184 Fun Facts About Lord of the Rings

Which author penned the epic fantasy novel 'The Lord of the Rings'?

J.R.R. Tolkien's sequel grew far beyond The Hobbit, drawing on his philology and his experience of the First World War.

How does Frodo finally lose the One Ring at the Crack of Doom?

His finger is bitten off: at the brink Frodo claims the Ring instead of destroying it, and his treacherous guide bites it from his hand, then topples into the fire still clutching it.

Which land of Sauron's holds Mount Doom, the volcano where the One Ring was forged?

Mordor's Mount Doom, Orodruin in Sindarin, is where the Ring was forged and finally destroyed.

Which director helmed the critically acclaimed film trilogy adaptation of 'The Lord of the Rings'?

Peter Jackson directed all three films in 'The Lord of the Rings' trilogy, earning widespread critical acclaim and numerous awards.

Which woodland Elven realm is ruled by Galadriel and Celeborn?

Lothlórien's wood-elves are the Galadhrim; the power of Galadriel's ring keeps the forest rich and hard for evil to enter, and there Frodo and Sam look into her Mirror.

In The Lord of the Rings, what are the giant wolves that Orcs ride into battle called?

Wargs are huge, cunning wolves; Peter Jackson's films make far more of them as cavalry mounts, sending Saruman's wolf-riders to ambush the people of Rohan on their retreat.

How many members were originally in the Fellowship of the Ring?

Nine was deliberate: the Nine Walkers were set against the nine Black Riders, a free company of Elves, Dwarves, Men, Hobbits and a wizard opposed to Sauron's enslaved Ringwraiths.

In what year was the first volume of 'The Lord of the Rings' published?

The first volume, 'The Fellowship of the Ring', was published on July 29, 1954, though Tolkien intended the work as a single volume.

What is the name of Aragorn's sword, which was reforged from the shards of Narsil?

Andúril, 'Flame of the West', leaves Rivendell at Aragorn's side in the book; Peter Jackson's films hold it back until the third film, when it is brought to him in camp at Dunharrow.

Which race is Legolas Greenleaf a member of?

Legolas is an Elf of the Woodland Realm in northern Mirkwood, a Sindarin prince who came to Rivendell as a messenger from his father's court.

In The Lord of the Rings, which tree-like beings are called the shepherds of the trees?

The Ents march on Isengard, Tolkien reckoned, because Macbeth let him down as a schoolboy: its marching wood was only soldiers carrying branches, so he wrote trees that really go to war and tear down the walls.

What is the name of the giant spider that attacks Frodo and Sam near Mordor?

Shelob, last child of Ungoliant, paralyses Frodo with her venom. Sam wounds her worse than anything ever had, then, believing Frodo dead, takes the Ring; her fate is never told.

Which Elven smith, manipulated by Sauron, forged the Rings of Power?

Celebrimbor forged the three Elven rings in secret, so Sauron never touched them; captured when Eregion fell, he died under torture without revealing where they were hidden.

Barrels of which Shire crop turn up in the wreck of Isengard, hinting at Saruman's trade with the hobbits?

Pipe-weed is the hobbits' own tobacco, grown in the Southfarthing; the stray barrels betray dealings that end with Saruman's ruffians running the Shire by the time the travellers get home.

Which actor played Frodo Baggins in Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings film trilogy?

Elijah Wood won the part with an audition tape he filmed himself, dressed as Frodo and reading lines from the book, and he became the first actor Peter Jackson cast.

What job does Sam Gamgee do for Frodo before the quest begins?

Sam is Frodo's gardener, as his father the Gaffer was Bilbo's; caught eavesdropping under the window while trimming the grass, he is sent on the journey as his 'punishment'.

Besides invisibility, what did the One Ring give Bilbo?

Long life: Bilbo looked unchanged for decades yet felt thin and stretched, and without the Ring the years caught up with him at last.

Which creature swears on the Ring to serve Frodo, then guides him and Sam toward Mordor?

Gollum was born Sméagol, a river-hobbit; his family named him Gollum for the horrible swallowing noise he made in his throat, and he hid with the Ring deep under the Misty Mountains.

In which country was Peter Jackson's entire Lord of the Rings film trilogy shot?

New Zealand is Peter Jackson's home, and he shot all three films there at once; the Hobbiton set was kept on its Waikato farm afterwards and still draws visitors.

What is Bilbo's home in Hobbiton called?

Bag End was the real name of the Worcestershire farm of Tolkien's aunt Jane Neave, and it doubles as plain English for the French 'cul-de-sac', literally 'bottom of the bag'.

Which birthday is Bilbo celebrating at the party that opens the story?

111th, which hobbits call 'eleventy-one'; the party comes 60 years after the events of The Hobbit.

At which fortress does Rohan make its stand against Saruman's Uruk-hai?

Helm's Deep holds until dawn in both tellings, but Peter Jackson's film adds a company of Elven archers to its walls who never fight there in the book.

Whom does Aragorn summon to fulfil an oath sworn to Isildur?

The Army of the Dead are oath-breakers cursed by Isildur; in the book they only rout the Corsairs at Pelargir, but Peter Jackson's film has them sweep the field before Minas Tirith too.

Which two earlier films share the record of 11 Oscar wins with The Return of the King?

