LotR - Prologue

[davem]

Originally Posted by Rumil

As to the 'blank spaces' on the map, I've always thought they indicated lack of knowledge rather than lack of inhabitants, considering,

Raynor Unwin, in a talk at the Church House Bookshop back in 1981 to celebrate the publication of UT, told of when Pauline Baynes went to see Tolkien about some difficulties she was having over a Poster-map of Middle-earth she'd been commissioned to paint: she'd noticed that when the map was reproduced on such a large scale there was a lot of empty space. Apparently Tolkien was very solicitous & helped her out by simply inventing some features/places on the spot for her to insert. It seems that the real reason for the blank spaces on the map was more mundane - that Tolkien hadn't realised they were there, & when they were pointed out to him he simply made up stuff to fill them....