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Essay by Johan Avard, updated October 12, 1997.
Introduction Valar
Elves Dwarves Ents
Hobbits
Men Sauron and Saruman
The One Ring Sauron´s and Melkor´s
Creatures
Most of the Peoples and creatures that inhabit Middle-earth are familiar to the average person. Elves and Dwarves for instance play a major part in norse mythology. Tolkien was well acquainted with these stories. Tolkien set out to create a new mythology for England and he did an amazingly good job. The Silmarillion is a masterpiece. His intention was to recreate the anglo-saxon mythology of around 400-1066 A.D. A time when knights fought dragons and magic was abundant. In creating his stories he used his vast learning of languages and mythology and created a world that was both slightly familiar and also very unfamiliar. His Elven People for instance have absolutely nothing in common with fairies and elves from fairy-tales of the nineteenth century. In Tolkien´s universe Man isn´t the only intelligent being. Some of the Peoples are superior(Elves) and some are just about on the same level. Man has to adjust to the special conditions that arise thereby. This idea of several different intelligent Peoples living side by side was quite a novelty at the time, as far as literature goes. Nowadays so many fantasy-books have been written that it´s commonplace now.
In the beginning Ilúvatar, God, created the Ainur, the heavenly spirits, children of his thought. He proposed individual musical themes to the Ainur and they slowly learned of each other and learned of Ilúvatar himself. Then Ilúvatar assembled the Ainur and proposed a new grand theme. The Ainur listened and were astonished and entranced by its beauty. He then spoke to the Ainur and asked them to make music of the proposed theme and to enhance the theme with thoughts of their own. Melkor interwove thoughts of his own, not in harmony with those of Ilúvatar, trying to bring power to himself. Ilúvatar spoke to Melkor and said that no theme could be played that did not have its origin in the nature of Ilúvatar. If one attempted to do so one would in the end still only be a tool in the hands of Ilúvatar. Melkor was secretly angered and shamed. Ilúvatar then showed the Ainur what their music had created, 'Behold your music!'. A sphere of light appeared in the emptiness, Eä, the world that is. It's history evolved before them and the history of Earth. They saw both their own ideas and the thoughts of the other Ainur therein. They witnessed the arrival of the Elves and of the Men. These were the children of Ilúvatar himself and the Ainur were entranced by them. The Ainur were not permitted however to witness the ending of the events concerning Men and therefore they do not know what will happen to them at the end of their history. Again Ilúvatar spoke to Melkor and said that he would find his own secret thoughts there and see that they are but a part of the wholeness and part of its grandness. Many among the Ainur now wished to enter this world and shape Arda, the Earth. Melkor was one of the Ainur who did so, wishing already to dominate the Elves and Men and have servants of his own. Those Ainur who entered Eä are known as the Valar, powers of the world and many others were lesser spirits, Maiar, who served and aided the Valar. They shaped the Earth, built lands and oceans and fought with Melkor who tried to ruin their work. All their labour was in preparation for the arrival of the Elves, the Firstborn, whose age of coming they eagerly anticipated. When Arda was completed the Valar made two lamps to light up the world. They were placed on great pillars, one in the north and the other in the south. Their first kingdom was called Almaren. Melkor gathered round him many Maiar who he lured into his service and he attacked the Valar and ruined the two lamps and devestated their kingdom. The Valar established themselves anew in Aman, west of Middle-earth. A second kingdom, Valinor, was founded there. Middle-earth now lay in darkness and Melkor had built a mighty fortress, Utumno in northern Middle-earth. There he ruled over many beasts such as dragons, werewolves, trolls and evil spirits such as Balrogs. Melkor later ridiculed the Elves by creating the Orcs.