Ben-Hur and Titanic each lost somewhere on the night, winning 11 from 12 and 14 nominations; The Return of the King is the only one of the three to win everything it was up for.

Who composed the score for all three of Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings films?

Howard Shore recorded all three scores mainly with the London Philharmonic, then reworked them into a six-movement Lord of the Rings Symphony performed in concert halls around the world.

Which singer performed 'May It Be', the end-title song of The Fellowship of the Ring?

Enya sang 'May It Be' partly in Quenya: her lyricist Roma Ryan studied Tolkien's Elvish languages to write it, and Enya also sang the Sindarin love theme 'Aníron' in the same film.

Who sang 'Into the West', the closing song of The Return of the King, and shared its Oscar?

Annie Lennox, formerly of Eurythmics, shared the songwriting credit with Howard Shore and Fran Walsh, and the song won the Oscar for Best Original Song.

Which actor gave the motion-capture performance behind the Ring's wretched former bearer, Sméagol?

Andy Serkis was hired for what was pitched as a few weeks of voice work; his audition so impressed Peter Jackson that he played the part on set, and animators built the creature on his movements.

Which actor, who had hoped to play Gandalf, was cast as Saruman instead?

Christopher Lee had dreamt of playing Gandalf for decades but was by then too old for the riding and fighting; he was also the only member of the cast who had met Tolkien.

Which actor trained for weeks as Aragorn, only to be replaced by Viggo Mortensen as filming began?

Stuart Townsend was judged too young for the part after two months of training; Viggo Mortensen took over at short notice, urged on by his Tolkien-loving son, and was filming the Weathertop fight within days.

Which later star of Peter Jackson's films voiced Frodo in the BBC's 1981 radio serial?

Ian Holm played the young Ring-bearer on radio and, twenty years later, the elderly cousin who hands the Ring on in Peter Jackson's films, Bilbo.

Who kills the Witch-king of Angmar, Lord of the Nazgûl, at the Battle of the Pelennor Fields?

Éowyn rode to battle disguised as a man, and Merry's stab behind the knee gave her the opening.

What alias does the shieldmaiden of Rohan use when she rides to war disguised as a man?

Dernhelm is built on 'dern', an old English word for secret or hidden; under that name she carries Merry to war on her horse Windfola after both are ordered to stay behind.

How does the King of Rohan die at the Battle of the Pelennor Fields?

Crushed by his own fallen horse: Snowmane, struck by a black dart, fell on him; the horse was buried on the battlefield under a mound known as Snowmane's Howe.

Which hobbit swears service to Denethor and becomes a Guard of the Citadel in Minas Tirith?

Pippin offered his service out of respect for Boromir, who died defending him, and later fetched Gandalf when Denethor tried to burn Faramir alive.

To which ruler does Merry swear allegiance, becoming his esquire?

Théoden names Merry his esquire but orders him to stay behind when Rohan rides to war; Merry goes anyway, hidden on another rider's horse.

What is Boromir's father Denethor's title in Gondor?

Denethor is the Ruling Steward, governing Gondor in the absence of a king; he secretly uses a palantír to probe Sauron's strength, and what it shows him drives him to despair.

What Elvish name, meaning 'Elfstone', does Aragorn take when he is crowned king?

Elessar comes from a gift: Galadriel gave Aragorn a green jewel called the Elfstone at their parting, and his royal house took the name Telcontar, Quenya for 'Strider'.

How old is Aragorn during the War of the Ring?

87: his Númenórean blood gives him a far longer life than other Men, and decades before the War of the Ring he had already fought, in disguise, for the father of Rohan's king.

The Ring's inscription is written in the Black Speech using which script?

The inscription is in the Tengwar, the Elvish script, written in a mode for the Black Speech; the fiery letters appear only when the Ring is heated, as Isildur and Gandalf both found.

Which sword does Bilbo pass on to Frodo, along with a shirt of mithril mail?

Sting came out of a troll-hoard; Bilbo named it after fighting off the giant spiders of Mirkwood, and its blade glows blue whenever orcs are near.

What is the name of the great horse that becomes the Grey wizard's mount?

Shadowfax is chief of the Mearas, the finest horses in Middle-earth; Rohan's king told the wizard to take any horse and be gone, then resented that he picked this one.

Which of the Three Elven Rings does the Grey wizard bear?

Gandalf bears Narya, the Ring of Fire; Círdan the Shipwright gave it to him on his arrival in Middle-earth, judging him the greatest of the wizards despite his humble look.

What do the Elves call the Grey wizard?

Mithrandir is Sindarin for 'Grey Pilgrim' or 'Grey Wanderer', a fit name for a wizard forever on the road; the Dwarves called him Tharkûn, and in Valinor he had been Olórin.

The Balrog the Fellowship meets in Moria is known by what name?

The Moria Balrog is Durin's Bane, so named for slaying King Durin VI in Third Age 1980 after the Dwarves delved too deep for mithril; Balrogs are corrupted Maiar with whips of many thongs.

Who is Tom Bombadil's wife, called the River-daughter?

Goldberry, the River-woman's daughter, hosts the hobbits in Tom's house; Peter Jackson left both of them out of his films, saying they did little to advance the story.

Legolas is the son of which Elven king, who appeared in The Hobbit as 'the Elvenking'?

Thranduil, king of the Woodland Realm in Mirkwood, is Legolas's father; he once imprisoned a company of Dwarves, Gimli's father Glóin among them, which sharpens the old grudge between Gimli and Legolas.

