The Complete Tolkien Companion

by J. E. A. Tyler

  Merethrond – The ‘Great-Hall-of-Feasts’ (Sind.) of the city of Minas Tirith, where Occasions of State were celebrated in the usual manner.

  Meriadoc ‘the Magnificent’ – One of the most distinguished Hobbits of history, remembered in the Annals of the Shire not only for his deeds as a member of the Fellowship of the Ring, but for his deep interest in the origins of the Hobbits themselves, as shown by his many contributions to the sum of Hobbit-scholarship (made after the War of the Ring, during his years as Master of Buckland).

  Meriadoc, more usually known as ‘Merry’, was born in Buck-land in the year 2982 Third Age (1382 Shire Reckoning), the only child of the Master of the Hall, Saradoc ‘Scattergold’ Brandybuck and his wife, the former Esmeralda Took (sister of Thain Paladin II). Merry was therefore cousin to his great friend Peregrin Took and second cousin to his other (slightly older) good friend, Frodo Baggins. As his name perhaps implies, Merry’s disposition was cheerful, even irrepressible; and, like his cousins, he exhibited a strong strain of the Fallohidish ‘adventurous’ temperament.

  Yet even in the midst of the adventures that were to follow Meriadoc was already showing signs of his developing interests in ‘deeper’ matters. Of the two younger Hobbits of the Company he was undoubtedly the more mature, and unlike Peregrin, he took the Quest seriously from the first, characteristically spending a good deal of time in the libraries of Rivendell, studying maps of the lands which lay far beyond his knowledge.

  Since Meriadoc was later to become deeply attached to one of these lands, Rohan, it is perhaps worth recounting just how his admiration for Théoden, the old King of the Mark, brought this to pass. Being of ‘aristocratic’ (Hobbit) background himself, from the start Merry was able to express this admiration in the correct manner – by formally pledging his service to the King, a gesture which greatly pleased the aged ruler, though doubtless he continued to regard the Hobbit more as a ward than a warrior. Nonetheless, Meriadoc of the Shire accompanied the Riders of Rohan on their epic journey to the aid of Gondor during the War of the Ring. And in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields he stood by Théoden after the King had been struck down by the Chief Nazgûl, and was one of the two valiant warriors who brought about the Ring-wraith’s downfall.

  For these deeds Merry won great honour and renown among the Rohirrim, who named him Holdwine in their language and gave him rank and much esteem in their land. He later became a close friend of King Éomer and remained greatly attached to Rohan for the rest of his long life, visiting the Mark often and learning its language. For this tongue – a form of which was common enough among Men of the northern vales of Anduin – greatly interested Meriadoc, who fancied he could detect many names and words in it akin to his own Hobbit-speech. Therefore, after his return to the Shire, he made further study of the ancient language links between Hobbits and Northern Men, eventually producing at least one work on the subject, a short treatise on Old Words and Names in the Shire.

  Another subject which later captured the interest of this intelligent and widely travelled Hobbit was the calculation of years, and to this end he studied various forms of calendar reckoning used by some of the races of western Middle-earth. Finally, Meriadoc also seems to have been a fair botanist, with yet another scholarly work, Herblore of the Shire, to his credit. It seems quite likely that Merry’s initial work in this particular field grew out of his great interest in (and fondness for) ‘pipe-weed’, the origins and history of which obviously held a special fascination for him.

  Nonetheless, while all these varied academic accomplishments doubtless earned him respect, this could not compare with the great honour which Meriadoc’s hereditary office and youthful heroics brought him in the eyes of the Shire-folk. For, although he arguably accomplished greater deeds on foreign fields of battle, it is certain that he was most esteemed by his fellow Hobbits for his adroit handling of the police action known as the Scouring of the Shire, in which he captained the Hobbitry-in-arms with sharp professional skill and admirable attention to detail.

  At the age of fifty, in 1432 Shire Reckoning, Merry succeeded his father Saradoc as Master of Buckland. Two years later, after Peregrin had been made Took and Thain, King Elessar appointed the Thain, the Master and the Mayor of Michel Delving (Samwise) as Counsellors of the North-kingdom; and for some fifty years more these old comrades continued to work together, shouldering the civic responsibilities of the Shire. Finally, in 1484 Shire Reckoning (Year 63 Fourth Age) Meriadoc and Peregrin took counsel together and resigned their offices. Handing over their chattels and estates to their sons, they rode away south, leaving the Shire for ever. The two elderly Hobbits first travelled to Edoras in Rohan, where Merry saw his old friend Éomer for the last time (the King died that autumn). Then they continued their journey to Gondor, where they dwelt with King Elessar in great honour and Splendour for some years before they, too, passed away and were laid to rest in the Hallows, in the House of the Kings.

