The Word of Tolkien

John Evans, Tolkien Blog on the Elder Days, The Last Alliance, and The War Of the Ring

The Silmarillion

Part 1

of Middle Earth

The Silmarillion is professor Tolkien's grand history of Middle Earth encompassing the myths and legends of the Elder Days, the forging of the rings of power, and the back story to some of his most important characters. However, what most people don't realize is that this novel was only published after his death and required heavy editing by his son Christopher Tolkien who released the History of Middle Earth Series and a longer version of the Children of Húrin that reveal more about Tolkien's secondary world. As writer of this blog it is not my intention to present exactly what Tolkien would have thought, and many of the facts I will use come directly from other sources such as Pod Casts, documentaries and interviews of renown Tolkien professors rather then my own interpretation of the books. It would be all together unthinkable not to draw intention to the fact that the information I present does not come from my own research but rather the hard work of other fans of the books and movies who have taken their time to distribute as much information as they possibly can on Tolkien's secondary world of Middle Earth. The most notable of my sources is a very popular and informative podcast series called the Tolkien Professor that carefully annalize all of Tolkien's most renown works such as the Hobbit and the Lord Of The Rings, as well as Christopher Tolkien's own writings on his father's monumental books in the first two volumes of the History of Middle Earth series called The Book of Lost Tales. It is from these very important sources that I have derived the additional information required to begin writing these blogs in order to continue to inspire young readers to read Tolkien while also entertaining an audience with prier knowledge like myself who would be interested in learning more about the back story to the events that take place during the War Of the Ring and the Quest for Smaug's Treasure Hoard in the Hobbit. I will spend three blogs discussing the Elder Days in general as well as a quick analysis of the fall Gondolin and the Children of Húrin in order to shed new lite on the rise of Sauron's master, Morgoth and the doomed war of the Noldor against the forces of evil along side the forefathers of mankind. If you have absolutely no clue what I am referring to, you might recall that at the end of the Return of the King Bilbo gave not only the Red Book to Frodo but also a few volumes called "Translations from the Elvish" which were transcribed in Revendell to make the legends of the Elder Days accessible, for Frodo in writing his account of the War Of The Ring. The reason why readers of the famous Lord Of the Rings trilogy often don't hear about the ancient tales found in these volumes is in part because the Ring Barer's journey to Mount Doom was clearly to destroy Sauron and not his master Morgoth so that very few of the stories from the Elder Days are critical to the plot line. Professor Tolkien might have intended Bilbo's Translations as his own unfinished version of what became the Silmarillion that he originally entitled "The Book of Lost Tales," which is currently the first two books in a twelve volume set that I have already mentioned as one of my sources. The first chapter in this novel tells us of the creation of Middle Earth itself, the angelic beings that govern the world, and the fall of Mellkor who is later renamed Morgoth, "The black enemy" clearly derived from the bible's description of Satan. Because we know that Tolkien was a devout Catholic, many professors agree that when he was writing about Mellkor and Sauron he clearly had the old testament story of Lucifer in mind as well as the medieval traditions of how evil generally operates in the primary world. In the age of the sun men first came from the far East of Middle Earth and hoping to sway humans against the elf kings of Aman, Morgoth left his fortress and corrupted many men to his service. Those unlucky mortals who were enslaved by the dark lord years later grew to fear their master and earned the hatred of those faithful who fought along side the Noldor. Readers of the Lord Of The rings will remember Sam's sorrow as he witnessed the killing of an Easternling in the Two Towers during a desperate battle against the Gondorians. In the special addition of the film version Sam's thoughts are expressed by Faramer who grimly wonders weather the soldier he just slew was really evil or was just driven away from home by force, rather then his own commitment to the cause of Mordor. There is no doubt that Morgoth's evil influence affected his greatest servant Sauron and later impacted the way in which the dark lord of the rings behaved when he arose to challenge the last alliance of