Letters of J.R.R.Tolkien (#187):
An index of names was to be produced, which by etymological interpretation would also provide quite a large Elvish vocabulary; this is of course a first requirement. I worked at it for months, and indexed the first two vols. (it was the chief cause of the delay of Vol iii) until it became clear that size and cost were ruinous.
Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull, The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion:
These papers were kindly provided to us by Christopher Tolkien, along with photocopies of a glossary-index his father began to prepare for The Lord of the Rings probably in 1953 but never finished (it includes only place-names)
...
Index, "J.R.R.Tolkien, manuscript glossary-index to place-names in The Lord of the Rings; also cited as the 'unfinished index'
Probably during 1953 Tolkien began to prepare a glossary-index to The Lord of the Rings, as promised in the original Foreword to The Fellowship of the Ring, and continued to work on it at least into 1954, but completed only a list of place-names.
Probable entry title
Entry text or excerpt
page
Old World
Middle-earth before the change of land at [the] fall of Númenor
10
Sea
Usually refers to the Western Ocean beyond which no mortal lands were yet known to exist (though the roundness of Middle-earth was well-known). There was a tradition that anciently one could sail west until one came at last to Valinor, 'the Blessed Realm', but that had been veiled and beset with impenetrable shadows - for which reason 'the Shadowy Seas' was often said of the remote western sea; so that the Elves that had forsaken Valinor could not return. Cf. Galadriel's song in Book II. But after the overthrow of Morgoth and the downfall of Thangorodrim (cf. Elrond's words in [Book] II ch. 2), the return west had been re-opened for Elves. But Valinor was forbidden to Mortals. The Númenóreans (or Dúnedain), as a reward for their help in the overthrow of Morgoth, had been given the great Isle of Numenor to dwell in, furthest west of all mortal lands; but when they became proud, because of their great might and splendour, and tried to land in Valinor, the Blessed Realm was removed from the Circles of the World, and Numenor cast down into the Sea, and the fashion of the earth changed. A few only of the faithful Numenoreans escaped from the drowning of the land and returned to the West-shore of Middle-earth, and thereafter only elven-ships could sail into the 'true West' following the 'straight road', and so rising above the Circles of the World come again to Eldamar (Elvenhome) on the shores of Valinor. So Sea = Great Sea and frequently Western Seas or Great Sea(s); also called the Sundering Seas.
10-1
Misty Mountains
the great range (called in E[lvish] Hithaeglir "line of misty peaks"), running more or less from N[orth] to S[outh] from Mt. Gundabad about 200 miles n[orth] of Rivendell, to Methedras about 400 miles sfouthl of Rivendell
11
Stock-brook
A stream running from the Woody End by Stock to join the Brandywine River
112
Buck Hill
The hill on the east bank of the Brandywine 'in which the great "smial" of Brandy Hall was built
115
High Hay
a great hedge fencing off the Old Forest from Buckland
North-gate
In his unfinished index Tolkien notes that the North-gate is the same as the 'Buckland Gate' and the 'Hay Gate' referred to by Merry in Book VI, Chapters 7 and 8.
118
Bridgefields
district of the Shire, along the Brandywine, north of the main road (largely inhabited by the Bolgers).
119
Budgeford
village by a ford over the Shire-water in Bridgefields (chief dwelling of the Bolgers)
Dunland
a country about the west skirts of the Misty M[oun]t[ai]ns at their far S[outhern] end, inhabited by the Dunlendings, remnant of an old race of Men (akin to the Breelanders?), hostile to the Rohirrim
14
Tharbad
its name is Sindarin for 'road-crossing', as Tolkien states in his unfinished index.
Wilderland
Hobbit name for the lands beyond the Misty Mountains, [in] E[lvish, i.e. Sindarin] Rhóvannion [sic], but often used to include the wild lands on the west side of the range, that is Eastern Eriador
Mitheithel
hoary spring
15
Town Hole
a tunnelled hall at Michel Delving in the White Downs
155
Bree
small land, 40 miles east of the Shire. The name properly means "hill" in a language older than Westron, and the country was also called "(the) Bree-land". The hill itself was often called "Bree-hill" ... – or (in Bree) the Hill
16
Chetwood
the woodlands east and south of Bree
South-gate
eastward gate of Bree (so-called because at that point the Road was running southwards)
163
Midgewater Marshes
a fen between Chetwood and Weathertop
167
Old Road
In his unfinished index Tolkien says that this 'refers to the great East Road'.
168
Gondor
In his unfinished index Tolkien describes Gondor as
anciently including Calenardon (later called Rohan) from Isengard to Entwash; Anórien between Entwash and the White Mts. [Mountains] and all the land betw[een] west of Anduin from Rauros to River Erui; and Ithilien, the lands east of Anduin between the river and Ephel Dúath (the Mts. of Shadow), as far South as R[iver] Poros; also the 'faithful fiefs' of Lebennin, Belfalas and Anfalas (Langstrand), west of Anduin and Sirith, between the White Mts. and the Sea; and the 'lost fief' of S[outh] Gondor between R. Poros and Harnen. At the time of this history it included only Anórien and the 'faithful fiefs'.
17
Ford of Bruinen
In his unfinished index Tolkien locates the Ford of Bruinen 'at end of the East Road, over the River Bruinen about 20 miles SW [south-west] of Rivendell'.
171
Forsaken Inn
The Forsaken Inn is located 'where the East Road approached the old borders of the Bree-land' (Index).
Northern lands
the N.W. [north-west] of the world of the Elder Days, esp[ecially] Beleriand and adjacent regions, also called Norland
175
Belfalas
Belfalas is the name of a region on the south coast of Gondor, according to Index derived from Sindarin bel 'steep, sheer' + falas 'surf, wave-beaten shore'.
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