  Note: Meriadoc wedded Estella Bolger, and although no children are recorded for them in available genealogical tables, on the basis of the penultimate entry in Appendix B, one must assume that Merry had at least one son, who in turn became Master of Buck-land.

  Mering Stream – The name in Rohan for the boundary-stream between Rohan and Gondor. It rose in the Firienwood, on the edges of the White Mountains, and flowed north and east – separating the Eastfold of Rohan from the province of Anórien – before joining the river Entwash. In Gondor it was called the Glanhir.

  Merlock Mountains – See ‘THE MEWLIPS’.

  Merry Brandybuck – See MERIADOC ‘THE MAGNIFICENT’.

  Merry Gamgee – The second son (and fourth child) of Samwise Gamgee, named after Meriadoc ‘the Magnificent’.

  Mersday – See MERESDEI.

  Messenger Service – The system of communication most used in the Shire, since lettered Hobbits wrote continually to their friends, and expected prompt replies. The Messenger Service, which also included the Quick Post, carried all the mail plus any worthwhile news among the four Farthings. The office of Mayor was held responsible for its efficient functioning.

  Methed-en-Glad ‘End of the Wood’ (Sind.) – A stronghold in Dor Cúarthol used by Túrin.

  Methedras ‘Last-Peak’ (Sind.) – The southernmost peak of the Misty Mountains. Below it, in a great cleft or fork, lay the coomb of Nan Curunír, the ‘Wizard’s Vale’ of Isengard.

  Mettarë (Q.) – The last day of the year in both the Elvish calendar and in KING’S RECKONING: the system begun by the Númenoreans and later adopted, in one form or another, by most of the Westron-speaking peoples of Middle-earth. In the (Elvish) Calendar of Imladris this day immediately preceded the opening of spring, while in the Dúnedain system it fell in mid-winter; however, in both, mettarë was an ‘extra’ day belonging to no fixed season or month.

  ‘The Mewlips’ – An odd and decidedly disturbing poem found (as No. 9) in the Shire-collection published under the title The Adventures of Tom Bombadil. It is in the form of an eerie tale told for the unwary traveller, who is cautioned to avoid the path which leads

  Beyond the Merlock Mountains,

  a long and lonely road,

  through the spider-shadows and the

  Marsh of Tode

  to the noisome pools where the strange, cannibalistic Mewlips dwell. The verse might be said to encapsulate all the alien horrors ever heard of in the Shire.

  Michel Delving – The chief township of the Shire, located on the White Downs in the Westfarthing.

  Mickleburg – A rendering into Common Speech of the name given by the Edain of the First Age to the great Dwarvish city of BELEGOST.

  Middle-earth – A translation of both Endórë (Q.) and Ennor, Ennorath (Sind.). In all records of the Third Age, this expression means ‘Mortal Lands’, i.e. all the land East of the Sundering Seas and subject to natural laws.

  Middle Peoples – An expression in Dúnedain lore developed during the Third Age. According to the Dúnedain, the ‘Middle
Peoples’ were those races of Men descended from the clans of the Edain who did not pass West to Númenor at the beginning of the Second Age. Of this type were the tall, blond, relatively uncultured but brave and noble Northern Men, such as the Rohirrim. The Dúnedain (the ‘High People’) accounted them as distant kin, and both loved and respected these ‘Men of Twilight’. See also MEN.

  Midgewater Marshes – An expanse of stagnant and treacherous bog which lay between Bree and the Weather Hills, to the north of the Great East Road. As their name implies, these marshes were infested with pestilent flying insects and other unpleasant creatures; consequently, they were usually avoided by travellers.

  Midyear’s Day – See LITHEDAYS.

  Milo Burrows – The son of Rufus Burrows and Asphodel Brandy-buck. Unlike most Hobbits, Milo was indifferent to the delights of personal correspondence and, as a result, was given a gold writing set by Bilbo Baggins when the elderly Hobbit departed the Shire for the last time in 3001 Third Age (1401 Shire Reckoning).

