10 Obscure Tolkien Oddities That Change How You See Middle-earth
By Brett Black
Introduction
When most people think of Middle-earth, they picture sweeping vistas, hobbits with hairy feet, and wizardly heroics. But behind the scenes, J.R.R. Tolkien’s legendarium is far stranger—and in many ways, more wonderful—than many fans realize. It’s not all second breakfasts and epic battles; the author spent decades revising, rearranging, and occasionally renaming pivotal characters. Along the way, he introduced ideas that never quite made the final edit, like hobbit Rangers and a flat Earth that only became round because of a divine act of punishment.
Because Tolkien was as much a mythmaker as he was a novelist, his manuscripts brim with alternative drafts, obscure timelines, and half-abandoned lore. Some of it was later revealed in posthumous works like The History of Middle-earth and Unfinished Tales, while other details live on only through scattered notes and letters. Below are ten such oddities that will forever change how you see Middle-earth—and prove that the road leading to The Lord of the Rings was winding indeed.
10 Aragorn Began As A Wooden-Shoed Hobbit Named Trotter
Among Tolkien’s earliest drafts of The Lord of the Rings, the stoic hero Aragorn wasn’t even human—he was a hobbit named Trotter. That’s right: the future king of Gondor was once envisioned as a tiny, wooden-shoe-wearing hobbit Ranger. Trotter got his name from the constant clacking of his feet, which Tolkien originally explained by giving him mutilated toes (he wore shoes to hide his injuries from a stint in Mordor).
Eventually, Tolkien realized that a halfling with a grim backstory might complicate the group dynamic. He “promoted” Trotter to a tall, mysterious man named Strider—later revealed to be Aragorn, the rightful heir of Isildur. Still, the Trotter concept lingered for a while. References to him appear in Tolkien’s notes long after the storyline began to take shape.
It’s amusing to imagine Frodo and Sam traveling beside a second hobbit disguised as a Ranger. One wonders how cinematic that might have been—though it’s safe to say the gravitas of Aragorn would be rather different if he clopped around in wooden shoes.
9 Celeborn Was Nearly Named…Teleporno
Elven lore is filled with elegant names—Galadriel, Elrond, Legolas—yet Tolkien’s early notes reveal a linguistic misstep that modern readers can’t help but giggle at. Before settling on “Celeborn,” Tolkien had brainstormed the name Teleporno. Yes, that’s right: Galadriel’s husband might have been known by a name that, today, would raise more than a few eyebrows.
In fairness, Tolkien was piecing together Quenya and Sindarin (his Elvish languages) long before certain modern connotations would have occurred to him. “Teleporno” was simply a linguistic riff on tel- (“silver”) and -porno (an old root signifying “tall” or “strong”). Nonetheless, once Tolkien recognized that “Celeborn” sounded more refined, he left Teleporno to gather dust.
Had “Teleporno” remained canon, the formal introduction scene in Lothlórien would feel…different. One imagines poor Gimli struggling to keep a straight face when meeting Lord Teleporno for the first time.
8 Gandalf Was Briefly Called Bladorthin
Believe it or not, Gandalf wasn’t always Gandalf. In Tolkien’s early planning, “Gandalf” was the name for the dwarf we now know as Thorin Oakenshield, while the gray-bearded wizard went by “Bladorthin”. These names come from Old Norse texts that Tolkien mined for linguistic inspiration, mixing and matching terms until each character had a suitable moniker.
As drafts evolved, Tolkien decided “Gandalf” better fit the wandering wizard, partially because “Gandalfr” in Old Norse translates roughly to “wand-elf” or “staff-elf.” Meanwhile, “Thorin” was drawn from the Dvergatal (the catalog of dwarves in the Old Norse poem Völuspá). Bladorthin was demoted to a minor historical figure—briefly mentioned in The Hobbit as a long-dead king.
Though the name swap might seem trivial, it shows how fluid Tolkien’s creative process was. Without that switch, Middle-earth would have a wizard called Bladorthin the Grey, which doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue.
