Middle-Earth Quiz!!

[Talanthiar]

When the Istari or Wizards appeared in Middle Earth, how many were there? Bonus to name all their names and colors.

[edwinunger]

Olorin/Gandalf the Grey
Curunir/Saruman the White
Aiwendil/Radagast the Brown
Morinehtar/Alatar the Blue
Romestamo/Pallando the (also) Blue

Five of them appeard in 1050 T.A.

Name the Orc who helped invent golf.

[jlemm]

Olorin/Gandalf the Grey
Name the Orc who helped invent golf.

Golfimbul, I believe is what you're talking about.

I can't think of a question right now, so the next person can go ahead and ask one.

[TheScyphozoa]

Okay, how about how did that Orc (or was he a goblin? oh well doesn't matter) help invent Golf? Who else was involved?

[LOTRFan101]

Okay, how about how did that Orc (or was he a goblin? oh well doesn't matter) help invent Golf? Who else was involved?

Bandrobas "Bullroarer" Took knocked his head off with a club... it flew through the air and landed in a hole. Golf was born.

What does the word snaga mean in Orcish?

[Womdon]

Slave.

Who was the lookout chosen by Thorin's company?

[Kanoroch]

Balin of course.

Glorfindel was the leader of what House of Gondolin?

[gradivus]

Glorfindel was the leader of what House of Gondolin?

House of the Golden Flower.

There is some controversy as to whether the Glorfindel of Gondolin is the same Glorfindel who later lived at Rivendell with Elrond during the events of Lord of the Rings. Gandolf seems to indicate in LotR that he is. The main problem with this theory is that the Glorfindel of Gondolin died in the final defense of that city.

Who was the mortal woman whose beauty had earned for her during her lifetime a surname that translates literally into modern English as "elf-maiden" or "beautiful elf maiden"?

Warning: I tried to make this one devilishly difficult, mostly by trying to form a question that would be extra difficult for those whose knowledge of Tolkien lore consists mainly of an expertise in using Google. If you're one of those, good luck trying to answer this one by googling "elf-maiden"!

[Arasilion]

Isn't it Nienor? Whatever her original name was...

And as for Glorfindel, Tolkien wrote in a letter that the "two Glorfindels" were one and the same. It is actually said that when Glorfindel came back to Earth, he was rewarded with such power that he was more closer to a Maia spirit than an Elf.

[gradivus]

No, not Niënor Níniel. This is a really tough one; you won't find it by looking in an index. You have to actually know the lore, plus (and this is a hint) you have to either know the elvish languages so well that you can interpret the meaning of Elvish names (it's not cheating to look in an elvish language dictionary, by the way), or know the ancient meanings of modern English words. There's a further hint I can give that will help, but then you might be able to find the answer merely by googling or looking in the Encyclopedia of Arda. Or... maybe not. Let me know when y'all want me to give you a hint.

And yes, Tolkien was determined to somehow reconcile the apparent impossibility of making the two Glorfindels one and the same, since he envisioned them as the same person. However, it was a stretch even for him, and he did have to resort to a deus ex machina explanation to do so. And not even in the text, but (as you say) in a letter. It's one thing to put resurrection into a myth, to apply it to beings of spiritual genesis like Gandolf, or to men or elves who are "on the other side" (in the Blessed Lands), but it's difficult to swallow the idea of one of the Children of Ilúvatar actually returning from the Halls of Mandos to Middle Earth, living in a house, and taking part in contemporary events, so it would have been difficult to have it given as a fact in the novel.

[Linwen]

It was Morwen, surnamed Edhelwen (elf-maiden), wife of Húrin and mother of Túrin and Nienor.

Morwen wasn't the only one of the family to be known by other names. What were some the names that Túrin used (or was known as)?

[gradivus]

It was Morwen, surnamed Edhelwen (elf-maiden), wife of Húrin and mother of Túrin and Nienor.

Excellent! I was afraid no one would get it. The text translates Edhelwen as Elfsheen, which can throw you off unless you know that sheen has an archaic English meaning of beautiful, and you remember that -wen is a Qenya suffix indicating daughter or maiden.

[edwinunger]

It was Morwen, surnamed Edhelwen (elf-maiden), wife of Húrin and mother of Túrin and Nienor.

Morwen wasn't the only one of the family to be known by other names. What were some the names that Túrin used (or was known as)?

Neithan - The Wronged
Gorthol - Dread Helm
Agarwaen, son of Umarth - Bloodstained, son of Ill-Fate
Adanadhel - Elf-Man
Mormegil - Black Sword
Turambar - Master of Doom

Not sure if that's all of them, I did some thumbing through the book to find them.

