The Silmarillion

by J. R. R. Tolkien

  Pelargir ‘Garth of Royal Ships’, the Númenórean haven above the delta of Anduin.

  Pelóri ‘The fencing or defensive heights’, called also the Mountains of Aman and the Mountains of Defence, raised by the Valar after the destruction of their dwelling on Almaren; ranging in a crescent from north to south, close to the eastern shores of Aman.

  People of Haleth See Haladin and Haleth.

  Periannath The Halflings (Hobbits).

  Petty-dwarves Translation of Noegyth Nibin. See also under Dwarves.

  Pharazôn See Ar-Pharazôn.

  Prophecy of the North The Doom of the Noldor, uttered by Mandos on the coast of Araman.

  Quendi Original Elvish name for Elves (of every kind, including the Avari), meaning ‘Those that speak with voices’.

  Quenta Silmarillion ‘The History of the Silmarils.’

  Quenya The ancient tongue, common to all Elves, in the form that it took in Valinor; brought to Middle-earth by the Noldorin exiles, but abandoned by them as a daily speech, especially after the edict of King Thingol against its use; see especially 128–9, 149–50. Not named as such in this book, but referred to as Eldarin; High Eldarin; High-elven; the tongue of Valinor; the speech of the Elves of Valinor; the tongue of the Noldor; the High Speech of the West.

  Radagast One of the Istari (Wizards).

  Radhruin One of the twelve companions of Barahir on Dorthonion.

  Ragnor One of the twelve companions of Barahir on Dorthonion.

  Ramdal ‘Wall’s End’ (see Andram), where the dividing fall across Beleriand ceased.

  Rána ‘The Wanderer’, a name of the Moon among the Noldor.

  Rathlóriel ‘Golden-bed’, later name for the river Ascar, after the treasure of Doriath was sunk in it.

  Rauros ‘Roaring Spray’, the great falls in the river Anduin.

  Red Ring, The See Narya.

  Region The dense forest forming the southern part of Doriath.

  Rerir Mountain to the north of Lake Helevorn, where rose the greater of the two tributary branches of Gelion.

  Rhovanion ‘Wilderland’, the wide region east of the Misty Mountains.

  Rhudaur Region in the north-east of Eriador.

  Rían Daughter of Belegund (nephew of Barahir, the father of Beren); wife of Huor and mother of Tuor; after Huor’s death died of grief on the Haudh-en-Ndengin.

  Ringil The sword of Fingolfin.

  Ring of Doom See Máhanaxar.

  Rings of Power The One Ring, Great Ring,or Ruling Ring: Three Rings of the Elves: (see also Narya, the Ring of Fire, Nenya, the Ring of Adamant, and Vilya, the Ring of Sapphire). Seven Rings of the Dwarves. Nine Rings of Men.

  Ringwil The stream that flowed into the river Narog at Nargothrond.

  Ring-wraiths The slaves of the Nine Rings of Men and chief servants of Sauron; also called Nazgûl and Úlairi.

  Rivendell Translation of Imladris.

  Rivil Stream falling northwards from Dorthonion and flowing into Sirion in the Fen of Serech. Rivil’s Well.

  Rochallor The horse of Fingolfin.

  Rohan ‘The Horse-country’, later name in Gondor for the great grassy plain formerly called Calenardhon.

  Rohirrim ‘The Horse-lords’ of Rohan.

  Rómenna Haven on the east coast of Númenor.

  Rothinzil Adûnaic (Númenórean) name of Eärendil’s ship Vingilot, with the same meaning, ‘Foam-flower’.

  Rúmil A Noldorin sage of Tirion, the first deviser of written characters (cf. The Lord of the Rings Appendix E II); to him is attributed the Ainulindalë.

  Saeros Nandorin Elf, one of the chief counsellors of Thingol in Doriath; insulted Túrin in Menegroth, and by him pursued to his death.

