Every Race In Middle-Earth Explained | WIRED

[@jjdude00]

Most writers: Maybe I should make some mythology for my story. Tolkien: Maybe I should make some story for my mythology.

[@TheSeeking2know]

Exactly. To make his mythology and language writing compelling, memorable, and to outlive him.

[@Slashplite]

@Dzsamila # there are infinite number of realities so there is a world with middle earth story

[@simmonslucas]

I think that is more common than you think.

[@perendinatorian]

@@Slashplite you have an infinite amount of numbers after 1 without ever reaching 2. infinite isn't always infinite.

[@c704710]

I love how you show Tolkien created a monotheistic world, and there was a Pantheon. I know a number of Christians who are very upset by this refuse to believe it about Tolkien's writings (of course, they feel the same way about the Bible). It is even more hilarious when non-Christians insist it can't be both (and also about the Bible). As I undterstand it, Ilúvatar personlly intervened to resurrect Gandolf. And this was absolutely the only way anyone could be resurrected in Tolkien's mythology. Gandolf inspires hope? Eh. More like it was Gandolf job to meddle (for good). Perhaps Gandolf the White had a new job description? And I'll risk having a common theme now. Tolkien's change of faith definitely played a role in his mythology. Two examples in paticular are that all 'evil' races could only be perversions of 'good' one or must be adopted. And also that none of the 'evil' races are doomed to serve evil. Also, he made sure that the Uruk-hai showed a number of redeeming qualities including loyalty, selflessness, and thier own brand of honor.

[@BMarie774]

I hope this guy know how well he did with this. I genuinely didn’t realize I sat here for 40 minutes. And that’s entirely due to this guy being such a story teller that I become terribly engaged in what he’s saying.

[@F3dd]

makes sense, he is an actual professor regarding this subject it is his job to tell these stories. His lectures are available on youtube if you want to listen more

[@user-rt6rb2tr4g]

@@F3dd well my professor can’t keep my attention for 5min and this dude did it for 40min

[@Jonnell01]

@@F3dd He'd be a great professor

[@nonachyourbusiness1164]

He's talking about something he knows well and is passionate about

[@lodevijk]

Whoa, same here. I thought this was a 10 minute video

[@terciodeflandes97]

"in the hobbit, Gandalf is a dude who's a professional wizard" *Gandalf, professional street wizard*

[@sternis1]

Do not take him for a conjurer of cheap tricks!

[@MrSmithers]

@@sternis1 but do take him for a conjuror of cheap drinks, amirite boyys!?

[@nickolausafon5458]

I think you’re talking about my homie, Rad. He knows the path to the mushrooms.

[@Nyagee]

@@MrSmithers 😆

[@ciamciaramcia99]

So kinda like Harry Dresden.

[@Max2ds]

Can you imagine just how much, time, effort, and creativity it would take to write a book series expansive and deep enough that you revolutionize an entire genre of media? Or how such writings warrant professorial studies of them? Tolkien was one of a kind, that’s for sure

[@ericmm6822]

Revolutionize a genre and / or create entire genres. I can't imagine there would be a dungeons and dragons with LotR. Fantasy w/out Tolkien feels sparse.

[@rokeYouuer]

Two of a kind. You can't forget William Shakespeare.

[@lucasholmberg5708]

I thought he was just a conjurer of cheap tricks :O

[@FormulaVase-kp3dc]

Feels like he did it on accident

[@davideberhardt6150]

The man dedicated most of this life to this mythology and all the books & stories. And when he died, his son Christopher took it on him to edit & release all the unreleased texts including all the letters. He also drew all the maps for his father's books. That's how much time and effort it took.

[@sarahwalker419]

I know it was just released, but could this please become a series? This is absolutely phenomenal and he did a brilliant job discussing the intricate mythology Tolkien created.

[@asmith1022]

He has a podcast that's just as good.

[@dirtypure2023]

Second this.

[@nickpalazzo6585]

Search for the Signum University KZbin channel. You'll find a ton of his stuff.

[@asmith1022]

@The foam Farmer The Tolkien Professor pretty much on every platform or has its own website. Or you can try searching signum University

[@laurahill9643]

@The foam Farmer The Tolkien Professor is easily in my top 10 favorite podcasts ever.

[@sindre.]

Me at the beginning: Almost 40min? PAH! Yeah right. Me at the end: Wait...why is it so short??

[@laurahill9643]

Welcome to the glory that is the Tolkien Professor. His podcast is amazing.

[@ceezb5629]

Facts

[@fie97]

We need more. There alot of things in my head that i want to ask

[@PieterAdriaanvanderWalt]

But for real though.

[@leonstrand329]

Hes in the middle of analyzing Lotr paragraph to paragraph and gives an hour and a half lecture about each paragraph

[@user-kx1le7yn1k]

"Sauron has an airforce too" I like that explanation the best

[@RantingThespian]

Yeah, people seem to forget that. Also, if a fire breathing dragon could be killed by one man, a flock of eagles would be nothing to Sauron. Plus, the Eagles would have most likely been corrupted and weighed down by the ring the closer they got to Mordor. They probably would have started fighting each other, just like every other creature did.

[@ludvig3242]

@@RantingThespian Would they? I mean they're more than just birds; they're spirits that serve the god of the air, or more specifically, Manwë. It also depends on which kind of dragons you mean, they can easily take down fell-beasts (as seen in the battle at the black gate) but I'm not sure if you would consider those dragons or not.

