Todd Howard

One could even argue that the name "Skyrim" is the inverse of "Middle-earth".

Sky = earth
rim = Middle

The order of the names is also reversed: with the 'element' appearing first, and the 'measurement' appearing second.

Side note: looking forward to The Elder Scrolls VI. Once all the DLC and content is out for it, I'll be sure to get it on XSX.

insurrbution wrote:

One could even argue that the name "Skyrim" is the inverse of "Middle-earth".

Sky = earth
rim = Middle

The order of the names is also reversed: with the 'element' appearing first, and the 'measurement' appearing second.

Side note: looking forward to The Elder Scrolls VI. Once all the DLC and content is out for it, I'll be sure to get it on XSX.

Also, just a note. Skyrim was once called Mereth. Take from that what you wish.

insurrbution wrote:

One could even argue that the name "Skyrim" is the inverse of "Middle-earth".

Sky = earth
rim = Middle

Actually, if I were going to make this comparison, I would make a case for the other order of the terms: mapping “earth” onto “rim” and “middle” onto “sky”. The “earth” part of “Middle-earth” is really “geard” (=yard), meaning ‘enclosure’, which can be compared to the “rim” element of Skyrim (which is a kind of enclosure around a circle). The “middle” part was originally conceived of vertically, situating the realm of humans (middan-geard) as between hell and heaven, which is to say the “sky”. So one could view a “Sky-rim” as the next tier up in vertical space from the “Middle-yard” (>> Middle-earth).