Istari, Wizard of Middle-earth. Radagast the Brown was originally a Maia spirit of Yavanna the Fruitful called Aiwendil, meaning 'lover of birds'. Chosen as one of the Istari, the order of Wizards, he came to Middle-earth in the year 1000 of the Third Age of the Sun. He seemed little concerned with the affairs of Elves or Men, but was extremely knowledgeable about herbs, plants, birds and beasts.

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One of Cirith Ungol. During the War of the Ring, Radgbug gained brief note when he refused to carry out an order given by his Uruk-hai captain, Shagrat, after a fight between the Orcs of the Tower of the Spider's Pass and the Orcs of Minas Morgul. His mutiny was short-lived because Shagrat threw him to the ground and squeezed out his eyes.

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At the end of the twenty-ninth century of the Third Age of the Sun, Turin II, the Ruling Steward of Gondor, dcreed that a brotherhood of knights be formed in North Ithilien, for Gondor's power in that land was threatened by enemies from Mordor and Morgul. So the band called the Rangers of Ithilien was formed. These knights were dressed in foresters' green, and they fought with bows, spears and swords. In the years before the War of the Ring, their captain was Faramir, second son of Denethor, Gondor's Ruling Steward. Greatest of their dwellings was that refuge of caves and tunnels behind the waterfall that looked far over the Vales of Anduin. This place was called Henneth Annun, the 'Window of the Sunset'.

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Through many centuries of the Third Age of the Sun, in the lands of Eriador, there roamed grim-faced men clothed in cloaks of forest-green or grey, with clasps like silver Stars on their left shoulders. They were grey-eyed, armed with sword and spear, and they wore long leather boots. By the common folk of Eriador they were called Rangers, and they were thought to be a strange, unfriendly people. For though they wandered all over the lands of Eriador on foot or on strange shaggy Horses, they did so silently. Few knew who these tough, weather-worn Rangers were, or from where they had come. As the 'Red Book of Westmarch' reveals, these Rangers were in fact the last nobles and knights of that once great Dunedain realm of Arnor, and their chieftain was the High Dunedain King. In the years before and after the War of the Ring, this was Aragorn, son of Arathorn, who as a Ranger was called Strider.

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The most spectacular waterfalls on Middle-earth in the Third Age were the Rauros Falls on the Anduin River on the northern border of Gondor. The name Rauros means 'roaring foam', and accurately describes it as it fell in a shimmering golden haze from the long lake of Nen Hitheol on the heights of Emyn Muil to the marshlands below. The falls were unnavigable, but a portage route called the North Stair had been cut in the cliffs as a means of bypassing them. During the Quest of the Ring, the funeral boat of Boromir of Gondor was sent over the Rauros Falls to its final rest.

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Within Erebor, the Lonely Mountain, that stands just east of the forest of Mirkwood, was the Dwarf Kingdom under the Mountain. The Dwarves of Erebor built a fortified hill on the mountain's southern spur. This was called Ravenhill because the hill and its guardhouse rooftop was home to many Ravens who were always friends and allies of the Dwarves. It was here that the Raven called Roac brought news to Thorin Oakenshield that Smaug the Golden Dragon had been slain. During the Battle of the Five Armies, it was on Ravenhill that the Elves (with Gandalf the Wizard and Bilbo Baggins) made their stand.

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Many races of birds lived on Middle-earth. Among those named in the tales were the Eagles, which were the noblest of all birds, and the Ravens, which were strong and long-living.

Part of the tale of the slaying of Smaug, the Dragon of Erebor, tells of the Ravens of Erebor, which in the Third Age of the Sun served the Dwarves of Durin's line. These Ravens were wise counsellors and swift messengers for the Dwarves, and they were skilled in many tongues.

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Among the trees of Middle-earth was one that Elves called Region, and Men called Holly. Part of the realm of Sindar was named after that tree. This was the dense forest area of East Beleriand, which lay within the guarded realm of Doriath.

Region was widespread in Middle-earth, but in few places did it grow luxuriantly. One of the areas where it was most widely known was Eregion, which means 'land of the Holly'. The Elven-smiths lived there in the Second Age of the Sun, and it was there that the mighty Rings of Power were forged.

