15 Oldest Beings and Creatures of Middle Earth 

Sauron and Durin's Bane are older than that because they were in Middle-Earth during the Chaining of Melkor, or during the Years of the Trees, thus they are older than Cirdan as he was born, likely one of the first or second generation of Elves to be born as he was 'kin of Thingol' as was Lord Celeborn of Lothlorien! Who was likely born during the Great March of the Elves!

The "nameless things" definitely have a H.P Lovecraft vibe!

I always liked it when Treebeard greeted Gandalf “Young Master Gandalf”

The Balrog was not awakened by the Fellowship of the Ring. It was awakened because the dwarves dug "too greedily and too deep" according to the source lore. After all, it's nickname was Durin's Bane. It would have to have been awake to be the bane of Durin.

How can Galadriel be older than Sauron when he was around before the elves were created?

The real question is how old are Tom Bombadil's boots and who made them?

Number one should be Tolkien, because he wrote the first letter and lived before it.

The Maiar (including the Wizards & Balrogs) are older than Arda, as they participated in the Great Music.

Bombadil cannot be Illuvatar since both Gandalf and Elrond said at the Council of Elrond that even Bombadil couldn't stand against Sauron if Sauron had conquered the rest of Middle Earth and Illuvatar's will cannot be thwarted or denied, as Melkor found out.

Ainur are literally beings who sang the concept of time into being. It makes no sense to give them ages. Yet if you want to do so, they entered into universe before anything was made and built it, and similarly built Arda. So ages of Sauron and Durin's bane should at very least be in the very beginning when Arda was being built. And no plants or animals yet existed, and world was unformed and full of flame.

Well we know the nameless things are older than Sauron because Gandalf explicitly said so. "Even Sauron knows them not, for they are older than he."

What a massive story to invent! The obsession with the ideas of characters, regions, and turning it into an entertaining and fluid tale is mind boggling.

Sauron and the Balrogs entered Middle-Earth before the awakening of the Elves at Cuiviénen therefore they are older than any Elf or Ent. The Nameless things may well have been created by Melkor when the Dark Lord first battle the Valar for control of Arda so they are probably younger than Tom Bombadil.

Definitely a fresh energetic personality to add the pod, great addition to

Since the watcher in the water is a nameless thing, he is one of the oldest in tolkiens story (in terms of physical manifestation in the world).

Galadriel would be closer to 27000 years old. She was born in the Years of the Trees when the years were calculated as Valian years. 1 valian year is about 144 solar years, so Galadriel would have been 19872 "solar years" old before the sun rose for the first time.

I think the most saw the thumbnail and went straight to the comments as I did😂😂 to see someone trying to tell us that Angband was on numenor😂😂😂😂 absolute comedy gold❤ yeah you lost us sir with the ages not a good thing. If you make a Video about such a matter get your infos right 😊

Basically, the Istari, the Balrog, Sauron and Morgoth are the oldest beings in The Lord of the Rings, as they were created before time. Galadriel, as a Noldor Elf, is significantly younger, as she was born on Arda, which also applies to the other Elves and even Treebeard. The Nameless Beings and Tom Bombardil are a matter of negotiation, as it has never been fully clarified what they are and where they come from. Should the Nameless Beings be Ainur, they too would be older than time, but should they be dissonances in the Ainulindale, they would have been born with the world. Tom Bombardil is not Iluvatar, which actually rules him out as the oldest being, but nobody knows what he is either, so here too an Ainur would be conceivable, but he could also be something completely different

Sauron has been around since the breaking of the first silence...so he's been around since the creation of the world. Hes a maiar so hes older then all these beings on here except Gandolph!

