Lord of the Rings
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This Lord of the Rings quiz has 137 free questions with answers and starts gently, with the Fellowship, the Shire and the One Ring, then climbs into genuinely hard LOTR trivia: the Elven Rings and who bears them, the only Ringwraith Tolkien ever names, Éowyn's alias, the two 'books' inside The Two Towers, the pirated 1965 American paperback, the Swedish translation that annoyed Tolkien into writing a naming guide, and the volcano he said looked most like Mount Doom. It draws on the novels, the appendices and the Peter Jackson films, so it suits book purists and movie fans alike, and it works as a ready-made round for a fantasy trivia night. Every answer has been checked against a primary reference and each question shows its citation, so when the table argues about Glorfindel and Arwen you can settle it.
30 of 137 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Which author penned the epic fantasy novel 'The Lord of the Rings'?
J.R.R. Tolkien
J.R.R. Tolkien's sequel grew far beyond The Hobbit, drawing on his philology and his experience of the First World War.
Q 02To which race does Frodo Baggins, who carries the One Ring to Mount Doom, belong?
Hobbit
Frodo Baggins is a Hobbit; he inherits the Ring and Bilbo's hobbit-hole from his cousin Bilbo, whom he calls uncle, after Bilbo's farewell party.
Q 03Which land of Sauron's holds Mount Doom, the volcano where the One Ring was forged?
Mordor
Mordor's Mount Doom, Orodruin in Sindarin, is where the Ring was forged and finally destroyed.
Q 04Which director helmed the critically acclaimed film trilogy adaptation of 'The Lord of the Rings'?
Peter Jackson
Peter Jackson directed all three films in 'The Lord of the Rings' trilogy, earning widespread critical acclaim and numerous awards.
Q 05Which woodland Elven realm between the Misty Mountains and the Anduin is ruled by Galadriel and Celeborn?
Lothlórien
Lothlórien's wood-elves are the Galadhrim; Galadriel used one of the Three Elven Rings to hide the realm from Sauron's sight, and Frodo saw her Mirror there.
Q 06What is the name of the wizard who initially sends Frodo on his quest to destroy the One Ring?
Gandalf
Gandalf, one of the Istari, bears one of the Three Elven Rings; after the fire-revealed inscription confirms the Ring's nature, he sends Frodo east on the road with Sam.
Q 07How many members were originally in the Fellowship of the Ring?
Nine
Elrond chose the number deliberately so that the Nine Walkers would be set against the nine Black Riders.
Q 08In what year was the first volume of 'The Lord of the Rings' published?
1954
The first volume, 'The Fellowship of the Ring', was published on July 29, 1954, though Tolkien intended the work as a single volume.
Q 09What is the name of Aragorn's sword, which was reforged from the shards of Narsil?
Andúril
Andúril, the Flame of the West, was reforged in Rivendell from Narsil's shards; its blade bears seven stars set between a crescent moon and a rayed sun.
Q 10Which race is Legolas Greenleaf a member of?
Elf
Legolas is an Elf of the Woodland Realm in northern Mirkwood, a Sindarin prince who came to Rivendell as a messenger from his father's court.
Q 11What is the name of the ancient, tree-like beings who are 'shepherds of the forest'?
Ents
The Ents are the shepherds of the trees; Gandalf calls their eldest the oldest living thing that still walks beneath the Sun, and the tree-like Huorns are their kin.
Q 12What is the name of the giant spider that attacks Frodo and Sam near Mordor?
Shelob
Shelob, a descendant of Ungoliant, dwells in the pass of Cirith Ungol, and Gollum apparently worshipped her.
Q 13Which Elven smith, manipulated by Sauron, forged the Rings of Power?
Celebrimbor
Celebrimbor, lord of the smiths of Eregion, forged the Rings of Power under the guidance of Sauron, who came in fair disguise; Sauron then secretly forged the One Ring to rule the rest.
