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Description: A little ;) glossary from/for J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth books, compiled by MueRTe. Also available as a Babylon glossary (http://www.babylon.com).

Sources: “The Silmarillion” (Index of Names), “Unfinished Tales” & the

“Encyclopedia of Arda” (http://www.glyphweb.com/arda) ASCII Art used without the kind permission of “The Troubles of Middle Earth” (http://www.t-o-m-e.net)

e-mail your corrections, commentaries & suggestions <muerte@camelot-comics.com.ar>

* Adanedhel

‘Elf-man’, name given to Túrin in Nargothrond.

–—

Túrin the son of Húrin, though a Man, was raised from childhood in the halls of King Thingol of Doriath. When, later in his life, he went to dwell among the Elves of Nargothrond, they recognised the nobility he had learned in Thingol’s kingdom, and gave him the name Adanedhel, meaning

‘Elf-man’.

* Adorn

A river that rose in the western heights of the White Mountains, and flowed roughly northwestward to meet the Isen on the borders of Enedwaith. It was important as defining the western border of the country of Rohan.

* Adrahil #1|Adrahil

A commander of the forces of Gondor against the Wainriders in Third Age 1944; called ‘of Dol Amroth’, and presumably an ancestor of the second Adrahil.

* Adrahil #2|Adrahil

Prince of Dol Amroth, father of Imrahil.

–—

The twenty-first Prince of Dol Amroth, descended in direct line from Galador the first Prince. Adrahil was the son of Angelimar, and father of Imrahil who fought in the War of the Ring.

* Aduial

The Elvish name for the twilight of dusk (the dim light of evening). The twilight of dawn they named minuial.

* Adûnaic|Adunaic

‘(Language of the) West’. The native tongue of the Númenóreans, the ancestral language of Westron. Evolved from the old tongue used by the Men of the House of Hador.

Though the name Adûnaic cannot have been used before the Edain travelled to Númenor at the beginning of the Second Age, the language itself, or something very close to it, seems to have been spoken in Beleriand during the First Age, at least by the people of the House of Hador. While there is no mention of its use after the Downfall, it cannot have become completely extinct at this date; it seems likely that the scholars of Gondor and of Arnor would have been familiar with the ancient tongue of their ancestors, but in general use Adûnaic was replaced by the Westron (which had developed from it) and Elvish languages.

* Adunakhôr|Adunakhor

‘Lord of the West’, name taken by the nineteenth King of Númenor, the first to do so in the Adûnaic (Númenórean) tongue; his name in Quenya was Herunúmen.

* Adurant

The sixth and most southerly of the tributaries of Gelion in Ossiriand.

The name means ‘double stream’, referring to its divided course about the island of Tol Galen.

–—

The southernmost of the seven rivers of Ossiriand, in which was the island of Tol Galen.

* Aeglos (plant)|Aeglos

‘Snowthorn’, a plant that grew on Amon Rûdh.

* Aeglos (spear)|Aeglos

‘Snow-point’, the spear of Gil-galad, carried by him to the War of the Last Alliance.

* Aegnor

The fourth son of Finarfin (and elder brother of Galadriel), who with his brother Angrod held the northern slopes of Dorthonion; slain in the Dagor Bragollach. The name means ‘Fell Fire’.

* Aelin-uial

The ‘Meres of Twilight’, or ‘Lakes of Twilight’; the region of marshes and pools where the river Aros flowed into Sirion.

–—

The maze of lakes and fens formed where the River Aros met the Sirion, before it fell beneath the Andram. These were lands heavy with enchantment, both from the Girdle of Melian guarding Doriath to the north, but also from the power of Ulmo that was strong in Sirion’s waters. It was here that Turgon and Finrod were given the idea of building their hidden strongholds at Gondolin and Nargothrond; an idea placed in their dreams by Ulmo.

The Aelin-uial was under the control of the Sindarin Kingdom of Doriath.

Thingol’s marchwardens maintained secret ferries among the reeds, so that they could cross between Sirion’s easten and western banks unregarded, if need be.

At the southern end of the Aelin-uial, Sirion’s waters collected together once more from the many paths they took through the marshland and, at the place called the Falls of Sirion, fell in a thundering torrent down into the earth.

Other Names: Meres of Twilight, Twilight Meres, Twilit Meres.

* Aerandir

‘Sea-wanderer’, one of the three mariners who accompanied Eärendil on his voyages. 307

* Aerin

A kinswoman of Húrin Thalion in Dor-lómin; taken as wife by Brodda the Easterling after he claimed Hithlum. She secretly aided Húrin’s wife Morwen after the disaster of the Nirnaeth Arnoediad.

* Afterborn

One of the Elves’ many names for Men. Translation of Apanónar.

* Aftercomers

The Younger Children of Ilúvatar, Men; translation of Hildor.

–—

One of the many names for the race of Men, who awoke long after the Elves, the Firstborn. ‘Aftercomers’ is a translation of the Elvish name Hildor, a word also seen in the name Hildórien, the Land of the Hildor, the eastern region where the first Men awoke into the World.

* Afterlithe

The seventh month of the Shire Calendar, following, as its name suggests, the midsummer feastdays of Lithe, and approximately equivalent to modern July. In fact, it ran from modern 24 June to 23 July in a normal year.

* Afteryule

The first month of the Shire Calendar, thirty days immediately following the holiday of Yule (hence its name). It ran from modern 23 December to 21 January.

* Agarwaen

‘Blood-stained’, name given to himself by Túrin when he came to Nargothrond.

* Agathurush

Adûnaic translation of the name Gwathló.

* Aghan

The Drûg (Drúadan) in the story of ‘The Faithful Stone’.

* Aglarond

The ‘Glittering Cavern’ of Helm’s Deep in Ered Nimrais; used also in reference to the fortress more strictly called the Hornburg, at the entrance to Helm’s Deep.

–—

The Glittering Caves.

–—

“… gems and crystals and veins of precious ore glint in the polished walls; and the light glows through folded marbles, shell-like, translucent as the living hands of Queen Galadriel.”

(From Gimli’s description of Aglarond; The Two Towers III 8, The Road to Isengard)

–—

The deep caverns that lay behind Helm’s Deep in the White Mountains. When Gimli saw them during the War of the Ring, he was astonished by their beauty. After the War he led a party of Dwarves from Erebor to Aglarond, and became Lord of the Glittering Caves.

* Aglon

‘The Narrow Pass’, between Dorthonion and the heights to the west of Himring.

–—

The narrow pass west of the March of Maedhros.

The pass between Himlad and Lothlann, to the northeast of Beleriand.

* Ailinel

The elder of Tar-Aldarion’s sisters.

* Ainulindalë (Music)|Ainulindalë|Ainulindale The ‘Music of the Ainur’, also called The (Great) Music, The (Great) Song, of which its name is the Quenya version. The great song of the Ainur before Ilúvatar at the beginning of time, in which the world was created.

* Ainulindalë (Tale)|Ainulindalë|Ainulindale The name of the account of Creation said to have been composed by Rúmil of Tirion in the Elder Days.

* Ainur|Ainu

The ‘Holy Ones’ (singular Ainu), the first beings created by Ilúvatar, the ‘order’ of the Valar and Maiar, made before Eä.

–—

The Holy Ones.

–—

“There was Eru, the One, who in Arda is called Ilúvatar; and he made first the Ainur, the Holy Ones, that were the offspring of his thought…”

(First words of the Ainulindalë)

–—

The primordial spirits, who existed with Ilúvatar, and with Him created the world through the Music of the Ainur. After the creation of Arda, many of the Ainur descended into it to guide and order its growth; of these there were fifteen more powerful than the rest. Fourteen of these great Ainur became the Valar, or Powers of Arda. The fifteenth, Melkor, turned aside from that path and became the first Dark Lord. The many lesser Ainur that accompanied the Valar into Arda are known as Maiar.

–—

Origins of the Ainur: The Ainur were the first, and mightiest, beings created by Ilúvatar in the depths of time before the beginning of the World. The Ainur were the ‘offspring of [Ilúvatar’s] thought’, and each was given understanding only of that part of the mind of Ilúvatar from which he or she came. The exception to this was Melkor, the greatest of the Ainur, who had a part of the gifts of all the others.

The Ainur were ‘kindled with the Flame Imperishable’, which can be taken to mean that they were granted free will by their creator. Ilúvatar instructed them in the arts of music, until he brought them together to make the Music of the Ainur; the great song that created the Vision of Ilúvatar and ultimately the real World.

–—

The Ainur and the World: Through the Music of the Ainur, Ilúvatar created a Vision of the World; he showed it to the Ainur, and explained much of its nature and destiny to them - so the Ainur have much knowledge of the World, but are not omniscient. Then, Ilúvatar granted the World true being. Melkor and many of the other mighty Ainur desired to descend into it and form it in readiness for the coming of the Children of Ilúvatar (that is, Elves and Men). These became the beings known as the Valar and the Maiar.

Those Ainur who entered the World at its beginning remain bound to it until its end. Though Melkor was eventually thrown into the Void by the others, he is prophesied to return before the end. Little is known of the ultimate future of the Ainur, even by themselves, but it is said that, after the great battle at the end of the World, they will make a Second, even greater, Music with the Children of Ilúvatar.

–—

The Line of Melian: Among the many Ainur that entered the World long ago, there was one of the order of the Maiar named Melian. Alone of all the Ainur, she wedded one of the Children of Ilúvatar, King Elu Thingol of Doriath. From her, a strain of the Ainur entered the bloodlines of the Elves and Men, passed down through generation after generation, and was still present at the time of the War of the Ring. Elrond was Melian’s great-great-grandson, and Aragorn, too, was her descendant, though through many more generations than Elrond.

* Aiwendil

‘Bird-lover’, the name in Valinor of the Wizard who became known as Radagast in Middle-earth.

* Akallabêth|Akallabeth

‘The Downfallen’, Adûnaic word equivalent in meaning to Quenya Atalantë.

A name of Númenor after its destruction.

* Akallabêth (tale)|Akallabêth|Akallabeth

The account of the Downfall of Númenor.

* Alatar

One of the five Wizards who came to the northwest of Middle-earth in the Third Age; he journeyed into the east with Pallando, and never returned to the western lands.

–—

One of the lost Blue Wizards.

One of the five Wizards who came to the northwest of Middle-earth in the Third Age; he journeyed into the east with Pallando, and never returned to the western lands.

Alatar was one of the original three Wizards selected by the Valar for the journey from Valinor to Middle-earth (the other two being Curumo and Olórin - Saruman and Gandalf).

Alatar and Pallando arrived in Middle-earth dressed in sea-blue. For this reason, they were together given the name Ithryn Luin, the Blue Wizards. With Saruman, they journeyed into the far east of Middle-earth, but while Saruman returned to the west, Alatar and Pallando did not. Of their fate, we know almost nothing.

* Alatáriel|Alatariel|Altáriel|Altariel

‘Maiden crowned with a radiant garland’; also Altáriel. An ancient form (Quenya and Telerin) of the name of Galadriel.

* Alcarin

‘The Glorious’; the title of Atanatar II, who ruled Gondor during the early second millennium of the Third Age, in a time when its wealth and power were legendary. This title means ‘Glorious’, but in fact Atanatar did little to build on the advances of his forebears, and history came to see his reign as the beginning of Gondor’s decline.

* Alcarinquë|Alcarinque

‘The Glorious’, name of a star.

* Alcarondas

The great ship of Ar-Pharazôn in which he sailed to Aman.

–—

Called the Castle of the Sea, Alcarondas was the golden-and-black flagship of Ar-Pharazôn, the last King of Númenor. In it, he sailed to the shores of Aman to challenge the Valar, leading to the Downfall of his kingdom.

* Aldamir

The successor to Eldacar of Gondor.

In the time of the Kin-strife, the civil war of Gondor, King Eldacar was deposed by Castamir and his eldest son Ornendil was slain. Eldacar later recovered his rightful Kingship, but because of Ornendil’s early death he was succeeded by his younger son Aldamir. Aldamir’s reign was marked by war with the southern lands, including the Haven of Umbar that had been seized by Castamir’s supporters. Aldamir was slain in that war and succeeded by his son Vinyarion, who avenged his father’s death by conquering the Haradrim, after which he ruled as Hyarmendacil II.

* Aldarion and Erendis

One of the few Númenórean tales to survive the Downfall; the history of Tar-Aldarion, the sixth King of Númenor, and his estranged wife Erendis.

* Aldaron

‘Lord of Trees’, a Quenya name occasionally used of the Vala more commonly called Oromë. See Tauron.

* Aldburg

The dwelling of Éomer in the Folde (Rohan), where Eorl the Young had his house.

–—

Historic home of Eorl the Young.

One of the oldest settlements in Rohan, Aldburg stood in the region known as the Folde, some miles to the southeast of Edoras. It is recorded as the home of Eorl himself, and though the royal house moved to Edoras early in Rohan’s history, Aldburg remained a seat of noblemen. At the time of the War of the Ring, it was the home of Éomer, who was to inherit the Kingship of Rohan himself.

* Aldëa|Aldea

The day of the White Tree.

The fourth day of the Númenórean week.

* Aldor

Third King of Rohan, son of Brego son of Eorl the Young.

–—

Rohan’s longest-reigning King.

The second son of King Brego of Rohan. His elder brother Baldor had been lost while attempting to pass the Paths of the Dead, and so Aldor succeeded his father to become the third King of Rohan. He was just twenty-six years old when he came to the throne, and his reign of seventy-five years was the longest in the annals of the Mark. On account of his great age - he reached his one hundred and second year before he died - he is often referred to as Aldor the Old.

Aldor was the founder of a golden age in Rohan’s history. In his time, the Rohirrim increased greatly in numbers, and he succeeded in driving all the Dunlendings from his realm. Aldor had many children, of which the three eldest were daughters. It was his fourth child, Fréa, who succeeded him as King, but due to Aldor’s long life, Fréa had to wait until he was himself seventy-five years old before he became Lord of the Mark.

* Aldudénië|Aldudenie

‘Lament for the Two Trees’, made by a Vanyarin Elf named Elemmírë.

* Alfirin|Uilos|Simbelmynë

A small white flower, also called uilos and simbelmynë (translated Evermind).

* Algund

Man of Dor-lómin, one of the outlaw-band (Gaurwaith) that Túrin joined.

* Almaren

‘Blessed (place)’; the first abode of the Valar in Arda, before the second onslaught of Melkor: an isle in a great lake in the midst of Middle-earth. After its destruction by Melkor they founded Valinor.

–—

The ancient home of the Valar.

Before the time of the Two Trees of Valinor, and even before the Valar came to Valinor, they dwelt on the green island of Almaren in the Great Lake. In the mists of time, long before the awakening of Elves or Men, the Valar dwelt east of the Sea in Middle-earth. This was a time called the Spring of Arda, when the Earth was lit by the two Lamps of the Valar, and Almaren lay in the central regions of the World, where the light of the two Lamps mingled.

Of the details of Almaren we know little - there was green grass on the island, and the Valar had a ‘dwelling’ there, which presumably constituted a city, or at least a town. In the history of the Valar, Almaren was known as the place where Tulkas wed Nessa.

Of much greater importance, though, is the fact that Almaren was the site of the Valar’s first major defeat at the hands of Melkor: he loosed his forces secretly from his northern fortress of Utumno (then newly delved). Both the Lamps of the Valar were thrown down and destroyed, and Almaren lay in ruins. Tulkas gave chase, but Melkor escaped into the dungeons of Utumno.

After this, the Valar left Middle-earth and seldom returned. They founded a new land far away to the west, in Aman, that they called Valinor; a land lit by the fabled light of the Two Trees.

* Almarian

Daughter of the Númenórean mariner Vëantur, Queen to Tar-Meneldur, the fifth King of Númenor, and mother to Tar-Aldarion, the sixth King.

* Almiel

The younger of Tar-Aldarion’s sisters.

* Alqualondë|Alqualonde

‘Haven of the Swans’, the chief city and haven of the Teleri on the eastern shores of Aman.

–—

The Swanhaven of the Teleri, on the eastern shores of Aman. This was the site of the Kinslaying in the time immediately before the beginning of the First Age.

* Aman

‘Blessed, free from evil’, the name of the land in the West, beyond the Great Sea, in which the Valar dwelt after they had left the Isle of Almaren. Often referred to as the Blessed Realm.

–—

The Undying Lands.

The continent (originally lying in the far West of Arda, now removed from the World) on which the Valar made their home after the destruction of Almaren. There they founded Valinor, and there dwelt the Calaquendi; the Vanyar, the Noldor and those of the Teleri who journeyed from Middle-earth long before the First Age. There were dwellers in Aman before the Valar, though; Ungoliant had long existed in the southern land of Avathar.

To protect their realm from Melkor, the Valar raised a great range of mountains along the borders of Aman; the Pelóri or Mountains of Defence.

They also filled the seas eastwards with shadows and Enchanted Isles.

In II 3319, King Ar-Pharazôn of Númenor, having been seduced and corrupted by Sauron, sailed on Aman with a great fleet. The King and his armies were destroyed, as was the land of Númenor, and Aman was taken out of the World. After that catastrophe, only the Elves could reach the Blessed Realm.

The word means ‘Blessed Realm’.

* Amandil

‘Lover of Aman’; the last lord of Andúnië in Númenor, descendant of Elros and father of Elendil. Though an Elf-friend, he was for many years a friend and counsellor to King Ar-Pharazôn. Dismissed by Sauron, he sailed into the West to seek the pardon of the Valar for the misdeeds of the Númenóreans; his fate is unknown.

* Amarië|Amarie

Vanyarin Elf, beloved of Finrod Felagund, who remained in Valinor when Finrod returned to Middle-earth.

* Amdír|Amdir

According to some sources, the father of Amroth and King of Lórien during the Second Age. He was killed in the Battle of Dagorlad at the end of that Age.

* Amlach

Son of Imlach son of Marach; a leader of dissension among the Men of Estolad who, repenting, took service with Maedhros.

* Amlaith of Fornost|Amlaith

Eldest son of Eärendur and direct descendant of Isildur; he was the first King of Arthedain.

Amlaith’s younger brothers (whose names were frustratingly never recorded) were the founders of the kingdoms of Cardolan and Rhudaur.

* Amon Amarth

‘Mount Doom’, the name given to Orodruin when its fires awoke again after Sauron’s return from Númenor.

–—

A rarely used name for Orodruin, the flaming mountain in northern Mordor where Sauron forged the One Ring.

* Amon Anwar|Anwar|Hill of Awe

‘Hill of Awe’; Sindarin name of Halifirien, seventh of the beacons of Gondor in Ered Nimrais; also simply Anwar. See Eilenaer, Halifirien, Wood of Anwar.

–—

The original Sindarin name for the hill known to the Rohirrim as the Halifirien. The last of the beacon-hills of Gondor, it stood on the borders of the land of Rohan, and the secret Tomb of Elendil lay there for many centuries.

* Amon Darthir

A peak in the range of Ered Wethrin south of Dor-lómin.

* Amon Dîn|Amon Din

‘Silent Hill’; the easternmost of the beacon hills of Gondor in Ered Nimrais and nearest to Minas Tirith, lying to the east of the Drúadan Forest.

* Amon Ereb|Ereb

‘Lonely Hill’ (also simply Ereb), between Ramdal and the river Gelion in East Beleriand.

–—

The broad, shallow-sided hill that dominated the southern plains of East Beleriand. As the highest point in that region, it had tremendous strategic importance, because it guarded the eastern passage around the Long Wall of the Andram into the southern parts of Beleriand. It was here that Denethor of the Nandor met his end in the First Battle, and much later, Caranthir fortified it to guard his escape into the south after the Dagor Bragollach.

* Amon Ethir|Spyhill|Spy Hill

‘Hill of Spies’, the great earthwork raised by Finrod Felagund to the east of the Doors of Nargothrond. Called also Spyhill.

* Amon Gwareth

The hill upon which Gondolin was built, in the midst of the plain of Tumladen.

–—

The hill that stood in the valley of Tumladen, within the Encircling Mountains, on which Turgon built the city of Gondolin.

* Amon Hen

The ‘Hill of Sight’ that stood on the western banks of the Anduin, above the Falls of Rauros, originally close to the northern borders of Gondor.

It was on the slopes of Amon Hen that the Company of the Ring was broken, and from there Frodo began his lonely journey into Mordor with Sam.

* Amon Lanc

‘Naked Hill’; a hill in the southern parts of Greenwood the Great. After a millennium of the Third Age had passed, Sauron came to Amon Lanc and built a stronghold there. The hill and fortress were then together called Dol Guldur, and the wood it which it stood became known as Mirkwood.

* Amon Lhaw

The Hill of Hearing in the eastern Emyn Muil.

The Hill of Hearing that was the twin of Amon Hen, the Hill of Sight. It lay among the Emyn Muil on the eastern banks of the Anduin, above the Falls of Rauros. Though at one time it had been part of the northern borderlands of Gondor, that lay centuries in the past at the time of the War of the Ring; by then, it had long since fallen under the influence of Mordor.

* Amon Obel

A hill in the midst of the Forest of Brethil, on which was built Ephel Brandir.

–—

The fortified hill at the heart of Brethil.

The hill around which the Forest of Brethil spread. Most of the Woodmen of Brethil dwelt there in the later First Age, within the stockade known as Ephel Brandir.

* Amon Rûdh|Amon Rudh

‘Bald Hill’, a lonely height in the lands south of Brethil; abode of Mîm, and lair of Túrin’s outlaw band.

–—

The Bald Hill that lay south of Brethil in West Beleriand. The house of Mîm the Petty-dwarf lay within this hill, and it was for a time the base of Túrin Turambar and his outlaws.

* Amon Sûl|Amon Sul

‘Hill of the Wind’, a round bare hill in the Kingdom of Arnor (at the southern end of the Weather Hills in Eriador).

–—

The Elvish name for the hill better known by its Mannish name, Weathertop. It lay at the southern end of the Weather Hills, and at one time had a tower built on its summit that held one of the palantíri.

* Amras|Amrod

Twin-brother of Amrod, youngest of the seven sons of Fëanor; slain with Amrod in the attack on Eärendil’s people at the Mouths of Sirion.

–—

With his twin brother Amrod, youngest of the seven Sons of Fëanor. He dwelt in the wide plains of East Beleriand.

* Amroth

Sindarin Elf, King of Lórien, lover of Nimrodel; drowned in the bay of Belfalas.

–—

A former Lord of Lórien; he went into the south in search of Nimrodel, and was lost at sea. After his departure, Celeborn and Galadriel became Lord and Lady of Lórien.

* Anach

Pass leading down from Taur-nu-Fuin (Dorthonion) at the western end of Ered Gorgoroth..

–—

The western pass of the Ered Gorgoroth.

A pass through the western Ered Gorgoroth, and the only southward route out of the land of Dorthonion. It was discovered by the spies of Morgoth after the Nirnaeth Arnoediad, and used by his forces as a means of entering Beleriand.

* Anadûnë|Anadûnê|Anadune

A name for Númenor, apparently an Adûnaic word with approximately the same meaning as ‘Westernesse’.

* Anar

Quenya name of the Sun.

–—

The Sun.

During the Years of the Trees, Valinor was lit for many thousands of years by the light of the Two Trees, Telperion the Silver and Laurelin the Gold. When these were destroyed by Melkor and Ungoliant, the World was plunged into darkness. Through the power of Nienna and Yavanna, though, Laurelin produced a single fiery fruit before it died. This golden fire was set in a vessel, and steered into the sky by the Maia Arien. The Vanyar gave it the name Anar the fire-golden: this was the origin of the Sun.

Valinor was in the West of the World, and the so the first sunrise was in the west, not the east. Originally, Arien was to have steered Anar ceaselessly from west to east and back again, always remaining in the sky, but the Valar changed this counsel, so that each evening Anar would descend into the distant western seas, and re-emerge each morning in the east.

* Anardil (King of Númenor)|Anardil

The given name of Tar-Aldarion.

–—

At the dawning of Númenor’s pride and power, Tar-Meneldur the fifth King of that island Kingdom had a son whom he named Anardil. That Anardil grew up to rule as the famous sixth King of Númenor, who allied himself with Gil-galad and founded Númenor’s first footholds in Middle-earth, though he ruled under the better known name of Tar-Aldarion.

* Anardil (King of Gondor)|Anardil

The sixth King of Gondor.

–—

Anardil son of Eärendil succeeded his father to become the ruler of Gondor.

Anardil’s reign over Gondor was uneventful. He is perhaps most notable as the last of Gondor’s Kings to dwell exclusively in Osgiliath, since his son Ostoher was to set the precedent of the Kings spending summer in Minas Anor, the citadel later known as Minas Tirith.

Anardil ruled Gondor for eighty-seven years, and was succeeded by his son, Ostoher.

* Anárion|Anarion

Younger son of Elendil, who with his father and his brother Isildur escaped from the Drowning of Númenor and founded in Middle-earth the Númenórean realms in exile; lord of Minas Anor; slain in the siege of Barad-dûr.

* Anarríma|Anarrima

Name of a constellation.

* Anborn

A tracker of Ithilien.

A Man of Gondor and Ranger of Ithilien, who tracked Gollum in the last days of the War of the Ring. His captain Faramir overruled his desire to kill the creature; if Gollum had died, Sauron would almost certainly have been victorious.

* Ancalagon

Ancalagon the Black. Greatest of the winged dragons of Morgoth, destroyed by Eärendil.

–—

‘Rushing Jaws’, the mightiest of Morgoth’s winged dragons, loosed from Angband against the host of the Valar at the end of the War of Wrath.

Even that mighty army was driven back by the onset of Ancalagon and his vassals, but Eärendil came through the sky in Vingilot to do battle with the dragon armada, and he was aided by Thorondor and the Eagles. They fought for twenty-four hours, until Eärendil at last slew Ancalagon, who fell on the mountains of Thangorodrim and destroyed them in his ruin.

* Ancalimë (tree)|Ancalimë|Ancalime

Name given by Aldarion to the tree from Eressëa that he planted in Armenelos.

* Andor

A name of Númenor, meaning ‘the Land of Gift’.

* Andram

‘Long Wall’, name of the dividing hills that ran across Beleriand from west to east.

* Andrast

‘Long Cape’, the mountainous promontory between the rivers Isen and Lefnui. See Ras Morthil, Drúwaith Iaur.

–—

The long peninsula, also called Ras Morthil, that jutted out into the Great Sea to the west of Gondor. Its name means ‘long horn’.

* Andrath

‘Long Climb’, defile between the Barrow-downs and the South Downs through which the North-South Road (Greenway) passed.

* Andróg|Androg

A Man of Dor-lómin, a leader of the outlaw-band (Gaurwaith) joined by Túrin Turambar after he fled from Doriath.

* Androth

Caves in the hills of Mithrim where Tuor dwelled with the Grey-elves and afterwards as a solitary outlaw.

* Anduin

The ‘Long River’, east of the Misty Mountains; referred to also as the Great River and the River. See Ethir Anduin, Langflood.

–—

The Great River that ran for hundreds of miles southwards through Middle-earth, until it reached the sea in the Bay of Belfalas.

* Andúnië|Andunie

‘Sunset’; city and haven on the west coast of Númenor.

–—

The shoreland city ruled by the ancestors of Elendil.

An important city and port in the Andustar region of western Númenor.

The Lords of Andúnië were the ancestors of the Kings of the Dúnedain in Middle-earth.

* Andúril|Anduril

‘Flame of the West’, the sword of Aragorn Elessar, reforged by the Elves of Rivendell from the shards of Elendil’s ancient sword Narsil.

* Andustar

The western promontory of Númenor. Translated ‘Westlands’.

–—

The western promontory of Númenor, separated from the Hyarnustar to the south by the wide Bay of Eldanna. The Andustar formed a very roughly rectangular region, about 150 miles west to east, and 100 miles north to south. To the east, it bordered the Forostar and Mittalmar regions, but in all other directions it was surrounded by the ocean.

The Andustar was a generally fertile region, except along its northern coasts, where the landscape became higher and rockier, and forested by firs. Its western shores were broken by three bays, with the northernmost of these being the Bay of Andúnië. On the high land around this bay, the Númenóreans built the port and city of Andúnië, whose Lords were to be the ancestors of the Kings of Arnor and Gondor.

* Andwise ‘Andy’ Roper|Andwise|Andy

Sam’s rope-making uncle.

–—

The son of Hobson, the Hobbit known as Roper Gamgee, and the eldest brother of Hamfast Gamgee, the Gaffer. Andwise carried on his family’s Tighfield rope-making tradition, a tradition that went back at least three generations to his grandfather Hob Gammidge.

It was Andwise’s younger brother Hamfast who broke the roping tradition, and travelled instead to Hobbiton, where his distant cousin Holman Greenhand was a gardener. Thus, Andwise’s brother Hamfast laid the foundations for the famous Gardner family. Of Andwise’s own descendants, though, we know almost nothing, except that he had one son, named Anson.

* Anfalas

Fief of Gondor; coastal region between the mouths of the rivers Lefnui and Morthond. In Westron translated ‘Langstrand’.

–—

A shoreland fief of Gondor.

The long strip of shoreland territory that lay between the Rivers Lefnui and Morthond, bounded to the north by the Green Hills of Pinnath Gelin.

Anfalas is this land’s Elvish name. Its name in the Common Speech, Langstrand had the same meaning: ‘long shore’.

* Anfauglir

A name of the wolf Carcharoth, translated as ‘Jaws of Thirst’.

* Anfauglith

Name of the plain of Ard-galen after its desolation by Morgoth in the Battle of Sudden Flame; translated as ‘the Gasping Dust’. See Dor-nu-Fauglith.

–—

The Gasping Dust north of Beleriand.

The charred desert to the north of Beleriand, created by the flames of Morgoth in the Dagor Bragollach.

* Angainor

The chain wrought by Aulë with which Melkor was twice bound.

–—

The mighty chain with which the Valar held Melkor captive for three ages in the Halls of Mandos.

* Angband

‘Iron Prison’, ‘Hells of Iron’, the great dungeon-fortress of Morgoth in the North-west of Middle-earth.

–—

The Hells of Iron.

Angband was a mighty fortified citadel originally constructed by Melkor in the earliest days of the world as an outlying fortress to his northern stronghold of Utumno. Utumno was destroyed by the Valar, and Melkor imprisoned in Valinor for three ages, but on his return to Middle-earth, he took Angband as the seat of his power, and raised the towers of Thangorodrim above its gates.

Angband was beseiged by the Noldor during the early part of the First Age, but the Siege of Angband was broken at the Dagor Bragollach. It was finally destroyed by the forces of the Valar at the end of the First Age, in the War of the Wrath.

–—

Origins and History: Melkor built Angband during the Years of the Trees, originally as an outlying fortress and armoury to his great northern citadel at Utumno. It was commanded from its first construction by Sauron, the chief of Melkor’s servants. Angband was built near the northwestern shores of the Great Sea in the range of the Iron Mountains, as a first defence against any attack on Melkor’s realm from the Valar in Aman.

When the Valar captured Melkor and took him in chains back to Valinor, Angband was largely destroyed and lay in ruins for many thousands of years, although beneath the ruins lay many hidden chambers in which some of Melkor’s servants escaped the Valar’s assault. Sauron was one of these, and the Balrogs lay hid with him in Angband’s deepest vaults.

Angband re-entered history when Melkor escaped Valinor with the stolen Silmarils: he chose the ruined fortress as his new capital, and rebuilt the Hells of Iron as a base for the dark reign he intended for the lands of Middle-earth.

Soon after the Return of the Noldor to Beleriand, Morgoth took Maedhros Fëanor’s son by deceit and trickery, and hung him by the wrist from the towers of Thangorodrim above Angband. He was rescued by Fingon and Thorondor, but lost his right hand.

The third of the great battles in the Wars of Beleriand, the Dagor Aglareb, had profound consequences for Angband. Until that time (about the year 75 of the First Age), Morgoth sent out hosts of Orcs in the hope of taking the Noldor by surprise. The Noldor, though, chased these Orcs back to the very gates of Angband, and slew them to the last creature.

From then until the Dagor Bragollach in I 455, a period of almost 400

years, Angband was surrounded by the Noldor; this is the time known as the Siege of Angband.

–—

Appearance and Construction: Angband was primarily an underground fortress, at least after its initial destruction by the Valar in the Years of the Trees. Like its prototype, Utumno, it had many hidden underground chambers and vaults far beneath the earth. Its main features above ground were the three peaks of the Thangorodrim, mighty towers of ash and slag raised above Angband’s gates.

The peaks of Thangorodrim were hollow, and from them channels and chimneys ran down to the deepest pits of Angband. So, Morgoth could produce poisonous clouds and vapours, as indeed he sent against the Noldor in Mithrim during the first days after their Return.

* Angbor

Sturdy Lord of Lamedon.

The Lord of Lamedon at the time of the War of the Ring. Famed for his fearlessness in the face of the Grey Host of the Dead, he aided Aragorn in his march to Minas Tirith. He marshalled a force from the southern lands, and rode to garrison the City of Gondor after the departure of Aragorn and the Captains of the West.

* Angelimar

Twentieth Prince of Dol Amroth, grandfather of Imrahil.

* Angerthas

The Runes.

An Elvish term for Runic writing, said to have the literal meaning of

‘long Rune-rows’. There were numerous variants, but the two principle forms were the Angerthas Daeron, used by the Elves to represent Sindarin, and the Angerthas Moria, the classical form used by the Dwarves.

* Anghabar

‘Iron-delvings’, a mine in the Encircling Mountains about the plain of Gondolin.

* Anglachel

The sword made from meteoric iron that Thingol received from Eöl and which he gave to Beleg; after its reforging for Túrin named Gurthang.

–—

The mate of Anguirel.

‘Iron of the Flaming Star’, the sword forged by Eöl the Dark Elf and borne by Beleg of Doriath. It was later reforged as Túrin’s black sword, Gurthang.

* Angmar

The Witch-realm ruled by the Lord of the Nazgûl at the northern end of the Misty Mountains.

–—

The northern reaches of the Misty Mountains, around Carn Dûm, realm of the Witch-king (the Lord of the Nazgûl) in the far north of the Misty Mountains. Angmar made war unceasingly with Arthedain and its allies, and eventually destroyed them, but was itself destroyed by an army of Gondor.

* Angrenost

‘Iron Fortress’, the Sindarin name for Isengard, the fortress of Saruman at the head of the River Isen.

* Angrim

Father of Gorlim the Unhappy.

* Angrist

‘Iron-cleaver’, the knife made by Telchar of Nogrod, taken from Curufin by Beren and used by him to cut the Silmaril from Morgoth’s crown.

–—

‘Iron-cutter’, the knife made by Telchar of Nogrod and borne in the First Age by Curufin the son of Fëanor. It was taken from him by Beren, who used it to cut free a Silmaril from the Iron Crown of Morgoth.

* Angrod

Noldorin prince, the third son of Finarfin, who with his brother Aegnor held the northern slopes of Dorthonion; slain in the Dagor Bragollach.

–—

The son of Finarfin and elder brother of Galadriel; he held Dorthonion with his brother Aegnor, and was lost in the Dagor Bragollach.

* Anguirel

Eöl’s sword, made of the same metal as Anglachel.

–—

One of a pair of iron-cutting swords forged by Eöl, the Dark Elf, from an iron meteorite. Anguirel’s mate was Anglachel, which Eöl gave to Thingol in payment for leave to dwell in Nan Elmoth, and that sword went on to perform many mighty deeds - reforged as Gurthang, it was the sword that Túrin used to kill Glaurung.

Anguirel’s history is far more mysterious. The only specific detail we have is that Eöl kept it for himself, but it was stolen by his son Maeglin. This must have happened when Maeglin and his mother Aredhel fled Nan Elmoth for Gondolin, so presumably the sword was taken to Turgon’s Hidden City. What became of it after that is unknown.

* Annael

Grey-elf of Mithrim, fosterfather of Tuor.

–—

A Sindarin Elf, the foster-father of Tuor during his early years in Mithrim.

* Annatar

‘Lord of Gifts’, name given to himself by Sauron in the Second Age, in that time when he appeared in a fair form among the Eldar who remained in Middle-earth. See Artano, Aulendil.

–—

A name meaning ‘Lord of Gifts’; the identity used by Sauron to seduce the Elves of Eregion.

* Annon-in-Gelydh

‘Gate of the Noldor’, entrance to a subterranean watercourse in the western hills of Dor-lómin, leading to Cirith Ninniach.

–—

The hidden Gate of the Noldor.

The Sindarin name for the lost Gate of the Noldor, found after years of searching by Tuor, and used by him to escape Hithlum and find his way into Nevrast.

* Annúminas|Annuminas

‘Tower of the West’ (i.e. of Westernesse, Númenor); city of the Kings of Arnor beside Lake Nenuial; afterwards restored by King Elessar.

–—

Ancient seat of the Kings of Arnor.

The city of the Kings of Arnor, on the shores of Nenuial. The city was founded by Elendil himself, on the shores of the northern lake Nenuial, near the sources of the Baranduin. It was the chief city of the Kings of Arnor for several centuries, and home to one of the three palantíri of the North-Kingdom.

The available evidence suggests that the city survived for nearly a thousand years. In the early days of Arnor, it must have been one of the glories of Middle-earth. Soon after its founding, though, the numbers of the Dúnedain of the North began to dwindle. The population of Annúminas seems to have fallen throughout its history, until eventually it was deserted, and the Kings removed to Fornost to the east.

It seems likely that the people of Annúminas were dependent on the River Baranduin for their contact with the outside world. While the Hills of Evendim surrounded the city to the west and south, the city’s people could reach the other cities of the Dúnedain that lay along the river by boat.

After the city’s desertion, it fell into decay, but two relics of its greatness survived: its palantír and the Sceptre of Annúminas. The palantír remained in Middle-earth for more than a millennium after the loss of its city, but was ultimately drowned with Arvedui in the cold northern seas.

The silver Sceptre of Annúminas was the symbol of Kingship in the North-kingdom. A very ancient thing, it was originally the rod of office of the Númenórean Lords of Andúnië. Though it would have been removed to Fornost by the Kings, and eventually came to be kept by Elrond in Rivendell, it retained the name of its ancient home of Annúminas.

At the time of the coronation of Aragorn at the end of the Third Age, Annúminas had lain in ruins for more than two thousand years. There are hints in The History of Middle-earth though, that Aragorn refounded the city and may even have made it his capital. No definite statement on this matter appears in the canonical works, though, so this must be considered speculation.

* Anor

An Elvish name for the Sun.

The name for the Sun in the Sindarin language. It appears in many names, including Minas Anor, the original name for Minas Tirith, meaning ‘Tower of the Setting Sun’. It is also seen in the flower-name elanor,

‘sunstar’, and perhaps in the title Gandalf claimed for himself on the Bridge of Khazad-dûm, ‘wielder of the flame of Anor’.

* Anor-stone|Stone of Anor

The palantír of Minas Anor.

The Gondorian palantír kept at Minas Tirith, taking its name from the older title of that city, Minas Anor. This was the seeing-stone used by Denethor during the War of the Ring.

* Anórien|Anorien

Region of Gondor north of Ered Nimrais.

–—

That region of Gondor that lay at the eastern feet of the White Mountains, land under the direct control of the city of Minas Anor (later Minas Tirith).

* Apanónar|Apanonar

‘The Afterborn’, an Elvish name for Men.

* Apes|Ape

Forest creatures from the southern lands.

Creatures from the dark forests in the south of Middle-earth. Though they seem to have been unknown in the northern lands, the Orcs used their name as a favourite form of insult.

* Appledore Family|Appledore

A family name of the Big Folk of Bree. Only one member of the family appears in Tolkien’s works - Rowlie Appledore, who was killed in fighting at Bree during the War of the Ring.

* Ar-Abattârik|Ar-Abattarik

Adûnaic name of Tar-Ardamin.

* Ar-Adûnakhôr|Ar-Adunakhor

Twentieth King of Númenor, named in Quenya Tar-Herunúmen.

–—

The twentieth ruler of Númenor. He turned away from the Valar and the Elves, and was the first King to take a name in Adûnaic.

* Ar-Belzagar

Adûnaic name of Tar-Calmacil.

Tar-Calmacil was a great warrior who succeeded his father Tar-Alcarin to become the eighteenth King of Númenor. In his time, the falling away of the Númenóreans that had begun centuries earlier in the reign of Tar-Atanamir became stronger, and he was the first King whose name was translated into the native Adûnaic speech of Númenor: Ar-Belzagar. Both names apparently mean ‘King Light-sword’, a reference to his warlike youth.

* Ar-Gimilzôr|Ar-Gimilzor|Gimilzôr|Gimilzor Twenty-third King of Númenor, persecutor of the Elendili. Named in Quenya Tar-Telemnar.

–—

The twenty-third King of Númenor, the father of Tar-Palantir and grandfather of Ar-Pharazôn, the last King. He was an enemy of the Faithful and the Elf-friends, and persecuted them during his reign.

* Ar-Inziladûn|Ar-Inziladun

Adûnaic name of Tar-Palantir.

* Ar-Pharazôn|Ar-Pharazon

‘The Golden’, twenty-fifth and last King of Númenor, who perished in the Downfall; named in Quenya Tar-Calion; captor of Sauron, by whom he was seduced; commander of the great fleet that went against Aman.

–—

Twenty-fifth and last King of Númenor. He assailed Mordor and brought Sauron back to Númenor as a hostage, but Sauron seduced him, and persuaded him to sail on Valinor itself. As punishment for this act, the island of Númenor sank beneath the waves of the Great Sea.

* Ar-Sakalthôr|Ar-Sakalthor

Twenty-second Ruler of Númenor; named in Quenya Tar-Falassion. Father of Ar-Gimilzôr.

* Ar-Zimrathon

Twenty-first ruler of Númenor; named in Quenya Tar-Hostamir.

* Aradan

Sindarin name of Malach, son of Marach.

* Arador

The grandfather of Aragorn.

The fourteenth Chieftain of the Dúnedain, descended in right line from Aranarth the son of Arvedui. While still a young man by the account of the Dúnedain, he was captured by Hill-trolls in the fells north of Rivendell, and slain. He was succeeded by his son, who led the Dúnedain as Arathorn II, and was in turn succeeded by his own son, Aragorn.

* Araglas

Sixth Chieftain of the Dúnedain, son of Aragorn I and direct ancestor of Aragorn II Elessar.

* Aragorn I|Aragorn

A remote ancestor of Aragorn of the Fellowship of the Ring.

The heir of Aravir, who ruled as fifth Chieftain of the Dúnedain for just eight short years. He met an untimely end as the prey of wild wolves, and was succeeded by his son Araglas.

* Aragorn II Elessar|Aragorn

Son of Arathorn, the thirty-ninth Heir of Isildur in the direct line; King of the reunited realms of Arnor and Gondor after the War of the Ring; wedded Arwen, daughter of Elrond. See: Elessar, Elf-stone, Estel, Strider, Thorongil.

–—

Heir of Isildur through thirty-nine generations, Chieftain of the Dúnedain of the North and, after the War of the Ring, King of the Reunited Kingdom of Arnor and Gondor. Called by Gandalf ‘the greatest traveller and huntsman in this age of the world’, Aragorn experienced many great adventures, and travelled to many distant lands, before claiming his kingship.

* Aragost

Eighth Chieftain of the Dúnedain, son of Arahad I and direct ancestor of Aragorn II Elessar.

* Arahad I|Arahad

Seventh of the Chieftains to rule the Dúnedain after the loss of Arthedain, Arahad was the son of Araglas of the line of Isildur. Early in his reign, the Watchful Peace came to an end as Sauron returned to Dol Guldur, and soon afterwards the White Council was formed. Some years later, Orcs that had been secretly establishing themselves in the Misty Mountains suddenly revealed themselves, and the roads eastward into Eriador became all but impassable. Arahad’s reign lasted sixty-eight years; he was succeeded by his son, Aragost.

* Arahad II|Arahad

Tenth Chieftain of the Dúnedain, son of Aravorn and direct ancestor of Aragorn II Elessar.

* Arahael

The second Chieftain of the Dúnedain.

Arahael was the first of Isildur’s Heirs to be born after the destruction of the North-kingdom. His father Aranarth therefore gave him over to Elrond, to be fostered in Rivendell, and this became the custom of the Chieftains of the North.

Some decades before Arahael assumed the leadership of his people, Gandalf had gone to Dol Guldur and driven its master into the east. The Witch-king, who had ravaged the realm of Arahael’s grandfather Arvedui two generations before, was far to the south in Minas Morgul. So, Arahael led the Dúnedain during the time known as the Watchful Peace, and was untroubled by war.

Arahael served as Chieftain of the Dúnedain for seventy-one years. He was succeeded by his son Aranuir.

* Araman

Barren wasteland on the coast of Aman, between the Pelóri and the Sea, extending northward to the Helcaraxë.

–—

The narrow coastlands of Aman, north of Valinor, that lay east beyond the mountain-fence of the Pelóri.

* Aranarth

First of the Chieftains of the Dúnedain.

The elder son of King Arvedui of Arthedain, who would have become King himself in turn, if not for the destruction of his father’s Kingdom by the Witch-king of Angmar. When Aranarth was still a young man by the reckoning of his people, the Witch-king’s armies swept into Arthedain and overran it. Fornost was taken, but the King and his son escaped. Arvedui fled into the north, but Aranarth, like most of his people, escaped westwards across the River Lhûn into Lindon.

At Aranarth’s urging, Círdan sent a ship into the north to recover his father, but it never returned. It was later learned that the ship had rescued Arvedui, but had been lost with him aboard in the icy northern seas. So Aranarth inherited the leadership of the scattered and diminished northern Dúnedain, but he took the title Chieftain, rather than King, since his father’s realm was lost.

The Dúnedain were to have their revenge soon after, though, with the arrival of the Gondorian prince and general Eärnur, the son and heir of Eärnil II. He sailed into Lindon, and then marched eastwards to rout the armies of Angmar. Of Aranarth’s activities during this campaign we know nothing, but all available evidence suggests that he was in Lindon when Eärnur arrived there, and so it seems very likely that he marched with Eärnur’s forces and saw the defeat of his ancient enemy with his own eyes.

Aranarth served as Chieftain of the Dúnedain for 131 years. He was succeeded by his eldest son, Arahael.

* Arandor

The ‘Kingsland’ of Númenor.

The important central region of Númenor, around the island’s capital at Armenelos. It was almost landlocked, but it met the Sea in the far east, where the great port of Rómenna lay. From there, a road ran westward to Armenelos and then on to the Meneltarma on the western borders of Arandor.

* Arandur

A title literally meaning ‘King’s Servant’, ‘Minister’. This was the actual title of the Stewards of Gondor - ‘Steward’ is an English approximation of the Quenya Arandur.

* Aranel

‘Noble Elf’, a title of Dior Eluchíl, Thingol’s Heir.

* Aranrúth|Aranruth

‘King’s Ire’, the name of Thingol’s sword. Aranrúth survived the ruin of Doriath and was possessed by the Kings of Númenor.

* Arantar

The fifth King of Arnor.

The fifth King to rule over the North-kingdom, son of Eldacar, grandson of Valandil and great-grandson of Isildur himself. Though his reign spanned nearly a century, we have no records of events that took place in that time. He was succeeded as King by his son Tarcil.

* Aranuir

The third of the Chieftains of the Dúnedain, the son of Arahael and great-grandson of Arvedui Last-King. He was the direct ancestor of Aragorn Elessar through thirteen generations.

* Aranwë|Aranwe

Elf of Gondolin, father of Voronwë.

–—

The father of Voronwë the mariner.

An Elf of the House of Fingolfin. Though not much is known about him for sure, he seems to have been a nobleman of Gondolin (at least, his name means ‘noble one’, and his son Voronwë came from Turgon’s Hidden City).

* Aranwion

The surname of Voronwë.

The surname of Voronwë in Gondolin. Aranwion is a patronymic, meaning simply ‘son of Aranwë’ (his father’s name Aranwë means ‘noble one’).

* Araphant

Arthedain’s penultimate King.

At the time Araphant inherited his kingdom from his father Araval, Arthedain was already in desperate straits. The Witch-king of Angmar had been beleaguering the northern lands for nearly five hundred years, and Arthedain’s resistance was beginning to fail.

The one hope that Araphant had left was to renew the ancient bond with the South-kingdom of Gondor, which was at that time suffering losses itself at the hands of the Wainriders. He forged an alliance with King Ondoher of Gondor, and sealed it with the wedding of his son Arvedui to Ondoher’s daughter Fíriel. Araphant’s foresight failed to bring help to his kingdom, though, since Gondor itself was under sustained attack and could send no troops to his aid.

Four years after the alliance was made, Ondoher fell in battle with the Wainriders, and the South-kingdom was left Kingless. Araphant’s heir Arvedui made a claim to the Kingship of Gondor, which would have reunited the two Kingdoms, but Steward Pelendur moved the Gondorians to reject it.

Araphant ruled Arthedain for seventy-three years. He was succeeded by his son Arvedui, who would be the last of the northern Kings.

* Araphor

The ninth King of Arthedain.

The son of Arveleg I came early to the throne of Arthedain. While he was still in his youth (probably no more than eighteen years old), the Witch-king of Angmar launched a mighty invasion of his kingdom, that came close to destroying it. Araphor’s father Arveleg fought in the defence of the Tower of Amon Sûl, and his early death in that battle brought Araphor to the throne.

Records of the events of this time are incomplete, but it seems that the Witch-king laid siege to the royal city of Fornost. The young Araphor went to war with aid from Círdan and the Elves of Lindon, and succeeded in relieving the siege and driving back the forces of Angmar.

After Araphor’s defeat of Angmar, there is no record of further warfare during his long reign. Nonetheless, he ruled a diminished and dwindling people; the wars of his youth had seen the Northern Dúnedain come close to destruction. Rhudaur was now a tributary state to Angmar, and the Dúnedain of Cardolan were all but extinct.

Araphor ruled Arthedain for one hundred and eighty years, and was succeeded by his son, named for Araphor’s heroic grandfather Argeleb, who ruled as Argeleb II.

* Arassuil

The eleventh Chieftain to lead the Northern Dúnedain, the son and heir of Arahad II. His time as Chieftain saw great troubles grow in the Northlands. Orcs from the Misty Mountains boldly invaded the western lands, and were fought back by Arassuil’s Rangers and the household of Elrond. Arassuil was succeeded as Chieftain by his son Arathorn I.

* Aratan

The second son of Isildur, slain with his father and his brothers Elendur and Ciryon in the Disaster of the Gladden Fields.

* Aratar

‘The Exalted’, or High Ones of Arda: the eight Valar of greatest power.

–—

The highest of the Powers.

–—

“Among [the Valar] Nine were of chief power and reverence; but one is removed from their number, and Eight remain, the Aratar, the High Ones of Arda…”

(Valaquenta)

–—

The eight greatest of the Valar: Manwë, Varda, Ulmo, Yavanna, Aulë, Mandos, Nienna and Oromë. Though Manwë was held to be the High King of Arda, all these eight were held in equal reverence, and were said to possess a majesty that surpassed even the other Valar.

It seems clear from the quotation above that the Aratar were originally nine, and included Melkor (probably as the greatest of them), but he was removed from this ‘order’ after his rebellion.

* Arathorn I|Arathorn

Twelfth of the Chieftains of the Dúnedain.

The son of Chieftain Arassuil, who led the Northern Dúnedain in his turn. The great-great-grandfather of Aragorn Elessar, he ruled in the North for sixty-four years, and died an untimely death. He was succeeded by his son Argonui.

* Arathorn II|Arathorn

The son of Chieftain Arador of the Dúnedain, and a descendant through many generations of Isildur himself. Of Arathorn’s early life, little is known. He first appears in annals at the age of fifty-six, seeking the hand of Gilraen as his wife. Gilraen at that time was just twenty-two years old, and though the wedding was opposed by her father Dírhael, she became Arathorn’s wife.

The following year, Arathorn’s father Arador was slain by Trolls, and Arathorn took on the title of Chieftain of the Dúnedain. Gilraen bore him a son, who was given the name Aragorn. Aragorn would not know his father for long - when he was just two years old, Arathorn went hunting Orcs, and was shot through the eye by an arrow. After Arathorn’s loss, Gilraen took their son to Rivendell to be fostered by Elrond.

Arathorn II served as Chieftain of the Dúnedain for just three years. He was succeeded by his only son, who would become Chieftain Aragorn II, and in time King Elessar of the Reunited Kingdom of the Dúnedain.

* Araval

The thirteenth King of Arthedain.

The son of Arveleg II was born into a time of war and strife. At the time of his birth, his father’s realm of Arthedain had been under threat from the eastern land of Angmar for more than four hundred years.

Araval, too, played his part in the war with Angmar. The Lord of the Rings tells us nothing of his career, but The History of Middle-earth hints (in volume 12) that he was a diplomat and a warrior. In alliance with the Elves of Lindon and Imladris, he won at least one important victory over the Witch-king of Angmar. We are also told that he attempted the recolonisation of Cardolan, though this was prevented by the evil beings, the wights, sent there by the Witch-king some two centuries before.

In the end, though, Araval’s bravery counted for little. His grandson Arvedui, who was born in Araval’s lifetime and just thirteen years after his great victory, was to see the final destruction of the kingdom of Arthedain.

Araval ruled Arthedain for seventy-eight years, and was succeeded by his son Araphant.

* Aravir

The fourth Chieftain of the Dúnedain.

The son of Aranuir, who led the Dúnedain of the North during the closing years of the Watchful Peace. It was Aravir, it seems, who devised the name ‘Aragorn’; he gave it to his son, who succeeded him as Chieftain Aragorn I. The Aragorn of the The Lord of the Rings was his distant descendant, Aragorn II of the line of Isildur.

* Aravorn

The ninth Chieftain to rule the Dúnedain since the loss of Arthedain. He led the Rangers for sixty-six years, and was succeeded by his son, who became Chieftain Arahad II. Aravorn was a direct ancestor of Aragorn II Elessar, through seven generations.

* Araw

The Sindarin form of the name of the Vala Oromë.

* Archet

Forest village of Bree-land.

The most remote of the settlements of the Bree-land, set among the trees on the edge of the Chetwood, somewhat to the east of Bree itself.

* Ard-galen

The great grassy plain north of Dorthonion, called after its desolation Anfauglith and Dor-nu-Fauglith. The name means ‘the Green Region’. See Calenardhon (Rohan).

–—

The wide green plain that lay between the northern fences of Beleriand and Morgoth’s fortress of Angband; it was destroyed by flame in the Dagor Bragollach and renamed Anfauglith.

* Arda

‘The Realm’, name of the Earth as the Kingdom of Manwë.

–—

The World.

In the language of the Elder Days, ‘Arda’ signified the World and all that is in it. Arda was created through the Music of the Ainur to be a dwelling place for the Children of Ilúvatar (that is, Elves and Men).

Originally a flat world, the continents were surrounded by a mighty ocean, Ekkaia or the Encircling Sea, and separated by Belegaer, called the Great Sea. In the First Age, the regions to the north and west of Middle-earth (the bay of Forochel) were occupied by the country of Beleriand, but this was destroyed during the tumults of the War of Wrath.

In the Second Age, the isle of Númenor was raised in the Great Sea for the Edain to dwell on. This island existed through most of the Second Age, but was destroyed in the Downfall of Númenor as a result of the pride of the Númenorean people in defying the Ban of the Valar and sailing to Aman in the west.

After the Downfall, the shape of Arda was changed, and it was made

‘bent’ (or ‘round’ as we should say in modern terms). Aman was taken out of the world, and could only be reached by the Elves, following the straight road that was granted to them. As Aman was taken away from Arda, new lands and continents were created. From the late Second Age onwards, the World began to take the shape that we know today.

* Aredhel Ar-Feiniel|Ar-Feiniel

‘Noble Elf’, the sister of Turgon of Gondolin, who was ensnared by Eöl in Nan Elmoth and bore to him Maeglin; called also Ar-Feiniel, the White Lady of the Noldor, the White Lady of Gondolin.

–—

The White Lady of the Noldor.

Sister of Fingon and Turgon, Aredhel was accounted one of the noblest of the Noldor. She dwelt with Turgon in Gondolin, but straying from the city she was ensnared by Eöl the Dark Elf and taken as his wife. She bore him a son, Maeglin, and when Maeglin was full-grown they escaped together to Turgon’s city. Eöl followed them, however, and attempted to slay his son with a poisoned dart. Aredhel sprang to take the dart, however, and died of its poison.

* Argeleb I|Argeleb

The seventh King of Arthedain.

The son of Malvegil, who sought to reunify the lost kingdom of Arnor under his Kingship. Since the Dúnedain in Cardolan and Rhudaur had dwindled in numbers, Argeleb tried to refound Arnor around his own kingdom of Arthedain. He failed, largely through the machinations of the Witch-king of Angmar, and instead an open war broke out in which Argeleb himself was slain.

* Argeleb II|Argeleb

Tenth King of Arthedain, son of Araphor, and direct ancestor of Aragorn II Elessar.

* Argonath

‘King-stones’, the Pillars of the Kings. Two mighty statues, carved in the likenesses of Isildur and Anárion, that guarded the passage of the Great River Anduin. They marked the ancient northern border of Gondor.

* Argonui

The thirteenth Chieftain of the Dúnedain, who inherited the title when his father Arathorn I was slain by wolves. The end of his rule saw the coming of the Fell Winter to the north. He was succeeded by his son Arador, who was the grandfather of Aragorn Elessar.

* Arien

A Maia, chosen by the Valar to guide the vessel of the Sun.

–—

Called the Sun-maiden, Arien was a spirit of fire who seems originally to have belonged to the Maiar of Vána. When the Valar set the Sun in the sky, Arien was given the task of guiding its course.

* Arkenstone

The Heart of the Mountain of Erebor.

–—

“It was like a globe with a thousand faces; it shone like silver in the firelight, like water in the sun, like snow under the stars, like rain upon the Moon!”

(The Hobbit 12, Inside Information)

–—

The great jewel discovered beneath the roots of Erebor by Thráin I soon after the establishment of the Dwarf-kingdom there, and prized by his descendants as the Heart of the Mountain. The Dwarves used all their skill to work the gem into a shimmering multi-faceted jewel that not only shone by its own pale light, but when light fell upon it, the stone ‘…

changed it into ten thousand sparks of white radiance shot with glints of the rainbow.’ (The Hobbit 13, Not at Home). It was a heavy gem, small enough for Bilbo to hold in one hand, yet not so small that he could close his own small hand around it.

In the centuries after its discovery, the Arkenstone became an heirloom of the Kings of Durin’s Folk. It was carried away into the Grey Mountains by Thráin’s son, and in time brought back to the Great Hall of Thráin under the Mountain by his descendant Thrór. When Smaug sacked Erebor, the Arkenstone was lost to the Dwarves of Durin’s Folk - it lay among Smaug’s booty in the halls of Erebor.

Many years later, when Thorin led a band of Dwarves to recover their ancient city, their companion Bilbo Baggins discovered the Arkenstone, and kept it for himself. Later, when the Lake-men and Wood-elves came to demand their own shares of Smaug’s treasure from Thorin, Bilbo delivered the Arkenstone to them to bargain with. In the ensuing Battle of Five Armies, though, all enmities were forgotten, and Bard of Dale placed the Heart of the Mountain on the breast of Thorin in his tomb beneath Erebor.

So, nearly a thousand years after its discovery by Thráin I, the Arkenstone was buried once more in the depths beneath the Lonely Mountain.

* Armenelos

The royal city of Númenor.

The mighty city in the central regions of Númenor, where the island’s Kings dwelt.

* Arminas

Noldorin Elf, who with Gelmir came upon Tuor at Annon-in-Gelydh, and afterwards went to Nargothrond to warn Orodreth of its peril.

–—

With Gelmir, one of two messengers sent by Círdan to Nargothrond in the First Age. Their message, that the bridge before the doors of Nargothrond should be demolished, was ignored, leading to the destruction of that citadel by Glaurung.

* Arnach

Pre-Númenórean name of Lossarnach.

* Arnor

‘Land of the King’, the northern realm of the Númenóreans in Middle-earth, established by Elendil after his escape from the Drowning of Númenor.

–—

The North-kingdom of the Dúnedain.

Founded by Elendil in the last years of the Second Age, Arnor was the great kingdom of Men in the north of Middle-earth. It lay between the Misty Mountains in the east, and the Blue Mountains on the borders of Lindon in the west, and encompassed the area where the Shire would be founded many years later. Its capital, and the seat of its Kings, was at Annúminas on Lake Nenuial.

Elendil fell in the Siege of Barad-dûr in II 3441, and his eldest son Isildur, who would have taken the rulership, was lost two years later as he journeyed back from the southlands with his three eldest sons. These were also slain by Orcs at the Disaster of the Gladden Fields. Isildur’s youngest son Valandil, however, had not gone to the war, and was kept safe in Rivendell; he was accounted the third King of Arnor, though Isildur had never taken the throne.

The tenth and last King of Arnor was Eärendur. After his death in III 861, his three sons each made claims of succession. This led to the break-up of Arnor into three separate but related kingdoms; Arthedain, Cardolan and Rhudaur. Eärendur’s eldest son, Amlaith of Fornost, became King of Arthedain, and is considered the true heir to the line of Isildur.

* Arod

The steed of Legolas and Gimli.

A light horse of Rohan, whose name means simply ‘swift’. After the loss of his original rider, Arod was given to Legolas by Éomer, and he served his new rider faithfully throughout the War of the Ring. For much of this time, Arod carried two riders, since Legolas was often accompanied by his friend Gimli.

* Aros

The southern river of Doriath.

–—

A river of eastern Beleriand that rose in the northern lands around Himring, and flowed into the Sirion at Aelin-uial.

* Arossiach|Fords of Aros

The Fords of Aros, near the north-eastern edge of Doriath.

–—

The crossing of the Aros.

The ford on the upper reaches of the River Aros, where the long and perilous road through Nan Dungortheb crossed eastward into the lands of West Beleriand.

* Arroch

The horse of Húrin of Dor-lómin.

* Artamir

Elder son of Ondoher King of Gondor; slain in the battle with the Wainriders.

–—

The lost heir of Ondoher.

The elder son and heir of King Ondoher of Gondor, who marched with his father to war with the Wainriders. Ondoher’s force met with a surprise assault beneath the Black Gate of the Morannon, where the King and his son Artamir were slain. It was later discovered that Artamir’s younger brother Faramir had also ridden to war, against the laws and customs of Gondor, and had himself been lost in the battle, leaving Gondor without a King.

A political crisis ensued, in which Arvedui the northern King of Arthedain pressed a strong claim to the Crown of Gondor. Arvedui’s claim was rejected by Steward Pelendur and the Council of Gondor, who instead gave the Kingship to Eärnil, the victorious Captain who also belonged to the Royal House. Eärnil’s line was short-lived, however, and ended with the presumed loss of his son Eärnur in Minas Morgul.

The loss of Artamir was a turning point in the history of Middle-earth.

Had he not perished, the line of Kings would almost certainly have survived the coming crisis and lasted into the third millennium of the Third Age. A thousand years later, Aragorn would have found Minas Tirith ruled not by a Steward but by a legitimate King, so preventing him from claiming the Crown himself. The unknown Wainrider who cut down Artamir, then, unknowingly paved the way for the reunification of Arnor and Gondor more than a thousand years later.

* Artanis

Name given to Galadriel by her father.

–—

The ‘father-name’ of Galadriel.

It was the custom of the Elves that a child’s father should give a name to his newborn son or daughter, and so when Finarfin’s youngest child was born, his only daughter, he chose the name Artanis, meaning ‘noble woman’. As an adult, Artanis took a different name, a name in the Sindarin tongue meaning ‘radiant garland’ - Galadriel.

* Artano

‘High-smith’, name given to himself by Sauron in the Second Age. See Annatar, Aulendil.

* Arthad

One of the twelve companions of Barahir on Dorthonion.

* Arthedain

One of the three kingdoms into which Arnor was divided in the ninth century of the Third Age; bounded by the rivers Baranduin and Lhûn, extending eastwards to the Weather Hills, and with its chief place at Fornost.

–—

Last Realm of the Northern Kings. One of three kingdoms formed from the breakup of Arnor.

The westernmost region of the lost realm of Arnor; when that land was divided between the sons of Eärendur, Arthedain became a kingdom in its own right, and was ruled by Eärendur’s eldest son Amlaith and his decendants.

* Arthórien|Arthorien

Region between the rivers Aros and Celon in the east of Doriath.

* Arvedui|Last-king

‘Last-king’ of Arthedain, drowned in the Bay of Forochel.

–—

Son of Araphant, the fifteenth and last king of Arthedain. When the forces of Angmar overran the last remnant of the North-kingdom, Arvedui fled into the far north, but perished in the Bay of Forochel. His eldest son, Aranarth, became the first Chieftain of the Dúnedain.

* Arvegil

The eleventh King of Arthedain.

The heir of Argeleb II of Arthedain. During his father’s reign, Arvegil saw events that would shape the history of Middle-earth, including the foundation of the Shire. He was eighty-three years old (no great age for one of the Dúnedain) when the Great Plague came out of the south and ravaged Eriador, but the seat of the Kings at Fornost in the north was little affected.

Arvegil lived for one hundred and ninety years, precisely the same age as his great descendant Aragorn, as is noted in the Appendices to The Lord of the Rings. By the standards of his own ancestors, though, this was an early death. Of all the northern Kings before Arvegil - excepting those slain in battle - only two had lived less than two hundred years: his father Argeleb II and his grandfather Araphor.

Arvegil ruled Arthedain for seventy-three years, and was succeeded by his son, who ruled as Arveleg II.

* Arveleg I|Arveleg

The eighth King of Arthedain.

The beginning and the end of the Arveleg’s reign were forged in battle and in war. He became King when his father Argeleb I went to war with the newly allied lands of Rhudaur and Angmar, and was slain. Arveleg made an alliance of his own, with the Men of Cardolan and the Elves of Lindon, and struck back at the eastern lands.

These two allied forces seem to have cancelled one another out. For more than fifty years, Arveleg was able to hold a defensive line stretching east from Weathertop, through which Angmar could not break. Rivendell did not fall behind this frontier, it seems, and suffered a siege at this time.

At last the balance broke: Angmar gathered its forces and breached the frontier. Crossing the River Hoarwell, its armies marched westward and surrounded Weathertop, destroying its Tower and sending the troops of Arthedain in retreat back to Fornost. Arveleg died in that assault, and his young son Araphor came to the throne.

Arveleg I ruled Arthedain for fifty-three years, and was succeeded by his son, Araphor.

* Arveleg II|Arveleg

The twelfth King of Arthedain.

The son and heir of Arvegil, who ruled Arthedain in a time of war with the northern land of Angmar. He was succeeded by his son Araval.

* Arvernien

The coastlands of Middle-earth west of Sirion’s mouths.

–—

The coastlands of Beleriand to the north of the Bay of Balar.

* Arwen Evenstar|Arwen

Daughter of Elrond and Celebrían; wedded to Aragorn; Queen of Gondor.

–—

Noble Queen to Aragorn II Elessar.

Daughter of Elrond, Arwen forsook her Elven immortality to wed Aragorn II Elessar and become Queen of the Reunited Kingdom. Arwen means ‘Noble maiden’.

* Ascar

The most northerly of the tributaries of Gelion in Ossiriand (afterwards called Rathlóriel). The name means ‘rushing, impetuous’.

–—

Last resting-place of the treasures of Doriath.

The northernmost of the rivers that flowed through Ossiriand, along the northern bank of which lay the Dwarf-road from the Blue Mountains. It was renamed Rathlóriel (‘Goldenbed’) after the sinking of the treasure of Doriath there.

* Asfaloth

The horse of Glorfindel, who bore Frodo Baggins to safety at the Ford of Rivendell.

* Asgon

Man of Dor-lómin, who aided Túrin’s escape after the slaying of Brodda.

* Ash Mountains|Ashen Mountains

A name of the Ered Lithui, the northern mountain-fence of Mordor.

* Ashes|Ash

Spear-wood of the Rohirrim.

Tall, straight, grey trees common in northern lands, and found throughout Middle-earth. The spears of the Rohirrim were made from their wood, as was Gandalf’s staff.

* Asphodel

Pale flowers of the woodland.

Yellow and white flowers found by Frodo and Sam in Ithilien.

* Astaldo

‘The Valiant’, name of the Vala Tulkas.

* Astron

The fourth month of the year according to the Shire Calendar, approximately equivalent to modern April.

* Atalantë|Atalante

A name in Quenya for Númenor after its Downfall, meaning simply ‘The Downfallen’ (see Akallabêth).

* Atanalcar

The youngest of the four children of Elros Tar-Minyatur. His elder brother Vardamir Nólimon became the second King of Númenor.

* Atanatar I|Atanatar

Tenth King of Gondor, son of Turambar and direct descendant of Elendil’s second son Anárion.

* Atanatar II Alcarin|Atanatar

Sixteenth and greatest of the Kings of Gondor, son of Hyarmendacil I and direct descendant of Elendil’s second son Anárion. During his rule, Gondor reached its height, and his surname Alcarin (‘Glorious’) marks this.

* Atanatári|Atanatari

‘Fathers of Men’; see Atani.

* Atani|Atan

‘The Second People’, Men (singular Atan). Since in Beleriand for a long time the only Men known to the Noldor and Sindar were those of the Three Houses of the Elf-friends, this name (in the Sindarin form Adan, plural Edain) became specially associated with them, so that it was seldom applied to other Men who came later to Beleriand, or who were reported to be dwelling beyond the Mountains. But in the speech of Ilúvatar the meaning is ‘Men (in general)’.

–—

An Elvish name for Men, and especially the Men of the Three Houses of the Edain.

* Athelas|Asëa Aranion|asea aranion

An Elvish name for Kingsfoil.

The plant also known as Kingsfoil or Asëa Aranion. Its leaves had healing properties, but by the end of the Third Age knowledge of its use was all but lost in Middle-earth.

* Athrad Angren|Ethraid Engrin

Sindarin name (also in plural form Ethraid Engrin) of the Fords of Isen.

* Aulë|Aule

A Vala, one of the Aratar, the smith and master of crafts, spouse of Yavanna; maker of the Dwarves.

–—

The maker of Middle-earth.

One of the Aratar, the greatest of the Valar, Aulë was the Vala concerned with the substance of Arda; rock and metal. As his name suggests, he was also the builder and inventor of the Valar. He constructed Angainor, the chain of Melkor, and the vessels of the Sun and Moon.

In anticipation of the coming of the Children of Ilúvatar, Elves and Men, Aulë went so far as to create a race of his own, the Dwarves.

Ilúvatar blessed them with life, but would not suffer them to be born before the Elves, so Aulë set them to sleep in Middle-earth until the Elves had awoken.

When the Elves came to Valinor, the Noldor became fascinated by the lore of Aulë, and became his students. Fëanor was his greatest pupil, and from him learned the craft to make the Silmarils.

* Aulëan|Aulean

Of or pertaining to Aulë.

* Aulendil

‘Servant of Aulë’, name given to himself by Sauron in the Second Age. See Annatar, Artano.

* Avallónë|Avallone

Haven and city of the Eldar on Tol Eressëa, so named, according to the Akallabêth, ‘for it is of all cities the nearest to Valinor’.

–—

The haven of the Elves who lived on the isle of Tol Eressëa, off the eastern shores of Aman.

* Avari|Avar

‘The Unwilling’, ‘Those who Refused the Summons’, the name given to all those Elves who refused to join the westward march from Cuiviénen. See Eldar and Dark Elves.

–—

‘The Unwilling’; those of the Elves who refused the summons of the Valar to dwell in Valinor, and remained in the dark wilds of Middle-earth. Some of the Avari, it is said, were corrupted by Melkor in ancient days to become the progenitors of the race of Orcs.

* Avathar

‘The Shadows’, the forsaken land on the coast of Aman south of the Bay of Eldamar, between the Pelóri and the Sea, where Melkor met Ungoliant.

–—

A narrow land in the south of Aman, between the Pelóri mountains and the sea. In ancient times it was the dwelling place of Ungoliant.

* Awakening of Men

The stirring of the first Men, in the far eastern land of Hildórien at the beginning of the First Age.

* Azaghâl|Azaghal

Lord of the Dwarves of Belegost; wounded Glaurung in the Nirnaeth Arnoediad, and was killed by him.

–—

Lord of Belegost in the Blue Mountains; slain by Glaurung in the Nirnaeth Arnoediad.

* Azanulbizar

The valley below the East-gate of Moria where in Third Age 2799 was fought the great battle that ended the War of the Dwarves and Orcs.

–—

The deep-shadowed valley of the Dimrill Dale.

The Dwarves’ name for a valley between two arms of the Misty Mountains, called Nanduhirion by the Elves and the Dimrill Dale by Men. Azanulbizar was of vital importance in Dwarvish history: it was here that Durin first looked on the waters of Kheled-zâram and was inspired to found Khazad-dûm. It was here, too, millennia later, that Dwarves destroyed the armies of the Orcs to bring an end to the War of the Dwarves and Orcs.

* Azog

Orc of Moria; slayer of Thrór, and slain himself by Dáin Ironfoot in the Battle of Azanulbizar.

–—

Chieftain of the northern Orcs.

An orc-chieftain of Moria, who started the War of the Dwarves and Orcs when he slew Thrór. He was himself slain by Dáin Ironfoot in the Battle of Azanulbizar, and was succeeded by his son Bolg.

Of Azog’s origins we know little; he was the chief of the Orcs of Moria, and apparently the most important Orc of the northern lands. The average lifespan of an Orc is unknown, but it is conceivable that he was one of those sent to Moria by Sauron in about III 2480. He had one son that we know of, Bolg, who succeeded him after his death.

Azog entered history in the year III 2790 due to King Thrór’s desire to revisit and perhaps refound the lost realm of Khazad-dûm, in whose mighty ruins Azog dwelt. Azog captured and slew Thrór, and branded his hewn head with his own name, AZOG.

When news of this reached Thrór’s heir Thráin, he was greatly angered, and mustered a force of Dwarves to seek revenge on Azog. So began the War of the Dwarves and Orcs: the Dwarves hunted Azog, and many battles were fought beneath the earth. After nine years of war, the climactic Battle of Azanulbizar was fought before the gates of Moria itself.

King Thráin and his son Thorin were in that battle (it was here that Thorin gained the surname Oakenshield). Near the end of the battle, Azog himself emerged and fought with Thráin’s cousin Náin and, after breaking Náin’s neck, his young son Dáin. Though only 32 years old, Dáin swept the head from Azog’s shoulders, and helped to win the day.

The Dwarves made no attempt to press their advantage, though, because Dáin had glimpsed Durin’s Bane during his battle, and warned the Dwarves not to attempt to enter Moria. Azog’s underground dominions in the north, though greatly reduced in the War, fell to his son Bolg, who held them for more than 150 years until he too met his end at the Battle of Five Armies.

* Bag End|Bag-End

Dwelling at Hobbiton in the Shire of Bilbo Baggins, and later of Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee.

–—

The great smial beneath Hobbiton Hill.

A large and comfortable hobbit-hole, well-known as the home of Bilbo Baggins and his heir, Frodo. Its round green door opened into a large, well-appointed hobbit-hole that took up much of the Hill above Hobbiton.

In the tradition of hobbit-holes, all the rooms at Bag End were on the same level, and there were many of these; ‘… bedrooms, bathrooms, cellars, pantries (lots of these), wardrobes ([Bilbo] had whole rooms devoted to clothes), kitchens, dining-rooms…’

* Baggins Family|Baggins

A family of Hobbits of the Shire.

–—

An old and important family of Hobbiton.

An old family of the Shire found mostly in the Hobbiton region of the Westfarthing. They had always been an important family in the Shire, and gave rise to the two most important Hobbits of the Third Age, Bilbo the Ring-finder and Frodo the Ring-bearer.

* Bagshot Row

The row of hobbit-holes that were delved into Hobbiton Hill beneath Bag End. They were destroyed in the War of the Ring, and replaced by a new row called, simply, New Row.

* Balan

The name of Bëor the Old before he took service with Finrod.

* Balbo Baggins|Balbo

The earliest recorded member of the Baggins family; great-grandfather of Bilbo the Ring-finder.

* Balchoth

An Easterling people akin to the Wainriders whose invasion of Calenardhon in Third Age 2510 was crushed at the Battle of the Field of Celebrant.

–—

Fierce Easterling enemies of Gondor.

A race of Easterlings under the sway of Dol Guldur, who lived in the lands east of the forest of Mirkwood. In the later Third Age, they attempted an invasion of Gondor, but were repulsed by Cirion and Eorl.

* Bald Hill

The hill of Amon Rûdh, that rose up out of the plainlands south of the Forest of Brethil. It was so named because its peak rose up in bare rock, except for the growth of red seregon there. The hill was originally a settlement of the Petty-dwarves (who called it Sharbhund), and latterly home to Túrin and his outlaw band.

* Baldor

The prideful son of Brego and grandson of Eorl the Young. He tried the Paths of the Dead, though he had been told that the way was shut to him.

His bones were found long years afterward by Aragorn and his company.

* Balin

A Dwarf of Durin’s Folk; he accompanied Gandalf, Thorin and Bilbo on the Quest of Erebor, and later led an ill-fated attempt to reclaim Moria.

* Balrog|Balrogs

‘Demon of Might’, Sindarin form (Quenya Valarauko) of the name of the demons of fire that served Morgoth.

–—

Dread Servants of Melkor.

The Balrogs were spirits of fire seduced by Melkor in the beginning of Arda, and who dwelt in his northern fortress of Utumno. During the First Age, the Balrogs were the most feared of Morgoth’s forces after the dragons.

In appearance, the Balrogs were man-like, but fire streamed from them, and they were swathed in dark shadows. They carried whips of flame and induced great terror in friends and foes alike.

In the War of Wrath, Morgoth was assailed by the forces of the Valar.

Most of the Balrogs were destroyed in that War, but some few escaped over the Blue Mountains and lay hid in Middle-earth. Durin’s Bane, the creature that drove the Dwarves from Moria, was one of these.

–—

The Balrogs Before the First Age: The Balrogs were in origin Maiar, of the same order as Sauron or Gandalf. Melkor corrupted them to his service in the distant past of the World, in the days of his splendour. They were originally gathered by him in his ancient fastness of Utumno during the time of the Lamps of the Valar. When this fortress was destroyed by the Valar, at least some fled and lurked in the pits of Angband (whether any of the original Balrogs were slain in the Valar’s attack on Utumno is not known).

–—

Balrogs in the First Age: When Melkor and Ungoliant escaped from Valinor three ages later with the Silmarils, the Balrogs were still to be found in the ruins of Angband. Ungoliant entrapped Melkor in her webs, demanding the Silmarils for herself, but the Balrogs issued from their hiding-place and rescued their lord.

The Balrogs were apparently first encountered by the Elves during the Dagor-nuin-Giliath in the first year of the First Age. After the great victory of the Noldor over Morgoth’s Orcs, Fëanor pressed on towards Angband, but the Balrogs came against him. He was mortally wounded by Gothmog, Lord of Balrogs. Though his Sons beat off the demons of fire, Fëanor died of his wounds soon after, and his spirit departed for the Halls of Mandos.

–—

The Appearance and Nature of Balrogs: Balrogs were spirits of fire -

their hearts were of fire, we are told, and they carried whips of flame.

They could, however, shroud themselves in darkness and shadow. The Balrog that Gandalf fought in Moria, for example, at first gave no hint of his fiery nature apart from the flames that issued from his nostrils.

* Ban of the Valar

The ban placed by the Valar on the Númenóreans, that they should not sail so far west from their island that they could not see its coasts. It was the breaking of the Ban by Ar-Pharazôn that led to the Downfall of Númenor.

* Banakil

A Westron name for the Hobbits, meaning literally ‘halfling’.

* Bandobras ‘Bullroarer’ Took|Bandobras

Victor of the Battle of Greenfields.

The son of either Thain Isengrim II or Isumbras III (sources differ) of the Took line, Bandobras was famous for averting a goblin invasion of the Shire at the Battle of Greenfields, and personally slaying the goblins’

leader, Golfimbul.

* Bane of Glaurung|Glaurung’s Bane

A title given to Túrin, and carved on his tomb in the Elvish form dagnir glaurunga, after he slew the dragon Glaurung.

* Banks

A common Hobbit family name, found not only in the Shire, but also in Bree.

* Bar-en-Danwedh

‘House of Ransom’, the name that Mîm the Dwarf gave to his dwelling on Amon Rûdh when he yielded it to Túrin.

–—

The House of Ransom: the hidden house of Mîm the Petty-dwarf within Amon Rudh, given over to Túrin and his band of outlaws in ransom for Mîm’s life.

* Bar-en-Nibin-noeg

‘House of the Petty-dwarves’, Mîm’s dwelling on Amon Rûdh.

* Bar-erib

A stronghold in Dor-Cúarthol, not far south of Amon Rûdh.

* Barach

A forester of the People of Haleth in the story of ‘The Faithful Stone’.

* Barad-dûr|Barad-dur

‘The Dark Tower’ of Sauron in Mordor.

–—

“… wall upon wall, battlement upon battlement, black, immeasurably strong, mountain of iron, gate of steel, tower of adamant… Barad-dûr, fortress of Sauron.”

(The Fellowship of the Ring II 10, The Breaking of the Fellowship)

–—

The mighty shadow-shrouded stronghold of Sauron in the Second and Third Ages.

Other Names: The Dark Tower, Lugbúrz.

–—

The First Building of Barad-dûr: The first building of Barad-dûr, when Sauron was first came to Mordor, took six hundred years to complete. Soon after, Tar-Minastir of Númenor sent a fleet to Middle-earth, and Sauron’s forces were driven out of the western lands that they had roamed at will to that time. Barad-dûr could not be approached by the Númenóreans, however, and Sauron was able to consolidate his power and extend it into the east.

In II 3262, Sauron left his Dark Tower to travel to Númenor with the vast forces of Ar-Pharazôn; he returned after the Downfall of Númenor in II 3319. The Last Alliance besieged Barad-dûr in II 3434, and the Tower was taken and destroyed by the forces of Elendil and Gil-galad, who both perished in the siege, in II 3441. Though Barad-dûr was destroyed, its foundations were left in place.

–—

The Second Building of Barad-dûr: For much of the Third Age, Sauron’s stronghold was not in Mordor, which was ruled in his stead by the Nazgûl.

Rather, the Dark Lord dwelt in the south of Mirkwood at Dol Guldur. In III 2941, the White Council sent their forces to drive him from Mirkwood, and he withdrew to Mordor once again. There, he began the rebuilding of the Dark Tower. Given the time taken in its first building, this cannot have been fully complete at the time of the War of the Ring in III 3019.

Barad-dûr was constructed as much through the personal power of Sauron as through stone and mortar; when the One Ring was destroyed in Orodruin, this power was lost and the Tower destroyed forever.

–—

The Appearance of Barad-dûr: The most complete description we have of Barad-dûr is that given in the quote above. We know, then, that it was black, and constructed mainly of metal. ‘Adamant’ usually refers to diamond, but it is hard to imagine Sauron adding diamond towers to his dark fortress - in this context, it probably has the more general meaning of ‘hard, unbreakable substance’.

From the steel gate of the Tower, a causeway ran out into the plain of Gorgoroth, across a mighty bridge. We also know that lava from Mount Doom was channeled back across that plain to Barad-dûr.

Tolkien probably leaves details of the Tower’s construction vague intentionally, as it was hidden by a cloud of shadow and darkness at all times. The only characters in The Lord of the Rings to actually see Barad-dûr were Frodo and Sam as they journeyed to Mount Doom: ‘… rising black, blacker and darker than the vast shades amid which it stood, the cruel pinnacles and iron crown of the topmost tower of Barad-dûr…’.

The ‘topmost tower of Barad-dûr’ seems to have been the place where Sauron dwelt. At least, the Window of the Eye, from which the Lidless Eye stared out across Middle-earth, was located there.

* Barad Eithel

‘Tower of the Well’, the fortress of the Noldor in Eithel Sirion.

–—

The fortress at the well of Sirion.

The mountain fortress of Fingolfin and his son Fingon, set in the eastern foothills of the Ered Wethrin, at the source of the River Sirion.

* Barad Nimras

‘White Horn Tower’, raised by Finrod Felagund on the cape west of Eglarest.

* Baragund

Father of Morwen the wife of Húrin; nephew of Barahir and one of his twelve companions in Dorthonion.

–—

A descendant of Bëor the Old, who was the father of Morwen Eledhwen and thus the grandfather of Túrin Turambar. Nephew of Barahir and one of his twelve companions on Dorthonion. Little is known of his life, but he seems to have been slain by the forces of Morgoth (at least, he is

‘avenged’ in the War of Wrath).

* Barahir

Father of Beren; rescued Finrod Felagund in the Dagor Bragollach, and received from him his ring; slain on Dorthonion.

–—

The rescuer of Finrod Felagund.

A descendant of Bëor the Old and father of Beren Erchamion. He fought at the Dagor Bragollach, saving the life of Finrod Felagund, but was later hounded as an outlaw by the forces of Morgoth, and slain in the highlands of Dorthonion.

* Barahir (Steward of Gondor)|Barahir

The eighth Ruling Steward of Gondor.

Barahir’s father was Hador, a famously long-lived Man who ruled Gondor as its Steward for no less than one hundred and seventeen years.

According to the best sources we have, Barahir was born in the twelfth year of his father’s rule, meaning that he succeeded Hador at the age of one hundred and five. Given Barahir’s great age, it is not surprising that his rule, and that of his son Dior, were brief ones.

Barahir held the office of Steward during the waning years of the Watchful Peace. Both he and his son Dior, then, enjoyed rules free of troubles. Barahir’s grandson was Denethor, the son of his daughter Rían, who was a young noble of just twenty at the time Barahir became Steward.

It was Denethor who was destined to rule Gondor at the time that war erupted on its borders, more than sixty years after Barahir’s death.

Barahir ruled as Steward for seventeen years, and was succeeded by his son Dior.

* Baran

The elder son of Bëor the Old, who took up the leadership of the House of Bëor after his father’s departure to service in Nargothrond.

* Baranduin

‘The long gold-brown river’ in Eriador, flowing into the Sea south of the Blue Mountains; in the Shire called the Brandywine.

–—

The river called ‘Brandywine’ by the Shire-hobbits.

The Elvish name for the river that rose at Lake Nenuial in the far north, and flowed south and west to reach the Great Sea above Eryn Vorn.

For part of its length, it formed the eastern boundary of the Shire, and there the Hobbits turned its name to the more familiar ‘Brandywine’.

* Baraz

A Dwarvish name for one of the three Mountains of Moria, also called Caradhras or Redhorn. ‘Baraz’ seems to be an abbreviation of a fuller name, Barazinbar.

* Barazinbar

The Dwarvish name for the cruel red-sided mountain known to the Elves as Caradhras and to Men as the Redhorn.

* Bard I|Bard

The Bowman of Lake-town.

A descendant of Girion the Lord of Dale, Bard slew the dragon Smaug and refounded Dale under the Lonely Mountain.

* Bard II|Bard

The great-grandson of Bard the Bowman.

The son of Brand and heir to the Lordship of Dale. His father was slain in the Battle of Dale, and Bard was forced back to Erebor, where he was besieged with his ally Thorin III for seven days. When news came from the south of the destruction of Sauron, Bard and Thorin emerged from the Lonely Mountain and broke the siege.

* Barliman Butterbur|Barliman

A Man of Bree, the keeper of the Prancing Pony inn where Frodo Baggins met Aragorn for the first time.

* Barrow-downs|Barrow-down

Downs east of the Old Forest, on which were great burial-mounds said to have been built in the First Age by the forefathers of the Edain before they entered Beleriand. See Tyrn Gorthad.

–—

The haunted hills of Tyrn Gorthad.

The downs to the east of the Shire that held the ancient burial grounds of Men. During the time of the realm of Angmar, evil things came to dwell among the barrows, and some were still to be found there at the time of the War of the Ring.

* Barrow-wights|Barrow-wight

Evil spirits dwelling in the burial-mounds on the Barrow-downs.

–—

Evil spirits out of Angmar.

Evil spirits sent to dwell in the Barrow-downs by the Witch-king of Angmar during his wars with the remnant of Arnor, and who remained there long after the realm of Angmar itself had vanished from the world.

* Barrows|Barrow

The mounds of Tyrn Gorthad.

Earthworks and burial chambers made by Men in ancient days. In the Third Age, they lay within the bounds of Arnor, and later of Cardolan, and the Dúnedain used them to bury their dead. The Witch-king of Angmar, though, sent evil spirits to inhabit the Barrow-downs, and they became a place of horror.

* Bats|Bat

Flying creatures of the night, traditionally associated with the forces of Morgoth and of Sauron. They were most famous in Middle-earth for taking the part of the Goblins during the Battle of Five Armies.

* Battle of Azanulbizar

The revenge of the Dwarves against Azog.

The battle that ended the War of the Dwarves and Orcs, in which Náin and Azog were both lost along with many on either side, but the Dwarves won the day.

* Battle of Bywater

The last battle of the War of the Ring.

The confrontation that took place between the Shire-hobbits and Sharkey’s invading ruffians. Under the leadership of Peregrin Took, Meriadoc Brandybuck and Tolman Cotton, the Hobbits succeeded in trapping Sharkey’s Men between the high banks of the Bywater Road, and managed to defeat them.

* Battle of Dagorlad

The climactic battle of the Second Age.

The decisive battle of the War of the Last Alliance, in which the last great alliance of Elves and Men, led by Gil-galad and Elendil, faced the forces of Sauron. The Battle took place on a wide and dusty plain before the entrance to Mordor, and many who took part were lost in the marshes that bordered the battlefield on the west. There was great loss on either side, but Sauron was defeated and fled back to Barad-dûr. After the Battle was won came another seven long and bitter years of siege, but Sauron was finally defeated and the Second Age came to an end.

The Battle of Dagorlad was one of the greatest Middle-earth had ever seen. The original name of the field where it took place - if it had one

- is now forgotten: that region was known afterwards simply as Dagorlad,

‘Battle Plain’.

* Battle of Dale

Battle of the War of the Ring in which Sauron’s northern army defeated the Men of Dale and the Dwarves of Erebor.

–—

Sauron’s assault on Dale and Erebor.

A battle that took place during the War of the Ring, in Dale and Erebor.

Brand of Dale and Dáin Ironfoot were both lost in the battle, and their respective forces besieged in the Lonely Mountain. The sons of these two lords, Bard II and Thorin III, were eventually able to break the siege and defeat the forces of Sauron.

* Battle of Five Armies

The great battle before the gates of Erebor.

Since the ending of the War of the Dwarves and Orcs, and the Dwarves’

ultimate victory at the Battle of Nanduhirion, the Orcs had nursed a hatred of that race. In the year III 2941, the year of Bilbo Baggin’s journey to the Lonely Mountain, those events lay more than one hundred and forty years in the past. Travelling through the Misty Mountains, Bilbo, Thorin and their companions were captured by a colony of the Orcs that infested those regions. With Gandalf’s help they escaped, but not before killing several of their captors, including their leader the Great Goblin.

The loss of the Great Goblin at the hands of a band of Dwarves inflamed the bitter memories of the Orcs’ War with the Dwarves. Under the command of Bolg, whose own father Azog had been killed at Nanduhirion, all the armies of the Orcs of the Misty Mountains, and their allies the wolves and bats, began to gather and plan their revenge.

Oblivious to these events, Bilbo and the Dwarves continued their journey eastward. They achieved their quest to recover Erebor, but in doing so they earned the anger of Thranduil, and indirectly caused the destruction of Lake-town. Thranduil’s Wood-elves joined with the Lake-men, and they marched north to claim a share of Smaug’s treasure in recompense. In response, Thorin called on his cousin Dáin, who set out with his own army from the Iron Hills.

So the scene was set for a confrontation between the Wood-elves and Lake-men on the one side, and the Dwarves of Thorin and Dáin on the other. Already the first arrows had been shot when a dark cloud was seen coming out of the north - the bats that heralded the orc-armies of Bolg.

The Elves, Men and Dwarves quickly forgot their differences in the face of this new threat, and battle was joined on the slopes of Erebor and the valley beneath. The battle was ferocious, and as it raged, it was joined by others - Eagles out of the Misty Mountains, and even Beorn himself in the shape of a monstrous bear.

By nightfall the Orcs were defeated, but not without great loss. Thorin himself was slain, making a bold attack against the bodyguard of Bolg, and with him fell his young nephews Fíli and Kíli. Bolg was dead, too, crushed by Beorn, and the goblins of the northern mountains were scattered or destroyed.

* Battle of Fornost

The climactic battle amid the ruins of the North-kingdom.

In the year III 1974, the kingdom of Arthedain was destroyed, and with it the last realm of the Northern Dúnedain. The armies of Angmar and its allies overran the northern lands, capturing the capital of the Dúnedain at Fornost, and King Arvedui fled into the icy north. It seemed at that time that the Witch-king’s victory was complete.

In the following year, though, the tide turned, though too late to save the remnant of the North-kingdom. The ships of a great fleet sailed into the harbours at Mithlond, carrying a force of Gondorian warriors sent north under the command of the great general Eärnur. To that army joined the Elves of Lindon and the remnant of the Dúnedain, and they marched east to avenge the loss of Arthedain.

They met the Witch-king’s armies not at Fornost itself, but on the plains westward towards Lake Evendim. Aided by Eärnur’s military skill, and a force sent out of Rivendell led by Glorfindel, the armies of the Dúnedain and Elves had utter victory, and Angmar’s armies were swept away. The Witch-king himself fled into the dark of the falling night, and Glorfindel famously prophesied that he would not fall by the hand of man, as later proved true in the War of the Ring.

The Battle of Fornost shaped the future history of Middle-earth in many important ways. Its most significant effect could hardly have been guessed at the time: it robbed Gondor of its Kings. When the Witch-king fled south, and came at last to Mordor, he did not forget his defeat at the hands of Eärnur. Many years later, Eärnur became the King of Gondor, and the Witch-king challenged him to single combat. He refused, but seven years later the challenge was made again, and this time Eärnur accepted.

Riding to Minas Morgul, he was taken by the Nazgûl and never heard of again. He was the last King to rule the South-kingdom until after the War of the Ring nearly a thousand years later.

* Battle of Greenfields

Bandobras Took’s defeat of invading Orcs.

A battle fought in the Shire’s Northfarthing in the year III 2747, the only battle to be fought within the borders of the Shire before the War of the Ring. An invading band of Orcs from Mount Gram were led into the Shire by their chief Golfimbul; they were defeated, and Golfimbul was slain, by Bandobras Took, otherwise known as ‘Bullroarer’.

* Battle of Nanduhirion

The end of the War of the Dwarves and Orcs.

The climactic battle in the War of the Dwarves and Orcs, also called the Battle of Azanulbizar and the Battle of the Mines of Moria, that took place below of the East-gate of Moria in the winter of III 2799.

Nine years before the battle, the Dwarf-king Thrór had been murdered by Azog the goblin in Moria. That event triggered a furious backlash from the Dwarves, who assembled their armies and, in their quest for revenge against Azog, began the systematic destruction of the Orcs of the Misty Mountains. Eventually, the armies of the Dwarves came up against the last stronghold of the Orcs, and hiding place of Azog, old Moria itself.

The battle was fought in the valley of Nanduhirion beneath Moria’s gates. The Orcs were more numerous, and held the higher ground at the head of the valley. The Dwarves under Thráin II, though, were better equipped, and were rallied late in the battle by the arrival of reinforcements, commanded by Thráin’s cousin Náin. There was great loss on both sides, but eventually the Dwarves had the victory; Dáin Ironfoot

- just thirty-two years old at the time - slew Azog on the steps of Moria.

* Battle of Sudden Flame

A name for the Dagor Bragollach, and its literal translation.

* Battle of the Camp

The victory of Eärnil II of Gondor over the Wainriders in Ithilien in Third Age 1944.

–—

The final desctruction of the Wainriders.

At the end of the second millennium of the Third Age, the realm of Gondor came close to its destruction. The Wainrider people from the east made an alliance with the Haradrim, and a dual attack on Ithilien was launched. While the Wainriders assaulted Ithilien from the north, the armies of the Haradrim crossed the Poros and invaded South Ithilien.

The northern assault of the Wainriders was met by the King of Gondor himself, Ondoher, with his two sons Artamir and Faramir. The Easterlings swept through Gondor’s defence, cutting down the King and his heirs and routing his army. Their victory complete, and Gondor defenceless before them, the Wainriders paused in North Ithilien to celebrate their conquest.

Unknown to the victorious Wainriders, their allies in the south had met with much less success. Beyond hope, the Gondorian Captain Eärnil had led Gondor’s Southern Army to victory over the Haradrim, destroying their army in South Ithilien, to the north of the Poros. Then Eärnil turned north.

The feasting Wainriders suddenly found their success reversed, as Eärnil appeared with his Southern Army, reinforced by fleeing members of Ondoher’s defeated northern troops. Eärnil’s army descended on the unprepared Wainriders, driving many of them into the swamplands of the Dead Marshes. That eastern people, for so long a dreaded enemy of Gondor, never challenged her again, and the battle where Eärnil won his success was named after the Wainrider camp where it had taken place: the Battle of the Camp.

* Battle of the Gwathló

The rout of Sauron by the Númenóreans in Second Age 1700.

* Battle of the Field of Celebrant

The victory of Cirion and Eorl over the Balchoth in Third Age 2510.

* Battle of the Hornburg

The battle between Rohan and Isengard beneath Helm’s Deep.

Saruman’s mighty assault on the forces of Rohan in Helm’s Deep. The Rohirrim had the victory, in large part due to the intervention of the Huorns of Fangorn.

* Battle of the Peak

Gandalf’s battle on the peak of the Silvertine.

Gandalf’s name for his climactic battle with the Balrog known as Durin’s Bane, on the peak of the mountain called Celebdil.

* Battle of the Pelennor Fields|Battle of the Pelennor The Siege and Defence of Minas Tirith.

The assault by Sauron on Minas Tirith late in the War of the Ring, led by the Lord of the Nazgûl. With the aid of the Rohirrim and the Dúnedain of the North, guided by Gandalf, the armies of Gondor held the citadel and defeated Sauron’s forces.

* Battle of the Plains

The defeat of Narmacil II of Gondor by the Wainriders in the lands south of Mirkwood in Third Age 1856.

–—

Gondor’s disastrous first battle with the Wainriders.

A battle fought in III 1856, in which the armies of Gondor and their allies the Northmen faced the invading Wainriders. The battle was a disaster for Gondor; King Narmacil II was lost, as was Marhari the lord of the Northmen. After the battle, all of Gondor’s eastern possessions fell under control of the Wainriders, who remained a constant threat for nearly another century.

* Battle of the Powers

The ruin of Utumno and capture of Melkor.

The great battle between the Valar and Melkor that took place soon after the awakening of the Elves. Melkor’s ancient stronghold of Utumno was laid in ruins, and he himself was taken as prisoner to Valinor.

* Battle of Tumhalad

The last battle of the warriors of Nargothrond.

The final desperate defence of Nargothrond against the forces of Morgoth led by Glaurung. The Elves were defeated and their lord Orodreth slain, but Túrin Turambar survived the battle, only to witness the Sack of Nargothrond.

* Battle of Unnumbered Tears

A name given to the Nirnaeth Arnoediad, the last of the great battles between the Eldar and Morgoth. More commonly known simply as Unnumbered Tears, the translation of Nirnaeth Arnoediad.

* Battle Plain

The plain before the Gates of Mordor.

The dusty plain that lay to the northwest of Mordor, immediately below the Black Gate of the Morannon. This was the site of several important battles in Gondor’s history, most notably the defeat of Sauron’s forces in the famous Battle of Dagorlad in II 3434.

* Battles of Beleriand

See First Battle, Second Battle, Third Battle, Fourth Battle, Fifth Battle.

* Battles of the Fords of Isen

The defence of western Rohan.

Two battles fought days apart during the War of the Ring, between the Rohirrim and the forces of Saruman out of Isengard.

* Bauglir

‘The Constrainer’; a title given to Melkor after his return to Angband at the beginning of the First Age.

* Bay of Andúnië|Bay of Andunie|Andúnië|Andunie Northernmost of the three bays of the Andustar.

The northernmost of the three bays that ran along the western coasts of the Andustar in Númenor. The greatest of the three, its shores were no more than a narrow shelf of land from which steep cliffs rose up. Beneath these cliffs at its eastern end was the famous haven of Andúnië. There are suggestions that there may have been a second haven on this bay, too, named Almaida.

* Bay of Balar|Balar

The great bay in the southern shores of Beleriand into which the river Sirion flowed. Destroyed in the War of Wrath at the end of the First Age.

–—

The bay at the Mouths of Sirion.

The great ocean inlet to the south of Beleriand, in which lay the Isle of Balar, and into which the River Sirion flowed.

The Bay was formed in the cataclysms that accompanied the Battle of the Powers, long before the First Age, and was said to have been the greatest bay of the sea on the shores of Middle-earth. On its northern coasts lay Arvernien and the Mouths of Sirion, where the Exiles of Gondolin dwelt in the last years of the First Age, and from where Eärendil set out on his voyage to the Undying Lands. Its eastern coastlands were dominated by the great unpeopled forests of Taur-im-Duinath.

Far out in the Bay lay the Isle of Balar, where Círdan the Shipwright dwelt with his people after the loss of the Havens of the Falas. There was great friendship between Círdan and the Exiles at the Mouths of Sirion, and in the late First Age, the Bay must have seen much traffic between the Isle and the Mouths.

Just as it had been created out the tumults of a war of the Powers, the Bay was destroyed, with the rest of Beleriand, in the War of Wrath between the Valar and Morgoth at the end of the First Age.

* Bay of Belfalas|Belfalas

A bay of the Great Sea lying to the south of Gondor, within whose waters stood the island of Tolfalas; the River Anduin flowed into the Bay.

* Bay of Eldamar|Eldamar

The great Bay in the eastern shores of Aman, where was ‘rooted’ the isle of Tol Eressëa.

* Bay of Eldanna|Eldanna

Great bay in the west of Númenor, so called ‘because it faced towards Eressëa’.

–—

The great western bight of Númenor.

The wide bay in the western part of Númenor, between the promontories of Andustar to the north and Hyarnustar to the south. It was fed by the River Nunduinë, and its mouth was more than a hundred miles across, making it by far the largest bay in the shores of Númenor.

From Númenor’s earliest days, the bay was associated with the Eldar of Tol Eressëa, who dwelt west of Númenor in the Undying Lands. The port of Eldalondë - ‘Elf Haven’ - stood at the mouth of Nunduinë where it emptied into the bay, and the name Eldanna itself means ‘towards the Eldar’.

* Beacons of Gondor

The warning-fires of Minas Tirith.

The chain of seven beacon-hills running between Minas Tirith and Rohan.

From east to west, they were Amon Dîn, Eilenach, Nardol, Erelas, Min-Rimmon, Calenhad and finally, on the borders of the Eastfold, the Halifirien.

* Bears|Bear

Large and ferocious animals; the most famous were those under the command of Beorn the skin-changer in the Vales of Anduin.

* Beater

The name used by the Orcs for Glamdring, the sword of Turgon that was later carried by Gandalf.

* Beechbone

An Ent lost in the Circle of Isengard.

The name, at least according to Peregrin Took, of a notably tall and handsome Ent. He was caught in a burning spray sent up by Saruman from beneath the Circle of Isengard, but his fiery end brought his fellow Ents to the peak of their destructive anger.

* Beeches|Beech

Broad and tall trees that grew throughout Middle-earth, and especially in its northern regions. The most famous beech-forest of all was Neldoreth in Doriath. Hírilorn, the three-trunked tree in which Lúthien was imprisoned, was perhaps the greatest beech that had ever grown.

* Bees|Bee

Buzzing domestic insects kept for their ability to make honey.

Particularly famous were those of Beorn, which reached an enormous size.

* Belba Baggins|Belba

One of Bilbo’s two aunts (the other being Linda Baggins); she married Rudigar Bolger.

* Belecthor I|Belecthor

The fifteenth Ruling Steward of Gondor.

The son of Húrin II, who succeeded his father to become Gondor’s fifteenth Ruling Steward. His twenty-seven year rule was free of incident, or at least no annals of his time have come down to us. He was succeeded in turn by his son Orodreth.

* Belecthor II|Belecthor

The twenty-first Ruling Steward of Gondor.

The son of Steward Beregond, who succeeded his father to rule Gondor during the twenty-ninth century of the Third Age. He is noted as the last of the line of Stewards to live past his one hundredth year. Nonetheless, he is most remembered in history because of his death, which also saw the death of the White Tree in the courts of Minas Tirith. Belecthor was succeeded by his son Thorondir, who left the Dead Tree standing in place.

* Beleg (King of Arthedain)|Beleg

The second King of Arthedain, who inherited the throne from his father Amlaith of Fornost, the founder of that Kingdom. His name means ‘great’

or ‘large’, which may be a reference to his stature (although he may simply be named for the famous Elf of the First Age who shared this name, Beleg Strongbow).

Beleg’s reign saw two events that would have a huge impact on Middle-earth’s history, but whose importance wasn’t fully recognized at the time. The first of these was the arrival across the Misty Mountains of a strange race of beings: similar to Men, but far shorter and with hairy, bootless feet. The Dúnedain called them periannath, ‘halflings’, and they were the first Hobbits to enter the western lands.

The second historic event was the descent of a strange shadow on Greenwood the Great. This was wholly mysterious at first, but before the end of Beleg’s reign, the Wise had discovered that its source was at Dol Guldur in the southern part of the Forest, whose name came to be changed to Mirkwood in these times. It was not discovered until long after Beleg’s time that his reign had seen the return of Sauron himself, the first move in a game that would end in the War of the Ring nearly two thousand years in the future.

Beleg ruled Arthedain for eighty-one years, and was succeeded by his son Mallor.

* Beleg Strongbow|Beleg

A great archer and chief of the marchwardens of Doriath; called Cúthalion

‘Strongbow’; friend and companion of Túrin, by whom he was slain.

–—

Marchwarden of Doriath.

An Elf of Doriath, friend to Túrin Turambar, who was slain by him in error while escaping from Orcs in Taur-nu-Fuin.

* Belegaer|Great Water

‘The Great Sea’ of the West, between Middle-earth and Aman. Named Belegaer; but very frequently called the (Great) Sea, also the Western Sea and the Great Water.

–—

‘The Great Sea’; the mighty ocean that lay between Middle-earth in the east and Aman in the west, in the midst of which the island kingdom of Númenor lay during the Second Age.

* Belegorn

The fourth Steward to rule Gondor, Belegorn was the heir of Steward Herion, and was in turn succeeded by his son Húrin I. He ruled for fifty-six years in the early third millennium of the Third Age, during the time known as the Watchful Peace.

* Belegost

‘Great Fortress’, one of the two cities of the Dwarves in the Blue Mountains; translation into Sindarin of Dwarvish Gabilgathol. See Mickleburg.

–—

A citadel of the Dwarves in the Blue Mountains.

An Elvish name (meaning simply ‘Great Fortress’) for the Dwarf-citadel that lay near Mount Dolmed in the Blue Mountains, called Gabilgathol by the Dwarves themselves.

* Belegund

Father of Rían the wife of Huor; nephew of Barahir and one of his twelve companions on Dorthonion.

–—

Outlaw ancestor of Eärendil the Mariner.

Father to Rían and so great-grandfather of Eärendil the Mariner; he lived with the outlaw band of Barahir in Dorthonion, and was slain there by the creatures of Morgoth.

* Beleriand

The name was said to have signified ‘the country of Balar’, and to have been given at first to the lands about the mouths of Sirion that faced the Isle of Balar. Later the name spread to include all the ancient coast of the Northwest of Middle-earth south of the Firth of Drengist, and all the inner lands south of Hithlum and eastwards to the feet of the Blue Mountains, divided by the river Sirion into East and West Beleriand.

Beleriand was broken in the turmoils at the end of the First Age, and invaded by the sea, so that only Ossiriand (Lindon) remained.

–—

The Country of Balar.

Subcontinent in the northwest of Middle-earth, bounded to the north and east by mountain chains, and to the south and west by the Great Sea, Beleriand and the lands to the north were the setting for much of the Silmarillion. Originally, the name ‘Beleriand’ applied only to the country around the Bay of Balar, but as time passed the name came to be given to the entire land. In the final battle that saw the ultimate defeat of Morgoth, Beleriand was broken and destroyed - only parts of Ossiriand in the east remained, to be renamed Lindon in later ages.

* Belfalas

Region on the southern coast of Gondor looking on to the great bay of the same name.

–—

A shoreland fief of Gondor.

A promontory and fief of southern Gondor, lying between the mouths of the Rivers Morthond and Gilrain. Its chief city lay at Dol Amroth on its western coasts.

* Bell Goodchild

The wife of Hamfast Gamgee and mother of Samwise of the Company of the Ring.

* Belladonna Took

The mother of Bilbo Baggins, one of the twelve children of Thain Gerontius, better known as the Old Took.

* Belthil

‘Divine radiance’, the image of Telperion made by Turgon in Gondolin.

–—

The silver tree of Turgon’s courts.

The silver-flowered tree made by Turgon of Gondolin in memory of Telperion, one of the Two Trees of Valinor. Its mate was Glingal.

* Belthronding

The bow of Beleg Strongbow, which was buried with him.

* Béma|Bema

The name for Oromë among the Northmen.

The name used by the Northmen for the Vala the Elves called Oromë. As the great huntsman and horseman of the Valar, he and his steed Nahar were known to the horse-loving people of Rohan, who claimed that their great horses the mearas had ancestors brought out of the West by Béma himself.

* Bent World

The World after the making of the Straight Road.

A name describing the condition of the world after the destruction of Númenor and the removal of Valinor in the late Second Age; after this, the world was made ‘bent’ (or ‘round’) and only the Elves could still follow the Straight Road to the Undying Lands.

* Bëor the Old|Bëor|Beor

Leader of the first Men to cross the Blue Mountains into Beleriand in the First Age; vassal of Finrod Felagund; and through his son Baran founded one of the Three Houses of the Edain: the House of Bëor (called also the Eldest House of Men and the First House of the Edain); see Balan.

* Beorn

The skin-changer who dwelt in the Vales of Anduin near the western eaves of Mirkwood, who could take the form of a Man or a huge black bear. He played a great part in the victory over the Goblins at the Battle of Five Armies.

* Beornings

The descendants of Beorn, who dwelt in the Vales of Anduin between Mirkwood and the Great River, and who for many generations retained their ancestor’s ability to take the shape of a bear.

* Bereg

Grandson of Baran son of Bëor the Old; a leader of dissension among the Men of Estolad; went back over the mountains into Eriador.

–—

Leader of the rebels of the House of Bëor.

A great-grandson of Bëor the Old, who led the unrest of Men at their camps at Estolad. He led a thousand Men of the House of Bëor away southwards out of Beleriand.

* Beregar

Man from the Westlands of Númenor, descended from the House of Bëor; father of Erendis.

–—

The father of Erendis.

A nobleman of Númenor, descended from the House of Bëor, whose house was in the region of Númenor known as the Westlands. His daughter was Erendis, who became Queen to Tar-Aldarion. They had a daughter of their own, and so Beregar became the grandfather of the first Ruling Queen of Númenor, Tar-Ancalimë.

* Beregond (Soldier of Gondor)|Beregond

A soldier of Minas Tirith in Gondor, who befriended Peregrin Took during his time there, and was later appointed to the Guard of Faramir in Emyn Arnen.

* Beregond (Steward of Gondor)|Beregond

The twentieth Ruling Steward of Gondor, the son of Steward Beren who installed Saruman in Orthanc.

* Beren Erchamion|Beren

Son of Barahir; cut a Silmaril from Morgoth’s crown to be the bride-price of Lúthien Thingol’s daughter, and was slain by Carcharoth the wolf of Angband; but returning from the dead, alone of mortal Men, lived afterwards with Lúthien on Tol Galen in Ossiriand, and fought with the Dwarves at Sarn Athrad. Great-grandfather of Elrond and Elros and ancestor of the Númenórean Kings. Called also Camlost, Erchamion, and One-hand.

–—

The one-handed hero of the Quest of the Silmaril.

The great hero of the First Age who, with the aid of Lúthien Tinúviel and Finrod Felagund, succeeded in gaining a Silmaril from the Iron Crown of Morgoth.

* Beren (Steward of Gondor)|Beren

The nineteenth Ruling Steward of Gondor, the son of Egalmoth, named for Beren Erchamion. Beren was the Steward who granted Saruman the keys of Orthanc.

* Bereth

Sister of Baragund and Belegund and ancestress of Erendis.

* Bergil

The son of Beregond of Gondor. A boy at the time of the War of the Ring, he accompanied Pippin Took when he first arrived in the city of Minas Tirith.

* Bert

With Tom and Bill, one of the three Trolls that captured Bilbo and the Dwarves during their eastward journey.

* Berúthiel

Queen of Tarannon Falastur, twelfth King of Gondor.

–—

The Queen with the magical cats.

The dark and mournful Queen to Tarannon Falastur, the twelfth King of Gondor. She owned ten marvellous and magical cats, that she set to spy on the doings of the people of Gondor. Her scheming was her undoing, though, since her husband set her adrift on the Great Sea, with only her cats for company. She sailed into the far south and was never heard of again, but she and her mysterious cats lived on in legend for millennia.

* Berylla Boffin

The wife of Balbo Baggins, the patriarch of the Baggins family of Hobbiton.

* Bifur

A descendant of the Dwarves of Moria, one of the companions of Bilbo Baggins and Thorin II Oakenshield on the Quest of Erebor.

* Big Folk

A name for the race of Men, given them by the Hobbits, who they in turn called the Little Folk. The term was especially used in Bree, where the two races lived side by side.

* Big People

A name used by Hobbits to refer to Men. The term was used occasionally in the Shire, but was in most common use in Bree, were the two races mixed freely with each other.

* Bilbo Baggins|Bilbo

The Ring-finder.

Head of the Baggins family, he dwelt alone at Bag End, Hobbiton, until Gandalf involved him in the Quest of Erebor in III 2941, and so drew the Hobbits into the great affairs of the end of the Third Age. During his journey to the Lonely Mountain, Bilbo came upon the One Ring in an orc-hold of the Misty Mountains.

Bilbo’s records of his travels, and those of his heir Frodo, were compiled into the Red Book of Westmarch, and became the basis of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.

–—

Life in the Shire, III 2890 - III 2941: The only son of the wealthy and respectable Bungo Baggins and Belladonna Took, Bilbo grew up at Bag End, which his father had excavated in Hobbiton Hill. He seems to have visited his mother’s family at Great Smials, for he remembered Gandalf’s firework displays there.

Bilbo’s father Bungo died in 2926, and his mother Belladonna in 2934, after which Bilbo lived alone at Bag End for seven years until a fateful morning in the spring of 2941, when his pleasant, uneventful life was disturbed by the arrival of Gandalf.

–—

Bilbo and the Quest of Erebor, III 2941: More than a hundred and fifty years before Gandalf disturbed Bilbo in his garden that spring morning, the dragon Smaug had descended in flame on Erebor, the Lonely Mountain, an ancient kingdom of the Dwarves far to the east of the Shire. Those Dwarves that survived scattered throughout the northern lands, and many, led by Thorin, the rightful heir to the kingdom, travelled into the west and settled in the Blue Mountains near the borders of the Shire. Now, with Gandalf’s aid, Thorin had begun to plot his revenge on Smaug.

Gandalf convinced Thorin that a Hobbit should accompany his party, both because of the Hobbits’ natural stealth, and because he wanted to involve them in the wider world, as a preparation against the coming darkness. He chose Bilbo largely because of his Took inheritance, but he later suggested that Bilbo might in some sense have been ‘fated’ to go on the Quest.

So it was that on an evening at the end of April 2941, Gandalf returned to Bilbo’s house with Thorin and his twelve companions, and the Quest of Erebor was begun.

* Bilbo Gardner

A son of Samwise Gamgee and Rose Cotton; named for Bilbo Baggins.

* Bill

Sam Gamgee’s pony, named for its original owner Bill Ferny, that travelled with the Company of the Ring through the leagues of Eriador to the West-gate of Moria.

* Bill Ferny

A Man of Bree, a minor agent of Saruman in the north during the War of the Ring.

* Bingo Baggins|Bingo

An uncle of Bilbo Baggins, he married Chica Chubb and so founded the Chubb-Baggins family.

* Birches|Birch

Silver-barked trees.

Smooth-barked forest trees; the Elvish name for this tree, brethil, gave its name to the Forest of Brethil.

* Bird-tamer

A mocking title given to Radagast by Saruman, and in fact close to the meaning of his original name, Aiwendil.

* Birthday Party

Bilbo’s farewell to the Shire.

The great celebration held at Hobbiton on 22 September III 3001, in honour of Frodo’s 33rd birthday and, especially, Bilbo’s 111th. It was after this party that Bilbo departed the Shire, and passed the Ring to Frodo his heir.

* Biter

A name for Thorin’s sword Orcrist.

A name among the Orcs for the great sword Orcrist, borne by Thorin during the Quest of Erebor.

The name ‘biter’ though was much older than Thorin’s time, and dated back to the days of the First Age, when it was used by the Gondolindrim in the Wars of Beleriand.

* Black Captain

A title taken by the Lord of the Nazgûl, used especially of his position as general of the armies of Sauron during the War of the Ring.

* Black Chasm

A name for Khazad-dûm after the coming of Durin’s Bane and the exile of the Dwarves; a literal translation of the name ‘Moria’.

* Black Gate

The Morannon, the mighty fortified gateway built by Sauron across the Isenmouthe, the entrance to his Black Land of Mordor.

* Black Hand

A term used by Gollum to describe Sauron’s literal hand, but also used figuratively of his immense power.

* Black Land

A name for Mordor, of which it is a literal translation.

* Black Númenóreans|Black Numenoreans|Black Númenórean|Black Numenorean A people of Númenórean origin, who returned to Middle-earth in the Second Age to follow Sauron. They survived to the end of the Third Age, during which they were often at war with Gondor.

* Black Pit

A rare name for Moria, an alternative translation for the more usual

‘Black Chasm’.

* Black Riders

One of the forms taken by the Nazgûl when they went abroad in Middle-earth; black cowled figures riding coal-black horses.

* Black Serpent

A symbol of the Haradrim.

A standard of the Haradrim, and especially the token of a mighty warrior and leader of Men who fought at the Battle of the Pelennor, and was slain by King Théoden of Rohan.

* Black Shadow

An evil blight inflicted by the Nazgûl, causing their victims to slip into a dark sleep and never recover.

* Black Speech

The tongue of the servants of Sauron.

–—

“Ash nazg durbatulûk, ash nazg gimbatul ash nazg thrakatulûk, agh burzum-ishi krimpatul”

(The Ring inscription, in its original ancient Black Speech; from The Fellowship of the Ring II 2, The Council of Elrond)

–—

The artificial language devised by Sauron for the use of his minions in place of the Common Speech.

* Black Sword|Blacksword

A title given to Túrin Turambar during his time as captain of Nargothrond, and sometimes later used when he dwelt in the Forest of Brethil. See Mormegil.

* Blanco

One of the founders of the Shire.

With his brother Marcho, one of the two Bree-hobbits who founded the Shire in the mid-Third Age.

* Blessed Realm

A name given to the Undying Lands of Aman, where the Valar, Maiar and Eldar dwell.

* Bloodstained

Túrin’s alias Agarwaen.

The meaning of the name Agarwaen, the name taken by Túrin when he went with Gwindor to live among the Elves of Nargothrond.

* Blotmath

The eleventh month of the Shire Calendar, approximately equivalent to modern November (in fact running from 22 October to 20 November on a modern calendar).

* Blue Mountains

The northwestern mountain-chain of Middle-earth.

The Ered Luin, the mountain chain that formed the eastern border of the lands of Beleriand during the First Age, and in which were the Dwarf-cities of Nogrod and Belegost. After the loss of Beleriand at the end of the First Age, the mountains remained, but they were now in the far west of Middle-earth.

See Ered Luin and Ered Lindon.

* Blue Wizards

The two Wizards, Alatar and Pallando, who did not remain in the west of Middle-earth, but journeyed into its far eastern regions. See Ithryn Luin.

* Boar of Everholt

The bane of King Folca of Rohan.

A monstrous beast that inhabited Everholt in the Firien Wood, around the feet of the Halifirien in the White Mountains. The great hunter Folca of Rohan, having rid his country of the Orcs, set out to hunt down the boar.

He succeeded, but received mortal tusk-wounds that brought his Kingship to an end.

* Boars|Boar

Aggressive tusked beasts common to woodland regions. The most famous of all the boars of Middle-earth was the great Boar of Everholt, that lived beneath the trees of the Firien Wood. This boar was hunted by King Folca of Rohan, and though he eventually killed his quarry, the King was mortally wounded in the encounter.

* Bob

A hand at the Prancing Pony.

One of the servants of Barliman Butterbur at the inn of the Prancing Pony in Bree. He was apparently its stablehand; at least, every time he is mentioned in The Lord of the Rings, his duties seem to involve stabling of horses and ponies.

* Boffin Family|Boffin

An important family of the Shire.

A prominent family of the Shire, associated with the region of the Yale in the Eastfarthing. Important members include Berylla Boffin, who was an ancestor of both Bilbo and Frodo Baggins, and Folco Boffin, who helped Frodo in his move from Bag End.

* Bofur

A descendant of the Dwarves of Moria, one of the companions of Bilbo Baggins and Thorin II Oakenshield on the Quest of Erebor.

* Bolg

The son of Azog, who succeeded his father as leader of the northern Orcs.

He led one of the five armies that fought in the famous Battle of that name, and was slain there by Beorn.

* Bolger Family|Bolger

An important family of the Shire.

A Hobbit family of Fallohidish origin, associated with the village of Budgeford, on the Water in the Eastfarthing of the Shire. In common with the Brandybucks and the Tooks, the Bolgers had a penchant for heroic names, and so as well as Fredegar (the most important Bolger in Tolkien’s work), we find such noble names as Fastolph, Gundabald and Odovacar.

* Bombur

A descendant of the Dwarves of Moria, famed for his girth, who accompanied Thorin II Oakenshield and Bilbo Baggins on the Quest of Erebor.

* Bonfire Glade

A burnt glade in the Old Forest.

A reminder of the stange ‘war’ that took place between the malevolent trees of the Old Forest and the Hobbits of Buckland, long years before the War of the Ring. The trees attacked the Hedge that protected the Bucklanders, and in retaliation, the Hobbits invaded the forest and burnt hundreds of trees in a huge bonfire. The Bonfire Glade was the place of that great burning, and even after many years, the trees left it an open and empty place.

* Book of the Kings

One of the chronicles of Gondor.

* Bór|Bor

A chieftain of the Easterlings, follower with his three sons of Maedhros and Maglor.

–—

The faithful Easterling.

A chieftain of Men from the east of Middle-earth, who entered Beleriand late in the First Age. He secretly allied himself with Morgoth, and then entered the service of Maedhros and Maglor holding the northeastern passes. He renounced his alliance with the Dark Lord, though, and served the Sons of Fëanor faithfully.

