Perhaps the most unique feature of the Index is the inclusion of inanimate objects, specifically weapons and heirlooms. Entries for "Sting," "Orcrist," and "The Arkenstone" are treated with the same gravity as entries for "Thranduil" or "Bard." This indexing practice reflects the Northern European heroic tradition, where the sword has a lineage as vital as the king who wields it. By indexing the sword Orcrist and providing its history within the entry, Tolkien sub-communicates that the inanimate history of Middle-earth is as deep and tragic as the animate history.
The 19 chapter titles form a chronological index of major plot beats: index of hobbit
Scattered throughout the Index are references that mean little to the casual reader but everything to the initiate. References to "Beleriand," "Doriath," and "Turgon" appear in the entries for the swords. For a reader of The Silmarillion , these index entries function as traumatic flashbacks. They signal that the world of The Hobbit is built upon the ruins of a far older, more tragic history. The Index whispers of the First Age while the text of The Hobbit marches toward the Third Age. Perhaps the most unique feature of the Index
: Set in Bag End, establishing the cozy lifestyle of Hobbits. The 19 chapter titles form a chronological index
: "If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world" .
In the context of Tolkien's manuscripts, the Index was often the final battleground for settling names. Tolkien agonized over the spelling of dwarven names (Dwalin vs. Dwalin) and the capitalization of races (Elf vs. elf). The Index is where these decisions were codified into canon. It represents the "Standardized Middle-earth," freezing the fluid creativity of the draft stage into the immutable history of the published volume.
: The Battle of Five Armies , where multiple factions converge on the Lonely Mountain.