From The Nature of Middle Earth: 'It was a group of great Maiar to guard the Elves meanwhile. They were Tarindor (later Saruman), Olórin (Gandalf), Hrávandil (Radagast), Palacendo and Haimenar. They were led by Melian, who had travelled to Cuiviénen before the Five Guardians; she was the sixth Maiar guardian and was the only female spirit among them.' Plus, Palacendo (aka Pallando/Rómestámo) and Haimenar (Alatar/Morinehtar) came back in the mid-2nd Age along with Glorifindel to aid Gil-Galad in the War of Sauron and the Elves. Your chart is WAY wrong.

All Ainur spirits have the same age. To say that Magicians are 2000 years old is to completely not know Tolkien. Magicians, Balrogs, Sauron, Morgoth have the same age and he is about 10-50 thousand years old. Do not mislead people, if you had read the Silmarillion, then you would know that all the Ainur were created at the same time even before the creation of Arda

Did you include time for the wizards from the first time they were in middle earth? That would add about 480 solar years

No wonder Legolas has mastered the bow in 3000 years

You got Sauron wrong I’m afraid. He look form during the age of lamps before the Elves even woke up and never left Middle Earth.

was supprised we didn't get smaug on the list...that dragon must have been very old

Chuck Norris: Hold my beer...

I'm not sure gwaihur would have 6,000 years. First lord of eagles was Thorondor, but whilst Gwaihir could have been alive at that time, I think it's never said that he was alive during wars in Beleriand.

You don't get it about the Maiar: 14. Not true, the wizards were Maiar, which were created during the Ainulindale. 7. Durins bane was also a Maia, and as such he was created during the Ainulindale. 6. Same for Sauron, he was a Maia.

I still believe Legolas was the Legolas guiding the refugees from Gondolin, send by Thranduil to support Turgon, would make him older than Elrond. Change my mind.

Very informative

If we want tò be tecnical, maiar and Valar stayed in the halls of iluvatar where time didnt exist, so they can literally have infinite years or 2

Man... they should've dove headfirst into some of the more obscure characters in Rings of Power. So much potential... I can't believe they weren't able to navigate the legal issues of some of the characters.

Actually we know that the Witchking was NOT one of the Númenórean kings, because there is a reference to the strongest of the three Numenorean kings submitting to the greater magical power of the one who became the Witchking. Also like you said we first see the first versions of all of the nine in 2251 of the Second Age, but that means they had already been kings AND corrupted by that time and no way could they all have been corrupted at the same time , so even the youngest has to be like 50 years older than the 4209 years from that date to the ring's end.

