Which Age of Middle Earth Would You Like To Have Belonged To?

Aethelwyne Bolger

Aethelwyne Bolger

Bree
When I was making my hobbit family tree in 2004, I was trying to figure out which age I should belong to. Each age has its wonders, but also its sorrows.

If I lived during Bilbo's age, it was a time of peace for the Hobbits, a happier time for the elves, and Gandalf was still wandering and making fireworks. However, Dale was long destroyed, the dwarves were homeless, and I would be very old by the time Bilbo had his 111th birthday party.

If I lived during Frodo's time, I would face war and sorrow. However, depending on which kingdom I came from (if not hobbit), I would get to know the glorious people of the age before they left or passed away: the elves, Boromir, Theoden, Gandalf, Bilbo and Frodo, Galadriel.

If I lived during the Fourth Age, the time of the elves would be past and there would be a lot of rebuilding of homes and lives. However, there would be new adventures to the south and east and the glories of the new kingdom ages of Aragorn and Arwen, Faramir and Eowyn, and Eomer and his wife. Sam, Merry, and Pippin would be alive and flourishing, and Legolas and some of the elves remained behind for awhile.

Then of course there are the First and Second ages to choose from, if one is an elf or (later on) a man or woman.

Which would you choose? For me, I chose the Fourth Age because it seemed to reflect my life. I always felt like I was born too late and that I should have lived during the 1940's. I always have gotten along better with my grandparents' generation than my own! I would have been a hobbit sad to have missed Gandalf's fireworks and Bilbo's party and stories, yet excited to travel with my family to barter in trade and live in Ithilien for awhile, helping the elves restore the gardens there. There would have been lots of adventure, yet I would have still felt a bit like I was an old soul in the wrong era.
 
I would likely be in Bree or some similar place. But who knows? In my own lifetime there has been a Presidential assassination, the Moon landing, the end of the Cold War and the Age of Electronics.
 
Basically because I'm a coward and as much as Elves are great, I would hate to be around supposedly greater beings of their like if I was mortal. I would prefer to live in an age of peace and prosperity than in an age of war, no matter how large or small the danger is.

Plus if the we're in the Fourth Age Saruman will be dead, so kind old King Elessar could give me the keys to Orthanc just as I always wanted![laugh]
 
i would rather be a first age elf if that is an option. Though i can see where they did do some wrong, lol. If not then a man in the first age - don't have to be anything like a prince, just so long as i can go to war and kick some orc butt (and live to tell the tale)!
 
I'm definitely an Elf hugger. In my eyes Elves can do no Wrong; rather be with the Elves anytime.
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Yeah... sigh... me too...

wish I could explain to Beleg that he really needs to do something about that Turin kid...

(still love those rowdy 13 in the Hobbit...)
 
I would like to have lived in the Second Age, it seems like quite a dynamic time! and I suppose I would need to be an Elf to see the whole era. The relationships between Elves, Men and Dwarves in Middle-earth during the time Numenor was founded, flourished and ultimately fell would be interesting to me; and so would exploring the beginnings of the Hobbits and the Northmen (later the people of Rohan) near the end of the Second Age.
 
It would have been cool to have been one of the first or second generation noldor elves to be born at Cuvinien-you could experience all four ages-travelling across M.E on the great journey, seeing valinor at its height, and surviving the wars of beleriand and Middle earth in the 1st-3rd ages, before getting a job as a boat builder at the grey havens, sailing back to valinor with Cirdan on the last ship...
 
I would live in the Fourth Age, the Age of the King. Although, I would miss not seeing any elves I would go there because it is more peaceful. If I wanted to take a trip somewhere I would have a better chance of not being attacked while on the road. I would probably want to live in Gondor and I would make sure to visit the Shire and Rohan. And I would have definately missed seeing Gandalf.
 
It was the best and worst the Elves ever were, and mostly the best. Menegroth, Nargothrond, Gondolin, the Falas: those were the Elves in their prime. The struggle against Morgoth was The Heroic Age to me, even if it ended in defeat before the Valar came to the rescue.
 
For some stupid reason or other I have a bit of a preference for Gondor under the Steward's rule and/or Rohan, so third age it has to be.
 
As a Silmarillion enthusiast, I voted First Age, however, I don't think I would have actually wanted to experience the events of the First Age up close. They're great from a distance, much the same way as I enjoy reading about World War II, but I certainly wouldn't have wanted to live in Nazi Germany. In reality, if I had to pick a time to live a day by day life in Arda, I would probably prefer the beginning of the Second Age. Numenor during the reign of Elros seems like a pretty cushy lifestyle.
 
If I could have watched the history of Beleriand from Gondolin or a palantir in Belegost, and escaped before the final destruction, that would have been best for me. It would have been sad to witness all the tragedies, but still inspiring how doughty the resistance was.
 
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