[Corsair_Caruso]

Tolkien's notes of the personages and history of his Legendarium are far ranging and include countless characters, events, lands, peoples, creatures, cultures, languages, etc... The most developed areas of the Legendarium are (arguably) the parts that saw publication in his lifetime: the War of the Ring and the events in the century beforehand. Following that, the events of the Wars of the Jewels are the most detailed, though that is much less consistent due to the death of the Professor before he could finish a final, definitive version of the Elder Days. Still, we have quite a bit to work from. The events of the Third Age as a whole might be as developed as this, especially when we combine the incomplete narratives of Unfinished Tales with the Appendices of RotK and the unpublished notes regarding them found in latter volumes of the HoMe.

Following that I'd say the Second Age has the most development, but this is really quite spotty, with really only a general outline, one or two narratives and some essays.

Then we have various fragments, notes, and other unpublished material from various other time periods, as well as earlier iterations of the Legendarium that give us hints as to the Professor's thought process, though little definitive indication as to where he might have gone from there.

What topics, specifically, do you wish the Professor had been able to make a firm decision on? What would you like to know more about? What people, or cultures, or historical events have you read about that leave you wanting more information?

I, for one, would like to know more about Númenor, across the board. Culture, language, history, personages of import, everything. That's very broad, but hey, I find the entire concept fascinating and I wish it could have been explored much more thoroughly.

I also would like to be able to read some narratives from the early Third Age, or even the late Second Age, set in the early years of Arnor and Gondor. I want to know more about how the two kingdoms were organized, the interactions between the colonists and the ships bearing the news of Númenor's destruction. I want to know the circumstances under which he ancestors of the Princes of Dol Amroth gained their title from Elendil. I want accounts of the foundation of Osgiliath, Minas Anor and Minas Ithil. I want to hear the tale of the construction of Isengard and Orthanc. There is so much more I wish I could know and read.

I think I'd also like to know a lot more about the Black Númenóreans in Umbar, how their culture functioned in the early years after Númenor's destruction. I'd love to hear tell of their rejection of the claim of the House of Andúnië on the kingship of the colonies. Did they retain Adûnaic as their daily speech, and if so, for how long? Was their a creole that grew up out of a blend of Haradic elements with Adûnaic? How long did the Black Númenoreans retain their dominance in Umbar's culture. What went on in the colonies farther south? Where was Beruthiel from and what prompted Tarannon Falastur to forge a political alliance via marriage?

I guess you could summarize my specific interests at this point into the overarching topic of "Númeóreans and the cultures descended from them." I find them perhaps even more fascinating than Elves, and I find Elves exceedingly interesting.

But I've gone on way too long. What interests you? Elvish culture? Dwarvish language? Inheritance laws in societies that experience both immortality and (essentially) reincarnation? Religion in Arda? What topics do you wish you could know more about, and what do you think and/or theorize about them now?