The Nature of Middle-earth

by J. R. R. Tolkien

  The time of “maturity” (which implied full-growth of mind as well as body) was held to be the best time for marriage; normally about the age 50, or for the Line of Elros 100. But marriage was often delayed by men of keen mind, eager in various pursuits, and especially by those who turned towards the Sea. It could be delayed until near the end of the years of “vigour”; but this was seldom done.

  Women came to womanhood and full-growth in the same time as men, but their “youth” (beyond which they seldom bore children) lasted less long. They were married younger (as a rule), and thus for the most part took husbands older than themselves. Yet their lives were often longer than those of men, for they were more tenacious of the world and their pursuits therein, wearying less soon, and less willing to depart.

  Marriage years:

  Normal Royal

  Men 50–100 100–150

  Women 30–75 50–100

  Extremes:

  Normal Royal

  Men 20–175 25–250

  Women 20–125 25–200

  I give here a note from the same bundle of papers, separate from the above, but consonant with it:

  The long life of the Númenóreans was in answer to the actual prayers of the Edain (and Elros). Manwë warned them of its perils. They asked to have more or less the “life-span of old”, because they wanted to learn more.

  As Erendis said later, they became a kind of imitation Elves; and their Men had so much in their heads and desire of doing that they ever felt the pressure of time, and so seldom rested or rejoiced in the present. Fortunately their wives were cool and busy – but Númenor was no place for great love.

  XIII

  OF THE LAND AND BEASTS OF NÚMENOR

  This typescript text follows directly on from the text given in chap. XI, “Lives of the Númenóreans”, above, and occupies most of ten sides; it is extant in precisely the same three versions, A–C, and again the text given here is that of A. Significant portions of this text were incorporated, with some modifications, into A Description of the Island of Númenor (UT:165–72), hereinafter DN. There are however considerable portions that have not previously been published. Christopher Tolkien dated this text as well to c. 1965 (UT:7).

  Of the land and beasts of Númenor

  The opening paragraph of the text is echoed in that of DN (UT:165) but it is there much compressed:

  Accurate charts of Númenor were made at various periods before its downfall; but none of these survived the disaster. They were deposited in the Guildhouse of the Venturers, and this was confiscated by the kings, and removed to the western haven of Andúnie; all its records perished. Maps of Númenor were long preserved in the archives of the Kings of Gondor, in Middle-earth; but these appear to have been derived in part from old drawings made from memory by early settlers; and (the better ones) from a single chart, with little detail beyond sea-soundings along the coast, and descriptions of the ports and their approaches, that was originally in the ship of Elendil, leader of those who escaped the downfall. Descriptions of the land, and of its flora and fauna, were also preserved in Gondor; but they were not accurate or detailed, nor did they distinguish clearly between the state of the land at different periods, being vague about its condition at the time of the first settlements. Since all such matters were the study of men of lore in Númenor, and many accurate natural histories and geographies must have been composed, it would appear that, like nearly all else of the arts and sciences of Númenor at its high tide, they disappeared in the downfall.

  DN then follows the present text closely, though the description of the general shape of Númenor provides a few additional details:

  The promontories, though these were not all of precisely the same shape or size, were roughly 100 miles across and rather more than 200 miles long. A line drawn from the northernmost point of the Forostar to the southernmost of the Hyarnustar lay more or less directly north and south (at the period of the maps); this line was somewhat more than 700 miles long, and each line drawn from the end of one promontory to the end of another and passing through the land (along the borders of the Mittalmar) was more or less of the same length.

  The Mittalmar was above the general level of the promontories, not reckoning the height of any mountain or hills in these; and at the settlement appears to have had few trees and to have consisted mainly of grasslands and low downs. Nearly at its centre, though somewhat nearer the eastern edge, stood the tall mountain, called the Menel-tarma, Pillar of the Heavens. It was about 3,000 feet high above the plain.[fn1]

