The Tolkien Meta-FAQ is a unified index to several
major lists of Frequently Asked Questions about J.R.R. Tolkien
and his "subcreated" world of Middle-earth, all based on scholarship
from the Tolkien newsgroups on Usenet.
Table of Contents
Each of the questions below is discussed in one or
more of the
source documents.
Questions discussed in multiple FAQs have answers listed in
recommended reading order.
Questions in bold are more
"important" than others.
Answers in [square brackets] link to other websites.
Answers in (parentheses) have been entirely superseded.
Newcomers to the Tolkien
Newsgroups
Feel free to skip questions not in bold on your first reading.
Make sure to read the introduction to
Newsgroups and Netiquette.
Very Frequently Asked Questions
Story External Questions
Who was J.R.R. Tolkien?
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Who was J.R.R. Tolkien anyway?
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TFAQ V.A.1
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Was Tolkien racist? Were his works?
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NFAQ III.A.7;
[LtFAQ XII]
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Why did Tolkien fail to publish The
Silmarillion during the eighteen years which followed
the publication of The Lord of the
Rings?
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LFAQ V.A.2
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Why is Tolkien's work, The Lord of the
Rings in particular, so difficult to translate (into
other languages of our world)?
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TFAQ V.A.5
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Finding the Right Book for You
The Setting of the Books
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Is Middle-earth Medieval?
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NFAQ III.A.6
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Did the events in The Lord of the
Rings take place on another planet or what?
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TFAQ V.A.6
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Was the northwest of Middle-earth, where the story takes
place, meant to actually be Europe?
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TFAQ V.A.7
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Was the Shire meant to be England?
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TFAQ V.A.8
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The Writing of the Books
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What were the changes made to The
Hobbit after The Lord of the
Rings was written, and what motivated them?
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TFAQ V.A.9
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Was there a change of tone between Book I and the rest
of The Lord of the Rings?
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LFAQ V.A.1
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What does it mean when people (or Tolkien himself) speak of
him as having been the "editor" of The
Lord of the Rings?
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TFAQ V.A.3
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How thoroughly realized was Tolkien's fiction that he was the
"translator" of The Lord of the
Rings?
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TFAQ V.A.4
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Why is Tolkien's work, The Lord of the
Rings in particular, so difficult to translate (into
other languages of our world)?
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TFAQ V.A.5
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Why did Tolkien fail to publish The
Silmarillion during the eighteen years which followed
the publication of The Lord of the
Rings?
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LFAQ V.A.2
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How does The Silmarillion as
published differ from what Tolkien intended?
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NFAQ III.A.3
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[Many questions about getting the books published.]
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[LtFAQ I]
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[Story external questions about The
Hobbit and The Lord of the
Rings.]
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[LtFAQ II];
[LtFAQ III];
[LtFAQ IV]
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[Story external questions about the greater Legendarium.]
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[LtFAQ X]
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Adaptations of Tolkien's Stories
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What is the groups' view of the
recent Lord of the Rings movies?
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NFAQ IV.C.3
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What audio versions of Tolkien's works are available?
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NFAQ IV.C.2
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Where can I find out about music related to Middle-earth?
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NFAQ IV.C.4
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Why is Tolkien's work, The Lord of the
Rings in particular, so difficult to translate (into
other languages of our world)?
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TFAQ V.A.5
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[Several questions about Tolkien's thoughts on interpretations
of his work.]
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[LtFAQ XVII]
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Tolkien's Languages
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Where can I learn more about Tolkien's languages?
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NFAQ IV.B
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Where can I find fonts for Tolkien's writing systems?
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NFAQ IV.B
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Were the languages presented in The Lord
of the Rings real languages?
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TFAQ V.A.2
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[Several questions on Tolkien's languages and invented names.]
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[LtFAQ XV];
[LtFAQ XVI]
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Miscellaneous Story External Questions
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Which are "The Two Towers"?
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NFAQ III.A.4;
[LtFAQ IV]
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Are there electronic versions of Tolkien's books?
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NFAQ III.A.8
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What audio versions of Tolkien's works are available?
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NFAQ IV.C.2
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Where can I report copyright violations that I observe?
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NFAQ III.A.9
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In The Hobbit, Bilbo called the
spiders Attercop, Lazy Lob, Crazy Cob, and Old Tomnoddy. What
do the words mean?
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LFAQ V.C.2
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How did the One Ring compare to Wagner's Ring of the Nibelung?
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[RFAQ E.21]
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When was Bilbo and Frodo's Birthday? To what date on our own
calendar does it correspond?
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TFAQ V.B.3
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Story Internal Questions
Natures and Origins of the Races
Eventual Fates of Races and Characters
Creatures' Characteristics
LotR Events and History
(roughly chronological)
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[Many questions about LotR story elements]
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[LtFAQ V]
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Did Elves and Dwarves generally get along?
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NFAQ III.C.9
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Who was aware that a Balrog lived in Moria?
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NFAQ III.C.8
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Was the Balrog of Moria under Sauron's command?
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Essay:CD
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When was Bilbo and Frodo's Birthday? To what date on our own
calendar does it correspond?
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TFAQ V.B.3
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Were the Nazgul wearing their Rings at the time
of The Lord of the Rings?
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[RFAQ C.7];
[LtFAQ VI]
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How could Sauron trust the Nazgul not to claim the Ring?