  Salmar A Maia who entered Arda with Ulmo; maker of Ulmo’s great horns, the Ulumúri.

  Sarn Athrad ‘Ford of Stones’, where the Dwarf-road from Nogrod and Belegost crossed the river Gelion.

  Saruman ‘Man of Skill’, the name among Men of Curunír (which it translates), one of the Istari (Wizards).

  Sauron ‘The Abhorred’ (in Sindarin called Gorthaur); greatest of the servants of Melkor, in his origin a Maia of Aulë.

  Secondborn, The The Younger Children of Ilúvatar, Men.

  Seeing Stones See Palantíri.

  Serech The great fen north of the Pass of Sirion, where the river Rivil flowed in from Dorthonion.

  seregon ‘Blood of Stone’, a plant with deep red flowers that grew on Amon Rûdh.

  Serindë ‘The Broideress’; see Míriel (1).

  Seven Fathers of the Dwarves See Dwarves.

  Seven Stones See Palantíri.

  Shadowy Mountains See Ered Wethrin.

  Shepherds of the Trees Ents.

  Sickle of the Valar See Valacirca.

  Silmarien Daughter of Tar-Elendil, the fourth King of Númenor; mother of the first lord of Andúnië and ancestress of Elendil and his sons Isildur and Anárion.

  Silmarils The three jewels made by Fëanor before the destruction of the Two Trees of Valinor, and filled with their light.

  Silpion A name of Telperion.

  Silvan Elves Also called Woodland Elves. They appear to have been in origin those Nandorin Elves who never passed west of the Misty Mountains, but remained in the Vale of Anduin and in Greenwood the Great; see Nandor.

  Sindar The Grey-elves. The name was applied to all the Elves of Telerin origin whom the returning Noldor found in Beleriand, save for the Green-elves of Ossiriand. The Noldor may have devised this name because the first Elves of this origin whom they met with were in the north, under the grey skies and mists about Lake Mithrim (see Mithrim); or perhaps because the Grey-elves were not of the Light (of Valinor) nor yet of the Dark (Avari), but were Elves of the Twilight. But it was held to refer to Elwë’s name Thingol (Quenya Sindacollo, Singollo ‘Grey-cloak’), since he was acknowledged high king of all the land and its peoples. The Sindar called themselves Edhil, plural Edhel.

  Sindarin The Elvish tongue of Beleriand, derived from the common Elvish speech but greatly changed through long ages from Quenya of Valinor; acquired by the Noldorin exiles in Beleriand. Called also the Grey-elven tongue, the tongue of the Elves of Beleriand, etc.

  Singollo ‘Grey-cloak’, ‘Grey-mantle’; see Sindar, Thingol.

  Sirion ‘The Great River’ flowing from north to south and dividing West from East Beleriand. Falls of Sirion. Fens of Siron. Gates of Sirion. Havens of Sirion. Mouths of Sirion. Vale of Sirion.

  Sons of Fëanor See Maedhros, Maglor, Celegorm, Caranthir, Curufin, Amrod, Amras. Often referred to as a group, especially after the death of their father.

  Soronúmë Name of a constellation.

  Stone of the Hapless Memorial stone of Túrin and Nienor by Cabed Naeramarth in the river Teiglin.

  Straight Road, Straight Way The path over the Sea into the Ancient or True West, on which the ships of the Elves might still sail after the Downfall of Númenor and the Changing of the World.

  Strongbow Translation of Cúthalion, name of Beleg.

  Súlimo Name of Manwë, rendered in the Valaquenta as ‘Lord of the Breath of Arda’ (literally ‘the Breather’).

  Swanhaven See Alqualondë.

  Swarthy Men See Easterlings.

  Talath Dirnen The Guarded Plain, north of Nargothrond.

  Talath Rhúnen ‘The East Vale’, earlier name of Thargelion.