7 The World Was Flat—Literally
A surprising aspect of Tolkien’s myth is that Arda (the world where Middle-earth resides) was originally flat and only became round much later. In the legendarium, the great cataclysm that destroyed Númenor—Tolkien’s Atlantis-like island—led to the “Changing of the World,” after which Eä (the universe) bent into a sphere.
Prior to this event, mortals could literally sail west and reach the Undying Lands of Aman (home of the Valar and Elves). After the cataclysm, Aman was removed from the physical plane, so mortals could no longer stumble upon it by accident. Only Elves possessed the means (and divine permission) to find the Straight Road that still led to Valinor.
The idea that Earth was once physically flat, then magically “bent,” underscores Tolkien’s approach to mythmaking, drawing on biblical and classical traditions where cataclysms reshape the world. It also separates Middle-earth from typical high-fantasy settings—here, the very geography is a testament to divine intervention.
6 Tolkien’s Rewrites Of The Ring’s Discovery
When Tolkien first wrote The Hobbit in 1937, Gollum wasn’t quite the tormented Ring-bearer we know. In that original version, Gollum willingly bets the Ring in a riddle game and readily hands it over to Bilbo upon losing. Only in later editions did Tolkien revise Gollum’s portrayal to make him more desperate and addicted to the Ring’s power, aligning better with The Lord of the Rings.
This retcon forced Tolkien to rework entire passages, turning Gollum into a pitiful, ring-obsessed creature and explaining why Bilbo’s deception—“What have I got in my pocket?”—caused Gollum such anguish. By extension, Bilbo’s ownership of the Ring gained a darker edge, hinting at the future burdens it would place on Frodo.
If you compare the 1937 edition of The Hobbit to later prints, you’ll see how drastically Gollum’s character changed. It’s a testament to Tolkien’s evolving ideas about the Ring’s corruptive influence—even that innocent children’s tale needed tweaking once the broader epic took shape.
5 Tom Bombadil’s True Nature—Still A Mystery
Tom Bombadil may be the biggest enigma in The Lord of the Rings. Despite many fan theories (he’s Eru Ilúvatar, he’s a Maia spirit, he’s “just Tom”), Tolkien never conclusively pinned down Bombadil’s nature. He appears in The Fellowship of the Ring as a merry fellow who rescues the hobbits, seems impervious to the One Ring’s power, and then disappears from the main quest.
Tolkien once said Bombadil represented “the spirit of the vanishing landscapes” or a sort of “nature-spirit.” Yet, in his letters, he also stressed that readers shouldn’t over-interpret Bombadil—he was partly an anomaly in the story, a reminder that not everything in Middle-earth fits neat categories of good vs. evil.
That cryptic cameo has fueled endless speculation. Is Bombadil a remnant of Arda’s earliest days? A Maia gone rogue? Or simply Tolkien’s playful insertion of a folksy spirit? Ultimately, no definitive answer exists, meaning Bombadil remains one of the legendarium’s most charming and enduring puzzles.
4 Glorfindel: That Time Tolkien Resurrected An Elf
Fans who’ve only seen the Lord of the Rings films might overlook Glorfindel, an elf who briefly appears when he helps Frodo reach Rivendell. However, deeper lore reveals that Glorfindel is a reincarnated elf who died way back in the First Age while fighting a Balrog. After his heroic death, Glorfindel’s spirit was sent to the Halls of Mandos—where the souls of Elves typically rest—before the Valar eventually permitted him to return to Middle-earth in the Second Age.
Early on, Tolkien hadn’t fully decided whether the Glorfindel of The Fellowship of the Ring was the same as the balrog-slaying elf from The Silmarillion’s tales. Later notes confirm it, though, making Glorfindel a rare example of an Elf reborn in the mortal realm.
This retcon was partly an effort to unify Tolkien’s sprawling timeline. It also helps explain why Glorfindel is so powerful—he literally took out a Balrog single-handed. Despite his significance, he’s overshadowed by Arwen in the films, who takes on his role of rescuing Frodo. Book purists still lament that cinematic swap, citing Glorfindel as a shining warrior who deserved more screen time.
3 The Blue Wizards And Their Unknown Adventures
Radagast, Saruman, and Gandalf aren’t the only wizards sent to Middle-earth. Tolkien’s lore also mentions two mysterious “Blue Wizards,” known in different notes as Alatar and Pallando. They appear briefly in Tolkien’s writings but never in the main text of The Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit.
