The Complete Tolkien Companion

by J. E. A. Tyler

  (Nonetheless Gandalf hedged his bets: he also addressed the gateway as Annon Edhellen, ‘Door of the Elves’, no doubt taking into consideration that the Doors, though of Dwarf-make, were designed by, and for, Elves.)

  Nogrod ‘Hollow Dwelling’ (Sind.) – The Elvish name for a city of Dwarves in the east of the Blue Mountains, known to its builders and occupiers as Tumunzahar, and to Men as The Hollowbold. Its sister city was Belegost, seven leagues to the north. Dwarves of both cities had much to do with the affairs of the Elves in Beleriand during the First Age; but the memory of Nogrod is clouded – for Elves – by the murder of Thingol Greycloak of Doriath, committed by Dwarves of this city out of desire for the Silmaril, which Thingol then possessed. For this reason the feud between the Sindar and the Dwarves of Nogrod was bitter.

  But both Dwarf-cities were destroyed in the inundation of Beleriand, and the survivors, chiefly from Belegost, afterwards went to Moria, in eastern Eriador, and settled there. Moria afterwards became the greatest of all Dwarf-cities; but Nogrod and Belegost lay ever after under the waters of the Firth of Lune.

  Noirinan ‘Valley of the Tombs’ (Q.) – The shallow valley to the south of the Meneltarma where the Kings and Queens of Númenor were entombed.

  N[g]oldo ‘Wise’ – The older form of the Quenya title for one of the Second Kindred of the Eldar (the Noldor); also the name allotted to Tengwa number 19, which represented the sound ng (cf. Engl. King) in this older form. This tengwa (‘letter’) was later modified to the simpler n sound. In this later form Tengwa number 19 was inverted (right).

  Noldolantë ‘Fall-of-the-Noldor’ (Q.) – The name given by Maglor son of Fëanor to the Lament he made at the end of the First Age, shortly before his own death, whose subject was the ruin of his House and people.

  N[g]oldor ‘Those-that-know’ (Q.) – The name given in the High-elven tongue to the Second of their Three Kindreds, the People of Finwë, the artisans and loremasters of the Elves, who came, together with the Vanyar, to the West of Middle-earth far back in the Elder Days, and then across the Sea to Eldamar, where for many ages they dwelt in ever-increasing bliss. Finwë was their first King; his sons were Fëanor, Fingolfin and Finarfin. The Noldor helped in the building of Tirion upon the Hill of Túna, and journeyed often into Valinor, and learned many strange and wonderful things, and developed their skills to ever greater heights of accomplishment. The knowledge they gained enriched the lives of all dwellers in Aman, even the Valar. Yet before the Elder Days had passed, many of the Noldor, led by the sons of Finwë, rebelled against the Valar and exiled themselves from the Blessed Realm, returning to Middle-earth to wage war for repossession of their greatest treasure. In this War the Exiles suffered grievously; they never regained that which they sought, and in attempting to do so they unleashed ruin and desolation upon Middle-earth. And even when seeking to undo the evil they had brought about, their destiny in mortal lands worked against them, so that only by their final return, as penitents, into the Far West were they able at last to make amends.

  The Noldor were the Craftsmen of the Eldar, and their skills were wondrous. The greatest of all this people in both crafts and lore was Fëanor, and the greatest of all his achievements were the three marvellous Jewels, the Silmarilli, which captured the blessed Light of the Two Trees within their depths and returned it. So bright were the Silmarils that their beauty tempted one of the great Valar, afterwards known as Morgoth the Enemy, who stole the jewels from the Noldor and fled with them to Middle-earth. This act filled Fëanor with such wrath that he proposed to follow Morgoth back to mortal lands, to wrest the Jewels from him by force; and although the Valar sternly prohibited this enterprise, the greater part of the Noldorin Kindred then rose in rebellion and sailed away. In this way was brought about the Exile of the Noldor, and the introduction of war and sorrow on an unparalleled scale into Middle-earth. As the white swan-ships passed out of the seas of the Undying Lands, great shadows, summoned by Elbereth herself, passed across the face of the waters behind them, barring their return. And among the first to peri ooooooooooooooooosh in Middle-earth was Fëanor himself.