  The text again continues as in DN with few significant differences save for the details that: the position of the Meneltarma in Mittalmar was “nearly at its centre, though somewhat nearer the eastern edge”, that it “was about 3,000 feet high above the plain”, and that it was “in places” unscalable in the “last 500 feet” before the summit; “Towards the great North Cape the land rose to rocky heights of some 2,000 feet, the highest of which (Sorontil) rose straight from the sea in tremendous cliffs”; that Tar-Meneldur’s tower was “the first and greatest of the observatories of the Númenóreans”; that the “great curved indentation” of the Bay of Eldanna was “warm, almost as warm as the southernmost lands”; that Eldalondë was “almost at [the Bay’s] centre, not far from the borders of the Hyarnustar”; that the yavanna-mírë had “rose-like flowers and globed and scarlet fruits”; that in Númenor the mallorn reached “at its tallest height almost 600 feet”, that its fruit “was a small nut-like fruit, with a silver shale, pointed at the end”, and some were “given as a gift by Tar-Aldarion to King Finellach Gilgalad of Lindon [deleted: and there the malinorni grew during the Second Age of Middle-earth]”; that the river Siril “became in the last 50 miles of its course a slow and winding stream; for the land here was almost flat, and not high above sea level”; that the village Nindamos lay “upon the east side of the Siril close to the sea” and that “Great seas and high winds hardly ever troubled this region. In later times much of this land was reclaimed, and formed into a region of great fish-haunted pools with outlets to the sea, about which were rich and fertile lands”.

  Where DN, however, comes to describe the Hyarrostar and the Orrostar (UT:168–9), the present text shows significant differences, including a long discussion of the fauna and flora of Númenor not found in the later text, as well as considerable detail of distances and populations in the island. I therefore give this middle section here in full.

  The south-facing and south-western parts of the Hyarrostar closely resembled the corresponding parts of the Hyarnustar; but the remainder, though high above the sea, was flatter and more fertile. Here grew a great variety of timber; and after the days of Tar-Aldarion, who began the regular care of forestry, some of the chief plantations were in this region: devoted largely to the production of materials for ship-yards.

  The Orrostar was cooler, but was protected from the north-east (whence came the colder winds) by highlands that rose to a height of 2,100 feet near the north-eastern end of the promontory. In the inner parts, especially in those adjacent to the Kingsland, much grain was grown.

  The chief feature of Númenor were the cliffs, already often mentioned. The whole land was so posed as if it had been thrust upward out of the Sea, but at the same time slightly tilted southward. Except at the southern point, already described, in nearly all places the land fell steeply towards the sea in cliffs, for the most part steep, or sheer. These were at the greatest height in the north and north-west, where they often reached 2,000 feet, at the lowest in the east and south-east. But these cliffs, except in certain regions such as the North Cape, seldom stood up directly out of the water. At their feet were found shorelands of flat or shelving land, often habitable, that ranged in width (from the water) from about a quarter of a mile to several miles. The fringes of the widest stretches were usually under shallow water even at low tides; but at their seaward edges all these strands plunged down again sheerly into profound water. The great strands and tidal
flats of the south also ended in a sheer fall to oceanic depths along a line roughly joining the southernmost ends of the south-west and south-east promontories.

  It would appear that neither Elves nor Men had dwelt in this island before the coming of the Edain. Beasts and birds had no fear of Men; and the relations of Men and animals remained more friendly in Númenor than anywhere else in the world. It is said that even those that the Númenóreans classed as “predatory” (by which they meant those that would at need raid their crops and tame cattle) remained on “honourable terms” with the newcomers, seeking their food so far as they could in the wild, and showing no hostility to Men, save at times of declared war, when after due warning the husbandmen would, as a necessity, hunt the predatory birds and beasts to reduce their numbers within limits.

  As has been said, it is not easy to discover what were the beasts and birds and fishes that already inhabited the island before the coming of the Edain, and what were brought in by them. The same is also true of the plants. Neither are the names which the Númenóreans gave to animals and plants always easy to equate with or relate to the names of those found in Middle-earth. Many, though given in apparently Quenya or Sindarin forms, are not found in the Elvish or Human tongues of Middle-earth. This is partly due, no doubt, to the fact that the animals and plants of Númenor, though similar and related to those of the mainlands, were different in variety and seemed to require new names.