Illúvatar chose Manwë to be Lord of Arda. Manwë is also Lord of the winds and the sky. Birds are his special servants. He is often portrayed as an eagle, remember that the eagles play an inportant role in Lord of the rings. His wife is Varda, ruler of the stars. The light of Illúvatar is upon her countenance and her beauty is therefore beyond comprehension. The Elves call her Elbereth. Ulmo is Lord of the oceans and rivers. He never rests in one place, but instead swims through the oceans and rivers watching over his kingdom. Second only to Manwë, Ulmo is the most powerful among the Valar. It often comes to pass that he visits the shores of Middle-earth. Aulë is almost as powerful as Ulmo and he is the Lord of the earthly substances, of that which makes up Arda. He is a blacksmith and a master craftsman. His wife is Yavanna, ruler of all that grows on Arda. When she takes human form she dresses in green and stands tall. The Lords of spirits are the brothers Mandos and Lórien. These names are actually the names of the places where they dwell and their true names are Námo and Irmo. Námo, the oldest one, lives in Mandos, located in the western regions of Valinor. He is guardian of the House of the Dead and summons the spirits of the dying. He is also the one who passes judgment among the Valar. His wife is Vairë, she who weaves all that is in time into her web which adorns the halls of Mandos. Irmó, the younger brother, is the Lord of dreams and visions. His garden Lórien is the most beautiful of gardens and it is inhabited by many spirits. His wife is Estë, she who heals wounds and tiredness. Often the other Valar come to visit Lórien to be refreshed. Nienna is the sister of Námo and Irmo. She lives alone and knows the nature of sorrow. Those who listen to her crying over the torments of Arda created by Melkor may learn compassion, pity and patience. Tulkas is the bravest and the mightiest in deeds among Valar. He fights without weapons using his bare hands. His wife is Nessa who loves the deers. Oromë is a mighty Valar. He loves Middle-earth and dwelt there for a long time before reluctantly going to Valinor. Oromë is a great hunter of evil beasts and loves horses and dogs. He is also fond of trees. His wife is Vána, younger sister of Yavanna. Wherever she goes birds sing and flowers blossom to greet her. Melkor or ´Morgoth' as he was later called was from the beginning the most gifted among the Valar, having part in every ability of the other Valar. He entered Arda with the intention of becoming it´s Master. He was not willing to accept that the true Master of Arda was Illúvatar. Many of the Maiar entered into his service. His weapon was the club 'Grond'.
In norse mythology the Elves were second only to the gods themselves. In fairy-tales Elves are often equipped with a pair of wings and they seem to spend a lot of time making mischief. What magic they possess is often used for ill purposes. They simply aren´t very likable creatures. Tolkien lifted the Elves to new heights of respectabilityv when he created his Elven People, the First-born. They are a in fact a very original creation of his. Tolkien may have been influenced by the legendary Irish ´Tuatha Dé Danaan´. They were a fairy-people thought to have inhabited Ireland before Man. All according to Celtish lore. Like Tolkien´s Elves they were immortal but could be slain. They were also bigger in stature, possessed greater wisdom, and were beautiful beyond the comprehension of Man. They could speak with the animals and were from a human perspective magical beings. They were fond of music and poetry. Tuatha Dé Danaan had an enemy, Balor, who had an ´evil eye´ full of evil power He reminds me a little of Sauron and his red eye, always searching for his Ring. Tuatha Dé Danann gradually withdrew from Ireland as Man immigrated from the east. Just like Tolkien´s elves, this People diminished and faded away from history. This shows that Tolkien was influenced by this celtic myth. His own Elves fade or set sail for ´The eternal lands' after 'The Lord of the Rings'. The remains of the once powerful Thuatha Dé Danann were the 'Sídhe', the 'people of the hills'. Below the hills the Sídhe hid from the mortals and seldom meddled in the affairs of Man. In 'The Lord of the Rings' the Elves likewise mind their own business and dont´t willingly interfer with the other Peoples, such as Man, the Dwarves or the Hobbits. The Elves are always out of reach of Man. No one has done more for the Elves than Tolkien. His Elves are much more evolved than the Sídhe or the Thuatha Dé Danann. He constructed several languages and also gave them a long and intricate history. Tolkien´s Elves are very much his own original creation. Tolkien never ranked the different Peoples, but it seems clear to me that the Elves were his foremost and favorite People. Just consider Sam´s admiration of the Elves in the Lord of the rings. The Elves are the First-born People. Men were the Second-born. The Elves were eagerly awaited by the Valar. After the Elves were brought into the world by Ilúvatar three great tribes moved to live in Valinor, the land of immortality, with Valar. They grew in spirit being near to Valar and became the greatest of the Elves. The three great tribes were the Vanyar led by Ingwë, the Noldor led by Finwë and the Teleri led by Elwë and