Has anyone ever produced a map of Tolkien's Middle Earth that correlates to Euro-Asian topography?
Supposedly The Shire correlates to modern Oxfordshire county, England. And Mordor, which is eventually reached, is somewhere South of the Carpathians or near modern-day Iraq.
Tolkien has created mythologies, cultures, and languages that seem deeply authentic with their correlating mythologies, languages and cultures that inspired them. Ultimately there seems to be historic correlations with east/west conflict, Northern invasions. etc etc.
So, has anyone ever developed a map of Middle Earth that correlates to corresponding locations in Europe and its Asian/African frontiers?
Such a map or maps would have actual European topography with the approximate Middle Earth locations transposed upon it.
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Folks have, near enough as can be. It won’t be a direct 1-to1 geographical match, considering that even within the context of Tolkien’s mythology the geography shifts to one degree or another, but more of a rough layout.
p.s. It’s always been my understanding that Mordor roughly corresponds to Turkey, especially with its mixture of rocky, volcanic regions and grassy, fertile regions.
Tolkien’s maps of Middle –earth give a vague impression of North West Europe at an imaginary period in its history. The Shire is based on rural England and Hobbiton and Rivendell are about the latitude of Oxford. The ocean to the west, the frozen lands to the north and the vast areas to the south and the east are all present today however the Tolkien Estate holds the rights to the geographical layout of Middle-earth and only those authorised by the Estate can publish any maps.
Incidentally, if you ever visit Oxford you should call in to the pub called “The Eagle and Child”. You can see the corner table where Tolkien and his Oxford friends used to gather in the 1930’s and 1940’s.
I guess it is better off protected by the Tolkien estate. Very few could really use the material as it was intended. Lots of people who aspire to write in the epic fantasy drama could never do it justice.
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