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{{History of Arda}}
{{History of Arda}}
The '''Fourth Age''' began after [[Sauron]] was finally defeated, when his [[The One Ring|Ruling Ring]] was destroyed, and the [[Keepers of the Three Rings]] left Middle-earth for the [[Valinor|Uttermost West]].   
The '''Fourth Age''' began after [[Sauron]] was finally defeated, when his [[The One Ring|Ruling Ring]] was destroyed, and the [[Keepers of the Three Rings]] left Middle-earth for the [[Aman|Uttermost West]].   
==Start of the Fourth Age==
 
The [[Third Age]] was held to have ended when Master Elrond left Middle-earth on [[29 September]] of {{TA|3021}}.<ref name=Calendars>{{App|Calendars}}</ref> However, not all calendars in use in Middle-earth at that time reset their count of years to {{FoA|1}} in the same year, on the same date, or indeed at all. As such, years given for certain events in the Fourth Age differ according to the calendar used.<ref group=note> The discrepancy is noted in the [http://www.glyphweb.com/arda/f/fourthage.html Encyclopedia of Arda]</ref> [[Tolkien Gateway]] follows [[Shire]] usage for all Fourth Age dates.
==History==
The [[Third Age]] was held to have ended when [[Elrond]] left Middle-earth on [[29 September]] of {{TA|3021}}.<ref name=Calendars>{{App|Calendars}}</ref>  
 
This age was marked by the recovery of the [[Númenor]]ean kingdoms of [[Arnor]] and [[Gondor]], while the [[House of Durin]] retook [[Moria]] until the race of [[Dwarves]] failed.<ref>{{PM|Dwarves}}</ref> The [[Last Ship]] of the [[Elves]], carrying [[Círdan]], [[Celeborn]], and all remaining Elves of the [[First Age]] left Middle-earth some time after {{FoA|171}}.<ref name=Records/> Eventually that would lead to the final [[Dominion of Men]] over [[Arda]], coming together with the total waning of the [[Elves]] and other dwindling races, such as the [[Ents]] and probably the Dwarves.
 
[[Eldarion]]'s reign would have lasted for about 100 years after the death of [[Aragorn]].<ref name="L338">{{L|338}}</ref>
 
There is no concrete information on more than the first few centuries of this Age, so it is not known when it ended, although it was probably shorter than 3 millennia,<ref name="Letter211">{{L|211}}</ref> around c. 2,430 years or more,<ref name=Sixty>{{NM|P1vi}}, ''Notes'', Note 30, p. 43</ref> and was followed by the [[Later Ages|Fifth Age]].<ref name=Sixty/><ref name="Letter211"/>
 
Additionally, according to one of the drafts of the ''[[Appendices]]'', it is said:
 
{{blockquote|Of [[Eldarion]] son of [[Aragorn|Elessar]] it was foretold that he should rule a great [[Reunited Kingdom|realm]], and '''that it should endure for a hundred generations of [[Men]] after him, that is until a new age brought in again new things'''; and from him should come the kings of many realms in long days after.|''[[The Peoples of Middle-earth]]'', "[[The Tale of Years of the Third Age]]"<ref>{{PM|Third}}, pp. 244-5</ref>}}


==Reckoning of years==
==Reckoning of years==
The [[Shire Reckoning]] is the calendar system used for all dates in the [[Red Book]]; its epoch {{SR|1}} corresponds to {{TA|1601}}.<ref name=Hobbits>{{FR|Hobbits}}</ref> The Shire Reckoning did not reset its count of years with the end of the Third Age, rather it continued uninterrupted from {{SR|1421}} to {{SR|1422}}, and "in so far as the Hobbits took any account of the change of Age, they maintained that it began with [[2 Yule]] 1422."<ref name=Calendars/> This means that S.R. 1422 is also {{TA|3022}} and Fo.A. 1 as far as dates in the Red Book are concerned.
Not all calendars in Middle-earth reset their count of years to {{FoA|1}} in the same year, on the same date, or indeed at all. As such, years given for certain events in the Fourth Age differ according to the calendar used.  