Under what alias does Saruman secretly rule the hobbits' homeland near the end of The Lord of the Rings?

Sharkey, probably from Orkish sharkû, 'old man', is what Saruman's ruffians call him; the films cut that whole closing chapter, so the extended edition moves his death to Isengard.

Which ancient forest is home to Treebeard?

Fangorn is simply Treebeard's own name in Sindarin, so the forest is named after him.

Which Elf-lord is the father of Arwen?

Elrond fostered Aragorn in Rivendell as a boy, then forbade him to marry Arwen unless he first became king of both Gondor and Arnor.

The Ring was found by Déagol in which river, where it had lain since Isildur's death?

The Ring lay on the bed of the Anduin, the Great River, for almost 2,500 years after Isildur, swimming to escape an Orc ambush, lost it and was shot; Gondor called it Isildur's Bane.

The Return of the King held its world premiere in which city?

Wellington threw a street parade for the premiere on 1 December 2003, and more than 100,000 people turned out to cheer the cast along the route to the Embassy Theatre.

The Hobbiton film set was built on a working sheep farm near which town in the Waikato region?

The Hobbiton set sits on the Alexander family's sheep farm near Matamata, found by an aerial search for locations in 1998; after filming, the family struck a deal to keep the hobbit holes and open them to visitors.

What was the combined production budget of the three films?

The three films cost a combined $281 million, roughly $94 million each, shot as one continuous production; together they grossed almost $3 billion worldwide.

Which Oscar did all three Lord of the Rings films win?

Best Visual Effects was the one Oscar all three films won; the work came from Weta Digital, the effects house Peter Jackson had co-founded years earlier for his film Heavenly Creatures.

Tolkien intended The Lord of the Rings as a single volume paired with which other work?

Tolkien wanted The Silmarillion published alongside The Lord of the Rings; his publishers declined to take both, and The Silmarillion only appeared in 1977, four years after his death.

What parting gift does Gimli ask of Galadriel?

A single hair is all Gimli dares to ask; Galadriel gives him three, though long before she had refused the same request from a mighty prince of her own people.

Which American paperback publisher issued an unauthorised edition of The Lord of the Rings in 1965?

Ace Books exploited a US copyright loophole to issue its 1965 paperback; fan pressure forced Ace to withdraw it and pay Tolkien, and the publicity helped make the book a campus phenomenon.

In the BBC's 2003 'Big Read' poll, The Lord of the Rings was voted what?

Britain's best-loved book, by public vote: the Big Read ran for months, ending in television programmes where celebrities championed their favourites, and Tolkien's novel finished ahead of Pride and Prejudice.

Which American university holds Tolkien's original manuscripts of The Lord of the Rings?

Marquette University's library director, William Ready, approached Tolkien through a London rare-book dealer in 1956 and bought the manuscripts years before the American paperback boom.

In which South African city was J. R. R. Tolkien born in 1892?

Tolkien was born in Bloemfontein, where his father Arthur ran a bank branch; his mother took the boys to England in 1895, and his father died the next year before he could join them.

Tolkien was a member of which Oxford literary discussion group alongside C. S. Lewis?

The Inklings gathered in Lewis's Magdalen rooms, where Tolkien read the novel aloud chapter by chapter, and met again at the Eagle and Child pub; Lewis's encouragement kept him writing through the 1940s.

Which battle of the First World War did Tolkien serve in as a signals officer in 1916?

Tolkien reached the Somme in the summer of 1916; by the year's end two of his three closest school friends were dead and trench fever had sent him home, where he began his first Middle-earth tales.

After the quest, Sam is elected to which Shire office, serving seven consecutive terms?

Mayor for 49 years, Sam left only after Rosie died: he gave the Red Book to his daughter Elanor and, tradition says, sailed West as one of the Ring-bearers.

What was Frodo called in Tolkien's early drafts of the opening chapter, before he got his final name?

Bingo was Frodo's name through several drafts, at one stage as Bingo Bolger-Baggins; Tolkien did not rename him until the drafts had carried the Ring as far as Rivendell.

Which of the Three Elven Rings does the master of Rivendell bear?

The master of Rivendell bears Vilya, the Ring of Air, reckoned the mightiest of the Three; Gil-galad entrusted it to him before the Last Alliance, and with it he kept his valley hidden and unfading.

Which Elf-lord sets Frodo on his horse to reach the Ford of Bruinen in Tolkien's book, a role the films give Arwen?

Glorfindel, whose name means 'golden-haired', was among the first characters Tolkien created, in the 1916–17 Fall of Gondolin; Tolkien later decided the Rivendell Elf was that same Glorfindel reborn.

Which is the only one of the Ringwraiths that Tolkien ever names?

Khamûl, the 'Black Easterling' of Unfinished Tales, was the Witch-king's second-in-command; he is the Rider who tracks the hobbits across their own country and just misses them at Bucklebury Ferry.

In Tolkien's earliest drafts, the character who became Aragorn was a hobbit with what nickname?

Trotter, a mysterious hobbit in wooden shoes named for their clitter-clap, was the seed of Aragorn; Tolkien hesitated for a long time over who he really was before making him a Man.

Which Vala chose the Maia Olórin to go to Middle-earth as one of the wizards?

