by David Day
Morgoth
Melkor was one of the greatest of the spirits who dwelt with Eru the One before the creation of Arda. Yet he introduced discord to the Music of the Ainur, and when he entered Arda he worked against the other Valar, creating ruin and chaos. He expended so much of his spirit doing evil and dominating his armies that, unlike the other Valar, he had to take permanent fleshly form. When the Eldar came to Middle-earth and strove against him, they named him Morgoth, the Black Foe of the World.
The Vala Melkor became Morgoth, Lord of Darkness
The Balrogs were the most feared servants of Melkor
Balrogs of Utumno
The Balrog ‘demons of might’ were the most terrible of the Maiar spirits to become the servants of Melkor, the Dark Enemy. Huge and hulking, Balrogs were massive man-like demons with streaming manes of fire and nostrils that breathed flame. They seemed to move with clouds of black shadows and their limbs had the coiling power of serpents. The chief weapon of the Balrogs was the many-thonged whip of fire, although they were also known to use the mace, the axe and the flaming sword. In each of Melkor’s battles, Balrogs were his foremost champions, and so, when the holocaust of the War of Wrath ended Melkor’s reign forever, it largely ended the Balrogs as a race. It was said that some fled that last battle and buried themselves deep in the roots of mountains, but after thousands of years nothing more was heard of these demons. However, during the Third Age of the Sun, the deep-delving Dwarves of Moria released by accident an entombed demon. Once unleashed, the Balrog struck down two Dwarf kings; then, gathering legions of Orcs and Trolls to his aid, drove the Dwarves from Moria forever. His dominion remained uncontested for two centuries, until his duel with Gandalf the Grey on the Bridge of Khazad-dûm.
The Ages of Stars
When the Undying Lands entered its second era of the Trees of Light, Middle-earth began its Ages of the Stars. This resulted in the Awakening of the Elves, and eventually the War of Powers, when the Valar destroyed Utumno and took Melkor captive. The Elves began their westward migration and founded kingdoms both in Middle-earth and Eldamar in the Undying Lands. Then the seemingly repentant Melkor revolted once more, destroyed the Trees of Light and stole the Silmaril jewels.
Years 20,000–30,000
The Rekindling of the Stars
After many Ages of Darkness, Varda, the Lady of the Heavens, took the dew from the Silver Tree of the Valar, and, crossing the skies, rekindled the faint stars which shone down on Middle-earth, so they became brilliant and dazzling in the velvet night. The creatures of Melkor were so unused to light that they screamed in pain when these shafts of starlight pierced their dark souls. In terror, they fled and hid themselves away.
Yet, above all, the Rekindling of the Stars signified the Awakening of the Elves. For when the stars shone down on Middle-earth, the Elves awoke with starlight in their eyes, and something of that light remained there forever after. The place of awakening was the Mere of Cuiviénen by the shores of Helcar, the inland sea beneath the Orocarni, the Red Mountains.
The Ages of the Stars was also the time of the awakening of the two other speaking peoples: the Dwarves, who were conceived by Aulë the Smith, and the Ents, who were conceived by Aulë’s spouse, Yavanna the Fruitful. Then, too, in the pits of Utumno, Melkor bred two other races. These were the Orcs and the Trolls, twisted life forms made from tortured Elves and Ents who fell into his hands.
When Oromë the Horseman discovered the Awakening of the Elves, and the Valar learned of the wickedness done to them by Melkor, they held a council of war. The Valar and Maiar came to Middle-earth arrayed for battle against Melkor.
The Elves awoke and wondered at the light of the stars
During this War of Wrath they slew Melkor’s evil legions, broke down the great wall of the Iron Mountains, and utterly destroyed Utumno. Melkor’s dominion over Middle-earth was ended. He was bound with chains and held prisoner in Valinor for many ages. This was the period known as the Peace of Arda, and was the time of the Great Journey, when the Elves made their mass westward migration to Eldamar, on the shores of the Undying Lands. For the most part these were glorious years for the Elves in both Middle-earth and the Undying Lands.