* Borgil

A bright red star in the constellation of Menelvagor (Orion), that corresponds to the star we call Betelgeuse.

* Borin

The younger brother of King Dáin I.

A Dwarf of Durin’s Line, the second son of King Náin II. He was the ancestor of both Balin and Gimli Elf-friend of the Company of the Ring.

* Borlach

One of the three sons of Bor; slain with his brothers in the Nirnaeth Arnoediad.

–—

One of the sons of Bór, who entered the service of Maedhros and Maglor, the eldest Sons of Fëanor. He fought in the Nirnaeth Arnoediad, and was faithful to the Noldor, taking a part in the slaying of Ulfang’s sons before he was himself slain.

* Borlad

One of the three sons of Bor; see Borlach.

–—

One of the sons of Bór, and apparently the eldest, who entered Beleriand late in the First Age. He fought in the Nirnaeth Arnoediad, and was faithful to the Noldor, taking a part in the slaying of Ulfang’s sons before he was himself slain.

* Boromir (Steward of Gondor)|Boromir

The eleventh Ruling Steward of Gondor, son of Denethor I.

Like the Boromir of The Lord of the Rings, the ancient Boromir was also a powerful warrior. It was while his father ruled Gondor that the race of the Uruk-hai first appeared, and Osgiliath was attacked and invaded.

Boromir went to war and drove the enemy back from Ithilien for a while, but he sustained poisoned wounds in that war.

Boromir’s Morgul-wounds wracked him with pain and shortened his life. He lived only seventy-nine years, a fraction of the usual lifespan for one of his line. When he succeeded his father, his Stewardship was to last no more than twelve years, but it paved the way for the historic rule of his famous and illustrious son Cirion.

* Boromir of Gondor|Boromir

Eldest son of Steward Denethor II of Gondor and brother to Faramir, who set out from Rivendell with Company of the Ring. He was slain by Orcs in the woods at the foot of Amon Hen.

* Boromir of Ladros|Boromir

Great-grandson of Bëor the Old, grandfather of Barahir father of Beren; first lord of Ladros.

–—

The descendant of Bëor the Old and leader of the House of Bëor, who became the lord of Ladros in Dorthonion.

* Boron

Father of Boromir of Ladros.

* Borondir|Udalraph

Called Udalraph ‘the Stirrupless’; rider of Minas Tirith who brought the message of Cirion to Eorl asking for his aid.

–—

The Rider of the Last Hope.

One of six riders sent north from Gondor by Steward Cirion to seek the aid of the Northmen in war. Borondir was the only one to survive the journey and present the Seal of the Stewards to Eorl.

* Borthand

One of the three sons of Bor; see Borlach.

–—

One of the sons of Bór, and apparently the youngest, who entered Beleriand late in the First Age. He fought in the Nirnaeth Arnoediad, and was faithful to the Noldor, taking a part in the slaying of Ulfang’s sons before he was himself slain.

* Bracegirdles|Bracegirdle

An important hobbit-family of the Shire.

An important and populous family of Shire-hobbits, associated with the town or village of Hardbottle. The most famous of them was Lobelia Bracegirdle, who married Otho Sackville-Baggins.

* Brand

Third King of Dale, grandson of Bard the Bowman; slain in the battle of Dale.

–—

Lord of Dale, the grandson of Bard the slayer of Smaug, who fell at the side of Dáin Ironfoot in the War of the Ring, and who was avenged by his son Bard II.

* Brandir

Called ‘the Lame’ or ‘Club-foot’; ruler of the People of Haleth in Brethil after the death of Handir his father; enamoured of Nienor; slain by Túrin.

–—

The last of the line of Haldad.

The son of Handir, the last of Lord of the Haladin of Brethil; slain by Túrin Turambar after the death of Glaurung.

* Brandy Hall

The ancestral home of the Brandybuck family, a deeply-delved smial in Buck Hill, in the central regions of Buckland on the banks of the River Brandywine.

* Brandybuck Family|Brandybuck

An old family of the Shire found mostly in Buckland, and descended from the Oldbucks, and ultimately from Bucca of the Marish, the first Thain of the Shire. The family was founded by Gorhendad Oldbuck who, claiming the Eastmarch of the Shire (Buckland), changed his family name to Brandybuck.

Probably the most famous member of the family was Meriadoc Brandybuck, who was part of the Company of the Ring.

* Brandywine

The eastern border-river of the Shire.

The name given by Hobbits to the river the Elves called Baranduin; its source was at Lake Nenuial in the north, and it flowed southwestwards to reach the Great Sea near Eryn Vorn. For part of its length it formed the eastern border of the Shire.

* Brandywine Bridge

The point where the East Road crossed the Brandywine.

The bridge on the East Road crossing the River Brandywine; it marked the eastern border of the Shire. Originally called the Bridge of Stonebows.

* Bree

The principal village of the Bree-land at the crossing of the Númenórean roads in Eriador.

–—

An ancient colony in Eriador shared by Hobbits and Men. Far older than the Shire, it was from Bree that the two Fallohides, Marcho and Blanco, set out to found that land.

* Bree-folk

The Men and Hobbits who inhabited the village of Bree and its surrounding lands.

* Bree-hill

The most prominent point in the Bree-land, on the slopes of which stood the villages of Bree itself (to the west) and Staddle (to the east).

* Bree-hobbits

The Hobbits native to Bree and the lands around; their interaction with Men (who also lived in the Bree-land), made them more open to the outside world than their parochial cousins in the Shire.

Bree itself was a very ancient township of Men. The first Hobbits came there from the east in about the year 1300 of the Third Age, making Bree the only place in the world where Hobbits and Men lived together side by side. Most of the Hobbits of the Bree-land lived in Staddle, a village on the southeastern slopes of the Bree-hill, but some also dwelt in Bree itself, living on the hill above the houses of Men.

It was three hundred years after Hobbits first arrived in Bree that two Fallohides, Marcho and Blanco, led a group of colonists westward to found the Shire. The Bree-hobbits, therefore, tended to look down somewhat on their cousins in the Shire, referring to them as ‘Colonists’ and

‘Outsiders’. The Hobbits of Bree claimed to have originated most Hobbit customs, and certainly it was thought that they were the ones who first discovered the properties of pipe-weed.

At the end of the Third Age, the Bree-hobbits still occasionally travelled west to the Shire, but they rarely ventured further than Buckland or the Eastfarthing, those parts of the Shire that were closest to their home.

In The Lord of the Rings I 9; At the Sign of the Prancing Pony, Tolkien gives us a list of the more prominent Hobbit families living in the Breeland at the time of the War of the Ring; Banks, Brockhouse, Longholes, Mugwort, Sandheaver, Tunnelly and Underhill. There were also Hobbits by the name of Banks living in the Shire, and Underhill was a hamlet of Hobbiton, but we can do no more than speculate on the links between these families and regions.

* Bree-land

The land around the Bree-hill, the chief township of which was Bree itself, but which also comprised the villages of Staddle, Combe and Archet.

* Bregalad

The ‘hasty’ Ent known to the Hobbits as ‘Quickbeam’, who befriended Meriadoc Brandybuck and Peregrin Took during the Entmoot that preceded the Ents’ attack on Isengard. Bregalad later played an important role in that attack himself.

* Brego

The son of Eorl the Young, who became the second King of Rohan. He freed Rohan from its enemies for many years, and completed the Golden Hall of Meduseld.

* Bregolas

The younger brother of Barahir, father of Baragund and Belegund, an ancestor of both Tuor and Túrin Turambar. He fought and died in the Dagor Bragollach.

* Bregor

Father of Barahir and Bregolas.

–—

The son of Boromir and father of Barahir, who was the second lord of Ladros from the House of Bëor.

* Brethil

The forest between the rivers Teiglin and Sirion in Beleriand, dwelling-place of the Haladin (the People of Haleth).

–—

The home of the Folk of Haleth.

A forest on the western marches of Doriath. It was occupied in the later years of the First Age by the Edain of the House of Haleth, and it was there that Túrin Turambar slew the dragon Glaurung.

* Bridge of Khazad-dûm|Bridge of Khazad-dum Part of the defences of ancient Khazad-dûm - a narrow bridge across a chasm within the eastern gates of the Dwarf-city. Most famous as the site of Gandalf’s encounter with Durin’s Bane during the Quest of Mount Doom.

* Bridge of Stonebows

The name of the Brandywine Bridge used while it was still in the keeping of the kingdom of Arthedain.

* Brilthor

‘Glittering Torrent’, the fourth of the tributaries of Gelion in Ossiriand.

–—

The fourth of Gelion’s six tributaries.

One of the six swift rivers that flowed westward from the mountains of the Ered Luin to meet the long course of the Gelion on the borders of Ossiriand. The river’s name Brilthor is said to mean ‘glittering torrent’.

* Brithiach

The ford over Sirion north of the Forest of Brethil.

–—

The ford over the northern reaches of the River Sirion, north of the Forest of Brethil on the margins of Dimbar.

* Brithombar

The northernmost of the Havens of the Falas on the coast of Beleriand.

–—

The western of the two Havens of the Falas, at the mouth of the River Brithon, from which it took its name.

* Brithon

The river that flowed into the Great Sea at Brithombar.

–—

A lesser river that rose in an isolated and unnamed highland region of West Beleriand, and flowed south to meet the Great Sea at the haven of Brithombar. After the Nirnaeth Arnoediad, Morgoth sent a force down the course of this river to assault the haven at its mouth.

* Brockhouse

A populous family of the Bree-hobbits.

* Brodda

An Easterling in Hithlum after the Nirnaeth Arnoediad who took as wife Aerin, kinswoman of Húrin; slain by Túrin. Called ‘the Incomer’.

–—

An Easterling and ally of Morgoth during the First Age. After Morgoth’s capture of the land of Hithlum, Brodda became its lord.

* Brown Lands

The desolate region between Mirkwood and the Emyn Muil.

–—

The blighted lands that lay on the eastern banks of the Anduin, between the Emyn Muil in the south and the borders of Rhovanion in the north.

* Bruinen

River in Eriador, tributary (with the Mitheithel) of the Gwathló; translated Loudwater.

–—

Also called the Loudwater, the river that rose in the Misty Mountains east of Rivendell, and joined the Mitheithel (Hoarwell) to form the River Gwathló or Greyflood.

* Bucca of the Marish|Bucca

First of the Shire-thains.

The end of the second millennium of the Third Age was a time of crisis for the Hobbits of the Shire. The northern lands of Middle-earth were aflame with war. The armies of Angmar, of Arthedain, of Cardolan, Rhudaur and latterly Gondor marched across the lands that had been the northern realm of Arnor. Most of the Shire-hobbits went into hiding, though some few marched to the service of Arthedain, within whose borders the Shire lay, but they never returned.

At last, peace returned: the kingdoms of the Dúnedain fell one by one, and then the victorious Witch-king of Angmar was himself defeated by a revenging army of Gondor. The Hobbits returned to their old lives, but the loss of Arvedui, the last king of Arthedain, left them leaderless.

After four years had passed since the end of the great wars, the Hobbits decided to take a leader for themselves. They chose one Bucca of the Marish, who was granted the title Thain of the Shire, and led the Shire-hobbits to peace and prosperity.

No more is known of Bucca’s life, but his legacy remained until the time of the War of the Ring and beyond. At that time, more than twelve hundred years after his Thainship, the Masters of Buckland still proudly claimed descent from Bucca the first Thain.

* Buck Hill

A hill overlooking the village of Bucklebury in Buckland, deeply burrowed with the smials that made up Brandy Hall, the ancestral home of the Brandybuck family.

* Buckland

The Eastmarch of the Shire.

–—

Origin and History: Seven hundred and forty years after the founding of the Shire, Gorhendad Oldbuck crossed the River Brandywine from the Eastfarthing and started the building of Brandy Hall in Buck Hill, in a land hitherto unpopulated by Hobbits. As Gorhendad’s family grew, the Hall also expanded, and soon there was a flourishing community in the land between the River and the Old Forest.

From that time, Buckland was ruled by the Brandybucks, as Gorhendad renamed his family, who were given the title ‘Masters of Buckland’.

The village of Bucklebury, lying close by Buck Hill, was considered Buckland’s chief village, but the expanding population meant that many other villages soon grew up in the region, the largest of which were Newbury, Crickhollow and Standelf. The growing power of the Master of Buckland gained respect from those close by in the Eastfarthing, too; the lands of the Marish between Stock and Rushey also acknowledged themselves under the sway of Buck Hall.

The Bucklanders soon found themselves threatened by the strange trees of the Forest, and so built a vast hedge, the High Hay, stretching twenty miles along the eastern border of their land. This was not the only danger to threaten Buckland - in III 2911, the year of the Fell Winter, the Brandywine froze and Buckland was invaded by white wolves.

Buckland was also the childhood home of Frodo Baggins, who returned here on his journey to Rivendell in III 3018. He bought a house in Crickhollow, and claimed that he would be living there, but instead entered the Old Forest through the old Hay Gate, and left the Eastmarch of the Shire.

–—

Culture: Although similar in many ways to other Hobbits, the Bucklanders did have certain peculiarities. Due no doubt in part to the Fallohidish blood of the Brandybucks, the Hobbits of Buckland were somewhat more adventurous than their cousins in the Shire (while still conservative by the measure of many other races in Middle-earth). They enjoyed boating, an activity frowned upon by Shire-hobbits, and some of them could even swim.

When the Bree-folk ventured to the Shire, Buckland was their usual destination (though some ventured as far as the Eastfarthing), and so was rather more cosmopolitan (in Hobbit terms) then the rest of the land.

Living under constant danger from the Old Forest, the Bucklanders were hardier and more suspicious than the usual Shire-hobbit. They were organised to deal with danger (through the famous Horn-call of Buckland), and they kept their doors locked at night, which was unusual in the Shire.

* Buckland Gate

The North Gate of the Bucklanders.

Leaving the Shire across the Brandywine Bridge, a traveller would come to the northern end of the High Hay, where it ran beside to the road to meet the River Brandywine. In the Hedge at this point was a guarded gate that led to Buckland, the Eastmarch of the Shire.

* Bucklanders

The inhabitants of Buckland on the eastern borders of the Shire, the Bucklanders acknowledged the Master of Buckland as their leader. The Brandybucks, descendants of Gorhendad Oldbuck who founded Buckland, were considered the most important family of the Bucklanders.

The Brandybucks had a strong Fallohidish strain in their blood, it is said, and this made them more adventurous than many of their more conservative neighbours in the Shire. They did not share the Shire-hobbits’ fear of water, for example, and the Bucklanders’ boats where often seen on the Brandywine River that bordered their land.

On the eastern border of Buckland lay the dangerous Old Forest, and the constant threat of the dark trees made the Bucklanders somewhat hardier than typical Hobbits.

* Bucklebury

The chief village of Buckland, lying in the shadow of Buck Hill, seat of the Master of Buckland, on the banks of the River Brandywine.

* Bucklebury Ferry

Ferry across the Brandywine River between Bucklebury and the Marish.

–—

A raft-ferry, the main crossing point of the River Brandywine from the Shire to Buckland, after the Brandywine Bridge.

* Bullroarer

Title of Bandobras Took.

The title given to Bandobras Took, the nearest thing in Hobbit history to a great warrior. Tall enough to ride a horse, the Bullroarer was most famous for his rout of the goblins at the Battle of Greenfields.

* Bundushathûr|Bundushathur

The mountain the Elves called Fanuidhol.

With Barazinbar and Zirakzigil, one of the three Mountains of Moria that rose above the ancient Dwarf-kingdom of Khazad-dûm in the heart of the Misty Mountains. The name also appears in the short form Shathûr, and refers to the mountain called Fanuidhol by the Elves and Cloudyhead by Men.

* Bungo Baggins|Bungo

The builder of Bag End.

Bilbo Baggins’ father. He married into the Took clan when he wed Belladonna Took.

* Butterbur Family|Butterbur

The family that kept the Prancing Pony.

An old family of Bree, that had kept the inn there, the Prancing Pony, for years beyond reckoning. The innkeeper at the time of the War of the Ring was Barliman Butterbur.

* Bywater

Village in the Shire a few miles south-east of Hobbiton.

–—

The village by the Water.

A town of the Shire, lying close to Hobbiton on the borders of the Westfarthing, near the East Road.

* Bywater Road

The road to Bywater and beyond.

The road that left the main East Road a little to the west of the Three-Farthing Stone, leading to the village of Bywater from which it took its name. From there, it carried on to Hobbiton, where a traveller would turn right and cross a bridge across the Water to reach Hobbiton Hill and Bag End. The road itself carried on into the west, in the direction of Little Delving.

* Cabed-en-Aras|Deer’s Leap

Deep gorge in the river Teiglin, where Túrin slew Glaurung, and where Nienor leapt to her death; translated ‘the Deer’s Leap’. See Cabed Naeramarth. The ‘Deer’s Leap’; a narrow point in the Ravines of Teiglin.

It was here that Túrin Turambar slew the dragon Glaurung.

* Cabed Naeramarth

‘Leap of Dreadful Doom’, name given to Cabed-en-Aras after Nienor leapt from its cliffs.

* Cair Andros

Island in the river Anduin north of Minas Tirith fortified by Gondor for the defence of Anórien.

–—

The ‘Ship of Long-foam’.

A large river-island in the Anduin, to the east of the land of Anórien.

It was held in defence against Mordor by Gondor to prevent crossings of the Great River, though these defences were breached during the War of the Ring.

The island itself was long and narrow, a little over ten miles in length. At its northern end, sharp rocks split the waters of the Anduin in a bubbling foam that gave the island its name. Cair Andros was covered with trees for much of its length.

Strategically, the island was of immense importance: apart from the bridge at Osgiliath, it was the only practical means for an army from the east to cross the Anduin into Gondor’s heartlands. The Gondorians took this risk seriously. Amon Dîn, the first of the Beacon-hills, was set up originally to warn the citizens of Minas Tirith if Cair Andros was ever breached.

Gondor took steps to fortify the island, too, but the history of these fortifications is difficult to establish. We know that it was ‘manned’ at the time of King Ondoher’s fall in III 1944, but whatever defences were in place at that time were apparently abandoned, since Denethor’s great-grandfather Túrin II found it necessary to fortify the island again in about the year III 2900.

The Gondorian defences fell on 10 March III 3019. On the same day that the Witch-king rode from Minas Morgul with the armies that would besiege Minas Tirith, Sauron released a smaller force (though still numbering more than 6,000 Orcs and Men) from the Morannon. They overwhelmed the defenders of Cair Andros, and used the island to cross into Anórien. It was this northern force that blocked the eastward progress of the Rohirrim as they rode to Gondor’s aid, though after the Battle of the Pelennor, the Rohirrim chased them down and pushed them back out of Anórien.

They retreated to Cair Andros, and apparently held the island for some days. In his march on Mordor, Aragorn released a small group of soldiers from his main army to retake the island if necessary, and hold it. They must have succeeded, since the last we hear of the island of Cair Andros, its moorings were used by the ships of Gondor, as glimpsed by Frodo after completing his Quest.

* Calacirya

‘Cleft of Light’, the pass made in the mountains of the Pelóri, in which was raised the green hill of Túna.

–—

The ‘Pass of Light’.

The cleft made in the mountains of the Pelóri so that the light of the Two Trees could shine through. The Elven city of Tirion stood near the eastern end of the Calacirya.

* Calaquendi

‘Elves of the Light’, those Elves who lived or had lived in Aman (the High Elves). See Moriquendi and Dark Elves.

–—

‘Elves of the Light’; a name given to the Vanyar, the Noldor and that part of the Teleri who travelled to Aman in the youth of the world and saw the light of the Two Trees of Valinor; Elu Thingol of Doriath is also counted among their number.

* Calembel

The township on the River Ciril.

A town in the Gondorian region of Lamedon. It stood above the fords of the River Ciril, where the road from Erech crossed that river and passed on eastward. It was here that Aragorn and the host of the Dead camped during their journey to Pelargir during the War of the Ring.

* Calenardhon

‘The Green Province’; name of Rohan when it was the northern part of Gondor. See Ard-galen.

–—

Wide green land in the north of Gondor, gifted by Steward Cirion to Eorl the Young, and thereafter named Rohan.

* Calenhad

Sixth of the beacons of Gondor in Ered Nimrais.

* Calimehtar

Thirtieth King of Gondor, victor over the Wainriders on the Dagolard in Third Age 1899.

–—

The thirtieth King of Gondor, son of Narmacil II. Calimehtar is most famous for his defeat of the Wainriders on the plain of Dagorlad. He was succeeded by his son, Ondoher.

* Calmacil

The father of Rómendacil II.

The younger brother of Narmacil I, who succeeded his childless brother as King of Gondor. His reign was short and unremarkable, lasting just ten years during which the actual power of the realm was wielded by his tireless son and regent Minalcar. On Calmacil’s death, Minalcar took the throne himself under the famous name of Rómendacil II.

* Calmindon

The ‘Light-tower’ on Tol Uinen in the Bay of Rómenna.

* Camellia Sackville

An aunt of Bilbo Baggins, whose marriage to his uncle Longo Baggins formed the foundation of the Sackville-Baggins family. Through her son Otho, she became the mother-in-law of Lobelia Sackville-Baggins.

* Camlost

The ‘Empty-handed’, a title given to Beren when he returned to Thingol’s halls from the Quest of the Silmaril. He had achieved the Quest set him by Thingol - a Silmaril was in his hand, but that hand had been bitten from his arm by Carcharoth the Wolf, still holding the Jewel.

* Cape Balar|Balar

The small cape that lay to the west of Arvernien, and marked the northern limit of the Bay of Balar.

* Captain of Despair

One of the many titles of the nameless Lord of the Nazgûl, used during his final battle, the assault on Minas Tirith near the end of the War of the Ring.

* Captain of the Southern Army

A military title of Eärnil.

Soon after his accession to Gondor’s throne, King Ondoher realized that his kingdom’s northern enemies, the Wainriders, had made an alliance with her old southern foe, the Haradrim. To counter this double threat, Ondoher divided Gondor’s army into two parts; a larger Northern Army and a smaller Southern Army. The Northern Army he led himself; the Captaincy of the Southern Army he gave to his distant cousin Eärnil.

As Ondoher had foreseen, the Wainriders and Haradrim launched a joint attack on Gondor, in the year III 1944, and Gondor’s two Armies marched through Ithilien to the defence of the South-kingdom. Ondoher’s northern force was all but destroyed by the Wainriders, but Eärnil led his lesser Army to a great victory over the Haradrim. Turning north, the Southern Army reunited with the remnant of the Northern, and together they fell on the Wainriders at the Battle of the Camp. Eärnil’s victories as the Southern Army’s Captain would ultimately earn him the Kingship of Gondor itself.

* Captains of the West

Leaders of the final hopeless march to Mordor.

Gandalf, Aragorn, Éomer, Imrahil and the other lords of the allied force that rode against the gates of Mordor in the last stages of the War of the Ring.

* Captivity of Melkor

Three ages of peace in Aman.

The term of three ages for which Melkor was held prisoner by the Valar in Valinor. At the end of the third age of his captivity, Manwë released Melkor, but he turned back to darkness, destroying the Two Trees and fleeing back to his strongholds in the north of Middle-earth with the Silmarils.

* Caradhras

The Redhorn, the Cruel.

–—

“… Caradhras rose before them, a mighty peak, tipped with snow like silver, but with sheer naked sides, dull red as if stained by blood.”

(The Fellowship of the Ring II 3, The Ring Goes South)

–—

Called the Redhorn, one of the mightiest peaks in the Misty Mountains, beneath which lay the Redhorn Pass attempted by the Nine Walkers on the Quest of Mount Doom.

* Caragdûr|Caragdur

The precipice on the north side of Amon Gwareth (the hill of Gondolin) from which Eöl was cast to his death.

–—

A black precipice of rock on the north side of the city of Gondolin. Eöl the Dark Elf met his end by being flung down the Caragdûr.

* Caranthir

The fourth son of Fëanor, called the Dark; ‘the harshest of the brothers and the most quick to anger’; ruled in Thargelion; slain in the assault on Doriath.

–—

The fourth son of Fëanor, who dwelt in Thargelion in the east of Beleriand, and was slain in the assault of the Sons of Fëanor on Menegroth.

* Caras Galadhon

‘City of the Trees’, chief dwelling of the Elves of Lórien.

–—

The tree-city of the Galadhrim; the seat of Celeborn and Galadriel in the realm of Lórien.

* Carcharoth|The Wolf

The great wolf of Angband that bit off the hand of Beren bearing the Silmaril; slain by Huan in Doriath. The name is translated in the text as

‘the Red Maw’. Called also Anfauglir.

–—

‘The Red Maw’.

The mighty wolf that bit Beren’s hand from his arm, and with it a Silmaril from Morgorth’s crown. The burning of the jewel drove him to madness, and he ravaged the lands until slain by Huan in the famed Hunting of the Wolf.

* Cardolan

One of the three kingdoms into which Arnor was divided on the ninth century of the Third Age; bounded in the west by Baranduin and in the north by the East Road.

–—

Most southerly of the realms of the Northern Dúnedain.

The name given to the central and southern regions of Arnor; a separate kingdom after the death of Eärendur, whose rulers were descendants of one of his younger sons.

* Carn Dûm|Carn Dum

Mountain Fortress of Angmar.

Peak in the far north of the Misty Mountains, the site of the ancient capital of the Witch-king of Angmar.

* Carnen

‘Redwater’, river flowing down from the Iron Hills to join the River Running.

–—

The long river known as the Redwater.

A river that rose in the Iron Hills, far to the north and east of the known parts of Middle-earth. Its winding course took it southwards for more than two hundred miles, until its waters emptied into the Celduin (the River Running) and were carried on southwards to the Sea of Rhûn.

The river’s name, Carnen, is a direct Elvish equivalent of its Mannish name, the Redwater. Both are very likely a reference to its source in the Iron Hills, since rivers whose sources lie among iron deposits have water with a very distinctive red-orange colour.

* Carnil

A red star created by Varda in preparation for the coming of the Elves.

* Carrock

A stony eyot in the upper reaches of the River Anduin, to the north of the Old Ford. See Ford of Carrock.

* Castamir

The Usurper of Gondor.

A Gondorian noble, the great-grandson of the King Calmacil. When Eldacar became King in Gondor, there was popular unrest because his mother Vidumavi belonged to the Northmen, and so he carried only half-Gondorian blood. Castamir took advantage of this unrest to launch a rebellion, and he succeeded in deposing Eldacar and sending him into exile. For ten cruel years he ruled Gondor, but Eldacar the rightful King built an army in exile, and returned to oust Castamir and reclaim his throne.

* Cats|Cat

The most famous cats in the histories of Middle-earth were the cats of Queen Berúthiel, nine black and one white, belonging to the queen of King Tarannon of Gondor.

* Cave-trolls|Cave-troll|Cave Trolls|Cave Troll Trolls apparently adapted for underground life. The Company of the Ring discovered them when they passed through Moria.

* Cedars|Cedar

Mighty spreading trees of southern climes.

Huge resinous trees with spreading branches. In the Third Age, as today, cedars were most common in warmer lands, but they were apparently not unknown in the Shire.

* Celduin

River flowing from the Lonely Mountain to the Sea of Rhûn. Translated

‘River Running’.

–—

The Elvish name for the river known by Men as the River Running. It rose at the gates of Erebor, and flowed long miles southward and eastward to its outflow into the Sea of Rhûn.

* Celebdil

Called the Silvertine, one of the three peaks in the Misty Mountains (with Caradhras and Fanuidhol) that lay above the ancient Dwarf-city of Khazad-dûm.

* Celeborn (tree)|Celeborn

‘Tree of Silver’, name of the Tree of Tol Eressëa, a scion of Galathilion.

–—

The White Tree of Tol Eressëa.

The White Tree that grew in the central regions of Tol Eressëa. It grew from a seedling of Galathilion, the White Tree that grew in Tirion, and from it came Nimloth, the White Tree of Númenor.

* Celeborn of Doriath|Celeborn

Elf of Doriath, kinsman of Thingol; wedded Galadriel and with her remained in Middle-earth after the end of the First Age. Lord of Lothlórien. See Teleporno.

–—

The Lord of Lórien.

An Elf of Doriath, who met with Galadriel daughter of Finarfin after the Return of the Noldor to Middle-earth, and wedded her. They became Lord and Lady of Lórien during the Third Age.

* Celebrant

‘Silver Lode’, river running from Mirrormere through Lothlórien to join the Anduin.

–—

The Elves’ name for the River Silverlode.

The river also known as the Silverlode, that flowed southeastwards out of the valley of Nanduhirion, passing through the land of Lórien to meet the Great River, Anduin.

* Celebrían|Celebrian

The daughter of Galadriel and Celeborn, Celebrían wedded Elrond, and bore him Arwen Evenstar. Attacked by Orcs in the Misty Mountains, she was rescued by her sons Elladan and Elrohir, but took ship into the West soon after.

* Celebrimbor

‘Hand of Silver’, son of Curufin, who remained in Nargothrond when his father was expelled. In the Second Age greatest of the smiths of Eregion; maker of the Three Rings of the Elves; slain by Sauron.

–—

Leader of the People of the Jewel-smiths.

The son of Curufin and grandson of Fëanor, who led the Elves of Eregion during the Second Age and played a great part in the making of the Rings of Power.

* Celebrindal

The surname of Idril of Gondolin.

The surname, meaning ‘silver-foot’, of Turgon’s daughter Idril, who became the mother of Eärendil the Mariner. She gained the name, apparently, because she walked barefoot wherever she went.

* Celebrindor

The fifth King of Arthedain.

Celebrindor the son of Celepharn ruled Arthedain during a time of relative calm. He was the last King to enjoy a peaceful reign, and the last not to know the name of Angmar. Soon after his death, evil things began to stir again, and the Lord of the Nazgûl came into the north as the Witch-king, to found the realm that would eventually destroy Celebrindor’s kingdom.

Celebrindor ruled Arthedain for eighty-one years, and was succeeded by his son Malvegil.

* Celebros

‘Silver Foam’ or ‘Silver Rain’, a stream in Brethil falling down to Teiglin near the Crossings.

–—

The stream of the Rainy Stair.

A minor tributary of the River Teiglin that flowed beneath the eaves of the Forest of Brethil. The Celebros descended southwards from the highlands of Brethil into the Ravines of Teiglin through a series of waterfalls that filled the air with fine spray (the name Celebros means

‘silver spray’). A wooden bridge crossed the Celebros at a place called -

because of the waterfalls’ spray - Dimrost, or the Rainy Stair.

Dimrost’s name was changed when Nienor came to cross the Celebros. When she reached the bridge, which gave a wide view of the Ravines of Teiglin to the south and west, a foresight of her doom seems to have come upon her (she was to die in the waters of the Teiglin). The sudden shuddering that overtook her then gave a new name to the crossing of the Celebros: Nen Girith, the Shuddering Water.

* Celegorm

The third son of Fëanor, called the Fair; until the Dagor Bragollach lord of the region of Himlad with Curufin his brother; dwelt in Nargothrond and imprisoned Lúthien; master of Huan the wolfhound; slain by Dior in Menegroth.

–—

Celegorm the Fair was the third of the seven sons of Fëanor. The most ambitious of the seven, he followed the oath of his father with the greatest ardour, and this led him to his destruction.

In Valinor, Celegorm became a great hunter, and had the friendship of Oromë, often hunting with the Vala or visiting his house. From Oromë, Celegorm gained great knowledge of birds and beasts, and he learned to understand their tongues, and he gained also another gift, Huan the great hound. He also had great friendship with his cousin Aredhel, the daughter of Fingolfin.

After the Darkening of Valinor, he stood in the court of Tirion with his father and his six brothers, and swore to the Oath of Fëanor. With that, he marched with the Noldor from Valinor and returned to Middle-earth as the Moon rose for the first time. The faithful hound Huan accompanied Celegorm into exile.

–—

Early Years in Beleriand, I 1 - I 455: In the first assault of the Noldor on the Orcs, the Dagor-nuin-Giliath, Celegorm found himself in the hills around Eithel Sirion, in the north of the Ered Wethrin. Receiving news of an orc-host coming north from the Falas, he ambushed them and drove them into the Fen of Serech.

After the battle, in which his father Fëanor died, he journeyed to the land of Himlad in the eastern regions of Beleriand, and there took up his abode with his younger brother Curufin. Celegorm and Curufin together claimed the land between the rivers Aros and Celon, and they fortified the Pass of Aglon in the north against the forces of Morgoth. During this time, the two were close in friendship with their brother Caranthir, who dwelt across the valley of the river Gelion in the land of Thargelion, and often went hunting with him.

The land of Himlad was held for more than 450 years by Celegorm and his brother, but in the Dagor Bragollach, Morgoth’s armies broke the defence of the Pass of Aglon, and overran Celegorm’s lands. With his brother Curufin, he was forced to flee, and they journeyed south and west until they came to Finrod’s halls in Nargothrond.

–—

Time in Nargothrond, I 455 - c. I 465: Finrod received his cousins warmly, and for a time Celegorm and Curufin dwelt happily in Nargothrond, hunting the Orcs and wolves that dared to cross the Guarded Plain. They were at that time mighty lords, and their power and influence in Finrod’s domain grew.

Before many years had passed, though, Beren came out of Doriath seeking Finrod’s help in his quest for the Silmaril. The Oath of Fëanor bound Celegorm to defy any that sought a Silmaril, but Finrod was also bound by an oath, to Beren’s father Barahir, to lend aid in the quest, and so he departed from Nargothrond, leaving it in the keeping of his brother Orodreth. Celegorm and Curufin exercised their influence after the departure of Finrod, however, and during this time they were effectively the rulers of Nargothrond.

While out hunting on the Guarded Plain, they discovered Lúthien, who having escaped from her father in Doriath was seeking for Beren. Celegorm saw that to be wedded to the daughter of one of the greatest kings in Beleriand would be a great source of power, and so he tricked Lúthien into returning to Nargothrond with him. Once there, he imprisoned her and sent false messages to Thingol, pursuing his suit.

From Lúthien, they learned that Beren and Finrod had been captured by Sauron and imprisoned in his fortress at Tol-in-Gaurhoth. They made no attempt to rescue them, believing that the death of Finrod would further their own power in Nargothrond. Celegorm’s hound, Huan, disobeyed his master, and help Lúthien to escape from the brothers, leading here away into the north after Beren.

Though he later returned to Celegorm, their trust was diminished. While he was away from Nargothrond, Huan had aided in the defeat of Sauron in the north, and the destruction of Tol-in-Gaurhoth. Many prisoners of Sauron, who were released when his tower was destroyed, returned to Nargothrond and reported the fate of Finrod. So the lies that Celegorm and Curufin had told in pursuance of power were exposed, and the people turned back to their rightful king, Orodreth. Celegorm and Curufin were exiled from Nargothrond, but their deeds were repudiated by their people, who had come with them from Himlad, and so they journeyed friendless in Beleriand.

–—

Return to the Northern Lands, c. I 465 - c. I 500: After their expulsion from Nargothrond, the brothers journeyed to the north and east, seeking again the lands where they had once ruled, and especially Himring, where their elder brother Maedhros was still lord.

As they travelled beside the eaves of Brethil, they discovered Beren and Lúthien returning from the north, and attacked them. In defence of Lúthien, Huan the hound deserted Celegorm and fought against him. Curufin lost his horse in that fight, and the brothers were forced to ride away eastwards together on Celegorm’s steed. Journeying on through Dimbar and Nan Dungortheb, they came at last to the lands of Maedhros.

Celegorm was not to abide there long, for only a few years after their arrival, Maedhros united the Elves of Beleriand, and the great battle known as the Nirnaeth Arnoediad took place. Celegorm marched into the north with his brothers, and was wounded in the battle, but Uldor the Accursed betrayed the Elves and turned against them, and so the host of Maedhros was broken and scattered. Celegorm fled with his brothers to the lands below Mount Dolmed, in the far east of Beleriand.

There they dwelt, a broken and wandering people, for some thirty years.

In that time, Beren and Lúthien dwelt in the far south, on the island of Tol Galen in the River Adurant, and with them was the Silmaril that they had recovered from Morgoth’s crown. While their oath bound the brothers to recover the jewel, none dared assail that hallowed island, and so they waited.

Eventually, Beren and Lúthien passed away, and the Silmaril was taken to Dior, Thingol’s heir, in Doriath. Now the sons of Fëanor sent demands to Dior for the return of the jewel, but Dior disregarded them. So the brothers formed an army and assaulted the halls of Menegroth, and there Celegorm was slain by Dior, though Dior also perished, as did Curufin and Caranthir.

* Celepharn

The fourth King of Arthedain.

The son of Mallor and great-grandson of Amlaith of Fornost, the founder of Arthedain. He ruled Arthedain early in the second millennium of the Third Age, at a time when the South-kingdom of Gondor was at the height of its power (the great Atanatar Alcarin became King of Gondor during Celepharn’s rule in the north).

The first Hobbits had been seen in Eriador in the reign of Celepharn’s grandfather Beleg, and Celepharn might even have encountered them himself as a young man. During his own reign, though, their numbers increased as the growing darkness in Mirkwood drove them westward out of Rhovanion.

Fallohides and Stoors crossed the Misty Mountains at this time, joining the Harfoots who had been living in the west for a century or more.

Celepharn ruled Arthedain for eighty-one years, and was succeeded by his son Celebrindor.

* Celon

River flowing southwest from the Hill of Himring, a tributary of Aros.

The name means ‘stream flowing down from heights’.

–—

A tributary of the Aros that rose in the highlands around Himring and flowed southwestwards until it met the Aros on the borders of Doriath.

The woods of Nan Elmoth lay on its southern bank.

* Celos

One of the rivers of Lebennin in Gondor; tributary of the Sirith.

* Cemendur

Meneldil’s son and heir.

Cemendur was descended from a mighty line of lords: his great-grandfather was Elendil himself, and he was the grandson of Anárion and son of Meneldil. Nonetheless, of his reign as King of Gondor we know almost nothing. It seems that Gondor had peace during his reign, since the only recorded historical event to take place during it was the birth of Elrond’s daughter Arwen in the north, three years after Cemendur took the throne. No-one in Gondor at that time, of course, could have known how significant that event would be: nearly three thousand years later, Arwen was to wed Aragorn, a distant descendant of Cemendur’s great-grandfather Elendil, and become Queen of Cemendur’s realm.

Cemendur ruled in Gondor for eighty-six years, and was succeeded by his son Eärendil.

* Ceorl

Rider of Rohan who brought news of the Second Battle of the Fords of Isen.

* Cerin Amroth

The mound of Amroth, that stood in the heart of Lórien and held the house of that King before he was lost. It was here that Aragorn and Arwen plighted their troth centuries later.

* Cermië|Cermie

The seventh month of the year, according to the Stewards’ Reckoning of Gondor, following Loëndë, and preceding Urimë. On a modern calendar, Cermië ran between 23 June and 22 July, in a normal year.

* Chamber of Mazarbul|Mazarbul

The old Chamber of Records of Khazad-dûm. It was used as a base by Balin when he attempted his ill-fated attempt at recolonisation: the Company of the Ring found his tomb there as they passed through Moria.

* Chamber of Records

The Chamber of Mazarbul in Khazad-dûm.

The Chamber of Mazarbul in old Khazad-dûm, its hall of records; a large, square chamber lit by a single shaft of light from the open air. When Balin led an attempt to recolonise Moria, he chose this place as his seat, but it became his tomb.

* Chetwood

The wood of the Bree-land.

The broad woodland that lay to the north and east of the Bree-hill. The village of Archet was built among the trees near its edge.

* Chica Chubb

One of Bilbo Baggins’ aunts, who married his uncle Bingo to found the Chubb-Baggins branch of the family. Bingo and Chica had one recorded son, Falco Chubb-Baggins.

* Chief

Title given to the leader of the Shire during the time it was under the control of Saruman’s forces, nominally given to his puppet, Lotho Sackville-Baggins.

* Chieftain of the Dúnedain|Chieftain

The title taken by the Heirs of Isildur after the loss of the kingdom of Arthedain; sixteen lords of Men, from Aranarth (elder son of Arvedui, last King of Arthedain) to Aragorn II Elessar.

–—

1- Aranarth (Chieftain for 131 years to III 2106): The heir of Arvedui, who would have become King of Arthedain if not for the destruction of his realm by the Witch-king. He saw his loss avenged, though, when a great army of Dúnedain out of Gondor, led by Eärnur, wiped out the Witch-king’s own realm of Angmar. During his time, the Watchful Peace began, and the Heirs of Isildur had peace until the time of Arahad I.

2- Arahael (Chieftain for 71 years to III 2177).

3- Aranuir (Chieftain for 70 years to III 2247).

4- Aravir (Chieftain for 72 years to III 2319).

5- Aragorn I (Chieftain for 8 years to III 2327): The first Aragorn, after whom Aragorn of the War of the Ring was named, lost his life in eastern Eriador, where he was slain by wolves.

6- Araglas (Chieftain for 128 years to III 2455).

7- Arahad I (Chieftain for 68 years to III 2523): In his time, the evil that had once dwelt in Dol Guldur returned, and the Watchful Peace came to an end. In the eighth year of his reign, the White Council was formed, a matter that Arahad must surely have been aware of, if he was not directly involved himself. As the years drew on, the extent of the danger from the east became more evident; the Misty Mountains were filled with Orcs, and near the end of Arahad’s time as Chieftain, Celebrían the wife of Elrond was captured and tortured by them.

8- Aragost (Chieftain for 65 years to III 2588).

9- Aravorn (Chieftain for 66 years to III 2654).

10- Arahad II (Chieftain for 65 years to III 2719).

11- Arassuil (Chieftain for 65 years to III 2784): Arassuil saw Eriador openly invaded by Orcs out of the Misty Mountains, who penetrated as far west as the Shire. The period between III 2745 and III 2748 is recorded as being the time of worst warfare, and it was in this time that the Battle of Greenfields was fought in the Northfarthing. Arassuil was Chieftain at the time of the Long Winter.

12- Arathorn I (Chieftain for 64 years to III 2848): It is known that Arathorn met an untimely end, though no records remain of his fate.

Perhaps he was slain by Orcs or wolves, though the worst of the fighting with the Orcs of the Mountains had been over for a century before his death.

13- Argonui (Chieftain for 64 years to III 2912): The last winter of Argonui’s rule was the so-called Fell Winter, in which the northern lands were troubled by White Wolves out of the north, and the floods from the snow-melts of the following spring spread destruction far and wide.

14- Arador (Chieftain for 18 years to III 2930): Arador enjoyed only a short time as Chieftain, during which he saw his son Arathorn wed Gilraen. Soon after, journeying in the fells north of Rivendell, he was captured by Hill-trolls and slain.

15- Arathorn II (Chieftain for 3 years to III 2933): Arathorn’s time as leader of the Rangers was even shorter than his father’s. After just three years as Chieftain, he went hunting Orcs with Elladan and Elrohir, and was shot by an arrow. He was succeeded by his son Aragorn, then just two years old.

16- Aragorn II (Chieftain for 86 years to III 3019): Most famous of all the Chieftains, Aragorn had great friendship with the Wizard Gandalf. He journeyed the length and breadth of Middle-earth, doing heroic deeds in the service of both Rohan and Gondor. He played a great part in the War of the Ring, and at its end as rightful Heir of Isildur took up the Kingship of his noble ancestor, reuniting the North- and South- kingdoms after more than three thousand years.

* Chieftain of the North|Chieftain

The leader of the Northern Dúnedain.

The line of the descendants of Arvedui, the last King of Arthedain. From Arvedui’s son Aranarth to Aragorn II, who reclaimed the throne of Gondor for the Northern Line, there were sixteen Chieftains of the North.

* Children of Aulë|Children of Aule

The seven clans of the Dwarves.

A name for the Dwarves, who were created by Aulë the Smith during the Years of the Trees.

* Children of Ilúvatar|Children of Iluvatar|Children of Eru|Children of the Earth|Children of Earth|Children of the World Also Children of Eru: translations of Hini Ilúvataro, Eruhini; the Firstborn and the Followers, Elves and Men. Also The Children, Children of the Earth, Children of the World.

–—

The two Speaking Peoples fated in the Music of the Ainur; Elves and Men.

* Children of the Sun

A name given by Elves to Men, who awoke at the first rising of the Sun, and hence feared the night.

* Chubb Family|Chubb

An important hobbit-family of the Shire.

A family of Shire-hobbits, of whom several were present at Bilbo Baggin’s Birthday Party. Their main connection with the Baggins family was through Bilbo’s grandfather, the Old Took, whose wife Adamanta Chubb was mother to no fewer than twelve children, including Bilbo’s mother Belladonna.

* Chubb-Baggins Family|Chubb-Baggins

A branch of the Baggins of Hobbiton.

A family created by the wedding of Bilbo’s uncle Bingo Baggins to Chica Chubb. It seems to have lasted just three generations; what evidence we have suggests that the last Chubb-Baggins was Bingo’s grand-daughter Poppy, who married into the Bolger family.

* Circle of Isengard

The great circular wall surrounding the inner plain of Isengard, in the centre of which ws Orthanc. Also called Ring of Isengard.

* Círdan|Cirdan

‘The Shipwright’; Telerin Elf, lord of the Falas (coasts of West Beleriand); at the destruction of the Havens after the Nirnaeth Arnoediad escaped with Gil-galad to the Isle of Balar; during the Second and Third Ages keeper of the Grey Havens in the Gulf of Lhûn; at the coming of Mithrandir entrusted to him Narya, the Ring of Fire.

–—

The keeper of the Grey Havens.

A lord of the Teleri in Middle-earth, Círdan was persuaded to remain in Beleriand with some of his people by Ossë when the other Teleri were taken into the West by Ulmo. Lord of the Falas during much of the First Age, he removed to the Isle of Balar after the Nirnaeth Arnoediad. At the end of the First Age, with the destruction of Beleriand, he moved eastwards and founded Mithlond, the Grey Havens, on the Gulf of Lhûn.

He remained in Lindon throughout the Second and Third Ages. Throughout the Second Age, that land was under the direct rule of High King Gil-galad. At the time of the fall of Eregion, Celebrimbor sent two of the Three Rings north to the High King, and Gil-galad in turn passed one of these to Círdan; Narya, the Ring of Fire. At the end of the Second Age, Gil-galad fell in the War of the Last Alliance, leaving Lindon without a ruler. His natural heir would have been Elrond, who had long since removed to Imladris, and so Círdan took on the leadership of the Elves west of the Blue Mountains.

Círdan continued to maintain the havens at Mithlond throughout the Third Age and into the Fourth. When the Wizards arrived in Middle-earth, he perceived that Gandalf was the wisest of them, and gave him the Red Ring to bear in secret. He took an active part in the events of the Third Age, too; it was his mariners, for example, who sought to rescue Arvedui the last King of Arthedain. He was still the master of the Grey Havens at the end of the Age, when he saw the Ring-bearers’ White Ship, that he had held in preparation over the long years, pass into the West.

* Ciril|Kiril

A minor river of western Lamedon.

A short tributary to the River Ringló. The Ciril rose in the White Mountains of western Lamedon, about twenty miles east of Tarlang’s Neck.

It flowed directly southwards, through its fords at Calembel, to meet the Ringló.

‘Ciril’ is the later spelling of this river’s name, used throughout the text of The Lord of the Rings. The large-scale contour map given at the beginning of Book V, though, shows the older form of the name, ‘Kiril’, which reflects its correct pronunciation.

* Cirion

Twelfth Ruling Steward of Gondor, who granted Calenardhon to the Rohirrim after the battle of the Field of Celebrant in Third Age 2510.

–—

The Steward that gifted Calenardhon to Eorl.

The twelfth Ruling Steward of Gondor, the son of Steward Boromir. He called on the Northmen for aid in the wars of Gondor, and rewarded them with the land of Calenardhon (later called Rohan) when they answered his call.

* Cirith Dúath|Cirith Duath

‘Shadow Cleft’, former name of Cirith Ungol.

–—

The Pass of Shadows.

The shadowy pass in the Ephel Dúath, above Minas Ithil. This was the older name of the pass that came to be known during the Third Age as Cirith Ungol.

* Cirith Forn en Andrath

‘The High-climbing Pass of the North’ over the Misty Mountains east of Rivendell. Called the High Pass and the Pass of Imladris.

* Cirith Gorgor

Called the Haunted Pass, the point were the mountain ranges of the Ered Lithui and the Ephel Dúath met, to the northwest of Mordor. It was sealed by the Black Gate of the Morannon, and guarded by the Towers of the Teeth.

* Cirith Ninniach

‘Rainbow Cleft’, name given by Tuor to the ravine leading from the western hills of Dor-lómin to the Firth of Drengist, and by which he came to the Western Sea; see Annon-in-Gelydh.

–—

The rocky pass through the northwestern mountains of Middle-earth that led to the Great Sea at the Firth of Drengist. It was into this cleft that the Gate of the Noldor led, and Tuor escaped this way on his fateful mission to Gondolin.

* Cirith Thoronath

‘Eagles’ Cleft’, a high pass in the mountains north of Gondolin, where Glorfindel fought with a Balrog and fell into the abyss.

* Cirith Ungol

‘Spiders Cleft’; pass over the Ephel Dúath above Minas Morgul. See Cirith Dúath.

–—

The high pass where Shelob lurked.

The pass through the Ephel Dúath on the western borders of Mordor that lay above the tower of Minas Morgul.

* Cirth

The Runes, first devised by Daeron of Doriath.

–—

The Elvish word for Runes, characters designed to be cut into a surface, rather than written with a brush or pen.

* Ciryaher

Victor over the southern lands.

Ciryaher, the son of King Ciryandil, was to become the last of Gondor’s four Ship-kings. The haven of Umbar had been captured by his grandfather Eärnil, but Gondor had been hard put to defend the haven since its capture. Ciryaher’s father was himself lost in an assault by the Haradrim, holding the defence of Umbar. Ciryaher was a patient man, and slowly built his fleets and his armies in the north until he was sure of victory. At last, thirty-five years after his father’s loss, he launched an unstoppable assault on the southern lands, and utterly conquered the Men of Harad. From this time, Ciryaher took the name Hyarmendacil, signifying ‘South-victor’.

Ciryaher ruled in Gondor for one hundred and thirty-four years, and brought that land to the height of its glory. He was succeeded by his son Atanatar II Alcarin.

* Ciryandil

Third of the four Ship-kings of Gondor.

Eärnil I was the second of the Ship-kings of Gondor, famous for capturing the southern haven of Umbar. When he was lost at sea, he was succeeded by his son Ciryandil, who continued his father’s naval policies. Ciryandil reigned over Gondor for seventy-nine years, and died in the defence of Umbar against the Haradrim. He was succeeded by his son Ciryaher, who went on to avenge his father and conquer the southern lands, and so ruled in the name of Hyarmendacil I.

* Ciryatur

Númenórean admiral commanding the fleet sent by Tar-Minastir to the aid of Gil-galad against Sauron.

* Ciryon

Third son of Isildur, slain with his father and his brothers Elendur and Aratan in the Disaster of the Gladden Fields.

* Citadel of Gondor

A term sometimes used loosely of Minas Tirith in Gondor, but in fact strictly referring to the fortified seventh and highest circle of that city.

* City of Gondor

Minas Tirith beneath Mindolluin.

A name given, at least at the time of the War of the Ring, to Minas Tirith, Gondor’s great fortified city that stood at the eastern extent of the White Mountains. In fact, at the time of the country’s founding, Gondor’s chief city had been Osgiliath, some miles east and north of Minas Tirith, but this ancient city did not survive through the Third Age. King Tarondor abandoned Osgiliath for Minas Anor in III 1640, and from that time on Minas Anor, later renamed Minas Tirith, was truly the City of Gondor.

* Closed Door

Fen Hollen, the door in the sixth circle of Minas Tirith that led to the Silent Street and the tombs of the Kings of Gondor.

* Cloudyhead

The mountain named Fanuidhol.

One of the three Mountains of Moria, named Fanuidhol by the Elves and Bundushathûr (or just Shathûr) by the Dwarves, many of whom had lived beneath it in the city of Khazad-dûm.

* Cock-robin

A nickname for Robin Smallburrow, one the Shire’s band of Shirriffs. Sam Gamgee used it when he encountered his old friend Robin and troop of Shirriffs after returning from the southern lands.

* Coirë|Coire

‘Stirring’; the Quenya name for the Elvish season that lay between modern 11 February and 5 April.

* Cold-drakes|Cold-drake

The least mighty of Dragons.

–—

“Now the least mighty [dragons] - yet they were very great beside the Men of those days - are cold as in the nature of snakes and serpents, and of them a many having wings go with the uttermost noise and speed…”

(Turambar and the Foalókë, in The History of Middle-earth vol. II, The Book of Lost Tales II)

–—

Lesser dragons; those of dragon-kind who did not have the ability to make fire.

They were used by Morgoth in the wars of the First Age, though no specific mention of them in this period remains in Tolkien’s published work. After the War of Wrath, in which most would have perished, some few seem to have escaped into the northern regions of Middle-earth, beyond the Grey Mountains.

As the millennia passed, their numbers grew, until they became a serious threat in the later centuries of the Third Age to the Dwarves that mined the Grey Mountains. In the year 2589 of the Third Age, Dáin I, King of Durin’s Folk, and his second son Frór were slain at the gates of their halls by a Cold-drake. The attacks of these fearsome creatures persuaded to Dwarves to migrate eastwards from the Grey Mountains, and it was soon afterwards that their realms in the Iron Hills and at Erebor were established.

Of the history of the Cold-drakes after this period we are given no hint. Four hundred years later, at the time of Bilbo Baggins’ journey to Erebor, they seem to have left the Grey Mountains (at least, Gandalf makes no mention of them when describing the dangers of that region). It is possible that the Orcs who colonised the Mountains after the departure of the Dwarves drove them back into the cold wastes to the north, but we can do no more than speculate on their ultimate fate.

* Combe

A village of the Bree-land.

A village that lay in a deep valley on the eastern side of the Bree-hill, between Archet to the north and Staddle to the south. The village took its name from its location: combe is an old word for a valley, and the same element appears in ‘Deeping-coomb’, a valley in the White Mountains far to the south of the Bree-land.

* Common Speech

The Westron, the language that evolved from Adûnaic as spoken in Númenor, as the common tongue of the peoples of Middle-earth.

* Common Tongue

The Common Speech of the Westlands.

The Common Language used throughout the northern and western lands of Middle-earth. It developed from the Númenórean tongue, Adûnaic, but with many additions and changes from other languages, to become almost universally spoken.

* Company of the Ring

The nine companions who set out from Rivendell on the Quest of Mount Doom. They were: Aragorn, Boromir, Frodo Baggins, Gandalf, Gimli Elf-friend, Legolas Greenleaf, Meriadoc Brandybuck, Peregrin Took, Samwise Gamgee.

* Coranar

An Elvish word for ‘year’.

Literally ‘sun-round’, a name given by the Elves to a single year.

* Cordial of Imladris

A name for miruvor.

The reviving cordial made by the Elves of Imladris and called by them miruvor. A flask of the precious drink was given to Gandalf for the refreshment of the Company of the Ring during the southward journey, but seems to have been lost in his fall from the Bridge of Khazad-dûm.

* Cormallen

A garth of Ithilien.

A tree-lined field in North Ithilien, on the banks of the Anduin near to Cair Andros. It was here that Frodo and Sam were received after they achieved the Quest of Mount Doom, and praised with great praise.

* Corn

A general name for various cereal crops, especially wheat or oats. In the legends of Middle-earth, corn was brought out of the west by the Númenóreans during the Second Age.

* Corollairë|Corollaírë|Corollaire

The ‘Green Mound’ of the Two Trees in Valinor; also called Ezellohar and Coron Oiolairë.

–—

The mound of the Two Trees.

A name for the Green Mound that stood outside the gates of Valmar, on which the Two Trees of Valinor grew. The name corollairë means literally means ‘summer mound’.

* Corsairs of Umbar|Corsairs|Corsair

Pirates from the lands south of Gondor.

The people of Umbar during the later Third Age, largely descended from Castamir the Usurper and his followers, who, though they were Gondorian in origin, continued a long enmity against the land of their ancestors.

* Cotman

The grandfather of Farmer Cotton.

The son of Cottar, and an ancestor of the Cottons of Bywater. Cotman was apparently not a wealthy Hobbit - his name means ‘cottage dweller’, meaning that he lived in a particularly small hobbit-hole. He married Rose, the daughter of Holman the greenhanded, and their son (also called Holman) was the first Hobbit to use the family-name of Cotton.

* Cottar

The ancestor of the Cotton family.

The oldest known member of the Cotton family, though in fact the name

‘Cotton’ would not appear until the time of his grandson Holman Cotton.

Cottar was born in the year 1220 by the Shire-reckoning, that is some two centuries before the War of the Ring. He had two sons, Cotman and Carl.

Cotman married Rose, the daughter of Holman the greenhanded, and so began a long association between Cottar’s descendants and Holman’s.

* Cotton Family|Cotton

The descendants of Cottar.

Cottar, the founder of the Cotton clan, was born some two hundred years before the War of the Ring. It was his grandson, Holman, who was the first to take the surname Cotton. ‘Long Horn’, as Holman was known, is also the first of the Cottons to be explicitly connected with the village of Bywater, which remained the seat of the family from that time on.

Indeed, the name ‘Cotton’ means ‘cottage town’, and may actually be a reference to Bywater village.

Holman’s son Tolman farmed the lands to the south of Bywater, and it was he who made the family one of the most important in the Shire. He played a significant part in the decisive Battle of Bywater, the most important step in the recovery of the Shire from Sharkey’s Men, and his daughter Rose married Sam Gamgee in the following spring.

* Council of Elrond

The council held at Rivendell before the departure of the Fellowship of the Ring.

–—

The war-council of the Wise.

The council held on 25 October III 3018 at Rivendell, where the history of the Ring was discussed, and its fate debated. Present at the council were representatives of all the free peoples of Middle-earth.

The Council of Elrond: Aragorn, Bilbo Baggins, Boromir, Elrond Halfelven, Erestor and other counsellors of Elrond, Frodo Baggins, Galdor of the Havens, Gandalf, Gimli, Glóin, Glorfindel, Legolas.

After much debate, four main proposals were put forward. Erestor, Elrond’s chief counsellor, suggested taking the Ring back westward to Tom Bombadil, in the hope that he could withhold it from Sauron. Glorfindel suggested something similar: carrying the Ring west to the Great Sea and casting it in. Both of these courses were thought too dangerous to attempt, and rejected for other reasons besides.

Boromir of Gondor had a bolder proposal: to take the Ring and wield it against its maker. The dangers of doing this were all too clear, and none of those present who might have taken up the Ring would agree to do so.

The final conclusion of the Council was to follow the course devised by Elrond himself, to carry the Ring into Mordor and cast it into Mount Doom. By no means all the Council agreed with this course. Erestor in particular saw little hope of succeeding. ‘That is the path of despair,’

he said, ‘Of folly I would say, if the long wisdom of Elrond did not forbid me.’ (The Fellowship of the Ring II 2, The Council of Elrond).

Nonetheless, Elrond’s plan was accepted as the only course possible. As Gandalf said, ‘It is wisdom to recognise necessity, when all other courses have been weighed…’ (ibid). Frodo the Ring-bearer took on the task, and a Company for him was assembled from five others of those present at the council, to which were added the Hobbits Samwise Gamgee, Meriadoc Brandybuck and Peregrin Took. This was the Company or Fellowship of the Ring, that set out for Rivendell on the journey that Erestor had called the ‘path of despair’.

* Council of Gondor

Advisors to the ruler of the South-kingdom.

In his account of Arvedui’s claim on Gondor’s throne, Tolkien once mentions a body known as the Council of Gondor, who act as the legal authority of Gondor after the loss of Ondoher left it kingless. Except for the fact that it acted under the control of Steward Pelendur, we are told almost nothing of this Council or its normal function.

It was traditional among the Men of Númenor for the King to maintain a council of advisers, and it is not unreasonable to presume that their descendants in Gondor followed a similar system. The Númenórean ‘Council of the Sceptre’ was composed of nobles from each of the main regions of Númenor, together with the King’s Heir. It is fair to assume, then, that Gondor’s Council was made up from representatives of each of the South-kingdom’s separate lands, probably in addition to the King’s heir, and apparently the Steward as well.

* Council of the Sceptre

Advisors to the King of Númenor.

The nobles and lords of Númenor, together with the King’s Heir, who gathered to advise the King on weighty matters of state.

* Council of the Wise

Also called the White Council, the alliance of the great among the Elves and Wizards formed in the Third Age to organize and coordinate the defence against Sauron and his servants.

* Country of Amroth|Amroth

Coast of Belfalas near Dol Amroth.

* Cows|Cow

Domestic beasts kept throughout Middle-earth. The most famous were the eastern variety known as the Kine of Araw.

* Cracks of Doom

The heart of Orodruin.

The Sammath Naur; the forge and workshop of Sauron tunnelled deep into Orodruin and open to its central fire.

* Crebain

Black crows out of the southern Misty Mountains.

Large black birds of crow-kind, native to the lands that bordered the southern Misty Mountains, Dunland to the west and Fangorn to the east.

They seemed to possess at least some level of intelligence, and were apparently used as spies by Saruman during the War of the Ring.

* Crickhollow

A village in the northern parts of Buckland; it was here that Frodo Baggins claimed to be his destination when he left Hobbiton.

* Crissaegrim

The mountain-peaks south of Gondolin, where were the eyries of Thorondor.

–—

The Abode of Eagles.

The sheer-sided peaks to the south of the concealed city of Gondolin; in their heights were the eyries of Thorondor and his Eagles.

From the peaks of the Crissaegrim, the Eagles guarded Gondolin from outsiders, and more than once they swept down from those inaccessible heights to play a part in the history of Middle-earth. It was from these mountains that Thorondor swooped to attack Morgoth himself after the Fall of Fingolfin, and to rescue Fingolfin’s body from Morgoth’s Wolves.

* Cross-roads

The road-meeting in central Ithilien.

The point in the land of Ithilien were the road running northward from the Harad was crossed by the East-West Road from Osgiliath to Minas Ithil (later Minas Morgul). Although originally built and maintained by the Men of Gondor, the Cross-roads had effectively fallen under the control of Sauron at the time of the War of the Ring.

* Crossings of Poros|Crossing of Poros

The ford that led into South Gondor.

The point on the River Poros where it was crossed by the Harad Road. The site of a battle in the late Third Age in which Steward Túrin II of Gondor and King Folcwine of Rohan defeated a force of the Haradrim.

* Crossings of Teiglin|The Crossings

In the southwest of the Forest of Brethil, where the old road southward from the Pass of Sirion crossed the Teiglin.

–—

The river-crossing under the eaves of Brethil.

The point in the middle course of the River Teiglin where it was crossed by the road running north to Minas Tirith, on the western borders of Brethil.

* Crown of Gondor

The jewelled helm of the Gondorian Kings.

The tall jewelled and winged helm that served the Kings of Gondor as a Crown. After the loss of the last King, Eärnur, it was held in the Houses of the Dead for nearly a thousand years, until a rightful heir came forward at the end of the Third Age.

* Crows|Crow

Black carrion birds associated in Tolkien’s work with the forces of darkness. The most feared variety in the Westlands of Middle-earth was the large type known as crebain.

* Cuiviénen|Cuivienen

‘Water of Awakening’, the lake in Middle-earth where the first Elves awoke, and where they were found by Oromë.

–—

Called the Water of Awakening, the land on the shores of the inland sea of Helcar where the first Elves awoke during the Years of the Trees; it lay far in the east of Middle-earth.

* Culumalda

Red-golden trees of the Field of Cormallen.

A tree that grew in North Ithilien, and especially in the woods around the Field of Cormallen. It is almost unknown apart from a passing note by Christopher Tolkien, but its name suggests that it was tall and thin, and that its leaves were red-golden in colour.

* Culúrien|Culurien

A name of Laurelin.

* Curufin

The fifth son of Fëanor, called the Crafty; father of Celebrimbor.

–—

The fifth son of Fëanor, closely associated with his elder brother Celegorm. He was slain in the assault by the Sons of Fëanor on Menegroth, but survived by his son Celebrimbor, who became the greatest of the jewel-smiths of Eregion.

* Curufinwë|Curufinwe

‘Skilful (son of) Finwë’, a name of the Noldorin Elf who is more commonly known as Fëanor.

* Curumo

The name of Curunír (Saruman) in Quenya.

–—

The name in Valinor of the Maia who came to Middle-earth as Saruman during the Third Age.

* Curunír|Curunir

‘The one of cunning devices’. Sindarin name of Saruman, one of the Istari (Wizards); also Curunir ‘Lân, ‘Saruman the White’. See Curumo.

–—

‘Man of Skill’, the Elvish name for the Wizard that Men called Saruman.

* Cúthalion|Cuthalion

The surname of Beleg of Doriath.

The surname and title of Beleg was derived from Sindarin cú thalion,

‘Strongbow’, and indeed often appears in its English form as well as the original Elvish.

* Daeron

Minstrel and chief loremaster of King Thingol of Doriath; deviser of the Cirth (Runes); enamoured of Lúthien and twice betrayed her; friend (or kinsman) of Saeros.

–—

A loremaster and minstrel to Thingol of Doriath, famed for his radical development of the cirth (runes).

* Dagnir

One of the twelve companions of Barahir on Dorthonion.

* Dagnir Glaurunga

‘Glaurung’s Bane’, Túrin.

* Dagor Aglareb|Glorious Battle|Third Battle The third great battle in the Wars of Beleriand, called ‘the Glorious Battle’. In about the seventy-fifth year of the First Age, Morgoth sent his Orcs to ravage Beleriand; they poured through the Pass of Sirion and Maglor’s Gap, but were beaten back and utterly destroyed by the armies of Fingolfin and Maedhros.

* Dagor Bragollach|Bragollach|Fourth Battle

‘The Battle of Sudden Flame’ (also simply the Bragollach), fourth of the great battles in the Wars of Beleriand, in which the Siege of Angband was ended.

–—

For more than four centuries, the forces of the Noldor had besieged Morgoth in his northern fortress of Angband, holding the northern mountain fences of Beleriand and their passes against his forces. In I 455 Morgoth broke the Siege of Angband in the battle that came to be known as the Dagor Bragollach, the Battle of Sudden Flame.

The Battle began one night in winter, when Morgoth sent out rivers of flame from Angband that consumed the wide plains of Ard-galen. Then came his armies, numberless Balrogs and Orcs, led by Glaurung the dragon. They forced the highlands of Dorthonion, and took the fortresses of Angrod and Aegnor who dwelt there. Maglor’s Gap was also taken, giving Morgoth an entry into Beleriand itself.

Maedhros’ fortress on Himring held against the tide of foes, and so did the tower of Minas Tirith in the west, and the mountain forts of Ered Wethrin. Nonetheless, the Siege was broken, the Sons of Fëanor scattered, and the forces of Morgoth roamed now at will throughout the northern lands.

As the battle raged against the Mountains of Shadow, Fingolfin the High King rode in anger across the dust of Anfauglith (the plain that had been Ard-galen) and challenged Morgoth to single combat. At the doors of Angband itself, they fought a great duel, but though Morgoth was wounded, Fingolfin was destroyed by the Hammer of the Underworld.

* Dagor Dagorath

The Last Battle.

The prophesied final battle between the forces of light and darkess, called the Last Battle, in which Morgoth will return and suffer his final and ultimate defeat.

* Dagor-nuin-Giliath|Battle-under-Stars|Battle under Stars|Second Battle

‘The Battle-under-Stars’, the second battle in the Wars of Beleriand, fought in Mithrim after the coming of Fëanor to Middle-earth.

–—

The starlit battle fought before the rising of the Moon, the second of the great battles in the Wars of Beleriand. Morgoth’s forces attacked Fëanor in Mithrim as he returned to Middle-earth from Aman, and yet the Noldor turned the attack and were victorious; Fëanor, though, pressed on toward Angband, and was slain by Balrogs.

* Dagorlad

‘Battle Plain’, east of Emyn Muil and near the Dead Marshes (north of Mordor), site of the great battle between Sauron and the Last Alliance of Elves and Men at the end of the Second Age.

–—

The Battle Plain before the gates of Mordor, where the bloody but decisive battle in the War of the Last Alliance was fought.

* Dáin I|Dáin|Dain

King of Durin’s Folk, son and heir of Náin II, and ancestor of both Thorin II Oakenshield and Dáin II Ironfoot.

* Dáin II Ironfoot|Dáin|Dain

Lord of the Dwarves of the Iron Hills, afterwards King under the Mountain; slain in the Battle of Dale.

–—

Heir to Thorin Oakenshield.

A descendant of Grór, the youngest son of Dáin I, and lord of the Dwarves of the Iron Hills. After the death of his cousin Thorin II Oakenshield in the Battle of Five Armies, Dáin inherited the titles King under the Mountain and King of Durin’s Folk.

* Dairuin

One of the twelve companions of Barahir on Dorthonion.

* Daisy Gamgee

Eldest daughter of Hamfast Gamgee and Bell Goodchild; a sister of Samwise Gamgee of the Company of the Ring.

* Daisy Gardner

A daughter of Samwise Gamgee and Rose Cotton; perhaps named for her aunt, Daisy Gamgee.

* Dale

Country of the Bardings about the feet of Mount Erebor, allied with the Kingdom of the Dwarves under the Mountain. See Battle of Dale.

–—

A township of Men lying between Erebor and Esgaroth, destroyed when Smaug descended on the Dwarf-kingdom. Dale was refounded after Smaug’s destruction by Bard, the descendant of its lords.

* Damrod

A Ranger of Ithilien, the companion of Mablung and trusted guard of Faramir.

* Dark Elf

Title of Eöl of Nan Elmoth.

When Melian set her Girdle around the land of Doriath, Thingol’s kinsman Eöl left that land, and dwelt instead in the forest of Nan Elmoth. Living under the dark shadows of that ancient forest, and preferring the night to the day, he came to be widely known as the Dark Elf.

Eöl’s epithet was no doubt influenced by the fact that the Sindarin Elves to whom he belonged were of the Moriquendi, the Dark Elves who had never seen the light of the Two Trees of Valinor.

* Dark Elves|Dark Elf

In the language of Aman all Elves that did not cross the Great Sea were Dark Elves (Moriquendi), and the term is sometimes used thus; when Caranthir called Thingol a Dark Elf it was intended opprobriously, and was especially so, since Thingol had been to Aman ‘and was not accounted among the Moriquendi’. But in the period of the Exile of the Noldor it was often used of the Elves of Middle-earth other than the Noldor and the Sindar, and is then virtually equivalent to Avari. Different again is the title Dark Elf of the Sindarin Elf Eöl; but in the Quenta Silmarillion, Turgon no doubt meant that Eöl was of the Moriquendi.

–—

The Moriquendi, those Elves who refused the summons of the Valar to Valinor, or fell away on the Great Journey, and never saw the light of the Two Trees.

The Dark Elves are often equated with the Avari, who refused the summons of the Valar and remained in the darkness of Middle-earth. This is not strictly correct; ‘Dark Elves’ also include those such as the Nandor and Sindar who started the Great Journey to Valinor, but never came there.

* Dark Land

Sauron’s domain of Mordor.

An occasional name used for Sauron’s fortified country of Mordor. In fact ‘Dark Land’ is a possible interpretation of the name Mordor, though the alternative ‘Black Land’ is used much more frequently.

On at least one early map of Arda, a great southern continent appears labelled ‘Dark Land’. This region is not otherwise mentioned, and is unrelated to the Dark Land mentioned in The Lord of the Rings.

* Dark Lands

Term for Middle-earth in Númenor.

* Dark Lord

The term is used of Morgoth, and of Sauron.

–—

The title given to the two great Ainur who ruled the forces of darkness in Middle-earth, Morgoth and Sauron.

–—

The First Dark Lord - Morgoth: Morgoth descended into Arda at its beginning, and battled with the Valar for ages uncounted before the awakening of Elves and Men from his fortress at Utumno in the north of the world. The Valar defeated him and imprisoned him for three ages, but on his release he returned to Angband, north of Beleriand. During the First Age, the Noldor made hopeless war upon him for the return of the Silmarils, but at last the Valar came to their aid and overthrew Morgoth, banishing him forever from the World.

–—

The Second Dark Lord - Sauron: Sauron was the ancient lieutenant of Morgoth, and after the first Dark Lord’s defeat, he took on his mantle and became a Dark Lord himself during the early Second Age. Taking the land of Mordor to dwell in, he corrupted the Númenóreans. Though he was defeated at the end of the Second Age, and his Dark Tower of Barad-dûr was thrown down, he rose again during the Third Age, and was finally defeated with the destruction of the One Ring in III 3019.

* Dark Mountains

An old name for the Mountains of Mirkwood.

The original name for the range of deeply forested hills that ran through the northern part of Greenwood the Great, whose name is a translation of the Elvish Emyn Duir. When the shadow of Dol Guldur fell on the forest, it was renamed ‘Mirkwood’, and this range of high hills came to be called the Mountains of Mirkwood.

* Dark Plague

The plague that robbed Gondor of its King.

The dreadful plague that swept through Middle-earth in the middle years of the Third Age; its effects were worst in Gondor and the southern lands, but it affected even those who lived in the far north.

* Dark Power

A common epithet used, especially in Gondor, to describe Sauron.

* Dark Throne

The throne of Morgoth in Angband, beneath which Beren hid during the Quest of the Silmaril.

* Dark Tower

A name for Sauron’s fortress of Barad-dûr, in the Black Land of Mordor.

* Dark Years

The years of the dominion of Sauron in the Second Age.

–—

A term for the long years of hardship of the Men of Middle-earth during the Second Age. While Númenor flourished, the Men of Middle-earth endured trouble and war, and many of them turned to the worship of Sauron in this time. The Dark Years ended with the coming of Elendil and his sons near the end of the Second Age.

* Darkening of Valinor

The destruction of the Two Trees of Valinor by Morgoth and Ungoliant shortly before the beginning of the First Age.

* Dead Marshes

Wide stagnant marshes south-east of Emyn Muil, in which the slain of the Battle of Dagorlad were seen.

–—

The fetid swamplands that lay between the Emyn Muil and the northern marches of Mordor, the site at the end of the Second Age of many deaths during the War of the Last Alliance, and still said to be haunted at the end of Third Age, three thousand years later.

* Dead Men of Dunharrow

Men of Ered Nimrais who were cursed by Isildur for breaking their oath of allegiance to him.

* Dead Tree

The last White Tree of Gondor, which died at the same time as Belecthor II the ninth Ruling Steward; for lack of a seedling, the dead tree was left standing in the courts of Minas Tirith.

* Déagol|Deagol

A Stoor of the Vales of Anduin, finder of the One Ring.

–—

The short-lived discoverer of the One Ring.

A hobbit-like creature of the same kind as Sméagol (Gollum), who found the One Ring on the bed of the River Anduin while fishing. He was murdered by his friend Sméagol, who stole the Ring.

* Deathless

Title given to Durin, eldest of the Fathers of the Dwarves. Though he lived to a very great age, Durin was not in fact deathless; he died some time during the First Age.

* Deep Elves|Deep Elf|Deep-elves|Deep-elf

A name for the Noldor.

–—

“Next came the Noldor, a name of wisdom, the people of Finwë. They are the Deep Elves, the friends of Aulë; and they are renowned in song…”

(Quenta Silmarillion 3, Of the Coming of the Elves and the Captivity of Melkor)

–—

A rarely-used name for the Noldor, the division of the Elves that Finwë led into Valinor.

‘Deep’ is here used in the sense of ‘profound’ or ‘wise’; the Noldor were considered the most learned and inventive of the Eldar; the great Vala Aulë taught them much during their time in Aman.

* Deephallow

A village on the Shire’s eastern border, built on the banks of the River Brandywine. Immediately across the river was Haysend, the southernmost point of Buckland, while just to the south of Deephallow, the River Shirebourn flowed into the Brandywine.

* Deeping Wall

The defensive wall of Helm’s Deep.

–—

“A wall, too, the men of old had made from the Hornburg to the southern cliff, barring the entrance to the gorge.”

(The Two Towers III 7, Helm’s Deep)

–—

The solid stone wall, some twenty feet in height, that defended the refuges of the Rohirrim at Helm’s Deep. It lay beneath the castle of the Hornburg, to which it was connected by a flight of steps. In the Battle of the Hornburg, it was breached for the only time in its history by a besieging army of Orcs and Dunlendings, but they were soon driven back and defeated.

* Deeping-coomb

The valley leading up to Helm’s Deep.

–—

The valley that led to Helm’s Deep.

The deep, well-defended valley in the northern White Mountains that held Helm’s Deep and the castle of the Hornburg. The site of an important battle, the Battle of the Hornburg, during the War of the Ring.

* Deeping-road

Road running northwards from the Deeping-coomb to join the Great Road east of the Fords of Isen.

* Deeping-stream

Stream flowing out of Helm’s Deep down into Westfold.

–—

The stream of Helm’s Deep.

The stream that rose in the gorge of the White Mountains known as Helm’s Deep. It flowed through a culvert in the wall that guarded that refuge of the Rohirrim, and then around the feet of the rock where the Hornburg stood, before beginning its journey into the wide lands of Rohan.

* Deer

Graceful creatures found throughout Middle-earth. Deer were traditionally dedicated to the Vala Nessa, and were said to follow her as she travelled through the wild lands.

* Deldúwath|Delduwath

One of the later names of Dorthonion (Taur-nu-Fuin), meaning ‘Horror of Night-shadow’.

* Demons

Monstrous servants of Morgoth.

Dread creatures that ranked among the most powerful of Morgoth’s servants. The most feared of demons were the Balrogs, Maiar seduced to Melkor’s service in the beginning of the world, but it seems the Dark Lord also had other lesser demons at his command.

* Denethor of the Nandor|Denethor

Leader of the Nandorin Elves that came at last west over the Blue Mountains and dwelt in Ossiriand; slain on Amon Ereb in the First Battle of Beleriand.

–—

Leader of the Green-elves.

A Nandorin Elf, the son of Lenwë, who led a part of his people westward over the Blue Mountains into Ossiriand, where they became known as the Laiquendi or Green-elves.

* Denethor I (Steward of Gondor)|Denethor

The Steward who saw the end of the Watchful Peace.

Denethor I was the tenth Steward to rule Gondor, in whose time the realm suffered perhaps the most calamitous upheaval in its history. When Denethor succeeded his childless uncle Dior in III 2435, Gondor had known peace for many generations. Nearly four hundred years earlier, during the Stewardship of Denethor’s noble ancestor Mardil, Gandalf had gone to Dol Guldur and forced Sauron to withdraw into the east of Middle-earth.

Though it was known that the Nazgûl still infested Minas Morgul, they offered no threat to the South-kingdom, and Denethor had every reason to hope that this time of Watchful Peace would continue in his time.

He was wrong. III 2460, the twenty-fifth of Denethor’s rule, would be last year to see Gondor fully at peace for nearly six centuries. In that year, Sauron gave up his exile and returned to his fortress of Dol Guldur in Mirkwood. Just a few years later, it was seen that the Nazgûl had not been idle in the years of the Peace - they unleashed a force of hideous soldier-orcs on Gondor, of the kind that was then unknown, but would become known as the Uruk-hai. They ravaged Ithilien and took Osgiliath, but Denethor’s heir Boromir fought them back and recovered Gondor’s holdings east of the River, though he was dreadfully wounded. These were the first skirmishes in a conflict that would not truly end until the time of the War of the Ring.

Denethor I ruled as Steward for forty-two years, and was succeeded by his son Boromir.

* Denethor II (Steward of Gondor)|Denethor Twenty-sixth and last (but one) Ruling Steward of Gondor, the second of the name; Lord of Minas Tirith at the time of the War of the Ring; father of Boromir and Faramir.

–—

Lord of Minas Tirith.

Born during the Stewardship of his grandfather Turgon, Denethor was a Gondorian noble who would see some of the most turbulent times in his country’s long history, culminating in the War of the Ring itself. While still a youth of twenty-one, he saw Sauron re-emerge as the Dark Lord of Mordor, and start building his power on Gondor’s eastern borders. Just a few short years later, Mount Doom burst into fire once again. In Gondor’s time of need, a new hero arose, and for a time Steward Ecthelion II (who had recently succeeded his father Turgon) was served by the mysterious captain Thorongil (who was long afterwards discovered to be none other than Aragorn of the Northern Dúnedain).

Nearly twenty years passed, and beneath the looming threat of Mordor, Denethor wedded Finduilas, the daughter of Adrahil of Dol Amroth.

Together they had two sons, Boromir and Faramir. Soon after, Denethor’s father Ecthelion died, and Denethor succeeded to become Steward Denethor II.

Just four years after Denethor succeeded to the Stewardship, Finduilas died at a young age for one of her line. For the next thirty years, Denethor ruled as a grim and serious Steward, and it later became known that for at least some of this time, he had made use of a palantír to gain knowledge, through which the malice of Sauron had begun to sap his will. In the end, the death of his elder son Boromir, and the imagined loss of his younger son Faramir, sent him mad. He burned himself to death with his palantír in his hands.

Denethor II ruled as Steward for thirty-five years, and was succeeded by his younger son Faramir.

* Déor|Deor

Seventh King of Rohan.

–—

A direct descendant of Eorl the Young, who inherited the Kingship of Rohan from his father Goldwine. Déor’s great-great-grandfather, Aldor the Old, had hunted out the Dunlendings that had harried the eastern borders of Rohan, and his successors Fréa, Fréawine and Goldwine had enjoyed peaceful reigns because of their ancestor’s enterprises. In Déor’s time, this peace came to an end.

It was later discovered that the Dunlendings had secretly been moving back into the northwestern uplands of Rohan throughout the reigns of Déor’s predecessors. By Déor’s own time, a powerful Dunlendish force had been established, and Déor was forced to ride northward from Edoras, ultimately to defeat his enemies. The victory was a bitter one, though, for he discovered that the Dunlendings had also captured the Ring of Isengard, which Déor had no possible means of recapturing. So Déor’s reign saw the beginning of a danger from the north that would reach a crisis nearly fifty years later, when the Dunlendings were to come close to destroying Rohan alogether.

Déor’s turbulent reign lasted nineteen years. He was succeeded as King by his son, Gram.

* Déorwine|Deorwine

A brave knight of Rohan.

An important knight of the Rohirrim. He had the rank of chief of the King’s knights (that is, the King’s Riders, the personal bodyguard of the King of Rohan). He fell with six of his men at the Battle of the Pelennor Fields before the gates of Minas Tirith.

* Dernhelm

Éowyn as a Rider of the Rohirrim.

The alias taken by Éowyn when she broke the command of her uncle Théoden and rode the the Battle of the Pelennor.

* Diamond of Long Cleeve

The wife of Thain Peregrin Took I, and mother of Faramir Took I.

* Dimbar

The land between the rivers Sirion and Mindeb.

–—

The empty land beneath the Crissaegrim.

An empty land in the north of Beleriand, lying between the Forests of Brethil in the west and Neldoreth in the east.

* Dimrill Dale

The valley of Nanduhirion.

The name given in the Common Speech to the valley that lay to the east of Khazad-dûm, called Nanduhirion by the Elves and Azanulbizar by the Dwarves.

* Dimrill Stair

The pass down into the Dimrill Dale.

The name given to the southeastern part of the Redhorn Pass, leading down into Nanduhirion, the Dimrill Dale. It was named the Dimrill Stair because of the sequence of waterfalls that led down into the lake of Kheled-zâram.

* Dimrost

The falls of Celebros in the Forest of Brethil; translated as ‘the Rainy Stair’. Afterwards called Nen Girith.

* Dior (Steward of Gondor)|Dior

The ninth Ruling Steward of Gondor.

Dior’s grandfather Hador was the last truly long-lived of the Stewards, and ruled Gondor for one hundred and seventeen years. This meant that his son Barahir, and his grandson Dior both came late to the Stewardship and ruled for only a brief time. Dior was the last Steward to enjoy an untroubled rule, as his heir Denethor would see the breaking of the Watchful Peace, and the beginning of centuries of warfare.

Dior is remarkable as the only recorded Ruling Steward to leave no direct heir. In volume XII of The History of Middle-earth we’re told that he had no children of his own, and was succeeded therefore by the son of his sister Rían. This seems to be borne out by the Appendices to The Lord of the Rings, which state that Gondor’s Stewardship became ‘…

hereditary as a kingship, from father to son or nearest kin.’ (Appendix A iv The Stewards, our italics). This reference to ‘nearest kin’ seems intended to refer specifically to Dior.

Dior ruled as Steward for twenty-three years, and seems to have been succeeded by his nephew Denethor I.

* Dior Eluchíl|Dior

Called Aranel, and also Eluchíl ‘Thingol’s Heir’; son of Beren and Lúthien and father of Elwing, Elrond’s mother; came to Doriath from Ossiriand after the death of Thingol, and received the Silmaril after the death of Beren and Lúthien; slain in Menegroth by the sons of Fëanor.

–—

Grandson of King Elu Thingol, and son of Beren and Lúthien, he dwelt with them for a while in Tol Galen. After Thingol was slain by Dwarves in Menegroth, and his halls sacked by the host of Nogrod, Dior went to dwell there as King of Doriath, with his wife Nimloth. At the passing of Beren and Lúthien, the Silmaril that Lúthien had worn was brought to Dior in Menegroth. He was assailed by the Sons of Fëanor, who claimed the jewel for themselves, and slain in the final Ruin of Doriath.

* Dírhavel|Dirhavel

The poet supossed to have written the Narn i Hîn Húrin, the ‘Tale of the Children of Húrin’. A Man who lived at the Havens of Sirion in the days of Eärendil and perished in the attack of the sons of Fëanor.

* Dirnaith

Wedge-shaped battle-formation used by the Dúnedain.

* Dís|Dis

The daughter of Thráin II, and sister of Thorin II Oakenshield. The mother of Fíli and Kíli, she is the only Dwarf-woman named by Tolkien.

* Disaster of the Gladden Fields

The loss of Isildur and his Bane.

The orc-raid at the beginning of the Third Age, in which Isildur was lost in the River Anduin, and with him the One Ring that he had taken from Sauron.

* Dogs|Dog

Common domestic animals in Middle-earth. The greatest of them all was Huan, the Hound of Valinor.

* Dol Amroth

Stronghold on a promontory of Belfalas, named after Amroth King of Lórien.

–—

The seat of Princes on the coasts of Gondor.

A headland of western Gondor, ruled as a hereditary princedom by the descendants of Galador during the last millennium of the Third Age.

* Dol Baran

‘Gold-brown Hill’, a hill at the southern end of the Misty Mountains, where Peregrin Took looked into the Palantír of Orthanc.

–—

Last of the southern foothills of the Misty Mountains.

A hill in the land of Rohan, the last southern outpost of the northern range of the Misty Mountains. It was here that Peregrin Took looked into the Palantír of Orthanc.

* Dol Guldur

‘Hill of Sorcery’ or ‘Hill of Black Magic’, a treeless height in the south-west of Mirkwood, fastness of the Necromancer before he was revealed as Sauron returned.

–—

The lair of the Necromancer.

The stronghold of Sauron in the southern regions of Mirkwood, where he dwelt in secret as the Necromancer, until discovered by the Wise. When they assaulted him, he withdrew to Mordor, but the Nazgûl soon returned to reclaim Dol Guldur.

* Dolmed

‘Wet Head’ a great mountain in the Ered Luin, near the Dwarf-cities of Nogrod and Belegost.

–—

The central peak of the Blue Mountains.

One of the greatest mountains of the Ered Luin on the eastern borders of Beleriand, lying at the mid-point of the range near the Dwarf-cities of Nogrod and Belegost.

* Dome of Stars

The great hall of Osgiliath.

The great dome that lay in the heart of the ancient Gondorian capital, Osgiliath, and from which that city took its name (‘Fortress of Stars’).

The Palantír of Osgiliath was held beneath its starred vault.

* Doom of Mandos

The Doomsman’s Prophecy of the North.

The dreadful prophecy and curse uttered by Mandos to Fëanor and the Noldor as they marched back to Middle-earth from Aman, against the will of the Valar. The prophecy foretold many things that later came to pass, especially the evil consequences of the Oath of Fëanor for himself and his Sons. So powerful were Mandos’ words that Fëanor’s half-brother Finarfin gave up the march, and led his people back to dwell in Valinor.

* Doomsman of the Valar

Mandos, the harbinger of fate.

Title given to Mandos, who is given the power to pronounce judgement in matters of fate.

* Doors of Durin

The West-gate of Moria.

The enchanted doors that guarded the western entrance to Khazad-dûm.

They were made by Narvi in the Second Age, and Celebrimbor himself traced signs on the doors in ithildin. The gateway would normally stand open during the years of friendship between Khazad-dûm and Celebrimbor’s people in Eregion, to the west. When they were closed they could be opened again by speaking a single word, ‘mellon’ - the Elvish for

‘friend’.

* Dor Caranthir

‘Land of Caranthir’; see Thargelion.

–—

The wide lands of Caranthir the Dark.

The later name for the lands east of the river Gelion and north of the Ascar. Originally known simply as Thargelion, the land beyond Gelion, they were settled by Fëanor’s fourth son Caranthir and his people, after which this region became known as Dor Caranthir, ‘Caranthir’s land’.

* Dor Daedeloth

‘Land of the Shadow of Horror’, the land of Morgoth in the north.

* Dor Dínen|Dor Dinen

‘The Silent Land’, where nothing dwelt, between the upper waters of Esgalduin and Aros.

* Dor Firn-i-Guinar

‘Land of the Dead that Live’, name of that region in Ossiriand where Beren and Lúthien dwelt after their return.

–—

At the ending of the Quest of the Silmaril, Beren met his death at the jaws of the great wolf Carcharoth. So great was Lúthien’s love of him, though, that she surrendered her own immortality so that he might return to Middle-earth for a time.

They returned out of the Halls of Waiting, and on the green island of Tol Galen in the southern lands of Ossiriand, they lived in a Land of the Dead that Live, or Dor Firn-i-Guinar in the Elventongue.

No mortal Man saw Beren or Lúthien ever again, but they had happy relations with the Green-elves of Ossiriand who lived around them. After the slaying of Lúthien’s father Thingol, Beren took a force of Green-elves north to avenge his death, and recover the stolen Silmaril.

From that time, the Silmaril was kept in Dor Firn-i-Guinar and borne by Lúthien, and that land was said to become ‘like a vision of the land of the Valar’. Dior, the son of Beren and Lúthien, then left Dor Firn-i-Guinar with his family, and went to take up the rule his lost grandfather’s kingdom of Doriath.

Both Beren and Lúthien were mortal, and at last their lives came to an end, and with them their Land of the Dead that Live. A lord of the Green-elves took the Silmaril, and brought it to their heir, Dior, in Doriath, and Dor Firn-i-Guinar was no more.

* Dor-Cúarthol|Dor-Cuarthol

‘Land of Bow and Helm’, name of the country defended by Beleg and Túrin from their lair on Amon Rûdh.

–—

The Land of Bow and Helm.

In Doriath, Túrin Turambar and Beleg Strongbow were great friends and comrades in arms. Through a tragic mistake, Túrin caused the death of one of King Thingol’s courtiers, and fled the land where he had grown up.

After many adventures in the wild, he joined himself to an outlaw band who eventually came to the occupy the hill known as Amon Rudh. This was the old home of a family of Petty-dwarves, Mîm and his sons, who gave his home over to the outlaws in ransom for his life.

One day in the midst of winter, Beleg sought out his old friend Túrin, and they formed an alliance to defend that region against the Orcs of Morgoth. Túrin took a new name, Gorthol, from the dreadful helm of his ancestors that Beleg had brought to him. Together with Túrin’s outlaws, they commanded a land that stretched from the River Teiglin in the north to the edges of Doriath in the south and east. This land was given the name Dor-Cúarthol, the Land of Bow and Helm; the name comes from Beleg’s great bow and the Dragon-helm of Dor-lómin borne by Túrin.

The land of Dor-Cúarthol was to survive for less than a year. Perceiving that ‘Gorthol’ was truly Túrin the son of Húrin, Morgoth sent his spies to watch the lands around Amon Rudh. Mîm the Petty-dwarf, whose mansions the Two Captains had occupied, struck a bargain with the captain of Morgoth’s Orcs, and betrayed Beleg and Túrin. The outlaws were routed, Beleg was left for dead, and Túrin was captured and led away to the north. Though Beleg in fact survived, and later rescued Túrin, this was the end of the short-lived land of Dor-Cúarthol.

* Dor-en-Ernil

‘Land of the Prince’, in Gondor west of the river Gilrain.

* Dor-lómin|Dor-lomin

Region in the south of Hithlum, the territory of Fingon, given as a fief to the House of Hador; the home of Húrin and Morwen.

–—

The southern region of Hithlum.

The name given to the lands that lay to the northwest of Beleriand, ruled as a hereditary fief under the Kings of the Noldor by the Men of the House of Hador.

* Dor-nu-Fauglith

‘Land under Choking Ash’; see Anfauglith.

* Dora Baggins

Frodo Baggins’ aunt, the sister of Frodo’s father Drogo.

* Dori

A Dwarf of the House of Durin, who accompanied his lord Thorin II Oakenshield on the Quest of Erebor.

* Doriath|Dor Iâth|Dor Iath

‘Fenced Land’ (Dor Iâth), referring to the Girdle of Melian, earlier called Eglador; the kingdom of Thingol and Melian in the forests of Neldoreth and Region, ruled from Menegroth on the river Esgalduin. Also called the Guarded Realm and the Hidden Kingdom.

–—

Thingol’s Hidden Kingdom.

The mighty forest kingdom of Elu Thingol, greatest of the realms of the Sindar in Beleriand. The kingdom lay in two parts, separated by the River Esgalduin. The lesser, northwestern Forest of Neldoreth, and the greater, southern Forest of Region. These forests, and the small oakwood known as Nivrim on the western banks of the Sirion, were encompassed by the Girdle of Melian, which protected the land from its enemies.

In the midst of Doriath, carved into the rock by the River Esgalduin, lay the Halls of Menegroth, the Thousand Caves, citadel of King Thingol and Melian his queen.

Though Thingol ruled Doriath for long ages, he was slain in the last years of the First Age by Dwarves. After this his realm was ruled for a short time by his grandson Dior Eluchíl, before its final destruction by the Sons of Fëanor.

* Dorlas

A Man of the Haladin in Brethil; went with Túrin and Hunthor to the attack on Glaurung, but withdrew in fear; slain by Brandir the Lame.

–—

A fearful companion of Túrin.

A Man of the People of Haleth, who went with Túrin Turambar to slay the dragon Glaurung. Burdened with fear, he turned back from the quest, and was slain by Brandir.

* Dorthonion

‘Land of Pines’, the great forested highlands on the northern borders of Beleriand, afterwards called Taur-nu-Fuin.

–—

The pine-forested highlands above Beleriand.

A highland region lying immediately to the north of Beleriand; overrun by Morgoth in the Dagor Bragollach, after which it was known as Taur-nu-Fuin.

* Dorwinion

Source of the finest wines of Middle-earth.

A little-known land, probably lying in the vales of the River Running, famed for its great gardens and the quality of its wine.

* Downfall of Barad-dûr|Downfall of Barad-dur The final destruction of Sauron’s Dark Tower of Barad-dûr, caused by the One Ring being cast into the flames of Orodruin.

* Downfall of Númenor|Downfall of Numenor

The drowning of Westernesse.

The utter destruction of the island of Númenor, a divine punishment for King Ar-Pharazôn’s assault on the Undying Lands. Only Elendil and his companions escaped the wreck.

* Dragon of Erebor

Title given to Smaug after his attack on the Dwarf-kingdom of Erebor; after its destruction, he remained in its halls until slain by Bard of Dale.

* Dragon-helm of Dor-lómin|Dragon-helm|Dragon of Dor-lómin Heirloom of the House of Hador, worn by Túrin; also called the Helm of Hador.

–—

A visored steel helm, embossed and embellished with gold, that bore as its crest the head of Glaurung the Dragon. It was made originally for Azaghâl of Belegost, who gave it as a gift to Maedhros, who in turn passed it on to his cousin Fingon. When Fingon made Hador the Lord of Dor-lómin, he granted the Dragon-helm to the new lord, and indeed legend tells that only Hador and his son Galdor had the strength to bear the mighty helm.

There was at least one other Man strong enough the bear the helm: Galdor’s grandson Túrin. He often wore the Dragon-helm to war, and took one of his many names from it: Gorthol, the Dread Helm. The last clear record of the Dragon-helm is at the Battle of Tumhalad, where Túrin is known to have worn it. Beyond this, there is a suggestion that he may have taken it with him to Brethil, and perhaps even worn it at the slaying of Glaurung himself. After that point, the great heirloom of the House of Hador is lost to history.

* Dragon-spell

The will-sapping gaze of the dragon.

The bewildering magical gaze of certain powerful dragons, notably Glaurung and Smaug.

* Dragons|Dragon

The Worms of Morgoth.

Mighty reptilian creatures who ranked among the most feared of the servants of the Dark Lord. Of the origins of dragons, no tale tells; the first of them to be seen was Glaurung, Father of Dragons, who first issued from Angband in the middle of the First Age. After Glaurung came many others to strike fear into Elves and Men for the next three ages; among them were Ancalagon the first winged dragon, Scatha who dwelt in the cold northern wastes, and Smaug, last of the great dragons.

Dragons have powers of intelligence and speech, and many are also able to cast the dragon-spell, a bewildering confusion that effects any who gaze into the eye of the creature.

The dragons were not destroyed at the end of the Third Age; some are said to have survived to our own time, but the great worms and drakes of the Elder Days are no more.

* Dramborleg

The great axe of Tuor, preserved in Númenor.

* Draugluin

The great werewolf slain by Huan at Tol-in-Gaurhoth, and in whose form Beren entered Angband.

–—

A wolf servant of Sauron, called the lord and sire of the werewolves of Angband. He was slain by Huan, and Beren used his pelt as a disguise in his quest for a Silmaril.

* Dread Helm

The meaning of Túrin’s alias Gorthol.

The translation of Gorthol, a name used by Túrin during the time he dwelt with Beleg Strongbow in the caverns of Amon Rudh. It comes from the Dragon-helm of Dor-lómin that he wore when he hunted Orcs with Beleg, and the fame of his helm, and the bow of Beleg, gave that region for a time the name Dor-Cúarthol, the Land of Bow and Helm.

Because of its fame, the mighty Helm of Hador was to be Túrin’s undoing.

Through it, despite his alias, Morgoth was able to learn where Túrin could be found. Through the treachery of Mîm, Túrin was captured by Orcs, and carried off toward Angband.

* Drengist

The long firth piercing Ered Lómin, between Lammoth and Nevrast.

–—

A firth of the Great Sea where it broke through the mountains of Ered Lómin and reached the Cirith Ninniach, to the north of the land of Nevrast.

* Drogo Baggins|Drogo

Frodo Baggins’ father; he drowned in a boating accident with his wife Primula while Frodo was still young.

* Drúadan|Druadan

Forest of Anórien at the eastern end of Ered Nimrais, where a remnant of the Drúedain or ‘Wild Men’ survived in the Third Age.

–—

The forest beneath the Eilenach Beacon.

The forest that grew around the feet of the Eilenach beacon-hill in Anórien, so named for the remnant of the Drúedain who lived there.

* Drúath|Druath|Drû|Dru|Drúin|Druin

The Drúedain. (Singular Drû, plural also Drúin; Sindarin forms derived from the native name Drughu). See Róg, Rú.

* Drúedain|Druedain

Sindarin name (from Drû + adan, plural edain) of the ‘Wild Men’ of Ered Nimrais (and of the Forest of Brethil in the First Age). Called Wild Men, Woses; and see Púkel-men.

–—

Wild Men of the Woods.

An ancient branch of the race of Men, active in the wars against Morgoth in the First Age, and granted a home with the Edain in Númenor during the Second Age. By the end of the Third Age, the Drúedain had become a secretive and dwindling people: the ‘woses’ of the Drúadan Forest may have been the last of their kind in Middle-earth.

* Drúedain of Beleriand|Druedain of Beleriand The ancestral Woses of the First Age.

Those Drúedain who lived and fought as allies of the Edain in Beleriand during the First Age. Like the Edain, those who survived the War of Wrath at the end of the Age removed to Númenor.

* Drûg|Drug|Drûgs|Drugs

The Drúedain.

* Drughu

The beings that ordinary Men called ‘woses’.

The strange and secretive relatives of Men that were sometimes called

‘woses’. Drughu was their own name for their kind, and the ultimate source of their Sindarin name, Drúedain.

* Drúwaith Iaur|Druwaith Iaur|Old Púkel-land|Old Pukel-land|Old Púkel-wilderness|Old Pukel-wilderness

‘The old wilderness of the Drû-folk’ in the mountainous promontory of Andrast. Called the Old Púkel-wilderness, and Old Púkel-land.

–—

Old Púkel-land.

The name given to the western lands between the Rivers Isen and Lefnui, and especially the mountains above Andrast. This region was at one time home to a large population of Drúedain or Púkel-men. After the War of the Ring, it was discovered that the ancient inhabitants of this coastal region were not extinct, as had been thought, but in fact survived in small numbers.

* Dry River

The river that once flowed out under the Encircling Mountains (from the primeval lake where was afterwards Tumladen) to join Sirion; forming the entrance to the plain of Gondolin.

–—

The entranceway to Turgon’s realm.

The name given to the dry bed of what had once been a tributary of the River Sirion rising in the Encircling Mountains. At the northern end of its gully lay the entrance to the Hidden City of Gondolin.

* Dudo Baggins|Dudo

Frodo Baggins’ uncle, the younger brother of Frodo’s father Drogo.

* Duilwen

The fifth of the tributaries of Gelion in Ossiriand.

–—

The fifth of Gelion’s six tributaries.

One of the six rivers that flowed west through Ossiriand to meet Gelion.

The Duilwen was the last-but-one of these to flow into the great south-flowing river; only the Adurant was further south. The name Duilwen means

‘fresh river’.

* Dúnadan|Dunadan

A title for the Númenóreans or their descendants.

The singular form of Dúnedain, meaning ‘Man of the West’. A title applied to Aragorn in Rivendell.

* Dúnedain|Dunedain

‘The Edain of the West’, or ‘High Men of the West’. See Númenóreans.

–—

The Men of Númenor in Middle-earth.

A term used in Middle-earth for the Men of Númenor and (especially) their descendants in Arnor and Gondor after the Downfall in II 3319.

* Dúnedain of the North|Dunedain of the North Descendants of the lords of Arnor.

The remnant of the Exiles of Númenor in the northern lands of Middle-earth. They raised mighty realms and lost them during the Third Age, and for the millennium before the War of the Ring, they were a wandering people. Their leader, who took the title ‘Chieftain’, was the descendant of the ancient King, Isildur.

* Dúnedain of the South|Dunedain of the South The Gondorians.

The descendants of the Exiles of Númenor who settled in the southern lands of Middle-earth, and founded the South-kingdom of Gondor. Their first independent King was Meneldil, the nephew of Isildur, whose line ruled over Gondor for more than two thousand years. Unlike their cousins in the North, the Dúnedain of the South maintained their realm even after the loss of its Kings, and it survived under the rule of the Stewards until the time of the War of the Ring, when the Kingship was restored.

* Dunharrow

Fortified refuge in Ered Nimrais abore Harrowdale, approached by a climbing road at each turn of which were set the statues called Púkel-men. See also Dead Men of Dunharrow.

–—

A refuge of the Rohirrim, hidden in the deep vales of the White Mountains and fortified against attack.

* Dúnhere

Rider of Rohan, Lord of Harrowdale; fought at the Fords of Isen and at the Pelennor Fields, where he was slain.

* Dunland

A country about the west-skirts of the Misty Mountains at their far southern end, inhabited by the Dunlendings. Adjectives: Dunlending and Dunlendish.

–—

The wild land of the Dunlendings.

A land in the eastern regions of the Enedwaith, beneath the southern Misty Mountains. Its warlike inhabitants were known as Dunlendings, blood-enemies of the Rohirrim.

* Dunlendings|Dunlending

Inhabitants of Dunland, remnants of an old race fo Men that once lived in the valleys of Ered Nimrais; akin to the Dead Men of Dunharrow and to the Breelanders.

–—

Ancient enemies of the Rohirrim.

Wild Men who inhabited Dunland in the southern regions of Eriador during the Third Age; the sworn enemies of the Rohirrim.

* Durin I the Deathless|Durin

Lord of the Dwarves of Khazad-dûm (Moria).

–—

Eldest of Dwarves.

The eldest of the Seven Fathers of the Dwarves, the first of that race to be created by the Vala Aulë. He was set to sleep under the mountains of Middle-earth until after the awakening of the Elves.

When he woke, he journeyed in the wilds until he came upon the Mirrormere, the lake that the Dwarves call Kheled-zâram. Looking upon mysterious stars reflected in its surface, he took this as a sign, and there founded a great city tunnelled in the heart of the Misty Mountains.

This was Khazad-dûm, later called Moria.

Durin lived to a great age even by the measure of the Dwarves, but though he was called the Deathless, he was not immortal. He died some time before the end of the First Age, but he founded the line of the Kings of Durin’s Folk that extended down through the history of Middle-earth.

* Durin III|Durin

King of Durin’s Folk in Khazad-dûm at the time of Sauron’s assault on Eregion.

–—

A King of Khazad-dûm during the Second Age.

The King of Durin’s Folk at the height of their friendship with the Elves of Eregion. According to legend, he was given a Ring of Power - the ring that would later be known as the Ring of Thrór - by Celebrimbor himself.

* Durin VI|Durin

Doomed King of Khazad-dûm.

A descendant of Durin the Deathless, Durin VI was the King of Durin’s Folk when the Balrog was awoken in Khazad-dûm. The Balrog’s name, Durin’s Bane, comes from this King, who was one of the first to be slain by it.

* Durin VII|Durin

The last descendant of Durin to bear his name.

The last of the seven Durins appears once in Appendix A to The Lord of the Rings, as an undated descendant of Thorin III. As such, we know almost nothing of him apart from the bare fact of his existence.

In volume 12 of The History of Middle-earth (The Peoples of Middle-earth), though, we have access to the proofs of Appendix A, and a little more of Durin’s life is revealed. His birth, it seems, was prophesied at the Battle of Five Armies, and he was born several centuries later. He led Durin’s Folk back to recolonise Khazad-dûm during the Fourth Age, where they remained ‘until the world grew old and the Dwarves failed and the days of Durin’s race were ended.‘1 The status of this story is unclear, though: it never appeared in The Lord of the Rings, and may have been rejected by Tolkien after its composition.

* Durin’s Bane|Bane of Durin

The Balrog of Moria.

–—

“Moria! Moria! Wonder of the Northern world! Too deep we delved there, and woke the nameless fear.”

(Words of Glóin from The Lord of the Rings 2 II, The Council of Elrond)

–—

When the Valar came against Morgoth at the end of the First Age, most of his servants were destroyed, but some few fled into the World and hid themselves in dark places. One such was a Balrog, probably the last of its kind in Middle-earth, that escaped into the east from the ruin of Angband and buried itself in the roots of the Misty Mountains beneath Khazad-dûm.

For more than five millennia, the Balrog ‘slept’ in its deep hiding place (perhaps it was using this time to grow in power, or rebuild its physical form). It remained undisturbed as the Second Age passed, and long into the Third. At last, the mithril-miners of King Durin VI stumbled upon it and it awoke from its long sleep. Durin was slain by the creature and his son Náin I became King.

It seems that, under Náin, the Dwarves attempted to make a stand against the Balrog, but it was a power too great for them to control. For a year, they attempted to hold their mansions against it, but at last Náin and many of his subjects were slain, and the survivors fled from their ancient halls. At this time too, many of the Silvan Elves of Lórien left their land and escaped into the south.

For some five hundred years, Moria (as Khazad-dûm became known) was deserted but for the Balrog. In around the year 2480, though, Sauron began to put his plans for war into effect, and as part of these, he sent Orcs and Trolls to infest the Misty Mountains and bar the passes from Eriador into Rhovanion. Some of these creatures came to Moria.

We are not told whether Sauron was aware of the Balrog’s existence until then - certainly the exiled Dwarves had not recognised what kind of creature Durin’s Bane was. It is clear, though, that the Balrog acknowledged Sauron’s authority - if only because it allowed his creatures to remain in Moria. In addition, the messenger of Sauron who came to Dáin II Ironfoot offered to return Moria to the Dwarves, which would have been impossible if the Balrog was not under Sauron’s power.

Despite an ill-fated attempt to recolonise Moria by Balin in III 2989, Durin’s Bane remained a dark and brooding menace in the ancient kingdom of the Dwarves, whose nature was hidden to the outside world.

In January III 3019, the Company of the Ring travelled through Moria on the Quest of Mount Doom. In Gandalf, the Balrog finally encountered a being of the same order and power as itself. As the two Maiar faced each other on the Bridge of Khazad-dûm, Gandalf broke the Bridge and the Balrog fell into the depths, but Gandalf too was drawn into the abyss.

Both survived the fall, and Gandalf pursued the Balrog for eight days through the deepest caverns beneath Moria. At last they came to the Endless Stair, and climbed the steps that led to the peak of Zirakzigil.

There Durin’s Bane fought its last battle - for two days and nights, the Balrog battled with Gandalf, but at last it was cast from the peak, and broke the mountain-side as it plunged to its doom.

* Durin’s Day

A Dwarvish festival of the new year.

The first day of the Dwarves’ year was calculated according to the last new moon of autumn (that is, the new moon that occurs within two weeks of 6 October, on a modern calendar). Not every Dwarves’ new year was a Durin’s Day, though: Thorin says ‘We still call it Durin’s Day when the last moon of Autumn and the sun are in the sky together’ (ibid). Only a Dwarvish new year where this occurs is technically a Durin’s Day.

* Durin’s Folk

The clan of the Longbeards.

The Dwarves descended from Durin the Deathless, eldest of the seven Fathers of the Dwarves. Almost all of the Dwarves that appear in Tolkien’s works are of this Folk.

* Durin’s Tower

The tower that stood on the peak of Celebdil above Khazad-dûm, where Gandalf defeated Durin’s Bane.

* Durthang

A castle of Mordor that stood in the northern Ephel Dúath, on the slopes above the Isenmouthe.

* Dwalin

A Dwarf descended from the royal line of Durin’s Folk, the son of Fundin and brother to Balin, whom he accompanied on the Quest of Erebor.

* Dwarf-road #1|Dwarf-road

Translating Men-i-Naugrim, a name of the Old Forest Road.

–—

The long east-west road beneath the trees of Mirkwood.

The old road that followed a straight path through the forest of Mirkwood. Its history is unclear, but it seems to have been built by the Dwarves as a route between their cities and colonies on either side of the forest.

* Dwarf-road #2|Dwarf-road

Road leading down into Beleriand from the cities of Nogrod and Belegost, and crossing Gelion at the ford of Sarn Athrad.

–—

The Dwarves’ road westward from the Blue Mountains.

The road built by the Dwarves of the Blue Mountains as a trade route to the Elves of Beleriand. It ran westward along the River Ascar for many miles, and entered East Beleriand where it crossed the Gelion at the ford called Sarn Athrad.

* Dwarf-tongue

The secret language of the Dwarves.

The language of the Dwarves, more commonly referred to as Dwarvish, or by the Dwarves’ own name for the tongue, Khuzdul. The details of the language remained largely unknown to outsiders, because the Dwarves held knowledge of their tongue as one of their races’ deepest secrets. The vocabulary and grammar of the language are an almost complete mystery, with a very few exceptions found in place-names, inscriptions, and in the famous Dwarvish war cry ‘Baruk Khazâd! Khazâd aimênu!’

* Dwarrowdelf

‘Delving of the Dwarves’: translation of Khazad-dûm (Hadhodrond).

–—

The Mannish name for Khazad-dûm.

‘Dwarf-delving’, the name in the Common Speech for the mansions of Khazad-dûm. ‘Dwarrowdelf’ is an anglicisation - the ‘real’ Westron name was Phurunargian.

* Dwarves|Dwarf

The Children of Aulë.

–—

“Baruk Khazâd! Khazâd aimênu!”

(“Axes of the Dwarves! The Dwarves are upon you!” - The battle-cry of the Dwarves; from The Lord of the Rings Appendix F I, Of Other Races: Dwarves)

–—

Unlike Elves and Men, the Dwarves are not Children of Ilúvatar; they were created by Aulë the Smith, though Ilúvatar granted them life. Aulë made seven Fathers of the Dwarves, and these slept through many ages until after the Awakening of the Elves. Almost all the Dwarves that appear in Tolkien’s works were descended from the eldest of the Seven Fathers, Durin the Deathless.

Like Aulë their maker, the Dwarves delighted in smithcraft and stoneworking; they mined and worked metals throughout the mountains of Middle-earth. The Dwarves kept themselves apart from the other races; their language, Khuzdul, was a closely guarded secret, and they told their true names to none but themselves (all the Dwarf-names in Tolkien are in the tongues of Elves or Men, not true Dwarf names).

–—

Origins of the Dwarves: The first Dwarves were made long ages ago by Aulë the Smith. He had dimly perceived the coming Children of Ilúvatar, and desired to make Children of his own to teach his many skills and arts.

Aulë’s work was doomed, though, because he did not have the power to grant independent life to his creations - that power belonged to Ilúvatar alone. When the Dwarves were completed, though, the voice of Ilúvatar spoke to Aulë and agreed to grant them true life, and include them in His plan for Arda. Ilúvatar would not allow the Dwarves to awaken, though, until after the Firstborn (the Elves), and so Aulë set them to sleep far apart from one another, deep underground, until the time came for their awakening.

–—

The History of the Dwarves Before the First Age: Ilúvatar promised Aulë that he would awaken the Fathers of the Dwarves ‘when the time comes’. We must assume that he did so shortly after the Awakening of the Elves at Cuiviénen (very approximately between 9,000 and 10,000 years before the beginning of the First Age).

It seems that not long passed after their awakening before Durin the Deathless, eldest of the Fathers, founded Khazad-dûm (later called Moria) in the Misty Mountains. Certainly it was well established as their chief citadel by the time the first Dwarves crossed the Blue Mountains into Beleriand. This event is dated only as ‘during the second age of the Captivity of Melkor’, which would place it (approximately) between 3,000

and 6,000 years before the beginning of the First Age.

The Dwarves had no settlement in Beleriand itself, but they built two mighty citadels in the Blue Mountains; Gabilgathol to the north and Tumunzahar to the south. These fortress-cities are better known by the Elvish versions of their names; Belegost and Nogrod. The Dwarves also laid the long road that ran westwards out of the Blue Mountains and along the course of the River Ascar, crossing into East Beleriand at Sarn Athrad.

–—

The Dwarves in Beleriand: For the Elves dwelling Beleriand, the first appearance of the Dwarves in the Blue Mountains was a startling revelation - until that time, the Elves had thought themselves the only speaking peoples in the World.

Throughout the long ages, the Elves and Dwarves developed a mutual respect which, if not quite friendship, was far from enmity. After their return to Middle-earth at the beginning of the First Age, the Noldor became closest in friendship with the Dwarves - both peoples revered Aulë, and both had a love of craft and making that made them natural allies.

Of all the Elves of Beleriand, though, it was not a Noldo but a Sindarin Elf who became most trusted and respected by the Dwarves. This was Eöl, the Dark Elf of Nan Elmoth, who travelled often to the Dwarf-cities in the Blue Mountains, and who took also his son Maeglin during his youth.

–—

The Nature of the Dwarves: Aulë made the Dwarves at a time when the World outside Aman still lay under the dominion of Melkor, and so he made them sturdy and hard to survive the dangers and hardships of that time.

In nature, the typical Dwarf is stubborn and secretive. Though they make loyal and good friends, they are also a proud and stern race. They do not suffer grievance or insult, and their enmity is long-lasting. They are said, though, to be quick to learn new skills.

Probably the best known aspect of the Dwarvish character, though, is their strong instinctive skills in the working of metal and stone, no doubt derived from Aulë their maker, the Vala whose province these things were. In ancient times, they were said to have preferred working with copper and iron, though in later days they wrought gold and silver, and the mithril they found in the Mines of Khazad-dûm. Of all the materials they worked with, they most revered and praised gemstones.

–—

Dwarvish Mortality: Though they live much longer than Men (usually around 250 years), Dwarves are mortal creatures. What happens after their death, though, is a mystery. The Elves have said that the Dwarves return to the stone from which they were made, but the Dwarves have a different belief.

According to Dwarvish tradition, they are gathered by Mahal (their name for Aulë) in a part of the Halls of Mandos set aside for them. After the end of the World and the Last Battle, they say, they will aid Aulë in the rebuilding of Arda.

* Dwarves of Belegost

Khazâd of Gabilgathol.

The race of Dwarves whose halls were at Belegost, the northernmost of the two great Dwarf-cities that stood in the Blue Mountains during the First Age. They had generally better relations with the Elves than their neighbours in Nogrod, and as well as being responsible for the building of Menegroth, they fought bravely beside Elves and Men during the Nirnaeth Arnoediad.

* Dwarves of Erebor

The people of the Kingdom under the Mountain.

The Dwarves who dwelt in the halls of Erebor, beneath the Lonely Mountain. They were dispossessed of their immense wealth by Smaug, who sacked their kingdom, but they famously reclaimed their inheritance many years later under the leadership of Thorin Oakenshield.

* Dwarves of Khazad-dûm

Durin’s Folk in their ancient home.

The Dwarves of Durin’s Folk who mined and worked mithril for long ages in the halls of Khazad-dûm, and who had the friendship of the Elves of Eregion during the Second Age.

* Dwarves of Moria

The Longbeards of old Khazad-dûm.

The Dwarves of Durin’s Folk who with Durin the Deathless founded Moria, and dwelt there for long ages until the awakening of Durin’s Bane.

* Dwarvish

The secret tongue of the Dwarves, called by them Khuzdul, and seen only in a very few place-names (such as Khazad-dûm) and other fragments.

* Dwimmerlaik

A contemptuous title for the Lord of the Nazgûl.

A title of the Lord of the Nazgûl, granted him in defiance by Éowyn in her guise as Dernhelm during the Battle of the Pelennor Fields. Its meaning is not completely certain, but it seems to be derived from the Old English words gedwimer (‘sorcery’) and líc (‘corpse’).

* Dwimordene

‘Phantom-vale’, name of Lórien among the Rohirrim.

–—

Galadriel’s magical wood.

The name among the Rohirrim for the Elvish land of Lórien, meaning literally ‘magical wood’.

* Eä|Ea

The World, the material Universe; Eä, meaning in Elvish ‘It is’ or ‘Let it be’, was the word of Ilúvatar when the World began its existence.

–—

The universe, which was brought into existence when Ilúvatar spoke the word ‘Eä!’, ‘Be!’.

* Eagles|Eagle

The harbingers of Manwë.

The great birds who were the friends of Elves and Men in Middle-earth; the mightiest of the Eagles was Thorondor, who dwelt in the Encircling Mountains; he and his kin carried spirits akin to the Maiar.

* Eämbar|Eambar

‘Sea-dwelling’; the ship built by Tar-Aldarion for his dwelling-place, on which was the Guildhouse of the Venturers.

–—

The Guildhouse of the Venturers.

A ship built by Aldarion to act as a Guildhouse for the guild of explorers known as the Venturers. It was designed also as his own dwelling-place, hence its name, which means ‘sea-home’. Originally anchored off the island of Tol Uinen in the bay of Rómenna, it was later moved to a new anchorage off Andúnië.

* Eärendil|Earendil

Called ‘Halfelven’, ‘the Blessed’, ‘the Bright’, and ‘the Mariner’; son of Tuor and Idril Turgon’s daughter; escaped from the sack of Gondolin and wedded Elwing daughter of Dior at the Mouths of Sirion; sailed with her to Aman and pleaded for help against Morgoth; set to sail the skies in his ship Vingilot bearing the Silmaril that Beren and Lúthien brought out of Angband. The name means ‘Lover of the Sea’.

–—

The mariner who sailed the Great Sea at the end of the First Age. He long sought a way to Aman, to seek the aid of the Valar against Morgoth, but the way was hidden. After the Sons of Fëanor attacked the Exiles of Gondolin seeking the Silmaril, Elwing his wife escaped and came to him at sea, through the power of Ulmo, in the shape of a white sea-bird bearing the Silmaril on her breast.

Through the power of the jewel, it is said, Eärendil was at last able to find a way to the Undying Lands, and there stood before the Valar and begged their aid in the wars against Morgoth. The Valar listened to his plea, and sent the great force that finally conquered the Dark Lord and freed Middle-earth.

Eärendil’s father was a Man, and his mother an Elf, so he and his wife Elwing and their sons were given the choice of race to which they wished to belong. Elwing chose Elvenkind, and Eärendil did so too for her sake.

He now sails the high airs with the Silmaril upon his brow, shining as the morning and evening star.

* Eärendil (King of Gondor)|Eärendil|Earendil Fifth of the Kings of Gondor.

The grandson of Meneldil and son of Cemendur, who succeeded his father to become the fifth King to rule the South-kingdom of Gondor. He shared his name with Eärendil the Mariner, the great hero who voyaged to Aman and saved Middle-earth from the darkness of Morgoth nearly four thousand years before King Eärendil’s time.

Unfortunately, Gondor’s fifth King did not have quite the impact on history as his heroic namesake - in fact, there is no annal of any event that occurred under Eärendil’s Kingship.

Eärendil ruled Gondor for eighty-six years, and was succeeded by his son, Anardil.

* Eärendur|Earendur

Younger brother of Tar-Elendil, born in the year 361 of the Second Age.

* Eärendur (Lord of Andúnië)|Eärendur|Earendur Fifteenth Lord of Andúnië in Númenor, brother of Lindórië, grandmother of Tar-Palantir.

* Eärendur (King of Arnor)|Eärendur|Earendur Tenth and last of the Kings of Arnor, the son of Elendur. After his death, his three sons divided the kingdom. His eldest son and rightful heir, Amlaith of Fornost, became the first King of Arthedain.

* Eärnil I|Eärnil|Earnil

The thirteenth King of Gondor, the nephew of the the childless Tarannon Falastur. The second of the four ‘Ship-kings’, he captured Umbar for Gondor, but was lost in a storm off its coast.

* Eärnil II|Eärnil|Earnil

Thirty-second King of Gondor, victor over the Haradrim and the Wainriders in Third Age 1944.

–—

The thirty-first and last but one of the Kings of Gondor, a descendant of Telumehtar Umbardacil who was granted the crown after the loss of King Ondoher and his sons in the Battle of the Camp.

* Eärnur|Earnur

Son of Eärnil II; thirty-third and last King of Gondor, in whom the line of Anárion came to its end; died in Minas Morgul.

–—

Son of Eärnil II, and last King of Gondor. In his youth, he defeated the Witch-king of Angmar at the Battle of Fornost. The Witch-king returned to Minas Morgul, and issued a challenge to Eärnur, who answered it and, entering Minas Morgul, was lost. After him, the realm of Gondor was ruled by hereditary Stewards, the first of whom was Mardil Voronwë.

