The Silmarillion

by J. R. R. Tolkien

  Lhûn River in Eriador flowing into the sea in the Gulf of Lhûn.

  Linaewen ‘Lake of birds’, the great mere in Nevrast.

  Lindon A name of Ossiriand in the First Age. After the tumults at the end of the First Age the name Lindon was retained for the lands west of the Blue Mountains that still remained above the Sea.

  Lindórië Mother of Inzilbêth.

  Little Gelion One of the two tributary branches of the river Gelion in the north, rising in the Hill of Himring.

  Loeg Ningloron ‘Pools of the golden water-flowers’; see Gladden Fields.

  lómelindi Quenya word meaning ‘dusk-singers’, nightingales.

  Lómion ‘Son of Twilight’, the Quenya name that Aredhel gave to Maeglin.

  Lonely Isle See Tol Eressëa.

  Lord of Waters See Ulmo.

  Lords of the West See Valar.

  Lórellin The lake in Lórien in Valinor where the Vala Estë sleeps by day.

  Lorgan Chief of the Easterling Men in Hithlum after the Nirnaeth Arnoediad, by whom Tuor was enslaved.

  Lórien (1) The name of the gardens and dwelling-place of the Vala Irmo, who was himself usually called Lórien.

  Lórien (2) The land ruled by Celeborn and Galadriel between the rivers Celebrant and Anduin. Probably the original name of this land was altered to the form of the Quenya name Lórien of the gardens of the Vala Irmo in Valinor. In Lothlórien the Sindarin word loth ‘flower’ is prefixed.

  Lórindol ‘Goldenhead’; see Hador.

  Losgar The place of the burning of the ships of the Teleri by Fëanor, at the mouth of the Firth of Drengist.

  Lothlann ‘The wide and empty’, the great plain north of the March of Maedhros.

  Lothlórien ‘Lórien of the Blossom’; see Lórien (2).

  Luinil Name of a star (one shining with a blue light).

  Lumbar Name of a star.

  Lúthien The daughter of King Thingol and Melian the Maia, who after the fulfilment of the Quest of the Silmaril and the death of Beren chose to become mortal and to share his fate. See Tinúviel.

  Mablung Elf of Doriath, chief captain of Thingol, friend of Túrin; called ‘of the Heavy Hand’ (which is the meaning of the name Mablung); slain in Menegroth by the Dwarves.

  Maedhros The eldest son of Fëanor, called the Tall; rescued by Fingon from Thangorodrim; held the Hill of Himring and the lands about; formed the Union of Maedhros that ended in the Nirnaeth Arnoediad; bore one of the Silmarils with him to his death at the end of the First Age.

  Maeglin ‘Sharp Glance’, son of Eöl and Aredhel Turgon’s sister, born in Nan Elmoth; became mighty in Gondolin, and betrayed it to Morgoth; slain in the sack of the city by Tuor. See Lómion.

  Maglor The second son of Fëanor, a great singer and minstrel; held the lands called Maglor’s Gap; at the end of the First Age seized with Maedhros the two Silmarils that remained in Middle-earth, and cast the one that he took into the Sea.

  Maglor’s Gap The region between the northern arms of Gelion where there were no hills of defence against the North.

  Magor Son of Malach Aradan; leader of the Men of the following of Marach who entered West Beleriand.

  Mahal The name given to Aulë by the Dwarves.

  Máhanaxar The Ring of Doom outside the gates of Valmar, in which were set the thrones of the Valar where they sat in council.

  Mahtan A great smith of the Noldor, father of Nerdanel the wife of Fëanor.

  Maiar Ainur of lesser degree than the Valar (singular Maia).

  Malach Son of Marach; given the Elvish name Aradan.

  Malduin A tributary of the Teiglin; the name probably means ‘Yellow River’.

  Malinalda ‘Tree of Gold’, a name of Laurelin.