Elves and Men at the close of the second age. The tangible link between the Elder days and the Third Age seems to be the character of Sauron, and it is very interesting to think of him as only the servant of a greater power and to accept another image of the Dark Lord of Mordor besides the enormous flaming eye we all know from The Lord Of the Rings. In the end, not even the joint force of both Sauron and Mellkor, could defeat the high elves of the west and at the end of the first age Morgoth was cast in to the timeless void beyond the Earth. It is said that from there he is still able to spread his will through out Middle Earth but can no longer raise any army against the free peoples of Arda. Of all the creatures closest to Tolkien's heart was the elves, and this in part was because of the fact that he had spent years developing a complex language for them, even before he began writing anything close to what became the earliest scraps of what later became The Book Of Lost Tales. The elves first awoke when the stars were finally created. It is said that some of them once lived in the undying lands with the angelic protectors of the world who are generally called the Valar: "The powers of Arda." In this safe haven they created many wonderful works of art and magic, the greatest of which were the Silmarils that were large jewels filled with the light of two beautiful trees and also hollowed by the Valar themselves. The elf who created the Silmarils was Feanor the Proud, and it is said by the wise that only until the end of the world will anyone discover of which substance those holy jewels were made of. In tolkien's novel, Unfinished Tales he gives an interesting motive for Feanor's decision to make the Silmarils during a description of Galadriel's back story. He writes that, "even among the Elder she was accounted beautiful, and 230 her hair was held a marvel unmatched." "It was golden like the hair of her father and of her foremother Indis, but richer and more radiant, for its gold was touched by some memory of the starlike silver of her mother; and the Elder said that the light of the Two Trees, Laurelin and Telperion, had been snared in her tresses." "Many thought that this saying first gave to Feanor the thought of imprisoning and blending the light of the Trees that later took shape in his hands as the Silmarils." "For To Feanor beheld the hair of Galadriel with wonder and delight." "He begged three times for a tress, but Galadriel would not give him even one hair." "These two kinsfolk, the greatest of the Elder of Valinor, were unfriends for ever." The term, "Unfriends" is also later used to describe the men who first came out of the East, and it bares striking similarity with the word, "unloveliness" that Tolkien uses to describe the Dwarves uncouth appearance from the elve's perspective. In the quote that you have just seen, Tolkien elevates, Galadriel as the one individual who inspired, Feaonor to produce the Silmarils, and as a result, one of the indirect catelists for the rebellion of the Noldor. The Silmarils attracted the attention of, Mellkor who stole them and brought them back to his ancient fortress of Angband in the North of Middle Earth, where he raised an army of orcs and Balrogs to challenge the Valar in the West. The elves of Feaonor's people left, the Undying Lands to recover the Jewels against the will of the Valar, and so they were cursed by the gods and were betrayed by Feaonor's overwhelming lust for the jewels he himself had made. The evils that the followers of Feaonor committed against fellow Elves and other peoples was never forgotten, and this was in part because Feaonor and his sons swore an oath to never rest while any living creature kept or withheld a Silmaril. The long and bloody war that the high elves of the west had waged against, Morgoth was utterly defeated, and it was only through the aid of the Valar that the dark lord finally was overthrown and imprisoned. One of the elves who left the blessed realm with Feaonor was, Galadriel, and although all the other followers of Feaonor were pardoned, Galadriel was not, and she was forced to abide living in the world until she passed the test that Frodo gave her by offering her the one ring in the Third Age. The next two blogs I will write will be on, the Children of Hurin and the Fall of Gondilin, and knowing that I have to do a little research before I begin writing again, it may be some time before you see the next blog in my analysis of Tolkien's works. If I have misspelled any places or names through out this blog, I hope that you will understand that I was given limited time in order to finish this first installment in my series about the Elder Days, and that I will try not to make the same mistakes again. May the stars shine upon your faces and may the good will of elves, men and all free folk go with you.