  Now led by Fingolfin, the ‘High-elves’ (as they became known in Middle-earth) established their many fair and extensive realms in the North, and in Beleriand, and for a while pressed their Enemy severely. But in the end Morgoth triumphed, and Nargothrond fell, and Gondolin was overcome; and then the Noldor retreated to the coast, or hid themselves in far valleys, while outside their hidden sanctuaries the Great Darkness rolled over Middle-earth. Finally, at the very end of the First Age, the Valar relented and sent a great host to the succour of the Elves and Men. At the beginning of the Second Age the Valar allowed all but the surviving leaders of the rebellious Noldor to return to the Blessed Realm, although many of High Elves remained. Most of these dwelt in Lindon and were ruled by Gil-galad Ereinion, son of Fingon, last heir of the kings of the Noldor in exile. But in about 750 a sizeable proportion moved across the Blue Mountains, to Eriador, and there founded the city of Eregion under the walls of Moria.

  Eregion was the only High-elven realm to be founded during the Second Age. And it is in the story of the Elven-smiths of that land that the recurring ill-fortune of the Exiles once again makes an appearance. The Elven-smiths were of Fëanor’s house, and possessed much of his ancient skill. Led by their lord, Celebrimbor – the grandson of Fëanor – they determined to make amends for the evil wrought by their forefather, and to this end began the forging of the Rings of Power, all of which were designed to heal the ills of a Middle-earth still suffering from the effects of the War of the Jewels. But the worthy plans of Celebrimbor were subverted by the treachery of Sauron of Mordor, servant of Morgoth in the First Age. By his agency the Rings of Power were turned against their owners, for the most part, and the knowledge obtained by Sauron from the Noldor of Eregion was put to evil uses: he forged the Ruling Ring to be the master of all other Great Rings and, in the middle of the Second Age, war broke out once more between the Elves and the servants of the Darkness.

  In this war Eregion was destroyed, and the Elven-smiths routed. Celebrimbor himself was slain. The Three Elven-rings were saved, though while Sauron wore the One they could not be used or even worn. And with the power of the One Ring Sauron of Mordor remorselessly made himself unassailable in Middle-earth. As a result of this the end of the Second Age saw the outbreak of another desperate war which involved the Noldor. In alliance with the Dúnedain (descendants of the Edain of the First Age), Gil-galad led the Elves of Lindon once more to battle against Sauron; and in this war the last King of the Noldor in Middle-earth perished, together with many of the remaining Exiles. After that pyrrhic victory, the Noldor of Middle-earth remained for the most part quiescent, living in memory of the past; and throughout the Age that followed white ships set sail at intervals from the Grey Havens. For the time was approaching when the Dominion of Elves in Middle-earth would come to an end – and all the heroic labours of the Noldor had only hastened the onset of that day.

  Those Exiles that nonetheless remained dwelt for the most part with Círdan the Shipwright at the Grey Havens, or with Elrond in Rivendell, or travelled the Westlands in wandering companies which made pilgrimages to the Tower Hills west of the Shire. They took little part in the War of the Ring, for they were by then few in number, and their power had for the most part departed. Most of these remaining Exiles duly returned across the Sea at the end of the Third Age, together with the Three Rings wrought by Celebrimbor; for the time was come for an end of the long and grievous history of that people in Middle-earth. The returning Exiles dwelt in Tol Eressëa within sight of Eldamar, but those few of the ‘Deep-elves’ who had never left Aman continued to dwell in their city of Tirion, on the Hill of Túna.

  Note: in the extensively-systemised Eldarin nomenclature, the Noldor are accounted both Amanyar and Calaquendi. In Middle-earth they were known as Golodhrim (or Gelydh) by the Sindar, as ‘High-elves’ (Tareldar in their own tongue) by most other folk of Beleriand
, and (especially by the First House of the Edain) as Nómin, ‘the Wise’ (by chance also the meaning of the word Noldor).

  Nólë ‘Lore’ (Q.).

  Nolimón – See VARDAMIR NOLIMÓN.

  Nóm (pl. Nómin) ‘Wisdom’ (Adûn.) – The name given by the People of Bëor (the First House of the Edain) to Finrod Felagund of the Noldor; and (pl.) to the Noldor as a people, especially those of Finrod’s House. This kindred of the Edain was the first of all their race to encounter the High-elves.

  Nori – One of the twelve Dwarves who accompanied Thorin Oakenshield on the Quest of the Lonely Mountain in 2941 Third Age. After the successful conclusion of the expedition, Nori remained in Erebor enjoying his rewards and much prestige.

  North Downs – A line of smooth hills in northern Eriador, lying to the east of the Hills of Evendim. After the division of ARNOR (861 Third Age), the heirs of Isildur removed their capital from Annúminas, beside Lake Evendim, and built a great walled burg on the southern slopes of these Downs. This was Fornost Erain, the ‘Northern-fortress of the Kings’ of Arthedain; it was later abandoned, and the ruins there became known as Deadmen’s Dike, and were shunned by honest folk.