Q 21Which birthday is Bilbo celebrating at the party that opens the story?
111th
111th, which hobbits call 'eleventy-one'; the party comes 60 years after the events of The Hobbit.
Q 22At which fortress does Rohan make its stand against Saruman's Uruk-hai?
Helm's Deep
Rohan holds the Hornburg at Helm's Deep against Saruman's Uruk-hai; the film's Helm's Deep set, built in Dry Creek Quarry, was later rebuilt on the same site as Minas Tirith.
Q 23The Return of the King won how many Academy Awards, a total that tied the all-time record?
11
The Return of the King won 11 Academy Awards in February 2004, a clean sweep of its 11 nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay.
Q 14What is the name of the region where the Hobbits primarily reside?
The Shire
The Shire lies in Eriador in north-west Middle-earth, within the old Kingdom of Arnor; King Argeleb II granted it to the Hobbits in Third Age 1601.
Q 15Which actor played Frodo Baggins in the film trilogy?
Elijah Wood
Wood was the first actor cast, in July 1999, after sending in an audition tape dressed as Frodo.
Q 16What is Frodo's loyal companion Sam's job before the quest?
Gardener
Sam was Bilbo's and then Frodo's gardener, taking over from his father Hamfast, the Gaffer, who tended the garden before him.
Q 17The One Ring grants its mortal wearer what power?
Invisibility
Even so, when Sam wore it on the edge of Mordor he felt horribly visible, aware that an Eye was searching for him.
Q 18Which creature calls the Ring 'my precious' and guides Frodo and Sam toward the Black Land?
Gollum
Gollum was born Sméagol, a river-hobbit; his family named him Gollum for the horrible swallowing noise he made in his throat, and he kept the Ring for nearly five centuries.
Q 19In which country was the entire film trilogy shot?
New Zealand
All three films were shot back-to-back in New Zealand, Peter Jackson's home country, over 438 days of principal photography run as a single production.
Q 20What is Bilbo's home in Hobbiton called?
Bag End
Bag End takes its name from the Worcestershire farm of Tolkien's aunt Jane Neave, which sat at the end of a lane with no exit, a cul-de-sac.
Q 24Which two earlier films share the record for most Oscar wins with The Return of the King?
Ben-Hur and Titanic
Ben-Hur and Titanic also finished with 11 statuettes; The Return of the King is the only one of the three never nominated for an acting award.
Q 25Who composed the score for all three films?
Howard Shore
Howard Shore composed all three scores, recorded mainly with the London Philharmonic at Watford Town Hall and mixed at Abbey Road; Peter Jackson struck a single gong on the second film.
Q 26Which singer performed 'May It Be', the end-title song of The Fellowship of the Ring?
Enya
Enya sang 'May It Be', written with Nicky and Roma Ryan, and it earned an Oscar nomination for Best Original Song; she also wrote and sang 'Aníron', the Aragorn and Arwen theme.
Q 27Who sang 'Into the West', the closing song of The Return of the King, and shared its Oscar?
Annie Lennox
Annie Lennox, formerly of Eurythmics, shared the songwriting credit with Howard Shore and Fran Walsh, and the song won the Oscar for Best Original Song.
Q 28Which actor gave the motion-capture performance behind the Ring's wretched former bearer, Sméagol?
Andy Serkis
Andy Serkis went on to play King Kong, Caesar in the Planet of the Apes reboots and Supreme Leader Snoke.
Q 29Which actor, who had hoped to play Gandalf, was cast as Saruman instead?
Christopher Lee
Christopher Lee was the only cast member who had actually met Tolkien, and he ended up playing the corrupt head of the wizards instead.
Q 30Which actor was first cast as Aragorn, then dropped as too young and replaced by Viggo Mortensen?
Stuart Townsend
Stuart Townsend, then 26, was dropped just before filming began; Viggo Mortensen read the book on the flight over, took a crash course in fencing and was filming on Weathertop almost at once.