by David Day
When the First Age of the Sun was ended and Morgoth was cast into the Void, the land of Beleriand went down beneath the Western Sea. All the enemies who inhabited Beleriand were slain, as well as most of the Elves and the Edain. Even the Edain who survived that Age became divided. Some fled the sinking of Beleriand and went to the East. They lived in the Vales of Anduin with others of their kin who had never entered Beleriand; they were known as the Northmen of Rhovanion. Others of the Edain went to the South with the Elves. These Men were granted a land that lay in the Western Sea. They were named the Dúnedain, the Men of Westernesse, for their island was called Westernesse, which in the elvish tongue was Númenor. In the Second Age the Dúnedain were more often called the Númenóreans and they became a mighty sea power. Then, too, the span of the Númenóreans’ lives was increased and their wisdom and strength also grew. Their history in the Second Age was glorious but, corrupted by Sauron, they went to war against the Valar and were destroyed. Númenor was cast into a great abyss, the Western Sea came over it and it was no more.
Most of the Númenóreans perished, yet there were those who were saved from that disaster, including some known as the Black Númenóreans. These people lived in the land of Umbar in the South of Middle-earth.
However, the noblest of the Númenóreans returned to Middle-earth in nine ships; their lord was Elendil the Tall and with him were two sons, Isildur and Anárion. These Elendili, the “faithful”, who were of the true line of the Dúnedain, made two mighty kingdoms in Middle-earth: the North Kingdom was Arnor, and the South Kingdom, Gondor.
However, the power of Sauron grew again, and so they made the Last Alliance of Elves and Men, which combined all the armies of the Dúnedain and the Elves. The Men were led by Elendil and the Elves by Gil-galad, the last High King. Many Men called Haradrim, from the south lands, fought against them, as did others from Rhûn, who were Easterlings, and some who came from the Kingdom of Umbar – the Black Númenóreans.
The Alliance defended Sauron’s legions. However, Gil-galad, Elendil and Anárion were killed in that war and among the rulers of the Dúnedain only Isildur remained. It was he who cut the Ring from Sauron’s hand and sent his spirit to wander without form in the waste places of Middle-earth. So began the Third Age. After taking the One Ring from Sauron’s hand Isildur did not destroy it and in the first years of the Age tragedy befell him. The Orcs cut him down with black arrows at the Gladden Fields and for a long time the Ring was lost.
Of the Dúnedain who survived there were the sons of Isildur, who ruled the North Kingdom of Arnor, and the sons of Anárion, who ruled the South Kingdom of Gondor. There were also other races of Men who had arisen in the East and South, and many now appeared. The Balchoth, Wainriders and other Easterlings came out of Rhûn against the Dúnedain of Gondor, whilst from the South, the Haradrim and the Variags advanced with the Black Númenóreans. However, the Men of Gondor were strong and defeated all enemies.
But in the North another power grew in the land of Angmar. A Witch-king ruled in that land, and he summoned an army of Orcs and evil creatures, as well as Hillmen of the Ettenmoors and Easterlings, to make war on the North Kingdom of Arnor, which they had laid waste. Although Angmar was finally destroyed by the Dúnedain of Gondor, the North Kingdom of Arnor was ended, and only a small number of that people wandered the empty lands and they were named the Rangers of the North.
In the South and from the East there came a constant flow of barbarian Men, corrupted long before by Sauron’s evil power. The Dunlendings advanced, prepared for war, as did the Haradrim and Easterlings. Yet in this time Gondor gained an ally, for the horsemen known as the Rohirrim came to their aid. These were the Northmen of Rhovanion and were like the Woodmen and the Beornings of Mirkwood, or the Lake Men of Esgaroth and the Bardings of Dale, for they perpetually fought the evils made by Sauron, the Dark Lord.
At the end of the Third Age, the War of the Ring was waged and all the peoples of Middle-earth allied themselves with either Sauron or the Dúnedain. Sauron’s army was overthrown. The One Ring was found and destroyed, and the One King came to the Dúnedain. This was Ranger Chieftain Aragorn, son of Arathorn, who was named King Elessar, the true heir of Isildur.
Elessar proved a strong and wise ruler. For though he crushed many enemies in war, and feared nobody in battle, he made peace with the Easterlings and Haradrim, and in the Fourth Age of the Sun, which was ordained the Age of the Dominion of Men, there was peace in the Westlands and also for many years after that time, because of the wisdom of Elessar and his sons.
