Timeline of Arda

This article includes several chronologies relating to J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium.

In Tolkien's cosmology, Arda (the Earth) is at first created without the Sun and Moon to illumine it, and its earliest history is measured in Valian Years (V.Y.). After the creation of the Trees of the Valar, a new tally of Years of the Trees is begun in V.Y. 3501. In about V.Y. 4550, at the First Age of the Children of Ilúvatar begins with the Awakening of the Elves.

The Years of the Sun begin with the Awakening of Men in about V.Y. 5000. From this time, First Age lasts for another 590 years. The Second Age extends to 3441 years, beginning with the foundation of Mithlond (the Grey Havens) under Círdan, and Lindon as the Noldorin Kingdom under Gil-galad, and ending with the defeat of Sauron at the hands of the Last Alliance of Elves and Men. The Third Age extends to 3021 years, ending with the final defeat of Sauron in the War of the Ring and the establishment of the Reunited Kingdom of Arnor and Gondor.. The Fourth Age is outside the scope of Tolkien's legendarium, beginning the suggested transition to the historical period, but Tolkien gives a summary of the first two centuries of the Fourth Age.[1]

Timeline entries are based on The Annals of Aman (published 1993) and The Grey Annals (published 1994) and Appendix B of The Lord of the Rings (published 1955) unless otherwise noted.

Summary

Tolkien revised his chronology numerous times. The Annals of Valinor were written in the early 1930s. In this early version, a Valian Year corresponds to 10 solar years, and the time from the creation of Arda until the creation of Sun and Moon is 3,000 Valian Years. In a revision dated c. 1937, the earlier timeline is mostly left intact, with the addition of the explicit statement that "It is said that the Valar came into the world 30,000 Sun-years ere the first rising of the Moon".

The chronology underwent major revisions after the publication of The Lord of the Rings, in about 1958. In this revision, published as the Annals of Aman, Tolkien defined a Valian Year as equal to 9.852 solar years, and the Valian Year of the creation of Sun and Moon was now given as 5000, so that the time between the creation of Arda and the rising of the Sun and Moon was now the equivalent of 47,910 solar years instead of 30,000.

Late in his life, Tolkien planned to again revise chronology, now assuming one Valian Year as the equivalent of 144 solar years. This is consistent with his earlier decision (published in 1955 in Appendix D of The Lord of the Rings) that the Elves would reckon time in "long-years" or yéni equivalent to 144 solar years (thus equating the yéni and the Valian Year), but Tolkien never finished this final revision.

Elder Days (Valian Years)
Annals of Valinor (1937)
1 V.Y. = 10 solar years 		Annals of Aman (1958)
1 V.Y. = 9.852 solar years
Creation of Arda, Years of the Lamps 1 1
Destruction of the Lamps 500 3450
Birth of the Two Trees 1000 3500
Awakening of the Elves 2000 4550
Destruction of the Two Trees 2990 4995
Creation of the Sun and Moon and Awakening of Men 3000 5000
The Ages of the Children of Iluvatar
First Age 450 Years of the Trees + 583 Years of the Sun
Second Age 3,441 Years of the Sun
Third Age 3,021 Years of the Sun.
Fourth Age of unspecified length, suggested as overlapping with (real-world) protohistory)

Valian Years

Before the making of the Sun dates are given in Valian Years and not all events can be precisely dated. In such cases events are given in chronological order between known dates. Although all dates prior to the first sunrise have been given in Valian years, these can be converted to Years of the Lamps by subtracting 1900, Years of the Trees by subtracting 3500, or Years of the Trees in the First Age by subtracting 4550.

The conversion between Valian Years and Years of the Sun is not clear, depending on the choice of conversion factors (among many that Tolkien used at different times), the First Age may have lasted anywhere between 4,902 and 65,390 sun years. The greater number is supported by the Appendices to The Lord of the Rings and later writings, the lesser by earlier writings. In Morgoth's Ring, Christopher Tolkien cites a passage stating a Valian Year being "longer than are now nine years under the Sun."[2]

Years of the Trees

In some cases, after V.Y. 4580, exact chronological order cannot be determined and the placement of undated entries is estimated.

