Each novel in The Lord of the Rings series is set within that same world and century.
Because of his scholarly interests, Tolkien knew that calendars themselves carried mythological associations. The English calendar, for instance, names several of its days of the week after Anglo-Saxon gods who derive from Norse counterparts. These days correspond to individual gods as follows:
Tuesday: The day of Tiw, the god of war Wednesday: The day of Woden, the chief god Thursday: The day of Thor, the god of thunder Friday: The day of Frigg, the goddess of the heavens.
With this in mind, Tolkien created and adhered to an elaborate calendar to chart the passage of time on Middle-earth. In the shire, or county, where the hero Bilbo Baggins lives, Tuesday is known as "Trewsday," the day of trees, followed by "Hensday," the day of Heavens. These close associations with the English days of the week are not the only parallel between our world and Middle-earth. According to The Lord of the Rings, the Middle-earth year has "365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, 46 seconds" (Kocher, p. 7). In other words, time passes in Middle-earth just as it does in our world.
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