Menegroth
During the Ages of Starlight, the most magnificent mansions on Middle-earth were to be found in Menegroth, the “Thousand Caves”, the city fortress of the Grey-elves of Doriath in Beleriand. Menegroth was cut into the rock cliffs on the south bank of the Esgalduin, a tributary of the Sirion River. It could only be entered by a single stone bridge over the river. It was the secret fortress-palace of the Sindar King Elu Thingol and his Queen Melian the Maia. Built for Thingol by the Dwarves of Belegost, its chambers were a wonder to behold. Because the Sindar loved the forests, the halls and caverns were carved with trees, birds and animals of stone and filled with fountains and lamps of crystal. Through Ages of Starlight, Menegroth prospered, and even through the greater part of the First Age of the Sun when all Beleriand was in conflict, all of Doriath was protected by the magical powers of Melian the Maia. However, the curse of the Silmarils resulted finally in the murder of Thingol within Menegroth itself and the departure of Melian. Thereafter, Menegroth was twice sacked: first by the Dwarves of Nogrod, and secondly by the Noldor Elves. Menegroth was abandoned, and with the rest of Beleriand sank beneath the waves.
Meneltarma
The highest mountain on the island kingdom of Númenor was the holy mountain called Meneltarma, the “Pillar of Heaven”. It was to be found in the centre of Númenor and from its peak, the Hallow of Eru, it was claimed it was possible to see the Tower of Avallónë, on the Elf island of Tol Eressëa. The Noirinan, the Valley of the Tombs of Kings, was at the foot of Meneltarma, and the royal city of Armenelos was built on a hill nearby. The snows of Meneltarma were the source of the Siril, Númenor’s longest river.
Mere of Dead Faces
Between the Falls of Rauros on the River Anduin and the mountains of Mordor was a vast fenland called the Dead Marshes. On this foul, tractless wasteland few ever dared to travel, for not only were the waters stagnant and poisoned but they were also haunted. Through the Third Age, the Dead Marshes had gradually spread out over the Dagorlad, the “battle plain” that lay north of Mordor and vast graveyard for fallen warriors. By some evil power, the creeping marshlands invasion animated the spirits of these long dead Men, Elves and Orcs whose phantom faces appeared just beneath the surface as if lit by candlelight, although their images had no substance. It was through this Mere of Dead Faces that Hobbit adventurer Frodo Baggins was guided during the Quest of the Ring by that tormented creature Sméagol Gollum.
Meriadoc Brandybuck
Hobbit of the Shire. Meriadoc Brandybuck was born in 2982 of the Third Age, the son of Saradoc Brandybuck, Master of Buckland. In 3018, Merry became one of the four Hobbit members of the Fellowship of the Ring. Merry survived many adventures until the breaking of the Fellowship, when both he and Pippin (Peregrine Took) were captured by Orcs of Isengard. When the Orcs were attacked by the Rohirrim, the Hobbits escaped into the Fangorn Forest and helped convince the Ents to attack Isengard. Merry later became the squire of King Théoden of Rohan. He became an heroic figure when, with the shield-maiden Éowyn, he slew the Witch-king of Morgul at the Battle of Pelennor Fields. This encounter nearly killed Merry, but he was healed by Aragorn. Upon returning to the Shire later that year, Merry fought in the Battle of Bywater. Merry later married Estella Bolger and succeeded his father as Master of Buckland. Merry and Pippin were the tallest Hobbits in history, measuring a towering four and one-half feet. In the year 64 of the Fourth Age, Merry and Pippin left the
Shire to spend their last few years in Rohan and Gondor, where they were buried with high honour in the House of Kings.
Mewlips
According to the lore of Hobbits, an evil race of cannibal spirits called the Mewlips settled in certain marshlands of Middle-earth. Hoarding phantoms very like the dreaded Barrow-wights they seemed, but they made their homes in foul and dank swamps. Travellers in their lands always walked in peril, for many were said to be waylaid and slain by these beings.
Middle-earth
The great continent of Middle-earth was first shaped in the most ancient days of the World of Arda. It lay to the east of that other great continent of Aman, which was most often called the Undying Lands, and which was separated from the Middle-earth by Belegaer, the Great Sea. At the end of the Second Age of the Sun, however, when Númenor was destroyed, the Undying Lands were torn out of the Circles of the World. Middle-earth, the mortal lands, remained, though much changed and continued to change through the ages. It eventually evolved into Europe, Asia and Africa.