  Mîm – A Dwarf of the First Age, one of the so-called Petty-or Lesser-dwarves, the Noegyth Nibin, who wandered into Beleriand long before others of the Khazâd. It was this race who first delved the Caves of Narog, where in after years Finrod Felagund had his realm and city of Nargothrond. Another such ancient dwelling of the Noegyth Nibin was on the solitary hill of Amon Rûdh in West Beleriand. Mîm was the heir of those who had originally excavated Amon Rûdh, and together with his sons dwelt there for much of the First Age. But he was fated to become enmeshed by the Doom of the Children of Húrin, and so was destroyed. For Túrin Turam-bar, then the leader of an outlaw band, encountered Mîm and his sons not far from the western march of Brethil, and afterwards dwelt on the hilltop, together with Mîm, and his small family (see BAR-EN-DANWEDH). But Mîm was captured by Orcs, and though he stipulated that Túrin not be slain, revealed the whereabouts of the outlaws’ lair. The hill was attacked by Orcs. Túrin was captured, and all the outlaws save one were slain. Thus Mîm came once more into his own. But not many years afterwards, Túrin’s father Húrin, released at last from Angband, came to Amon Rûdh, and there encountered Mîm, and slew him.

  Note: in the preface to the selection of Hobbit-verse published as The Adventures of Tom Bombadil, an oblique reference is made to the ‘Númenorean legend of Túrin and Mîm the Dwarf’ in connection with the origins of poem No. 14, ‘The Hoard’. The poem concerns, among other things, the fate of an ancient, solitary Dwarf of the First Age who inherited an Elvish treasure and lost it again (to a dispossessing Dragon).

  Minalcar – See RÓMENDACIL II.

  Minardil – From 1621–34 Third Age, the twenty-fifth King of Gondor. He was slain in battle with the Corsairs of Umbar (led by Angamaitë and Sangahyando, the great-grandsons of Castamir the Usurper), at Pelargir, during a raid upon Gondor’s principal remaining naval base. His son Telemnar died during the Great Plague which followed two years later.

  Note: in Appendix A I (iv), it is erroneously stated that Minardil was the son of Eldacar II, the twenty-first King, who was deposed by Castamir. In fact, he was the son of Hyarmendacil II (Vinyarion), and was thus the great-grandson of Eldacar.

  Minas Anor ‘Tower of the [Setting] Sun’ (Sind.) – Originally a beautiful fortified city built shortly after the founding of Gondor at the end of the Second Age, Minas Anor was for years accounted one of the two principal fortresses of the realm; however, by the time of the War of the Ring, at the end of the Third Age, it had been renamed Minas Tirith, and had become the chief city and the only surviving stronghold of the diminished South-kingdom.

  Minas Anor was founded in 3320 Second Age as the capital of the province of Anórien and the High Seat of Anárion, younger son of Elendil the Tall and conjoint King of Gondor. It was the twin of Minas Ithil, the ‘Tower of the [Rising] Moon’, High Seat of Anárion’s brother Isildur and the capital of Isildur’s province of Ithilien, which lay on the eastern shores of the Great River. Yet neither was accounted the centre of the South-kingdom, for Osgiliath, the Citadel of the Stars, lay in between the two, upon both sides of the Anduin; and it was no fortress but a large and populous city, created as the capital of the entire realm.

  However, though never planned to be either the chief city or main fortress of the South-kingdom, from the beginning Minas Anor possessed a number of natural advantages which ultimately enabled it to endure. Chief of these was its position – upon the very knees of Mindolluin, easternmost of the White Mountains which were the backbone of the ancient realm. From its founding, Minas Anor was cunningly fashioned to make use of its unique position; and eventually it grew into a strong towering city, delved into the side of the mountain so that its rearmost walls were themselves the living rock of Mindolluin. Seven concentric walls it had and many towers, and the topmost circle of the City was built upon a great crag seven hundred feet high. At the summit of this mighty keep stood the Citadel of Anárion and the Court of the Fountain.

  Originally both Minas Anor and Minas Ithil were of equal royalty but, as is told elsewhere, the Tower of the Moon was taken by Sauron of Mordor during the War of the Last Alliance, and although it was recaptured when Sauron was first overthrown at the very end of the Second Age, Minas Ithil afterwards became accounted an eastern outpost rather than a seat of Kings. In contrast, in the year 420 Third Age, Minas Anor was rebuilt by Ostoher, seventh King of the Line of Anárion, and it then became the summer residence of Gondor’s royalty. Osgiliath survived as capital of the realm for a further thousand years – but in 1636, the Great Plague decimated the city and it remained partially deserted. Accordingly, in 1640, Tarondor, twenty-seventh King, removed the royal seat permanently to Minas Anor.

