History of Middle-earth
Main article: History of Arda
The history of Middle-earth is divided into three time periods, known as the Years of the Lamps, Years of the Trees and Years of the Sun. The Years of the Sun are further subdivided into Ages. Most Middle-earth stories take place in the first three Ages of the Sun.
The Years of the Lamps began shortly after the creation of Arda by the Valar. The Valar created two large lamps, and the Vala Aulë forged great towers, one in the furthest north, and another in the deepest south. The Valar lived in the middle, at the island of Almaren. Melkor's destruction of the two Lamps marked the end of the Years of the Lamps.
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Then, Yavanna made the Two Trees, named Telperion and Laurelin in the land of Aman. The Trees illuminated Aman, leaving Middle-earth in twilight. The Elves awoke in Cuiviénen in the middle of Middle-earth, and were soon approached by the Valar. Many of the Elves were persuaded to go on the Great March westwards towards Aman, but not all of them completed the journey (see Sundering of the Elves). The Valar had captured Melkor, but he appeared to repent and was released. He sowed great discord among the Elves, and stirred up rivalry between the Elven princes Fëanor; and Fingolfin. He then slew their father, king Finwë and stole the Silmarils, three gems crafted by Fëanor that contained light of the Two Trees, from his vault, and destroyed the Trees themselves.
Fëanor and his house left to pursue Melkor to Beleriand, cursing him with the name 'Morgoth' (Black Enemy). A larger host led by Fingolfin followed. They reached the Teleri's port-city, Alqualondë, but the Teleri refused to give them boats to get to Middle-earth. The first Kinslaying thus ensued. Fëanor's host sailed on the stolen boats, leaving Fingolfin's behind to cross over to Middle-earth on the deadly Helcaraxë (or Grinding Ice) in the far north. Fëanor was soon slain, but his sons survived and founded realms, as did Fingolfin and his heirs.
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The First Age of the Years of the Sun began when the Valar made the Sun and the Moon out of the final fruit and flower of the dying Trees. After several great battles, the Long Peace lasted hundreds of years, during which time Men arrived over the Blue Mountains. But one by one the Elven kingdoms fell, even those that had been hidden. By the end of the age, all that remained of the free Elves and Men in Beleriand was a settlement at the mouth of the River Sirion. Among them was Eärendil, whose wife Elwing held a Silmaril that her grandparents Beren and Luthien had recovered from Morgoth. But the Fëanorians tried to press their claim to the Silmaril by force, leading to another Kinslaying. Eärendil and Elwing took the Silmaril across the Great Sea, to beg the Valar for aid. They responded. Melkor was exiled into the Void; and most of his works destoyed. This came at a terrible cost, as Beleriand itself was broken and began to sink under the sea.
Thus began the Second Age of the Sun. The Men who had remained faithful were given the island of Númenor in the middle of the Great Sea as their home, while the Elves were allowed to return to the West. The Númenoreans became great seafarers, but became jealous of the Elves for their immortality. Meanwhile, in Middle-earth it became apparent that Sauron, Morgoth's chief servant, was still active. He worked with Elven smiths in Eregion on the craft of rings, and forged the One Ring to dominate them all. The Elves were aware of him, and ceased using their own.
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The last Númenorean king, Ar-Pharazôn, humbled even Sauron and brought him to Númenor as a hostage. Eventually, Sauron persuaded Ar-Pharazôn to invade Aman, promising that he would become immortal. Amandil, chief of the faithful, tried to sail west to warn the Valar. His son Elendil and grandsons Isildur and Anárion prepared to flee east to Middle-earth. When the King's men had landed on Aman, the Valar called for Illuvatar to intervene. The world was changed into a sphere, and the straight road from Middle-earth to Aman was broken. Númenor was utterly destroyed, and with it the fair body of Sauron. Elendil and his sons escaped to found the realms of Gondor and Arnor. Sauron arose again and challenged them, but the Elves allied with the Men to form the Last Alliance which defeated him. His One Ring was taken from him by Isildur, but not destroyed.
The Third Age saw the rise in power of the realms of Arnor and Gondor, and their fall. By the time of The Lord of the Rings, Sauron had recovered again, and was seeking the One Ring. He discovered that it was in the possession of a Hobbit and sent out the Ringwraiths to retrieve it. The Ring-bearer, Frodo Baggins, traveled to Rivendell, where it was decided that the Ring had to be destroyed in the only way possible: melting in the hot fires of Mount Doom. Frodo set out on that quest with eight companions. Eventually he succeeded, and along with his companion Sam Gamgee he was lauded as a hero. Sauron was destroyed forever.
The end of the Third Age marked the end of the involvement of the Elves in human affairs. Most Elves that had lingered in Middle-earth left for Valinor; those who remained behind would "fade" and eventually diminish. The Dwarves eventually dwindled away as well. Morgoth's creatures were almost wiped out. Eventually in the Fourth Age the tales of the earlier Ages became legends, the truth behind them forgotten.
A note on "truth" and canon
It is remarkably difficult to speak of what is true in the context of Middle-earth. There are various reasons for this:
- Tolkien worked on Middle-earth over the course of decades, making substantial changes. Re
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Middle-earth is the name for the lands on 
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Although 'Middle-earth' strictly refers to a specific continent (called Endor in