Exploring Tolkien’s Legendarium: The Defeat of Sauron
At the start of the 2001 film, The Fellowship of the Rings, director Peter Jackson has crafted a compelling and visual stunning prologue. It distils a great deal of Tolkien’s text and conveys the essential history of the One Ring succinctly. Cinematically it works extremely well but it is sadly far from canonical due to all the practical considerations a film maker has to make when adapting a lore dense text. I have often wondered exactly how Sauron was defeated at the end of the Second Age because Tolkien is somewhat vague in The Lord of the Rings. Gil-galad, Elendil and Isildur all seem to be involved in physically fighting the Dark Lord. Gil-galad died due to being burned by Sauron’s touch. Elendil also died in combat and his sword Narsil broke beneath him. Isildur claimed to have delivered the killing blow after his father was defeated. However, no character in the story provides a definite, linear account of these event.
LOTRO: The Pros and Cons of Complex Lore
Professor Tolkien has created one of the most complex and rich fictional mythologies found in twentieth century fiction. There is both detail and ambiguity to be found in his collected works. For example, the line of Númenórean Kings or the family tree of Elrond are clearly explored and catalogued. Yet there are many more obscure and esoteric references littering the various texts, that pique the imagination by alluding to more nebulous people and events. What was the fate of the two Blue Wizards, Alatar and Pallando? What was so special about Queen Berúthiel cats which she used as spies? Are there really Were-worms "the East of East"? It is this balance between richly detailed faux heraldry and vague apocrypha which makes Middle-earth such a credible and living world.