J. R. R. Tolkien's Legendarium as Heterodox Palaeoscience.

This article examines the influence of heterodox palaeoscience—scientific ideas outside mainstream acceptance—on J. R. R. Tolkien’s legendarium, particularly The Lord of the Rings and its related works. It highlights Tolkien’s incorporation of evolving and sometimes fringe scientific concepts such as continental drift, prehistoric species survival, and geological catastrophism into his imagined prehistory of Middle-earth, including elements like the sinking of Númenor (linked to Atlantis) and the existence of Hobbit-like hominids. The article also explores how Tolkien’s work has been retroactively interpreted and appropriated by various groups, including far-right political movements and Young-Earth Creationists, who use his fiction to support heterodox scientific and ideological views. Overall, the article situates Tolkien’s legendarium as a significant cultural medium through which controversial palaeoscientific ideas have been disseminated and reimagined across diverse audiences.