Middle-earth was invented by J. R. R. Tolkien.
J. R. R. Tolkien . These , together with The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings , form a connected body of tales , poems , fictional histories , invented languages , and literary essays about a fantasy world called Arda and Middle-earth `` Middle-earth '' is derived via Middle English middel-erthe , middel-erd from middangeard , an Anglo-Saxon cognate of Old Norse [ Midgard , Miðgarðr ] , the land inhabited by humans in Norse mythology . Middle-earth is the fictional setting of much of British writer J. R. R. Tolkien 's legendarium .