[@RantingThespian]

@@ludvig3242 Fellbeasts are not considered dragons, both by J RR Tolkien or Christopher Tolkien. Plus, Smaug was considered the last of the real great dragons. By the end of the third age, the dragons of the Elder Days were over. The lesser ones like Cold Drakes, and other Worms may have survived, but Fellbeasts are not included even in their ranks. They do not have scales, can't talk, had low intelligence,and were more like a bat and featherless bird hybrid. They were raised by Sauron in Mordor just for the Nazgul. Now, as for the ring corrupting the Eagles, keep in mind there is only 1 creature known not to be affected by the ring, Tom Bombadil (and no one knows why). Gandalf wouldn't even touch it because he knew it would corrupt him, and Sarumon was even passively corrupted. It's safe to assume that the Valar were also able to be corrupted. If so, their servants were definitely able to be corrupted. Even Sam was tempted slightly by the ring. Maybe the kindest creature to ever walk Arda was tempted! Lastly, yes the Eagles were servants of Manwe, but like the Valar and Maiar, they were individual creatures and could say no or refuse orders. Gwaihir was reluctant to even take Gandalf in FOTF any further than Rohan. They were even a little annoyed in the Hobbit. Also, a massive volley of arrows, many fellbeasts, trebuchets, and more would hinder the Eagles. They had no protection like Scales or Armor, so a well shot volley of arrows is a massive issue. Yes they were mighty servants of Manwe and were highly intelligent, but their bodies were still flesh and blood, so they could be slain like any other creature in Middle-Earth.

[@malcolmmacinnis247]

sauron has black air force energy

[@ludvig3242]

@@RantingThespian Ah, okay, cool, Thanks for the in-depth response. :D

[@RyuuNoSenshi]

I absolutely love the lord of the rings but all of the mythology and history and things that happen in the silmarillion have been difficult for me to really grasp and memorize, but the way this man brings it, I can just feel myself beginning to finally grasp it. The way he talks and explains is amazing

[@mmathulosejake]

Same.

[@DangeHD]

He has the gift of telling complex storys in a way that most people can understand it. Especially Tolkiens universe is complex and full of names and hard to explain, so much that i think Tolkien wouldn´t be able to explain these stories as understandable as Cory does because he has to be really deep in the lore to come up with all that.

[@connormccool3596]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/emrVe3uYYtepj9E

[@johns1625]

Listening to the audiobook rather than reading the Silmarillion really helps a lot with that.

[@greengoblinhunter]

felt like i was back in english class taking notes on important points and lore lol

[@spencer6207]

Forty minutes of nerding out on LOTR? Yes please!

[@TheIgisas]

Heck yeah dude!

[@thewarrior4724]

Its not nerding out, its simple information, backed up with canon proof and reasoning in relation to real world historic mythology. Its the same way you would explain science based R and D.

[@thewarrior4724]

@Юлия Карпенко stop.

[@kirmegaming8950]

The Warrior محارب thats nerding out

[@dsmdgold]

You should look up Corey Olsen's podcasts. He's probably over 1000 hours of nerding out about Tolkien. One of his ongoing projects is an in depth reading of the LotR. He's on Session 148, and has made it to the middle of The Council of Elrond. Each session is about 2 hours long.

[@jackiechan5486]

so basically Gandalf just carrying the world on his shoulders while the other four wizards do God knows what

[@alexwillis2381]

Saruman was the one carrying the world until he fell to the Shadow.

[@neg8899]

and the other two wizards found a funny mushroom and went im blue dabadee

[@Axle-F]

What’s a man to a god?

[@squeaky1963]

@@Axle-F what is a god to a non believer

[@evenstar4076]

​@@squeaky1963 What is a man without God? Nothing. In fact, that's exactly what Nihilism means.

[@NorthernRidesYaBoi]

Saruman the White: A powerful wizard who took a great fall to become one of Sauron's ultimate forces Gandalf the Grey: An embodiment of hope and morality for the people, who finds himself as the angel of that which is good Radagast the Brown: shrooms 👁👄👁

[@IveGotToast]

The Blue Wizards: ...

[@uvindukulathunga3860]

Blue wizards be like ________________ Actually Radagast is more senior than those blue ones

[@matthewmoore4778]

Tom: enternal immortal stoned out his mind hippie

[@matheussanthiago9685]

@@matthewmoore4778 that is my version of heavenly afterlife

[@annaa1773]

Lol Gandalf also "took a fall" in the mines of Moria which lead to him becoming an even greater wizard...

[@uroghai3439]

Tolkien never did settle on the Orcs' origin, though. He kept revising it because it was theologically problematic for him to have a race that was wholly evil by nature. Also, the Oathbreakers' ghosts didn't fight at the battle of the Pelennor fields, that's a movie-only thing. In the books, they don't really fight at all, but they terrify the Corsairs of Umbar into abandoning their ships, so that Aragorn, Gimli, Legolas, and the Grey Company can sail them up the Anduin to save the day.

[@eirikkvalbein1568]

Yes! Was looking for this comment:)

[@dunhamb]

Get this man back to talk about specific characters in the books.

[@laurahill9643]

The Tolkien Professor podcast, and Signum University/Mythgard University podcasts and YT channels are glorious. He does have a series that goes a couple chapters at a time through the Hobbit, and a podcast that chapter by chapter goes through the Silmarillion.

[@jnsedillo]

@@laurahill9643 Thank you for sharing! I'm gonna check it out

[@swara4704]

i NEED an episode on the feanorions

[@longjohnlongdong4692]

This fella needs his own channel I could listen to him talk about life for hours.

[@StoneBlack10]

Look up Signum University channel, there are literally hundreds of hours of this guy talking about Tolkien

[@EzeK5]

@@StoneBlack10 thank you🙏🏽

[@EzeK5]

@@StoneBlack10 thank you🙏🏽

[@clinetalbo]

Fun fact: Tolkien's spiders may have been inspired by an encounter he had with a large spider as a boy in South Africa.

[@FartBox_BeatBox]

South Africa has some beautiful tarantula species. Look up Harpactira pulchripes, it's my favorite tarantula that I own.

[@NorokVokun]

@@FartBox_BeatBox Same. Mine is only a tiny 2cm bodylenght (3.7cm diagonal legspan) sling (baby spider basically), and she (I hope) is already such a beautifull specimen.

[@loriburnip]

@@FartBox_BeatBox Nope. Nope. Nope. I love all other animals, bugs etc.. but spiders? Soooo much nope. I got bit by a jumping spider on the tip of my finger as a kid (I was trying to pet it cuz it was fuzzy like a Caterpillar) & it hurt so much that it gave me lifelong arachnophobia. Especially with black or dark grey spiders like jumping spiders & wolf spiders. Gives me the heebie jeebies just thinking about it. Any thoughts on how someone could combat their arachnophobia?