Galadriel is way older than 8000, take into account time flowed differently before the sun and moon existing. That and a single lifetime of man is a single elf year. And that’s also considering long lived humans. Let me explain further with more of her story through the lens of her gift to Gimli - it has deeper meaning behind it, like most things in this movie & reflects the expanded lore of the middle earth universe. Galadriel is one of the 2-3 most powerful & wise elves remaining in Middle Earth since the time the land was young. She was born in a place called Valinor, or the Undying land... which is basically the place of residence of the Valar, the local pantheon, the local "gods" as you may call them. Back then, the world was not illuminated by the sun&moon, (only the stars, but rather by 2 trees of gold and silver, Telperion and Laurëlin that lit the world before the sun & moon were born from their last flower & fruit as they were basically killed by Melkor when he struck them with his Lance and Ungoliant the primordial Eldrich Terror vampirized the life force of the two trees. Ungoliant she was named by the Eldar/Elves). It is said that Galadriel's hair had enmeshed some of the shine and power of those two trees within her tresses. Her uncle Fëanor, who was a great king of the Elven people after his father Finwë was slain by Morgoth(Formally known as Melkor). Fëanor arguably was their greatest craftsman and warrior to ever live, asked if she could give him a lock of hair, so that he could use it to fashion 3 gems that would shine of the same light as the trees. Sensing his pride & a shadow that wasn’t exactly belonging to him brewing from within, she refused his request 3 times. He stopped asking and made the gems anyway, managing to complete the task he had set for himself even without her hair. Around these 3 gems, the possession of which became the driving force for many of the great events in the world, entire wars that lasted for centuries exploded, and other events. The gems actively shaped the fate of the races of middle earth to the point that the aforementioned Valar got involved directly. During these times, events surrounding the gems brought about the traditional enmity between Dwarves and Elves... the same enmity that Gimli still feels towards them. That enmity however does not survive his encounter with the wise Galadriel, whom Gimli basically falls platonically in love with. By giving him 3 of her hair, Galadriel is opening a door, offering an olive branch that might one day close the gap that divides these two races. Legolas, himself being an Elven prince and centuries old, knows of the story through his father Thranduil & grandfather Oropher, as it shaped the lives of all Elves, and his subtle smile is possibly the first act of acknowledgment and reconciliation. it is also a way for Peter Jackson, the director of the film, to give a nod to all of the fans who know these facts and backstories... a way to make us feel seen, and to make us appreciate just how deeply the makers of the film respect the books and larger universe created by Tolkien. The thing with the hair may seem weird, but there is a significance to it in real life as well as in the lore of the story. In real life, it was not uncommon for wives, fiancés, or even girlfriends to give their men (who were going off to war), a lock of their hair as a keepsake, particularly in WWI, which Tolkien fought in. The lore part of it comes into play in The Silmarillion, Tolkien's tales of the creation of Arda, the Undying Lands of Valinor, and Middle Earth. Galadriel is many, many thousands of years old, & was born in Valinor before the sun & moon were even created. At the time, the world was lit by two trees, one gold and one silver which would shine at different times from each other, but would shine together once a day when one would fade and the other brighten. Galadriel's hair was said to look like the light of the mingled light from the two trees, which may have inspired Feanor, a master craftsman and heir to the high king of the Ñoldor, to craft the Silmaril's which were three jewels that captured the light of the two trees, one golden light, one silver light, & one co-mingled light. Fëanor had a bit of a thing for Galadriel and begged her for her hair three different times, which she rejected because she could perceive the inner darkness of his heart and rejected him, which made them "un-friends" after that. There is a lot more to the lore than that, so this is the super crib-notes version. But the point is, it was VERY significant that she granted Gimli three of her hairs to a dwarf, when she would not to the son of her king many 10s of thousands of years ago of which she is related to all three kings who were brothers and Elu Thingol of Doriath was one of the brothers that didn’t stay in Valinor even though he was one of the elven ambassadors along with his three brothers and that king I mentioned was VERY close friends with Thingol)

I know Tom personally He currently lives in a small rural city in Manitoba Canada called Portage La Prairie and he delivers the mail for Canada post, he makes home made meed (not very good) and is a master angler fishman He and Goldberry (a nurse) have 2 kids

He said Treebeard is “Eleven Thousand TREE-hundred years old!” 🤣 All joking aside, I enjoyed the vid, mate! 👍🏻💯

didn't expect C'thulhu monsters to win this one!

Durin's Bane did not lie dormant until awakened by the Fellowship of the Ring. Durin's Bane was awakened by the dwarves of Khazad-Dum when they "delved too deep". Orcs alone could not have driven the dwarves from Moria.

Tom Bombadil...... I want more of him

Even if you ignore the fact their creation predates the universe itself and only count when they permanently moved into Arda Sauron and Durin’s Bane would predate any of the elves or the Ents as they were around during the ages of the Lamps in the Spring of Arda. Only the Nameless Things and possibly Tom would have been around in Arda before them, assuming they came into being when Eä and Arda within it were created.

Technically durins bane was awakened by the dwarves, not the company. He just became active when the goblins surrounded the company because he could probably sense another Maia nearby and was curious.

One wonders what all of these different entities did when not trying to kill each other or take over the world? Did they have a favorite pub or dark place to hang out and smoke their weed or drink their mead?

I read all the Tom Bombadil bits and ended up older than all of these.