Manwë put Olórin forward; when Olórin pleaded that he was too weak and feared Sauron, Manwë answered that this was all the more reason for him to go.

Sam Gamgee's surname comes from a real Birmingham word for what?

In Birmingham 'gamgee' meant cotton wool, after the Gamgee Tissue dressing devised by surgeon Sampson Gamgee; that is why Sam's sweetheart Rosie belongs to the Cotton family.

Where does Radagast the Brown live, on the western eaves of Mirkwood?

Rhosgobel, a Sindarin name for a russet or brown village, stood near Mirkwood's western eaves; Saruman used Radagast, all unwitting, to lure Gandalf into his trap at Isengard.

The films make Barad-dûr one of The Two Towers, but which tower does Tolkien's own note pair with Orthanc?

Minas Morgul is the tower his closing note to The Fellowship of the Ring names beside Orthanc; in letters he had dithered over other pairings, but his own cover design drew the same two.

Tolkien named the two halves of The Two Towers 'The Ring Goes East' and what?

The Treason of Isengard was Tolkien's 1953 title for Book III, but the books went to press with numbers only; his son later borrowed the name for a volume of his father's drafts.

How did Frodo's parents, Drogo and Primula, die when he was twelve?

Drowned in a boating mishap on the Brandywine: local gossip said Drogo's weight sank the boat, or that Primula pushed him in and he pulled her after; Frodo then grew up among her kin at Brandy Hall.

Which Elf is said to have made the palantíri, the seeing-stones, in Valinor?

Fëanor is credited with making the palantíri in Valinor; Elendil brought seven of them to Middle-earth after Númenor's fall, while the Master-stone stayed in the West at Avallónë.

Whose Swedish translation so annoyed Tolkien that he wrote his 1967 'Guide to the Names in The Lord of the Rings'?

Ohlmarks later published a book accusing Tolkien fans of black magic; Andersson produced the replacement Swedish translation in 2004-05.

After the First World War, Tolkien's first civilian job was on the staff of which reference work?

The Oxford English Dictionary took him on as an assistant lexicographer, working mainly on Germanic words beginning with W; in the same months he gave a tale of his invented mythology its first public reading.

Which animator's 1978 film covered The Fellowship of the Ring and only part of The Two Towers?

Ralph Bakshi's rotoscoped film stops partway through the story; its distributor dropped Part One from the title, fearing audiences would not pay for half a film, and no sequel followed.

Galadriel is the only daughter and youngest child of which Noldorin prince?

Finarfin turned back from the Noldor's rebellion and was forgiven, staying to rule those who remained in Valinor, while his daughter Galadriel pressed on to Middle-earth with her brothers.

Under what fair name did Sauron befriend the Elven-smiths of Eregion?

Annatar, 'Lord of Gifts', was the fair guise Sauron wore among the Elven-smiths of Eregion; the ruse produced the Rings of Power and, in secret, the One Ring.

Tolkien took the name 'Gandalf' from a list of dwarf-names in which mythological poem?

Völuspá contains the Dvergatal, a roll-call of dwarfs; Tolkien lifted most of the dwarf names of The Hobbit straight from it, and handed one of them, Gandalf, to his wizard instead.

Which crowd-simulation software did Weta Digital build so thousands of battle soldiers could act independently?

MASSIVE, written by Stephen Regelous, let every digital soldier decide for itself how to fight, so armies of thousands needed no hand choreography; it later filled crowds in King Kong and Avatar.

The Return of the King's closing song, 'Into the West', was inspired by whom?

A young filmmaker who died of cancer, Cameron Duncan, had impressed the trilogy's makers with his short films; the song's first public performance was at his funeral.

At which Oxford college did Tolkien study as an undergraduate?

Tolkien read Classics and then English at Exeter College from 1911 to 1915; he later held professorial chairs at Pembroke and then at Merton.

Tolkien said he invented Tom Bombadil in memory of what?

His children's Dutch doll wore a feather in its hat, as Tom does; Tolkien said he put him into the novel because he had already invented him and wanted an adventure on the way.

What happens when Tom Bombadil puts on the One Ring?

It has no effect on him: he hands the Ring straight back, yet the Council later rules him out as its keeper because he would soon forget it or throw it away.

Beside which river in the Old Forest does Old Man Willow stand?

The Withywindle is named for its withies, or willows; Old Man Willow lulls the hobbits to sleep on its bank and traps two of them in his trunk until Tom Bombadil's song frees them.

The barrow where a Barrow-wight traps the hobbits is said to be the grave of which kingdom's last prince?

Cardolan's last prince fell in the war of 1409, and Appendix A reports that some say this was his mound; the blade Merry takes from it later helps to bring down the Witch-king.

What did the innkeeper Barliman Butterbur forget to send Frodo for months?

A letter from the wizard would have sent Frodo on his way months sooner; because Butterbur forgot it, Frodo set out late and unsure of his friend's fate, with the Black Riders already on his trail.

Which king of Rohan is the Hornburg's valley named after?

Helm Hammerhand hid there from Dunlendings under Wulf, and legend said he stalked the enemy camps at night killing men with his bare hands.

What is the name of the great battering ram that breaks the gate of Minas Tirith?

Grond, the hundred-foot ram, took its name from the mace of Morgoth, the first Dark Lord, the Hammer of the Underworld; its head was shaped like a ravening wolf.