* Eärrámë|Earrame

‘Sea-wing’, the ship of Tuor in which he and Idril sailed into the West.

* Eärwen|Earwen

Daughter of Olwë of Alqualondë, Thingol’s brother; wedded Finarfin of the Noldor. From Eärwen Finrod, Orodreth, Angrod, Aegnor and Galadriel had Telerin blood and were therefore allowed entry into Doriath.

–—

A Telerin Elf-maiden, daughter of Olwë, who wedded Finarfin the son of Finwë. She was the mother of both Finrod Felagund and Galadriel.

* East Beleriand

The lands between the Sirion and the Gelion.

That part of Beleriand that lay east of the River Sirion, and west of the Gelion. This region was largely under the control of the Sons of Fëanor during the First Age.

* East Bight

The great indentation in the eastern border of Mirkwood. See Narrows of the Forest.

* East Road

The name used by the Shire-hobbits for the ancient road that led eastward through the Shire into the wilds of Eriador and beyond (although the Hobbits themselves rarely travelled farther on it than Bree).

* East Road in Beleriand|East Road

The road from Mount Taras in the West, crossing Sirion at the Brithiach and Aros at the Arossiach, perhaps leading to Himring.

* East-gate of Moria

The eastern entrance to the ancient Dwarf-kingdom of Khazad-dûm, standing at the head of the valley of Nanduhirion (Azanulbizar in the Dwarvish tongue).

* East-mark

The eastern half of Rohan in the military organisation of the Rohirrim, bounded from the West-mark by the Snowbourn and the Entwash.

* East-victor

The meaning of the name Rómendacil.

The name taken by two great heroes and Kings in the history of Gondor, Tarostar and Minalcar. Each of these drove back an Easterling threat to the South-kingdom, and each therefore took the name ‘East-victor’

(Rómendacil in Elvish). Tarostar became Rómendacil I, and Minalcar ruled Gondor some centuries later as Rómendacil II.

* East-West Road

The Númenórean road from the Grey Havens to Rivendell, traversing the Shire; called also the East Road.

–—

A name for the long road that ran east to west through Eriador, and crossed the Greenway at Bree. More commonly called simply the East Road.

* Easterlings|Easterling|Incomers|Incomer|Swarthy Men|Swarthy Man In the First Age, Men who entered Beleriand from the East in the time after the Dagor Bragollach, fought on both sides in the Nirnaeth Arnoediad, and were afterwards given Hithlum as a dwelling-place by Morgoth, where they oppressed the remnant of the People of Hador. Called in Hithlum Incomers. Also called Swarthy Men.

In the Third Age, a general name for the waves of Men driving in upon Gondor from the eastern regions of Middle-earth (see Wainriders, Balchoth).

–—

Wild Men out of the East.

A general name for the races of Men from the unknown East of Middle-earth, who were a constant foe of the Free Peoples, from the treachery of Ulfang in the Nirnaeth Arnoediad of the First Age to their frequent attacks against Gondor in the Third Age.

* Eastfarthing of the Shire|Eastfarthing

The lands east of the Three-Farthing Stone.

The easternmost of the four Farthings of the Shire. Its main towns were at Frogmorton and Whitfurrows on the East Road, and the farms of the Marish lay where it bordered Buckland across the River Brandywine.

* Eastfold

A part of Rohan on the northern slopes of Ered Nimrais, east of Edoras.

–—

The lands of Rohan east of the Snowbourn River.

That part of the realm of Rohan that lay east of the Snowbourn River, and west of Anórien in Gondor.

* Eastmarch of the Shire|Eastmarch

Buckland; the land across the River Brandywine from the Shire itself, first settled by Gorhendad Oldbuck.

* Echad i Sedryn

‘Camp of the Faithful’, name given to the refuge of Túrin and Beleg on Amon Rûdh.

* Echoing Mountains

A name for the Ered Lómin.

A name for the Ered Lómin, the western mountains of Hithlum that separated that land from the sea. These mountains echoed to the cries of Morgoth when he returned to Middle-earth, and again as the host of Fëanor landed on its northern shores in pursuit of the Dark Lord.

* Echoriath|Mountains of Turgon

The mountains encircling Tumladen, the plain of Gondolin.

–—

The Encircling Mountains.

The great circular range of mountains, filled with the eyries of Eagles, that surrounded and protected the Hidden City of Gondolin for most of the First Age.

* Echuir

‘Stirring’; the Sindarin name for the Elvish season that lay between modern 11 February and 5 April.

* Ecthelion I (Steward of Gondor)|Ecthelion The Steward who rebuilt Minas Tirith’s White Tower.

The seventeenth Ruling Steward of Gondor, who succeeded his father Orodreth to the Stewardship. He is most famous for rebuilding the White Tower that surmounted the city of Minas Tirith, which was afterwards known as the Tower of Ecthelion. He ruled in Gondor for just thirteen years, and was succeeded by his son Egalmoth.

* Ecthelion II (Steward of Gondor)|Ecthelion Twenty-fifth Ruling Steward of Gondor, the second of the name; father of Denethor II.

–—

The twenty-fifth Ruling Steward of Gondor.

Ecthelion II was the son of Steward Turgon, and was a wise and foresightful Man. He put his efforts into strengthening his realm against the approaching danger of Sauron, who had openly revealed himself in the last years of Turgon’s Stewardship. He was aided in this work by Gandalf, and by a mysterious stranger named ‘Thorongil’, who was later known to be none other than Aragorn. Ecthelion was succeeded as Steward by his son Denethor II, who ruled Gondor at the time of the War of the Ring.

* Ecthelion of the Fountain|Ecthelion

Elf-lord of Gondolin, called Lord of the Fountains and Warden of the Great Gate, who in the sack of the city slew and was slain by Gothmog Lord of Balrogs.

–—

Slayer of the Lord of Balrogs.

A lord of Gondolin, famed as the slayer of Gothmog Lord of Balrogs in the Fall of that city.

* Edain|Adan

The Men of the Three Houses of the Elf-friends.

–—

The noblest of Men.

The Sindarin form of the Quenya Atani, ‘second people’.

The name given by the Elves to the Three Houses of Men who first came to the lands west of the Blue Mountains and fought alongside them in the Wars of Beleriand. Whereas ‘Edain’ is strictly Elvish for all Men, it is normally only applied to those of the Three Houses who remained faithful to the Elves and were given the island of Elenna (Númenor) as a reward.

The Three Houses of the Edain, in the order in which they came to Beleriand, were: The House of Bëor, The House of Haleth (the Haladin), The House of Hador (the descendants of Marach and his people).

* Edhel|Edhil|Eledh

A Sindarin word meaning simply ‘Elves’; the name of the Grey-elves for their own people. Also Eledh. Singular Edhil.

* Edhellond|Amroth’s Haven

The ‘Elf-haven’ in Belfalas near the confluence of the rivers Morthond and Ringló, north of Dor Amroth. Called Amroth’s Haven.

–—

A far southern haven of the Elves.

An Elf-haven that stood where the River Morthond reached the sea, some fifty miles to the north of Dol Amroth. Edhellond was in lands under the control of Gondor, but the haven was far older than that land of Men; tradition recounts its founding by the Sindarin mariners even before the end of the First Age.

* Edhelrim|Eledhrim

‘The Elves’; Sindarin edhel, eledh and collective plural ending rim.

* Edoras

‘The Courts’, name in the Mark-speech of the royal town of Rohan on the northern edge of Ered Nimrais.

–—

The Courts of Rohan.

The chief city of Rohan and the seat of its Kings, under the northern feet of the White Mountains.

* Edrahil

Chief of the Elves of Nargothrond who accompanied Finrod and Beren on their quest, and died in the dungeons of Tol-in-Gaurhoth.

–—

Loyal follower of Finrod Felagund.

An Elf of Nargothrond, one of the ten who remained loyal to Finrod Felagund at the time he set out with Beren on the Quest of the Silmaril.

* Egalmoth

Eighteenth Ruling Steward of Gondor.

–—

The eighteenth Steward to rule over Gondor, who succeeded his father Ecthelion I. In his time, it seems, Orcs began to trouble Gondor once again, and Egalmoth’s armies went to war with this new foe. In III 2710, Egalmoth received a plea for aid from Déor of Rohan, who was himself greatly troubled by the Dunlendings, but the orc-wars kept Egalmoth from sending help. He was succeeded as Steward by his son Beren.

* Eglador

The former name of Doriath, before it was encompassed by the Girdle of Melian; probably connected with the name Eglath.

–—

An old name for the kingdom of Doriath.

Probably meaning ‘Land of the Forsaken’, Eglador was the name of the land of Doriath before it was protected by the Girdle of Melian.

* Eglantine|sweet-briar

A type of wild rose, with sweet-smelling flowers and leaves, also known as sweet-briar. Frodo and Sam found it growing in Ithilien as they journeyed through that land.

* Eglantine Banks

The wife of Thain Paladin Took II, and mother of Peregrin Took I of the Company of the Ring.

* Eglarest

The southernmost of the Havens of the Falas on the coast of Beleriand.

–—

The Haven at Nenning’s mouth.

A haven at the mouth of the River Nenning. The southern of the two Havens of Círdan (the other being Brithombar) that stood in the Falas on the western coasts of Beleriand.

* Eglath|Forsaken Elves|Forsaken Elf

‘The Forsaken People’, name given to themselves by the Telerin Elves who remained in Beleriand seeking for Elwë (Thingol) when the main host of the Teleri departed to Aman.

* Eilenach

Second of the beacons of Gondor in Ered Nimrais, the highest point of the Drúadan Forest.

–—

The second of the seven beacon-hills of Gondor, after Amon Dîn in the east, it lay in the Drúadan Forest.

* Eilenaer

Pre-Númenórean name (related to Eilenach) of Amon Anwar (Halifirien).

* Eilinel

The wife of Gorlim the Unhappy.

* Eithel Ivrin

‘Ivrin’s Well’, the source of the river Narog beneath Ered Wethrin.

* Eithel Sirion

‘Sirion’s Well’, in the eastern face of Ered Wethrin, where was the great fortress of Fingolfin and Fingon (see Barad Eithel).

–—

The source of the River Sirion.

The spring at which the River Sirion had its source, in the eastern Ered Wethrin. Fingolfin built a great fortress there, the Barad Eithel.

* Eket

Short broad-bladed sword.

* Ekkaia|Outer Ocean

Elvish name of the Outer Sea, encircling Arda; referred to also as the Outer Ocean and the Encircling Sea.

–—

The Elvish name for the Encircling Sea that surrounded Arda.

* Elanor

A small golden star-shaped flower that grew both in Tol Eressëa and in Lothlórien.

–—

A golden, star-shaped flower, with a name meaning ‘sun-star’. Sam Gamgee first came across it in Lórien, and named his eldest daughter, Elanor Gardner, from it.

* Elanor Gardner

Called Elanor the Fair, the eldest child of Samwise Gamgee and Rose Cotton; she married Fastred of Greenholm and they removed to the Westmarch of the Shire. Her son Elfstan was the founder of the Fairbairn family.

* Elatan of Andúnië|Elatan

Númenórean, husband of Silmarien, father of Valandil first Lrod of Andúnie.

* Elbereth

The usual name of Varda in Sindarin, ‘Star-Queen’. See Elentári.

–—

The name of Varda in Middle-earth.

A Sindarin name meaning ‘star-lady’, used by the Elves of Middle-earth of Varda Elentári.

* Eldacar (King of Arnor)|Eldacar

The grandson of Isildur, who became King of Arnor on the death of his father, Valandil.

* Eldacar (King of Gondor)|Eldacar

The deposed and restored King of Gondor.

The son of King Valacar of Gondor and Vidumavi. Vidumavi was the daughter of Vidugavia of the Northmen, the self-styled King of Rhovanion, and so Eldacar was of only half-Gondorian descent, a fact that led many to doubt Eldacar’s right to rule. After his father’s death, he sat on the throne for just five years when civil war broke out in Gondor.

Ultimately, he was deposed by his Captain of Ships, Castamir, who took the throne himself.

Eldacar escaped into the north, where he spent ten years raising an army before he returned to reclaim his throne. In a great and bloody battle at the Crossings of Erui, Castamir was defeated and the remnant of his forces fled into the south, to Umbar. Eldacar ruled for another forty-three years after this war, known as the Kin-strife. His eldest son Ornendil had died at Castamir’s hands, and he was succeeded by his second son, Aldamir.

* Eldalië|Eldalie

‘The Elven-folk’, used as equivalent to Eldar.

–—

The People of the Stars.

An equivalent term to Eldar, referring to the Elves of the Great Journey. This is apparently the natural Quenya form of the word.

* Eldalondë|Eldalonde

‘Haven of the Eldar’ in the Bay of Eldanna at the mouth of the river Nunduinë in Númenor; called ‘the Green’.

–—

The haven on the Bay of Eldanna.

A haven on the western shores of Númenor, at the mouth of the River Nunduinë. It was built in the middle of the coast of Númenor’s great western bight, between the arms of the wide Bay of Eldanna, in the fragrant region known as Nísimaldar.

* Eldamar

‘Elvenhome’, the region of Aman in which the Elves dwelt.

–—

Lands of the Elves in Aman.

Elvenhome, the lands of the Elves in Aman that lay to the east of the Pelóri mountains, and in which stood the city of Tirion.

* Eldar

The Elves of the Three Kindreds (Vanyar, Noldor and Teleri).

According to Elvish legend the name Eldar ‘People of the Stars’ was given to all the Elves by the Vala Oromë. It came however to be used to refer only to the Elves of the Three Kindreds (Vanyar, Noldor, and Teleri) who set out on the great westward march from Cuiviénen (whether or not they remained in Middle-earth), and to exclude the Avari. The Elves of Aman, and all Elves who ever dwelt in Aman, were called the High Elves (Tareldar) and Elves of the Light (Calaquendi); see Dark Elves, Umanyar.

–—

The Elves of the Great Journey.

The name given to the Elves by the Vala Oromë when he first found them wandering in the starlight of Cuiviénen. At first, the name was applied to all Elves, but after the summons of the Valar, it came to be used only of the peoples who followed the summons and began the Great Journey.

The Three Kindreds of the Eldar were the Vanyar, the Noldor and the Teleri. All of the Vanyar and Noldor went to Aman (though many of the Noldor later returned to Middle-earth with Fëanor).

Many of the Teleri also journeyed to Valinor, but twice a host of this people turned away from the Journey in Middle-earth; these two kindreds are called Úmanyar, the Eldar not of Aman. The first of these were the Nandor, who turned aside east of the Misty Mountains, and travelled down the River Anduin. The second, the Sindar, tarried in Beleriand seeking their lord, Elwë Singollo.

* Eldarin

Of the Eldar; used in reference to the language(s) of the Eldar.

–—

A term used to describe any of the languages of the Eldar, and especially Quenya and Sindarin.

* Eldarion

The son of Aragorn II Elessar and Arwen Evenstar; almost nothing is known of his life, but that he became King of the Reunited Kingdom after the death of his father in IV 120.

* Elder Children of Ilúvatar|Elder Children of Iluvatar|Elder Children A name used for Elves, who of the two kindreds of the Children of Ilúvatar awoke the earlier; Men were not seen in Arda until many thousands of years after the Eldar.

* Elder Days|Eldest Days

The First Age; also called the Eldest Days.

–—

Strictly, the time before the War of Wrath (that is, the days before the end of the First Age). The term is sometimes expanded to include the Second and Third Ages.

* Elder Kindred

The race of Elves.

The elder of the two races that were accounted the Children of Ilúvatar, the Elves. They awoke many thousands of years before the Younger Children, the race of Men.

* Elder King

A title given to Manwë Súlimo, greatest of the Valar, and held to be the ruler of the realm of Arda.

* Eldest

A name for the oldest of beings.

A title for the eldest of all beings. Confusingly, it seems to apply to two different individuals; not only does Tom Bombadil claim it for himself, but Celeborn also uses it to address the old Ent Treebeard.

* Eledhwen

The surname and title of Morwen, wife of Húrin and mother to Túrin Turambar. It is translated in the text of the Silmarillion as ‘Elfsheen’, but the literal meaning seems to be ‘Elf-maiden’.

* Elemmakil

Elf of Gondolin, captain of the outer gate.

* Elemmírë|Elemmire

Name of a star.

* Elemmírë (Elf)|Elemmírë|Elemmire

Vanyarin Elf, maker of the Aldudénië, the Lament for the Two Trees.

* Elendë|Elende

A name of Eldamar.

* Elendil

Called the Tall and the Faithful; son of Amandil, last lord of Andúnië in Númenor, descended from Eärendil and Elwing but not of the direct line of the Kings; escaped with his sons Isildur and Anárion from the Drowning of Númenor and founded the Númenórean realms in Middle-earth; slain with Gil-galad in the overthrow of Sauron at the end of the Second Age. The name may be interpreted either as ‘Elf-friend’ (see Elendili) or as

‘Star-lover’.

–—

Founder of Arnor and Gondor.

The last Lord of Andúnië, who escaped the wreck of Númenor with his sons Isildur and Anárion; they fled to Middle-earth and there founded the kingdoms of Arnor and Gondor. Elendil led the Last Alliance with Gil-galad, and died in the Siege of Barad-dûr.

* Elendili

‘Elf-friends’, name given to those Númenóreans who were not estranged from the Eldar in the days of Tar-Ancalimon and later kings; also called the Faithful.

–—

A name, meaning ‘Elf-friends’, taken by that party of the Númenóreans who opposed the policies of the King’s Men, and wished Númenor to keep the friendship of the Eldar.

* Elendilmir|Star of Elendil|Star of the North The white gem borne as the token of royalty on the brows of the Kings of Arnor.

–—

The royal gem of Arnor.

A symbol of royalty among the Kings of Arnor and their descendants: a radiant white gem set on a silver fillet. The first Elendilmir was lost with Isildur at the Disaster of the Gladden Fields, but another was made, and borne by Isildur’s descendants until the time of Aragorn and almost certainly beyond.

* Elendur

Eldest son of Isildur, slain with him at the Gladden Fields.

–—

The eldest son and heir of Isildur, slain with his father in the Disaster of the Gladden Fields.

* Elendur (King of Arnor)|Elendur

The penultimate King of Arnor.

The son of Valandur, who succeeded his father to rule over Arnor for one hundred and twenty-five years. He was perhaps named for Isildur’s eldest son, who also bore the name Elendur. He was succeeded by his son Eärendur, who would be the last of Arnor’s Kings.

* Elenna

A (Quenya) name of Númenor, ‘Starwards’, from the guidance of the Edain by Eärendil on their voyage to Númenor at the beginning of the Second Age.

–—

The island of Númenor.

A name said to mean ‘Starwards’, referring to the island on which the realm of Númenor was founded.

* Elenna-nóreo|Elenna-noreo

‘The land named Starwards’, Númenor; fuller form of the name Elenna.

* Elentári|Elentari

‘Star-Queen’, a name of Varda as maker of the Stars. See Elbereth, Tintallë.

–—

‘The Queen of the Stars’.

A title of Varda, meaning ‘Queen of the Stars’.

* Elentirmo

‘Star-watcher’, name of Tar-Meneldur.

–—

The surname given to Tar-Meneldur in his youth, meaning ‘watcher of the stars’. Meneldur was fascinated by the movements of the heavens, and even built a tower among the highlands of the Forostar from which he could follow the courses of the stars.

* Elenwë|Elenwe

The wife of Turgon and mother of Idril Celebrindal; she was lost in the crossing of the Helcaraxë as the Noldor returned to Middle-earth.

* Elephants|Elephant

Giant beasts of the southern lands.

While we know much of the great elephant-like creatures known as the Mûmakil, it is not certain whether their lesser cousins that are still known today existed in Middle-earth. Gandalf does mention them in The Hobbit, so it is possible that they shared the wide burning plains of the Harad with their giant relatives.

* Elerrína|Elerrina

‘Crowned with Stars’, a name of Taniquetil.

* Elessar (jewel)|Elessar

A great green jewel of healing power made in Gondolin for Idril Turgon’s daughter, who gave it to Eärendil her son; the Elessar that Arwen gave to Aragorn being either Eärendil’s jewel returned or another. Called also the Stone of Eärendil and the Elfstone.

* Elessar (Aragorn)|Elessar

The name foretold for Aragorn by Olórin, and the name in which he became King of the reunited realm.

–—

High title and surname of Aragorn son of Arathorn. It was long foretold that he would take this name; it was given to him in Lórien by Galadriel.

She granted him a gift of a green stone set in a silver brooch in the shape of an eagle as he and the Company of the Ring left her land (on 16

February III 3019). ‘In this hour,’ she said, ‘take the name that was foretold for you, Elessar, the Elfstone of the house of Elendil!’

When Aragorn took up the kingship of Gondor, he assumed the name Elessar, and later references to him take the form ‘King Elessar’.

* Elestirnë|Elestirne

A name of the Lady Erendis.

A name and title, more commonly seen in the form Tar-Elestirnë, given to Erendis of Númenor. Elestirnë means ‘star-brow’, and was a reference to the bright jewel she wore bound to her forehead. This was to become a custom and symbol of royalty among the Númenóreans in later years.

* Elf-friend

Surname of Gimli son of Glóin.

The title and surname of Gimli of the Fellowship of the Ring, given in token of his great friendship with Legolas of the Wood-elves.

* Elf-friends|Elf-friend

The Men of the Three Houses of Bëor, Haleth, and Hador, the Edain. In the Akallabêth and in Of the Rings of Power used of those Númenóreans who were not estranged from the Eldar; see Elendili. In ‘Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age’, the reference is no doubt to the Men of Gondor and the Dúnedain of the North.

–—

Those Mortals with the special favour of the Elves.

Those, usually among Men, who were recognised by the Elves as providing special aid or alliance. The Elvish term was Elendili, seen for example in the name of Elendil.

* Elfhelm

Rider of Rohan; with Grimbold leader of the Rohirrim at the Second Battle of the Fords of Isen; routed the invaders of Anórien; under King Éomer Marshal of the East-mark.

–—

Marshal of the East-mark of Rohan.

A lord of Rohan and later Marshal of the East-mark; he fought beside Grimbold in the Second Battle of the Fords of Isen after the loss of Théodred.

* Elfstan Fairbairn

A grandson of Samwise Gamgee.

The son of Fastred of Greenholm and Sam Gamgee’s eldest daughter Elanor, born in the year IV 33 (1454 by the Shire-reckoning). His name means

‘Elfstone’, and its connection to the royal name Elessar is no doubt more than coincidence.

* Elfstone

The green stone given to Aragorn II by Galadriel in Lórien, and the origin of his surname, Elessar.

* Elfwine the Fair|Elfwinë|Elfwine

Son of Éomer King of Rohan and Lothíriel, daughter of Imrahil Prince of Dol Amroth.

–—

Rohan’s nineteenth King.

The son of Éomer Éadig, King of Rohan, who inherited his father’s kingdom in the early Fourth Age.

* Elladan

Brother to Elrohir and Arwen.

In the one hundred and thirtieth year of the Third Age, Celebrían the wife of Elrond bore twin sons. Dark-haired and grey-eyed, only those that knew them well could tell them apart. The first of the twins was named Elladan, ‘Elf-Man’ as a token of his ancestry; he was descended not only from the royal houses of the Noldor and the Sindar, but also from the Houses of Hador and Bëor of the Edain.

Many centuries later, the twins’ mother Celebrían went on a journey into the south to visit her own mother, Galadriel, in the land of Lórien. In the Redhorn Pass, she was captured by Orcs, and tortured in their dens.

Elladan rode with his brother to rescue her, but by the time they reached her she had received a poisonous wound. Though their father healed her, she would not remain in Middle-earth, and sailed into the West the following year. After this loss, Elladan and his brother Elrohir were filled with hatred of the Orcs, often riding against them with the Northern Dúnedain.

In the early part of the War of the Ring, the brothers’ main role was to scout the land and prepare the way for the Fellowship, but later they took a more active part. When Halbarad rode to Aragorn’s aid with the Grey Company, Elladan and Elrohir accompanied them. They followed Aragorn through the Paths of the Dead, fought with him at Pelargir, and took part in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields, where they fought with stars bound to their brows.

After the War of the Ring, little is known of the brothers’ fate. They returned to their father’s house at Rivendell, and remained there even after he had passed across the Sea. Like their sister Arwen, the sons of Elrond Half-elven were granted the choice of whether to leave Middle-earth for the Undying Lands, or remain there and become Mortal as Men.

Elladan had such a bond with his brother that they must surely have chosen alike, but what choice they made in the end can never now be known.

* Elmo

The younger brother of Elu Thingol of the Sindar and Olwë of the Teleri; he dwelt in Doriath with his elder brother Thingol, and is said to have been the ancestor of Celeborn, Lord of Lórien.

* Elms|Elm

Tall trees that grew throughout the northern regions of Middle-earth, as they still do today. Treebeard especially noted the elm-woods of Ossiriand, to the east of Beleriand.

* Elostirion

Tallest of the White Towers of Emyn Beraid, in which was placed the palantír called Elendil Stone.

–—

The tallest of the three towers that stood on the Tower Hills. It once held one of the palantíri of the North-kingdom.

* Elrohir

The noble twin son of Elrond.

With Elladan, one of the twin sons of Elrond, born in the early years of the Third Age. They performed many deeds of errantry throughout that age, and fought in the War of the Ring.

See Elladan.

* Elrond

Son of Eärendil and Elwing, who at the end of the First Age chose to belong to the Firstborn, and remained in Middle-earth until the end of the Third Age; master of Imladris (Rivendell) and keeper of Vilya, the Ring of Air, which he had received from Gil-galad. Called Master Elrond and Elrond Half-elven. The name means ‘Star-dome’.

–—

Master of Rivendell.

One of the greatest Elves in the history of Middle-earth, Elrond was born at the Havens of Sirion late in the First Age. During their sack, he and his brother Elros were taken captive by the Sons of Fëanor, but Maglor took pity on them and released them. When they were rescued, Elrond was found playing in a cave beneath a waterfall, and so received his full name, meaning ‘Elf of the Cave’.

Both of Elrond’s parents were Half-elven, and after the War of Wrath he was given a choice; whether to be counted amongst the kindred of Elves or of Men. He chose the Firstborn, and remained in Lindon with High King Gil-galad.

After the invasion of Eriador by Sauron in the mid-Second Age, Elrond founded a refuge there in a deep hidden valley; this was named Imladris, or Rivendell in the Common Speech. After Sauron’s defeat by Tar-Minastir of Númenor, Elrond remained in Rivendell, where he prospered with the aid of the Great Ring, Vilya.

Elrond played a great part in the histories of the Second and Third Ages; he marched with Gil-galad and Elendil to the War of the Last Alliance, and was a leading member of the White Council. At the time of the Council of Elrond in III 3018, he had dwelt in Middle-earth for some 6,500 years.

Meaning of the name: ‘Elf of the Cave’.

* Elros

Son of Eärendil and Elwing, brother of Elrond; at the end of the First Age chose to be numbered among Men, and became the first King of Númenor (called Tar-Minyatur), living to a very great age. The name means ‘Star-foam’.

–—

First of the Kings of Númenor.

The son of Eärendil and brother of Elrond, who chose to be counted amongst the kin of Men, and became the first King of Númenor and longest-lived of all Men.

* Elu Thingol|Elu

Sindarin form of Elwë Singollo.

–—

In his early life, millennia before the beginning of the First Age, Thingol journeyed to Valinor with Ingwë and Finwë, and was returned to the Eldar who dwelt at Cuiviënen. From the travellers’ reports of the Blessed Realm, many of the Elves marched westward across Middle-earth, seeking the land of the Valar, and the third and greatest host of the Elves, the Teleri, were led by Thingol and his brother Olwë.

As they neared the western coasts of Middle-earth, Thingol came upon Melian the Maia in the wood of Nan Elmoth. Long years passed, and at length he remained with Melian in Beleriand, though many of the Teleri passed West over the Great Sea. With Melian, Thingol founded the woodland realm of Doriath in the central regions of Beleriand, and there ruled the Sindar for many years. Thingol’s doom came upon him when Beren brought him a Silmaril from Morgoth’s crown as the bride-price of his daughter Lúthien. He summoned Dwarves from the Blue Mountains to set the jewel in the necklace Nauglamír, and the Dwarves became so enamoured of their work that they slew Thingol in his own treasury.

* Eluchíl|Eluchil

‘Heir of Elu (Thingol)’, name of Dior, son of Beren and Lúthien. See Dior.

–—

‘Heir of Thingol’ (or, literally, ‘he that follows Elu’); the son of Beren and Lúthien and grandson of Elu Thingol of Doriath, who ruled there for a short time after the slaying of his grandfather.

* Eluréd|Elured

Elder son of Dior; perished in the attack on Doriath by the sons of Fëanor. The name means the same as Eluchíl.

–—

Son of Dior Eluchíl and descendant of Elu Thingol; he was lost, with his younger brother Elurín, in the assault on Doriath by the Sons of Fëanor.

* Elurín|Elurin

Younger son of Dior; perished with his brother Eluréd. The name means

‘Remembrance of Elu (Thingol)’.

–—

The son of Dior Eluchíl and elder brother to Elwing; he was lost in the assault of the Sons of Fëanor on Menegroth.

* Elven

Of or pertaining to the Elves.

* Elven-rings|Elven-ring|Rings of the Elves|Ring of the Elves The magical rings of the Elves of Eregion.

The magical rings made by Celebrimbor and the Mírdain of Eregion in the middle years of the Second Age, made unwittingly under the secret guidance and tutelage of Sauron. Most famous among them were the Three Rings of the Elves, Narya, Nenya and Vilya, the Rings of Fire, Water and Air. These were the only three made free of the influence of Sauron, though they too fell under the power of his One Ring.

After Sauron made his Ring, he invaded the lands of the Mírdain for the recovery of the Elven-rings. His armies overwhelmed Eregion, and he gathered most of the rings to himself, but four of the Great Rings were lost to him. One (later known as the Ring of Thrór) was held by Durin III, King of the impregnable Dwarf-city of Khazad-dûm in the Misty Mountains. Nenya the Ring of Water was carried eastward from Eregion by Galadriel, who crossed the mountains and settled in the land of Lórien.

Narya and Vilya had already been sent into the north by Celebrimbor, and were in the safekeeping of High King Gil-galad.

Galadriel kept her Elven-ring throughout the later years of the Second Age, and the duration of the Third. Gil-galad gave his rings to lords in his service - Narya to Círdan at the Grey Havens, and Vilya to Elrond, who used it to found a haven of his own against Sauron in the midst of Eriador - Imladris, that Men came to call Rivendell. Círdan, too, passed on his Ring, to a Grey stranger who sailed into his havens out of the West, who would come to be known in later legends as Mithrandir, or Gandalf.

With the destruction of Sauron’s One Ring in the last years of the Third Age, all the other Elven-rings lost their power, including the Three.

Those who had borne their power through the ages since their forging left Middle-earth together on the White Ship; Galadriel, Elrond and Gandalf, the Keepers of the Three Rings.

* Elven-smiths

The followers of Celebrimbor.

A general term for any smith of the Elves, but in fact used almost exclusively to describe the Mírdain, the jewelsmiths of Eregion led by Celebrimbor, who had a part in the making of the Rings of Power.

* Elven-tongue

Any of the languages of the Elves.

A term that strictly could be used of any of the Elvish languages, but more normally in Middle-earth indicated Sindarin or Quenya.

* Elven-tree

A name for Oiolairë.

A title used in Númenor for the evergreen tree oiolairë, a gift to the Númenóreans from the Elves.

* Elvenesse

The lands of the Elves.

A term whose meaning is not clearly defined, but which seems to refer to all the lands of the Elves, both west and east of the Great Sea.

* Elvenhome

Distant land of the Elves.

A general term for a land inhabited by Elves. It almost always refers to Eldamar (which is ‘Elvenhome’ in the Elves’ own tongue), the homeland of the Elves in Aman.

* Elves|Elf

The Elder Children of Ilúvatar.

The first Elves awoke by Cuiviénen, the Water of Awakening in the far east of Middle-earth, long Ages before the Rising of the Sun or Moon.

Unlike Men, the Elves were not subject to illness or death, and at the time of the Lord of the Rings, there were still at least two Elves in Aman who had awoken by Cuiviénen in the first days; Ingwë, Lord of the Vanyar, and Olwë, brother of King Elu Thingol.

–—

Origins and Early History: In the far eastern land of Cuiviénen, on the shores of the Inland Sea of Helcar and beneath the mountains of the Orocarni, the Elves awoke under the starlight of the Years of the Trees.

The Valar at first knew nothing of their coming, but they were soon discovered by the spies of Melkor, who sent his creatures to watch them and harrass them.

How long they existed in this perilous and unprotected state is not known, but the legends of those times, of the Hunter and of a dark Rider, were preserved in Valinor by the Eldar that came there. It is known that many of the ancient Elves were captured by Melkor and imprisoned in Utumno - it is generally thought that these hapless beings were the origins of the race of Orcs.

The Valar discovered that the Elves had awoken when Oromë, hunting in the lands of Middle-earth, heard their singing voices. He named them Eldar, the People of the Stars, but the Elves’ own name for their kind was Quendi, those who speak with voices. Because of the horrors of Melkor, many of the Elves were at first suspicious of the Vala, but (after briefly returning to Valinor to tell the other Valar of his discovery) he remained with them and protected them for a time.

Concerned for the safety of the Elves in Middle-earth, which was at that time under the control of Melkor, the Valar left Valinor and made war against the Dark Lord: this was the Battle of the Powers, which saw Melkor taken as captive back to Valinor.

–—

The Great Journey: After the defeat of Melkor, the Valar debated the fate of the Elves - whether they should be left to dwell in Middle-earth, or brought to Valinor to be kept under the direct protection of the Valar.

It was decided to bring them to the land of the Valar, and Oromë was sent back to Cuiviénen to summon them.

When he returned, though, he found that the Elves feared the Valar, and were reluctant to make the journey. Three ambassadors were chosen, Ingwë, Finwë and Elwë, to travel to Aman with Oromë, and help the Elves decide on their course. These three were filled with awe by what they saw there, and by the light of the Two Trees, and counselled their people to follow the summons.

The followers of Ingwë, and most of the peoples of Finwë and Elwë agreed, and set out on the Great Journey westwards across the wide lands of Middle-earth. These were the peoples later known as the Three Kindreds, the Vanyar, the Noldor and the Teleri. Not all the Elves obeyed the summons; those who refused are known as Avari, the Unwilling.

Oromë led the peoples of the Three Kindreds out of the east of Middle-earth. The Vanyar were the least numerous, and the most eager to reach Aman, and they came first on the Journey, followed by the Noldor of Finwë.

The Teleri, led by Elwë and his brother Olwë, were the greatest host, and many were uncertain and doubtful. Not a few of these people left the Journey and remained in Middle-earth. The most notable of those who turned from the Journey were the Nandor, who were led away down the Vales of Anduin by Lenwë.

At last, the Vanyar and the Noldor reached the shores of the Great Sea, in the regions between the Bay of Balar and the Firth of Drengist (regions later known, at least for the most part, as the Falas). Ulmo brought a great island to the shores, and on it transported the Elves to Aman.

The Teleri were the hindcomers, though, and arrived in Beleriand too late to embark on Ulmo’s island. They dwelt for a while on the banks of the Gelion in eastern Beleriand, but later spread to the shores. In this time, two events of historical importance occurred - their lord Elwë was lost for a time in Nan Elmoth, and they encountered Ossë, a Maia of the Sea.

Many of the Teleri wished to remain in Beleriand, some to seek for their lost lord, and others because of desires stirred in their hearts by Ossë.

When the time came for Ulmo to return to Beleriand to take the Teleri to Valinor, then, many of them remained behind. These people became known in after years as the Sindar, the Grey-elves, and those who dwelt by the shores under the lordship of Círdan became known as the Falathrim.

–—

Melkor Chained - Three Ages of Bliss: Now came three ages of glory and bliss for the Elves, both east and west of the Great Sea. In Valinor, the Vanyar and the Noldor, and those of the Teleri who completed the Journey, dwelt with the Valar and learned from them. They dwelt in the jewelled city of Tirion in the Pass of Light, and at the Swanhaven of Alqualondë, and beneath the tower of Avallónë on the Lonely Isle of Tol Eressëa.

While the Two Trees still gave light to the realm of the Valar, three ages passed, and the Elves of Valinor became the wisest and noblest of all the Children of Ilúvatar.

Meanwhile, in Beleriand, the Sindar dwelt beneath starlight. While most of Middle-earth still slept, awaiting the coming of the Sun and Moon, Melian the Maia brought life to the forests and plains of Beleriand under Thingol’s rule, and Oromë would still ride at times across the darkling lands.

–—

The Nature of the Elves: Both Elves and Men are the Children of Ilúvatar, and so have much in common, but there are also great differences between the two peoples. Of these, the most significant is that Elves are

‘immortal’, at least while the World lasts; they do not suffer ageing or disease, and if they are slain or wither with grief, they are reincarnated in the Halls of Mandos in Valinor.

Although, unlike Men, the Elves must remain in the world until its ending, they are not bound to Middle-earth. They may if they wish take the straight road, and sail into the Uttermost West, a road that is barred to mortals.

Elves also have far clearer sight and perception than Men; they are naturally aware of many things that are hidden from the Younger Children, but these gifts are not without limit.

–—

Religion: The Elves never had any distinct ‘religion’ in the sense that Men would understand the word; indeed, the High Elves had travelled to Valinor and lived with the Valar (or ‘gods’) themselves for many ages before Men came into the world.

Of all the Valar, they most revered Varda Elentári, the spouse of Manwë; and Lady of the Stars. In Middle-earth, they called her Elbereth, Star-Queen, and sang to her across the wide ocean Belegaer. Great respect was also given to Ulmo, especially during the First Age when he aided the Elves against Morgoth.

* Elves of Beleriand|Elf of Beleriand|Beleriand Elves|Beleriand Elf The Eldar of Middle-earth in the Elder Days.

For three ages after the departure of the Vanyar, Noldor and Teleri to Aman, the Elves who inhabited Beleriand comprised that part of the Telerin people who remained in Middle-earth, known as the Sindar or Grey-elves after their king, Thingol Greycloak of Doriath.

At the rising of the Moon in the beginning of the First Age, many of the Noldor returned to Beleriand from Aman to make war on Morgoth. While there was some enmity between the Sindar and the Noldor (especially the Sons of Fëanor), the two peoples lived together in the face of their common foe, Morgoth Bauglir.

Finally, a small part of the Nandor, kin of the Sindar who had turned aside from the westward journey east of the Misty Mountains, entered the land of Ossiriand during the First Age. Though these people, called the Laiquendi or Green-elves, played little part in the wars against Morgoth, they are accounted a part of the Elves of Beleriand.

* Elves of Doriath|Elf of Doriath|Doriath Elves|Doriath Elf The People of Thingol and Melian.

Those Elves of the Sindar that lived in the broad forests of central Beleriand, Neldoreth and Region, under the Kingship of Elu Thingol. These people, whose King had travelled to Valinor in his youth, and whose Queen was of the order of the Maiar, were held to be the highest and noblest of the Grey-elven kindred.

* Elves of Eregion|Elf of Eregion|Eregion Elves|Eregion Elf The followers of Celebrimbor son of Curufin, who with him founded a land of the Elves near to Moria in the Misty Mountains. They were destroyed by Sauron during the Second Age.

* Elves of Lindon|Elf of Lindon|Lindon Elves|Lindon Elf The Elves that lived beyond the Blue Mountains.

Those Elves who dwelt in the west of Middle-earth, between the Blue Mountains and the Great Sea, in the Second and Third Ages. They reached the height of their power in the Second Age under King Gil-galad, but waned after his loss in the Siege of Barad-dûr.

* Elves of Lórien|Elves of Lorien|Elf of Lórien|Elf of Lorien|Lórien Elves|Lorien Elves|Lórien Elf|Lorien Elf

The Galadhrim, the Elvish people who inhabited the land of Lórien to the east of the Misty Mountains. These were Silvan Elves, descended from the Nandor, who at the time of the War of the Ring were ruled by Celeborn and Galadriel.

* Elves of Middle-earth|Elf of Middle-earth|Middle-earth Elves|Middle-earth Elf

The Úmanyar and the Noldor who returned from Aman.

The Elves that dwelt in Middle-earth were, for the most part, those who did not start the Great Journey (the Avari), or those that fell away from it (the Silvan Elves, the Nandor and the Sindar). Of those Elves who left Middle-earth for Aman, many of the Noldor later returned, and there were still some few of this noble people to be found at the time of the War of the Ring.

* Elves of Mirkwood|Elf of Mirkwood|Mirkwood Elves|Mirkwood Elf The Silvan followers of Thranduil and his kin.

A colony of Silvan Elves that maintained a realm in the northern regions of Mirkwood, under the rule of Thranduil.

* Elves of Nargothrond|Elf of Nargothrond|Nargothrond Elves|Nargothrond Elf

Elves of the following of Finrod Felagund, who dwelt under his rule in the underground citadel of Nargothrond on the banks of the River Narog.

* Elves of Sirion|Elf of Sirion|Sirion Elves|Sirion Elf The last exiles of Gondolin and Doriath.

A short-lived Elven culture that grew up in the lands around the Mouths of Sirion during the last days of the First Age. Its people were Elves that had fled from the destruction of the great realms of Beleriand, especially Gondolin and Doriath. It was itself destroyed, not by Morgoth, but by the remaining Sons of Fëanor who sought the Silmaril of Elwing, who dwelt with the Elves of Sirion.

* Elves of Thranduil|Elf of Thranduil|Thranduil Elves|Thranduil Elf The Elves of the Wood.

A people of the Silvan Elves, with whom had mingled a group of Sindar.

They dwelt under the trees of Mirkwood, and during the Third Age, their leader was Thranduil son of Oropher. With the help of the Dwarves, Thranduil delved an underground dwelling after the manner of his ancient kinsman Thingol at Menegroth. There, in the northeast of the Wood, the Elves of Thranduil lived in relative safety until the time of the War of the Ring. Prominent among this people was Legolas Greenleaf, who travelled with the Company of the Ring.

* Elves of the Havens|Elf of the Havens

The followers of Círdan during the First Age.

A Sindarin people occupying the land of the Falas in western Beleriand, on the shores of Belegaer. Círdan the Shipwright was their lord, and their great cities were the Havens of Brithombar and Eglarest.

The Elves of the Havens enjoyed peaceful relations with all the Elves of Beleriand, and were particularly closely allied with the people of Nargothrond. As one of the most remote peoples from Morgoth’s forces in Angband, the other Elvish lords would often send their children to the Elves of the Havens for safekeeping.

After the Nirnaeth Arnoediad, Brithombar and Eglarest were besieged and taken by Morgoth’s armies, and most of the Elves were slain or imprisoned. Some few, including Círdan and the young Ereinion Gil-galad, who was at that time lodging with the people of the Havens, sailed south to safety on the Isle of Balar.

At the beginning of the Second Age, Círdan sailed east to found the Grey Havens on the Gulf of Lhûn, and the remnant of the Elves of the Havens must surely have accompanied him.

* Elves of the Light|Elf of the Light

The Calaquendi.

Those Elves known as the Calaquendi, who had looked on the light of the Two Trees of Valinor before their Darkening. These were the Vanyar, the Noldor and that part of the Teleri that had travelled West from Middle-earth. Elu Thingol was also considered an Elf of the Light, because although he never completed the Great Journey, he had travelled to Valinor and back before the Eldar set out from Cuiviénen.

* Elves of the Twilight|Elf of the Twilight|Twilight Elves|Twilight Elf A name for the Sindar or Grey-elves.

* Elves of the Wood|Elf of the Wood|Wood Elves|Wood Elf The Elves of northern Mirkwood.

The Silvan Elves who dwelt in the northern regions of Mirkwood, under the lordship of Thranduil. Legolas Greenleaf of the Company of the Ring came from these people.

* Elves of Valinor|Elf of Valinor|Valinor Elves|Valinor Elf Calaquendi, the Elves of the Light.

The Vanyar, the Noldor and those of the Teleri who came to Aman in the train of Oromë, and dwelt with the Valar in their realm of Valinor.

* Elvish

The rich and ancient languages of the Elves.

A general term for the languages of the Elves. In Middle-earth, it most commonly refers to Sindarin, but can also apply to Quenya, the High-elven tongue. Other Elvish languages in Middle-earth include dialects derived from Sindarin (for example, the language of the Wood-elves of Thranduil).

* Elwë Singollo|Elwë|Elwe

Surnamed Singollo ‘Greymantle’; leader with his brother Olwë of the hosts of the Teleri on the westward journey from Cuiviénen, until he was lost in Nan Elmoth; afterwards Lord of the Sindar, ruling in Doriath with Melian; received the Silmaril from Beren; slain in Menegroth by the Dwarves. Called (Elu) Thingol in Sindarin. See Dark Elves, Thingol.

–—

The ancient name of King Thingol; when he settled in Doriath with Melian, he took the Sindarin form of his name, Elu Thingol.

* Elwing

Daughter of Dior Thingol’s Heir, who escaping from Doriath with the Silmaril wedded Eärendil at the Mouths of Sirion and went with him to Valinor; mother of Elrond and Elros. The name means ‘Star-spray’; see Lanlhir Lamath.

–—

The daughter of Dior Eluchíl and wife of Eärendil the Mariner. Through the power of Ulmo she escaped the destruction of the Havens of Sirion in the form of a white bird, and came to her husband on the Sea with a Silmaril on her breast.

Elwing’s name, ‘star-spray’ comes from the starlight glinting on the waterfall of Lanthir Lamath, at her father’s house in Ossiriand, on the night she was born.

* Emeldir

Called the Man-hearted; wife of Barahir and mother of Beren; led the women and children of the House of Bëor from Dorthonion after the Dagor Bragollach. (She was herself also a descendant of Bëor the Old, and her father’s name was Beren).

–—

The ‘Man-hearted’ wife of Barahir.

The wife of Barahir and the mother of Beren Erchamion. After the Dagor Bragollach, when Barahir and Beren became outlaws, Emeldir fled from their home in Dorthonion with many of Barahir’s household.

* Emerië|Emerie

Region of sheep pasturage in the Mittalmar (Inlands) of Númenor.

–—

The sheep-country of Númenor.

A region of the Mittalmar in central Númenor; the location of the White House of Erendis, queen of Tar-Aldarion.

* Emerwen (Aranel)|Emerwen

‘(Princess) Shepherdess’, name given to Tar-Ancalimë in her youth.

* Empty Lands

An unknown region to the east of Middle-earth.

A mysterious region mentioned only once by Tolkien. The Empty Lands are important because they apparently lay beyond the eastern boundaries of Middle-earth, and so give a vital clue to the structure of Arda.

* Emyn Arnen

The central uplands of Ithilien.

A range of hills in the central regions of Ithilien, across the Great River from Minas Tirith. This region was particularly associated with the Stewards of Gondor. Húrin, the first of the hereditary Stewards, came from these hills, and Steward Faramir dwelt here after the War of the Ring.

* Emyn Beraid

The ‘Tower Hills’ in the west of Eriador on which were built the White Towers; see Elostirion.

–—

The Tower Hills.

A region of hills near the Grey Havens, to the west of the Shire. Before the end of the Second Age, Gil-galad built Elven-towers in these hills as a gift for Elendil. The tallest tower, Elostirion, held one of the palantíri of the North.

* Emyn Duir

‘Dark Mountains’, the Mountains of Mirkwood. See Emyn-nu-Fuin.

–—

The Dark Mountains of Greenwood the Great.

The former name for the range of hills that ran west to east through the northern parts of the forest of Greenwood the Great. At the beginning of the second millennium of the Third Age, a shadow began to fall across the Forest, and across the Dark Mountains, too. Then they gained a new name, Emyn-nu-Fuin, translated as the ‘Mountains of Mirkwood’.

* Emyn Muil

‘Drear Hills’, folded, rocky, and (especially on the east side) barren hill-country about Nen Hithoel above Rauros falls.

–—

The hill-range around Nen Hithoel.

The range of hills that massed on either side of the Anduin above the inflow of the Entwash. At one time they marked the northern borders of Gondor; Frodo and Sam crossed them on their journey to Mordor.

* Emyn Uial

The Hills of Evendim in the far north of Middle-earth, at the feet of which stood Arnor’s chief city, Annúminas.

* Emyn-nu-Fuin

‘Mountains under Night’, later name of the Mountains of Mirkwood. See Emyn Duir.

–—

The Mountains of Mirkwood.

The Elvish name for the east-west range of high forested hills that ran through northern Mirkwood. The name Emyn-nu-Fuin literally means ‘hills under shadow’, but the name is connected to the Elvish name for the Forest, Taur-nu-Fuin, and so is usually translated ‘Mountains of Mirkwood’.

* Enchanted Isles

The islands set by the Valar in the Great Sea eastwards of Tol Eressëa at the time of the Hiding of Valinor. See Shadowy Isles.

–—

Entrapments of the western seas.

Part of the defences of Valinor, a group of islands set in the Great Sea to prevent mariners from reaching Aman.

* Enchanted River

The black river of northern Mirkwood.

The dark river that rose in the Mountains of Mirkwood, and flowed northwards in a great loop to meet the Forest River under the canopy of the trees of Mirkwood. Its water was black, and carried a curse that gave the river its name - any person coming into contact with its enchanted water immediately fell into a long, deep sleep.

About halfway along its length, the Enchanted River flowed across the Elf-path that led west to east through Mirkwood to Thranduil’s halls, and it seems that a ferry was maintained there, presumably for the use of the Wood-elves. At least, Bilbo and the Dwarves found a boat kept on the eastern bank of the River, which they used to cross it on their journey to Erebor.

* Encircling Mountains

The protective mountains of Gondolin.

Also called the Echoriath and (in the south) the Crissaegrim; the circular mountain range that surrounded and concealed the valley of Tumladen and the city of Gondolin.

* Encircling Sea

The vast and bleak ocean that surrounded Arda.

Ekkaia, the dark and endless sea that surrounded the lands of Arda, and in which Ulmo had his dwelling-place.

* Enderi

The three ‘middle-days’ unique to the Elvish calendars such as the Reckoning of Rivendell; modern 5, 6 and 7 October. Every twelfth year, these Enderi were increased in number from three to six.

* Endless Stair

The stair that led to Durin’s Tower.

The winding stairway that led from the deepest halls of Khazad-dûm up to Durin’s Tower on the peak of Zirakzigil.

* Endor

‘Middle Land’, Middle-earth.

–—

The older name in Sindarin for the region much better known as Middle-earth.

* Endóre|Endore

‘Middle Lands’; the very rare Quenya name for the region much better known as Middle-earth.

* Enedwaith

‘Middle-folk’, between the rivers Greyflood (Gwathló) and Isen.

–—

The wide and empty land between the Kingdoms of the Dúnedain.

The wide lands that lay between Arnor in the north and Gondor in the south. Originally deeply forested, the great forests of this region were cut down by the Númenóreans during the Second Age.

* Enerdhil

Jewel-smith of Gondolin.

* Engwar

‘The Sickly’, one of the Elvish names for the race of Men.

* Ennor

The later form of the Sindarin word Endor, a name for Middle-earth.

* Entings|Enting

Young Ents.

A name used by the Ents to refer to juvenile members of their own kind.

At the time of the War of the Ring, due to the loss of the Entwives, there had been no new Entings for centuries.

* Entmoot|Moot

A gathering of Ents.

The name for a meeting of the Ents of Fangorn Forest, said to be a rare occasion in the later days of the Third Age. The Moot was held by tradition at a dell in the Forest known as Derndingle.

* Ents|Ent

The Shepherds of the Trees.

A race of giant, tree-like people whose purpose was to protect the forests of Middle-earth. By the end of the Third Age, the great forests had dwindled, and so had the Ents, but they were still to be found in Fangorn Forest.

See Enyd, Onodrim.

* Entulessë|Entulesse

‘Return’, the ship in which Vëantur the Númenórean achieved the first voyage to Middle-earth.

* Entwade

Ford over the Entwash.

* Entwash

River flowing through Rohan from Fangorn Forest to the Nindalf.

–—

The broad river that flowed out of Fangorn.

Name among Men for the river the Elves called Onodló; it rose in the Fangorn Forest at the southern foothills of the Misty Mountains, and flowed southeastward through Rohan until it met the Great River Anduin below Rauros.

* Entwives|Entwife

The lost spouses of the Ents.

The mates of the Ents, who had their gardens in the regions later known as the Brown Lands. When Sauron blasted that region, the Entwives escaped into the wilds of Middle-earth and were lost to the Ents (or so the Ents themselves believed).

* Entwood

Name in Rohan of Fangorn Forest.

* Envinyatar

‘The Renewer’.

A high name and title claimed by Aragorn after the Battle of the Pelennor Fields. It refers in a literal sense to his renewal of the Kingship of the Dúnedain, and so to the renewal of the hope of Men.

* Enyd|Onod

Sindarin name for Ents (plural of Onod; see Onodló, Onodrim).

* Eofor

Third son of Brego the second King of Rohan; ancestor of Éomer.

* Éoherë|Eohere

Term used by the Rohirrim for the full muster of their cavalry.

* Eöl|Eol

Called the Dark Elf; the great smith who dwelt in Nan Elmoth, and took Aredhel Turgon’s sister to wife; friend of the Dwarves; maker of the sword Anglachel (Gurthang); father of Maeglin; put to death in Gondolin.

–—

The Dark Elf.

Originally a member of the royal house of Doriath, and kin to Thingol himself, Eöl was unhappy in his native land. When the Girdle of Melian was placed around the forests of Doriath, Eöl took his leave, and went to dwell in the dark forest of Nan Elmoth, east of his homeland.

Eöl was a skilful craftsman and master swordsmith. Among his greatest works were two swords made from the iron of a meteorite, Anglachel and Anguirel. Anglachel he gave to Thingol as payment for dwelling in Nan Elmoth, and it would later become the sword borne by Túrin Turambar.

Eöl’s smithcraft was especially admired by the Dwarves, and he shared a rare friendship with the Dwarves of Nogrod and Belegost in the Blue Mountains.

One day in the early fourth century of the First Age, Eöl came upon a gleaming white figure in his woods. This was Aredhel, the sister of Turgon, who had travelled out of Gondolin and become lost. Eöl used his enchantments to draw her deeper into the wood and ensnare her. She became his wife, and bore him a son, Maeglin.

One midsummer, many years later, Eöl travelled into the Blue Mountains to feast with the Dwarves of Nogrod, and returned home to find that his wife and son had left two days earlier. Mounting a horse, he gave chase, and eventually discovered them at the ford called the Brithiach.

Realizing that Aredhel was returning to Gondolin with his son, Eöl followed them. He found his way to the Dry River, and that secret way led him to the gates of Gondolin itself. There he was captured and taken to the King.

Turgon at first welcomed Eöl as a kinsman, but under the King’s law one who had found the way to the Hidden City was not permitted to leave, on pain of death. Enraged at the loss of his freedom, Eöl chose death, for himself and his son, and cast a poisoned javelin at Maeglin. Aredhel took the dart instead, and soon passed away. In this way Eöl achieved the end he had sought; in punishment for his crime, the Gondolindrim cast him over the dark cliffs of the Caragdûr.

* Éomer Éadig|Éomer|Eomer

Nephew and fosterson of King Théoden; at the time of the War of the Ring Third Marshal of the Mark; after Théoden’s death eighteenth King of Rohan; friend of King Elessar.

–—

First of the Third Line of the Kings of Rohan.

The son of Éomund of Eastfold and Théodwyn, the sister of King Théoden.

While still a young man of just twenty-six, Éomer the King’s nephew was made Third Marshal of Riddermark, and took command of the Riders of Eastfold. The days of his youth were harsh ones for Rohan; its people were imperilled by Orcs out of the north, while a certain Gríma son of Gálmód, later found to be a spy of Saruman, gained influence over the King.

On 25 February III 3019, Rohan suffered its greatest blow to date; at a skirmish that would become known as the First Battle of the Fords of Isen, Théoden’s son and heir Théodred was slain by Saruman’s forces, leaving Éomer - who was not at the battle - as the natural heir to Rohan’s throne. It was five days later that the tide began to turn in Rohan’s favour, when Éomer came across three strangers travelling through the fields of the Mark. These strangers were Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli, and from Éomer’s wise decision to aid these three came Rohan’s ultimate victory.

Because of this, some days later, Gandalf came to Edoras and healed the King of his malaise. The Rohirrim went to war, and though they were defeated at the Second Battle of the Fords of Isen, they held their own at the Battle of the Hornburg and, with the aid of the Ents of Fangorn Forest, defeated Saruman’s armies. Then Éomer rode with his King to the aid of Minas Tirith, where they fought in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields. There Théoden met his end, and granted Éomer the Kingship, first of the Third Line of the Kings of Rohan.

At the time of the great victories of that year, Éomer was still just twenty-eight years old. He would rule the Rohirrim for another sixty-five years, through which he maintained a great friendship with Gondor. Such was the plenty and peace of his reign that he was given the surname Éadig, ‘Blessed’. He was succeeded by his son Elfwine.

* Éomund of the Éothéod|Éomund|Eomund

Chief captain of the host of the Éothéod at the time of the Ride of Eorl.

* Éomund of Eastfold|Éomund|Eomund

Chief Marshal of the Mark of Rohan; wedded Théodwyn sister of Théoden; father of Éomer and Éowyn.

–—

The father of Éomer and Éowyn.

Marshal of the Mark, who married Théodwyn the sister of King Théoden of Rohan - their children were Éomer and Éowyn, who were each to play a great part in the War of the Ring. Éomund himself was slain in battle with Orcs in the Emyn Muil.

* Eönwë|Eonwe

One of the mightiest of the Maiar; called the Herald of Manwë; leader of the host of the Valar in the attack on Morgoth at the end of the First Age.

–—

The herald of Manwë and one of the greatest of the Maiar; he commanded the forces of the Valar during the War of Wrath.

* Éoreds|Eoreds|Éored|Eored

A body of the Riders of the Éothéod.

–—

The phalanxes of the Rohirrim.

An éored was the main military division of the Rohirrim, normally consisting of one hundred and twenty Riders.

* Eorl the Young|Eorl

Lord of the Éothéod; rode from his land in the far North to the aid of Gondor against the invasion of the Balchoth; received Calenardhon in gift from Cirion Steward of Gondor; first King of Rohan.

–—

The founding King of Rohan.

The son of Léod of the Éothéod, and founder of Rohan. When Gondor was assailed beyond hope, they sent north to Eorl for aid, and he came south in force to rout the enemies of the South-kingdom. As reward, Steward Cirion granted him and his people the land of Calenardhon to dwell in.

* Eorlingas|Eorlings

The people of Eorl, the Rohirrim.

–—

A name taken by the Rohirrim in their own tongue, signifying the followers and kin of Eorl the Young.

* Éothéod|Eotheod

Name of the people afterwards called the Rohirrim, and also of their land.

–—

The roots of the Rohirrim.

A nation of Northmen brought by their chieftain Frumgar on the northern reaches of the River Anduin. The Men of the Éothéod were the ancestors of the Rohirrim; in the time of Eorl the Young, they rode south to the aid of Gondor, and were granted the land of Rohan as reward.

* Éowyn|Eowyn

Sister of Éomer, wife of Faramir; slayer of the Lord of the Nazgûl in the battle of the Pelennor Fields.

–—

Shieldmaiden of the Rohirrim.

The granddaughter of King Thengel of Rohan, and sister to Éomer Éadig, who rode in disguise to the Battle of the Pelennor, and there had a part in the slaying of the Lord of the Nazgûl. She wedded Faramir, Prince of Ithilien.

* Epessë|Epesse|Essi

An ‘after-name’ received by one of the Eldar in addition to the given names (essi).

* Ephel Brandir

‘The encircling fence of Brandir’, dwellings of the Men of Brethil upon Amon Obel; also called the Ephel.

–—

The stockade at the heart of Brethil.

The fenced homestead of the People of Haleth that stood in the Forest of Brethil. Túrin dwelt there in the years before his death.

* Ephel Dúath|Ephel Duath

‘Fence of Shadow’, the mountain-range between Gondor and Mordor; also called the Mountains of Shadow.

–—

The Mountains of Shadow on the borders of Mordor.

The western mountain-fence of Mordor, lying between it and its ancient enemy Gondor, in which stood the tower of Minas Morgul.

* Eradan

Son and heir of Mardil Voronwë.

The second Ruling Steward of Gondor, the heir to Mardil, the first Steward to rule in Gondor. Eradan ruled as Steward for thirty-six years, and was succeeded by his son Herion.

* Erchamion

‘One-handed’, the name of Beren after his escape from Angband.

–—

The most commonly used title of Beren; it means ‘of the One Hand’ - he lost his right hand to the great Wolf Carcharoth before the Gates of Angband.

* Erebor

An isolated mountain to the east of the northernmost parts of Mirkwood, where was the Kingdom of the Dwarves under the Mountain and the lair of Smaug.

–—

The Lonely Mountain; the Dwarf-kingdom founded by Thráin I after the loss of Khazad-dûm. The kingdom was destroyed by the dragon Smaug, but was refounded by Thráin’s descendant Thorin II Oakenshield.

* Ereborian Cirth

The runic script of the Lonely Mountain.

The system of runes used by the Dwarves of Erebor, the Lonely Mountain.

It was based on the script used in Khazad-dûm, the Angerthas Moria, but incorporated a number of minor adaptations.

* Erech

A hill in the west of Gondor, where was the Stone of Isildur.

–—

The Hill and Stone at the head of the Blackroot Vale.

An ancient site at the feet of the White Mountains in Gondor, though it seems to have predated the foundation of that land. Erech was most famous for a huge Stone, said to have fallen from heaven.

* Ered Engrin

The Iron Mountains of the north.

The range of peaks raised by Melkor to protect his ancient fortress of Utumno in the far north of the world. Angband stood in the southwestern ranges of these mountains.

* Ered Gorgoroth|Gorgoroth

The ‘Mountains of Terror’, northward of Nan Dungortheb; also called the Gorgoroth.

–—

The Mountains of Terror.

The sheer mountain range that lay to the south of Dorthonion, separating it from Beleriand. They were the abode of the offspring of Ungoliant.

* Ered Lindon

The ‘Mountains of Lindon’, another name for Ered Luin, the Blue Mountains.

–—

The mountain-borders of the Elf-kingdom of Lindon.

The mountain range that separated the Elven land of Lindon from Eriador, more commonly called the Ered Luin or the Blue Mountains.

* Ered Lithui

Called the Ash Mountains, the northern fence of the land of Mordor, on an outcrop of which stood the Dark Tower of Barad-dûr.

* Ered Lómin|Ered Lomin

‘The Echoing Mountains’, forming the west-fence of Hithlum.

* Ered Luin

The ‘Blue Mountains’, also called Ered Lindon. After the destruction at the end of the First Age Ered Luin formed the north-western coastal range of Middle-earth.

–—

The Elves’ name for the Blue Mountains, the broken range that separated Lindon in the west from Eriador in the east.

* Ered Mithrin

‘Grey Mountains’, extending from east to west north of Mirkwood.

–—

The Elvish name for the Grey Mountains.

The Grey Mountains, the northern range that ran out eastwards from Mount Gundabad in the west.

* Ered Nimrais

The White Mountains (nimrais ‘white horns’), the great range from east to west south of the Misty Mountains.

–—

The Elvish name, literally meaning ‘Mountains of the White Horns’, for the range more commonly known simply as the White Mountains, that lay between the realms of Rohan and Gondor.

* Ered Wethrin

‘The Mountains of Shadow’, ‘The Shadowy Mountains’, the great curving range bordering Dor-nu-Fauglith (Ard-galen) on the west and forming the barrier between Hithlum and West Beleriand.

–—

The Mountains of Shadow.

The mighty curving mountain range that separated Hithlum from Beleriand; their name means ‘Mountains of Shadow’, from the deep shadows they cast over the lands to the north.

* Eredliun

The great mountain-chain (also called Ered Lindon) separating Beleriand from Eriador in the Elder Days, and after the destruction at the end of the First Age forming the north-western coastal range of Middle-earth.

Translated ‘the Blue Mountains’; called ‘the Western Mountains’.

* Eregion

‘Land of Holly’ (called by Men Hollin); Noldorin realm (founded by Galadriel and Celeborn?) in the Second Age at the western feet of the Misty Mountains, where the Elven Rings were made. It was in close association with Khazad-dûm. Destroyed by Sauron.

–—

The realm of the Mírdain.

A land of the Elves in the west of Middle-earth during the Second Age, famed for its smithwork and the friendship of its people with the Dwarves of nearby Khazad-dûm. The Elves of Eregion came under the influence of Sauron and unwittingly aided him in the making of the Rings of Power.

* Ereinion Gil-galad|Ereinion|Gil-galad

The son of Fingon, known always by his surname Gil-galad.

Ereinion: ‘Scion of Kings’; Gil-galad: ‘Star of Radiance’.

After the death of Turgon he became the last High King of the Noldor in Middle-earth, and remained in Lindon after the end of the First Age; leader with Elendil of the Last Alliance of Men and Elves and slain with him in combat with Sauron.

–—

The last High King of the Noldor.

Sixth and last of the High Kings of the Noldor. The only son of High King Fingon, Gil-galad was born late in the First Age, and was still a child at the time of the Dagor Bragollach; his father sent him to Círdan at the Havens for safekeeping when Morgoth broke the Siege of Angband in that battle.

Fingon was lost in the Nirnaeth Arnoediad, but the crown passed to Gil-galad’s uncle Turgon in Gondolin, rather than Gil-galad himself (presumably because of his youth at that time). When Gondolin was lost, Gil-galad received the Kingship of the Noldor; he dwelt with the Exiles of the city at the Mouths of Sirion during the remainder of the First Age.

After the destruction of Beleriand during the War of Wrath, Gil-galad founded a kingdom in Lindon in the far northwest of Middle-earth, between the Blue Mountains and the Great Sea. There he and his people prospered, until Sauron returned; he came first to Lindon in the form of Annatar, the Lord of Gifts, but Gil-galad and Círdan rejected him. Soon after, the One Ring was forged, and there was war in Middle-earth between the Elves and Sauron.

After the Downfall of Númenor, Elendil and his sons came to Middle-earth and formed an alliance with Gil-galad, the Last Alliance of Elves and Men. They marched on Mordor and besieged Sauron’s Dark Tower. Sauron was defeated, but Gil-galad met his death in that war.

* Erelas

Fourth of the beacons of Gondor in Ered Nimrais.

* Erellont

One of the three mariners who accompanied Eärendil and Elwing to Aman, the other two being Aerandir and Falathar.

* Erendis|Lady of the Westlands

Wife of Tar-Aldarion (‘the Mariner’s Wife), between whom there was great love that turned to hatred; mother of Tar-Ancalimë. Called the Lady of the Westlands and the White Lady of Emerië.

–—

The Mariner’s Wife.

A noble lady of Númenor who became Queen to Tar-Aldarion, sixth King of Númenor. Their daughter became Númenor’s first Ruling Queen, Tar-Ancalimë.

* Erestor

The chief counsellor of Elrond’s household at the time of the War of the Ring, who took part in the Council of Elrond. He did not support the idea of destroying the Ring, and preferred instead the notion of guarding it from Sauron, perhaps with the aid of Tom Bombadil.

* Eriador

The land between the Misty Mountains and the Blue, in which lay the Kingdom of Arnor (and also the Shire of the Hobbits).

–—

The Lone-lands.

The Elvish name of the region called the Lone-lands in The Hobbit, the western lands of Middle-earth that lay between the Misty Mountains and the Blue.

* Erkenbrand of Westfold|Erkenbrand

Rider of Rohan, Master of Westfold and the Hornburg; under King Éomer Marshal of the West-mark.

–—

Lord of the Westfold of Rohan.

A Rider of the Rohirrim who commanded Théoden’s armies in the Second Battle of the Fords of Isen. He was granted the title of Marshal of the West-mark by King Éomer after the War of the Ring.

* Ernil i Pheriannath

‘Prince of the Halflings’, a title given to Peregrin Took by the people of Minas Tirith.

* Eru

‘The One’, ‘He that is Alone’: Ilúvatar.

–—

Called ‘The One’, and more commonly known in Middle-earth as Ilúvatar.

Eru was the creator of the Ainur, and through their Music founded the realm of Arda.

* Eruhantalë|Eruhantale

‘Thanksgiving to Eru’, the autumn feast in Númenor.

* Eruhíni|Eruhini

The Children of Ilúvatar.

The Elvish term for the Children of Ilúvatar, Elves and Men. It contains the name Eru, the One (a name for Ilúvatar) and the Elvish word hîn,

‘child’.

* Erui

The river that flowed out of Lossarnach.

A lesser river of Gondor, that flowed southward out of the White Mountains, through Lossarnach, to meet the River Anduin above Pelargir.

* Erukyermë|Erukyerme

‘Prayer to Eru’, the spring feast in Númenor.

* Erulaitalë|Erulaitale

‘Praise of Eru’, the midsummer feast in Númenor.

* Eryn Galen

The great forest usually given the translated name Greenwood the Great.

* Eryn Lasgalen

‘Wood of Greenleaves’, the new name chosen by Celeborn and Thranduil for the forest that had been known as Mirkwood for much of the Third Age.

* Eryn Vorn

‘The Black Woods’; the deeply forested cape that stood out into the Great Sea south of the mouths of Baranduin.

* Esgalduin

The river of Doriath, dividing the forests of Neldoreth and Region, and flowing into Sirion. The name means ‘River under Veil’.

–—

The river that flowed through Doriath.

A major tributary of the Siron, which rose in the dark heights of the Ered Gorgoroth, and flowed southwestward to meet the Sirion on the western borders of Doriath. It marked the boundary between the forests of Neldoreth and Region.

* Esgaroth

A town on the shores on the Long Lake, the original home of the Lake-men.

After the coming of Smaug to Erebor, Esgaroth seems to have been abandoned in favour of a more secure township built out in the Lake itself, but this is not entirely clear: the name ‘Esgaroth’ is also sometimes used of this second dwelling-place, which is more usually called simply ‘Lake-town’.

* Esmerelda Took

The mother of Merry Brandybuck.

A descendant of Gerontius the Old Took, and younger sister to Thain Paladin II. She married Saradoc Brandybuck and was thus both Pippin Took’s aunt and Merry Brandybuck’s mother.

* Estë|Este

One of the Valier, the spouse of Irmo (Lórien); her name means ‘Rest’.

–—

A lady of the Valar, the spouse of Irmo, who dwells with him in the gardens of Lórien in Valinor.

* Estel

‘Hope’, a name given to Aragorn by his mother Gilraen.

* Estelmo

Elendur’s esquire, who survived the Disaster of the Gladden Fields.

–—

A survivor of the Disaster of the Gladden Fields.

The squire to Isildur’s eldest son Elendur, who was knocked to the ground and left for dead by Orcs in the Disaster of the Gladden Fields.

In fact, he recovered from his injuries, and was one of only three Men to survive the Disaster in which Isildur and the Ring were lost.

* Estolad

The land south of Nan Elmoth in East Beleriand where the Men of the followings of Bëor and Marach dwelt after they crossed the Blue Mountains into Beleriand; translated as ‘the Encampment’.

–—

The plain of the camps of Men.

The plain in East Beleriand where the first Men camped after they crossed the Blue Mountains into Beleriand.

* Ethir Anduin

The estuary of the Great River Anduin.

Beneath Pelargir, the River Anduin was joined by the waters of the Poros, and spread into a great delta more than fifty miles across. This was a border region of Gondor, populated mainly by fishermen.

* Ethring

The township below the wells of Ringló.

A town near the head of the Ringló Vale. Built about fifty miles beneath the springs of the River Ringló, Ethring was a major crossing point (and probably the only one) on that wide river. It stood on the road from the southern fiefs of Gondor to Pelargir, and so Aragorn must surely have passed through the town during the War of the Ring.

* Ethuil

The Sindarin name for spring; 54 days between modern 8 April and 31 May.

Called Tuilë in Quenya.

* Ettenmoors

The empty moors north of Rivendell.

The wild, untamed lands that lay north of Rivendell. It was here that the Witch-king fled after his defeat in the Battle of Fornost.

* Evendim

The landscape of Annúminas.

A name, meaning ‘evening twilight’, used to refer to the lands around Annúminas in western Arnor, and especially to the Hills and Lake of that region.

* Evenstar

Title of Arwen, Queen to Aragorn II Elessar, referring not only to her radiant beauty, but also to her descent: the evening star was the light of the last Silmaril, bound to the brow of her grandfather Eärendil.

* Everard Took

Dancer of the Springle-ring.

The youngest son of Adelard Took, and great-great-grandson of Gerontius, the Old Took; hence a distant cousin of Bilbo and Frodo Baggins, Peregrin Took and Meriadoc Brandybuck.

* Exiles of Gondolin

The survivors of the Fall of Gondolin, among them Tuor, Idril and Eärendil, who took refuge in the marshlands at the Mouths of Sirion.

* Exiles of Númenor

Name given to Elendil, his sons and his followers, after they escaped to Middle-earth from the destruction of Númenor.

* Eye of Sauron

The all-seeing Red Eye.

From the highest tower of Barad-dûr, Sauron kept an unceasing watch on the lands and kingdoms of Middle-earth. The ‘Eye of Sauron’ is a reference to this unsleeping vigilance.

* Ezellohar

The Green Mound of the Two Trees.

The green mound before the western gates of Valmar, also called Corollairë, where the Two Trees of Valinor grew.

* Faelivrin

Name given to Finduilas by Gwindor.

* Fair Elves|Fair Elf

A name for the Vanyar, from the fair colour of their hair.

* Fairbairn Family|Fairbairn

The hereditary Wardens of Westmarch.

The family of the descendants of Samwise Gamgee, through his eldest daughter Elanor and her husband Fastred of Greenholm. Fastred became the first Warden of Westmarch, a title handed down to his son Elfstan Fairbairn and his descendants. The family seat was at Undertowers on the Tower Hills, so that the family are often referred to as the ‘Fairbairns of the Towers’.

* Faithful

The opponents of the King’s Men.

Those among the Númenóreans who turned aside from the policies of the later Kings of Númenor, and remained faithful to the will of the Valar.

See Elendili.

* Falas

The western coasts of Beleriand, south of Nevrast.

–—

The shoreland realm of Círdan.

A coastal region of West Beleriand, ruled by Círdan the Shipwright from his Havens at Eglarest and Brithombar.

* Falastur

‘Lord of the Coasts’, name of Tarannon, twelfth King of Gondor.

–—

While Siriondil ruled as King of Gondor, his son Tarannon served as his father’s Captain of the Hosts. He built Gondor great navies, and won victories and land along the coasts of Middle-earth, and especially in regions around the Mouths of Anduin. When he inherited the Kingship from his father, Tarannon took the name Falastur, ‘Lord of the Coasts’, and became known to history as the first of Gondor’s four Ship-kings.

* Falathar

One of the three mariners who accompanied Eärendil on his voyages.

* Falathrim

The Elves of the Falas.

The shoreland people of the Falas, who owned Círdan the Shipwright as their Lord. Of Telerin descent, these Elves remained in Beleriand when their kin journeyed to Valinor, at the persuasion of Ossë.

* Fall of Barad-dûr|Fall of Barad-dur

The utter ruin of Sauron and his stronghold of Barad-dûr, brought about by Frodo Baggins’ destruction of the One Ring.

* Fall of Fingolfin

Fingolfin’s end in single combat with Morgoth.

A name given to the noble yet hopeless end of Fingolfin, High King of the Noldor. After the destruction of the Dagor Bragollach, he rode in anger to the gates of Angband, and challenged Morgoth himself to single combat. Though he fought bravely, he could not hope to best the Dark Lord, and he was lost.

* Fall of Gil-galad

The tale of the last High King of the Noldor.

The lay that tells of the loss of Ereinion Gil-galad in the Siege of Barad-dûr at the end of the War of the Last Alliance. Sam sings the first lines of it in the The Lord of the Rings.

* Fall of Gondolin

The ruin of the last stronghold of the Eldar in Beleriand.

The destruction of Gondolin by the forces of Morgoth, brought about by the treachery of Maeglin. Many were lost in the city’s fall, not least King Turgon himself, but many also escaped by a secret way, among them Tuor and Idril and their young son Eärendil.

* Fall of Nargothrond

The sack of the halls on the Narog.

The overthrow and destruction of the citadel of Nargothrond by Glaurung and his hordes, in the four hundred and ninety-fifth year of the First Age.

* Fallohides|Fallohide

The northern branch of hobbit-kind.

One of three original divisions of hobbit-kind, along with the Harfoots and Stoors. The Fallohides were the least numerous of the three branches, and originally dwelt in the northern parts of Middle-earth.

–—

The Nature of the Fallohides: In appearance, Fallohides were taller and slimmer of build than the other Hobbits, with some growing to four feet or more in height. Both their skin and their hair tended to be fair, and no Fallohide ever grew a beard.

Fallohidish culture was much more open to outside influence than that of the Stoors or Harfoots; they were friendlier with the other races of Middle-earth than their cousins, especially the Elves. Perhaps because of this, they were skilled in both song and speech.

While the other two branches of hobbit-kind were pastoral and rustic in nature, the Fallohides retained a hunting tradition, and so were naturally bolder and more inquisitive than their relatives, but less gifted in the arts of farming and agriculture.

–—

The History of the Fallohides: The Fallohides seem to have dwelt originally on the upper reaches of the River Anduin, in the region where the Greylin and the Langwell flowed into the Great River. It is likely that they mixed with the ancestors of the Rohirrim at this time, for the Northmen also dwelt in this region, and this is likely the origin of the legend of the holbytlan found in Rohan.

At the end of the first millennium of the Third Age, evil things began to stir in the east of Middle-earth, and many peoples, including the ancestral Hobbits, began to travel westward across the Misty Mountains.

The first Hobbits to enter Eriador were the Harfoots; the Fallohides deserted their northern homes in around III 1150, and crossed the Mountains to the north of Rivendell, at the sources of the River Hoarwell.

The tribes of the Fallohidish Hobbits travelled slowly down the course of the Hoarwell, and westward across Eriador. They eventually settled in the region around Bree, in c.III 1300, where their adventurous and intrepid natures made them natural leaders of the other Hobbits they found there. It was presumably at about this time that the three strains of Hobbits began to mix freely for the first time.

Three hundred years later (in the year 1601 of the Third Age), two Fallohide brothers, Marcho and Blanco, travelled westward again from Bree with their followers and crossed the Bridge of Stonebows (later the Brandywine Bridge). They settled in the empty land that they found there and were granted it by King Argeleb II of Arthedain, in whose realm it lay. This was the land that was to become known as the Shire.

As the centuries passed, the three distinct strains of the Hobbits gradually began to disappear as they mingled with one another in the Shire. Nonetheless, there were families that retained a strong line of Fallohidish blood, and the impetuosity that went with it. At the time of the War of the Ring, the Fallohidish line was still well represented in the families of the Tooks and the Brandybucks.

* Falls of Rauros|Rauros

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

–—

The falls beneath Nen Hithoel.

The great falls of the River Anduin where it fell from the heights of the Emyn Muil into the wetlands of the Nindalf.

* Falls of Sirion

Sirion’s descent beneath the Andram.

The mighty thundering falls of the River Sirion, where its waters fell beneath the earth and flowed beneath the hills of the Andram for nine miles before emerging again.

* Falmari|Falmar

The Sea-elves; name of the Teleri who departed from Middle-earth and went into the West.

* Fangorn (Ent)|Fangorn

The oldest of the Ents and the guardian of Fangorn Forest.

–—

The Ent known as Treebeard.

The Elvish rendering of the name ‘Treebeard’; the old Ent who inhabited the great Forest at the southern feet of the Misty Mountains, and from whom that Forest took its name.

* Fangorn Forest|Fangorn

The forest at the south-eastern end of the Misty Mountains, about the upper waters of the rivers Entwash and Limlight. See Entwood.

–—

Last Home of the Ents in the West of Middle-earth.

A last remnant of the great forests of Eriador, lying in the southern foothills of the Misty Mountains, in which the Ents still dwelt during the Third Age.

* Fanuidhol

Called Cloudyhead, one of the three peaks in the Misty Mountains (with Caradhras and Celebdil) that lay above the ancient Dwarf-city of Khazad-dûm.

* Far Downs

The western borderland of the Shire.

The downlands that marked the western borders of the Shire, forty leagues (120 miles) west from the Brandywine Bridge. Of their geography almost nothing is known, except that the town of Greenholm seems to have been built among the Downs. It was from here that Fastred of Greenholm came, the first Warden of the Westmarch that lay between the Far Downs and, still further westward, the Tower Hills.

* Faramir (Prince of Gondor)|Faramir

Younger son of Ondoher King of Gondor; slain in battle with the Wainriders.

–—

The younger son of King Ondoher of Gondor. When his father and elder brother Artamir rode to war with the Wainriders, he followed them in secret, though as the second in line to the throne he should have remained safe in Minas Anor. He was lost in the battle, as were his father and brother, leaving Gondor without an heir to the Kingship.

* Faramir (Steward of Gondor)|Faramir

Younger song of Denethor II, Steward of Gondor; Captain of the Rangers of Ithilien; after the War of the Ring Prince of Ithilien and Steward of Gondor.

–—

Last of the Ruling Stewards.

Younger son of Steward Denethor II of Gondor, and brother to Boromir of the Company of the Ring. He fought in the Battle of the Pelennor, and was rewarded after the installation of Aragorn II Elessar with the princedom of Ithilien.

* Faramir Took I|Faramir Took

The son of Thain Peregrin Took I of the Company of the Ring and Diamond of Long Cleeve; he succeeded his father to become Thain Faramir I. Named for Faramir, Prince of Ithilien.

* Farmer Maggot|Maggot

A Hobbit who farmed lands in the Marish, in the Eastfarthing of the Shire, near the Bucklebury Ferry. He was familiar with Tom Bombadil.

* Farthings|Farthing

The four divisions of the Shire, north, south, east and west. The term comes from an Old English word meaning ‘quarter’ or ‘fourth part’.

* Fastolph Bolger

A great-uncle of Bilbo Baggins.

Fastolph was one the earliest of numerous Bolgers to marry into the Baggins family. He married Pansy Baggins, the sister of Bilbo’s grandfather Mungo, and so became his great-uncle.

* Fastred of Greenholm|Fastred

The husband of Elanor, the daughter of Samwise Gamgee. He was made Warden of Westmarch, and removed to that region.

* Fastred of Rohan|Fastred

With Folcred, one of the twin sons of Folcwine of Rohan. Upholding the Oath of Eorl, he rode to the aid of Gondor with his brother, and was lost. The brothers were buried together in a mound at the Crossings of Poros known as the Haudh in Gwanur.

* Father of Dragons

A title given to Glaurung, the first and greatest of the Dragons. Whether Glaurung was literally the father of all dragons, as for example Durin was father of all his folk, is unknown; the origins of dragon-kind remain mysterious. On balance, however, this seems unlikely due to the differences between individual dragons - for example, Glaurung was wingless, whereas many of the later dragons had wings.

* Fathers of Men

Men of the ancient Elder Days.

A title used to describe the earliest generations of Men who lived in the First Age. The term is especially applied to those Men who belonged to the Three Houses of the Edain, and fought beside the Elves in the Wars of Beleriand.

* Father of the Isle

Honoured title of the Kings of Númenor.

A title applied to the ruling King of Númenor. In particular, it is used by Tar-Meneldur in the tale of Aldarion and Erendis.

* Fathers of the Dwarves

The seven founders of the race of Dwarves.

The seven progenitors of the Dwarven race, created by Aulë the Smith long years before the awakening of the Elves. They were granted life by Ilúvatar, and set to sleep in Middle-earth until the coming the Eldar.

Durin the Deathless was the eldest of their number.

* Fëanor|Feanor

Eldest son of Finwë (the only child of Finwë and Míriel), half-brother of Fingolfin and Finarfin; greatest of the Noldor, and leader in their rebellion against the Valar; deviser of the Fëanorian script; maker of the Silmarils and of the palantíri; slain in Mithrim in the Dagor-nuin-Giliath. His name was Curufinwë (curu ‘skill’), and he gave this name to his fifth son, Curufin; but he was himself known always by his mother’s name for him, Fëanáro ‘Spirit of Fire’, which was given the Sindarin form Fëanor.

–—

Greatest of the Noldor.

Eldest son of Finwë, lord of the Noldor, and half-brother to Fingolfin and Finarfin, Fëanor was accounted the greatest of the Deep Elves. In Valinor, he captured the light of the Two Trees to make the three Silmarils. When Melkor stole these, and slew his father Finwë, he rebelled against the Valar and led the greater part of the Noldor into Middle-earth, swearing in the dreadful Oath of Fëanor that he would not rest until the Great Jewels were recovered.

On his return to Middle-earth, Fëanor immediately drove onward to Angband, though outnumbered greatly by Morgoth’s Orcs and Balrogs. He was slain at last by Gothmog, the Lord of Balrogs, and such was the ferocity of his spirit that after his death, his body was consumed by flame.

* Fëanorian|Feanorian

Of or pertaining to Fëanor.

* Fëanorian lamps|Feanorian lamps|Fëanorian lamp|Feanorian lamp The blue-shining lamps of the Noldorin Elves, of which the Noldor themselves did not know the secret.

They are described in earlier versions of the tale of Túrin as ‘crystals hung in a fine chain net, the crystals being ever shining with an inner blue radiance’.

Gwindor possessed one of these lamps; and it was the overturning and uncovering of Gwindor’s lamp so that its light shone out that showed Túrin the face of Beleg whom he had killed.

* Fëanorian script|Fëanorian|Feanorian

The script known as the Tengwar.

A name used of the Elvish script, as seen for example on the frontispiece of The Lord of the Rings, which was devised by Fëanor himself. These characters are also known as the Tengwar.

* Fëanturi|Feanturi|Fëantur|Feantur

‘Masters of Spirits’, the Valar Námo (Mandos) and Irmo (Lórien). See Nurufantur, Olofantur.

–—

The Masters of Spirits; a title given to the brothers Mandos and Lórien.

* Felagund

The name by which King Finrod was known after the establishment of Nargothrond; it was Dwarvish in origin (felak-gundu ‘cave-hewer’, but translated as ‘Lord of Caves’). For references see Finrod.

–—

The Dwarvish surname of Finrod.

‘Hewer of Caves’, a surname given to Finrod by the Dwarves in their own tongue at the time of the delving of Nargothrond.

* Felaróf|Felarof

The horse of Eorl the Young.

–—

The great horse of Eorl.

Eorl’s father Léod was a tamer of horses among the Éothéod, who captured this wild white horse while it was still a foal. He tried to tame it himself, but when he attempted to mount it, it threw him and escaped. So Léod died, leaving a sixteen-year-old son, Eorl. Eorl hunted the white horse, found it, and demanded that it give up its freedom in payment for the death of his father. The horse agreed, and took the name that Eorl gave it: Felaróf, a name said to mean ‘very valiant’ or ‘very strong’.

It was on Felaróf that Eorl rode to the aid of Gondor and earned a famous victory, one that would lead Steward Cirion to grant them the wide empty land of Calenardhon, which would come to be called Rohan. For more than thirty years afterwards, Felaróf had the freedom of those wide grasslands, but a new invasion of Easterlings saw Eorl ride to battle once again. In the Wold, the far northern reach of Rohan, Eorl and Felaróf met their ends, and were laid together in a mound raised outside the gate of Edoras.

Felaróf was a very remarkable horse indeed. It is even recorded that he could understand the speech of Men. He gave rise in turn to a race of wonderful horses, the Mearas, who according to tradition could only be ridden by the Lords of the Mark, Eorl’s descendants. It was from this line that Gandalf’s horse Shadowfax came, making him a descendant of Felaróf himself.

* Fell Winter of the Third Age|Fell Winter The winter of the year 495 from the rising of the Moon, after the fall of Nargothrond.

–—

The long harsh winter of the year III 2911, in which Eriador was invaded by White Wolves. The terrible floods of the following spring caused the destruction of Tharbad.

* Fellowship of the Ring

The nine who set out from Rivendell on the Quest of Mount Doom, under the leadership of Gandalf, seeking to destroy Sauron’s One Ring.

* Fen Hollen

The Closed Door on the sixth level of Minas Tirith, which led to Rath Dínen, the Silent Street, where the tombs of the Stewards and Kings of Gondor lay.

* Fen of Serech|Serech

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

–—

Scene of Barahir’s rescue of Finrod.

The Fen of Serech lay on the upper course of the mighty River Sirion, at the inflowing of its tributary, the Rivil. Lying as it did at the mouth of one of the few passes in the northern mountains of Beleriand, the Fen played a part in many battles, and had a long and bloody history.

This history started at the very beginning of the First Age, in the Dagor-nuin-Giliath, which saw a great victory for the Elves over the forces of Morgoth. As the remnant of the Orc armies fled back from the Falas, Celegorm rode down from the hills around Eithel Sirion and drove them into the waters of Serech.

In I 455, at the Dagor Bragollach, Finrod Felagund found himself cut off in the Fen with a small host. He seemed lost, but was rescued with great loss by Barahir and escaped back to Nargothrond. This was the beginning of the great friendship between Finrod and the kin of Barahir, and Finrod gave Barahir his ring in token of this.

The Elves’ counter-attack, the battle that became the Nirnaeth Arnoediad, was made sixteen years later. King Fingon drew up his battle-line along the upper course of the Sirion, between the Fen and the fortress of Barad Eithel. It was here that the heralds of Morgoth tortured Gelmir before the Elven host, and Gwindor his brother broke ranks, driving into the Orc host seeking his revenge, and starting the great battle.

Later, as the battle drew to a close, Turgon and the host of Gondolin were forced back across the Fen. Húrin and Huor, with the Men of the House of Hador made a stand there on the banks of the Rivil, allowing Turgon to escape the ruin of the Elves and reach Gondolin. Huor and his men were slain one by one by the Orcs, but Húrin slayed seventy of the enemy before being captured.

After twenty-eight years of torture, Morgoth released Húrin and set a watch upon him. Húrin’s first act was to seek out the hidden city of Gondolin, but Turgon was suspicious and ignored his cries; ‘Turgon, Turgon, remember the Fen of Serech’.

* Fengel

The fifteenth King of Rohan, whose name means, simply, ‘king’. He was the father of Thengel and grandfather of Théoden, but Fengel was himself remembered chiefly for his greed and love of gold.

* Fenmarch

Region of Rohan west of the Mering stream.

* Fens of Sirion

The marshland of the Aelin-uial.

The fens and marshes that formed around the lakes of Aelin-uial on the River Sirion.

* Ferny Family|Ferny

A family of Men in Bree. See Bill Ferny.

–—

A family of the Men of Bree.

A typically ‘botanical’ family name of the Men of Bree. At the time of the War of the Ring, it was held by the suspicious ruffian Bill Ferny, a minor agent of Saruman in the north.

* Ferumbras Took II|Ferumbras Took

The elder brother of Bandobras the Bullroarer.

The elder of the two sons of Thain Isumbras III. His younger brother was the famous Bandobras Took, the victor of the Battle of Greenfields, but as the elder brother it was Ferumbras who inherited his father’s Thainship. He served as the Shire’s twenty-fourth Thain for forty-two years, and was succeeded in turn by his son Fortinbras.

* Ferumbras Took III|Ferumbras Took

The thirtieth of the Shire-thains.

The son of Thain Fortinbras II and Lalia Clayhanger, who inherited the Thainship from his father. It was during his time as Shire-thain that Bilbo Baggins’ famous Birthday Party was held, and though he is not mentioned in detailed accounts of the Party, we do know that he was present. He died in the year III 3015, just three years before Frodo set out from the Shire. He left no heir, and the succession passed to his distant cousin Paladin.

* Field of Celebrant

Partial translation of Parth Celebrant; the grasslands between the rivers Silverlode (Celebrant) and Limlight; in restricted sense of Gondor, the land between the lower Limlight and Anduin. See also the Battle of the Field of Celebrant.

–—

The site of Eorl’s great victory.

A field that lay to between the Rivers Anduin and Limlight, to the southeast of Lórien. This was the site of the decisive Battle of the Field of Celebrant, at which Eorl the Young rode from the north to the aid of Gondor.

* Fiery Mountain

The flaming peak of Orodruin.

A common name, especially amongst Hobbits and Men, for Orodruin or Mount Doom in Mordor.

* Fíli|Fili

Nephew of Thorin II Oakenshield, who accompanied him on the Quest of Erebor, and was slain at his side in the Battle of Five Armies.

* Fimbrethil

Treebeard’s beloved Wandlimb.

The Elvish name, translated as ‘Wandlimb’, for Treebeard’s beloved Entwife. She was lost with other Entwives at the time Sauron blasted the regions known as the Brown Lands.

* Finarfin

The third son of Finwë, the younger of Fëanor’s half-brothers; remained in Aman after the Exile of the Noldor and ruled the remnant of his people in Tirion. Alone among the Noldorin princes he and his descendants had golden hair, derived from his mother Indis, who was a Vanyarin Elf (see Vanyar).

–—

King over the Noldor in Aman.

Youngest of Finwë’s three sons; when his half-brother Fëanor led the host of the Noldor back to Middle-earth, Finarfin chose to remain in Valinor, and became King of those Noldor who remained also. His five children, Finrod, Orodreth, Angrod, Aegnor and Galadriel, all followed Fëanor into the east.

* Findegil

A scribe of Gondor.

King’s Writer of Gondor, who lived in the early Fourth Age. He completed the copy of the Red Book of Westmarch which (within the context of the tales) is the basis for The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion.

* Finduilas of Dol Amroth|Finduilas

Daughter of Adrahil, Prince of Dol Amroth; wife of Denethor II, Steward of Gondor, mother of Boromir and Faramir.

–—

A noble lady of Dol Amroth.

A lady of Gondor, wedded to Denethor II of Minas Tirith, and the mother of Boromir and Faramir.

* Finduilas of Nargothrond|Finduilas

Daughter of Orodreth, loved by Gwindor; captured in the sack of Nargothrond, killed by Orcs at the Crossings of Teiglin and buried in the Haudh-en-Elleth.

–—

The daughter of Orodreth, who dwelt with him in Nargothrond. After the Sack of Nargothrond, she was carried away by Orcs and slain by them on the borders of Brethil.

* Finglas

An ancient Ent of Fangorn Forest.

‘Leaflock’; with Fladrif and Fangorn, one of the oldest of the Ents of Fangorn Forest.

* Fingolfin

The second son of Finwë, the elder of Fëanor’s half-brothers; High King of the Noldor in Beleriand, dwelling in Hithlum; slain by Morgoth in single combat; father of Fingon, Turgon and Aredhel.

–—

The second son of Finwë and half-brother to Fëanor. After Fëanor’s death, his eldest son Maedhros should have become High King of the Noldor, but Maedhros repented his deeds at the Kinslaying and refused the title, which thus passed to Fingolfin.

He ruled the lands to the northwest of Beleriand with his sons Fingon and Turgon, and dwelt behind the mountain fences of Hithlum during the long Siege of Angband.

When Morgoth broke the Siege in the Dagor Bragollach, Fingolfin was prevented from sending immediate help to the other princes of the Noldor by the ferocity of the onslaught, but when heard of the extent of their defeat, he rode in anger to the doors of Angband and demanded single combat with Morgoth. There they fought a mighty battle, but though Fingolfin wounded the Dark Lord, he could not prevail, and was finally crushed by Morgoth’s hammer, Grond. His body was saved, though, by Thorondor, who bore it to a peak in the Encircling Mountains. Turgon came there and built a cairn over his father’s remains.

* Fingon

The eldest son of Fingolfin, called the Valiant; rescued Maedhros from Thangorodrim; High King of the Noldor after the death of his father; slain by Gothmog in the Nirnaeth Arnoediad; father of Gil-galad.

–—

Eldest of Fingolfin’s children, who inherited the kingship of the Noldor after his father was slain by Morgoth. He is famed for rescuing Maedhros from Thangorodrim, and thereby healing the rift between the Houses of the Noldor. As High King, he commanded the assault upon Morgoth that became known as the Nirnaeth Arnoediad, the Unnumbered Tears, and in that assault he was slain by Gothmog, Lord of Balrogs.

* Finrod Felagund|Finrod

The eldest son of Finarfin, called ‘the Faithful’ and ‘the Friend of Men’. Founder and King of Nargothrond, whence his name Felagund ‘cave-hewer’; encountered in Ossiriand the first Men to cross the Blue Mountains; rescued by Barahir in the Dagor Bragollach; redeemed his oath to Barahir by accompanying Beren on his quest; slain in defence of Beren in the dungeons of Tol-in-Gaurhoth.

–—

The founder of Nargothrond.

Eldest son of Finarfin and brother to Galadriel, who founded Minas Tirith in the Pass of Sirion, and delved his citadel at Nargothrond on the River Narog. He went with Beren on the Quest of the Silmaril, and was lost in the pits of Sauron on Tol-in-Gaurhoth.

* Finwë|Finwe

Leader of the Noldor on the westward journey from Cuiviénen; King of the Noldor in Aman; father of Fëanor, Fingolfin, and Finarfin, slain by Morgoth at Formenos.

–—

Ancient lord of the Noldor.

The first High King of the Noldor, and father to the three royal houses of that people. Finwë awoke with the first Elves at Cuiviénen, the Water of Awakening. When the Valar summoned the Elves to dwell with them in Valinor, he was chosen, with Ingwë and Elwë, to travel there as ambassadors. When he returned, he led the Noldor in their great westward journey across the lands of Middle-earth and the Great Sea to Aman.

Under Finwë’s rule the Noldor dwelt for at least three ages (about 9,000

years) in Valinor, and learned much from the Valar, especially Aulë the Smith. During this time, he dwelt in Tirion, but afterwards his eldest son Fëanor withdrew to his fortress of Formenos, and Finwë went to dwell there also.

After the Darkening of Valinor, Melkor stormed Formenos seeking the Silmarils, which were held in its vaults. He slew Finwë before its doors and stole the Jewels of Fëanor. After his death, the kingship of the Noldor was briefly bestowed on his son Fëanor.

* Fire of Ilúvatar|Fire of Iluvatar

A term of uncertain meaning, apparently with the same meaning as ‘Flame Imperishable’. It was kept by Ilúvatar.

* Fire of Orodruin

A common epithet for the flames of Orodruin, into which the One Ring was to be cast.

* Fire-drakes|Fire-drake

Fire-breathing Dragons.

The more powerful of the two fundamental divisions of dragon-kind, who, as the name suggests, were able to breathe fire. Glaurung, Ancalagon and Smaug were all fire-drakes.

Almost nothing specific is known about this type of dragon; the only explicit reference is in The Silmarillion (Of the Return of the Noldor);

‘Again after a hundred years Glaurung, the first of the Urulóki, the fire-drakes of the North, issued from Angband’s gates by night’.

Other references, however, indicate that fire-breathing was an ability that some dragons possessed, and others (the Cold-drakes) lacked. In a literal sense, then, the later fire-breathers such as Smaug were indeed

‘fire drakes’.

* Fire-mountain

A name for Orodruin.

A rarely-used term for the volcano Orodruin in the land of Mordor, where the One Ring was forged. ‘Fire-mountain’ is a literal translation of the name ‘Orodruin’.

* Fírimar|Firimar

‘Mortals’, one of the Elvish names for Men.

* Fíriel|Firiel

Queen to Arvedui Last-king.

The daughter of King Ondoher of Gondor, who was wedded to Arvedui, the last King of Arthedain. It was in part through his marriage to Fíriel that Arvedui claimed the throne of Gondor after the loss of Ondoher, but his claim was rejected.

* Firien|Whispering Wood|Wood of Anwar

In full Halifirien Wood; in Ered Nimrais about the Mering Stream and on the slopes of the Halifirien. Also called Firienholt, the Whispering Wood and the Wood of Anwar.

–—

The mountain-wood beneath Halifirien.

The wood that surrounded the beacon-hill of Halifirien, on the borders of Anórien and Rohan.

* Firien-dale

Cleft in which the Mering Stream rose.

* Firienholt

Another name for the Firien Wood, of the same meaning.

* Firith

The Sindarin name for the season of late autumn, 54 days lying between modern 8 October and 30 November, and called Quellë in Quenya.

* Firs|Fir

Hardy trees of the highlands.

Evergreen trees that grew across the northern parts of Middle-earth, and especially in the upper Vales of Anduin.

* First Age

The Age of the Wars of Beleriand.

First, and shortest by far, of the Four Ages chronicled by Tolkien.

Unlike the Second and Third Ages, there is no detailed chronicle of the events of the First Age, and so dates must be inferred from references in the text - hence many dates in this Age (including the year in which it ended) are necessarily approximate. The First Age began with the Return of the Noldor to Middle-earth, the first rising of the Moon and the Sun, and the Awakening of Men in Hildórien. It ended with the War of Wrath, the destruction of Beleriand and the final defeat of Morgoth. The end of the First Age was marked by the return of many of the Noldor, accompanied also by many Sindarin Elves, into the West to dwell on Tol Eressëa.

–—

Key Events of the First Age:

- 1: Return of the Noldor; Dagor-nuin-Giliath; Awakening of Men.

- c. 75: Dagor Aglareb.

- 126: Completion of Gondolin.

- c. 305: Arrival of Men in Beleriand.

- 455: Dagor Bragollach.

- 465: Beren and Lúthien achieve the Quest of the Silmaril.

- 471: Nirnaeth Arnoediad.

- 495: Sack of Nargothrond.

- 510: Fall of Gondolin.

- c. 583: War of Wrath; defeat of Morgoth.

* First Battle

The first of the five great battles in the Wars of Beleriand, fought soon after the destruction of the Two Trees of Valinor, and before the Return of the Noldor to Middle-earth. On his return, Melkor loosed legions of Orcs upon Thingol and Círdan, at that time the two greatest lords of Beleriand. Though the Elves managed to save both their kingdoms of Doriath and the Falas, the Orcs roamed Beleriand freely after this battle until the coming of the Noldor.

* First Eastfarthing Troop

The Shirriffs of Frogmorton.

A troop of Shirriffs formed during the troubled times in the Shire under the rule of Saruman. The troop was based in the Shirriff-house at Frogmorton on the East Road. It was the First Eastfarthing Troop that attempted to arrest Frodo and the Travellers on their journey to Bag End.

* First Homely House

A name for Rivendell; a variation on the more common ‘Last Homely House’

to describe the House of Elrond as approached by a traveller returning to Eriador from the Wild east of the Misty Mountains.

* Firstborn

The Elder Children of Ilúvatar, the Elves.

–—

A name for Elves, the Firstborn Children of Ilúvatar, who awoke in Middle-earth millennia before Men, the Aftercomers.

* Fishes|Fish

Scaly water-dwelling creatures.

Gollum’s favourite food.

* Fladrif

An ancient Ent of Fangorn Forest.

‘Skinbark’; with Finglas and Fangorn himself, one of the last three Ents to walk beneath the boughs of Fangorn Forest.

* Flame Imperishable

The source of life.

Apparently also called the ‘Secret Fire’, the Flame Imperishable seems to represent that aspect of Ilúvatar through which he was able to grant free will and true life to the beings he created.

* Flame of Anor

A power wielded by Gandalf.

–—

“‘You cannot pass,’ he said. The Orcs stood still, and a dead silence fell. ‘I am a servant of the Secret Fire, wielder of the flame of Anor.

You cannot pass.”

(Gandalf’s challenge to the Balrog, from The Fellowship of the Ring II 5, The Bridge of Khazad-dûm)

–—

A mysterious power claimed by Gandalf in the face of Durin’s Bane. It is nowhere else referred to, and so its particular meaning remains unclear.

Anor is the Sun, and so literally the ‘flame of Anor’ would be the light of the Sun, the fiery fruit of Laurelin, one of the Two Trees of Valinor.

Gandalf seems to be referring, then, to the power he gains as a servant of the Lords of the West, in defiance to the corrupted darkness of the Balrog.

* Flame of the West

Aragorn’s sword Andúril.

Title and literal translation of the name of Aragorn’s sword, Andúril, reforged from Elendil’s sword Narsil.

* Flets|Flet

The traditional tree-platforms of Lórien.

The name in the Westron for the tree-platforms used by the Elves of Lórien, and called by them telain.

* Flies|Fly

Tiresome aerial insects: those in Mordor were marked with the sign of the Red Eye.

* Flight of the Noldor

The journey of the Noldor out of Aman.

The self-imposed exile of the Noldor, who fled from Valinor in pursuit of Melkor and the Silmarils he had stolen.

* Foe-hammer

The translated name of Gandalf’s sword Glamdring.

The sword carried by both Turgon and Gandalf, more properly known as Glamdring.

* Folca

The hunter King of Rohan.

The thirteenth King of Rohan, a great hunter who famously cleared his country of the scourge of the Orcs, in vengeance for the death of his father Walda at their hands. Having cleared Rohan of Orcs, he rode to hunt the monstrous Boar of Everholt, but suffered a mortal wound in that hunt. He was succeeded by his son Folcwine.

* Folco Boffin|Folco

A friend of Frodo Baggins in the Shire, who assisted with his removal to Buckland.

* Folcred

With Fastred, one of the twin sons of Folcwine of Rohan. Upholding the Oath of Eorl, he rode to the aid of Gondor with his brother, and both were slain in battle of the Haradrim.

* Folcwine

Fourteenth King of Rohan, great-grandfather of Théoden; reconquered the west-march of Rohan between Adorn and Isen.

–—

The fourteenth King of Rohan, the son of Folca the hunter, and great-grandfather of Théoden. His eldest sons, the twins Folcred and Fastred, were lost in war with Harad, and Folcwine was succeed by his youngest child, Fengel.

* Folde

A region of Rohan about Edoras, part of the King’s Lands.

–—

A region of the King’s Lands of Rohan.

An ancient and historic region of Rohan, close to the King’s courts in Edoras, which indeed originally held the King’s seat at the town of Aldburg. Its name comes from Old English, with the approximate meaning

‘bosom of the Earth’, which shows its importance in Rohan’s early history.

* Folk of Haleth

The Men of Brethil.

A name given to the Haladin, the Second House of the Edain, after Haleth the daughter of Haldad led them to dwell in the Forest of Brethil.

* Followers

The Younger Children of Ilúvatar, Men; translation of Hildor.

–—

Hildor, a name of the Elves for the race of Men, referring to the fact that they were born into the world many years after the Firstborn.

* Ford of Bruinen

The crossing of the Loudwater.

The ford of the River Bruinen or Loudwater that lay at the entrance to the valley of Rivendell, said to be under the power of Elrond.

* Ford of Carrock

Ford over Anduin between the Carrock and the east bank of the river; also probably the Old Ford, where the Old Forest Road crossed Anduin, south of the Ford of Carrock.

* Fords of Isen

Crossing of the Isen by the great Númenórean road linking Gondor and Arnor; called in Sindarin Athrad Angren and Ethraid Engrin.

–—

The crossing-point on the upper reaches of the River Isen. As the only direct route between Eriador and Gondor, the Fords had great strategic value, and Isengard was built to guard them. They were the scene of two Battles between Saruman and the Rohirrim during the War of the Ring.

* Fords of Poros|Fords of the Poros

Crossing of the river Poros on the Harad Road.

–—

The gateway to Ithilien.

More often called the ‘Crossings of Poros’, the Fords marked the point where the Harad Road from Harad and South Gondor entered the lands of Gondor proper. As such, their strategic importance was considerable, as attacking armies from the south had no choice but to cross the Poros at this point.

The Fords first enter history in the year III 1944, when the enemies of Gondor made an alliance, and all attacked simultaneously, from the northeast and from the south. It was left to the great general Eärnil (later King Eärnil II) to deal with the army of Harad approaching from the south. Rather than defend the Fords (as no doubt the Haradrim expected he would), Eärnil positioned his army some forty miles further north, in South Ithilien, and decimated the encroaching enemy.

Though Gondor survived that assault with great loss, the land was often threatened by the Haradrim. In III 2885, the fierce people of that southern land occupied South Gondor and attacked Ithilien across the Poros. Steward Túrin II was aided in his defence by King Folcwine of Rohan, whose twin sons Folcred and Fastred rode with his army. These two northern armies forced the Haradrim back across the Fords and had the victory, but the sons of Folcwine both fell in that battle.

The Rohirrim buried the twins in a great mound, after their custom, and that mound, the Haudh in Gwanur, guarded Gondor’s southern boundaries for long years after.

* Forelithe

The month before midsummer.

The sixth month of the Shire Calendar, lying between Thrimidge and the midsummer feastdays of Lithe, and approximately equivalent to modern June. In fact, it ran from modern 22 May to 20 June.

* Forest River

River flowing from Ered Mithrin through northern Mirkwood and into the Long Lake.

–—

The river of northern Mirkwood.

A river so-named because for much of its length it ran through northern Mirkwood. It rose in the Grey Mountains to the north of the Forest, and followed a roughly southeasterly course to its outflow into the Long Lake.

* Forest Road

The road that ran through Mirkwood.

The road that ran down from the High Pass, crossed the River Anduin and then plunged among the trees of Greenwood the Great (later called Mirkwood). It followed a nearly straight course through the central parts of the forest, somewhat to the south of the Mountains of Mirkwood, and emerged on the banks of the River Running.

* Foreyule

The month before the midwinter festival of Yule.

The last month of the Shire Calendar, thirty days immediately preceding the holiday of Yule. It ran from modern 21 November to 20 December.

* Forlindon

The lands of the Elves north of the Gulf of Lhûn.

After the end of the First Age, the land of Lindon, west of the Blue Mountains, was divided by the great Gulf of Lhûn. The greater northern part was named Forlindon, which means no more than ‘North-Lindon’ in the Elven-tongue. On its southern shores was the haven of Forlond, while off its northwestern coasts stood the island of Himling, where Maedhros’

fortress had once stood.

* Forlong

The old Lord of Lossarnach.

The Lord of the lands of Lossarnach, the region to the immediate southwest of Minas Tirith, who was famed for his enormous girth (he was referred to as Forlong the Fat). Though he was an old man at the time of the War of the Ring, he rode with two hundred of his men to the aid of the City of Gondor, and lost his life in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields.

* Formenos

‘Northern Fortress’, the stronghold of Fëanor and his sons in the north of Valinor, built after the banishment of Fëanor from Tirion.

–—

The northern stronghold of Fëanor.

The fortress home of Fëanor in the northern regions of Valinor, where he dwelt with his father Finwë after his expulsion from Tirion, and from whose vaults Morgoth stole the Silmarils.

* Forn

The name used among the Dwarves for the being known to the Hobbits as Tom Bombadil.

* Fornost Erain|Fornost

‘Northern Fortress’, in full Fornost Erain ‘Norbury of the Kings’.

Númenórean city on the North Downs in Eriador, later seat of the Kings of Arnor after the abandonment of Annúminas.

–—

The city of the Kings of Arthedain.

The chief city of Arthedain, and the seat of its Kings from Amlaith to Arvedui. Soon after the loss of the kingdom of Arthedain, the Battle of Fornost was fought there between Gondor and Angmar.

* Forochel

The northern icebay of Middle-earth.

The name of the icy wastes in the northern parts of Middle-earth, and especially the great ice-bay of the north and the lands that surrounded it.

* Forodwaith

The cold lands in the north of Middle-earth.

An icy region in the far north of Middle-earth, named for the hardy people who dwelt there.

* Forostar

The northern promontory of Númenor. Translated ‘the Northlands’ or ‘the north country’.

–—

The Northlands of Númenor.

The northern promontory of Númenor, a land of rocks, cliffs and high moors. It stretched some two hundred miles from its southern borders with the Mittalmar to its North Cape. The great road from Rómenna to Andúnië passed through its southern parts, at the place known as Ondosto.

The lands farther north, toward the Cape, became rockier and more mountainous. In the far north was a region around the peak of Sorontil, where the landscape fell sheer into the sea forming tremendous cliffs.

This was the abode of Eagles, and also the dwelling-place of Meneldur Elentirmo, heir to Númenor’s throne and a watcher of the stars, who built a great tower here to follow the movements of the heavens.

* Forthwini

Son of Marhwini; leader of the Éothéod in the time of King Ondoher of Gondor.

* Fortinbras Took I|Fortinbras Took

The father of the Old Took.

The twenty-fifth Thain of the Shire, who inherited the title from his father Ferumbras II, and passed it on in turn to his only son Gerontius, who was to become famous as the Old Took. He was just two years old when his uncle Bandobras beat off a raiding band of Orcs in the Battle of Greenfields. He took on the Thainship more than fifty years later, by which time the Shire had settled into a more peaceful way of life - at least, it was unaffected by outside events during his forty-seven years as Thain.

* Fortinbras Took II|Fortinbras Took

The twenty-ninth Thain of the Shire.

The grandson of Gerontius, the Old Took, who inherited the title of Thain from his father, Isumbras IV. He became Thain just two years before Bilbo Baggins left Hobbiton for his adventures in the Wild. He married Lalia Clayhanger, who was to become a famous matriarch of the Took clan, and came to be called Lalia the Great.

* Forweg

Man of Dor-lómin, captain of the outlaw-band (Gaurwaith) that Túrin joined; slain by Túrin.

–—

One-time leader of the Gaurwaith.

A Man of the People of Hador, who deserted the field of the Nirnaeth Arnoediad, and fled into the south to live as an outlaw. He was the leader of the Gaurwaith, the outlaw band that Túrin joined after leaving Doriath, though Túrin soon took over Forweg’s captaincy of the outlaws.

* Fosco Baggins|Fosco

The paternal grandfather of Frodo Baggins. He married Ruby Bolger, and had three children; Dora, Drogo (Frodo’s father) and Dudo.

* Fourth Age

The centuries after the Downfall of Barad-dûr.

The last of the four ages chronicled by Tolkien, and the one about which least is known (including its length). The Fourth Age was held to have begun with the passing of the Ring-bearers over the sea from Mithlond on 29 September III 3021, though in Gondor it was reckoned as beginning on 25 March of the same year (the second anniversary of the Downfall of Barad-dûr).

–—

Key Events of the Fourth Age:

- 41: Buckland and the Westmarch are officially incorporated into the Shire.

- 63: Death of King Éomer of Rohan; he is succeeded by his son Elfwine.

- 120: Death of King Aragorn II Elessar of Gondor; he is succeeded by his son Eldarion.

- 172: A copy of the Red Book of Westmarch is completed in Gondor by Findegil, the King’s Writer. This is the last event chronicled by Tolkien.

* Foxes|Fox

Dog-like carnivores of woodland and farmland, distinctive for their red-orange coats and their eerie plaintive cries. The most famous of all the foxes in Middle-earth appears early in The Lord of the Rings, where a dog-fox is puzzled at finding Frodo, Sam and Pippin asleep in a fir-wood on the first night of their journey from Hobbiton.

* Fram

The son of Frumgar of the Éothéod, famed for the slaying of Scatha the Worm.

* Fréa|Frea

The fourth King of Rohan.

The great-grandson of Eorl, who himself became the fourth of the Kings of Rohan. Fréa succeeded the long-lived Aldor, and was seventy-five years old when he came to the throne. His fourteen-year reign is recorded as one of peace and prosperity.

* Fréaláf Hildeson|Fréaláf|Fréalaf|Frealaf Tenth King of Rohan, nephew of King Helm Hammerhand.

–—

Successor to Helm Hammerhand.

The nephew of Helm Hammerhand, who survived the privations of the Long Winter in Helm’s Deep after Rohan had been overrun by the Dunlendings. In the spring after the Winter, Helm having been lost, Fréaláf led a daring raid on captured Edoras and succeeded in reclaiming it, ultimately driving the Dunlendings from Rohan altogether. At Fréaláf’s coronation, the Wizard Saruman appeared, and Steward Beren of Gondor, with Fréaláf’s approval, granted him Isengard to dwell in. Fréaláf was the tenth King of Rohan, and the first of the Second Line. He ruled the Rohirrim for thirty-nine years, and was succeeded by his son, Brytta Léofa.

* Fréawine|Freawine

The little-known fifth Lord of the Mark.

The son of Fréa and grandson of Aldor the Old. On account of his grandfather’s immensely long reign, Fréawine, like his father before him, became Rohan’s King in his old age, when he was already more than sixty years old. Little is said of his twenty-one years as King, except that it was a time of peace and plenty in the Mark. Fréawine was succeeded by his son Goldwine.

* Freca

A vassal of King Helm Hammerhand, slain by him.

* Fredegar ‘Fatty’ Bolger|Fredegar Bolger|Fatty A friend of Frodo Baggins in the Shire, who assisted with his removal to Buckland, and impersonated him while he travelled eastward to evade suspicion.

* Free

Those not subjected to Sauron.

A general term for those peoples of Middle-earth during the late Third Age who had not fallen under the yoke of Sauron.

* Free Peoples

The peoples of Middle-earth not under the yoke of Sauron.

A term used at the time of the War of the Ring to describe Elves, Dwarves and Hobbits, and those Men who had not fallen under the power of Sauron.

* Frerin

The second son of Thráin II, and younger brother of Thorin II Oakenshield. He was slain at the Battle of Nanduhirion.

* Friend-of-Men

Title given to Finrod Felagund of Nargothrond, who was the first of the Elves to discover that Men had entered Beleriand from the East, and who aided them as they came to the new lands.

* Frodo Baggins|Frodo

Hobbit of the Shire; the Ringbearer in the War of the Ring.

–—

Last of the Ring-bearers.

Heir of Bilbo Baggins, and hero of the Lord of the Rings. Renowned for bearing the One Ring to the land of Mordor, and casting it into the flames of Mount Doom.

–—

Life in the Shire, III 2968 - III 3018: Frodo’s father, Drogo, had left Hobbiton and removed to Buckland to live with his wife’s family, and so Frodo was raised in Brandy Hall, the ancestral home of the Brandybucks.

He lost both his parents in a boating accident in 2980. He was close to his distant cousin Bilbo, and nine years after the loss of his parents, Bilbo officially adopted him as his heir. At this time, Frodo moved back from Buckland to Hobbiton.

Although Bilbo often referred to Frodo as his ‘favourite nephew’, he was in fact his first cousin once removed (through his mother), and also his second cousin once removed (through his father).

Frodo lived with Bilbo at Bag End for twelve years, and inherited some of his peculiarities. It was said that he would meet with Elves in the woods, for example, and Bilbo allowed him to read his diary of the journey to Erebor.

In 3001, Bilbo held the great Birthday Party on 22 September (a birthday Frodo happened to share) and afterwards departed from the Shire, leaving Frodo to come into his inheritance, including (after much persuasion by Gandalf) the Ring.

After Bilbo’s departure, Gandalf visited Hobbiton only occasionally.

Frodo often went walking in the Shire, sometimes with his friends Folco Boffin, Fredegar Bolger, Peregrin Took and Meriadoc Brandybuck, but more often alone. His gardener at Bag End was Samwise Gamgee, who was to accompany him on his great journey.

On 12 April 3018, Gandalf returned, having discovered the truth about the Ring, and so Frodo discovered the history behind the One Ring, and the great danger it held. He resolved to leave the Shire with it.

To cover his departure, Frodo sold Bag End to Lobelia Sackville-Baggins, and bought a small house at Crickhollow in Buckland, the region where he had been brought up. He departed from Hobbiton with Peregrin Took and Sam Gamgee on 23 September 3018, the day after his fiftieth birthday.

* Frodo Gardner

Second child and eldest son of Samwise Gamgee and Rose Cotton; named for Frodo Baggins of the Company of the Ring.

* Frogmorton

Home of The Floating Log.

A village in the Eastfarthing of the Shire. It stood on the East Road, between the Three-farthing Stone (fourteen miles to the west) and the Brandywine Bridge (twenty-two miles to the east). Immediately to the north of the village, the stream known as the Water broke into two, creating a wide watery region - this feature seems to have given Frogmorton its name, which means ‘frog marsh’.

Until the War of the Ring, the village seems to have been most notable for its inn, the Floating Log. During the brief time when Saruman took over the Shire, though, it became the home of the First Eastfarthing Troop of Shirriffs, and it was here that the returning Ring-bearers were

‘arrested’ on their journey back to Hobbiton.

* Front Gate

A common term for the main gate of the Dwarf-citadel of Erebor.

* Frór|Fror

The son of Dáin I of Durin’s Folk, and brother to Thrór the founder of Erebor. He was slain with his father by a Cold-drake in the Grey Mountains.

* Frumgar

Leader of the northward migration of the Éothéod out of the Vales of Anduin.

–—

A chieftain of the Northmen and ancestor of Eorl the Young, who led his people to Éthéod on the upper reaches of the Anduin.

* Fuinur

A renegade Númenórean who became mighty among the Haradrim at the end of the Second Age.

–—

A Númenórean lord of the Haradrim.

A Man of Númenor who fell under the influence of Sauron during the time the Dark Lord dwelt on that island. He sailed east to Middle-earth, apparently with a companion named Herumor, and settled in the southern region known as the Harad. These two became lords in Middle-earth, coming to hold power among the Haradrim.

* Fundin

The father of Balin.

A Dwarf of the royal house of the Longbeards, the great-grandson of King Náin II. He fathered two sons, Balin and Dwalin, who would later travel to Erebor with Bilbo Baggins. Fundin was killed beneath the East-gate of Moria in the Battle of Azanulbizar.

* Gabilgathol

The Dwarves’ own name for their city of Belegost.

The Dwarf-citadel that lay near Mount Dolmed in the Blue Mountains. More commonly known by its Elvish name, Belegost.

* Gaffer Gamgee|Gaffer

A common nickname for the father of Samwise Gamgee, who was more properly called ‘Hamfast’. He presumably acquired the name ‘Gaffer’ later in his life, because it implies a person of advanced years. This was certainly true of Hamfast, who was old enough to remember Bilbo’s return from Erebor, and was no less than ninety-two years old when his son Sam left the Shire with Frodo.

‘Gaffer’ has another meaning, too, which is no doubt also relevant. In British slang, a ‘gaffer’ is a foreman, a person who supervises a job. At the time of Bilbo’s Birthday Party, we’re told that Hamfast, who was then seventy-five, oversaw the gardening at Bag End, but was helped by his son Sam. In that sense, then, Gaffer Gamgee actually was a ‘gaffer’.

* Galadhon

Father of Celeborn.

–—

A noble Elf of Doriath, the son of Elmo and thus the nephew of Thingol himself. Little is known of him, except for the fact that he was father to Celeborn, later Lord of Lórien.

* Galadhriel

A rare later name of Galadriel.

A name occasionally used of Galadriel after she became Lady of Lórien, meaning ‘tree-garland’.

* Galadhrim

The Silvan Elves of Lórien.

The ‘tree-people’; the Silvan Elves of the land of Lórien, ruled in the later Third Age by Galadriel and Celeborn.

* Galador

First Lord of Dol Amroth, son of Imrazôr the Númenórean and the Elf Mithrellas.

–—

The first Prince of Dol Amroth.

The son of Imrazôr the Númenórean and (at least, according to legend) the Elf-maid Mithrellas, Galador became the first Prince of Dol Amroth.

