J.R.R. Tolkien’s legendarium of Middle-earth outlines several distinct ages that make up its history. The most well-known and defined ages described in Tolkien’s main works are the First, Second, and Third Ages. However, references made by Tolkien also hint at the possibility of earlier ages before the First Age and a Fourth Age following the Third. This has led to speculation and debate among fans about whether a definitive Fifth Age exists within Middle-earth’s extensive mythology.
What are the known ages of Middle-earth?
The history of Middle-earth is divided into the following central ages:
- The First Age: This age begins with the creation of the world and ends with the defeat of Morgoth, the original Dark Lord, at the end of the War of Wrath.
- The Second Age: Spanning 3441 years, this age sees the rise and fall of Númenor and ends with the defeat of Sauron at the hands of the Last Alliance.
- The Third Age: Lasting 3021 years, this age ends with the final defeat of Sauron in the War of the Ring and the passing of the One Ring.
These three ages make up the bulk of the detailed history and lore that Tolkien wrote about Middle-earth. The events of The Lord of the Rings mainly take place towards the end of the Third Age.
What hints are there of ages before the First Age?
While the First Age is considered the beginning of recorded history in Middle-earth, Tolkien did at times allude to unnamed ages existing even before that time.
In early drafts of his stories, Tolkien referred to the “Days before Days” and described Melkor operating freely in Middle-earth before the start of time as formally measured and recorded. Additionally, some of Tolkien’s later essays discuss the Ainulindalë (the cosmic ‘Music of the Ainur’) and the shaping of Arda occurring in a temporal state outside normal time.
These vague references suggest there could have been effectively ‘prehistoric’ ages distinct from the First Age, occurring before Elves awoke and the Valar began their sustained involvement in Arda. However, Tolkien never firmly defined or named any additional age from this remoter period. He tended to focus on the history of the Elves as a definitive starting point.
Is there evidence of a Fourth Age?
More concrete are references made to a Fourth Age existing after the end of the Third Age:
- Appendix B of The Lord of the Rings outlines the timeline of the Third Age but leaves blank what follows after its end in year 3021.
- In a note written in 1972 or later, Tolkien stated: “I imagine the gap [since the Third Age] to be about 6000 years: that is we are now at the end of the Fifth Age, if the Ages were of about the same length as Third Age. But they have, I think, quickened.”
- In The Peoples of Middle-earth, Tolkien explained his reasoning for not fleshing out details of the Fourth Age: “…I have squandered all my notes; and in any case the Fourth Age was not ready for chronicle – it was ‘unhistory’.”
These snippets confirm that Tolkien did envision a Fourth Age existing after the Third, even if he deliberately declined to define its events in his stories. Its length and relationship to the modern day remain vague.
Is there mention of a defined Fifth Age?
Within the published canon, there are no direct references to a distinct Fifth Age in Middle-earth’s chronology. However, as seen in the second quote above, Tolkien indicated in one posthumously published note that he considered the modern day to be near the end of a hypothesized Fifth Age.
A very rough calculation would place the Fifth Age beginning around the year 10,000 of the Third Age, if one assumes it lasted about 6000 years as Tolkien mused. However, this date is entirely speculative, and Tolkien never settled on any firm details about the transitions between the Fourth, Fifth, and later ages.
Significance of the changing ages
In his letters, Tolkien emphasized that the progression of the ages marked definitive changes in the nature of Middle-earth and its inhabitants:
We are in a time when the One is mythologically supposed to have disappeared again into the primeval unity, not to reappear until the End, when he will again lift Arda from the death that Eä her World-Wolf inflicted on it.
This quote implies that the Fourth Age and any subsequent ages signify a more mundane, ‘mythological’ period compared to the fantastical events of the Elder Days. The role of the Valar recedes, and the remaining Eldar diminish and eventually leave Middle-earth. Magic and marvels make way for a more ordinary human-centric world.
Conclusion
In summary, while Tolkien suggested the possibility of ages before the First and hinted at a Fourth Age after the Third, there is no firm evidence pointing to an official Fifth Age within the Middle-earth canon. The inference of a Fifth Age seems to have arisen from speculative attempts to match Tolkien’s ages to our own modern timeline. But this goes beyond what Tolkien himself defined in his writings.
Fans are free to imagine the continuance of the ages and the hypothesized events of the Fourth, Fifth, and later time periods. But ultimately the matter is vague and open-ended per Tolkien’s intention, with no definitive Fifth Age established.