The High Elves who succeeded in completing the Great Journey and who settled in Eldamar, built the wonderful cities of Tirion, Alqualondë and Avallónë. Yet many others, for love of the lands of Middle-earth, remained behind. They built their kingdom in mortal lands and lived glorious lives.
During the Ages of Stars there was a great kingdom of Elves in Beleriand in the northwest of Middle-earth. These were the Elves of the Teleri kindred who followed King Thingol and Queen Melian the Maia. They were called the Grey Elves, or the Sindar, and their kingdom was the vast forestland of Doriath. Their greatest city was called Menegroth of the Thousand Caves, and the caverns and grottoes of their citadel were one of the wonders of Middle-earth. The lords of the Sindar were the masters of Beleriand and the mightiest Elves upon Middle-earth in the Ages of Stars. Their allies were the Sea Elves of the Falas, the Laiquendi (or Green Elves) of Ossiriand, and the Dwarves of Belegost and Nogrod in the Blue Mountains. The Ages of Stars lasted ten thousand mortal years, and were ages of discovery and wonder, of glory and magic. Yet, all this was ended when Melkor was at last released from captivity in Valinor. After a time of seeming penance, he rose up in wrath and destroyed the Trees of the Valar. Then he fled into the north of Middle-earth, where he once again inhabited his fortress of Angband in the Iron Mountains. The Peace of Arda ended as the conflict spread to Beleriand, and the Ages of Stars came to an end.
Genealogy of the Races of Elves
The Awakening of the Dwarves
In a great hall under the mountains of Middle-earth, Aulë, the Smith of the Valar, fashioned the Seven Fathers of the Dwarves during the Ages of Darkness.
Ilúvatar was aware of Aulë’s presumptuous deed, and would not permit that this race should come forth before his chosen children. Yet he judged that Aulë acted without malice. Therefore he sanctified the Dwarves, and bade Aulë set them to sleep for many ages.
In the years that followed the Awakening of the Elves, the seven Fathers of the Dwarves stirred, and their stone chamber was broken open. They arose and were filled with awe. Each of the Seven Fathers made a great mansion under the mountains of Middle-earth, but the Elven histories of these early years speak only of three. Those were Belegost and Nogrod in the Blue Mountains, and Khazad-dûm in the Misty Mountains.
The Dwarves explored the wondrous caves beneath the mountains
The Ents marched in wrath upon Isengard
The Awakening of the Ents
After the Rekindling of the Stars and the Awakening of the Elves, the Ents also awoke in the great forests of Arda. They came forth from the thoughts of Yavanna, Queen of the Earth. Also known as the Shepherds of Trees, the Ents were giant guardians of the forests. They were half men, half trees in appearance, with skin like rough bark and branchlike arms with seven-fingered hands. They were fourteen feet tall and could stand unmoving for years at a time, or could move swiftly on unbending legs taking giant ‘Ent strides’ with feet like living roots. The eldest Ents were believed to have inhabited Middle-earth for over nine ages of stars and sun. Although most often patient and wise beings, if roused to anger they could crush stone and steel with their bare hands. During the War of the Ring, the wrath of the Ents was unleashed against Saruman the Wizard of Isengard.
The dread race of Orcs was bred from Elves who were corrupted by Melkor
The Breeding of the Orcs
Within the deepest pits of Utumno, in the First Age of Stars, it is said that Melkor – whom the Elves gave the name Morgoth, meaning the ‘Dark Enemy’ – committed his greatest blasphemy. For in that time he captured many of the newly risen race of Elves and took them to his dungeons, and with vile acts of torture he made ruined and terrible forms of life. From these he bred a goblin race of slaves who were as loathsome as Elves were fair. These were the Orcs, a
multitude brought forth in shapes twisted by pain and hate. Their stunted form was hideous: bent, bow-legged and squat. Their arms were as long and strong as apes’. The jagged fangs in their wide mouths were yellow, their tongues red and thick, and their nostrils and faces were broad and flat. Their eyes were crimson gashes, and glowed like hot red coals. Orcs were fierce warriors, for they feared more greatly their master than any enemy, and perhaps death was preferable to the torment of Orkish life. They were flesh-eating cannibals, dwellers of foul pits and tunnels, who hunted by night, and were fearful of light. More quickly than any other beings of Arda their progeny came forth from the spawning pits of the Dark Enemy to fill the ranks of his armies.