He established himself as lord of Belfalas in southern Gondor, a title that his descendants maintained until at least the early Fourth Age.

* Galadriel|Lady of the Noldor

Daughter of Finarfin and sister of Finrod Felagund; one of the leaders of the Noldorin rebellion against the Valar; wedded Celeborn of Doriath and with him remained in Middle-earth after the end of the First Age; keeper of Nenya, the Ring of Water, in Lothlórien.

–—

Lady of Lórien.

Youngest child, and only daughter, of Finarfin of the Noldor, Galadriel was born in Valinor while the Two Trees still grew there. She travelled to Middle-earth at the beginning of the First Age with her four brothers.

In Beleriand, she went often to the halls of Thingol, (to whom she was related; Eärwen her mother was Thingol’s niece), and there she met Celeborn.

After the War of Wrath and the destruction of Beleriand, most of the Noldor returned to Valinor, but Galadriel and Celeborn remained in Middle-earth. After the loss of Amroth in III 1981, Galadriel and Celeborn became Lady and Lord of Lothlórien, and there they dwelt until the end of the Third Age.

Her name means ‘Radiant Garland’ (referring to her hair).

* Galathil

Brother of Celeborn and father of Nimloth the mother of Elwing.

–—

A descendant of Thingol’s brother Elmo, and himself the brother of Celeborn the Lord of Lórien. His daughter Nimloth wedded Dior, Thingol’s Heir, and so Galathil was a distant ancestor of both Elrond and Aragorn.

* Galathilion|White Tree

The ‘White Tree of Tirion’, the image of Telperion made by Yavanna for the Vanyar and the Noldor.

–—

The White Tree of Tirion.

The White Tree made by Yavanna for the Elves of the city of Tirion. From it came Celeborn, the White Tree of Tol Eressëa, through which it became the ancestor of all the White Trees of Númenor and Middle-earth.

* Galdor (Elf of the Grey Havens)|Galdor

An Elf of Círdan’s people.

An Elf of the Grey Havens, who was sent by his master Círdan on an errand to Elrond’s house at Rivendell. He thereby entered history, as he was present at the Council of Elrond and took part in the debate that decided the fate of the One Ring.

* Galdor (Lord of Dor-lómin)|Galdor

Called the Tall; son of Hador Lórindol and lord of Dor-lómin after him; father of Húrin and Huor; slain at Eithel Sirion.

–—

Lord of Dor-lómin and father to Húrin and Huor.

* Gálmód|Galmod

The father of Gríma Wormtongue.

According to Gandalf, Gálmód was the father of Gríma Wormtongue, advisor to King Théoden of Rohan. Tolkien only ever mentions him once, and then only in passing, so almost nothing is known about him. His name seems to derive from the Old English for ‘lewd’ or ‘wanton’.

* Galvorn

The metal devised by Eöl.

–—

The black metal of Eöl the Dark Elf.

The shining black metal devised by Eöl, said to be as hard as steel, but supple and malleable. Eöl’s armour was made of his galvorn, whose name comes from Elvish words meaning ‘shining’ and ‘black’.

* Gamgee Family|Gamgee

A family of Hobbits of the Shire.

–—

An old family of the Shire, originally from the village of Gamwich; Samwise Gamgee of the Company of the Ring belong to this family, though his branch was renamed Gardner in honour of his replanting of the Shire.

* Gamil Zirak

Called the Old; Dwarf smith, master of Telchar of Nogrod.

–—

The master of Telchar the smith.

A Dwarvish smith, the master of Telchar of Nogrod, the maker of many renowned works. Gamil Zirak was a great craftsman himself, and the treasuries of Thingol were known to hold examples of his work.

* Gammidge Family|Gammidge

An ancestral family name of the Gamgees.

A short-lived family name of the Shire-hobbits; indeed, Hob Gammidge is the only recorded Hobbit to use the name. It was a corruption of the name of his family’s original home, the village of Gamwich. The name was further corrupted when Hob acquired the nickname ‘Old Gammidgy’, which in turn gave rise to the family name ‘Gamgee’.

* Gammidgy

The original form of the name Gamgee.

A Hobbit family-name, apparently first used in ‘Old Gammidgy’, the nickname of Hob Gammidge of Tighfield. His son, Hobson, received the name in a slightly corrupted form. He became known as Roper Gamgee, and that form of the name that descended to his grandson Sam.

* Gamwich

A village in the Shire, from which the earliest members of the Gamgee family came.

* Gamwich Family|Gamwich

The ancestors of the Gamgees.

A family of Hobbits who took their name from the village where they lived, Gamwich in the Shire. Over the years, as the family spread to other parts of the Shire, the name became corrupted, so at the time of the War of the Ring, their descendants living in Hobbiton were known as the Gamgees.

* Gandalf

One of the Istari (Wizards), member of the Fellowship of the Ring.

Gandalf (‘Elf of the Wand’) was his name among Northern Men. See Olórin, Mithrandir, Incánus, Tharkûn, Greyhame.

–—

The Grey Pilgrim.

In origin a Maia of Manwë and Varda, Gandalf came to the northwest of Middle-earth after a thousand years of the Third Age had passed, with four others of his order. At the Grey Havens, Círdan entrusted him with the Red Ring, Narya, to aid him in contesting the will of Sauron.

Gandalf wandered widely in Middle-earth, and learned much of its races and peoples. Unlike his fellow Wizards Saruman and Radagast, he never settled in a single place. He was instrumental in the victory of the War of the Ring, but during that conflict his body was destroyed by a Balrog, and his spirit returned into the West. The Valar sent him back to Middle-earth to complete his task.

Gandalf finally left Middle-earth in III 3021, when he departed over the sea with the Ring-bearers.

–—

Arrival in Middle-earth, c. III 1000: The Wizards arrived in Middle-earth after the end of the first millennium of the Third Age. They were sent by the Valar to aid Elves and Men, but none knew this but Círdan the Shipwright, Lord of the Grey Havens where their ships put in. Though Saruman was at that time the acknowledged leader of the Wizards, Círdan saw that Gandalf was in fact the greater, and secretly gave him the Red Ring Narya to aid him in his quest.

–—

Exploration of Middle-earth, c. III 1000 to III 2463: For almost 1,500

years, Gandalf wandered the northern and western regions of Middle-earth, learning of its lands and cultures. He was closest in friendship with the Elves, and especially Elrond, who had learned of his origins from Círdan.

–—

The White Council, III 2463 to III 2953: At almost the same time as Gandalf had arrived in Middle-earth, a dark power had appeared in southern Mirkwood, at the evil place known as Dol Guldur. After a thousand years of his wanderings, Gandalf went there and drove the darkness into the east for a while. Soon it returned, and in III 2463, the greatest among Wizards and Elves formed a White Council, with Gandalf as a prominent member, to counter the growing threat.

In 2850, he revisited Dol Guldur, to find that the power that held it had grown indeed during the eight hundred years since his last visit. He recognised the dark power now as Sauron returned, and escaped to inform the White Council. Before he escaped, though, he found Thráin II broken in the pits of Dol Guldur, and though Thráin died before Gandalf could help him, he did surrender a map and a key into the Wizard’s keeping.

The Year III 2941: 2941 was an important year for Gandalf. Not only did he take part in the White Council’s expulsion of the Necromancer from Dol Guldur, but he also arranged for a party of Dwarves, accompanied by Bilbo Baggins, to travel to their ancient home of Erebor and free it from the dragon Smaug.

–—

Gandalf and the Hobbits: The Hobbits first appeared in the records of Men and Elves shortly after the arrival of the Wizards, but of all the Wise, Gandalf was the only one to pay them great heed. After the foundation of the Shire, he would visit periodically and was responsible for ‘… quiet lads and lasses going off into the Blue for mad adventures’ (The Hobbit, Chapter 1, An Unexpected Party). Given this description, we are forced to wonder whether he had a hand in the exploits of Hildifons and Isengar Took, both of whom are recorded as having become involved in adventures of this kind.

Of all the Hobbit families, Gandalf seems to have been most closely associated with the Tooks; he was a close friend of Gerontius, the Old Took (Frodo Baggins’ great-grandfather), and was said to have given him a gift of magical diamond studs, which fastened and unfastened on command.

After Gerontius’ death in III 2920, he was not seen in the Shire for more than twenty years, until he returned with Thorin and the Dwarves to involve Bilbo Baggins in the Quest of Erebor.

–—

Gandalf’s Appearance: Like all the Wizards, Gandalf had the appearance of an old man, who grew old slowly with the passage of the centuries. His hair was white, and his long white beard grew down below his waist. His eyebrows were particularly noticeable; they were so long and bushy that they stuck out from beneath the rim of his hat.

He dressed in a long grey cloak, which is perhaps the origin of his title ‘The Grey’. He is also described as wearing a tall shady-brimmed pointed blue hat, a silver scarf, and long black boots. He carried at all times a spiked staff.

–—

The Magic of Gandalf: Tolkien at no point defines what the limits of Gandalf’s magic were. As a Maia, he had many natural abilities that would seem magical to mortal races, but he also had a great store of knowledge of more ‘mechanical’ magic, worked through spells and incantations, and especially through the agency of his staff. It is clear that he had far greater power, especially after his return as Gandalf the White, than he ever displayed in Middle-earth.

His magical powers seem to be particularly associated with fire, a fact that is perhaps related to the Ring of Fire, Narya, that he bore.

–—

A Gandalf Miscellany:

- Gandalf adopted the habit of pipe-smoking from the Hobbits. He often used his magical arts while smoking; he could change the colour of his smoke-rings, or send them in any direction he pleased.

- Gandalf’s preferred drink was red wine.

* Gap of Rohan

The opening, some 20 miles wide, between the last end of the Misty Mountains and the north-thrust spur of the White Mountains, through which flowed the river Isen.

–—

The breach between the Misty Mountains and the White.

The great gap on the west of Rohan between the southern end of the Misty Mountains and the northernmost peaks of the White Mountains.

* Gardner Family|Gardner

The descendants of Sam Gamgee the gardener.

The name taken by the descendants of Samwise Gamgee and Rose Cotton in honour of Sam’s replanting of the Shire after the War of the Ring.

* Gasping Dust

The desert created in the Dagor Bragollach.

Anfauglith, the desert of dust and ash created by the great burnings of the Battle of Sudden Flame.

* Gate of Steel

The last defence of Gondolin.

The last of the Seven Gates of Gondolin, built some centuries after the other six as an ultimate defence after the disaster of the Nirnaeth Arnoediad. Though all but impassable to an enemy, the Gate ultimately failed to prevent the Fall of Gondolin.

* Gate of the Noldor

Annon-in-Gelydh.

A gateway in the mountains between northern Nevrast and Hithlum, built by the Noldor who followed Turgon in the earliest years of the First Age.

After Turgon’s departure to Gondolin, the Gate was lost, but it was rediscovered and used centuries later by Tuor in his escape from the oppressed lands of Hithlum.

* Gates of Mordor

Sauron’s Black Gate.

A term for the defended pass in the northwest of Mordor, and great Black Gate - the Morannon - that protected it. The Gates opened onto a narrow valley, Udûn, and were highly defensible. Indeed, they were only successfully assaulted once in their history, by the armies of the Last Alliance.

* Gates of Sirion

Sirion’s emergence from beneath the Andram.

The cavernous mouth in the southern hills of the Andram where the River Sirion emerged from its underground course.

* Gates of Summer

A great festival of Gondolin, on the eve of which the city was assaulted by the forces of Morgoth.

* Gaurwaith|Wolf-men

The outlaw-band on the western borders of Doriath that Túrin joined, and of which he became the captain. Translated ‘Wolf-men’.

–—

The ‘Wolf Men’, the name of the outlaw band to which Túrin joined himself for a time after he left Doriath.

* Gelion

The great river of East Beleriand, rising in Himring and Mount Rerir and fed by the rivers of Ossiriand flowing down from the Blue Mountains.

–—

The river that marked Beleriand’s eastern border.

The long river in eastern Beleriand that ran south from the marches of Lothlann, and separated the lands of Thargelion and Ossiriand from East Beleriand.

* Gelmir of Nargothrond|Gelmir

Elf of Nargothrond, brother of Gwindor, captured in the Dagor Bragollach and afterwards put to death in front of Eithel Sirion, as a provocation to its defenders, before the Nirnaeth Arnoediad.

–—

Ill-fated nobleman of Nargothrond.

Son of Guilin, of a high house of Nargothrond; captured by Morgoth in the Dagor Bragollach. It was his maiming before the Elven host at Barad Eithel that began the great battle of the Nirnaeth Arnoediad.

* Gelmir of Angrod’s People|Gelmir

Noldorin Elf of the people of Angrod, who with Arminas came upon Tuor at Annon-in-Gelydh and afterwards went to Nargothrond to warn Orodreth of its peril.

–—

The companion of Arminas.

A Noldorin Elf, originally of Angrod’s people. After the Dagor Bragollach, he wandered into the southern regions of Beleriand, and settled with the people of Círdan the Shipwright. He was later sent by Círdan, with his companion Arminas, as a messenger to Nargothrond.

* Gerontius Took

Thain of the Shire, famed for his great age, for which reason he was popularly known as The Old Took.

* Gethron

Man of Húrin’s household who with Grithnir accompanied Túrin to Doriath and afterwards returned to Dor-lómin.

* Ghân-buri-Ghân|Ghân|Ghan

Chieftain of the Drúedain or ‘Wild Men’ of Drúadan Forest.

–—

The headman of the Woses of Drúadan Forest at the time of the War of the Ring. He aided the Rohirrim in their ride to the Battle of the Pelennor.

* Giants|Giant

Huge Man-like monsters.

Perhaps the most mysterious of the races of Middle-earth, Giants are mentioned only fleetingly by Tolkien, but sufficiently often to show that they did exist in his world.

* Gift of Men

Death; the gift of Ilúvatar to his Younger Children, allowing them to go beyond the confines of the World.

* Gil-Estel

‘Star of Hope’, Sindarin name for Eärendil bearing the Silmaril in his ship Vingilot.

* Gildor Inglorion|Gildor

An Elf of the House of Finrod.

A High Elf of Noldorin origin, met by Frodo, Pippin and Sam as they set out on their journey to take the Ring to Rivendell.

* Gildor of Dorthonion|Gildor

One of the twelve companions of Barahir on Dorthonion.

–—

One of the last outlaws of Dorthonion.

One of the outlaw band that dwelt with Barahir and Beren at Tarn Aeluin after the Dagor Bragollach.

* Gilmith

Sister of Galador, first Lord of Dol Amroth.

* Gilraen

The wife of Arathorn II, and mother of Aragorn II Elessar. It was she who gave Aragorn the name Estel, ‘hope’.

* Gilrain

River of Lebennin in Gondor flowing into the Bay of Belfalas west of Ethir Anduin.

–—

The western border-river of Lebennin.

A long river that flowed south out of the White Mountains through western Lebennin in the south of Gondor. It was a tributary of the River Serni, that it joined above Linhir, and legend said that Nimrodel had walked its banks as she come south out of the Mountains.

* Gilthoniel

A Sindarin title of Varda the Lady of the Stars, known as Elbereth to the Sindar.

* Gimilkhâd|Gimilkhad

Younger son of Ar-Gimilzôr and Inzilbêth and father of Ar-Pharazôn, the last King of Númenor.

–—

The younger son of King Ar-Gimilzôr of Númenor who, like his father, opposed the reforming policies of his elder brother Tar-Palantir. His son was Ar-Pharazôn, who usurped the throne of Númenor and brought the island to its destruction.

* Gimilzagar

Second son of Tar-Calmacil.

* Gimli Elf-friend|Gimli

Dwarf of the House of Durin, son of Glóin; one of the Fellowship of the Ring.

–—

Descendant of the Kings of Durin’s Folk.

Son of Glóin, he travelled from Rivendell with the Company of the Ring.

After the breaking of the Fellowship at Parth Galen, he hunted Orcs across Rohan with Aragorn and Legolas. He fought at the Battle of the Hornburg, and at the Pelennor Fields. He is famed for his fast friendship with Legolas the Elf; some stories say that they sailed into the West together - if this is true, then Gimli was the first and only of Dwarven-kind to come to the Undying Lands.

* Ginglith

River in West Beleriand flowing into the Narog above Nargothrond.

* Girdle of Melian

The sorcerous web that protected Doriath.

The fence of enchantment set around Thingol’s kingdom of Doriath by Melian his Queen, preventing entry into his land without his will and consent.

* Girion

Noble ancestor of Bard the Bowman.

The Lord of Dale when Smaug descended on Erebor and ravaged the lands about. Girion died in Smaug’s assault, but his wife and son escaped. He was revenged nearly two hundred years later when his descendant Bard slew Smaug with an arrow.

* Girithron

The Sindarin name for the twelfth month of the year, according to the calendars of Men, following Hithui or Hísimë. On a modern calendar, Girithron ran between 21 November and 20 December.

* Giver of Fruits

A title of the Vala Yavanna, and the literal meaning of her name.

* Gladden

River flowing down from the Misty Mountains and joining Anduin at the Gladden Fields; translation of Sindarin Sîr Ninglor.

–—

River of the Golden Flowers.

A minor tributary of the River Anduin, called Sîr Ninglor by the Elves, that rose in the eastern Misty Mountains and flowed westward to meet the Great River at the Gladden Fields.

Though it was hardly more than a hundred miles long, the Gladden played a great part in the histories of the Third Age of the World. In the middle years of that Age war raged in Eriador to the west of the Misty Mountains. In about the year III 1409 a clan of refugee Hobbits, of the strong and resilient Stoor variety, fled eastward across the Mountains and settled by the banks of the Gladden.

We know little of these people, but their society was apparently matriarchal, and they shared many of the same ancient habits and superstitions as their more familiar cousins who remained west of the Mountains. We know that they made a living by fishing among the golden flowers of the Gladden River, and so founded a successful settlement that would last for at least another thousand years.

Some centuries later, another great war occurred, but this time far to the south and east, beyond the forest of Mirkwood. The Stoors knew nothing of this, until refugees from the battles of the south came to settle on the plains to the north of the Gladden. These were noble, fair-haired Men, descendants of the Kings of Rhovanion and ancestors of the Kings of Rohan. They called themselves simply ‘horse-people’, or Éothéod in their own tongue. These people did not remain by the Gladden for long.

Within two centuries, they rode further north to seek new, more open, lands.

Though the Éothéod rode into the distant north, many Men remained and so did the Stoors. More than a millennium after their arrival, in about the twenty-fifth century of the Third Age, two young friends of that people journeyed east on the river together to the mouths of the Gladden, where it emptied into the marshlands of the Fields. Through a strange accident, one of them, Déagol by name, fell into the water, and discovered a golden Ring sparkling in the mud on the bottom. His friend, Sméagol, wanted the Ring for himself: he throttled Déagol, and stole back to his people with the golden and magical Ring. Eventually, his grandmother, who ruled his family, cast him out and he left the banks of the Gladden River to wander into the Misty Mountains and into history, and his name became Gollum.

While Gollum skulked away the centuries under the Mountains of Mist, he outlived all his family and his people. Soon after Gollum’s exile, Orcs began to mass in the Mountains nearby, and War of the Dwarves and Orcs brought the armies of the Dwarves to these regions too. Perhaps the Stoors were destroyed by the Orcs, or overrun in the War. Perhaps they were lost in the Fell Winter of III 2911. Whatever happened, we know that no Stoors were left there at the time of the War of the Ring: the Nazgûl went there in search of the Ring, and found only ruins.

But Gollum’s wretched life was stretched out by his magic Ring beyond that of all his kind, until at last that Ring was taken from him. He hunted for it all down the Vales of Anduin, and was himself hunted by Aragorn, at Gandalf’s request. Aragorn captured him near the borders of Mordor at the beginning of the year III 3018, and toiled northward with his prisoner. We have an account of his travels in the Unfinished Tales.

–—

‘… by tracks as westerly as he could find, through the skirts of Fangorn, and so over Limlight, then over Nimrodel and Silverlode through the eaves of Lórien, and then on, avoiding Moria and the Dimrill Dale, over Gladden…’

(The Hunt for the Ring (ii), in Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth)

–—

So the last survivor of the Gladden Stoors saw the long-deserted lands of his home once more before the end.

* Gladden Fields

Partial translation of Loeg Ningloron; the great stretches of reeds and iris (gladden) in and about the Anduin, where Isildur was slain and the One Ring lost.

–—

The fields at the mouth of the Gladden River.

The marshlands that formed where the Gladden River flowed down out of the Misty Mountains and into the Great River Anduin. This was the site of Isildur’s loss of the One Ring in the first years of the Third Age.

* Glæmscrafu|Glâêmscrafu|Glaemscrafu

‘Caves of Radiance’, name in Rohan of Aglarond.

* Glamdring

The sword of Turgon and Gandalf.

Of Glamdring’s early history, we know almost nothing. From Elrond’s words in ‘The Hobbit’ (‘This, Gandalf, was Glamdring, Foe-hammer that the king of Gondolin once wore’), we can say that it was forged some time in the second to fifth centuries of the First Age (the centuries when Gondolin existed), and that it was borne by Turgon (the only Elf to hold the title ‘King of Gondolin’). After Gondolin was built, Turgon was in battle twice: at the Nirnaeth Arnoediad and at the Fall of Gondolin.

Glamdring was greatly feared by the Orcs even thousands of years later, so Turgon must have wielded it ferociously on both these occasions.

After Gondolin’s Fall, Glamdring passed out of history or rumour for more than 6,000 years. The fact that it survived the War of Wrath, though, tells us that it must have left Beleriand before the end of the First Age, perhaps carried eastward by a band of Orcs. More than that cannot be said, except that somehow, by the late Third Age, it had fallen into the hands of the three Trolls called in The Hobbit Tom, Bert and Bill Huggins.

It was discovered in their troll-hoard by Gandalf, Bilbo and the Dwarves as they travelled eastward on the Quest of Erebor, and claimed by Gandalf. After it was identified by Elrond, Gandalf wore if for eighty years. He had it with him when the White Council drove Sauron from Dol Guldur, and he bore it through the War of the Ring itself.

Famously, he used it to battle the Balrog at the Bridge of Khazad-dûm, and it fell with him there into the abyss. Glamdring survived that fall: Gandalf had it with him when he returned, and he bore it throughout the last days of the War of the Ring and beyond. We know that he still had the sword when he rode through Bree with the Travellers in October III 3019, but Tolkien doesn’t mention it after that point. It seems safe to assume, though, that Gandalf was still wearing Glamdring, as he had for eighty years, when he boarded the White Ship at the end of the Third Age.

* Glamhoth

Sindarin word for Orcs.

–—

A name for the Orcs.

Although the Sindarin word for ‘Orcs’ is ‘Yrch’, this rare but more descriptive term is also sometimes seen (although not in The Lord of the Rings or The Silmarillion).

‘Glamhoth’ does appear, however, in Tuor’s curse in the unfinished ‘Of Tuor and His Coming to Gondolin’; ‘Gurth an Glamhoth’ - ‘death to the Orcs’. It is also probably seen in a shortened form in the name of Gandalf’s sword, Glamdring.

* Glanduin

‘Border-river’, flowing westwards from the Misty Mountains; forming in the Second Age the southern boundary of Eregion and in the Third a part of the southern boundary of Arnor.

–—

The river that flowed down into Swanfleet.

The river that rose in the Misty Mountains, south of Khazad-dûm. It flowed westward to meet the Hoarwell above Tharbad, where it formed the marshland known as Nîn-in-Eilph or Swanfleet.

* Glanhir

‘Boundary-stream’, Sindarin name of the Mering Stream.

* Glaurung

The first of the Dragons of Morgoth, called the Father of Dragons; in the Dagor Bragollach, the Nirnaeth Arnoediad, and the Sack of Nargothrond; cast his spell upon Túrin and upon Nienor; slain by Túrin at Cabed-en-Aras. Called also the Great Worm and the Worm of Morgoth.

–—

Golden Father of Dragons.

Glaurung was the first of the Dragons, and one of the greatest. He first issued from Angband in I 265, but not being fully grown at that time, the Noldor under Fingon were able to drive him back.

In the Dagor Bragollach and the Nirnaeth Arnoediad, Glaurung was in the vanguard of Morgoth’s forces, and having grown to his full power, he wreaked great destruction on those battlefields. In the Nirnaeth, he was driven back to Angband by the heavily armoured Dwarves, though their lord Azaghâl was slain in that battle.

Glaurung led the assault by Morgoth on Nargothrond, and there came across Túrin for the first time. He dwelt in the ruined halls of Finrod Felagund for a while, but came forth at last to seek Túrin. He was slain by Túrin’s black sword Gurthang in the Forest of Brethil.

* Glingal

‘Hanging Flame’, the image of Laurelin made by Turgon in Gondolin.

–—

The mate of Belthil in the courts of Turgon.

The golden tree made by Turgon of Gondolin in memory of Laurelin, one of the Two Trees of Valinor. Its mate was Belthil.

* Glirhuin

A minstrel of Brethil.

* Glithui

River flowing down from Ered Wethrin, a tributary of Teiglin.

* Glittering Caves

The caverns behind Helm’s Deep.

Also called Aglarond, the spectacular jewelled caverns that lay in the White Mountains behind Helm’s Deep. They were discovered by Gimli Elf-friend during the War of the Ring, and were later colonised by the Dwarves of Erebor, with Gimli becoming Lord of the Glittering Caves.

The Glittering Caves is one of very few locations in Tolkien’s work that we can associate with a real place. They were inspired by the caves of Cheddar Gorge, in the southern English county of Somerset.

* Glóin (King of Durin’s Folk)|Glóin|Gloin The son of Thorin I, and father of Óin, King of Durin’s Folk during the later Third Age.

* Glóin (Son of Gróin)|Glóin|Gloin

Son of Gróin, and father of Gimli Elf-friend, Glóin accompanied Gandalf and Bilbo Baggins on the Quest of Erebor, and years later was present with his son at the Council of Elrond.

* Glóredhel|Gloredhel

Daughter of Hador Lórindol of Dor-lómin and sister of Galdor; wedded Haldir of Brethil.

–—

Daughter of Hador Lórindol; she wedded Haldir of the Haladin.

* Glorfindel of Gondolin|Glorfindel

Elf of Gondolin who fell to his death in Cirith Thoronath in combat with a Balrog after the escape from the sack of the city. The name means

‘Golden-haired’.

–—

Chief of Gondolin’s House of the Golden Flower.

A noble Elf of Gondolin, who fled the Fall of that city with Tuor and Idril and whose battle with a Balrog in the Encircling Mountains secured their escape with their son Eärendil.

* Glorfindel of Rivendell|Glorfindel

An heroic Elf-lord of Rivendell.

A noble Elf of Rivendell, who fought at the Battle of Fornost and, a thousand years later, helped Frodo Baggins and his companions to reach the House of Elrond and evade the pursuit of the Black Riders. The name means ‘Golden-haired Elf’.

* Gnats|Gnat

Bothersome flying insects.

Small flying insects, related to flies. They are known to have existed in Middle-earth, as Sam refers to them on the borders of Mordor.

* Goatleaf Family|Goatleaf

A family of the Men of Bree. As was typical among the Men of that region, the name comes from a plant. Its precise origins are uncertain, but it is perhaps linked to honeysuckle, whose French name, chèvrefeuille, not only means ‘goat leaf’, but gives its name to a medieval lay, and would therefore presumably have been familiar to Tolkien.

Only one member of the Goatleaf family appears in Tolkien’s works -

Harry Goatleaf, who at one time watched the West-gate of Bree, but threw in his lot with Bill Ferny and Saruman’s thugs during the War of the Ring.

* Goblin-cleaver

A name for the sword Orcrist, and the literal translation of its Elvish name. It was forged in the city of Gondolin during the First Age, when the Elves warred with the Orcs of Morgoth, and Orcrist was said to have killed hundreds of Goblins in those Wars.

* Goblin-men|Goblin-man

Creatures bred by Saruman as his servants.

Creatures created by Saruman, apparently by blending the races of Orcs and Men. Precisely what they were is mysterious - they are only ever mentioned once by name, during the Battle of the Hornburg - but they seem to be distinct from Half-orcs, and rather more Man-like.

* Goblins|Goblin

The race of Orcs.

A name for Orcs, and especially the smaller kinds that infested the Misty and the Grey Mountains in the later Third Age, and had their capital at Mount Gundabad.

* Gods|God

A name wrongly given by Men to the Valar. While Tolkien states that Men have ‘often’ called the Valar gods, in fact the term is very rare in his books; it is most prominently used at the debate of Estolad, where the Men newly arrived in Beleriand dispute whether or not to remain. This is natural, of course; they had not at this point been tutored by the Elves in such high matters.

It is tempting to suppose that ‘Men have often called them gods’ refers to the years after the end of the Third Age, and might even suggest equivalences between the Valar and mythological gods of later times, such as those of the Greeks or Vikings. This cannot be correct, however; the Valaquenta represents a very ancient text within the context of The Silmarillion, probably dating from the mid to late First Age, and therefore can only refer to the Men of those times.

* Golasgil

The lord of the Anfalas or Langstrand, a pastoral fief on the far western shores of Gondor. He rode to the defence of Minas Tirith in the War of the Ring with some few of his household and Men of the Anfalas.

* Goldberry

The companion of Tom Bombadil.

–—

“O slender as a willow-wand! O clearer than clear water!

O reed by the living pool! Fair River-daughter!”

(From Frodo’s greeting to Goldberry; The Fellowship of the Ring I 7, In the House of Tom Bombadil)

–—

A mysterious being described as the ‘River-daughter’, the companion of Tom Bombadil.

* Golden Hall

The gold-thatched hall of the Kings of Rohan.

A common name for Meduseld, the hall of the Kings of Rohan in Edoras.

* Golden Wood

The forest of the golden mallorn trees.

A name used of Lórien, and with a similar meaning, referring to the golden mallorn trees that grew in that land.

* Goldenbed|Golden-bed|Golden Bed

The later name of the River Ascar.

To the north of Ossiriand, the Dwarf-road into the Blue Mountains ran alongside the River Ascar. This road was used in the later years of the First Age by a band of Dwarves returning to Nogrod with the looted treasures of Doriath. Waylayed by Beren and a force of Green-elves, they were defeated, and the treasure was scattered along the bed of the Ascar.

After that time, the river was renamed Rathlóriel, which translates as

‘Goldenbed’.

* Goldfather

A surname of the Master of Buckland Rorimac Brandybuck, who was also known as ‘Old Rory’.

* Goldilocks Gardner

A daughter of Samwise Gamgee and Rose Cotton, so named because her fair hair was rare among the Shire-hobbits. She married Thain Faramir I, son of Peregrin Took.

* Goldwine

Sixth of the Kings of Rohan.

Goldwine, the sixth Lord of the Mark, inherited the throne from his father Fréawine. Of his life and reign almost nothing is known, apart from a general note that Rohan had peace and prosperity during his nineteen years as King. Goldwine was the last of Rohan’s Kings to enjoy a peaceful reign for many years. He was succeeded by his son Déor, in whose time the Dunlendings driven out by Goldwine’s great-grandfather Aldor began to reappear in the northern marches. They would trouble the Rohirrim for many generations.

* Golfimbul

The orc-chieftain who invaded the Shire.

An orc-chieftain of Mount Gram, who led a band of his Orcs in an invasion of the Shire. He was met, and defeated, at the Battle of Greenfields by Bandobras ‘Bullroarer’ Took. According to (no doubt apocryphal) legend, the events of that battle, coupled with Golfimbul’s name, gave rise to the game of golf.

* Gollum

Wretched slave to the One Ring.

Originally a creature of hobbit-kind, who came by the One Ring in the River Anduin, where Isildur had lost it more than two millennia before.

Coming under its power, he hid away in the Misty Mountains, and was drawn into the events at the end of the Third Age when he encountered Bilbo Baggins, who took the Ring from him.

* Golodhrim

The Noldor. Golodh was the Sindarin form of Quenya Noldo, and -rim a collective plural ending. See Annon-in-Gelydh, the Gate of the Noldor.

–—

A Sindarin name for the Deep Elves.

The name of the Noldor among the Sindar; rarely used in Tolkien’s work, but probably the dominant form in Beleriand.

* Golug

Orc name for the Noldor.

–—

An Orkish name for the Noldor.

A word from a language of the Orcs, whose only recorded use was during the later First Age, used to describe the Deep Elves or Noldor. Its origins are unknown, but it may be related to the Sindarin name for this same people, Golodhrim.

* Gondolin|Hidden Realm

‘The Hidden Rock’ (see Ondolindë), secret city of King Turgon surrounded by the Encircling Mountains (Echoriath); destroyed by Morgoth.

–—

Turgon’s Hidden Refuge.

The great Hidden City of Turgon was concealed from friend and foe alike during the First Age by the Encircling Mountains, and guarded from trespassers by the Eagles of Thorondor.

In the fiftieth year of the First Age, Turgon journeyed from his halls in Nevrast with his cousin Finrod. Ulmo guided him to the hidden valley of Tumladen, and there he founded Gondolin. The city was completed in c.

I 126, and Turgon’s people who had dwelt in Nevrast travelled there secretly.

The city was inviolate for almost four hundred years; Turgon did not break his secret leaguer until the time of the Nirnaeth Arnoediad in I 471, and even after that disastrous battle he was able to return in secret to the city with the aid of Húrin Thalion.

Morgoth’s servants finally discovered Gondolin through the treachery of Maeglin, and it was sacked in I 510. Turgon was lost in the Fall of the city, but some few (including Tuor and Idril, with their child Eärendil) escaped the destruction and dwelt as Exiles at the Mouths of Sirion.

–—

The Building of Gondolin: The round valley of Tumladen, within the Encircling Mountains, had originally been a lake, and in its centre stood a hill that had once been an island: Amon Gwareth. It was here that Turgon decided to found his Hidden City, as a memorial to ancient Tirion that lay beyond the Great Sea.

The first building of the city took fifty-two years to complete. After this time, the people of Turgon, a great number of Noldor and Sindar, travelled from Nevrast, where they had dwelt, and secretly entered the valley of Tumladen. Turgon gave his city the name Ondolindë (Quenya for

‘The Rock of the Music of Water’, because of the fountains of Amon Gwareth), but in Sindarin this was rendered Gondolin, the Hidden Rock.

After their arrival in the new city, the Gondolindrim continued to labour in its building, until it was said to rival even Tirion itself.

Its walls stood high and white above the plain, and its most prominent feature was the great Tower of the King, where, among the fountains, Turgon himself made Glingal and Belthil, trees of gold and silver made in memory of the Two Trees of Valinor.

–—

The Coming of Maeglin: There followed two centuries of happy peace: Morgoth was besieged in the far north of the world, and the people of Gondolin lived undisturbed by the events outside their fair city. At last, though, a seed of discontent appeared: King Turgon’s sister Aredhel determined to leave the city, much against Turgon’s wishes, and journey into Middle-earth.

Soon after her departure, her guards returned, and reported that they had lost her in the dark and sorcerous region to the south east of the city, known as Nan Dungortheb.

More than twenty years then passed, and then suddenly Aredhel returned.

With her was one who she claimed to be Maeglin, her son by Eöl the Dark Elf of Nan Elmoth. This Maeglin accepted Turgon as lord, but his father Eöl had followed his wife and son to Gondolin and been captured at the entranceway. He was brought before Turgon. Eöl refused to submit to Turgon’s authority, and instead chose death for himself and his unwilling son. He threw a poisoned dart to slay Maeglin, but instead struck Aredhel, who fell ill with the poison and died. The body of Eöl was broken on the Caragdûr for this.

Maeglin, though, had had no part in these evils, and Turgon accepted him, and he grew to be among the great in Gondolin, wise in council, cunning in smithcraft and mighty in battle.

–—

Two Great Battles: For more than a hundred years after the deaths of Aredhel and Eöl, Gondolin again had peace. The time was coming, though, when Morgoth would break the Siege of Angband, and the unstoppable doom of the Elves would fall upon them. One winter’s night, the fires of Angband destroyed the leaguer of the Noldor: the Dagor Bragollach. In this disaster, the people of Gondolin played no immediate part.

They were drawn into the events of those years, though, when two young brothers of the race of Men, Húrin and Huor, were cut off from their army and became lost amid the feet of the Crissaegrim. Thorondor brought them to Turgon. At the bidding of Ulmo, Turgon accepted them, and they remained in Gondolin for almost a year, when they returned to their homes. In this kindly act were the first seeds of Gondolin’s destruction, more than fifty years later.

Turgon now devised a new policy for the salvation of the Elves: he began secretly to send his people out westward across the great sea, to seek the land of the Valar and ask their pardon and aid. None of his mariners succeeded, but this was a wise course, though Turgon never knew it: he was lost long before his grandson Eárendil, aided by a Silmaril, finally succeeded in this task.

As time passed since the destruction of the Dagor Bragollach, the Elves of Beleriand began to arm for a counterstroke, and Turgon secretly began his own preparations. Fourteen years after the breaking of the Siege of Angband, and some three hundred and fifty since the completion of Gondolin, Turgon rode for the first time to war. Unknown and unbidden by his kin, he rode to their aid with an army of ten thousand. This was to be the great battle that was to become known as the Nirnaeth Arnoediad.

* Gondolindrim|Hidden People

The people of Gondolin, who went with Turgon to dwell there in the early First Age, and remained hidden from Morgoth until the Fall of the city in I 510.

* Gondor

‘Land of Stone’, name of the southern Númenórean kingdom in Middle-earth, established by Isildur and Anárion.

–—

The South-kingdom of the Dúnedain.

The second of the two great nations of Men founded in Middle-earth by Elendil after the Downfall of Númenor, the other being Arnor in the north. Gondor was at first ruled jointly by Elendil’s sons Isildur and Anárion. Both Elendil and Anárion were lost in the Siege of Barad-dûr, and his brother Isildur soon afterwards in the Disaster of the Gladden Fields, and so the Kingship of Gondor fell on Anárion’s son Meneldil.

Thus, the Kings of Gondor were descendants of Anárion through many generations until the time of Eärnur.

When Eärnur was lost in Minas Morgul in III 2050, the rule of Gondor was taken up by the King’s Steward, Mardil Voronwë; the death of Eärnur was not certain, and so Mardil and the Stewards who followed him pledged to rule ‘until the King comes back’. Unlikely though this seemed, it happened almost a thousand years later in III 3019 when Aragorn II Elessar, descendant by right line of Isildur, elder brother of Anárion, reclaimed the throne of Gondor.

* Gondorians|Gondorian

The Men of Gondor.

The people of Gondor, the South-kingdom of the Dúnedain, whose rulers were descended from the Númenórean exiles who fled to Middle-earth with Elendil in the late Second Age.

* Gonnhirrim

‘Masters of Stone’, a Sindarin name for the Dwarves.

* Gorbadoc ‘Broadbelt’ Brandybuck|Gorbadoc Brandybuck The generous host of Brandy Hall.

The son of Marmadoc Brandybuck, who inherited the title Master of Buckland from his father. He was renowned for his love of good food (hence, no doubt, his nickname ‘Broadbelt’), and his generous hospitality. It was during one of his famous feasts that Frodo’s parents Drogo and Primula were lost in a boating accident.

* Gorbag

An Uruk of Minas Morgul, slain by Shagrat in the Tower of Cirith Ungol in a dispute during the last stages of the War of the Ring.

* Gorhendad Oldbuck|Gorhendad Brandybuck

The founder of Buckland and of the Brandybuck family (when he crossed the River Brandywine from the Shire, he changed his name from Oldbuck).

* Gorlim the Unhappy|Gorlim

Called the Unhappy; one of the twelve companions of Barahir on Dorthonion, who was ensnared by a phantom of his wife Eilinel and revealed to Sauron the hiding-place of Barahir.

–—

The betrayer of Barahir.

A follower of Barahir, who went into hiding with his lord after the Dagor Bragollach. Captured by Sauron, he was tricked into betraying Barahir, who was slain with all of his followers except Beren.

* Gorthaur

An old name of Sauron.

A name used of Sauron by the Sindar during the First Age, meaning

‘terrible dread’.

* Gorthol

‘Dread Helm’, the name that Túrin took as one of the Two Captains in the land of Dor-Cúarthol.

–—

‘The Dread Helm’, one of Túrin’s many aliases, taken by him as a captain of Dor-Cúarthol in reference to the Dragon-helm of Dor-lómin.

* Gothmog (Lord of Balrogs)|Gothmog

High-captain of Angband, slayer of Fëanor, Fingon, and Ecthelion.

–—

The most powerful of all the Balrogs, one of the chief servants of Melkor, who held an authority hardly less than Sauron himself. A wily commander and fearsome fighter, Gothmog was often accompanied by others of his fiery kind, and at least in the Nirnaeth he had a personal guard of dozens of Trolls. His weapon was a great black axe.

The Elves first encountered him in the Dagor-nuin-Giliath, the battle fought under the stars before the first rising of the Moon. In that battle, Fëanor’s fury had caused him to draw forward of the main force of the Noldor, and so he came upon Gothmog with only a small guard. Even so, he fought valiantly, and though the armies of the Noldor eventually drove the Balrogs off, Fëanor’s wounds could not be healed.

After that first battle, Gothmog does not appear for several centuries.

He emerged from Angband to fight in the battle known as the Nirnaeth Arnoediad, the fifth and last battle of the Wars of Beleriand. He brought up a huge army, and drove aside the forces around High King Fingon, and slew the King with his axe. His Trolls assailed Fingon’s ally Húrin, who he eventually captured and brought back to Angband.

But Gothmog was not indestructible. He took part in (and indeed presumably led) Morgoth’s deadly surprise assault on the Hidden City of Gondolin. In the square of the King in the heart of the city, he came upon the Elf-lord Ecthelion of the Fountain. They fought a great duel, and in the end Gothmog and Ecthelion slew one another. So ended one of the most feared denizens of the pits of Angband.

* Gothmog (Lieutenant of Morgul)|Gothmog

Lieutenant of Morgul at the Battle of the Pelennor.

Lieutenant of the Lord of the Nazgûl at the Battle of the Pelennor - he took command of the forces of Minas Morgul after the loss of his lord.

* Gram

The eighth King of Rohan.

The son of Déor and father of Helm Hammerhand, who ruled Rohan as the eighth Lord of the Mark. His reign was a time of warfare with the Dunlendings, who had occupied Isengard during his father’s time, and continued to raid and harrass the Rohirrim.

* Great Battle

The ultimate destruction of Angband.

A name for the War of Wrath, the assault of the Valar on Morgoth’s stronghold of Angband at the end of the First Age.

* Great Gate of Gondolin

Maeglin’s Gate of Steel.

The Seventh Gate said to have been added to the existing six gates of Gondolin by Maeglin, after Morgoth’s victory in the Nirnaeth Arnoediad.

According to legend, the gate was made of steel and seven storeys high, but inconsistencies between accounts mean that its existence cannot be considered certain.

* Great Gate of Minas Tirith

Entrance to the City of Gondor.

The mighty gate of Minas Tirith, citadel of Gondor, leading from the lowest of its seven tiers out onto the Pelennor Fields.

* Great Gates

The eastern entrance to Khazad-dûm.

Another name for the East-gate of Moria, the greater of the two entrances to that realm, and the Gates through which the Company of the Ring escaped during their journey southward.

* Great Goblin

The ruler of Goblin-town.

The chief of the goblins who dwelt in Goblin-town by the High Pass in the Misty Mountains; he was never named by Tolkien, and was killed by Gandalf during the Quest of Erebor.

* Great Gulf

A wide gulf of Belegaer.

A wide gulf in the western coasts of Middle-earth. It lay far to the south of the known lands in Middle-earth’s northwestern parts, forming an important feature in the geography of Arda. It was also one of the world’s most ancient features - the Gulf was already in existence when Melkor overthrew the Lamps of the Valar, in the time when the Valar still dwelt in the Hither Lands.

* Great Hall of Feasts

The feasting-hall of Minas Tirith.

The King’s feasting-hall in Minas Tirith, where Aragorn greeted Éomer after the War of the Ring. It was more properly known by its Elvish name, Merethrond.

* Great House

The hall of the Master of Lake-town, in which Thorin and Company were welcomed by the people of Lake-town, but which was later destroyed by Smaug when he descended on that township.

* Great Jewel

One of the three Silmarils.

A name for the Silmaril recovered by Beren from Morgoth’s Iron Crown, and afterwards borne by Lúthien in Dor Firn-i-Guinar.

* Great Jewels

Greatest of the works of Fëanor.

A name for the Silmarils, the three Jewels of Fëanor.

* Great Journey

The journey of the Eldar into the West.

The journey of the Eldar from Cuiviénen across Middle-earth and the Great Sea to Aman, there to dwell with the Valar in Valinor. Many of the Teleri turned aside during the journey, but the Three Kindreds of the Vanyar, the Noldor and the remaining Teleri came at last to the Undying Lands.

* Great Lake

The lake that held the island of Almaren.

The lake in the central regions of Middle-earth, known for holding the island of Almaren, the first dwelling place of the Valar.

* Great Music

Another name for the Music of the Ainur, the song through which the world of Arda was created.

* Great Ones|Great One

A title for the Valar.

* Great Orcs|Great Orc

The fighting Uruk-hai.

–—

“Great Orcs… that kind is stronger and more fell than all others.”

(Éomer, from The Two Towers III 2, The Riders of Rohan)

–—

Common name for the large soldier-orcs of Mordor and later also Isengard that troubled Gondor and Rohan in the late Third Age.

In fact, this name is only ever used by Éomer, and may only have been current in Rohan, but the fearsome creatures it described had been known for five hundred years when he spoke these words: creatures whose name in their own Black Speech was Uruk-hai.

* Great Plague

The plague that spread out of Rhovanion into Gondor and Eriador in Third Age 1636.

–—

The sickness of the middle years of the Third Age.

Another name for the Dark Plague, the sickness that blighted Middle-earth in the middle of the Third Age. Gondor, in particular, was devastated: the then King, Telemnar, was lost with all his children.

* Great Ring

Greatest of the Rings of Power.

A title occasionally used to refer to Sauron’s One Ring.

* Great Rings

The Rings of Power.

The nineteen powerful Rings forged in Eregion in the Second Age, mostly with the aid of Sauron, of which nine were given by him to Men, and seven to the Dwarves; three the Elves retained. The One Ring is also counted among the Great, but that was forged by Sauron alone in Orodruin.

Although the Elven-smiths of Eregion forged many rings in the mid-Second Age, only these nineteen are concerned Great. The nature and abilities of each of the Great Rings differed, but each shared two powers.

The first of these was the prolongation or ‘stretching’ of life - the bearer of a Great Ring did not age. This effect only applied to mortal bearers of the Rings; the Elves and Wizards were already ‘immortal’ by nature, and this power did not seem to affect them. This explains the peculiar longevity of Bilbo Baggins and especially Gollum (a creature of hobbit-kind, Gollum should have lived no more than 100 years or so, and yet under the influence of the One Ring, he survived for more than 500

years beneath the Misty Mountains).

The second power conferred by the Great Rings was that of invisibility.

At first, this was a temporary effect, and only occurred when the bearer actually wore the ring. After a time, though, this invisibility would become permanent (hence the nine Ring-wraiths, though their Rings were held by Sauron, were always invisible). This invisibility seems to have been due to the wearer being transported to the ‘wraith-world’, a strange

‘dimension’ that co-exists with the real world.

Tolkien’s various references to the Great Rings seem to make it clear that they all had the power of invisibility. However, the Three Rings of the Elves seemed to be exempt from this - although the Rings were normally invisible themselves, their bearers did not vanish (this is perhaps due to Sauron’s having no part in their making).

The Seven Rings of the Dwarves, which were among the Great Rings, raise a question. We know that one of these Rings was held by the Kings of Durin’s Folk, and yet through all the hundreds of years they bore it, there is no record of this Ring displaying any of its powers. Though the Dwarf-kings no doubt kept it secret and used it little, there are strong hints here that the Dwarves somehow had a greater immunity to the effects of the Great Rings than other mortal kinds.

* Great River

The River Anduin.

Very common title given to the River Anduin, the greatest river in Middle-earth, which flowed for many hundred miles from the far north down into the Bay of Belfalas.

* Great Sea of the West|Great Sea

The immense ocean to the west of Middle-earth.

Belegaer, the mighty ocean that lay off the western coasts of Middle-earth. Far across the sea to the west lay Aman, the Undying Lands, and in the midst of this ocean was set Númenor during the Second Age.

* Great Siege

One of two long sieges in the history of Middle-earth.

A term of uncertain meaning, referring to either the Siege of Angband or the Siege of Barad-dûr.

* Great Smials

The seat of the Took family.

The ancestral home of the Took family, located at Tuckborough in the Westfarthing of the Shire.

* Great Worm

Glaurung, Father of Dragons.

A title of Glaurung, the first and one of the greatest of the Worms (‘worm’ is a name for those creatures more commonly called dragons).

* Greater Gelion

One of the two tributary branches of the river Gelion in the north, rising in Mount Rerir.

–—

The greater of Gelion’s two source-rivers.

One of the two rivers that flowed together to form the source of long Gelion, that flowed along the eastern borders of Beleriand. The Greater Gelion rose beneath Mount Rerir in the northern Blue Mountains, and flowed southwestwards to meet the Little Gelion. It formed the eastern boundary of the lands controlled by Maglor during most of the First Age.

* Green-elves|Green-elf

Translation of Laiquendi; the Nandorin Elves of Ossiriand.

–—

The Laiquendi of Ossiriand.

Lenwë was an Elf of the Telerin clan, who set out with the Great Journey of the Elves into the West. When his people found their path blocked by the Misty Mountains, he resolved to leave the Journey and instead led his followers south down the Vales of Anduin, and they became known as the Nandor. After many years, Lenwë’s son Denethor set out westward once again, and led some part of the Nandor across the Misty Mountains and the Blue, settling at last in the Land of Seven Rivers beneath the Ered Luin; the land called Ossiriand.

Denethor and his followers did not have peace for long. Soon after his return to Middle-earth, before the Noldor had followed him, Morgoth loosed armies of Orcs on King Thingol and his allies, Círdan in the west and Denethor in the east. Denethor’s Nandor were ill-equipped for warfare, and suffered great hardship in that battle. Denethor himself was slain on Amon Ereb, though the Elves beat back the Orcs at last. After that time many of Denethor’s people left Ossiriand for the guarded forests of Doriath. Those few that remained took up a secretive existence, camouflaging themselves in green. From that time, they were known as the Green-elves, or Laiquendi in the Elvish tongue.

The hidden people of the Green-elves played little part in history after the First Battle of the Wars of Beleriand. Most significantly, they lent their aid to Beren and Dior (who dwelt on Tol Galen in the far south of their land). After the loss of their ancient ally Thingol at the hands of the Dwarves, they went with Beren to avenge him. Much later, after the deaths of Beren and Lúthien, one of their lords took up the Silmaril that Lúthien had borne, and brought it to Menegroth where Dior now dwelt.

After the end of the First Age, their fate is not clearly known. Much of their land survived the destruction of Beleriand, and as Lindon came under the rule of Gil-galad. Some at least seem to have removed to Eriador, as a note in the Unfinished Tales mentions Green-elves living on the shores of Lake Nenuial during the Second Age. After this, nothing is known of their fate.

* Greenhand Family|Greenhand

The gardeners of Hobbiton.

A short-lived family descended from Holman the greenhanded, a Hobbiton gardener. The last of the Greenhands was apparently Holman’s grandson and namesake, Holman Greenhand, but the family’s gardening tradition was carried on by his apprentice, Hamfast Gamgee.

* Green Hill Country

The country between the Tookland and Woody End.

A patch of country in the Shire, marked out by the Green Hills that ran west to east through three of the Shire’s four farthings.

The western feet of the Green Hills were in the Westfarthing, in the lands of the Tooks. From Tuckborough, a road ran eastwards through the Green Hill Country, and it was this that Frodo, Sam and Pippin briefly used in their journey from Bag End.

From their beginnings in the Westfarthing, the Hills cut through the northern corner of the Southfarthing, where the village of Pincup lay on their southern slopes. Finally, they passed through the border into the Eastfarthing, where they became densely wooded, and reached their eastern end at the appropriately named Woody End.

* Green Hills

The range of hills that ran through the Shire.

The range of hills that ran west-to-east through the Shire, through three of the Shire’s four farthings, that gave its name to the region known as the Green Hill Country. To the west, in the Tookland, the hills were fairly open and treeless. In contrast, their eastern slopes towards Woody End were densely wooded with trees of all kinds.

At least three rivers and streams had their sources among the Green Hills; the River Shirebourn, Thistle Brook and the Stock-brook. One of the chief towns of the Shire-hobbits, Tuckborough, lay among the western hills, and other villages were to be found among their slopes, or about their feet, including Tookbank, Woodhall and Pincup.

* Green Mound

The mound of the Two Trees.

A mound that stood before the western gates of Valmar, the city of the Valar. Also known as Corollairë and Ezellohar, it was the place where the Two Trees of Valinor grew.

* Greenleaf

The translated name of Legolas.

A surname given to Legolas of Mirkwood, and the literal meaning of his name.

* Greenway

Name in Bree in the later Third Age for the little-used North-South Road, especially the stretch near Bree.

–—

The remnant of the old North-South Road.

Especially in the northern parts of Middle-earth, the name given to the overgrown remains of the ancient North-South Road that ran from Gondor in the south to the Arnor in the north.

* Greenwood the Great|Greenwood

Translation of Eryn Galen; the great forest east of the Misty Mountains, afterwards named Mirkwood.

–—

The former name of Mirkwood.

The ancient name for the mighty forest known as Mirkwood throughout most of the Third Age.

* Grey Company

A company of the Dúnedain of the North.

A company of Northern Dúnedain commanded by Aragorn’s kinsman Halbarad.

In the company of Elladan and Elrohir, they rode south to fight beside their Chieftain Aragorn in the War of the Ring. They found Aragorn near the Fords of Isen, accompanied him through the Paths of the Dead, and on to the Battle of the Pelennor, where Halbarad fell.

* Grey Havens|The Havens

The havens at the mouth of the Lhûn.

Mithlond, the harbours of Círdan at the eastern end of the Gulf of Lhûn, from which the Elves of the north of Middle-earth passed into the West during the later Ages.

* Grey Mountains

A mountain-range of northern Middle-earth.

A northern range of Middle-earth, running west to east and forming the likely northern border of the region of Rhovanion. They were long mined by the Dwarves, who were driven from them in the late Third Age by Cold-drakes from the north, and were later colonised by Orcs.

* Grey Pilgrim

A common translation of the Mithrandir, the name among the Elves of Middle-earth for Gandalf.

* Grey Wanderer

A title given to the Wizard Gandalf the Grey, and the literal meaning of his name among the Elves, Mithrandir.

* Grey-elven

The Elven-tongue better known as Sindarin.

The language of the Telerin Elves who remained in Beleriand under the kingship of Thingol; more commonly called Sindarin.

* Grey-elves|Grey-elf

The Sindar; those of the Teleri who remained in Beleriand when their kin travelled across the Great Sea.

* Greycloak|Greymantle

A title of Elu Thingol of Doriath, and the literal meaning of the name Thingol.

* Greyflood

The southern border-river of Eriador.

The name given to the lower reaches of the River Hoarwell, known to the Elves as the Gwathló. The Greyflood flowed southwest from the confluence of the Hoarwell (Mitheithel) with the Glanduin, until it reached the Great Sea at Lond Daer. It formed the border between the regions of Enedwaith in the south and Minhiriath in the north, and took its name from the tree-shadows of the great forest that filled those regions during the Second Age.

* Greyhame

‘Greymantle’, Gandalf’s name in Rohan.

* Greylin|Greyflood Greylin

Name given by the Éothéod to a river flowing from Ered Mithrin to join Anduin near its source.

–—

One of the Anduin’s two source-rivers.

A river of the far north of Middle-earth. The Greylin rose in the western Grey Mountains and flowed southwestward to meet the Langwell and form the source of the Great River, Anduin.

* Gríma Wormtongue|Gríma|Grima

Cousellor of King Théoden and agent of Saruman. Called (the) Wormtongue.

–—

Saruman’s spy at the court of Théoden.

The counsellor of Théoden King of Rohan, who acted as a spy of Saruman to keep the country of Rohan weak. After the destruction of Isengard by the Ents, he accompanied Saruman northward to the Shire.

* Grimbeorn the Old|Grimbeorn

Lord of the Beornings.

The son of Beorn, who became a great lord in his own right. Like his father, he could take on the shape of a bear, and he dwelt in the same regions of the Vales of Anduin.

* Grimbold of Westfold|Grimbold

Rider of Rohan, from Westfold; with Elfhelm leader of the Rohirrim at the Second Battle of the Fords of Isen; died on the Pelennor Fields.

–—

A valiant captain of the Rohirrim.

A Rider of the Rohirrim who fought at both of the Battles of the Fords of Isen. He rode to Minas Tirith, and was slain in the Battle of the Pelennor.

* Grishnákh|Grishnakh

One of the captors of Merry and Pippin.

An Orc of Mordor, and probably one of the Uruk-hai. He was part of the raiding party that captured Merry and Pippin at Parth Galen, and was slain by the Riders of Éomer near the eaves of Fangorn Forest.

* Grithnir

Man of Húrin’s household who with Gethron accompanied Túrin to Doriath, where he died.

* Gróin|Groin

A descendant of the royal line of Durin’s Folk.

An important figure in the royal genealogies of the Dwarves, Gróin was the grandson of Borin, the younger son of King Náin II, and so could claim direct descent from Durin the Deathless himself. In his turn, Gróin was father to Óin and Glóin, and uncle to Balin and Dwalin, all four of whom travelled on the Quest of Erebor.

Through his son Glóin, he was also grandfather to Gimli Elf-friend of the Company of the Ring. For all his genealogical importance, though, we know almost nothing of his life. His dates of birth and death, though, show us that he was alive at the time of Smaug’s Sack of Erebor, and the Battle of Nanduhirion twenty-nine years later. It is more than likely that he was present at both these events.

* Grond (battering ram)|Grond

The battering-ram used against the Gate of Minas Tirith.

–—

The battering-ram that breached Minas Tirith’s Great Gate.

The battering ram used to destroy Minas Tirith’s Great Gate during the Battle of the Pelennor. It took its name from the ancient weapon of Morgoth: Grond, the Hammer of the Underworld.

* Grond (mace)|Grond

The great mace of Morgoth, with which he fought Fingolfin; called the Hammer of the Underworld.

–—

Called the Hammer of the Underworld, Morgoth’s mighty mace that he bore when he slew Fingolfin before the doors of Angband.

* Grór|Gror

Founder of the Dwarf-realm in the Iron Hills.

Grór was born into the House of Durin during its last troubled years in the Grey Mountains. He was the youngest of the three sons of King Dáin I, who ruled Durin’s Folk during their wars with the dragons of the north.

When Grór was just twenty-six years old, a cold-drake attacked Dáin’s halls, and slew the King along with his second son, Frór.

The two remaining brothers resolved to flee the Grey Mountains with their people and settle elsewhere. As the elder brother, Thrór inherited the Kingship, and led his people back to Erebor in the east. Young Grór travelled still farther east, to the Iron Hills, where he founded a realm of his own.

Grór saw many mishaps and tragedies during his reign. The kingdom of his brother Thrór was destroyed by the dragon Smaug, and Grór’s son and heir, Náin, was killed at the Battle of Nanduhirion before he could inherit.

Grór’s rule passed instead to his grandson Dáin Ironfoot. Many years later, at the Battle of Five Armies, Thrór’s last descendant, Thorin Oakenshield, was lost. Dáin inherited the high Kingship of Durin’s Folk, a title that remained with the descendants of Grór.

Grór ruled the Dwarves of the Iron Hills for two hundred and fifteen years, and was succeeded by his grandson Dáin.

* Guard of the Tower of Gondor

The élite guard of Minas Tirith.

The Guard of Minas Tirith consisted of at least three companies of the fighting Men of Gondor. The soldiers of the Guard, whose uniforms were black emblazoned with silver, were among the most respected of the Men of Gondor.

* Guarded Plain

The plain of Talath Dirnen.

The Talath Dirnen in West Beleriand, watched by the followers of Finrod Felagund against the intrusion of the creatures of Morgoth.

* Guarded Realm

See Doriath, Valinor.

* Guild of Weaponsmiths

The weaponsmiths of Númenor.

A guild of Númenor, originally formed simply to preserve the art, whose importance grew as Númenor extended its influence into Middle-earth.

* Guilin

Father of Gelmir and Gwindor, Elves of Nargothrond.

* Gulf of Lhûn|Gulf of Lhun

An immense northern inlet of the Great Sea.

The gulf of the Great Sea where the River Lhûn had its outflow, separating the lands of Forlindon to the north and Harlindon to the south. The Grey Havens lay at the eastern end of this gulf.

* Gulls|Gull|Seagulls|Seagull|Sea-gulls|Sea-gull A general name for various types of related sea-birds, found around the shores of Middle-earth and Númenor in the same abundance as today. The sound of a gull mewing was said to awaken the Sea-longing in the heart of an Elf.

* Gundabad

A mountain in the north of Middle-earth, lying at the meeting point of the Misty and the Grey Mountains. It was here that the Orcs of the northern world had their capital.

* Gundor

Younger son of Hador Lórindol, lord of Dor-lómin; slain with his father at Eithel Sirion in the Dagor Bragollach.

–—

The second son of Hador Lórindol, slain with his father during the Dagor Bragollach.

* Gurthang

‘Iron of Death’, name of Beleg’s sword Anglachel after it was reforged for Túrin in Nargothrond, and from which he was named Mormegil. Called the ‘Black Thorn of Brethil’.

–—

The Black Sword of Túrin Turambar.

‘Iron of Death’, the name given by Túrin Turambar to Beleg’s black sword Anglachel after its reforging in Nargothrond.

* Guthláf|Guthlaf

The banner-bearer of King Théoden of Rohan. He rode to the relief of Minas Tirith with his Lord in the War of the Ring, and there fought in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields, where he was slain.

* Gúthwinë|Guthwine

The sword of Éomer, borne by him at Aragorn’s side in the Battle of the Hornburg, and presumably also at the later Battle of the Pelennor Fields.

Its name means ‘battle-friend’.

* Gwaeron

Sindarin name of the third month ‘in the reckoning of the Edain’.

* Gwaihir

The Great Eagle known as the Windlord.

‘Wind-lord’; the lord of the Eagles of Middle-earth at the time of the War of the Ring. He rescued Gandalf from the pinnacle of Orthanc, and from the peak of Zirakzigil, and he and his kind brought Frodo and Sam out of Mordor after the destruction of the One Ring.

* Gwaith-i-Mírdain|Gwaith-i-Mirdain

‘People of the Jewel-smiths’, name of the fellowship of craftsmen in Eregion, greatest of whom was Celebrimbor son of Curufin. Also simply Mírdain.

–—

The People of the Jewel-smiths.

A brotherhood formed by Celebrimbor and the other master-craftsmen of Eregion. They were said to be the most skilled artisans to have worked since the time of Fëanor himself (who was indeed Celebrimbor’s grandfather). Their skill was subverted by Sauron, in the guise of Annatar the Lord of Gifts, who turned their abilities to the making of the Rings of Power.

* Gwathir

‘River of Shadows’, earlier name of the Gwathló.

* Gwathló|Gwathlo

River formed by the junction of Mitheithel and Glanduin, the boundary between Minhiriath and Enedwaith.

–—

The Elves’ name for the Greyflood.

The river of western Middle-earth, also called the Greyflood, that divided the regions of Enedwaith and Minhiriath. It flowed southwestwards to meet the Great Sea at Lond Daer.

* Gwindor

Elf of Nargothrond, brother of Gelmir; enslaved in Angband, but escaped and aided Beleg in the rescue of Túrin; brought Túrin to Nargothrond; loved Finduilas Orodreth’s daughter; slain in the Battle or Tumhalad.

–—

A noble Elf of Nargothrond.

A Prince of Nargothrond, son of Guilin, whose rage at the mistreatment of his brother Gelmir started the first assault of the Noldor and Edain at the Nirnaeth Arnoediad. He was captured in that battle, but later escaped and led Túrin Turambar to Nargothrond.

* Hadhodrond

The Elvish rendering of ‘Khazad-dûm’.

‘Dwarf-cavern’, the Elves’ name for Khazad-dûm. The element ‘hadhod’ is curious and perhaps unique - an attempt by the Elves to render Khazâd, the Dwarves’ name for their own kind, into Elvish sounds.

* Hador Lórindol|Hador|Lórindol|Lorindol

Called Lórindol ‘Goldenhead’, also Hador the Golden-haired; lord of Dorlómin, vassal of Fingolfin; father of Galdor father of Húrin; slain at Eithel Sirion in the Dagor Bragollach. The House of Hador was called the Third House of the Edain.

–—

Bearer of the Dragon-helm.

Son of Hathol and descendant of Malach Aradan; he was granted the land of Dor-lómin by High King Fingolfin, and ruled it as its Lord until the Dagor Bragollach, when he was slain at Eithel Sirion.

* Hador (Steward of Gondor)|Hador

The seventh Ruling Steward of Gondor, who inherited the Stewardship from his father Túrin I, and in due course was succeeded by his son Barahir.

It was the fashion at this period of history for Gondor’s Stewards to take their names from historical figures of the First Age, a fashion that would survive for four generations after Hador to his great-great-grandson Steward Boromir. Hador himself was named for the great hero Hador Lórindol, ancient Lord of Dor-lómin.

Little of note occurred during Hador’s rule. On the three hundredth anniversary of the Stewards’ Reckoning, the calendar introduced by his ancestor Mardil, he added an extra day to the year to ‘fine-tune’ the calendar’s accuracy. Hador ruled during the time of the Watchful Peace, and so had no need to concern himself with matters of war, though his descendants would not be so fortunate.

Hador ruled Gondor for one hundred and seventeen years, and was succeeded by his son Barahir.

* Haladin

The second people of Men to enter Beleriand; afterwards called the People of Haleth, dwelling in the Forest of Brethil, also the Men of Brethil.

–—

The people who became known as the Folk of Haleth.

The second of the three peoples of the Edain to cross the Blue Mountains and enter Beleriand; they dwelt for a while in the southern part of Thargelion, but were led by Haleth in the west, and founded homes in the Forest of Brethil.

* Halbarad

Kinsman of Aragorn.

A Ranger of the Northlands. He rode to the aid of his kinsman Aragorn during the War of the Ring, and met his death in the Battle of the Pelennor.

* Haldad

Leader of the Haladin in their defence against the attack on them by Orcs in Thargelion, and slain there; father of the Lady Haleth.

–—

A leader among the Haladin in Thargelion.

During the early years after they crossed the Blue Mountains, the Haladin dwelt happily in Caranthir’s lands in Thargelion. They lived a scattered, pastoral existence until one day a swarm of Orcs descended on them, without warning, out of the Blue Mountains to the east.

Until that time, the Haladin had no single leader, but with the assault of the Orcs Haldad took on the role. He gathered what remnant he could of his people, and built a defensive stockade between the rivers Gelion and Ascar, south of Sarn Athrad. There the Orcs besieged them until their food was exhausted. Haldad led a sortie against the attacking Orcs, and was slain; his son Haldar rushed to recover his father’s body, and was slain in turn.

Haldad’s death was not in vain; Haldad’s daughter Haleth led the Haladin through another week of starvation and seige until Caranthir’s army appeared out of the north, and drove the attacking Orcs to their deaths.

* Haldan

Son of Haldar; leader of the Haladin after the death of the Lady Haleth.

–—

First lord of the People of Haleth.

The son of Haldar son of Haldad, and nephew to Haleth herself, who followed his aunt to Brethil, where she settled her People. Haleth left no heir of her own, and so as grandson of Haldad her father, Haldan took up the lordship of the Men of Brethil.

* Haldar

Son of Haldad of the Haladin, and brother of the Lady Haleth; slain with his father in the orc-raid on Thargelion.

–—

Ancestor of the leaders of the People of Haleth.

The son of Haldad, who would have followed his father as Lord of the Haladin had not both been lost in an orc-raid. Haldar’s sister Haleth took up the rule of her people, but she died childless, and Haldar’s descendants became the lords of the people now known as the People of Haleth.

* Haldir (Elf of Lórien)|Haldir

The guide of the Fellowship.

A marchwarden of the Galadhrim of Lórien, who guarded its northern borders with his brothers Rúmil and Orophin. When the Fellowship arrived there after fleeing Moria, he became their guide and led them to Caras Galadhon.

* Haldir (Lord of the Haladin of Brethil)|Haldir Son of Halmir of Brethil; wedded Glóredhel, daughter of Hador of Dorlómin; slain in the Nirnaeth Arnoediad.

–—

Lord of the Haladin of Brethil; he fostered his nephews Húrin and Huor during their childhood years; slain in the Nirnaeth Arnoediad.

* Haleth

Called the Lady Haleth; leader of the Haladin (who were named from her the People of Haleth) from Thargelion to the lands west of Sirion.

–—

The founder of the Folk of Haleth.

The daughter of Haldad of the Haladin; after the loss of her father and her twin brother Haldar, she became the leader of her people, and she led many of them to dwell in the Forest of Brethil. In her time, the Haladin became known as the People of Haleth.

* Halethrim

The People of Haleth.

–—

The Men of Brethil.

The rarely seen Elvish rendering of ‘Folk of Haleth’, a name referring to those Men of the Haladin who followed the Lady Haleth westward across Beleriand. Their main dwelling-place was on Amon Obel in the midst of the Forest of Brethil.

* Half-elven (race)|Half-elven|Half-elf

Translation of Sindarin Peredhel, plural Peredhil, applied to Elrond and Elros; and to Eärendil.

–—

The descendants of Elves and Men.

Name given to those who shared descent from Elves and Men, as for example when the Mortal Tuor wedded Idril, daughter of Turgon. Their children and descendants were given the choice to be counted among Elvenkind or Men. In almost all cases, they chose the Elder Kindred, with most famous exception being Tuor’s grandson Elros, the first King of Númenor.

* Half-elven (title of Elrond and Elros)|Half-elven|Half-elf The children of Eärendil.

A title of Elrond and Elros, the English translation of the Elvish peredhil. Their father Eärendil and mother Elwing had Men and Elves in their ancestry.

* Half-orcs

Foul creatures bred by Saruman.

Creatures bred from Orcs and Men by the Wizard Saruman in his stronghold at Isengard. Like Sauron’s Uruk-hai, they could withstand sunlight. The more Man-like of them, of perhaps a slightly different breed, were known as Goblin-men.

* Halfast ‘Hal’ Gamgee|Halfast Gamgee|Hal

A cousin of Samwise Gamgee, the son of Sam’s uncle Halfred of Overhill.

While hunting in the Northfarthing one day, Halfast reportedly encountered a huge and peculiar being that he called a ‘Tree-man’.

* Halflings|Halfling

Translation of Sindarin Periannath (Hobbits).

–—

A name for Hobbits used by Men; it was originally given to them by the tall Dúnedain, who were literally twice the height of a typical Hobbit.

* Halflings’ Leaf

Another name for pipe-weed.

Tobacco; smoking was invented by the Hobbits, and great quantities of Leaf, as it was called, were grown in the Shire, especially the warmer regions of the Southfarthing.

* Halfred Gamgee

An elder brother of Samwise Gamgee, who removed to the Northfarthing of the Shire.

* Halifirien

‘Holy Mount’, name in Rohan of Amon Anwar. See Eilenaer.

–—

The mountain of the Firien Wood.

A mountain or tall hill that stood on the borders of Gondor and Rohan at the time of the War of the Ring. It was the ancient site of the Tomb of Elendil.

* Halimath

The ninth month of the Shire Calendar, following Wedmath and approximately equivalent to modern September. In fact, it ran from modern 23 August to 21 September in a normal year.

* Hall of Fire

The tale-hall of Rivendell.

A hall in Elrond’s house at Rivendell. A fire was always kept lit there, and while it stood empty during the day, at night it was given over to the telling of tales and singing of songs.

* Hallacar

Son of Hallatan of Hyarastorni; wedded Tar-Ancalimë, first Ruling Queen of Númenor, with whom he was at strife. See Mámandil.

–—

The husband of Queen Tar-Ancalimë.

The son of Hallatan of Hyarastorni, a nobleman of Númenor descended through five generations from King Vardamir Nólimon. He wooed and won the hand of the proudly wilful Queen Tar-Ancalimë. Though the circumstances of their marriage are unclear (there are several contradictory accounts) it seems clear that Ancalimë married for political reasons. In particular, she seems to have been motivated to produce an heir to prevent her cousin Soronto from claiming the throne.

Tar-Ancalimë and Hallacar did indeed produce an heir, who would one day rule as Tar-Anárion, the eighth King of Númenor. After the birth of their son, Hallacar became estranged from the Queen, and they lived apart from one another.

* Hallas

Son of Cirion; thirteenth Ruling Steward of Gondor; deviser of the names Rohan and Rohirrim.

* Hallatan

Lord of Hyarastorni in the Mittalmar (Inlands) of Númenor; cousin of Tar-Aldarion.

–—

A nobleman of ancient Númenor.

A Númenórean, the lord of the inland region known as Hyarastorni. A descendant of King Vardamir Nólimon, his son Hallacar wed the first Ruling Queen of Númenor, Tar-Ancalimë.

* Halls of Awaiting|Halls of Waiting

The Halls of the Vala Mandos in Valinor, were the Elves were sent after they were slain.

* Halls of Mandos|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.

* Halmir

Lord of the Haladin, son of Haldan, father of Haldir; with Beleg of Doriath defeated the Orcs that came south from the Pass of Sirion after the Dagor Bragollach.

–—

Heroic lord of the Haladin.

The lord of the People of Haleth at the time of the Dagor Bragollach.

After that battle, and the capture of Minas Tirith, Orcs began to roam unhindered across the lands of Beleriand. Halmir called on the aid of Thingol, who sent many stout Sindarin warriors under the command of Beleg to his aid. Together, Halmir and Beleg destroyed a legion of invading Orcs, and gave the southern lands a respite from the defeats in the north. Halmir was succeeded as lord of the Haladin by his son, Haldir.

* Háma|Hama

Captain of the household of King Théoden.

–—

The doorward of Théoden and captain of the King’s guard of Rohan. He fell in the Battle of the Hornburg during the War of the Ring.

* Hamfast Gamgee|Hamfast

Sam Gamgee’s father. Called Gaffer Gamgee and the Gaffer.

–—

Son of Hobson ‘Roper’ Gamgee, Hamfast removed to Hobbiton to take up gardening, and was for many years the Baggins’ gardener at Bag End. He married Bell Goodchild, and had six children, among them Samwise Gamgee of the Company of the Ring.

* Hamfast Gardner

A son of Samwise Gamgee and Rose Cotton; named for his grandfather, Hamfast Gamgee.

* Hammer of the Underworld

Grond, the great weapon of Morgoth that he used in single combat with Fingolfin.

* Hamson Gamgee

Eldest brother of Samwise Gamgee, who removed to Tighfield to work with his uncle Andwise as a roper.

* Handir

Son of Haldir and Glóredhel, father of Brandir the Lame; lord of the Haladin after Haldir’s death; slain in Brethil in battle with Orcs.

–—

Lord of the Haladin of Brethil, son of Haldir. He was slain by Orcs, and succeed by his son Brandir.

* Harad

‘The South’, used vaguely of countries far south of Gondor and Mordor.

–—

The southern lands of Middle-earth.

Name given to the wide, sun-baked lands to the south of Gondor and Mordor; the Men of Harad, called the Haradrim, were ancient enemies of the Gondorians and allies of Sauron during the War of the Ring.

* Harad Road

The long road that ran southward through Ithilien, crossing the Poros at its Fords, and then out across South Gondor and the far lands of Harad.

* Haradrim

Men of the southern lands.

The proud and warlike people of the Harad, in the south of Middle-earth.

The ancient enemies of Gondor, they allied with Sauron during the War of the Ring.

* Haradwaith

‘South-folk’, the Harad.

* Hareth

The daughter of Halmir of the Haladin; she wedded Galdor of the House of Hador, and was the mother of Húrin and Huor.

* Harfoots|Harfoot

One of the three peoples into which the Hobbits were divided.

–—

The smallest and most common of the three original hobbit-strains, who entered Eriador a century before the Fallohides or Stoors.

* Harlindon

Lindon south of the Gulf of Lhûn.

–—

The southern part of Lindon.

The lesser, southern part of the Elf-land of Lindon, on the western shores of Middle-earth. Harlindon was the part of that land that lay south of the Gulf of Lhûn, and the haven of Harlond lay on its northern coast.

* Harlond (haven)|Harlond

A haven on the Gulf of Lhûn.

An Elf-haven on the southern shores of the Gulf of Lhûn, whose name in fact means ‘south-haven’. It precise positioning is open to debate; in Appendix A to The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien writes of it as the southern part of the Grey Havens, but the map that accompanies the book shows it as a small inlet about 150 miles west of Mithlond.

* Harlond (port)|Harlond

The port of Minas Tirith.

The port and docks of the city of Minas Tirith, used by river traffic from the southern regions of Gondor. It lay to the south of the city, where its fortifications ran alongside the great outlying wall of the Rammas Echor.

* Harnen

Gondor’s boundary with Near Harad.

A river in the south of Middle-earth, with a name meaning ‘south-water’.

It rose in the southern mountains of Mordor, and flowed westward to the Great Sea, forming the ancient boundary between the lands of Gondor and Harad.

* Harrowdale

Valley at the head of the Snowbourn, under the walls of Dunharrow.

–—

The mountain valley of the Snowbourn River.

The name given to the deep north-south valley cut out of the White Mountains by the Snowbourn River. At its southern end, beneath the mountain known as the Starkhorn, stood Dunharrow, a great refuge of the Rohirrim. At its northern end, where the Snowbourn issued onto the plains of Rohan, stood that nation’s capital, Edoras.

* Hasufel

The horse of Rohan that bore Aragorn.

The grey-coated steed of Gárulf of Rohan. After the loss of his master in battle, Hasufel was lent by Éomer to Aragorn when they met in the northern fields of Rohan. The hardy creature saw many adventures, including the Battle of the Hornburg, before Aragorn was brought his own horse, Roheryn, by the Rangers of the North.

* Hathaldir

Called the Young; one of the twelve companions of Barahir on Dorthonion.

* Hathol

Father of Hador Lórindol.

–—

The father of Hador Lórindol.

The son of Magor and grandson of Malach Aradan, one of the first Men to cross the Blue Mountains from the eastern lands. Little is known of Hathol’s life, except that he was the father of the great hero Hador Lórindol, who served Fingolfin and was granted the land of Dor-lómin to dwell in.

* Hatholdir

Man of Númenor, friend of Tar-Meneldur; father of Orchaldor.

* Haudh in Gwanur

The grave-mound of Folcred and Fastred.

The mound raised on the banks of the Poros by the Men of Rohan to entomb their lords Folcred and Fastred, twin sons of Folcwine slain in battle with Harad.

* Haudh-en-Arwen

‘The Ladybarrow’, the burial-mound of Haleth in the Forest of Brethil.

* Haudh-en-Elleth|Mound of the Elf-maid

The Mound in which Finduilas of Nargothrond was buried near the Crossings of Teiglin. Translated ‘Mound of the Elf-maid’.

–—

The grave-mound of Finduilas.

The Mound of the Elf-maid; the grave of Finduilas of Nargothrond that stood near the Crossings of Teiglin on the western borders of the Forest of Brethil.

* Haudh-en-Ndengin

‘The Mound of Slain’ in the desert of Anfauglith, where were piled the bodies of the Elves and Men that died in the Nirnaeth Arnoediad.

* Haudh-en-Nirnaeth

‘The Mound of Tears’, another name of Haudh-en-Ndengin.

* Haven-finder

Aldarion’s flagship Hirilondë.

The mighty ship built by the shipwrights of Rómenna for Aldarion the King’s Heir of Númenor. ‘Haven-finder’ is the literal meaning of the ship’s Elvish name, Hirilondë.

* Haven of the Swans

The haven of the Teleri on the shores of Aman.

The haven of Alqualondë, built by the Teleri on the shores of Aman. It took its name from the ships of the Sea-elves, fashioned in the shape of great jewelled swans.

* Haven of Umbar

The seaport of the Corsairs.

A natural harbourage far to the south of the Bay of Belfalas. It was used by the Númenóreans during the Second Age, and it was here that Sauron surrendered himself to Ar-Pharazôn. Its history during the Third Age was turbulent; it eventually fell under the power of the Corsairs, enemies of Gondor, who continued to rule at the time of the War of the Ring.

* Havens of the Falas

The sea-cities of Círdan.

Brithombar and Eglarest, the harbour-cities of Círdan the Shipwright in the coastlands of the Falas in West Beleriand.

* Havens of Sirion

Last refuge of the Elves of Beleriand.

The havens at the Mouths of Sirion where the Exiles of Gondolin and the remnant of Doriath dwelt at the end of the First Age, under the lordship of Eärendil the Mariner.

* Hay Gate

The northern gate of the High Hay.

The North Gate of Buckland, that guarded the Eastmarch of the Shire from travellers on the East Road. It stood at the northern end of the Hedge known as the High Hay.

* Haysend

The village at the end of the High Hay.

The village at the southern tip of Buckland, at the place where the River Withywindle flowed out of the Old Forest into the Brandywine. It was named for the fact that it stood at the end of the High Hay, the Hedge raised to protect the Bucklanders from the strange things that lived in the Forest and beyond it. According to the poem Bombadil Goes Boating, its inhabitants had a more fierce and protective attitude than most Hobbits, which is hardly surprising given the perilous location of their village.

* Heart of Fire

The Noldor’s description of the Sun.

A description given to the vessel of Arien, the Sun, by the Noldor;

‘Heart of Fire’ is a broad translation of the name Vása.

* Heavy-handed

One of the many Elvish names for the race of Men.

* Heir of Isildur

Birthright of the leaders of the Northern Dúnedain.

The title of thirty-nine lords of the Dúnedain descended in right line from Isildur the son of Elendil, from his son Valandil to Aragorn II Elessar, who reunited the Kingdoms of the Dúnedain in Middle-earth.

* Helcar

The Inland Sea in the northeast of Middle-earth, where once stood the mountain of the lamp of Illuin; the mere of Cuiviénen where the first Elves awoke is described as a bay in this sea.

–—

The inland sea in the east of ancient Middle-earth, on the eastern shores of which lay Cuiviénen. Oromë led the Elves of the Great Journey around the northern end of this sea as they set out for Valinor.

* Helcaraxë|Helcaraxe|Grinding Ice

The strait between Araman and Middle-earth; also referred to as the Grinding Ice.

–—

The Grinding Ice.

The perilous icy wastes that formerly lay between Aman and Middle-earth in the north of the world. Fingolfin and his people made their way into Middle-earth across the treacherous wastes of the Helcaraxë at the beginning of the First Age.

* Helevorn

‘Black Glass’, a lake in the north of Thargelion, below Mount Rerir, where Caranthir dwelt.

–—

The cold lake beneath Mount Rerir.

The deep, mountain-shaded lake in the cold lands northeast of Beleriand.

Caranthir had his capital on its shores, but its waters were defiled during the Dagor Bragollach.

* Hells of Iron

Angband; the northern stronghold of Morgoth beneath Thangorodrim in the Iron Mountains.

* Helluin

The brightest of Varda’s stars.

The name in Middle-earth for the star today known as the Dog Star, Sirius. Its name appears to mean ‘ice-blue’.

* Helm Hammerhand|Helm|Hammerhand

The last King of Rohan’s first line.

The son of Gram, the ninth King of Rohan and last of the first line, renowned in the histories of Rohan. During his reign, the Rohirrim were at war with the Dunlendings - Helm and both his sons perished in that war. He was succeeded by his nephew Fréaláf, who founded the second line of Kings.

* Helm of Hador

The Dragon-helm of Dor-lómin.

A huge and mighty helm made originally by Telchar the smith for the Dwarf-lord Azaghâl. Passing through many noble hands, it was eventually gifted by Fingon to his vassal Hador Lórindol, who was the only one found who could bear the helm with ease. It was passed from Hador to his son Galdor, and became an heirloom the House of Hador.

* Helm’s Deep

A deep gorge near the north-western end of Ered Nimrais, at the entrance to which was built the Hornburg; named after King Helm, who took refuge from his enemies there in the Long Winter of Third Age 2758-9.

–—

A refuge of the Rohirrim.

The great coomb, and the caverns behind it, that lay in the northern valleys of the White Mountains. Helm, King of Rohan, took refuge here with his people in the time of the invasion of Rohan by the Dunlendings.

* Helm’s Dike

The defensive dike of the Deeping-coomb.

The great defensive earthwork that ran across the Deeping-coomb, as part of the defences of the Hornburg and Helm’s Deep.

* Helm’s Gate

The guarded entrance to Helm’s Deep.

A passage between two forbidding cliff-faces, the northern guarded by the castle of the Hornburg, that led to the fastness of Helm’s Deep in the White Mountains. The Gate was walled from north to south, and was the site of the ferocious siege known as the Battle of the Hornburg.

* Henderch

Man from the Westlands of Númenor, a mariner of Tar-Aldarion.

* Henneth Annûn|Henneth Annun

‘Window on the Sunset’, name of a cave behind a waterfall in Ithilien.

–—

The Window of the Sunset.

One of the last refuges of the Men of Gondor in Ithilien during the late Third Age. Its name means ‘Window on the West’, taken from the waterfall that flowed over it and hid it from the servants of Sauron.

* Her Ladyship

A mocking title of Shelob, given to her by the Orcs.

* Heren Istarion

‘Order of the Wizards’.

* Herion

The third of Gondor’s Ruling Stewards.

The third Steward to rule in Gondor, Herion was the grandson of Mardil Voronwë himself, and inherited the title from his father Eradan. He ruled for thirty-two years during the time known as the Watchful Peace, and was succeeded by his son Belegorn.

* Herucalmo

Husband of Tar-Vanimeldë, the third Ruling Queen of Númenor; after her death usurped the throne, taking the name of Tar-Andulcar.

–—

Consort to Queen Tar-Vanimeldë.

The consort to Tar-Vanimeldë, the third Ruling Queen of Númenor. The Queen had little interest in the duties of her office, and during her reign Herucalmo effectively acted as her regent. On Tar-Vanimeldë’s death, the Sceptre should have passed to her son Alcarin, but instead Herucalmo withheld it and claimed the Kingship for himself, taking the name Tar-Anducal. The island of Númenor fell under his doubtful rule for twenty years, until Herucalmo himself died, and Alcarin took his rightful place.

* Herugrim

The sword of Théoden, hidden from him for many years by Gríma. After being cured by Gandalf, Théoden recovered the sword, and rode with it to battle at the Hornburg and the Pelennor Fields.

* Herumor

A renegade Númenórean who became mighty among the Haradrim at the end of the Second Age.

–—

A Númenórean follower of Sauron.

One of the many Númenóreans who fell under the shadow of Sauron after Ar-Pharazôn brought the Dark Lord to Númenor. No small number of these people sailed eastward to Middle-earth, and Herumor was among them. With another named Fuinur, he settled among the Haradrim, and became a lord in the lands of the Harad. From this, and his worship of Sauron’s darkness, he must have taken taken his name: Herumor means ‘lord of the dark’.

* Herunúmen|Herunumen

‘Lord of the West’, Quenya name of Ar-Adunakhôr.

* Hewer of Caves

A title of Finrod of Nargothrond, more commonly seen in its Dwarvish translation, Felagund.

* Hidden City

A name for the city of Gondolin, hidden from the spies of Morgoth within the mountains of the Crissaegrim.

* Hidden King

Title given to King Elu Thingol, whose realm of Doriath lay hidden behind the Girdle of Melian.

* Hidden Kingdom

A name given to both Doriath (hidden within the Girdle of Melian), and Gondolin (concealed behind the Encircling Mountains).

* Hidden Rock

Gondolin, and Amon Gwareth on which it stood.

The great rock that lay in the hidden valley of Tumladen, on which Gondolin was built, and the literal meaning of that city’s name.

* High Elves|High Elf

The Elves of Aman, and all Elves who ever dwelt in Aman. Called the High Folk of the West. See Eldar.

–—

The Elves of Valinor.

The three kindreds of the Elves who journeyed to Valinor; the Vanyar, the Noldor and those of the Teleri who did not remain in Beleriand. Of these, the Vanyar and Teleri remained there, but many of the Noldor returned to Middle-earth at the beginning of the First Age, and some of these remained at the time of the War of the Ring.

* High Hay

The great fence that ran between Buckland and the Old Forest.

The great fence that ran north to south along the eastern border of Buckland, built by the Bucklanders to protect themselves from the dangers of the Old Forest.

* High King

King of all the Dúnedain.

A title used by the Dúnedain for their ultimate ruler. Normally, ‘High King’ would refer to a king who ruled over other lesser kings and lords, but this is not necessarily the case with the High King of the Dúnedain.

The term seems to date back to the early days of Númenor, where Tar-Meneldur the fifth King was addressed as ‘High King’, though he had no other rulers in his service.

The more common use of the title, though, came at the end of the Second Age, with the establishment of the Realms in Exile in Middle-earth. In their earliest years, the Two Kingdoms of Arnor and Gondor fell under the ultimate rule of one man, Elendil, who dwelt in Arnor as the High King.

The South-kingdom of Gondor was ruled jointly by his sons, but only under his suzerainty.

With Elendil’s loss in the Siege of Barad-dûr, his elder son Isildur inherited the High Kingship. Isildur ruled for only two years, though, before he too was lost in the Disaster of the Gladden Fields. After his death, historical events conspired to separate the Two Kingdoms, each of which took Kings of their own. The High Kingship should in principle have fallen on Isildur’s heir Valandil, but in practice Valandil became King of Arnor only, and had no power over the South-kingdom.

More than three thousand years were to pass before Aragorn reunited Elendil’s realms. In doing so, as the direct descendant of Isildur through many generations, he also resurrected the High Kingship.

* High King of Arda

A title given to Manwë Súlimo, greatest of the Valar, and accounted lord of the realm of Arda.

* High King of the Elves

Noblest of all the Elder Kindred.

The title of Ingwë of the Vanyar, who dwelt on Taniquentil beneath Manwë’s halls, and was considered the most noble of the Elves.

* High King of the Noldor

A title of six lords of the Deep Elves.

The title of six Elf-lords of the Noldor. They held titular rulership over all the Noldor of Middle-earth, though in practice circumstances prevented the effective use of this power until the time of the Last Alliance. The Sons of Fëanor, in particular, while they acknowledged the Kingship, paid its bearer little heed; they preferred to follow their own policies under the general leadership of Maedhros.

–—

1- Finwë (ruled c.9,000 years before the beginning of the First Age): The first lord of the Noldor awoke at Cuiviénen and led his people into the West to dwell in Valinor. He was slain by Morgoth at Formenos, and succeeded by his eldest son.

2- Fëanor (ruled briefly during the First Age): He led the host of the Noldor back to Middle-earth to avenge his father’s death and recover the Silmarils from Morgoth. He was slain in his assault on Angband. After his death, the Kingship by right belonged to his eldest son Maedhros, but he refused it and the succession passed instead to Fëanor’s half-brother.

3- Fingolfin (ruled 454 years to I 455): He dwelt to the northwest of Beleriand with his sons, and ruled the Noldor during the Siege of Angband. When Morgoth broke the leaguer in the Dagor Bragollach, he rode in anger to the gates of Angband and died in single combat with Morgoth.

He was succeeded by his eldest son.

4- Fingon (ruled 16 years to I 471): His short reign was one of endless war with the forces of Morgoth. With Maedhros, he prepared a final assault on Morgoth, the Nirnaeth Arnoediad, which ended in disaster for the Noldor and Fingon’s own death. He was succeeded by his brother.

5- Turgon (ruled 39 years to I 510): Turgon’s kingship was titular indeed, for even his own kin did not know the location of his Hidden City of Gondolin. Gondolin’s location was discovered by Morgoth through the treachery of Maeglin, and Turgon died in its Fall. After his death, the Kingship passed back to Fingon’s line, to his only son.

6- Ereinion Gil-galad (ruled 3,514 years to II 3441): The last High King, Gil-galad held the Kingship longer than any of his forebears since Finwë.

He formed the Last Alliance with Elendil, and died during the Siege of Barad-dûr at the end of the Second Age.

–—

Gil-galad was the last High King; after his time the title is never used.

In order of succession, the Kingship would presumably have fallen on Turgon’s descendants; Eärendil (who was in the West and could not exercise it) or his eldest son Elrond (who never made claim to the Kingship).

* High Ones of Arda

A title of the eight greatest of the Valar, the Aratar.

* High Pass|Pass of Imladris

The northern pass through the Misty Mountains.

The pass of the Misty Mountains that lay above Rivendell; it was here that Bilbo Baggins and the Dwarves were captured by goblins as they journeyed eastwards on the Quest of Erebor.

* High-captain of Angband

A title of Gothmog, Lord of Balrogs.

* High-elven

Most noble of the tongues of the Elves.

A name for Quenya, the tongue of the High Elves of Valinor.

* Hildeson

The surname of Fréaláf the tenth King of Rohan. The ninth King, Helm Hammerhand perished with both his sons during the Long Winter, and the First Line of the Lords of the Mark came to an end. As Helm’s nephew, Fréaláf became the first King of the Second Line. His surname marks his descent from Helm’s royal sister, Hild.

* Hildifons Took

One of Bilbo Baggins’ uncles.

–—

The lost son of the Old Took.

One of the many children of Gerontius, the Old Took; said to have gone off on a journey and never returned.

* Hildigrim Took

Ancestor of both Peregrin Took and Meriadoc Brandybuck.

The fourth child of Gerontius, the Old Took, who married Rosa Baggins and was thus very distantly related to both Bilbo and Frodo. Among his great-grandchildren were both Peregrin Took (the son of Hildigrim’s grandson Paladin) and Meriadoc Brandybuck (the son of his granddaughter Esmeralda). Hildigrim never became Thain himself, but the Thainship did eventually pass to his descendants, so that Paladin II and his line held that distinction.

* Hildor

‘The Followers’, ‘The Aftercomers’, Elvish name for Men, as the Younger Children of Ilúvatar.

* Hildórien|Hildorien

Birthplace of the race of Men.

‘Land of the Followers’; the land in the far east of Middle-earth in which the first Men awoke at the beginning of the First Age.

* Hill of Sight

A name for Amon Hen.

One of the tall hills at the southern end of Nen Hithoel, above the Falls of Rauros, on the lake’s western shore. In the early days of Gondor, it lay near that kingdom’s northern boundary. The Dúnedain of the South built a high seat on its summit, and a stone stairway leading up the hill to its peak. From that high place they could survey the South-kingdom and the lands that bordered it.

* Hill of Spies

The guard-hill of Nargothrond.

Amon Ethir, the artificial hill raised by Finrod Felagund eastward of his stronghold of Nargothrond, as a watch on the wide Guarded Plain of Talath Dirnen. Its most important part in history came after Nargothrond’s loss, since it was here that Túrin’s sister Nienor encountered the gaze of Glaurung, and lost all memory of her former life.

* Hill of the Eye

Amon Hen, the Hill of Sight.

A name for Amon Hen, the steep-sided hill that towered above the southern banks of Nen Hithoel, and on whose summit was the Seat of Seeing.

* Hill-men|Hill-man

Descendants of the Men of the White Mountains.

A race of Men historically descended from the mountain tribes of the White Mountains, who spread northward across Middle-earth during the Second Age. The Dead who marched with Aragorn were of this stock, as were the Dunlendings and the Men of Bree.

* Hill-trolls|Hill-troll|Hill Trolls|Hill Troll Trolls of highland and mountain.

A variety of Troll adapted for life among hills and moorland. Aragorn’s grandfather Arador was slain by them in the hills north of Rivendell, and a company of these creatures were among the armies that Sauron loosed from the Morannon in the last battle of the War of the Ring.

In appearance they were man-like, but larger, and seem to have been covered with hard scales. They were fearsome and vicious, bellowing like beasts as they stormed into battle, and beating their enemies down with great hammers.

* Hills of Evendim

The twilight hills above Annúminas.

The hills above Lake Nenuial in the north of Middle-earth, called by the Elves Emyn Uial. They overlooked the ancient Arnorian capital of Annúminas.

* Himlad

‘Cool Plain’, the region where Celegorm and Curufin dwelt south of the Pass of Aglon.

–—

The land between the Aros and the Celon.

A cold land lying between the Rivers Aros and Celon in the northwest of Beleriand; held by Celegorm and Curufin until the Dagor Bragollach.

* Himling

An island off the northern coasts of Middle-earth.

A small island that lay off the northwestern coasts of Middle-earth, about twenty-five miles out from the shores of northern Lindon. During the First Age, this had not been an island but a hill - Himring, where Maedhros’ fortress had stood. When the western lands were flooded at the end of the First Age, the plains about the hill were drowned, and it was left standing as an island.

* Himring

The great hill west of Maglor’s Gap on which was the stronghold of Maedhros; translated as ‘Ever-cold’.

–—

The hill where Maedhros’ fortress stood.

A hill in the northeast of Beleriand, on which was the fortress of Maedhros, eldest of the Sons of Fëanor. After the drowning of Beleriand at the end of the First Age, the peak of Himring remained above the waves.

* Hirgon

The bearer of the Red Arrow.

An emissary of Gondor, who brought the Red Arrow to Théoden at Harrowdale, in token of Gondor’s desperate need for help from its old allies. Riding back eastward to his Lord, Denethor, Hirgon and his companion encountered Sauron’s forces on the Rammas Echor, and were cut down as they tried to escape.

* Hirilondë|Hirilonde

‘Haven-finder’, the great ship in which Aldarion sailed from Númenor to Middle-earth. Hirilondë was so huge that she became commonly known as

‘The Wooden Whale’. See Turuphanto.

* Hírilorn|Hirilorn

The great beech-tree in Doriath with three trunks, in which Lúthien was imprisoned. The name means ‘Tree of the Lady’.

* Hísilómë|Hisilome

‘Land of Mist’, Quenya name of Hithlum.

* Hísimë|Hisime

The eleventh month of the year, according to the Stewards’ Reckoning of Gondor, following Narquelië, and preceding the last month, Ringarë. On a modern calendar, Hísimë would run between 22 October and 20 November.

* Hithaeglir|Hithaeglin

‘Line of Misty Peaks’: the Misty Mountains, or Mountains of Mist. (The form Hithaeglin on the map to The Lord of the Rings is an error).

–—

The Sindarin name for the range more commonly known as the Misty Mountains.

* Hither Lands

Middle-earth (also called the Outer Lands).

–—

The lands east of the Great Sea.

A name for Middle-earth; the lands of mortals as opposed to Aman, the Undying Lands.

* Hither Shore

A poetic name for Middle-earth.

In general use, ‘Hither Shore’ was a term used especially by the Elves for the mortal lands of Middle-earth, a reminder of the far distant shores of Aman. In First Age Sindarin, it also had a more specific meaning, since it translates into that language as the name Nevrast, a cold seaward region in the northwest of Beleriand.

* Hithlum

‘Land of Mist’, the region bounded on the east and south by Ered Wethrin and on the west by Ered Lómin; see Hísilómë.

–—

The misty lands north of Beleriand.

The misty, grey land held by Fingolfin and his people to the north of Beleriand, fenced by the mountain range of the Ered Wethrin.

* Hithui

Sindarin name of the eleventh month. See Hísimë.

* Hoarwell

The northern river also called Mitheithel.

The name among Men for the river that rose in the northern Misty Mountains and flowed southwestwards through the lands of the ancient kingdom of Rhudaur. It formed the main tributary for the River Greyflood.

* Hob Gammidge

The Roper of Tighfield.

The son of Wiseman Gamwich, who must have travelled with his father when the family relocated from their original home, the village of Gamwich itself, to take up a life in Tighfield. Hob made his living in Tighfield as a roper, and so was the founder of long family tradition. He had a son, Hobson, through whom he became the grandfather of Hamfast Gamgee, and the great-grandfather of Sam Gamgee of the Fellowship of the Ring.

In his older years, Hob acquired the nickname ‘Old Gammidgy’, a play on his own name ‘Gammidge’ which was itself a corruption of the village name Gamwich. This playful name itself became transformed into the better known ‘Gamgee’, and was the origin of Hamfast’s and Samwise’s family name.

* Hobbit-holes|Hobbit-hole

The underground dwellings of the Little Folk.

Originally the Hobbits’ preferred style of dwelling, holes buried into hillsides, downs and banks. By the late Third Age, these had largely been replaced by buildings of wood or brick, but hobbit-holes were still in use by the more established Hobbit families of the Shire (for example, at Bag End and Great Smials).

* Hobbiton

Village in the Westfarthing of the Shire, home of Bilbo Baggins.

–—

The township beneath the Hill.

Large town in the central regions of the Shire, within the borders of the Westfarthing. The town was overlooked by Hobbiton Hill (usually called simply ‘The Hill’), in which was Bag End, the ancestral smial of the Baggins family.

* Hobbiton Hill

The hill above Bag End.

Usually called simply ‘The Hill’, it stood to the north of the town of Hobbiton. Bag End was tunnelled into this hill by Bungo Baggins.

* Hobbits|Hobbit

The Little People.

A mortal race almost certainly related to Men, though their origins are unknown. Their most distinguishing feature was their short stature; even the tallest Hobbits rarely exceeded four feet in height.

Originally a widespread people, Hobbits were found in much of the north of Middle-earth and down the Vales of Anduin. As the Third Age passed, the Hobbits moved north and west, eventually founding the land of the Shire in III 1601.

See also Halflings, Perian, Shire-folk.

* Hobbits of Bree

The Little Folk who lived around the Bree-hill.

The Hobbits who settled in Bree in the middle of the Third Age, and their descendants. Also known as Bree-hobbits.

* Hobbits of the Shire

The inhabitants of the Land of the Halflings.

The Hobbits who lived in the Shire, the land between the White Downs and the River Brandywine. They are more often referred to as the Shire-hobbits or, especially, the Shire-folk.

* Hobgoblins

Greater Goblins.

A name for the larger kinds of Orc found in Middle-earth in the Third Age. The term perhaps, but doubtfully, refers to the large soldier-orcs known as Uruks.

The term appears so rarely that there is little clear basis for a definition. Its only other occurrence is later in The Hobbit (7, Queer Lodgings) where Gandalf warns Bilbo that the Grey Mountains are ‘simply stiff with goblins, hobgoblins, and Orcs of the worst description’.

* Hobson

Sam Gamgee’s rope-making grandfather.

The son of Hob Gammidge, who was in turn the father of Hamfast ‘Gaffer’

Gamgee, and the grandfather of Samwise Gamgee, who found fame on the Quest of Mount Doom. Hobson, who was the first member of the family to adopt the name ‘Gamgee’, was the unnamed ‘grand-dad’ of Sam’s who held a rope-walk in Tighfield in the Shire.

* Holbytlan

The ancient origin of the word ‘Hobbit’.

An old word from the language of the Northmen (the ancestral speech of the Rohirrim), said to mean ‘hole-builders’. ‘Holbytlan’ is the ultimate source of the name ‘Hobbit’.

* Holdwine

The name of Merry Brandybuck in Rohan.

The name given to Meriadoc Brandybuck among the Rohirrim, and used by them to record his deeds in their annals. Its meaning is never given explicitly, but it seems to be something close to ‘lover of burrows’

(that is, a term with a similar meaning to ‘hobbit’).

* Hollin

The lost land of Eregion.

The name among Men for the land of Elves known as Eregion, that thrived in the lands west of Khazad-dûm during the early part of the Second Age.

The name comes from the great holly trees that grew there.

* Hollowbold

Translation of Nogrod: ‘hollow dwelling’ (early English bold, noun related to the verb build).

* Holly

A thorny evergreen species of ilex. In Middle-earth, it was especially abundant in the land of Eregion or Hollin, which took its name from this tree.

* Holman ‘Long Horn’ Cotton|Holman Cotton

The first Hobbit to use the surname ‘Cotton’.

An early member of the Cotton family, and in fact the first to use

‘Cotton’ as a surname. He came from Bywater near Hobbiton, and presumably farmed the same land, down South Lane, as his son Tolman years later.

Holman’s cousin was his namesake, Holman Greenhand the gardener, whose gardening tradition would eventually passed on to Hamfast Gamgee and his son, Sam.

* Holman Greenhand

Hobbit of the Shire, Bilbo Baggins’ gardener.

–—

One of a long line of Hobbiton gardeners.

The Greenhands were descended from Holman the greenhanded, and Holman’s namesake and grandson, Holman Greenhand, was at least the third of the line to tend the gardens of Hobbiton. Holman was the gardener at Bag End for Bilbo Baggins, and perhaps also for his father Bungo. In about the year III 2941, he took on his young relation Hamfast Gamgee as an apprentice. Hamfast eventually became the gardener at Bag End himself, and was followed by his son Samwise.

In a curious and unlikely way, Holman was instrumental in the winning of the War of the Ring. One morning in the spring of III 2941, Bag End was visited by the Wizard Gandalf. Bilbo was away from home for the Elves’

New Year, so Gandalf struck up a conversation with Holman. It was Holman’s description of his employer that encouraged Gandalf to include Bilbo in the journey to the Lonely Mountain, which in turn led to the finding of the One Ring, the means through which Sauron was ultimately defeated. If not for the part of Holman Greenhand, then, the western lands might well have fallen under the yoke of the Dark Lord.

* Holman the Greenhanded

A distant ancestor of Sam Gamgee.

Sam Gamgee’s ancestor, who seems to have founded the tradition of gardening in Hobbiton that was carried on by his great-grandson Hamfast Gamgee and Hamfast’s own son, Sam himself. Holman founded a family of gardeners who took their surname from his nickname: the Greenhands. It was through Holman’s grandson and namesake Holman Greenhand that Hamfast came to Hobbiton from Tighfield, and turned his hand to the family tradition of gardening.

* Holy Mountain (in Númenor)|Holy Mountain The Pillar of Heaven.

A name for the Meneltarma, the tall mountain that stood in the centre of the isle of Númenor that was called the Pillar of Heaven by the Númenóreans. From its summit, they gave thanks to Eru three times each year.

* Holy Mountain (in Varda)|Holy Mountain

The abode of Manwë and Varda.

A title for the mountain named Taniquetil or Oiolossë on the borders of the realm of Valinor. The halls of Manwë and Varda were on its summit, and it was known as the tallest of the World’s mountains.

* Holy Ones

The offspring of Eru’s thought.

A term for the Ainur, the primordial spirits, and the literal meaning of their name.

* Hope

The meaning of Aragorn’s name Estel.

–—

“I gave Hope to the Dúnedain, I have kept no hope for myself.”

(Translated words of Aragorn’s mother Gilraen; The Lord of the Rings Appendix A I (iv), A Part of the Tale of Aragorn and Arwen)

–—

The translation of Aragorn’s name Estel, given to him by his mother Gilraen. To keep the Heir of Isildur secret from the spies of Sauron, this was the name he used for the first twenty years of his life. Indeed, he did not know his own ancestry in these early years, until it was revealed to him by Elrond.

* Horn-call of Buckland

The alarm-call of the Shire’s Eastmarch.

The alarm signal of the Hobbits of Buckland, calling them to action against invaders and incursions from the Old Forest.

* Hornblower Family|Hornblower

Producers of the Shire’s most famous Pipe-weed.

An old and important family of the Shire’s Southfarthing. Its most famous member was Tobold Hornblower of Longbottom, who introduced pipe-weed into the Shire, and his family remained associated with industry.

Their Longbottom Leaf variety was famous, and indeed barrels of Leaf bearing the Hornblower mark were found as far afield the ruins of Isengard.

From Tobold’s time, and perhaps earlier, the Hornblowers were one of the Shire’s more important families. Frodo Baggins himself had Hornblower blood - his great-grandfather Largo married one Tanta Hornblower. The meaning of this old family name is unclear; perhaps one of Tobold’s ancestors actually did blow a horn of some kind, or perhaps the name is a punning reference to pipe-smoking.

* Hornburg

Fortress in Rohan at the entrance to Helm’s Deep.

–—

The castle that guarded Helm’s Deep.

The castle that stood in the Deeping-coomb in northern Rohan, and guarded the entrance to Helm’s Deep.

* Hornrock

The foundation of the Hornburg.

A spur of rock that stood out southward from the northern rock-wall of Helm’s Deep. It was on the crest of the Hornrock that the castle of the Hornburg was built, and from it the Deeping Wall ran across the Deep’s mouth to the southern wall.

* Horsebreeders

Uglúk’s name for the Rohirrim.

A name for the Rohirrim among Orcs, or at least those in the service of Saruman. Uglúk used the term in scorn as he travelled across Rohan, but it was nonetheless quite true.

* Horses|Horse

Beasts of burden and transport used by Elves and Men through the ages.

Famous among horses were Rochallor, the warhorse of Fingolfin, and Felaróf, the steed of Eorl the Young. The breeding and riding of horses were arts developed to their greatest height by the Rohirrim in the Third Age.

* Hounds|Hound

Dogs bred for hunting. The greatest of all hounds in the histories of Middle-earth was Huan the Hound of Valinor, who defeated Sauron in single combat.

* Hound of Valinor

Huan, the bane of Carcharoth.

A title of Huan, the wondrous hound that aided Beren and Lúthien in the Quest of the Silmaril.

* House of Bëor|House of Beor

First of the Three Houses of the Edain.

The oldest of the Three Houses of the Edain, the descendants of Bëor the Old, who entered the household of Finrod Felagund. Barahir and his son Beren Erchamion were members of this House.

* House of Durin

Most noble of all Dwarvish lines.

The line of the descendants of Durin the Deathless, hereditary Dwarven-kings of Durin’s Folk. Thrór, Thráin II and Thorin II Oakenshield were all descended from this House.

* House of Elendil

The line of the Kings of Gondor and Arnor.

Elendil the son of Amandil was one of the greatest heroes of Tolkien’s tales. With his two sons Isildur and Anárion, he escaped the Downfall of Númenor and founded two kingdoms in Middle-earth; Arnor in the north, and Gondor in the south. He ruled both of these as High King, and from his descendants came the line of Kings in both the North- and the South-kingdoms.

Elendil himself was lost in the Siege of Barad-dûr, and his elder son Isildur inherited the High Kingship. Two years later, Isildur himself, together with his three elder heirs, was lost in the Disaster of the Gladden Fields. His only remaining heir, Valandil, was only a boy, and so Arnor was effectively left without a King. Thus, the House of Elendil split into two lines. In the south, Isildur’s nephew Meneldil had been left to rule Gondor in his uncle’s name. Meneldil now took up the full Kingship of Gondor, and it was ruled by his descendants for more than two thousand years.

When Valandil came of age, he inherited the northern lands of his father, Arnor. Valandil and his descendants ruled the North-kingdom for many generations, until dissent arose among the sons of the tenth King, Eärendur. This conflict ultimately saw Arnor divided into three kingdoms; Arthedain, Cardolan and Rhudaur. Eärendur’s eldest son and true heir, Amlaith, took control of Arthedain, while his brothers took up rule in the other new lands. Arthedain endured for more than a thousand years, but eventually all three kingdoms of the Northern Dúnedain fell to the armies of Angmar.

The line of Elendil was not broken in that defeat. The heir of Arvedui, the last King of Arthedain, was Aranarth. He took the title Chieftain of the Dúnedain, and his descendants led a proud but scattered people through the last millennium of the Third Age. The last Chieftain was Aranarth’s heir through many generations: Aragorn, who united the Two Kingdoms after the War of the Ring and became the first King of the Reunited Kingdom.

* House of Elrond

The refuge of Rivendell.

A name for the hidden refuge of Elrond Peredhil, more commonly called Imladris or Rivendell.

* House of Eorl

The house of the Lords of Rohan.

The house of the descendants of Eorl the Young, including all eighteen of the recorded Kings of Rohan (excluding Eorl himself).

* House of Fëanor|House of Feanor

The house of Finwë’s eldest son.

–—

“On the House of Fëanor the wrath of the Valar lieth from the West unto the uttermost East, and upon all that will follow them it shall be laid also.”

(From the Doom of Mandos; The Silmarillion 9, Of the Flight of the Noldor From the Doom of Mandos)

–—

The cursed descendants and followers of Fëanor, the eldest son of Finwë, and his spouse Nerdanel. Fëanor was one of the greatest, and certainly the most skilled, of the Noldor, but his burning anger at the loss of his Silmarils led him to commit acts that would greatly diminish the influence of his house among his people. As the heir of Finwë, Fëanor and his descendants should have inherited the High Kingship of the Noldor, but because of Fëanor’s rash acts, the lordship of the Noldor passed to his brothers: Finarfin in Aman, and Fingolfin in Middle-earth. For this reason, the members of the House of Fëanor are referred to as the Dispossessed.

The history of the House was a woeful one, and most of its members met an early end. Fëanor and six of his seven sons perished before the end of the First Age. His second son Maglor survived beyond the War of Wrath, wandering the shores of Middle-earth, but his fate is unknown. The last of the House was Fëanor’s grandson Celebrimbor, the son of Curufin, who had a great part in the making of the Rings of Power, and was tortured to death by Sauron during the Second Age.

* House of Finarfin

The house of Finwë’s third son.

The descendants and followers of Finarfin, third son of Finwë. Finarfin himself remained in the West when the Noldor returned to Middle-earth, but his five children came to Beleriand. Both Finrod Felagund and Galadriel belonged to this house.

* House of Fingolfin

Royal house of the Noldor in Middle-earth.

The House of the descendants and followers of Fingolfin, second son of Finwë, who was accounted High King of the Noldor after the death of his elder brother Fëanor in the first year of the First Age.

During the early years of the First Age, the House of Fingolfin held the lands to the northwest of Beleriand; Hithlum, Nevrast and Gondolin. Of these, the city of Gondolin held until I 510, but Hithlum was overrun by Morgoth in the Nirnaeth Arnoediad, where Fingon was slain (Fingolfin had already met his end in the Dagor Bragollach). The remnant of the House, including Fingon’s son Ereinion Gil-galad, were succoured by Círdan the Shipwright in the Havens.

After the Nirnaeth, Tuor son of Huor was sent as a messenger to Turgon in Gondolin, and there wedded Turgon’s daughter Idril. Thus was the blood of Men introduced into the House, and the descendants of their line were named Half-elven, given the choice of whether they were to considered Men or Elves. All these descendants chose to be considered among the Firstborn, except Elrond’s brother Elros (who became the first King of Númenor and was a direct ancestor of Aragorn II Elessar), and Elrond’s daughter Arwen (Queen to Aragorn at the end of the Third Age).

After the Fall of Gondolin, the survivors of the House lived as exiles at the Mouths of Sirion or in the Falas, until Eärendil the Mariner, descendant of Fingolfin’s second son Turgon, sailed into the West to seek the aid of the Valar, who overthrew Morgoth in the War of Wrath in c.583.

The last High King of the Noldor, Ereinion Gil-galad, remained in Middle-earth. He dwelt in Lindon with his great-nephew Elrond and Círdan the Shipwright, and marched with the Last Alliance to Mordor at the end of the Second Age. There he fell in the Siege of Barad-dûr, and the House of Fingolfin came to an end in Middle-earth.

* House of Hador

Third of the Three Houses of the Edain.

The most renowned of the Three Houses of the Edain; the House of the descendants and followers of Hador Lórindol. Húrin Thalion, Túrin Turambar, Huor and Tuor were all descended from this House.

* House of Haleth

The descendants of Haldad.

Second of the Three Houses of the Edain; the descendants of Haldad; the House was named for Haldad’s daughter Haleth, who led the Haladin (as these people were known) from East Beleriand into the Forest of Brethil.

* House of Húrin|House of Hurin

The House of the Stewards of Gondor.

The descendants of Húrin of Emyn Arnen, the Steward to King Minardil of Gondor. After Húrin’s time it became traditional for the Steward to be chosen from among his descendants, and ultimately the post became hereditary. After the loss of Gondor’s last King, Eärnur, the Stewards of the House of Húrin took up the rule of the South-kingdom. Denethor, Boromir and Faramir were all descended from this House.

* House of Isildur

The descendants of Isildur, elder son of Elendil. The House came close to destruction at the beginning of the Third Age, when Isildur and his three eldest sons were lost at the Disaster of the Gladden Fields. His youngest son Valandil was kept safe in Rivendell, however, and from him came the line of the Kings of Arnor that led over three thousand years to Aragorn II Elessar.

* House of the Golden Flower

A noble house of Gondolin; Glorfindel was its head.

* House of the Mírdain|House of the Mirdain The guildhouse of the jewelsmiths of Eregion.

The guildhouse and chief dwelling of Celebrimbor and the jewelsmiths of Eregion, destroyed by the forces of Sauron when he invaded Eriador.

* House of the Stewards

Last resting-place of the Stewards of Gondor.

While the Kings of Gondor were laid to rest in individual tombs on Minas Tirith’s Silent Street, the Stewards were buried in a collective tomb, the House of the Stewards. It was here that the Pyre of Denethor took place on 15 March III 3019.

* Houses of Healing

The hospital of Minas Tirith.

The houses that lay in the sixth circle of Minas Tirith, surrounded by lawns and trees, where the healers of Gondor did their work.

* Houses of the Dead

The tombs of Rath Dínen.

The tombs of the Kings and Stewards of Gondor, that lay upon Rath Dínen, the Silent Street, in Minas Tirith.

* Hrívë|Hrive

The Quenya name for winter; 72 days between modern 1 December and 10

February. Called Rhîw in Sindarin.

* Huan

The great wolfhound of Valinor that Oromë gave to Celegorm; friend and helper of Beren and Lúthien; slew and slain by Carcharoth. The name means

‘great dog, hound’.

–—

The Hound of Valinor; faithful companion to Celegorm son of Fëanor until his mistreatment of Lúthien in Nargothrond, after which he helped Lúthien and Beren in the Quest of the Silmaril. He defeated Sauron at the gates of Tol-in-Gaurhoth, and slew Carcharoth in the Hunting of the Wolf.

* Hunthor

A Man of the Haladin in Brethil who accompanied Túrin in his attack on Glaurung at Cabed-en-Aras and was killed there by a falling stone.

–—

Companion of Túrin and Dorlas.

A Man of the House of Haleth, the kinsman of Brandir. He went with Túrin to the slaying of Glaurung, but was lost in the river as he climbed the Ravines of Teiglin.

* Hunting of the Wolf

The royal hunt for Carcharoth.

At the gates of Angband, the mighty wolf Carcharoth had bitten Beren’s hand from his wrist, and with it the Silmaril it held. The Silmaril was a hallowed jewel, and burned the innards of the evil monster. In searing pain, the wolf blindly chased through Beleriand and, breaking the Girdle of Melian, roamed madly through the lands of Doriath.

King Thingol set out to hunt the wolf with the greatest of his warriors.

With him went Mablung and Beleg, and Beren Erchamion, and Huan the Hound of Valinor. They found Carcharoth under the eaves of Neldoreth, drinking beneath a waterfall of the River Esgalduin. Eventually, after a mighty battle, Huan slew Carcharoth, but both he and Beren were mortally wounded.

From the wolf’s belly, Thingol recovered the Silmaril and carried it back to Menegroth. This was the same jewel that Eärendil would bear as he sailed to Aman and that, according to legend, now shines as the Evening and the Morning Star.

* Huntsman of the Valar

A title of Oromë, who pursued the creatures of Melkor in the dawn of the World.

* Huor

Son of Galdor of Dor-lómin, husband of Rían and father of Tuor; went to Gondolin with Húrin his brother; slain in the Nirnaeth Arnoediad.

–—

Heroic grandfather of Eärendil.

Younger son of Galdor, Lord of Dor-lómin, and grandson of Hador Lórindol, Tuor was in his turn the father of Tuor and grandfather of Eärendil the Mariner. Huor had the fair hair and blue eyes of his grandfather’s house, and was accounted one of the tallest of the Edain, second only to his own son Tuor.

Following the custom of Men in those days, Huor and his elder brother Húrin were fostered by the uncle Haldir, the lord of the Haladin of Brethil, and so they were dwelling in that forest at the time of the Dagor Bragollach in I 455. Though they were too young to go to open war (Huor was only thirteen years old at this time, and his brother sixteen), they went with the Haladin to destroy an orc-legion that had come to the forest.

The Orcs were routed, and the forest had peace for many years after, but Huor and his brother were cut off from the main force. Ulmo sent a mist to aid their escape, and they retreated across the Brithiach into northern Dimbar, in the shadows of the Crissaegrim, the Encircling Mountains of Gondolin. Seeing that they were lost and weary, Thorondor sent two of his eagles to rescue them, and they were carried over the mountains into Turgon’s Hidden Kingdom.

Ulmo had warned Turgon to look favourably on the Men of the House of Hador, and so he welcomed the brothers, and they stayed in Gondolin for nearly a year. Although the law of Gondolin forbade any to leave who had entered the city, Turgon made an exception because the eagles had carried Huor and Húrin, and so they had no clear idea where it lay. The eagles carried them away, and they returned to the house of Galdor in Dor-lómin.

Turgon had bound them under an oath of silence, and it was never told where they had been for that year.

When Huor had grown to manhood, he wedded Rían the daughter of Belegund, and they conceived a son, who Huor named before his birth, Tuor. Two months after the wedding, the elvenlords assembled a great army to assail Morgoth, and Húrin and Huor went to join that army with the muster of Dor-lómin. This was the great battle that was to be called Nirnaeth Arnoediad, the Unnumbered Tears.

Huor stood with the forces of his brother under the walls of the tower of High King Fingon at Barad Eithel, and their armies were arrayed in the woods on the eastern slopes of the Ered Wethrin, so that Morgoth could not descry their numbers. Turgon also came out of Gondolin with his armies for the first time since the city was built to join that battle.

After six days of fighting, the battle turned to Morgoth and the Elves were routed. Turgon retreated south to return to his halls in Gondolin, and Huor and Húrin, with the remnant of the forces of Dor-lómin, stood at his back to guard his withdrawal. Before they parted, Huor prophesied to Turgon that new hope would spring from the two of them, saying ‘… from you and from me a new star will arise’. This later proved to be true, for his son Tuor wedded Turgon’s daughter Idril, and their son was Eärendil the Blessed.

Then came the last stand of the Men of Dor-lómin, who held the Pass of Sirion against the hosts of Orcs and creatures of the Enemy. They gave slowly back until they came to the Fen of Serech and the stream of Rivil, and there they and their host stood firm. As the day grew dark on that last desperate battle, Huor was slain, by a poisoned arrow in his eye.

* Huorns|Huorn

The ‘trees’ that came to the Battle of the Hornburg and entrapped the Orcs.

–—

Trees under the command of the Ents.

Trees animated and given purpose by the Ents, with whom they could also communicate. The name means something like ‘speaking trees’.

* Húrin I (Steward of Gondor)|Húrin|Hurin

The fifth Ruling Steward of Gondor.

Húrin I was the son of Belegorn, and descended in right line from Húrin of Emyn Arnen, the founder of the House of Húrin to which all the Ruling Stewards belonged. Húrin’s name was even more ancient than that of his illustrious ancestor - it is taken from Húrin Thalion, a hero of the Edain in the First Age.