  Taniquetil ‘High White Peak’, highest of the mountains of the Pelóri and the highest mountain of Arda, upon whose summit are Ilmarin, the mansions of Manwë and Varda; also called the White Mountain, the Holy Mountain, and the Mountain of Manwë. See Oiolossë.

  Tar-Ancalimon Fourteenth King of Númenor, in whose time the Númenóreans became divided into opposed parties.

  Taras Mountain on a promontory of Nevrast; beneath it was Vinyamar, the dwelling of Turgon before he went to Gondolin.

  Tar-Atanamir Thirteenth King of Númenor, to whom the Messengers of the Valar came.

  Tar-Calion Quenya name of Ar-Pharazôn.
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  Tar-Ciryatan Twelfth King of Númenor, ‘the Shipbuilder’.

  Tar-Elendil Fourth King of Númenor, father of Silmarien, from whom Elendil was descended.

  Tar-Minastir Eleventh King of Númenor, who aided Gil-galad against Sauron.

  Tar-Minyatur Name of Elros Half-elven as first King of Númenor.

  Tar-Míriel See Míriel (2).

  Tarn Aeluin The lake on Dorthonion where Barahir and his companions made their lair, and where they were slain.

  Tar-Palantir Twenty-fourth King of Númenor, who repented of the ways of the Kings, and took his name in Quenya: ‘He who looks afar’. See Inziladûn.

  Taur-en-Faroth The wooded highlands to the west of the river Narog above Nargothrond; also called the High Faroth.

  Taur-im-Duinath ‘The Forest between Rivers’, name of the wild country south of the Andram between Sirion and Gelion.

  Taur-nu-Fuin Later name of Dorthonion: ‘the Forest under Night’. Cf. Deldúwath.

  Tauron ‘The Forester’ (translated in the Valaquenta ‘Lord of Forests’), a name of Oromë among the Sindar. Cf. Aldaron.

  Teiglin A tributary of Sirion, rising in Ered Wethrin and bounding the Forest of Brethil on the south; see also Crossings of Teiglin.

  Telchar The most renowned of the smiths of Nogrod, the maker of Angrist and (according to Aragorn in The Two Towers III 6) of Narsil.

  Telemnar Twenty-sixth King of Gondor.

  Teleri The third and greatest of the three hosts of the Eldar on the westward journey from Cuiviénen, led by Elwë (Thingol) and Olwë. Their own name for themselves was Lindar, the Singers; the name Teleri, the Last-comers, the Hindmost, was given to them by those before them on the march. Many of the Teleri did not leave Middle-earth; the Sindar and the Nandor were Telerin Elves in origin.

  Telperion The elder of the Two Trees of Valinor. Called the White Tree.

  Telumendil Name of a constellation.

  Thalion ‘Steadfast, Strong’; see Húrin.

  Thalos The second of the tributaries of Gelion in Ossiriand.

  Thangorodrim ‘Mountains of Tyranny’, reared by Morgoth above Angband; broken down in the Great Battle at the end of the First Age.

  Thargelion ‘The Land beyond Gelion’, between Mount Rerir and the river Ascar, where Caranthir dwelt; called also Dor Caranthir and Talath Rhûnen.

  Thingol ‘Grey-cloak’, ‘Grey-mantle’ (in Quenya Sindacollo, Singollo), the name by which Elwë, leader with his brother Olwë of the host of the Teleri from Cuiviénen and afterwards King of Doriath, was known in Beleriand; also called the Hidden King. See Elwë.

  Thorondor ‘King of Eagles.’ Cf. The Return of the King VI 4: ‘Old Thorondor, who built his eyries in the inaccessible peaks of the Encircling Mountains when Middle-earth was young’. See Crissaegrim.

  Thousand Caves See Menegroth.

  Thranduil Sindarin Elf, King of the Silvan Elves in the north of Greenwood the Great (Mirkwood); father of Legolas, who was of the Fellowship of the Ring.