I recall Bombadil clearly stating he was the oldest he is a Maiar and remembers the first rain drop first seed "the oldest is what I am" Makes it sound like he was there "first" and is the oldest. That's from the authors own hand argument solved.

Sauron (Mairón), Durin's Bane (A.K.A. Balrog of Morgóth) and the Wizards lived long before the "Ainulindale (The Songs of Ainur)." Regardless of their arrival in Middle Earth, because they were there when Arda has been formed before the two lamps (before the creation of the two trees). In regards of Tom Bombadil, he is a misterious character of Tolkien's lore and said to be the most ancient one and fatherless. Well, some of the Tolkien scholars theorized that he is indeed Erü Illúvatar himself, disguised as a jolly old man. Even the Quendi, the first awakened elves cannot say for sure his origin. Only the late J.R.R. Tolkien and his son, Christopher Tolkien know of his origin, for sure. The Nameless Things are one of those ancient creatures who have ever lived the Arda before the first awakening of the Quendi (the first elves) or maybe before the creation of Arda itself. Some theorized that they came from the void, but I cannot say anything about it for it has a vague explanation of their origin. But, even the Maiar do not dare to mess with those creatures for those are more powerful than them. Even Gandalf encountered one himself in the darkest depth of the Earth, but he chose not to disturb it for he was frightened by its presence.

Sauron is older than Galadriel by a country mile

bilbo just got that old cause he had the ring long time

ha. When Tom Bombadil talked about dark lord he meant Eru Iluvatar.

Great Tune in the backgrounds , Name ?

Gandalf is Maia. His age is greater than that of Middleearth.

The Witch King wasn't properly alive at the time of Pellinor Fields.

The wizards are 2000 yo? No way. Gandalf literally says: "300 lives of men, I have walked this earth". Which means he's at least 8000-10000 yo.

I had expected to see Treebeard very high in the list and of course Tom Bombadil the oldest. Since those "nameless creatures" don't mean anything to me, that expectation was fulfilled :)

Even when took into consideration the artificial counting them from their formation on the world Galadriel is definitely not older than Sauron (and Cirdan for that matter) him being black captain of Melkor during Utumno´s war and before that member of the host of Aule forming the Arda which both predated wakey wakey for the elven folk.

young master gandalf im glad youve come. wood and water,stock and stone i can master. but there is a wizard here locked up in his tower. you know the tree is old when he says gandalf is young

Imagine living 3,000 years and still looking and being healthy like your 30s. I would but not nowadays but from 3,000 bc. Curious to see how it was back then.

Saurons older than galadriel and most others as he was created before middle earth

hey mindq, can you please upload the 10 most scariest big cats in movies?

6:37 eleven thousand tree hundred years… seems fitting

Galadriel was over 8000 years old if you do the math from Morgoth's Ring (Book X in the HOME series). She was 2000 years older than Elrond.

Sauron, Gandalf and Durin's Bane are the oldest on this list, as they are all Maiar, and existed before the making of Arda.

"Before kicking the mithril bucket" 😂

Suron, Balrogs and Istari (Gandalf, Saruman and the rest of the Wizards) descended to arda at the same time the Valar did. Meaning they're as old as the Valar themselves, created by Eru Iluvatar. They took their different forms later. I.e. The wizards were sent by the Valar to Middle-Earth to catch Sauron after Morgoth's defeat and they were sent in the form of old men so they couldn't use their full power in order to not interfere with the peoples of Middle-Earth. Long story shor, as I said, Sauron, Balrogs and the Wizards were as old as the Valar

It's funny how in so many different lores the older the beings are, the more they resemble the beings from H.P. Lovecraft's lore

I may have 4.700 years but I look much younger than that. Mostly people tell me that I look like 3.500~3.600 years old...

This list has the ages wrong!

Damn…Sauron is older than my grandma.

My interpretation of Tom is that he is some sort of earth spirit, much like his wife is water spirit, and was born the moment Eru made Earth a reality, before Maiar and Valar ascended there.

