Quiz of the Day
Tolkien & Middle-earth
Tuesday, 22 September 2026
22 Sep is Hobbit Day, the shared birthday of Bilbo and Frodo Baggins — journey through Tolkien's works, characters and the deep lore of Middle-earth
1. What is the name of Bilbo Baggins' hobbit-hole home in the Shire?
- Bag End
- Brandy Hall
- Crickhollow
- Great Smials
Bag End sits at the end of Bagshot Row in the village of Hobbiton. Tolkien borrowed the name from his aunt Jane Neave's farm in Worcestershire, which locals called 'Bag End.' The hole passes from Bilbo to Frodo, and later becomes home to Samwise Gamgee and his family.
2. The creature Gollum was originally a member of which race before the Ring corrupted him?
- Orc
- Dwarf
- Hobbit
- Elf
Gollum was born Sméagol, one of the Stoor branch of hobbits who lived near the Gladden Fields on the River Anduin. He murdered his relative Déagol to seize the One Ring on his own birthday. Centuries of the Ring's influence twisted him into the wretched creature Bilbo later met beneath the Misty Mountains.
3. Which wizard recruits Bilbo Baggins and guides Thorin's company of dwarves in The Hobbit?
- Saruman
- Radagast
- Elrond
- Gandalf
Gandalf the Grey is one of the Istari, spirits called Maiar sent to Middle-earth to oppose Sauron. Tolkien drew the name 'Gandalf' from the Old Norse 'Dvergatal' (a catalogue of dwarf names) in the Poetic Edda, where it means roughly 'wand-elf.' In The Lord of the Rings he falls in Moria and returns as Gandalf the White.
4. Into the fires of which mountain must the One Ring be cast to be destroyed?
- Caradhras
- Mount Doom
- Erebor
- Weathertop
Mount Doom, also called Orodruin, is the volcano in Mordor where Sauron forged the One Ring. Because the Ring was made in its fires, only those same fires are hot enough to unmake it. Frodo and Sam's entire quest is aimed at reaching this single, perilous destination.
5. Bilbo and Frodo Baggins share a birthday celebrated on which date, now known as Hobbit Day?
- June 11
- March 25
- September 22
- December 25
The Lord of the Rings opens with Bilbo's 'eleventy-first' (111th) birthday party, held jointly with Frodo's 33rd — his coming of age — both on 22 September. Fans mark the date as Hobbit Day, part of an unofficial Tolkien Week. The synchronized birthdays are a small but deliberate piece of Tolkien's careful in-world calendar.
6. What is the name of Frodo's devoted gardener who accompanies him all the way to Mordor?
- Fredegar Bolger
- Peregrin Took
- Samwise Gamgee
- Meriadoc Brandybuck
Samwise 'Sam' Gamgee is often described by Tolkien himself as the true hero of The Lord of the Rings. He carries Frodo up the slopes of Mount Doom when his master can no longer walk. After the quest, Sam marries Rosie Cotton and is elected Mayor of the Shire seven times.
7. What is the name of the great dragon that guards the dwarves' treasure under the Lonely Mountain in The Hobbit?
- Glaurung
- Ancalagon
- Smaug
- Scatha
Smaug seized the dwarf-kingdom of Erebor and its hoard, driving Thorin's people into exile. Bilbo notices a bare patch on Smaug's diamond-encrusted belly, and this weak spot lets the archer Bard the Bowman slay him with a black arrow. Tolkien, a philologist, said 'Smaug' derives from a Germanic verb meaning 'to squeeze through a hole.'
8. Which Elvish forest realm is ruled by Galadriel and Celeborn?
- Mirkwood
- Lothlórien
- Rivendell
- Gondolin
Lothlórien, the 'Golden Wood,' is famed for its mallorn trees with golden leaves and silver bark. Galadriel wears Nenya, one of the three Elven Rings of Power, which she uses to preserve and protect the land. The Fellowship rests there after the loss of Gandalf in Moria.
9. What is the group that sets out from Rivendell to destroy the One Ring called?
- The Grey Company
- The Company of Thorin
- The White Council
- The Fellowship of the Ring
The Fellowship consists of nine walkers, chosen to counter the nine Ringwraiths: four hobbits, two Men (Aragorn and Boromir), the Elf Legolas, the Dwarf Gimli, and the wizard Gandalf. It is formed at the Council of Elrond and gives the first volume of the novel its title. The group is broken by Boromir's fall and the orc ambush at Amon Hen.
10. In The Silmarillion, what are the three sacred jewels crafted by Fëanor called?
- The Arkenstones
- The Silmarils
- The Palantíri
- The Great Rings
The Silmarils captured the light of the Two Trees of Valinor and are the central treasures of The Silmarillion. When Morgoth stole them, Fëanor and his sons swore a terrible oath to reclaim them, driving much of the tragedy of the First Age. Only one Silmaril endures in the sky as the star Eärendil sails through the heavens.
11. Aragorn is crowned king of which realm, ruling from the city of Minas Tirith?
- Rohan
- Mirkwood
- Dale
- Gondor
Aragorn takes the throne as King Elessar, restoring a line of kings that had lain vacant for nearly a thousand years while Stewards governed Gondor. He is a direct descendant of Isildur, who cut the One Ring from Sauron's hand. His coronation and marriage to Arwen mark the beginning of the Fourth Age.
12. What is the name of the golden hall of the kings of Rohan at Edoras?
- Dunharrow
- Helm's Deep
- Meduseld
- Isengard
Meduseld is the great hall of King Théoden, its roof said to gleam like gold when seen from afar. Tolkien lifted the very word 'meduseld' (meaning 'mead-hall') straight from the Old English epic Beowulf. Rohan's language and culture are deliberately modeled on the Anglo-Saxons.
13. What do the initials 'J.R.R.' stand for in author J.R.R. Tolkien's name?
- John Robert Reginald
- John Ronald Reuel
- John Rupert Roland
- James Ronald Rupert
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was born in 1892 in Bloemfontein, in what is now South Africa. He served as Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford and was a leading scholar of Old and Middle English. His friends and family simply called him 'Ronald,' while students often knew him as 'Tolkien' or 'the Professor.'
14. In Tolkien's legendarium, who was the first Dark Lord and the original master whom Sauron served?
- Saruman
- Morgoth
- Ungoliant
- Smaug
Morgoth, originally named Melkor, was the mightiest of the Valar — the angelic powers who shaped the world — before he fell into evil. Sauron was merely his chief lieutenant during the First Age. Tolkien conceived Morgoth as the ultimate source of corruption in Middle-earth, making Sauron a lesser successor to a far greater darkness.
15. What is the name of Aragorn's sword, reforged from the shards of the broken blade Narsil?
- Glamdring
- Orcrist
- Sting
- Andúril
Andúril, the 'Flame of the West,' is reforged by the Elven-smiths of Rivendell from the fragments of Narsil, the sword Isildur used to cut the Ring from Sauron's hand. Bearing this ancestral blade is part of Aragorn's claim to the throne of Gondor. Glamdring is Gandalf's sword, Orcrist is Thorin's, and Sting is the short blade carried by Bilbo and later Frodo.