  Mandos The place of the dwelling in Aman of the Vala properly called Námo, the Judge, though this name was seldom used, and he himself was usually referred to as Mandos. Named as Vala. Named as the place of his dwelling (including Halls of Mandos; also Halls of Awaiting, Houses of the Dead). With reference to the Doom of the Noldor and the Curse of Mandos.

  Manwë The chief of the Valar, called also Súlimo, the Elder King, the Ruler of Arda.

  Marach Leader of the third host of Men to enter Beleriand, ancestor of Hador Lórindol.

  March of Maedhros The open lands to the north of the head-waters of the river Gelion, held by Maedhros and his brothers against attack on East Beleriand; also called the eastern March.

  Mardil Called the Faithful; the first Ruling Steward of Gondor.

  Mar-nu-Falmar ‘The Land under the Waves’, name of Númenor after the Downfall.

  Melian A Maia, who left Valinor and came to Middle-earth; afterwards the Queen of King Thingol in Doriath, about which she set a girdle of enchantment, the Girdle of Melian; mother of Lúthien, and foremother of Elrond and Elros.

  Melkor The Quenya name for the great rebellious Vala, the beginning of evil, in his origin the mightiest of the Ainur; afterwards named Morgoth, Bauglir, the Dark Lord, the Enemy, etc. The meaning of Melkor was ‘He who arises in Might’; the Sindarin form was Belegûr, but it was never used, save in a deliberately altered form Belegurth ‘Great Death’. Passim (after the rape of the Silmarils usually called Morgoth).

  MenAtani, Children of Ilúvatar, Easterlings.

  Menegroth ‘The Thousand Caves’, the hidden halls of Thingol and Melian on the river Esgalduin in Doriath.

  Meneldil Son of Anárion, King of Gondor.

  Menelmacar ‘Swordsman of the Sky’, the constellation Orion.

  Meneltarma ‘Pillar of Heaven’, the mountain in the midst of Númenor, upon whose summit was the Hallow of Eru Ilúvatar.

  Meres of Twilight See Aelin-uial.

  Mereth Aderthad The ‘Feast of Reuniting’ held by Fingolfin near the Pools of Ivrin.

  Mickleburg Translation of Belegost: ‘great fortress’.

  Middle-earth The lands to the east of the Great Sea; also called the Hither Lands, the Outer Lands, the Great Lands, and Endor. Passim.

  Mîm The Petty-dwarf, in whose house (Bar-en-Danwedh) on Amon Rûdh Túrin dwelt with the outlaw band, and by whom their lair was betrayed to the Orcs; slain by Húrin in Nargothrond.

  Minas Anor ‘Tower of the Sun’ (also simply Anor), afterwards called Minas Tirith; the city of Anárion, at the feet of Mount Mindolluin.

  Minas Ithil ‘Tower of the Moon’, afterwards called Minas Morgul; the city of Isildur, built on a shoulder of the Ephel Dúath.

  Minas Morgul ‘Tower of Sorcery’ (also simply Morgul), name of Minas Ithil after its capture by the Ringwraiths.

  Minastir See Tar-Minastir.

  Minas Tirith (1) ‘Tower of Watch’, built by Finrod Felagund on Tol Sirion; see Tol-in-Gaurhoth.

  Minas Tirith (2) Later name of Minas Anor. Called the City of Gondor.

  Mindeb A tributary of Sirion, between Dimbar and the Forest of Neldoreth.

  Mindolluin ‘Towering Blue-head’, the great mountain behind Minas Anor.

  Mindon Eldaliéva ‘Lofty Tower of the Eldalië’, the tower of Ingwë in the city of Tirion; also simply the Mindon.

  Míriel (1) The first wife of Finwë, mother of Fëanor; died after Fëanor’s birth. Called Serindë ‘the Broideress’.

  Míriel (2) Daughter of Tar-Palantir, forced into marriage by Ar-Pharazôn, and as his queen named Ar-Zimraphel; also called Tar-Míriel.

  Mirkwood See Greenwood the Great.

  Misty Mountains See Hithaeglir.