In [[Gondor]] and the rest of the [[Reunited Kingdom]] outside the Shire, the [[New Reckoning]] calendar entered use starting in {{TA|3019}}. Under this calendar, the year that began on [[25 March]] as T.A. 3021 is also Fo.A. 1.<ref name=Calendars/> As such, T.A. 3022 corresponds to {{FoA|2}} in the New Reckoning, so oftentimes a given date in the Shire will be accounted part of the following year elsewhere in the Reunited Kingdom.  
The [[Shire-reckoning]] is the calendar system used for all dates in the [[Red Book]], with {{SR|1}} corresponding to {{TA|1601}}.<ref name=Hobbits>{{FR|Hobbits}}</ref> Years in Shire-reckoning did not restart at the end of the Third Age; they continued uninterrupted from {{SR|1421}} to {{SR|1422}}, and "in so far as the Hobbits took any account of the change of Age, they maintained that it began with [[2 Yule]] 1422."<ref name=Calendars/> This means that {{SR|1422}} is also {{TA|3022}} and {{FoA|1}} as far as dates in the Red Book are concerned.


This partial overlap is due to the fact that the [[Shire Calendar]] and the [[New Reckoning]] begin their years on different days: 2 Yule for the Shire and 25 March for the rest of the Reunited Kingdom (as these days are named in the Shire Calendar; their New Reckoning equivalents are 7 [[Narvinyë]] and [[Yestarë]] respectively). Dates on or after 2 Yule and before 25 March count as taking place in the same year of the Fourth Age according to either calendar, but dates on and after 25 March belong to the next year outside the Shire. As such, the death of King [[Elessar]] recorded in the Red Book on [[1 March]] {{SR|1541}} is accounted as having taken place in {{FoA|120}} in both calendars (the New Reckoning names that day 8 [[Súlimë]]).
However, in [[Gondor]] and the rest of the [[Reunited Kingdom]] outside the Shire, the [[New Reckoning]] calendar entered use starting in {{TA|3019}}. Under this calendar, [[25 March]] {{TA|3021}} is the first day of {{FoA|1}}, some 9 months earlier than the new year in the Shire.<ref name=Calendars/> The [[Shire Calendar]] and the [[New Reckoning]] begin their years on different days: 2 Yule for the Shire and 25 March for the rest of the Reunited Kingdom.<ref group="note">As these days are named in the Shire Calendar; their New Reckoning equivalents are 7 [[Narvinyë]] and [[Yestarë]] respectively.</ref>


There are few dates given in the [[Legendarium]] that require the reader to account for this difference, because most dates of the Fourth Age are already explicitly expressed in terms of the Shire Reckoning. For example, [[Legolas]] and [[Gimli]]'s departure from Middle-earth is given as S.R. 1541,<ref name="Later"/> so it can be stated with confidence that their departure took place in Fo.A. 120. (There is ambiguity when determining the year of their departure under the New Reckoning because the day is unknown, but we have no need to make that determination.) The exceptions are both from the [[Note on the Shire Records]] and are as follows:
There are few dates given in the [[legendarium]] that require the reader to account for this difference, because most dates of the Fourth Age are already explicitly expressed in terms of the Shire Reckoning. For example, [[Legolas]] and [[Gimli]]'s departure from Middle-earth is given as {{SR|1541}}.<ref name="Later"/> The exceptions are both from the [[Note on the Shire Records]] and are as follows:
* Tolkien explains that the text of ''The Lord of the Rings'' descends from a copy of the Red Book made in Gondor that bore the note "Findegil, King’s Writer, finished this work in IV 172."<ref name=Records>{{FR|Records}}</ref> This is presented as a verbatim quote from a Gondorian scribe and the year is not converted to the Shire Reckoning elsewhere in the text. It is therefore assumed that this note was written in regards to the New Reckoning calendar before 7 Narvinyë and accordingly the year is converted to {{FoA|171}}.
* In the same paragraph, Tolkien refers to [[Peregrin Took]]'s retirement to Gondor in "IV 64."<ref name=Records>{{FR|Records}}</ref> We are told elsewhere that Peregrin and his companion [[Meriadoc Brandybuck]] arrived in Gondor sometime between the autumn and the ending of {{SR|1484}}, which is {{FoA|63}} in the Shire Reckoning.<ref name="Later">{{App|Later}}</ref> As such, "IV 64" must refer to a year in the New Reckoning and is accordingly converted to Fo.A. 63.


