At this point the Battle of the Pelennor Fields began. Hardly had the Black Captain reached the Gate when, from the north, came the sound that no one, defender or besieger alike, had expected to hear: the battle-horns of Rohan. By a strategem, the Rohirrim had avoided the forces of Sauron stationed to block their advance, and were even then breaking on the northern flank of the besiegers like surf upon a ridge of black sand. Sweeping all before them, the Riders soon cleared the entire northern half of the Pelennor [Drawing 2], cramming the enemy to the south of the Causeway Road. Théoden’s cavalry scattered the Orcs, drove the guards of the warengines into the fire-pits and routed the Southron horsemen.
Yet events might still have gone badly for Gondor. Théoden of Rohan had fallen at the climax of his great charge, and in their subsequent fierce onset, the Rohirrim had not kept a broad front but had penetrated in wedges, leaving great areas unfought, especially around the individual war-beasts of Harad. The forces of Morgul, now led by Gothmog (the Black Captain had been slain and Théoden avenged), were preparing their counter-attack when, to the dismay of Gondor and Rohan, black sails were sighted upon the Anduin, heading for the Harlond landings. But the ships that bore the black sails were filled with fresh forces from Lebennin and the southern fiefs, led by Aragorn, the Heir of Isildur.
And so the forces of Morgul were caught between the Wall, the City, the River and the Rohirrim [Drawing 3]. The Rohirrim, now largely unhorsed, continued to cut their way south; the men of Lebennin with Aragorn at their head strode north; and a sortie from Minas Tirith charged east. Only to the River could the forces of Sauron flee – and there they fought and died, or perished in the waters.
Battle of the Plains (1856 Third Age) – The disastrous battle fought against the invading Wainriders by the Men of Rhovanion assisted by Narmacil II of Gondor. The Wainriders were victorious and swept into Rhovanion. Narmacil was slain and the Northmen either fled or were enslaved.
Battle of the Powers – The third of the Wars of Arda, in which the Valar, after many ages during which they had not contested the rule of Mortal Lands with Melkor the evil Ainu (Morgoth as he was afterwards named), came swiftly back and overthrew him for the sake of the Quendi (the Elves), who had at last awoken in Middle-earth and were in peril.
It is said in the traditions of the Elves (who actually remembered little or nothing of that battle) that the first of Melkor’s strongholds to be destroyed was his north-western fastness of Angband, then newly built and commanded by Sauron, a Maia and a servant of Melkor. Then the Valar pressed forward to besiege Utumno, Melkor’s older and greater stronghold. For several years this siege continued; and in the tumults the shape of the northern lands was changed – not for the first time, nor the last. Eventually Utumno was broken for ever and Melkor was taken, a prisoner, back to Valinor, there to be incarcerated in the Halls of Mandos for a period of three Ages.
Battle of Unnumbered Tears – A translation of the Sindarin Nirnaeth Arnoediad, being the name given in the traditions of the Eldar and the Edain to the Fifth and final Battle of Beleriand, in which Morgoth the Enemy finally and for ever overthrew the Elf-kingdoms and the realms of Men, making himself, finally and incontestably, Master of Middle-earth. It took place in the 470th Year of the Sun, and was the greatest defeat ever suffered by Elves or Men in their long wars against Morgoth or Sauron. Among the slain were: Fingon the High King, son of Fingolfin the son of Finwë (the first to die because of the Silmarils); Azaghâl the Dwarf-king of Belegost, defeater of the Dragon Glaurung; Huor of the Edain, together with most of the Men of Dor-lómin; and many more besides. All the Elves of Mithrim were slain. Only Turgon King of Gondolin – now High King of the Noldor – escaped, with most of his people. Morgoth’s victory was now all but complete. Nowhere in Middle-earth, save in Doriath, Gondolin and Nargothrond, were there realms or organised peoples to withstand him; but Thingol of Doriath took little part in this war (though despite his renunciation of the works of the Noldor he was enmeshed in their destruction before the end), and Morgoth’s armies swept where they would throughout Beleriand. Nargothrond and Gondolin fell. The War of the Jewels was over. What little hope remained now lay in the West.
Battle Pit – The mass grave for those ruffians of Saruman who perished at the BATTLE OF BYWATER. It had previously been a sandpit.
Battle Plain – A translation of the Sindarin word Dagorlad.
Battles of Beleriand – The name given in the lore of the Eldar and the Edain to the five great battles fought against Morgoth the Enemy in the War of the Great Jewels during the First Age of Middle-earth. The first three of these were won by the Eldar; the last two were decisive victories for Morgoth, and cost the Elves the war.