The Word of Tolkien

John Evans' blog on the Elder Days, the last alliance, and the War of the Ring

Part 2

The Children of Húrin

In the Fellowship of the Ring, Elrond told the Council of Revendell that his memory stretched back even to the Elder Days, and recalled the valor of those men who fought along side the elves in their wars against the dark lord Morgoth, "The black enemy!" Most readers of the Lord of the rings will also recall that the hide of Shelob the spider was so thick that not even the steadfast arms of Beren or Túrin could have penetrated it. These two brief references to the Elder days are gate ways to a little known chapter in Middle Earth's long history following the return of the Noldor. According to Tolkien's writings in the Silmarillion, the high elves of the west returned to, Middle Earth to recapture three beautiful gems generally called, the Silmarili which the famous craftsman, Feanor made to contain the light of the two trees that gave the Undying Lands their light. The conflict between the Noldorin elves and Morgoth lasted for hundreds of years, but even before the siege of the dark lord's fortress could be achieved, Feanor died after fighting with many Balrogs and Orcs, leaving the future of his doomed war in the hands of his seven sons. After their siege was broken in, The Battle of Sudden Flame, a mortal man named, Beren with the help of, Luthian daughter of the elven king of Doriath, took one silmaril from Morgoth's iron crown and the elves rejoiced to hear of their foe's humiliation. The tide had had finally turned and this time against the dark lord of the north. The elves then took advantage of Mellkor's epic defeats by marching to war against the great enemy at the Battle of Unnumbered Tears where they were betrayed by the Easternlings and were forced to retreat to fight another day. As the army of the elven lord Turgon king of Gondolin was trying to escape, a company of orcs attacked them, Hoping to cut of their escape to the south or the discover where Turgon's hidden city lay. Tolkien makes it very clear that the three major elf strongholds of the Elder days we're Nargothrond, Doriath and Gondolin. Of all the high elves Morgoth feared Turgon the most for long ago in Aman the dark lord felt that through Turgon he would be utterly ruined. Like Gondalin, Nargothrond was a stronghold of the high elves and the wealthiest of the exiled kingdoms of the Noldor, but Doriath was made up of primarily dark elves who never went to the light in the far west where the fathers of the Noldor learned much from the Valar. The king of Doriath was Thingol who was a wise and power elf before the rebellion of the high elves and had even gone to Valennor but returned to bring his people to the Blessed realm on behalf of the Valar themselves. Instead of returning to Aman in the west though, he remained with his people and married Melian who was a lesser valar known as a Maiar like Sauron. Together they lived peacefully with the dwarves and through the arts of Melian prevented any evil creature from entering their land which thus became known as Doriath, "Land of the fence." The secret councils of these kings were known only to a hand full of trusty elf lords in their service and only the warrior, Húrin of Dorlomen knew as much as these captains in the days of his youth. Húrin was a mortal man of blond hair and tall stature. It is said that Turgon housed him after escaping from orcs after The Battle of Sudden Flame where he learned much of the councils of the elven kings and their plans for conquest that Morgoth greatly desired to know. Therefore, although Turgon escaped the dark lord's grasp Húrin was taken prisoner and not slain by Gathmog Lord Of Balrogs. The brash young soldier was brought before Mellkor where he was tortured for his insolence after refusing several times to reveal the location of Gondalin. As a result, Morgoth chained Húrin the Steadfast to a high seat with magic spells so that he would see the events of the outside world through the dark lord's eyes. Mellkor also cursed Húrin and all his family so that they could never escape the dooms he had assigned for them while his gigantic will lay upon Arda which is Middle Earth. The story of the Children of Húrin thus begins with a description of Húrin's son Túrin and how his mother Morwin sent him to Doriath to dwell with Thingol where he would be protected from the invading Easternlings. Thingol treated Túrin as a "foster son" and was befriended by Beleg Strong Bow who went with the young man on several occasions to defend Doriath against enemies poring out of Angband to the far north or Easternlings from Dorlomen. However when Túrin requested an army to recapture his native homeland where his mother still dwelt in thralldom, Thingol denied his wish but did not hinder him from leaving the land of the fence while Melian was still queen. Years passed by and Túrin increased his skill his swordsmanship and battle strategy with Beleg in the wild, biding his time until he could finally justice to his oppressed people back home or at the least to see Morwin once again. Tolkien tells us that while Túrin was growing up under Thingol's care, she gave birth to Niennor which means morning in the elvish tung but refused to journey to Doriath out of the overmastering pride of her noble household. She could not in good will become the subject of an elvish lord while her husband was still alive some where. One night Túrin returned from the borders of Doriath to enjoy a well earned feast in Thingol's halls when he was mocked by one of the king's councilors to such an extent that Túrin became so enraged he tossed a drinking vessel at his enemy's head. The following day the elf assailed Túrin with sword and shield and was accidently slain. Fearing the swift and humiliating punishment of Thingol, Túrin then left doriath and became the leader of a band of outlaws in the wild who continually fought Morgoth's orcs and other wicked folk who ventured south from Angband . Túrin allied himself with a dwarf named Mim and set up his camp in Mim's house atop an enormous mountain that no enemy had yet discovered. Soon men and elves came flocking to Túrin's service and supplies came from Nargothrond, but Morgoth was aware of Túrin and made plans to capture him at any cost. Beleg Strong Bow visited his friend one night and informed him that Thingol had pardoned him of his rash actions in hopes that Túrin would return to Doriath where his courage would be of better use. Instead Túrin refused to turn back and continued his frequent attacks on the orcs with Beleg who had decided to join the outlaws. Then Mim was captured by Morgoth's