his brother Olwë. The remaining Elves who didn´t venture forth with the other tribes but instead remained in the east were called 'Avari', the unwilling. Some of the members of the three tribes, mostly Teleri, also remained in Middle-earth, for various reasons never reaching Valinor. They were called Úmanyar. The Avari and the Úmanyar were the dark-elves, named so because there was yet no sun or moon and Middle-earth lay in darkness was only illuminated by the stars. The Teleri settled on an island called Tol Eressëa, close to Aman, the land where Valinor was located. Later they moved to Aman itself. The other two tribes settled in Aman. The Valar Manwë was king of this realm together with his wife Varda. In Valinor two great trees spread light, created by the Valar Yavanna. One created daylight and the other a kind of moonlight. The Noldor Elves were gifted craftsmen and very interested in languages. They quarried for jewels and gems. Finwë, king of the Noldor, had three sons, Fëanor, Finarfin and Fingolfin. Fëanor was perhaps the most gifted Elf ever to live. He was also headstrong and dominating. Now Melkor, who had been held imprisoned was released and allowed to stay in Valinor. He hated the Elves and the two trees and secretely plotted to bring destruction to Valinor. It was at this time that Fëanor using all his skill and might created the three Silmarils from the light of the two trees. The Silmarils were formed as big jewels and glowed with light from within. Light taken from Yavanna´s trees. Melkor was overcome with lust for the Silmarils and hated the Elves and Fëanor more than ever. Fëanor in turn despised Melkor and distrusted him. Melkor spread a lie about the coming of Men, the Second-born People, and said they would replace the Elves in Middle-earth. Many of the Noldor believed him and the peace in the land was disrupted. Fëanor became more and more obsessed with his Silmarils and soon he refused to show them to anybody but his father and his seven sons. Melkor spread a new lie that said that Fingolfin wanted to replace Finwë and Fëanor as the leaders of the Noldor. Fingolfin was supposed to be backed up by the Valar. Fëanor and his followers began forging swords and other weapons. Fëanor finally declared his wish to leave Valinor and return to the outside world. But Valar at last found out about Melkor and his lies and his intentions became clear to them. Melkor left Valinor and hid himself, chased by Valar. Melkor escaped his hunters and sought the company of Ungoliant. She was a Valar or a Maia in the shape of a giant spider. Her origin is unknown. With her help he destroyed the two trees of Valinor and the land fell into darkness. Again Melkor managed to escape his pursuers who tried to capture him. Only Fëanors Silmarils now contained some of the light of the dead trees. Melkor killed Finwë and stole the Silmarils upon fleeing. Fëanor cursed Melkor and called him Morgoth, the World´s Enemy. He was thereafter always known by that name. He and Ungoliant flew to Morgoths old fortress Angband. Morgoth and the Valar had previously waged war before the coming of the Elves. Ungoliant tried to devour the Silmarils and spinned a net around Morgoth trying to strangle him. Morgoth cried out for help and the Balrogs of Angband came and they released their master and chased away Ungoliant. Morgoth settled in Angband and set the three Silmarils in a crown. Fëanor held a great speech in Valinor in which he tried to convince the Noldor to leave Valinor and return to Middle-earth and retake the Silmarils. He then swore a terrible oath together with his seven sons to regain the Silmarils and to pursue whoever unlawfully carried them. Most of the Noldor decided to follow him but the Valar warned Fëanor and said that it was impossible for him to defeat a Valar. The Noldor needed ships in order to leave Valinor, ships which the Teleri had. They refused to give or lend them to Fëanor and his followers. Fëanor gave orders to take the ships anyway but the Teleri resisted and it came to bloodshed. The first ever in Valinor. The Noldor defeated the Teleri. The Valar then cursed Noldor and the house of Fëanor and forbid them ever to return to Valinor. The Noldor returned in time to Middle-earth and built great kingdoms there. But Fëanor and his sons also carried their curse with them.
It´s not my intention to retell the entire Silmarillion, just to tell the beginning of the story of The Silmarils in some detail. After all, you might as well read the Silmarillion itself !? The Silmarillion and the Book of lost tales are full of great stories and lots of details that I avoid. I only aim to give a very brief summary of them. I think Fëanors pride was his downfall. Pride in himself and his Silmarils. He failed to understand that the Silmarils in part were the creation of Yavannas. The light of her trees was in them. They were not his alone. Fëanor and his people were cursed by the Valar and warned that they would pay a high price for their following Morgoth. A large portion of the Silmarillion is about their tragic pursuit of the Silmarils. Fëanor was later slain by Gothmog, lord of the Balrogs, but his sons, having taken the oath, carried on the struggle. In the end after many wars all the Silmarils were lost to the world except one which now rests in the sky as a star.