[@twiggy1253]

@@loriburnip I have to say I hate centipedes more than spiders

[@ham7357]

Fun fact: oh he saw a spider and that inspired the thought of it??!!! Wow! I wonder what inspired him to write about eagles or horses!Stfu you sound like an idiot

[@D.S.handle]

This is much more than every race in Middle-Earth explained. This is history of Middle-Earth.

[@JohnnyZenith]

There is a lot more than mentioned here.

[@Divinemakyr]

@@JohnnyZenith Okay captain obvious.

[@sumanadasawijayapala5372]

@The Central Scrutinizer Even more glaringly, he left out the Haradrim and Easterlings- the Men of Darkness. Was this because of the racist tropes involved?

[@yaemiko8571]

@@sumanadasawijayapala5372 coz they are essentially human

[@sumanadasawijayapala5372]

@@yaemiko8571 But at virtually no time did they fight against Morgoth or Sauron. At the end of the Third Age they were Sauron's principal allies and nearly brought down Gondor.

[@EslamAbdo1919]

the richness, the complexity, the completeness .. just WOW

[@JohnnyZenith]

There's loads more than this.

[@kotarojujo2737]

and this is only the surface

[@gestaltdude]

If memory serves, in The Silmarillion, the creation of the Ent are in fact tied to the creation of the Dwarves. After Eru confronts Aule about his dwarves and, as was pointed out in the video, makes them part of the song, Aule tells Yavanna (I think) what happened. While initially pleased her husband's new toys weren't destroyed, Yavanna becomes worried about what effect they were going to have on her own creations, as she created all the trees and plants, etc. She can only see everything she made being destroyed by Dwarves and Men, and goes to Eru to plead for her creation to have some protection. She comes back all smug, and tells Aule that his children will have to watch for the guardians of her creation, which I have always taken to mean the Ents. I could be wrong, of course.

[@SantomPh]

Yavanna is afraid for the trees, which cannot defend themselves against all the children of Illuvatar. She begs Manwe for help and is told that Manwe has granted the Eagles, but that her trees are not high enough for them. In the forests will walk the Shepherds of the Trees instead (the Ents). Yavanna initially celebrates the Eagles' arrival but is put in her place by Manwe.

[@adityabhalekar3506]

you're right. She goes to Manwe as Olvar cannot defend themselves

[@incanusolorin2607]

Then Yavanna returned to Aulë; and he was in his smithy, pouring molten metal into a mould. 'Eru is bountiful,' she said. 'Now let thy children beware! For there shall walk a power in the forests whose wrath they will arouse at their peril.' She’s so badass!

[@MrChickennugget360]

@@incanusolorin2607 and Aulë replies: my children will still need firewood and continues working.

[@incanusolorin2607]

@@MrChickennugget360 Yeah, his response is pretty badass too. They are a very cool couple.

[@vicc19]

I love the development of dwarves. Galadriel giving her hair to Gimli is one of my favourite scenes specially because of the backstory.

[@thesylance]

Legolas smirk when Gimli tells him that he got three strands.... Absolutely fantastic!

[@nick_trains_dogs]

I doubt this holds any significance and that galadriel gives strands of hair to anyone that asks

[@vicc19]

@@nick_trains_dogs uh. You're wrong.

[@thesylance]

@@vicc19 dont feed the troll!

[@nick_trains_dogs]

@@vicc19 that's why it's funny🤣

[@getreal2977]

Timestamps: 0:00 Intro 1:33 Elves 6:02 The Ainur (Valar, Ainur and Maiar) 12:13 Men (Numenor) 15:57 Eagles 17:59 Balrog 18:58 Dwarves 22:09 Orcs (Uruk-hai and Goblins) 25:15 Dragons 26:11 Werevolves & Wargs 27:22 Hobbits 29:27 Trolls 30:32 Giants & Ents 33:03 Giant Spiders 34:02 Sauron & Evil Spirits 38:23 Summary BTW: A doctor in what?

[@SNWWRNNG]

He has a PhD (doctorate) in medieval literature, as far as I know.

[@jaguar_8344]

SnowWarning history, and a lower degree in mythology. Pretty sure he also worked as a journalist too, so he’s like mega smart

[@Ardyotha]

he's a tolkien professor, he teach tolkien literature in a real university

[@Nyagee]

This is great! Thanks 🤗

[@AntonAdelson]

He explained in his other video that Tolkien was very specific in calling them Dwarfs, not Dwarves. FAIL, Wired!

[@TomWylde]

The coolest thing, that made me see how much language inspired Tolkein, is that, because I'm a Welsh speaker, when I heard Legolas and Aragorn talking in Elvish to each other, it SOUNDED like I should understand it, almost like the sounds were sounds I understood, but the sentences were all mixed up and made no sense. Very cool stuff

[@snakehunter2.072]

I'm not Welsh but I speak 6 different languages and I have to agree. It is allmost like the languages have a familliarity to them. It just sounds right.

[@deaguirrrock]

back when i read these, i was in middle school and read somewhere that the elvish language was based on Welsh and Finnish? i think? I've always wanted to learn Welsh since then!

[@nathenbosher1067]

Theres only so many noises you can make with your mouth

[@JesusFriedChrist]

Havo dad, Legolas

[@SantomPh]

Sindarin, the language of the Sindarin Elves (Legolas' people) was based on Welsh. Quenya, the language of High Elves like Galadriel is based on Finnish.

[@evanb1470]

Gandalf straight up stole the parties XP in the mines of Moria....

[@luciferfn]

"Tom Bombadil is a strange character, he's clearly one of the ainur" wellll... let's not open up that can of worms. XD

[@calebklingerman7902]

Yeah… I don’t think we can say he is “clearly” anything

[@realitynowassigned]

Yes it would be difficult to argue with an expert

[@luciferfn]

@@realitynowassigned I’m not saying he is wrong. But this is a topic that Tolkien scholars have been debating for a long time and over long articles and essays, so it is definitely not a ‘clear’ answer.