  Northern Line – The Line of Isildur. The royal Line of Descent from Elendil the Tall, founder of the Númenorean realms-in-exile, Arnor and Gondor, through his elder son Isildur, who inherited the North-kingdom of Arnor. This Line passed unbroken from father to son through all the Kings of Arnor and Arthedain and Chieftains of the Dúnedain of the North. The Southern Line, which provided the royalty of Gondor, was descended from Elendil’s younger son Anárion. See also LINES OF DESCENT.

  Northern Men – During the Second and Third Ages of Middle-earth most of the Men inhabiting ‘the northern region of the West-lands were descended from the Edain of the First Age, or from their close kin’.2 By the latter part of the Third Age these Northern Men included: the Rohirrim (formerly the Éothéod), the Men of Esgaroth and Dale (the Bardings), the Men of the Carrock (the Beornings) and the Woodmen of Western Mirkwood. All these Men spoke tongues which were part of a Northern language group related to the ancient Adûnaic speech of the Edain, although many of them also knew the Common Speech (itself also partly based on Adûnaic). See also NORTHMEN.

  Northern Waste – See FORODWRAITH.

  Northfarthing – One of the four quarters or ‘farthings’ of the Shire.

  North Ithilien – See ITHILIEN.

  North-kingdom – Arnor, later Arthedain.

  Northmen – In surviving Annals of the Third Age this name was used originally to mean the inhabitants of the principality of Rhovanion, which stretched from the forest of Greenwood – later called Mirkwood – to the River Running. The Northmen were ‘the nearest in kin of lesser Men to the Dúnedain (being for the most part descendants of those peoples from whom the Edain of old had come)’.3 Consequently, after the first third of the Age, when Gondor began to decline in power, her rulers made alliances with the Northmen against recurring attacks of Easterlings; and in the middle of the Age, great numbers of Northmen migrated to the South-kingdom. The Northmen who remained in Rhovanion continued to face new waves of Easterlings throughout the remainder of the Age.

  In the middle of the Third Age one notable branch of this proud people separated from the rest and migrated up and down the Anduin before eventually settling in the land later known as Rohan.

  See also RHOVANION.

  North Road – The old North Road of Eriador; originally one of the two chief arteries of the ancient realm of Arnor. It ran from Fornost on the North Downs, through Bree (where it crossed the Great East Road), across the South Downs to join the main road from the Shire to Tharbad, on the southern border of the North-kingdom.

  After the fall of Arthedain (in 1974 Third Age), the road fell into disrepair and much of it became known as the Greenway, from the grass and weeds which sprang up between the stones. In the latter part of the Age, Bree-dwellers feared to follow the Greenway very far north, for it led to Deadmen’s Dike, a haunted hill of mounds and old ruins of stone, where only robbers would venture. These ruins were all that remained of Fornost Erain, the fortified capital of Arthedain.

  North Tooks – A Northfarthing branch of the Took clan of the Shire, founded by the illustrious Bandobras ‘the Bullroarer’ Took. The descendants of this huge and valiant Hobbit dwelled in Long Cleeve, near the scene of their forefather’s greatest moment: his defeat of the Orcs, led by Golfimbul of Mount Gram, who invaded the Shire in 2747 Third Age (1147 Shire Reckoning). From this cadet branch of the Tooks was descended Mistress Diamond, who wedded Peregrin son of Paladin, one of the Shire heroes in the War of the Ring.

  Norui – See NARIË.

  Nulukkizdin (Khuz.) – The name given by the early Dwarves of Beleriand (the Noegyth Nibin) to the caves delved in the gorge of the swift river Narog, in West Beleriand. This complex of natural and dolven halls was afterwards occupied (and extended) by Elves, and called Nargothrond.

  Númen – The Quenya word for ‘west’; also the title of Tengwa number 17, which represented the value of the sound n – apart from the weaker, ‘semi-vocalic’ n sounds such as ng and nw, for which there were other appropriate letters (nos. 19 and 20; see N[G]OLDO; NWALME). The most common use for númen was to denote directional West (customarily shown at the top of maps made in the Westlands of Middle-earth).

  Númendil – The seventeenth lord of Andúnië in Númenor and cousin of Tar-Palantír.

  Númenor (Q., from the older Númenórë, ‘People-of-the-West’) – Westernesse: the greatest realm of the world in the Second Age, apart from the Undying Lands. Founded by the Edain, at the very beginning of the Age, for three thousand years this land continued to grow in both power and splendour until ultimately, the vaulting ambitions of the Númenoreans caused them to commit the most appalling act of sacrilege. As a punishment, the island-realm was thrown down and buried under the waves, with only a chosen few of the Faithful surviving to start afresh in Middle-earth.