The Noldors pursuit of Morgoth later brought them into contact with the first Men, the Second-born People. The Eldar who had lived in Valinor were vastly superior in knowledge to their fellow people who had remained in Middle-earth and who never had seen the Valar. They cultivated Men, gave them their language and protected them from the dark influence of Morgoth. This way the wisdom of the Valar reached the Second-born, the mortals, in Middle-earth. Now Middle-earth did already have a magnificent kingdom at this time, when the Noldor returned and commenced building kingdoms of thier own. It was located in Beleriand in the western part of Middle-earth. A Maia named Melian lived there in the kingdom of Doriath and her husband was the Elf Thingol. Thingol was in fact Elwë, king of the Teleri. Elwë had vanished during the journey to Valinor. He had in fact been enchanted by Melias singing during a journey through one of Beleriand´s great forests. Their people were the Sindar Elves. Melian´s magic protected Doriath from Morgoth and also gave wisdom and power to it´s people. Of the elvish kingdoms in Beleriand Doriath most closely resembled Aman. The great city of Menegroth(the thousand caves) lay in Doriath. Elrond was by the way closely related to Melian. Finrod of the Noldor, son of Finarfin, established the kingdom of Nargothrond, greatest of the Noldor kingdoms. He was later called Felagund after the foundation of his kingdom. Another magnificent kingdom established later by the Noldor was Gondolin(meaning the hidden cliff), the secret city. It´s king was Turgon, one of Fingolfin´s sons. The location of the city was long kept a secret, even from Turgon´s kinsmen. This was the First age of Middle-earth. After several wars against the Elves spearheaded by the sons of Fëanor, Morgoth had withdrawn to Angband and hid there gathering forces, huge forces. There was a long period of peace. Fingolfin was the high-lord of the Noldor. Nobody could guess at the peril they lived under. Morgoth attacked suddenly and Fingolfin was killed by Morgoth himself. The war went on for several years but slowly the forces of Morgoth were pressed back towards Angband, after his initial great victories. In the Silmarillion is a story about Beren, a man, and Luthien, daughter of Thingol. In this great story Beren regains one of the Silmarils from Morgoth´s crown. I´m not going to retell the entire story but this fantastic deed inspired Maedhros, son of Fëanor to attack Morgoth with an alliance of Men and Dwarves. Aid came also from the secret kingdom of Gondolin and it´s king Turgon. The war was lost and Turgon returned to his hidden kingdom with some remaining forces. This was the fifth battle. Soon after the land of Doriath fell. Thingol was killed by dwarves who wanted the Silmaril that was kept in Doriath. Melian therafter left Doriath and it was open to attack. An army of dwarves believing that the Elves of Doriath had murdered their kinsmen, not knowing that they in fact had started the killing, won a victory in Menegroth and took the Silmaril. It was regained by Beren who attacked the dwarves as they tried to escape. The Silmaril was returned to Doriath. The sons of Fëanor learned of the whereabouts of the Silmarils and attacked Doriath. The kingdom was devestated but the Silmaril escaped the sons of Fëanor and was brought to an elvish settlement by the river Sirion. Morgoth finally found out where Gondolin was hidden and sent forth his dragons and Balrogs and ruined the hidden city. Eärendil the half-Elf sailed to Valinor to plead to the Valar to show mercy on the Peoples of Middle-earth. With him sailed Elwing of Doriath, his wife. Eärendil carried the Silmaril. The Valar decided to help and they attacked and defeated Morgoth and destroyed his forces. Morgoth was banished from the world for all eternity. Most of Beleriand sank into the ocean and was lost in the great battle. Sauron, Morgoth´s most powerful servant hid himself. Eärendil being a mortal was not allowed to return but instead was sent into the heavens upon a ship, carrying on his forehead the Silmaril. Thenceforth Eärendil and his Silmaril could be seen as a star in the sky. Elwing remained also and lived in a tower built for her by the Valar. The two remaining Silmarils were taken by Fëanor´s two remaining sons, but the jewels tormented them and they no longer had any right to possess them. One cast himself together with the Silmaril in the ocean and the other threw himself and the remaining Silmaril in a volcano. The two remaining Silmarils were thus