[@ExtraVictory]

@@calebklingerman7902 this might shock you. But the expert was definitely right lol. There's no way bombadil can be anything else based on how he's described. He just can't be. He predates everything everyting else.

[@redxriotyt9164]

He is eru iluvatar that is why he does not intervene

[@r01d2]

when you think Tolkien is the peak of a storywriter, a superhuman among writers, he see the whole Middle Earth in day one, he actually writing all his book like a normal person, he also struggle and progressively perfecting his world. keep writing

[@odoggow8157]

ur an idiot

[@jrpipik]

If only he'd had a word processor! He wouldn't have had to write everything out long hand over and over, cut up manuscripts to create edited versions, and then type (or hire someone to type) it all out. Maybe then he'd have published The Silmarillion in his lifetime as he envisioned it.

[@prcervi]

I'd say prachett is a writer more to aspire to be, tolkien has lore burying you up to the neck but prachett has world and people that live and breath far easier and have more accessible depth

[@johanna7254]

I'll never understand people who don't respect the fantasy genre. It's okay not to like it, but to dismiss it is ridiculous, especially when you find out how much time, effort and imagination go into creating such a story. Great video!

[@rosyidharyadi7871]

Especially for Tolkien's. He was really serious about building his imaginary world. Its history, geography, languages, writing system... just awesome.

[@meeds7473]

I agree completely, but there is a lot of awful fantasy out there which I think is what taints people's perceptions of it.

[@Christopher-md7tf]

I think that's exactly what many people find ridiculous, putting that much time and thought into elves, dwarves, orcs etc.

[@harbl99]

Because of Sturgeon's Law. The inevitable '90% of trash' is misunderstood as being all there is to the form. The sublime highlights become lost in the background noise of imitators, also-rans, and never-weres.

[@avenderiel]

Well, Tolkien isn´t the norm. So much trash in the fantasy genre. A lot of the most popular fantasy series are incredibly bad. Lot of low-effort copypaste out there.

[@112steinway]

Cirdan the Shipwright when seeing Gandalf for the first time: "Congratulations, you're the only one capable of actually doing your job."

[@TrulyMadlyShallowly]

The fact that in order to create his languages, Tolkien needed to give them a history - when I first read this, in his Letters, it hit me like a brick. It's a beautiful insight and truth that has been crucially important to my understanding of both history and language.

[@Madmij]

I like the idea of Melkor getting fed up with this beautiful choir of creation and deciding to interrupt with a vuvuzela. 😂

[@lorenzobellachioma8160]

let's face it: Melkor is to the middle earth what rock and roll was to the '60s

[@alexanderbenkendorf688]

His music is actually described in Simlarillion much like rock/pop/electronic beats in a middle of a classical concert. He was a DJ! :)

[@valkeakirahvi]

I've always liked to imagine Melkor as the guy who wanted to create his own thing and not just listen to the orders. One interesting thing is that we never actually hear what the orcs, or the men serving Melkor and Sauron think about them. Maybe they were actually supporting diversity in other things as well, and they followed them because they thought they were actually the better choise?

[@zisforziggens]

....a didgeridoo.

[@zachallan7545]

Bet he was a French supporter... his 2010 introduction to the vuvuzela gave his idea to stop the creation.

[@Plekhanov2000]

When I see the Ents attack, I always think, "Run Forest, run."

[@blcollier]

Underrated comment.

[@starcke9071]

I tree what you did there.

[@wirly-]

@@starcke9071 bad pun, please leaf

[@wirly-]

Just kidding we should stick to making puns and grow a tree-pun community.

[@wirly-]

It will be very fruitful.

[@eduleal]

This is great in so many levels. Great summary, level of detail is just right, images are awesome, music is nice. If you’ve read everything and just wants a bit of an all encompassing recap, this is incredible.

[@Mothyave]

"Morgoth's research and development department", I-

[@hunnitbaehunnitbae8804]

ngl, I died at that part

[@pinkywinky911]

Yep same 🤣

[@lindawest5403]

Man I’m tryna cook some chicken thighs for dinner and this dude has got me INTO this story

[@gear6881]

I'm imagining a group of orcs with white lab coats and nerd glasses holding clipboards

[@AmazingJayB51]

That was one of the best things he said. In the Two Towers movie, Suramon says it's a era of industrialization.

[@bradyweed4124]

The mythology of Middle-earth is Gorgeous. “The Music of the Ainur”, “The Valar”, “Eru Illuvatar” god I love it

[@JesusFriedChrist]

It’s really something eh.

[@XSilver_WaterX]

Its basically Christianity but on less corrupt themes.

[@BBBrasil]

I like the philology, Ainulindalë, Valaquenta, Akalabêth e Quenta Silmarillion.

[@incanusolorin2607]

@@XSilver_WaterX And without anyone actually believing it’s real, which is the biggest turn-off of real life religions lol

[@CGoody5642]

Frankly, the mythology behind middle earth and the untold stories are far more interesting than any of the stories that were actually written taking place in middle earth, which is a shame really.

[@elimoody9626]

“So the are a really important part of Tolkien’s mythology.”

[@MrSmithers]

"Yeah, you never really think about how much impact the world around them."

[@Alizudo]

Except the Dwarves. They have no lore, no art, no culture, and no history to speak of. They were created, then thousands of years of silence, then Gimli. That's it.

[@wtrmute]

@@Alizudo Except for Nogrod, which traded with the Noldor in Beleriand, and whose dwarves eventually went on to kill Thingol; Zirak Zigil and Telchar, who forged Nauglamír (Thingol's necklace) and Narsil (Isildur's sword, later reforged into Aragorn's Andúril); Belegost, which was also famous for its craftsmanship and whose lord, Azaghâl, wounded Glaurung, the First Dragon, during the War of the Jewels. Also, the tales about the dwarves in the Lonely Mountain and in Khazad-dûm. The thing is that the Dwarves ended up being something of an analogue of the Jews in Middle-Earth; and like the Jews during most of our history, suffered a lot of prejudice and became insular and clannish as a result. The Dwarves did not even like speaking their own language in front of strangers, and took up nicknames for themselves so as not to reveal their true Khuzdul names to the other races. So naturally comparatively little gets recorded about them compared to Men and Elves, but hardly "thousands of years of silence."