spy's and revealed the location of Túrin's secret base to save his life so that all of Túrin's men were taken by surprised and were slain. Túrin was seized by force by the orcs and Beleg went in search of him until he found the enemy's camp at night with another elf from Nargothrond who had escaped thralldom. As Beleg faithfully cut Túrin's bonds his blade slipped and cut Túrin's foot, arousing him from sleep. Thinking that the figure standing over him with a sword was an orc he leapt up with a great cry, took the blade from Beleg's hand, and brutally slew him. Looking down on the body Túrin saw that it was his beloved friend and did not weep but stood transfixed as though turned to stone. In Beleg's memory Túrin then took his sword and went to Nargothrond with the escaped thrall from Angband and became the single most important individual in that kingdom save the king Orodreth himself. In the longer version of the Children of Húrin released by Christopher Tolkien it is said that the son of Húrin the Steadfast built a bridge over the waters of the river Narog so that Orodreth could move his soldiers more quickly then before and that Túrin convinced the generals of the king to abandon their stealth to march out to open war against Morgoth. The dark lord swiftly sent Glaurung father of dragons and a large army of orcs to destroy Orodreth's famous realm as well as to seize most of the elven king's treasure in the process: Nargothrond was doomed. When messengers from the coasts warned Túrin and the king they both refused to destroy the bridge that had been constructed, allowing the enemy to cross over Narog, and taking Nargothrond by storm in one climatic battle. The tolkien professor podcasts once suggested that it was Glaurung's desire for more gold and jewels that convinced him to lead Morgoth's army against the soldiers of Orodreth. We know that Túrin attempted to slay the dragon in that desperate last stand but was caught under the beast's spell when he looked in to Glaurung's enchanted eyes. Morgoth's dragon then compelled Túrin to return to Dorlomen to rescue his family from the clutches of the evil Easternlings rather then save Orodreth's daughter who had been in love with Túrin for months prier to the sack of her father's kingdom. When Túrin came back to his homeland he discovered that his mother and sister had gone to Doriath since the lands had been free from the cruel orcs do to the constant vigilance of Nargothrond before its epic fall. This means that Túrin's unexpected military assaults on Morgoth's forces while he was still a prince of Nargothrond helped provide safe passage for Morwin and Niennor to one of the most guarded elven kingdoms ever to have existed: Doriath Land of the Fence! Believing that his family was now in good hands Túrin dwelt with the woodmen who dwelt in the forests near Nargothrrond where they had long fought bitterly against waves of invading orc armies and other more evil servants of the black hand of angband. Meanwhile Morwin and Niennor left Doriath to find Túrin only to be attacked by Glaurung and separated before the remnants of Orodreth's mighty kingdom. There Niennor developed some odd form of amnesia when she accidently stared right in to the eyes of the dragon and fled far away to a band of hunters under Túrin's command. That fateful night he brought Niennor back with him to the houses of the woodmen where Niennor relearned all that she had forgotten under Glaurung's spell save her true identity which remained a mystery. Although both characters seemed to feel some connection they began to talk to each other on a regular basis and swiftly fell in love. Shortly after their marriage Glaurung heard that the black sword of Húrin's son had been spotted some where in the lands of the woodmen and journeyed to a pass far above a flowing stream that a dear once leapt over many years before. Túrin went to destroy the beast with Beleg's black sword and succeded in mortally wounding the dragon but fainted when Glaurung's enchanted blood scorched his hand. When Niennor came to see what had happened, Glaurung stirred for the last time and broke his curse by telling her that she was truly Túrin's brother and scorned Húrin's son several times. Niennor stood pondering the terrible fate of Túrin and assumed that he was probably dead based on the limp body that lay before her and the dragon's evil words. Seeing no hope any longer in life she then cast herself in to the flowing river that Glaurung had leapt over and drowned. Túrin learned of these events from the leader of the woodman and was so overcome by grief and loss he slew him and stormed away in to the forest. There he met a company of elves from doriath who told him that his mother and sister had actually left the care of Thingol and were lost, convincing Húrin's son that the tale he had heard earlier was true. After fleeing from the gray elves Túrin unsheathed his sword and committed suicide: Morgoth had won! However the dark lord still had much evil he hoped to achieve through Húrin misery and let him go so that he could accidently reveal the general location of Gondalin and see the lasting impacts of his defiance against the indomitable dark will of Angband. Before Húrin himself died he came to Túrin's grave and found Morwin who perished shortly afterwards. He also traveled to Doriath where he gave to Thingol and Melian the necklace of the dwarves of Nargothrond which he took after slaying Mim. No certain news ever came to Doriath concerning Húrin's fate but it is said that he died before the First Age was over and that he also might have slew himself in his despair. Unfortunately, I am not exactly satisfied with the ending of this particular story so I can't really preach to you what Tolkien's message might have been. The climax of the tale can be directly linked to Romeo and Juliet for obvious reasons and perhaps even the death of Hercules after the twelve trials. Yet because Tolkien was trying to develop a mythology of his own it is doubtful that he intended these connections to be forefront in this story and I feel that many Tolkien fans would fervently disagree with me if I tried to compare and contrast other literary works to The Children of Húrin. Therefore it is not in my place to draw conclusions concerning the fates of Niennor and Túrin but rather to help clarify Tolkien's own writings for an audience eager to learn more about his secondary world. If I had limited free time to work on the last blog I had even less to work on this one. As a result, if there are any mistakes in my description of the plot or in the spelling of certain names such as Gathmog then please forgive me.