  As for the major animals, it is clear that there were none of the canine or related kinds. There were certainly no hounds or dogs (all of which were imported). There were no wolves. There were wild cats, the most hostile and untameable of the animals; but no large felines. There were a great number, however, of foxes, or related animals. Their chief food seems to have been animals which the Númenóreans called lopoldi. These existed in large numbers and multiplied swiftly, and were voracious herbivores; so that the foxes were esteemed as the best and most natural way of keeping them in order, and foxes were seldom hunted or molested. In return, or because their food-supply was otherwise abundant, the foxes seem never to have acquired the habit of preying upon the domestic fowl of the Númenóreans. The lopoldi would appear to have been rabbits, animals which had been quite unknown before in the north-western regions of Middle-earth.[1] The Númenóreans did not esteem them as food and were content to leave them to the foxes.

  There were bears in considerable numbers, in the mountainous or rocky parts; both of a black and brown variety. The great black bears were found mostly in the Forostar. The relations of the bears and Men were strange. From the first the bears exhibited friendship and curiosity towards the newcomers; and these feelings were returned. At no time was there any hostility between Men and bears; though at mating times, and during the first youth of their cubs they could be angry and dangerous if disturbed. The Númenóreans did not disturb them except by mischance. Very few Númenóreans were ever killed by bears; and these mishaps were not regarded as reasons for war upon the whole race. Many of the bears were quite tame. They never dwelt in or near the homes of Men, but they would often visit them, in the casual manner of one householder calling upon another. At such times they were often offered honey, to their delight. Only an occasional “bad bear” ever raided the tame hives. Most strange of all were the bear-dances. The bears, the black bears especially, had curious dances of their own; but these seem to have become improved and elaborated by the instruction of Men. At times the bears would perform dances for the entertainment of their human friends. The most famous was the Great Bear-dance (ruxöalë)[2] of Tompollë in the Forostar, to which every year in the autumn many would come from all parts of the island, since it occurred not long after the Eruhantalë, at which a great concourse was assembled. To those not accustomed to the bears the slow (but dignified) motions of the bears, sometimes as many as 50 or more together, appeared astonishing and comic. But it was understood by all admitted to the spectacle that there should be no open laughter. The laughter of Men was a sound that the bears could not understand: it alarmed and angered them.[3]

  The woods of Númenor abounded in squirrels, mostly red, but some dark brown or black. These were all unafraid, and readily tamed. The women of Númenor were specially fond of them. Often they would live in trees near a homestead, and would come when invited into the house. In the short rivers and streams there were otters. Badgers were numerous. There were wild black swine in the woods; and in the west of the Mittalmar at the coming of the Edain were herds of wild kine, some white, some black. Deer were abundant on the grasslands and in and about the forest-eaves, red and fallow; and in the hills were roe-deer. But all seem to have been somewhat smaller of stature than their kin in Middle-earth. In the southern region there were beavers. About the coasts seals were abundant, especially in the north and west. And there were also many smaller animals, not often mentioned: such as mice and voles, or small preying beasts such as weasels. Hares are named; and other animals of uncertain kind: some that were not squirrels, but lived in trees, and were shy, not of men only; others that ran on the ground and burrowed, small and fat, but were neither rats nor rabbits. In the south there were some land-tortoises, of no great size; and also some small freshwater creatures of turtle-kind. The animals named ekelli seem to have been urchins or hedgehogs of large size, with long black quills. They were numerous in some parts, and treated with friendship, for they lived mostly upon worms and insects.

  There seem to have been wild goats in the island, but whether the small horned sheep (which were one of the varieties of sheep-kind that the Númenóreans kept) were native or imported is not known. A small kind of horse, smaller than a donkey, black or dark brown, with flowing mane and tail, and sturdy rather than swift, is said to have been found in the Mittalmar by the settlers. They were soon tamed, but throve and were well-tended and loved. They were much used in the farms; and children used them for riding.

  Many other beasts there were no doubt that are seldom named since they did not generally concern Men. All must have been named and described in the books of lore that perished.