lost for all eternity. And all of Fëanor´s sons were dead, and their curse along with them. This marked the end of the First Age and the beginning of the Second. Gil-galad, son of Fingon, was now the high-king of Noldor in Middle-earth. His kingdom was called Lindon. In the Noldor kingdom of Eregion, which lay west of the Misty mountains, lived many knowledgable craftsmen. In this age the Rings of Power were forged in Eregion. It was Celebrimbor, grandson of Fëanor, who forged the three Elven Rings in secrecy, hidden from Sauron who never touched them. Sauron had appeared in a beautiful and charming guise and he mingled with the Elves in Eregion and won their friendship. He called himself Atannar, the Lord of Gifts. Other Elves such as Galadriel and Elrond mistrusted him, but nobody knew who he really was. Sauron was in fact the new Dark Lord, the successor of his banished master Morgoth. And he hated the Elves, and the Men who were their allies and friends. So he tried to find a way to bring about their destruction. The Elves were his most powerful enemy and he devised a plan to destroy them. He knew that the Elves of Eregion were inquisitive and so he offered them his help in improving their skill. He persuaded them to forge rings. They forged both lesser rings and the potent Rings of Power. He also succeeded in creating a revolt against Galadriel and Celeborn, who left Eregion. These rings surpassed all their previous creations. But Sauron had guided them in their work and he planned to snare the rings with an all powerful ring of hiw own. Into the One Ring he poured a great amount of his inherent power, he had to in order to control the other Great Rings of Power. But Celebrimbor was no fool and he did not trust Sauron. He forged three Rings of Power secretly by himself and Sauron had no part in their creation. Thus when the One Ring was forged and Sauron put it on and revealed himself and his hidden purpose, the three Great Elven Rings were hidden as war broke out. Sauron could read the minds of all the bearers of the Rings of Power, save Celebrimbors three secret Rings. They were the greatest of the all the Rings forged in Eregion. Sauron won possession of or destroyed all the other Rings. He gave nine of these Rings to lords of Men and they became the Ring-Wraths, his mightiest servants. He gave seven of them to the Dwarves, but they were not easily subdued with magic and he failed to enslave them. Galadriel och Celeborn founded the kingdom of Lorien during this age. Also Elrond the half-Elf established Rivendell, Imladris. My story on the history of the Elves ends here, more of the story of the One Ring is told later on.
I believe that Galadriel´s land, Lothlorien was a Middle-earth version of Aman, the land of immortality. The land was preserved with her Ring of Power. Time didn´t pass inside Lothlorien at the same pace as outside the kingdom. This was the main power of Galadriel´s Ring, slowing up the fading of the world, the decay. Unfortunatly her Ring was bound to the One Ring in one respect. If the One Ring was destroyed, her Ring would lose it´s power also. But her Ring was not a slave of the One Ring. At the end of The Lord of the Rings the three Elvish Rings lost their power when the One Ring was destroyed and the Elves had to return to Valinor or risk ´fading away´. It seems that Tolkien all along thought that his Elves belonged in Valinor with the Valar. Immortals just can´t bear to be in a land of mortals. The Elves of Tolkien seem to have lived in a spiritual dimension beyond human comprehension. The Elves in Middle-earth lived in both the ´real´ material world and at the same time had access to this second spiritual world. Take Glorfindel as an example. He was the Elf-Lord who faced the nine Black Riders in the Lord of the Rings. These Riders were phantoms, Ring-Wraths, victims of the One Ring´s influence. Now Glorfindel could withstand the Nine because he was able to meet them at the same spiritual level, besides his being a mighty Elf-lord. Glorfindel had once lived in Valinor in Aman, land of immortality, and was as much at home in the world of ghosts as he was in the real world. Legolas also demonstrated this lack of fear for ghosts and phantoms in the Lord of the Rings, remember the Path of the Dead. Consider also the way Legolas at times didn´t sleep. Instead he drifted off into this other world and was refreshed. Tolkien himself didn´t consider his Elves to be super-natural, instead he said that his Elves were quite natural, much more so than humans. Back to the top.
