History Literature / UnfinishedTalesofNumenorAndMiddleearth

* LastStand : "Disaster of the Gladden Fields".

* TheChessmaster : In "The Quest of Erebor" (a "special feature" of ''Literature/TheHobbit'') when Gandalf and the dwarves [[YouAllMeetInAnInn met at Bree]] before visiting Thorin accuses Gandalf of having more in his mind than Thorin's troubles. Gandalf replies that of course he did - He was a [[TheChessmaster chessmaster]] and that was why his advice was so good.

* WorthyOpponent: In "Cirion and Eorl" an ancient campaign between Gondor and its allies against the [[TheHorde Wainriders]] is opened by Gondorian agents enginnering a slave revolt in the Wainriders' country while the men were away at war. The Wainrider [[ActionGirl women]] defend their homes against the rebels and are praised for their valor. Interestingly this is one of the few times Tolkien uses this trope in detail, although it is implied elsewhere that Easterlings and Haradrim have {{Worthy Opponent}}s among them.

* PermaShave: Elves look almost identical to white humans, aside from brighter eyes and an inability to grow facial hair. Yet when Tuor comes to Gondolin, they recognize he's mortal ''only'' by his eyes. When, during his harrowing journey across Beleriand on foot during the harshest winter in centuries, did he find the time or desire to shave his face perfectly smooth?
** Well he was about to enter the last great Noldor kingdom in Beleriand as the messanger of Ulmo. [[WildMassGuessing Surely he'd want to clean himself up beforehand?]]
** Not all men get beards. Maybe the beardless Numenoreans reflect this, rather than elven ancestory.

** There's an {{Unfortunate Implication}} that the existing small population doesn't matter. The survivors (who aren't killed, enslaved or assimilated) are the ancestors of the Dunlendings, and the two peoples are still doing nasty things to each other five hundred years later, but no-one ever seems to join the dots between this and Cirion's mismanagement.

''Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth'', or ''Unfinished Tales'' for short, was the first publication of unfinished and fragmentary material by Creator/JRRTolkien that forms part of the {{backstory}} of ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' and Middle-earth. The stories take various formats: Some are pseudo-history written in a scholarly manner while others are actual narratives. They can be entertaining in their own right and give interesting details like the political organization of Gondor and Rohan, details about the ancient realm of Númenor, and a rough draft of ''Literature/TheChildrenOfHurin'', among other things. A gift for any true Tolkien-geek. Much more material of the same type would later be collected and published, more systematically, in ''Literature/TheHistoryOfMiddleEarth''.

''Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth'', or ''Unfinished Tales'' for short, was the first publication of unfinished and fragmentary material that formed part of the {{backstory}} of ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' and Middle-earth. The stories take various formats: Some are pseudo-history written in a scholarly manner while others are actual narratives. They can be entertaining in their own right and give interesting details like the political organization of Gondor and Rohan, details about the ancient realm of Númenor, and a rough draft of ''Literature/TheChildrenOfHurin'', among other things. A gift for any true Tolkien-geek. Much more material of the same type would later be collected and published, more systematically, in ''Literature/TheHistoryOfMiddleEarth''.

* TheHandler: In "The Hunt for the Ring" The Witch-King captures an agent of Saruman's and intimidates him into serving Sauron

* AntiTrueSight: There is a brief reference to 'shrouding' objects from the vision of a palantir.

* {{Curse}}: Túrin

* HiddenDepths: The Quest of Erebor reveals that Thorin was far more conflicted and doubtful than his proud and egotistcal behaviour in the Hobbit let on, to the point where he almost called the whole thing off in Bag End.
* LastStand : "Disaster of the Gladden Fields"

* YouAllMeetInAnInn: "The Quest of Erebor"

* NobleSavage: The Drúedain, or Wild Men, who are somewhat like Neanderthals in appearance. They also double as a race of [[MagicalNegro Magical Negros]].

* MayflyDecemberRomance: Aldarion and Erendis on Númenor. Aldarion as a member of the royal house of Númenor lived 398 years; Erendis lived only 214 years. Making matters worse, Aldarion spent many of those years on long voyages to Middle Earth. Erendis was not happy; their daughter, the future queen Tar-Ancalimë was severely scarred.

* MyGirlBackHome: "Aldarion and Erendis" is about a Númenorean prince who ruins his marriage because of his love for the sea.

* HiddenDepths: The Quest of Erebor reveals that Thorin was far more conflicted and doubtful than his proud and egotistcal behaviour the Hobbit let on, to the point where he almost called the whole thing off in Bag End.

* NobleSavage:
** The Drúedain, or Wild Men, who are not unlike Neanderthals in appearance.
** They also double as a race of [[MagicalNegro Magical Negros]].

''Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth'', or ''Unfinished Tales'' for short, was the first publication of unfinished and fragmentary material that formed part of the {{backstory}} of ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' and Middle-earth. The stories take various formats: Some are pseudo-history written in a scholarly manner while others are actual narratives. They can be entertaining in their own right and give interesting details like the political organization of Gondor and Rohan, details about the ancient realm of Númenor, and a rough draft of ''Literature/TheChildrenOfHurin'', among other things. A gift for any true Tolkien-geek. Much more material of the same type would later be collected and published in ''Literature/TheHistoryOfMiddleEarth''.