May the stars shine on your faces and my the good will and fellowship of all free folk go with you. Long live the halflings.

The Word of Tolkien

John Evans' blog on the Last Alliance, The Elder Days, and The War of the Ring

The Silmarillion

Part 3

The Fall of Gondolin

One of the first stories ever conceived by Professor JRR Tolkien was the epic downfall of the elf kingdom called Gondolin by orcs and dragons. The author's vivid details of the horror of war are captured in a longer and less well known version of this story in the Book Of Lost Tales volume 2, but there is also a shorter account of the legend in the Silmarillion under the title "Tuor and The Fall Of Gondolin." The short summery which I shall include should mainly apply to the version found in the Silmarillion since the details of the plot seemed to be more finalized and not in contradiction with Tolkien's other books such as the Hobbit and the Lord Of The Rings series. For those who haven't explored the history of Middle Earth beyond the third age you might remember a well known seen in the Hobbit when Bilbo, Gandalf and a party of dwarves find ancient swords in a troll's lair . Later on in Revendell Elrond explains that these blades were used for "the goblin wars" alluding to the war of the Noldor against the orcs and that the weapons clearly came out of Gondolin. Gandalf's own sword named Glamdring was actually King Turgon's own sword. As I have already stated in my last blog, Turgon was lord of Gondolin and was also responsible for its construction. Some time between the establishment of the hidden city and its fall Bilbo's dagger named Sting must have been also forged. What puzzles me most is that there are no references to glowing elvish swords or Turgon's own blade by name in the Silmarillion. I can understand that these kinds of magical swords might have been common among the elves of old and therefore they might have had no apparent motivation for recording exactly how their blades operated in combat. Yet despite this fact I find it strange that the minstrels of Gondolin wouldn't mention how their mighty king Turgon the Great slew dozens of Orcs in the Battle Of Unnumbered Tears with his amazing glowing sword. Many fans of Tolkien's works will often point out that the Silmarillion is a translation of an elvish document about the Elder Days from their point of view, but I'm sure that they would have felt inclined to inform future generations about the practicality of their amazing weapons. Who on Middle Earth besides Thorin, Gandalf, Bilbo and Frodo ever wielded a sword that literally warned you when enemies were trying to kill you except the elves? The only answer I have to this question is either that Tolkien intended Bilbo to simplify his translations from these elvish texts for a naive mortal audience or Tolkien actually screwed up for once. It can be guessed that Glamdring was very precious to Turgon because it probably came out of the blessed realm so one can only guess how the magnificent blade handed up in the hands of the uncouth trolls. Lord Elrond vaguely explains to Gandalf and Thorin in the Hobbit that Glamdring and the other elf blades found in the trolls cave must have been stolen many times since the fall of Gondolin thousands of years before. There is some possibility that Glamdring could have been taken off Turgon's body since there is no mention of it being taken by the elves out of their ruined city. In fact there is some evidence to suggest that the sword might have been taken off the king's remains after he fell when the servants of morgoth toppled a majestic white tower he stood on to observe the battle below. The reason why I'm even mentioning these rather small details is to draw the tangible link between the first age and the events in Bilbo's own adventure. Elrond might seem pretty darn old but if we read his back story more carefully we find that he wasn't even born around the some year as Gondolin's epic destruction. We do know however that his father Eearendil the Mariner was born in the hidden city and that his father Tuor aided the elves of Turgon against Morgoth's vicious final onslaught. Tuor was raised by gray elves after his mother died shortly after her husband Huor was slain in the battle of Unnumbered Tears along side Húrin. Although Túrin was a close relative of Tuor they only saw each other for a few seconds by accident on the road and perhaps if Huor's son met Túrin then Morgoth's curse might have ruined the elves' best chances of defeating the dark lord. For Tuor of the elf friends had a destiny apart from other mortal men of his time because he was especially chosen by the Valar themselves to be their divine instrument to protect the people of Gondolin. Most other mortals at this time have been considered great elf friends like Túrin but there is no evidence to suggest that they were destined by the Valar for some higher purpose. In the longer version of The Children of Húrin for example Túrin actually scorns the elves of Nargothrrond for trusting in the vigilance of the Valar and rather councils them to forsake the council of Ulmo that results in the utter destruction of Orodreth's stronghold. Unlike Húrin's brash son or the offspring of Feanor, Tuor respects those angelic beings who guard the world and does not envy those elves he meets because of their immortality. Instead he journeys to Gondolin in haste baring the message of Ulmo Lord of Waters with the upmost concern and reverence. Tuor tells Turgon that the Valar sense that the doom of Gondolin is drawing ever closer and that he should take all his subjects and sail in to the west where they will be safe from the groping malice of Morgoth. Unfortunately Turgon decides not to except Ulmo's advise but treats Tuor with honor as one who has seen one of the Valar face to face: a privilege that not even the greatest among mortals had yet shared save Beren One Hand. Meanwhile the sons of Feanor discovered that Thingal possessed a Silmaril and destroyed Doriath only to find that it had been carried away in secret