[@Alizudo]

@@wtrmute Between the forging of Narsil and the loss of Khazad-dûm, there is nearly 3,000 years of no word. Yee, they do have SOME history, but you could list every single known achievement of the dwarves on a bulleted list. The elves quite literally required Tolkien to write an entire book just to talk about how awesome and perfect they are.

[@wtrmute]

@@Alizudo Not at all; between the forging of Narsil andthe loss of Khazad-dûm, there is the war between Nargrond and Doriath, then its abandonment, the abandonment of Belegost, then indeed very little before the abandonment of Khazad-dûm. I am not sure whether the Lonely Mountain was colonized before or after the fall of Moria, which might make into this period, or not. But anyway we have very little news of the Second Age in general. Of course, I am ready to agree that we have far more written about the Elves than about the Dwarves; the former are the Firstborn of Ilúvatar, while the latter are merely the children of Aulë. It is impossible to compare the two. That being said, "there is no news of them between the Seven Fathers of the Dwarves and Gimli" is quite the hyperbole, and that is all I am objecting to.

[@thereslikenoway]

whoever edited this beautiful video is a wonderful person and i love them

[@skeptale]

I wish I was as passionate about anything as this guy is about Tolkein.

[@chris1z142]

The Rambunctious Riolu no way, gotta dox urself to prove it

[@kerzariz8717]

@@riol2_ your dad is amazing.

[@dirtypure2023]

@@riol2_ Exposing personal information online. It usually occurs with malicious intent unfortunately.

[@chris1z142]

dirty pure FYI not in this case lol, genuinely curious but you probably shouldn’t do it lol

[@nickpalazzo6585]

@skeptile He is actually the president of a university that focuses on Tolkien scholarship.

[@Aristaeuss]

This is like the friendly version of the Silmarillion, which I love but it's definitely hard to read

[@monsieurcondottiero2685]

Silmarillion was like the most disappointing book ever. I remember reading LOTR as a youngster and was feenin for more, and it did like nothing to inspire me and make me feel and enrapture me. I guess that’s what happens when you just publish a bunch of crib notes after the author dies, but honestly idk why that book is so hyped up.

[@Sea-qv4sd]

@@monsieurcondottiero2685 it’s the Middle Earth bible essentially. I personally would never read it, I loved the world, the not enough to become an Ardaologist

[@valkeakirahvi]

Silmarillon was my favourite book as a kid lol

[@mercyjinn]

Oh yeah, I had to power through it for a bit. I learned to read it like a history book instead of a fairytale. I ended up really enjoying it by the time I finished.

[@VincentTamer]

I believe the point of that book was for others to read and refer to if they were to make stories within Arda themselves. A Story Masters guide so to speak.

[@PrashantSingh-nd8vu]

Professor Cory Olsen is such a great storyteller himself. I have been watching his various videos on Tolkien’s mythology & time just passes away. Thinking about Tolkien, I can only assume the kind of awe he must have generated on the budding writers and fantasy enthusiasts of his time. He was a revolutionary & his ideas perhaps makes him one of the most influential people of all time.

[@robertbeecroft5570]

I love your passion for telling the story! I don’t feel like I’m listening to a lecture, but somebody telling me stories by a fire. Excellent presentation!

[@ABuffaloDub]

Man I’m tryna cook some chicken thighs for dinner and this dude has got me INTO this story

[@ajadomonique]

Dave how’d the chicken thighs come out??

[@melanieszelong4664]

I am also cooking chicken and caught up in his presentation

[@ABuffaloDub]

Ája Domonique I mean, I crushed em.

[@ajadomonique]

@@ABuffaloDub 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👍🏽 im happy they weren't ruined.. the video was very engaging

[@aayushivasnik]

Same with me now

[@haydenolberding1925]

Cory Olsen has a podcast "class" on spotify (and elsewhere) going through the Lord of the Rings trilogy. It has more than 140 episodes. His series is called 'Exploring the Lord of the Rings'. It is on KZbin as well. Please look it up if you're a lotr nerd.

[@Coolcoolcoolcoolcool7]

Thanks a lot! I'm huge Lotr nerd 😊.

[@aesir1ases64]

Colbert said recently that he listen to every episode, now thats a real fan!

[@warhawkjah]

“The breeding of orcs and men does not bear thinking about...”

[@mrbacchus6127]

Unless you are into some weird and kinky stuff

[@butchjohnson9736]

Rule 34

[@turnereddie]

@@butchjohnson9736 The only rule is that you don't talk about fight club.

[@GalaxyPedlar]

The internet has already thought about it.

[@africanchick23]

mpreg

[@mp7scarh]

As I’m reading the Silmarillion now, I’m finding it extremely helpful to constantly refer to the maps and family trees as much as possible! Every other page I’ll flip back to make sure my understanding is correct

[@Stiggandr1]

I wish Wired had included more of Ungoliant. Her story is brutally awesome.

[@kevinba6633]

Exactly! I do realize over half an hour of video on KZbin is already quite the risky bet, but there's so much more to say about Ungoliant 🥰

[@RantingThespian]

One of my favorite characters ... and one of my most feared (arachnophobic here). I love how she (most likely) came to her end. Traveling south to the Far Harad desserts, and became so hungry that she ate herself.

[@elizabethclover2230]

Also missed opportunity for Melkor, the original Spider rider.

[@ConvictedFelon2024]

Yeah, and he should've at least mentioned Shelob by name, considering she was Ungoliant's greatest (and most well-known) offspring...

[@ericstoverink6579]

One error. In the book, the dead men of Dunharrow don't fight at Pellenor fields. They help Aragorn and the Grey Company fight the Corsairs in the south. They are released then. Aragorn is then able to bring Gondor's Southern armies to Minas Tirith.

[@nathanliteroy9835]

There's another one. Orcs being corrupted Elves - it mentioned either as a rumor, or was an early version. In final version of the myths they were corrupted humans, or orc-human hybrids. So Saruman's mixing up of Orcs with humans is the second or third mixing up done

[@asmith1022]

He definitely just misspoke, he obviously meant Pelargir. Suprised it made it through editing.