  Thuringwethil ‘Woman of Secret Shadow’, the messenger of Sauron from Tol-in-Gaurhoth who took the form of a great bat, and in whose shape Lúthien entered Angband.

  Tilion A Maia, steersman of the Moon.

  Tintallë ‘The Kindler’, a name of Varda as maker of the Stars. She is called thus in Galadriel’s lament in Lórien, The Fellowship of the Ring II 8. Cf. Elbereth, Elentári.

  Tinúviel The name that Beren gave to Lúthien: a poetic word for the nightingale, ‘Daughter of Twilight’. See Lúthien.

  Tirion ‘Great Watch-tower’, the city of the Elves on the hill of Túna in Aman.

  Tol Eressëa ‘The Lonely Isle’ (also simply Eressëa), on which the Vanyar and the Noldor and afterwards the Teleri were drawn across the ocean by Ulmo, and which was at last rooted in the Bay of Eldamar near to the coasts of Aman. On Eressëa the Teleri long remained before they went to Alqualondë; and there dwelt many of the Noldor and the Sindar after the ending of the First Age.

  Tol Galen ‘The Green Isle’ in the river Adurant in Ossiriand, where Beren and Lúthien dwelt after their return.

  Tol-in-Gaurhoth ‘Isle of Werewolves’, name of Tol Sirion after its capture by Sauron.

  Tol Morwen Island in the sea after the drowning of Beleriand on which stood the memorial stone of Túrin, Nienor, and Morwen.

  Tol Sirion Island in the river in the Pass of Sirion on which Finrod built the tower of Minas Tirith; after its capture by Sauron named Tol-in-Gaurhoth.

  Tulkas A Vala, the ‘greatest in strength and deeds of prowess’, who came last to Arda; also called Astaldo.

  Tumhalad Valley in the land between the rivers Ginglith and Narog, where the host of Nargothrond was defeated.

  Tumladen ‘The Wide Valley’, the hidden vale in the Encircling Mountains in the midst of which stood the city of Gondolin. (Tumladen was afterwards the name of a valley in Gondor: The Return of the King V 1.)

  Tumunzahar See Nogrod.

  Túna The green hill in the Calacirya on which Tirion, the city of the Elves, was built.

  Tuor Son of Huor and Rían, fostered by the Grey-elves of Mithrim; entered Gondolin bearing the message of Ulmo; wedded Idril Turgon’s daughter, and with her and their son Eärendil escaped from the destruction of the city; in his ship Eärrámë set sail into the West.

  Turambar ‘Master of Doom’, the last name taken by Túrin, during his days in the Forest of Brethil.

  Turgon Called the Wise; the second son of Fingolfin; dwelt at Vinyamar in Nevrast before he departed in secret to Gondolin, which he ruled until his death in the sack of the city; father of Idril the mother of Eärendil: called (like Thingol) the Hidden King.

  Tûr Haretha The burial-mound of the Lady Haleth in the Forest of Brethil (see Haudh-en-Arwen).

  Túrin Son of Húrin and Morwen; chief subject of the lay named Narn i Hîn Húrin from which Chapter 21 was derived. For his other names see Neithan, Gorthol, Agarwaen, Mormegil, Wildman of the Woods, Turambar.

  Twilight Meres See Aelin-uial.

  Two Kindreds Elves and Men.

  Two Trees of Valinor.

  Uinen A Maia, the Lady of the Seas, spouse of Ossë.

  Úlairi See Ring-wraiths.

  Uldor Called the Accursed; son of Ulfang the Black; slain by Maglor in the Nirnaeth Arnoediad.

  Ulfang Called the Black; a chieftain of the Easterlings, who with his three sons followed Caranthir, and proved faithless in the Nirnaeth Arnoediad.

  Ulfast Son of Ulfang the Black, slain by the sons of Bór in the Nirnaeth Arnoediad.

