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[[Image:Middle-earth.jpg|right|thumb|A map of the north-western part of Middle-earth at the end of the Third Age.]]

[[Image:Middle-earth.jpg|right|thumb|A map of the north-western part of Middle-earth at the end of the Third Age.|300px]]

Middle-earth was the name given to the setting of a series of mythological novels written by Oxford Professor [[J.R.R. Tolkien]]. The name was derived from [[Midgard]]<ref>http://www.pantheon.org/areas/mythology/europe/norse/articles.html</ref>, the "Middle World" of Norse Mythology inhabited by people and located underneath Asgard (Norse Heaven) and above Hel (The Norse spelt Hell with one L).  

'''Middle-earth''' was the name given to the setting of a series of mythological novels written by Oxford Professor [[J.R.R. Tolkien]]. The name was derived from [[Midgard]]<ref>http://www.pantheon.org/areas/mythology/europe/norse/articles.html</ref>, the "Middle World" of Norse Mythology inhabited by people and located underneath Asgard (Norse Heaven) and above Hel (The Norse spelt Hell with one L).  

Tolkien did not create another Earth for his novels, although the shape of our lands have changed since the Third Age.  Middle-earth corresponds to the Eurasian land mass, "east of the Sea."  [[The Silmarillion]] tells of how the Noldor, immortal Elves from the West, invade Middle-earth on a quest for three Silmarils stolen by Morgoth.  There they find the younger race of mortal Men, whose souls are not bound to Arda but depart beyond the circles of the world upon death.

Tolkien did not create another Earth for his novels, although the shape of our lands have changed since the Third Age.  Middle-earth corresponds to the Eurasian land mass, "east of the Sea."  [[The Silmarillion]] tells of how the Noldor, immortal Elves from the West, invade Middle-earth on a quest for three Silmarils stolen by Morgoth.  There they find the younger race of mortal Men, whose souls are not bound to Arda but depart beyond the circles of the world upon death.