What is the name of Thorin's sword that the company finds in the hoard of the Trolls?

[Arasilion]

ACH! I was so close! Nienor was Morwen's daughter :-D

As for the Glorfindel thing, in Tolkien's original vision, Elves would be resurrected on a regular basis. I'm reading through the History of Middle-Earth series and somewhere in there it's stated that deceased Elves, after fulfilling their time of reflection in Mandos' halls, the Elves that deserved such a reward would be reborn as their children's children. This, obviously, was abandoned.

If Elves ever resurrected besides Glorfindel, it was never mentioned.


AS FOR THE PREVIOUS QUESTION'S ANSWER: Orcrist, yes?

[edwinunger]

Yes, Orcrist, the Goblin Cleaver, called Biter by the Goblins! Easy one, but not as easy as Glamdring would have been.

[Womdon]

No question's up so I'll jump in. Speaking of glamdring, who did Elrond state wielded it long ago?

----

The glorfindel thing does kind of surprise me. JRRT wasn't usually the kind of guy to leave an important detail hanging out there unexplained unless it suited him, such as Bombadil. I consider Glorfindel to be the original first age elf though. At the end of the day the Valar can do whatever they please, sending him back isn't that big of a deal.

There was another elf, though, that sent her spirit to the halls of the dead and came back out the other side with a body again. (Hmm, maybe I should have picked that as my question) She even had the wherewithal to bring a dead buddy of hers back with her

[Arasilion]

Turgon, the king of Gondolin?

[Womdon]

Aye, the king of Gondolin (although Elrond didn't name him it's pretty safe to assume that's who he meant)

[Arasilion]

There once was a giant evil cat who took the place of Sauron in Tolkien's original writing. What was its name?

[gradivus]

There was another elf, though, that sent her spirit to the halls of the dead and came back out the other side with a body again. (Hmm, maybe I should have picked that as my question) She even had the wherewithal to bring a dead buddy of hers back with her

That was Lúthien, who with her great love Beren took a Silmaril back from Morgoth, whom she was able to lull to sleep with the power/magic of her singing. Her musical talents were so great that, reminiscent of the myth of Orpheus, when her husband Beren died and she wasted away from grief and passed to the Halls of Mandos, she was able to move Mandos so greatly with her singing that he allowed her and Beren to return to life, and to Middle Earth. (Although at the moment I don't remember what Beren, being human, was doing in the Halls of Mandos in the first place. Did marrying Lúthien somehow get him turned into an elf? I don't recall.) There are many parallels between the story of Lúthien and Beren, and the story of Arwen and Aragorn.

As someone pointed out, there were other elves, etc. who returned from the dead. However, as I indicated earlier, with the (apparent) exception of Glorfindel, by the time of the events of Lord of the Rings those elves had already left the world (i.e., Middle Earth) and their stories had become myth.

(Since that wasn't your "main" question, I won't leave another.)

[Womdon]

There once was a giant evil cat who took the place of Sauron in Tolkien's original writing. What was its name?

Uhhhhh... no clue. Seriously? Giant evil cat?

[gradivus]

As for the Glorfindel thing, in Tolkien's original vision, Elves would be resurrected on a regular basis. I'm reading through the History of Middle-Earth series....

In answering (and posing) questions in this thread, I consider only the three "Middle Earth" works published during Tolkien's life (The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion) to be acceptable canon. Part of the reason for this may be that I haven't read, and don't have the time or patience to read, all of the material published after Tolkien's death by his son Christopher, but also because an author is entitled to make changes from his original drafts, and I consider only those he actually allowed to be published during his lifetime as reflecting the "approved" history of Middle Earth.

And that goes for your "giant cat" question too. [jk]

[edwinunger]

Tevildo, Prince of Cats! This was in History of Middle Earth. Tolkien changed Sauron's name and form several times before LOTR.

What does Turin wear that causes the Orcs to fear him greatly?

Many bonus points if you can tell me who it was made for, and each person that had it up until it was lost.

[Talanthiar]

Ooh good one. Would it be the Dragon helm of Dor Lomin? About all I remember of it's lineage offhand, is that it was gifted to Hador from Fingon, then passed from Hurin to Turin as an heirloom of their house.

[edwinunger]

Good one Talanthiar! But can you (or someone else) tell me who had it before Fingon, and before him, and who it was crafter for (and by who, why not)?

Next question still goes to Talanthiar, just wanted some filler.