Húrin I ruled during the time of the Watchful Peace, during which Sauron had retreated into the East, and the Nazgûl remained, threatening but silent, in Minas Morgul. The Peace would last long after Húrin’s time; it broke with the return of Sauron to Dol Guldur during the rule of Húrin’s descendant Denethor I, more than two hundred years after Húrin’s death.

Húrin ruled as Steward for forty years, and was succeeded by his son, who became Túrin I.

* Húrin II (Steward of Gondor)|Húrin|Hurin The fourteenth Ruling Steward of Gondor.

The son of Steward Hallas, and grandson of the famous Cirion who granted the green northern lands of Calenardhon to the Rohirrim. Húrin II shared his name with an illustrious line of predecessors, including Húrin I who ruled during the Watchful Peace, Húrin of Emyn Arnen who founded the house of the Stewards, and ultimately Húrin Thalion himself, Lord of Dorlómin in the First Age. Húrin ruled Gondor as its Steward for twenty-three years, and was succeeded by his son, Belecthor I.

* Húrin of Emyn Arnen|Húrin|Hurin

Steward of King Minardil, from whom derived the House of the Stewards of Gondor.

–—

Ancestor of the Ruling Stewards of Gondor.

Húrin of Emyn Arnen is the earliest of Gondor’s Stewards to have his name recorded in history. He served under King Minardil, and though we know little of his life, it is certain that his actions had a tremendous effect on the future history of Middle-earth. He was a Man of noble Númenórean descent, the founder of the House of Húrin from which Minardil’s heirs came by tradition to select their own Stewards. By the time of the loss of Gondor’s last King, Eärnur, some four centuries later, the Stewardship had become a powerful hereditary institution, ready to take over in place of the Kings.

To lay the groundwork for such an achievement, Húrin must have provided some great service to the state of Gondor, but what that service might have been is not hinted at in The Lord of the Rings. However, the untimely death of his King, Minardil, followed almost immediately by the ravages of the Dark Plague, leave room for speculation that it was the efforts of Húrin that directed Gondor through this dark time in its history. A short passage in The History of Middle-earth seems to confirm this: ‘…[Húrin] had laboured greatly for the ordering of the realm in the disastrous days of the plague, when King Telemnar died within two years of the slaying of King Minardil by the Corsairs.’ (Vol. XII The Peoples of Middle-earth I 7 The Heirs of Elendil).

* Húrin Thalion|Húrin|Hurin

Called Thalion ‘the Steadfast’, ‘the Strong’; son of Galdor of Dor-lómin, husband of Morwen and father of Túrin and Nienor; lord of Dor-lómin, vassal of Fingon. Went with Huor his brother to Gondolin; captured by Morgoth in the Nirnaeth Arnoediad, but defied him, and was set by him on Thangorodrim for many years; after his release slew Mîm in Nargothrond and brought the Nauglamír to King Thingol.

–—

The last Lord of Dor-lómin.

Eldest son of Galdor, and Lord of Dor-lómin after him. He was captured by Morgoth at the Nirnaeth Arnoediad, and he and his kin were cursed by the Dark Lord. After the death of his son Túrin, Morgoth released him from bondage.

* Hyarastorni

Lands of the lordship of Hallattan in the Mittalmar (Inlands) of Númenor.

–—

The Sheep-lands of Númenor.

A region in the central parts of Númenor, used especially as grazing land for sheep.

* Hyarmendacil I|Hyarmendacil

‘South-victor’, fifteenth King of Gondor.

–—

The conqueror of the Harad.

A man originally named Ciryaher, the heir to Gondor’s throne who saw his father Ciryandil slain at the hands of the Men of Harad. To avenge his father’s death, the new King took a great army and conquered the southern lands of the Harad, ruling thereafter under the name Hyarmendacil,

‘South-victor’. He ruled in Gondor for no less than for one hundred and thirty-four years, and was succeeded by his son Atanatar.

* Hyarmendacil II|Hyarmendacil

Victor over the Haradrim.

An heir of the Royal House of Gondor, originally named Vinyarion. He became King when his father Aldamir was slain by the Haradrim, an act that he avenged in the eleventh year of his reign, when he achieved a great victory over the Men of Harad. After that time, he took the name Hyarmendacil (‘South-victor’) and ruled under the name of Hyarmendacil II. He was succeeded as King by his son Minardil.

* Hyarmentir

The highest mountain in the regions south of Valinor.

* Hyarnustar

‘Southwestlands’, the south-western promontory of Númenor.

–—

The southwestern promontory of Númenor.

The southwestern of the five regions of Númenor, noted for its vineyards and fertile farmlands, although it became more mountainous in the far southwest.

* Hyarrostar

‘Southeastlands’, the south-eastern promontory of Númenor.

–—

The southeastern region of Númenor.

The wide promontory that spread out to the south and east of Númenor, and in fact contained its easternmost point. Along its southern shores were wide beaches of white sands, and on its western borders, where the shorelands were interrupted by the mouths of the River Siril, stood the township of Nindamos. The Hyarrostar was most famous for its trees, and it held great plantations that provided much of the wood used by Númenor’s shipwrights.

* Iant Iaur|Bridge of Esgalduin

‘The Old Bridge’ over the Esgalduin on the northern borders of Doriath; also called the Bridge of Esgalduin.

* Iarwain Ben-adar|Iarwain|Ben-adar

The name used among the Elves for the being known to the Hobbits as Tom Bombadil. It has the literal meaning ‘oldest and fatherless’.

* Iavas

The Sindarin name for their season that corresponded to late summer and early autumn; 54 days between modern 12 August and 4 October. Called Yávië in Quenya.

* Íbal|Ibal

A boy of Emerië in Númenor, son of Ulbar, a mariner of Tar-Aldarion.

* Ibun

One of the sons of Mîm the Petty-dwarf.

* Idril Celebrindal|Idril

Called Celebrindal ‘Silverfoot’; the daughter (and only child) of Turgon and Elenwë; wife of Tuor, mother of Eärendil, with whom she escaped from Gondolin to the Mouths of Sirion; departed thence with Tuor into the West.

–—

The daughter of Turgon, King of Gondolin; she wedded Ulmo’s messenger Tuor, and their son was Eärendil the Mariner.

* Illuin

One of the Lamps of the Valar made by Aulë. Illuin stood in the northern part of Middle-earth, and after the overthrow of the mountain by Melkor the Inland Sea of Helcar was formed there.

–—

The northern of the two Lamps of the Valar.

One of the two Lamps of the Valar, set up by Aulë in ancient days to bring light to the world. It was destroyed by Melkor, and where it fell it created the inland Sea of Helcar.

* Ilmarë|Ilmare

A Maia, the handmaid of Varda.

–—

An almost unknown Maia of the people of Varda. She has the distinction of being the first of the Maiar named in the Valaquenta, where she is described in passing as the handmaid of Varda. Other sources describe her as being one of the most powerful of the Maiar, together with Manwë’s herald Eönwë.

* Ilmen

The region above the air where the stars are.

–—

The upper airs of Arda.

In Elvish cosmology, the region of pure higher airs, above the clouds, where the Moon and the Sun steer their courses and, above them, the ancient stars look down.

* Ilúvatar|Iluvatar

‘Father of All’, Eru.

–—

The name among Elves of Eru, the One, from whom the Ainur had their being. Through the Music of the Ainur, Ilúvatar created the World and the beings who inhabit it, and only he fully knows its fate.

* Imlach

Father of Amlach.

* Imlad Morgul

The valley of the Morgulduin.

The valley among the western slopes of the Ephel Dúath where Minas Morgul (originally Minas Ithil) stood. This name was used in the later Third Age after the capture of the tower by the Nazgûl.

* Imladris

‘Rivendell’ (literally, ‘Deep Dale of the Cleft’), Elrond’s dwelling in a valley of the Misty Mountains.

–—

The haven in the deep valley known as Rivendell.

The Sindarin name for Elrond’s refuge in the western glens of the Misty Mountains, known to Men as Rivendell.

* Imrahil

The Prince of Dol Amroth at the time of the War of the Ring, who fought at the Battle of the Pelennor Fields, and marched on Mordor with the host of Aragorn II Elessar.

* Imrazôr the Númenórean|Imrazôr|Imrazor

Called ‘the Númenórean’; took to wife the Elf Mithrellas; father of Galador first Lord of Dol Amroth.

–—

Ancestor of the Princes of Dol Amroth.

A nobleman who lived in the region of Belfalas in southeastern Gondor at the end of the second millennium of the Third Age. He was said to have wedded an Elf-maid named Mithrellas, a wandering companion of Nimrodel.

Though it isn’t known for sure whether this tradition is true, it is certain that his son Galador went on to found the Princedom of Dol Amroth.

* Incánus|Incanus

Gandalf’s name ‘in the south’ (probably meaning no further south than Gondor or the Near Harad), gained during his long travels in Middle-earth in the mid-Third Age.

* Indis

Vanyarin Elf, close kin of Ingwë; second wife of Finwë, mother of Fingolfin and Finarfin.

–—

A Vanyarin Elf who became the second wife of Finwë after the departure of Míriel Serindë. She was the mother of both Fingolfin and Finarfin.

* Indor

Man of Dor-lómin, father of Aerin.

* Inglor

Rejected name of Finrod.

* Ingwë|Ingwe

Leader of the Vanyar, the first of the three hosts of the Eldar on the westward journey from Cuiviénen. In Aman he dwelt upon Taniquetil, and was held High King of all the Elves.

–—

The High King of the Elves.

The lord of the Vanyar, accounted the High King of all the Elves; he dwells on Taniquetil beneath the halls of Manwë.

* Inscrutable

One of the many Elvish names for the race of Men.

* Inziladûn|Inziladun

Elder son of Ar-Gimilzôr and Inzilbêth; afterwards named Tar-Palantir.

See Ar-Inziladûn.

* Inzilbêth|Inzilbeth

Queen of Ar-Gimilzôr; of the house of the lords of Andúnië; mother of Inziladûn.

–—

The mother of Tar-Palantir.

Though she was taken to wife by Ar-Gimilzôr, Inzilbêth was secretly a member of the Faithful party, whom he strongly opposed. Her son, Tar-Palantir, followed her teachings when he became King of Númenor.

* Ioreth

Wise-woman of Gondor.

The eldest of the women who served in Minas Tirith’s Houses of Healing, whose remembrance of old lore helped restore the health of Faramir. She came originally from Imloth Melui in Lossarnach.

* Írimon|Irimon

The given name of Tar-Meneldur.

* Iris|iris-swords|iris-sword

A colourful and distinctive flower. Frodo and Sam found it growing in Ithilien, and the Gladden River and Fields took their name from a variety of this flower. The ‘iris-swords’ mentioned in The Lord of the Rings are a reference to its thin, pointed leaves.

* Irmo

Vala, ‘master of visions and dreams’, commonly called Lórien from the name of his dwelling in Valinor. See Fëanturi, Olofantur.

–—

The true name of the Vala more commonly called Lórien, from the gardens of Lórien in Valinor where he dwelt.

* Iron Crown

The crown of Morgoth in Angband.

The crown forged by Morgoth after his return to Middle-earth to hold the three Silmarils; he bore it throughout the First Age, but after his defeat by the Valar the crown was beaten into a collar for his neck.

* Iron Hills

Range east of the Lonely Mountain and north of the Sea of Rhûn.

–—

The northern range settled by Grór.

A range of hills in the northeast of the known parts of Middle-earth, where a Dwarf-realm was founded by Grór son of Dáin I after the Dwarves were driven from the Grey Mountains by the Cold-drakes.

* Iron Mountains

The mountain-fence of Utumno.

The Ered Engrin, the range of mountains in the far north of the World that were raised by Melkor as a defence against any attack on Utumno. His lesser fortress of Angband lay in this range.

* Iron of Death

Túrin’s black sword Gurthang.

In Elvish, Gurthang: the name given by Túrin to his black sword after it was reforged by the smiths of Nargothrond.

* Ironfoot

Title and surname of Dáin II of Durin’s Folk, the successor to Thorin Oakenshield.

* Isen

River flowing from the Misty Mountains through Nan Curunír (the Wizard’s Vale) and across the Gap of Rohan; translation (to represent the language of Rohan) of Sindarin Angren.

–—

The ‘iron river’ that flowed past the gates of Isengard.

The river that rose in the southern foothills of the Misty Mountains, and ran westward for some three hundred miles to reach the Great Sea in the southern regions of the Enedwaith.

* Isengar Took

One of Bilbo Baggins’ uncles.

–—

One of the many children of Gerontius, the Old Took; famous for having gone to sea in his youth (a remarkable feat for a Hobbit).

* Isengard

Númenórean stronghold in the valley called, after its occupation by the wizard Curunír (Saruman), Nan Curunír, at the southern end of the Misty Mountains; translation (to represent the language of Rohan) of the Sindarin Angrenost. See also Circle of Isengard.

–—

The fortress of Saruman.

A Gondorian fortification at the southern end of the Misty Mountains, at the source of the River Isen. It was granted to the Wizard Saruman by Steward Beren of Gondor, and destroyed by the Ents during the War of the Ring, though its central tower of Orthanc remained standing.

* Isengarders|Isengarder

The soldiers of Isengard.

A general term for the inhabitants and soldiers of Isengard, but used especially by Tolkien with reference to the servants of Saruman in the War of the Ring.

* Isengrim Took II|Isengrim Took

The founder of Great Smials.

The twenty-second Shire-thain, the ninth descendant of Isumbras Took I to hold that title. He lived at the time when pipe-weed was introduced to the Shire; it was first grown just a few years before Isengrim became Thain. He is perhaps best known as the founder of Great Smials, which was to become the ancestral home of the Took family in the Tookland of the Shire.

* Isengrim Took III|Isengrim Took

The eldest of the twelve children of Gerontius, the Old Took. Because of his father’s famous longevity, Isengrim was already an old Hobbit himself when he inherited the title of Thain, being no less than eighty-eight years old. He did not survive long in his new office, and died just ten years after his father. He was succeeded by his younger brother, who became Thain Isumbras Took IV.

* Isenmouthe|Carach Angren|Iron Jaws

The iron jaws to the south of Udûn.

Called Carach Angren, the Iron Jaws, the Isenmouthe was the pass at the southern end of the valley of Udûn in northern Mordor, where it marched with the Plateau of Gorgoroth.

* Isil

Quenya name of the Moon.

–—

A name given to the Moon in Valinor by the Vanyar or Light Elves. It is said to mean ‘the Sheen’.

* Isildur

Elder son of Elendil, who with his father and his brother Anárion escaped from the Drowning of Númenor and founded in Middle-earth the Númenórean realms in exile; lord of Minas Ithil; cut the Ruling Ring from Sauron’s hand; slain by Orcs in the Anduin when the Ring slipped from his finger.

–—

Eldest son and heir of Elendil, who cut the One Ring from the hand of Sauron after the Siege of Barad-dûr. He was lost with his company and three eldest sons at the Disaster of the Gladden Fields early in the Third Age.

The name means ‘Devoted to the Moon’.

* Isildur’s Bane|Bane of Isildur

Betrayer of the second Ring-bearer.

A name for the One Ring. After Sauron’s defeat in the War of the Last Alliance, Isildur Elendil’s son took the Ring, and later journeyed northward with it to his kingdom of Arnor. Ambushed by Orcs, Isildur’s small force was cut down, and he fled the battle wearing the Ring. It slipped from his finger, though, and so both Isildur and the Ring were lost.

* Isildur’s Heir

The descendants of Elendil’s eldest son.

Isildur was the eldest son of Elendil, and so by right he and his heirs should have inherited the title of High King and ruled the Two Kingdoms of Arnor and Gondor. Soon after the defeat of Sauron at the end of the Second Age, though, Isildur and his three elder sons all perished in the Disaster of the Gladden Fields.

Isildur’s only remaining Heir was Valandil, kept safe in Rivendell but only eleven years old at that time, and unable to take up his rule. So, Isildur’s nephew Meneldil took control of the kingdom of Gondor, and the Two Kingdoms split from one another. In the south, Gondor remained strong under the rule of Meneldil’s descendants, but the North-kingdom was not so fortunate. It broke into three separate kingdoms, and was slowly overcome by dark forces of the neighbouring land of Angmar. Arvedui, Isildur’s Heir through twenty-three generations, was the last King to rule in the north; he attempted to reclaim the High Kingship, but failed, and the last remnant of royal Arnor was overrun by its enemies.

Now the line of Isildur in the north became forgotten by nearly all.

Though their royal cities were wasted, and their people dwindled, the line of Isildur’s Heirs continued for another sixteen generations under the title ‘Chieftain of the Dúnedain’. The last Chieftain was Aragorn II of the War of the Ring, who famously came to Minas Tirith and reclaimed the High Kingship of all the western lands.

* Isilmë|Isilme

Daughter of Tar-Elendil, sister of Silmarien.

* Isilmo

Son of Tar-Súrion; father of Tar-Minastir.

–—

Brother to Queen Tar-Telperiën.

The second child of King Tar-Súrion of Númenor, younger brother to Tar-Telperiën the second Ruling Queen. Tar-Telperiën outlived her brother, but she had no consort, and so left no heir. The Sceptre therefore passed to Isilmo’s son, who ruled as Tar-Minastir.

* Isle of Balar|Balar

The isle in the Bay of Balar, said to have been the eastern horn of Tol Eressëa that broke away, where Círdan and Gil-galad dwelt after the Nirnaeth Arnoediad.

–—

Large island (indeed, the largest known island off the shores of Middle-earth) located in the Bay of Balar, some seventy miles south of the coastlands of Arvernien.

According to legend, the Isle was the eastern horn of the much greater island of Tol Eressëa, which broke off when Ulmo towed away the main island to Aman carrying the Vanyar and the Noldor. It is said that the Maia Ossë often came to the Isle of Balar.

The island was noted for its pearls, which were found in great abundance in the shallow waters around it. These were collected by the people of Círdan, who gave them freely to the other Elf-lords.

While we are not told of the nature or location of settlements on the island, it is clear that it was populated at least early in the First Age, and possibly before that. As well as the Elves of the Havens, Balar was explored by the people of Nargothrond, and Turgon built refuges there for the Gondolindrim after the Dagor Bragollach in I 455. From these, he sent out ships seeking Aman and the aid of the Valar, but none succeeded.

The Isle of Balar became an important centre after the destruction of the Havens in I 472, when Círdan and Gil-galad fled to the island and settled there. While it is not stated certainly, it is likely that Eärendil’s ship Vingilot was built here, and that the Mariner set out for the West from Círdan’s havens on the Island.

* Isle of Werewolves

Tol-in-Gaurhoth, the island of Sauron.

A name for Tol Sirion after its capture by Morgoth, when it became infested by the evil servants of Sauron.

* Istar

A Quenya word meaning approximately ‘Wise One’, translated as ‘Wizard’.

* Istari

The Maiar who were sent from Aman in the Third Age to resist Sauron; Sindarin Ithryn (see Ithryn Luin). Translated ‘Wizards’. See Heren Istarion.

–—

The order of Wizards, the Maiar who came to Middle-earth after the first millennium of the Third Age. Of these, five came to the northwestern regions; Saruman, Gandalf, Radagast, Alatar and Pallando.

* Isumbras Took I|Isumbras Took

The thirteenth Thain of the Shire, and the first of the Took line.

Isumbras I was a distant ancestor of Peregrin Took of the Company of the Ring.

* Isumbras Took III|Isumbras Took

The eleventh Thain of the Took line, and twenty-third overall, Isumbras succeeded his father Isengrim II. He had two sons, of whom the younger, Bandobras, became famous as the ‘Bullroarer’. Isumbras’ years as Thain were a time of hardship and privation - his son Bandobras beat back a raiding orc-band at the Battle of Greenfields, while the end of his Thainship saw the Long Winter fall on the Shire. He was succeeded by his elder son, who became Thain Ferumbras II.

* Isumbras Took IV|Isumbras Took

The twenty-eighth Thain of the Shire.

The Old Took was Thain of the Shire for seventy-two years, so that his eldest son Isengrim was eighty-eight when he inherited the title. Due to his great age, Isengrim was Thain for just ten years, and was succeeded by his younger brother, who became Thain Isumbras IV. Isumbras was ninety-two years old when he inherited the title, and his Thainship was even shorter than his brother’s - after nine years, he died, and was succeeded by his son Fortibras.

* Ithil

The Sindarin name for the Moon.

The name for Isil, the Moon, in Sindarin. It appears only once in The Lord of the Rings, but is common in placenames, especially Minas Ithil, the Moontower, and Ithilien, the land where it stood.

* Ithil-stone|Stone of Ithil

The Palantír of Minas Ithil.

The palantír that stood in Isildur’s ancient fortress of Minas Ithil. It was captured by the Nazgûl in the mid-Third Age, and was used by Sauron to entrap Saruman and Denethor during the War of the Ring.

* Ithilbor

Nandorin Elf, father of Saeros.

* Ithildin

The magical substance known as Starmoon.

A magical substance made by the Elves from mithril, that could only be seen by the reflected light of the moon and stars, and even then remained hidden until a magical word was said. Gandalf translated its name as

‘starmoon’, but ‘moon-sparkle’ would be a more literal rendering. The designs on the West-gate of Moria were made from this substance.

* Ithilien

Territory of Gondor, east of Anduin; in the earliest time the possession of Isildur and ruled from Minas Ithil.

–—

The narrow lands of Gondor east of the Anduin.

The lands of Gondor east of the River Anduin, on the borders of Mordor.

With the capture of Minas Ithil, and the return of the Nazgûl to the Black Land, Ithilien became a deserted country.

* Ithryn

The Sindarin name for the Istari or Wizards.

* Ithryn Luin|Ithron Luin

The two Istari who went into the East of Middle-earth and never returned (singular ithron). Translated ‘Blue Wizards’.

–—

The Blue Wizards, Alatar and Pallando, who did not remain in the west of Middle-earth, but journeyed into its far eastern regions.

* Ivanneth

Sindarin name of the ninth month. See Yavannië.

* Ivrin

The lake and falls beneath Ered Wethrin where the river Narog rose.

–—

The pools at the source of the Narog.

The pools that lay in the southern Ered Wethrin, and formed the source of the River Narog.

* Jewels of Fëanor|Jewels of Feanor

Greatest of the works of the Elves.

A name for the Silmarils, from Fëanor their maker.

* Kalimac Brandagamba

The actual form of the Hobbit name anglicised by Tolkien as ‘Meriadoc Brandybuck’.

* Karningul

The Westron name for Rivendell.

The actual Westron name that Tolkien normally anglicises to Rivendell.

Its meaning is equivalent to the English version, and to the Elvish Imladris, a deeply-cut, steep sided valley.

* Keepers of the Three Rings

Those who bore Narya, Nenya and Vilya.

Those who held the Three Rings of the Elves after their making, through more than 4,000 years of the Second and Third Ages. At the end of the Third Age, when the Rings finally lost their power and were taken into the West, the Keepers were Elrond, Galadriel and Gandalf.

* Kelvar

An Elvish word retained in the speeches of Yavanna and Manwë in The Silmarillion ‘animals, living things that move’.

* Kementári|Kementari

A title of the Vala Yavanna, meaning ‘Queen of the Earth’.

* Key of Orthanc

The Key to Saruman’s Tower.

The key or keys that granted entry to the otherwise impenetrable tower of Orthanc. They first enter history at the time of the Oath of Eorl, when that tower was sealed by the Gondorians, and the key taken to Minas Tirith. At the request of Saruman, Steward Beren later surrendered the key to him, and he took up his abode in the ancient Gondorian stronghold.

* Khamûl|Khamul|Black Easterling|Shadow of the East Nazgûl, second to the Chief; dwelt in Dol Guldur after its reoccupation in Third Age 2951.

–—

Called the Shadow of the East, Khamûl was the second of the nine Ringwraiths, second only to the Lord of the Nazgûl, and referred to as Sauron’s lieutenant.

* Khand

Land south-east of Mordor.

–—

Ancient eastern ally of Sauron.

A little-known land lying directly to the east of Mordor, and its traditional ally.

* Khazâd|Khazad

The race of Dwarves.

The Dwarves’ name for their own kind, in the Dwarvish language Khuzdul; seen in the Dwarvish name for Moria, ‘Khazad-dûm’.

* Khazad-dûm|Khazad-dum

The great mansions of the Dwarves of Durin’s race in the Misty Mountains (Hadhodrond, Moria). See Khazâd; dûm is probably a plural or collective, meaning ‘excavations, halls, mansions’.

–—

The Mansions of Durin and his Kin.

The grandest and most famous of the mansions of the Dwarves. It lay in the central parts of the Misty Mountains, tunnelled and carved through the living rock of the mountains themselves, so that a traveller could pass through it from the west of the range to the east. It was founded in very ancient days by Durin the Deathless, who came upon a shimmering lake beneath the mountain Celebdil, with a crown of stars reflected in its waters. He named that lake in the Dwarvish tongue, Kheled-zâram, the Mirrormere, and there he started the building of Khazad-dûm.

As the millennia passed, the descendants of Durin sat upon the throne of Khazad-dûm, and their cavernous city became famous throughout the world.

It even has a passing mention in Quenta Silmarillion, the tale of the Elf-lords and their wars far to the west, though to them it was no more than a distant rumour they heard from the Dwarves of the Blue Mountains on their borders. In the Second Age, Noldor out of Lindon founded a country of their own by the western gates of Khazad-dûm. A rare friendship sprang up between the Dwarves and the Elves of this new land, Eregion. Eregion’s ruler, Celebrimbor, helped to construct the famous and magical gate that became known as the West-gate of Moria, and indeed went so far as to present King Durin III with a Ring of Power. The friendship of Khazad-dûm and Eregion came to a sudden end, though, in II 1697, when Sauron overran the country of the Elves, and the doors of Khazad-dûm were sealed against his forces.

Eventually, Sauron was driven back and Khazad-dûm continued to thrive.

Much of its great wealth was based on the mithril that was found in its mines, and as the centuries passed, the Dwarves mined deeper and deeper for the precious metal. In the year III 1980, they dug too deep, and unleashed a nameless terror from the depths beneath the city. The creature wreaked dreadful destruction, and in slaying the then King, Durin VI, became known as Durin’s Bane. In the following year, Durin’s son, Náin I, was also lost, and the Dwarves fled their ancient home.

After millennia as one of the richest cities in Middle-earth, Khazad-dûm stood dark and empty, but for the brooding menace the Dwarves had released. In that time it was given a new name, Moria, the Black Pit.

The monster of Moria - a Balrog of Morgoth, as was later known - lurked alone in Moria for nearly five hundred years. After that time, the old city of Khazad-dûm began to be peopled again, but not by Dwarves. Sauron directed his creatures there, and it began to fill with Orcs and Trolls.

Though the Orcs’ numbers were greatly reduced in the Battle of Nanduhirion, fought in the valley beneath Moria’s East-gate in III 2799, the Balrog could not be bested, and Khazad-dûm remained a citadel of darkness.

There were two attempts by the Dwarves of Durin’s line to reclaim their ancient home. The first of these was by Balin, who led a force of Dwarves there from Erebor in III 2989, but though he was successful at first, he was eventually defeated and slain. The story of the second attempt to recolonise the Dwarf-mansions is less clear, but it seems that after several centuries, Durin VII became King of Durin’s Folk, and led a further return to the citadel. It seems he was successful, so that long after the War of the Ring, the Dwarves of Durin’s line reclaimed their inheritance, and the hammers rang again in their great halls beneath the Misty Mountains.

* Kheled-zâram|Kheled-zaram

The shimmering Mirrormere.

The shimmering mere that lay in the eastern valleys of the Misty Mountains; seeing it, and the stars that were always reflected in its surface, Durin the Deathless chose that place for the delving of Khazad-dûm.

* Khîm|Khim

Son of Mîm the Petty-dwarf, slam by Andróg, one of Túrin’s outlaw band.

* Khuzdul

The secret tongue of the Dwarves.

The Dwarves’ name for their own secret language, of which only a few words were ever discovered by outsiders. With the exception of a few fragments and place-names, Tolkien gives us little insight into the Dwarvish tongue (as the Dwarves kept their tongue secret, it is natural that little of it should have survived in records). Our main sources are in words such as Khazad-dûm (Khazâd being Dwarvish for ‘Dwarves’) and Khuzdul itself, and in the Dwarvish war-cry, ‘Baruk Khazâd! Khazâd aimênu!’ (‘Axes of the Dwarves! The Dwarves are upon you!).

During the Third Age, the Dwarves seem to have considered Khuzdul in much the same way as the Elves of Middle-earth looked on Quenya, as an ancient and noble tongue of the past. The Dwarves would more commonly speak, even among themselves, in the native tongues of the regions in which they lived, to the extent that they took their names from these languages.

The Dwarves also had secret ‘inner’ names, presumably derived from the Khuzdul tongue, but they were extremely secretive about these, to the extent that they were not even given on their owners’ tombs.

* Kíli|Kili

Nephew of Thorin II Oakenshield, who accompanied him on the Quest of Erebor, and was slain at his side in the Battle of Five Armies.

* Kin-strife

The Gondorian civil war.

The civil war that erupted in Gondor in the middle of the Third Age.

Eldacar, the rightful heir of King Valacar, had been raised in a foreign country, and his right to the Kingship was therefore challenged by Castamir, who himself had some claim on the throne. Castamir succeeded in usurping the Kingship, but held it just ten years before Eldacar reclaimed it and restored order.

* Kindler

A translation of Tintallë, a title given to Varda after she kindled the brighter stars with the dews of Telperion.

* Kine of Araw

The legendary cattle of Rhûn.

The oxen that lived on the lands around the Sea of Rhûn were hardier and wilder than any others in Middle-earth. Legends claimed that they were descended from the cattle of the Huntsman of the Valar, Oromë himself, and so they were named the Kine of Araw (Araw being the Sindarin form of Oromë’s name).

The Kine were famous as the quarry of Vorondil the Hunter, ancestor of the Ruling Stewards of Gondor. It was he who cut a horn from one of these beasts and fashioned a hunting-horn from it, which came to be carried by the eldest son of the Ruling Steward from Vorondil’s time onward. The last heir to bear the horn was Boromir, who saw it broken in two in his battle with Orcs beneath Amon Hen.

* King of Arda

The most powerful of the Valar.

A title given to Manwë Súlimo, greatest of the Valar, and held to be the ruler of the realm of Arda.

* King of Arnor

High title of the Heirs of Isildur.

Title of ten lords of the Dúnedain, from Elendil to Eärendur. Eärendur’s eldest son, Amlaith, became the first King of Arthedain.

* King of Arthedain

Successors to the Kings of Arnor.

Title of fifteen lords of the Dúnedain, from Amlaith of Fornost to Arvedui Last-king. Arvedui’s eldest son, Aranarth, became the first Chieftain of the Dúnedain.

* King of Dale

The title claimed by Bard.

The title of the hereditary rulers of Dale after its refounding by Bard, which was held successively by his descendants Bain, Brand and Bard II.

It was likely also held by Bard’s ancestors down to Girion, but there is no definite evidence of this.

* King of Doriath

The royal title of Thingol and his Heir.

The title of two Elf-lords of the Sindar, who ruled the kingdom of Doriath for many centuries from its foundation long before the beginning of the First Age to its destruction at the hands of the Sons of Fëanor.

–—

1- Elu Thingol: The founder of Doriath with his queen, Melian. He was lord there for millennia, and in that time his realm was protected from foes by the Girdle of Melian. Thingol was slain by Dwarves in approximately I 505, and Melian departed from the realm. He was succeeded by his grandson, the son of his daughter Lúthien.

2- Dior Eluchíl: After Thingol’s death he came to Menegroth and ruled the kingdom of his grandfather. After the passing of Lúthien, the Silmaril she had borne was brought to Doriath, and the Sons of Fëanor assailed the citadel of Menegroth to recover it. There Dior was slain, and the kingdom ended.

* King of Durin’s Folk

The royal line of the Longbeards.

Title given to Durin the Deathless and his descendants who ruled the Dwarves of Durin’s Folk. Famous among these were Thorin II Oakenshield, who reclaimed Erebor from Smaug, and Dáin II Ironfoot, who fought in the War of the Ring.

No complete list of the Kings is known. The table below shows the names of those Kings who have been recorded, or whose existence can be deduced.

As the descendants of Durin were forced by circumstance to travel widely in Middle-earth, the main seat(s) of their Kingship is shown alongside each King.

–—

- Durin I (Khazad-dûm): One of the seven Fathers of the Dwarves, and the founder of the Longbeards, Durin’s Folk. He ruled his people for centuries - so long, in fact, that he became known as the ‘Durin the Deathless’ - but eventually he passed away. From time to time over the millennia, one among Durin’s descendants would arise so similar in bearing to his ancient ancestor that he, too, would be given the name

‘Durin’.

- Durin II (Khazad-dûm): We know nothing of this King, except that the appearance of his descendant Durin III in the middle years of the Second Age shows that he must have ruled in Khazad-dûm at some time before that.

- Durin III (Khazad-dûm): The ruler of Khazad-dûm at the time of the forging of the Rings of Power, Durin III was a great friend of Celebrimbor the Lord of Eregion to the west. He received one of the Rings (later known as the Ring of Thrór) as a gift from his friend.

- Durin IV, Durin V (Khazad-dûm): Like Durin II, we know nothing of the reigns of these two Kings, except that they must have ruled during the late Second Age or earlier Third Age. We can safely deduce their existence because we know that Durin VI took the throne in the late second millennium of the Third Age.

- Durin VI (Khazad-dûm): (Ruled to III 1980) The first King of Durin’s Folk for whom we have specific dates was Durin VI, who ruled in Khazad-dûm at the time the Balrog was awoken. It slew Durin, for which reason it became known as Durin’s Bane. Durin was succeeded briefly by his son.

- Náin I (Khazad-dûm): (Ruled 1 year to III 1981) He ruled for just a year in Khazad-dûm before he too was slain by the Balrog. He was succeeded by his son.

- Thráin I (Erebor): (Ruled 209 years to III 2190) He led a great part of his people away from Khazad-dûm into the north and east of Middle-earth.

It was Thráin who founded the great Dwarf-kingdom of Erebor, the Lonely Mountain above the Long Lake. He was succeeded by his son.

- Thorin I (Grey Mountains): (Ruled 99 years to III 2289) Discerning that the great host of his people were gathering in the northern range of the Grey Mountains, Thorin I abandoned Erebor and removed there. He was succeeded by his son.

- Glóin (Grey Mountains): (Ruled 96 years to III 2385) He continued the rule of Durin’s Folk in the Grey Mountains, was succeeded by his son.

- Óin (Grey Mountains): (Ruled 103 years to III 2488) He was succeeded by his son.

- Náin II (Grey Mountains): (Ruled 97 years to III 2585) In his time, the prosperous Dwarves began to suffer attacks by the dragons of the north.

He was succeeded by his son.

- Dáin I (Grey Mountains): (Ruled 4 years to III 2589) His short reign came to a swift end when he was slain by a cold-drake before his own doors. He was succeeded by the eldest of his three sons.

- Thrór (Erebor): (Ruled 201 years to III 2790) He led his people out of the dragon-infested north back to the Lonely Mountain, while his younger brother Grór led some part of their people further east, to settle in the Iron Hills. He had been King under the Mountain for more than 180 years when the great dragon Smaug descended on his kingdom and sacked it. He escaped the destruction with his son and grandson, and went wandering in the wild. Eventually reaching his people’s ancient home of Khazad-dûm, he found it infested with Orcs. His death at the hands of their leader, Azog, sparked the War of the Dwarves and Orcs. He was succeeded by his son.

- Thráin II (Dunland, Blue Mountains): (Ruled 60 years to III 2850) He avenged his father’s death with the defeat of Azog’s Orcs at the Battle of Azanulbizar. In the early part of his reign, he dwelt in Dunland, but he later moved northward to the Blue Mountains west of Eriador. Before his reign ended, he resolved to return to Erebor, but wandering in the wild he was captured by evil things, and died in the dungeons of the Necromancer. He was succeeded by his eldest son.

- Thorin II (Blue Mountains): (Ruled 91 years to III 2941) He ruled as King in the Blue Mountains for many years, but like his father before him he at last determined to return to his ancient home of Erebor.

Accompanied by Gandalf and Bilbo Baggins, he led a troop of companions into the far east, and against all hope recovered the Lonely Mountain from Smaug. After Smaug’s death, the Battle of Five Armies was fought beneath Erebor, and Thorin was slain. The only remaining descendants of Thrór’s line, Thorin’s young nephews Fíli and Kíli, were also lost in the battle. So the descent of the Kingship passed to the line of Thrór’s younger brother Grór, and specifically to Grór’s grandson Dáin Ironfoot.

- Dáin II (Erebor): (Ruled 78 years to III 3019) He ruled in prosperity as King under the Mountain for many years until the time of the War of the Ring. He was slain in that war, in the Battle of Dale, and succeeded by his son.

- Thorin III (Erebor): He was besieged in Erebor for seven days after the loss of his father, but when news reached the forces of Sauron that their master had been defeated, he was able to drive them back. With Thorin III, detailed records of the reigns of the Kings come to an end, but we have a record of just one of his descendants.

- Durin VII (Khazad-dûm?): He was said to be the last of the Durins to rule over Durin’s Folk. Durin’s Bane had been destroyed in the War of the Ring, so that Khazad-dûm lay open for recovery by its ancient owners, and there is some evidence that it was Durin VII who at last achieved this.

–—

We know that Durin I died before the end of the First Age, so that between his rule and that of Thorin III, the Kings of Durin’s line ruled for a period of about 6,500 years. Given that the average length of a reign among the Longbeards seems to have been roughly a century, we can deduce that there are probably about fifty Kings’ names missing from this list.

* King of Eagles

A title given to Thorondor, the gigantic and noble eagle of the First Age, whose talons wounded the face of Morgoth himself. Thorondor dwelt among the peaks of the Crissaegrim, guarding Turgon’s Hidden City of Gondolin from the forces of Morgoth until that city’s Fall, and he came to the aid of the Elves many times during the First Age.

In The Hobbit, we meet a character who carries the title ‘Lord of Eagles’, a title that was also borne by Thorondor in the Elder Days.

Whether the title of ‘King of Eagles’ was also passed down through the Ages like this cannot be known - in Tolkien’s writings, it is only ever used of Thorondor himself.

* King of Gondolin

A title only ever borne by Turgon.

Title of Turgon son of Fingolfin, who founded Gondolin in the early First Age and ruled it until its Fall.

* King of Gondor

The line of lords descended from Elendil’s son Anárion.

The title of the lords of the Dúnedain, Elendil and his descendants, who ruled theKingdom of Gondor. The line of the Kings came to an end when Eärnur answered the challenge of the Lord of the Nazgûl and was lost in Minas Morgul. After his loss, Gondor was ruled by hereditary Stewards until the installation of Aragorn II Elessar (a direct descendant of Elendil) after the War of the Ring.

–—

1- Elendil (Ruled for 121 years to II 3441): He founded both Arnor and Gondor, and ruled the two kingdoms as High King. His royal seat was in his own capital in the north, Annúminas, and during his reign, Gondor was under the direct command of his two sons, Isildur and Anárion. He formed the Last Alliance, and marched to the defeat of Sauron, but he himself was lost in that great victory.

2- Isildur (Ruled for 2 years to III 2): He succeeded his father as High King, but before departing into the north, spent time ordering the South-kingdom. In the second year of the Third Age, he left Gondor in the care of his nephew Meneldil, the son of his brother Anárion, and rode away into the north. On his journey, Isildur was ambushed by Orcs and slain, and so the Kingship of Gondor passed on to Meneldil and his heirs.

3- Meneldil (Ruled for 156 years to III 158): Isildur was lost with his three eldest sons, leaving just his fourth son Valandil, then a mere boy, as heir. At thistime Meneldil took on the full Kingship of Gondor, and its Kings through the next thirty generations would be his descendants.

4- Cemendur (Ruled for 80 years to III 238).

5- Eärendil (Ruled for 86 years to III 324).

6- Anardil (Ruled for 87 years to III 411).

7- Ostoher (Ruled for 81 years to III 492): Ostoher rebuilt and expanded Minas Anor (later Minas Tirith) and took it for his summer residence.During his reign Gondor began to suffer attacks out of the wild eastern lands.

8- Rómendacil I (Ruled for 49 years to III 541): He defeated the Easterlings, and took the name Rómendacil - ‘East-victor’ - in token of this. Nonetheless he met his death in renewed attacks by the Wild Men out of the East.

9- Turambar (Ruled for 126 years to III 667): Turambar avenged his father’s death, and won wide lands for Gondor in the east.

10- Atanatar I (Ruled for 81 years to III 748).

11- Siriondil (Ruled for 82 years to III 830).

12- Tarannon Falastur (Ruled for 83 years to III 913): The first of the four Ship-kings, Tarannon put his energies into the building of Gondor’s navies. His Queen, Berúthiel, was sent into exile, and so he was the first of Gondor’s Kings to die childless. He was succeeded by his nephew, the son ofhis brother Tarciryan.

13- Eärnil I (Ruled for 23 years to III 936): The second Ship-king famously captured the southern Haven of Umbar for Gondor, expanding its boundaries even farther. He was lost in a storm off the very coastshe had conquered.

14- Ciryandil (Ruled for 79 years to III 1015): In Ciryandil’s time, the Haradrim came against Umbar, and the King died in its defence.

15- Hyarmendacil I (Ruled for 134 years to III 1149): He avenged his father’s death, and pressed on to capture land in the south for Gondor, extending its borders to their greatest extent in history.

16- Atanatar II (Ruled for 77 years to III 1226): Because of the extent and wealth of his realm, he was called Alcarin, Atanatar the Glorious, though he lacked the adventuring warrior spirit of his predecessors.

17- Narmacil I (Ruled for 68 years to III 1294): Narmacil tired of the cares of Kingship, and appointed a Regent to manage the Kingdom for him.

This was his nephew Minalcar, who would one day rule in his own stead as Rómendacil II. He died without issue, and was succeeded instead by his younger brother.

18- Calmacil (Ruled for 10 years to III 1304): Throughout his brief reign, his son Minalcar maintained his role as Regent.

19- Rómendacil II (Ruled for 62 years to III 1366): After sixty-four years as Regent, Minalcar took the throne in his own right. In memory of a great victory over the Easterlings he had won in his Regency, he became King in the name Rómendacil II.He made diplomatic efforts in the east, allying himself with tribes of Northmen in Rhovanion as a bulwark against further Easterling invasions. He sent his son Valacar as an ambassador to the Northmen, and while Rómendacil still held the throne, Valacar wedded Vidumavi in the east, who bore him a son.

20- Valacar (Ruled for 66 years to III 1432): Valacar was a controversial and disputed King, especially because his heir carried the bloodof the Northmen. In the later part of Valacar’s reign, true rebellion broke out, and the southern provinces of Gondor began to break away.

21- Eldacar (Ruled intermittently for 48 years to III 1490): After the half-Gondorian Eldacar took the throne, the rebellions of Valacar’s time grew into a full civil war, and after five years as King Eldacar was deposed by Castamir the Usurper. For ten years he hid in the east, gatheringhis forces, and then challenged Castamir for his rightful Kingship, slaying theUsurper himself. After regaining his throne, he reigned for another forty-three years before his death.

22- Castamir (Ruled for 10 years to III 1447): The Usurper of Eldacar’s throne was descended from the royal line (he was the great-grandson of Calmacil) and is considered a King of Gondor in his own right. He reigned for just ten years, as unrest among his subjects grew, after which Eldacar attacked fromthe east and reclaimed the throne of Gondor.

23- Aldamir (Ruled for 50 years to III 1540): Aldamir was the younger son of Eldacar (his elder brother Ornendil had been put to death by Castamir). In histime there was war in Gondor with the peoples of the south, and Aldamir fell in that war.

24- Hyarmendacil II (Ruled for 81 years to III 1621): Aldamir’s son avenged his father by overcoming the Haradrim, and in token of this took the name of Hyarmendacil, ‘South-victor’, the second of Gondor’s Kings to bear that auspicious name.

25- Minardil (Ruled for 13 years to III 1634): Minardil’s was a brief reign. He was at the port of Pelargir when it fell under attack by the Corsairs of Umbar, and he was slain in that attack.

26- Telemnar (Ruled for 2 years to III 1636): Telemnar’s reign was even shorter than that of his father. He was lost with all his children in the Dark Plague, and his line came to an end.

27- Tarondor (Ruled for 162 years to III 1798): Tarondor came early to the Kingship, and enjoyed the longest rule of any of Gondor’s Kings. His realm had been devastated by war and plague, and he worked to rebuild its power. It was Tarondor who moved the King’s House from Osgiliath to Minas Anor.

28- Telumehtar Umbardacil (Ruled for 52 years to III 1850): Telumehtar is most remembered by history as the King who reconquered Umbar to the south, and from this deed he took his name Umbardacil ‘Victor over Umbar’.

29- Narmacil II (Ruled for 6 years to III 1856): In Narmacil’s time, Gondor’s wars with the fierce Wainriders began; they emerged suddenly out of the east, and Narmacil’s short reign came to an end in their violent assault.

30- Calimehtar (Ruled for 80 years to III 1936): Calimehtar reversed his father’s defeat, and secured a famous victory over the Wainriders on the plain of Dagorlad. Nonetheless they were not destroyed, and their threat remained on Gondor’s eastern borders.

31- Ondoher (Ruled for 8 years to III 1944): Like his father and grandfather before him, Ondoher went to war with the Wainriders. They had made alliance with the Men of Khand and of Harad, so that all of Gondor’s bitterest foes attacked at one time. Under its great general Eärnil, Gondor had the victory at the Battle of the Camp, but Ondoher was lost in those wars, as were his two sons Artamir and Faramir.

-Interregnum- (1 year to III 1945): After the loss of Ondoher and his sons, Gondor was left without a clear heir to its throne. Arvedui of Arthedainmade a claim, based on his descent from Isildur Gondor’s second King, but this claim was rejected. Instead, the Crown was given to the commander who had saved the South-kingdom, Eärnil, who as a great-great-grandson of Telumehtar was properly a member of the Royal House.

32- Eärnil II (Ruled for 98 years to III 2043): Eärnil ruled Gondor during a time a turmoil across Middle-earth. In the north, the last kingdom of the Dúnedain was overrun by the Witch-king, and though Eärnil’s son Eärnur travelled north to the aid of Arthedain, he came too late, though he did achieve the destruction of Angmar. The Lord of the Nazgûl returned to Mordor from that defeat, and later in Eärnil’s reign the Nazgûl launched an assault on Minas Ithil, Gondor’s great citadel on the borders of Mordor, and captured it. After that time Minas Ithil was known as MinasMorgul, and Minas Anor as Minas Tirith.

33- Eärnur (Ruled for 7 years to III 2050): Eärnur had reigned for just seven years when he foolishly took up a challenge fromthe Lord of the Nazgûl, and rode willingly to Minas Morgul. He was never heard from again, and his loss left Gondor without a King once more.

-Interregnum- (969 years to III 3019): For nearly a millennium after Eärnur’s loss, Gondor had no King. It was ruled by the Stewards, the loyal hereditary servants of the Kings descended from Húrin of Emyn Arnen, Steward to King Minardil. There were twenty-six Ruling Stewards, from Mardil Voronwë to Denethor II, in whose time one came toGondor with a true claim to its Kingship.

34- Aragorn Elessar (Ruled for 122 years to IV 120): Aragorn was the long-lost Heir of Isildur out of the north, the direct descendant of Gondor’s first and second Kings, who came into his title at the time of the War of the Ring, and was crowned in the year of the Downfall of Barad-dûr. He reunited the North- and South- Kingdoms; his Queen was Arwen, the daughter of Elrond, and his heir was their son Eldarion.

35- Eldarion (Ruled from IV 120): Little is known of Aragorn’s son Eldarion but his name, and the fact that he succeeded his father to carry the royal line on into the Fourth Age.

* King of Khazad-dûm

Ruler of Durin’s city in the Misty Mountains.

The title taken by the rulers of Khazad-dûm, the greatest and most opulent Dwarf-city of all time. The Kings were descended in line from Durin I, called the Deathless, who founded the city in ancient days.

After the foundation of the line by Durin, little is said of the most ancient Kings. What records we have show that they ruled, on average, for about a century each, which would mean that there must have been very roughly sixty generations of Kings of Khazad-dûm before records resume, in the eighteenth century of the Third Age. The first King listed there, the penultimate King in Khazad-dûm, was Durin VI, so it follows that there must have been a Durin II, III, IV and V among the many unknown Kings (indeed we have some records of Durin III, who received a Ring of Power from Celebrimbor himself).

It was Durin VI who had the misfortune to rule Khazad-dûm at the time its miners discovered and released a sleeping menace deep among their mithril veins. This was the Balrog that came to be known as Durin’s Bane, a creature much too powerful for the Dwarves to control. Durin was killed soon after its appearance, and succeeded by his son, Náin I. Náin’s rule was a short one - he too was killed within a year of his father’s death, and his subjects fled their ancient home.

According to legend, Náin I was not the last King of Khazad-dûm. Some sources suggest that his distant descendant, Durin VII, came back to the kingdom of his ancestor, and reclaimed it as its King, though this tale cannot be verified beyond doubt.

* King of Lórien|King of Lorien

An ancient title for the rulers of the land of Lórien, of which Amroth was the last.

* King of Nargothrond

A title of Finrod, who founded the citadel and realm of Nargothrond in West Beleriand. After his loss, the Kingship passed to his brother Orodreth.

* King of Númenor|King of Numenor

Ruler of ancient Westernesse.

The title of twenty-two lords of the Númenóreans (there were also three ruling Queens of Númenor), from Elros Tar-Minyatur down through the long years of the Second Age to Ar-Pharazôn the Golden, who brought about the Downfall.

* King of Númenórë|King of Numenorë

The Father of the Isle of Númenor.

The rare High-elven form of the title much more usually seen as ‘King of Númenor’. In fact, it occurs in only one recorded instance, in a letter from Gil-galad to Tar-Meneldur the fifth King.

* King of Rhovanion

A title originally claimed by Vidugavia, a prince of the Northmen who ruled the lands east of Greenwood the Great.

* King of Rohan

Eorl and his royal descendants.

Title of nineteen recorded lords of the land of Rohan, from Eorl the Young who founded that land to Elfwine, son of Éomer Éadig who fought in the War of the Ring.

* King of the Dead

Lord of the Shadow Host.

The king of the oath-breaking Men of the White Mountains, who swore allegiance to Isildur in the War of the Last Alliance. For breaking his oath, he and his people were cursed to walk the Paths of the Dead until they could redeem themselves, which they achieved by aiding Isildur’s heir Aragorn in the War of the Ring.

* King of the Mark

An equivalent title to ‘King of Rohan’, probably more commonly used in Rohan itself.

* King of the Noldor

Title taken by the Lords of the Deep Elves.

An equivalent title to ‘High King of the Noldor’, but somewhat less common. It was originally borne by Finwë, and passed down through his descendants to Gil-galad.

* King of the Sea

A title of Ulmo and of Ar-Pharazôn.

–—

“… the arising of the King of the Sea was terrible, as a mounting wave that strides to the land…”

(Valaquenta)

–—

A title primarily given to the Vala Ulmo, whose special province was the oceans, seas and waters of the Earth. Ulmo not only ruled the Sea, he also dwelt in its depths, and so lived apart from the other Valar.

The title ‘King of the Sea’ also appears in Akallabêth, but there it is given not to Ulmo, but to Ar-Pharazôn, the last King of Númenor, as he sails on Middle-earth to defeat Sauron.

* King of the West

A title given to Aragorn.

A title taken by Aragorn Elessar on his accession to the throne of Gondor, signifying his Kingship over all the Free Peoples of the West, from the north to the south.

In both the North- and South-kingdoms of the Dúnedain, there had been no King for many centuries. At the time of Aragorn’s coronation, there had been no King of Gondor for 969 years, and no King of a united Arnor for 2,158 years. The last King to rule both realms jointly had been Aragorn’s distant ancestor Isildur, though his Kingship was cut short at the the Disaster of the Gladden Fields before he could truly take up the rule of his twin realms.

From that time, when the Third Age was just two years old, the West had had no uniting King. At the coronation of Aragorn, two years from the Age’s end, Arnor and Gondor were at last united once again, and Aragorn’s rule of the West is therefore referred to as the Reunited Kingdom.

* King under the Mountain|Mountain Kingdom Ruler of the Dwarves of Erebor.

–—

Title of the Dwarf-lords of Erebor.

The title taken by Thráin I, founder of the Dwarf-kingdom at Erebor, the Lonely Mountain, and maintained by those Kings of Durin’s Folk who dwelt there. The line was broken twice, once by Thorin I (he and four generations of his descendants ruled from the Grey Mountains, not Erebor), and once by the dragon Smaug (who claimed the title for himself). In both cases, the line was restored to a rightful heir.

* King’s Archers

The archers of the armies of Númenor.

The steel-bowed archers of the armies of Númenor during the later Second Age, when the Númenóreans carved out dominions in Middle-earth. Their arrows were famously one ell long (that is, 1.143 m, or nearly four feet).

* King’s Company

The éored of the King of Rohan.

The first éored of the Riders of Rohan, who rode to battle beside the King himself. Also known as the King’s Riders.

* King’s Court

The courts of the Kings of Númenor in Armenelos, where grew the White Tree Nimloth.

* King’s Heir

Title of the heir to the Kingship of Númenor, normally, but not necessarily, conferred on the reigning monarch’s eldest son.

* King’s House

The seat of the Kings of Gondor.

The seat and residence of the Kings of Gondor. Until the middle years of the Third Age, the House was in Osgiliath on the River Anduin, but after the losses from the Great Plague, the new King Tarondor removed it to Minas Anor.

* King’s Men

Númenóreans hostile to the Eldar and the Elendili.

–—

That party of the Númenóreans, the greater part, who followed the policies of Tar-Ancalimon and his successors to build the pride and wealth of Númenor in defiance of the Valar and the Eldar.

* King’s Reckoning

The calendar of Númenor.

The name given to the calendar system used in Númenor, and in Gondor and Arnor during the early part of the Third Age. It divided the year into twelve months (properly called astar), and included three days that did not belong to any month: yestarë, loëndë and mettarë. The King’s Reckoning lasted until the loss of Eärnur the last King of Gondor. It was revised by Mardil, the first Ruling Steward, who replaced it with the system known as the Stewards’ Reckoning.

* King’s Riders

The personal guard of the Lord of the Mark.

The name given to the Rohirrim who formed the personal bodyguard of the King of Rohan.

* King’s Writer

The scribe of Minas Tirith.

The scribe of the King of Gondor, a title borne by Findegil in the early Fourth Age.

* Kingdom under the Mountain

The Dwarf-kingdom of Erebor.

The kingdom of the Dwarves of Durin’s Folk for much of the later Third Age, better known as Erebor, or the Lonely Mountain.

* Kingdoms of the Dúnedain|Kingdoms of the Dunedain The realms of the Exiles of Númenor.

The two great and ancient kingdoms of Middle-earth founded in the last years of the Second Age by Elendil and his sons: Arnor the North-kingdom and Gondor the South-kingdom.

* Kings of Men

Men of Westernesse.

A title given to the Númenóreans by the Men of Middle-earth when they returned there in the Second Age.

* Kingsfoil

The royal healing-leaf.

A plant also called Athelas or Asëa Aranion. Its sweet-smelling leaves possessed healing virtues, especially in the hands of descendant of the royal line of Númenor.

* Kingsland

The Arandor of Númenor.

The most important region of ancient Númenor, the lands between the Meneltarma near the centre of the island and the port of Rómenna on its eastern coast. More properly known by its Elvish name, Arandor, the Kingsland held the royal city of Armenelos, Númenor’s capital.

* Kinslaying

The slaying of the Teleri by the Noldor at Alqualondë.

–—

The sack of Alqualondë.

The first slaying of Elf by Elf, in which the followers of Fëanor assaulted the Teleri in their haven of Alqualondë as they marched from Valinor.

* Kirinki

Small scarlet-plumaged birds of Númenor.

–—

Tiny scarlet birds found in Númenor.

One of the many species of birds found in Númenor, and doubtless Aman, that were not known in Middle-earth. The kirinki were said to be smaller than wrens, with bright scarlet feathers, and voices so high that they could hardly be heard by Men.

* Kuduk

The actual Westron word that is translated as ‘Hobbit’ by Tolkien; it is suggested that this developed from an older word, kûd-dûkan, meaning

‘hole-dweller’.

* Labadal

Túrin’s name in childhood for Sador; translated ‘Hopafoot’.

–—

The childhood friend of Túrin.

The name, said to mean ‘hopafoot’, given by Túrin to Sador. Sador was a lame servant of Túrin’s father Húrin, who befriended the tragic hero in his youth.

* Ladros

The lands to the north-east of Dorthonion that were granted by the Noldorin Kings to the Men of the House of Bëor.

–—

The northeastern reaches of Dorthonion.

A highland region to the northeast of Dorthonion. It was held briefly as a fief by the House of Bëor, but lost to Morgoth in the Dagor Bragollach.

The region of Ladros seems originally to have been a fief of Finrod Felagund (at least, his brothers Angrod and Aegnor held ‘the northern slopes of Dorthonion’, according to Quenta Silmarillion, Of Beleriand and its Realms). Finrod later assigned this land to Boromir of the House of Bëor, whose members had long been loyal in his service.

Of the House of Bëor, there were three lords of Ladros - Boromir himself, his son Bregor, and Bregor’s son Barahir. In Barahir’s time, Morgoth overwhelmed Dorthonion and Ladros in the Dagor Bragollach: Barahir and twelve faithful Men, including his son Beren, became outlaws in their own land, assaulting Morgoth’s forces from their hidden lair at Tarn Aeluin on Ladros’ southern borders. They were betrayed by Gorlim the Unhappy, and all were slain but Beren, who escaped into the south. After this time, Ladros fell under the yoke of Morgoth until it was swallowed by the Great Sea at the end of the First Age.

In the Narn i Hîn Húrin (published by Christopher Tolkien in Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth), Túrin Turambar is given the title

‘heir of Dor-lómin and Ladros’. This seems inconsistent with the published Silmarillion: Túrin was descended from the House of Hador, not that of Bëor. Perhaps this birthright came from his mother, Morwen, who was the granddaughter of Barahir’s brother Bregolas.

* Lady of Lórien|Lady of Lorien

A title given to Galadriel after she took up the rule of Lórien with her spouse Celeborn.

* Lady of Rohan

A title given to Éowyn, niece to King Théoden of Rohan, and sister to his successor Éomer.

* Lady of the Galadhrim

Galadriel, the Lady of Lórien.

After the loss of Amroth, the rulership of Lórien was taken up by Celeborn and Galadriel; the silvan people of that land were known as Galadhrim, the tree people, hence this title of Galadriel.

* Lady of the Golden Wood

A title of Galadriel, Lady of the land of Lórien, whose woods were filled with golden Mallorn trees.

* Lady of the Seas

A title of the Maia Uinen.

Uinen the spouse of Ossë, who had the power to calm the ocean storms.

She was especially revered by the Númenóreans, who were said to esteem her as highly as the Valar themselves.

* Lady of the Shield-arm

A title given to Éowyn after the Battle of the Pelennor Fields. In that battle, her shield-arm was broken by the Lord of the Nazgûl, but with the help of Meriadoc Brandybuck, she nonetheless defeated her mighty foe.

* Lady of the Stars

A title of Varda, who made the stars with dews of the White Tree Telperion.

* Laer

The Sindarin name for the season of Summer, 72 days that fell between modern 1 June and 11 August, known in Quenya as Lairë.

* Laer Cú Beleg|Laer Cu Beleg

‘The Song of the Great Bow’, made by Túrin at Eithel Ivrin in memory of Beleg Strongbow.

* Lagduf

An Orc of Shagrat’s garrison.

An Orc soldier who served under Shagrat in the garrison of the Tower of Cirith Ungol. During the War of the Ring, a battle broke out in the Tower with a rival band of Orcs from Minas Morgul. Lagduf attempted to escape with another Orc named Muzgash, but they were both shot as they ran from the fortress.

* Laiquendi

The Green-elves of Ossiriand; those Elves of the Nandor who came at last over the Blue Mountains from the east and dwelt between them and the River Gelion.

* Lairë|Laire

The Quenya name for the season of Summer, 72 days that fell between modern 1 June and 11 August, known in Sindarin as Laer.

* Lairelossë

‘Summer-snow-white’, fragrant evergreen tree brought to Númenor by the Eldar of Eressëa.

* Lake Evendim

The lake on which Annúminas stood.

A lake in the north of Middle-earth, called by the Elves Nenuial.

Annúminas, the ancient royal city of Arnor, was built on its southern shores.

* Lake Helevorn

The cold lake beneath Mount Rerir.

The deep, mountain-shaded lake in the cold lands northeast of Beleriand.

Caranthir had his capital on its shores, but its waters were defiled during the Dagor Bragollach.

* Lake-men|Lake-man|Lake Men|Lake Man

The Men of the Long Lake.

The people of Lake-town on the Long Lake, to the south of Erebor. A trading people, they dealt with Erebor and Dale in the times before Smaug’s coming, and with the Wood-elves of Mirkwood.

* Lake-town|Lake Town

A township of Men on the Long Lake.

The township of the Lake-men, built on wooden stilts in the waters of the Long Lake, as a protection against the dragon Smaug, who dwelt nearby to the north.

* Lalaith

‘Laughter’, name by which Urwen Húrin’s daughter was called, from the stream that flowed past Húrin’s house.

–—

Daughter of Húrin and Morwen, and sister to Túrin Turambar; she died in childhood of a plague.

* Lalia Clayhanger

The long-lived matriarch of the Took clan.

The wife of Thain Fortinbras II, who long outlived her husband and ruled the Tooks of Great Smials for twenty-two years. She was famous for her tremendous girth (she was known in less polite circles as Lalia the Fat), which was rumoured to have prevented her attendance of Bilbo’s famous Birthday Party. She died the following year in an unfortunate incident involving a tipping wheelchair and a flight of garden steps.

* Lamedon

Region about the upper waters of the rivers Ciril and Ringló under the southern slopes of Ered Nimrais.

–—

A region of central Gondor.

A region of Gondor on the southern slopes of the White Mountains. The River Ciril ran through it to meet the Ringló, and Calembel was its chief town.

* Lammoth

The ‘Great Echo’, region north of the Firth of Drengist, between Ered Lómin and the Sea, named from the echoes of Morgoth’s cry in his struggle with Ungoliant.

–—

The shoreland region of the Great Echo.

Called the ‘Great Echo’; a shoreland region in the far north where Ungoliant set upon Melkor, and was in turn driven into the south by Balrogs from Angband.

* Lamps of the Valar

The first illumination of the World.

Illuin and Ormal, the two great lamps made by Aulë to give light to the world in the ancient days when the Valar still dwelt in Almaren. They were overthrown and destroyed by Melkor.

* Land of Bow and Helm

The land of the Two Captains.

The short-lived land to the south of Brethil, whose Men were commanded by Túrin Turambar and Beleg Strongbow. Known in Elvish as Dor-Cúarthol.

* Land of Gift

Elvish Andor, a name for the island of Númenor, given as a gift to the Edain at the beginning of the Second Age.

* Land of Seven Rivers|Land of the Seven Rivers The homeland of the Laiquendi.

A name for Ossiriand, and a literal translation of that Elvish name. The Land of the Seven Rivers lay between the River Gelion and the Blue Mountains, and was the home of the Green-elves, the Laiquendi. The Seven Rivers from which it took its name were the Gelion itself and six of its tributaries. From north to south, these tributaries were the Ascar, the Thalos, the Legolin, the Brilthor, the Duilwen and the Adurant.

* Land of the Dead that Live

Dor Firn-i-Guinar, the name given to the green island of Tol Galen during the time that Beren and Lúthien dwelt there.

* Land of the Halflings

The Shire; the only region in the northwest of Middle-earth to be peopled only by Hobbits.

* Land of the Star

Númenor; translation of Quenya Elenna-nórë in the Oath of Cirion.

* Land of Willows

The willow-woods of Nan-tathren.

Some miles to the north of the Mouths of Sirion, that river’s waters were swelled by its joining with the Narog. Where the two rivers met, a flowered land lay, filled with willow trees that ran along the river-banks. This was Nan-tathren, the Land of Willows that was famed as one of Middle-earth’s most beautiful places.

* Landroval

The brother of Gwaihir.

The great eagle who flew with his brother Gwaihir to the aid of Frodo and Sam in Mordor. His name comes from the Elvish for ‘wide-winged’.

* Langflood

Name of Anduin among the Éothéod.

–—

The almost-forgotten Mannish name for the River Anduin, given to it by the ancestors of the Rohirrim, but normally called just ‘The Great River’.

* Langstrand

The ‘long shore’ of Gondor.

The Mannish name for the region known as Anfalas in Elvish; a long strip of coastland running for more than three hundred miles, from the River Lefnui in the west to the Morthond in the east. It was a rural land, occupied for the most part by hunters and fishers who lived in small villages among the shorelands.

* Langwell

‘Source of the Langflood’, name given by the Éothéod to the river from the northern Misty Mountains which after its junction with Greylin they called Langflood (Anduin).

–—

One of the sources of the Great River.

One of the two rivers (the other being the Greylin) that met in the far north of Middle-earth to form the beginnings of the Great River, Anduin.

* Lanthir Lamath

‘Waterfall of Echoing Voices’, where Dior had his house in Ossiriand, and after which his daughter Elwing (‘Star-spray’) was named.

* Lár|Lar

A league (very nearly three miles).

* Largo Baggins

Great-grandfather of Frodo Baggins, and great-uncle of Bilbo, Largo married Tanta Hornblower.

* Larnach

One of the Woodmen in the lands south of Teiglin.

–—

A Woodman of Brethil.

One of the Woodmen who dwelt in the Forest of Brethil, south of the River Teiglin. These people were harried by the Gaurwaith outlaws from Doriath’s western borders, and in a raid by these outlaws, Larnach’s daughter was rescued by Túrin Turambar, under the alias of Neithan.

In his search for Túrin, Beleg Strongbow later came upon the fenced homestead that was Larnach’s home, and was told the story.

* Lasse-lanta

‘Leaf-fall’, an alternative name for the Quenya season of Quellë, or autumn; 54 days between modern 8 October and 30 November. The Sindarin equivalent is Narbeleth.

* Last Alliance of Elves and Men|Last Alliance|The Alliance The league made at the end of the Second Age between Elendil and Gil-galad to defeat Sauron.

–—

The alliance of Gil-galad of the Elves and Elendil the exile of Númenor at the end of the Second Age, whose forces marched on Mordor and besieged Barad-dûr.

* Last Battle

The end of Arda.

The Dagor Dagorath, the great final battle at which the forces of the brothers Manwë and Melkor will face one another, and Arda will be unmade.

* Last Desert

The barren lands of the distant east.

A distant and possibly mythical desert in the far east of Middle-earth, the abode of the Were-worms.

* Last Gate

The Seventh of the Seven Gates of Gondolin.

The last of Gondolin’s gates was last not only in the order they were encountered by one entering the city, but also the last to be built.

Originally, Gondolin had just six gates, with the Golden Gate being the final entrance to the Turgon’s Hidden City. After the narrow escape of the Gondolindrim from the Nirnaeth Arnoediad, another, even stronger gate was made from steel and built across the entrance to the Orfalch Echor.

* Last Homely House

A name given to Elrond’s refuge at Rivendell, so called because it was the last outpost in the relatively civilised lands of Eriador before a traveller crossed the Misty Mountains and entered the Wild of Rhovanion.

* Laura Grubb

Bilbo Baggins’ paternal grandmother, she married Mungo Baggins and had five children; the eldest was Bilbo’s father Bungo.

* Laurelin|Tree of Gold|Golden Tree|Tree of the Sun

‘Song of Gold’, the younger of the Two Trees of Valinor. Called the Tree of the Sun, the Golden Tree of Valinor. See Telperion.

–—

The Golden Tree of Valinor, the younger of the Two Trees that shed golden light on the realm of the Valar in the long years before the making of the Sun and Moon.

* Laurelindórenan|Laurelindorenan|Laurelindórinan|Laurelindorinan

‘Valley of Singing Gold’, Lórien.

–—

‘Land of the Valley of Singing Gold’.

A name for the land more commonly known as Lórien, the Golden Wood of Celeborn and Galadriel. It was an older name of that land, but not entirely forgotten; both Treebeard and Faramir still used the old name freely.

* Laurinquë|Laurinque

Yellow-flowered tree of the Hyarrostar in Númenor.

* Lay of Leithian

The long poem concerning the lives of Beren and Lúthien from which the prose account in The Silmarillion was derived. Leithian is translated

‘Release from Bondage’.

* Leaf

The Pipe-weed of the Hobbits.

A broad name for the plant cultivated by the Hobbits for smoking, and for that reason more commonly known as ‘Halflings’ Leaf’. It had many other names besides, from the plain ‘pipe-weed’ or ‘westmansweed’ to its more elegant name among the Dúnedain, ‘sweet galenas’.

* Leaflock

An ancient Ent of Fangorn Forest.

One of the oldest of the Ents, called Finglas in Elvish, whose name referred to his leafy ‘hair’. According to Treebeard, Leaflock had become tired and tree-like, sometimes sleeping entire seasons through.

* Lebennin

‘Five rivers’ (those being Erui, Sirith, Celos, Serni and Gilrain), land between Ered Nimrais and Ethir Anduin; one of the ‘faithful fiefs’ of Gondor.

–—

A fief of south-eastern Gondor, lying between the Rivers Gilrain in the west and Anduin in the east.

* Lebethron

A favoured wood of Gondor’s craftsmen.

A tree that grew in Gondor; little is known of it, except that it was fair, and beloved by the woodworkers of that land. The staves given by Faramir to Frodo and Sam were made of lebethron wood, as was the casket in which he brought the Crown of Gondor to the coronation of Aragorn.

* Lefnui

River flowing to the sea from the western end of Ered Nimrais. The name means ‘fifth’, i.e. after Erui, Sirith, Serni and Morthond, the rivers of Gondor that flowed into Anduin or the Bay of Belfalas).

* Legolas Greenleaf

Sindarin Elf of Northern Mirkwood, son of Thranduil; one of the Fellowship of the Ring.

–—

A prince of the Silvan Elves.

Son of Thranduil, Lord of the Elves of Mirkwood. He set out from Rivendell with the Company of the Ring, and journeyed with Aragorn and Gimli through the southern lands of Middle-earth during the War of the Ring; he fought at the Battles of the Hornburg and the Pelennor Fields.

* Legolin

The third of the tributaries of Gelion in Ossiriand.

–—

Third of Gelion’s six tributaries.

The third of Gelion’s six tributary rivers, that like the others rose among the western slopes of the Blue Mountains. It flowed west through Ossiriand between the Thalos to the north and the Brilthor to the south.

Its name Legolin means ‘free-running’.

* Lembas|Coimas

Sindarin name of the waybread of the Eldar (from earlier lennmbass

‘journey-bread’; in Quenya coimas ‘life-bread’).

–—

The waybread of the Elves. The secret of its making was originally held by Melian of Doriath, but this secret was passed on to Galadriel and possibly others.

* Lenwë|Lenwe

The leader of the Elves from the host of the Teleri who refused to cross the Misty Mountains on the west-ward journey from Cuiviénen (the Nandor); father of Denethor.

–—

Leader of the Nandor.

An Elf of Telerin origin, who set out on the Great Journey from Cuiviénen. When the Teleri reached the Great River Anduin, and saw the Misty Mountains across their path to the west, he fell away from the Journey, and led a part of the Teleri south down the Vales of Anduin to found the people known as the Nandor.

* Léod|Leod

Ruler of the Éothéod; father of Eorl the Young.

–—

The ruler of the Éothéod, Léod was the father of Eorl the Young, and hence the ancestor of all the Kings of Rohan.

* Lhûn|Lhun

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

Frequently in an adapted spelling Lune.

–—

The river that flowed into the Gulf of Lhûn.

Also called the Lune, a river in the far northwest of Middle-earth. It rose in the eastern Blue Mountains, and flowed southward to meet the Great Sea in the wide Gulf of Lhûn.

* Lidless Eye

The Eye of Sauron.

From the highest tower of Barad-dûr, Sauron kept an unceasing watch on the lands and kingdoms of Middle-earth. The ‘Lidless Eye’ refers to this unsleeping vigilance.

* Lieutenant of the Tower of Barad-dûr|Lieutenant of the Tower of Barad-dur

The title of an important commander in the land of Mordor. Its associated details and duties are unknown, but at the time of the War of the Ring it was borne by the Man known as the Mouth of Sauron.

* Light-elves|Light-elf|Light Elves|Light Elf The followers of Ingwë.

A name given to the Vanyar, the kindred of the Elves who came first to Valinor and dwelt long ages in the light of the Two Trees.

This is an old and rare term, used just once in The Hobbit and never again in any canonical source. This is probably to avoid confusion with

‘Elves of the Light’, the Calaquendi, of whom the Light-elves formed just one part, together with the Noldor and many of the Teleri (the Deep-elves and Sea-elves mentioned in The Hobbit).

* Lily Baggins

A great-aunt of Bilbo Baggins, Lily married Togo Goodbody and had many descendants.

* Lily Cotton (née Lily Brown)|Lily Cotton|Lily Brown Sam Gamgee’s mother-in-law.

The wife of Tolman Cotton of Bywater, and mother to Rose Cotton, who would marry Samwise Gamgee after the War of the Ring. She makes a very brief appearance in the text of The Lord of the Rings, where she is referred to simply as ‘Mrs. Cotton’.

* Limlaith

The Elves’ name for the river otherwise called the Limlight.

A river that flowed out of the northern parts of Fangorn Forest, and flowed eastward to join the Anduin in its building southward rush. In ancient days, it marked the northernmost point of Calendardhon, and hence of Gondor’s borders, but at the time of the War of the Ring, it lay on the borders of Rohan. Men called it the Limlight, and that is the name used throughout The Lord of the Rings.

* Limlight|Limlich|Limliht|Limlint

River flowing from Fangorn Forest to Anduin and forming the extreme north-bound of Rohan. Spelled also Limlaith, Limlich, Limliht, Limlint.

–—

A river flowing out of northern Fangorn.

A tributary of the River Anduin that flowed eastward from Fangorn Forest to meet the Great River at the Field of Celebrant. It formed part of the northern boundary of Rohan.

* Linaewen

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

* Linda Baggins

Bilbo Baggins’ aunt (the younger sister of Bilbo’s father Bungo), Linda married Bodo Proudfoot.

* Lindar

The Teleri of Aman.

‘The Singers’; the name by which the Teleri of Valinor called themselves.

* Lindens|Linden|Lime-trees|Lime-tree

Delicate yellow-blossomed trees.

Trees with heart-shaped leaves and sweet-scented yellow blossom, commonly - but inaccurately - referred to as ‘lime-trees’. In Legolas’

song of Nimrodel, he compares her to a linden-leaf, and there were Ents in Fangorn Forest of linden-kind.

* 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.

–—

The last surviving lands west of the Blue Mountains.

The green land to the west of the Blue Mountains; the only region to survive the destruction of Beleriand during the War of Wrath. Gil-galad, last High King of the Noldor, dwelt there during the Second Age.

The name means ‘(Land) of Music’, and comes from the singing of the Laiquendi, the inhabitants of the land during the First Age.

* Lindórië|Lindorie

Sister of Eärendil fifteenth Lord of Andúnië, mother of Inzilbêth mother of Tar-Palantir.

* Lindórinand|Lindorinand

An ancient name for the land of Lórien, before the arrival of Celeborn and Galadriel; it is said to mean ‘Vale of the Land of the Singers’.

* Line of Elros

Royal descendants of the first King of Númenor.

The line of the descendants of Elros Tar-Minyatur, Kings and Queens of Númenor through the Second Age. The Lords of Andúnië and their descendants, including Aragorn Elessar, represented a branch of this Line.

* Linhir

A township on the River Gilrain.

A town in southern Gondor at the fords of the River Gilrain, near to the Mouths of Anduin. The site of a lesser battle in the War of the Ring.

* Lisgardh

Land of reeds at the Mouths of Sirion.

* Lissuin

A fragrant flower of Tol Eressëa.

* Lithe

Two feast days of the Shire Calendar that lay either side of Midyear’s Day (and, in a leap year, the special feast-day of Overlithe). 1 Lithe fell on modern 21 June, while 2 Lithe usually fell on modern 23 June, but on 24 June in a leap year.

* Lithlad

Mordor’s northern plain of ash.

The ashen plain that lay beneath Mordor’s northern mountain-wall, the Ered Lithui. It lay in the east of that land, beyond Gorgoroth and the Barad-dûr.

* Little Delving

A small village near Michel Delving.

A village of the Shire. Though its existence can be inferred from the name ‘Michel Delving’, the only direct evidence for it appears on the Shire map in The Lord of the Rings, where a road leading off to the northwest is marked ‘To Little Delving’.

* Little Folk

A name among Men for the Hobbits.

A term for the small race of people more commonly known as Hobbits, especially used by the taller Men (who were in turn referred to as the Big Folk).

The origins of the Little Folk are mysterious. They were evidently an ancient branch of the human race, but they developed in the mysterious east of Middle-earth, and how they came by their small stature and peculiar habits is unknown. By the time they entered history, in the year 1050 of the Third Age, they had already broken into three distinct groups, the Harfoots, the Fallohides and the Stoors.

Over the next two thousand years, the Little Folk spread slowly across the Western lands. By III 1601, they had acquired a land for themselves, that they called the Shire. Despite many hardships, the Shire would survive until the time of the War of the Ring and beyond. Though their land did not survive to our own time, Tolkien’s words in the Prologue to The Lord of the Ring suggest that the Little Folk themselves are not extinct, but continue a secret, hidden existence alongside us, the bumbling Big Folk.

* Little Gelion

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

–—

The lesser of Gelion’s two sources.

A lesser river that rose beneath Himring in the north marches of Beleriand, whose spring was close by that of the Celon. Where the Celon ran southwest towards the borders of Doriath, the Little Gelion followed a twisting course to the southeast, where it joined with the Greater Gelion to form the long river Gelion itself.

* Little People

A name among Men for hobbit-kind, used especially where the two races dwelt together, as at Bree.

* Loa

The Elvish solar year.

–—

A year, to the Elves.

A name used by the Elves for a single year; also called a coranar.

* Lobelia Sackville-Baggins (née Lobelia Bracegirdle)|Lobelia The widow of Otho Sackville-Baggins.

A renowned character of the Shire, she married Bilbo’s cousin Otho Sackville-Baggins. Her envy of Bag End was well-known, but she stood up bravely to the Men of Saruman when they invaded the Shire in the last stages of the War of the Ring.

* Lockholes

The short-lived prison cells of Michel Delving.

When the Shire was taken over by Sharkey’s Men during the War of the Ring, the storage tunnels of Michel Delving were converted into the so-called Lockholes. These were prison cells for those who rebelled against the new regime, among whose inhabitants were Mayor Will Whitfoot, Lobelia Sackville-Baggins and Fredegar Bolger.

* Loeg Ningloron

‘Pools of the golden water-flowers’; Sindarin name of the Gladden Fields.

* Loëndë|Loende

Also known, especially by the Hobbits, as Midyear’s Day, Loëndë was the day that fell in the middle of the year was an important feature in many of the calendars of Middle-earth. On a modern calendar, Midyear’s Day would be 22 June.

* Lómelindi|Lomelindi

Quenya word meaning ‘dusk-singers’, nightingales.

* Lómion|Lomion

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

* Lond Daer|Great Haven|Great Middle Haven Númenórean harbour and shipyards in Eriador, at the mouth of the Gwathló, established by Tar-Aldarion, who called it Vinya-londë. Translated ‘the Great Haven’; also called Lond Daer Enedh, ‘the Great Middle Haven’.

–—

The Númenórean port on the Gwathló.

A great haven built by the Númenóreans at the mouth of the River Gwathló or Greyflood. It was an important Númenórean base throughout much of the Second Age.

* Lone-lands

The wide lands of Eriador.

The name among Men and Hobbits for the wide region of northern Middle-earth that lay between the Blue Mountains in the west and the Misty Mountains in the east. They are more commonly known by their Elvish name, Eriador.

* Lonely Isle

Tol Eressëa, the island off the eastern shores of Aman where many of the Elves dwelt. The name probably comes from its early history, when it stood in the middle of the Great Sea, far from either Aman or Middle-earth.

* Lonely Mountain

The Dwarf-kingdom of Erebor.

The mountain that stood alone in the east of Middle-earth where the Dwarves founded the kingdom of Erebor, which was destroyed by the dragon Smaug, and refounded by Thorin II Oakenshield.

* Long Horn

The nickname of Holman Cotton.

The nickname of Rose Cotton’s grandfather, Holman Cotton of Bywater. It originally appeared in the form ‘Long Holm’, and so apparently referred to Holman’s unusual height.

* Long Lake

The lake south of Eriador into which flowed both the Forest River and the River Running, and on which Esgaroth (Lake Town) was built.

–—

The lake on which Esgaroth stood.

The lake that lay to the south of Erebor and Dale, the site of Lake-town, home of the trading people of the Lake-men.

* Long Wall

The Andram of Beleriand.

The range of hills that marked a steep fall in the height of the land of Beleriand, more usually called by its Elvish name, the Andram. Its western end was in the hills east of Nargothrond and from there it ran far into East Beleriand, where it ended at the hills of Ramdal, ‘Wall’s End’.

* Long Winter

The winter of Third Age 2758-9.

–—

The worst winter in the history of Middle-earth.

A period of five months between November III 2758 and March III 2759, during which time the western lands, and especially Eriador and Rohan, were beset by snow and ice. This was a catastrophic time, the Winter and the hard years that followed it cost many lives, and brought the land of Rohan near to extinction. The Long Winter is not to be confused with the Fell Winter, which occurred some 153 years later.

* Long-worms|Long-worm

Scatha and his kind.

A type of dragon found in the northern parts of Middle-earth, and perhaps elsewhere. The most famous long-worm (and in fact that only one that Tolkien explicitly identifies) was Scatha of the Ered Mithrin, who preyed on the Dwarves and Men of the Grey Mountains, and was slain by Fram of the Éothéod.

Though Tolkien gives almost no clues about long-worms in the text of The Lord of the Rings, his illustrations of dragons give us some further hints. Tolkien’s dragons tend to be sinuous, serpentine creatures, having the appearance almost of a winged snake rather than the more traditional dragon-form. This would explain the term ‘long-worm’ easily. It’s interesting to note that Tolkien gave this form to another northern dragon, Smaug, which strongly suggests that he, too, was one of the long-worms.

It should be noted that Tolkien doesn’t conclusively refer to long-worms as a ‘type’ of dragon, and it is just possible that ‘long-worm’ is simply another word for ‘dragon’. This doesn’t seem very likely, though: if all worms are long, why call them ‘long-worms’? Of course, if we assume that long-worms are a ‘subspecies’ of dragon, there must be other, less long, types.

* Longbeards

A name for Durin’s Folk.

One of the seven clans of the Dwarves, those that followed the oldest of the Seven Fathers of the Dwarves, Durin the Deathless. This people is more commonly known as Durin’s Folk.

* Longbottom

The birthplace of pipe-weed in the Shire.

A village or town in the Southfarthing of the Shire. Its name means

‘long valley’, and we know that the village and its surroundings were sheltered from the elements, probably by the valley’s sides.

Longbottom entered history in about III 2670 (1070 by the Shire-reckoning), when a certain Tobold Hornblower introduced a new herb there.

The valley’s sheltered aspect, and the relatively warm climate of the Southfarthing, made the region around Longbottom ideal for growing this new plant, pipe-weed, which rapidly became the centre of a thriving industry. Longbottom Leaf remained one of the most famous varieties of the weed.

* Longbottom Leaf

One of the finest varieties of pipe-weed.

One of the three varieties of pipe-weed recorded as being the most sought-after, the other two being Old Toby and Southern Star. Longbottom in the Southfarthing was the first place in the Shire where pipe-weed was grown, and so Longbottom Leaf must have been one of the oldest and most established types (if not the original variety). The first Leaf-grower was Tobold Hornblower, and his family continued the tradition. When Merry and Pippin found barrels of Longbottom Leaf in the ruins of Isengard, they bore the brand-marks of the Hornblower family.

* Longholes

A common family name among the Bree-hobbits.

* Longo Baggins

An uncle of Bilbo Baggins, Longo founded the Sackville-Baggins family when he married Camellia Sackville. Otho Sackville-Baggins was their son.

* Lord and Lady

A dual title for Celeborn and Galadriel, Lord and Lady of Lórien during the later Third Age.

* Lord of Andúnië|Lord of Andunie

Title of the ancestors of Elendil.

The title of the lords of the shoreland region of Andúnië in western Númenor; descended from Tar-Elendil, the fourth King of Númenor, and ancestors of the Kings of Gondor and of Arnor.

* Lord of Balrogs

A title of Gothmog, greatest of the Balrogs and High-captain of Angband.

He fought in the Dagor-nuin-Giliath (where he mortally wounded Fëanor) and the Nirnaeth Arnoediad (where he slew High King Fingon with an axe).

He met his doom in the Fall of Gondolin, where he fought Ecthelion of the Fountain in the Square of the King, though Ecthelion also fell in that combat.

It is nowhere stated for certain how many Balrogs Gothmog had at his command, but the number seems to have been small; Morgoth had no more than seven of these Demons of Fire in his service.

* Lord of Dale

The ancestors and descendants of Girion.

The hereditary ruler of the township of Dale. The first recorded Lord was Girion, who was slain by Smaug when he descended on Erebor. Girion’s descendant, Bard I, avenged his ancestor by slaying Smaug, and refounding Dale.

* Lord of Dol Amroth

Title of the descendants of Galador.

A title of the Princes of Dol Amroth, who ruled the Gondorian lands of Belfalas from their castle on the headland of Dol Amroth. They were descended from Galador the first Prince, and at the time of the War of the Ring, the Lordship was held by Imrahil son of Adrahil.

* Lord of Dor-lómin|Lord of Dor-lomin

Húrin, Túrin.

–—

Title of the descendants of Hador Lórindol.

A title created by Fingolfin when he granted the land of Dor-lómin to Hador and his descendants as an hereditary fief.

* Lord of Eagles|Lord of the Eagles

Greatest of the birds of Middle-earth.

The title of the chief Eagle of Middle-earth. In the First Age, this was Thorondor, while in the Third, the title seems to have been held by Gwaihir.

* Lord of Emyn Arnen

A title of Steward Faramir.

A title given to Faramir by Aragorn Elessar, who granted him the hills of Emyn Arnen for his residence as Prince of Ithilien, Gondor’s lands east of the Great River.

* Lord of Eregion

A title given to Celebrimbor, grandson of Fëanor.

Celebrimbor was the son of Curufin, who was in turn the son of Fëanor himself. He became the greatest of the Mírdain, the Jewel-smiths of Eregion, and was acknowledged as their leader and lord.

It is not certain whether Celebrimbor was the Lord of Eregion throughout its history. The references to him in The Lord of the Rings seem to suggest this, but other materials in Unfinished Tales hint that Eregion might in fact have been founded by Galadriel and Celeborn, with Celebrimbor only becoming its lord later in its history. This seems to be a point on which Tolkien changed his mind: the title ‘Lord of Eregion’

only appeared with the revised edition of The Lord of the Rings.

* Lord of Forests

Tauron, a title for Oromë.

The literal meaning of the name Tauron, a title used for Oromë, the Huntsman of the Valar.

* Lord of Gifts

Annatar, the tempter of the Mírdain.

Annatar, the name and title taken by Sauron when he attempted to seduce the Elves of Middle-earth during the Second Age.

* Lord of Lórien|Lord of Lorien

A title given to Celeborn after he took the lordship of the woodland realm of Lórien in the Third Age with his spouse, Galadriel.

* Lord of Lossarnach

Ruler of the vales south of Minas Tirith.

The lord of the flowered vales of the White Mountains that lay to the south and west of Minas Tirith. Almost nothing is known of the history and descent of this title, except the name of its holder during the War of the Ring. That was Forlong the Fat, who rode to Minas Tirith with two hundred men from his homeland, and fell in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields. Whether Forlong left an heir to inherit his lordship is unknown.

* Lord of Minas Tirith

A title of Kings and Stewards.

Strictly a title of any of the rulers of Gondor, but used most often of the Stewards who ruled in place of the King during the latter part of the Third Age.

* Lord of Mordor

Sauron, master of the Black Land.

One of the many titles of Sauron, the second Dark Lord and master of the Black Land of Mordor.

* Lord of Morgul

The Black Captain, greatest of the Nazgûl.

One of the many titles given to the dark creature most commonly called the Lord of the Nazgûl. This title comes from Minas Morgul, the seat of his power on the western borders of Mordor.

* Lord of Nargothrond

Ruler of the halls on the Narog.

A title of Finrod, who founded and ruled the citadel and realm of Nargothrond in West Beleriand.

* Lord of Rivendell

A title of Elrond, who founded Rivendell as a refuge for the enemies of Sauron in the Second Age, and remained its Lord until the end of the Third Age.

* Lord of Rohan

A title of the Kings of the Mark.

A title for the King of the Mark, carried through at least nineteen generations of the House of Eorl from Eorl himself to Elfwine the son of Éomer.

* Lord of the Breath of Arda

A poetic title for Manwë.

A title given to Manwë, and the translation of his surname Súlimo.

* Lord of the Glittering Caves

A title of Gimli.

After the downfall of Sauron, Gimli led a party of the Dwarves of Erebor to Aglarond, the Glittering Caves of the White Mountains within the realm of Rohan. There they founded a colony, and Gimli became known as the Lord of the Glittering Caves. His Dwarves performed great services for the Rohirrim and the Men of Gondor, of which the most famous was the making of new gates for Minas Tirith, forged out of mithril and steel.

* Lord of the Mark

A title of the King of Rohan.

A common alternative title for the King of Rohan, probably the favoured style of address among the Rohirrim themselves.

* Lord of the Nazgûl|Lord of the Nazgul|Chieftain of the Ringwraiths|Chieftain of the Ring-wraiths

Dread Servant of the Dark Lord.

Mightiest of the Nazgûl, the Nine Servants of Sauron. He destroyed the North-kingdom from his realm of Angmar during the mid-Third Age. He was slain by Éowyn and Meriadoc Brandybuck during the Battle of the Pelennor Fields.

Called also Lord of Morgul, Chieftain of the Ringwraiths, Witch-king.

* Lord of the Nine Riders

Most powerful of the Nazgûl.

A rare title for the mighty Ringwraith better known as the Lord of the Nazgûl or the Witch-king of Angmar.

* Lord of the Ring

The Dark Lord Sauron.

–—

“The Lord of the Ring is not Frodo, but the master of the Dark Tower of Mordor, whose power is again stretching out over the world!”

(Words of Gandalf; from The Fellowship of the Ring II 1, Many Meetings)

–—

A rare title for Sauron, the master of the One Ring. In fact, it occurs only once in The Lord of the Rings: in Rivendell, Pippin wrongly granted the title to Frodo, but was quickly corrected by Gandalf with the words shown above.

* Lord of the Rings

Most famous of Sauron’s titles.

A title given to Sauron, the deviser of the Great Rings, and maker of the Ruling Ring in Orodruin.

Curiously, given that this title gives its name to The Lord of the Rings, it is in fact very rare, and only appears twice in the entire book. Because of this, we can only speculate on exactly which rings it refers to. Gandalf’s use of the phrase ‘the Nine Servants of the Lord of the Rings’ suggests that he intends specifically the Nine Rings of the Nazgûl. The title may not have been meant to include the Three Rings of the Elves, in whose making Sauron was said to have had no part (although they too fell under his control when he wore the One Ring).

* Lord of the West

A title given to the Valar.

A title used for any of the great Valar, and especially Manwë. The twentieth King of Númenor, Ar-Adûnakhôr, attempted to usurp this title -

it is the meaning of his name.

* Lord of Waters

A title of Ulmo, the Vala whose special province was the seas and rivers of Arda.

* Lords of the Valar

The seven masculine Valar.

The seven Valar who took masculine forms when they entered Arda; Manwë, Ulmo, Aulë, Oromë, Mandos, Lórien and Tulkas.

* Lords of the West

A title given to the Valar.

* Lórellin|Lorellin

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

–—

The shaded lake of Lórien.

The tree-shadowed lake in the gardens of Lórien in Valinor. On an island in the lake, Lórien’s spouse Estë the Gentle sleeps each day.

* Lorgan

Chief of the Easterlings in Hithlum after the Nirnaeth Arnoediad, by whom Tuor was enslaved.

* Lórien (in Middle-

earth)|Lórien|Lorien|Glornan|Laurenandë|Laurenande|Nan Laur The land of the Galadhrim between Celebrant and Anduin, ruled by Celeborn and Galadriel. 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.

Nandorin Lórinand (Quenya Laurenandë; Sindarin Glornan, Nan Laur), derived from older Lindórinand ‘Vale of the Land of Singers’; Laurelindórinan ‘Valley of Singing Gold’. In Lothlórien the Sindarin word loth ‘flower’ is prefixed. See also Dwimordene, Lothlórien.

–—

Silvan land of Celeborn and Galadriel.

A woodland kingdom of the Silvan Elves on the western banks of the River Anduin; Galadriel and Celeborn came there in the Third Age, and ruled it after the loss of its ancient lord, Amroth.

* Lórien (in Valinor)|Lórien|Lorien

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

–—

The gardens of Valinor.

The gardens of the Vala Irmo in Valinor, from which he took his more common name, Lórien.

* Lórien (Vala)|Lórien|Lorien

Common name given to the Vala Irmo, from the gardens in Valinor where he dwelt with his spouse Estë.

* Lórinand|Lorinand

Nandorin name for Lórien.

–—

An old name for the land of Lórien.

One of the many old names for the land usually called Lórien; its meaning is apparently ‘Valley of Gold’.

* Losgar

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

–—

The place of the burning of the ships.

A place at the mouth of the Firth of Drengist, in the cold lands northwest of Beleriand. It was here that Fëanor landed at the beginning of the First Age, and gave the order to burn the stolen ships of the Teleri in which he had sailed to Middle-earth. His half-brother Fingolfin, trapped in Aman by this deed, was forced to march across the deadly Helcaraxë with his people to reach the Hither Lands.

* Lossarnach

‘Flowery Arnach’; region in the north-east of Lebennin about the sources of the river Erui.

–—

Gondor’s vale of flowers.

A flowery vale of the southern White Mountains, near Minas Tirith, and an ancient fiefdom of the kingdom of Gondor.

* Lótessë|Lotesse

The fifth month of the year, according to the Stewards’ Reckoning of Gondor, following Víressë. On a modern calendar, Lótessë ran between 23

April and 22 May.

* Lothíriel|Lothiriel

Daughter of Imrahil of Dol Amroth; wife of King Éomer of Rohan and mother of Elfwine the Fair.

–—

Queen to Éomer Éadig.

The daughter of Prince Imrahil of Dol Amroth, who wedded King Éomer of Rohan in the last year of the Third Age. Their son, Elfwine became the second King of the Third Line.

* Lothlann

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

–—

The wide, empty plain north of the March of Maedhros.

The wide plain that lay to the northeast of Beleriand, beyond the March of Maedhros and Maglor’s Gap.

* Lothlórien|Lothlorien

The name Lórien with the Sindarin word loth ‘lower’ prefixed.

–—

‘Lórien of the Blossom’, a name for the land to the east of the Misty Mountains more usually called simply Lórien.

* Lotho Sackville-Baggins|Lotho

The son of Otho and Lobelia Sackville-Baggins, who briefly became the leader, or Chief, of the Shire while it was under the control of Saruman during the War of the Ring. His fate remains unknown, but it seems likely he was murdered by Gríma Wormtongue.

* Lothron

Sindarin name of the fifth month. See Lótessë.

* Loudwater

The river the Elves called Bruinen.

The Mannish name for the river the Elves called Bruinen, that rose in the western Misty Mountains and flowed southwestwards past Rivendell.

* Lugbúrz|Lugburz

Sauron’s Dark Tower.

A name of the Dark Tower of Barad-dûr. This was its name in the Black Speech, and so was the form actually used by the servants of Sauron, and presumably by Sauron himself.

* Lugdush

An Orc in the service of Isengard.

An Orc, and apparently an Uruk, in the service of Saruman. He was a member of Uglúk’s raiding band that captured Merry and Pippin beneath Amon Hen, and drove them westwards to the eaves of Fangorn Forest. It was there that Lugdush met his end, at the hands of Éomer’s Rohirrim.

* Luinil

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

* Lumbar

Name of a star.

* Lune

The Hobbits’ name for the Lhûn.

The name given by Men and Hobbits to the river the Elves called the Lhûn, in imitation of that name. If flowed from the eastern Ered Luin to meet the sea in the great Gulf of Lhûn, and the Grey Havens stood at its mouth.

* Lúthien Tinúviel|Lúthien|Luthien

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. Called Tinúviel ‘Nightingale’.

–—

The Nightingale of Doriath.

The only daughter of King Thingol of Doriath and Melian the Maia, and said to be the fairest Elf to have ever lived. She was discovered by Beren as he wandered the woods of her father’s kingdom, and they grew to love one another. When Lúthien took Beren before her father, he was apalled that his royal daughter should wish to wed a mortal, and so set Beren what he thought was an unachievable task, to recover a Silmaril from the Iron Crown of Morgoth himself. So Beren left Doriath in pursuit of his hopeless quest.

After a time, a darkness fell on Lúthien’s heart, and she learned from her mother Melian what this meant; Beren had been captured by Sauron, and was held in the dungeons of Tol-in-Gaurhoth. Though Thingol sought to stop her, Lúthien set out from Doriath to rescue Beren, if she could.

Passing through many adventures, she gained the help of Huan the Hound, and together they came to Sauron’s Isle. Through Lúthien’s magic and Huan’s strength they defeated Sauron and rescued Beren. Eventually Beren set out for Angband once again, and Lúthien accompanied him.

Through Lúthien’s powers, they passed the gates of Angband, and the great wolf Carcharoth that guarded them. Coming before the Dark Throne itself, she wove a spell that put Morgoth and his court into a deep sleep, and Beren cut a Silmaril from the Iron Crown. Returning to the gates, they found that Carcharoth barred their escape. Beren held up the hallowed Jewel to protect them, but the monstrous wolf bit off his hand, and with it consumed the Silmaril. But the Silmarils were blessed by Varda herself, so that any unclean flesh that touched them would be withered and burnt. The wolf’s innards were consumed with that burning, and it ran howling into the south.

Lúthien healed Beren, and they came at last back to her father’s halls at Menegroth. There they heard tidings that the maddened wolf had entered Thingol’s realm, and Beren set out with the King to the Hunting of the Wolf. After nightfall they returned; the wolf was slain and the Silmaril recovered, but Beren was wounded mortally. So he passed away, and soon after Lúthien too wasted of grief.

Their spirits were gathered in the Halls of Mandos in the Uttermost West of the World, and there Lúthien sang a song of such extraordinary power and beauty that it moved even the implacable heart of Mandos himself. So she was granted a unique fate, to become mortal and return to Middle-earth with Beren, where they dwelt for a time in happiness on the green island of Tol Galen in the River Adurant.

* Mablung (Elf)|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. Called also ‘the Hunter’.

–—

A captain of Doriath.

Captain and marchwarden to Elu Thingol of Doriath; he was slain in the assault of the Dwarves on Menegroth.

* Mablung (Ranger of Ithilien)|Mablung

A soldier of Faramir and Ranger of the land of Ithilien during the last years of the Third Age, encountered by Frodo and Sam on their journey to Cirith Ungol.

* 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.

–—

The eldest of the Seven Sons of Fëanor, and considered to be their leader. In Valinor he swore the Oath of Fëanor, and followed his father back to Middle-earth, though of all Fëanor’s sons, except perhaps Maglor, he regretted this the most.

After Fëanor’s death, Morgoth captured Maedhros through trickery, and hung him by the wrist from the heights of Thangorodrim. Fingon succeeded in rescuing him, but he lost his right hand in their escape.

With his brothers, Maedhros held the eastern passes into Beleriand; he himself dwelt in a fortress on the hill of Himring. He worked to unite the Houses of the Noldor, and formed the Union of Maedhros, but that Union perished in the disaster of the Nirnaeth Arnoediad.

After the defeat of Morgoth in the War of Wrath, Maedhros and his brother Maglor stole the two remaining Silmarils from the camp of the Valar, but the hallowed jewels would not suffer the brothers to hold them. In torment, Maedhros cast himself into a fissure in the earth.

* 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.

–—

The betrayer of Gondolin.

The son of Eöl and Aredhel Ar-Feiniel; he escaped his father’s halls in Nan Elmoth with his mother, and came with her to Gondolin. Many years later, he was captured by the spies of Morgoth and betrayed the city.

* 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.

–—

The second son of Fëanor, who inherited more of his mother Nerdanel’s gentle spirit than any of his brothers. Maglor was famed as a poet and bard, but he took the Oath of Fëanor in Tirion and shared in the woes that came of it.

Maglor followed his father into exile, and saw him perish at the hands of the Balrogs. With the rest of his brothers, he dwelt to the east of Beleriand, and Maglor settled between the Little Gelion and Greater Gelion, the two rivers that came together to form the long Gelion itself.

That region - which came to be known as Maglor’s Gap - lacked hills or mountains, and so was the place on Beleriand’s border that was most open to attack from the north.

Maglor guarded his Gap for four and a half centuries, but was eventually overcome in the Dagor Bragollach. The dragon Glaurung invaded Maglor’s land and ruined it, so that he was forced to flee to the fortress of his brother Maedhros on the hill of Himring to the west. Sixteen years later, he marched out with Maedhros to the great battle that should have seen the revenge of the Elves on Morgoth, but was brought to ruin by the treachery of Uldor the Accursed. Maglor slew Uldor himself, but the field was lost; that was the battle afterwards called the Nirnaeth Arnoediad, the Unnumbered Tears.

All seven of Fëanor’s sons survived the Nirnaeth. In the years that followed, one of the three Silmarils was recovered from Morgoth’s crown, and came eventually to be held by Dior in Doriath. He would not surrender it to the brothers’ claims, and so they assaulted Thingol’s ancient kingdom. Celegorm, Caranthir and Curufin all fell in that futile battle.

Now only four of Fëanor’s sons survived; Maglor, the eldest son Maedhros, and the two youngest brothers Amrod and Amras. After some years had passed, these four came to learn that a Silmaril was held by Elwing at the Mouths of Sirion, and though they restrained themselves for some time, their Oath compelled them to take back the Jewel. So they assaulted their fellow Elves, and Elwing escaped with the Silmaril across the Sea to her husband Eärendil, and together they sailed into the West. That voyage would in time bring about the downfall of Morgoth.

After the destruction of Morgoth, the last two Silmarils were recovered from his Crown. By this time, only Maedhros and Maglor remained of Fëanor’s sons, and Maglor came close to repenting the Oath. Wearily, he accompanied his brother in the theft of the Silmarils, but their evil deeds in recovering them meant that the holy Jewels burned their skin.

Maedhros in despair leapt into a fiery fissure, and Maglor, the last of the Sons of Fëanor to survive, cast his Silmaril into the Sea. Legend says that he still wanders the shores of the World, singing laments for his despair and regret.

* Maglor’s Gap

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

–—

Widest of the northern passes into Beleriand.

A lowland region lying between Himring and the Blue Mountains, the widest break in the northern mountain-fences of Beleriand. It was guarded against the forces of Morgoth in the early First Age by Maglor, second son of Fëanor.

* Magor

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

* Mahal

The Dwarves’ name for their creator.

The name among the Dwarves for the Vala Aulë, who made the Fathers of their race in ancient times, and was revered by all Dwarves.

* Máhanaxar|Mahanaxar

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|Maia

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

–—

Lesser Ainur of Arda.

Of the many spirits that descended into Arda at its beginning, those of lesser stature than the Valar, though they were still powerful, were known as Maiar. Each of the Maiar was attached to the ‘people’ of a particular Vala. So, for example, the Maia Ossë, as a spirit of the sea, belonged to the people of Ulmo, while Curumo, the Maia who came to Middle-earth as Saruman, belonged to the people of Aulë the Smith.

In the Third Age, there were still Maiar in physical form to be found in Middle-earth. The most important of these were Saruman, Sauron (originally also of Aulë’s people), and Olórin, known as Gandalf, who belonged to the people of Manwë and Varda.

* Malach Aradan|Malach

Son of Marach; given the Elvish name Aradan.

–—

The son and heir of Marach of the Third House of the Edain, and the ancestor of the House of Hador and its descendants. Malach spent many years with the Elves in Hithlum, where he learned to speak Elvish, and was given the name Aradan meaning ‘noble man’.

* Malantur

Númenórean, descendant of Tar-Elendil.

* Malbeth the Seer|Malbeth

The visionary of Arthedain.

A wise Man who lived in the last years of the realm of Arthedain. Gifted with foresight, he predicted events of the near and far future. He saw that Arvedui would be Arthedain’s last King, and predicted Aragorn’s passage of the Paths of the Dead, though it lay a thousand years in his own future.

* Malduin

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

–—

A northern tributary of the Teiglin.

A minor river of northern Beleriand. It flowed southwards from the Ered Wethrin to meet the Teiglin before that river passed under the eaves of the Forest of Brethil.

* Malgalad

King of Lórien, slain in the Battle of Dagorlad; apparently identical with Amdír.

–—

A mysterious lord of Lórien.

The King of Lórien who ruled before Amroth, and died in the War of the Last Alliance on the field of Dagorlad. According to most sources, this King was Amdír, Amroth’s father, but one source gives instead the mysterious name of Malgalad, nowhere else mentioned.

* Malinalda

‘Tree of Gold’, a name of Laurelin.

* Malinornë|Malinorne|Malinorni

Quenya form of Sindarin mallorn; plural malinorni.

* Mallor

The third King of Arthedain.

The son of Beleg and grandson of Amlaith of Fornost, the founder of Arthedain. He became King of that realm at the age of 134, and ruled during troubled times. It was during Mallor’s reign, or perhaps during the last years of his father Beleg, that the Istari - the Wizards -

arrived in the north of Middle-earth. They came soon after the shadow had fallen on Greenwood the Great, and it was near the end of Mallor’s rule that they discovered its source at Dol Guldur. At this time, though, even the Wise did not suspect that it might be Sauron returned.

The meaning of Mallor’s name isn’t known with certainty, but it seems to contain elements relating to gold. We might speculate, then, that Mallor was one of the wealthier Kings of Arthedain. Apart from the growing menace of Mirkwood, his reign was free of warfare or strife.

Mallor ruled Arthedain for eighty-one years, and was succeeded by his son Celepharn.

* Mallorn|Mellyrn|Mallorns

Name of the great trees with golden flowers brought from Tol Eressëa to Eldalondë in Númenor, and afterwards grown in Lothlórien. Quenya malinornë.

–—

The golden trees of Lórien.

The famed golden-leaved trees of Lórien, that held their leaves until spring. Though they are commonly called ‘mallorns’, especially by the Hobbits, the correct Elvish plural is mellyrn.

* Mallos

A golden flower of Lebennin.

* Malva Headstrong

A matriarch of the Brandybuck family.

A famous and important Hobbit. She wedded Gormadoc Brandybuck about two hundred and fifty years before the War of the Ring, and was the ancestor of all the Brandybucks, including Merry, who appear in The Lord of the Rings.

* Malvegil

The sixth King of Arthedain.

Malvegil son of Celebrindor is best known for the fact that the Witch-king founded the realm of Angmar during his reign. Nearly seven hundred years after its foundation, Angmar and its allies would destroy his kingdom of Arthedain, but in Malvegil’s time there is no record of any open warfare between the two nations.

Nonetheless, the emergence of Angmar saw evil things multiply in the eastern lands, driving a westward migration across Eriador. Notable among those travelling out of the east were the Hobbits, and it was during Malvegil’s time as King that the main Hobbit settlement in Bree took place.

Malvegil ruled Arthedain for seventy-seven years, and was succeeded by his son, Argeleb I.

* Mámandil|Mamandil

Name given to himself by Hallacar in his first encounters with Ancalimë.

* Man of the West

The meaning of Dúnadan.

–—

“‘The Dúnadan,’ said Bilbo. ‘He is often called that here. But I thought you knew enough Elvish at least to know dún-adan: Man of the West, Númenorean.’”

(Words of Bilbo to Frodo in Rivendell; The Fellowship of the Ring II 1, Many Meetings)

–—

The literal translation of the word Dúnadan, a word that could in principle be applied to any of the Númenóreans or their descendants. The plural form is Dúnedain, ‘Men of the West’.

In Rivendell, it seems to have been specially reserved as a term of address for Aragorn, whose ancestral line stretched back through Isildur and Elendil to the first Kings of Númenor and beyond. As the rightful lord of all the Dúnedain in Middle-earth, he was indeed - as Bilbo put it

- the Dúnadan.

* Mandos (Vala)|Mandos

The Doomsman of the Valar and keeper of the slain in his Halls in the west of Valinor; his true name is said to be Námo.

* Mannish

Any of the tongues of Men.

A term used by Tolkien to refer to the languages of Men, as opposed to the Elvish tongues, or those of the other races of Middle-earth. By far the most prominent Mannish language in Tolkien’s works is Westron, also called the Common Speech.

* Manwë Súlimo|Manwë|Manwe|Ruler of Arda

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

–—

Lord of the Breath of Arda.

Greatest of the Valar, spouse of Varda and King of Arda; he dwells in his halls on Taniquetil, highest of mountains, and the winds and airs of Arda are under his command.

* Manwendil

The third child of Elros.

The third child, and second son, of Elros Tar-Minyatur the first King of Númenor. Though we know that he left descendants, details of their lives are unknown. His name Manwendil means ‘devoted to Manwë’.

* Mar-nu-Falmar

‘The Land under the Waves’, name of Númenor after the Downfall.

–—

The lost home of the Dúnedain.

‘Home under the waves’, a name of Númenor after its destruction, used among the exiles of that land in Middle-earth.

* Marach

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

–—

A leader of the first of the Edain.

One of the original leaders of the Edain into Beleriand; father of Malach Aradan, and great-great-grandfather of Hador Lórindol.

* March of Maedhros|Eastern March

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

–—

The borderlands guarded by the fortress on Himring.

The northeastern borderlands of Beleriand, and the least defensible.

They were held by the Sons of Fëanor under the general captaincy of Maedhros on Himring.

* Marcho

The founder, with his brother Blanco, of the Shire.

The Fallohide Hobbit who, with his brother Blanco, set out from Bree to settle the lands that were to become known as the Shire.

* Mardil Voronwë|Mardil

First Ruling Steward of Gondor, called Voronwë ‘the Faithful’, ‘the Steadfast’, and ‘the Good Steward’.

–—

First of the Ruling Stewards of Gondor.

Son of Vorondil the Hunter, and Steward to Kings Eärnil II and Eärnur of Gondor. After Eärnur’s loss in Minas Morgul, Mardil became the first Ruling Steward of Gondor.

* Marhari

Leader of the Northmen in the Battle of the Plains, where he was slain; father of Marhwini.

* Marhwini

‘Horse-friend’, leader of the Northmen (Éothéod) who settled in the Vales of Anduin after the Battle of the Plains, and ally of Gondor against the Wainriders.

* Marigold Gamgee

Youngest child of Hamfast Gamgee and Bell Goodchild; a sister of Samwise Gamgee of the Company of the Ring.

* Marmadas Brandybuck

A descendant of Marmadoc Brandybuck, the father of Merimas, Mentha and Melilot.

* Marshal of the East-mark

A military rank of the Rohirrim.

A military rank of the Rohirrim, signifying the commander of the armies of eastern Rohan. The title was created by the new King Éomer after the War of the Ring, and the first Rider to hold it was the King’s lieutenant, Elfhelm.

* Marshal of the Mark

Title of the military leaders of the Rohirrim.

The highest military title of the Rohirrim - one of (normally) three commanders responsible for mustering and leading the warriors of Rohan in time of war.

* Master of Buckland

Hereditary title of the head of the Brandybuck family, descended from Gorhendad Oldbuck, who founded the march-land of Buckland and built Brandy Hall.

* Master of Doom

Túrin’s surname Turambar.

The literal meaning of Turambar, the surname taken by Túrin son of Húrin. Pursued by a curse of Morgoth, he at last found himself among the Woodmen of Brethil, where he took a new name and remained hidden for a time. He chose the name Turambar in the hope that he had escaped Morgoth’s curse, a hope that would prove vain in the end.

* Master of Lake-town

The leader of the Lake-men.

The title given to the civic leader of the settlement of Men on the Long Lake near Erebor.

* Master of the Hall

A title given to the head of the Brandybuck family of Brandy Hall in Buckland, equivalent to ‘Master of Buckland’.

* Masters of Spirits

The Fëanturi; a title given to the brothers Mandos and Lórien.

* Masters of Stone

Gonnhirrim, a name for the Dwarves.

A title used by the Elves to refer to the race of Dwarves, rendered Gonnhirrim in Elvish.

* Mathom-house

The ‘museum’ of Michel Delving.

A place in Michel Delving where the Hobbits collected and displayed items they had no particular use for. It was known to contain a store of weapons, and for a time also held Bilbo’s mithril coat.

* Mathoms|Mathom

Items of no immediate use.

An old word of the hobbit-dialect, not recorded as being in use outside the Shire. It was used to refer to any item that had no particular immediate use, but whose owner had no wish to throw away. Mathoms were often given as presents by the Shire-hobbits - an important part of their culture - or stored in the Mathom-house in Michel Delving.

* May Gamgee

A daughter of Hamfast Gamgee and Bell Goodchild, and sister to Samwise Gamgee of the Company of the Ring.

* Mayor of Michel Delving

The mayor of the Shire’s chief township.

Title held by the leader of Michel Delving, the ‘capital’ of the Shire.

Over time, the power of the Mayor grew to encompass all the lands of the Shire.

* Mayor of the Shire

The highest office of the Shire-hobbits.

A common form of the title Mayor of Michel Delving; a position of considerable influence among the Hobbits of the Shire.

* Mearas|Mearh

The horses of Rohan.

–—

Noblest of the horses of Rohan.

In the old north of Middle-earth lived a proud race of wild horses, long-lived, wise and fleet of foot. The legends of Men said that their ancestors had been brought from the West by Béma, their name for the Vala Oromë.

One of these was captured as a foal by Léod of the Éothéod. It grew into a strong white horse, but when Léod tried to mount it, it threw him and killed him. Léod’s son Eorl took the horse himself, naming him Felaróf.

Felaróf was one of the greatest horses to have ever lived, and was said to understand the speech of Men. He carried Eorl when the Éothéod rode south to Rohan, and there sired a race of horses nearly as great as himself.

These were the Mearas, noble horses that lived as long as a Man, and had extraordinary strength and intelligence. Throughout their history, they would only allow themselves to be ridden by the Lord of the Mark or his sons. This long tradition was broken by Gandalf, who managed to train the greatest of the Mearas of his time, Shadowfax, and rode that mighty horse throughout the War of the Ring.

The word Mearas comes from an Anglo-Saxon word meaning simply ‘horses’.

Its singular form would be mearh, but no character in The Lord of the Rings ever uses that word.

* Meduseld

The Golden Hall of Edoras, in which the Kings of Rohan dwelt and held their court.

* 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.

–—

Queen to Thingol of Doriath.

In Valinor, Melian dwelt in the gardens of Lórien, but she journeyed often to Middle-earth. There, in the woods of Nan Elmoth, she came upon Elwë Singollo (Elu Thingol) as he marched into the West with the people of the Teleri. Many of his people remained in Beleriand searching for their lord (these were to become the Sindar), but through the enchantment of Melian, he remained hidden from them.

At last, Melian and Thingol came forth from Nan Elmoth and founded the kingdom of Doriath, which Melian protected from the hosts of Morgoth through her powers. She encircled the land in the Girdle of Melian, which none could pass without her wishing it.

Melian and Thingol ruled in Doriath for many centuries, but when at last Thingol was slain by treacherous Dwarves, Melian departed from the halls of Menegroth and returned across the Great Sea to Valinor.

* Melilot Brandybuck

Dancer of the Springle-ring.

A distant cousin of both Meriadoc Brandybuck and Frodo Baggins. She was present at Bilbo’s Birthday Party in III 3001, when she was just sixteen years old. The only part she played in the great events of that time was to dance the springle-ring at the party with Everard Took.

* Melkor|Belegur|Belegurth

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 Belegur, but it was never used, save in a deliberately altered form Belegurth ‘Great Death’.

–—

Mightiest of the Dwellers in Arda.

Said to be the mightiest dweller in Arda, Melkor was of the same order of the Valar and equal in power to Manwë himself, who was Melkor’s brother in the mind of Ilúvatar. While the Valar descended into Arda to order and govern wisely, though, Melkor sought power for himself alone, and sought to bend all things to his own will.

All that the Valar made, Melkor looked to destroy; long before the Elves awoke, he threw down the Lamps of the Valar, destroying their dwelling in Almaren. They removed to Valinor, and fearing for the coming Elves, made war on Melkor and imprisoned him for three ages. By the time he was released, the Elves had come to Valinor; Melkor turned back to his evil ways; slaying Finwë and stealing the Silmarils, he destroyed the Two Trees of Valinor and fled back to his ancient fortress of Angband in the north of Middle-earth.

* Men|Man

The Afterborn Children of Ilúvatar.

The youngest of the races of Arda (with the possible exception of Hobbits), the first Men awoke in the far eastern land of Hildórien as the Sun first rose in the west and the Noldor returned from Valinor. Seeing the sunrise, many of the first Men set out westwards, and so came eventually to Beleriand after some three hundred years of wandering.

Men are unique in possessing the Gift of Men, Death, by which they leave the world after an allotted time and go beyond it.

* Men of Bree|Man of Bree

The nearest settled Men to the Shire.

In the hard years of the Second Age, a race of Men inhabited the White Mountains far to the south of the Shire, in the land that would one day become Rohan. Groups of these mountaineers began to migrate northwards.

Some settled in the region that became Dunland, but others travelled farther still, and coming to a tall wooded hill not far from the ancient Barrow-downs, they founded a settlement that took its name from the hill, Bree.

In appearance, these Men had brown hair, and in stature were short and broad. They seem to have maintained a curious tradition of taking their names from plants and herbs, and many of these surnames are recorded; Appledore, Ferny, Goatleaf, Heathertoes, Rushlight and Thistlewool.

Butterbur was another of these plant-names, an important one in Bree, for it was the ancestral name of the keepers of the Prancing Pony inn.

Though Bree seems to have been founded before the beginning of the Third Age, it lay on the road between the North- and South-kingdoms of the Dúnedain, and so was drawn into the history of that Age. When the North-kingdom of Arnor was founded, Bree lay within its borders, and the Men of Bree became subjects of that country. More than a thousand years later, in about III 1300, members of a strange and little-known race began to appear in the township. Man-like in appearance, but much smaller, these were Hobbits fleeing the encroaching darkness to the east. Many of them stayed among the Men, and a unique society arose where the Big People and the Little People lived beside one another in harmony.

* Men of Brethil|Man of Brethil

The Woodmen of the Forest of Brethil.

The Folk of Haleth who dwelt in the Forest of Brethil on the western borders of Doriath.

* Men of Dale|Man of Dale

The Men who dwelt beneath Erebor.

The Men who dwelt in Dale, a township at the feet of the Lonely Mountain. After Dale was destroyed by Smaug, their descendants dwelt on the Long Lake, until the town was refounded by Bard.

* Men of Darkness|Man of Darkness

Those Men unrelated to the Númenóreans.

Men of the east of Middle-earth who fell under the dominion of Morgoth in the First Age, among whose descendants were the Easterlings and the Dunlendings.

* Men of Dor-lómin|Men of Dor-lomin|Man of Dor-lómin|Man of Dor-lomin The followers of Hador and his descendants.

Men of the House of Hador, to whom the land of Dor-lómin was granted as a hereditary fief by the Kings of the Noldor.

* Men of Dorthonion|Man of Dorthonion

Descendants of the House of Bëor.

Those Men of the House of Bëor who dwelt in the pinelands of Dorthonion, and aided in their defence against Morgoth until the disaster of the Dagor Bragollach.

* Men of Gondor|Man of Gondor

The people of the South-kingdom.

The Men who dwelt in Gondor and defended the western World from Sauron, in large part descended from Elendil and his followers, who founded Gondor after the Downfall of Númenor.

* Men of Harad|Man of Harad

Fierce allies of Mordor.

The doughty, dark-skinned Men of the southern regions of Middle-earth.

Historical allies of Mordor, they were more properly known as the Haradrim.

* Men of Middle-earth|Man of Middle-earth

The Men who lived east of the Great Sea.

A general term for all Men apart from the Númenóreans.

* Men of Minas Tirith|Man of Minas Tirith

The people of Gondor’s capital.

The population of Minas Tirith, the seat of the later Kings and Stewards of Gondor and, for much of the Third Age, the greatest city in the known regions of Middle-earth. The Men of Minas Tirith were descended in part from the Númenóreans of old, and they retained some of the vigour and long life of that people, especially in their royal line.

* Men of Númenor|Men of Numenor|Man of Númenor|Man of Numenor The Kings of Men.

The Númenóreans, the descendants of the Edain of the First Age who were granted the land of Númenor.

* Men of Old|Man of Old

The Exiles of Númenor at their ancient height.

When Elendil and his sons came to Middle-earth in the last years of the Second Age, they brought with them the knowledge and power of the Númenórean nation. They filled the landscape of Middle-earth with mighty cities, castles and towers. Their knowledge, though, was forgotten by later generations, who could only look on what remained of their works with wonder.

* Men of Rohan|Man of Rohan

The descendant of Eorl and his followers.

The Rohirrim; the Men of the Éothéod who came south to settle the Gondorian region of Calenardhon (renamed Rohan after their arrival) in the later part of the Third Age.

* Men of the Éothéod|Men of the Eotheod|Man of the Éothéod|Man of the Eotheod

The ancestors of the Rohirrim.

A nation of Northmen ruled by the descendants of Frumgar in the north of Middle-earth. Their last lord Eorl the Young led them south to the land of Calenardhon, renamed Rohan, where they became known as the Rohirrim.

* Men of the Mark|Man of the Mark

A name for the Rohirrim.

A name for the Rohirrim, the descendants of the Men of the Éothéod who came south with Eorl and founded the Mark in the old Gondorian land of Calenardhon.

* Men of the Vales of Anduin|Man of the Vales of Anduin The Men who lived on the banks of the Great River.

Those Men, in part descended from the Northmen, who dwelt in the great valley of the River Anduin between the Misty Mountains and Mirkwood.

* Men of the West|Man of the West

The Númenoreans and their descendants.

A term used of the Númenoreans and, especially, their descendants who escaped to Middle-earth after the destruction of their home. ‘Men of the West’ is a direct translation of the Elvish name for these people, Dúnedain.

* Men of Westernesse|Man of Westernesse

The Dúnedain.

A general term for the Men of Númenor or their descendants, and used especially in Third Age Middle-earth to refer to the Dúnedain.

