Part One - Appendix-ish

Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings film trilogy is beloved by many; including many fans of the books. I admit, I'm a Tolkien nerd - my knowledge is borderline encyclopedic. As I watch his films I take a small bit of comfort in my knowledge of his world and history. To the average viewer Weathertop is nothing more than an old tower that Aragon and the hobbits took refuge during their trip to Rivendell; to me, there is so much history surrounding that decrepit tower that many people simply have no clue of it's importance in ancient history. But compared to the entire history of that world and all of it's lore, it's only a small thing. Knowing so much makes these movies much more enjoyable to me. I have decided, born out of sheer boredom, to explain some of the things, that to the viewer means little, that have such great depth and importance to Tolkien's world. Things like "What is the light of Elendil?" or "Why is Aragorn over 80 years old?", "What's the deal with Sauron?" (his history is one of the most fascinating), and among other things. 

Now, I may know a lot, but there are many more who know much more than I do - but I will admit, my knowledge is still substantial and much of it is commited to memory (even family trees). It really has no use to me, so I might as well make the best of it. Call me nerd if you want; I'll take it as a compliment. 

I will begin this first post simply as a dictionary of many terms I will commonly use in these posts. I will try to post something at least once a week and this will always be available for reference

Legendarium 
Tolkien's collective works of Middle-earth and it's universe.

Arda 
The earth and everything in it.

Middle-earth
The lands stretching from the sea in the west to the Iron Hills, Gondor, and Mordor to the east. 

Ea 
The entire universe.

Sindar
Grey elves, nearly 95% of all the elves in Lord of the Rings are Sindarin elves and their elvish language is called Sindarin. 

Noldor, Vanyar, Teleri 
The three seperate race of elves, most of the Sindar are Teleri, but some are not - the categories of elves is confusing and will be explained in the future. 

Edain
Men who formed an alliance with the Elves during the First Age

House of Beor, House of Haleth (The Haladin), and The House of Hador
The first houses of men to make contact with the Elves in the First Age - collectively, they are they Edain. 

Dunedain
Men of the West - men who were once Edain, but founded the Kingdom of Numenor

Numenorians
Also Dunedain, but these would be ones specifically with Numenorian blood. While Numenor is no more, it was the most powerful kingdom of the Second Age. The kings of Gondor and Arnor decended from the rulers of Numenor. They are gifted with long life (which is why Aragorn is very old and that will be explained in the future). 

Illuvatar
The creator of the universe, Arda, Elves and all beings. Essentially God.

Ainur 
The race of heavenly beings, the first beings created by Illuvatar. Singular is Ainu

Valar
The most powerful of the Ainur, specifically the ones that came down to Arda to shape it and guide Illuvatar's other children; Elves and Men. Singular is Vala. There are 13 total. 

Maiar
Also Ainur, but to a lesser degree to the Valar. The Balrog, Gandalf, and Sauron are some the maiar you see in the movies. 

Manwe
One of the Valar that came to Arda and the most powerful of the Valar still in Arda. The elves see him as their king and men think of him as a god. 

Morgoth
His true name is Melkor, the most powerful Valar and a brother to Manwe, but he was a being filled with hate and malice. The enemy of the world. He created the race of orcs and wargs and all the dragons, drakes, and worms that inhabit the world. While he is no longer in Arda, there is a Raganarok type event that will occur in the future when he will return. 

Aman
The uttermost west. The lands that the Valar dwell in. A blessed land. So vibrant and full of beauty that only Elves may live there (with exception) and the ultimate fate of all Elves is to travel to Aman before they wither away (the true nature of the elves will also be explained in the future). 

Valinor
The largest city of Aman - the city of many bells; and it's at the feet of Taniquetil, the largest mountain in Aman, where the mansions of Manwe and Varda (another Valar) reside. 

First Age 
The longest age, potentially just over 65,000 years (the references get a bit muddle in the early days), it includes the awakening of the Elves and Men and the wars with Morgoth. The last 1,000 years or so of the First Age are where most of the biggest events happened, and when recorded history began. It ended with the over throw of Morgoth. Galadriel was born during this period. 

Second Age
This lasted 3,441 years and was dominated by the Numenorian's rise to power and the beginning of the fading of the Elves. The last half of the Second Age was shaped by constant war with Sauron. The Second Age ended with the Ring being cut from Sauron's hand. 

Third Age
The age that Lord of the Rings takes place. Lasting 3,021 years. It ends with the defeat of Sauron and the destruction of the Ring (technically after all the Ring bearers leave Middle-earth) and the rise of the Re-united Kingdom of Gondor and Arnor led by Aragorn. 

Beleriand
Lands that used to exist to the northeast of Middle-earth beyond the Ered Luin (Blue Mountains), but are now under the ocean. Many of the most powerful elvish kingdoms existed there; Doriath, Gondolin, and Nargothrond. Most of the events of the First Age took place there and the war with Morgoth was so violent, the land was destroyed and sank into the ocean. 

Istari 
The wizards, the most famous being Gandalf the Grey. The others include Saruman the White, Radagast the Brown, and Alatar and Pallando the Blue Wizards. 

That is some of the terms I may commonly use in future posts that will save me from detailed explanation (unless needed). We'll see where these posts take me.