  Mithlond ‘The Grey Havens’, harbours of the Elves on the Gulf of Lhûn; also referred to as the Havens.

  Mithrandir ‘The Grey Pilgrim’, Elvish name of Gandalf (Olórin), one of the Istari (Wizards).

  Mithrim The name of the great lake in the east of Hithlum, and also of the region about it and of the mountains to the west, separating Mithrim from Dor-lómin. The name was originally that of the Sindarin Elves who dwelt there.

  Mordor ‘The Black Land’, also called the Land of Shadow; Sauron’s realm east of the mountains of the Ephel
Dúath.

  Morgoth ‘The Black Enemy’, name of Melkor, first given to him by Fëanor after the rape of the Silmarils and thereafter passim. See Melkor.

  Morgul See Minas Morgul.

  Moria ‘The Black Chasm’, later name for Khazad-dûm (Hadhodrond).

  Moriquendi ‘Elves of the Darkness’; see Dark Elves.

  Mormegil ‘The Black Sword’, name given to Túrin as captain of the host of Nargothrond; see Gurthang.

  Morwen Daughter of Baragund (nephew of Barahir, the father of Beren); wife of Húrin and mother of Túrin and Nienor; called Eledhwen (translated in the text as ‘Elfsheen’) and the Lady of Dor-lómin.

  Mountain of Fire See Orodruin.

  Mountains: of Aman, of Defence, see Pelóri; of the East, see Orocarni; of Iron, see Ered Engrin; of Mist, see Hithaeglir; of Mithrim, see Mithrim; of Shadow, see Ered Wethrin and Ephel Dúath; of Terror, see Ered Gorgoroth.

  Mount Doom See Amon Amarth.

  Music of the Ainur See Ainulindalë.

  Nahar The horse of the Vala Oromë, said by the Eldar to be so named on account of his voice.

  Námo A Vala, one of the Aratar; usually named Mandos, the place of his dwelling. Námo means ‘Ordainer, Judge’.

  Nandor Said to mean ‘Those who turn back’: the Nandor were those Elves from the host of the Teleri who refused to cross the Misty Mountains on the westward journey from Cuiviénen, but of whom a part, led by Denethor, came long afterwards over the Blue Mountains and dwelt in Ossiriand (the Green-elves).

  Nan Dungortheb Also Dungortheb; translated in the text as ‘Valley of Dreadful Death’. The valley between the precipices of Ered Gorgoroth and the Girdle of Melian.

  Nan Elmoth The forest east of the river Celon where Elwë (Thingol) was enchanted by Melian and lost; afterwards the dwelling-place of Eöl.

  Nan-tathren ‘Willow-vale’, translated as ‘the Land of Willows’, where the river Narog flowed into Sirion. In Treebeard’s song in The Two Towers III 4 Quenya forms of the name are used: in the willow-meads of Tasarinan; Nan-tasarion.

  Nargothrond ‘The great underground fortress on the river Narog’, founded by Finrod Felagund and destroyed by Glaurung; also the realm of Nargothrond extending east and west of the Narog.

  Narn i Hîn Húrin ‘The Tale of the Children of Húrin’, the long lay from which Chapter 21 was derived; ascribed to the poet Dírhaval, a Man who lived at the Havens of Sirion in the days of Eärendil and perished in the attack of the sons of Fëanor.

  Narn signifies a tale made in verse, but to be spoken and not sung.

  Narog The chief river of West Beleriand, rising at Ivrin under Ered Wethrin and flowing into Sirion in Nan-tathren.

  Narsil The sword of Elendil, made by Telchar of Nogrod, that was broken when Elendil died in combat with Sauron; from the shards it was reforged for Aragorn and named Andúril.

  Narsilion The Song of the Sun and Moon.

  Narya One of the Three Rings of the Elves, the Ring of Fire or the Red Ring; borne by Círdan and afterwards by Mithrandir.