  So by the middle of the Third Age Gondor’s former westernmost fortress had become its new capital; and although both Osgiliath and Minas Ithil still endured, neither was ever again able to rival the Tower of the Sun. In 1900 Calimehtar, son of Narmacil II, built the White Tower at the highest point of the Citadel Rock. At the feet of this tower, the White Tree grew in the Court of the Fountain, while above it the banner of the Kings floated free in the wind, one thousand feet above the neighbouring plain.

  Yet the days of the Kings were even then drawing to an end. During the reign of Eärnil II (who followed Ondoher, son of Calimehtar), the power of Mordor arose once more and Minas Ithil was taken by the Nazgûl. The Tower of the Moon thus became a place of dread: men of Gondor called it Minas Morgul, the ‘Tower of Sorcery’, and Minas Anor was then renamed Minas Tirith, the ‘Tower of Guard’ (the name by which it was known while the Third Age lasted). Shortly after this the last descendant of the royal Line of Anárion rode away to Minas Morgul and never came back, so the Banner of the Ruling Stewards replaced that of the Kings. And when, in 2475 Third Age, Osgiliath was finally ruined, Minas Tirith became the last surviving city of the realm as it had been originally ordered. Nonetheless, although Gondor continued her slow decline, hope endured and, in 2698, Ecthelion I, seventeenth Ruling Steward, rebuilt the White Tower of Calimehtar (ever after known as the Tower of Ecthelion). But few further additions were made to the City’s strength, for the chief hopes of its inhabitants afterwards rested in its impregnable outer walls.

  In the event, however, it was not these walls of stone which enabled Gondor to survive the War of the Ring; rather, it was the will of her people and the foresight of her rulers. For in the latter years of the Age the Stewards, being for the most part wise and far-seeing men, had assumed that sooner or later Gondor would be invaded in strength – and that no walls could long stand against the power of Mordor if other means of defence could not somehow be contrived.

  Therefore, they made alliance with Men of other races, and they strengthened the outer defences of the Realm. And so, when Sauron at last launched his attack, during the War of the Ring, Minas Tirith survived, even though the Great Gates were broken and the lower circles of the City were burned.

  But all such damage was healed in the Fourth Age which followed the successful
conclusion of the War. New and stronger gates were made for the City by the Dwarves of Erebor, and with the lifting of the threat from the East, many folk came from the seaward vales of Lebennin and Belfalas to dwell there. Best of all, the Kings of the Line of Elendil returned to Gondor and the Standard of the White Tree flew once more from the topmost tower of Minas Anor, last memory of vanished Númenor and the fairest City in the west of Middle-earth.

  Minas Ithil ‘Tower of the [Rising] Moon’ (Sind.) – From its founding in 3320 Second Age until its final fall in 2002 Third Age, one of the two principal fortresses of Gondor, having been originally created as the twin of Minas Anor, the Tower of the Sun, and as the High Seat of Isildur, conjoint King of the Realm. After its capture by the Nazgûl, this once-fair city became known in Gondor as Minas Morgul, the Tower of Sorcery; it was cast down after the War of the Ring and never rebuilt.

  Yet at its first raising, Isildur’s city was fully as beautiful as Minas Anor, his brother Anárion’s High Seat. It was also the repository of the White Tree, brought by the Men of Númenor from their drowned homeland, and one of the seven palantíri rescued by them was kept there as well. It was the capital of the fair province of Ithilien and stood in an upland vale in the Mountains of Shadow, on the very borders of Sauron’s ancient realm of Mordor. For the builders of Minas Ithil believed that the Lord of Mordor had been destroyed in the drowning of Númenor.

  But Sauron had escaped, and after a period of hiding in Mordor he unleashed war upon the Dúnedain: in 3429 Second Age his armies came over the Mountains of Shadow and took the Tower of the Moon in a savage surprise attack. Isildur managed to escape with the palantír but his city was taken and its White Tree burned. So began the War of the Last Alliance, in which the armies of Elves and Men at last had the victory, and the first overthrow of Sauron brought an end to the Age.