The Changing of Middle Earth

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I agree that the Beleriand part of the map should shrink, off the top of my head perhaps by half or more.

I did a quick search on the net for scaled ME maps but found very little of any quality, which isn't to say that they don't exist. Frankly I would be surprised if they don't, as enough information to make scaled maps should be out there. There are plenty of implicit and explicit mentions of distances scattered throughout his works and Tolkien seems to have spent a lot of time trying to get these things right too (which isn't to say that he did on every instance mind you). Therefore it should be fairly easy to make maps with distances, not that I intend to.

Here are a few mentions of distances that I dug up should anyone feel the urge. There are other too no doubt.

Originally Posted by The Silm

East Beleriand [is] at its widest a hundred leagues from Sirion to Gelion and the borders of Ossirand

Originally Posted by The Silm

The great highlands of Dorthonion stretched sixty leagues from west to east

Originally Posted by The Silm

The gates of Morgoth were but one hundred and fifty leagues distant from the bridge of Menegroth

Originally Posted by LotR

Forty leagues ... [the Shire] stretched from the Far Downs to the Brandywine Bridge, and fifty from the northern moors to the marches in the south

Originally Posted by Eomers words to Aragorn in Rohan (LotR)

Forty leagues and five have you measured ere the the forth day is ended [from Rauros to the Entwash]

Gollum also states that from the crossroads near Minas Morgul the road goes a hundred leagues south before you can see "the Great Water that is never still" but I don't know how much use that is.

I think a ME league is meant to be about 3 English Miles, or roughly 5 km.

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I couldn't resist investigating a bit further as I got back and according to my calculations the distance between the Grey Havens and Rivendell ought to be roughly 200 leagues as the crow flies.

On Hookbill's map the width of East Beleriand (100 leagues) appears to be a little bit longer than the distance between the Blue Mountains and the Misty Mountains (aprox. 200 leagues) which suggests that the Beleriand part of the map should be scaled down to at least half the size than as shown. I suppose it would be more difficult to assess the latitude position of the various places in Beleriand however. You do get the feeling that the locations are placed too far to the north generally though (and, of course, that they should be closer together). Fex. I feel that Doriath and Menegroth should be located to the south of the Shire and Rivendell, not north of it as on Hookbill's map.

Hope you take this as constructive criticism Hookbill, although it is a bit nit-picky, I know.

[Galin]

Perhaps also check out KWF's introductory comments under How Long is a League, and (within that commentary) her remarks concerning the Blue Mountains (Atlas of Middle-Earth).

Not that her book is perfect (nor does she claim so), and it could not be approved by JRRT of course, but I think this would be an important concern for her book overall. She not only provides a scale of miles for her FA map, but also mapped the Far North, where Christopher Tolkien himself would not go (for his Silmarillion maps).