to the isles of Balar. These tidings deeply troubled the councils of Turgon and the latest news of the fall of Nargothrrond seemed to foretell that the words of Ulmo might prove true. In fact the hidden city was not discovered by any servant of Morgoth until one of the king's own household Maeglin betrayed Turgon, hoping to capture Tuor's elven wife Idril who was also the daughter of Turgon. Tuor had had long suspected that the noldor would be betrayed by one of their own and Idril's heart had often been darken with a growing fear that something terrible was afoot. Therefore they built a secret passage out of the city in case it was attacked and Maeglin never learned of it. Maeglin had returned to Gondolin on Morgoth's orders so that he might aid the assault from the inside when the time had come to unleash the host that had been prepared for the sack of the city. When the orcs, Balrogs, and dragons reached Gondolin the people were in the midst of one of their most holy festivals and were caught off guard with little time to plan any retaliation. During the battle Maeglin kidnapped both Idril and young Eearendil who was Tuor's only child. Tuor personally slew Maeglin the accursed and helped many elf lords escape the orcs but according to The History of Middle Earth Series Turgon refused to leave his city and died when the white tower of the fountain fell. The evacuation of the elves out of Gondolin reminds me of the tunnel that secretly delved out of Ilium in the movie Troy that Paris and Helen use to finally escape the Greeks' vicious destruction of Priam's golden halls. While I can't say weather or not there was an actual escape tunnel in the Iliad or not I do know from a biography of Tolkien's life that he enjoyed reading Homer's works so that if this connection can be found in the text then it is probable that the eager professor might have included this classic element in his mythology. In the desperate and futile struggle of the elves who fought that day it is recorded in the Silmarillion and The Book of Lost Tales that Gathmog Lord Of Balrogs was finally defeated by one of Turgon's guards and that another Balrog was prevented from halting the escape of Tuor's company by golden haired Glorfindell. One clear connection between the Hobbit and the history of Gondolin is the elves' friendship with the Eagles of the mountains which guarded their hidden stronghold against the spying orcs. The lord of the eagles in the Elder Days was Thorondor swiftest of all birds who ever sailed the skies. There is little doubt in my mind that the eagles Bilbo saw fighting above the five armies on the field of Arabor might have been directly descended from Thorondor himself and the ancient eagles who helped protect Gondolin and saved Beren and Luthian from Morgoth's wrath after they stole one Silmaril of Feanor. Despite the fact that Gondolin fell to the dark lord thousands of years before the War of the Ring it had an enormous impact on the future of Arda. It is told in the Silmarillion that Tuor and Idril past in to the West and that their son Eearendil the Mariner also traveled to the Undying Lands and asked the Valar to pardon the wrongs of the Noldor. If Eearendil was never born in the Hidden City then the cursed High Elves of Feanor's people would never have won their bitter war against Morgoth for the Valar pitied the Noldor and supported them in their final struggle with the dark lord in which Mellkor was chained and throne in to the outer void. Among those high elves who remained in Middle Earth after Morgoth's defeat was Eearendil's own sons Elros and Elrond and to them and their heirs was given the choice as to whether they would become one of the immortal first born or a lord among men doomed to die. Elrond chose to be an elf while Elros became first king of Numenor and passed from this world before the fading years of the Elder. Yet because Elros chose to become a mortal the blood of the first born was past down from generation to generation until the third union of the children of Iluvatar between Arwin and Aragorn. It is said that the wife of Eearendil was Elwing daughter of Deor so in the beginning there was much elvish blood among the kings of men and the lands of Middle Earth had peace for many long years. My next blog will primarily deal with the Third Age not only as it is represented in the Silmarillion but also in the Hobbit and the Lord Of The Rings. I've always found it rather odd that the Silmarillion should include a brief account of what happens in the War of the Ring and all the events following the Last Alliance. The world of men first became estranged from that of the elves after the Silmarils were lost by the sons of Feanor the Proud and while certain elements of the forging of the rings are deeply tied to the Elder Days the tale is less like an ancient myth rather then an actual history. When we read the Hobbit for example there is absolutely no Valar and we don't even realize that Gandalf is actually one of those lesser angelic beings called the Miar who also help govern the world. By the time Frodo received Bilbo's translations from the Elvish in Revendell the stories of the First Age had become merely popular fables among men of the Twilight and remote images of a time long gone for the remaining high elves. The Noldor had been pardoned by the Valar and all the servants of Morgoth had either been slain or faded away except dragons of the brood of Glaurung, Balrogs from Angband, and the Miar spirit Sauron the Great himself. Do to technical issues I may not be able to begin my blogs on the Third Age for quite some time so the meantime I highly suggest that you either watch the Lord Of The Rings films again or read Unfinished Tales edited by Christopher Tolkien for further details on what I've already written. If you have any questions please contact me on this blog page and I will attempt to get back to you as soon as possible. I just wanted to include this poem about the Lord Of The Rings which Tolkien actually wrote himself addressing some of his harshest critics.