* Men-i-Naugrim

‘Way of the Dwarves’, a name of the Old Forest Road. Translated ‘Dwarf Road’.

–—

The Dwarf-road that ran through Mirkwood.

The straight road that ran eastward out of the Misty Mountains, across the Anduin, and directly through the central parts of Mirkwood. It was apparently built as a trade-route by the Dwarves, and dated back to at least the late Second Age, and probably considerably earlier. It was more commonly known simply as the Forest Road.

* Menegroth

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

–—

The Thousand Caves of Doriath.

Called ‘The Thousand Caves’, the stronghold and citadel of Thingol on the banks of the River Esgalduin in Doriath. It was delved in the long years before the rising of the Moon by the Dwarves of the Blue Mountains.

* Menel

High heaven, the region of the stars.

* Meneldil

Son of Anárion and third King of Gondor.

–—

Royal grandson of Elendil.

The son of Anárion and grandson of Elendil, the first King of Gondor to rule in his own name. He was succeeded by his son Cemendur.

–—

Meneldil’s Early Life: Of Meneldil’s life before the War of the Last Alliance we know almost nothing, but it is possible to deduce some of the most important incidents in that time. He was born in the very last years of Númenor, and was at most twenty years old at the time of the Downfall.

He would have seen the drowning of the island with his own eyes, from the deck of one of his father’s ships, and then was propelled by the rushing water to the shores of Middle-earth.

What part he took in the building of the Realms in Exile is a mystery.

During this time, he would have been considereda relatively minor nobleman. As the fourth child of Elendil’s younger son, he was at best seventh in line to the succession, and the prospect of his becoming King was remote. After more than a century, Sauron rose again in the east, triggering the great events of the War of the Last Alliance. It is to be presumed that Meneldil played his part in that War - a war in which he lost his father Anárion - but we have no specific details of his deeds.

–—

The Year of Transition, III 1 - III 2: Before the War, Elendil had sat has the High King in the northern realm of Arnor, while Isildur and Anárion had ruled Gondor jointly in his name. Since both Elendil and Anárion had been lost in the War, these arrangements needed to be changed. Isildur inherited the High Kingship, and he placed the rule of Gondor in the hands of his brother’s eldest eligible son, Meneldil.

Before departing for the North, Isildur spent a year ordering matters in the Gondor, and instructing Meneldil in his new duties. During this year, Isildur and Meneldil journeyed around the borderlands of the South-kingdom, defining its bounds. It was while returning from their travels that they came upon Amon Anwar, the Halifirien,which at that time stood almost at the central point of the country. Isildur chose that hill as the resting place of his father’s remains, and the Tomb of Elendil that he placed there was to last long after Meneldil’s line had failed.

It was the beginning of Yavannië when Isildur set out from Osgiliath, leaving the South-kingdom in Meneldil’s hands. We are told that Meneldil was notdisappointed to see the High King and his sons leave for the North, and that he hoped to rule Gondor himself for a long time. Far-sighted as he was, though, even Meneldil couldn’t haveforeseen the events that were to unfold. A month after setting out, Isildur was set upon by Orcs and killed, together with his three elder sons. The Kingship in the North fell on Isildur’s only surviving son, eleven-year-old Valandil.

This unexpected turn of events transformed Meneldil from a mere caretaker into the true King of Gondor.

–—

The Rule of Gondor, III 2 - III 158: After the upheavals of III 2, Meneldil was to rule Gondor for many years,but during this period he effectively disappears from history. With Sauron utterly defeated, his reign was a peaceful andquiet one. The only historical events recorded during this time are the wedding of Elrond to Celebrían, and the birth of their twin sons Elladan and Elrohir. These would have been important events in the North, but we cannot be sure if the Gondorians were even aware of them.

Meneldil ruled in Gondor for one hundred and fifty-six years, and was succeeded by his son Cemendur.

* Menelmacar

‘Swordsman of the Sky’, the constellation Orion.

–—

The Swordsman of the Sky.

A Quenya name for the constellation known today as Orion. Menelmacar superceded the older form, Telumehtar (which nonetheless continued in use), and was itself adopted into Sindarin as Menelvagor.

* Meneltarma|The Pillar

‘Pillar of Heavens’, the mountain in the midst of Númenor, on whose summit was the Hallow of Eru Ilúvatar. Called also the Holy Mountain of the Númenóreans, the Hallowed Mountain of the Númenóreans.

–—

The Pillar of Heaven, the isolated peak at the centre of the island of Númenor, on which the Númenóreans gave thanks to Eru. The Meneltarma was said by some to have survived the Downfall, and remained as an island in the Great Sea.

* Menelvagor

The Swordsman of the Sky.

–—

“… and there leaned up, as he climbed over the rim of the world, the Swordsman of the Sky, Menelvagor with his shining belt. The Elves all burst into song.”

(From The Fellowship of the Ring I 3, Three is Company)

–—

Name given by the Elves of Middle-earth to the bright and prominent star-group that we know today as Orion.

The stars of Menelvagor were originally given their shape in the sky by Varda, who in Middle-earth has the name Elbereth, ‘Star-lady’. In an ancient time when Melkor still lurked in Utumno, she used the stars to fill the sky with symbols of watchfulness and guardianship. Together with the Valacirca, Menelvagor was one of the two most important of these.

* Mentha Brandybuck

A daughter of Marmadas Brandybuck, she was present at Bilbo’s Birthday Party.

* Meres of Twilight

The lakeland region of Aelin-uial.

A name given to the wetland region of Aelin-uial, where the Aros met the Sirion on the borders of Doriath.

* Mereth Aderthad|Feast of Reuniting

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

* Meriadoc ‘Merry’ Brandybuck|Meriadoc|Merry Hobbit of the Shire, one of the Fellowship of the Ring.

–—

Companion of the Ring and later Master of Buckland.

Son of Saradoc Brandybuck, called ‘The Magnificent’, Merry accompanied Frodo on the Quest of Mount Doom. Captured with his friend Peregrin Took by Orcs, they were separated from the rest of the Company of the Ring, but eventually escaped to become the first mortals for many centuries to encounter the Ents of Fangorn Forest. Merry was present at the destruction of Isengard, and rode to the Battle of the Pelennor with the Rohirrim. There, his deeds won great renown, for with Éowyn of Rohan he defeated and slew the Lord of the Nazgûl.

* Merimas Brandybuck

Eldest child, and only son, of Marmadas Brandybuck, he was present at Bilbo’s Birthday Party.

* Mering Stream|Mering|Glanhír

‘Boundary Stream’, flowing down from Ered Nimrais to join the Entwash, and forming the boundary between Rohan and Gondor; in Sindarin called Glanhír.

–—

Eastern border-river of Rohan.

A minor river that flowed from beneath the Halifirien to join the Entwash at its outflow into Anduin. It formed part of Rohan’s eastern border with Gondor.

* Merry Gardner

Son of Samwise Gamgee and Rose Cotton; named for Meriadoc ‘Merry’

Brandybuck of the Company of the Ring.

* Messenger of Mordor

The emissary of Sauron.

A title used of Sauron’s ambassador, more properly known as the Mouth of Sauron.

* Methed-en-Glad

‘End of the Wood’, a stronghold in Dor-Cúarthol at the edge of the forest south of Teiglin.

* Methedras

The last peak of the Misty Mountains.

The southernmost peak of the Misty Mountains, that lay above Isengard in the valley of Nan Curunír.

* Mettarë|Mettare

The last day of the year; to the Elves, whose calendar started in spring, this was modern 6 April, but to the Dúnedain in Middle-earth, Mettarë fell in winter, on modern 21 December.

* Michel Delving

The chief town of the Shire in the White Downs, that lay in the Westfarthing of the Shire. Its name means simply ‘large excavation’.

* Mickleburg

Translation of Belegost: ‘great fortress’.

–—

A great Dwarf-city of the Blue Mountains.

‘Great City’, a Mannish rendering of ‘Belegost’, the name of one of the two great Dwarf-cities of the ancient Blue Mountains.

* Middle-earth|Great Lands

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

–—

The Mortal Lands of Arda.

The great continent on which much of the Silmarillion, and the adventures of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, are set. Little is known of the East and South of Middle-earth, or of the far north, but the geography and history of its Western lands are chronicled in great detail.

–—

Ancient Times: The foundations of Middle-earth were laid by Aulë in times ancient beyond reckoning, and the Valar lit the new lands with two great Lamps, Illuin in the north and Ormal in the south. From fear of Tulkas, Melkor had fled beyond the Walls of the World, and Middle-earth was a place of peace and beauty. The Valar themselves dwelt in its central regions, on the green island of Almaren. This was the time known as the Spring of Arda.

Unknown to the Valar, though, Melkor secretly returned, and delved his first great fortress of Utumno in the mountains of the far distant north.

When he judged the time was right, he assailed Almaren and, surprising the Valar, destroyed their habitation in Middle-earth. Fleeing back to Utumno, he saved himself from the wrath of Tulkas. This is one of the great disasters of Middle-earth’s history: the Valar departed forever, and left Middle-earth under the sole control of Melkor, who claimed it as his own.

Though the Valar made a new home for themselves in Aman, and lit their new land of Valinor with the light of the Two Trees, Middle-earth was now left in darkness for many Ages. The Valar did not completely forget their ancient home, though, and Yavanna and Oromë, especially, came there from time to time to try and mend the hurts of Melkor if they could.

It was at this time, too, that Aulë returned, and secretly fashioned a hall beneath the mountains of Middle-earth. It was there that he wrought the Seven Fathers of the Dwarves, who were given life by Ilúvatar, and set to sleep until the awakening of the Firstborn.

Despite these brief visits from the Valar, though, Middle-earth was effectively controlled by Melkor, who was free to act as he would.

Slowly, his polluted realm spread southwards over Middle-earth.

–—

The Coming of the Elves: The Awakening of the Elves at Cuiviénen brought about profound changes in Middle-earth. At first they lived in darkness, prey to the creatures of Melkor, but Oromë found them, and the Valar decided to act: they went to war against Melkor.

There followed the Battle of the Powers, in the north and west of Middle-earth. That war rent and twisted the lands, giving them the shape they were to keep until the War of Wrath at the end of the First Age.

Dorthonion and the highlands north of Beleriand were raised up at that time, and many bays, including the Bay of Balar, were created.

Melkor was ultimately defeated, and taken as a prisoner back to Valinor.

After much debate, the Valar also offered the Elves a home in Aman, and many accepted. Led by Oromë, the Vanyar, Noldor and Teleri made the Great Journey across Middle-earth from the far east where they awoke to its western shores.

Many of these departed Middle-earth across the Sea, but some remained, of which the major groups were the Sindar of Beleriand and the Nandor of the Anduin valley. Other groups, mainly of Telerin origin, had also left the Journey: these were the people who were to become known as the Silvan Elves. Also, in the far east, remained the Elves who had refused the summons of the Valar, the Avari. All these kinds together are known as the Moriquendi, the Dark Elves, for they did not go to Valinor or see the light of the Two Trees.

* Midgewater Marshes|Midgewater

The marshland east of the Chetwood.

A fly-infested region of marshland in central Eriador, that lay between the Chetwood to the west and the Weather Hills to the east.

* Midyear’s Day

Also called Loëndë, the day that fell in the middle of the year was an important feature in many of the calendars of Middle-earth. On a modern calendar, Midyear’s Day would be 22 June.

* Mighty of the West

A possible title of the Númenóreans.

–—

“… in that hour he appeared as one of the Mighty of the West, and fit to be the father of the kings of the Kings of Men…”

(Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth I 1, Of Tuor and his Coming to Gondolin)

–—

A title used once, in the quotation given above, to refer to Tuor the son of Huor. Its exact meaning is ambiguous: it appears in a passage that discusses Tuor’s relationship with his descendants, the Númenóreans, and so we have treated it here as an epithet for that division of Mankind.

It might conceivably, though, refer to the Valar, though it seems unlikely that such a comparison would be made of a mortal Man.

* Mîm|Mim

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.

–—

Last of the Petty-dwarves, who dwelt in his halls in Amon Rudh with his two sons (both of whom he outlived), and gave shelter to Túrin and his outlaw band.

* Min-Rimmon

‘Peak of the Rimmon’ (a group of crags), fifth of the beacons of Gondor in Ered Nimrais.

–—

Beacon-hill of Gondor.

One of the seven beacon-hills of Gondor, on the northern flanks of the White Mountains. With Eilenach and Amon Dîn, Min-rimmon was one of the oldest beacons, set in place even before the foundation of Rohan.

* Minalcar

The Gondorian noble who became Rómendacil II.

Hyarmendacil I was a mighty King, and his reign during the ninth and tenth centuries of the Third Age saw Gondor grow into a huge and powerful kingdom, stretching east to the Sea of Rhûn, and south to Umbar.

Hyarmendacil’s immediate descendants were not so vigorous. His son Atanatar, and grandsons Narmacil and Calmacil, were content to live a life of ease in the splendour of Gondor’s royal courts.

Fortunately, Hyarmendacil’s great-grandson Minalcar inherited more of his forefather’s strength of mind. Born in the last years of Hyarmendacil’s long reign, Minalcar became active in matters political and military, to the extent that, not long after his uncle Narmacil became King, he handed effective control of the South-kingdom to his nephew. Minalcar took up the challenge, and managed to rebuild some of the power that Gondor had lost in the reigns of his grandfather Atanatar and uncle Narmacil. In particular, Gondor’s eastern borders had become victim to Easterling incursions. Minalcar built a great army and wiped out the invaders from the lands west of the Sea of Rhûn.

It was from this event that he took the name Rómendacil ‘Victor in the East’. After Narmacil’s heirless death, and a brief reign by his own father Calmacil, Minalcar finally ascended the throne to take up the true Kingship of Gondor, to be known to history by the name Rómendacil II.

* Minardil

Twenty-fifth King of Gondor.

–—

Successor to Hyarmendacil II.

The son of Hyarmendacil II of Gondor, King Minardil had two sons, Telemnar and Minastan. He had reigned for just thirteen years when he was attacked at Pelargir by the Corsairs of Umbar, and slain. He was succeeded by Telemnar, who himself died with all his children in the Dark Plague just two years later. Ultimately, the throne was taken by Tarondor, the son of Minardil’s second son Minastan. Minardil is perhaps best known as being served by Steward Húrin of Emyn Arnen, the ancestor of the later Ruling Stewards.

* Minas Anor

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

–—

The Tower of the Setting Sun; the original name for Minas Tirith in Gondor, changed after the capture of Minas Ithil by the Nazgûl.

* Minas Ithil

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

–—

Isildur’s Tower of the Moon.

The Tower of the Moon, built by the Gondorians on the borders of Mordor to keep a watch on that land; later captured by the Nazgûl and renamed Minas Morgul.

* Minas Morgul|Morgul

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

–—

‘Tower of Black Sorcery’, the name given to the Gondorian watchtower of Minas Ithil in the Ephel Dúath after its capture by the Nazgûl.

‘Minas Morgul’ was the name given to this city after its capture by the Nazgûl in III 2002. The city itself, though, was much older - as Minas Ithil, it had stood since the late Second Age, and was some 2,100 years old when it was renamed. For its origins and earlier history, refer to the entry for Minas Ithil.

* Minas Tirith (in Beleriand)|Minas Tirith

‘Tower of Watch’, built by Finrod Felagund on Tol Sirion; see Tol-in-Gaurhoth. Also called Minas of King Finrod.

–—

The tower that guarded the Pass of Sirion.

The tower that guarded the Pass of Sirion, after which Minas Tirith in Gondor was perhaps named. Built by Finrod Felagund to keep watch on the western pass of Beleriand, it was mainly in the keeping of his brother Orodreth until captured by Sauron in the late First Age.

The name means ‘Tower of Guard’.

Sauron didn’t destroy the tower after its capture - instead, he ruled it himself as Tol-in-Gaurhoth for a period of about ten years. The tower was finally destroyed by Lúthien during the Quest of the Silmaril.

* Minas Tirith (in Gondor)|Minas Tirith

Later name of Minas Anor. Called the City of Gondor.

–—

Gondor’s Tower of Guard.

The seven-tiered citadel of the Kings of Gondor, originally named Minas Anor. After the destruction of Osgiliath, Minas Tirith became the seat of power in the South-kingdom.

‘Minas Tirith’ was the name given to this city after the capture of Minas Ithil by the Nazgûl in III 2002. The city itself, though, was much older - as Minas Anor, it had stood since the late Second Age, and was some 2,100 years old when it was renamed. For its origins and earlier history, refer to the entry for Minas Anor.

* Minastan

Ancestor of the later Kings of Gondor.

The second son of King Minardil of Gondor. His elder brother Telemnar had sat on their father’s throne for just two years when he died with all his heirs in the Great Plague. Minastan had also died by this time -

perhaps he too met his end in the Plague - but he left behind a surviving heir, Tarondor, who became the first King of a new line.

* Mindeb

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

–—

A lesser tributary of the Sirion.

A lesser river of Beleriand; it flowed south from the Crissaegrim, forming the eastern border of Dimbar, and met the Sirion under the eaves of the Forest of Brethil.

* Mindolluin

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

–—

Easternmost of the White Mountains.

The prominent easternmost peak of the White Mountains, beneath which the citadel of Minas Tirith was built.

* Mindon Eldalieva|Mindon

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

* Minhiriath

‘Between the Rivers’, region of Eriador between Baranduin and Gwathló.

–—

The land between the Baranduin and the Greyflood.

A name for the southern regions of Eriador, lying between the Rivers Baranduin and Greyflood. Minhiriath became part of Cardolan after the break-up of the ancient realm of Arnor.

* Minohtar

Nephew of King Ondoher; slain in Ithilien in Third Age 1944 in battle with the Wainriders.

* Minuial

The twilight of dawn.

‘Prominent Twilight’. The Sindarin name for the twilight of dawn, when the stars faded; an important time for the Elves. The twilight of dusk they named aduial.

* Mírdain|Mirdain

The jewel-smiths of Eregion, the followers of Celebrimbor son of Curufin.

They were ensnared by Sauron, and unwittingly aided him in the making of the Rings of Power.

* Míriel Serindë|Míriel|Miriel

The first wife of Finwë, mother of Fëanor; died after Fëanor’s birth.

Called Serindë ‘the Broideress’.

–—

The mother of Fëanor.

The first wife of Finwë and mother of Fëanor; the birth of Fëanor took so much of her spirit that she went to the gardens of Lórien and passed away.

* Míriel of Númenor|Míriel|Miriel|Ar-Zimraphel|Tar-Míriel|Tar-Miriel Daughter of Tar-Palantir, forced into marriage by Ar-Pharazôn, and as his queen named in Adûnaic Ar-Zimraphel; also called Tar-Míriel.

–—

The true heir to Tar-Palantir.

The daughter and heir of King Tar-Palantír, who would have become Númenor’s fourth Ruling Queen. She was taken to marriage by Ar-Pharazôn, who thereby usurped the throne.

* Mirkwood

The great forest east of the Misty Mountains, earlier called Eryn Galen,

‘Greenwood the Great’, and lately Taur-nu-Fuin, ‘Forest under Night’.

–—

Greatest of the forests of Middle-earth.

A name of Greenwood the Great, the mighty forest that lay in the lands east of the River Anduin. The name ‘Mirkwood’ was used of this forest after Sauron, in his guise as the Necromancer, took up his abode at Dol Guldur in its southern regions.

The name means simply ‘Murky Wood’.

* Mirror of Galadriel

Galadriel’s basin of visions.

The magical silver basin of Galadriel. When filled with stream-water, the reflections from its enchanted surface would reveal things from distant places and times.

* Mirrormere

The hallowed lake of Kheled-zâram.

The shining lake in the Dimrill Dale beneath the eastern doors of Khazad-dúm, so called because of the stars reflected in its surface. It was called Kheled-zâram by the Dwarves.

* Miruvor

The cordial (liqueur) of the Eldar.

–—

The Cordial of Imladris.

The reviving cordial of the Elves, a liquor with the power to grant renewed vigour and strength. Miruvor was clear and colourless, with a pleasant fragrance. Gandalf carried a flask of it with him to help the Company of the Ring on their southward journey. Both the Dúnedain and the Orcs possessed drinks with similar properties, but miruvor was known to be the most potent of these cordials.

* Misty Mountains

Great mountain-range of Middle-earth running north and south and forming the eastern boundary of Eriador; caled in Sindarin Hithaeglir.

–—

The Backbone of Middle-earth.

The great mountain chain that ran through the northwest of Middle-earth for a thousand miles, from Carn Dûm in the far north, to Methedras above Isengard in the south.

* Mitheithel

River of Eriador flowing from the Ettendales to join the Bruinen (Loudwater). Translated ‘Hoarwell’.

–—

The northern river Men called the Hoarwell.

The long river that rose in the icy north of Middle-earth, in the Misty Mountains about a hundred miles north of Rivendell. It flowed southwestwards through the lands that had once been held by the kingdom of Rhudaur, round the woodland region of the Trollshaws. Passing beneath the Last Bridge on the East-West Road, it flowed on into the south, until it met the Glanduin above Tharbad to form the River Gwathló (or Greyflood).

The river’s Mannish name was Hoarwell, a free translation of the Elvish Mitheithel. The Elvish name for the river contains the components mith

‘grey’ and eithel ‘spring, well’.

* Mithlond

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

–—

The Grey Havens.

The Elvish name of the Grey Havens of Círdan the Shipwright, at the eastern end of the Gulf of Lhûn.

* Mithrandir|Grey Messenger

Gandalf’s name among the Elves of Middle-earth. Translated ‘the Grey Pilgrim’, ‘the Grey Wanderer’, ‘the Grey Messenger’.

* Mithrellas

Elf of Lórien, companion of Nimrodel; taken to wife by Irmazôr the Númenórean; mother of Galador first Lord of Dol Amroth.

–—

A companion of Nimrodel.

A Silvan Elf who, at least according to legend, accompanied Nimrodel on her journey to the southern havens. Mithrellas, it is said, became lost in the woods of Belfalas, where she was found by Imrazôr the Númenórean.

So Elvish blood entered the line of the Princes of Dol Amroth, it was claimed, since her son Galador was the first of the long line of Princes.

* Mithril|Moria-silver|Truesilver

The metal known as ‘Moria-silver’, found also in Númenor.

–—

Most precious of metals.

Also called ‘truesilver’, and many other names besides; the remarkable metal that the Dwarves discovered in the mines of Khazad-dûm. It was supple and easy to work, and could be polished to shimmer like silver that never tarnished, and it was as strong as steel. In Middle-earth, mithril was found nowhere but the Dwarf-mines of Khazad-dûm, though there are indications that it was also found in Númenor and in Aman.

The metal held a value almost beyond price. In Númenor, King Tar-Telemmaitë became so greedy for mithril that it gave him his name -

Telemmaitë means ‘silverhand’. In Middle-earth, meanwhile, the Dwarves’

discovery of mithril drew the Noldor to found the kingdom of Eregion in the lands west of their mines. As the years passed, the seams beneath Khazad-dûm began to be worked out, and the Dwarves dug deeper and deeper.

It was their deep mining for mithril that would awake the Balrog, Durin’s Bane, and bring about the downfall of their kingdom.

Of all the mithril artefacts, the most famous is surely the coat of mail given to Bilbo Baggins by Thorin Oakenshield, that was held for a while in the Michel Delving mathom-house before being worn by Frodo during the Quest of Mount Doom. Many other of the World’s most important items were made of mithril, too. The symbol of High Kingship worn by Elendil and Isildur was the Elendilmir, a diamond bound to the brow by a mithril fillet, and Nenya, one of the Three Rings of the Elves, was also made of the metal, again bearing a diamond. Greatest of all, according to legend, was the ship of Eärendil in which he sailed into the sky, making the gleam of truesilver visible to the world as the Evening and Morning Star.

* Mithrim (lake)|Mithrim

The name of the great lake in the east of Hithlum.

–—

The lake that stood in the north of the land of Mithrim, separating it from Hithlum. When the Noldor returned to Middle-earth, Fëanor set his camp on the northern shore of this lake.

* Mithrim (region)|Mithrim

Region about the lake of the same name, and of the mountains to the west, separating Mithrim from Dor-lómin. The name was originally that of the Sindarin Elves who dwelt there.

–—

A region to the southeast of Hithlum.

A land walled by the mountains of the Ered Wethrin to the north of Beleriand, the site of the great battle of the Dagor-nuin-Giliath.

* Mittalmar

The central region of Númenor, translated ‘Inlands’.

–—

The central lands of Númenor.

A pastoral region of grassland and pasture that lay in the central parts of the island of Númenor. The borders of the Mittalmar formed a roughly oval region, two hundred and fifty miles west to east, and one hundred and seventy north to south. Near its centre rose a single tall mountain, the famous Meneltarma, the Pillar of Heaven. The two main rivers of Númenor had their springs in this region, the Nunduinë that flowed westward, and the Siril that flowed south.

The eastern part of the Mittalmar was the most important region on the whole island. This was Arandor, the Kingsland, where the royal city of Armenelos stood, as well as the bustling eastern port of Rómenna. A road ran between these two cities, and carried on westward across the Mittalmar and into the western parts of the island.

* Moon-letters

The secret runes of the Dwarves.

–—

“‘Moon-letters are rune-letters, but you cannot see them,’ said Elrond,

‘not when you look straight at them.’”

(The Hobbit 3, A Short Rest)

–—

A system of writing invented by Dwarves. Moon-letters were ordinary runes, but written in such a way that they could only be read when the light of the moon shone behind the writing. Some moon-letters could be read by any moonlight, but it was possible to make the writing even more secret. More sophisticated moon-letters could only be read by the same shape of moon, or at the same time of year, as when they were written.

Moon-letters were written with silver pens. The substance ithildin, made from mithril, reflected only starlight and moonlight, and it seems likely that ithildin, or something very similar, was used by the Dwarves to write their moon-letters.

* Moontower

A name of Minas Ithil, apparently still retained even after it was captured and renamed Minas Morgul.

* Morannon

The main (northern) entry to Mordor. Translated ‘the Black Gate’. Also called the Gates of Mordor.

–—

The Black Gate that Sauron built across the entrance of the valley of Udûn, the only opening in the mountainous defences of his Black Land of Mordor.

* Mordor|Land of Shadow

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

–—

Sauron’s Black Land.

After the destruction of the strongholds of evil in the north of Middle-earth at the end of the First Age, Sauron fled southwards seeking new lands. At the end of the first millennium of the Second Age, he chose a land walled by mountains, and there built his great fortress of Barad-dûr. After Sauron settled there, the land became known as Mordor (the Black Land) - no record of an earlier name for this region exists.

After the defeat of Sauron in the War of the Last Alliance, Mordor was taken under the control of Gondor, and the Gondorians built fortifications around it to prevent the return of evil things; the greatest of these was Minas Ithil (later Minas Morgul). As Gondor’s power faded, however, Mordor once again fell into the hands of the Enemy, and after two thousand years of relative peace, the Nazgûl returned and claimed the land once again in the name of Sauron. Sauron himself, however, dwelt at Dol Guldur in Mirkwood, and did not himself return openly to Barad-dûr until some seventy years before the War of the Ring.

In that War, Sauron’s power was finally defeated when the One Ring was cast into the Cracks of Doom, and the land of Mordor once again came under the control of the South-kingdom.

–—

The Geography of Mordor: Mordor was a land of approximately rectangular shape, measuring some 600 miles east to west and 400 north to south. On all but its eastern borders, where it marched with Rhûn and Khand, it was surrounded by the mountains of the Ered Lithui and the Ephel Dúath.

Offshoots of its mountain fences divided the land into two distinct regions, the barren uplands of Gorgoroth in the northwest, and the more fertile southern plain of Nurn, where the inland sea of Núrnen lay.

In the far northwest of Mordor, where the mountains of the Ered Lithui and Ephel Dúath came together, lay a valley named Udûn (after the ancient fortress of Melkor in the north of the World). This was the only break in Mordor’s western mountain-defences, and Sauron built a great gate, the Morannon, at its mouth to protect his realm.

–—

The History of Mordor:

c. II 1000 to II 3262: Mordor is not mentioned in the histories of Middle-earth before the end of the first millennium of the Second Age, when Sauron chose it as his dwelling place. While its natural defences must have influenced his decision, we are told that the main reason for his choice was Orodruin, the great volcano that lay in the central regions of the Plateau of Gorgoroth, and which Sauron used in his sorcery, including the forging of the One Ring.

Through the rest of the Second Age, Mordor became a base for Sauron’s struggle for power in Middle-earth. Though he had many successes in this struggle, at one time controlling all of Eriador, he also suffered many setbacks at the hands of the Elves and, especially, the Númenóreans.

His worst reverse came in II 3262 when Ar-Pharazôn, the last King of Númenor, landed in Middle-earth with an unstoppable army. Sauron’s forces fled, and he offered himself as hostage to Ar-Pharazôn, leaving Mordor and travelling with the victorious Númenóreans back to their island home.

We are told little of Mordor after Sauron left it - his armies having fled, it must have been an empty, barren place for a time. Eventually, though, some part of his followers seem to have returned. After the destruction of Númenor and the founding of Gondor by Elendil and his sons, one of their first works was the building of Minas Ithil at the feet of the Ephel Dúath ‘as a threat to Mordor’, which suggests that even with Sauron absent, the remaining inhabitants of the Black Land posed a threat of their own.

–—

II 3320 to II 3441: Sauron himself secretly returned to the Black Land after the Downfall of Númenor, and the Gondorians were apparently unaware of this for a time. Soon, though, Orodruin burst into life once more, and the Men of Gondor understood that the Dark Lord had returned to Barad-dûr.

After more than a century, in 3429, Sauron had rebuilt his armies sufficiently to contemplate an assault on the newly founded kingdom of Gondor on his western borders. He attacked and took Minas Ithil, but Isildur (who dwelt there at that time), escaped and fled north to his father in Arnor.

Sauron’s stroke was mistimed, for he was not yet strong enough to capture Osgiliath, Gondor’s capital, and this gave Elendil the time to forge a military alliance with his friend Gil-galad, the last High King of the Noldor. Elendil and Gil-galad marched with the host of this Last Alliance to the gates of Mordor, where they worsted Sauron in a mighty battle on the plain afterwards called the Dagorlad. There followed the seven-year Siege of Barad-dûr, but the forces of the Last Alliance eventually captured and destroyed the Dark Tower, and consigned Sauron to the shadows.

III 1 to c. III 1980: Through some two thousand years of the Third Age, Mordor was a deserted and empty land, under the control of the Gondorians (although none of that people dwelt there). As time passed, though, and the power and might of Gondor dwindled, the watch on the borders of Mordor was relaxed.

In III 1975, the Battle of Fornost was fought in the north, and the forces of Angmar were defeated. The Witch-king of Angmar (the Lord of the Nazgûl) fled into the south and entered Mordor, taking it again in the name of Sauron and gathering the others of his order there. The Gondorian watch on Mordor had not been maintained, and after the Dark Plague some three hundred years earlier, Minas Ithil and the other forts and castles on Mordor’s borders stood empty. This made the Nazgûl’s return all the easier.

c. III 1980 to III 3019: Soon after their return, the Nazgûl attacked Minas Ithil, and took it once again. This was in the year 2000, twenty years after their return, and Minas Ithil withstood a two-year siege before it fell. We know the Tower was unmanned in 1980, so we must assume that the Gondorians had quickly garrisoned the city once they learned of the Nazgûl’s return - this makes sense when we consider that the King of Gondor at that time was Eärnil II, who was a great general before he became King.

After its capture, Minas Ithil was renamed Minas Morgul, the Tower of Sorcery, and so the ancient dwelling of Isildur became a dark place and a threat to the Gondorians who had built it two thousand years before.

For a thousand years, Mordor was to be ruled in Sauron’s stead by the Lord of the Nazgûl. Sauron himself was slowly and secretly growing in power at Dol Guldur to the north, and did not wish to reveal himself until he had sufficient strength to face his enemies.

By III 2941, Sauron had grown sufficiently to face his foes. The White Council attacked Dol Guldur, but he had prepared for this and abandoned that stronghold, returning to his ancient kingdom of Mordor in the following year. He rebuilt his capital of Barad-dûr, and began the ordering of Mordor for war.

That war, the War of the Ring, was to see his final downfall. In its closing days, an army of Gondor stood before the Morannon and challenged him, and he sent overwhelming forces to answer their challenge. Secure in the certainty of his victory, he was unaware that two Hobbits, Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee, had secretly entered Mordor over the Ephel Dúath with the One Ring. Travelling across Gorgoroth, they reached Orodruin and succeeded in destroying the Ring, bringing Sauron’s rule to an end and leaving Mordor once again a desolate land under the control of Gondor.

* Morgai

‘Black Fence’, inner ridge much lower than the Ephel Dúath and separated from it by a deep trough; the inner ring of the fences of Mordor.

–—

The inner fence of Mordor.

A long valley and ridge in the eastern Ephel Dúath, called the ‘inner fence’ of Mordor.

* Morgoth Bauglir|Morgoth|Black King

‘The Black Enemy’, name of Melkor, first given to him by Fëanor after the rape of the Silmarils. Also called the Black King; the Dark Lord; the Enemy, Bauglir; and by the Drúedain the Great Dark One.

–—

The First Dark Lord.

‘Morgoth’ means ‘Black Enemy’; ‘Bauglir’ is ‘The Constrainer’.

After his theft of the Silmarils and Darkening of Valinor, Morgoth fled the Valar, and returned to Middle-earth with Ungoliant before the beginning of the First Age. In his ancient fortress of Angband, far to the north of Beleriand, he made an Iron Crown for himself, with the Silmarils mounted upon it.

In the first year of the First Age, the Noldor returned to Middle-earth to make war on Morgoth for the recovery of the Silmarils. The history of that Age is the history of the hopeless wars of the Noldor against Morgoth.

* Morgul Vale

The valley behind Minas Morgul in the Ephel Dúath.

Also called Imlad Morgul, the valley of the Morgulduin in the western Ephel Dúath. At its outflow into Ithilien stood Minas Morgul.

* Morgul-wounds|Morgul-wound

Wounds inflicted by evil blades.

The weapons of Sauron’s greatest servants - or, at least, of the Nazgûl

- carried dark enchantments that cursed the wounds they inflicted. The wounds themselves varied; that suffered by Steward Boromir left in crippling pain and shortened his life, while the wound taken by Frodo on Weathertop threatened to make him a wraith.

* Morgulduin

The stream of Imlad Morgul.

The pale stream that flowed out of the valley of Imlad Morgul, and past the gates of Minas Morgul itself, before passing southwestward through Ithilien and out into the River Anduin.

* Moria

‘The Black Chasm’, later name for Khazad-dûm (Hadhodrond), the great works of the Dwarves of Durin’s race under the Misty Mountains.

–—

The Black Chasm; the name given to Khazad-dûm after its desertion by the Dwarves, after which it became a dark and evil place.

The name ‘Moria’ is often used as a synonym for Khazad-dûm. This is not strictly correct - ‘Moria’ was not used of the ancient Dwarf-city until after it was deserted by the Dwarves themselves - but by the late Third Age the two names had come to be used interchangeably.

* Moria Gate|Moria-gate|Gates of Moria|Gate of Moria The doors of Khazad-dûm.

Also appearing in the form ‘Moria-gate’, a term used for either of the two gates of Moria. One opened westward to the old Elvish land of Eregion, the other eastward onto the valley of Nanduhirion.

* Moriquendi

‘Elves of the Darkness’; see Dark Elves.

–—

The Dark Elves.

Called the Dark Elves, those of the Elves who never saw the light of the Two Trees of Valinor, including the Avari, the Nandor and the Sindar. The Sindarin king Elu Thingol, however, was not accounted among the Moriquendi, as he had travelled to Valinor before returning to Middle-earth.

* Mormegil

‘The Black Sword’, name given to Túrin as captain of the host of Nargothrond on account of his sword (see Gurthang), and used afterwards in Brethil. Translated ‘Blacksword’ (also written ‘Black Sword’).

–—

A title given to Túrin in Nargothrond.

‘The Black Sword’; a name given to Túrin Turambar while he dwelt in the halls of Nargothrond.

* Morrowdim

The twilight of dawn, known to the Elves as minuial or tindómë.

* Mortals|Mortal

Beings subject to death.

Any of the races of Arda who were subject to old age and death (as for example Hobbits), but applied especially to the race of Men.

* Morthond|Mornan

‘Black-root’, river rising in a dark valley in the mountains due south of Edoras, called Mornan, not only because of the two high mountains between which it lay, but because through it passed the road from the Gate of the Dead Men, and living men did not go there.

–—

The river of the Blackroot Vale.

A river that rose under the shadows of the White Mountains (hence its name, meaning ‘black root’) and flowed approximately south through the lands of Gondor. It flowed into the Ringló above the ancient port of Edhellond.

* Morwen Eledhwen|Morwen|Lady of Dor-lómin|Lady of Dor-lomin 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.

–—

The raven-haired mother of Túrin Turambar.

The daughter of Baragund of the House of Bëor, she wedded Húrin Thalion and was the mother of Túrin Turambar.

* Morwen of Lossarnach|Morwen

A lady of Gondor, akin to Prince Imrahil; wife of King Thengel of Rohan.

* Mound of Elendil

Elendil’s grave on the Halifirien.

The grave-mound of Elendil, father of Isildur and Anárion, and first ruler of Arnor and Gondor. It stood on the hill later called the Halifirien, in the midst of the Firien Wood.

* Mount Doom

The Fire-mountain of Orodruin.

Orodruin, the volcano in Mordor where the One Ring was forged, and the object of the Quest of Mount Doom, in which the Wise sought to destroy the Ring.

* Mount Fang

A name for the tower of Orthanc.

A picturesque name for Orthanc, the citadel of the Wizard Saruman.

‘Mount Fang’ translates Orthanc’s name as if it were Elvish, but the meaning ‘Cunning Mind’ was also possible if the name is interpreted in the old language of the Rohirrim.

* Mount Gram

The domain of Golfimbul.

The mountain home of the goblins that followed Golfimbul. Its precise location is nowhere identified, but circumstantial evidence suggests that it lay among the peaks of the northern Misty Mountains.

* Mount Gundabad

Capital of the northern Goblins.

A mountain in the north of Middle-earth, lying at the meeting point of the Misty and the Grey Mountains. It was here that the Orcs of the northern world had their capital.

* Mountain of Fire

Orodruin in the heart of Mordor.

A name for the Fiery Mountain more commonly known to Men as Mount Doom.

‘Mountain of Fire’ is in fact a closer translation of the mountain’s Elvish name, Orodruin.

* Mountain Wall

A poetic name for the Pelóri.

A term that appears just once, in Bilbo’s poem ‘Eärendil was a mariner’.

The meaning is not completely certain, but it seems to describe the Pelóri, the Mountains of Defence that ranged along the eastern borders of Valinor.

* Mountain-trolls|Mountain-troll|Mountain Trolls|Mountain Troll Trolls from the highland regions of Middle-earth.

Apparently Trolls that lived in the mountains of Middle-earth. It was creatures of this kind that wielded the great battering-ram, Grond, at the Battle of the Pelennor.

* Mountains of Defence

The Pelóri of Aman.

The Pelóri, the highest mountains in the world, raised along the fences of Aman by the Valar to protect it from Melkor.

* Mountains of Dor-lómin

That part of Ered Wethrin that formed the southern fence of Hithlum.

* Mountains of Mirkwood

The central highlands of Middle-earth’s greatest forest.

In the central parts of northern Mirkwood, north of the Old Forest Road, lay a scattered range of hills. A jumble of fir-covered, low-lying hills to the west rose to reach greater heights in the east, together forming a range nearly one hundred miles in length. Historically, the Second Age saw these mountains inhabited by Silvan Elves, who knew the range as the Emyn Duir, the Dark Mountains.

During the Third Age, the power of Sauron spread across the Mountains as it did throughout the rest of the Forest, they became populated by hideous creatures. Just as Greenwood the Great was renamed Mirkwood at this time, its northern hills also took on a new name: Emyn-nu-Fuin, the Mountains of Mirkwood.

* Mountains of Mist

The Misty Mountains of the Hithaeglir.

A name occasionally used for the range more commonly called the Misty Mountains.

* Mountains of Moria

The three peaks above old Khazad-dûm.

The three mountains, Celebdil, Caradhras and Fanuidhol, beneath which Khazad-dûm was delved by the Dwarves. The main body of their city, which was later called Moria, seems to have been beneath Celebdil, which they called Zirakzigil, and which was crowned by Durin’s Tower.

* Mountains of Shadow

The northern range of the Ered Wethrin.

The Ered Wethrin, so named because their towering peaks shut out the sun from the lands of Mithrim and Dor-lómin that lay in Hithlum to the north.

* Mountains of Terror

The Ered Gorgoroth.

The nightmarish land of peaks and valleys that lay between Dorthonion to the north and Nan Dungortheb to the south. The Mountains of Terror were populated by monstrous creatures of spider-form, the offspring of Ungoliant before she fled into the south and east of the World.

* Mouth of Sauron

The Lieutenant of the Tower of Barad-dûr.

–—

“The rider was robed all in black, and black was his lofty helm…”

(The Return of the King V 10, The Black Gate Opens)

–—

A Man of great power and importance in the land of Mordor, the ambassador of Sauron. He was sent by Sauron to treat with the Captains of the West at the Black Gate of Mordor prior to the last battle of the War of the Ring. Had his master won that war, he would have ruled the defeated western lands from a rebuilt Isengard, in the place of Saruman. That was not to be, though, and of his fate after the Downfall of Barad-dûr nothing is known.

* Mouths of Anduin

The wide estuary region known as the Ethir.

The wide and wandering delta of the River Anduin, where it flowed out into the Bay of Belfalas.

* Mouths of Entwash

The wetlands of the Entwash delta.

The River Entwash was the greatest of the tributaries of Anduin, and where the two rivers met, a mighty delta formed, measuring a hundred miles from the splitting of the Entwash to its final inflow into Anduin.

This delta formed the Mouths of Entwash.

So great was the inrush of Entwash that Anduin could not carry all its water, and so a marshland formed on the Anduin’s eastern bank, called Nindalf, or Wetwang in the Westron tongue.

* Mouths of Sirion

Haven of the Exiles of Gondolin.

The delta of the River Sirion, where it flowed into the Bay of Balar.

After the destruction of the lands of Doriath and Gondolin, many of their people gathered here, and dwelt under the lordship of Eärendil.

* Mugwort

A common family name among the Bree-hobbits.

* Mûmakil|Mumakil

Monsters out of the Southlands.

A name for the great elephantine beasts of the Harad, and especially those that the Haradrim brought to war in the late Third Age.

* Mundburg

‘Guardian Fortress’, name in Rohan of Minas Tirith.

–—

The name given to Minas Tirith by the Rohirrim of Rohan in their own tongue.

* Mungo Baggins

Bilbo Baggins’ paternal grandfather, Mungo married Laura Grubb and had five children; the eldest was Bilbo’s father Bungo.

* Mushrooms|Mushroom

A tasty kind of edible fungus, and a particular favourite of the Hobbits.

In the Shire, it seems those that grew in the boggy region of the Marish were the most prized. Farmer Maggot grew them in his fields, and in The Lord of the Rings Frodo remembers stealing mushrooms from Maggot’s fields as a child. He revisited the same farm years later, and Old Maggot gave him a parting gift - a basket of mushrooms.

* Music of the Ainur

The Great Music before the beginning of the World.

The great song of the Ainur at the beginning of time, in which the world was created.

* Muzgash

An Orc of the Tower of Cirith Ungol.

An Orc serving in the garrison of the Tower of Cirith Ungol, under the command of Shagrat. He was caught up in fighting with Gorbag’s Morgul-orcs in the Tower; with Lagduf, he attempted to escape, but was shot as he ran through the gate.

* Nahar

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

–—

The steed of Oromë.

The legendary horse ridden by Oromë, the Huntsman of the Valar. Nahar’s coat was said to be white under the Sun, but to shimmer in silver in the night.

* Náin|Nain

The son of Grór of the royal line of Durin’s Folk.

The grandson of King Dáin I of Durin’s Folk. Náin’s father was Dáin’s youngest son Grór. Náin was slain at the Battle of Azanulbizar, but after his death the lines of Grór’s two elder brothers failed, and Náin’s son Dáin Ironfoot became King.

* Náin I|Náin|Nain

The last King to rule in Khazad-dûm.

The son of King Durin VI of Khazad-dûm, who became King after his father was slain by the Balrog known as Durin’s Bane. Náin’s kingship lasted only a year, before he too was slain - his son Thráin I led the remnant of Durin’s Folk away into the north.

* Náin II|Náin|Nain

The heir of Óin.

King of Durin’s line, successor to Óin. He led the Dwarves of Durin while they abode in the Grey Mountains. Late in his reign, dragons came south out of the Forodwaith, and began to assail the Dwarves.

Náin was 247 years old when he died, having reigned as King for 97 of those years. He was succeeded by his eldest son Dáin, who became King Dáin I.

* Naith of Lórien|Naith of Lorien

The ‘Triangle’ or ‘Gore’ of Lórien, land at the angle of Celebrant and Anduin.

* Nameless Things|Nameless Thing

Unknown creatures at the roots of the world.

–—

“Far, far below the deepest delvings of the Dwarves, the world is gnawed by nameless things.”

(Words of Gandalf from The Two Towers III 5, The White Rider)

–—

The secret and very ancient creatures that dwell in the dark depths of the world. Gandalf came upon them in the depths beneath Moria, but would say nothing of them to his companions.

* Námo|Namo

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

–—

The true name of the Vala more commonly known as Mandos, a name taken from the halls of his dwelling.

* Nan Curunír|Nan Curunir

The valley of the Wizard Saruman.

The name given in the late Third Age to the valley in the southern feet of the Misty Mountains where Isengard stood. The name is taken from Curunír, the Elvish name of the Wizard Saruman, who dwelt there.

* Nan Dungortheb|Dungortheb

‘Valley of Dreadful Death’. The valley between the precipices of Ered Gorgoroth and the Girdle of Melian.

–—

The dreadful valley in northern Beleriand that ran west to east between the haunted mountains of the Ered Gorgoroth, and the enchanted northern marches of Doriath.

* Nan Elmoth

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

–—

The dark and ancient woods on the banks of the River Celon in East Beleriand. It was here that Thingol met with Melian, and many years later the forest became the home of Eöl the Dark Elf.

* Nan-tasarion

A name for the Land of Willows.

One of several names used to describe the watery region where the waters of the Narog flowed into Sirion. A forest of willow-trees grew there, from which it took its many names: Nan-tasarion, Tasarinan and (most commonly) Nan-tathren are all Elvish names meaning ‘willow valley’.

* Nan-tathren

‘Willow-vale’, translated ‘Land of Willows’, where the river Narog flowed into Sirion. Quenya forms of the name: Tasarinan, Nan-tasarion.

–—

The Land of Willows in the south of Beleriand.

In the region where the River Narog met the great River Sirion, a little to the north of the Sirion’s Mouths, lay the land of Nan-tathren. Famed for its willows and its flowered meadows, those who had visited this land reported its extraordinary beauty. It played little part in history, except that the Exiles of Gondolin rested here for a while on their long journey south from their city’s ruin.

* Nandor|Nando

Said to mean ‘Those who turn back’: Elves from the host of the Teleri who refused to cross the Misty Mountains on the Great 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); for those who remained east of the Misty Mountains see Silvan Elves.

–—

The followers of Lenwë.

Telerin Elves who turned aside from the Great Journey east of the Misty Mountains, and journeyed down the River Anduin. Some few later came into Beleriand and dwelt in Ossiriand, while those that remained founded realms of their own. The people of Lórien were of this kind, as were the Wood-elves of Mirkwood.

* Nandorin

Of or pertaining to the Nandor.

* Nandorin (language)|Nandorin

The language of the Nandor, those Telerin Elves who broke from the Great Journey east of the Misty Mountains. As Sindarin became the dominant Elvish tongue of Middle-earth, Nandorin became little-spoken, and by the Third Age, was represented mainly in old place-names and Silvan dialects developed under its influence.

* Nanduhirion

The glen about Mirrormere between the arms of the Misty Mountains into which the Great Gates of Moria opened; translated ‘Dimrill Dale’.

–—

The Dimrill Dale.

The dale that lay to the southeast of Khazad-dûm, where the lake of Kheled-zâram lay. This was the site of the decisive battle in the War of the Dwarves and Orcs.

* Narbeleth

Sindarin name of the tenth month. See Narquelië.

–—

An alternative name for the Sindarin season of Firith, or autumn; 54 days between modern 8 October and 30 November. The Quenya equivalent is Lasse-lanta.

* Nardol

‘Fiery head’, third of the beacons of Gondor in Ered Nimrais.

* 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 Narog.

–—

The hidden fortress on the River Narog.

The stronghold and realm of Finrod Felagund, founded by him on the model of the halls of Menegroth in Doriath.

The stronghold of Nargothrond was carved into the rock beneath Taur-en-Faroth, and could only be approached by a narrow path along the high banks of the River Narog. No bridge was built across the river until late in its history. The citadel long lay hidden from Morgoth, and was ruled wisely for long years by Finrod. After he was lost in the Quest of the Silmaril, his brother Orodreth expelled the usurping sons of Fëanor, Celegorm and Curufin, and was lord in Nargothrond.

The lands to the north of the citadel were considered part of its realm, and the people of Nargothrond kept unceasing watch on the grasslands to the north; the Talath Dirnen or Guarded Plain.

When Túrin dwelt in Nargothrond, he persuaded the Elves who dwelt there to change their long policy of secrecy, and openly attack the servants of Morgoth. So the Dark Lord discovered the city’s location, and sent out an army under Glaurung to sack and destroy it.

The name means ‘Halls of (the River) Narog’.

* Nárië|Narie

The sixth month of the year, according to the Stewards’ Reckoning of Gondor, following Lótessë, and preceding Loëndë, the feast of Midsummer.

On a modern calendar, Nárië ran between 23 May and 21 June.

* Narmacil I|Narmacil

Seventeenth King of Gondor.

–—

The heir of Atanatar the Glorious.

Narmacil I, son of Atanatar II Alcarin, inherited the Kingship of Gondor when the South-kingdom was at the height of its power and wealth. He was not a great King, and indeed soon tired of the role. In III 1240, after just fourteen years on the throne, he turned over the rule of Gondor to his nephew Minalcar, who ruled as Regent through the rest of Narmacil’s titular Kingship.

Narmacil’s Regent Minalcar was a powerful and energetic Man, who routed the armies of the Easterlings, fortified the borders of Gondor and actively pursued diplomacy with Gondor’s neighbouring tribes. It is not recorded, though, that his uncle King Narmacil had any hand in any of Minalcar’s great endeavours. Narmacil, in fact, is chiefly remembered as being Gondor’s second childless King, the first having been Tarannon Falastur in the tenth century.

Narmacil I sat on the throne of Gondor for sixty-eight years, but for fifty-four of these years Minalcar ruled Gondor as Regent. Narmacil died childless, and was succeeded by his younger brother Calmacil.

* Narmacil II|Narmacil

Twenty-ninth King of Gondor, slain in the Battle of the Plains.

–—

An early victim of the Wainriders.

King of Gondor, the successor to Telumehtar Umbardacil. He was slain by the Wainriders in the Battle of the Plains.

* Narn i Hîn Húrin|Narn i Hin Hurin

The long lay from which Chapter XXI of ‘The Silmarillion’ was derived; ascribed to the poet Dirhavel. Narn signifies a tale made in verse, but to be spoken and not sung.

–—

The ‘Tale of the Children of Húrin’; the long legend of the grim and tragic lives of Túrin Turambar and his sister Nienor Níniel.

* Narog

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

–—

One of the great rivers of Beleriand.

Greatest of the tributaries of Sirion; it rose in the Ered Wethrin, at the Pools of Ivrin, and flowed southwards for many leagues until it met Sirion near its Mouths in the land of Nan-tathren.

* Narquelië|Narquelie

The tenth month of the year, according to the Stewards’ Reckoning of Gondor, following the harvest feast of Yáviérë, and preceding Hísimë. On a modern calendar, Narquelië ran between 22 September and 21 October.

The name means’Sun-fading’.

* Narrow Ice

Bilbo’s name for the Helcaraxë.

A name for the treacherous icy wastes in the far north of the world, that ran between Aman and Middle-earth in former Ages of the World. This region was called the Helcaraxë by the Elves; the name ‘Narrow Ice’ is only ever used by Bilbo Baggins, in his poem ‘Eärendil was a mariner’.

* Narrows of the Forest

The ‘waist’ of Mirkwood caused by the indentation of the East Bight.

* 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.

–—

The mighty Sword of Elendil.

–—

“… and the sword of Elendil filled Orcs and Men with fear, for it shone with the light of the sun and of the moon, and it was named Narsil.”

(Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age in The Silmarillion)

–—

The sword of Elendil, forged by Telchar of Nogrod in or before the First Age. The sword was broken in Elendil’s fall at the Siege of Barad-dûr, and its shards became an heirloom of his heirs throughout the Third Age until it was reforged as Andúril and borne by Aragorn II Elessar in the War of the Ring.

* Narsilion

The Song of the Sun and Moon.

* Narvi

Maker of the Doors of Durin.

A great craftsman of the Dwarves, who lived and worked at the height of the power of Khazad-dûm. He formed a friendship with Celebrimbor, the master artificer of neighbouring Eregion. Together these two made their most famous achievement for King Durin III, the Doors of Durin that guarded the West-gate of Moria.

* Narvinyë|Narvinye

The first month in the calendars of the Men of Middle-earth, approximately equivalent to modern January (though in fact running from modern 23 December to 21 December). Its name means ‘new year’ (or, literally, ‘new sun’).

* Narya|Third Ring

One of the Three Rings of the Elves, borne by Círdan and afterwards by Mithrandir. Called the Ring of Fire, the Red Ring, the Third Ring.

–—

The Ring of Fire.

One of the Three Rings of the Elves, called the Red Ring and the Ring of Fire; it was originally borne by Círdan the Shipwright, but he gave it to Gandalf on his arrival in Middle-earth.

* Nauglamír|Nauglamir

‘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.

–—

The Necklace of the Dwarves; originally made for Finrod Felagund, in which Thingol had set the Silmaril recovered by Lúthien and Beren.

* Naugrim

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

* Navri

Dwarf of Khazad-dûm, maker of the West-gate, close friend of Celebrimbor of Eregion.

* Nazgûl|Nazgul

The slaves of the Nine Rings of Men and chief servants of Sauron. Also called the Black Riders, the Nine. See also Winged Nazgûl.

–—

Sauron’s Nine Servants.

A word from the Black Speech, usually translated ‘Ringwraith’; the name of the nine Men corrupted by the power of Sauron’s Nine Rings, and transformed into his dark and deathless servants.

* Necklace of the Dwarves

The Nauglamír.

The bejewelled golden necklace made for Finrod by the Dwarves of the Blue Mountains. After the destruction of Nargothrond, it was recovered from that citadel’s treasuries by Húrin, who passed it to Thingol in Menegroth. Thingol mounted a Silmaril on the Necklace, an event that was to have historic consequences.

* Necromancer

A name given to Sauron.

The evil being who dwelt at Dol Guldur in the heart of Mirkwood; originally thought by the Wise to be one of the Nazgûl, Gandalf later discovered that the Necromancer was Sauron himself.

* Neithan

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

–—

‘The Wronged’; an alias taken by Túrin Turambar when he dwelt among the Gaurwaith.

* Neldoreth

The lesser, northern forest of Doriath.

The beech-forest on the banks of the River Esgalduin that formed the northern and lesser part of the Kingdom of Doriath.

* Nellas

Elf of Doriath, friend of Túrin in his boyhood; bore witness against Saeros in the trial of Túrin before Thingol.

* Nen Girith

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

–—

The ‘Shuddering Water’ where the stream of Celebros fell into the Ravines of Teiglin; so named for the great shivering that came upon Nienor Níniel when she first came there.

* Nen Hithoel

The great lake that fed the Falls of Rauros.

The great oval lake that lay in the mid-course of the River Anduin, which entered it through the Gates of Argonath to the north and the emptied in the rushing falls of Rauros some twenty miles to the south.

The lake, whose name is translated as ‘Mist-cool Water’, was surrounded on all sides by the grey stony hills of the Emyn Muil. Most important among its surrounding hills were two that lay at its southern end, the famous Amon Hen and Amon Lhaw, the Hills of Sight and Hearing.

Also near its southern end was the lake’s only island, named Tol Brandir in Elvish, that Men called the Tindrock. Its steep rocky sides made landing on the island nearly impossible, and legend said that no Man had ever stood on the Tindrock Isle.

* Nen Lalaith

Stream rising under Amon Darthir in Ered Wethrin and flowing past Húrin’s house in Dor-lómin. See Lalaith.

–—

The laughing stream.

A babbling stream that rose under Amon Darthir in the Ered Wethrin, and flowed northwestwards out onto the shaded plains of Dor-lómin. There, it flowed past the house of Húrin, and was said to have given its name to his ill-fated young daughter, Lalaith.

* Nénar|Nenar

Name of a star.

–—

A star placed in the skies by Varda Elentári. Its identity is uncertain -

there are some indications that Tolkien considered it to be the Elvish name of the planet Uranus, but such a faint object seems out of place among the bright stars named with Nénar in The Silmarillion.

* Nénimë|Nenime

The second month in the calendars of the Men of Middle-earth, approximately equivalent to modern February (though in fact running from modern 22 January to 20 February).

* Nenning

River in West Beleriand, at whose mouth was the Haven of Eglarest.

–—

The river that met the Sea at Eglarest.

A river of western Beleriand that rose in an isolated hilly region south of the Ered Wethrin, and flowed southwards to meet the sea at Eglarest, one of the two great Havens of the Falas. It was considered the border between Círdan’s lands to the west, and the realm of Nargothrond to the east.

* Nenuial

‘Lake of Twilight’, in Eriador, between the arms of the Hills of Evendim (Emyn Uial) north of the Shire, where the river Baranduin rose, and beside which the oldest Númenórean city of Annúminas was built.

Translated Evendim.

–—

Lake Evendim.

A lake in the Hills of Evendim in the far north of Middle-earth; Annúminas, the city of Arnor, was founded on its shores.

* Nenya|White Ring

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

–—

The Ring of Water.

One of the Three Rings of the Elves, called the Ring of Water and the Ring of Adamant; it was borne by Galadriel in Lórien, and used to maintain that land.

* Nerdanel

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

–—

The wife of Fëanor and mother of his seven Sons; she was of gentler mood than her fiery spouse, and sought always to temper his deeds with wisdom.

* Nerwen

Name given to Galadriel by her mother.

–—

The ‘mother-name’ of Galadriel.

At the time of her birth, Finarfin named his only daughter Artanis,

‘noble woman’. According to the custom of the Elves, her mother Eärwen waited a while to give her daughter a name. From her height and her great strength of body and will, Eärwen chose the name Nerwen, meaning ‘man-maiden’. In the end, though, their daughter used neither her father-name or her mother-name, and instead took the name by which she is known to history: Galadriel.

* Nessa

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

–—

The spouse of Tulkas and sister to Oromë, who delights in dancing on the green lawns of Valimar.

* Nessamelda

Fragrant evergreen tree brought to Númenor by the Eldar of Eressëa.

* Nevrast

The region [south-]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).

–—

The first homeland of Turgon in Middle-earth.

A mountainous coastal land on the northwestern bounds of Beleriand; the dwelling place of Turgon and his people during the first century of the First Age, before their removal to Gondolin.

* New Row

The smials that replaced Bagshot Row.

The row of hobbit-holes cut into the southern face of Hobbiton Hill after the War of the Ring. They were made to replace Bagshot Row, which had been destroyed by Sharkey’s Men.

* Newbury

A large village in northern Buckland, situated a few miles north of Crickhollow.

* Nibin-noeg|Nibin-nogrim

The Petty-dwarves. Plural Nibin-nogrim. See Noegyth Nibin.

* Nienna

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

–—

The lady of tears.

A Queen of the Valar, the sister of Námo and Irmo, who dwells alone on the western borders of the World. Nienna ranks as one of the eight Aratar, the most powerful of the Valar.

Grief and mourning are Nienna’s province; in her halls in the distant west, she weeps for the suffering of Arda. Her part in the Music of the Ainur was one of deep sadness, and from this grief entered the world in its beginning.

She teaches pity and endurance; though she rarely travels to the joyful city of Valmar, she goes more often to the halls of her brother Mandos to comfort and counsel those in the Halls of Waiting. The Maia Olórin, who was later to travel to Middle-earth as Gandalf, learned much from her.

Nienna played a part in the making of the Two Trees of Valinor; she wept on the mound of Ezellohar, watering it with her tears. After the destruction of the Trees by Melkor, she once again wept on their wounded remains, cleansing the filth of Ungoliant, and helping to bring forth the last fruit and flower that were to become the Sun and the Moon.

The pity of Nienna is most clearly seen in her support for Melkor when he sued for the pardon of the Valar. Though she spends her time in the world mourning for the destruction he has wreaked in Arda, when he sued for release after his three ages of Captivity, Nienna spoke on his part.

Of Nienna’s appearance we have almost no knowledge. The only hint is in Quenta Silmarillion 9, ‘Of the Flight of the Noldor’, where she ‘cast back her grey hood’. Given that Gandalf was her student, this might (though somewhat doubtfully) have some relevance to his title, the Grey.

* Nienor Níniel|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. Translated

‘Mourning’.

–—

The Tear-maiden.

Daughter of Húrin and Morwen; travelling from Doriath in search of her brother Túrin, she came under the dragon-spell of Glaurung; fleeing to Brethil, she came upon her brother and unknowingly wedded him.

* Night-fearers

One of the many names given to Men by the Elves.

* Nightingales|Nightingale

Small brown birds of thrush kind, famous for their clear singing, and the fact that they will sing during the night as well as the day (hence their name). The Sindarin word for ‘nightingale’ was tinúviel, the name Beren gave to Lúthien when he first saw her.

* Nimbrethil

The birchwoods of Arvernien.

A region of birchwoods that lay in the land of Arvernien in the south of Beleriand, on the northern shore of the Bay of Balar. Wood from the forests of Nimbrethil was used by Eärendil to construct his ship Vingilot.

* Nimloth (tree)|Nimloth

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.

–—

The White Tree of Númenor.

The White Tree that grew in the King’s Court of Númenor; burned at the instigation of Sauron. Isildur stole a fruit from the Tree before it was destroyed, which he later planted in the courts of Minas Tirith.

* Nimloth of Doriath|Nimloth

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

–—

The spouse of Dior.

An Elf-maid of Doriath; she wedded Dior Thingol’s Heir, and was the mother of Elwing.

* Nimphelos

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

* Nimrodel of Lórien|Nimrodel

‘Lady of the White Grotto’, Elf of Lórien, beloved of Amroth, who dwelled beside the falls of Nimrodel until she went south and was lost in Ered Nimrais.

–—

An Elf-maid of Lórien, beloved of Amroth, who travelled into the southern lands of Middle-earth and became lost in the White Mountains.

* Nimrodel (river)|Nimrodel

Mountain stream falling into the Celebrant (Silverlode), named from Nimrodel the Elf who dwelt beside it.

–—

The river of the lost Elf-maiden.

The small river that rose in the eastern foothills of the Misty Mountains, and flowed east to meet the Celebrant on the western borders of Lórien.

* Nîn-in-Eilph|Nin-in-Eilph

‘Wastelands of the Swans’, great fens of the lower reaches of the river called in its upper course Glanduin. Translated ‘Swanfleet’.

–—

The marshland region known as Swanfleet.

The expansive wetland region on the borders of Eriador that formed where the River Glanduin flowed into the Hoarwell to form the Gwathló or Greyflood. It was known to Men as Swanfleet.

* Nindalf

The Wetwang marshes beneath the Emyn Muil.

The great marshland region beneath the Emyn Muil that formed where the river Entwash flowed into the Anduin.

* Nindamos

Chief settlement of the fishermen on the southern coast of Númenor, at the mouths of Siril.

–—

A shoreland settlement of southern Númenor.

A large fishing village located on the southern shores of Númenor among the marshlands at the mouth of the River Siril. Nindamos was the largest of the many small villages dotted throughout the Hyarnustar region of the island.

* Nine Riders

A name for the Nazgûl.

Another name for the Nazgûl, the slaves of Sauron’s Nine Rings. It applied especially to those times they rode abroad on coal-black horses as the Black Riders.

* Nine Rings

Rings of Power Given by Sauron to Men.

Those of the Rings of Power that Sauron used to corrupt Men to his service; those who took the Nine Rings became the Nazgûl.

* Nine Servants

The Nazgûl, slaves of the Nine Rings.

The slaves of the Nine Rings; those Men corrupted to his service by Sauron in the Second Age and more commonly called the Nazgûl.

* Nine Walkers

The Company of the Ring.

A name given by Elrond to the Company of the Ring, who set out in opposition to the nine Black Riders to destroy the One Ring in Orodruin.

* Níniel|Niniel

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

–—

A name for Nienor the daughter of Morwen.

‘Tear-maiden’, a name given to Nienor in Brethil, and often used as her surname.

* Ninquelótë|Ninquelote

‘White Blossom’, a Quenya name for Telperion; see Nimloth.

* Nínui|Ninui

Sindarin name of the second month. See Nénimë.

* Niphredil

A white flower that bloomed in Doriath in starlight when Lúthien was born. It grew also on Cerin Amroth in Lothlórien.

–—

A pale flower that grew among the golden trees of Lórien.

* Nirnaeth Arnoediad|Nirnaeth|Fifth Battle

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

–—

The Battle of Unnumbered Tears.

The fifth and last of the great battles of Beleriand, called ‘the Unnumbered Tears’, in which the Noldor and their allies the Edain purposed the final overthrow of Morgoth, but were themselves defeated utterly.

* Nísimaldar|Nisimaldar

Land about the Haven of Eldalondë in western Númenor; translated as ‘the Fragrant Trees’.

–—

The country of the Fragrant Trees.

The country around the haven of Eldalondë on Númenor’s western coasts.

The name means ‘fragrant trees’, and it was so called because of the great variety of rare and beautiful trees that grew there. It was the only place in Númenor where mallorn trees grew, and it was from the stock of these that the Golden Wood of Lórien came.

* Nísinen|Nisinen

Lake in the river Nunduinë in western Númenor.

–—

The fragrant lake above Eldalondë.

The long thin lake that formed along the lower course of the River Nunduinë, above the haven of Eldalondë on Númenor’s western coast. Along its banks grew all manner of sweet-smelling plants, and so it got its name - Nísinen comes from the Elvish for ‘fragrant water’.

* Nivrim

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

–—

The westernmost woods of Doriath.

The small wood that lay to the north of the Aelin-uial; the only part of the kingdom of Doriath to the west of the River Sirion, it was encompassed within the Girdle of Melian.

* Nob

With Bob, one of the two Hobbit servants of Barliman Butterbur at the inn of the Prancing Pony in Bree.

* Noegyth Nibin

The Petty-dwarves. See Nibin-noeg.

* Nogothrim

The Dwarves.

* Nogrod

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

–—

Ancient citadel of the Dwarves.

The southerly of the two Dwarf-citadels in the Blue Mountains during the First Age, the other being Belegost.

* Noirinan|Valley of the Tombs

Valley at the southern feet of the Meneltarma at the head of which were the tombs of the Kings and Queens of Númenor. Translated ‘Valley of the Tombs’.

–—

The Valley of the Tombs.

The valley beneath the Meneltarma in which lay the tombs of the Kings of Númenor.

* Noldolantë|Noldolante

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

* Noldor|Noldo|Golodh|Loremasters

Called ‘the Loremasters’; the Deep Elves, the second of the Three Kindreds of the Eldar on the Great 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.

–—

The followers of Finwë.

The division of the Elves that followed Finwë as their lord. In the long march from Cuiviénen to the western shores of Middle-earth, they were second great host. When they reached Valinor, they learned much from Aulë the Smith, and were accounted the greatest of the Elves in matters of lore and craft.

They dwelt in Aman for many Ages, but after the Darkening of Valinor many of the Noldor forsook the Undying Lands and followed Melkor to Middle-earth. Melkor had slain Finwë and stolen the Silmarils, the work of Fëanor, the greatest craftsman of that people, and the Noldor returned to make war on him until he gave up the Great Jewels.

The name means approximately ‘Those with knowledge’.

* Noldorin

Of or pertaining to the Noldor.

* Nólimon|Nolimon

Name given to Vardamir, son of Elros.

* Nóm|Nom

‘Wisdom’, one of the names that Bëor the Old and his followers gave to Finrod and his people in their own tongue.

–—

‘Wisdom’, the name given to Finrod Felagund by Bëor and his followers.

* Nómin|Nomin

‘The Wise’, one of the names that Bëor the Old and his followers gave to Finrod and his people in their own tongue.

* Nori

A Dwarf of the House of Durin, who accompanied his lord Thorin II Oakenshield on the Quest of Erebor.

* North Cape

The end of the Forostar, the northern promontory of Númenor.

–—

The northernmost tip of the isle of Númenor.

The northern headland of the island of Númenor, part of a craggy landscape of rocks and cliffs in the region known as the Forostar or Northlands.

* North Downs

Hills in Eriador north of the Shire, where was built Fornost.

–—

The hills above Fornost.

A range of hills in Eriador, at the south end of which lay Fornost Erain, ancient city of the Dúnedain.

* North Gate|North-Gate

The Hay Gate of Buckland.

A gate built by the Bucklanders to protect their land. It stood at the northern tip of Buckland, where the High Hay met the East Road, just east of the Brandywine Bridge.

* North Ithilien

The northern lands of Gondor beyond the Anduin.

The northern part of Ithilien between the Anduin and the Ephel Dúath was somewhat less extensive than its southern counterpart. The refuge of Henneth Annûn and the Field of Cormallen were to be found in this region.

* North Road

Númenórean roads east of Anduin: the road through Ithilien.

* North Undeep

The first of the two westward loops in the Anduin’s course.

As it flowed past the southern end of the Field of Celebrant, and on towards the northern fields of Rohan, the Anduin followed a sudden pronounced westward loop in its course, into which the River Limlight flowed. This was the first of two such loops, known as the Undeeps, and was naturally known as the North Undeep.

* North-kingdom|North Kingdom|Northern Kingdom|Kingdom of the North|Northern Realm

Arnor, the northern of the two kingdoms founded in Middle-earth by Elendil and his sons. The other was Gondor in the south.

* North-South Road|Royal Road|Horseroad

The great Númenórean road linking the Two Kingdoms, by Tharbad and the Fords of Isen, and (east of the Fords of Isen) the West Road; also the Great Road, the Royal Road, the horseroad, the Greenway.

–—

The ancient road that linked the North- and South-kingdoms.

The road dating from the Second Age that linked the northern kingdom of Arnor with the southern kingdom of Gondor. It originally ran from Fornost in the far north, southward for hundreds of leagues through Eriador, then through the Gap of Calenardhon and across the lands that would later be Rohan. Most of this road had fallen into ruins by the time of the War of the Ring, though it was still usable in places as the ‘Greenway’.

* Northern Dúnedain|Northern Dunedain|Northern Dúnadan|Northern Dunadan The Dúnedain of Arnor and their descendants.

The Two Kingdoms founded by Elendil and his sons were originally intended to form two parts of a greater nation of the Dúnedain, ruled by a High King at Annúminas. This was not to be. The loss of Elendil’s son Isildur in the Disaster of the Gladden Fields led to a chain of events that separated Arnor in the north from Gondor in the south, and the two kingdoms continued to follow different paths through history.

Arnor, the North-kingdom of the Dúnedain, was ruled by the direct descendants of Isildur, beginning with Valandil, his youngest son. Though the bloodline of the Northern Dúnedain came directly from the old High King, theirs was a troubled realm. Internal strife and war with Angmar saw Arnor become fractured and eventually destroyed, leaving the Dúnedain of the North a dwindled and wandering people.

Nonetheless, the line of Isildur was maintained through the Chieftains of this people. Aragorn II was Isildur’s Heir through thirty-nine generations, and it was he who reunited the Kingdoms of the Dúnedain after three thousand years of separation.

* Northern Waste

Region of cold in the far North of Middle-earth (also called Forodwaith).

* Northerners

Goblins from the Mines of Moria.

The name used in southern lands for Orcs from farther north. In particular, it was used to describe a band of more than a hundred lesser Orcs from Moria that took part in the Breaking of the Fellowship and the capture of Merry and Pippin, and who were later slaughtered by the Rohirrim.

* Northfarthing of the Shire|Northfarthing The northern quarter of the Land of the Halflings.

The cold northern quarter of the Shire, in which the Battle of Greenfields was fought.

* Northlands of Middle-earth|Northlands

The northern regions of Middle-earth.

A term most commonly used to refer to the regions north of Beleriand, including Dorthonion, Dor-lómin and the lands around Angband. In later Ages, it was used more broadly for the northern regions of Middle-earth.

* Northlands of Númenor|Northlands

The region known as the Forostar.

The northern region of Númenor, more properly called the Forostar. Its northern coasts held the mountainous heights of Sorontil, while in its southern parts lay the inland city of Ondosto.

* Northmen|Northman|Free Men of the North|Free Man of the North The horsemen of Rhovanion, allies of Gondor, ancestrally related to the Edain; from them derived the Éothéod. Called also the Free Men of the North.

–—

The ancestors of the Rohirrim.

The Men of the north of Middle-earth, and especially those that dwelt about the upper reaches of the Vales of Anduin, from whom the Rohirrim were descended.

* Núath|Nuath

Woods extending westward from the upper waters of the river Narog.

* Nulukkizdîn|Nulukkizdin

Dwarvish name of Nargothrond.

* Númellótê|Numellote

‘Flower of the West’; Inziladûn.

* Númendil

Seventeenth Lord of Andunië.

* Númenor|Numenor|Great Isle|Isle of Kings|Isle of Westernesse

‘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 Anadûnë, Andor, Elenna, the Land of the Star, and after its downfall Akallabêth, Atalantë, and Mar-nu-Falmar.

–—

Ancient Home of the Dúnedain.

The island kingdom of the Dúnedain, raised from the sea by the Valar as a gift and reward to the Men who had remained faithful through the dark years of the First Age. The Edain who had dwelt in Beleriand were led to the island in II 32 by Elros the Half-elven, who unlike his brother Elrond had chosen to be counted among Men rather than Elves.

Elros became the first King of Númenor, taking the name Tar-Minyatur.

Under his rule, and the rule of his descendants, the Númenóreans rose to become the most powerful nation of Men in that or any other age. Their mighty ships returned to Middle-earth in II 600, and there they founded havens and cities.

For the early part of their history, the Númenóreans were closely allied with the Elves of Tol Eressëa, which lay close to their western shores.

The Elves visited them often, and taught them much, but the Númenóreans themselves were forbidden to sail westwards, because the Valar feared they would become envious of the Undying Lands they and the Elves inhabited. As their greatness and power grew, the Númenóreans began to turn against the Ban of the Valar, and at last Ar-Adûnakhôr, who became King in II 2899 turned openly against it, though he did not dare defy it.

The last King of Númenor was Ar-Pharazôn the Golden, who usurped the throne of the rightful queen Míriel in II 3255. He took his armies to Middle-earth to make war upon Sauron, and so great had the Númenóreans become that Sauron’s forces deserted him. Seeing an opportunity to destroy his enemy, Sauron sued for peace and returned with the King to Númenor. He gradually gained Ar-Pharazôn’s trust, and persuaded him to sail openly against the Valar. This he did in II 3319, but as he set foot on the forbidden shores of Aman, the Land of Gift was taken away and swallowed beneath the waves forever.

Some few survived the Downfall; Elendil, his sons and his followers had prepared themselves for the disaster and taken ship, and were driven back across the seas to Middle-earth. There they founded the famous realms of Arnor and Gondor, though these were but a dim reflection of the glory of Númenor at its height.

The name means ‘Land in the West’ (i.e. west from Middle-earth).

* Númenórë|Numenore

The Quenya form of the name Númenor.

The form of the name of the land of Númenor in the High-elven tongue.

* Númenórean|Númenorean|Numenorean

Of or pertaining to Númenor. See also Númenóreans.

* Númenórean (language)|Númenórean|Númenorean|Numenorean An alternative and less common name for Adûnaic, the native tongue of the people of Númenor.

* Númenórean Realms|Numenorean Realms

The North-kingdom and the South.

A rare term for the realms of the Exiles of Númenor in Middle-earth; more commonly known as Arnor the North-kingdom and Gondor the South-kingdom.

* Númenóreans|Numenoreans|Men of the Sea|Man of the Sea The Men of Númenor, called also Dúnedain.

–—

The mightiest of Men.

The Men of Númenor, descendants of the Edain of the First Age, who were granted the island of Elenna as a dwelling place. They turned against the Valar, and their island home was destroyed in the last years of the Second Age.

* Númerrámar|Numerramar

‘West-wings’, the ship of Vëantur in which Aldarion made his first voyage to Middle-earth.

* Nunduinë|Nunduine

River in the west of Númenor, flowing into the sea at Eldalondë.

–—

The river of Eldalondë.

A river of Númenor, the second longest after the Siril. It flowed westward out of the central regions of the island, and as it approached the sea, its waters spread to form the fragrant lake of Nísinen. Its mouth was at the haven of Eldalondë, on the shores of the Bay of Eldanna.

* Núneth|Nuneth

Mother of Erendis.

* Nurn

The lowland regions of Mordor.

The name given to the southern regions of Mordor, more fertile than Gorgoroth in the north, in which the great inland sea of Núrnen lay.

* Núrnen|Nurnen

‘Sad Water’, inland sea in the south of Mordor.

–—

Mordor’s great inland sea.

The great inland sea that lay in the region of Nurn in the south of Mordor, around which the slave-farms of Sauron were built.

* Nurtalë Valinóreva|Nurtale Valinoreva

‘The Hiding of Valinor’.

* Nurufantur

One of the Fëanturi; the earlier ‘true’ name of Mandos, before it was replaced by Námo. See Olofantur.

* Oakenshield

The title and surname of King Thorin II of Durin’s Folk.

Thorin acquired the title long before he became King. When he was just fifty-three (a young age for a Dwarf) he marched with a mighty Dwarf-army to the valley they called Azanulbizar, Nanduhirion beneath the East-gate of Moria. There they fought the Battle of Nanduhirion, the last and greatest in the War of the Dwarves and Orcs. In that battle, Thorin’s shield was broken, so he cut a bough from an oak-tree with his axe, and used that instead to fend off his enemies’ blows, or to club them. It was that oaken branch that gave Thorin his surname, but it did not completely save him from injury - it is recorded that he was wounded in the battle.

That is the legend of Thorin’s surname within Tolkien’s tales, but in fact it comes from a real-world source. Like many Dwarvish names, it appears in the Norse poem Völuspá in the form Eikinskjaldi, but there it is the personal name of a Dwarf, not a surname as in Tolkien’s work.

* Oaks|Oak

Majestic woodland trees.

One of the commonest trees in Middle-earth, found throughout its forests.

* Oath of Eorl|Eorl’s Oath

Eorl’s oath to Cirion of Gondor.

Eorl’s great oath on the Halifirien, sworn to Steward Cirion of Gondor that the new kingdom of Rohan would be a perpetual ally of the South-kingdom.

* Oath of Fëanor|Oath of Feanor|Fëanor’s Oath|Feanor’s Oath The dooming words of Fëanor and his sons.

–—

“They swore an oath which none shall break, and none should take, by the name even of Ilúvatar, calling the Everlasting Dark upon them if they kept it not…”

(Quenta Silmarillion 9, Of the Flight of the Noldor)

–—

The dreadful irrevocable oath taken by Fëanor and his seven sons in the city of Tirion. They swore in the name of Ilúvatar that they would not rest until the three Silmarils were in their hands, and to make war on any who withheld them.

At the time the Oath was sworn, Morgoth held all three of the Silmarils, having stolen them from Fëanor’s stronghold at Formenos. Driven by the unbreakable Oath, Fëanor led the greater part of the Noldor out of Aman and back to Middle-earth, in hopeless pursuit of the Dark Lord. Fëanor himself was mortally wounded by Balrogs in the Noldor’s first assault.

From that time on, while Morgoth held the three Silmarils in his Iron Crown, the Elves of Beleriand were bound by a common enemy.

The true danger of the Oath was revealed after Beren and Lúthien recovered one of the three Silmarils from the depths of Angband.

Thereupon, the Sons of Fëanor made war upon the other Elves of Beleriand for the recovery of the Jewel. They attacked and destroyed the kingdom of Doriath, killing Thingol’s Heir Dior. When the Silmaril escaped them there, they discovered that it was held at the Mouths of Sirion by the Dior’s daughter Elwing; again they attacked, and again the Silmaril escaped them. Carried out to sea by the power of Ulmo, Elwing brought it her husband Eärendil the Mariner, and they sailed with it back into the West.

That Silmaril was lost to Fëanor’s sons, but two more remained on Morgoth’s Crown. After the War of Wrath and Morgoth’s defeat at the end of the First Age, just two of the original oath-takers survived, Fëanor’s eldest sons Maedhros and Maglor. They stole the Silmarils from the camp of the victorious host, but because of the evils they had committed in recovering them, they found that they could no longer touch the holy Jewels without enduring searing pain. In despair, Maedhros threw imself and his Silmaril into the depths of the Earth, while Maglor cast his into the deep ocean. Maglor was the last of the oath-takers, and was said to wander the shores of the world lamenting his pain and loss.

* Oathbreakers

Those who waited among the Paths of the Dead.

The Men of the Mountains, whose King swore allegiance to Isildur and the Dúnedain in the last years of the Second Age. They had worshipped Sauron in the Dark Years before the foundation of Gondor, and when the time came for them to fulfil their oath, and fight beside Isildur against their ancient master, they broke their word, and hid in the mountains. Isildur cursed them to survive without rest until their oath was fulfilled. So they haunted the Paths of the Dead throughout the Third Age, waiting for Isildur’s heir to appear and grant them the chance to fulfil their word at last.

* Of Many Colours|Many Colours

Title claimed by Saruman when he revealed his dark intentions to Gandalf in Orthanc.

* Oghor-hai|Oghor

Name given to the Drúedain by Orcs.

–—

The Orcs’ name for the Drúedain.

The name used by the Orcs to describe that race of Men otherwise known as the Drúedain or Woses. They were believed by the Orcs to possess magical powers, and they therefore feared the Oghor-hai greatly.

* Ogres

A mysterious and fearsome race.

Monstrous and destructive creatures of legend and folklore. In fact, it is doubtful whether Ogres ever existed in Middle-earth. Tolkien mentions them only once, in The Hobbit, during Bilbo’s Riddle-game with Gollum. In his attempt to solve Gollum’s fifth riddle, Bilbo ‘… sat in the dark thinking of all the horrible names of all the giants and ogres he had ever heard told of in tales…’. Since no ogre is ever again mentioned, it is entirely possible that they were a mythical race even to the inhabitants of Middle-earth.

* Ohtar

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

–—

The squire of Isildur. One of only three survivors of the Disaster of the Gladden Fields, Ohtar rescued the shards of Elendil’s sword, Narsil, and brought them safely back into the North.

* Óin (companion of Bilbo)|Óin|Oin

Son of Gróin, one of the Dwarves of the following of Thorin II Oakenshield who reclaimed Erebor from Smaug. He later travelled to Moria with Balin, and was lost in the ill-fated attempt to reoccupy Khazad-dûm.

* Óin (King of Durin’s Folk)|Óin|Oin

King over the Dwarves of the Grey Mountains.

Óin was King of Durin’s line, successor to Glóin. In his time, the Dwarves of Durin’s Folk still dwelt in the Grey Mountains of the north.

In the later years of his reign, the Shadow returned to Dol Guldur in Mirkwood, and Orcs and other evil things began to multiply in the northern mountains. In Óin’s last years, the Orcs plundered Moria, which was then deserted, and took it to dwell in. This was but the first of the calamities that were to befall the House of Durin over the coming centuries.

Óin was 250 years old when he died, having reigned as King for 103 of those years. He was succeeded by his son Náin, who became King Náin II.

* Oiolairë|Oiolaire|Bough of Return

‘Ever-summer’; an evergreen tree brought to Númenor by the Eldar of Eressëa, from which was cut the Bough of Return set upon the Númenórean ships. Called also Bough of Return.

–—

‘Ever-summer’.

A sweet-scented tree that grew in Númenor, and especially in the western region known as Nísimaldar. It was the custom among Númenórean mariners to place a cut bough of oiolairë on the prows of their ships, as a symbol of good fortune.

* Oiolossë|Oiolosse|Amon Uilos

‘Ever-snow-white’, the Mountains of Manwë in Aman.

–—

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|Oiomure

A region of mists near to the Helcaraxë.

* Old Company

Name given to the original members of Túrin’s band in Dor-Cúarthol.

* Old Ford

The main crossing of the Anduin in the north.

The point where the Old Forest Road crossed the River Anduin, about forty miles downriver from the Carrock. In older times, the river was crossed by a stone bridge here, but by the end of the Third Age, the bridge had long since disappeared, and the crossing was no more than a simple ford.

* Old Forest

The ancient forest extending eastwards from the borders of Buckland.

–—

A strange northern remnant of the great forest of the Second Age.

A remnant of the great forests of Middle-earth in the Second Age; most of these forests were cut down by the Númenóreans, but two isolated woodlands remained. The Old Forest was the northern of these two (the other being Fangorn in the south), on the eastern borders of the Shire.

* Old Forest Road

The road descending from the Pass of Imladris, crossing Anduin at the Old Ford, and traversing Mirkwood. Also called Forest Road, Men-i-Naugrim, Dwarf-road.

–—

The east-west road that led through Greenwood the Great.

The main route through the great forest originally known as Greenwood the Great and latterly as Mirkwood. Where the Road crossed the Great River, there was originally a stone bridge, but the later years of the Third Age the bridge had been lost and the river was crossed by the Old Ford. From there, a traveller following the Road east would cross some miles of open country before plunging into the depths of the forest. The Road then ran directly east from one side of the forest to the other, covering more than two hundred miles beneath the canopy of trees before it emerged by the banks of the River Running.

Of the origins of the Road we know little for certain. We can be sure that it existed before the end of the Second Age, because a record exists of the stone bridge being specially strengthened to carry the armies of the Last Alliance. A strong clue to its origins is presented in its Sindarin name, Men-i-Naugrim, meaning ‘Dwarf-road’. The Dwarves had a tradition of road-building dating back to before the First Age, and it seems that they must have built the Forest Road to carry traffic between their western and eastern clans. It’s particularly notable that the old bridge over the Anduin at the Road’s western end lay almost exactly halfway between the ancient Dwarvish meeting-place at Gundabad to the north, and Durin’s mansions of Khazad-dûm to the south.

* Old Gammidgy

The nickname that gave rise to Sam Gamgee’s family name.

A nickname acquired by Hob Gammidge of Tighfield. Both Hob and his son, Hobson, followed a roping tradition, and Hobson gained a nickname of his own, based on the name Gammidgy; he became known as Roper Gamgee, the first use of the surname that would later be borne by Hobson’s grandson Sam.

* Old Man Willow

The dark heart of the Old Forest.

A name for the ancient willow tree that lay at the heart of the Old Forest, and from whom much of that forest’s hatred of walking things was derived.

* Old Mill

The mill of the Hobbiton.

The mill that stood on the north banks of the Water in Hobbiton, run by Ted Sandyman, but bought and demolished by Lotho Sackville-Baggins.

* Old Road

The road running east through Eriador.

A name sometimes used for the East-West Road that lead through Eriador to Rivendell, and especially for its eastern reaches beyond the town of Bree.

* Old Rory Brandybuck

A common name for Rorimac the Master of Buckland.

The name generally given to Rorimac Brandybuck, the Master of Buckland, in his later years. He was the grandfather of Meriadoc Brandybuck, noted for his hospitality and generosity. He was at Bilbo’s farewell Birthday Party (he would have been ninety-nine years old at the time) and was the first to suspect the true meaning of Bilbo’s disappearance at that Party

- that he had set out on another adventure. Old Rory was succeeded as Master of Buckland by his elder son, Saradoc.

* Old South Road

In Beleriand, the highway from Tol Sirion to Nargothrond, by the Crossings of Teiglin.

* Old Toby (Hobbit)|Old Toby

The nickname of Tobold Hornblower.

The nickname given to Tobold Hornblower, the famous old Hobbit who introduced pipe-weed into the Shire. One of the most popular varieties of the weed was named ‘Old Toby’ in his honour.

* Old Toby (pipe-weed)|Old Toby

One of the best varieties of pipe-weed.

One of the most notable varieties of the plant known as pipe-weed or Halflings’ Leaf, grown in the region around Longbottom in the Shire’s Southfarthing. It took its name from the famous old Hobbit who introduced pipe-weed to the Shire, the original ‘Old Toby’, Tobold Hornblower.

* Old Took

The venerable Gerontius.

Title given the Thain Gerontius Took, in honour of his great age.

* Old Winyards

A red wine from the south of the Shire.

A red wine from the Shire’s Southfarthing, noted for its strength.

Bilbo’s father Bungo Baggins, who delved Bag End, seems to have laid down a large number of bottles of this wine. Bilbo gave a present of a dozen bottles to Rorimac Brandybuck, Master of Buckland at the time he left the Shire, but this still left plenty for his heir Frodo. The Old Winyards lasted another seventeen years, until the last drop was drunk by Frodo as he set out on his own adventures.

* Oldbuck Family|Oldbuck

The descendants of Bucca of the Marish and hereditary Thains of the Shire for many years. Gorhendad Oldbuck moved the family seat to Brandy Hall in Buckland, and changed the family’s name to Brandybuck.

* Oliphaunts|Oliphaunt

The monstrous elephants of the Third Age.

A word for the southern monsters also known as Mûmakil, evidently gigantic cousins of the modern elephant. Oliphaunt is a real word from ancient English.

* Olofantur

One of the Fëanturi; the earlier ‘true’ name of Lórien, before it wsa replaced by Irmo. See Nurufantur.

* Olog-hai|Olog

The greater Trolls of the late Third Age.

A strong race of Trolls bred by Sauron at the end of the Third Age.

Unlike others of troll-kind, they could endure the light of the sun.

* Olórin|Olorin

Gandalf’s name in Valinor.

–—

Gandalf as he was in his youth.

A Maia of the people of Manwë and Varda, Olórin was said to be one of the wisest of his order. He came to Middle-earth in the Third Age in the guise better known as Gandalf.

* Olvar

An Elvish word retained in the speeches of Yavanna and Manwë in Chapter II of ‘The Silmarillion’, meaning ‘growing things with roots in the earth’.

* Olwë|Olwe

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

–—

The lord of the Teleri in Aman.

A lord of the Teleri, the younger brother of Elu Thingol. When Thingol was lost in Beleriand, Olwë took the lordship of those of his people who wished to continue to Aman, and led them there. He rules the Teleri at Alqualondë on the shores of the Blessed Realm.

* Ondoher

Thirty-first King of Gondor, slain in battle with the Wainriders in Third Age 1944.

–—

The doomed son of Calimehtar.

One of the last Kings of Gondor, who worked during his short reign to build closer ties with the northern Dúnedain of Arthedain. He died, with both his sons, in the Battle of the Camp. The loss of Ondoher and his heirs threw Gondor into a political crisis.

* Ondolindë|Ondolinde

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

–—

‘The Rock of the Music of Water’, the original name of the city that became known as Gondolin.

* Ondosto

A place in the Forostar (Northlands) of Númenor, probably particularly associated with the stone-quarries of the region (Quenya ondo ‘stone’).

–—

The chief city of the Forostar.

A city in the southern parts of the Forostar on the island of Númenor, on the road that ran westward out of Arandor to Andúnië. Its name seems to mean ‘stone fortress’.

* One Ring

Sauron’s Ruling Ring.

–—

“One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them.”

(Inscribed on the One Ring)

–—

The greatest of the Rings of Power, forged secretly by Sauron in the fires of Orodruin. The Ring not only transported the wearer into the Wraith-world, making him invisible to those in the real world, but also granted virtual immortality and mastery over the nineteen Great Rings, and all other magical Rings forged in Eregion in the middle of the Second Age. After Sauron’s defeat at the end of that Age, the Ring was lost; the story of its recovery and ultimate destruction lie at the heart of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.

* Onodló|Onodlo

Sindarin name of the river Entwash.

–—

The ancient Elvish name for the Entwash.

An important river that rose under the trees of Fangorn Forest, in the southern Misty Mountains. It flowed south through the land of Rohan (whose people called it the Entwash) until it met its tributary, the Snowbourn River out of the White Mountains. Then, it turned eastwards and flowed on to meet the Great River Anduin in a vast fenny delta, called the Mouths of Onodló or the Mouths of Entwash.

* Onodrim

Sindarin name for Ents. See Enyd.

–—

Ents, the Shepherds of the Trees.

The name given by the Elves for the giant tree-like beings that Men called Ents.

* Orald

One of Tom Bombadil’s many names.

The name used by Northern Men for the being known to the Hobbits as Tom Bombadil.

* Orc-holds|Orc-hold

The dens of Goblin-kind.

Underground tunnellings of the Orcs, found throughout the northern mountains of Middle-earth, and especially the Misty Mountains and Mount Gundabad in the far north.

* Orchaldor

Númenórean, husband of Ailinel the sister of Tar-Aldarion; father of Soronto.

* Orcrist

The sword of Thorin Oakenshield, discovered by him in a troll-hoard on his journey to Erebor, and buried with him after his death in the Battle of Five Armies.

* Orcs|Orc

Creatures of Morgoth.

–—

Warring servants of the Dark Lords.

Little is known for certain of the beginnings of the Orcs, the footsoldiers of the Enemy. It is said that they were in origin corrupted Elves captured by Melkor before the beginning of the First Age. In appearance, Orcs were squat, swarthy creatures. Most of them preferred the darkness, being blinded by the light of the Sun, but the kinds bred later in the Third Age such as the Uruk-hai could endure the daylight.

* Orfalch Echor|Orfalch

The great ravine through the Encircling Mountains by which Gondolin was approached; also simply the Orfalch.

–—

The Way of Escape.

The ravine of the Dry River in the Encircling Mountains, the route by which the Hidden City of Gondolin was approached.

* Orgaladh

The day of the White Tree.

The fourth day of the Númenorean week, equivalent to our Tuesday. This name was adapted from the Sindarin usage ‘Orgaladhad’ (‘Day of the Trees’, referring to the Two Trees of Valinor). The Númenóreans held the White Tree Telperion in special reverence, and Nimloth, the tree that grew in the King’s Court at Armenelos, was said to be its descendant.

Hence, they changed the name to Orgaladh (‘Day of the Tree’, referring to Telperion only).

* Orgaladhad

‘Day of the Two Trees’; the fourth day of the Sindarin week, equivalent to modern Tuesday.

* Ori

A Dwarf of the House of Durin, who accompanied his lord Thorin II Oakenshield on the Quest of Erebor.

* Orkish

The languages of the Orcs.

A general term for the jumble of languages used by the Orcs, composed from corrupted borrowings from other languages of Middle-earth. The variations in Orkish between different tribes and types of Orc were so great that it was often useless for communication, and so a standard language was necessary. Sauron devised his Black Speech for this purpose in Mordor, but in practice the Common Tongue was more normally used.

* Orleg

A man of Túrin’s outlaw-band, slain by Orcs on the road to Nargothrond.

* Ormal

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

–—

The southern Lamp of the Valar.

One of the two Lamps of the Valar, set up by Aulë in the south of the world while the Valar still dwelt on Almaren. It was destroyed by Melkor at least five ages before the beginning of the First Age.

* Ornendil

The elder son of Eldacar.

The elder son and heir apparent of King Eldacar of Gondor. At the time of the Kin-strife, in which Eldacar was driven into exile, Ornendil was captured and killed by the usurper Castamir.

* Orocarni|Red Mountains

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

–—

The red mountains above Cuiviénen.

A lost range of mountains in the far east of Middle-earth, near Cuiviénen, beneath which the first Elves awoke.

* Orodreth (King of Nargothrond)|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.

–—

The son of Finarfin and younger brother to Finrod Felagund; he ruled in Nargothrond after Finrod was lost in the dungeons of Tol-in-Gaurhoth.

* Orodreth (Steward of Gondor)|Orodreth

The sixteenth Ruling Steward of Gondor, who inherited the Stewardship from his father Belecthor I. Orodreth shared his name with an illustrious Elf-lord of the First Age, Orodreth the younger brother of Finrod Felagund and late ruler of Nargothrond. Orodreth the Steward has left less of a mark on history, and indeed other than his dates we have no records of his rule. He was succeeded by his son, who ruled as Ecthelion I.

* Orodruin

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

–—

Mount Doom.

The fire-mountain in the northern parts of Mordor, in which Sauron forged the One Ring during the Second Age, and into which the same Ring was cast thousands of years later to bring about the Dark Lord’s downfall.

When Sauron chose the land of Mordor as his dwelling-place in the Second Age, Orodruin was the reason for his choice. He ‘used the fire that welled there from the heart of the earth in his sorceries and his forging’ (from Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age); the most famous result of his forging, and in fact the only one we know of for sure, was the One Ring, made in about the year II 1600. So powerful was the sorcery used in the making of the Ring that it could not be unmade, except by casting it back into the same fire that had forged it.

The first opportunity to destroy the Ring came in the last year of the Second Age, at the end of the War of the Last Alliance. Sauron was defeated in that War, and Isildur cut the Ring from his hand. Elrond and Círdan counselled him to destroy the Ring then (the battle had taken place at the gates of Barad-dûr, and Orodruin was therefore near at hand), but Isildur refused, and claimed the Ring for himself. So the doom of the Third Age was made.

Orodruin was far more than a natural volcano - Sauron seems to have extended his own power into it, and was able to control its fires. It seems to have lain dormant when Sauron was away from Mordor, and sprung into life when his power grew. After the Downfall of Númenor, for example, the Exiles in Middle-earth first knew that Sauron had also escaped the Downfall when they saw smoke rising from Orodruin, and an Age later at the Council of Elrond, Boromir says ‘Smoke rises once more from Orodruin that we call Mount Doom’.

The name means ‘Mountain of Red Flame’.

* Oromë|Orome|Lord of the Forests

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

–—

The Huntsman of the Valar, the brother of Nessa and one of the eight Aratar. In ancient times, he rode often in the forests of Middle-earth, and it was he who first discovered the Eldar at Cuiviénen.

* Oromendil

A nobleman of early Númenor.

A high-born noble of ancient Númenor, the great-grandson of Elros Tar-Minyatur himself, and cousin to the fourth Númenórean King, Tar-Elendil.

* Oromët|Oromet

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

* Oropher

King of the Silvan Elves in Greenwood the Great; slain in the War of the Last Alliance; father of Thranduil.

–—

A Sindarin lord of the Silvan Elves.

According to some sources, the father of Thranduil and grandfather of Legolas, who ruled a great realm of Silvan Elves in Greenwood the Great (later to be called Mirkwood). He went to the War of the Last Alliance, where he was slain with two-thirds of his army, but his son Thranduil survived and returned to rule his father’s woodland kingdom.

* Orophin

A marchwarden of Lórien.

A Silvan Elf of Lórien, the brother of Haldir and Rúmil. He was one of three wardens met by the Fellowship as they entered the Golden Wood.

* Orrostar

‘Eastlands’, the eastern promontory of Númenor.

–—

The Eastlands of Númenor.

The eastern promontory of Númenor, a roughly rectangular block of land some two hundred miles west to east that was surrounded by sea on all but its western side. A range of hills ran along its northern coast, and especially in its inland parts it held some of the most important farmlands of Númenor.

* Orthanc

‘Forked Height’, the great Númenórean tower in the Circle of Isengard, afterwards the abode of Saruman.

–—

The unbreachable tower within the Ring of Isengard.

The mighty tower of unbreakable stone built by the Men of Gondor in the beginning of their realm, set in the ring of Isengard at the southern feet of the Misty Mountains. It was latterly held by Saruman.

* Orthanc-stone|Stone of Orthanc

The palantír of the Tower of Orthanc.

One of the seven palantíri or seeing-stones brought to Middle-earth by Elendil, and kept in the ancient stronghold of Orthanc. It was discovered there by Saruman when he took Isengard as his base, and used by him in his treacherous dealings with Sauron.

* Osgiliath

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

–—

The ancient capital of Gondor.

The ‘Fortress of the Stars’ that was the central and chief city of Gondor during its early years. It was largely deserted during the plague of the mid-Third Age, and lay in ruins at the time of the War of the Ring.

* Osgiliath-stone|Osgiliath Stone

A palantír. See Stone of Osgiliath.

* Ossë|Osse

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

–—

The Maia of the coastlands.

A Maia, the vassal of Ulmo, whose province was the coastal waters around Middle-earth. Uinen was his spouse, and he had the friendship of Círdan the Shipwright.

* Ossiriand

‘Land of Seven Rivers’ (these being Gelion and its tributaries flowing down from the Blue Mountains), the land of the Green-elves. See Lindon.

–—

The Land of Seven Rivers.

A woodland realm to the east of Beleriand, lying between the Blue Mountains and the River Gelion. The seven tributaries of the Gelion that ran through the land gave it its name; the Land of Seven Rivers.

* Ost-in-Edhil

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

–—

The city of the Elves of Eregion.

The chief city of Eregion, the great Elvish nation of the mid-Second Age. It was here that the House of the Mírdain stood, and here too that the Rings of Power were forged by Celebrimbor and the Mírdain. The city stood for nearly a thousand years, but was ravaged by Sauron during his invasion of Eriador.

* Ostoher

Seventh King of Gondor.

–—

The rebuilder of Minas Anor.

The son of Anardil and descendant of Anárion, who ruled Gondor as its seventh King. Early in his reign, he undertook a great construction work, the rebuilding and expansion of the Minas Anor. Reconstructing the citadel was a considerable task (some sources suggest that it took as long as ten years), and it seems to be the source of Ostoher’s name (which means ‘fortress lord’). After the rebuilding, Ostoher took Minas Anor as his summer residence, and this tradition was carried on by his successors.

Much later in his reign, Gondor suffered its first serious assault since the defeat of Sauron some five centuries before. Bands of Wild Men appeared out of the East, threatening Gondor’s eastern lands. By this time, Ostoher was in his old age, nearly 270 years old, and it fell to his heir Tarostar to meet the Easterling threat. He succeeded in driving back his enemies, but Ostoher died before his son’s victory was complete.

Ostoher ruled Gondor for eighty-one years, and was succeeded by his son, Tarostar, who became known as Rómendacil I.

* Otho Sackville-Baggins

The frustrated heir of Bilbo Baggins.

The son of Longo Baggins and Camellia Sackville. Otho’s father Longo was Bilbo Baggins’ uncle, making Otho himself Bilbo’s cousin and heir. He and his wife Lobelia eagerly anticipated their inheritance: Bilbo’s home at Bag End. Otho would never inherit that smial, though, because Bilbo changed his will to make Frodo Baggins his heir. Eventually, Frodo sold Bag End to Lobelia, but Otho had died six years earlier, and never owned the home he had coveted throughout his life.

* Outer Lands

Middle-earth (also called the Hither Lands).

–—

A name for Middle-earth itself.

Middle-earth. Outer Lands was the term used by the Valar and the other dwellers in Aman, describing the Mortal lands that lay outside the Blessed Realm.

* Outer Sea

The Encircling Sea of the World.

The mighty sea that surrounded all the lands of Arda, Middle-earth and Aman alike. Its dark waters lapped the western shores of Valinor, and at its distant unknown edge stood the Walls of Night. Ulmo’s halls were within the Outer Sea, and it is said that mortal Men made their last journey across this frigid ocean.

* Overlithe

A Hobbit holiday.

Just like the modern Gregorian calendar, the Shire Calendar regulated time by adding an extra day every four years. This extra day was known as the Overlithe: it occurred between Mid-year’s Day and the second of the two normal Lithedays. It was treated as a special holiday by the inhabitants of the Shire.

* Paladin Took II|Paladin Took

The father of Peregrin Took.

The thirty-first Thain of the Shire was Ferumbras Took III, who was unmarried and left no heir. As such, the line of descent from the Old Took’s third son Isumbras IV came to an end, and the descent moved on to the line of his fourth son, Hildigrim. So the Thainship fell on Hildigrim’s grandson Paladin, who became Thain Paladin II.

At some point, it seems that Hildigrim or one of his descendants had moved a little away from the ancestral home of the Tooks at Great Smials.

Paladin was a farmer who worked the lands around Whitwell - a village which, though it appears on no map, is known to have been close to Tuckborough in the western Green Hills.

When Lotho Sackville-Baggins attempted his takeover of the Shire, Paladin came into his own. As the legitimate Thain, he refused to accept Lotho’s authority, and when Lotho’s ruffians were found in the Tookland, they were hunted and shot. So the Tookland remained independent while Lotho and later Sharkey took over the running of the rest of the Shire. A hundred of Paladin’s archers marched to the Battle of Bywater and helped to defeat Sharkey’s Men, but Paladin himself does not seem to have been at the battle.

Paladin was married to Eglantine Banks, and together they had four children. The eldest three were daughters, Pearl, Pimpernel and Pervinca, but the youngest was a son. This was the famous Peregrin Took, who travelled with the Fellowship of the Ring, and would inherit Paladin’s title to become Thain Peregrin I.

* Palantíri|Palantiri|Palantír|Palantir

‘Those that watch from afar’, the seven Seeing Stones brought by Elendil and his sons from Númenor; made by Fëanor in Aman. Singular palantír.

–—

The Stones of Seeing; powerful crystalline globes that enabled their users to witness events and converse with one another over great distances. Seven of these were brought to Middle-earth by Elendil.

* Palarran

‘Far-Wanderer’, a great ship built by Tar-Aldarion.

–—

The great ship known as the Far-Wanderer.

A mighty ship built by Aldarion and the Guild of Venturers of Númenor.

At the time it was built, the Palarran was the greatest ship of all time, and in it Aldarion conducted many of his early journeys to Middle-earth.

* Pallando

One of the Blue Wizards (Ithryn Luin).

–—

One of the two Ithryn Luin.

One of the five Wizards who came to the northwest of Middle-earth in the Third Age; he journeyed into the east with Alatar, and never returned to the western lands.

* Pansy Baggins

A great-aunt of Bilbo Baggins, the sister of Bilbo’s grandfather Mungo; she married Fastolph Bolger.

* Parmaitë|Parmaite

Name given to Tar-Elendil.

* Parth Celebrant

‘Field (grassland) of Silverlode’; Sindarin name usually translated

‘Field of Celebrant’.

* Parth Galen

‘Green Sward’, a grassy place on the northern slopes of Amon Hen by the shore of Nen Hithoel.

–—

The green lawn beneath Amon Hen.

The green lawn above the Falls of Rauros at the feet of Amon Hen. It was here that the Company of the Ring was broken, and Boromir son of Denethor slain.

* Party Field

The field of Bilbo’s farewell feast.

A large field in Hobbiton where Bilbo held his Birthday Party, and Sam Gamgee planted a mallorn tree after his return from the Quest of Mount Doom. Afterwards used for holidays and celebrations by the Hobbits of that region.

* Pass of Caradhras

The pass over the Misty Mountains called ‘Redhorn Gate’, beneath Caradhras (Redhorn, Barazinbar), one of the Mountains of Moria.

* Pass of Light

The deep cleft in the Pelóri.

The Calacirya, the pass that the Valar made in the mountains of the Pelóri so that the light of the Two Trees would reach the Elven city of Tirion.

* Pass of Sirion

The northern pass guarded by the first Minas Tirith.

The steep-sided pass between the Ered Wethrin and the Crissaegrim, on the upper reaches of the River Sirion. It was formerly guarded by the tower of Minas Tirith.

* Paths of the Dead

The haunted caverns beneath the Ered Nimrais.

A subterranean realm beneath the White Mountains above the valley of the River Morthond. The dwelling place through the Third Age of the Dead, Men cursed by Isildur for breaking their oath of fealty to him, and made to remain in Middle-earth until his rightful heir was to call on their aid.

* Pearl Took

The eldest child of Thain Paladin Took II and Eglantine Banks; sister to Peregrin Took I of the Company of the Ring.

* Pelargir

‘Garth of Royal Ships,’ the Númenórean city and haven on the delta of Anduin.

–—

Haven of the Kings of Gondor.

The greatest and most ancient of the havens of Gondor, on the northern shore of the wide River Anduin in the land of Lebennin.

* Pelendur

Steward of Gondor.

–—

Steward to King Ondoher.

The Steward to King Ondoher of Gondor, who was thrust into a position of power when his King, together with both his heirs, was lost in battle with the Wainriders. With the Council of Gondor, it fell to Pelendur to select an heir. There were two candidates: Arvedui of Arthedain, and Eärnil, the Gondorian Captain and victor of the Battle of the Camp, who was descended from the Royal House of Gondor.

As the direct descendant of Isildur himself, it could be said that Arvedui had the stronger claim, but Pelendur moved the Council to elect Eärnil, who took the Kingship as Eärnil II. All available evidence suggests that Pelendur continued to serve as Steward under the new King.

Pelendur was a highly influential Steward, who accrued considerable power to his office. As well as effectively acting as regent during the interregnum, it was during his time that the office of Steward became hereditary. When Pelendur died, he was succeeded as Steward by his son Vorondil, and his grandson Mardil was to become the first of the Stewards to rule Gondor in his own right.

* Pelennor Fields|Pelennor

‘Fenced Land’, the ‘townlands’of Minas Tirith, guarded by the wall of Rammas Echor, on which was fought the greatest battle of the War of the Ring.

–—

The townlands and fields of Minas Tirith, the City of Gondor. The Pelennor was protected from invasion by the long circular wall of the Rammas Echor, and was the location of the Battle of the Pelennor Fields at the end of the Third Age.

* Pelóri|Pelori|Mountains of Aman

‘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.

–—

The Mountains of Defence.

The mountain-fence of Aman, raised by the Valar against the evils of Melkor. The highest peak of the Pelóri was Taniquetil, on which were the mansions of Manwë and Varda.

* People of Haleth

The Haladin of Brethil.

The second of the Three Houses of the Edain originally dwelt east of the River Gelion, in the lands of Caranthir son of Fëanor. After suffering dreadfully at the hands of Orcs, they lost their lord Haldad, and his daughter Haleth resolved to find her people a land to call their own. She led them eastward, and eventually they settled in the Forest of Brethil, with the leave of King Thingol in Menegroth.

The main dwelling of the People of Haleth was a fenced compound known as Ephel Brandir, on the hill of Amon Obel in the middle of the forest.

According to some tales, there were Drúedain in the woods of Brethil too, with whom Haladin held a bond of friendship against the Orcs that raided their lands from the north.

* People of the Jewel-smiths

The Elves of Eregion.

After the establishment of the land of Eregion in the year II 750, the followers of Celebrimbor became famous for their works of art and craft.

They were known as the Mírdain, the jewel-smiths, and formed a brotherhood known as the Gwaith-i-Mírdain, the People of the Jewelsmiths. Their skill gained them the friendship of the Dwarves of nearby Khazad-dûm, who valued such artistry, but their fascination with the making of things was to bring about their downfall.

Nearly five hundred years after Eregion’s foundation, a mysterious being appeared among its people. Calling himself Annatar, he had knowledge and skill beyond even that of the Mírdain, and he offered this knowledge freely to the People of the Jewel-smiths. They accepted his offer, and for some three hundred years more Annatar taught them. Eventually, their skills were great enough the begin forging Rings of Power, of which they made many, and their greatest works were the Three Rings Narya, Nenya and Vilya. Through these Rings, they discovered to their horror that

‘Annatar’ was none other than their ancient enemy Sauron, who had corrupted their great work to his own ends. Sauron was enraged at his discovery, and his armies swept across Eriador and into Eregion, destroying the country of the Jewel-smiths.

* People of the Stars

Oromë’s name for the Elves.

Name given to the Elves by Oromë when he found them under the stars of Cuiviénen before the rising of the Sun or Moon.

* Peredhil

Title of Elrond, Lord of Rivendell, meaning ‘Half-elven’.

–—

The Half-elven.

A name given to Elrond, Lord of Rivendell, and his brother Elros. It means ‘Half-elven’, in reference to their shared ancestry among Elves and Men.

* Peregrin ‘Pippin’ Took I|Peregrin|Pippin Hobbit of the Shire, one of the Fellowship of the Ring.

–—

Twentieth Shire-thain of the Took line.

Son of Paladin Took II of Great Smials, and later Thain Peregrin I; he travelled with the Company of the Ring. With Meriadoc Brandybuck, he was separated from the Company at Parth Galen, and taken captive by Orcs.

Escaping into Fangorn Forest, he saw the destruction of Isengard and travelled with Gandalf to Minas Tirith, where he became a bondsman of Steward Denethor II.

–—

Journey to Rivendell, 23 September to 20 October III 3018: Pippin, as Peregrin was universally known, was the youngest of Frodo’s companions.

He was only twenty-eight years old when he set out with Frodo and Sam from Bag End on the first part of their great journey, which was considered very young for a Hobbit. At first, he seemed to be rather unsuited to a long journey - through the early part of their travels, we see him regularly calling for rests or meals. As befitted the son of the Shire’s Thain, though, he had a good general knowledge of that land and its people.

–—

Peregrin’s Life After the War of the Ring: Peregrin inherited the title Thain of the Shire in the year IV 13 (1434 by the Shire-reckoning).

During his Thainship, he remained in close contact with Gondor, and built a library of great historical importance at Great Smials. The works he collected were mainly concerned with the history of Númenor and the Exiles after its Downfall, and so were of little interest to the Hobbits of the Shire, but were of great significance to the larger world. The Tale of Years was probably prepared at Great Smials, with help from Meriadoc Brandybuck.

* Periannath|Perian

‘Halflings’, a Sindarin name for Hobbits (singular Perian).

* Pervinca Took

Third child and youngest daughter of Thain Paladin Took II and Eglantine Banks; sister to Peregrin Took I of the Company of the Ring.

* Petty-dwarves|Petty-dwarf

Translation of Noegyth Nibin, a race of Dwarves in Beleriand.

–—

The lost race of the Noegyth Nibin.

A small, stunted people, apparently related to the true Dwarves, who died out in Middle-earth in the late First Age.

* Pharazôn|Pharazon

Usurper of the throne of Númenor.

The son of Gimilkhâd and grandson of King Ar-Gimilzôr of Númenor. He took his cousin Míriel to wife against her will, and so illegally claimed the island’s kingship, which he took in the better-known name of Ar-Pharazôn.

* Phial of Galadriel|Phial

Galadriel’s glittering gift to the Ring-bearer.

The glittering phial that was Galadriel’s gift to Frodo Baggins in Lórien, and which later helped him to escape from Shelob’s lair on the borders of Mordor.

* Phurunargian

The ‘true’ Westron name for Khazad-dûm or Moria, usually anglicised to

‘Dwarrowdelf’.

* Pillar of Heaven

The Meneltarma of Númenor.

The name given to the tall, pillar-like mountain that stood alone in the royal lands in the middle of Númenor. In Elvish, it was known as the Meneltarma.

* Pimpernel Took

The second child of Thain Paladin Took II and Eglantine Banks; sister to Peregrin Took I of the Company of the Ring.

* Pincup

A village of the Shire’s Southfarthing.

A small village of the Shire. It lay in the northern corner of the Southfarthing, some miles south of the Three-Farthing Stone, in that hilly part of the Shire known as the Green Hill Country. It seems to have been built in the southern slopes of the Green Hills, and was reached by only a single road, apparently leading from the larger settlement of Longbottom to the south.

The origin of Pincup’s name are mysterious. Perhaps the most likely possibility would be Old Englsh pín cuppe, ‘pine hollow’, but this is by no means certain. ‘Pine hill’ is another possibility, though this doesn’t fit easily with the fact that the only known map of Pincup shows it below the Green Hills. More exotically, its name might even be connected with the colourful bird known as a chaffinch, a bird the Anglo-Saxons called a pinca.

* Pines|Pine

Common evergreen trees, found throughout the lands of Middle-earth, but especially in the highlands of Dorthonion, a land which took its name from the pine trees that grew there.

* Pipe-weed

The Shire-hobbits’ contribution to civilization.

Tobacco, or a closely related plant, adopted for smoking by the Hobbits, and hence also called Halflings’ Leaf.

* Pippin Gardner

A son of Samwise Gamgee and Rose Cotton; named for Peregrin ‘Pippin’ Took of the Company of the Ring.

* Plateau of Gorgoroth|Gorgoroth

A plateau in Mordor, between the converging Mountains of Shadow and Mountains of Ash.

–—

The wasted uplands of Mordor.

The wasted desert of the northern regions of Mordor, between the arms of the Ephel Dúath and the Ered Lithui. Both Barad-dûr and Orodruin stood on Gorgoroth, and Frodo and Sam crossed it on the Quest of Mount Doom.

* Ponies|Pony

Short, stocky pack animals.

Common beasts of burden in Middle-earth, especially used by Hobbits and Dwarves, whose small stature made the riding of horses difficult.

* Ponto Baggins

A great-uncle of Bilbo Baggins, the younger brother of Bilbo’s grandfather Mungo; he married Mimosa Bunce.

* Poros

River flowing down from Ephel Dúath to join Anduin above its delta.

–—

The southern border-river of Ithilien.

A river that rose in the Ephel Dúath on the borders of Mordor, and flowed westwards to meet the Anduin above its mouth. The river marked the border of Gondor proper with the old land of South Gondor.

* Potatoes|Potato

Root vegetables that were apparently among the staple foods of the Hobbits. How they came to exist in Middle-earth is something of a mystery

- in principle, they should not have appeared east of the Great Sea for several thousand years after the War of the Ring. Conceivably, the roots named ‘potatoes’ in Tolkien’s work represent some other related plant, or a crop brought east by the Númenóreans that later became extinct.

* Powers of Arda

A title of the Valar, the fourteen mighty spirits who dwell in Valinor.

* Powers of the World

The Valar.

One of the many epithets used of the Valar, the mighty spirits the dwelt in Aman in the Uttermost West.

* Precious|Preciouss|Preciousss|Precioussss|Preciousssss Gollum’s name for the Ring.

A name given to the One Ring by Gollum.

* Primrose Gardner

A daughter of Samwise Gamgee and Rose Cotton.

* Primula Brandybuck

The mother of Frodo Baggins. She was lost with her husband Drogo Baggins in a boating accident on the River Brandywine.

* Prince of Dol Amroth

The title of Galador and his descendants.

Title granted to Galador at the beginning of the last millennium of the Third Age, and held by the lords of his house until the time of Imrahil, who fought in the War of the Ring, and almost certainly beyond.

* Prince of Ithilien

The royal title of Faramir.

A royal title granted to Faramir the Steward by Aragorn Elessar on his accession to the throne of Gondor. As its Prince, Faramir dwelt in the central regions of Ithilien, and became the Lord of Emyn Arnen.

* Prince of the Halflings

Ernil i Pheriannath.

A noble title given to Peregrin Took during his time in Minas Tirith in the War of the Ring, a translation of the Elvish Ernil i Pheriannath.

Though exaggerated, it wasn’t entirely inapt; he was after all the heir to the Thain of the Shire.

* Proudfoot Family|Proudfoot|Proudfoots|Proudfeet A family of Hobbits of the Shire. All the members of this family mentioned in The Lord of the Rings were related to the Bagginses, since they were descended from Bilbo Baggins’ uncle Bodo Proudfoot. There is some uncertainty about the plural form of ‘Proudfoot’ - the family themselves apparently used ‘Proudfeet’, but Bilbo pointedly preferred

‘Proudfoots’.

* Proudneck

The nickname given to Madoc Brandybuck, who was Master of Buckland some 200 years before the War of the Ring, and a distant ancestor of Meriadoc Brandybuck.

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

* Púkel-men|Pukel-men|Púkel-man|Pukel-man

Name in Rohan for the images on the road to Dunharrow, but also used as a general equivalent to Drúedain.

–—

Ancient watchers of the Dunharrow road.

The ancient carved images, thought to be of Woses or Drúedain, that lined the road to Dunharrow in the White Mountains.

* Queen of Doriath

Melian the Maia.

In the long years before the beginning of the First Age, the Telerin lord Elwë Singollo came upon Melian the Maia in the woods of Nan Elmoth.

So Melian became the first and only of the Ainur to wed one of the Children of Ilúvatar, and together Thingol (as Elwë became known) and Melian founded a kingdom among the forests in the heart of Beleriand, and ruled it as King and Queen.

Throughout much of its existence, the forest-kingdom was known as Eglador. When Morgoth returned to Middle-earth, he sent his orc-armies to ravage Beleriand. They were beaten back, but only at great cost, and so Melian put out her power to protect her country. She surrounded the forests of her home with a bewildering maze of powerful enchantments, the so-called Girdle of Melian. From that time, the land she ruled with Thingol was no longer known as Eglador, but took a new name, Doriath, the

‘fenced land’.

Melian and Thingol ruled in Doriath for some five centuries more. At last Thingol was slain, in his own treasuries by treacherous Dwarves of Nogrod. Melian in despair departed for her ancient home in the West of the World, and the Girdle that had protected Doriath was removed.

Whether Melian was the last Queen of Doriath is open to question.

Thingol’s grandson Dior ruled for some years in Doriath after his grandfather’s death, so Dior’s spouse Nimloth might possibly have inherited Melian’s title. There is, however, no evidence that Nimloth was ever referred to as the ‘Queen of Doriath’.

* Queen of Gondor

Consort to the King of the South-kingdom.

The title given to the spouse of the ruling King of Gondor (no Queen ruled Gondor in her own name at any time during its recorded history).

The most famous Queens were Berúthiel (Queen to King Tarannon Falastur) and Arwen Evenstar, the consort of Aragorn Elessar.

* Queen of Númenor|Queen of Numenor

The ruler of Númenor, or its King’s consort.

Strictly a title of the spouse of any King of Númenor, but especially used of the three Queens who ruled by their own power: Tar-Ancalimë, Tar-Telperiën and Tar-Vanimeldë.

* Queen of the Earth

Kementári, a name of Yavanna.

A title of the Vala Yavanna, and the literal meaning of her surname, Kementári.

* Queen of the Stars

A title given to Varda, and the literal meaning of her surname, Elentári.

* Queens of the Valar

The Valier, the seven Valar who took feminine forms when they entered Arda; Varda, Yavanna, Nienna, Estë, Vairë, Vána and Nessa.

* Quellë|Quelle

The Quenya name for autumn, also called Lasse-lanta; 54 days between modern 8 October and 30 November. Called Firith in Sindarin.

* Quendi

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

–—

‘Those who speak with voices’; the name given by the Elves to their own kind while they still dwelt at Cuiviénen.

* Quenta Silmarillion

‘The History of the Silmarils’.

–—

‘The Tale of the Silmarils’; the full name for the collection of legends and tales more commonly called just ‘The Silmarillion’.

Assembled from ancient works by various authors by Bilbo Baggins.

* Quenya|High Speech

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 (save in Gondolin), especially after the edict of King Thingol against its use.