Mîm
Petty-dwarf king of Amon Rûdh. Mîm was the last king of the Noegyth Nibin, or Petty-dwarves, who lived in the caverns beneath Amon Rûdh in Beleriand. By the end of the fifth century of the First Age of the Sun, the entire population of this vanishing race consisted of Mîm and his two sons, Ibun and Khím. In 486 of the First Age, Mîm was captured by the outlaws of Túrin Turambar and he led them to the safety of his secret caverns. The following year, Mîm was captured by Orcs and saved his own life by betraying Túrin and his band, who were ambushed and slaughtered. However, Mîm won his freedom to no great purpose. Both Mîm’s sons perished, and Túrin’s father Húrin hunted down the betrayer of his son, and slew him with a single blow.
Minas Anor
The fortress-city of Minas Arnor, the “Tower of the Sun”, was one of the three great cities of Gondor built in that strategic gap between the eastern end of the White Mountains and the western wall of the Mountains of Mordor. Standing at the foot of the easternmost mountain of the White Mountain range, it was the first city of the fief of Anórien and controlled the plain on the western side of the Anduin River. When it was built in 3320 of the Second Age, Minas Anor was the city of the Dúnedain Prince Anárion. Its twin, Minas Ithil, the “Tower of the Moon” – built in the same year on the westernmost spur of the Mountains of Mordor and controlling the plain on the eastern side of the Anduin River – was the city of his brother, Prince Isildur. Together they jointly governed Gondor from the royal capital of Osgiliath, the “citadel of the stars”, which bridged the River Anduin at a point mid-way between the two towers. After centuries of war and the devastation of a great plague, both Minas Ithil and Osgiliath were in serious decline by the middle of the Third Age. By 1640 the royal court moved to Minas Anor, which became the new capital of Gondor. In the year 1900, King Calimehtar built its famous White Tower. When at last the Witch-king took Minas Ithil in the year 2002 and renamed it Minas Morgul, it was apparent that the fate of all of Gondor depended on the defence of Minas Anor, and it was renamed Minas Tirith, the “Tower of the Guard”. It is under that name that the rest of the fortress-city’s tale is told.
Minas Ithil
Within the realm of Gondor, the fortress-city of Minas Ithil, the “Tower of the Moon”, was built on a western spur of the Mountains of Mordor and controlled the fief of Ithilien on the eastern bank of the River Anduin. When it was built in 3320 of the Second Age, Minas Ithil was the city of the Dúnedain Prince Isildur. Its twin fortress-city of Minas Anor was built in the same year for his brother, Prince Anárion. While their father Elendil ruled as High King of the Dúnedain from the North Kingdom of Arnor, the brothers jointly governed Gondor. Just a century after it was built, in the year 3429, the forces of Sauron seized Minas Ithil, but at the beginning of the Third Age Isildur restored it. However, as the heirs of Isildur from this time ruled from the North Kingdom of Arnor, its royal status, if not its military significance, diminished thereafter. In the year 2000, Minas Ithil was attacked by the Witch-king of the Nazgûl whose forces poured through the pass of Cirith Ungol out of Mordor. After a siege of two years Minas Ithil fell to the Witch-king and was renamed Minas Morgul. For more than a thousand years thereafter, it was the main base for Sauron’s forces within Gondor and was a constant threat to the survival of the Dúnedain realm. The evil powers were not driven from the fortress-city again until the end of the War of the Ring and although it was once again renamed Minas Ithil, it was never again inhabited by the Men of Gondor.
Minas Morgul
In the year 2002 of the Third Age, the fortress-city of Minas Ithil, the “Tower of the Moon”, was captured after a two-year siege by the forces of the Nazgûl Witch-king, and renamed Minas Morgul, the “Tower of the Wraiths”. It was also called the Tower of Sorcery and the Dead City. Similar in structure to its great rival, Minas Tirith, it became a haunted and evil place that shone in the night with a ghostly light. By some magical power or fiendish machinery, the upper rooms of its great tower revolved slowly in constant vigilance. For over a thousand years, Minas Morgul was ruled by the terror of the Ringwraiths and this resulted in the almost total ruin and depopulation of the fief of Ithilien. In the year 2050 the Witch-king of Morgul slew Eärnur, the last king of Gondor, and in 2475 Osgiliath was sacked and its stone bridge broken by the Witch-king’s army of giant Orcs, called Uruk-hai. During the War of the Ring, Minas Morgul played a key position in Sauron’s strategies. The forces out of Morgul were the first to move directly against Gondor and overrun Osgiliath. Then in the siege of Minas Tirith, the Witch-king’s leadership during the Battle of Pelennor Fields proved critical. When he was slain it was an indication of the disaster that was to come. After the destruction of Sauron and the fall of Mordor, all evil influences were swept out of Minas Morgul, and once again it came to be called Minas Ithil. However, it was never again repopulated by the people of Gondor.