Dwarves are traditionally symbols of greed and other bad human traits in many stories. Tolkien´s Dwarves are no exception, at least if you read The Hobbit. In The Hobbit the Dwarves spent their time and energy hunting for treasure quarelling among themselves and with others. They behaved like little children. Tolkien improves the nature of the Dwarves considerably in the Lords of the Rings. The Dwarves were created when Morgoth dwelt in Middle-earth by the Valar Aulë. He was the God of the craftsmen and arts. Aulë wanted to create a People of his own, not having the patience to await the arrival of the Elves and so he shaped the seven fathers of the Dwarves beneath a mountain. But it was Illuvatar who breathed life into them. Illuvatar was not pleased with Aulë´s creation but he decided to let the dwarves live. But they were not to come forth until the Elves were brought into the world he decided, the Elves were to be the First-born. So the dwarves slept a long period of time at first deep beneath a mountain and awoke after the coming of the Elves. The three greatest kingdoms founded by them were Belegost and Nogrod in the Blue mountains and Khazad-dum in the Misty mountains. Durin was the name of the dwarffather who founded Khazad-dum, Moria. The dwarves also built king Thingol´s city Menegroth, the most beautiful place in Middle-earth, a wonder of the world. It lay beneath a mountain but resembled a forest. It´s one thousand caves and halls were decorated with stone sculptures of birds, trees, and flowers. Birdsong could be heard there as well. Silver fountains and crystal lamps provided water and light. During the wars of Beleriand they lended their aid to the Elves and were mighty allies, in most cases. Because of the existence of Morgoth at their time of creation, Aulë had made them a strong and hardy People. They had strong wills and were not easily subdued. They had an exceptional lifespan of over twohundred years. Tolkien´s Dwarves are a mysterious and secretive People. The Dwarves had a secret language which they spoke among themselves and they refused to teach it to others. They would not tell strangers their real names, Gimli never revealed his secret name for instance, not even to Legolas. Their Dwarf-names were a well kept secret, never to be revealed to anyone but one of their kind. Most of the Dwarves were males, females were a small minority and the males hid them away. The story of the Dwarf kingdom of Moria is typical for their kind. Moria was built because the Dwarves found Mithril, the premier metal in Middle-earth, there in abundance. Moria was the greatest of the Dwarf kingdoms. Now the Dwarves digged ever deeper and eventually neared the ´roots´ of the mountain. Finally they awoke a slumbering terror. They had encountered a Balrog that had hid there after the Valar had expelled Morgoth. The Balrog devestated Moria and drove away the Dwarves. In the Lord of the Rings Tolkien improves the nature of the Dwarves in the story of Gimli´s growing maturity. It seems like he wanted to make up for the not so mature portrait of them in The Hobbit. Mind you The Hobbit was written for children, the Lord of the Rings was not. Gimli plays a major role when the Fellowship enters Moria and also in Lorien. These passages are among the best in the Lord of the Rings. Gimli is hot-tempered at times but he is enchanted by Galadriel when they meet in Lorien. The Elves and the Dwarves had in the past not exactly been on good terms with each other, with some exceptions, and had avoided contact. Gimlis meeting with Galadriel is a sign that a new period of friendship may begin between the two Peoples. Gimli asked Galadriel in a very polite and respectful way for a strand of her hair, a request which stunned Celeborn who was not quite as wise as Galadriel. Galadriel understanding the true meaning of their meeting through her deep intuition gave him three of her hairs and said that gold would hold no dominion over him. Gimli showed here that he valued not only gems and jewels, but also beauty and the Elvish culture. Gimli and the Dwarves are thereafter a respected People in Middle-earth and on good terms with everyone. It seems that this is a typical role for the Eldar Elves. They educate and help the Peoples of Middle-earth who themselves haven´t faced the Valar. Tolkien continues to demonstrate the new friendship of Elves and Dwarves via the close friendship of Legolas and Gimli, unheard of in earlier times. Back to the top.
