While I was searching through some family trees of the Shire, I noticed that there were not many "early deaths" in the diagrammed families. Even by other races or families seems it, that all persons can live very long, save he/she was killed. I started to make some thoughts about this topic and the related topics.
Does there are no bad illnesses in Middle-Earth or does the illnesses are only not reported, whether good-natured or bad-natured?
This seems to me a good question: Here are my thoughts, free to discuss.
For the good good-natured illnesses, I could find at least the little cold, which Bilbo had in Esgaroth. But also a cold seems to be very rare in Middle-Earth. There is i.e. no mention of a cold, when the Fellowship come down the Caradhras.
Quote:
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Originally Posted by FOTR
he banquet was very splendid, however, though I had a bad cold at the time, I remember, and could only say 'thag you very buch'. I now repeat it more correctly
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Was the population of Middle-Earth more resistent against illnesses or does there are only few bacteria?
For the bad-natured illnesses , I could find the "Great Plague" an evil epidemic, which came over the lands of Middle-Earth. It is comparable to our "black death", I think.
The mentioning of Tolkien, that Elves could not suffer under illnesses, implies that it must give more than these.
But we can exclude the Elves in our argumentation.
Save from the question, whether the static consumption of alcoholic drinks like wine could harm an Elf? ( I allude here to Thranduil) ;-)