Minas Tirith
In the histories of Middle-earth there are two fortresses called Minas Tirith. The first was built by the High Elves of Beleriand in the First Age of the Sun. It was built on an island in the Sirion River and its story may be found under that isle’s name: Tol Sirion. The second and more famous Minas Tirith stood in the land of Gondor during the Third Age. In the year 2002, when the fortress city of Minas Ithil, the “Tower of the Moon”, fell to the Nazgûl Witch-king and was renamed Minas Morgul, the “Tower of Wraiths”, the Men of Gondor changed the name of their remaining tower from Minas Anor, the “Tower of the Sun”, to Minas Tirith, the “Tower of the Guard”. This proved to be an appropriate name; for over a thousand years Minas Tirith stood on guard against the evil forces that threatened to entirely destroy Gondor.
Since the decline of Osgiliath in the seventeenth century, this fortress had become the first city of Gondor, and all through the Third Age Sauron had concentrated his mind on destroying this last bastion of power. In 1900, the city was strengthened by the raising of the White Tower, and again in 2698, the Ruling Steward Ecthelion I rebuilt the White Tower and improved the defences of Minas Tirith.
By the time of the War of the Ring, Minas Tirith was a formidable hill-fortress, built on seven levels. Each level was terraced above the next and surrounded by massive ring-walls. Each of these walls had only one gate, but for reasons of defence each gate faced a different direction from the one below it, with the Great Gate on the first wall facing east. This seemingly invulnerable fortress-city rose level by level like a great cliff for over seven hundred feet to the seventh wall, which was called the Citadel, and within that final ring-wall was raised the mighty spire of the White Tower itself. So mighty were the defences of Minas Tirith that it took all the power of the Witch-king of Morgul himself to breach them, and even so, he got no further than breaking the Great Gate on the first wall when the charge of the Rohirrim cavalry drove him back and onto the Pelennor Fields, where his forces were destroyed. The saving of Minas Tirith was essential to the winning of the War of Ring and th
e revival of the Reunited Kingdom of Arnor and Gondor.
Mirkwood
In the year 1050 of the Third Age of the Sun, an evil power came to that huge forest of Greenwood the Great in Rhovanion, just east of the Misty Mountains and the River Anduin. The power, known as the Necromancer, was in fact Sauron the Ring Lord who built the fortress of Dol Guldur in its southern reaches. So great was Sauron’s evil sorcery that he turned the once beautiful forest into such a place of dread and darkness that for over two thousand years it was called the Mirkwood. Great Spiders, Orcs, Wolves and evil spirits haunted Mirkwood and, though the Silvan Elf Woodland Realm of Thranduil survived in the north of the forest, the power of those Elves was not enough to halt the spreading darkness. By the middle of the Third Age there were few who dared o travel along its dark paths, although the Silvan Elves and the Northmen, called the Woodmen and the Beornings, did what they could to keep its passes and roads open. It was Gandalf the Wizard who in 2850 entered south Mirkwood and discovered at last that it was Sauron and the Ringwraiths who ruled Dol Guldur.
The Mirkwood was among the major obstacles that were standing before the Dwarf company of Thorin Oakenshield on the long road to the Lonely Mountain. Yet, with stealth and valour, the Hobbit Bilbo Baggins guided the company through its many perils. During the War of the Ring, Sauron’s forces from Dol Guldur came forth in great numbers against the Elven kingdoms of the Woodland Realm in the north and the Golden Wood of Lothlórien in the south. However, both these campaigns failed and the retaliating Elves destroyed the evil armies of Mirkwood, knocking down the walls of Dol Guldur and ripping up its pits and dungeons. By the beginning of the Fourth Age, the great forest was no longer called Mirkwood, but Eryn Lasgalen, the “Wood of Greenleaves”. The north was the undisputed territory of Thranduil’s Woodland Realm, the southern part was settled by the Elves of Lothlórien who called it East Lórien, while the forest lands between these two kingdoms were given to the Woodmen and Beornings.