Where does Denethor build the funeral pyre on which he burns himself?

Rath Dínen, the Silent Street, runs among the tombs behind Minas Tirith; in the book Denethor dies there clasping his palantír, but Faramir, whom he meant to burn beside him, is pulled from the pyre in time.

What does Angrenost, the Sindarin name for Saruman's stronghold, mean?

Angrenost means 'iron fortress' in Sindarin, and Isengard says much the same in Old English, 'iron enclosure': Tolkien gave the stronghold matching names in an invented tongue and a real one.

What is the Sindarin name of Weathertop, where Frodo is stabbed by the Witch-king?

Amon Sûl, the Hill of Wind, once bore a watchtower that guarded one of the palantíri; the tower was burned in the wars with Angmar, leaving the ring of ruins where Frodo is stabbed.

Which region does Legolas settle with Silvan Elves after the War of the Ring?

Legolas settled in Ithilien with Silvan Elves from Greenwood and made it fair again; after Aragorn's death he built a grey ship and sailed West, reportedly with Gimli aboard.

Roughly how many copies has The Lord of the Rings sold worldwide?

The Lord of the Rings has sold over 150 million copies, making it one of the best-selling novels ever; written in stages between 1937 and 1949, it has been translated into at least 38 languages.

Finnish shaped Quenya, but which language was the main model for Tolkien's other Elvish tongue, Sindarin?

Welsh gave Sindarin its sound and its consonant mutations; Tolkien said a Welsh-like tongue seemed to fit the rather 'Celtic' type of legends told of the Elves who spoke it.

What are the three types of hobbits in Tolkien's fictional history?

Harfoots, Fallohides and Stoors differed in temper as well as looks: the bolder Fallohides often ended up leading the others, and their blood was held to explain the adventurous streak in the Tooks.

At what age do hobbits 'come of age'?

33 is when a hobbit is counted an adult, for the race is long-lived and treats 50 as merely the start of middle age; Frodo reached it on the very day of Bilbo's farewell party.

Which studio produced and distributed Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy?

New Line Cinema's chief Robert Shaye took the project on when its first backer balked, and it was he who asked for the story to be told in three films.

Which long-time Jackson collaborator led Weta Workshop's armour, weapons and creature design?

Richard Taylor led Weta Workshop to four Oscars for the trilogy; some of his crew spent three years linking plastic chain mail by hand, wearing their thumbprints away.

The Fellowship of the Ring led the 2002 Oscars with 13 nominations but lost Best Picture to which film?

A Beautiful Mind took the top prize on a night when the two films tied for most wins; the trilogy had to wait two more years for its own Best Picture.

Which cast member earned an Oscar nomination for The Fellowship of the Ring, as Best Supporting Actor?

Ian McKellen's Gandalf brought the trilogy its only acting nomination and a Screen Actors Guild award, but on Oscar night he lost to Jim Broadbent, who had acted beside him in his film of Richard III.

Besides playing Gimli, which character did John Rhys-Davies voice in the films?

Treebeard was John Rhys-Davies's second role; as Gimli he reacted so badly to the dwarf prosthetics that his eyes sometimes swelled shut, and he ruled out returning for The Hobbit to spare his face.

Which injury did Viggo Mortensen suffer in a take kept in The Two Towers?

Two broken toes came from kicking a helmet as Aragorn rages beside the burning Uruk-hai; his cry of pain was real, and the take stayed in the film.

Sean Astin, who plays Sam, made his big-screen debut as Mikey Walsh in which 1985 movie?

The Goonies made Sean Astin a child star; years later, on the trilogy's set, he roped fellow cast and crew, the director among them, into making his own short film, The Long and Short of It.

Which actor plays Boromir, who dies defending two hobbits, in the Lord of the Rings films?

Sean Bean plays Boromir, whose death closes the first film; the survivors set his body adrift in an Elven boat to go over the Falls of Rauros.

Which actor plays Faramir, Boromir's younger brother, in the Lord of the Rings films?

David Wenham plays Faramir; the films have him march Frodo and the Ring towards his father as far as ruined Osgiliath before relenting, where Tolkien's Faramir turns the Ring down outright.

Which actor plays Éomer of Rohan in the Lord of the Rings films?

Karl Urban plays Éomer, whom the films send into exile with his riders; in the book he is merely imprisoned on Wormtongue's word, and is freed in time to ride to war with his king.

Who plays the treacherous adviser Gríma Wormtongue on film?

Brad Dourif, Oscar-nominated for One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and the voice of Chucky, plays Gríma Wormtongue; he shaved off his eyebrows to make the character more unsettling.

Which actor plays Denethor, father of Boromir and Faramir, in the Lord of the Rings films?

John Noble, later Walter Bishop in Fringe, plays Denethor; the films have the beacons that summon Rohan lit behind his back, whereas in the book he orders them lit himself.

Which actress plays Arwen, who gives up Elvish immortality to stay in Middle-earth?

Liv Tyler plays Arwen, whose love story Tolkien left largely to an appendix; the films brought her forward, and even shot scenes of her fighting in The Two Towers before cutting them.

Which Elvish word opens the West-gate of Moria?

Mellon is Sindarin for friend: the gate's inscription reads 'Speak, friend, and enter', and in the book Gandalf finally sees that the riddle means simply say that word, and the doors swing open.