Tolkien was very fond of trees. One must bear in mind that there aren´t many trees in England. Almost all the forests there have been cut down. The Ents in the Lord of the Rings are the guardians of trees. Of all the Peoples of Middle-earth, only the Ents truely care about them. The Ents have the privilege of beeing the first People in creation. They are even older than the Elves. In the beginning of their lives they were hardly conscious of themselves or their surroundings, they were almost trees. When the Elves later entered the scene in Middle-earth, being interested in everything that growed, they taught the Ents their language. After that the Ents were a true People in their own right. I think that´s a lovely way of Tolkien´s of demonstrating the meaning and importance of our language. Like the Elves the Ents had eternal lives, but sometimes they fell into a slumber and became ordinary trees. The Ents and their women, the Entwives were separated from each other early in their history. The Ents cared for the trees while the Entwives instead were interested in bushes, meadows, fields and pastures. The Entwives are believed to have taught Men how to cultivate the earth. After this deed the Entwives mysteriously passed out of history, never to be heard of again. The Ents searched long and hard for the Entwives but never found them. The Ents are neutral to begin with in the conflict between good and evil in the Lord of the Rings. Neither side really cares about the trees. The arrival of Merry and Pippin in Fangorn and the news of the outside world they bring changes matters. The Ents are roused in anger against Saruman. They march for Isengard and level it with the ground. The Ents had a sort of sub-species called the Huorns, they were not quite Ents, more like trees, and they also help in the war by aiding Rohan against Sarumans army. It is clear that the Huorns were very dangerous and needed to be controlled by the Ents. Saruman had felt no threat from Fangorn and its Ents and was taken by surprise. Back to the top.
Tolkiens invention of the Hobbits was a stroke of genius. They were the perfect introduction to his mythology and to Middle-earth. The Hobbits were almost but not quite, human. They were also not quite grown-up and lived a life most kids dream of. Living in holes in the ground, having birthday parties all the time. No work and hardly any chores to be done. But the Hobbits were definitely not Men. They were much smaller, had more hair on their feet. The Hobbits could be very quite when they wished and then it was almost impossible for the ´Big folks´ to detect them. The Hobbits awoke as Man did when the Sun first brought light to Middle-earth. The Hobbits had migrated to their land on the far side of the Misty Mountains to Eriador from the river Anduin, close to Mirkwood. They were driven away by a growing dark power in the Mirkwood. The three main tribes of the Hobbits were the Harfoots, the most numerous, the Stoors, the largest of their kindred and the Fallohides. The Fallohides were fairer than the other Hobbits and more inclined for adventure. The Hobbits had always lived far from wars and hardship, protected by Aragorn and his men. But destiny had decided that they were to play a major role in the story of the One Ring. Even though destiny may have chosen Frodo to carry the Ring he could still have refused. No one said that he had to do it. Elrond did not force Frodo to take the Ring. Nor did Gandalf. Instead Frodo was asked if he would be willing to accept the mission. Tolkien shows here that only the evil beings in Middle-earth like Sauron and Saruman force people to do things. It is a sign of evilness to do so. One must respect the free will of the individual. This is one of the most important ideas in the Lord of the Rings. Also all of Frodo´s companions went with him of their own free will. Elrond´s comments on the composition of the Fellowship and thinks that their coming together was not a coincidence. The old Hobbit Gollum is a very important figure in the book. He was the first to carry the One Ring and indeed he had it with him for a very long time. He kept it so long that the evil power of it almost completely erased his Hobbit-personality and made him evil to the bone. In the story Gandalf believed that Gollum has an important role to play ´before the End´. In fact Gollum was living proof that the Ring should be taken to Mordor by a Hobbit, by Frodo. Despite the fact that Gollum was ruined by the Ring, it didn´t completely subdue him. A small portion of his old Hobbit-self could be glimpsed now and then. But the Ring certainly gave him a split personality, he even used two different names for himself. Gollum was living proof that Hobbits were extremely tough and could not be subdued easily. Hobbits also were not interested in and didn´t desire power for its own sake. The Ring therefore couldn´t get ´a good grip on them´ so to speak. The relationship between Frodo and Gollum is quite touching at times I think. Frodo almost made Gollum completely trust him at one time, but Sam interfered. Frodo understood and felt sorry for Gollum. He feels the terrible burden of the Ring on his way to Mordor and learned of Gollum´s torment, the torment of carrying the One Ring. Gandalfs prediction proved to be true and Frodos finger was bit of on the rim of the fire mountain by Gollum and one last instant he held his ´Precious´ again before plunging into the fumes. Back to the top.