BELERIAND KINGDOMS
in the First Age
Beleriand
During the Ages of the Stars, Beleriand became the homeland of the Sindar Grey Elves. Their capital was Menegroth in the forests of Doriath. In the First Age of the Sun, the Noldor Elves returned and founded Nargothrond, Gondolin and many other kingdoms. However, all of these were destroyed, along with Menegroth and Melkor’s Angband, in the Wars of Beleriand. At the end of the Age, Beleriand sank beneath the waves.
The halls of Menegroth were filled with wonders
The Thousand Caves
of Menegroth
Through the Ages of Stars, while the High Elves of Eldamar flourished in the Light of the Trees, on Middle-earth the Sindar Grey-elves became a great race. Their king was Elu Thingol and their queen was Melian the Maia. The Sindar were lords of all Beleriand and they lived in the citadel of Menegroth, the Thousand Caves. This place was a wonder to all the World because the Sindar loved the forests so greatly. The halls and caverns of Menegroth were carved with trees, birds and animals of stone and filled with fountains and lamps of crystal, and through these halls walked the Sindar lords, the greatest Elves of Middle-earth in the Ages of Stars.
The Awakening of Men
Although the Trees of the Valar had been destroyed, the Valar Yavanna and Nienna coaxed from their scorched ruins a single flower of silver called Isil the Sheen and a single fruit of gold called Anor the Fire-golden. This flower and this fruit were placed in great vessels that became the Moon and the Sun, which were carried across the skies by Maiar spirits. It is said that with the rising of the Sun there came the Awakening of Men in the eastern land of Hildórien on Middle-earth. So began the Ages of the Sun in which the race of mortal Men flourished and spread over all the lands of Middle-earth.
The race of Men awakened at the rising of the Sun
Years 30,000–30,601
The First Age of the Sun
The Valar created the Sun and the Moon. This resulted in the Awakening of Men in Hildórien in the east. The Noldor Elves entered Beleriand in pursuit of Melkor, and laid siege to Angband for the first four centuries of the War of the Jewels. However, in 455 the siege was broken, and Angband’s legions destroyed the Elven kingdoms one by one. Finally, the Valar returned and in the War of Wrath, destroyed Angband and cast Melkor out forever into the Void.
The First Dawn
Although the Ages of the Sun are the main focus for virtually all Tolkien’s tales, the Sun does not arise in the sky until the Thirtieth Valarian Age, or some 30,000 mortal years after the creation of Arda. And yet, even the time span in Sun years is monumental. By the end of the War of the Ring and the Third Age, no less than 7,063 mortal years had passed.
In the early chronologies of ‘The Annals of Valinor’, Tolkien tells us that 29,980 mortal years after the creation of Arda, Melkor and the Great Spider Ungoliant ended the Ages of the Trees in Valinor and put out the Trees’ light forever. Yet the Valar Yavanna and Nienna saved a single flower of silver from Telperion and a single fruit of gold from Laurelin. These were placed in great vessels forged by Aulë the Smith, and in the 30,000th mortal year since the creation of the world, these glowing vessels were carried up into the heavens. These vessels were the Moon and the Sun, and ever afterwards they lighted all the wide lands of Arda.
Silver trumpets of the Elves greeted the appearance of the Moon. This was followed by the glory of the rising Sun in the world’s dawn.
As the Rekindling of the Stars marked the Awakening of the Elves, so the Rising of the Sun signalled the Awakening of Men. When the first light of dawn entered the eyes of Men, they awoke to a new age. For, as Ilúvatar had conceived the race of Elves at the beginning of Time and hid them away in the Meres of Cuiviénen, so he also conceived of the mortal race of Men and hid them in the east of Middle-earth in a place called Hildórien, the ‘land of the followers’ beyond the Mountains of the Wind.
In strength of body and spirit, these new people compared poorly with the Elves. They were mortals and were short-lived even compared to the Dwarves. Out of pity, the Elves taught this sickly people what they could, only to find that in their mortality was a secret strength. For this race proved more adaptable to the demands of a changing world, and although they died easily, and in great numbers, they bred more quickly than any race save the Orcs.
