All editions of The Lord of the Rings include detailed maps of the physical and political geography of Middle-earth. The first map provides a large-scale view of the area covered by the story. Frodo and his companions begin their journey in the Shire, in the upper left part of the map. The farthest point of his journey is in the lower right, inside Mordor. Each quadrant of this large map is enlarged, so that significant details, such as Mount Doom, can be located. A further enlargement, showing Rohan, Gondor, and Mordor, follows These six maps generally appear at the back of the third book. Finally, a detailed map of the Shire appears before the first book.
The Prologue explains hobbits and some significant elements of their culture and history. Hobbits are small creatures—about three feet tall—able to move quietly and quickly. Although they tend to avoid “Big Folk,” they are more closely related to Men than they are to Elves or Dwarves. Hobbits mainly live in the Shire, a small and isolated country. They tend toward fat, because they like a quiet, well-ordered life of farming, laughter, and frequent meals, but nevertheless they are remarkably sturdy. They prefer to live in holes (very comfortably, with wooden floors and lots of windows).
About 60 years before Chapter 1 begins, one hobbit behaved most remarkably by going on an adventure. Along the way, Bilbo Baggins found a magic ring that turned its wearer invisible. It saved his life from Gollum, a hobbit-sized creature Bilbo met while lost in tunnels beneath the mountains and who was—unknown to Bilbo—the owner of the ring. Gollum learned Bilbo’s name and homeland, and he felt bitter at losing his “precious,” the ring. The introductory material concludes with a note that the following story has been taken from the Red Book of Westmarch, a record that began as Bilbo’s diary, was continued by Frodo, and was passed on to the family of Sam Gamgee. Additional information comes from the libraries of Meriadoc and Peregrin.
