A Visual Tour Through Tolkien’s Map of Middle Earth

As part of the Great Maps Explained series, Victor of Mapster gave a charming visual tour of J. R. R. Tolkien‘s iconic map of Middle Earth as published in the 1954 edition of Fellowship of the Ring. Victor further explains how this map was an integral part of the story, almost as if it were another character to behold.

The stories of Bilbo, Frodo, elves and dwarves, the epic struggle between men and the forces of darkness… These all take place in a world that is like, but not quite like, our own. This is a world with such richness of detail..that ever since its entrance into our culture, it has somehow never stopped growing. The map of Middle Earth is a portal into this world.  

via Boing Boing