Amazon's 2017 rights deal for The Rings of Power carried a production commitment of at least how much?

$1 billion was the least Amazon expected to spend on five seasons, on top of about $250 million for the rights; founder Jeff Bezos had asked his studio for a fantasy epic on the scale of Game of Thrones.

The Rings of Power depicts the major events of which age of Middle-earth?

The Second Age's great events, among them the forging of the Rings and the fall of Númenor, are spread over thousands of years in Tolkien's writings; the series squeezes them into one short span of time.

Who plays the younger Galadriel in The Rings of Power?

Morfydd Clark plays Galadriel thousands of years before the films' serene Lady of the Wood; the series makes her a restless Elven warrior, sure that evil is returning to Middle-earth.

Who directed the 2024 anime film The War of the Rohirrim?

Kenji Kamiyama's film was rushed into production so that its studio would not lose the screen rights to Tolkien's novels; it tells a legend of Rohan set generations before the trilogy.

Which eagle carries Gandalf from the roof of Orthanc?

Gwaihir the Windlord, in the book, comes to Orthanc only to bring news from Radagast, finds Gandalf a prisoner on its roof and carries him off; at the very end he leads the eagles that lift Frodo and Sam from Mount Doom.

Which animation studio made the 1980 TV film The Return of the King?

Rankin/Bass made it as a follow-up to its 1977 Hobbit, with animation by the Tokyo studio Topcraft, the company that later gave rise to Studio Ghibli.

Which of Tolkien's children drew the original maps for The Lord of the Rings?

Christopher Tolkien drew the maps from his father's rough sketches, then gave much of his own life to editing his father's unpublished papers for print.

How many walls does the fortress city of Minas Tirith have?

Seven walls ring Minas Tirith, one to each level, and each gate faces a different way from the last, so the road must wind back and forth up the hill to the Citadel.

Tolkien intended the drowned island kingdom of Númenor to allude to which legend?

Tolkien called Númenor his Atlantis; its Quenya name after the Downfall, Atalantë, 'the Downfallen', deliberately echoes Atlantis, and the island was star-shaped with five great peninsulas.

What was the name of the Elven king Gil-galad's spear?

Gil-galad's spear was Aeglos, Sindarin for 'snow-point' or 'icicle'; he bore it in the Last Alliance, where he fell fighting Sauron on the slopes of Orodruin.

Where was Isildur ambushed by Orcs and killed, losing the Ring in the river?

Isildur was ambushed and shot at the Gladden Fields in Third Age 2, two years after cutting the Ring from Sauron's hand and refusing to destroy it; the Ring slipped away in the river.

What do the Riders of Rohan call hobbits in their own tongue?

Holbytlan means 'hole-builders': Tolkien built the word from Old English so that 'hobbit' could pass for a worn-down form of it, still heard whole among the Riders of Rohan.

Sauron is identified as which mysterious figure from The Hobbit?

The Necromancer of Dol Guldur in The Hobbit is Sauron, driven out by the White Council in 2941; in The Lord of the Rings he appears mostly as the Eye.

Where did a chance meeting between Gandalf and Thorin set the quest of The Hobbit in motion?

Bree is where the two met by chance while both were brooding on the dragon Smaug; Gandalf feared Sauron might make use of the beast, so he backed the quest and urged stealth over force.

What epithet does the wizard of Orthanc later adopt in place of 'the White'?

Of Many Colours: when he unmasks his treachery, his once-white robes prove to be woven of every colour, shimmering and changing hue as he moves so that the eye is bewildered.

Why did Tolkien dislike the title The Return of the King?

It gave away too much of the story, he felt, and he asked for The War of the Ring instead; the publisher's choice stood, and Tolkien let it go.

Which prize did The Lord of the Rings win in 1957?

The International Fantasy Award went to Tolkien in 1957, the last year it was given; in 1966 the novel was shortlisted for a one-off Hugo for best all-time series and lost to Isaac Asimov's Foundation.

Which future Love Actually star voiced Sam in the BBC's 1981 radio serial of The Lord of the Rings?

Bill Nighy, then credited as William Nighy, played Sam through all 26 episodes; the serial's co-writer, Brian Sibley, went on to write the biography of the films' director.

Which director turned down the Beatles' Lord of the Rings film as unfilmable?

Stanley Kubrick told the Beatles' film producer the books were excellent but could not be filmed; the plan died in any case, reportedly because Tolkien disliked the idea of a pop group doing his story.

To which Hollywood studio did Tolkien sell the screen and merchandising rights to his novels in 1969?

United Artists paid a reported $250,000 plus a share of receipts, and in 1976 sold the rights on to producer Saul Zaentz, whose company licensed the screen versions that followed.

Which Star Trek actor recorded 'The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins', a 1967 novelty single retelling the plot of The Hobbit?

Leonard Nimoy mimed the song on the TV variety show Malibu U, sporting his Spock haircut, among dancers in plastic pointed ears.

Which James Bond star turned down playing Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings, saying he did not understand the script?

Sean Connery declined when the studio suggested him for the wizard, and so did Christopher Plummer, before the part was finally cast.

Which English rock band packed 'Ramble On' and 'The Battle of Evermore' with nods to The Lord of the Rings?

Led Zeppelin put 'the Ringwraiths ride in black' into 'The Battle of Evermore', whose Queen of Light is possibly Galadriel.

