Fans of author J.R.R. Tolkien are a very passionate and loyal readership. Thanks to many of them, the Internet now has access to an encyclopedia to cross reference of all Tolkien’s realms and peoples. The Encyclopedia of Arda is a tribute to and a celebration of the works of Tolkien. Fans of these works will tell you Arda was the name given by the Elves to their World.
The Encyclopedia of Arda contains thousands of articles of varying lengths covering an array topics from The Hobbit and the Lord of The Rings Trilogy. The site also selection of interactive tools, including a chronicle to help you explore Tolkien’s fictional history, and calendar to help understand both dates and events, a lexicon of the names, a glossary of old and rare words, and many items to delight fans both old and new.
Authors of The Encyclopedia of Arda explain that the site is written, “in the same context as Tolkien himself used; he presented himself simply as a translator, rather than originator of the tales. Hence, we try to describe his world from a ‘historical’ rather than a literary perspective though sometimes it’s useful to explore ideas in their wider context.”
So, next time you’re debating a sticky point from one of the books or looking to get a grasp on what Tolkien meant by that, your answers are just a click away: http://www.glyphweb.com/arda/