–—

The ancient and noble tongue of the High Elves.

The tongue of the High Elves in Valinor, the first to be recorded in writing. It was never widely used in Middle-earth except among the Noldor; the related Eldarin language, Sindarin, was more commonly spoken.

By the Third Age, Quenya had become, in Middle-earth, a language used only on formal or state occasions by the Elves and the descendants of the Númenóreans.

* Quest of Erebor

The quest to recover the Lonely Mountain.

The quest of Thorin II Oakenshield and his followers to reclaim Erebor from the Dragon Smaug, accompanied by Bilbo Baggins and, for part of the quest, Gandalf. The quest was successful, but Thorin was slain shortly afterward in the Battle of Five Armies.

* Quest of Mount Doom

The mission of the Ring-bearer.

The quest of the Wise to bring the One Ring to Orodruin, and there destroy it. Nine set out on the quest, the Company of the Ring, but only two succeeded in reaching Mount Doom; Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee.

* Quest of the Silmaril

The price of Lúthien’s hand.

The quest of Beren Erchamion for a Silmaril from Morgoth’s Iron Crown as Thingol’s bride-price of his daughter Lúthien. He was aided in the Quest by Lúthien herself, King Finrod of Nargothrond and Huan the Hound of Valinor.

* Quickbeam

Hastiest of Ents.

One of the younger Ents of Fangorn Forest belonging to the people of Skinbark. His name (a translation of Elvish Bregalad) was given because of uncharacteristic hastiness. The rowan-trees in his keeping suffered greatly at the hands of Saruman’s Orcs, and he played a great part in the Ents’ resulting attack on Isengard.

* Rabbits|Rabbit|Coneys|Coney

Long-eared, furry rodents, also called ‘coneys’, that were as common in Middle-earth as they are today. A favourite dish of the Hobbits.

* Radagast the Brown|Radagast

One of the Istari (Wizards). See Aiwendil.

–—

The Brown Wizard.

The third, with Gandalf and Saruman, of the three Wizards who remained in the northwest of Middle-earth; he formerly dwelt at Rhosgobel on the borders of Mirkwood.

His name means ‘tender of beasts’ in Adûnaic.

* Radhruin

One of the twelve companions of Barahir on Dorthonion.

* Ragnir

A blind servant of Húrin’s house in Dor-lómin.

* Ragnor

One of the twelve companions of Barahir on Dorthonion.

–—

Outlaw companion of Barahir and Beren.

In the assault of the Dagor Bragollach, the Men of Dorthonion were overrun by Morgoth’s forces. Their lord, Barahir, took the survivors of his House into hiding in the northern highlands, above the pine forests of that region, but they were harried and hunted by Morgoth’s servant Sauron, and their numbers dwindled.

At last, only thirteen Men remained, and Ragnor was one of these: a faithful servant and soldier of the House of Bëor. One fateful night, as the outlaws slept by the shores of a mountain lake, they were set upon by Orcs and slain to a Man. Beren was absent from the camp, and survived, but Ragnor and all his companions were lost.

* Ramdal

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

–—

‘Wall’s End’.

A cluster of low hills in East Beleriand, some miles to the west of Amon Ereb. They marked the eastern extent of the Andram, the Long Wall that ran eastward for many leagues from the hills around Nargothrond.

* Rammas Echor

The boundary wall of the Pelennor Fields.

The great and ancient wall that surrounded Minas Tirith and enclosed the Fields of the Pelennor. It was repaired in the time of the War of the Ring, but did little to hold back the armies of Sauron under their Black Captain.

* Rána|Rana

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

–—

A name for the Moon.

Although the name given to the Moon in Valinor was Isil, the Noldor preferred a name of their own, Rána, meaning ‘Wayward’, since Tilion, the Maia of the Moon, did not steer his charge by regular paths.

* Ranga

Númenórean measure, a full pace, slightly longer than a yard.

* Rangers|Ranger

The Dúnedain of the North after the end of the North Kingdom, secret guardians of Eriador.

–—

Descendants of the Northern Dúnedain.

–—

“Few now remember them… yet still some go wandering, sons of forgotten kings walking in loneliness, guarding from evil things folk that are heedless.”

(Words of Tom Bombadil; The Fellowship of the Ring I 8, Fog on the Barrow-downs)

–—

After the loss of the kingdom of Arthedain, the descendants of Isildur’s line survived in the wilds of Middle-earth, and became skilled in hunting and woodcraft; their warriors were known as the Rangers among the peoples of the north.

* Rangers of Ithilien|Ranger of Ithilien|Ithilien Rangers|Ithilien Ranger Gondor’s secret soldiers east of Anduin.

A force of the soldiers of Gondor, selected from the descendants of the people who had dwelt in Ithilien before it fell from Gondor’s control.

Dressed in camouflaging green and brown, they crossed the Anduin in secret to harass the forces of the Enemy in Gondor’s old domain.

* Ranugad|Ran

The original form of ‘Hamfast’.

In his translation of the Red Book of Westmarch, Tolkien anglicised many Hobbit names. ‘Ranugad’ is an example of this process - it is the real name of the Hobbit named Hamfast Gamgee in the Lord of the Rings. Ranugad (often abbreviated to ‘Ran’) had a very similar meaning to the translated name, Hamfast.

* Ras Morthil

A name of Andrast.

–—

The northwestern limit of the Bay of Belfalas.

The dark cape that edged the Bay of Belfalas to the northwest, also called Andrast. The mountain chain that ran along the length of the cape was the home of tribes of the Drúedain.

* Rath Dínen|Rath Dinen

The ‘Silent Street’ in Minas Tirity.

–—

The Silent Street.

Behind the Closed Door, Fen Hollen, in the sixth circle of Minas Tirith, lay a steep, winding pathway that led down beneath the shadow of Mindolluin to Rath Dínen, the Silent Street. This was the street that ran between the Houses of the Dead, where the great of Gondor, Kings and Stewards alike, were laid after death.

The Kings of Gondor were buried in mansions or domed tombs, and the Street was lined with images of those who lay there. The Stewards had a House apart from the tombs of the Kings, the House of Stewards, where Denethor perished in III 3019.

When the seedling of the White Tree was found on the slopes of Mindolluin by Gandalf, the Dead Tree that had stood in the courts of Minas Tirith was laid in Rath Dínen, and the Hobbits Meriadoc Brandybuck and Peregrin Took, of the Company of the Ring, were also given a place there after their deaths, beside the tomb of King Aragorn Elessar.

* Rathlóriel|Rathloriel

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

–—

‘Goldenbed’

The later name for the River Ascar, the northernmost of the six rivers that flowed through Ossiriand. Its name was changed after Beren led a force of Laiquendi to defeat a band of the Dwarves of Nogrod on its banks. The Dwarves had sacked the kingdom of Doriath, and with their defeat, the treasuries of Menegroth were emptied into the river. After that time it was known as Goldenbed, or Rathlóriel in Elvish.

* Rats|Rat

Rodent pests.

Verminous creatures at least as common in Middle-earth as they are today.

* Ravens|Raven

Large black birds, often associated with ill news. The ravens that lived near Erebor, though, were friendly with the Dwarves, and some could even speak the Common Tongue.

* Ravines of Teiglin|Teiglin

The thundering chasms south of Brethil.

The ravines into which the River Teiglin descended as it skirted the eaves of the Forest of Brethil. They were used by Túrin Turambar to climb beneath the belly of Glaurung and slay him.

* Realms in Exile

The lands founded by Elendil and his sons.

A name for Arnor and Gondor, the ancient North-kingdom and South-kingdom of the Dúnedain in Middle-earth. Arnor was destroyed during the Third Age, but at the end of that Age, the Westlands were reunited under Aragorn Elessar.

* Reckoning of Rivendell

The Reckoning of Rivendell or Imladris is the only recorded Elvish calendar. It contained six ‘months’ (more akin to seasons), rather than twelve, and its arrangement reflects the Elvish preference for counting in sixes and twelves. Because of their long lifespan, the Elves tended to divide time into Yéni of 144 years each, but they also had a period equivalent to a year, called a Loa or Coranar.

Rather than adding one day every four years, as with the modern leap year, the Elves instead added three days every twelve years. In these years, the Enderi (‘middle-days’) of each year were doubled from the usual three to six. For precision, the last year of every third yén was shortened by three days, rather than lengthened (the last year of a yén was always a ‘leap’ year). This was a rare occurrence, happening only once every 432 years.

–—

Quenya:Sindarin:Length:Shire Calendar Equivalent:Modern Equivalent Yestarë:-:1 day:6 April:28 March

Tuilë:Ethuil:54 days:7 April-30 May:29 March-21 May Lairë:Laer:72 days:1 June-9 August:22 May-1 August Yávië:Iavas:54 days:10 August-3 October:2 August-24 September Enderi:-:3 days (see note above):4 October-6 October:25 September-27

September

Quellë (or Lasse-lanta):Firith (or Narbeleth):54 days:7 October-30

November:28 September-20 November

Hrívë:Rhîw:72 days:1 December-10 February:21 November-31 January Coirë:Echuir:54 days:11 February-4 April:1 February-26 March Mettarë:-:1 day:5 April:27 March

* Red Arrow

The ‘war-arrow’ sent from Gondor to Rohan as a token of the need of Minas Tirith.

* Red Book of Westmarch|Red Book

The legendary source of Tolkien’s tales.

In origin the diary and commentaries of Bilbo Baggins, with additions by his heir Frodo, the Red Book was the original source for the tales we know as The Silmarillion, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.

* Red Eye

Epithet and emblem of Sauron the Lord of the Rings.

* Red Maw

Carcharoth, the Wolf of Angband.

A name for the mightiest wolf ever to live, given as an interpretation of his Elvish name, Carcharoth. He was bred in the pits of Angband as a guard against Huan the Hound of Valinor. Huan, it was prophesied, could only be slain by the greatest of all wolves, and Carcharoth the Red Maw proved to be that wolf. Before the gates of Angband, he bit Beren’s hand from his arm, and with it the Silmaril he carried. Burned by the power of the Jewel, Carcharoth fled into the south. At last, he was discovered within the borders of Doriath itself, where he fought his last fight with Huan: the wolf and the hound took one another’s lives in that combat.

* Red Ring

Narya, the Ring of Fire; one of the Three Rings of the Elves, borne in the later Third Age by Gandalf.

* Redhorn

The Mannish name for Caradhras.

A name for the towering red peak known in Elvish as Caradhras, and a direct translation of that Elvish name.

* Redhorn Gate

The ‘gate’ of the Misty Mountains.

A name for the pass that led from the wilds of Eriador through the Misty Mountains into Rhovanion beyond. Sheer and steep, it climbed across the southern slopes of the Redhorn (Caradhras) and led down into the valley of Nanduhirion beyond the Mountains.

* Redhorn Pass

The pass beneath Caradhras.

A difficult pass in the central regions of the Misty Mountains beneath Caradhras. This was the pass attempted by the Company of the Ring as they journeyed on the Quest of Mount Doom.

* Regent of Gondor

A ruler of Gondor in place of its King.

A translation of the Elvish term Karma-kundo, which literally means

‘Guardian of the Helm’, that was applied to those granted executive authority in place of a legitimate reigning King of Gondor. In all the history of the South-kingdom, only one Regent of this kind was ever appointed - Minalcar son of Calmacil.

Minalcar was the grandson of Atanatar Alcarin, and already in the closing years of his grandfather’s rule, he had become a forceful presence in the councils of the King, especially since neither of Atanatar’s sons, Narmacil nor Calmacil, showed great interest in affairs of state. Just a few short years after Narmacil succeeded his father as King, he conferred the office of Karma-kundo on his nephew Minalcar, who from that point effectively ruled Gondor, though officially doing so in the King’s name.

Minalcar would eventually ascend to the throne of Gondor himself under his better-known name Rómendacil II. Before doing so, though, he was Gondor’s Regent for no less than sixty-four years.

* Region

The dense forest forming the southern part of Doriath.

–—

The greater part of the Kingdom of Doriath.

The forest on the banks of the River Esgalduin that formed the southern and greater part of the Kingdom of Doriath, and within which lay the halls of Menegroth.

* Remmirath

‘The Netted Stars’: an Elvish name for a group of stars, identified with the cluster today called the Pleiades.

* Rerir

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

–—

The mountain above Lake Helevorn.

A peak in the far north of the Blue Mountains, above Lake Helevorn.

* Rethe

The third month of the Shire Calendar, lying between Solmath and Astron, and approximately equivalent to modern March. In fact, it ran from modern 21 February to 22 March.

* Return of the Noldor

The return of Fëanor and his followers out of the West.

The return of the princes of the Noldor to Middle-earth at the beginning of the First Age, under the leadership of Fëanor.

The Return of the Noldor to Middle-earth was the result of the Flight of the Noldor from Aman. In fact, the entire journey out of Aman to the coasts of Middle-earth seems to have taken about nineteen years to complete, with the Return being achieved as the Moon rose for the first time. The first Sunrise occurred soon after, marking the beginning of the First Age.

* Reunited Kingdom

Two Kingdoms after the restoration of Isildur’s line.

The name given to the Númenórean realms of Arnor and Gondor after their reunification under King Aragorn II Elessar at the beginning of the Fourth Age.

* Revised Calendar

The Stewards’ Reckoning.

The Númenórean calendar was devised during the Second Age, but even after the fall of Sauron at the end of that Age, the old calendar was maintained by the Exiles of Númenor in Middle-earth into the Third Age.

The change of Age, though, introduced an error into the calendar that its designers had not foreseen, so that eventually a thorough revision became necessary. That revision was introduced by Mardil Voronwë, whose Revised Calendar consisted of twelve months, each of thirty days, and five additional days that belonged to no month. This Revised Calendar, more commonly called the Stewards’ Reckoning, was introduced nearly a thousand years before the War of the Ring, and became the standard calendar of Middle-earth.

* Rhîw|Rhiw

The Sindarin name for winter; 72 days between modern 1 December and 10

February. Called Hrívë in Quenya.

* Rhosgobel

The dwelling of Radagast at the edge of Mirkwood near the Carrock. The name is stated to mean ‘russet town’ (i.e. enclosure)

–—

Radagast’s dwelling on the edge of Mirkwood.

The house of Radagast on the western borders of Mirkwood, said to lie between the Carrock and the Old Forest Road.

* Rhovanion

‘Wilderland’, the great region east of the Misty Mountains.

–—

The wide lands east of the Misty Mountains.

The wide region of Middle-earth that lay between the Misty Mountains in the west and the River Celduin in the east.

* Rhudaur

One of the three kingdoms into which Arnor was divided in the ninth century of the Third Age, lying between the Misty Mountains, the Ettenmoors, and the Weather Hills.

–—

Eastern kingdom of the Dúnedain.

The easternmost of the three kingdoms created by the division of Arnor, lying beneath the Misty Mountains in the northeast of Eriador.

* Rhûn|Rhun

‘East’, used generally of the lands of the further East of Middle-earth.

–—

The eastern lands of Middle-earth.

The little-known lands in the far east of Middle-earth, from where many attacks on Gondor and its allies came during the Third Age.

We know almost nothing of the lands of beyond the great Sea of Rhûn that stood on its borders with the western lands. Even Gandalf had never explored there, and though Aragorn had travelled there, we have no report of his doings.

Of its ancient geography we can glean a little from the Silmarillion; far beyond the Sea of Rhûn was another inland sea, the Sea of Helcar, and beyond that a range of red mountains known as the Orocarni. Somewhere in the lost east, too, lay Cuiviénen and Hildórien, where Elves and Men first awoke: all the Children of Ilúvatar could trace their ancestries back to the eastward regions of Middle-earth.

Rhûn was far from an empty land; it was the domain of the Easterlings, Men of Darkness who were ready to follow both the Dark Lords and fought as their allies in war. These lands, too, were peopled by lost Elves, Avari and Úmanyar, and by four of the seven clans of the Dwarves.

During the Third Age, Rhún was visited by three Wizards; Saruman, Alatar and Pallando, and though Saruman returned into the west, the two Blue Wizards remained. Sauron himself journeyed into the eastward lands, in hiding from the White Council during the centuries known in the west as the Watchful Peace.

* Rhûn (sea)|Rhûn|Rhun

The eastern inland sea of Middle-earth.

The inland sea in the land of Rhûn into which the Celduin emptied its waters. Its northeastern shores were densely forested, and to the southwest lay a mountainous region. The mysterious land of Dorwinion was said to lie on its northwestern coasts.

* Rían|Rian

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.

–—

The mortal grandmother of Eärendil.

The daughter of Belegund of the House of Bëor, she wedded Huor; she was the mother of Tuor and grandmother of Eärendil the Mariner.

* Riddermark

The land of the Rohirrim.

The name among the Rohirrim for the land, more commonly known to outsiders as Rohan.

* Riddle-game|Riddle|Riddles

An ancient tradition of the Hobbits.

An ancient game of the Hobbits, used as a means of settling disputes.

The players continued to ask each other riddles until one failed to answer.

* Ride of Eorl

The rescue of Gondor by the Men of the Éothéod.

The ride of the warriors of the Éothéod under their young lord, Eorl, to the aid of Gondor.

* Riders of Rohan

The cavalry of the Rohirrim.

Common name for the Rohirrim, the horsemen from the north who dwelt in the land of Rohan after its foundation by Eorl the Young.

* Riders of the Mark

The horsemen of Rohan.

Another name for the Rohirrim or Riders of Rohan, and probably closer to their own, unrecorded, name for themselves.

* Ring of Adamant

A name for Galadriel’s Ring, Nenya.

Another name for Nenya, the Ring of Water that Galadriel bore in Lórien.

Adamant is an old word for diamond, referring to the Ring’s glinting precious stone.

* Ring of Air

Vilya, the Blue Ring.

A name for one of the Three Rings of the Elves, Vilya, that was borne by Elrond at the time of the War of the Ring.

* Ring of Barahir

The gift and token of Finrod Felagund.

A gift to Barahir and his descendants by Finrod Felagund, in reward for the saving of his life in the Dagor Bragollach. The Ring was used as a token by Barahir’s son Beren Erchamion when he sought Finrod’s aid in the Quest of the Silmaril, and passed down through his descendants for thousands of years. It was still an heirloom of the House of Isildur in the Third Age.

* Ring of Doom

The Máhanaxar near the gates of Valmar, where the the Valar sat in council.

* Ring of Fire

Narya, the Red Ring; one of the Three Rings of the Elves that was originally granted to Círdan, but passed on by him to Gandalf.

* Ring of Isengard

The defences of Orthanc.

The rocky walls that surrounded and protected the Tower of Orthanc. They grew out of the wall of a valley at the southern end of the Misty Mountains, and were worked by the early Gondorians so that they formed a complete defensive circle around the tower.

* Ring of Sapphire

The Ring of Air borne by Elrond at Rivendell.

Vilya, The Ring of Air, one of the Three Rings of the Elves. This Ring was borne by Gil-galad for a time, but Elrond kept it for most of its existence.

* Ring of Thrór|Ring of Thror

Last of the Seven Rings.

The first of the Seven Dwarf-rings to be forged, and the last to be recovered by Sauron. It was originally given to King Durin III of Khazad-dûm by the Elves of Eregion, and it remained in his line for thousands of years until it was inherited by Thrór, the King under the Mountain at Erebor. It was during Thrór’s reign that Smaug descended on Erebor and drove the Dwarves into exile. Long after Erebor’s destruction, Thrór passed the Ring to his son Thráin, who dwelt for many years as an exile from his ancient home. At last, Thráin set out on his own ill-fated Quest of Erebor, but he was captured by the spies of Sauron, and the Ring of Thrór was lost.

* Ring of Water

Nenya, the Ring of Galadriel.

One of the Three Rings of the Elves, the Ring of Water, Nenya, was mounted with a diamond, and held by Galadriel in the land of Lórien.

* Ring-bearer

A title of Frodo Baggins, who carried the One Ring from Hobbiton in the Shire south on the Quest of Mount Doom, and destroyed it by casting it into the Cracks of Doom.

* Ring-bearers

The title used for those three Hobbits (Bilbo Baggins, Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee) who had at one time borne the One Ring, and aided in its destruction. Because of their status as Ring-bearers, they were granted the passage of the Straight Road, and each eventually went to the Blessed Realm to live out their lives.

Though only these three Hobbits are strictly counted as Ring-bearers, in fact the Ring was borne by other hands besides. Those who actually wore the Ring, as opposed to picking it up or holding it, are marked with an

*.

–—

- Sauron*: He forged the One Ring for himself in c.II 1600 and bore it for c.1,840 years until his defeat in the Siege of Barad-dûr in II 3441.

- Isildur*: Against the advice of Elrond and Círdan, he cut the Ring from Sauron’s hand and took it himself. He did not bear it long - two years later, Isildur was ambushed by Orcs and the One Ring was lost in the Anduin, where it lay hidden for most of the Third Age.

- Déagol: He discovered the Ring while fishing the Gladden Fields in about the year 2463. He held it for only a short time before he was murdered by his friend Sméagol (Gollum), who stole the Ring for himself.

- Gollum*: He took the Ring from Déagol, and soon hid with it in the roots of the Misty Mountains. He bore it in the dark for almost five hundred years.

- Bilbo Baggins*: He discovered the Ring ‘by accident’ while imprisoned beneath the Misty Mountains in July 2941, and claimed it from Gollum by defeating him in a Riddle-game. He carried it eastward to Erebor, and then back westward to the Shire, where he kept it. He bore the Ring for almost exactly sixty years.

- Frodo Baggins*: He was given the Ring by Bilbo on the advice of Gandalf. He was the Ring-bearer, who carried the One Ring from the Shire to Orodruin, to the very brink of the Cracks of Doom. Once there, the Ring’s power overmastered him, and he named it to himself, but Gollum bit it from his finger and fell into the Fire. Frodo bore the Ring for seventeen years until its destruction.

- Gandalf: He held it for a matter of moments on the morning of 13 April III 3018, before throwing it into Frodo’s fire. This was the moment that the Ring’s fiery inscription appeared, confirming that it was the One Ring.

- Tom Bombadil*: He wore it on his finger for a moment on 27 September III 3018, but was famously unaffected by it. The reason that Tom was immune was the effects of the Ring remains an abiding mystery.

- Samwise Gamgee*: He bore the Ring for about two days in March III 3019, while Frodo his master was in the clutches of Orcs in the Tower of Cirith Ungol.

* Ring-finder

A title given to Bilbo Baggins, who came upon the One Ring in an orc-hold of the Misty Mountains.

* Ring-maker

A title for the makers of Rings of Power.

A title of Sauron, forger of the One Ring, also claimed by Saruman.

* Ringarë|Ringare

The last month in the calendars of the Men of Middle-earth, approximately equivalent to modern December (though in fact running from modern 21

November to 20 December).

* Ringil

The glittering sword of Fingolfin.

The sword of Fingolfin, said to have glittered like ice. With it he wounded Morgoth in single combat after the Dagor Bragollach.

* Ringló|Ringlo

River in Gondor, joining the Morthond north-east of Dol Amroth. See Gwathló.

–—

A river of southern Gondor.

An important river of the southern regions of Gondor. It rose in the White Mountains above Lamedon, and flowed southwestwards for some 200

miles before it met the sea. Near its mouth was the ancient Elf-haven of Edhellond, and it marked the border between Anfalas to the west and Belfalas to the east.

The name means ‘Coldflood’.

* Rings of Power|Ring of Power

The magical rings made by Sauron and the Mírdain.

Eregion was a land founded by the Noldor in the eighth century of the Second Age. Their leader was Celebrimbor, the grandson of Fëanor himself, and their skill and smithwork became famous throughout Middle-earth. In about the year II 1200, they began to receive emissaries from a mysterious stranger calling himself Annatar, who offered them even greater knowledge of their arts. Despite warnings from Gil-galad and Elrond, they accepted Annatar’s offer, and he came to Eregion to teach them.

For three hundred years the Mírdain - as the Jewel-smiths of Eregion were known - studied at Annatar’s side, and learned the making of magical rings. In about the year II 1500, the first of the Rings of Power was forged. Over the following decades, with Annatar’s help, the Elves made sixteen Rings of Power, each set with a gemstone. Both the Elves and Annatar had their own secret aims, though, and each forged work of their own. Celebrimbor and the Elves made Three Rings more powerful than the others, Narya, Nenya and Vilya, the Rings of Fire, Water and Air.

Unknown to the Mírdain, ‘Annatar’ was none other than the Dark Lord Sauron. In the fires of Mount Doom in the dark land of Mordor, he forged a Ring of his own, to enslave the holders of the other Rings of Power.

Filled with much of his own native power, this was the Ruling Ring, the One Ring that would make him Lord of all the Rings. But Sauron had not reckoned on the Elves forging their own Rings of Power; as he took up the One Ring for the first time, they became aware of it, and took off their own Rings to foil his ambition.

Sauron in his anger swept out of Mordor with a great army. The land of Eregion was overwhelmed and destroyed and Celebrimbor was slain. The Three Rings of the Elves had already been sent away, but the Dark Lord claimed the remaining Rings of Power. Nine of these he used to subvert nine Men to his cause; this was the origin of the Nazgûl or Ringwraiths.

Seven he gave to the Dwarves with the same purpose, though with much less success, as the Dwarves proved resistant to their magic.

Centuries later, at the end of the Second Age, Sauron fell in the War of the Last Alliance. Isildur cut the Ring from Sauron’s hand, but he was lost in the River Anduin, and the Ruling Ring was lost with him. So the Elves could once again use the power of their Three Rings, as they did through the Third Age. At last, the One Ring was found again, and Sauron’s quest to retrieve it resulted in the War of the Ring.

Ultimately, the Ring was destroyed in the place where Sauron had forged it nearly five thousand years earlier. With that, the remaining Rings of Power, including even the Elves’ Three Rings, lost the power they had held.

* Ringwil

The stream that flowed into the river Narog at Nargothrond.

* Ringwraiths|Ringwraith|Ring-wraiths|Ring-wraith The slaves of the Nine Rings of Men and chief servants of Sauron; also called Nazgûl and Ulairi.

–—

The slaves of Sauron’s Nine Rings.

The Nazgûl, the slaves of Sauron’s Nine Rings; originally Men who were corrupted by the Rings of Power.

* Rivendell

Translation of Sindarin Imladris; Elrond’s dwelling in a deep valley of the Misty Mountains.

–—

The Last Homely House.

The hidden refuge of Elrond Halfelven, founded in the Second Age against the assaults of Sauron in Eriador. It lay in a deep valley in the western foothills of the Misty Mountains, and endured under the Lordship of Elrond through the War of the Ring and beyond.

* River-daughter

A title of Goldberry.

A title given to Tom Bombadil’s companion Goldberry, described by Tom as the ‘River-woman’s daughter’ of the Withywindle.

* River-woman

The mother of Goldberry.

A mysterious being - apparently some kind of water-spirit - associated with the River Withywindle in the Old Forest. She was the mother of Goldberry, who was for this reason known as the ‘River-daughter’.

* Rivil

Stream falling norhtwards from Dorthonion and flowing into Sirion at the Fen of Serech.

–—

Sirion’s northernmost tributary.

A lesser tributary of the River Sirion, that rose in the heights of Dorthonion and flowed westward to meet the Sirion at the Fen of Serech.

* Robin ‘Cock-robin’ Smallburrow|Robin Smallburrow A Shirriff of the Shire.

A Hobbit from Hobbiton in the heart of the Shire, who put himself forward as a Shirriff six years before the War of the Ring began. He became caught up in the events of that War, and was pressed into service by the villainous Chief at Bag End.

* Robin Gardner

A son of Samwise Gamgee and Rose Cotton; perhaps named for his father’s old friend, Robin Smallburrow.

* Rochallor

The steed of Fingolfin.

The great horse of High King Fingolfin, on which he rode to the gates of Angband and challenged Morgoth to single combat.

* Rochand|Rochan

An ancient form of the name Rohan.

‘Land of Horses’, an Elvish name for that region that later became known as Rohan, and the origin of that word. Also spelled Rochan.

* Rochon Methestel

‘Rider of the Last Hope’, the name of a song made concerning Borondir Udalraph.

* Rock of the Music of Water

An old name for the fountained city of Gondolin.

A name for the Hidden City of Gondolin, the literal meaning of its original Quenya name, Ondolindë.

* Róg|Rog|Rógin|Rogin

The actual name (plural Rógin) of the Drúedain in the language of the Rohirrim, represented by the translation Woses.

* Rohan

Form in Gondor of the Sindarin name Rochan(d), ‘the Horse-country’, the great grassy plain originally the northern part of Gondor, and then called Calenardhon. For the origins of the name, see Rochand.

–—

The wide land of the Rohirrim.

Originally the Gondorian province of Calenardhon, the land north of the White Mountains was gifted by Steward Cirion to Eorl of the Northmen in III 2510. Eorl had led his men through great hardship from the far north to the aid of Gondor, and Cirion gave him the wide green lands of Calenardhon in recognition of his aid, swearing eternal friendship between old Gondor and the new land of Rohan.

Rohan’s history was one of conflict and war; with the Orcs of the White Mountains, the Dunlendings to the west, and ultimately with Saruman in Orthanc, whose lands bordered Rohan to the north.

Nonetheless, the line of the Kings of Rohan stretched from Eorl’s time to the War of the Ring and beyond. The Kings sat in the Golden Hall of Meduseld in Edoras, built by Eorl’s son Brego. At the time of Gondor’s greatest need, they kept the Oath of Eorl, and rode to the aid of their ancient allies at the Battle of the Pelennor Fields.

* Roheryn

The steed of Aragorn.

The horse of Aragorn, brought to him out of the north by the Rangers during the War of the Ring, and said to have been a gift from the lady Arwen Evenstar.

* Rohirrim

‘The Horse-lords’ of Rohan.

–—

The people of Rohan. Originally descended from the Éothéod of the North, when Eorl was granted the land of Rohan, his people became known as Rohirrim, from the Elvish for ‘People of the Horse-lords’.

* Rómendacil I Tarostar|Rómendacil|Romendacil Eighth King of Gondor, who took the title of Rómendacil ‘East-victor’

after his repulse of the first attacks on Gondor by Easterlings.

–—

Victor over the Easterlings.

The heir of Ostoher, who succeeded his father to become Gondor’s eighth King. His name had originally been Tarostar, but he changed it to Rómendacil to reflect the heroic events surrounding his succession.

While his father Ostoher was still King, a horde of Easterlings attacked Gondor, the first time such a thing had been known. Ostoher was too old to take command of his own armies, so his son Tarostar took over the kingdom’s defence. After two years of fighting, the old King died, and Tarostar inherited the Crown. Another eight years of warfare followed, but in the end Tarostar defeated his enemies and saved Gondor. He took the name Rómendacil in celebration of his triumph; it means ‘East-victor’.

Neither Rómendacil’s triumph, nor Gondor’s peace, were to last indefinitely. Some forty years after his first victory, the Easterlings massed once more, and again attacked the South-kingdom. Rómendacil did not survive the assault, and it was left to his heir Turambar to face the fierce eastern warriors.

Rómendacil ruled Gondor for forty-nine years, and was succeeded by his son Turambar.

* Rómendacil II Minalcar|Rómendacil|Romendacil For many years Regent and afterwards nineteenth King of Gondor, who took the title of Rómendacil after his great defeat of the Easterlings in Third Age 1248.

–—

The second great victor over the Easterlings.

The Man who would one day rule as one of Gondor’s greatest Kings entered the World in inauspicious circumstances. He was born with the name Minalcar during the reign of Hyarmendacil II, and his father was Calmacil, the younger brother of the King’s grandson Narmacil. As such, there seemed little likelihood of his succeeding the throne, but fate would decide otherwise.

His uncle Narmacil took Gondor’s throne in the year III 1226. Narmacil was not a man suited to the rigours of Kingship, and chose instead to appoint a Regent to rule the Kingdom in his stead. His choice settled on his nephew Minalcar, who took up the Regency in III 1240. Having been given this authority, Minalcar acted swiftly to secure Gondor’s borders.

He built a huge army, and marched with it into the east were he destroyed the Easterling forces between Rhovanion and the Sea of Rhûn. After this great event, he took a title first used by his ancestor Tarostar in the sixth century, Rómendacil the East-victor.

Not satisfied with his great victory in the east, Rómendacil set about fortifying the River Anduin. It was he who built the Pillars of the Argonath above Nen Hithoel, as a warning and a marker of Gondor’s then northern border. He developed less tangible defences, too, working to cement a bond between Gondor and the Northmen who lived to the east. He went so far to send his son Valacar to live among them, an act from which the evils of the Kin-strife would eventually develop.

Had Narmacil had a son, Minalcar Rómendacil’s Regency would have ended with his uncle’s death in III 1294. Narmacil died without an heir, however, and his brother, Minalcar’s father Calmacil, succeeded instead.

Calmacil was King in name only, for he allowed his illustrious son to continue to rule as Regent. On the death of his father ten years later, the man who had actually been ruling Gondor for the previous sixty-four years finally became its true King, under his famous name Rómendacil II.

Rómendacil II ruled as Regent for sixty-four years and as King of Gondor for a further sixty-two years. He was succeeded by his son Valacar.

* Rómenna|Romenna

‘Eastwards’, great haven on the east coast of Númenor.

–—

The royal haven of Númenor.

A city and important port on the eastern coasts of Númenor. It was included in the royal region known as Arandor, the Kingsland.

* Roper Gamgee

The first of the Gamgees.

A name given to Hobson the son of Hob Gammidge. He followed in his father’s work as a roper in Tighfield, and so was given the name Roper Gamgee (‘Gamgee’ being a corruption of his father’s nickname ‘Gammidgy’).

He handed the family name down to his son Hamfast, and his grandson Samwise.

* Rorimac ‘Goldfather’ Brandybuck|Rorimac Brandybuck Master of Buckland at the time of Bilbo’s Birthday Party.

The son of Gorbadoc Brandybuck, who inherited the title of Master of Buckland from his father. He was present at Bilbo’s famous Birthday Party, and indeed was noted as being the first to suspect that Bilbo’s disappearance at that party meant that ‘Mad Baggins’ had gone off on another adventure. He was nearly a hundred years old at that time (being commonly known as ‘Old Rory’), and he lived for another seven years. The title ‘Master of Buckland’ passed on to his elder son Saradoc, and in time to his grandson Meriadoc of the Company of the Ring.

* Rose

The youngest daughter of Holman the greenhanded, who married Cotman and founded the Cotton family.

* Rose Cotton

Daughter of Tolman Cotton and Lily Brown, she married Samwise Gamgee after his return from the Quest of Mount Doom. Together they had thirteen children.

* Rose Gardner

Daughter of Samwise Gamgee and Rose Cotton; presumably named after her mother.

* Rothinzil

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

* Rowans|Rowan

Scarlet-berried trees of mountain slopes.

Trees of the genus Sorbus, also called ‘mountain ash’. Found especially on the slopes of mountains and hills, these trees with their unmistakable red berries once grew in the western Fangorn Forest, in the regions close to Isengard.

* Royal House of Gondor

Descendants of the rulers of the South-kingdom.

The extended house of the nobles and royalty of Gondor, descended from its first Kings. The house included the Kings of Gondor and their heirs, of course, but also their siblings and their descendants. On several occasions, the direct line of descent failed in Gondor, and other members of the house were called on to take up the Kingship. Most notable among these was Meneldil himself, the first King to rule Gondor in his own right, who took up the throne on the death of his uncle Isildur.

There are examples of members of the Royal House being granted important military roles. For example, the great Gondorian general Eärnil was a member of the Royal House, being a descendant of Telumehtar, great-grandfather to the reigning King Ondoher. Indeed, when Ondoher and his heirs were lost, Eärnil eventually succeeded to the Kingship himself.

One important political role, however, was closed to members of the Royal House: that of Steward. When Rómendacil I created the Stewardship, he specified that no member of the House should ever take the role. The descendants of the House of Húrin, who would eventually take on the hereditary Stewardship of the realm, were noted as being of high Númenórean blood, but they were not members of the Royal House itself.

* Rú|Ru|Rúatan|Ruatan

Also Rúatan, Quenya forms derived from the word Drughu, corresponding to Sindarin Drû, Drûadan.

* Ruby Bolger

Frodo Baggins’ paternal grandmother, the mother of his father Drogo.

* Ruby Gardner

The eleventh child and youngest daughter of Samwise Gamgee and Rose Cotton.

* Ruin of Beleriand

The catastrophe of the Dagor Bragollach.

The destruction and war that came with the Dagor Bragollach and the breaking of the Siege of Angband by Morgoth.

* Ruin of Doriath

The destruction of the Thingol’s ancient realm.

The final destruction of the realm of Doriath, and the slaying of its King, Dior, by the Sons of Fëanor.

* Ruler

A title claimed by Saruman for himself.

An ambitious title claimed by Saruman at the end of the Third Age.

* Ruling Queen of Númenor

Title of the three Queens who ruled in their own name.

A title used of just three Queens of Númenor: Tar-Ancalimë, Tar-Telperiën and Tar-Vanimeldë. These were the only Queens to rule the island of Númenor in their own right.

* Ruling Ring

Greatest of the Great Rings.

A name given to the One Ring, because of the authority it granted its wearer over the other Rings of Power.

* Ruling Steward

Title of Mardil and his descendants.

The title used of the rulers of Gondor after the loss of the last King, Eärnur. The first of these was Mardil Voronwë, and the title was carried in line of succession through twenty-six generations to Denethor II, Ruling Steward at the time of the War of the Ring. His son Faramir gave the rule of Gondor to Aragorn, the rightful Heir of Isildur.

* Rúmil of Lórien|Rúmil|Rumil

A marchwarden of the Galadhrim.

One of the border-guards of Lórien encountered by the Fellowship of the Ring as they fled from Moria. He was perhaps named for the more famous Rúmil, the inventor of writing.

* Rúmil of Tirion|Rúmil|Rumil

A Noldorin sage of Tirion, the first deviser of written characters; to him is attributed the Ainulindalë.

–—

The legendary inventor of writing.

An Elven loremaster, the inventor of written letters. His invention was later bettered by Fëanor, but Rúmil remains famous as the originator of writing.

* Runes|Rune

Characters first devised by Daeron of Doriath.

A system of writing based on angular shapes that could easily be carved into wood or stone. Originated by Daeron of Doriath to represent Sindarin words, runes came to be used widely by races other than the Elves, and especially by the Dwarves.

* River Running|Running

The river that flowed out of the Lonely Mountain.

Also called the Celduin, the great river that formed the eastern boundary of Rhovanion. It rose beneath Erebor, the Lonely Mountain, and flowed southeastwards for many hundreds of miles to its outflow in the Sea of Rhûn.

* Rushey|Rushy

A village of the Shire’s Eastfarthing.

A small village of the Marish, in the Eastfarthing of the Shire, spelt

‘Rushy’ on the map accompanying The Lord of the Rings.

* Rushlight Family|Rushlight

A family-name among the Men of Bree. Nothing is known of this family apart from the mere fact of its existence - none of its members are ever mentioned by name.

* Sack of Nargothrond

The destruction of the halls on the Narog.

Since its foundation by Finrod, the Elves of Nargothrond had pursued a secretive war against Morgoth, hunting their enemies by stealth and ambush rather than going to open war. When Túrin was led there by Gwindor, though, he counselled a different strategy to Orodreth, who had by that time succeeded his brother Finrod as King in Nargothrond.

Orodreth therefore built a bridge from his doors across the Narog, and went to open war with Morgoth.

This was a foolhardy strategy. In centuries of searching, Morgoth had been unable to find the fortress of Nargothrond, but now not only was its location revealed, but the new bridge removed the defence of the River Narog. Glaurung was sent out from Angband with an army of Orcs to capture the city.

The army of Nargothrond went out to meet Glaurung on the field of Tumhalad, some miles north of the citadel. They were routed, and those Elves left in the city awaiting their return, instead found the Dragon and his Orcs crossing their bridge and entering the citadel. These people, including Orodreth’s daughter Finduilas, were captured by the Orcs and driven northward.

Coming late to the sack were Túrin and some few other survivors of the Battle of Tumhalad. At the sight of the Dragon, Túrin’s companions fled, but Túrin himself was placed under Glaurung’s dragon-spell, and forced to watch as the captives were driven away. Then Glaurung released Túrin, knowing the evils this would cause, and settled to enjoy his newly-sacked domain.

* Sackville Family

A little-known family of the Shire-hobbits.

A Hobbit family of the Shire. Camellia Sackville is the only member of the family to appear in Tolkien’s writings; apart from her almost nothing is known about them, except that they are described as being one of the Shire’s wealthier families.

* Sackville-Baggins Family|Sackville-Baggins A short-lived family of the Shire-hobbits, formed by the marriage of Longo Baggins to Camellia Sackville. It came to an end with the death of Longo’s grandson Lotho in the War of the Ring.

* Sador

Serving-man of Húrin in Dor-lómin and friend of Túrin in his childhood, by whom he was called Labadal.

–—

A bondsman and servant of the Húrin of Dor-lómin, and the childhood friend of Húrin’s son Túrin.

* Saeros

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

–—

The taunter of Túrin.

An Elf of the Nandor who went to dwell in Doriath at the court of Thingol after the First Battle. When Túrin came to that land, he and Saeros became enemies: it was the accidental death of Saeros at Túrin’s hands that drove the son of Húrin to become an outlaw.

* Salmar

Maker of the Ulumúri.

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

* Sammath Naur

The Chambers of Fire in the heart of Mount Doom.

The Chambers of Fire that lay within the Fire-mountain of Orodruin, Mount Doom. It was in these fiery chambers that Sauron forged the One Ring.

* Samwise ‘Sam’ Gamgee|Samwise|Sam

Hobbit of the Shire, one of the Fellowship of the Ring, and companion of Frodo in Mordor.

–—

Faithful servant and companion of Frodo Baggins, who accompanied him into Mordor and aided in the achievement of the Quest of Mount Doom.

* Sandheaver

A common family name among the Bree-hobbits.

* Saradoc ‘Scattergold’ Brandybuck|Saradoc Brandybuck The Master of Buckland at the time of the War of the Ring. He was the father of Meriadoc Brandybuck, who travelled into the south with the Company of the Ring.

* Sarch nia Hîn Húrin

‘Grave of the Children of Húrin’ (Brethil).

* Sarn Athrad|Ford of Stones

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

–—

The crossing-place of the River Gelion.

The stony ford of the River Gelion across which the Dwarf-road from the Blue Mountains entered East Beleriand.

* Sarn Ford

Partial translation of Sarn Athrad ‘Ford of Stones’, ford over the Baranduin at the extreme southern point of the Shire.

–—

The crossing of the Baranduin to the south of the Shire.

The stony ford on the River Baranduin, on the far southern borders of the Shire.

* Sarn Gebir

‘Stone-spikes’, name of rapids in Anduin above the Argonath, so called because of upright stake-like spikes of rock at their beginning.

–—

The rapids of the Great River Anduin. They appeared as the river’s course passed between the eastern and western Emyn Muil, above the Falls of Rauros.

* Saruman|White Messenger

‘Man of Skill’, the name among Men of Curunír (which it translates), one of the Istari (Wizards) and the head of their order. See Curumo, Curunír.

–—

The White wizard, traitor to the White Council.

Most often called Saruman the White, Saruman was the first of the five Wizards to arrive in Middle-earth, at the end of the first millennium of the Third Age. He was said to be the eldest of the order, and Gandalf acknowledged him as the chief of the Istari.

For a thousand years, and maybe more, he journeyed in the East of Middle-earth, and was little heard of in the West. He had returned, though, by III 2463, for he was present at the foundation of the Council of the Wise, and was made their chief (though both Elrond and Galadriel would have preferred Gandalf to take this position).

It was at about this time that Saruman began to study the Rings of Power, their history and the means of their making.

In III 2759, he was given the keys of Orthanc by Steward Beren of Minas Tirith, and took up his abode there. He continued his researches into ring-lore, and the making of devices, and was accustomed to watch the stars from the pinnacle of the Tower. He visited Minas Tirith to research the history of the Rings, and found among the ancient books and scrolls the story of the death of Isildur and the loss of the Ruling Ring.

In III 2851, the Council discovered proof that the Necromancer of Dol Guldur was indeed Sauron returned. Many of the Wise wished to attack the fortress and drive Sauron out, but Saruman spoke against this, and dissuaded the Council from mounting an assault. It was only after ninety years had passed that he relented and aided the Council in assailing Dol Guldur, driving Sauron back into Mordor. Saruman’s knowledge was vital in this victory, as Gandalf said - ‘it was by the devices of Saruman that we drove him from Dol Guldur’.

When the Council debated the Rings of Power, Saruman claimed that his researches showed that the One Ring had been lost forever. It was later shown that he did not believe this, however, and was searching for it himself, having secretly rebelled against the Council.

He built an army of Wolves and Orcs of his own within the ring of Isengard to challenge both Sauron and the Wise, and took control of the only nearby power, the country of Rohan, through his agent Gríma Wormtongue.

In July, III 3018, when he was ready to reveal himself, Saruman set a trap for Gandalf, using the Wizard Radagast to lure him to Orthanc. When Gandalf came, Saruman revealed that he had made a Ring of his own, and that he was no longer Saruman the White, but claimed the title Saruman of Many Colours. When Gandalf refused to join him, he was imprisoned on the pinnacle of the Tower of Orthanc - Saruman hoped to gain the secret of the One Ring from him, or at least prevent Gandalf from using it himself.

* Sauron

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

–—

The Second Dark Lord.

Originally a Maia of Aulë’s people, Sauron was early corrupted by Melkor and became his most trusted lieutenant. In the Wars of Beleriand, Sauron was the most feared of Morgoth’s servants, but after the War of Wrath and the expulsion of the first Dark Lord, Sauron rose to become the greatest enemy of Elves and Men in the Second and Third Ages.

–—

Sauron’s History Before the First Age: Sauron was one of the mightiest (perhaps the mightiest) of the Maiar, and in the beginning of days he served Aulë the Smith. From Aulë he learnt much of forging and making, knowledge that he would make use of many thousands of years later when he built the Barad-dûr and forged the One Ring.

In the earliest days, Melkor seduced Sauron and took him to his own service, and Sauron became the greatest and most trusted of his followers. While Utumno still stood in the dark north of the world, Sauron was given command of his lesser fortress of Angband. At length, the Valar assaulted Melkor and took him in chains back to Valinor, but Sauron escaped, and remained in Middle-earth.

–—

Sauron in the First Age: While Melkor was captive in Aman, Angband was made ready for his return, and it must be assumed that Sauron had a large part in this work. After the Darkening of Valinor, Melkor returned indeed to Middle-earth, and took up his abode in Angband. Soon after, he travelled for a while into the eastern lands to seek the newly-awakened Men, and once again left Sauron in command of his forces.

Though Sauron doubtless continued his evil works in the service of his lord, we hear nothing of these for many centuries after the return of Morgoth, until the days after the Dagor Bragollach. For two years after the Dagor Bragollach itself, Finrod’s tower of Minas Tirith had guarded the Pass of Sirion against Morgoth’s forces. In I 457, Sauron himself came against the tower; he cast a spell of fear upon the Elves who held it, and they were slain or fled back to Finrod in Nargothrond.

Sauron then took Minas Tirith to dwell in, and watched the Pass of Sirion himself from its topmost tower. The isle on which it stood, which had been called Tol Sirion, was renamed Tol-in-Gaurhoth, the Isle of Werewolves.

After the Dagor Bragollach, the last remnant of the House of Bëor became a scattered people. Barahir, its lord, took shelter in the uplands of Dorthonion at Tarn Aeluin with his son Beren and eleven others, and was hidden for a while from Morgoth. Sauron was sent to find and destroy this desperate band of outlaws. This he did by capturing Gorlim, one of Barahir’s followers, and using his sorcery he discovered the outlaws’

camp, and destroyed all of Barahir’s band but his son Beren.

Beren himself fled southwards through the treacherous paths of the Ered Gorgoroth, and Sauron’s army of werewolves failed to capture him. Fate drove Beren into Sauron’s hands eventually, though: some years later as a he travelled through the with on the Quest of the Silmaril, Sauron captured him with Finrod and their companions and imprisoned them in Tol-in-Gaurhoth.

Sauron knew nothing of Beren’s quest; sensing some danger to himself or his master, he sent wolves out throughout the lands of the Elves, and meanwhile he flung Beren, Finrod and their companions into a deep pit.

There they were devoured one after the other by one of his werewolves, and eventually all were lost but Beren. As the werewolf slew Finrod, though, Lúthien came upon Sauron’s Isle with Huan, the Hound of Valinor.

Sauron sent wolf after wolf to investigate Lúthien’s song, and each was slain in turn by Huan.

At last, he sent Draugluin, the mightiest wolf that had then lived, and he too was mortally wounded by Huan, but with his dying breath he returned to Sauron and warned him of the danger.

So Sauron went himself to one of his greatest defeats. He took the form known as Wolf-Sauron, the shape of a mighty werewolf, and went out to meet his foes. First, he attacked Lúthien, but under her enchantment he stumbled, and Huan sprang upon him. Though he shifted shape and struggled, he could not escape; at last he yielded the tower to Lúthien and Huan released him. He fled eastward then to Dorthonion, where he dwelt in the dark pine forests of Taur-nu-Fuin.

–—

Sauron in the Second Age: After the War of Wrath and the defeat of his master Morgoth, Sauron fled for a time into the east of the world.3 A period of one thousand years followed in which Sauron was not seen in the west of Middle-earth. As the first millennium of the Second Age turned, Sauron came back. He took the fenced and mountainous land of Mordor, and there began building his mighty Dark Tower of Barad-dûr.

The beginning of Sauron’s reign as Dark Lord can be dated from this time: he set himself no less a goal than the conquest of Middle-earth, and perhaps even of Númenor itself.

For six hundred years, he pursued a dual strategy. In the guise of Annatar, the Lord of Gifts, he tutored the Elves of Eregion, teaching them the secret things that only a Maia of Aulë’s people could know. From his lore, the Rings of Power were forged, but while he worked with the Elves, he continued the fortification of Mordor to make it an unassailable stronghold.

In the fire-mountain of Orodruin, he secretly forged the One Ring. This was to be the first stroke in his conquest of the west - a device by which he could know, and control, the thoughts of the bearers of the other Rings. His plan failed, though: the Elves became aware of his malevolent presence, and took off their Rings.

Angered by this setback, Sauron loosed the hordes of Mordor, six hundred years in the building, and overran Eriador, destroying the land of Eregion where the Rings were made. The Elves called on Númenor for aid, though, and the army of Tar-Minastir put Sauron’s forces to rout. After this reverse, Sauron sought instead to build power in the eastern countries, and left the Westlands in peace for many centuries.

When Ar-Pharazôn usurped the throne of Númenor in II 3255, he saw Sauron’s growing eastern kingdom as a threat. Building and equipping a mighty fleet, he sailed for Middle-earth, and landed at Umbar, to the south of the Mouths of Anduin. Ar-Pharazôn demanded that Sauron submit to his authority and, seeing that the might of the Númenóreans far outstripped his own, Sauron agreed.

–—

The Shapes of Sauron: All of the Ainur had the ability to change their form, but none held so many different shapes as Sauron. During the First Age, his accustomed form seems to have been that of a dark sorceror, commanding a host of evil things, and especially werewolves and their kind. He shifted form many times in his existence, though, especially during his duel with Huan; among the shapes he wore were:

- Wolf-Sauron. This was the monstrous wolf-shape he chose when he went forth from his fortress on Tol-in-Gaurhoth to battle with Huan.

- During the battle, he changed his form to that of a serpent in his struggles to escape.

- Finally, after Huan released him, he became a great vampire, and fled into the east, ‘dripping blood from his throat upon the trees’.

* Sauron’s Isle

The island of Tol-in-Gaurhoth.

A name for Tol Sirion during the period of roughly ten years that it was under the command of Sauron.

* Scatha the Worm|Scatha

A mighty Long-worm of the Grey Mountains.

One of the greatest of the dragons to infest the Grey Mountains of the north. Of his life little is known, except that he was slain by Fram son of Frumgar (an ancestor of Eorl the Young) in the early days of the Éothéod.

His recovered hoard was the subject of great dispute between the Men of the Éothéod and the Dwarves of that region, who claimed the hoard as their own. Fram rebuked their claim, and sent them the teeth of the dragon, with the words, ‘Jewels such as these you will not match in your treasuries, for they are hard to come by’. Thereafter there was war between the Éothéod and the Dwarves, and Fram was said to have been slain by them.

However this dispute was resolved (we are not told), it seems that Fram’s people retained at least some of the hoard, and brought it south with them when they settled in Rohan. The horn that Éowyn gave to Merry Brandybuck after the War of the Ring (many hundred years later) was said to come from it.

* Sceptre

Royal symbol of the Dúnedain.

The symbol of Kingship to the Númenóreans and their descendants.

* Sceptre of Annúminas|Sceptre of Annuminas The token of royalty in the North-kingdom.

A silver rod, originally the symbol of office of the Lords of Andúnië in Númenor. It survived the Downfall, and was held by the Kings of Arnor while that realm lasted. After the division of the North-kingdom, it was handed down through the generations of the Kings of Arthedain and their descendants, the Chieftains of the Dúnedain.

* Scroll of Isildur

Isildur’s own account of the Ring.

–—

“… there lies in Minas Tirith still, unread, I guess, by any save Saruman and myself since the kings failed, a scroll that Isildur made himself.”

(Words of Gandalf; The Fellowship of the Ring II 2, The Council of Elrond)

–—

A scroll made by Isildur himself during his short time in Minas Tirith after the War of the Last Alliance, that was stored for millennia in the vaults of that city. The scroll held Isildur’s account of the gaining of the Ring from Sauron. His description of the Ring, and his account of the fiery writing that ran around it, was vital in helping Gandalf identify Frodo’s Magic Ring as the One Ring of Sauron.

* Sea-elves|Sea-elf|Sea Elves|Sea Elf

A name for those Teleri who dwelt on the shores of Aman.

A name of the Teleri, and especially those of that kin who came to Aman and dwelt at Alqualondë, for their love of the sea and reverence of Ulmo its lord.

* Seal of the Stewards

The emblem of the Stewards of Gondor.

The seal of the Stewards of Gondor, consisting of the letters R·ND·R

below three stars. The letters represent the word Arandur. This is the actual Elvish title, literally meaning ‘King’s Servant’, that Tolkien renders into English as ‘Steward’.

When the twelfth Steward, Cirion, sent north to Eorl for aid in his desperate wars, he sent the Seal with each of six riders. Only one of these, named Borondir, succeeded in reaching the nation of the Éothéod, but from this came the famous Ride of Eorl and the foundation of Rohan.

* Second Age

The Age of Númenor.

Beginning in about the 584th year since the Return of the Noldor to Middle-earth, the Second Age is the longest of the chronicled Ages. It began after the destruction of Beleriand in the War of Wrath, the founding of Lindon and the creation of Númenor.

The Second Age was the Age of Númenor; the great island kingdom was created and peopled by the descendants of the Edain in the first years of the Age, and as the years passed, their power grew until it surpassed that of any nation of Men, before or since. They sailed east, exploring Middle-earth and founding great cities there. Eventually, their power and pride became so great that they challenged the Valar themselves, and were destroyed.

The end of Númenor was not the end of the Second Age, though; a remnant of the Númenoreans led by Elendil escaped its wreck and founded kingdoms in Middle-earth; Arnor in the north and Gondor in the south. They formed a mighty alliance, the Last Alliance of Elves and Men, and marched on Sauron, who had grown great again, assailing the Dark Tower of Barad-dûr.

With the first overthrow of Sauron by the Alliance, the Second Age came to its end.

–—

Key Events of the Second Age:

- 1: Foundation of the Elven-kingdoms in the west of Middle-earth, Mithlond and Lindon.

- 32: Arrival of the Edain in Númenor. Elrond’s brother Elros becames their first king, taking the name Tar-Minyatur.

- 600: The first ships of the Númenoreans return to Middle-earth.

- 1200: Sauron comes to the Elves of Eregion in a fair guise, and begins to teach them.

- c.1590: The smiths of Eregion complete the Three Rings of the Elves.

- c.1600: Sauron forges the One Ring in Orodruin, and so reveals his true purposes to the Elves.

- 1693: War begins between the Elves and Sauron.

- 1701: Sauron’s forces, after taking much of Eriador, are driven back into the East by an army of Númenor.

- c.2250: First appearance of the Nazgûl.

- 3261: Ar-Pharazôn, last King of Númenor, usurps the throne.

- 3262: Ar-Pharazôn sails to Middle-earth and takes Sauron as prisoner back to Númenor. There, he begins to corrupt the Númenoreans.

- 3319: Ar-Pharazôn sails into the west to assail the Valar. The Downfall of Númenor.

- 3320: Arnor and Gondor are founded by Elendil and his sons Isildur and Anárion.

- 3430: Formation of the Last Alliance.

- 3441: Defeat of Sauron by the Last Alliance.

* Second People

A name given by the Elves to the race of Men; the literal meaning of both the Quenya word Atani and the Sindarin Edain.

* Secondborn

The Younger Children of Ilúvatar, Men.

* Secret Fire

The fire at the heart of the World.

–—

“Therefore Ilúvatar gave to their vision Being, and set it amid the Void, and the Secret Fire was sent to burn at the heart of the World; and it was called Eä.”

(Valaquenta)

–—

A mysterious power, never explained in detail, that seems to represent the principle of existence and creation. Little can be said of it for certain, though it seems to be identified with, or at least connected to, the Flame Imperishable of Ilúvatar. When Gandalf met the Balrog on the Bridge of Khazad-dûm, he spoke of himself as a servant of the Secret Fire. It has been conjectured that these words referred to his fire-ring Narya, but it seems unlikely that he would reveal this to a bitter enemy.

More plausibly, Gandalf’s words identify him as a servant of the power of Ilúvatar.

* Seeing-stones|Seeing-stone|Seeing stones|Seeing stone A name for the Palantíri.

The powerful orbs known as the palantíri made in ancient days by the Elves in Aman, and indeed said to have been the work of Fëanor himself.

In appearance they were dark, perfectly smooth globes of various capabilities and sizes; some were small and portable, others so huge that they could not be lifted by a Man.

The Elves gave certain of these stones to the Númenóreans, and seven of these Númenórean stones were rescued from the Downfall of that island by Elendil and his sons. So these seven were brought to Middle-earth, and the Dúnedain set them up at distant points in their lands: at Amon Sûl, Elostirion and Annúminas in the north, and at Osgiliath, Orthanc, Minas Anor and Minas Ithil in the south. The chief stone of the north was that of Amon Sûl, lost with Arvedui in the cold northern seas. The greatest of the southern stones stood beneath the Dome of Stars in Osgiliath, and was lost during the Kin-strife.

During the Third Age, three of the stones were known to have been lost (Arvedui also had the Stone of Annúminas with him when he was lost at sea). The Ithil-stone was captured by Sauron and almost certainly destroyed in the Downfall of Barad-dûr, and the palantír of Elostirion in the Tower Hills was taken back into the West on the Ring-bearers’ White Ship. At the beginning of the Fourth Age, then, there were just two Seeing-stones left in Middle-earth, the Anor-stone and the Orthanc-stone.

The Seeing-stones of Middle-earth were not the only palantíri to exist.

Many remained with the Elves in Aman, including the so-called Master-stone held in the Tower of Avallónë on Tol Eressëa. Indeed, it was said that, before the stone was removed from the Tower Hills, it could be used to look along the Straight Road to the Undying Lands themselves.

* Self-cursed

One of the many Elvish names for the race of Men.

* Seregon

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

* Serindë|Serinde

‘The Broideress’; see Míriel.

–—

The surname of Míriel the mother of Fëanor. Serindë means ‘needlewoman’.

* Serni

One of the rivers of Lebennin in Gondor.

–—

A minor river of southern Gondor.

A short river of southern Gondor; it rose beneath the eastern White Mountains, and flowed southwestward through Lebennin until it met the River Gilrain at Linhir.

* Serpents|Serpent

Writhing creatures of the Dark Lord.

Creatures of Morgoth; Sauron took the form of one during his battle with Huan.

* Seven Rings of the Dwarves|Seven Rings|The Seven The Rings of the Dwarf-lords.

Those of the Rings of Power that Sauron gave to the Dwarves to seduce them to his service. The Dwarves proved too hardy to be lured in this way, though, and the Rings did little more than increase their native lust for gold. By the end of the Third Age, Sauron had recovered three of the Seven Rings to himself, and the other four had been consumed by dragons.

* Seven Rivers of Ossir

The River Gelion and its six tributaries.

Seven rivers that flowed through Ossiriand, the land of the Green-elves west of the Blue Mountains. The most important of these was the Gelion, which flowed from the March of Maedhros in the far north, and formed the western border of Ossiriand.

The other six rivers were tributaries of this large river, each stemming from a separate spring in the Blue Mountains, and flowing westward to empty into the Gelion. The northernmost of these was the Ascar, which rose in the mountains near Nogrod, and flowed beside the Dwarf-road to Sarn Athrad. South from the Ascar were the Thalos, the Legolin, the Brilthor and the Duilwen. Finally, the southernmost of the six was the River Adurant, in which the green island of Tol Galen stood.

* Seven Stones

The Seeing-stones of the Realms in Exile.

The Palantíri, the seven Seeing-stones rescued from the wreck of Númenor and brought to Middle-earth by Elendil and his sons.

* Seventh Gate

The Last Gate of Gondolin.

The huge steel gate that barred the final entrance into the Orfalch Echor, and so to the Hidden City of Gondolin. It was built by Maeglin after the escape of the armies of Gondolin from the Nirnaeth Arnoediad.

* Shadow

The shroud of darkness.

A term that apparently refers to the bewilderment and darkness accompanying certain enchantments. Sauron’s tower of Barad-dûr was surrounded by Shadow, and the term is also associated with the land of Lórien and with the Ents.

* Shadow of the Wood|Huorn-dark

The darkness spread by the Huorns.

The shadowy Huorn-dark spread by the tree-army of the Ents.

* Shadowfax

The great horse of Rohan ridden by Gandalf in the War of the Ring.

–—

The grey-silver steed of Gandalf.

A mighty horse of Rohan, a descendant of the mearas, tamed by Gandalf and reluctantly granted as a gift to him by King Théoden of the Rohirrim.

Thought to have passed West over the Sea with his master.

* Shadowy Mountains

The bulwark of Hithlum.

A name for and translation of Ered Wethrin, the mountain chain that walled Dor-lómin, Mithrim and Hithlum to the north of Beleriand. They are more commonly referred to as the Mountains of Shadow.

* Shagrat

Commander of the Tower of Cirith Ungol.

The Uruk commanding the Tower of Cirith Ungol in the Ephel Dúath, who captured Frodo Baggins during the War of the Ring.

* Sharbhund

Name among the Petty-dwarves for Amon Rûdh.

* Shards of Narsil|Narsil

The broken Sword of Elendil.

At the end of the Second Age, Elendil’s great sword Narsil was already an ancient and famous weapon, forged more than three millennia earlier by the Telchar of Nogrod. In the War of the Last Alliance, Elendil fell, and his sword was broken, but its remains were brought to the North-kingdom.

These shards were carried by Elendil’s heirs throughout the Third Age, as a token of their ancestry, until the time of the War of the Ring. The shards were reforged by the smiths of Rivendell into Aragorn’s sword Andúril.

* Sharkey

A nickname for Saruman given by his servants and soldiers in Isengard and later used in the Shire during the last stages of the War of the Ring. In its origin we catch a rare glimpse of an Orkish word: sharkû, which is said to mean, ‘old man’.

* Sharkey’s Men|Sharkey’s Man|Men of Sharkey|Man of Sharkey The ruffians who took over the Shire.

The thuggish Men brought to the Shire during in the War of the Ring to serve as Saruman’s henchmen. They were eventually defeated by the Shire-hobbits, most notably at the famous Battle of Bywater.

* Shathûr|Shathur

A Dwarvish name for the mountain Fanuidhol.

A short name used by the Dwarves - in full Bundushathûr - for Fanuidhol, one of the three Mountains of Moria. Its translation is presumably the same as for the Elvish version of its name, which means ‘Cloudyhead’.

* Sheep

Woolly grazing animals, especially common in the Númenórean region of Emerië, and (in Middle-earth) on the Barrow-downs and in the Vales of Anduin.

* Shelob

The great she-spider who haunted Cirith Ungol.

A creature of spider-shape, of the spawn of Ungoliant, who dwelt in the mountains on the western borders of Mordor.

* Shelob’s Lair

The dark tunnels of Cirith Ungol.

A partial English translation of Torech Ungol, the name of the black, mazelike lair of Shelob in the pass of Cirith Ungol.

* Shepherds of the Trees

A poetic name for the Ents.

A name of the Ents, who were created at the prayer of Yavanna to protect the forests of Middle-earth.

* Ship-king

A title given to four great Kings of Gondor.

The title given to the great King Tarannon Falastur and his three successors: Eärnil I, Ciryandil and Hyarmendacil I. These four did much to expand Gondor’s naval and military might. Between them, they enormously extended the South-kingdom’s control over the southern lands of Middle-earth, ncluding the lands west of the Mouths of Anduin, and as far south as Umbar and the Harad. Their influence was such that, at the end of the reign of Hyarmendacil I, Gondor had reached a peak of strength and power that it would never again surpass.

* Ship of Long-foam

The island of Cair Andros.

A descriptive name for the long, thin eyot in the River Anduin, whose sharp northern end broke the waters of the Great River into two thin streams for a distance of some ten miles.

* Shire Calendar

The calendar in use by the Hobbits of the Shire, in which the year was divided into twelve months of thirty days each, with five additional days to make up a full 365-day year.

* Shire-folk

A common term for the Hobbits who lived in the Shire.

* Shire-hobbits

The Halflings of the Shire.

The Hobbits of the Shire; the descendants and followers of Marcho and Blanco, the two Bree-hobbits who founded the Shire. Among the Shire-hobbits were representatives of each of the three main types of Hobbit, the Stoors, Harfoots and Fallohides.

Shire-hobbits were considered the most rustic and pastoral of their kind, even by other Hobbits (such as those of Bree or Buckland). The most important family among the Shire-hobbits were the Tooks of the Westfarthing, who had held the hereditary, and largely honorary, title of Thain from III 2340.

* Shire-reckoning

The count of years according to the Shire-hobbits.

The system of reckoning dates unique to the Hobbits of the Shire, based on the founding of that land in III 1601. The Shire-hobbits reckoned this as year 1. So, years of the Third Age can be converted to Shire-years by subtracting 1600 (e.g. the Downfall of Barad-dûr occurred in III 3019, but in the Shire this was counted as the year 1419).

The Shire-folk took no account of the change of Age in III 3021. While the other peoples of Middle-earth considered this to be the first year of the Fourth Age, in the Shire it was simply 1421.

* Shire-thain

Titular leader of the Shire-hobbits.

For nearly four hundred years after its foundation, the Shire had been part of the lands of Arthedain, and under the rule of that land’s King.

Ultimately, Arthedain fell to the forces of Angmar, and its last King, Arvedui, was lost, leaving the Shire-hobbits without a ruler. They remedied this by choosing a new leader from among themselves, Bucca of the Marish, who was given the title thain, a word simply meaning ‘chief’.

Bucca and his descendants, a family known as the Oldbucks, served as Shire-thain for twelve generations. The twelfth Thain, one Gorhendad Oldbuck, left the Shire and crossed the River Brandywine to found Buckland. With his departure, the Thainship passed to a new line, the Tooks, and specifically to Isumbras Took I.

From Isumbras I, the line of the Took Shire-thains continued unbroken to the time of the War of the Ring and beyond. The last recorded Thain was Faramir Took I, the thirty-fourth to hold the title of Shire-thain. The fact that both he and his father Peregrin Took are recorded as the first of that name shows that there must have been more Thains after this time, and the tradition clearly lasted well into the Fourth Age.

* Shirebourn

A southern river of the Shire.

A lesser river of the Shire’s Eastfarthing, whose name means simply

‘Shire-stream’. Its source was in the uplands of the Green Hill Country, from where it flowed south and then southeast. At Willowbottom, it met the Thistle Brook, and then flowed eastwards until the Shirebourn itself met the Brandywine.

The Shirebourn flowed into the Brandywine beneath Deephallow, and at its mouth formed the boggy region known as the Overbourn Marshes, opposite the southern end of the High Hay.

* Shirriffs|Shirriff

The Shire’s ‘police’.

The title given to those who kept order in the Shire, somewhat akin to a

‘police force’. Normally few in number, the Shirriffs were greatly increased during the time of the War of the Ring.

* Sickle of the Valar

The Valacirca, the seven stars set in the sky by Varda as an enduring warning to Melkor and his servants.

* Sickly

Engwar, a name for Men among the Elves.

A name given by the Elves to the race of Men, Engwar in their tongue, referring to the fact that Men suffered illness and age, which the Elves did not.

* Siege of Angband

The leaguer of the Noldor around the fortress of Morgoth in the early centuries of the First Age. The Siege was broken in the Dagor Bragollach.

* Siege of Barad-dûr|Siege of Barad-dur

Prelude to the victory of the Last Alliance.

The siege of Sauron’s Dark Tower by the forces of the Last Alliance at the end of the Second Age. Gil-galad, Elendil and Elendil’s son Anárion all lost their lives in the Siege, but ultimately Sauron was defeated and the Barad-dûr thrown down, at least for a time.

* Sigismond Took

A grandson of Gerontius, the Old Took, and the grandfather of Fredegar

‘Fatty’ Bolger.

* Silent Hill

The Beacon-hill of Amon Dîn.

Amon Dîn, the oldest of the beacon-hills of Gondor and the nearest to Minas Tirith.

* Silent Street

Minas Tirith’s street of tombs.

Rath Dínen, the street that ran between Minas Tirith and Mindolluin, on which lay the tombs of the Kings and Stewards of Gondor.

* Silmariën|Silmarien

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

–—

Royal ancestor of the Lords of Andúnië.

The daughter, and eldest child, of Tar-Elendil, fourth King of Númenor.

She did not succeed her father (though later changes to the laws of Númenor would have made her Ruling Queen). Instead, she founded the line of the Lords of Andúnië from which the Kings of Gondor and Arnor were descended.

* Silmarillion

‘Of the Silmarils’.

While Bilbo Baggins dwelt in Rivendell, he made use of all the resources there (including the memories of living Elves) to write four scholarly volumes bound in red leather. The first of these, the Red Book of Westmarch, was continued by Bilbo’s heir, Frodo. It was copied many times, and became the original source for our modern The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.

The Hobbits of the Shire, though, seem to have had less interest in the other three volumes, originally entitled simply Translations from the Elvish, that told the tales of the ancient First Age and the time before.

Only one copy was made, in Gondor in IV 172, and this was kept at Great Smials by the Took family - it became known as the Thain’s Book. It is from this copy that the modern Silmarillion comes.

The Silmarillion, which in its own words passes ‘from the high and the beautiful to darkness and ruin’ actually consists of a corpus of five works, of which the Quenta Silmarillion is the central tale. These are:

- Ainulindalë, the tale of the Music of the Ainur and the creation of Arda.

- Valaquenta, the tale of the Valar, in which the nature of each of the Powers is described.

- Quenta Silmarillion, the longest tale, which gives an account of the history of Arda from its beginnings until the end of the First Age.

- Akallabêth, the tale of the Second Age, which concentrates on the history of Númenor until its Downfall.

- Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age, which spans the late Second Age and the Third, telling of the forging of the Rings of Power and their history up to the War of the Ring.

* Silmarils|Silmaril

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

–—

The Great Jewels.

The three great jewels made by Fëanor in Valinor, in which he locked the light of the Two Trees, Laurelin and Telperion, before their destruction.

Melkor stole the jewels from Fëanor’s stronghold at Formenos, slaying his father Finwë, and fled with them back to his fortress of Angband in the north of Middle-earth.

Fëanor swore an oath to recover the Silmarils, and many of the Noldor followed him into exile in pursuit of the jewels. So began their hopeless war against the forces of Morgoth, of which the Quenta Silmarillion (the

‘Tale of the Silmarils’) tells the story. During the First Age, one Silmaril alone was recovered from Morgoth’s Iron Crown by Beren and Lúthien, and was borne by Eärendil when he sailed into the West to seek the aid of the Valar.

By virtue of the Silmaril, it is said, Eärendil reached Aman and was heard by the Valar, who sent a mighty force into Middle-earth. Morgoth was utterly defeated, and the Silmarils recovered. Maedhros and Maglor, the only two of Fëanor’s seven sons to survive until that War of Wrath, stole the jewels from the camp of the Valar. Their evil deeds in pursuance of the jewels, however, drove them to madness; Maedhros cast himself into a fiery chasm with one of the Silmarils, and Maglor threw the other into the depths of the sea. So only one Silmaril remains visible in the World, bound to Eärendil’s brow as he sails the heavens; the Morning and Evening Star.

* Silpion

A name of Telperion.

* Silvan Elves|Silvan Elf

Also called Woodland Elves. Nandorin Elves who never passed west of the Misty Mountains, but remained in the Vale of Anduin and in Greenwood the Great; see Nandor.

–—

Elves who fell away from the Great Journey.

Long before the beginning of the First Age, the Elves of the Great Journey travelled westward through the lands of Middle-earth. Coming to the Great River Anduin and the high peaks of the Misty Mountains, some of the Elves of the clanof the Teleri fell away from the journey, and settled in the woodlands east of the Mountains. These were the original Silvan Elves, who lived on either side of the River. At this time in their history, all of this peoplestill lived close together, with some dwelling in the land that would later be called Lórien, and the others settling around the hill of Amon Lanc in the far south of Greenwood the Great.

It must have been in the time these Elves were living closely together that the Silvan Elvish language appeared. As history passed, the Elves would move away from one another, and mingle with other Elvish peoples, so that the Silvan branch of Elvish would eventually become extinct.

Nonetheless, relics of that ancient tongue survived in some well-known place-names and personal names, such as Caras Galadhon, Amroth and even Lórien itself.

The Silvan Elves dwelt in their twin woodland realms for many centuries, but in the Second Age the emerging power of Sauron began to drive them apart. Oropher was the ruler of the Elves who dwelt in the Greenwood, and he began to seek safety by moving his people northwards, away from Amon Lanc and away from the Silvan Elves who lived to the west of theGreat River.

–—

West of Anduin - the Silvan Elves of Lórien: Unlike their cousins in the east, the Silvan Elves of Lórien remained settled in their land throughout their known history. We know little of their existence well into the Second Age, where we find them ruled by a Sindarin Elf named Amdír. After the destruction of Eregion in the middle Second Age, many of its exiles had escaped through Khazad-dûm into the east, and had joined the Silvan Elves of Lórien and ultimately mingled with them.

Amdír was lost in the wars at the end of the Second Age. In the time of his son Amroth, Durin’s Bane wasunleashed in Khazad-dûm. After this time, especially with the power of Sauron growing in Dol Guldur to the east, many of Lórien’s people fled into the south. Amroth himself was among them, and he was drowned in the Bay of Belfalas far from his kingdom. It was at this time, a little more than a thousand years before the War of the Ring, that Galadriel and Celeborn became the Lord and Lady of Lórien.

–—

East of Anduin - the Silvan Elves of Mirkwood: The Elves of Greenwood the Great, soon to become known as Mirkwood, had a much less settled existence than their fellow Silvan Elves in the west. Their original dwellings were in the far south of the great Wood, but as Sauron’s power grew, they gradually withdrew farther and farther northward. Eventually Sauron chose to settle within the Forest itself, and in fact built his fortress of Dol Guldur on the hill of Amon Lanc, where the Silvan Elves had originally dwelt. Though his identity remained secret during this time (he was known simply as the ‘Necromancer’) he brought darkness and shadow to Greenwood the Great, and the Elves retreated farther still.

In the later years of the Third Age, their King Thranduil (the son of Oropher, who was slain in the War of the Last Alliance) dwelt with his people in the far northeast of Mirkwood, in underground dwellings protectedby magic. Their history of fleeing from Sauron’s darkness had made them a suspicious and unwelcoming people, as Thorin and his companions discovered during the Quest of Erebor. It was from Thranduil’s underground halls that his son Legolas journeyed at the end of the Third Age, to play a great part in the War of the Ring.

–—

The War of the Ring and beyond: In the War of the Ring, Sauron’s forces attacked both Silvan realms. By the power of Galadriel and her Ring, Lórien was protected against three waves of assault from Dol Guldur.

Thranduil had no Ring to protect his realm - it was invadedand the trees of the northern forest set alight, though he was at last able to drive back the enemy.

With the fall of Sauron, Dol Guldur was destroyed, and Mirkwood renamed again: Eryn Lasgalen, the Wood of Greenleaves. Now the Silvan Elves once again dwelt in the south of the Wood, but these were not Thranduil’s people, but Elves of Lórien, who crossed the Great River to live in a new land named East Lórien. Though the original land of Lórien faded after the passing of Galadriel and Celeborn, the Silvan Elves of the Wood lived peacefully under their trees for many long years.

* Silverlode|Silver Lode

The river the Elves called Celebrant.

The name among Men for the river the Elves called Celebrant; it sprang from the Mirrormere in the Dimrill Dale, and flowed east through Lórien to meet the River Anduin.

* Silvertine

The Mannish name for Zirakzigil.

One of the three peaks that made up the Mountains of Moria, above the Dwarf-city of Khazad-dûm. Its Dwarvish name was Zirakzigil, while the Elves called it Celebdil.

* Sindar|Sinda

The Grey-elves; name 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; 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.

–—

The Grey-elves.

An Elvish people of Telerin origin. Coming to the western shores of Middle-earth with the others of their kin, they did not pass across the sea, but remained in Beleriand. Some had tarried there searching for their lord, Elwë, while others were persuaded to remain by Ossë the Maia.

Before the return of the Noldor to Middle-earth, the Sindar were found in most parts of Beleriand; all claimed Elwë (known as Thingol in the Sindarin tongue) as their high king. There were two main countries of the Sindar, however; in Doriath under the rule of Thingol and Melian, and in the Falas, under the lordship of Círdan the Shipwright.

The name means ‘Grey People’ (from the name of their King, Thingol Greycloak).

–—

Before the Return of the Noldor: For two ages, the Sindar dwelt in peace and plenty; they roamed throughout Beleriand, from the shorelands of the Falas in the west to the Blue Mountains in the east, and all owned Thingol as their lord and king.

In the third age of the Captivity of Melkor (that is, the last age of the Years of the Trees), evil things that had dwelt east of the Blue Mountains began to trouble the Sindar. At this time, they first considered the need for weapons and armour, which they had not needed before. They traded with the Dwarves of Nogrod and Belegost, and learned smithcraft from them. Thus armed, they drove the invading wolves and Orcs and other foul things from their land and had peace again, for a time.

* Sindarin

Of or pertaining to the Sindar.

* Sindarin (language)|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.

–—

The tongue of the Grey-elves.

The language of the Grey-elves of Beleriand and most commonly used of the Elf-tongues in Middle-earth. When the Noldor returned to Middle-earth at the beginning of the First Age, Thingol decreed that their tongue, Quenya, was not to be spoken in his realms. So the language of his people, Sindarin, came to dominate. Quenya, though, was still used as a language of ceremony and poetry.

Sindarin shared common roots with Quenya, and the two languages had many similar words. Sindarin was said to be more changeful than the older tongue, however, and there were a number of regional ‘dialects’ of the tongue. The Sindarin spoken in Doriath was said to be the highest and most noble form of the language.

The word Sindarin means ‘(Language) of the Grey People’.

* Singollo|Sindacollo

‘Grey-cloak’, ‘Grey-mantle’; see Thingol. Called also Sindacollo.

–—

An old form of the name Thingol.

An ancient surname, meaning ‘Greycloak’, of Elwë, brother of Olwë and lord of the Sindar. It is better known in its later Sindarin form, Thingol.

* Sîr Angren|Sir Angren|Angren

Sindarin name of the Isen. See Athrad Angren.

–—

The Elvish name for the River Isen.

The older, Elvish name for the river much better known by the name the Rohirrim gave it - the Isen. Both names have the same meaning; ‘the iron river’.

* Sîr Ninglor|Sir Ninglor|Ninglor

The Elves’ name for the Gladden River.

The Sindarin name of the river called the Gladden by Men, meaning ‘River Goldwater’.

* Sirannon

The gate-stream of old Khazad-dûm, that flowed from its westward walls into Eregion. Its precise course is unknown, but it was presumably a tributary of the River Glanduin.

* Siril

The chief river of Númenor, flowing southwards from the Meneltarma.

–—

The major river of the island of Númenor.

The greatest of the few rivers on the island of Númenor; it rose in the valleys beneath the Meneltarma, and flowed directly southwards to come to the sea at the fishing port of Nindamos, on the borders of the Hyarnustar and the Hyarrostar.

* Sirion

The ‘Great River’ of Beleriand, flowing from north to south and dividing West from East Beleriand.

–—

The great river of Beleriand.

The greatest of the rivers of Beleriand, the Sirion flowed some 850

miles from its source in the cold highlands of the Ered Wethrin to its mighty delta on the Bay of Balar. It was unusual in that, for some nine miles of its middle course, it flowed underground from the wide, enchanted marshland of Aelin-uial beneath the high land known as the Andram. The Sirion was regarded as the border between East and West Beleriand.

* Siriondil

The eleventh of Gondor’s Kings, who succeeded his father King Atanatar I during the waning years of the Third Age’s first millennium. We know almost nothing of his reign, which seems to have been a peaceful one. He was succeeded by his illustrious son Tarannon Falastur, the first of the line of four Ship-kings.

* Sirith

The river that met the Anduin at Pelargir.

A Gondorian river that rose in the White Mountains in eastern Lebennin, and flowed southward. At the point where it met the Great River Anduin, the port of Pelargir stood.

* Skinbark

One of the oldest of Ents.

With Treebeard and Leaflock, one of the three oldest Ents of Fangorn Forest. He lived on the slopes above and to the west of Isengard, and so he and his people suffered the most at the hands of Saruman’s despoiling Orcs.

* Skin-changers|Skin-changer

Magical shape-changing beings.

Creatures who could take different forms at will. Little is known of their abilities; the only skin-changers identified by Tolkien were Beorn and his descendants (who could take the shape of a Man or of a bear), but evidently other skin-changers existed.

* Smaug

The great Dragon of Erebor. Called also simply ‘the Dragon’.

–—

The Dragon of Erebor.

–—

“My armour is like tenfold shields, my teeth are swords, my claws spears, the shock of my tail a thunderbolt, my wings a hurricane, and my breath death!”

(Smaug’s description of himself, from The Hobbit 12, Inside Information).

–—

Smaug was the last of the great fire-drakes, and said to be the greatest dragon of his time. At some time during the twenty-eighth century of the Third Age, he came to hear of the immense wealth held by the Dwarves of Erebor. Where he came from we do not know for certain, but in the year III 2770 he descended in fire on the Lonely Mountain, destroying the Dwarf-kingdom and the nearby township of Dale.

Gathering together the treasures of the Dwarves, he formed himself an immense bed of gold and jewels and settled within the ruined halls of Erebor. Slowly the years and decades passed, until the people of the Long Lake to the south had almost forgotten the Dragon of Erebor and Smaug imagined himself unassailable.

Then, one day in the October of III 2941, one hundred and seventy-one years after his arrival in Erebor, Smaug awoke to find his treasure disturbed. Of all that mountain of wealth, he noticed with rage that a single two-handled cup had been taken. He could not have imagined that the loss of that cup signalled his own imminent downfall; Thorin, the heir of the King under the Mountain that Smaug had driven from his halls those many years before, had returned to reclaim his kingdom. With him came Bilbo Baggins, a Hobbit with a magical Ring with which he had invisibly removed that single cup from Smaug’s treasure.

In his anger, the dragon flew from his halls, scorching and breaking the mountainside. Thorin, Bilbo and their companions were sealed in a hidden tunnel, and at last the frustrated Smaug gave up his attack on the mountain. Realizing that they must have had help from Lake-town to the south, he set out to punish the Men of the Lake instead.

That was to be Smaug’s last flight. Bilbo had managed to discover an open patch in the dragon’s armour, and word of this had been carried to Lake-town. In particular, it reached the heir of another of Smaug’s victims, Bard, the descendant of Girion of Dale. Bard shot Smaug with an arrow, and though Lake-town was devastated in his attack and fall, the dragon was defeated. In years to come, beneath the waters of the lake his mighty bones could be seen, and the jewels that had lined his hide: the last remains of the greatest dragon of his age.

* Sméagol|Smeagol

The hobbit-like creature who became Gollum.

A Hobbit of Stoor-kind who lived on the banks of the Anduin in the later Third Age. His friend Déagol came upon the One Ring, but Sméagol murdered Déagol and took the Ring. He was eventually exiled by his people, and crept into the roots of the Misty Mountains, where he became the creature of the dark better known as Gollum.

* Smials|Smial

The Hobbits’ name for their holes.

The term the Hobbits themselves used for their excavated dwellings, more usually called simply ‘hobbit-holes’.

* Snaga

A name for lesser Orcs.

A contemptuous term for the lesser Orcs of Mordor and Isengard, used especially among the larger and stronger Uruk-hai. It comes from a word in the Black Speech meaning ‘slave’.

* Snails|Snail

Spiral-shelled molluscs.

Shell-bearing gastropod molluscs. Those of Erebor were particularly noted for their large size.

* Snakes|Snake

Reptilian creatures that are universally associated in Tolkien with the forces of darkness, and especially with Morgoth, the first Dark Lord.

* Snow-trolls|Snow-troll|Snow Trolls|Snow Troll Trolls that lived among the ice and snow.

Trolls adapted for life among snow and ice. No Snow-troll appears in Tolkien’s work, but we can infer their existence from the fact that Helm Hammerhand is compared to one of these creatures during his sorties against the Dunlendings during the Long Winter.

* Snowbourn

River rising under the Starkhorn and fowing out down Harrowdale and past Edoras.

–—

The river that flowed out of Harrowdale.

A river of Rohan; it rose beneath the Starkhorn in the northern White Mountains, and flowed past the courts of Edoras as it flowed north and east to meet the River Entwash among the grassy plains of Eastfold.

* Snowmane

The swift horse of Théoden.

The steed of Théoden, King of Rohan, on which he rode to the Battle of the Pelennor, and beneath which he fell in that battle.

* Solmath

The second month of the Shire Calendar. Approximately equivalent to modern February, it in fact ran from our 22 January to 20 February.

* Sons of Fëanor|Sons of Feanor

Seven Elf-lords driven by the Oath of their father.

The seven Noldorin Elves who took the Oath of Fëanor with their father, and pursued it after his death in the Dagor-nuin-Giliath. They held lands in East Beleriand, with Maedhros and Maglor holding the immediate passes south of Lothlann, and the other brothers ruling lands behind their guard to the south.

Fëanor’s sons were in general allied with the other Elves of Beleriand against the power of Morgoth. After the recovery of one of the Great Jewels by Beren and Lúthien, however, the Oath of their father came into action, and they fell upon the other Elves in hope of retrieving the Silmaril. They attacked Dior in Doriath, and the Exiles at the Mouths of Sirion, but neither of these forays gained them the Jewel; it was borne into the West by Eärendil.

At the time of the War of Wrath, only two of the seven sons remained; Maedhros and Maglor. They stole the last two Silmarils from the camp of Eönwë, but their evil deeds in recovering them meant that the hallowed Jewels rejected their claimants. Maedhros in anguish threw himself into a fiery fissure, and Maglor in despair cast his Jewel into the Great Sea.

* Sorcerer

A title of Sauron, and of his greatest servant.

At the time of Sauron’s secret re-emergence in the heart of Mirkwood, he was referred to as ‘the Sorcerer’ or, in full, ‘the Sorcerer of Dol Guldur’. Sauron’s servant, the Lord of the Nazgûl, followed his master, and before the Battle of the Pelennor Gandalf also gave this title to him.

* Sorontil

‘Eagle-horn’, a great height on the coast of the northern promontory of Númenor.

–—

The northern height of Númenor.

In all the histories and geographies of the island of Númenor, only two mountains are named. The first was the famous Meneltarma, the Pillar of Heaven that stood in the central highlands. The other was far to the north, near the island’s North Cape, with its eastern flanks forming sheer sea-cliffs. That was Sorontil, the peak of the Forostar.

Sorontil’s name is never given an English form, but in translation it would be ‘Eaglehorn’, an appropriate name for a mountain whose crags were home to countless Eagles. In the early history of Númenor, Tar-Meneldur built a tall tower in the vicinity of this mountain, though we are not told whether this actually stood on the slopes of Sorontil itself.

* Soronto

Númenórean, son of Tar-Aldarion’s sister Ailinel and cousin of Tar-Ancalimë.

–—

A nobleman of Númenor’s early history.

A descendant of the royal line of Númenor, the grandson of Tar-Meneldur and nephew of Tar-Aldarion. He lived during in the later years of the first millennium of the Second Age.

* Soronúmë|Soronume

Name of a constellation.

–—

The eagle among the stars.

One of the constellations that Varda traced in the sky with the dews of Telperion, before the Awakening of the Elves. Its name, which seems to mean ‘eagle of the west’ suggests a connection with the stars we know today as Aquila, but this is not certain.

* South Downs

Hills in Eriador south of Bree.

–—

The downlands of central Eriador.

A range of hills that ran through the central regions of Eriador.

* South Gondor

The lands of Gondor beyond the Poros.

The name given to the land between the Rivers Poros and Harnen.

Historically this region was a part of Gondor, but frequent assaults and invasions by the Corsairs of Umbar and the Haradrim meant that, by the later years of the Third Age, Gondor’s claim on this region was debatable at best.

* South Ithilien

The lands southward from the Emyn Arnen.

The southern lands of Ithilien, from the hills of Emyn Arnen in the north to the River Poros in the south.

* South-kingdom|South Kingdom|Southern Kingdom|Kingdom of the South|Southern Realm

The southern realm of the Dúnedain.

Gondor, the southern of the two kingdoms founded in Middle-earth by Elendil and his sons. The other was Arnor in the north.

* South-victor

The meaning of the name Hyarmendacil.

The translated meaning of the Gondorian King-name Hyarmendacil. It was taken by two of Gondor’s Kings to commemorate great victories over their southern enemies. Hyarmendacil I defeated the Haradrim in the twelfth century of the Third Age, while Hyarmendacil II claimed the same title some five hundred years later.

* Southern Army

Gondor’s defence against the Haradrim.

The smaller of the two armies formed by King Ondoher of Gondor, to protect his kingdom against the double threat of the Wainriders to the northeast, and the Haradrim to the south. The Captaincy of the Southern Army was given to Eärnil, a descendant of the royal line of Gondor.

* Southern Star

A famous variety of pipe-weed.

A variety of pipe-weed grown in the Southfarthing of the Shire, and apparently originating in the district around Longbottom. The ‘star’ of its name presumably refers to the star-shaped flowers of the pipe-weed plant.

* Southfarthing of the Shire|Southfarthing One of the divisions of the Shire.

–—

The southern lands of the Shire-hobbits.

The warmer southern farthing of the Shire, with its chief town being Longbottom. This was the region where most of the Shire’s tobacco production was concentrated.

* Southrons|Southron

A Mannish name for the Haradrim.

The Men of Harad, the ancient enemies of Gondor from the lands to the south.

* Spiders|Spider

Eight-legged spinners of webs.

These small eight-legged creatures, known for capturing their prey in intricate webs, were evidently as common in Middle-earth as they are today. Characters in The Lord of the Rings often refer to them descriptively, whether it be Gandalf discussing his capture by Saruman (quoted above), Sam climbing ropes across the Silverlode, or Gollum clambering down a rock wall.

There was a more sinister side to the spiders of Middle-earth, though, that entered it with the monstrous Ungoliant in the years before the First Age. A gigantic creature of spider-shape, it was she who destroyed the Two Trees of Valinor, and escaped with Melkor into the lands of Middle-earth. Though Ungoliant herself disappeared into the far south, she left the northern lands infested with her offspring. During the First Age, the mountains of the Ered Gorgoroth were infested with these monsters, and became a place of dread.

The most famous of Ungoliant’s children, though, lived far to the south and east of the Ered Gorgoroth, on the borders of the land of Mordor.

This was Shelob, who haunted a network of tunnels watching the pass of Cirith Ungol, eking a living on the hapless Orcs of Sauron. She had offspring of her own, too, smaller than she but with a cruel intelligence, that spread throughout the Ephel Dúath and north into Mirkwood. It was creatures like these that Bilbo encountered in The Hobbit, and through fighting them that his sword acquired its name Sting.

* Spring of Arda

The time when the Valar still dwelt on Almaren.

The time, many millennia ago, when the Valar had ordered the World as they wished and rested upon Almaren, and Melkor lurked beyond the Walls of Night. The Spring was marred when Melkor returned to Arda, and ended completely when he destroyed the Lamps of the Valar.

* Springle-ring

A dance both pretty and vigorous.

A dance of the Shire-hobbits.

* Squirrels|Squirrel

Agile creatures of Middle-earth’s forests.

Nut-eating rodents often found in trees. Most would have been red or grey, but in Mirkwood, the squirrels were said to be black in colour.

* Staddle

A village of the Bree-land, lying on the south-eastern slopes of the Bree-hill. Staddle was the main settlement of the Bree-hobbits.

* Stair Falls

The falls of the Sirannon.

The falls beneath the West-gate of Khazad-dûm, where the Gate-stream of the Sirannon made a waterfall some thirty feet in height before flowing out across the grasslands of Eregion. The falls took their name from the stair carved beside them in the rock of the cliff.

* Standelf

A small village in the southern regions of Buckland.

* Star of Eärendil|Star of Earendil|Stone of Eärendil|Stone of Earendil The silmaril of Lúthien. Called also the Stone of Eärendil.

* Star-glass

The Phial of Galadriel.

More commonly called the Phial of Galadriel, the Star-glass was Galadriel’s parting gift to Frodo Baggins when the Company of the Ring departed from Lórien. In appearance, it was a globe of crystal that held a shimmering fragment of the light of the evening star.

* Starkhorn

The mountain at Harrowdale’s head.

–—

“Immediately before the travellers the widest of these glens opened like a long gulf among the hills. Far inward they glimpsed a tumbled mountain-mass with one tall peak…”

(The Two Towers III 6, The King of the Golden Hall)

–—

A mighty snow-clad peak that rose in the inner regions of the White Mountains. From its feet prang the Snowbourn River, whose widening valley ran northwards through the mountains to emerge onto the plains of Rohan.

The Rohirrim called that valley Harrowdale, and built their courts of Edoras at its mouth, from where the lonely white peak of the Starkhorn could be seen along the straight length of the valley.

* Starwards

Elenna, a name for the island of Númenor.

Elenna, a rare name for Númenor, taken from the fact that the first Men to inhabit that island came to it by following the light of the Star of Eärendil.

* Steward of Gondor|Steward

Title of the rulers of the South-kingdom after the Kings.

Originally the honorary title of the chief counsellor to the King of Gondor. The title became hereditary from the time of Steward Pelendur of the House of Húrin. After the loss of King Eärnur in Minas Morgul, Mardil Voronwë became the first Ruling Steward, and his descendants ruled Gondor until the time of Denethor II, when Aragorn II Elessar was crowned as King of the Reunited Kingdom.

* Stewards’ Reckoning

The Gondorian calendar of the later Third Age.

The calendar system introduced in Gondor by Mardil Voronwë, its first Ruling Steward. It survived until the end of the Third Age, and was thus the calendar in use at the time of the War of the Ring.

* Sting

The ‘short sword’ of Bilbo and Frodo Baggins.

An knife manufactured in Gondolin in the First Age, carried away as spoil by the creatures of Morgoth who destroyed that city. It was rediscovered millennia later in a troll-hoard by Bilbo Baggins, who named it Sting after using it to rescue Thorin Oakenshield and his companions from the giant spiders of Mirkwood.

* Stock

A village in the Shire, at the north end of the Marish.

–—

A small town or village of the Marish, near the banks of the River Brandywine, in the Eastfarthing of the Shire.

* Stock-brook

The stream that flowed through Stock in the Shire.

A brook of the Shire’s Eastfarthing, and a minor tributary of the River Brandywine. It rose in the forested hills above Woody End, and from there flowed eastwards and a little northwards out into the fields of the Marish. It passed through the southern end of the village of Stock, from which it took its name, before emptying into the Brandywine a few miles north of Bucklebury Ferry.

* Stone of Osgiliath

The chief palantír of the South-kingdom.

The greatest of the seven palantíri of Middle-earth was the Stone that stood in Osgiliath, the ancient capital of Gondor. For 1,500 years or more, it was held beneath the Dome of Stars that gave the city its name.

While most of the palantíri were small and portable, the Stone of Osgiliath was much larger, and could not be lifted by a Man.

The greatest of the Seeing-stones was also the first to be lost. During the early reign of Eldacar, a rebellion arose that came to be known as the Kin-strife. During this civil war, the city of Osgiliath was besieged and burned by the rebels, and the Stone was lost in the waters of the River Anduin.

* Stone of the Hapless

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

–—

Memorial to the family of Húrin.

The hallowed stone on the banks of the River Teiglin that commemorated Túrin and Nienor, and Morwen their mother.

* Stone-giants|Stone-giant|Stone Giants|Stone Giant Stone-hurling denizens of the Misty Mountains.

Mighty creatures of the Misty Mountains, and perhaps elsewhere in Middle-earth. The only known reference to them occurs in The Hobbit, in which Bilbo and the Dwarves encounter them as they cross the Misty Mountains. During a storm, the Stone-giants emerge, and cast huge boulders about a rocky valley as part of a bizarre game.

The difficulty of fitting Stone-giants (and all giants, for that matter) into Tolkien’s world has led some to see the Stone-giants as a metaphor for crashing thunderbolts, or something similar. However, the detail of the Stone-giants’ description, and the occurrence of other giants in Tolkien’s work, makes it seem likely that these creatures actually did exist in Middle-earth.

* Stone-houses|Stone-house|Stone Houses|Stone House A name used among the Drúedain.

A term of uncertain meaning, used among the Drúedain of Drúadan Forest in Gondor’s northern lands. It seems to refer either to the Gondorians themselves, or perhaps their dwellings in the city of Minas Tirith.

* Stone-trolls|Stone-troll|Stone Trolls|Stone Troll Lumbering creatures of the night.

A race of Trolls in the service of Sauron. We know nothing for certain of these creatures except that they inhabited the Westlands of Middle-earth: the Trolls encountered by Bilbo Baggins and his companions on their journey to Erebor were likely of this kind.

* Stones of Seeing

A name of the palantíri, the seven stones brought out of the destruction of Númenor by Elendil and his sons.

* Stonewain Valley|Imrath Gondraich

Valley in the Drúadan Forest at the eastern end of Ered Nimrais. The name is a translation of Imrath Gondraich.

–—

The ancient way of the quarrymen of Gondor.

A long straight valley in the eastern White Mountains. It was made in ancient days by the Men of Gondor, as a route from the quarries beneath Nardol to Minas Anor. By the time of the War of the Ring, it was all but forgotten, but it was rediscovered in time to be used by the Rohirrim to come to the Battle of the Pelennor.

* Stoors|Stoor

The broadest and heaviest of Hobbits.

One of the three ancient hobbit-kinds, the broadest and heaviest in build. They were the last of three branches of the Hobbits to cross the Misty Mountains into Eriador.

* Stormcrow

The harbinger of a coming storm.

A name given to Gandalf in Rohan.

* Straight Road

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.

–—

The pathway into the West.

Before the Downfall of Númenor, the realm of the Gods in Valinor was still present in the world, and those Elves who wished to reach it could do so by sailing on into the West. After the Downfall, Valinor was taken away, and the World took on the round shape we know today. Mortals sailing into the West simply circled the globe and eventually returned to their starting place.

For the Elves, however, a way was left open to return to Valinor; the Straight Road. An Elven-ship sailing into the West left the Bent World, and travelled through the air ‘as it were on a mighty bridge invisible’, until they came to Tol Eressëa and the Undying Lands.

The Straight Road was not entirely closed to Mortals; some by the special grace of the Valar could use it, as did the ring-bearers at the end of the Third Age. Other mortal mariners too, it was said, would sometimes find the Road and come to the shores of Aman before they died.

It is not certain whether the Straight Road could be traversed in both directions (i.e. whether Elves of Valinor could return to Middle-earth).

There are suggestions in Tolkien’s unpublished writing that this may have been the case (though this is also contradicted by his later letters). It is suggested, for example, that Glorfindel of Rivendell, who appears in The Lord of the Rings, may have been the same Glorfindel who was slain in the Fall of Gondolin in The Silmarillion, returned from the halls of Mandos. Such speculations cannot be considered canonical, however, and within Arda it is assumed that the Straight Road travelled only into the West.

* Straight Way

A name for the Straight Road of the Elves.

An occasional name for the Straight Road, by which the Elves sailed from Middle-earth and came to Aman.

* Strangers

A name of Elves for the race of Men, who dwelt in the world for only a few short years, while the Elves were bound to it until its end.

* Strawberries|Strawberry

Wild red berries.

Wild berries found by Bilbo in the upper Vales of Anduin, as he journeyed eastward on the Quest of Erebor.

* Strawheads

Contemptuous name among the Easterlings in Hithlum for the People of Hador.

* Strider

The name of Aragorn in Bree.

–—

One of Aragorn’s many names.

A nickname given to Aragorn II Elessar by the people of northern Middle-earth (as for example at Bree) during his time as a Ranger.

* Strongbow

Translation of Cúthalion, name of Beleg.

–—

Title and surname of Beleg, the captain of Doriath who became a companion of Túrin Turambar, and whose fate it was to be slain in error by his friend.

* Stunted People

The literal meaning of the Elvish word Naugrim.

The most common term used by the Elves to refer to the Dwarves; Naugrim in Elvish.

* Súlimë|Sulime

The third month of the year, according to the Stewards’ Reckoning of Gondor, lying between Nénimë and the feast-day of Tuilérë. On a modern calendar, Súlimë ran between 21 February and 22 March.

* Súlimo|Sulimo

Name of Manwë, rendered in the Valaquenta as ‘Lord of the Breath of Arda’

(literally ‘the Breather’).

–—

The surname of Manwë.

The title and surname given to Manwë the chief of the Valar, master of the airs and lord of birds, especially Eagles. The Elvish root-word sûl that appears in this name literally means ‘breath’, but is also used in connection with wind and weather. For example, the Elvish name for the hill Weathertop was ‘Amon Sûl’.

* Summerfilth

A nonsense word of the Shire-hobbits.

A non-existent month in the Shire calendar, used jocularly in the expression ‘on Friday the first of Summerfilth’, to refer to a something that would never happen. After the reform of the Shire’s calendar in c.III 2670, each weekday always fell on the same date, and there was no month in the calendar that ever started on a Friday.

The name ‘Summerfilth’ is taken from the real month of Winterfilth (approximately equivalent to our October).

* Sun

Laurelin’s last fruit.

The name among Men for the last fruit of Laurelin, steered through the heavens by the Maia Arien to bring light to the Earth after the Darkening of Valinor.

* Sundering Seas

The trackless oceans that sundered Aman from Middle-earth.

The wide seas that lay between Aman in the west and Middle-earth in the east; a name for the ocean Belegaer and its lesser seas.

* Súthburg|Suthburg

Former name of the Hornburg.

* Swanfleet

The great marshlands of the River Glanduin.

The Mannish name for the marshy lands above Tharbad, famed for their swans, at the outflow of the River Glanduin. The Elvish name was Nîn-in-Eilph.

* Swanhaven

The haven of the Teleri in Aman.

Alqualondë, the haven of the Teleri on the coastlands of Aman. The Swanhaven took its name from the Elvish preference for carving their ships in the shapes of great swans.

* Swans|Swan

An important bird in the tales of the Elder Days. The Teleri seem to have especially revered swans, naming their city Alqualondë (the Swanhaven), and building their ships in swan-form.

* Sword of Elendil

The great sword known as Narsil.

Narsil, the sword manufactured in ancient times by Telchar of Nogrod, and borne in the late Second Age by Elendil. He fought with it in the War of the Last Alliance, where it was broken in his fall, but its shards were preserved in the North-kingdom.

* Sword-that-was-Broken|Sword that was Broken The broken blade of Elendil.

Narsil, the sword of Elendil that broke beneath him when he fell in the War of the Last Alliance. Its shards were returned to Arnor, where they were kept as an heirloom for three thousand years. The sword was reforged as Andúril, and borne by Elendil’s heir Aragorn in the War of the Ring.

* Swordsman of the Sky

The stars of Menelvagor.

A term for the constellation of Orion, and the meaning of his various Elvish names: Telumehtar, Menelmacar and Menelvagor.

* Talath Dirnen

The plain north of Nargothrond, called the Guarded Plain.

–—

The Guarded Plain, the empty lands between Nargothrond and Doriath in West Beleriand, guarded ceaselessly by the followers of Finrod Felagund.

* Talath Rhunen

‘The East Vale’, earlier name of Thargelion.

* Tale of Grief

The Narn i Hîn Húrin.

A name for the Narn i Hîn Húrin, the sorrowful Tale of the Children of Húrin, that tells of the tragic lives of Túrin Turambar and his sister Nienor.

* Tale of Years

The chronicles of the Second and Third Ages.

A long and detailed chronicle of the events of the Second and Third Ages, given in Appendix B of The Lord of the Rings; it is our main source of knowledge for many of the events of these Ages.

* Taniquelassë|Taniquelasse

Fragrant evergreen tree brought to Númenor by the Eldar of Eressëa.

* Taniquetil|Mountain of Manwë|Mountain of Manwe

‘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, Meneltarma.

–—

The lofty dwelling of Manwë and Varda.

The great white mountain, said to be the tallest peak in the world, that stood among the Pelóri on the borders of Valinor. The mansions of Manwë and Varda were on this mountain, and the Vanyar also came to dwell there.

* Tanta Hornblower

The wife of Largo Baggins, and great-grandmother of Frodo Baggins.

* Tar-Alcarin

Seventeenth Ruler of Númenor.

–—

The son of Tar-Vanimeldë.

The son and heir of Tar-Vanimeldë, the third Ruling Queen of Númenor. He should have succeeded his mother, but instead his father Herucalmo withheld the Sceptre from his son, and ruled as Tar-Anducal for twenty years before his own death. Thereupon Tar-Alcarin took up his rightful Kingship, and ruled for a further eighty years. He was succeeded by his own son, Tar-Calmacil.

* Tar-Aldarion|Aldarion|Great Captain

Sixth Ruler of Númenor, the Mariner King; by the Guild of Venturers called the (Great) Captain. See Anardil.

–—

The sixth King of Númenor.

The son of Tar-Meneldur; a great explorer and later King of Númenor.

* Tar-Amandil

The third King of Númenor.

The grandson of Elros Tar-Minyatur. When the time came for his father Vardamir to take the Sceptre, he refused it and passed the Kingship directly to Tar-Amandil (though legally Vardamir was held to be the second King). Tar-Amandil was in turn succeeded by his son Tar-Elendil.

* Tar-Anárion|Tar-Anarion

Eighth Ruler of Númenor; son of Tar-Ancalimë and Hallacar of Hyarastorni.

–—

The eighth ruler of Númenor.

The son of Tar-Ancalimë, the first of Númenor’s Ruling Queens, who ruled the island for more than a century. His two elder children were daughters, but both refused the Sceptre, and so he was succeeded by his third child and eldest son, Tar-Súrion.

* Tar-Ancalimë|Ancalimë|Ancalime

Seventh Ruler of Númenor and the first Ruling Queen, daughter of Tar-Aldarion and Erendis. See Emerwen.

–—

The first Ruling Queen of Númenor.

The daughter and only child of Tar-Aldarion, the sixth King of Númenor.

Aldarion caused the laws of succession to be changed, and Ancalimë succeeded him as the first of Númenor’s Ruling Queens.

* Tar-Ancalimon|Ancalimon

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

–—

Fourteenth King of Númenor.

In the time of Tar-Ancalimon’s father Tar-Atanamir, and of his grandfather Tar-Ciryatan, the Númenóreans had begun to turn against the Valar and the Eldar, and take pride in their own strength and wealth.

Tar-Ancalimon continued down this path, and the histories of Númenor record that the division of the Númenóreans began in earnest during his reign.

Politically, the realm became split between two parties, the King’s Men, who followed Tar-Ancalimon’s policies, and the Elendili, who favoured continued friendship with the Eldar. For the next millennium, Númenor’s history was bound up with the dissent between these two parties, and ultimately the King’s Men were to help bring about its destruction.

That lay in the far future, though: during his reign, Tar-Ancalimon turned away from the traditions of the past. He discontinued the dedication to Eru, which had taken place at the Meneltarma in the middle of the island. The tradition of the taking of the Kings’ names in Elvish he maintained, though, partly through fear of ill-fortune. This is perhaps because of a dark omen of Tar-Ancalimon’s reign: the Eagles of Manwë, who had nested in the tower of the King’s palace at Armenelos since Númenor’s founding, left their eyrie and never returned.

Tar-Ancalimon died as he had lived, clinging to the last vestiges of life as his father had before him. He was succeeded by his son Tar-Telemmaitë, a Man greedy for riches and silver, who followed in all the ways of his father.

* Tar-Anducal

Name taken as Ruler of Númenor by Herucalmo, who usurped the throne on the death of Tar-Vanimeldë his wife.

–—

Consort to Queen Tar-Vanimeldë.

The Númenórean king-name taken by Herucalmo, the consort of the third Ruling Queen Tar-Vanimeldë. During his wife’s reign, Herucalmo was the real power in the land of Númenor. After the Queen’s death, he took the Kingship illegally in the name Tar-Anducal, and ruled the island kingdom for twenty years until his own death. He was succeeded by his son, the legal heir to Tar-Vanimeldë who took the throne as Tar-Alcarin.

* Tar-Ardamin

Nineteenth Ruler of Númenor, called in Adûnaic Ar-Abattârik.

–—

The nineteenth of Númenor’s rulers.

An uncertain figure in the histories of Númenor. In the royal lists of The Line of Elros (in Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth), he is given as the heir and successor of Tar-Calmacil, whose name in Adûnaic was Ar-Abattarîk, and who was succeeded in turn by his own son Ar-Adûnakhór. He does not appear, however, in the list of Númenórean Kings and Queens shown in The Lord of the Rings, where the succession is shown as passing directly from Tar-Calmacil to Ar-Adûnakhór.

* Tar-Atanamir the Great|Tar-Atanamir|Atanamir Thirteenth King of Númenor, called the Great and the Unwilling, to whom the Messengers of the Valar came.

–—

The thirteenth King of Númenor, surnamed the Great (for his wealth and power, rather than his wisdom). He treated the Men of Middle-earth cruelly, and he was the first King to speak openly against the Ban of the Valar.

* Tar-Calion|Calion

Quenya name of Ar-Pharazôn.

–—

The Elvish form of the name Ar-Pharazôn.

The Elvish equivalent of the name of the Númenórean King Ar-Pharazôn. It would never have been used in his presence, but was, out of tradition, recorded in this Elvish form as the names of the ancient Kings had always been.

* Tar-Calmacil

Eighteenth Ruler of Númenor, called in Adûnaic Ar-Belzagar.

–—

The eighteenth ruler of Númenor.

The successor to King Tar-Alcarin, who became the eighteenth ruler of Númenor. He was noted as a great military captain, who drove the forces of Sauron back into the east of Middle-earth. He was also as the first King whose name is recorded with an Adûnaic equivalent, Ar-Belzagar, a sign of the ascendancy of the party of the so-called King’s Men. There is some confusion over his successor. The Lord of the Rings lists the King following Tar-Calmacil as Ar-Adûnakhôr, but this may be due to an accidental omission, as evidence exists that Tar-Calmacil was in fact succeeded by his son Tar-Ardamin, and that Ar-Adûnakhôr was actually his grandson.

* Tar-Ciryatan|Ciryatan

Twelfth King of Númenor ‘the Shipbuilder’.

–—

The twelfth King of Númenor, a great shipbuilder and adventurer, who plundered Middle-earth of its treasures and carried them back to Númenor.

* Tar-Elendil

Fourth King of Númenor, father of Silmariën and Meneldur, from whom Elendil was descended. See Parmaitë.

–—

The fourth King of Númenor.

The son of Tar-Amandil and fourth King of Númenor; renowned as a loremaster and scholar. His eldest child was a daughter, Silmarien, from whom the Lords of Andúnië were descended, but he was succeeded as King by his third child and only son, who became King Tar-Meneldur.

* Tar-Elestirnë|Tar-Elestirne

‘Lady of the Star-brow’, name given to Erendis.

* Tar-Falassion

Quenya name of Ar-Sakalthôr.

* Tar-Herunúnem

Quenya name of Ar-Adûnakhôr.

* Tar-Hostamir

Quenya name of Ar-Zimrathon.

* Tar-Meneldur|Meneldur

Fifth Ruler of Númenor, astronomer, father of Tar-Aldarion. See Elentirmo, Írimon.

–—

The fifth King of Númenor, the son of Tar-Elendil, in whose time evil began to stir again in Middle-earth.

* Tar-Minastir|Minastir

Eleventh King of Númenor, who aided Gil-galad, sending the fleet against Sauron.

–—

The King who drove Sauron out of Eriador.

The eleventh ruler of Númenor, grandson of Tar-Súrion, and successor to the childless Ruling Queen, Tar-Telperiën. He sent a fleet to Middle-earth, and drove Sauron’s forces out of Eriador.

* Tar-Minyatur|Minyatur

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

–—

The King-name of Elros.

‘King and First Lord’, the title taken by Elros the son of Eärendil when he became first King of Númenor in the early years of the Second Age.

* Tar-Palantir

Twenty-third King of Númenor, who repented of the ways of the Kings, and took his name in Quenya: ‘He who looks afar’; named in Adûnaic (Ar-

)Inziladûn.

–—

The last Faithful King of Númenor.

The twenty-fourth, and last but one, of the Kings of Númenor. In his time, the Númenóreans had turned their backs on the Valar and the Elves, and he attempted to bring them back to the old ways. His policy of reform would likely have been continued by his daughter Míriel, but her throne was usurped by Ar-Pharazôn.

* Tar-Súrion|Súrion|Tar-Surion|Surion

Ninth Ruler of Númenor.

–—

Ninth of the rulers of Númenor.

Tar-Súrion was the grandson of Tar-Ancalimë, Númenor’s first Ruling Queen. His father Tar-Anárion had two daughters who were both older than Tar-Súrion, and thus had a claim on the throne. Both of these refused the rule of Númenor, however, and so Tar-Súrion received his father’s Kingship.

We know little of Tar-Súrion’s reign, except that he ruled at a time when the Elves of Eregion had begun the forging of the Rings of Power. He had no sons, and when he gave up the Sceptre his daughter Tar-Telperiën became the second Ruling Queen.

* Tar-Telemmaitë|Telemmaitë|Tar-Telemmaite|Telemmaite Fifteenth Ruler of Númenor, so named (‘Silver-handed’) for his love of silver.

–—

The avaricious fifteenth King of Númenor.

The fifteenth King of Númenor, the son of Tar-Ancalimon. He was hungry for wealth (hence his name ‘King Silverhand’) and mined for mithril to fill his treasuries.

* Tar-Telemnar

Quenya name of Ar-Gimilzôr.

* Tar-Telperiën|Tar-Telperien

Tenth Ruler of Númenor and the second Ruling Queen.

–—

Númenor’s second Ruling Queen.

The tenth ruler of Númenor was its second Ruling Queen: Tar-Telperiën.

She was the eldest child of King Tar-Súrion, and became a proud and wilful Queen. What records we have of her reign state that she refused to wed, and so died without an heir. During her rule in Númenor, momentous events were taking place in Middle-earth; the Rings of Power were forged, and Sauron’s armies swept through Eriador. It was left to Tar-Telperiën’s successor, Tar-Minastir, to react to these events.

Tar-Telperiën ruled Númenor for one hundred and seventy-five years, and was succeeded by her nephew, the son of her younger brother Isilmo, who ruled as Tar-Minastir.

* Tar-Vanimeldë (forest)|Tar-Vanimeldë|Tar-Vanimelde

‘Forest of the Great Fear’, Sindarin name of Mirkwood. See Taur-nu-Fuin.

* Tar-Vanimeldë (Queen of Númenor)|Tar-Vanimeldë|Tar-Vanimelde Third and last of Númenor’s Ruling Queens.

The daughter of Tar-Telemmaitë inherited the rule of Númenor from her father to become the island’s sixteenth monarch, and third Ruling Queen.

She gave little thought to the practicalities of government, though, and preferred music and dancing. The day-to-day affairs of state she left to her husband Herucalmo, who was of noble descent himself, and effectively ruled Númenor while his wife sat on the throne.

Tar-Vanimeldë was Queen for one hundred and eleven years. When she died, she should have been succeeded by her son, but Herucalmo refused to give up his power. Instead, though he had no legal claim to the throne, he took the name Tar-Anducal and ruled as King for the next twenty years.

After Herucalmo’s death, the line passed back to its rightful heir, his son, who became King Tar-Alcarin.

* Tarannon Falastur|Tarannon

Twelfth King of Gondor. See Falastur.

–—

The first of Gondor’s four Ship-kings.

The son and heir of King Siriondil of Gondor, who was famed for his naval exploits, and founded the line of the Ship-kings that continued until the time of Hyarmendacil I. His Queen was the notorious Berúthiel, who Tarannon was forced to send into exile, so that he died without an heir. He was succeeded instead by his nephew, who ruled as the second of the Ship-kings, Eärnil I.

* Taras

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

–—

The seaward peak of Nevrast.

The mountain on the shores of Nevrast under which Turgon built his halls of Vinyamar. Long after Turgon had deserted Nevrast for Gondolin, Tuor came there and spoke with Ulmo.

* Taras-ness

The headland from which Mount Taras rose.

–—

The headland on which Vinyamar was built.

The headland of Mount Taras, on the shores of the land of Nevrast, where Turgon had his original citadel of Vinyamar.

* Tarcil

The sixth King to rule in Arnor.

The son and heir of Arantar of Arnor, and the great-great-grandson of Isildur himself. The sixth King to rule the North-kingdom, his reign lasted for eighty years in the middle of the first millennium of the Third Age. He was succeeded by his son Tarondor.

* Tarciryan

Ancestor of the later Ship-kings of Gondor.

One of the sons of King Siriondil of Gondor. His elder brother was Tarannon, who took the title Falastur and ruled as King of Gondor after his father. Tarannon’s Queen Berúthiel was sent into exile. Tarannon therefore died childless, and so it was Tarciryan’s son who succeeded Tarannon to the throne. This was Eärnil I, the second of the Ship-kings after Tarannon himself.

* Tárion|Orbelain|Rodyn|Valanya

The last day of the Elves’ week.

A name for the last and most important of the six days that made up the Elves’ week, dedicated to the Valar or Powers. Tárion was a Quenya name, as was the more common name for the same day, Valanya. In Sindarin, this day was called Orbelain or Rodyn.

* Tarmasundar

‘Roots of the Pillar’, the five ridges extending from the base of the Meneltarma.

* Tarondor (King of Arnor)|Tarondor

The seventh King to rule over Arnor.

The seventh King to rule over Arnor, the son of King Tarcil. He ruled the North-kingdom in a time of peace, long before the troubles came that would overwhelm and destroy it. He was succeeded as King by his son Valandur.

* Tarondor (King of Gondor)|Tarondor

Gondor’s longest-reigning King.

The twenty-seventh King of Gondor, who came to the throne in his youth after his uncle King Telemnar and all his children were lost in the Great Plague. It was Tarondor who moved the King’s House from Osgiliath to Minas Anor (later to be named Minas Tirith). He reigned for 162 years, and was succeeded by his son who became the famous warrior King, Telumehtar Umbardacil.

* Tarostar

Given name of Rómendacil I.

–—

The birth-name of Rómendacil I.

A Man of Gondor, born into its Royal House in the time his great-grandfather Eärendil ruled as King. He lived through the reigns of his grandfather Anardil and his father Ostoher before becoming King of Gondor himself.

Two years before his succession, Gondor was suddenly beset by Wild Men out of the East, and Tarostar went to war in place of his father, who was in the last days of his old age. Tarostar’s war with the Easterlings was a hard one, lasting for ten years, and seeing the death of Ostoher and Tarostar’s own succession to Gondor’s throne. At last, the Easterlings were driven back, and Tarostar took a new name, Rómendacil, ‘East-victor’, under which to rule the South-kingdom.

Decades later, the Easterlings renewed their attacks on Gondor. Once again, Tarostar rode out to meet them, but the name of ‘East-victor’ did him no good - he was slain in the assault and his reign came to an end.

It fell to his son Turambar to take up the challenge; he avenged his father by driving back the Easterlings once again and claiming much land east of Anduin for Gondor.

The events of Tarostar’s life were strangely mirrored some seven centuries after his time. Another great Gondorian, Minalcar, took charge of Gondor’s armies in place of its King, and like Tarostar he led them to victory in the east. Following Tarostar’s example, he too took the name Rómendacil, and would one day rule as Rómendacil II.

* Tarn Aeluin|Aeluin

A clear blue mountain lake in the highlands of Dorthonion, said to have been hallowed by Melian. It was here that the outlaws of Barahir hid from Morgoth’s forces after the Dagor Bragollach, and where they were slain.

* Tasarinan

The valley of willows.

A name for the watery willow-forest that grew up in central Beleriand where the River Narog met the Sirion. It is more commonly known as Nan-tathren, or sometimes as Nan-tasarion. All these names have the same meaning; ‘valley of the willows’.

* Taur-en-Faroth|High Faroth|Faroth

The wooded highlands to the west of the river Narog above Nargothrond; also called the (High) Faroth.

–—

The high woodland above the gates of Nargothrond.

The hills that lay above Finrod’s citadel of Nargothrond; they took their name (meaning ‘Forest of the Hunters’) from the woodlands the grew there.

* Taur-im-Duinath

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

–—

The forest between two rivers.

The dark and gloomy forest that extended over a vast area of land to the south of Beleriand.

* Taur-nu-Fuin

‘Forest under Night’; later name of Dorthonion. See Deldúwath.

–—

The Forest under Nightshade.

After the Dagor Bragollach, the darkness of Morgoth began to corrupt the northern forests of Dorthonion, and they came to be called Taur-nu-Fuin, the Forest under Nightshade. This name is sometimes also used for the land of Dorthonion itself, after its capture by Morgoth.

* Tauron

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

–—

‘Lord of Forests’.

A name of the Vala Oromë, variously translated as ‘The Forester’ or

‘Lord of Forests’.

* Tawar-in-Drúedain|Tawar-in-Druedain

The Drúadan Forest.

* Tawarwaith

The ‘Forest People’, the Silvan Elves.

* Ted Sandyman|Sandyman

The Hobbiton miller’s son.

The son of Sandyman the Hobbiton miller, who fell under the influence of Lotho Sackville-Baggins during the War of the Ring and became a collaborator with ‘Sharkey’s‘ regime.

* Tehtar

Symbols associated with Fëanorian script.

