Would the Valar have sent any of the magical races back to middle earth? How would technology have evolved considering they know magic existed? Did men eventually ruin the shire?
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May 20, 2020
What would middle Earth look like if it was set in modern day?
What would middle Earth look like if it was set in modern day?
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I’ve always wondered about whether Middle Earth could be a kind of history to the world we live in right now? Tolkien once said that if this was the case we’d be in the 6th or 7th Age currently. If this was the case, it probably wouldn’t fit geologically. However, the elves all left Middle-Earth in the Fourth Age and during that time magic probably faded away too. Orcs would have dwindled in numbers and were probably vigorously hunted down until wiped from Middle-Earth. Now, I feel that over time, Men would have become greedy and inadvertently destroyed the Shire/ industrialised it. I seem to remember reading somewhere that Tolkien said “Hobbits are still around today”. So maybe they went into hiding and are an extremely rare species. Next time you’re in the countryside, maybe you’ll spot a hobbit. 😂 Anyway, Men would have gradually become the dominant species, Hobbits rarely seen, magic gone, elves gone, Istari gone, Orcs gone. As for Dwarves, their numbers would have rapidly declined and the few remaining probably just integrated with Men. Oliphaunts became elephants; giant spiders became spiders (evolution?); Beorn’s descendants became permanent bears. And then things would have played out pretty similarly to our own history.
Or maybe after 4th Age, Valar destroyed Middle Earth and started again, forming our Earth....
Tolkien once commented that our time is either the end of the 6th Age or the beginning of the 7th Age. I've seen one website (I can't remember which) that placed the events from the Bible as 5th Age. Another one (I can't remember that either, sorry) listed it as "Day or Year # of the 7th Age. If you calculate, you'll see this website claims the end of World War 2 as the beginning of the 7th Age.
In response to eldariontdk, I think this link might have been what you were looking at.
https://www.lotro.com/forums/showthread.php?415324-Current-Age-of-Middle-Earth
Didn't Tolkien intend his literature to serve as the English mythology?
That's what I've heard. the hero of the Unfinished Tales was Aelfwine, an Anglo-Saxon mariner who sailed to Tol Eressea and was named Eriol by the Elves.
Silly answer. How would Middle-earth look like today? Like this.
Map
I visited the place years ago when I helped my sister move in. Theoden would be dismayed if he learned that Helm''s Deep has turned into a computer lab.
Or would he be thankful that the threat of mutant orcs has been replaced with the threat of not having enough programmers to meet demand?
@Thorondor If the programmers turned out to be trolls he may have cause for concern.
But seriously, here's a possible non-canon timeline of the different Ages:
https://middle-earth.xenite.org/when-did-the-third-age-end-in-our-calendar/
@eldariontkd As a result of the Change of the World near the end of the Second Age Númenor was destroyed, new lands appeared, and others were altered. I've often imagined that the Fourth Age ended in some catastrophe (not necessarily a great flood) that greatly altered the geography of Arda to bring it in line with the modern era. However, this entails viewing Middle-earth as part of a pre-history rather than a fictitious mythology, so the notion shouldn't be taken too seriously!
Technically, we are dwelling on what would have been Arda in the modern era, probably in either the Sixth or Seventh Age of the Sun. But say that Morgoth broke free from his imprisonment and returned to Earth today. That would probably signal the beginning of the Dagor Dagorath.
Honestly, though, this sounds like the makings for a bad Syfy original movie.
Well it all be war and peace in some parts around the world. Be crazy Nazgul, Volcanoes, Balrogs, Trolls, The One Ring, dragons it all be valuable and fierce hunting challenges. We could chill with Ents learn their ways as well as Elf and dwarven forging. They'd would be known for their mastery and skill. We'd see volars and wizards meet Hobbit's. So not all bad. Would we loose to fight them with our guns? 🤔
Okay, let's just imagine that Middle-earth simply continued for the next 6000+ years without evolving into the modern world. In many ways, it wouldn't be very different than the world we live in. Magic would have continued to drain from the world and the magical races would have faded with it. The Elves would be faint echoes sometimes glimpsed in a wood at the edge of vision. The Dwarves would have likely died out. Hobbits would be living quietly away from the bulk of humanity. Ents, and probably Trolls would be gone. The blood of Orcs would live on in the brutality of mankind. The Great Eagles would likely be gone. The Valar would be largely forgotten or known by other names in later mythologies.
The Reunited Kingdoms might have become the new Númenor, developing technologies such as Tolkien imagined (like flying ships) but excluded from his legendarium. The blood of the Dúnedain would continue to thin until the length of their years were no longer than those of any other men. Evil would continue to rise, but would not again be embodied in a supernatural form such as Sauron.
New cultures and nations would have replaced the old ones, but they might be very different from the ones we know. The new lands that arose at the Change of the World would have probably been explored and colonized by the Dúnedain, the Haradrim or the Easterlings. Either of the latter two peoples might have even begun such explorations during the Third Age, well before the War of the Ring.
@andrewlaubacher Just because we don't appear on radar doesn't mean we don't exist.
@Thorondor Okay, but who is 'we'?
If we're in the Seventh Age right now, would the Eighth Age be Planet of the Apes?
No. Halo is the only acceptable scifi future.
Let us hope not.
@Thorondor gears of war is better
Still better than 40k.
Warfare in future Middle-earth?
It would look like isengard after saruman's betrayal, old world would burn in the fires of industry, Tolkien's worst nightmare.