Tolkien’s ideas about them varied. In one version, the Blue Wizards traveled east and fell into darkness or cult-worship, failing their mission entirely. In another, they helped stir up resistance against Sauron in remote lands, potentially mitigating the enemy’s strength. Because Tolkien never finalized their storyline, their fate remains ambiguous.
Fan speculation runs rampant. Some see them as unsung heroes who sabotaged Sauron’s operations. Others think they might have started magical cults and turned evil. Tolkien himself seemed torn, but one thing is clear: the East of Middle-earth was a vast realm, and the Blue Wizards had epic exploits there—whatever they might have been.
2 Middle-earth’s Second (Unpublished) Apocalypse: The Dagor Dagorath
While The Lord of the Rings depicts Sauron’s downfall, Tolkien’s legendarium hints at an even bigger final battle—the Dagor Dagorath or “Last Battle”. Though never completed in a published form, some of Tolkien’s writings suggest that Morgoth (the original Dark Lord) would eventually break free from the Void, leading to a cataclysmic confrontation at the end of time. Eärendil the Mariner would descend from the sky in his ship, and the Vala Tulkas might face Morgoth, culminating in Arda’s final remaking.
This apocalypse echoes Norse mythology (Ragnarök) and biblical eschatology, underscoring Tolkien’s intention to create a “mythology for England.” Different drafts lay out different versions of this ultimate showdown, and the idea was never canonically settled.
Regardless, the Dagor Dagorath stands as a fascinating “unfinished business” in Tolkien’s world. For fans who assume the destruction of the One Ring was the ultimate finale, discovering there’s a rumored second apocalypse can be a bit mind-blowing. It’s just one more layer of epic that Tolkien teased but never fully unveiled.
1 Aragorn’s Relationship To Arwen Wasn’t Always So Romantic
Today, Aragorn and Arwen’s love story is central to the heart of The Lord of the Rings. Yet, early drafts of their relationship were murky at best. Tolkien considered having Aragorn marry Éowyn instead—or remain single entirely. In some notes, Arwen barely appears, overshadowed by other plotlines, and Tolkien debated whether her story would mirror Beren and Lúthien’s epic romance.
The final version of Aragorn and Arwen’s tale, detailed in the appendices, draws heavily on the Beren and Lúthien myth, with Arwen choosing a mortal life out of love for Aragorn. But those decisions weren’t made overnight. Tolkien wrestled with the details—Arwen even vanished from certain early outlines.
Had Tolkien gone another route, The Return of the King might lack that bittersweet coda where Arwen outlives Aragorn and dies alone. The romance, as we know it, was shaped by Tolkien’s desire to echo ancient Elf–Man unions. Without it, the human–elven dimension of Middle-earth would be far less poignant. For all the times Tolkien changed his mind, this is one he got absolutely right.
Conclusion
Tolkien’s meticulous world-building often gives Middle-earth an air of mythic inevitability, as if it all sprang fully formed from his mind. But these ten oddities remind us that The Lord of the Rings and its surrounding lore resulted from countless revisions, abandoned plot threads, and epic-scale retcons. Behind the measured prose lies a tapestry of near-miss character names, half-finished cosmologies, and cryptic mysteries like Tom Bombadil.
It’s precisely this deep well of lore—some of it contradictory—that keeps Middle-earth fans engaged decades after Tolkien’s passing. While the final Lord of the Rings trilogy may look seamless, the road to get there was winding indeed. With each new revelation, from wooden-shoed hobbits to resurrected elf warriors, we glimpse the exhilarating creative chaos that birthed one of modern literature’s greatest sagas.
Far from diluting the magic, these quirks highlight Tolkien’s devotion to perfecting his mythos, even if it meant rewriting Gollum’s entire personality or retroactively deciding that “Teleporno” might be a bit awkward. So, whether you’re a newcomer to Middle-earth or a seasoned Tolkien scholar, these obscure oddities guarantee you’ll never look at hobbits, wizards, or even the shape of the Earth in quite the same way again.