"The Lord Of The Rings is one of the things."

"If you like it you do."

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The Word of Tolkien

John Evans' Blog on the Elder Days, The Last Alliance, and The War of the Ring

Bonus

On Sauron the Great

The Lord of the Rings

After the War of Wrath in which Morgoth was finally overthrown by the Valar, we have little evidence that Sauron the Great played some part. However at the end of the climatic battle it is said that he repented of all his evil deeds to the herald of Manwe King of the Valar but could not be pardoned until he personally traveled to Aman to receive the judgement of the powers of Arda. As a result he shunned the West and fell back in to his old corrupt ways: ever seeking to supplant all that the children of Iluvatar accomplished so that he alone would be master of the world. The general history of the second and third ages would be interwoven with Sauron's various conquests for power over elves and men, and much is told in the Silmarillion and the Lord Of The Rings of his plans and stratagems against any that stood as a potential threat. Of all his enemies the high elves always posed a challenge to his rise in power except in one particular region of Middle Earth close to the Mines of Moria called Ereggion where he instructed the Noldor to forge rings of power. These rings were first constructed to help govern and protect the elves' vast territories but soon Sauron made the One ring to rule all the others so that he might control the very minds and councils of the wise to his own wicked ends. Three rings were hidden from him, but seven he gave to dwarf lords who used them for obtaining greater wealth, and nine he gave to mortal men who became slaves under his dark shadow. These nine lords among the children of men became known as the Ring Raiths who walk the earth under the relentless vigilance of the Eye. After forging the One ring Sauron continued to build his indomitable stronghold in mordor named Barad-dur and likely made alliances with men from the far East and south who had most served Mellkor in ages past. Yet Sauron was not invulnerable and he knew that besides the remnants of the Noldor and the Sindar the lords of Numenor remained an enormous obstacle to world domination. Numenor was an island given to the three houses of men called the Edain who fought against Morgoth by the Valar. In that holy land of wonder and bliss mortals grew in mind and body but they still dwelt under the shadow of death and while their lives were very very long they still couldn't escape the Gift of Iluvatar or the doom of men as it was afterwards called. The dark lord took advantage of man's dread of death and allowed himself to be captured by the last King of Numenor. Soon he poisoned the mind of the king with lies and twisted councils, making him believe that he and his people could achieve immortality if they attacked the lands of the Valar in the far West of Arda where they were forbidden to go. In this way Sauron triggered the Valar to summon Iluvatar's wrath and all of Numenor sank beneath the waves along with all its people save those who remained faithful to memory of the alliance of elves and men. However the dark lord's plan backfired and he was still in a temple to Morgoth the accursed when the island was ultimately destroyed, forever severing his spirit from the fare form he had once dwelt in to fool the elves. Among the survivors of the epic deluge were Elendil and his two sons who names were Issildur and Anarion. They established the realms of Gondor in the south and Arnor in the North and upon learning that Sauron sauron escaped the downfall of their beloved homeland they joined forces with the elven king Gilgalid and marched on Mordor. In that conflict a stone cast from Barad-Dur slew Anarion and Sauron personally struck down Gilgalid high king of the Noldor in single combat. It is also said among the elves that Elendil fell locked in mortal combat with the dark lord and that sword Narceal broke beneath him as he fell. Taking the shards of Narceal Issildur caught Sauron off guard, cut the One Ring from his finger, and delivered what seemed to be the enemy's death blow. But because he did not destroy the ring in the fires where it was forged, in Mount Doom, the dark lord's spirit lived on and swiftly grew again in the forest of Murkwood. The Third Age is said to have begun with the first destruction of Barad-Dur and the supposed vanquishing of Sauron the Great. Yet the dark tower was only leveled to the ground and its wicked