First Age

During the Years of the Trees the First Age of the Children of Ilúvatar begins, at the Awakening of the Elves.

Years of the Sun

Years of the Sun in the First Age

From this time on years are of normal length. Events from Valinor during the Years of the Sun cannot be accurately dated. All entries are derived from The Grey Annals (see references) unless otherwise noted. The dating begins anew at 1, although these years are still held to be part of the First Age.

From this point the entries are derived from The Tale of Years of the First Age (see references) unless otherwise noted.

Second Age

The Second Age was 3441 years long. All entries are derived from Appendix B (see references) unless otherwise noted.

Third Age

The Third Age was 3,021 years long. All entries are derived from Appendix B (see references) unless otherwise noted.

Note on Shire Reckoning: Year 1601 of the Third Age, in which the Shire was founded, is year 1 of the Shire Reckoning. Thus, Third Age years can be converted into their Shire equivalents by deducting 1600.

"The Great Years"

All entries are derived from Appendix B (see references) unless otherwise noted.

3018
3019
3020–21

Fourth Age

Length uncertain. All entries are derived from the Appendices to The Lord of the Rings, unless otherwise noted.

In the reckoning of Gondor, the Fourth Age began on 'March' 25, T.A. 3021. Since most of the following events had been dated according to the Shire-reckoning, their years in the Fourth Age cannot be stated with certainty. Some events may have occurred in the following year of the Fourth Age.

Battles

First Age

Years of the Trees

Years of the Sun

See also Battles of Beleriand.

