Easterness

Easterness (S. "Rhûndor", Q. "Rómenóre", Ad."Anazûlê), also known as the Burnt Land of the Sun , the Sun-Lands (Q. "Anárnóre", Ad. "Ephalûrêzâin"), or Oronto (Q. "East"), was a legendary continent that was situated far east of Middle-Earth, separated from it by the Romenëar. Its coastlines were explored by the Númenoreans in the Second Age. After the Fall of Númenor, the remaining Númenorean Seamen were unable to reach Aman anymore and found that the world was formed as a Globe. During their rare and exceptional expeditions, mostly searching for possible remnants of Númenor such as legendary Tol Meneltarma, they found a new continent on the opposite side of Ambar. Scholars debated if these New Lands were in fact the ancient continent of Easternesse, the coastlines of which had been altered by the great cataclysm, or if it was indeed a new continent, formed from parts of lower Arda that had before been hidden beneath the Eastern Seas.

Places of Note[]

Notes[]

Tolkien seemingly used the form "Easterness" for this continent, according to his later terminology it should have been "Easternesse". He used "Eastland", "Lands of the Sun", "Burnt Land of the Sun", "Dark lands east", and "Easterness" often interchangeably.

The shown map is roughly based on Professor Tolkien's raw sketches published in The Shaping of Middle-Earth and to some lesser degree his early drawing of the "World Ship" and the World of Arda, published in the Book of Lost Tales.

Editorial Note: This entry contains speculative or fan-based material — such as fanon, fanfiction, or theory constructs — that may not be directly supported by canonical texts. Interpretations offered here are part of the NNCA’s speculative corpus and should not be mistaken for primary Tolkien sources.