roots still remained untouched, so for a time the lords of Gondor kept a watch on the lands of Mordor until the line of the king's failed. Issildur was mysteriously murdered on his way to the north kingdom by a band of orcs at the Gladen Fields. Years later when Aragorn and Gimli searched the tower of Orthanc they discovered a hidden chamber in which they found a white circlet with a white gem and a chain that had a golden container that must have once held the ruling ring. These items could have only come from Issildur 's body after he fell in the Great River Anduin by Saruman the White. It is believed that he may have burnt Issildur's bones in the pits of Orthanc and that he kept his findings secret from the White Council for many long years. Now I believe is the time to address one of the most troubling misconceptions regarding Sauron's true physical form during the Third Age. In the movies the lipless eye is transfixed to the summit of Barad-dur and can invade Frodo's mind whenever he is wearing the One Ring. In Tolkien's works Sam puts the ring on to save his master from the clutches of the orcs on the borders of the black land itself but he isn't seen by the dark lord at all so the same has to be true for Frodo. Therefore I have concluded that the eye can only invade a ring bearer 's mind if they have either been corrupted by it or have possessed it for an extended period of time. As a result Frodo was revealed to Sauron when he fell to the power of the ring at the Cracks of Doom, but not when he put it on at the Prancing Pony. Fans of the films may remember the scene where Sauron sees Frodo after he slipped on the ring to hide from Strider despite the fact that the eye was thousands of miles away. Not only is this not possible but Tolkien never intended for the black riders to discover Frodo's lodgings at Bree this way. In the book one of the treacherous hobbits named Bill Ferny sees him disappear and delivers the message to the Raiths that lurked in town that fateful night. Also I don't think Tolkien would have wanted Sauron represented as a literal gigantic disembodied flaming eye ball like we see in the movies. Through out the books we read about characters like Gandalf and even Legolas referring to Sauron as a dark lord brooding on the future of his doomed war sitting on a black throne. As we all know eye balls can't sit! Also in the film version of the return of the king Peter Jackson takes a line directly from the book which Aragorn says at the Black Gates commanding Sauron to come forth and repent for his evil deeds. How could a flaming eye simply arrive from miles away from the top of a huge fortress? Its not like the lipless eye has secret arms and legs or something? When we annalize the books after the release of the films we have to be careful not to impose our own preconceptions on Tolkien's own words. The word of Jrr. Tolkien is certainly not what you see in Jackson's movies and I'm actually fine with that. The films nailed other aspects of the books which I can't deny, but I must admit that their mistake regarding the true physical form of their chief villain is rather pitiful. Most people think that the War of the Ring consisted only of the battles mentioned in the Lord of the Rings in Rohan and Gondor when in other works like the Annals of the Kings and Rulers we find out that the heroic conflicts through out the main narrative are only the vanguard of a massive assault on all of Middle Earth. Attacks were made on Revendell and Loth Lorian in the North and around the same time as the Battle of the Pelennor Ffields the dark lord sent another army to Dale. I have included this bonus blog to help create a smooth transition between the Silmarillion and the Hobbit so that people will still have a small glimpse of the events that take place in the second age. I'm very happy to find that Sauron has provided the perfect link between the end of the First Age and the more popular works regarding the Third Age. Using this back story you will probably have a greater understanding of the history of Gondor and that of the dark lord himself through out the Lord of the Rings. Please excuse me for any misspelling of names or locations. The assembly of the material you have just seen has only been constructed in a short period of time so I wouldn't be surprised if there are some errors.

Say farewell to comfort but take with you your swords. We shall endure longer then the Valar themselves in our quest to annalize all of Tolkien's magical writings on the fictitious history of Arda.

Thank you