The Fall of Gondolin has historical antecedents in sacks of cities in the ancient and medieval world, all featuring military destruction and a grievous impact on innocent civilian survivors.

Tolkien may have taken inspiration for Galadriel's character—an outspoken queen figure—from literary and historical figures like Circe, Eleanor of Aquitaine, and Joan of Arc.

Midway through the Third Age, a plague devastated Gondor before spreading northward. This element of the legendarium connects to the history of real-world plagues, namely the Black Death.

The Entwives are forced to flee when Sauron wipes out their homes but at the end of a long journey, they find a place that suits them very well.

The use of hostages as a political strategy in Third Age Gondor has historical parallels in medieval Welsh history, and the bloody outcome of the real history may explain some of the tensions between the Easterlings and Gondorians as Sauron's power grew.

Hobbits flock to The Green Dragon to try and decipher the meaning of Bilbo's speech and work out if he was insulting them, or complimenting them.

This is a fic for the Zinger! challenge.