For anyone who has read through The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion or The Hobbit - it is undeniable that there is a depth of realism that few books, if any, have ever plumbed. This was in large part due to Tolkien’s grand imagination, wealth of reading and creation of his own languages — but there is another element that makes these stories feel so very lived in — his meticulous hand-drawn maps.
Tolkien wrote to his publisher in 1953 in letter 137:
‘Maps are worrying me. One at least (which would then have to be rather large) is absolutely essential. I think three are needed: 1. Of the Shire; 2. Of Gondor; and 3. A general small-scale map of the whole field of action. They exist, of course; though not in any form fit for reproduction – for of course in such a story one cannot make a map for the narrative, but must first make a map and make the narrative agree.’
Tolkien was clear, the narrative must come from the map. But this was no frivolous endeavor, many of his letters give insight into to the great toil of this work.
Tolkien wrote in letter 187:
‘I had to devote many days, the last three virtually without food or bed, to drawing re-scaling and adjusting a large map, at which he (his son Christopher) then worked for 24 hours (6 a.m. to 6 a.m. without bed) in re-drawing just in time.’
Though many of us have benefited from this detailed work, there is a large number who haven’t seen the many maps that Tolkien and his son had created throughout the years. Just as I did with many of Tolkien’s own paintings and drawings, I have compiled 11 distinct maps that came from the mind of Tolkien as he was writing out his grand story! Enjoy pouring over all the wonderful details.
‘I wisely started with a map, and made the story fit..’
- Tolkien, letter 144
The first Silmarillion map, drawn by Tolkien on an unused page from a University of Leeds examination booklet.
An early map drawn in 1930’s by Tolkien. This is, as is written in the margins, 500 years after the fall of the Lamps: Helkar and Ringil. Of course this would change as he would finish The Silmarillion.
“Thror’s Map” drawn in 1930 for The Hobbit (with the pasted moon runes on the front).
A beautiful map made for The Quenta Silmarillion in the 1930s.
The earliest map drawn of The Shire for The Lord of the Rings in 1937 - this was one of the first things that he drew for the trilogy after writing The Hobbit.
One of my favorites maps, drawn in 1937 for The Hobbit - showing the perilous journey that Bilbo and the Dwarves would go on together in their adventure. The detail and beauty is amazing.
I love seeing things like this, as you might notice, Tolkien was adding pieces to the map as the story grew in the telling (you can see Rohan, Gondor, Mordor here).
Here is a closer look…
Drawn in 1948, this was ultimately redrawn by Tolkien’s son, Christopher, for the publication of The Return of the King. The writing of the trilogy took as long as it did (17 years!) in large part because he was a perfectionist and cared deeply about every plot line and detail lining up and making sense within the history of the world and the narrative.
Here we get a unique perspective overlooking Mordor. Notice the eruption of Mt. Doom with colored pencil. in the top-center. Tolkien was familiar with every region of Middle-earth, even places that don’t get much time in the books.
A unique view of Helm’s Deep. As you can see, this is why Tolkien’s descriptions of Middle-earth feel so real, he was dealing in a world with real geography. You can also notice some of his writing, as he is working out the story and plans on the same sheet.
This printed map of Middle-earth was drawn for publication (in the first two volumes) in 1954 by Tolkien’s youngest son, Christopher. The annotations were between Tolkien and artist Pauline Baynes, as she was working with him to make an illustrated map. This is where we learned the wonderful fact that according to Tolkien: ‘Hobbiton is assumed to be approx at latitude of Oxford.’
What’s your favorite? How does this change the way you look at Middle-earth / Tolkien? Let me know in the comments.
Check out over 30 beautiful pieces of art by Tolkien…
The Visual Mind of J.R.R. Tolkien
As I have been writing, recording and creating content around Tolkien and Middle-earth for the last 5 years, I continually stumble upon people who have little to no awareness of the artistic side of Tolkien. By artistic, I mean his unique gift of illustration. To the surprise of many, Tolkien was an avid sketcher who doodled on everything from the back …
I love love love how his languages and the world’s geography came first, and the story just sort of filled in the gaps with a narrative. Thanks for this! Inspiring me to revisit the maps for my own world building l and get some more detail on them before I keep going in the story!
I am currently reading The Hobbit to my 7 year olds, and they had some questions about what Bilbo could or couldn't see from the Lonely Mountain while he is being described as sitting in the cleft looking out over Mirkwood and seeing the Misty Mountains faintly in the distance and thinking of the Shire beyond them. They thought he should also be able to see Lake Town. So I pulled out both Thoror's map and the big Middle Earth map and showed them what he would have been able to see from that valley on the west side of the mountain. It was not the first time (and won't be the last) that I check back on the maps as I read his work to see what he saw in his mind.
Also, I have the Gondor/Rohan/Mordor map framed in my office.