  At the end of the First Age the Valar, the Guardians of the World, desired to reward the Edain for the losses they had suffered by joining the Elves in their long and hopeless wars against Morgoth the Enemy. The Edain had previously dwelt among the Elves of Beleriand in the far north-west, but that land was drowned at the end of the Age in the catastrophe which the Valar brought down upon Morgoth. Therefore, so that the Edain, like the Eldar, might sail west over Sea to a land far removed from the turmoils of Middle-earth, the Valar gave them the great Isle of Elenna, the Land of the Star.

  At the beginning of the Second Age, most of the Edain set sail into the Western seas and, following Eärendil’s beacon-star, eventually reached the distant island. Establishing their realm of Númenor in this most westerly of Mortal Lands, they then became known to the Elves as Dúnedain (‘Edain-of-the-West’). Elros Tar-Minyatur, son of Eärendil the Mariner and the brother of Elrond, was chosen as their first King, and under his rule and that of his immediate descendants, the Númenoreans long continued to grow in wisdom and happiness as well as in power.

  The island was shaped like a star or pentangle with five great capes or promontories projecting approximately N, E, SE, S and NW, and a ‘middle-land’ (Mittalmar) whose central point was the mighty mountain of the Meneltarma. The realm was divided into provinces corresponding with these natural subdivisions: Forostar (Northlands), Andustar (Westlands); Hyarnustar (Southwestlands), Hyarrostar (Southeastlands), Orrostar (Eastlands) and Mittalmar. Of the latter province a small region – the Arandar or Kings’-land – was set aside; it contained the Meneltarma – on whose summit was the holiest hallow in all Númenor – the royal capital of Armenelos, and, where it touched the eastern seaboard, the haven of Rómenna.4

  From the beginning a mighty prohibition had been laid upon them: the ‘Ban of the Valar’, which forbade the Númenoreans to sail anywhere near the Undying Lands, which lay tantalisingly close, just over the horizon to the West. These lands included Valinor, the home of the Valar themselves,
as well as Eldamar and Eressëa, where dwelt those Elves who had forsaken Middle-earth. But while the Dúnedain were forbidden to go there, the Eldar of these lands were free to sail wherever they wished, and many of them paid visits to Númenor. During these visits the Elves freely gave much of their knowledge to the Dúnedain.

  After some time, however, the Númenoreans grew resentful of the Ban and jealous of the Elves, and eventually they became obsessed with envy of the Elves’ immortality. For the natural restlessness and ambition of mortal Men, when combined with the long life span which the Dúnedain had been given – and the power and knowledge which they rapidly acquired – led to a great yearning in them for the unattainable. Nonetheless, for much of the Age, the more restless Númenoreans were able to avoid the forbidden waters of the West by turning eastwards instead. Within six hundred years of the founding of their realm, they were again sailing to Middle-earth and exploring its coasts. And they appeared in even greater numbers after the middle of the Age, following the reign of Tar-Minastir, who sent a military expedition there, to aid the Elves beleaguered by Sauron. But in the arrogance of their power over the ‘lesser’ Men of Middle-earth, a number of Númenorean mariners eventually began to seize their coastlands and harbours (see BLACK NÚMENOREANS). So Númenor entered its last, imperial and aggressive, phase.

  As the years passed and their life span (once thrice that of other Men) began to lessen, the Númenorean Kings increasingly begrudged their mortality, the Doom of Men, and sought for life everlasting, in order to savour the mighty accomplishments and great splendour of their race. In 2899 Second Age, after the death of Tar-Calmacil, eighteenth King, the new ruler took his royal name in the Adûnaic tongue, calling himself Ar-Adûnakhôr, ‘Lord-of-the-West’. In itself an affront to the Valar, this title also introduced a return to the use of Adûnaic: an ancient tongue of the Edain and the vernacular speech of the Númenoreans, who had always hitherto used Elvish tongues when dealing with high matters. This new nationalistic use of Adûnaic became so widespread that soon the old Eldarin tongues and traditions were preserved only by the Faithful, who dwelt in Andúnië, in the far west of the island. All the later kings followed the lead of Adûnakhôr; and although the penultimate King repented and changed his name from the (Adûnaic) Ar-Inziladûn to the (Eldarin) Tar-Palantír, this gesture only led to civil war. After his death the Sceptre was usurped by his nephew, the most powerful, the most ambitious, and the last of all Númenorean Kings: Ar-Pharazôn the Golden.