the rule of
Finrod. From “The Silmarillion”. Eldest son of Finarfin, of Alqualonde. One of the high-kings of the Noldor. Ruler of
the secret realm of Nargothrond. He gave his life for an oath to protect Beren.
Valinor: The realm of the Valar. Valar were the
angelic beings sent by Eru (God) to look after Arda. Also known as the Undying
lands, this is the place where all immortal beings (Elves) arrive after their
“death” in Arda. Only exceptions being the mortals Bilbo Baggins, Frodo Baggins
and Samwise Gamgee. The banner describes the two trees of Valinor, one of the
most central concepts of The Sil and LotR.
House of Gil-galad: Elves under the rule of
Gil-galad. From “The Silmarillion” and “The Lord of the Rings”. He was the last
high-king of the Noldor Elves. He was of the house of Finwe. He played a
crucial role in the Last alliance, the battle which led to the first defeat of
Sauron.
Numenor: Also called Westernesse. It was a realm
established on a huge island separated from Middle-earth. Known as the greatest
realm of the Men ever established. A rebellion against the valar lead to the
downfall of Numenor, which is accounted in “The Silamrillion” in “Akallabeth”.
The faithful Numenoreans established the later realms in Middle-earth, such as
Gondor and Anrnor.
House of Elwe: Elwe Singollo, later named Thingol was
the King of Doriath, High-King of the Sindar and Lord of Beleriand. He gave
rise to the Teleri, the “dark” Elves who did not see the land of Valinor
House of Galadriel: Queen of the woods of Lothlorien
. Galadriel was one of the three chief forces of light in The Lord of the
Rings, along with Gandalf and Aragorn. She is also the carrier of one of the
three Rings, Nenya.
Dol Amroth: One of the Principal cities of Gondor
along the coast, in the Third Age. Prince Imrahil of Dol Amroth is a key figure
in The Return of the King. The banner depicts a ship in the form of a great
swan.
Mordor: Lies
in the eastern part of Middle-earth. Sauron, the Lord of Mordor, is the chief
antagonist and the titular character of The Lord of the Rings. The flag depicts
the Red eye of Sauron.
House of Cirdan: Lord of the Falas ( east of the Grey Havens) during
much of the First age. Also the chief
Shipwright. He was the bearer of one of the three Elven rings, but he gave it
to Gandalf the Grey.
The Shire: Located in Eriador, west of Middle-earth.
The hobbits live in The Shire. Both The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit begin
in The Shire, “the land of the little-people.”
Fangorn: Fangorn, also called Treebeard was the most
ancient creature in Middle-earth. He was the chief of a race of tree-shepherds
called Ents. The forest
of Fangorn
House of Finwe: First High-King of Noldor to lead his
people into Valinor. Also, the father of the three principal characters of The
Sil: Feanor, Fingolfin and Finarfin.
House of Feanor: One of the main characters of The
Silmarillion. Son of Finwe, he was the most gifted in craftsmanship of all the
Elves. He made the three jewels ,the Silmarils. And he bequeathed the terrible
oath of Feanor upon his sons. Two elements around which the whole of Quenta
Silmarillion revolves.
House of Elrond: A key figure in The Lord of the
Rings, he is one of the three Elven ring-bearers. He also took part in the
battle of the last alliance. The realm of Elrond was in the secret valley of Imladris
Isengard: Saruman was the head of the Istari, angelic
beings who took care of the proceedings in Middle-earth. He turned evil driven
bu his lust for the One Ring. He is the secondary antagonist of The Lord of the
Rings. He is the Lord of Isengard, and resides in the tower of Orthanc
Minas Morgul: Once a part of Gondor and named Minas Ithil (Meaning Tower
Gondor: One of the greatest kingdoms of men in
Middle-earth during the second and third age. An important location in The Lord
of the Rings. The white tree of Gondor, a symbol of the power of the King of
Gondor, is described in the banner beneath 7 stars, describing the seven levels
of Minas Tirith (the chief city of Gondor ).
Rohan: North of Gondor. Another chief location from
The Lord of the Rings. The men of Rohan were simple folk who loved the freedom
of open plains. Hence, their cities were small and much of the land were green
open prairies.
The horses bred in Rohan were the best and all of the
soldiers were horse-riders. It is also known as the land of the horse-masters.
Stewards of Gondor: In the third age, the line of Gondorian kings
was broken when the King strode off to avenge one of his enemies. He gave his
staff to his steward, to rule until he returns. But the King never returned.
The stewards looked after the kingdom in the absence of the King, and hence the
house of steward was established.
Haradrim: One
of the chief allies of Mordor, in The Lord of the Rings. The Haradrim were
evil-men who were the sworn-enemies of the realm of Gondor. They rode giant
Mumakils (or oliphaunts in the common speech) in wars. The Black Serpent is
their symbol.
Angbad: Morgoth was the Lord of Angbad. The original
Dark Lord, whose lieutenant was Sauron. He was the Enemy, the greatest threat
to Middle-earth there ever was. He sat in his iron fortress of Thangorodrim, in
Angbad in northern part of Middle-earth. His banner is black, because darkness
is his symbol.
Easterlings: The land of the easterlings is to the
east, above Mordor. They are allies of Sauron. Men, corrupted by him.
Durin’s Folk: The only banner Tolkien ever drew for
the dwarves. Durin, also known as Durin the Deathless was one of the fathers of
the Naugrim, elvish for the stone-folk, referring to the dwarves.
House
of Fingolfin: One
of the chief characters of the Silmarillion. Fingolfin was one of the mightiest
Elves of the Noldor. He ruled the north-west part of Middle-earth; Hithlum
House of Luthien: Luthien was the daughter of
Thingol, the King of the Sindar. She is described as the fairest of all beings
ever to be born. The Lay of Lithien, a central saga of Tolkien’s legendarium,
describes how she and Beren were able to capture one of the Silmarils from
Morgoth’s crown.
House of Thranduil: Thranduil was the King of the
wood-elves, that dwelt in Mirkwood. He is the father of Legolas Greenleaf, who
has prominent role in The Lord of the Rings.
Such exhaustive heraldic devices conceived and played through various literary creations, leave the fans stunned by the sheer majesty of the work.
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