  Ulmo A Vala, one of the Aratar, called Lord of Waters and King of the Sea. The name was interpreted by the Eldar to mean ‘The Pourer’ or ‘The Rainer’.

  Ulumúri The great horns of Ulmo made by the Maia Sal

  Ulwarth Son of Ulfang the Black, slain by the sons of Bór in the Nirnaeth Arnoediad.

  Úmanyar Name given to those Elves who went on the westward journey from Cuiviénen but did not reach Aman: ‘Those not of Aman’, beside Amanyar ‘Those of Aman’.

  Úmarth ‘Ill-fate’, a fictitious name for his father given out by Túrin in Nargothrond.

  Umbar Great natural haven and fortress of the Númenóreans south of the Bay of Belfalas.

  Undying Lands Aman and Eressëa; also called the Deathless Lands.

  Ungoliant The great spider, destroyer with Melkor of the Trees of Valinor. Shelob in The Lord of the Rings was ‘the last child of Ungoliant to trouble the unhappy world’ (The Two Towers IV 9).

  Union of Maedhros The league formed by Maedhros to defeat Morgoth that ended in the Nirnaeth Arnoediad.

  Urthel One of the twelve companions of Barahir on Dorthonion.

  Urulóki Quenya word meaning ‘fire-serpent’, dragon.

  Utumno The first great stronghold of Melkor, in the north of Middle-earth, destroyed by the Valar.

  Vairë ‘The Weaver’, one of the Valier, the spouse of Námo Mandos.

  Valacirca ‘The Sickle of the Valar’, name of the constellatio
n of the Great Bear.

  Valandil Youngest son of Isildur; third King of Arnor.

  Valaquenta ‘Account of the Valar’, a short work treated as a separate entity from The Silmarillion proper.

  Valar ‘Those with Power’, ‘The Powers’ (singular Vala); name given to those great Ainur who entered into Eä at the beginning of Time, and assumed the function of guarding and governing Arda. Called also the Great Ones, the Rulers of Arda, the Lords of the West, the Lords of Valinor. Passim; see also Ainur, Aratar.

  Valaraukar ‘Demons of Might’ (singular Valarauko), Quenya form corresponding to Sindarin Balrog.

  Valaróma The horn of the Vala Oromë.

  Valier ‘The Queens of the Valar’ (singular Valië); a term used only in the Valaquenta.

  Valimar See Valmar.

  Valinor The land of the Valar in Aman, beyond the mountains of the Pelóri; also called the Guarded Realm.

  Valmar The city of the Valar in Valinor; the name also occurs in the form Valimar. In Galadriel’s lament in Lórien (The Fellowship of the Ring II 8) Valimar is made equivalent to Valinor.

  Vána One of the Valier, the sister of Yavanna and spouse of Oromë; called the Ever-young.

  Vanyar The first host of the Eldar on the westward journey from Cuiviénen, led by Ingwë. The name (singular Vanya) means ‘the Fair’, referring to the golden hair of the Vanyar; see Finarfin.

  Varda ‘The Exalted’, ‘The Lofty’; also called the Lady of the Stars. Greatest of the Valier, the spouse of Manwë, dwelling with him on Taniquetil. Other names of Varda, as maker of the Stars, were Elbereth, Elentári, Tintallë.

  Vása ‘The Consumer’, a name of the Sun among the Noldor.

  Vilya One of the Three Rings of the Elves, the Ring of Air, borne by Gil-galad and afterwards by Elrond; also called The Ring of Sapphire.

  Vingilot (In full Quenya form Vingilótë). ‘Foam-flower’, the name of Eärendil’s ship; see Rothinzil.

  Vinyamar The house of Turgon in Nevrast under Mount Taras. The meaning is probably ‘New Dwelling’.

  Voronwë ‘The Steadfast’, Elf of Gondolin, the only mariner to survive from the seven ships sent into the West after the Nirnaeth Arnoediad; met with Tuor at Vinyamar and guided him to Gondolin.