  Sea-fish were abundant all about the coasts of the island, and those that were good to eat were much used. Other beasts of the sea there were also off the shores: whales and narwhal, dolphins and porpoises, which the Númenóreans did not confuse with fish (lingwi), but classed with fish as nendili all those that lived wholly in the water and bred in the sea. Sharks the Númenóreans saw only upon their voyages, for whether by the “grace of the Valar” as the Númenóreans said, or for other cause they did not ever come near the shores of the island. Of inland fish we hear little. Of those that live in the sea partly, but enter the rivers at times, there were salmon in the Siril, and also in the Nunduinë, the river that flowed into the sea at Eldalondë, and on its way made the small lake of Nísinen (one of the few in Númenor) about three miles inland: it was so called because of the abundance of sweet-smelling shrubs and flowers that grew on its banks. Eels were abundant in the meres and marshes about the lower course of the Siril.

  The birds of Númenor were beyond count, from the great eagles down to the tiny kirinki that were no bigger than wrens, but all scarlet, with high piping voices the sounds of which were on the edge of human hearing. The eagles were of several kinds; but all were held sacred to Manwë, and were never molested nor shot, not until the days of evil and the hatred of the Valar began. Not until then did they on their part molest men or prey on their beasts. From the days of Elros until the time of Tar-Ankalimon, son of Tar-Atanamir, some two thousand years, there was an eyrie of golden eagles in the summit of the tower of the king’s palace in Armenelos. There one pair ever dwelt and lived on the bounty of the king.

  The birds that dwell near the sea, and swim or dive in it, and live upon fish, abode in Númenor in multitudes beyond reckoning. They were never killed or molested by intent by the Númenóreans, and were wholly friendly to them. Mariners said that were they blind they would know that their ship was drawing near home because of the g
reat clamour of the shore-birds. When any ship approached the land seabirds in great flocks would arise and fly above it for no purpose but welcome and gladness. Some would accompany the ships on their voyages, even those that went to Middle-earth.

  Inland the birds were not so numerous, but were nonetheless abundant. Some beside the eagles were birds of prey, such as the hawks and falcons of many kinds. There were ravens, especially in the north, and about the land other birds of their kin that live in flocks, daws and crows and about the sea-cliffs many choughs. Smaller song-birds with fair voices abounded in the fields, in the reedy meres, and in the woods. Many were little different from those of the lands from which the Edain came; but the birds of finch-kind were more varied and numerous and sweeter-voiced. There were some of small size all white, some all grey; and others all golden, that sang with great joy in long thrilling cadences through the spring and early summer. They had little fear of the Edain, who loved them. The caging of song-birds was thought an unkind deed. Nor was it necessary, for those that were “tame”, that is: who attached themselves of free will to a homestead, would for generations dwell near the same house, singing upon its roof or on the sills, or even in the solmar or chambers of those that welcomed them. The birds that dwelt in cages were for the most part reared from young whose parents died by mischance or were slain by birds of prey; but even they were mostly free to go and come if they would. Nightingales were found, though nowhere very abundant, in most parts of Númenor save the north. In the northern parts there were large white owls, but no other birds of this race.

  Of the native trees and plants little is recorded. Though some trees were brought in seed or scion from Middle-earth, and others (as has been said) came from Eressëa, there seems to have been an abundance of timber when the Edain landed. Of trees already known to them it is said that they missed the hornbeam, the small maple, and the flowering chestnut; but found others that were new to them: the wych-elm, the holm-oak, tall maples, and the sweet chestnut. In the Hyarrostar they found also walnuts; and the laurinquë in which they delighted for its flowers, for it had no other use. This name they gave it (‘golden rain’) because of its long-hanging clusters of yellow flowers; and some who had heard from the Eldar of Laurelin, the Golden Tree of Valinor, believed that it came from that great Tree, being brought in seed thither by the Eldar; but it was not so. Wild apple, cherry, and pear also grew in Númenor; but those that they grew in their orchards came from Middle-earth, gifts from the Eldar. In the Hyarnustar the vine grew wild; but the grape-vines of the Númenóreans seem also to have come from the Eldar. Of the many plants and flowers of field and wood little is now recorded or remembered; but old songs speak often of the lilies, the many kinds of which, some small, some tall and fair, some single-bloomed, some hung with many bells and trumpets, and all fragrant, were the delight of the Edain.