The First Battle took place in the Dark Year, after the flight of Morgoth to Middle-earth, but before the rising of the Moon or Sun. Seeking to eliminate the Grey-elves from Beleriand, Morgoth sent out two great hosts, one hunting south-west, the other south-east. For months they swept all before them. But Thingol had sent to Ossiriand for help, and the Elves of Doriath and Ossiriand fought a great battle against the Orcs in East Beleriand, and crushed them; though DENETHOR of Ossiriand was slain. However the western battle was lost by the Sindar, and the Elves of the Havens were driven to the edge of the Sea. Thingol strengthened Doriath in expectation of more battles to come, but before either side could make further moves the northern sky was lit by a great burning: Fëanor and the High-elves of his House had returned to Middle-earth to regain the Silmarils. Thingol took no further direct part in the War.
The Second Battle is called the ‘Battle-Under-Stars’, the Dagornuin-Giliath, for it was fought directly after the First Battle; while the Moon had not yet appeared in the skies of Middle-earth. Fëanor, having landed at Losgar (and burned his ships), swiftly occupied Mithrim; where his encampment was attacked by Orcs from Angband. They were heavily defeated, and the Noldor pursued them northwards, as far as the gates of Angband. Fëanor, who was leading the pursuit, was mortally wounded by Gothmog, Lord of the Balrogs of Angband. Nevertheless it was accounted a victory for the Eldar.
The Third Battle is named Dagor Aglareb, the ‘Glorious Battle’; it was fought in the 60th Year of the Sun. As its name implies, it was an overwhelming victory for the Eldar. A sudden assault from Angband was contained and trapped north of Dorthonion, on the plains of Ard-galen; and not an Orc of that army ever returned to Morgoth’s domain. This was the last and greatest of the victories won by the Eldar; and it was followed by the Long Peace, which lasted for four hundred years.
The Fourth Battle was the ‘Battle of Sudden Flame’, the Dagor Bragollach. Long years of peace had lulled the Eldar – now reinforced by new allies, the Edain – into a false sense of security. In the Year of the Sun 455 Morgoth took advantage of this by unleashing all his might in one crushing blow. The advance of his armies was aided by rivers of fire which ran ahead of them and kindled the plain of Ard-galen, and even the north- and eastward-facing slopes of the mountain ramparts of Mithrim and Dorthonion. Ard-galen was transformed into a charred desert; and the Siege of Angband was overthrown. Many of the realms opposed to Morgoth were swept away; and hereafter the survivors were on the defensive. It was too late, moreover, for the Eldar and Edain to reverse the momentum of their fortunes.
Fifteen years after the Dagor Bragollach came the fifth and last Battle of Beleriand, which the Elves called Nirnaeth Arnoediad, ‘Unnumbered Tears’, or the Day of Lamentation. It is not called a battle. Morgoth was utterly victorious and the Elf-kingdoms and the realms of Men were extinguished. And yet it had been intended to be a victory for the Eldar; indeed, the day was planned to begin with the enemies of Morgoth manoeuvring on the plains of Anfauglith (Ard-galen), in order to decoy Morgoth into a trap. But Morgoth was fully informed of their intentions (by ULDOR THE ACCURSED), and himself sprang his enemies’ snare, before they were ready. Treachery within the ranks of the allies nullified their abundant heroism; and Fingon, High King, was slain. Only the host of Gondolin made a succe
ssful retreat from that field. The last military hope of the Elves and the Edain was destroyed for ever. Henceforward Morgoth was Lord of Middle-earth. The War of the Great Jewels had been fought – and lost.
Battles of the Fords of Isen (3019 Third Age) – Two fierce clashes, only days apart, which took place during the War of the Ring between the Rohirrim of Westfold and the armies of Saruman the White, lord of Isengard. Both battles were fought at the strategic Fords of Isen, chief crossing-point into Rohan from the north. The first occurred on February 25th, when Théodred, son of King Théoden and Second Marshal of the Mark, was slain – although the Rohirrim were rallied by Erkenbrand, lord of Westfold, and the Isengarders were held at the river. Nevertheless, the Orcs and Wild Men attacked again, on March 2nd, and in the torrent Erkenbrand was swept away. The Army of Isengard poured into Rohan, but was afterwards crushed before the walls of Helm’s Deep.5
Battle-Under-Stars – A translation of Dagor-nuin-Giliath; see BATTLES OF BELERIAND.
Bauglir ‘The Gaoler’ (Sind.) – One of the names given to Morgoth by the Elves of Middle-earth.
Bay of Belfalas – ‘The Windy Bay of Bel’, greatest bay in western Middle-earth, lying between Cape Andrast and Umbar.