  Nauglamír ‘The Necklace of the Dwarves’, made for Finrod Felagund by the Dwarves, brought by Húrin out of Nargothrond to Thingol, and the cause of his death.

  Naugrim ‘The Stunted People’, Sindarin name for the Dwarves.

  Nazgûl See Ring-wraiths.

  Necklace of the Dwarves See Nauglamír.

  Neithan Name given to himself by Túrin among the outlaws, translated as ‘The Wronged’ (literally ‘one who is deprived’).

  Neldoreth The great beech-forest forming the northern part of Doriath; called Taur-na-Neldor in Treebeard’s song in The Two Towers III 4.

  Nénar Name of a star.

  Nen Girith ‘Shuddering Water’, name given to Dimrost, the falls of Celebros in the Forest of Brethil.

  Nenning River in West Beleriand, reaching the sea at the Haven of Eglarest.

  Nenuial ‘Lake of Twilight’, in Eriador, where the river Baranduin rose, and beside which the city of Annúminas was built.

  Nenya One of the Three Rings of the Elves, the Ring of Water, borne by Galadriel; also called the Ring of Adamant.

  Nerdanel Called the Wise; daughter of Mahtan the smith, wife of Fëanor.

  Nessa One of the Valier, the sister of Oromë and spouse of Tulkas.

  Nevrast The region west of Dor-lómin, beyond Ered Lómin, where Turgon dwelt before his departure to Gondolin. The name, meaning ‘Hither Shore’, was originally that of all the northwestern coast of Middle-earth (the opposite being Haerast ‘the Far Shore’, the coast of Aman).

  Nienna One of the Valier, numbered among the Aratar; Lady of pity and mourning, the sister of Mandos and Lórien.

  Nienor ‘Mourning’, the daughter of Húrin and Morwen and sister of Túrin; spell-bound by Glaurung at Nargothrond and in ignorance of her past wedded Túrin in Brethil in her name Níniel; cast herself into the Teiglin.

  Nimbrethil Birch-woods in Arvernien in the south of Beleriand. Cf. Bilbo’s song at Rivendell: ‘He built a boat of timber felled in Nimbrethil to journey in...’(The Fellowship of the Ring II 1).

  Nimloth (1) The White Tree of Númenor, of which a fruit taken by Isildur before it was felled grew into the White Tree of Minas Ithil. Nimloth ‘White Blossom’ is the Sindarin form of Quenya Ninquelótë, one of the names of Telperion.

  Nimloth (2) Elf of Doriath who wedded Dior Thingol’s Heir; mother of Elwing; slain in Menegroth in the attack by the sons of Fëanor.

  Nimphelos The great pearl given by Thingol to the lord of the Dwarves of Belegost.

  Níniel ‘Tear-maiden’, the name that Túrin, ignorant of their relationship, gave to his sister; see Nienor.

  Ninquelótë ‘White Blossom’, a name of Telperion; see Nimloth (1). niphredil A white flower that bloomed in Doriath in starlight when Lúthien was born. It grew also on Cerin Amroth in Lothlórien (The Fellowship of the Ring II 6).

  Nirnaeth Arnoediad ‘Tears Unnumbered’ (also simply the Nirnaeth), the name given to the ruinous fifth battle in the Wars of Beleriad.

  Nivrim That part of Doriath that lay on the west bank of Sirion.

  Noegyth Nibin ‘Petty-dwarves (see also under Dwarves).

  Nogrod One of the two cities of the Dwarves in the Blue Mountains; translation into Sindarin of Dwarvish Tumunzahar. See Hollowbold.

  Noldolantë ‘The Fall of the Noldor’, a lament made by Maglor son of Fëanor.

  Noldor The Deep Elves, the second host of the Eldar on the westward journey from Cuiviénen, led by Finwë. The name (Quenya Noldo, Sindarin Golodh) meant ‘the Wise’ (but wise in the sense of possessing knowledge, not in the sense of possessing sagacity, sound judgement). For the language of the Noldor see Quenya.