All but one of the actors who played the Fellowship of the Ring marked the end of filming with what?

Matching tattoos in Elvish script went on every Fellowship actor except John Rhys-Davies, whose stunt double took his place under the needle.

Frodo Baggins calls Bilbo 'uncle' in The Lord of the Rings, but how are the two actually related?

Cousins is the true tie: Bilbo is Frodo's first and second cousin once removed, and he made the younger Baggins his adoptive heir.

Under which nickname is Aragorn first introduced in The Lord of the Rings, at the Prancing Pony inn in Bree?

Strider was the Bree-folk's name for the weather-worn Ranger, and as king he kept it: his royal house is Telcontar, the same word in Quenya.

In Tolkien's verse about Aragorn, 'All that is gold does not glitter, not all those who wander are' what?

Lost ends the line, which turns the old proverb 'all that glitters is not gold' on its head: a shabby Ranger can be the rightful king.

Which vegetable does Sam Gamgee say to 'boil 'em, mash 'em, stick 'em in a stew' in The Two Towers film?

Potatoes, or 'po-ta-toes' as Sam spells it out; he goes on to dream of golden chips with fried fish, which his guide would rather eat raw and wriggling.

Which meal, eaten before elevenses, does Merry doubt Aragorn has heard of in The Fellowship of the Ring film?

Second breakfast is a film joke with book roots: Tolkien's prologue says hobbits eat six meals a day when they can get them.

The Elvish blade that Bilbo Baggins hands down to his heir in The Lord of the Rings glows which colour near Orcs?

Blue is the warning light: Tolkien wrote that Elvish swords glow in the presence of Orcs, which turns the blade into an alarm in Moria.

Which actor plays Legolas, the Fellowship's keen-eyed archer, in The Lord of the Rings films?

Orlando Bloom came back to the bow a decade later, reprising Legolas in The Desolation of Smaug and The Battle of the Five Armies.

Which Australian actress plays Galadriel, who hands the Fellowship parting gifts, in The Lord of the Rings films?

Cate Blanchett returned as Galadriel in The Hobbit trilogy, while a different actress plays the character's younger self in The Rings of Power.

What relation is Galadriel to Arwen, who marries Aragorn at the end of The Lord of the Rings?

Grandmother is right: Galadriel's daughter Celebrían married the master of Rivendell, and Arwen was their child.

What is the trilogy's director chewing in his cameo as a citizen of Bree in The Fellowship of the Ring?

A carrot is his snack as the four hobbits enter the town, and he reprised the same carrot-chomping walk-on in The Desolation of Smaug.

Which Elvish waybread did Tolkien call a device for making the Fellowship's long marches on little food believable?

Lembas kept the plot honest about distance, Tolkien admitted, yet he hinted it also carried a deeper meaning that readers liken to communion bread.

The Nazgûl, the Black Riders who hunt the Ring, were once great kings and sorcerers of which race?

Men they were: mortal lords who took Rings of Power from Sauron, won endless life and faded into wraiths under his control.

By which poetic name is Arwen known as the most beautiful of the last generation of High Elves in Middle-earth?

Evenstar was her name among her people, and the films turned it into a jewelled pendant that Arwen gives Aragorn as a token of love.

What does Gandalf bring to entertain the guests at Bilbo Baggins's farewell party in The Fellowship of the Ring?

Fireworks are his peacetime delight, set off to amuse his hobbit friends; in great need the same wizard turns fire into a weapon.

From which Elvish port does Frodo Baggins sail west over the Sea at the end of The Lord of the Rings?

The Grey Havens is where he boards a ship with Bilbo and Gandalf, bound for the Undying Lands in search of the peace Middle-earth cannot give him.

Which emblem do Saruman's Orcs bear on their shields, set on a black field, in The Lord of the Rings?

A white hand marked his troops, and a carved stone one stood on a pillar outside the gates of Isengard; their helmets bore an S-rune for his name.

Which crop did the young Frodo Baggins steal from Farmer Maggot's fields in The Lord of the Rings?

Mushrooms are a hobbit passion, and when Frodo came back years later the farmer and his wife sent him off with a basketful as a parting gift.

Which false surname does Frodo Baggins use at the Prancing Pony in Bree, on Gandalf's advice?

Underhill was the name of his own neighbourhood on Hobbiton Hill, and in Bree he found a real family of Underhills already living nearby.

What does Sam Gamgee call the pony bought in Bree, a name taken from the animal's previous owner?

Bill, named after the Bree-man Bill Ferny, had to be left at the doors of Moria yet found his own way back north and was reunited with Sam.

By what nickname is Hamfast Gamgee, the father of Frodo's companion Sam, known in The Lord of the Rings?

The Gaffer held the same job for Bilbo Baggins that his son Sam later inherited under Frodo.

Which Elvish sword, taken from a troll-hoard and meaning 'Foe-hammer', does Gandalf wield against the Balrog?

Glamdring was forged in the hidden city of Gondolin in the First Age, and the goblins of the Misty Mountains knew it by the nickname Beater.

Which hilltop town, crowned by the Golden Hall of Meduseld, is the capital of Rohan in The Lord of the Rings?

Edoras is Old English for 'enclosures', and its Golden Hall is modelled on Heorot, the great hall in Beowulf.

Which fortress, often called simply the Dark Tower, is Sauron's chief stronghold in The Lord of the Rings?

