Let's Get Nerdy

    What is the Fourth Age of Middle-Earth? – Let’s Get Nerdy!

    Ashley Victoria RobinsonBy 6 Mins Read

    Free Range Games recently released brand new Lord of the Rings video game – Return to Moria! Since the SAG-AFTRA strike is still in place and struck work is still struck I want to dive in and explore some of the characters and important features of gameplay for you in the new game. We want all Spoilerites to have the best playing experience possible and have the widest knowledge base about the Fourth Age of Middle-Earth. This is a weekly Let’s Get Nerdy article series highlighting a different piece of Tolkien I think you need to know about!

    I’ve previously written about the release of Free Range Games’ brand new Lord of the Rings video game – Return to Moria! Since the SAG-AFTRA strike is still in place and struck work is still struck I want to dive in and explore some of the characters and important features of gameplay for you in the new game.

    The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria takes place in an age of Middle-Earth I haven’t had very much occasion to write about in this feature series except very much in passing. It’s a time in J.R.R. Tolkien’s writing we know a good number of facts about, but not so many stories about. A large portion of the knowledge of The Fourth Age of Middle-Earth is contained in the Appendices of The Lord of the Rings, filled with Biblical-style birth dates and accounts of lineage. Characters from Pippin Took to Aragorn Elessar Telcontar get complete reports of death dates and cultural impact. 

    The only great work by J.R.R. Tolkien set during The Fourth Age of Middle-Earth is The New Shadow – an incomplete manuscript sequel to The Lord of the Rings set during the reign of High King Eldarion (more on him shortly), reported to be approximately 13 pages long.

    The Fourth Age begins the exact second The One Ring is destroyed and Sauron is finally vanquished in Middle-Earth. It is marked, culturally, in Middle-Earth by the rise of the Human Race and the passing away of the Elves and other more magical creatures, like Wizards, into the West. 

    With the rise of the Kingdoms of Human Beings King Aragorn Elessar II (yes, that Aragorn we all know and love from The Lord of the Rings books), and King Éomer of Rohan stepped into positions of leadership to usher in and protect the sense of peace which settled over what became known as The Reunited Kingdom. 

    The Reunited Kingdom folded Arnor, the Northern Kingdom of Human Beings, back into the business of the Southern Kingdoms. It was largely abandoned when Isildur and his brother, Anárion, migrated south and founded the Kingdom of Gondor. Following King Aragorn’s death he is succeeded by the son he shares with Arwen Eventsar Undomiel, Eldarion. Following King Éomer’s death he is succeeded by the son he shares with his wife, Lothíriel, named Elfwine. 

    Eldarion of Gondor by: Sara M. Morello

    Some important events that take place during The Fourth Age of Middle-Earth include:

    • The Shire Reckoning
    • Sam, Merry, and Pippin cross into The West
    • Death of Faramir
    • Death of Arwen

    Tolkien subsequently alluded to a Fifth and Sixth Age of Middle-Earth, all three to have lasted approximately 6,000 years, but of the latter two ages no details are known.

    In past articles I have answered the question: 

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    She/her. Canadian actress. Bi Queen. Canadian co-host of Geek History Lesson. Canadian comic book writer: Witchblade, Apollo IX, Jupiter Jet series, Science! The Elements of Dark Energy, Aurora and The Eagle. Award-losing: actor, writer, podcaster. https://linktr.ee/AshleyVRobinson

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