Tribes of these wandering peoples travelled over the lands of Middle-earth. The best and the strongest among them were the Edain, those who first entered the Eldar kingdoms of Beleriand. The First Age of the Sun was the Heroic Age that began with the coming of Noldor High Elves out of Eldamar in pursuit of Melkor, whom they called Morgoth, the Dark Enemy. For not only had Morgoth destroyed the Trees of Light, but he also stormed the Elven fortress of Formenos, slew the High King of the Noldor, and seized the magical jewels called the Silmarils. These three gems were the greatest treasure of the Noldor, for they had been fashioned by them from the light of the Trees of the Valar. It was the struggle for possession of these gems that resulted in the War of the Great Jewels, and gave Tolkien his theme for The Silmarillion. It was a conflict lasting six centuries and distinguished by six major battles.
Morgoth extinguished the Trees of Light, seized the Silmarils and fled to Angband some twenty mortal years before the dawning of the First Age of the Sun. The Wars of Beleriand began a decade later, when he sent his Orkish leaders against the Elves of Beleriand. This was the First Battle in which the Orkish hordes were eventually routed and driven back into Angband. The Second Battle was fought four mortal years before the rising of the Sun and was called the Battle Under Stars, Dagor-os Giliath. The forces of Morgoth came against the newly arrived Noldor Elves in north-western Beleriand. Although outnumbered, the Noldor fought ferociously for ten days. They slaughtered all before them and forced the Orcs to retreat to Angband.
In the year 56 of the First Age of the Sun, the forces of Morgoth had regained sufficient strength to send out an army greater than the two previous armies combined. This Third Battle was called the Glorious Battle, Dagor Aglareb, for not only did the Elves overthrow Morgoth’s Orc legions, they cut off their retreat and annihilated them. So complete was the victory that for nearly four centuries the Elves kept a close guard on Angband. During this time there were Orc raids on Hithlum, and in 260 Glaurung the Dragon attempted an attack, but for the most part there was peace in Beleriand. Few of Morgoth’s servants dared to venture south of the Iron Mountains. However, when Morgoth finally broke the Long Peace, he was truly prepared. In the year 455, his legions of Orcs were led by Balrogs and fire-breathing dragons. This was the Fourth Battle which was called the Battle of Sudden Flame, or Dagor Bragollach. This was followed by the Fifth Battle, the Battle of Unnumbered Tears, or Ninaeth Arnodiad. These two battles resulted in total victory for Morgoth and the eventual destruction of all the Elven kingdoms of Beleriand. In 496, Nargothrond was sacked. Shortly thereafter Menegroth was ruined, and 511 marked the fall of Gondolin, the last of the Elven strongholds.
For nearly a century Morgoth maintained his iron grip over Middle-earth. Finally the Valar and Maiar could no longer tolerate his wickedness, and in the year 601 they came forth a third and final time to make war on the Dark Enemy in the cataclysm called the War of Wrath and the Great Battle. So terrible was this conflict that
not only was Angband destroyed, but so too were all the fair lands of Beleriand. And though Morgoth called up all his monsters and demons, and even a legion of fire-breathing dragons, he was overthrown and cast out forever to the Void. Yet, this victory had its price. Beleriand was ruined. The Iron and Blue Mountains were broken apart, and the great waters were let in. All Beleriand was flooded, and eventually sank beneath the Western Sea. So ended the First Age of the Sun.
A Genealogy of the Races of Men
ENTS Treeherds
HUORNS Tree Spirits
Olvar: Flora of Arda
Kelvar: Fauna of Arda
Huan was the mightiest wolfhound in Middle-earth
Huan of Valinor
Huan the mighty wolfhound was given to the Elf Lord Celegorm by the Vala Oromë. He was a tireless hunter, and he never slept. When his master Celegorm of Nargothrond took the princess Lúthien captive, Huan was troubled, feeling that a great wrong had been done. He aided Lúthien in her escape from Nargothrond, and joined her in the Quest of the Silmaril.