Barad-dûr joins the Sindarin words for 'tower' and 'dark', and its name is sometimes used to mean the Dark Lord himself.

Before which fortified entrance does Aragorn lead the armies of Gondor and Rohan to draw Sauron's eye from the Ring?

The Black Gate, or Morannon, was built by Sauron across the pass into his own land; the march on it was a feint to blind him to his true danger.

Which road does Aragorn take to summon the oathbreakers of Dunharrow in The Return of the King?

The Paths of the Dead lead to a ghost army under an ancient curse, denied rest until it honours a broken oath to fight for the King of Gondor.

By what other name are the gigantic war-elephants of the Haradrim, which hobbits call oliphaunts, known?

Mûmakil march to war for Sauron in scarlet and gold trappings, and the word mûmak may come from the Haradrim's own language.

Which Uruk-hai leader mortally wounds Boromir and is then killed by Aragorn in The Fellowship of the Ring film?

Lurtz appears nowhere in Tolkien's book: the films created him as the first of Saruman's Uruk-hai to be bred and gave him a duel with Aragorn.

Which Elf of Lórien commands the company of Elves sent to reinforce the Hornburg in The Two Towers film?

Haldir is killed in the Uruk-hai charge after explosives breach the outer wall; Craig Parker plays the doomed commander.

Which studio first developed the Lord of the Rings film scripts but pushed for the story to be cut to one film?

Miramax, run by the Weinsteins, would not risk three films and agreed to two before suggesting one, so the project moved to a rival studio.

Which star of The Matrix plays the Elf-lord of Rivendell in The Lord of the Rings films?

Hugo Weaving, the Matrix's Agent Smith, returned as the Elf-lord in The Hobbit trilogy and voiced both characters in video games.

Which actor, cast as Peregrin Took, wrote the melody for and sang 'The Edge of Night' in The Return of the King?

Billy Boyd returned to Middle-earth music in 2014, writing and performing 'The Last Goodbye' for the closing credits of the final Hobbit film.

Which in-camera trick did The Lord of the Rings films use to make hobbit actors look half the size of their co-stars?

Forced perspective was upgraded for the films: parts of the set rode on platforms that moved with the camera, so the illusion held in moving shots.

J. R. R. Tolkien spent twenty years as Oxford's Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of which language?

Anglo-Saxon was his field: he opened Beowulf lectures by impersonating a bard in a mead hall, which showed students the poem was drama and not just a set text.

Which language, met through the Kalevala epic, did Tolkien call a dominant influence on his High-elvish tongue Quenya?

Finnish struck him as aesthetically pleasing when he found it while starting his mythology, though he said its influence shrank in late Quenya.

Which Elf-maiden's name from his own legends did Tolkien have engraved on his wife Edith's tombstone?

Lúthien was carved under Edith's name, and when Tolkien was buried in the same grave 21 months later, 'Beren' was added to his.

Which publisher asked Tolkien for a sequel to The Hobbit and so set The Lord of the Rings in motion?

Allen & Unwin had published The Hobbit after Stanley Unwin's ten-year-old son Rayner was asked to review it and gave a favourable verdict.

What did the Dwarves call the great underground city of Moria in their own tongue?

Khazad-dûm was the city's original name, used with nostalgia for its days of glory; in the Common Speech it becomes the Dwarrowdelf.

Whose tomb does the Fellowship find in Moria's Chamber of Mazarbul, beside a chronicle of his doomed colony?

Balin left Erebor to recolonise the ancient mines, but after only five years his settlement was destroyed by Orcs.

Which peak, known as the Redhorn, defeats the Fellowship's attempt to cross the Misty Mountains before they enter Moria?

Caradhras, tipped with snow and dull red as if stained with blood, turned the company back and left only the perilous road through the Mines.

Which father of Isildur, the first High King of Arnor and Gondor, died fighting Sauron hand-to-hand beside Gil-galad?

Elendil had escaped the downfall of the island of Númenor by sailing to Middle-earth, and after his death his son took the Ring for himself.

In Tolkien's legendarium, Sauron once served as chief lieutenant to which first Dark Lord of the Elder Days?

Morgoth, once called Melkor, rebelled against the supreme being Eru, and Sauron, who began as an angelic spirit, chose to follow him.

By what Quenya name, meaning 'Wise Ones', do the Elves call Gandalf, Saruman and the other Wizards?

The Istari were angelic beings who took on physical bodies, and some mortal limits with them, to intervene in Middle-earth during the Third Age.

Which pair of colossal statues of Isildur and Anárion marks Gondor's ancient northern border on the Great River?

The Argonath were raised as a warning: beyond them no stranger was allowed to travel downriver without Gondor's permission.

Which hobbit word describes an old, useless object that its owner cannot bear to throw away?

Mathom gifts were handed on as presents again and again, sometimes coming back to their first owner, and the rest were stored in a museum.

Under which name, Sindarin for 'hope', was the young Aragorn fostered in Rivendell to hide him from Sauron?

Estel grew up unaware of his own lineage, kept secret because his guardian feared he would be killed like his father and grandfather.

Which fictional hobbit manuscript did Tolkien present as the source from which he derived The Lord of the Rings?

The Red Book of Westmarch takes its name from its red leather binding, and Tolkien modelled the title on the real Red Book of Hergest.