  Nóm, Nómin ‘Wisdom’ and ‘the Wise’, the names that the Men of Bëor’s following gave to Finrod and his people in their own tongue.

  North Downs In Eriador, where was built the Númenórean city of Fornost.

  Nulukkizdîn Dwarvish name of Nargothrond.

  Númenor (In full Quenya form Númenórë.) ‘Westernesse’, ‘Westland’, the great island prepared by the Valar as a dwelling-place for the Edain after the ending of the First Age. Called also Anadûnê, Andor, Elenna, the Land of the Star, and after its downfall Akallabêth, Atalantë, and Mar-nu-Falmar.

  Númenóreans The Men of Númenor, called also Dúnedain.

  Nurtalë Valinóreva ‘The Hiding of Valinor’.

  Ohtar ‘Warrior’, esquire of Isildur, who brought the shards of Elendil’s sword to Imladris.

  Oiolossë ‘Ever-snow-white’, the most common name among the Eldar for Taniquetil, rendered into Sindarin as Amon Uilos; but according to the Valaquenta it was ‘the uttermost tower of Taniquetil’.

  Oiomúrë A region of mists near to the Helcaraxë.

  Olórin A Maia, one of the Istari (Wizards); Mithrandir, Gandalf, and cf. The Two Tower IV 5: ‘Olórin I was in my youth in the West that is forgotten’.

  olvar An Elvish word retained in the speeches of Yavanna and Manwë i
n Chapter 2, meaning ‘growing things with roots in the earth’.

  Olwë Leader together with his brother Elwë (Thingol) of the hosts of the Teleri on the westward journey from Cuiviénen; lord of the Teleri of Alqualondë in Aman.

  Ondolindë ‘Stone Song’, the original Quenya name of Gondolin.

  Orcs Creatures of Morgoth.

  Orfalch Echor The great ravine through the Encircling Mountains by which Gondolin was approached.

  Ormal One of the Lamps of the Valar made by Aulë. Ormal stood in the south of Middle-earth.

  Orocarni The Mountains of the East of Middle-earth (the name means ‘the Red Mountains’).

  Orodreth The second son of Finarfin; warden of the tower of Minas Tirith on Tol Sirion; King of Nargothrond after the death of Finrod his brother; father of Finduilas; slain in the Battle of Tumhalad.

  Orodruin ‘Mountain of Blazing Fire’ in Mordor, in which Sauron forged the Ruling Ring; called also Amon Amarth ‘Mount Doom’.

  Oromë A Vala, one of the Aratar; the great hunter, leader of the Elves from Cuiviénen, spouse of Vána. The name means ‘Horn-blowing’ or ‘Sound of Horns’, cf. Valaróma; in The Lord of the Rings it appears in the Sindarin form Araw.

  Oromet A hill near the haven of Andúnië in the west of Númenor, on which was built the tower of Tar-Minastir.

  Orthanc ‘Forked Height’, the Númenórean tower in the Circle of Isengard.

  Osgiliath ‘Fortress of the Stars’, the chief city of ancient Gondor, on either side of the river Anduin.

  Ossë A Maia, vassal of Ulmo, with whom he entered the waters of Arda; lover and instructor of the Teleri.

  Ossiriand ‘Land of Seven Rivers’ (these being Gelion and its tributaries flowing down from the Blue Mountains), the land of the Green-elves. Cf. Treebeard’s song in The Two Towers III 4: ‘I wandered in Summer in the elm-woods of Ossiriand. Ah! the light and the music in the Summer by the Seven Rivers of Ossir!’ See Lindon.

  Ost-in-Edhil ‘Fortress of the Eldar’, the city of the Elves in Eregion.

  Outer Lands Middle-earth (also called the Hither Lands).

  Outer Sea See Ekkaia.

  Palantíri ‘Those that watch from afar’, the seven Seeing Stones brought by Elendil and his sons from Númenor; made by Fëanor in Aman (see The Two Towers III 11).