==History==
* Tolkien explains that the text of ''The Lord of the Rings'' descends from a copy of the Red Book made in Gondor that bore the note "Findegil, King’s Writer, finished this work in IV 172."<ref name=Records>{{FR|Records}}</ref> The accompanying text notes the equivalent year {{SR|1592}}, which is {{FoA|171}} in the Shire Reckoning, so this note must have been written with regard to the New Reckoning calendar before 7 Narvinyë.
There is no information on more than the first few centuries of this age, so it is not known when it ended, if it ever did, although it was probably shorter than 3 millennia.<ref name="Letter211"/>  
* In the same paragraph, Tolkien refers to [[Peregrin Took]]'s retirement to Gondor in "IV 64."<ref name=Records>{{FR|Records}}</ref> We are told elsewhere that Peregrin and his companion [[Meriadoc Brandybuck]] arrived in Gondor sometime between the autumn and the ending of {{SR|1484}}, which is {{FoA|63}} in the Shire Reckoning.<ref name="Later">{{App|Later}}</ref> As such, the stated "IV 64" must be in reference to the New Reckoning calendar, again, prior to 7 Narvinyë.


This age was (presumably) marked by the recovery of the [[Númenor]]ean kingdoms of [[Arnor]] and [[Gondor]], and a flourishing of their subjects, including [[the Shire]] and the [[Hobbits]], while the [[House of Durin]] retook [[Moria]] until the race of [[Dwarves]] failed.<ref>{{PM|Dwarves}}</ref> Eventually that would lead to the final [[Dominion of Men]] over [[Arda]], coming together with the total waning of the [[Elves]] and other dwindling races, such as the [[Ents]] and probably the Dwarves.
==Other versions of the legendarium==
The Prologue of the first edition of ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'' mistakenly mentions that the [[Third Age]] "ended with the great years {{SR|1418|n}} and {{SR|1419|n}} of the Shire."<ref>{{HM|FR}}, p. "Foreword", p. 8</ref> whereas the Age ended in {{SR|1421|n}} and {{SR|1422|n}}. This reference was removed in the second edition.


The [[Last Ship]] of the [[Elves]], carrying [[Círdan]], [[Celeborn]], and all remaining Elves of the [[First Age]] left Middle-earth some time after {{FoA|171}}.<ref name=Records/>
==External links==
* The [https://psarando.github.io/shire-reckoning Shire Reckoning] project, dedicated to simulations and detailed analysis of all the calendars of ''The Lord of the Rings'' [[Appendix D]].
*''[http://mileswmathis.com/farbindex.html The Farbanks Folios: Middle Earth in The Fourth Age]'', by Liam Tesshim


In a 1972 letter concerning ''[[The New Shadow]]'', Tolkien mentioned that Eldarion's reign would have lasted for about 100 years after the death of Aragorn.<ref name="L338">{{L|338}}</ref>


==Further future?==
==See also==
Tolkien said that he thought the distance between the end of the Third Age and the 20th century A.D. was about 6000 years, and that in [[1958]] it should have been around the end of the Fifth Age if the Fourth and Fifth Ages were about the same length as the Second and Third Ages. He said, however, in a letter written in 1958 that he believed the Ages had quickened and that it was about the end of the Sixth Age/beginning of the Seventh.<ref name="Letter211">{{L|211}}.</ref>
*[[Timeline/Fourth Age|Timeline of the Fourth Age]]
*''[[The New Shadow]]''


==See also==
{{references|notes}}
* [[Timeline/Fourth Age|Timeline of the Fourth Age]]
* ''[[The New Shadow]]''


{{references|note}}
[[Category:Ages]]
[[Category:Ages]]
[[Category:Fourth Age| ]]
[[de:Das Vierte Zeitalter]]
[[de:Das Vierte Zeitalter]]
[[fr:encyclo/chronologie/quatrieme_age]]
[[fr:encyclo/chronologie/quatrieme_age]]
[[fi:Neljäs Aika]]
[[fi:Neljäs Aika]]

Latest revision as of 19:22, 10 April 2024

History of Arda
Before the Creation
Before the Ages
Days before days
Years of the Trees (up to Y.T. 1050)
Ages of the Children of Ilúvatar
First Age (begins in Y.T. 1050
and overlaps with the Years of the Trees
up to Y.T. 1500)
- Years of the Sun begin in F.A. 1
Second Age
- Arda made round in S.A. 3319
Third Age
Fourth Age
Later Ages (up to present day)
End of Arda
Timeline of Arda
(See: Round World version of the Silmarillion
for a later conception of Tolkien's cosmology)

The Fourth Age began after Sauron was finally defeated, when his Ruling Ring was destroyed, and the Keepers of the Three Rings left Middle-earth for the Uttermost West.

History[edit | edit source]

The Third Age was held to have ended when Elrond left Middle-earth on 29 September of T.A. 3021.[1]

This age was marked by the recovery of the Númenorean kingdoms of Arnor and Gondor, while the House of Durin retook Moria until the race of Dwarves failed.[2] The Last Ship of the Elves, carrying Círdan, Celeborn, and all remaining Elves of the First Age left Middle-earth some time after Fo.A. 171.[3] Eventually that would lead to the final Dominion of Men over Arda, coming together with the total waning of the Elves and other dwindling races, such as the Ents and probably the Dwarves.