[@mariolovo3209]

I think he meant Pelargir, but also he could have said it so people who have only seen the movies would understand a little bit more

[@samhunt7113]

That’s not an error. Corrupted elves is the published origins story. Other versions of the story, including orc origins as Maiar are up for debate of course.

[@joekerr9197]

@@samhunt7113 It is an error. Silmarillion was published by JRR's son Christopher who later admitted he should've never done that. This is the reason why years later he published almost all of the material in the History of ME in 12-13 volumes.

[@thedick009]

"Morgoth cannot create a sentient species" "So Morgoth created dragons..."

[@markmiranda9461]

My thought exactly. I’m guessing he took already existing creatures and cross breaded them to make dragons?

[@paulraines9635]

So, what disturbed part of Eru's mind did Ungoliant crawl out of?

[@skynyrdjesus]

@@paulraines9635 Well, it's fairly clear, or at least as clear as the Silmarillion ever gets, that Ungoliant was a part of Arda before the Ainur descended. Ungoliant is very much the personification of primal hunger in the world, so the most likely explanation would be that it was a product of the original song being twisted by Melkor and his splinter choir. Not exactly intended, but still the product of Eru

[@rockenrollern]

The most likely thing imo is that Morgoth created the bodies of the dragons and put powerful spirits (ainur) into those bodies. We know that ainur in incarnate form can reproduce.

[@esotericbrain2689]

@Sasuke pizza Kitten almost, but not quite. The barrow wights were kings of ancient times that fell in the wars of the north when the witch king destroyed Arnor and founded Angmar, and it is the witch king who gave their ghosts power. Watch the Geek Zone video on this. He does a really good job.

[@phillise1]

I've got a question: I've got an old edition of the Hobbit. On the map of Mirkwood, it shows two villages of Woodmen. As a child, I thought that the woodmen were lumberjacks. Then I thought Beorn was one of them, but he lived on the edge of Mirkwood, not in it. So who were the woodmen and what were they doing in Mirkwood?

[@calebcrook5875]

Honestly I'm just trying to wrap my head around Tolkein's stories and how amazing they all are.

[@Erik-um1zn]

I can't say definitively, but the Woodmen on your map may have been some of the people the goblins were planning to attack when met the wargs and almost captured Bilbo, the dwarves, & Gandalf. Beorn may have been related to the these woodmen, though he was a special case being a were-bear. His descendants ruled over a group of men in the area called Beornings.

[@phillise1]

@@Erik-um1zn There was a line in there about the goblins thinking that there was "a battle with the woodmen" when the wargs had Bilbo and the dwarves treed.

[@Thelaretus]

They were descendants of Gondor's attempted colonisation of Rhovanion.

[@ZemplinTemplar]

Tolkien implies the Woodmen are just another people of the overall Northmen that live in the northern and central parts of Rhovanion. The One Ring RPG actually elaborated on them as a smaller but pretty important local culture.

[@angieliang8475]

I don’t know why but just hearing the word “hobbits” and hearing about them just puts a smile on everyone’s faces

[@AlisonBryen]

Same. If I were to belong to a race of Middle Earth, I would most certainly be a Hobbit.

[@zachallan7545]

They are the jolliest of fellows... “hobbit” among many has a modern meaning of complete peace and ignorant bliss. Everyone talks about Valinor but, the shire is where it’s at.

[@AlisonBryen]

@@zachallan7545 Here's to peace and quiet and good tilled earth 🌻

[@margauxf4321]

Gollum would like a word...

[@fofofoey]

For the next 1000 years, Tolkien would be talked about alongside Homer.

[@grapefantagd7268]

What has he got to do with the Simpson?

[@user-ix1rp9ff3p]

@@grapefantagd7268 the Greek poet you idiot

[@chainmbl4257]

@@grapefantagd7268 can't tell if you are being sarcastic

[@WillGrayCoopcontrol]

That was a major r/woosh

[@daddyclaus1517]

@@user-ix1rp9ff3p You sure he's the idiot?

[@robertesensee3494]

The best video I have ever seen about the history the races in Middle Earth. WELL DONE!

[@Sam-rb1sj]

This dude’s passion makes listening to him so easy. 40 minutes went by in a flash!

[@-laurel]

Excuse me as I watch this 50 more times to have it cemented in my memory. This is a video I didn't know I needed!! So fascinating!

[@dirtypure2023]

ThePhilosophersGames is a fantastic channel for deep Tolkien lore. Check out his playlist where he goes in depth into all the lore surrounding every scene in the movies (in meticulous detail). He's up to 20 of those videos about half an hour each, and he's only made it to the Weathertop scene in Fellowship of the Ring lol. Good stuff.

[@-laurel]

@@dirtypure2023 Wow, thanks so much for sharing that!!

[@dirtypure2023]

@@-laurel Welcome! :)

[@bookworm4174]

If you enjoyed this, you've got to check out Professor Olsen's ongoing "Exploring The Lord of the Rings" series. You can catch it live almost every Tuesday on Signum University's twitter, Discord, and Twitch.

[@phiology1983]

Nerding out to LOTR history during the pandemic, yes please!

[@PleaseNThankYou]

I've become a scholar in just 6 months myself, thank you very much.

[@HiaimKat]

The fact that Tolkien wrote a whole fantastical story for his children will always make me smile. Taking bed time stories to a whole new level. ❤

[@TheMockAgenda]

Awesome video. Very comprehensive!

[@datsushi9404]

I would have liked a bit on Easterlings, haradrims, mûmakil, corsairs, but come to think of it I feel like these missed out races are more a testament to the expansiveness of Tolkien’s universe than they are to any incompetencies in the video. Nonetheless, great video ! !

[@hazanaimon6458]

Too bad they are all made to be evil worshippers of Malkor

[@countiblis1246]

@@hazanaimon6458 Chanting Melkoru Akbah in their little mosques is a bit of a giveaway.

[@umbrellashotgunman]

@@hazanaimon6458 Actually, by the end, Tolkien had actually decided that the Blue Wizards were actually successful in convincing the Men of the East and South to rebel against Sauron, enough so that only a part of the full Easterling/Haradrim armies were able to sent West.