Bay of Eldanna – The westernmost and most beautiful bay in Númenor, directly facing Tol Eressëa in the West. It lay between the cape-provinces of Andustar and Hyarnustar, and its chief port was ELDALONDË THE GREEN.
Beacon-hills – From time immemorial Gondor used every means of communication available to her in order to safeguard and unite the realm. The most useful aids were, of course, the palantíri, the Seeing-stones of Númenor. But with the waning of the Third Age, many of these Stones were lost, and Gondor was forced to revive older, more primitive means of swift communication with her provinces and allies. The chain of seven hills in the eastern range of the White Mountains, running through the province of Anórien from Minas Tirith to the Firienwood on the borders of Rohan, might have been placed there specifically for Gondor’s purposes. A beacon lit on one summit could be made out from the next, and so on; in this way a warning – of invasion or any other sudden peril – might be passed between Rohan and Gondor in the time it took to kindle seven baskets of pitch-soaked firewood.
The seven beacon-hills of Anórien were: Halifirien (the most northerly), Calenhad, Min-Rimmon, Erelas, Nardol, Eilenach, and Amon Dîn (the southernmost). Eilenach and Rimmon were in a forgotten tongue, the language of the Men of the White Mountains during the Dark Years.
‘Beater’ and ‘Biter’ – Translations of Orc-epithets given in antiquity to the famous Elf-swords Glamdring (‘Foe-hammer’) and Orcrist (‘Goblin-cleaver’). The weapons were discovered by members of Thorin Oakenshield’s expedition to Erebor (2941 Third Age), in a Trolls’ lair.
Beechbone – An Ent of Fangorn; sadly, a fatality in the Ents’ assault upon Isengard during the War of the Ring.
Belecthor I – From 2628–55 Third Age, the fifteenth Ruling Steward of Gondor.
Belecthor II – From 2811–72 Third Age, the twenty-first Ruling Steward of Gondor. The last White Tree of Minas Tirith died with him and, ominously, no sapling could then be found to replace it. The dead Tree was left standing.
Beleg – From 946–1029 Third Age, the second King of Arthedain.
Belegaer ‘Great-Sea [of the West]’ (Sind.) – The name given in Beleriand to the ocean which separated the shores of Valinor from the coastlands of Middle-earth.
Beleg Cúthalion – One of the mightiest of the Grey-elves of Beleriand in the Elder Days, chief of the Marchwardens of Thingol’s Hidden Kingdom of Doriath and friend and companion of Túrin Turambar. Beleg, named Cúthalion (‘the Strong Bow’), was Thingol’s chief captain, fought at the Nirnaeth Arnoediad, and took a part in many of the deeds of those times. Among these was the Hunting of Carcharoth, in company with Beren and Thingol himself. In later years Beleg was bidden by Thingol to seek out and safeguard Túrin Húrin’s son, who was Thingol’s ward. Beleg indeed found Túrin, and afterwards fought at his side in a little-known campaign in the lands of the upper Teiglin, during the years following the Nirnaeth. At the onset of this quest, Thingol had given to Beleg an ancient sword from his armoury, named ANGLACHEL. Now Beleg wielded the weapon more often than his great bow, for this war was at close quarters. But the refuge of the outlaws (for such they were) was betrayed. Beleg was badly wounded and left for dead in the attack which followed: Túrin was taken alive by the Orcs, who bore him away northward towards Angband. But Beleg recovered, and, with the aid of a refugee Elf named Gwindor, hunted down the Orcs who had captured Túrin. Then Beleg went stealthily to release the unconscious Túrin, but in severing his friend’s bonds the black sword Anglachel slipped, and its point struck Túrin’s foot – he awakened, and slew Beleg in the dark, thinking him an Orc. Túrin grieved greatly for his friend, and made a song afterwards, named Laer Cu Beleg, the Song of the Great Bow. Beleg’s sword, Anglachel, he took for himself, and bore it until his life’s end.
Belegorn – From 2148–2204 Third Age, the fourth Ruling Steward of Gondor.