A series of signs and symbols used when writing with the tengwar, consisting of a variety of dots, curls and other marks written above or below Elvish letters. Most commonly, they were used to represent vowel-sounds, since Fëanorian script as it was commonly used did not provide characters to represent vowels.

* Teiglin

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

–—

The river that ran through Brethil.

A river of Beleriand that rose in the Ered Wethrin on the borders of Dor-lómin, and flowed southeastwards through the Forest of Brethil to meet the River Sirion.

* Telain|Talan|Talans

The wooden platforms in the trees of Lothlórien on which the Galadhrim dwelt (singular talan).

–—

The tree-platforms of the Galadhrim.

Platforms built by the Elves of Lórien in the trees of that land, used mainly for as guard-posts or for ceremonial purposes, but common in the city of Caras Galadhon.

* 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.

–—

The renowned smith of Nogrod.

A Dwarf of Nogrod in the Blue Mountains, and one of the greatest smiths in the history of Middle-earth. Among his works were Angrist (the knife that freed the Silmaril from the Iron Crown), Narsil (the sword of Elendil, later reforged for Aragorn as Andúril) and the Dragon-helm of Dor-lómin.

* Telco|Lúva|luva

A stroke in Elven writing.

The straight ‘stem’ line that appears in written tengwar, which can extend above or below the writing line. Combined with the lúva (‘bow’) stroke, it forms the basis of all the standard Fëanorian characters.

* Telcontar

The royal house founded by Aragorn Elessar.

The name of the royal house established in the Reunited Kingdom by Aragorn Elessar after the War of the Ring. The name Telcontar is a translation into Elvish of Aragorn’s common nickname in the north;

‘Strider’.

* Telemnar

Twenty-sixth King of Gondor.

–—

The hapless twenty-sixth King of Gondor.

Telemnar’s Kingship was one of Gondor’s shortest and most tragic. He succeeded to the throne after his father Minardil was brutally slain in a sudden Corsair attack on Pelargir, but he was not to reign for long.

After just two years on the throne, the Great Plague came out of the east and ravaged Gondor. Telemnar and all his children died of the sickness; he was succeeded by his nephew, Tarondor.

* Teleporno

High-elven name of Celeborn of Lórien.

* Teleri|Teler

The third and greatest of the Three Kindreds of the Eldar on the Great Journey from Cuiviénen; of whom were the Elves of Alqualondë in Aman and the Sindar and Nandor in Middle-earth.

–—

The Third Clan of the Eldar.

The third and greatest of the three Elf-kindreds of the Great Journey, from whom the Nandor and the Sindar were descended. The Teleri came last to Aman, and dwelt in Alqualondë on the western shores of the Great Sea.

* Telerin

Of or pertaining to the Teleri.

* Telerin (language)|Telerin

The little-known language of the Teleri.

The language of the Teleri of Aman, a tongue related to both Quenya and Sindarin.

* Telperion|Tree of Silver|Silver Tree|Tyelperion The elder of the Two Trees of Valinor. Called the White Tree. In Telerin Tyelperion. See also Laurelin.

–—

The White Tree.

The elder of the Two Trees of Valinor, called the White Tree, which shed silver light on the domain of the Valar. His leaves were of dark green, shining silver beneath, and his boughs were decked with brilliant flowers that shed a rain of silver dew.

Telperion endured throughout the Years of the Trees, but came to an end in the dreadful event known as the Darkening of Valinor. Even though the elder tree did not survive, he was not the last of the White Trees.

Yavanna had made an image of him in Tirion, called Galathilion, from whom the White Trees of Númenor and later of Minas Tirith were descended. More importantly, one of Telperion’s flowers survived the Darkening, and was set aloft by the Valar; this was the light we call the Moon.

* Telumehtar

An ancient name for the constellation of Menelvagor.

An old name given in Quenya to the constellation we know today as Orion.

This form was less common than the Sindarin equivalent, Menelvagor.

* Telumehtar Umbardacil|Telumehtar

Twenty-eighth King of Gondor; called Umbardacil ‘Conqueror of Umbar’

after his victory over the Corsairs in Third Age 1810.

–—

The King who defeated the Corsairs.

King of Gondor during the late second millennium of the Third Age. His reign was most notable for Gondor’s reconquest of Umbar, and the final defeat of the Corsairs.

* Telumendil

Name of a constellation.

* Témar|Temar

The four series of Fëanorian writing.

The four ‘series’ of the tengwar, each of which contained six tyeller or grades giving different qualities to a basic sound.

* Tengwar

The Fëanorian script.

The letters devised by Fëanor, originally to represent the sounds of the Quenya language, but later widely adopted for writing most of the languages of Middle-earth.

* Thain of the Shire

Title of the Oldbucks and the Tooks.

The largely honorary title of the military leader of the Shire. The first Shire-thain was Bucca of the Marish, and the title was held by eleven of his descendants the Oldbucks until their removal across the River Brandywine to Buckland. Thereafter the title was held by the head of the Took clan, from Isumbras I onwards.

It is known that there were at least thirty-three Shire-thains, from Bucca, who became Thain in III 1979, to Faramir I, who took on the title in IV 63, more than a thousand years later.

–—

1- Bucca of the Marish (Thain from III 1979): The first Thain was given the title in III 1979 (379 by the Shire-reckoning) in a time when the northern lands were recovering from a devastating war in which the old kingdom of Arthedain had come to an end. He was succeeded by Thains of the Oldbuck line.

2-11- Ten Thains of the Oldbuck line (Thains for about 300 years to III 2340): Bucca was followed by Thains whose names are not recorded, but who took the surname ‘Oldbuck’ in honour of their ancestor.

12- Gorhendad Oldbuck (Thain to III 2340): The line of the Oldbucks came to an end with Gorhendad, who crossed the River Brandywine and founded Buckland, changing his name to Brandybuck. The Thainship passed from him to the Took family, and Gorhendad was succeeded by the first Thain of the Took line.

13- Isumbras I (Thain from III 2340): The thirteenth Thain in line from Bucca, and the first of the Took line. Isumbras’ descendants would hold the Thainship for the rest of the recorded history of the Shire.

14-21- Eight Thains of the Took line (Thains for about two hundred years to III 2683): The eight Tooks to hold the Thainship after Isumbras I are nowhere named, but we can infer some of their identities from the names of later holders of the office. Among these eight must have been Isengrim I, Ferumbras I, Paladin I and Isumbras II, but no records of their Thainships are known.

22- Isengrim II (Thain for 39 years to III 2722): The twenty-second Thain, and tenth of the Took line. He began the excavation of Great Smials, which would become the seat of the Thains in the Tookland. He became Thain soon after the first pipe-weed was introduced into the Shire by Tobold Hornblower. He was succeeded by his son.

23- Isumbras III (Thain for 32 years to III 2759): His younger son was Bandobras Took, the famous ‘Bullroarer’. In Isumbras’ time the Shire was greatly troubled by Orcs, and Bandobras defeated a band of them at the Battle of Greenfields during his Thainship. Bandobras, though, was Isumbras’ younger son - the Thainship passed instead to his older brother.

24- Ferumbras II (Thain for 42 years to III 2801): He was succeeded by his son.

25- Fortinbras I (Thain for 47 years to III 2848): At the beginning of his Thainship, the Shire would have seen much activity as Dwarves of Durin’s Folk travelled westward to settle in the Blue Mountains. He was succeeded by his son.

26- Gerontius (Thain for 72 years to III 2920): The famous Old Took, who held the office of Thain for a total of seventy-two of his one hundred and thirty years, and had a total of twelve children. During his Thainship, the Shire suffered the dreadful privations of the Fell Winter, and invasions of White Wolves. He was succeeded by the eldest of his many sons.

27- Isengrim III (Thain for 10 years to III 2930): Due to the Old Took’s many years in office, his eldest son Isengrim was no less than eighty-eight years old when he inherited the Thainship. He held it for just ten years and died without leaving an heir. He was succeeded by his younger brother.

28- Isumbras IV (Thain for 9 years to III 2939): Like his brother Isengrim, Isumbras came old to the Thainship, being ninety-two when he took office. After his short time as the Shire-thain, he was succeeded by his son.

29- Fortinbras II (Thain for 41 years to III 2980): Early in his time as Thain there was a sensation in Hobbiton, due to the mysterious disappearance into the Wild - and later reappearance - of one Bilbo Baggins of Bag End. Fortinbras was succeeded by his son.

30- Ferumbras III (Thain for 35 years to III 3015): He was Thain at the time of Bilbo Baggins’ famous farewell feast and Birthday Party, which indeed he attended. He never married, and so left no heir. The descent of the Thainship passed to the line of Gerontius’ fourth son Hildigrim, and specifically to Hildigrim’s grandson.

31- Paladin II (Thain for 19 years to IV 13): Born in the time that his great uncle Isumbras IV was Thain, Paladin took up a farming life at Whitwell in the Tookland. He was Thain during the War of the Ring, and held the Tookland against the ruffians who invaded the Shire at that time. He was succeeded by his fourth child, but eldest son.

32- Peregrin I (Thain for 50 years to IV 63): Peregrin Took of the Fellowship of the Ring inherited the Thainship some thirteen years after his return from adventuring in the south, and held the title into his old age. At the age of ninety-four, he gave up the office and rode away once again into the countries of the south with his friend Meriadoc Brandybuck; they were never seen in the Shire again. He was succeeded by his son.

33- Faramir I (Thain from IV 63): Named for Faramir the Prince of Ithilien, little is known of Thain Faramir, except that he married Sam Gamgee’sdaughter Goldilocks. Doubtless he was succeeded by further generations of Shire-thains, but of them we have no record.

* Thain’s Book

A copy of the Red Book of Westmarch made at the request of King Elessar and brought to him by the Thain Peregrin Took when he retired to Gondor; much annotated afterwards in Minas Tirith.

–—

The book that held the original stories of the Silmarillion.

A copy of the Red Book of Westmarch, and the only one to include Bilbo Baggins’ Translations from the Elvish. Made in Gondor by Findegil, it was kept by the head of the Took family, the Thain of the Shire, at Great Smials.

* Thalion

‘Steadfast, Strong’; see Húrin.

–—

Title and surname of Húrin son of Galdor, the Lord of Dor-lúmin. It is said to mean ‘Steadfast’.

* Thalos

The second of the tributaries of Gelion in Ossiriand.

–—

Second of the tributaries of Gelion.

The second of the six rushing rivers that rushed down from the Blue Mountains to meet the great River Gelion. The Thalos, whose name comes from the Elvish for ‘torrent’, is important in the history of Men. It was in the high valley of its upper course that the first Bëor and his followers, the first Men to cross the mountains, made their camp, and where they were discovered by Finrod Felagund.

* Thangail

‘Shield-fence’, a battle-formation of the Dúnedain.

* Thangorodrim

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

–—

The three towering peaks above Angband’s gates.

The three mighty peaks that Morgoth raised from the Iron Mountains above the gates of Angband when he returned there at the beginning of the First Age. They were destroyed in the fall of Ancalagon during the War of Wrath.

The name means ‘Mountains of Oppression’.

* Tharbad

River-port and town where the North-South Road crossed the river Gwathló, ruined and deserted at the time of the War of the Ring.

–—

The city at the crossings of Greyflood.

An ancient city of Men that grew up where the North-South Road crossed the River Gwathló (Greyflood). Tharbad was deserted in the late Third Age after it was devastated in the floods that followed the Fell Winter.

* Thargelion

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

–—

The land beyond Gelion.

Name, meaning simply ‘land beyond Gelion’, given to the northern parts of the region that lay between the River Gelion and the Blue Mountains.

After the Return of the Noldor, Caranthir dwelt here, and after this time it was more normally called Dor Caranthir (‘Caranthir’s land’).

* Tharkûn|Tharkun

‘Staff-man’, Dwarves’ name for Gandalf.

–—

The name given to Gandalf the Grey by the Dwarves.

* The Black

Title of various evil characters, including Ancalagon the dragon and Ulfang the Easterling.

* The Blessed

A title given to Eärendil the Mariner, who by his great voyage at the end of the First Age delivered Elves and Men from the tyranny of Morgoth.

* The Bowman

Bard the Dragon-shooter.

A title given to Bard of Lake-town, and later Lord of Dale, who was famed for shooting the dragon Smaug.

* The Brown

Title and symbolic colour of Radagast the Wizard.

* The Cruel

An ancient title granted to Caradhras in the Misty Mountains, and also used of Sauron.

* The Darkness

The dominion of the Dark Lord.

A term usually used symbolically for the dark power of Sauron and the regions under his sway. During the War of the Ring, though, Sauron’s Darkness became a dreadful reality, as it spread out of Mordor and covered the lands of the West for many days.

* The Dead

The Men of the White Mountains at the end of the Second Age who swore an oath of allegiance to Isildur. Breaking it, they were cursed to walk the Paths of the Dead until they could redeem themselves, which they did more than three thousand years later when they followed Isildur’s descendant Aragorn in the War of the Ring.

* The Deeping

The guarded vale of the Deeping-stream.

The deep valley in the northern White Mountains where Helm Hammerhand took refuge from the Dunlendings during the Long Winter, and was afterwards more commonly called ‘Helm’s Deep’.

* The Dispossessed

The House of Fëanor.

* The Downfallen

The lost home of the Númenóreans.

A name for Númenor after its destruction in the late Second Age.

* The Dragon

See Glaurung, Smaug.

* The Dunlending

Saruman’s agent, the ‘squint-eyed southernet’ in the inn at Bree.

* The Enemy

A common term for either Morgoth or Sauron, or their forces.

* The Ever-young

A title given to Vána, the lesser sister of Yavanna Kementári. She was wedded to Oromë the Huntsman of the Valar, and dwelt in gardens filled with golden flowers.

* The Fair

The title and surname of Celegorm, the third son of Fëanor. This title was also used of Sam Gamgee’s daughter, Elanor.

* The Fat

A title of those famed for their rotundity.

There are few characters in Tolkien’s works whose defining characteristic is their girth. Perhaps the best known, and indeed the only one mentioned by name in The Lord of the Rings, is Forlong the Fat, the Lord of Lossarnach who met his fate in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields. In his Letters, though, Tolkien introduces us to a character who shares Forlong’s title - Lalia the Fat, the widow of Thain Fortinbras Took II of the Shire.

* The Fire

The flames of Orodruin.

A common epithet for the flames of Orodruin, into which the One Ring was to be cast.

* The Fire of Ilúvatar|Fire of Ilúvatar|Fire of Iluvatar Perhaps a name for the Flame Imperishable.

A term of uncertain meaning, apparently with the same meaning as ‘Flame Imperishable’. It was kept by Ilúvatar.

* The Fool

One of the many mocking titles given to Radagast by his fellow Wizard Saruman.

* The Forest

A term sometimes used to describe Greenwood the Great, later called Mirkwood, especially in the days before Sauron built Dol Guldur in its southern regions.

* The Golden

A title for Dragons and Kings.

A title of the dragons Glaurung and Smaug, and of Ar-Pharazôn, the last King of Númenor.

* The Golden Perch|Golden Perch

Home of the best beer in the Eastfarthing.

An inn in the township of Stock, north of Bucklebury near the eastern borders of the Shire. It was said by Pippin to serve the best beer in the Eastfarthing.

* The Great

The mightiest of their kind.

A very common title, applied to (among others) the River Anduin, the Ring Narya, the Vala Oromë, Sauron, Shadowfax, Shelob and Tar-Atanamir of Númenor.

* The Grey

A title of Gandalf, probably derived from the long grey cloak he wore.

Seen also in the Elves’ name for him, Mithrandir, meaning ‘Grey Wanderer’.

* The Halfling

Title given to Frodo Baggins in Gondor after he accomplished the Quest of Mount Doom.

* The Hedge

The eastern boundary of Buckland.

The High Hay; the great hedge built by the Bucklanders along their eastern border, to protect themselves from the strange things that lived in the Old Forest.

* The Hill

Hobbiton Hill, to the local Hobbits.

The local name for Hobbiton Hill, in which was excavated the smial of Bag End.

* The Hunter

A creature of the Elves’ darkest memories.

A shadowy creature of Elvish legend, said to have plagued the newly-awakened Elves at Cuiviénen. Those Elves captured by the Hunter were thought to have been corrupted by Melkor to form the race of Orcs.

* The Magnificent

A title shared by a dragon and a Hobbit.

A title flatteringly given to Smaug the Dragon of Erebor by Bilbo Baggins. It was also used of Meriadoc Brandybuck after his return from the War of the Ring.

* The Maia

Title given to Melian the Queen of Doriath, who was in origin a Maia of the people of Vána and of Estë.

* The Man-hearted

Emeldir the wife of Barahir.

A title given to Emeldir, who was the wife of Barahir and the mother of Beren Erchamion. After the ruin of the Dagor Bragollach, her husband and son remained in Dorthonion as hunted outlaws, but she led the women and children of her house, including Rían and Morwen, south into Brethil.

* The Mariner

Eärendil the Blessed.

Title given to Eärendil, greatest of voyagers on the sea, in honour of his feat of reaching the Undying Lands and summoning the aid of the Valar at the end of the First Age.

* The Mariner’s Wife

The subtitle to Aldarion and Erendis.

The subtitle of the long tale known as Aldarion and Erendis, one of the few to survive the destruction of Númenor, which tells the story of the mariner King Tar-Aldarion and his Queen Erendis. Tar-Aldarion, the sixth King of Númenor, was a great explorer and adventurer, but the tale is told mainly from the perspective of Erendis, the lonely wife he leaves behind in Númenor while he travels the seas, and who ultimately comes to a tragic end.

* The Marish|Marish

A fertile region in the Eastfarthing of the Shire.

A fertile but boggy farmland region on the western banks of the River Brandywine, in the Eastfarthing of the Shire.

* The Mark|Mark of the Riders

Name among the Rohirrim for their own country. Called also Riddermark, and the Mark of the Riders.

–—

The name among the Rohirrim for their own land.

A shortening of Riddermark, a common name for the land of Rohan among the Rohirrim themselves.

* The Moon|Moon

Telperion’s last flower.

The name among Men for the last flower of Telperion, steered through the heavens by the Maia Tilion to bring light to the Earth after the Darkening of Valinor.

* The Nine

The Rings given by Sauron to Men, and their nine slaves.

A title given to the nine Nazgûl, and also to the Nine Rings through which Sauron controlled them.

* The Old

A title for the longest-lived of Men.

A title of three Men who lived to advanced age: Bëor, Aldor of Rohan and Grimbeorn the son of Beorn.

Apparently the youngest of the three was Grimbeorn, who is reported to have ruled in the Vales of Anduin in the year III 3018. The evidence points strongly to his being born after Bilbo’s visit to his father in III 2941, so his age could be no more than 77 at the time he is called

‘The Old’. He may, of course, have lived longer that this.

Bëor was the first of Men to encounter the Elves, having led his people across the Blue Mountains into Beleriand. He was 49 at the time of that meeting, and died after another forty-four years of service to Finrod Felagund, at the age of 93.

The oldest of the three, though, was Aldor, the third King of Rohan. He lived for more than a century, 101 years to be precise, and ruled the land of the Rohirrim for no less than seventy-five years.

* The One

A title of Eru Ilúvatar, and the literal meaning of ‘Eru’; the ancient being who, through the Music of the Ainur, created the world of Arda.

* The Powers|Powers

The Lords of the West.

A general name for the Valar, and the literal meaning of that term.

* The Prancing Pony|Prancing Pony

The inn of Bree, whose landlord at the time of the War of the Ring was Barliman Butterbur.

* The Renewer

Envinyatar.

The meaning of the name Envinyatar, one of the High-elven titles claimed by Aragorn after the Battle of the Pelennor Fields. It refers to the prophecy - soon to be fulfilled at that time - that he would renew the hope of the Dúnedain by reuniting the Two Kingdoms.

* The Rider

Pursuer of the earliest Elves.

A shadowy creature of Elvish legend, sent by Melkor to trouble the first Elves at Cuiviénen.

* The Ring

Sauron’s One Ring to bind all Rings.

The powerful artefact of Sauron more properly called the One Ring or the Ruling Ring.

The Ring was born out of a plan Sauron devised to enslave the peoples of Middle-earth. He took on the form of a wise adviser, under the name Annatar, and offered great knowledge to the Elves. Many rejected him, but Celebrimbor and the Elves of Eregion accepted his offer, and he schooled them in the making of Rings of Power. At last, Annatar and the Elves made sixteen jewelled Rings that would in time become the Seven Rings of the Dwarves and the Nine Rings of Men.

Now Sauron put his scheme into motion. Returning to his land of Mordor, to the forges of Sammath Naur in the heart of Mount Doom, he began the secret making of another Ring. He filled it with his own power and malice, to wield power over all the other Rings of Power, and bind their wearers to his will.

His plan failed. The Elves, too, had made themselves Rings, so powerful that when Sauron took up his Ruling Ring, they perceived that they were betrayed. Taking off their own Rings, they escaped the trap that Sauron had set for them. In anger, Sauron swept out of Mordor with his armies; Eregion was destroyed, Celebrimbor was slain, and Sauron recovered fifteen of the Rings of Power (the Three Rings of the Elves had been sent into secret hiding, and one of the original sixteen had already been given by Celebrimbor to Durin III of Khazad-dûm).

Under the binding power of the Ring, Sauron subverted nine Men, whose Rings of Power twisted them slowly into wraiths, the Nazgûl, whose only will was Sauron’s. He attempted the same with Dwarves, but they proved resistant to the Rings’ powers, and those of their Rings that were not destroyed the Dark Lord reclaimed. The power of Sauron’s Ruling Ring was such, though, that it wielded power of the wills of lesser beings whether or not they wore another Ring. In Tolkien’s Letters, we’re told that he used it to bring about nothing less than the destruction of Númenor, by twisting the will of its King, Ar-Pharazôn, and his followers.

What Sauron could not have foreseen was that the Downfall of Númenor would ultimately bring about his own destruction, and the loss of his Ring. Nine ships escaped the Downfall and landed in Middle-earth, carrying Elendil and his sons Isildur and Anárion. Together, they founded great realms in Middle-earth, and allied themselves with Gil-galad and the Elves against Sauron. So began the long War of the Last Alliance, in which Sauron was at last defeated, and his Ring taken by Isildur. But Isildur did not hold the Ring for long. He was set upon by Orcs on the banks of the Great River, and the Ring was lost in its depths, where it would lie for two and a half millennia.

It was found at last by Déagol, a creature of hobbit-kind, and then passed through a strange series of events. No sooner had Déagol recovered it than he was killed by his companion Sméagol, who stole the Ring for himself. Driven out by his family, who gave him the name Gollum, he wandered into the depths beneath the Misty Mountains, and there he lurked for more than five centuries, his life stretched by the power of the Ring. By a twist of fate, he lost it, and it came into the hands of Bilbo Baggins, lost and wandering in the depths where Gollum dwelt.

Bilbo carried it through adventure and battle, eventually bringing it back to the Shire. It passed to his heir Frodo, and at last its identity was discovered by the Wizard Gandalf. Over the centuries, Sauron had recovered much of his strength, and he too learned that the Ring had been found, and discovered that it was held in the Shire. So began the War of the Ring, a desperate race to destroy Sauron’s Ring in the fires of its birth, before its Lord could reclaim it and use its power to enslave the World.

* The Ruler

An ambitious title claimed by Saruman at the end of the Third Age.

* The Seven Stars

The Sickle of the Valar.

–—

“And in answer he sang a song of challenge that he had made in praise of the Seven Stars, the Sickle of the Valar that Varda hung above the North as a sign for the fall of Morgoth.”

(Quenta Silmarillion 19, Of Beren and Lúthien)

–—

One of the many names for the seven-starred constellation that turned, and still turns, through the northern skies every night of the year. To the Elves this was the Valacirca, the Sickle of the Valar that signalled the downfall of Morgoth, but the Men of the Northern lands called it simply ‘The Wain’. The Seven Stars are today known as the Plough, or the Big Dipper.

* The Sheen

A poetic name for the Moon.

A title given to the Moon by the Vanyar, the Light Elves of Valinor, at the time of its creation. The name is a translation of Elvish Isil.

* The Shipwright

Title of Círdan, and the literal translation of his name.

* The Shire|Shire

The chief dwelling-place of Hobbits in the west of Eriador.

–—

The land of Hobbits west of the Brandywine.

At the end of the Third Age, the Shire was the most populous country of the Hobbits in the north of Middle-earth. It was founded in the middle of the Third Age by the Bree-hobbits Marcho and Blanco, and gifted to them and their followers by King Argeleb II of Arthedain, within whose borders the land lay at that time.

The Shire was divided into four farthings, North, South, East and West; its chief town was at Michel Delving on the White Downs, in the Westfarthing. The Mayor of Michel Delving was accounted among the most important of the Shire-hobbits, as was the Thain (the head of the Took family).

The Shire was largely given over to agriculture, and its land was well-suited for farming. One of its chief products was Halflings’ Leaf (tobacco), grown especially in the warmer regions of the Southfarthing.

* The Simple

One of the many scornful titles given to the Wizard Radagast by Saruman, the chief of his order.

* The Smith

Title given to the Vala Aulë, the maker of the Dwarves.

* The Steadfast|Steadfast

A title for heroes among Men.

The meaning of Thalion, the surname of Húrin of Dor-lómin during the First Age. It is also given as a translation of Voronwë, a title given to Mardil the first Ruling Steward of Gondor.

* The Tall

A title for the loftiest of heroes.

A title used of Maedhros the son of Fëanor, Galdor of Dor-lómin and Elendil of Númenor.

* The Unwilling

The Avari, those of the Elves who refused the Great Journey to Valinor and remained wandering in the lands around Cuiviénen.

* The Usurper

The title of Castamir, the deposer of Eldacar.

The title given to Castamir, a descendant of King Calmacil who led a revolt against Gondor’s true King, Eldacar, and usurped his throne. Over the ten years of Castamir’s rule, he proved to be a cruel and heartless King. His reign came to violent end when Eldacar returned from exile at the head of an avenging army.

* The Valiant

A title of Fingon, son of Fingolfin and High King of the Noldor.

* The Wain|Wain

A Mannish name for the Sickle of the Valar.

The name in the northern lands of Middle-earth for the constellation we know today as the Plough or the Big Dipper. In Tolkien’s mythology, these seven stars were set in the sky by Varda in the shape of a mighty sickle, as a warning to Melkor and his underlings. The Men and Hobbits of the northern lands seem to have been ignorant of this, though: they gave these stars the more prosaic name of ‘the Wain’, meaning a wagon or cart.

Other Names: The Sickle of the Valar, Valacirca.

* The Water

The main river of the Shire.

A tributary of the River Brandywine that rose in the Westfarthing of the Shire, and flowed eastward to meet the Brandywine just north of the Brandywine Bridge. Hobbiton and Bywater both stood on this river.

* The Wayward

A title of the Moon.

A Noldorin title for the Moon, from the Elvish Rána, referring to its unpredictable course through the sky.

* The White

The colour of the chief of the Istari.

Title apparently used to denote the head of the Wizards in Middle-earth, originally borne by Saruman, but claimed by Gandalf after his return.

* The White Mountain|White Mountain

A name of Taniquetil.

A name among Men for Taniquetil, the loftiest of all the mountains of the World. It lay on the eastern borders of Valinor, and on its peak stood the halls of Manwë and Varda.

* The Wild

The dangerous lands of Middle-earth.

An untamed, dangerous region of Middle-earth. Its boundaries are somewhat indefinite, but it seems to have been approximately equivalent to the region of Rhovanion.

* The Wise

A title claimed, with some justification, by Saruman the Wizard.

* The Wise (council)|The Wise

The Istari and the greatest Elves of Middle-earth. See White Council.

–—

The deepest in counsel of Wizards and Elves.

The title given to the greatest Elves of Middle-earth and the chief Wizards, who formed the White Council in the Third Age.

* The Wold|Wold

A region of Rohan, the northern part of the Eastemnet.

–—

The northern reaches of Rohan.

The northernmost and least populated part of Rohan, lying between Fangorn Forest and the River Anduin, and bounded to the north by the River Limlight.

* The Wood

The greatest of Middle-earth’s forests.

An occasional name for the great forest of Mirkwood, home to the Beornings in the west and the Wood-elves of Thranduil.

* The Worm

A title of Scatha, the great Long-worm of the Grey Mountains.

* The Wronged

The meaning of Túrin’s alias Neithan.

After the accidental death of Saeros at his hands, Túrin fled the land of Doriath where he had been brought up, and lived for a time among a band of outlaws beyond its western borders. It was Saeros’ taunts of Túrin that had led to his death, and therefore Túrin took a new name among the outlaws, Neithan, meaning ‘The Wronged’.

* The Young

The title of Eorl.

A title most famously given to Eorl son of Léod, who inherited the lordship of the Éothéod while still in his teens, after his father’s early death. This title is also given to Hathaldir, one of the outlaws of Dorthonion led by Barahir.

* Thengel

Father to Théoden of Rohan.

The sixteenth King of Rohan, son of Fengel and father of Théoden Ednew.

In his time, Saruman first pronounced himself Lord of Isengard.

* Théoden Ednew|Théoden|Theoden

Seventeenth King of Rohan, slain in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields.

–—

Last King of Rohan of the Second Line.

The son of Thengel; the seventeenth King of Rohan and last of the Second Line. He led the Rohirrim at the Battle of the Hornburg, and was slain defending Minas Tirith in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields. He was succeeded by his nephew, Éomer.

* Théodred|Theodred

Son of Théoden King of Rohan; slain in the First Battle of the Fords of Isen.

–—

The lost heir of King Théoden.

Only son and heir of King Théoden of Rohan. He was slain in the First Battle of the Fords of Isen during the War of the Ring.

* Théodwyn|Theodwyn

Daughter of Thengel King of Rohan, mother of Éomer and Éowyn.

–—

Daughter, sister and mother of Kings of Rohan.

One of the daughters of King Thengel of Rohan, Théodwyn was the younger sister of Thengel’s only son, Théoden, who succeeded his father as King of Rohan. After the birth of her children Éomer and Éowyn, Théodwyn died of a sickness, and her orphaned children were taken in by their uncle King Théoden to grow up in the royal house at Edoras. On Théoden’s death, his own son Théodred having been slain in battle, the Kingship passed to Théodwyn’s son Éomer.

* Thingol

‘Grey-cloak’, ‘Grey-mantle’ (in Quenya Sindacollo, Singollo), the name by which Elwë (Sindarin Elu), 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, Elu Thingol.

* Thingol’s Heir

A title of Dior.

Eluchíl, a title given to Dior son of Beren, who succeeded his grandfather Elu Thingol for a time as lord of Doriath.

* Third Age

Last of the Elder Days.

The Third Age began a little over four thousand years after the Rising of the Moon in the first year of the First Age. Of the Ages, it is the best known, as the events of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings took place in its later years.

The Third Age began with the first overthrow of Sauron by the Last Alliance, and was marked by Isildur’s planting of the White Tree in Minas Anor. It ended more than three thousand years later with the destruction of the One Ring, the final end of Sauron, and the passing of the Ringbearers over the Sea.

The history of the Third Age is in large part the history of the Dúnedain in Gondor and Arnor. Though both these realms were founded in the late Second Age, it was during the Third that they grew to their greatest heights, and fell to their lowest depths, before being reunited by Aragorn II Elessar.

–—

Key Events of the Third Age:

- 1: Isildur plants a seedling of the White Tree in Minas Anor. Returning northward to Arnor with the One Ring, he is waylaid by Orcs and slain.

- 490: Gondor is assailed by Men out of the East; the first of many wars with the Easterlings and Southrons.

- 861: Division of Arnor into Arthedain, Rhudaur and Cardolan.

- c.1000: Five Wizards, including Saruman and Gandalf, arrive in the north of Middle-earth.

- 1050: Gondor conquers the Harad, and reaches the height of its power.

Also at about this time, the first Hobbits, wandering west across the Misty Mountains, first appear in records.

- c.1100: The first stirrings of Sauron are felt again in Middle-earth, though they are thought at this time to signal the return of a Nazgûl.

- 1409: The Witch-king of Angmar invades the northern kingdoms.

- 1432: Civil war in Gondor.

- 1601: The foundation of the Shire.

- 1974: The forces of Angmar capture Fornost; the remnant of the North-kingdom is destroyed.

- 1975: Eärnur of Gondor brings a fleet to the north. Too late to save the North-kingdom, he avenges its loss at the Battle of Fornost. Angmar is destroyed.

- 1980: The Dwarves of Moria unleash Durin’s Bane.

- 2002: Capture of Minas Ithil by the Nazgûl. It is renamed Minas Morgul.

- 2050: The last King of Gondor is lost. The Stewards now rule in the King’s name.

- c.2463: Gollum comes upon the One Ring.

- 2510: The Rohirrim ride to the aid of Gondor. They are given the land of Calenardhon (Rohan) to dwell in.

- 2941: Journey of Bilbo Baggins to Erebor with Thorin and Gandalf. The Battle of Five Armies.

- 3019: Destruction of the One Ring and passing of Sauron. Aragorn is crowned King in Gondor, and the North and South Kingdoms are reunited.

- 3021: Departure of the Ring-bearers.

* Third Clan

A name for the Teleri, the third of the three clans of the Elves that made the Great Journey from Cuiviénen.

* Thistle Brook|Thistle

A tributary of the Shirebourn.

A stream of the Eastfarthing of the Shire. It flowed southeast round Woody End and through the village of Willowbottom before its waters emptied into the River Shirebourn.

* Thistlewool Family|Thistlewool

A family of the Men of Bree.

* Thorin I|Thorin

The King who led Durin’s Folk into the Grey Mountains.

Son of Thráin I, and a distant ancestor of Thorin II Oakenshield. He led a great part of Durin’s Folk from Erebor into the Grey Mountains.

* Thorin II Oakenshield|Thorin

Dwarf of the House of Durin, King in exile, leader of the expedition to Erebor; slain in the Battle of Five Armies.

–—

The King who reclaimed Erebor from Smaug.

The King of Durin’s Folk who led his people to reclaim Erebor from Smaug; slain in the Battle of Five Armies.

* Thorin III Stonehelm|Thorin|Stonehelm

King of Durin’s Folk after the Battle of Dale.

The son of Dáin Ironfoot, who succeeded as King of Durin’s Folk after his father’s death in the War of the Ring.

* Thorin and Company

The thirteen Dwarves of the Quest of Erebor.

The thirteen Dwarves who famously travelled into the east of Middle-earth under the leadership of Thorin Oakenshield to seek revenge against Smaug and the recovery of Erebor. Thorin’s company were Balin, Dwalin, Fíli, Kíli, Dori, Nori, Ori, Óin, Glóin, Bifur, Bofur and Bombur.

* Thorondir

The twenty-second Ruling Steward of Gondor.

The successor to Belecthor II as Steward of Gondor. When his father died, the White Tree of Minas Tirith also died. Without a seedling to replace it, Thorondir left the Dead Tree standing in hope of the King’s return, though that would not happen for nearly 140 years after his death. His rule was short; he was Steward for just ten years. He was succeeded by his son, who ruled as Túrin II.

* Thorondor|Sorontar

‘King of Eagles’; Lord of the Eagles of the Crissaegrim.

–—

Mightiest of Eagles.

The mightiest Eagle to ever live; lord of the Eagles of the Crissaegrim, and constant ally of Turgon of Gondolin.

The name comes from Quenya Sorontar, meaning ‘eagle-king’

* Thorongil

‘Eagle of the Star’, name of Aragorn in Gondor when he served Ecthelion II.

–—

An early alias of Aragorn.

‘The Eagle of the Star’, an alias taken by Aragorn in his youth, when he journeyed to Rohan and Gondor and performed services to their lords.

* Thousand Caves

Thingol’s carven citadel at Menegroth.

Menegroth, the underground citadel of Thingol that stood on the southern banks of the River Esgalduin in Doriath.

* Thráin I|Thráin|Thrain

Dwarf of the House of Durin, first King under the Mountain.

–—

The King who deserted Khazad-dûm.

A descendant of Durin the Deathless and King of Durin’s Folk, the son of Náin I and father of Thorin I.

* Thráin II|Thráin|Thrain

Dwarf of the House of Durin, King in exile, father of Thorin Oakenshield; died in the dungeons of Dol Guldur.

–—

The father of Thorin Oakenshield.

King of Durin’s Folk in exile, the son of Thrór and father of Thorin II Oakenshield. He escaped Erebor when Smaug descended upon it, but later wandered Middle-earth seeking to return there; he was captured by Sauron and died in the pits of Dol Guldur.

* Thranduil

Sindarin Elf, King of the Silvan Elves in the northern Mirkwood; father of Legolas.

–—

King of the Wood-elves who dwelt in northern Mirkwood; he fought at the Battle of Five Armies, and his son, Legolas, journeyed with the Company of the Ring.

* Three Houses of the Edain

The Elf-friends of the Elder Days.

The Houses of Bëor, Haleth and Hador; the three Houses of Men who remained faithful to the Eldar in the Wars of Beleriand, and were rewarded by the gift of the island of Númenor.

* Three Houses of the Elf-friends

The faithful Edain of the First Age.

The descendants of the Men who crossed into Beleriand in the fourth century of the First Age; the three allied Peoples of Bëor, Marach and Haldad, collectively called the Edain.

* Three Kindreds

The three branches of the Eldar.

The Vanyar, the Noldor and the Teleri; the three hosts of Elves who followed the summons of the Valar and began the Great Journey to Aman.

* Three Rings of the Elves|Three Rings|The Three Nenya, Narya and Vilya; the only three of the Rings of Power to be made wholly outside the influence of Sauron. Their power maintained the realms of the Elves in Middle-earth until the destruction of the Ruling Ring.

* Three-Farthing Stone

The meeting point of three of the Shire’s farthings.

A stone by the side of the East Road that marked the point where the borders of the Eastfarthing, Westfarthing and Southfarthing of the Shire came together. It was also said to mark a point near the centre of the Shire itself. The stone stood about five miles southeast from Bywater, and exactly fourteen miles west from Frogmorton.

The fourth farthing, the Northfarthing, did not meet the others at the Three-Farthing Stone. Instead, its borders met those of the Westfarthing and Eastfarthing about ten miles north of the Stone, though there is no record of a second three-farthing stone to mark this spot.

* Thrihyrne

The peaks above the Hornburg of Rohan.

* Thrimidge

The fifth month of the Shire Calendar, lying between Astron and Forelithe, and approximately equivalent to modern May. In fact, it ran from modern 22 April to 21 May.

* Thrór|Thror

Dwarf of the House of Durin, King under the Mountain at the coming of Smaug, father of Thrain II; killed in Moria by the Orc Azog.

–—

The refounding King under the Mountain.

The eldest son of Dáin I, and King of Durin’s Folk after him. He returned the Kingship to Erebor, and was King under the Mountain when the Lonely Mountain was invaded by Smaug. He died years later in Moria, at the hands of Azog the Goblin.

* Thrór’s Map|Thror’s Map

The map that guided the Quest of Erebor.

A map made by Thrór the King under the Mountain, after he had been exiled from his kingdom by the Dragon Smaug. As was traditional among the Dwarves, it was drawn with East at the top of the map, rather than North, and showed the Lonely Mountain of Erebor, the Running River that flowed from it, and the lands about. It also contained mention of a secret entrance to the Mountain, and (written in secret Moon-letters) instructions as to how it might be opened.

In his old age, Thrór set out to wander the lands of Middle-earth, but before departing he gave the heirlooms of his house to his son Thráin, including his Map. Years later, Thráin too set out into Middle-earth, seeking to recover Erebor himself, and taking with him the Map to guide his way. He was captured in the Wild by the servants of Sauron, but Sauron captured Thráin for the Ring of Power he bore, and so overlooked the Map he carried too. This proved to be a serious oversight, because Gandalf secretly entered Sauron’s lair at Dol Guldur while Thráin was a prisoner there, and managed to escape with the Map and the key that opened the secret door.

Using Thrór’s Map, his grandson Thorin was able to lead a small group of Dwarves (and one Hobbit, a certain Bilbo Baggins) on his own quest to refound the ancient Dwarf-realm. Through many adventures, they were able to recover Erebor and bring about the destruction of Smaug, dealing Sauron a serious reverse.

* Thrushes|Thrush

Large speckled brown birds with a special fondness for snails, whose shells they remove by breaking them against stones. A thrush of Erebor was instrumental in the downfall of Smaug.

* Thurin

Name given to Túrin in Nargothrond by Finduilas; translated ‘the Secret’.

* Thuringwëthil|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.

–—

The ‘Woman of Secret Shadow’.

Sauron’s vampire messenger, bat-winged and iron-clawed, in whose form Lúthien came to Angband on the Quest of the Silmaril.

* Tighfield

The home of Sam Gamgee’s ancestors.

A village or town located somewhere in the Shire, though its exact location is not known. It is important to history as the home of many of Sam Gamgee’s ancestors. His great-great-grandfather Wiseman Gamwich came to Tighfield about two hundred years before the War of the Ring, and Wiseman’s son Hob Gammidge is recorded as a roper, one of a long line of Tighfield rope-makers. Hob’s grandson was Hamfast Gamgee, Sam’s father, who left Tighfield for Hobbiton, to start a new life as a gardener.

Tighfield’s name probably descends from an old word for a common field or pasture, and this fits well with the fact that there seem to have been fairs held there. Indeed, Hob’s son Hobson, and in turn his son Andwise, were said to have often shown off their skills in a rope-walk there. The Shire-hobbits loved punning place-names, though, and the fact that Tighfield was associated with ropes and roping is perhaps more than coincidence.

* Tilion

A Maia, steersman of the Moon.

–—

The steersman of the Moon.

Originally a hunter of Oromë’s people, famed for his silver bow. After the Darkening of Valinor, Tilion was chosen by the Valar to become the pilot of the Moon. Now he steers the last flower of Telperion across the sky, though sometimes by uncertain paths.

* Timeless Halls

The dwelling place of Ilúvatar, beyond the confines of the universe, where the Ainur were given being, and where the Valar and Maiar dwelt before their descent into Arda.

* Tindómë|Tindome

The twilight before the rising of the Sun.

A Quenya name for the twilight of dawn, called minuial in Sindarin.

* Tindómiel|Tindomiel

The daughter of Elros Tar-Minyatur.

The second child, and only daughter, of Elros Tar-Minyatur the first King of Númenor. Aside from her name, which means ‘daughter of twilight’, we know almost nothing of her. Her only mention in records is a single appearance in a genealogical chart showing the early descendants of her father, where she is shown beside her brothers Vardamir, Manwendil and Atanalcar.

* Tindrock

The steep-sided isle of Nen Hithoel.

The Mannish name for the steep, rocky island that stood at the southern end of Nen Hithoel, above the Falls of Rauros. The Elves called the island Tol Brandir (‘tall island’) but the name Tindrock has slightly different origins. In Old English a tind is a sharp point, so the Tindrock was the ‘pointed rock’.

The tall point of the Tindrock stood up between two hills, one on either of the shores of Nen Hithoel: Amon Hen to the west and Amon Lhaw to the east. In the great days of Gondor, these hills were important watch-posts at its northern borders. The island of the Tindrock, though, had never been visited by Men, or so the legends said.

* Tintallë|Tintalle

‘The Kindler’, a name of Varda as maker of the Stars. See Elbereth, Elentári.

–—

‘The Kindler’, a title given to Varda Elentári after she kindled the brighter stars with the dews of Telperion.

* Tinúviel|Tinuviel

The name that Beren gave to Lúthien: a poetic word for the nightingale,

‘Daughter of Twilight’. See Lúthien.

–—

Beren’s name for Lúthien.

‘Nightingale’, the name given to Lúthien of Doriath by Beren when he first saw her dancing in the forest.

* Tirion

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

–—

The city of the Elves in Aman.

The city of the Elves in Aman, built on the hill of Túna. Originally shared by the Vanyar and the Noldor, the Vanyar later departed to dwell beneath Manwë’s halls on Taniquetil.

* Tobold ‘Old Toby’ Hornblower|Tobold Hornblower The first Shire-hobbit to grow pipe-weed.

A famous Hobbit of Longbottom in the South-farthing of the Shire. In his younger days, Tobold was something of a traveller, and made the eastward journey to Bree on several occasions. It was there, it is generally supposed, that he came across the cultivation and smoking of pipe-weed.

Tobold must have collected some of these plants and brought them back to his own garden in Longbottom. (At least, this is the most likely version of events - Tobold himself remained silent on the matter).

The Southfarthing seems to have been ideal for the growing of pipe-weed, and it became one the Shire’s most important industries. Among the different varieties that were developed, one was named ‘Old Toby’ in honour of Tobold its first grower.

* Tol Brandir

The island known as the Tindrock.

The tall, sheer-sided isle that stood in the River Anduin between the hills of Amon Hen and Amon Lhaw, above the Falls of Rauros.

* Tol Eressëa|Tol Eressea|Eressëa|Eressea

‘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.

–—

The Lonely Isle.

The Lonely Isle of the Elves of Aman, on which Ulmo brought the Elves to Valinor long ages before the rising of the Sun and Moon, and on which many still dwell within sight of the Blessed Realm.

* Tol Falas|Tolfalas

Island in the Bay of Belfalas close to Ethir Anduin.

–—

The island at the Mouths of Anduin.

A large island, also named in the form Tolfalas, that stood beyond the Ethir Anduin in the Bay of Belfalas. Its sharp southern cape was traditionally considered as marking the southernmost point of Gondor proper.

* Tol Fuin

The remnant of Taur-nu-Fuin.

When the waves consumed Beleriand and the regions around it after the War of Wrath, not all of the western lands were lost. The highlands that had been Dorthonion, and came to be called Taur-nu-Fuin, in part survived the inrush of the sea, and remained as an island far off the western coasts of Forlindon.

* Tol Galen

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

–—

The river-isle where Beren and Lúthien lived out their days.

The green isle that lay between two arms of the River Adurant in the south of Ossiriand. There Beren and Lúthien lived out their mortal lives.

* Tol Morwen

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

–—

A survivor of the wreck of Beleriand.

An island that stood off the coasts of Middle-earth after the drowning of Beleriand at the end of the First Age. It was the site of the Stone of the Hapless and the grave of Morwen Eledhwen, hence its name.

* 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.

–—

The island where the first Minas Tirith stood.

The island on the upper reaches of the River Sirion where Finrod Felagund built the tower of Minas Tirith, renamed Tol-in-Gaurhoth after its capture by Sauron.

* Tol Uinen

Island in the Bay of Rómenna on the east coast of Númenor.

* Tol-in-Gaurhoth

‘Isle of Werewolves’, later name of Tol Sirion, after its capture by Sauron.

–—

The Isle of Werewolves; the name given the island in the upper reaches of the Sirion where Finrod built Minas Tirith, after its capture by Sauron.

* Tolman ‘Tom’ Cotton (junior)|Tolman ‘Tom’ Cotton|Tolman Cotton The son and namesake of the Tolman Cotton who helped rally the Shire-hobbits after the return of the Travellers. He married Sam Gamgee’s youngest sister, Marigold.

* Tolman ‘Tom’ Cotton (senior)|Tolman ‘Tom’ Cotton|Tolman Cotton A respected Hobbit of the Shire, who played an important part in rallying the Shire-hobbits during the last days of the War of the Ring. He became Sam Gamgee’s father-in-law through his daughter Rose.

* Tolman Gardner

Thirteenth and youngest child of Samwise Gamgee and Rose Cotton; named for his grandfather, Tolman Cotton.

* Tom

One of the three Trolls that captured Bilbo and the Dwarves. Tricked by Gandalf, he was turned to stone by the light of the Sun.

* Tom Bombadil

The Master.

A mysterious and powerful being, called by the Elves Iarwain Ben-adar (Oldest and Fatherless), who dwelt in the valley of the Withywindle, east of the Shire.

* Tomb of Elendil

The secret of the Halifirien.

The tomb of the first King of Arnor and of Gondor. Its location was a secret kept for many centuries, but it was later discovered to be atop the mountain known as the Halifirien, on the borders of Gondor and Rohan.

* Took Family|Took

Name of a family of Hobbits in the Westfarthing of the Shire.

–—

Hereditary Thains of the Shire.

An old family of the Shire, who farmed the lands around Tuckborough in the Westfarthing. The head of the Took family was the hereditary Thain of the Shire from the time of Isumbras I.

* Tookbank

A small village in the Tookland, in the Westfarthing of the Shire, not far from the larger township of Tuckborough.

* Tookland

The ancestral lands of the Shire-thains.

A wide region of the Shire’s Westfarthing that was the historical province of the Took clan, and so of the hereditary Thains of the Shire.

The Tookland lay to the south of the East Road, with its chief and central township at Tuckborough in the Green Hills. There, burrowed into the hillsides, was the famous and historic home of the Tooks, Great Smials. Somewhat to the west of Tuckborough lay the smaller of the Tookland’s main settlements, Tookbank.

* Torog

The Elves’ name for those of troll-kind.

The Sindarin word that Tolkien normally renders as ‘troll’ in his works.

The derivation of this word is uncertain - it may be derived from older Elvish words or perhaps imitates olog, which seems to be the comparative term in the Black Speech.

* Tower Hills

The Emyn Beraid west of the Shire.

A name for the Emyn Beraid, the hills west of the Shire, home of three ancient Elf-towers that were home to the Elendil Stone, the last of the palantíri of the North.

* Tower of Amon Sûl|Tower of Amon Sul

An ancient stronghold of Arnor.

A tower built by Elendil in the founding years of Arnor, to hold one of the North-kingdom’s three palantíri. It stood on the hill known as Amon Sûl or Weathertop, which at that time lay in the central parts of Elendil’s northern domains. The later breakup of Arnor, though, left the Tower in exposed borderlands, and it was eventually destroyed by the invading armies of Angmar.

* Tower of Avallónë|Tower of Avallone

The tower of the Elf-haven of Tol Eressëa.

The great tower of the haven of Avallónë on Tol Eressëa; said to be the first sight a mariner sees when approaching the Undying Lands.

* Tower of Cirith Ungol

A guard-tower of Mordor’s western borders.

Originally a watchtower of Gondor guarding the main pass over the Ephel Dúath, the Tower was captured by the forces of Sauron and held by Orcs in the later Third Age.

* Tower of Ecthelion

The White Tower at the peak of Minas Tirith.

–—

“… the Tower of Ecthelion, standing high within the topmost walls, shone out against the sky, glimmering like a spike of pearl and silver, tall and fair and shapely, and its pinnacle glittered as if it were wrought of crystals…”

(The Return of the King V 1, Minas Tirith)

–—

Though a White Tower had graced the highest point of Minas Tirith since ancient times, it was rebuilt by Steward Ecthelion I some three centuries before the War of the Ring, and so gained his name. The Tower of Ecthelion was used to bear the standard of the City, and - at least during the last years of the Third Age - held the palantír known as the Anor-stone.

* Tower of Guard

A name for Minas Tirith.

A name for the Gondorian fortress-city of Minas Tirith in the later Third Age, and the literal meaning of its name.

* Tower of Sorcery

A dark name for Minas Morgul.

A title of Minas Morgul, and an approximate translation of that name.

* Tower of the King

Turgon’s great tower in Gondolin.

The tower of King Turgon of Gondolin; in its fountain-filled courts stood images of the Two Trees of Valinor made by Turgon himself.

* Tower of the Moon

The tower of Minas Ithil.

Name, and literal translation, of Minas Ithil, the fortress built as a guard on the eastern borders of Gondor.

* Tower of the Rising Moon

Minas Ithil beneath the Ephel Dúath.

A poetic name given to Minas Ithil, emphasising its position on the far eastern borders of the realm of Gondor.

* Tower of the Setting Sun|Tower of the Sun A name for Minas Anor.

The great tower built beneath Mount Mindolluin, west of the River Anduin, in the earliest days of Gondor. Its position west of the River, compared with Isildur’s tower of Minas Ithil in the east, is the reason for its association with the ‘Setting’ Sun.

Historically, It was the tower of Anárion the son of Elendil, and over the centuries it came to replace Osgiliath as the seat of the Kings of Gondor. A thousand years before the War of the Ring, Minas Ithil was captured by the Nazgûl, and the Tower of the Setting Sun became the Tower of Guard, Minas Tirith. With its new name, the city remained a barrier to the forces of Mordor throughout the next millennium.

* Towers of the Teeth

The watchtowers east and west of the Morannon.

–—

The twin guardians of Mordor.

At the northwest corner of Mordor, the Ephel Dúath and the Ered Lithui came together at the Haunted Pass of Cirith Gorgor, and formed a gateway into that dark land. In the early days of Gondor, after Sauron’s first defeat, the Gondorians built two watchtowers at the entrance to the pass, to guard Mordor and prevent the return of Sauron’s servants. They failed, and the watchtowers fell under the control of the Red Eye. They became known as Carchost and Narchost, the Towers of the Teeth.

* Translations from the Elvish

The beginnings of the Silmarillion.

Three volumes written by Bilbo Baggins in Rivendell that formed the basis for the collection of tales known as the The Silmarillion.

* Travellers

The four Hobbits of the Company of the Ring.

The name in the Shire for the four Hobbits who travelled with the Company of the Ring; Frodo Baggins, Samwise Gamgee, Peregrin Took and Meriadoc Brandybuck.

* Treebeard

Fangorn of Fangorn Forest.

The Westron name of Fangorn, eldest of the Ents of Fangorn Forest, and a literal translation of that Elvish name.

* Trees of Silver and Gold

A rare name for the Two Trees of Valinor, Telperion (the Tree of Silver) and Laurelin (the Tree of Gold).

* Trolls|Troll

Hulking Monsters of the Dark.

Lumbering evil creatures originated by Melkor, and said to have been made by him ‘in mockery of the Ents’.

* Trollshaws

The troll-woods west of Rivendell.

The upland woods, consisting at least partly of beech trees, that lay to the west of Rivendell between the Rivers Hoarwell and Loudwater. They were the haunt of Trolls, three of which famously waylayed Bilbo and his companions during the Quest of Erebor.

* Tuckborough

An old and important settlement in the Westfarthing of the Shire. It was the location of Great Smials, the ancestral seat of the Took clan, the hereditary Thains of the Shire.

* Tuilë|Tuile

The first season (‘spring’) in the loa.

–—

The Quenya name for spring.

The first season of the Elves’ year, lasting fifty-four days and covering the period between modern 8 April and 31 May. Tuilë was the Quenya word for this season; the Sindar called it Ethuil.

* Tuilérë|Tuilere

One of several feast-days that appeared in the calendars of Gondor, Tuilérë lay between the months of Súlimë and Víressë, and marked the beginning of spring. On a modern calendar, it fell on 23 March.

* Tulkas

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

–—

Strongest of the Valar.

The last of the Valar to descend into Arda, and the most warlike; he did battle with Melkor in the years when the World was young.

* Tumhalad

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

–—

A field to the north of Nargothrond.

A field on the western banks of the Narog, bounded by Narog’s tributary, the Ginglith. It is famous as the site of the last desperate defence of Nargothrond against the onslaught of Glaurung, a hopeless battle in which the Elf-lord Orodreth was slain.

* Tumladen (Gondolin)|Tumladen

‘The Wide Valley’, the hidden vale in the Encircling Mountains in the midst of which stood the city of Gondolin.

–—

The valley of Gondolin.

The hidden valley among the Encircling Mountains discovered by Turgon under the guidance of Ulmo, in which he founded the city of Gondolin.

* Tumladen (Gondor)|Tumladen

A valley in Gondor.

* Tumunzahar

A Dwarf-city of the Blue Mountains.

The Dwarvish name for Nogrod, the citadel of the Dwarves that lay in the Blue Mountains to the south of Mount Dolmed.

* Túna|Tuna

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

–—

The hill on which Tirion stood.

The hill in Aman where the Vanyar and the Noldor founded their fair city of Tirion.

* Tunnelly

A common family name among the Bree-hobbits.

* Tuor

Son of Huor and Rían, fostered by the Grey-elves of Mithrim; with Voronwë came to 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.

–—

The messenger of Ulmo.

The son of Huor and cousin to Túrin Turambar, Tuor is renowned as the father of Eärendil the Mariner. In his youth, Tuor journeyed into Nevrast, and there spoke with the Vala Ulmo. Ulmo sent him as messenger to Turgon in Gondolin. Dwelling there, he wedded Turgon’s daughter Idril, who gave birth to Eärendil. After the Fall of Gondolin, he dwelt with the Exiles at the Mouths of Sirion for a time, but feeling old age coming upon him, he built the great ship Eärrámë and sailed into the West with Idril.

* Tûr Haretha|Tur Haretha

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

* Turambar

The last name taken by Túrin, during his days in the Forest of Brethil.

Translated ‘Master of Doom’, and by Túrin himself ‘Master of the Dark Shadow’.

–—

The surname of Túrin.

A title meaning ‘Master of Doom’, taken by Túrin son of Húrin in defiance of the curse placed upon his family by Morgoth.

* Turambar (King of Gondor)

The ninth King of the South-kingdom.

The heir of King Rómendacil I, who succeeded to the throne of Gondor after the violent death of his father at the hands of the Easterlings.

Turambar sought vengeance for his father’s death, and succeeded brilliantly. We are told that he not only avenged the loss of Rómendacil, but carried his conquests into the lands of the Easterlings themselves, winning much new territory for his Kingdom.

Due to his father’s untimely loss, Turambar came early to Gondor’s throne. His rule lasted longer than a century, and was the longer by far than that of any preceding Gondorian monarch since that of his ancestor Meneldil.

Turambar ruled Gondor for one hundred and twenty-six years, and was succeeded by his son, who became Atanatar I.

* Turgon

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 the Wise, and the Hidden King.

–—

King of the Hidden City of Gondolin.

The second son of Fingolfin and younger brother to Fingon, Turgon ruled in Nevrast until Ulmo led him to the hidden valley of Tumladen, where he founded and ruled the city of Gondolin.

* Túrin I (Steward of Gondor)|Túrin I|Túrin|Turin The sixth Ruling Steward of Gondor, who succeeded his father Húrin I to the Stewardship. Like his father, Túrin was named for a great hero of the First Age, and this seems to have become a trend in the House of the Stewards after his time. For five generations after Túrin, starting with his son Hador, his descendants were named for Elves or Men of the First Age.

Túrin ruled Gondor during the time known as the Watchful Peace, during which Sauron had withdrawn into the east and did not trouble the western lands of Middle-earth. Hence, his time as Steward was rather uneventful in historical terms.

Túrin ruled as Steward for thirty-four years, and was succeeded by his son Hador.

* Túrin II (Steward of Gondor)|Túrin II|Túrin|Turin The twenty-third Ruling Steward of Gondor, the son of Thorondir, and great-grandfather of Denethor II. He is most famous for his defeat of an army of the Haradrim at the Crossings of Poros, with the aid of King Folcwine of Rohan.

* Túrin Turambar|Túrin|Turin

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

–—

Doomed son of Húrin Thalion.

The most tragic of Tolkien’s heroes, Túrin, son of Húrin Thalion and cousin to Tuor, was in his time the most feared of Men by the servants of Morgoth. He did great service to both Doriath and Nargothrond, and is famed for slaying Glaurung, Father of Dragons, but the curse of Morgoth was on him, and evil followed him always. In the Forest of Brethil he came upon his own sister, but through the spells of Glaurung they did not know each other, and wed. After Nienor discovered the truth, she threw herself to her death, and in despair Túrin fell upon his own sword.

* Turnips|Turnip

Root vegetables that seem to have formed part of the diet of the Hobbits of the Shire. At least, they were well known to Sam Gamgee the gardener.

* Turuphanto

Translated ‘Wooden Whale’, name given to Aldarion’s ship Hirilondë while it was building.

–—

A name meaning ‘Wooden Whale’ given to the gigantic ship, built by Aldarion, that was more properly known as Hirilondë.

* Twilight Meres

The shaded waterways of the Aelin-uial.

The Aelin-uial, the maze of marshes and lakes that formed where the Aros met the Sirion on the borders of Doriath.

* Twilit Meres

The pools of the Aelin-uial.

A rare name for the wetland region more commonly called the Aelin-uial or the Twilight Meres.

* Two Captains

Túrin Turambar and Beleg Strongbow.

The two great warriors of the First Age who together led the outlaws of Dor-Cúarthol, the Land of Bow and Helm. They were a menace to Morgoth’s forces for a time, until he assaulted and overwhelmed their chief stronghold at Bar-en-Danwedh.

* Two Kindreds

Elves and Men.

* Two Kingdoms

The Kingdoms of the Dúnedain.

Arnor and Gondor, the twin Kingdoms founded before the beginning of the Third Age by Elendil and his sons Isildur and Anárion. The Kingdoms, and especially the South-kingdom of Gondor, came to dominate the history of that Age.

* Two Trees of the Valar

Telperion and Laurelin.

An occasional term for the Two Trees of Valinor, made for the Valar by Yavanna and Nienna.

* Two Trees of Valinor

The Trees of Silver and Gold.

Telperion and Laurelin, the Silver Tree and the Gold that brought light to the Land of the Valar in ancient times. The were destroyed by Melkor and Ungoliant, but their last flower and fruit were made by the Valar into the Moon and the Sun.

* Tyeller|Tyellë|Tyelle

The six grades of the Tengwar.

The six ‘grades’ used to indicate modifications to a basic sound in Tengwar. For example, where the first tyellë referred to the basic ‘t’

sound - the tengwa known as tinco - the other five tyeller would represent modifications of this basic sound. In this case - the sequence known as the tincotéma - the next three tyeller would typically represent the sounds ‘d’, ‘th’, ‘dh’, while the meanings of the last two would vary according to the particular system in use.

* Tyelpétema|Tyelpetema

The ‘Silver-series’.

One of the five témar or sound-series of the tengwar as used to represent the sounds of the Quenya language.

The tyelpetéma appears to have been unique; while each of the other four series consisted of a set of six individual ‘letters’, the palatal sounds of the tyelpetéma were formed by adding a mark of two dots beneath another character, as in the example above3. This is the equivalent of adding a ‘y’ after the letter in English to form a single distinct consonant sound. To use Tolkien’s own example from Appendix E to The Lord of the Rings, the sound ‘ty’ here has the same sound as the initial consonant in the (British pronunciation of) the English word ‘tune’ -

something close to, but distinct from, ‘ch’.

* Tyrn Gorthad

Sindarin name of the Barrow-downs.

–—

The Barrow-downs.

The downlands east of the Old Forest, a region that had been used as the burial grounds of Men from time immemorial. The first graves were cut there, it is said, before the ancestors of the Edain set out across the Blue Mountains into Beleriand, nearly seven thousand years before the War of the Ring.

The tradition of the Barrow-downs was carried on by the descendants of these early Men, and there is evidence that the burial chambers were used for at least the princes of Cardolan, in whose realm they came to lie many millennia after their first use.

At the height of the kingdom of Angmar, its lord the Witch-king sent out evil spirits to dwell among the barrows of Tyrn Gorthad, and it became a haunted place, shunned alike by the Men and Hobbits who lived nearby.

* Udûn (fortress)|Udûn|Udun

Melkor’s ancient fortress in the far north of the World.

–—

“The dark fire will not avail you, flame of Udûn. Go back to the Shadow!”

(Words of Gandalf, from The Fellowship of the Ring II 5, The Bridge of Khazad-dûm)

–—

The Sindarin name of Utumno, the fortress of Melkor in the far north of the World. It was the first and greatest of Melkor’s citadels, delved in the earliest days, the home to hosts of demons and monsters. From Udûn, Melkor troubled the world for millennia. From there, he destroyed the Lamps of the Valar, so that Powers left Almaren, their dwelling-place in Middle-earth, and removed into the West. At the time of the awakening of the Elves, though, the Valar attacked Udûn in full force, and destroyed it utterly, carrying its master back to Valinor as their prisoner.

The name Udûn is much less common as a name for Melkor’s fortress than the equivalent Utumno. In The Lord of the Rings it appears just once, in Gandalf’s quote given above. It survived, though, as a name for the northern valley of Mordor that lay behind the Morannon. No doubt Sauron chose this name in memory of his ancient master’s greatest stronghold.

* Udûn (valley)|Udûn|Udun

The valley behind the Gates of Mordor.

The deep valley in the northwest of Mordor, formed at the meeting of the Ered Lithui and the Ephel Dúath, whose northern entrance was guarded by the Morannon.

* Ufthak

A victim of Shelob.

An Orc in the service of the Tower of Cirith Ungol, under the command of Shagrat. He was captured, poisoned and (presumably) eaten by Shelob, since his fellow Orcs made no attempt to rescue him.

* Uglúk|Ugluk

One of Saruman’s Uruk-hai.

An Uruk in the service of Saruman, the leader of the orc-band that captured Merry Brandybuck and Pippin Took at Parth Galen.

* Uinen

The Lady of the Seas.

A Maia, the spouse of Ossë, called the Lady of the Seas. Her hair is said to spread through the waters of all the world’s oceans.

* Uinendili

‘Lovers of Uinen’, name given to the Númenórean Guild of Venturers.

–—

The Venturers of Númenor.

‘The devotees of Uinen’, a name taken by members of the Guild of Venturers in Númenor.

* Uinéniel|Uineniel

‘Daughter of Uinen’, name given to Erendis by Valandil Lord of Andúnië.

–—

A title, meaning ‘Daughter of Uinen’ given by Aldarion to Erendis, in the days when he was seeking her hand in marriage.

* Úlairi|Ulairi|Úlair|Ulair

A name for the Ringwraiths.

The rarely used Elvish name for the creatures of darkness more commonly called Nazgûl or Ringwraiths.

* Ulbar

Númenórean, a shepherd in the service of Hallatan of Hyarastorni who became a mariner of Tar-Aldarion.

* Uldor the Accursed|Uldor

Called ‘the Accursed’; son of Ulfang the Black; a leader of the Easterlings who was slain by Maglor in the Nirnaeth Arnoediad.

–—

Youngest son of Ulfang the Black, who betrayed the Sons of Fëanor in the Nirnaeth Arnoediad. He was slain in that great battle by Maglor.

* Ulfang the Black|Ulfang

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

–—

Betrayer of the Sons of Fëanor.

The treacherous Easterling who followed the banner of Caranthir to the Nirnaeth Arnoediad, but granted Morgoth the victory when he turned suddenly against the Sons of Fëanor.

* Ulfast

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

–—

The treacherous son of Ulfang, who professed to follow Caranthir, but who turned on the Sons of Fëanor in the Nirnaeth Arnoediad, and so brought about their defeat.

* Ulmo|Dweler in the Deep|Dweller of the Deep 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’.

–—

The Lord of Waters.

Lord of the Seas and one of the greatest of the Valar; in the dark days of the First Age, he kept watch on Elves and Men while the others of his order remained in Valinor. He is famed for bringing Tuor to Gondolin, and so ultimately bringing about the downfall of Morgoth in the War of Wrath.

* Ulrad

A member of the outlaw-band (Gaurwaith) that Túrin joined.

–—

An outlaw of the Gaurwaith.

A member of the outlaw band that Túrin joined, and ultimately led, after his self-imposed exile from Doriath. Ulrad travelled with the other outlaws to Bar-en-Danwedh. His fate is not known for certain, but he was likely lost in that stronghold when it was overcome by Orcs.

* Ulumúri|Ulumuri

The great horns of Ulmo made by the Maia Salmar.

* Ulwarth

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

–—

Ulfang’s son, who went with the Sons of Fëanor to the Nirnaeth Arnoediad.

He was faithless, and turned against his allies in the heat of the battle, granting Morgoth the victory.

* Úmanyar|Umanyar|Úmanya|Umanya

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’.

–—

The Elves not of Aman.

The Elves who never came to Aman; a general term including not only the Avari, but also the Elves of the Great Journey who remained in Middle-earth, the Sindar and the Nandor.

* Umarth

‘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; held for most of the Third Age by Men of diverse origin hostile to Gondor, known as the Corsairs of Umbar.

–—

The great haven far to the south of Gondor.

A cape in the far south of Middle-earth, long held by Black Númenóreans, but conquered by Gondor for a time during the Third Age.

* Umbardacil

The title taken by King Telumehtar.

In the early years of Telumehtar’s reign over Gondor, his country’s coasts were still prey to assaults from the Corsairs of Umbar, under the command of the descendants of Castamir. Telumehtar resolved to put an end to these attacks, and in III 1810 marshalled an assault of his own. In a great victory, the Corsairs were driven out of Umbar, which was captured for Gondor, and Telumehtar added the title Umbardacil, ‘Victor over Umbar’, to his name. Umbar was held by Gondor throughout Telumehtar’s reign, but was lost soon after his death.

* Undeeps

The two great westward bends of Anduin, called the North and South Undeeps, between the Brown Lands and the Wood of Rohan.

–—

The meanderings of the Great River.

The two great westward loops made by the River Anduin as it flowed past the Field of Celebrant and the Wold.

* Underhill

The hamlet under Hobbiton Hill.

The part of Hobbiton that lay directly beneath Hobbiton Hill. Its most famous smial was within the Hill itself; Bag End.

* Underhill Family|Underhill

A common family name among the Bree-hobbits, who lived in the village of Staddle on the east side of the Bree-hill.

* Underking

An office of Rohan. In time of war, its holder either ruled the realm in the King’s absence with the army, or took command in the field if for any reason the King remained at home. In peace the office was only filled when the King because of sickness or old age deputed his authority; the holder was then naturally the Heir to the throne, if he was a man of sufficient age.

* Undómiel|Undomiel

‘Evenstar’.

Title and surname of Arwen, Queen to Aragorn II Elessar. It usually given in its translated form, Evenstar.

* Undying Lands|Deathless Lands

Aman and Eressëa; also called the Deathless Lands.

–—

The lands beyond the Great Sea.

A name of Aman, or at least that part of it inhabited by the Valar, Maiar and Elves. The island of Tol Eressëa is several times identified as the easternmost of the Undying Lands, and, at the least, Valinor must also be included.

‘Undying Lands’ seems to be a name that originated among Men. The Númenóreans, especially, envied the seemingly endless life of those who lived in the Undying Lands. From the first, the Valar placed a Ban on the Men of Númenor, that they should not sail into the West from their island, or set foot on the shores of Aman.

Wise as the Valar were, though, they did not foresee the wiles of Sauron. This great Maia falsely persuaded the last King of Númenor, Ar-Pharazôn, that the ruler of the Undying Lands would be undying himself.

Believing Sauron, Ar-Pharazôn assembled a great navy and sailed westward to make hopeless war on the Valar for the imagined prize of endless life.

The Valar could not permit this: Manwë called upon Ilúvatar, and the land of Númenor was destroyed and lost forever. The Undying Lands, which until that time had been part of the world, were removed forever from the reach of Mortal Men, though the Elves could still sail West and come there, if they would.

It is to the Undying Lands that the white ships sails at the end of The Lord of the Rings. The Ring-bearers, Bilbo and Frodo, were the first mortal beings to set foot on the shores of the Undying Lands. Tolkien is careful to point out, though, that even in Aman, mortals remain mortal.

* Undying Realm

The lands of the Uttermost West.

The lands of Aman in the West of the World where the High Elves lived, and especially Valinor, the golden land of the immortal Valar.

* Úner|Uner

‘Noman’.

* 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’.

–—

Ancient ally of Melkor.

The evil creature of spider-form who was Melkor’s accomplice in the Darkening of Valinor, and who fled with him to Middle-earth. The creatures that infested the Ered Gorgoroth were her offspring and descendants, as was Shelob who dwelt on the borders of Mordor.

The name means ‘Gloomweaver’.

* Union of Maedhros

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

–—

The alliance of the Noldor.

The short-lived alliance of the Sons of Fëanor with the Elves of the Houses of Fingolfin and Finarfin, formed after the Dagor Bragollach and destroyed in the Nirnaeth Arnoediad.

* Unnumbered Tears

The Nirnaeth Arnoediad, the great battle in the late First Age in which the last hope of Elves and Men for the defeat of Morgoth was swept away.

* Úrimë|Urimë|Urime

The eighth month of the year, according to the Stewards’ Reckoning of Gondor, following Cermië, and preceding Yavannië. On a modern calendar, Urimë ran between 23 July and 21 August, in a normal year.

* Urthel

One of the twelve companions of Barahir on Dorthonion.

* Uruk-hai

The great soldier-Orcs of the later Third Age.

The great soldier-orcs that first appeared in the late Third Age; they were larger and stronger than their forebears, and could withstand the light of the sun.

* Uruks|Uruk

Anglicized form of Uruk-hai of the Black Speech; a race of Orcs of great size and strength.

–—

The soldier-Orcs of the later Third Age.

A term for the large soldiers more fully referred to as Uruk-hai.

* Urulóki|Uruloki|Urulókë|Uruloke

Quenya word meaning ‘fire-serpent’, dragon.

–—

The Fire-drakes.

The fire-drakes; dragons who breathed fire. Glaurung, Father of Dragons, was the first of these. He first appeared in the middle of the First Age, but the urulóki certainly survived the downfall of their master, Morgoth.

Ancalagon apparently belonged to this kind1, and Smaug, the great fire-breathing dragon that sacked Erebor, seems to have been the last of the great urulóki. Other lesser types apparently survived to the end of the Third Age and beyond.

* Urwen

The given name of Lalaith, daughter of Húrin and Morwen who died in childhood.

* Usurpers

A name given to Men by the Elves, who, though they were born into the world millennia after the Firstborn, were destined to achieve its dominion.

* Uttermost West

The lands far across the Western Sea.

A name given in Middle-earth to the Undying Lands of Aman in the far west, the dwelling-place of the Valar.

* Utumno

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

–—

The original stronghold of Melkor.

Also called Udûn (for example in Gandalf’s words on the Bridge of Khazad-dûm), Utumno was the ancient northern fortress of Melkor, delved in the time of the Lamps of the Valar. It was reduced to ruins when the Valar made war on him at the time of the awakening of the Elves.

* Vairë|Vaire

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

–—

A Queen of the Valar, the spouse of Mandos, who weaves the tales of the history of Arda.

* Valacar

Twentieth King of Gondor, whose marriage to Vidumavi of the Northmen led to the civil war of the Kin-strife.

–—

The King who sowed the seeds of the Kin-strife.

Valacar was the son and heir of the great King of Gondor, Rómendacil II.

While Rómendacil still sat on Gondor’s throne, he developed a strong alliance with the Northmen who lived to the east of Mirkwood. To further the close friendship between Gondor and these Northmen, Rómendacil sent Valacar as an ambassador to the court of their leader Vidugavia, who styled himself King of Rhovanion.

Rómendacil had intended that his son should learn something of the language and culture of the Men of Rhovanion, but he had not foreseen how strongly Valacar would be drawn to the Northmen. He went so far as to wed Vidumavi, daughter of Vidugavia, a union that would bring great troubles in the future.

The Northmen did not share the long lives of the Gondorians, and Vidumavi died even before Valacar had succeeded his father as King.

Nonetheless, she bore Valacar an heir. He was raised with the name Vinitharya in the eastern lands, but returned to Gondor with his father as Eldacar. These events caused unrest throughout Valacar’s reign - it was believed that the pure Númenórean blood of the Royal House would be lost.

By the last years of Valacar’s reign, certain southern provinces of Gondor saw this unrest break out into full rebellion. In the year Valacar died, III 1432, this rebellion became a civil war, a dark and bloody period known as the Kin-strife that would last for the next fifteen years, until Eldacar managed to secure his throne.

Valacar ruled as King of Gondor for sixty-six years, and was succeeded through great troubles by his son Eldacar.

* Valacirca

‘The Sickle of the Valar’, name of the constellation of the Great Bear.

–—

The Sickle of the Valar, the seven stars set in the sky by Varda as an enduring warning to Melkor and his servants.

* Valandil (King of Arnor)|Valandil

Youngest son of Isildur; third King of Arnor.

–—

Son and Heir of Isildur.

Youngest of Isildur’s four sons, and the only one to survive the Disaster of the Gladden Fields. He eventually became the third King of Arnor, and was succeeded by his son Eldacar.

* Valandil (Lord of Andúnië)|Valandil

Son of Silmarien; first Lord of Andúnië.

* Valandur

The eighth King of Arnor, a direct descendant in right line of Elendil and Isildur, who succeeded his father Tarondor to the throne. Of his reign we know almost nothing, except that he suffered a violent but mysterious death after a rule of fifty years. He was succeeded by his son Elendur.

* Valaquenta

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

–—

The ‘Tale of the Powers’, in which each of the Valar is named and described, together with the more important of the Maiar.

* Valar|Vala|Rulers of Arda|Lords of Valinor

‘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.

–—

The Powers of the World.

‘Valar’ is the name given to the fourteen powerful spirits who took physical form and entered Arda after its creation to give order to the world and combat the evils of Melkor. They dwelt originally on the Isle of Almaren, but after its destruction long ages before the Awakening of the Elves they removed to Aman and there founded the realm of Valinor.

–—

Lords of the Valar: Manwë Súlimo, Ulmo, Aulë the Smith, Oromë, Mandos (Námo), Lórien (Irmo), Tulkas Astaldo. Queens of the Valar (Valier): Varda Elentári, Yavanna Kementári, Nienna, Estë the Gentle, Vairë the Weaver, Vána the Ever-young, Nessa.

–—

These are the names of the Valar as they were known to the Eldar in Valinor. In Middle-earth, they were known by other names of Sindarin origin; for example ‘Elbereth’ for Varda, or ‘Araw’ for Oromë. Their names among Men are said to be legion.

–—

The Valar in the Beginning of Arda: The Valar where in origin the greatest of the Ainur who witnessed the Vision of Ilúvatar and so descended into Eä to fulfil the vision and create Arda. It seems that, in the first beginnings of the World, the four mightiest spirits came down into it; Manwë, Ulmo and Aulë to prepare it for the coming of the Children of Ilúvatar, and Melkor to claim it for his own domain.

There was conflict between Manwë and Melkor, and Manwë called many other spirits into the World to aid him in his struggle. Among these were the other Valar, and those of lesser order known as Maiar. Melkor then withdrew for a time from Arda to some other hidden place in the deeps of Eä.

In time, Manwë and his followers began to achieve their purpose, and make the World ready for the coming of the Children. Seeing this, Melkor grew jealous, and returned to do battle over the fate of Arda. The Earth then saw great upheaval as the rival powers struggled over its destiny (it is thought that the Misty Mountains were raised at this time).

Slowly, though, and with great hardship, the Valar succeeded in shaping the World, although everything they created was in some way marred by Melkor.

–—

The Nature of the Valar: Like the Elves, those Valar who chose to enter the World at its beginning are bound to it until it reaches its destined end; they may not return to the Timeless Halls of Ilúvatar.

As spirits, the Valar have no fixed physical form, although they often took the shapes of the Children of Ilúvatar. They could, though, assume any form they chose, or cast aside their shape altogether and travel formless and invisible through Arda.

* Valaraukar|Valarauko

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

–—

Demons of Power.

The Quenya name for the creatures of Morgoth called Balrogs by the Sindar. The meaning is the same; ‘Demons of Power’.

* Valaróma|Valaroma

The fabled hunting horn of Oromë, the Huntsman of the Valar.

* Vales of Anduin

The western regions of Rhovanion.

The valley of the River Anduin, lying for most of its length between the Misty Mountains and Mirkwood.

* Vales of Sirion|Vale of Sirion

The wide valley that ran north to south through Beleriand.

The wide valley of the River Sirion, that separated West Beleriand from East Beleriand. The term (also seen in the singular form ‘Vale of Sirion’) seems to apply especially to that part of the river’s course that lay to the north of Doriath.

* Valier|Valië|Valie

‘The Queens of the Valar’ (singular Valië or Valie).

–—

A title for the seven Queens of the Valar; Varda, Yavanna, Nienna, Estë, Vairë, Vána and Nessa. The name ‘Valier’ only appears in the Valaquenta to describe the seven Queens - it is never used elsewhere.

* Valimar

A name of the city of the Valar in Valinor, more commonly referred to as

‘Valmar’.

* Valinor

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

–—

The Land of the Powers.

The land founded by the Valar after Melkor’s destruction of their ancient dwelling of Almaren. Originally part of the World, Valinor could be reached by ship from Middle-earth. After the rebellion of King Ar-Pharazôn of Númenor in II 3319, Valinor and the lands of Aman were removed from the circles of the World, and could only be reached by the Elves, following the straight road that was kept open to them.

* Valinorean

The language of the Eldar in Valinor; another name for Quenya.

* 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.

–—

The city of the Valar.

The city of many bells in the east of Valinor where many of the Valar dwelt. The Two Trees of Valinor grew nearby on the mound of Ezellohar.

* Vampires|Vampire

Bat-winged creatures of darkness.

Mysterious bat-like creatures in the service of Morgoth and of Sauron.

The only vampire that Tolkien names is Sauron’s servant Thuringwethil, but Sauron himself took the form of a vampire on at least one occasion.

* Vána

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

–—

A lesser lady of the Valar.

A lady of the Valar, the sister of Yavanna and spouse of Oromë. Flowers were said to open, and birds sing, at her passing.

* Vanyar|Vanya

The first host of the Three Kindreds of the Eldar on the Great Journey from Cuiviénen, led by Ingwë, all of whom left Middle-earth and remained in Aman.. The name (singular Vanya) means ‘the Fair’, referring to the golden hair of the Vanyar; see Finarfin.

–—

The People of Ingwë.

The first of the Elves to make the great march westwards from Cuiviénen to Valinor, and accounted the highest of the High Elves. Their leader, Ingwë, bears the title High King of the Elves, and dwells on Taniquetil beneath the halls of Manwë.

All of the Vanyar journeyed to Valinor long before the beginning of the First Age, and remained there. For this reason, they are not mentioned often in the histories of Middle-earth.

* Vanyarin

Of or pertaining to the Vanyar.

* Varda

‘Exalted’, ‘Lofty’, ‘Sublime’; 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.

–—

The Queen of the Stars and spouse of Manwë the King of Arda, great among the Queens of the Valar. She set the stars in the sky, for which the Eldar of Middle-earth revered her, calling her by the name of Elbereth.

* Vardamir Nólimon|Vardamir

Called Nólimon for his love of ancient learning; son of Elros Tar-Minyatur; accounted the second Ruler of Númenor though he did not ascend the throne.

–—

Númenor’s uncrowned King.

The son of Elros Tar-Minyatur, accounted the second King of Númenor.

When the time came for him to take up the Kingship, he chose not to take it, and immediately abdicated in favour of his son, Tar-Amandil.

* Vardarianna

Fragrant evergreen tree brought to Númenor by the Eldar of Eressëa.

* Variags|Variag

The people of Khand.

A little-known people dwelling in the land of Khand, east of Mordor, at the time of the War of the Ring. They were allied to Sauron, and their warriors were seen at the Battle of the Pelennor Fields.

* Vása|Vasa

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

–—

A name among the Noldor for the Sun.

A name given to the Sun by the Noldor. In the text of the Silmarillion, it is translated ‘Heart of Fire’.

* Vëantur|Veantur

Captain of the King’s Ships under Tar-Elendil; grandfather of Tar-Aldarion; commander of the first Númenórean ship to return to Middle-earth.

–—

The great adventurer of Númenor.

A famous navigator of early Númenórean history, who served as Captain of the King’s Ships under Tar-Elendil, the fourth King of Númenor. He was the first of the Númenóreans to achieve the voyage back to Middle-earth, reaching the Grey Havens in his ship Entulessë in the six hundredth year of the Second Age.

* Venturers

The brotherhood of mariners formed by Tar-Aldarion. See Uinendili.

–—

The adventuring guild of Númenor.

A guild of sailors and explorers formed in Númenor by Aldarion, later to be King Tar-Aldarion.

* Vidugavia

‘Wood-dweller’, Northman, called King of Rhovanion.

–—

The self-styled King of Rhovanion.

A prince of the Northmen who ruled the lands between Mirkwood and the River Running. He was the ally of Gondor’s King Rómendacil II, and received Rómendacil’s son Valacar into his court as ambassador. Valacar would eventually wed Vidugavia’s own daughter, Vidumavi.

* Vidumavi

‘Wood-maiden’, daughter of Vidugavia; wedded Valacar King of Gondor.

–—

The mother of Eldacar of Gondor.

The daughter of Vidugavia, King of Rhovanion. She wedded Valacar, the royal ambassador of Gondor, and together they had a son, Vinitharya, who would become known as Eldacar. Vidumavi’s was the first non-Númenórean blood to enter the Royal House of Gondor, a fact that would lead to the civil war of the Kin-strife.

* Vilya|Blue Ring

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 and The Blue Ring.

–—

The Ring of Air.

Called the Ring of Sapphire and the Ring of Air, one of the Three Rings of the Elves. It was originally held by Gil-galad, but he passed it Elrond at the time of the founding of Rivendell.

* Vingilot|Vingilótë|Vingilote

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

–—

The ship of Eärendil.

‘Foam-flower’, the ship in which Eärendil sailed to Valinor across the Great Sea, which was hallowed by the Valar and afterwards sailed the airs.

* Vinitharya

The original name of Eldacar of Gondor.

The royal son of Valacar of Gondor and Vidumavi, daughter of the King of Rhovanion. When he returned to Gondor with his father, he was given the name Eldacar, a name he retained when he inherited Gondor’s throne.

* Vinyalondë|Vinyalonde|Vinya-londë|Vinya-londe

‘New Haven’, Númenórean harbour established by Tar-Aldarion at the mouth of the river Gwathló; afterwards called Lond Daer.

–—

The ancient haven at the mouth of the Gwathló.

A harbour founded by Aldarion and the Venturers at the mouth of the Gwathló; it was one of the first settlements built by the Númenóreans in Middle-earth, and survived (at least in part) into the Third Age as the port of Lond Daer.

* Vinyamar

‘New Dwelling’, the house of Turgon in Nevrast under Mount Taras.

–—

The city of Turgon in Nevrast.

The city of the Elves founded by Turgon and his followers after their return to Middle-earth at the beginning of the First Age. It lay beneath Mount Taras in Nevrast, and was inhabited for only about a century, after which Turgon and his people deserted it for Gondolin.

* Vinyarion

The original name of Hyarmendacil II.

The son of King Aldamir of Gondor. In his father’s time, war erupted between Gondor and the southern lands, and Aldamir was slain in that war.

Vinyarion led Gondor’s armies to avenge Aldamir’s death, and overran the Haradrim. In token of this great victory, Vinyarion ruled under the name Hyarmendacil II, a name meaning ‘South-victor’.

* Víressë|Viresse

The fourth month of the year, according to the Stewards’ Reckoning of Gondor, following the spring feast-day of Tuilérë. On a modern calendar, Víressë ran between 24 March and 22 April.

* Vision of Ilúvatar|Vision of Iluvatar

The vision before the making of the World.

The vision of the World created by Ilúvatar through the Music of the Ainur, later given being by him.

* Void

The emptiness beyond the World.

A term used by Tolkien in various ways, but that in general seems to describe the uninhabited regions of the universe. In particular, the Void is that part of existence outside the World, but the Timeless Halls of Ilúvatar seem to be apart from the Void, too. After his defeat in the War of Wrath, Melkor was cast out into the Void, but legends predict that he will return to the World before its end.

* Voronda

A surname of Elendil.

An Elvish adjective meaning ‘faithul’ or ‘steadfast’, given as a title or surname to the great hero Elendil.

* Vorondil

The first hereditary Steward of Gondor.

One of three Stewards to serve King Eärnil II of Gondor. He was an important figure in Gondorian history, as the first of the Stewards to inherit the title by direct line from his father. Vorondil was the son of Pelendur, the Steward who had assumed the rule of Gondor during the crisis following Ondoher’s loss. On Pelendur’s own death, his position as servant and adviser to the King fell on Vorondil his son.

Vorondil’s Stewardship was a time of war and loss for Gondor. In only his second year as Steward, he saw the Nazgûl come out of Mordor and lay siege to Minas Ithil, and two years later still, they succeeded in capturing it and the palantír it contained.

History remembers Vorondil less for any part in the loss of Minas Ithil, though, and more as Vorondil the mighty Hunter, who hunted the Kine of Araw in the far eastern lands on the shores of the Sea of Rhûn. The great horn carried by Boromir in The Lord of the Rings originated as the hunting horn of Vorondil, and may even have been made by his own hand.

Vorondil served Eärnil as Steward for twenty-one years. Just as he had inherited the position, he was in turn succeeded by his son Mardil, who was to become the first of the Ruling Stewards and the founder of a tradition that would survive in Gondor for nearly two thousand years.

* Voronwë (Elf of Gondolin)|Voronwë|Voronwe

‘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.

–—

The guide of Tuor.

A mariner of Gondolin, sent by Turgon to seek a passage to Aman and call on the Valar for aid against Morgoth. He failed, and was washed ashore in Nevrast, where he encountered Tuor and led him back as messenger of Ulmo to the city of Gondolin.

* Voronwë (Title of Mardil)|Voronwë|Voronwe Name of Mardil Steward of Gondor.

–—

The surname of Gondor’s first Ruling Steward.

The title and surname of Mardil, the first Ruling Steward of Gondor, said to mean ‘Steadfast’.

* Wainriders|Wainrider

An Easterling people who invaded Gondor in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries of the Third Age.

–—

Easterling enemies of Gondor.

A confederation of Easterlings that descended upon Gondor and its allies, some two centuries after the time of the Great Plague, and remained a dire threat to the South-kingdom for nearly a hundred years.

The Wainriders, who took their name from the wagons and chariots in which they rode to war, quickly overran Rhovanion and soon came to battle with Gondor itself. Narmacil II was lost in battle, and for a time all of Gondor’s possessions east of Anduin were lost to it. Narmacil’s son Calimehtar won a temporary reprieve when he defeated the Wainriders on the plain of Dagorlad.

After that defeat, the Wainriders planned a crushing revenge. Allying themselves with the Men of Harad and Khand, they orchestrated a simultaneous assault on Gondor from the north and the south, and the South-kingdom came close to destruction. King Ondoher was lost in the northern battles, but his general Eärnil defeated the southern invaders.

The victorious Wainrider army in the north, celebrating their victory over Ondoher, suddenly found themselves set upon by Eärnil. In an encounter that became known as the Battle of the Camp, the Wainriders were put to rout, and those that survived fled back to their eastern domains.

It was later seen that the invasions of the Wainriders, as so many of Gondor’s perils, were engineered by the emissaries of Sauron. While Gondor’s control of the lands east of the Anduin had been lost, the borders of Mordor had been open, and during this time the Nazgûl had taken advantage of Gondor’s plight to re-enter the land of their master.

* Walda

The twelfth King of Rohan.

The son and heir of Brytta Léofa. During his father’s reign, Rohan had suffered warfare with Orcs that had descended from the North, and attempted to settle in the White Mountains. By the time Walda came to the throne, it was thought that the land was free of Orcs, but in the ninth year of his reign, Walda was slain by them near Dunharrow. He was succeeded by his son Folca, who avenged his father’s death.

* Wall’s End

The eastern end of the Long Wall.

The low lying hills in East Beleriand that marked the eastern end of the Long Wall of the Andram, more commonly referred to by the Elvish name Ramdal. They lay a little to the north of the great forest of Taur-im-Duinath, not far from Amon Ereb.

* Walls of the World

The ends of Arda.

The walls that surrounded Arda and marked its boundaries before it was

‘bent’ at the time of the Downfall of Númenor.

* Wandlimb

The long-lost beloved of Treebeard.

A translation of the Elvish Fimbrethil, both names used by Treebeard for his lost Entwife. They were separated when the Entwives travelled east of the Great River to plant their gardens. It was Treebeard’s desire to find Wandlimb again that led the Ents to discover that the Entwives’ gardens had been destroyed, and that the Entwives themselves were lost.

* War of the Dwarves and Orcs|War of the Dwarves and the Orcs|War of Dwarves and Orcs

The great underground conflict following the death of Thrór.

A great war of the later Third Age between the Dwarves and Orcs.

Precipitated by the murder of King Thrór by the orc-chieftain Azog, the War lasted six years, and the Orcs were eventually defeated at the Battle of Nanduhirion.

* War of the Jewels

The wars in Beleriand fought by the Noldor for the recovery of the Silmarils.

* War of the Last Alliance

The decisive war at the end of the Second Age.

The war at the end of the Second Age in which the Last Alliance of Elves and Men marched against the fortress of Sauron, Barad-dûr in Mordor; against all hope, they were victorious, but Sauron rose again in the long years of the Third Age.

* War of the Ring

The decisive conflict at the end of the Third Age.

The great conflict at the end of the Third Age, named for the One Ring and the importance this had in the final outcome. The war was fought between the Free (a loose alliance of Elves and Men led by the Wise) and Sauron the Dark Lord, with Saruman as a third power based in Orthanc.

Sauron at all times held the military advantage in the War, due to his overwhelming forces; not only Orcs and Trolls, but Men of Harad and the East. His main immediate object was the overthrow of Gondor, his near neighbour and the strongest of his enemies. He had such forces at his command, though, that he was able to fight the war on many fronts, also attacking Dale, Erebor and the Wood-elves in the far north, and Lórien from his secondary stronghold at Dol Guldur. There can be no doubt that, had the Wise not achieved possession of the Ring, Sauron would ultimately have been victorious.

Saruman had claimed alliance with both the Wise and the Dark Lord, but was ultimately fighting for his own ends. In alliance with the Dunlendings, and having Orcs at his own command, his objective was the defeat of Rohan. Until late in the War, he held the advantage, defeating Rohan twice at the Battles of the Fords of Isen. He had not considered the Ents of Fangorn in his plans, however, and when they were roused to anger at his actions, they brought about his downfall.

The policy of the Wise was based around the Quest of Mount Doom; a company of nine under the leadership of Gandalf travelled from Rivendell with the One Ring, with the hope of reaching Orodruin in Mordor and there destroying it. Because the Ring held much of Sauron’s native power, they realised that in unmaking it, they would also defeat its creator. Against all hope, the Quest was achieved by Frodo Baggins, and Sauron defeated.

The War did not end with the defeat of Sauron, for Saruman fled northward after the capture of Orthanc, and established himself in the Shire, bending the Hobbits to his will by threat of violence and the persuasive power of his voice. The return of Frodo Baggins and his companions led to a rebellion by the Shire-hobbits, in which Saruman was killed by his servant, Gríma Wormtongue.

Although Sauron and Saruman were both defeated, the Wise did not achieve total victory. With the destruction of the One Ring, the Three Rings that had maintained the realms of the Elves in Middle-earth lost their power, and the Elves began to leave Middle-earth for the Undying Lands.

* War of Wrath

The end of the Elder Days.

After Eärendil came to Valinor to beg for the aid of the Valar, they sent a mighty force into Middle-earth to do battle with Morgoth. Led by Eönwë, the herald of Manwë, the forces of the Valar, with the peoples of the Vanyar and the Noldor that had remained in Aman, sailed eastward in the ships of the Teleri.

In the great battle that followed, Morgoth’s armies were almost completely destroyed, and only a few of his Balrogs, Dragons and Orcs survived. Morgoth himself was taken as prisoner and shut beyond the confines of the World, and the Silmarils were recovered from his Iron Crown. In the tumult of the war, Beleriand and the lands to the north were destroyed and sunk beneath the sea, and the shape of Middle-earth was changed.

* Warden of the Houses of Healing

Chief healer of Minas Tirith.

The title given to the chief healer of the Houses of Healing in Minas Tirith, a position of some power and authority.

* Warden of the Keys

The office of Húrin the Tall.

A high office of Minas Tirith in Gondor, a position filled at the time of the War of the Ring by Húrin the Tall (also called Húrin of the Keys).

The details of its responsibilities are uncertain.

* Warden of Westmarch

The hereditary title of the Fairbairns of the Tower Hills.

The Westmarch, the land between the Tower Hills and the Far Downs, was added to the Shire some years after the War of the Ring. Its first Warden, appointed by Thain Peregrin, was Fastred of Greenholm. The title was hereditary, passed by Fastred to his son Elfstan Fairbairn, and associated from then on with the Fairbairns of the Towers.

* Wargs|Warg

Monstrous wolves of the northern lands.

The ferocious and intelligent race of wolves that lived in the northern Vales of Anduin, and probably elsewhere in the north of Middle-earth.

* Wars of Beleriand

The great conflict of the First Age.

The wars of the First Age between the Noldor and their allies, the Sindar and Edain, against the forces of Morgoth in Angband. There were five main battles in these wars; the First Battle, the Dagor-nuin-Giliath, the Dagor Aglareb, the Dagor Bragollach and the Nirnaeth Arnoediad.

* Watcher in the Water

Guardian of the West-gate.

A mysterious and horrific beast that lurked in the swollen waters of the Sirannon, beneath the western walls of Moria.

* Watchful Peace

The period lasting from Third Age 2063, when Sauron left Dol Guldur, until 2460, when he returned.

–—

The time of Sauron’s withdrawal into the east.

A period of more than four hundred years in the later Third Age, during which Sauron withdrew before the power of the White Council and hid in the east of Middle-earth.

* Water of Awakening

Cuiviénen; the place of the Awakening of the Elves on the shores of the inland sea of Helcar.

* Waybread

Galadriel’s gift to the Company of the Ring.

Lembas, the enchanted food used by the Elves on long journeys; it seems to have originated with Melian of Doriath.

* Weather Hills

Hills of Eriador, of which Amon Sûl (Weathertop) was the southernmost.

–—

The range of hills running north from Weathertop.

The name among Men for the north-south range of hills that lay in central Eriador, and in ancient times marked part of the border between the lands of Cardolan and Rhudaur. Weathertop, or Amon Sûl, lay at the southern end of the range.

* Weathertop

Chief of the Weather Hills.

The name among Men for Amon Sûl, the southernmost of the Weather Hills in Eriador, on which had stood the Tower of Amon Sûl during the early Third Age.

* Wedmath

The eighth month of the Shire Calendar, following Afterlithe and approximately equivalent to modern August. In fact, it ran from modern 24

July to 22 August in a normal year.

* Were-worms|Were-worm|Wereworms|Wereworm

Mysterious denizens of the Last Desert.

Creatures of an unknown kind, possibly mythical and presumably related to dragons, that were said to dwell in the Last Desert.

Tolkien only ever mentions were-worms once, in the quote given above, so we know almost nothing about them. We cannot even be certain that they actually existed - the Hobbits had a rich folklore peopled with fantastic beings, and were-worms quite possibly fall into that category.

If they did exist, the name ‘were-worm’ suggests a shapeshifting creature like a werewolf - a being that could take the form of either a Man or of a Dragon. Any discussion of the form or habits of the were-worms, though, must remain in the realms of speculation.

* Werewolves|Werewolf|Were-wolves|Were-wolf Enchanted servants of the Dark Lord.

Dread servants of Morgoth in wolf-form. Werewolves were especially associated with Sauron, who indeed took the shape of a great wolf himself at least once.

* West Beleriand

The lands west of the Sirion.

The lands of Beleriand to the west of the River Sirion; they were for the most part under the lordship of Finrod Felagund in Nargothrond, and Círdan the Shipwright in the Falas.

* West of the World

The Blessed Realm.

The lands west beyond the Great Sea. In the uttermost West was Aman, the Blessed Realm of the Valar, and the lands and cities of the Elves. After the Downfall of Númenor, the West of the World became inaccessible to mortals (apart froma very few exceptions) and could only be reached by the Elves sailing the Straight Road.

* West over Sea

The Uttermost West beyond the Great Sea.

Aman, the Undying Lands. These were the lands to the west of the Great Sea, including Valinor, the land of the Valar. After the Downfall of Númenor, they were taken away from the mortal realms, and could only be reached by those permitted to travel the Straight Road.

* West-gate of Moria

The Doors of Durin.

The western entrance of old Khazad-dûm, used by the Dwarves in their trade with the Elves of Eregion during the Second Age.

* West-wings

The flagship of Vëantur.

Númerrámar, the far-travelled ship of the great Númenórean navigator Vëantur. Vëantur gave it as a gift to Aldarion, who became a traveller and explorer in his own right.

* West-mark

The western half of Rohan in the military organisation of the Rohirrim (see East-mark).

* Western Sea

The Great Sea west of Middle-earth.

The broad ocean that lay off the western coasts of Middle-earth, that in earlier days could be sailed westward to Númenor, and then to distant Aman in the Uttermost West.

* Westernesse

Translation of Númenor. See Anadûnë, Númenor.

–—

The land of Númenor.

A name in the Common Speech for the Isle of Númenor.

* Westfarthing of the Shire|Westfarthing

The lands westward from Hobbiton.

The western farthing of the Shire, in which lay many of its important towns: Michel Delving on the White Downs; Tuckborough, the seat of the Took Thains of the Shire; and Hobbiton, home of the Baggins family.

* Westfold

Region of Rohan, the slopes and fields between Thrihyrne and Edoras.

–—

The western lands of the Rohirrim.

The westernmost region of Rohan, lying immediately to the east of the Gap of Rohan, and in which lay Helm’s Deep. Its border with the Eastfold was marked by the course of the Snowbourn River.

* Westlands of Middle-earth|Westlands

A very general expression, referring broadly to the lands west of Anduin.

–—

The northwestern lands of Middle-earth.

A term of rather uncertain meaning. It appears to refer to the entire north-western region of Middle-earth, although it may also be used more specifically as a name of Eriador.

* Westlands of Númenor|Westlands

The region of the Andustar.

The western promontory of Númenor more properly called the Andustar, on the coasts of which lay the port city of Andúnië.

* Westmansweed

One of the many names for Halflings’ Leaf.

Another name for the plant better known as pipe-weed or Halflings’ Leaf.

Westmansweed was its name among the vulgar of Gondor, a reference to the Men of the West who were said to have brought it to Middle-earth from Númenor.

* Westmarch of the Shire|Westmarch

The lands beyond the Far Downs.

The land between the Far Downs and the Tower Hills, granted to the Shire-hobbits by King Aragorn II Elessar in the early Fourth Age.

* Westron

The common tongue of the North-west of Middle-earth. Called also Common Speech.

–—

The Common Speech of Middle-earth.

Derived mainly from Adûnaic, the ancestral tongue of the Edain and their kin, the Westron was widely spoken by the Men of Middle-earth. When the Númenóreans began to return to Middle-earth during the Second Age, Westron developed into a lingua franca allowing conversation between them and their distant kin. As the Second Age passed, and especially after the establishment of the Númenórean kingdoms of Arnor and Gondor at the end of the Age, Westron became widely spoken by all races in Middle-earth, not just Men. Hence it is often referred to as the Common Speech.

As the chief language of the northwest of Middle-earth, Westron is naturally represented in Tolkien’s work by modern English, even to the extent that names of the ancient Westron form are also translated into equivalent forms based on Old English (prominent examples being Hobbit, Rivendell and Shelob, although many others occur). Hence, we have very few examples of ‘real’ Westron words and names. There are in fact only two significant sources. The first appears in the isolated notes at the end of Appendix F II of The Lord of the Rings, where ‘banakil’, and

‘kuduk’ (both referring to Hobbits) are given with some other examples.

The second source is the names of the Númenórean kings from Ar-Adûnakhôr (‘King, Lord of the West’) to Ar-Pharazôn (‘Golden King’); these are in Adûnaic, and hence closely related to Westron.

* Wetwang

The great marshland beneath the Emyn Muil.

The name in the Westron tongue for the marshes beneath the Emyn Muil that the Elves called Nindalf.

* Wheat

An important cereal crop, used especially to be milled into flour. It is recorded as growing tall and golden in the land of Valinor.

* White Council

The Council of ‘the Wise’, formed to oppose Sauron, meeting at intervals from Third Age 2463 to 2953; usually referred to as ‘the Council’.

–—

The Council formed to challenge Dol Guldur.

The council formed in the Third Age by the chief among the Eldar and the Istari to combat the growing power of Sauron. The Council was led by Saruman, until Gandalf discovered his treachery at the beginning of the War of the Ring.

* White Downs|The Downs

The chalk-downs of the Shire’s Westfarthing.

A range of chalk downs in the western regions of the Shire; Michel Delving, the chief town of the Shire, was built (and burrowed) there.

* White Hand

An emblem of Saruman during the War of the Ring; a long white hand with one pointing finger.

* White House of Erendis|White House

The sanctuary of Erendis and Ancalimë.

A house that stood in the Emerië region of the Mittalmar of Númenor. It was built for Erendis as a gift by Tar-Meneldur, to mark her betrothal to his son Aldarion. Aldarion spent many years away from Númenor in his ships, and the White House became a sanctuary for his wife Erendis, and their daughter, who would become Queen Tar-Ancalimë.

* White Lady of Rohan

A title given to Éowyn by Faramir.

A title given to by Faramir to Éowyn of Rohan. They married, and dwelt together in the hills of Emyn Arnen in Ithilien.

* White Mountains

The snow-capped peaks that separated Gondor from Rohan.

Also called Ered Nimrais, an important mountain range in the southwest of the known parts of Middle-earth. In the latter part of the Third Age, they formed the border between Gondor in the south and Rohan in the north.

* White Rider

Gandalf astride Shadowfax.

A title given to Gandalf the White as he rode the great horse Shadowfax in the later days of the War of the Ring. The name was given in opposition to the nine Black Riders who served Sauron.

* White Ship

The ship that carried the Ring-bearers into the West.

The ship that sailed from the Grey Havens into the Uttermost West, carrying the Ring-bearers to Aman. Its departure marked the end of the Third Age.

* White Tower

The Tower of Minas Tirith.

A name used for Minas Tirith in Gondor, and especially of the glistening Tower of Ecthelion at its peak, emphasising its opposition to Sauron’s Dark Tower of Barad-dûr.

* White Tree of Minas Tirith|White Tree

The White Trees of Minas Ithil and Minas Anor. See Galathilion.

–—

A reminders of lost Númenor.

A title of either of two white trees that grew in the courts of Minas Tirith, descended from Nimloth of Númenor, and ultimately (it is said) from Telperion itself.

* White Tree of Númenor|White Tree of Numenor|White Tree Nimloth, the White Tree that grew in Armenelos.

In the early days of Númenor, its people still had the friendship of the Elves of Tol Eressëa. Among the gifts the Eldar gave to the early Númenóreans, one of the greatest was a white seedling of the tree Celeborn that stood in the middle of their island. Planted in the King’s Court in Armenelos, the seedling grew into a fine White Tree that came to be known as Nimloth. Its blossoms appeared as the Sun set, and their perfume filled the night in Númenor’s royal city.

The tree of Tol Eressëa, Celeborn, was itself descended from Galathilion, the White Tree that stood in Tirion that was made by Yavanna herself. Its descendant Nimloth stood in the courts of Armenelos for thousands of years, but when Sauron gained control of Númenor’s government, he saw the White Tree as a link to his enemies the Valar, and ordered it destroyed. So the White Tree of Nûmenor was cut down and burned on the altar-fire of Sauron’s temple.

The line of Galathilion did not end in Sauron’s flames. Isildur the son of Elendil had stolen a fruit from the Tree before it was lost. The fruit grew into a seedling that Isildur carried to Middle-earth with him after the Downfall of Númenor. That seedling was planted in Minas Ithil, and was destroyed before the end of the Second Age. Its seedling in turn grew into the first of the White Trees of Minas Tirith, a line that was to outlast Sauron himself.

* White Tree of Tol Eressëa|White Tree of Tol Eressea|White Tree The tree at the heart of the Lonely Isle.

The White Tree that grew in the central regions of the island of Tol Eressëa, more properly called Celeborn. It grew from a seedling of Galathilion, the White Tree made by Yavanna herself that grew in the courts of Tirion.

* White Tree of Valinor|White Tree

A title of Telperion, the elder of the Two Trees of Valinor, from whom the White Trees of Númenor and of Gondor were descended.

* White Wolves|White Wolf

Hunters out of the icy north.

A type of wolf native to the frozen lands in the north of Middle-earth.

They were not normally seen in Eriador, but seem to have remained among the snows of the Forodwaith and perhaps beyond.

In the year III 2911, one of the harshest winters in Middle-earth’s history descended, the so-called Fell Winter. The ice and snow of the north came at least as far south as the Shire. With them came the White Wolves, invading Eriador and roaming as far as the Shire. The frozen Brandywine River meant that they were even able to cross into the Eastfarthing. This was the last time the Horn-call of Buckland was used before the War of the Ring, one hundred and seven years later.

* Whiteskins

An Orkish name for the Rohirrim.

A name among Orcs for the Riders of Rohan, whose far northern origins would have given them a much paler skin colour than the Men who lived around them.

* Whitwell

A township of the Tookland.

A village or town near Tuckborough in the Shire’s Tookland region, at the western end of the Green Hills. Thain Paladin Took II, Pippin’s father, was known to farm the land around Whitwell, though it is not known whether he maintained a home there, or dwelt in the ancestral residence of the Tooks at Great Smials.

* Wild Elves

Mîm’s term for Dark Elves (Avari).

* Wild Lands

Term used in Rohan for the lands west of the Gap.

* Wild Men|Wild Man

The Men of Darkness; Men of the East and South of Middle-earth, who had fallen under the yoke of Morgoth during the First Age, and of whom many were allies of Sauron in the Second and Third Ages.

* Wild Men of the Woods|Wild Man of the Woods A name for the Drúedain in Rohan.

At the end of the Third Age, a remnant of the Drúedain still lived beneath the feet of the White Mountains, and in the lands westward.

Theirs was a strange and ancient race of Men, with an unusual affinity with nature, and unique powers. The Northmen who settled in Rohan, though, knew nothing of their ancestry and imagined them to be hardly more than beasts, at least until the time of the War of the Ring. For this reason the Rohirrim called them the Wild Men of the Woods.

* Wilderland

The wilderness of Rhovanion.

A term for the lands of Middle-earth that lay east of the Misty Mountains. ‘Wilderland’ probably represents the Westron equivalent of the Elvish name Rhovanion.

* Wildman of the Woods

One of the many aliases of Túrin Turambar, used by him among the Men of the Forest of Brethil.

* Will Whitfoot|Old Will|Old Flourdumpling Mayor of Michel Delving.

The Mayor of Michel Delving (and therefore of the Shire) at the time of the War of the Ring. He was renowned as being the fattest Hobbit in the Westfarthing, and was affectionately referred to as Old Will or Old Flourdumpling. He was one of the first to be placed in the Lockholes during Sharkey’s reign in the Shire, but survived the experience.

* William Huggins|Bill Huggins

A Stone-troll of the Trollshaws.

With Tom and Bert, one of the three Trolls encountered by Bilbo and the Dwarves on their eastward journey to the Lonely Mountain. He seems to have been the leader of the troll-band - at least, it was he who led them to the woodlands of Trollshaws, according to his companions. It was William’s pocket that Bilbo tried to pick as his first act of ‘burglary’, an attempt that brought the entire expedition close to disaster. Luckily, Gandalf was able to trick William and his two companions into arguing together until sunrise, whereupon they all turned to stone.

The name ‘William Huggins’ seems a very remarkable and unlikely one for a Troll. It seems to be a translation by Tolkien of the Troll’s ‘real’

name, as with the Hobbits, Dwarves, Rohirrim and so on, and the fact that it is recognisably English suggests that his original name was from a Mannish language. What William’s name actually was, though, is a mystery.

(By a curious coincidence, there was a real historical figure named William Huggins, a pioneering astronomer of the mid-nineteenth century, though it seems extremely unlikely that Tolkien’s foul-mouthed Troll would be based on this noted scientist!)

* Willowbottom

A village on the course of Thistle Brook.

A small village near Woody End in the Eastfarthing of the Shire. It stood on the banks of the stream called Thistle Brook, just above the place where that stream flowed into the River Shirebourn.

* Willows|Willow

Weeping trees of the waterside.

Waterside trees that grew throughout Middle-earth. The most famous of these was the ancient tree known as Old Man Willow, on the banks of the Withywindle in the Old Forest.

* Wilwarin

Name of a constellation. The word meant ‘butterfly’ in Quenya, and the constellation was perhaps Cassiopeia.

* Windlord

Title of Gwaihir the Eagle.

The title of the mighty Eagle Gwaihir who lived during the time of the War of the Ring, and the literal meaning of his name.

* Window of the Eye

The opening of the Red Eye.

The opening in the highest tower of Barad-dûr from which Sauron surveyed the lands of Middle-earth.

* Winged Nazgûl|Winged Nazgul

Black Riders aloft on winged steeds.

After their discomfiture at the Ford of Bruinen by Elrond and Gandalf, the Nazgûl returned to Sauron their master in the land of Mordor. There, he furnished them with horrible winged mounts and sent them abroad once again. While mounted on these flying beasts, they were known as the Winged Nazgûl.

* Winged Shadows|Winged Shadow

The Nazgûl on their winged steeds.

A name for the Nazgûl after they took to the skies on horrific winged steeds. This name refers especially to the profound dread and fear they inspired in those below them as the flew overhead.

* Wingfoot

Éomer’s name for Aragorn.

–—

“Wide wonder came into Éomer’s eyes. ‘Strider is too poor a name, son of Arathorn,’ he said. ‘Wingfoot I name you.’”

(The Two Towers III 2, The Riders of Rohan)

–—

When Aragorn first met Éomer, he had hunted the captors of Merry and Pippin across the wide fields of Rohan for four days. In that time, he and his companions Legolas and Gimli had covered forty-five leagues (that is, they had travelled about thirty-four miles each day). Éomer was so astonished by this feat that he gave Aragorn a new name: Wingfoot.

* Winterfilth

The tenth month of the Shire Calendar, approximately equivalent to modern October (in fact running from 22 September to 21 October on a modern calendar).

* Wiseman Gamwich

Ancestor of Samwise Gamgee.

The son of Hamfast, who took his name from his traditional family home in the village of Gamwich. Wiseman removed from Gamwich, though, to Tighfield. He was the great-great-grandfather of Sam Gamgee of the Fellowship of the Ring.

* Witch-king of Angmar|Witch-king

A guise of the Lord of the Nazgûl.

The title taken by the Lord of the Nazgûl in the middle of the Third Age, when he founded the northern realm of Angmar in opposition to the northern lands of the Dúnedain (Arthedain and its allies).

* Withywindle

The river that flowed through the Old Forest.

A minor tributary of the River Baranduin or Brandywine that flowed through the Old Forest on the borders of the Shire.

* Witnesses of Manwë|Witnesses of Manwe

The eagles of the Meneltarma.

* Wizards|Wizard

The ‘Wise ones’. See Istari, Heren Istarion.

–—

The Valar’s messengers to Middle-earth.

A name for the order of the Maiar more properly called Istari, who came to Middle-earth after the first millennium of the Third Age to aid the Free Peoples against the return and rise of Sauron.

The name means ‘Wise Ones’.

* Wolf-folk

Name given to the Easterlings of Dor-lómin.

* Wolf-Sauron

The form in which Sauron faced Huan.

The name given to the dreadful wolf-shape that Sauron took when he went from Tol-in-Gaurhoth to do battle with Huan, the Hound of Valinor.

* Wolfriders|Wolfrider|Wolf-riders|Wolf-rider Orcs and Orclike beings mounted on wolves.

–—

Those goblins who rode wolves into battle.

Orcs and Goblins, presumably quite small in stature, that rode into battle on ferocious wolves.

* Wolves|Wolf

Fearsome predators of the northern lands.

Wolves were of old allied with the Dark Lord; Morgoth bred the two greatest of their kind, Draugluin and Carcharoth, and Sauron was wont to take the form of a Great Wolf. The lesser kinds were sometimes used as steeds by the Orcs.

* Wood of Greenleaves

Eryn Lasgalen, the name given to Mirkwood by Celeborn and Thranduil after the downfall of Sauron in the last years of the Third Age.

* Wood-elves|Wood-elf|Woodland Elves|Woodland Elf Elves of the forests of Middle-earth.

The Silvan Elves who dwelt in the forests of Middle-earth, and especially the people ruled by Thranduil in the northern parts of Mirkwood.

* Wooden Whale

A name of Aldarion’s Haven-finder.

A translation of Turuphanto, the nickname given to Aldarion’s mighty ship the Hirilondë in the shipyards of Rómenna where she was built.

Aldarion sailed the Great Sea from Númenor to Middle-earth in the Wooden Whale at least twice. After the first voyage, the ship’s prow was adorned with a jewelled eagle, a gift to Aldarion from his friend Círdan.

* Woodhall

A village in the Shire, at the foot of the Woody End slopes.

–—

A village in the Eastfarthing of the Shire. Frodo, Sam and Pippin met Gildor Inglorion and his people in the woods above Woodhall, and the three passed close by the village on the last stages of their journey to Bucklebury Ferry.

* Woodmen|Woodman

The forest-dwellers of Middle-earth.

Those Men who dwelt in the forests of Middle-earth, and especially Brethil in the First Age and Mirkwood in the Third.

* Woody End

The high woods above the Marish.

An upland wooded region of the Eastfarthing of the Shire, lying between the Green Hill Country on the west and the Marish on the east.

* Worm of Morgoth

A title and name of Glaurung, Father of Dragons.

* Worms|Worm

A name for the race of Dragons, and especially those wingless kinds (such as Glaurung himself) who crawled on the ground.

* Wormtongue

The insulting surname given to Gríma.

A surname given to Gríma, counsellor to Théoden the King of Rohan, who was in fact a spy of Saruman.

* Woses|Wose

A Mannish name for the Drúedain.

A name among the Rohirrim for the shy, secretive people known in Elvish as the Drúedain. Though never populous, the end of the Third Age saw these people reduced to a few populations in the southern parts of Middle-earth, especially in the Drúwaith Iaur and Drúadan Forest of Rohan, where the Rohirrim came into contact with them.

In fact, the word ‘wose’ is a name from British folklore, referring to a hairy, troll-like being supposed to inhabit woods and forests. It represents Tolkien’s translation of an actual word of the Rohirrim into ancient English; the Rohirrim themselves would not have called such a creature a ‘wose’, but a róg.

* Wraith-world|Wraith world

The other side.

An alternative aspect of reality, in which the Elves partly existed.

Certain of the Rings of Power, and especially the One Ring, had the power to transport their bearer into the Wraith-world, making him appear to be invisible.

* Wraiths|Wraith

Spectral creatures of the Wraith-world.

Ghostly beings that existed more in the hidden Wraith-world than our own. The most famous of these were the Ring-wraiths, Men ensnared by Sauron’s Nine Rings, but their victims, too, were transformed into wraiths.

* Yavanna Kementári|Yavanna

‘Giver of fruits’; one of the Valier, numbered among the Aratar; the spouse of Aulë; called also Kementári.

–—

The Queen of the Earth.

Called the ‘Giver of Fruits’, Yavanna was the Vala whose province was all growing things upon the earth. She was the spouse of Aulë the Smith.

* Yavannamírë|Yavannamire

‘Jewel of Yavanna’, a fragrant evergreen tree with scarlet fruit, brought to Númenor by the Eldar of Eressëa.

* Yavannië|Yavannie

The ninth month of the year, according to the Stewards’ Reckoning of Gondor, following Urimë, and preceding the autumn feast of Yáviérë. On a modern calendar, Yavannië ran between 22 August and 20 September, in a normal year.

* Yávië|Yavie

The Quenya name for the season that corresponded to late summer and early autumn; 54 days between modern 12 August and 4 October. Called Iavas in Sindarin.

* Yáviérë|Yaviere

The harvest feast-day of the Stewards’ Reckoning of Gondor, lying between the months of Yavannië and Narquelië. On a modern calendar, Yáviérë would have fallen on 21 September.

* Year of Lamentation

The year of the Nirnaeth Arnoediad.

–—

The four hundred and seventy-first year of the First Age.

The year of the Nirnaeth Arnoediad, in which Morgoth overcame the armies of the Noldor and their allies, and Elves and Men were robbed of all hope of defeating him. It was also the year that Tuor was born, and that Túrin was sent to Doriath.

* Years of the Sun

The count of years from the time of the First Age.

The time after the first rising of the Sun until the present, beginning in the first year of the First Age.

* Years of the Trees

The centuries before the Sun and Moon.

The long years that lay between the founding of Valinor and its Darkening. During this time, Valinor was lit by the light of the Two Trees, but Middle-earth lay in darkness.

Long before the Elves awoke, Yavanna created the Two Trees of Valinor to give light to realm of the Valar. So began a reign of peace in Valinor, but Middle-earth was lit by starlight alone, and Melkor worked in the depths of Utumno in the north of the World. We are not told how long this time lasted, just that ‘the ages drew on’, so this period must have been at least 6,000 years, and probably longer. It was during this period that Aulë made the Dwarves, and set them to sleep until the coming of the Elves.

When Oromë discovered that the Elves had awoken at Cuiviénen, great changes came about. The Valar made war on Melkor to protect the Elder Children of Ilúvatar; Utumno was destroyed and Melkor brought in chains to Valinor. The Valar also summoned the Elves to dwell in their land, and many answered this summons.

A period of three ages (about 2,900 years) followed. Melkor was imprisoned in the halls of Mandos, and the Valar and Eldar dwelt together in the light of the Trees. In the darkness of Middle-earth, the Dark Elves who had not journeyed to Valinor still dwelt, and the Fathers of the Dwarves stirred. Men would not appear until some time after the end of the Years of the Trees.

These Years came to an end when Manwë released Melkor from his imprisonment. For a time, the Dark Lord pretended friendship with the Eldar, but he turned back to the darkness. With Ungoliant, he destroyed the Trees, stole the Silmarils and fled back to the north of Middle-earth. Seeking revenge, Fëanor led a great part of the Noldor out of Valinor and back to Beleriand.

So the Years of the Trees came to an end. At this time, the Valar made the Sun and Moon to give light to the World, and the Years of the Sun began, and with them the First Age.

* Yéni|Yeni|Yén|Yen

The long ‘years’ of the Elves.

The main units of time used by the Elves; one yén was equivalent to 144

years.

* Yestarë|Yestare

The first day of the Elvish solar year (loa).

–—

The first day of the year.

‘First-day’, the name used in the Elves’ calendars, and those derived from them, for the first day of the year. The actual date of yestarë varied from calendar to calendar; according to the Reckoning of Rivendell, it fell on modern 7 April, while in the calendars of the Númenóreans and their descendants, its modern equivalent would be 22

December.

* Younger Children of Ilúvatar|Younger Children of Iluvatar A poetic name for Men.

Men, who awoke many thousands of years after the Elder Children, the Elves.

* Yôzâyan|Yozayan

Adûnaic name for Númenor, ‘Land of Gift’.

* Yrch|Orch

An Elvish name for Orcs.

The Sindarin name for the race known to Men as Orcs. ‘Yrch’ is the plural form; the singular is ‘Orch’.

* Yule

The festival at the turning of the year.

Two days of the Shire Calendar that marked the end of an old year and the beginning of a new. 1 Yule (the last day of the old year) fell on modern 21 December, while 2 Yule, the first day of the new year, fell on modern 22 December.

* Zamîn|Zamin

Old woman in the service of Erendis.

* Zirak

A Dwarvish name for Zirakzigil.

A short form of Zirakzigil, the Dwarves’ name for the mountain called Celebdil or Silvertine by other races.

* Zirakzigil

The Silvertine.

The Dwarves’ name for the mountain also called Celebdil or Silvertine, above the Dwarf-kingdom of Khazad-dûm. On its peak stood Durin’s Tower, and this was the site of the final battle between Gandalf and Durin’s Bane.