Second Age

Third Age

War of the Ring

Other conflicts during the War of the Ring

End of the world

Other timelines of interest

See also

References

  1. ↑ in a letter written in 1958, published in Carpenter, Humphrey, ed. (1981), The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, #211, ISBN 0-395-31555-7, Tolkien places the beginning of the Fourth Age some 6,000 years in the past, consistent with the scope of classical historiography reaching back to just after the beginning Dominion of Men: "I imagine the gap [since the end of the Third Age] to be about 6000 years; that is we are now at the end of the Fifth Age, if the Ages were of about the same length as S[econd] A[ge] and T[hird] A[ge]. But they have, I think, quickened; and I imagine we are actually at the end of the Sixth Age, or in the Seventh."
  2. ↑ "Time indeed began with the beginning of Eä, and in that beginning the Valar came into the world. But the measurement which the Valar made of the ages of their labours is not known to any of the Children of Ilúvatar, until the first flowering of Telperion in Valinor. Thereafter the Valar counted time by the ages of Valinor, whereof each age contained one hundred of the Years of the Valar; but each such year was longer than are now nine years under the Sun."Tolkien, Christopher; Tolkien, J.R.R. (1993). Morgoth's Ring (First ed.). Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Company. p. Frontispiece illustration (calligraphy). ISBN 0-395-68092-1.
  3. ↑ Tale of Adanel (Tolkien, J. R. R. (1993), Christopher Tolkien, ed., Morgoth's Ring, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, ISBN 0-395-68092-1)
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Tolkien, J. R. R. (1994), Christopher Tolkien, ed., The War of the Jewels, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, The Later Quenta Silmarillion, p. 225–9, ISBN 0-395-71041-3
  5. ↑ The dates of the entering of the Second and Third Houses are given as 312 and 313 respectively in the Later Quenta Silmarillion, but as (?312/313) and 314 in later notes. (The War of the Jewels, pp. 227, 234)
  6. ↑ The date of the entering to Brethil is only once given (in Grey Annals, The War of the Jewels p. 50), as 422; but according to later sources Haleth, who is stated to had led them there, died in 420. (ibid. p. 228, 237)
  7. ↑ The War of the Jewels: "The new genealogies of the Edain", p. 229–38.
  8. ↑ The taking of Tol Sirion is given under the year 455 in the Grey Annals (The War of the Jewels p. 54). The statement in The Silmarillion (Ch. 18) that it occurred "nearly two years" after the Dagor Bragollach derives from earlier texts without changes and represents rejected chronology: see The War of the Jewels, p. 125.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Tolkien, J. R. R. (1980), Christopher Tolkien, ed., Unfinished Tales, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, Narn i Hîn Húrin, ISBN 0-395-29917-9
  10. ↑ The statements in The Silmarillion and The Children of Húrin that Túrin had dwelt in Doriath for nine years by this time derive from the early Quenta Silmarillion (The Lost Road, p. 320–2), and are contradicted by both earlier and later texts (e.g. The Grey Annals, pp. 79–80).
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 The War of the Jewels: "The Wanderings of Húrin", p. 257, gives a plot-synopsis for the Narn i Chîn Húrin, written several years later than the concluding chapters of the story itself; the published Unfinished Tales and The Children of Húrin are based on the latter.
  12. ↑ The death of Thingol is placed under the year 503 in The Tale of Years, but according to the story introduced into The Silmarillion by Christopher Tolkien it should have rather occurred immediately after the reforging of Nauglamír, while the Sack of Doriath remained in the following year.
  13. ↑ J. R. R. Tolkien (1994). "The Tale of Years of the First Age". In Christopher Tolkien. The War of the Jewels. Boston & New York: Houghton Mifflin. pp. 342–354. ISBN 0-395-71041-3. Elrond and Elros are born in the same year, 532 of the Years of the Sun in the First Age.
  14. ↑ Tolkien, J. R. R. (1985), Christopher Tolkien, ed., The Lays of Beleriand, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, ISBN 0-395-39429-5
  15. ↑ Silmariën was definitely the eldest child of Tar-Elendil, and her birthdate is given several times as S.A. 521. In the Tale of Years, the entry of Silmariën's birthdate is given as 548, a date that goes back to the first drafts of that text (see Silmariën's article for details).
  16. ↑ In the Tale of years, it says in S.A. 2251 "Tar-Atanamir takes the sceptre", however, Atanamir died in 2221. 2221 is itself an emendation of 2251, and the former (2221) appears in the later tables, while the latter (2251) in the earlier tables: therefore 2251 (properly 2221) should have read "Death of Tar-Atanamir. Tar-Ancalimon takes the sceptre."
  17. ↑ In one table (probably an earlier draft) of the Kings of Gondor, Castamir's birthdate is given at T.A. 1159, however this is clearly impossible: Eldacar was born in 1255, and they are in the same generation, so 1259 is more correct.
  18. ↑ The date of Sam's birth in "The Longfather-Tree of Master Samwise" (Appendix C) is S.R. 1380 (equivalent to T.A. 2980), however, "The Tale of Years" (Appendix B) gives it as T.A. 2983, which is changed to T.A. 2980 in 2005 edition. In S.R. 1476, Sam is said to have been ninety-six years old, so 2980 is more correct than 2983. Also, the birth year of his sister, Marigold, is given S.R. 1383 (T.A. 2893), and it is most unlikely that they were born in the same year. In The Fellowship of the Ring, Merry and Pippin is said to be younger than both Sam and Frodo, so Sam's birth year must be in T.A. 2980, since Merry was born in T.A. 2982.
  19. ↑ Lalia (b. S.R. 1283) only appears in The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien. Pearl is the older sister of Pippin. See Took clan.
  20. 1 2 3 J. R. R. Tolkien (1996). Christopher Tolkien, ed. The Peoples of Middle-earth. Boston & New York: Houghton Mifflin. pp. 220–224. ISBN 0-395-71041-3.
  21. ↑ Note on The Shire Records in the Prologue to The Lord of the Rings.
  22. ↑ The Family Trees in J. R. R. Tolkien (1996). Christopher Tolkien (ed.), ed. The Peoples of Middle-earth. Boston & New York: Houghton Mifflin. pp. 85–118. ISBN 0-395-71041-3.
  23. ↑ In a 1972 letter, Tolkien mentioned that Eldarion's reign would have lasted for about 100 years after the death of Aragorn. Carpenter, Humphrey, ed. (1981), The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, #338. "I have written nothing beyond the first few years of the Fourth Age. (Except the beginning of a tale supposed to refer to the end of the reign of Eldarion about 100 years after the death of Aragorn. ...)", ISBN 0-395-31555-7

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