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[RFAQ E.14]
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When he sent the Nazgul after Frodo, wasn't Sauron afraid
someone would use the Ring against them?
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[RFAQ E.15]
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Why didn't the Nazgul take the Ring at Weathertop?
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NFAQ III.C.3
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Why didn't Saruman take Gandalf's Ring from him?
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[RFAQ D.7]
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In Rivendell, who put Frodo's Ring on a chain?
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[RFAQ E.16]
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Why didn't they just have an Eagle fly the Ring to Mt. Doom?
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NFAQ III.C.1; [LtFAQ V]
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Who killed the Witch-king, Merry or Eowyn?
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NFAQ III.C.4
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When Frodo put on the Ring at the Cracks of Doom, could Gollum
see him?
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[RFAQ E.18]
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What would have happened when Frodo claimed the Ring if Gollum
hadn't interfered?
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[RFAQ E.19];
[LtFAQ V]
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Who could have beat Sauron by using the Ring?
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[RFAQ E.20];
[LtFAQ VII]
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Why didn't Gollum and Bilbo die when they lost the Ring?
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[RFAQ E.13]
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What ultimately happened to the Seven and the Nine Rings?
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[RFAQ C.9]
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What ultimately happened to the Three Rings?
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[RFAQ D.8]
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Did Sam follow Frodo into the West?
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NFAQ III.C.6
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Did Frodo and the other mortals who passed over the Sea
eventually die, or had they become immortal?
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NFAQ III.C.5;
(LFAQ V.C.1)
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Earlier Events and History
(roughly chronological)
Objects of Interest
[Note that
the FAQ of
the Rings sorts questions by Ring rather than by topic, which
may be more convenient for some searches.]
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Were the barrow blades magical? In what way?
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NFAQ III.C.2
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Who made the Rings, and when?
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[RFAQ A.7]
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How many Rings were there?
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[RFAQ A.8]
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Why would Sauron make himself vulnerable by transferring his
power to the One Ring?
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[RFAQ E.5];
[LtFAQ VII]
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Why wasn't Sauron much weaker in the Third Age, since he
didn't have the Ring?
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[RFAQ E.11];
[LtFAQ VII]
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Who inscribed the verse in the One Ring?
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[RFAQ E.6]
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What were the names of the Three Rings, and what were they
made of?
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[RFAQ D.1]
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The Elves were good so the Three Rings were good, right?
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[RFAQ D.4];
[LtFAQ VI]
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Why didn't Sauron make more Rings?
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[RFAQ A.9]
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Were the Rings originally intended for Dwarves and Men?
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[RFAQ C.2]
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What was Saruman's ring?
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[RFAQ A.10]
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Could the One Ring think, feel, and make choices?
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[RFAQ E.4]
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Did the One Ring speak on Mount Doom?
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[RFAQ E.17]
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What were the powers of the Rings?
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[RFAQ A.1];
[LtFAQ VI]
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Did the Rings give the ability to read minds?
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[RFAQ A.6]
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What were the special powers of the One Ring?
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[RFAQ E.2]
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How did Sauron's Ring control Rings that were created earlier?
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[RFAQ E.3]
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What special powers did the Three Rings have?
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[RFAQ D.3];
[LtFAQ VI]
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How did the Seven and the Nine differ?
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[RFAQ C.1]
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What if an Elf or Wizard had put on one of the Seven or the
Nine?
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[RFAQ C.10]
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Did the Dwarves' Rings make them wealthy?
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[RFAQ C.5]
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[A full list of RingFAQ questions about invisibility.]
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[RFAQ B]
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Why did the Rings make their wearers invisible?
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[RFAQ A.2];
[LtFAQ VI]
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Who could see an invisible Ring-wearer?
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[RFAQ A.3]
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Why were Frodo's and Bilbo's clothes invisible while they wore
the Ring?
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[RFAQ A.4]
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Then why were the Black Riders' clothes visible?
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[RFAQ A.5]
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Did the Dwarves' Rings make them invisible?
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[RFAQ C.3]
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Would the Dwarves' Rings make a Man invisible?
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[RFAQ C.4]
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Why isn't Galadriel invisible, since she wears a Great Ring?
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[RFAQ D.5]
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Was Sauron visible when wearing the Ring?
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[RFAQ E.10]
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Who bore the One Ring, and when?
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[RFAQ E.1]
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Who bore the Three Rings?
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[RFAQ D.2]
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Were the Nazgul wearing their Rings at the time
of The Lord of the Rings?
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[RFAQ C.7];
[LtFAQ VI]
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Why didn't Sauron use the same Nine Rings to make more Nazgul?
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[RFAQ C.8]
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Why hadn't Gollum turned into a wraith long ago?
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[RFAQ E.12]
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Then why didn't Gollum and Bilbo die when they lost the Ring?
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[RFAQ E.13]
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Gandalf bore the Ring of Fire. Is that how he made his
fireworks?
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[RFAQ D.6]
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If you have not found what you are looking for here, consider
reading over the full list of questions in
The
Letters FAQ by Mike Brinza: it has not been possible to include
all of its questions or even all of its general sections in this list.
You might also consider looking at the links on my
Tolkien FAQs and Information page.
If none of those are helpful, then feel free to visit the Tolkien
newsgroups on Usenet:
rec.arts.books.tolkien and
alt.fan.tolkien and ask us! (Or, just
search through our old discussions using the
Google Groups archive.)