* CityOfAdventure: Bree in ''The Quest of Erebor'' and ''The Hunt for the Ring''.
* CityOfSpies: Bree in ''The Hunt for the Ring''.
* TheChessmaster : In ''The Quest of Erebor'' (a "special feature" of TheHobbit) when Gandalf and the dwarves [[YouAllMeetInAnInn met at Bree]] before visiting Thorin accuses Gandalf of having more in his mind than Thorin's troubles. Gandalf replies that of course he did - He was a [[TheChessmaster chessmaster]] and that was why his advice was so good.

* TheHandler: In ''The Hunt for the Ring'' The Witch-King captures an agent of Saruman's and intimidates him into serving Sauron

* LastStand : ''Disaster of the Gladden Fields''
* MetaFiction: ''The Quest for Erebor'' is told by Gandalf to the Hobbits and Gimli at Minas Tirith.
* MyGirlBackHome: ''Aldarion and Erendis'' is about a Númenorean prince who ruins his marriage because of his love for the sea.

* PerspectiveFlip: ''The Quest for Erebor'' is the events of ''TheHobbit'' (and preceding it) from Gandalf's perspective.
* PoorCommunicationKills: Partial example in ''Aldarion and Erendis''; apparently he never thought of mentioning that while he was off cruising, he was helping the elves fortify against Sauron.
* TheSpymaster: The Witch-King in ''The Hunt for the Ring''
* WorthyOpponent: In ''Cirion and Eorl'' an ancient campaign between Gondor and its allies against the [[TheHorde Wainriders]] is opened by Gondorian agents enginnering a slave revolt in the Wainriders' country while the men were away at war. The Wainrider [[ActionGirl women]] defend their homes against the rebels and are praised for their valor. Interestingly this is one of the few times Tolkien uses this trope in detail, although it is implied elsewhere that Easterlings and Haradrim have {{Worthy Opponent}}s among them.
* YouAllMeetInAnInn: ''The Quest of Erebor''

* TheChessmaster : In ''The Quest of Erebor'' (a "special feature" of TheHobbit) when Gandalf and the dwarves [[YouAllMeetInAnInn met at Bree]] before visiting Thorin accuses Gandalf of having more in his mind then Thorin's troubles. Gandalf replies that of course he did - He was a [[TheChessmaster chessmaster]] and that was why his advice was so good.

* WorthyOpponent: In ''Cirion and Eorl'' an ancient campaign between Gondor and it's allies against the [[TheHorde Wainriders]] is opened by Gondorian agents enginnering a slave revolt in the Wainriders' country while the men were away at war. The Wainrider [[ActionGirl women]] defend their homes against the rebels and are praised for their valor. Interestingly this is one of the few times Tolkien uses this trope in detail, although it is implied elsewhere that Easterlings and Haradrim have {{Worthy Opponent}}s among them.

* HiddenDepths: The Quest of Erebor reveals that THorin was far more conflicted and doubtful than his proud and egotistcal behaviour the Hobbit let on, to the point where he almost called the whole thing off in Bag End.

* HiddenDephs: The Quest of Erebor reveals that THorin was far more conflicted and doubtful than his proud and egotistcal behaviour the Hobbit let on, to the point where he almost called the whole thing off in Bag End.

''Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth'', or ''Unfinished Tales'' for short, was the first publication of unfinished and fragmentary material that formed part of the {{backstory}} of ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' and Middle-earth. The stories take various formats: Some are pseudo-history written in a scholarly manner while others are actual narratives. They can be entertaining in their own right and give interesting details like the political organization of Gondor and Rohan, details about the ancient realm of Númenor, and a rough draft of ''TheChildrenOfHurin'', among other things. A gift for any true Tolkien-geek. Much more material of the same type would later be collected and published in ''Literature/TheHistoryOfMiddleEarth''.

''Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth'', or ''Unfinished Tales'' for short, was the first publication of unfinished and fragmentary material forming the {{backstory}} of ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' and Middle-earth. The stories take various formats: Some are pseudo-history written in a scholarly manner while others are actual narratives. They can be entertaining in their own right and give interesting details like the political organization of Gondor and Rohan, details about the ancient realm of Númenor, and a rough draft of ''TheChildrenOfHurin'', among other things. A gift for any true Tolkien-geek. Much more material of the same type would later be collected and published in ''Literature/TheHistoryOfMiddleEarth''.

** The fault is not all on Aldarion's side; Erendis refuses to make any concessions to his interests and retires to her country estate in a snit when Aldarion's ship is overdue. The posibility that something may have happened to him never seems to occur to her she immediately concludes he has deliberately broken his word to her. Basically, it's a matter of them having absolutely nothing in common.
*** There's also the factor that Aldarion is from the lineage of Elros who live long even by Numenorian standards, while Erendis isn't. Aldarion spends decades at a time at the sea without thinking much of it, while Erendis has to deal with the fear of dying of old age while he is away.

* NobleSavage: The Drúedain, or Wild Men, who are not unlike Neanderthals in appearance.