MY BOY TOM BE UP THERE!

Tom Bombidil was older than the elves, the wizards, and the hobbits.

Correction: the closest approximation of Gandalf's physical age is 24,000 years, according to Gandalf himself. However, various dates for key events in Tolkien's other texts indicate that Gandalf actually walked in his physical form for just over two thousand years.

Kind of nuts that Legalos is almost a thousand years older than Gandalf

Nice

You just missed Glorfindel

Gandalf is a maiar. He is waaaaaaay older than 2000 years old

Without watching, most information is wrong since all Maia and Valar exist since the creation, i. e. forever by practical terms. This includes wizards, balrogs, Morgoth and Sauron, among others. At maximum you could ask for their age on the physical world of Arda. (when they entered it)

I could tell by your thumbnail you already made several errors. in no way is Galadrial older than any of Aniur, including the wizards.

you used Bilbos age to determine the average lifespan of hobbits. Bruh His soul was literally being stretched thin so the ring could stay active and reach out to Sauron. Had nothing to do with a hobbits natural ability to live long lives lol

Sauron, Durin’s bane and Gandalf known as Olorin before his arrival to Middle Earth are maïar. They were created by Eru before the world itself and sang with him during the Ainulindale. Just by looking at the thumbnail, I know that your video is poorly made.

Sam gazed in wonder at Galadriel as if Dawn blazed in dusky MiddleEarth inert, anaesthetized by beauty's spell acutely conscious of his puny worth if Celeborn were wiser, he'd discern how far above his station he had wed but even he's not dumb enough to spurn this mighty Noldo hot to share his bed the timeless moment passed, the tale moved on a brief vignette of love transgressing class 'though Bilbo might recast it in a song Sam'd never dream to call his host an ass to think such thoughts encrimsoned Sam's coarse face a worthy gard'ner knows a peasant's place

What was the diff between Ainur and Valar again? Valars were the ones who chose to descend into Eru' creation right?

Sauron existed at the time of which the elves were created.

Well done age chart. 7:37. Azathoth, is that you? OMG! This creature truly has Lovecraftian horror qualities, it's truly an eldritch abomination.

Durin's Bane was not awakened by the Fellowship, it was awakened by the construction of the dwarven city of Khazad Dum. Also, it was a Maiar spirit corrupted by Melkor and so was the same age as every other Maiar

"Young Master Gandalf" indeed 😅

where are your source of references? blogspot?

You're making this up aren't you?

Tom Bombadill is Illuvatar´s SIMS

I expected to see smaug on the list

Balrogs were Maiar, and were beings before the making of the world. They were parts of the Great music, that sided with Morgoth. They were the same as Sauron.

Didn’t Gandalf say, in the Hobbit, he’s lived 300 lives of men? Assuming 50-60 years for a warrior, that would make him, 15000 years old?

Nameless things are basically inspired by Lovecraft

Dude Gandalf was around 55,000 years old

I always thought it odd when Gandalf says that the Nameless Things are older than Sauron, Sauron was there before the Middle Earth was made singing it into existence, perhaps they originate in the void.

Surprised the wizards didn't even make the top 10.

treebeard: I am Groot!

Is Cirdan the only named 1st generation elf in middle earth? I can't remember if Glorfindel had a mother and father or if he was 1st gen

the last one looks like a shoggoth from hp lovecraft lore

I would make a correction to this, with Tom Bombadil being number one. While there's much speculation around this mysterious being, it's generally accepted that he's the incarnation or the embodiment of the Earth itself which would indicate he is as old as Arda itself. The Ring itself could not corrupt Tom Bobadil because it would be tantamount to trying to corrupt all of Middle Earth itself. With that being said, he is arguably one of the First in Middle Earth.

Gandalf operated in the West before coming to Middle Earth. Definitely older the 2000 years