First AgeFrom the work
War of Wrath
The First Age ends with Morgoth’s defeat and the loss of Beleriand.
Sources: J. R. R. Tolkien, The Return of the King, Appendix D “Calendars”. London: George Allen & Unwin, 1955.
All fictional worlds
Middle-earth
The Lord of the Rings
In Appendix D of The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien describes the Shire Reckoning: every month has 30 days, and a few extra days sit between the months.
Selected historical date
First Age
From the work
- Time model
- A different calendar
- Calendar
- The Lord of the Rings
- Evidence
- From the work
Key events
Converter: Gregorian date → Shire Reckoning
Shire date
—
Hypothetical Gregorian → Shire conversion; no canonical present-day Middle-earth year.
How time works here
The Shire calendar has twelve 30-day months, two Yule days and three Lithe days. Leap years add Overlithe. Mid-year’s Day and Overlithe are outside the weekly cycle.
Site's assumption
To link the Shire calendar to ours, this site assumes that 2 Yule falls on 22 December of the previous Gregorian year, so Mid-year's Day lands close to the summer solstice, and that Overlithe occurs in Gregorian leap years. This anchoring is our convention.
Sources
- J. R. R. Tolkien, The Return of the King, Appendix D “Calendars”. London: George Allen & Unwin, 1955.
Historical dates are not synchronized with today. Artwork is illustrative.