In J. R. R. Tolkien

J. R. R. Tolkien

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College,...

's fictional universe of Middle-earth

Middle-earth

Middle-earth is the fictional setting of the majority of author J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy writings. The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings take place entirely in Middle-earth, as does much of The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales....

, the time is typically rendered in Ages. Ages are one epoch

Calendar era

A calendar era is the year numbering system used by a calendar. For example, the Gregorian calendar numbers its years in the Western Christian era . The instant, date, or year from which time is marked is called the epoch of the era...

 of the Valar. Before the arising of the Sun they were approximately one thousand Valian Years in length (the exact length of a Valian Year varied in different drafts of Tolkien's texts from close to 10 "Sun"-years in most versions to precisely 144 "Sun"-years in his final estimation). After the Sun, Ages "sped up" and length is more variable. The Years of the Sun began with the 30th Valian Age, and the Fourth Age of Middle-earth began with the 37th Valian Age. However, only four, not seven Ages are counted. The Second and later Ages, during the Years of the Sun, correspond more to the earlier Valian Era

Era

An era is a commonly used word for long period of time. When used in science, for example geology, eras denote clearly defined periods of time of arbitrary but well defined length, such as for example the Mesozoic era from 252 Ma–66 Ma, delimited by a start event and an end event. When used in...

s than to their Ages.

• Before the Ainur were made. Duration: Meaningless.
• Before Eä (the universe) was made. Duration: Meaningless.
• Before Arda (the world) was made. Duration: Unknown.
• The earliest age of Arda, when the Valar
  Vala (Middle-earth)
  The Valar are fictional characters in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. They are first mentioned in The Lord of the Rings, but The Silmarillion develops them into the Powers of Arda or the Powers of the World...
  
   shaped the world. Duration : Valian Years 1–~5,000 (five Ages).
• The Years of the Lamps. Duration: V.Y. ~100–~10,000 (five Ages).
• The Years of the Trees. Duration V.Y. ~10,000–~30,000 (twenty Ages).
  • The first Era of the Two Trees, and the beginning of the count of Time. Duration V.Y. ~10,000–20,000 (ten Ages).
  • The second Era of the Two Trees, and the coming of the Elves
    Elf (Middle-earth)
    In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, Elves are one of the races that inhabit a fictional Earth, often called Middle-earth, and set in the remote past. They appear in The Hobbit and in The Lord of the Rings, but their complex history is described more fully in The Silmarillion...
    
    . Duration V.Y. ~20,000–~30,000 (ten Ages).
    • The Age of the Stars, when the Elves awoke, and the first age of the captivity of Melkor
      Morgoth
      Morgoth Bauglir is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth legendarium. He is the main antagonist of The Silmarillion, figures in The Children of Húrin, and is mentioned briefly in The Lord of the Rings.Melkor was the most powerful of the Ainur, but turned to darkness and became...
      
      .
    • The second age of the captivity of Melkor.
    • The third age of the captivity of Melkor.
    • The age in which Melkor lived in Valinor
      Valinor
      Valinor is a fictional location in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, the realm of the Valar in Aman. It was also known as the Undying Lands, along with Tol Eressëa and the outliers of Aman. This is something of a misnomer; only immortal beings were allowed to reside there, but the land itself,...
      
      .
• The Years of the Sun.
  • The First Age
    First Age
    In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, the First Age, or First Age of the Children of Ilúvatar is the heroic period in which most of Tolkien's early legends are set...
    
    . Duration: 450 Years of the Trees + 583 Years of the Sun.
  • The Second Age
    Second Age
    The Second Age is a time period from J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth fantasy writings. Tolkien intended for the history of Middle-earth to be considered fictionally as a precursor to the history of the real Earth....
    
    . Duration: 3441 Years of the Sun.
  • The Third Age
    Third Age
    The Third Age is a time period from J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth fantasy writings. The history of Middle-earth is to be taken fictionally as a history of the real Earth....
    
    . Duration: 3021 Years of the Sun.
  • The Fourth Age
    Fourth Age
    In the fictional world of middle earth "'the fourth age'" and the ages that preceded it, are time periods from J. R. R. Tolkien's universe of Middle-earth, described in his fantasy writings...
    
    . Duration: Not specified.

See also

• Timeline of Arda
  Timeline of Arda
  This article includes several chronologies relating to J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium.-Events outside of time:*Eru Ilúvatar makes the Timeless Halls and the race of the Ainur....
  
  
• History of Arda
  History of Arda
  In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, the history of the fictional universe of Eä began when the Ainur entered Arda, following the creation events in the Ainulindalë and long ages of labour throughout Eä, the universe...
  
  
• Dominion of Men
  Dominion of Men
  The Dominion of Men is a period in J.R.R. Tolkien's legendarium that follows the events of The Lord of the Rings and the Third Age.-The End of the Third Age:...
  
  
• Dark Years
  Dark Years
  In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, the Dark Years is a term used in The Lord of the Rings for the time of Sauron's great and almost undisputed domination of Middle-earth, during which many peoples were enslaved or corrupted. It was also referred to as the Accursed Years, the Black Years, the Days...
  
  
• Elder Days
  Elder Days
  In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, the Elder Days are the first Ages of Middle-earth.During the Second and Third Age, the term referred to the First Age and before, but in the Fourth Age the term began to be applied to all three ages which came before: a time before the dominance of Men and the...