Eldarion's reign would have lasted for about 100 years after the death of Aragorn.[4]

There is no concrete information on more than the first few centuries of this Age, so it is not known when it ended, although it was probably shorter than 3 millennia,[5] around c. 2,430 years or more,[6] and was followed by the Fifth Age.[6][5]

Additionally, according to one of the drafts of the Appendices, it is said:

Of Eldarion son of Elessar it was foretold that he should rule a great realm, and that it should endure for a hundred generations of Men after him, that is until a new age brought in again new things; and from him should come the kings of many realms in long days after.
—The Peoples of Middle-earth, "The Tale of Years of the Third Age"[7]

Reckoning of years[edit | edit source]

Not all calendars in Middle-earth reset their count of years to Fo.A. 1 in the same year, on the same date, or indeed at all. As such, years given for certain events in the Fourth Age differ according to the calendar used.

The Shire-reckoning is the calendar system used for all dates in the Red Book, with S.R. 1 corresponding to T.A. 1601.[8] Years in Shire-reckoning did not restart at the end of the Third Age; they continued uninterrupted from S.R. 1421 to S.R. 1422, and "in so far as the Hobbits took any account of the change of Age, they maintained that it began with 2 Yule 1422."[1] This means that S.R. 1422 is also T.A. 3022 and Fo.A. 1 as far as dates in the Red Book are concerned.

However, in Gondor and the rest of the Reunited Kingdom outside the Shire, the New Reckoning calendar entered use starting in T.A. 3019. Under this calendar, 25 March T.A. 3021 is the first day of Fo.A. 1, some 9 months earlier than the new year in the Shire.[1] The Shire Calendar and the New Reckoning begin their years on different days: 2 Yule for the Shire and 25 March for the rest of the Reunited Kingdom.[note 1]

There are few dates given in the legendarium that require the reader to account for this difference, because most dates of the Fourth Age are already explicitly expressed in terms of the Shire Reckoning. For example, Legolas and Gimli's departure from Middle-earth is given as S.R. 1541.[9] The exceptions are both from the Note on the Shire Records and are as follows:

  • Tolkien explains that the text of The Lord of the Rings descends from a copy of the Red Book made in Gondor that bore the note "Findegil, King’s Writer, finished this work in IV 172."[3] The accompanying text notes the equivalent year S.R. 1592, which is Fo.A. 171 in the Shire Reckoning, so this note must have been written with regard to the New Reckoning calendar before 7 Narvinyë.
  • In the same paragraph, Tolkien refers to Peregrin Took's retirement to Gondor in "IV 64."[3] We are told elsewhere that Peregrin and his companion Meriadoc Brandybuck arrived in Gondor sometime between the autumn and the ending of S.R. 1484, which is Fo.A. 63 in the Shire Reckoning.[9] As such, the stated "IV 64" must be in reference to the New Reckoning calendar, again, prior to 7 Narvinyë.

Other versions of the legendarium[edit | edit source]

The Prologue of the first edition of The Lord of the Rings mistakenly mentions that the Third Age "ended with the great years 1418 and 1419 of the Shire."[10] whereas the Age ended in 1421 and 1422. This reference was removed in the second edition.

External links[edit | edit source]


See also[edit | edit source]

Notes

  1. ↑ As these days are named in the Shire Calendar; their New Reckoning equivalents are 7 Narvinyë and Yestarë respectively.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix D, "The Calendars"
  2. ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Peoples of Middle-earth, "Of Dwarves and Men"
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, "Prologue", "Note on the Shire Records"
  4. ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien; Humphrey Carpenter, Christopher Tolkien (eds.), The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, Letter 338, (dated 6 June 1972)
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 J.R.R. Tolkien; Humphrey Carpenter, Christopher Tolkien (eds.), The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, Letter 211, (dated 14 October 1958)
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, Carl F. Hostetter (ed.), The Nature of Middle-earth, "Part One. Time and Ageing: VI. The Awaking of the Quendi", Notes, Note 30, p. 43
  7. ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Peoples of Middle-earth, "VIII. The Tale of Years of the Third Age", pp. 244-5
  8. ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, "Prologue", "Concerning Hobbits"
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix B, "Later Events Concerning the Members of the Fellowship of the Ring"
  10. ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring, p. "Foreword", p. 8
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