[@incanusolorin2607]

But they are all Men (except the Mumakil, of course).

[@angieliang8475]

You can tell how enthusiastic Mr. Olsen is during this video, I love it!!

[@aleanapineda882]

“Tolkien almost always gives everybody two names.” True

[@ravendon]

Nice video, which covered every race. Only thing really missing is Beorn and his race.

[@SantomPh]

Beorn is human.

[@Neenerella333]

Having read the Silmarillion, this guy really helped clear up the time of the wars between Numenor and the Elves. I got a little battle fatigue, trying to keep everyone clear.

[@melanieszelong4664]

I did too, so I took notes for myself to keep everyone straight (it didn't help one family had names that started with the same letter or syllable). It's also why I only read The Silmarillion every other year. Give the noggin a rest.

[@factbeaglesarebest]

It’s definitely a harder book to follow. I tend to reread it every now and then. It’s so much fun as things clear up more and more.

[@MySerpentine]

'And deep in their dark hearts the Orcs loathed the Master whom they served in fear, the maker only of their misery.'

[@factbeaglesarebest]

The foam Farmer no. Their masters. Their corrupters... Morgoth could not create only corrupt; only Eru Illuvitar can create. Therefore they despise morgoth and later Sauron but are corrupted with a darkness that prevents their disobeying.

[@sdramw]

This is such a well structured video, I’ve come to have an even deeper appreciation for Tolkine I think I’m going to end up re-reading all the books now because this video makes it all so much better Bless u professor!!!!!!!

[@pusheenbuttercup8319]

This is a great video! I just wanted to say, for the sake of those that can not hear; the CC says "ring raids"- I believe he might be saying "ring wraiths" :)

[@sydmoore6]

Interesting that Tolkien's world was created by song, and so was C.S. Lewis' -when Aslan sang to create Narnia.

[@caroline7420]

Tolkien and Lewis were best friends and frequently went on walks brainstorming and discussing their stories, so it makes sense that there are lots off scenes and details that mirror each other. (I love finding the little similarities sprinkled throughout the stories) Also another fun thing I've heard is that the only reason Lewis put the iconic lamp post in his story was because Tolkien told Lewis that a fictional story can't have a lamp post in it. Lewis also based The Professor on Tolkien and Tolkien based Treebeard on Lewis.

[@Spzmeador]

It may alludes to how they suppose God created the earth, through song.

[@adityabhalekar3506]

@@caroline7420 wait so tolkien's character brought evil in Narnia?

[@caroline7420]

@@adityabhalekar3506 no, not as far as I know. I really don't know enough about middle-earth to know the answer yet.

[@educationalporpoises9592]

You may be thinking of Uncle Andrew

[@SarahMacDonald1991]

Missed the guy that would turn into a bear.

[@unluckyseabird2888]

Beorn the skin changer. I was thinking the same thing!

[@samsunguser3148]

the beornings

[@ladyalaina42]

Beorn

[@raernian6026]

I think that would be included in the "variants of men" thing but yeah would have been nice to be mentioned specifically I think.

[@smccosby]

Came looking for this comment to make sure I wasn't crazy/missed it

[@chantaldespres2917]

I watched the movies countless time but I havent read The books so I really appreciated this video because it gave me a better understanding ouf The universe of Tolkien. Thanks !

[@MonarchsFactory]

I understand that this is 40 minutes long, but I can still tell they've edited you down in some places, and boy how I wish they wouldn't have

[@ElPsicoProfeta0993]

One thing I like a lot that wasn't mentioned is that Ents were created by Yavanna, after Aulë created the Dwarves.

[@incanusolorin2607]

Actually, they were created by Eru, after Yavanna complained that the Dwarves would mess up her creations.

[@Flash4ML]

Yep, she was worried about her own creations and asked Manwë if the trees could speak for all of the plants and things that grow, and so the Ents were born when the Elves arrived in Arda. In one of my favorite passages in the Silmarillion, she comes up to Aulë and basically goes, ha, now when your dwarves and all the other races cut down my trees they’ll have the wrath of the Ents to deal with! And Aulë answers, “Nonetheless they will have need of wood.” Basically he’s just like, yeah but they’re gonna need wood tho

[@nevealexa422]

this seriously made me cry multiple times : ) I cANT. I don't even know whyyyy I cried. just a mixture of the grandeur of the history of middle-earth and Tolkien's mythology. But also how well it was all explained. WOW. Tolkien's imagination and depth of thought is seriously unparalleled. How could anyone watch this and know the huge amount of complexities in his books and not agree?

[@martavdz4972]

Totally, this video is brilliant. And the Inklings basically changed the world by the combination of having fought in WW1, great imagination, intelligence, Christian faith, fascination with languages and mythology and most of all, the ability to be genuinely in awe of something.

[@amatsu-ryu4067]

Tolkien's world is just so amazing. We'll really never have another story quite like it.

[@juletaurus]

I enjoyed this VERY much! Thank you for many explanations and clarifications!

[@AnthonyBerkshire]

I hope Corey Olsen or any other respected Tolkien Prof is consulted by amazon for the new tLotR series.

[@D-A-K]

I heard Tom Shippey is on the case

[@AnthonyBerkshire]

Derek A. Kamal I hope so really bad

[@georgeharrison1559]

Apparently Tom shippy walked out. We dont know details but my gut is telling me that amazon will not do justice to Tolkien

[@martavdz4972]

@@biggy-t Totally agree.

[@SnailHatan]

@@biggy-t No. it’s not even going to be a remake like your “leave it alone” suggests. It’s a completely different era of middle earth that hasn’t been onscreen for more than a couple of minutes.

[@justkadeeja]

I've never seen these movies but his storytelling made it seem like a must watch/read.

[@imjooking7772]

Honestly one of my favorite stories ever. It is a must watch/read. But watch Lord of The Rings First

[@matthewreese7710]

I’m jooking no, read the hobbit first

[@Lemmywinks1989]

I am jealous you get to expierence it all for the first time!