Belegost ‘Mighty-fortress’ (Sind.) – The name given by the Elves to the Dwarf-city of Gabilgathol, built by the Dwarves early in the First Age in the east of the Blue Mountains, north of Mount Dolmed. It was known to Men as Mickleburg. From here, and from their other great city of Nogrod (Tumunzahar, the ‘Hollow-Peak’), the Dwarves mounted journeys and trading expeditions into Thingol’s Beleriand. They were thus the first new ‘speaking-peoples’ encountered by the Sindar.6 Soon afterwards Thingol sought the counsel of the Dwarves of Belegost, and they aided him in the planning and building of Menegroth, the ‘Thousand Caves’ of Doriath; for this service they were paid in pearls. Intercourse between the Dwarves of the Blue Mountains and the High-elves, however, was less happy. The Noldor for the most part despised the ‘Stunted People’, as they called them, and Caranthir the son of Fëanor, who held the easternmost regions of Beleriand, nearest to the Dwarf-kingdoms, was haughty in his dealing with them. But mounting danger drew the Dwarves and the Eldar closer together, and a satisfactory trading partnership was eventually arranged, to the mutual profit of both parties.
The first name of any King of Belegost to be recorded by the Eldar is that of Azaghâl, who brought his people to the Nirnaeth Arnoediad, and fought faithfully in alliance with the Sons of Fëanor. It was the Dwarves of Belegost, armoured and masked against dragon-fire, who defeated the Dragon Glaurung, though Azaghâl himself was killed in the fight. But the defeat of the Eldar in the War against Morgoth brought about a further sundering of Elves and Dwarves. Dwarves from Nogrod slew King Thingol in his own hall, and tried to steal the Nauglamir, which had been made long before by their forefathers for Finrod of Nargothrond. The Dwarves of Belegost, however, did not side with their kinsmen in this deed, or in the grievous deeds which followed. Like all peoples, the Dwarves were caught in the ruin of Beleriand: the Sea flowed in to cover Beleriand, and a great gulf was carved into the Blue Mountains, casting down Mount Dolmed and drowning the cities of Nogrod and Belegost, though they had lain on the eastern side of the mountains. But the survivors went to Moria in after years, swelling its numbers, and true to the tradition of their forefathers, soon struck up another agreeable relationship with the Noldor – which came to nothing, or nearly nothing, in the end.
Belegund – One of the Edain of the First House, the son of Bregolas brother of Barahir, and elder brother of Baragund; Belegund was also the father of Rían wife of Huor (of the Third House) and thus the grandfather of Tuor and great-grandsire of Eärendil the Mariner. (His younger brother Baragund was the grandsire of Túrin Turambar.) Belegund and his brother were among the twelve companions of Barahir on Dorthonion, outlaws who waged guerrilla warfare against the forces of Morgoth in the years following the Dagor Bragollach; both were among those of their band slain by Orcs after their betrayal by Gorlim the Unhappy.
Belemir – One of the Chieftains of the Edain of the First Age; the grandson of
Bëor the Old of the First House, descended from Bëor’s second son Belen. He wedded Adanel of the Third House, and their granddaughter was Emeldir ‘the Manhearted’, mother of BEREN ERCHAMION.
Belen – The second son of Bëor the Old of the First House of the Edain. He was the direct forefather of BEREN ERCHAMION.
Beleriand ‘Country of Balar’ (Sind.) – The land of the Grey-elves during the Elder Days, and the most westerly Elven-realm anywhere in Middle-earth, until its sudden destruction at the end of the First Age.
Its discovery by the Elves came at the end of their ‘Great Journey’; for generations they had been moving ever West into the wide and beautiful lands that lay beyond, following the call of the Valar, who had summoned all of Elvenkind across the Sea to Valinor in order to guard them from the evil of Melkor. Two of the Kindreds completed the Journey, passing through Beleriand and taking ship into the Uttermost West, where ever after they dwelt in bliss. However, most of the third Kindred, afterwards called Sindar (Grey-elves), fell so deeply in love with the lands west of the Ered Luin (Blue Mountains) that they lingered on the coasts and in the forests, unmoved as yet by the Sea-longing and taking instead a keen delight in the forests, rivers, meads and mountains of their new country. Thingol Greycloak, father of Lúthien Tinúviel, was their King. Later, many of the Grey-elves’ long-sundered Noldorin Kindred – ‘High-elves’ of Eldamar – rebelled against the Valar and came back to Middle-earth in exile. In their attempts to recover the stolen Silmarils by force from the renegade Vala Morgoth, these High-elves received some aid from their Grey-elven kin and (later) from Men. All were, in the end, completely defeated, and Beleriand became infested by evil things from Angband. But in the end Morgoth the Enemy was overthrown; his evil realm in the North was destroyed, and Beleriand itself was overwhelmed in the same cataclysm and cast under the waves. At the beginning of the Second Age, all that remained was Lindon (the former country of Ossiriand), divided into the two capes of Forlindon and Harlindon. Havens were established there. Throughout the Second Age this last remnant of ancient Beleriand was ruled by Gil-galad son of Fingon, last High-elven king in Middle-earth.
The Complete Tolkien Companion Page 9