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The wide lands between the Misty Mountains and the Sea of Rhun were called Rhovanion or 'wilder land' and encompassed all lands south of the Grey Mountains and north of Gondor and Mordor.

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To the north-east of Mordor and west of Rhovanion lay the vast lands of Rhun. Here was the inland Sea of Rhun which was fed by the Redwater and Running Rivers. Out of the wide lands of Rhun came many a barbarian people to make war on the Dunedain through the Second and Third Ages of the Sun. Rhun was the land of the Easterlings who were ever under the influence of Sauron, the Ring Lord. Many of his greatest servants were recruited from the kings of Rhun. By the Fourth Age, King Elessar of the Reunited Kingdom had broken the power of most of the kingdoms of Rhun and forced them to make a lasting peace with the westlands.

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Nine was the number of the mighty wraiths that Sauron released in Middle-earth after the forging of the Rings of Power. In Black Speech they were named Nazgul, which in the common tongue is 'Ringwraiths', and they were the chief servants and generals of Sauron.

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In the year 1697 of the Second Age, in the wake of the War of Sauron and the Elves, Master Elrond Half-elven fled Eregion with a remnant of Gwaith-i-Mirdain. While most of the kingdom of the Elven-smiths of Eriador was destroyed, the surviving High Elves built the refuge of Rivendell in the steep, hidden valley of Imladris in easternmost Eriador at the foot of the Misty Mountains, in the 'Angle' of the land between the rivers Hoarwell and Loudwater.

Here was hidden the great House of Elrond. Considered the 'Last Homely House East of the Sea', it was a house of wisdom, great learning and refuge of kindness for all Elves and Men of goodwill. It was here that Bilbo Baggins found refuge, as later did the Fellowship of the Ring.

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In the Third and Fourth Ages of the Sun, the Anduin was the largest and longest river on Middle-earth. Its name is Elvish for 'great river' and it was often simply called The Great River. Its major tributaries were Celebrant, Gladden, Entwash, Limlight, Morgulduin, Erui, Poros and Sirith.

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In the histories and writings of Middle-earth, mention is made of the River-women. Whether, like Osse and Uinen, these were Maiar of Ulmo, Lord of the Waters, or whether they were spirits who came into the World like Ents, is not told; but it is certain they were chiefly concerned with the Kelvar and Olvar of the World.

The 'Red Book of Westmarch' tells how the River-woman of the Withywindle had a daughter named Goldberry, who was the wife of Tom Bombadil.

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Raven lord of Erebor. The son of Carc, he was born in the year 2788 of the Third Age. Roac was 153 years old and rather feather-bald when he helped out the Dwarves of Thorin and Company. It was Roac who told Thorin of the death of Smaug the Dragon, and it was he who sent his Ravens to the Dwarves in the Iron Hills to recruit them for the Battle of Five Armies.

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In the language of the Rohirrim horsemen, Rogin was the name given to those primitive tribal people of the Druadan Forest who were more commonly called the Wildmen or the Woses.

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The kingdom of Rohan, meaning 'horse land', was found in 2510 of the Third Age of the Sun after the Battle of the Field of Celebrant. During this battle a wandering race of golden-haired horsemen called the Eotheod came to the rescue of the Men of Gondor and turned the tide of battle. In gratitude, they were given Gondor's entire province of Calenardhon as an independent yet allied nation. Thereafter, the Eotheod called themselves the Rohirrim or 'horse lords' and made Rohan, (or Riddermark) their home.

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Horse of Aragorn II. During the War of the Ring, Rohern carried Aragorn into many battles. A shaggy, but strong and proud horse, he was the gift of the Elven princess Arwen to her betrothed future king. Rohern means 'horse of the lady'. During the War he served Aragorn in the Battle of the Hornburg, through the Paths of the Dead into the Battle of Pelennor Fields, and right up to the final battle before the Black Gates of Mordor.

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In the year 2510 of the Third Age of the Sun, a host of golden-haired horsemen came to the Battle of the Field of Celebrant to rescue the routed army of Gondor from the Balcoth and Orc hordes. These were the Eotheod whom the Men of Gondor later named the Rhorrim, the 'horse-lords'. They were northmen who inhabited the Vales of Anduin, and they were renowned as warriors and Horse-masters.

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