[@illumin8748]

Why are you watching this video tho

[@wirly-]

@@matthewreese7710 he is jooking

[@Krejstrup]

Good content. Had a problem with the sound though, it was very low for most of the bit and when the ads got on they where SCREAMING! Well, I liked this video quite much, thank you.

[@blablabubles]

I appreciate the inclusion of a drawing of aenies fleeing troy when mentioning the fall of numinor. Good reference

[@dadudidedo]

I love how he refers bad creatures in middle earth as morgoth's products of research and development department it sounds like morgoth is a crazy scientist

[@aesir1ases64]

Yeah though that was what Morgoth was pretty much lol

[@ckpn4771]

YEP morgoth bad >:(

[@jeweltorkelson]

Lmao right

[@ImplodedAtom]

"Last night I dreamt I'd written The Lord of the Rings. Turns out I was just Tolkien in my sleep."

[@istvansipos9940]

once you've seen 1 shopping center, you've seen a mall

[@Ardyotha]

dude...

[@AlisonBryen]

I'd be lying if I said this didn't make me smile. 🙂

[@hisoka9478]

Love the story of Tom Bomabdill that got left out of the movies. The power of the ring had no effect on him. Great insight into Tolkien's mythology. Get this guy back!! And please add some graphs/maps or infographics here and there to help us visualize certain things.

[@jrsimeon02]

Thank you for posting this video! Very thorough and helpful!

[@someonedifferent198]

Beorn last of his line, was really hoping for a few words on that very interesting charter?! Loved the vid!! Thanks!!!

[@SantomPh]

Beorn was NOT the last of his line. His descendants the Beornings guard the Carrock which leads to the High Pass or to Erebor.

[@incanusolorin2607]

Beorn doesn’t really fit with the rest of the Legendarium. It’s one of the many inconsistencies found in The Hobbit, because Bilbo’s journey wasn’t originally part mythology.

[@legoman716]

I loved the inclusion of John Bauer's artwork in this video. The artist is actually born in my hometown of Jönköping, Sweden

[@aloron1174]

That was an amazing vid, absolutely loved it. Someone give this guy a medal.

[@AverytheCubanAmerican]

One WIRED to rule them all. New Zealand is so beautiful

[@derheadbanger9039]

I have watched several videos about this topic - but never has it been explained better!

[@Memu_]

This is without a doubt one of if not the best Lotr lore video. I have heard almost all of this before but never in a way where I could fully understand and remember it. This video made me finally understand the world.

[@anthony99900]

Honestly this is brilliant, Love the Mirkwood elves the most

[@zammyr6807]

I already like this and the video hasn't even started.

[@somerandomperson8135]

Same dude

[@SuperBC1975]

Concerning Hobbits and other races of Middle Earth: An overview.

[@TheIgisas]

Ayyyy

[@tahirakinci]

Concerning Hobbits and other races of Middle Earth: An overview of an overview :D

[@TheIgisas]

@@tahirakinci You got deep

[@tahirakinci]

@@TheIgisas I can go even deeper

[@TheIgisas]

@@tahirakinci Go on then. We are waiting.

[@DjordjeZutic]

keep in mind that when you read (or even watch) Lord of the Rings you are staring into one mans soul Its overwhelming

[@MotherAce]

I need to see this guy and Stephen Colbert talk together on a stage for 3-4 hours straight please. Make it happen!

[@masukuma]

That would be quite the treat

[@ChristofRomould]

colbert is too egotistical and arrogant, he wants all the attention on him like the coke head he is. he always interrupts his guests.

[@Sajirah]

I already knew all of this but I watched it anyway because I love anything Tolkien related.

[@alexandrasimon7191]

Same

[@el6700]

Yup same

[@EcceJack]

Same here. And honestly, I don't watch _much_ Wired stuff, and what I do watch is generally... fine, but with some gems in there, so I didn't quite know what to expect. Turns out, this was _definitely_ a gem!!

[@alexandermilner4248]

Ariel Hunt just about all in the Silmarillion. Still nice to hear again.

[@julwiezdeghorz5089]

You said it right

[@duygumdakiler]

Enjoyed this video. You forgot Beorns, whom I dearly love :) And the mythology is mostly based on Turkish mythology and Turkish ancient civilizations actually, wish you could be aware of this fact.

[@GleeChan]

It'd interesting to see a video explaining how C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien aped off each other to create their masterpieces. Like how they inspired this or that. I sort of feel their friendship is rather underplayed these days.

[@archiew1480]

As well as Roger Lancelyn Green with C.S .Lewis. who came up with the title the Chronicles of Narnia and convinced Lewis to write the lion, the witch and the wardrobe after Tolkien was less impressed by it

[@D-A-K]

“The Eagles are coming!” Me: 😭 😭😭

[@MrSmithers]

Me: 😏😏😏

[@bluecollar5384]

Me: Oh that looks like a cool video, I love Lord of the Rings! 38 minutes though.. That might be a bit long. I wish there was a 3 min version. Me 38 minutes later: Is there a 38 hour version of this 38 minute video? I'm asking for a friend.

[@williamnelson5549]

Wow this is an incredible video thank you for doing this.

[@Annatar_Lord_of_Gifts]

This is so well done Wired. Please keep this up with Dr. Olsen!

[@benlongwell5395]

I was at Washington College as a student with Dr. Olsen. His passion for literature is only matched by his hilariousness and just pure intelligence (he majored in literature and astrophysics at Williams...because why not?)

[@yalug3478]

Wow! The lore's so rich! Tolkien is so inspiring!

[@JohnnyZenith]

This only scratches the surface.

[@picardplays]

Lol i loved the random profile cuts! Really boosts production value! Seriously though, amazing content and very fluently explained

[@michellestewart4788]

There is a forward in one of the printings of Tolkien's other works (I forget which one) that talks about the "World Beyond the Tree". An artist creates a painting of a tree and loves it, but he has to go away and paint other things, then later in his life he realizes that he never abandoned the tree. He was, in fact, painting the world around the tree. It's such a beautiful thought about how things come together. And as a fellow creator who has to often leave my "tree" it's a comforting reminder that I have never abandoned it.