The Elves were created before the sun had appearedin the sky, when only stars glistened from the heavens. They were the First-born, children of the stars. Much later when the sun was set in place and shone upon the earth the Men awakened. Illuvatar´s Second-born, the mortals. The Valar of Valinor had no part in their creation and did not know of their future. The Men were helped by the remaining Elves in Middle-earth, those that hadn´t gone to Valinor, the dark-elves. Later some of Men´s tribes wandered west to Beleriand with it´s many Elven kingdoms and there they met the Eldar after having crossed the Blue mountains, they were Elves from Valinor who sought the lost Silmarils. It was Finrod, son of Finarfin they met first. This occurred during the First Age. The age of Beleriand and of the Silmarils. The Eldar were wiser and more powerful than the dark-Elves the Men had previously enountered on their journeys. These tribes which encountered the Eldar and became their allies learned much from them. They were called the Edain by the Elves. They became the greatest and wisest of Men. Morgoth on the other hand tried to win over as many of Men´s tribes as possible. He soon learned that Men were easier to bend to his will than the Elves. Morgoth tried to make Men and Elves into enemies, not completely successfully. This age was dominated by the Elves but Edain lent them their help in many wars against Morgoth. When Morgoth had almost completely conquered Beleriand the half-Elf Eärendil(see under Elves) sailed to Valinor to ask for aid from Valar in their hopeless struggle against Morgoth. He was the son of Tuor, a man, and Idril, an elvish princess. He was the father of Elrond. The Valar came and rid Middle-earth of Morgoth and most of his creatures and servants. Sauron managed to hide. Now after this war the Edain were rewarded for their aid in the battle. They received the gift of an extended lifespan. They also were aided by Valar in other ways and learned much wisdom from them. Finally they were given a land of their own. This was the island of Númenor which lay between Middle-earth and Valinor. Not all of the Edain went to Númenor. Those that did venture to this new land were later to be known as the Dúnedain. Their first king was Elros, brother of Elrond. He and his brother were half-Elves and had had to choose which People they wanted to belong to. Elrond chose to be an Elf and Elros to be a Man, a mortal. The numenoreans had been gifted with a longer lifespan than that of ordinary Men. But they were forbidden to sail to Valinor, the land of immortality. They were still to be mortal. Valinor lay west of Numenor so they always sailed eastwards. The Dúnedan sailed to Middle-earth and helped the Men that dwelt there, but they always returned to Númenor. After about 200 years of prosperity and tranquillity something started going wrong with this kingdom. They were not content with their extended lifespan. Why should Valar and the Elves live forever and not they, some said. The kings of Númenor sailed to Middle-earth now not to help the people there but to collect taxes. They also founded cities along its shores. Númenor had become a great nation, the greatest on earth. In Mordor Sauron had set up his kingdom and he of course hated and feared the Numenoreans. Sauron had been trying to win over as many Men as possible to his service and now the Numenoreans were interfering. A great army was sent from Númenor to challenge Sauron. Sauron dared not fight the great army before him and was taken prisoner and brought back to Númenor as a prisoner. In fact this was exactly what Sauron had been hoping for. He wanted to be in Númenor so that he could try to bring the kingdom down from within. He was a powerful Maia, and the people there listened to him. Soon he became the kings adviser and in fact ruled over Númenor, whispering in the king´s ear, spreading lies about the Valar and the Elves, making Men envious of the eternal lives of the immortals. The Numenoreans began worshipping Morgoth, Lord of Darkness and they turned away from Illuvatar. At last at the peak of their might, the Numenoreans set sail for Valinor itself to attempt to steal eternal life, thinking themselves all-powerful. The Valar had no right any longer to withhold immortality from them. So said Sauron. Earlier Valar had explained that death was a gift to them from Illuvatar and that all Men must accept this. Now Illuvatar himself took control of the situation and made the ocean rise and smashed the fleet of the Numenoreans. Númenor itself was also destroyed. After this Valinor was lifted from the world and could no longer be reached. Sauron, being a Maia, surfaced eventually and his spirit returned to Mordor. A small group of Dúnedain with Elendil as their leader had remained true to Illuvatar and Valar. They were saved from the catastrophy and were miraculously cast upon the shores of Middle-earth. Elendil and his sons founded two new kingdoms there. Arnor was the name of the northern kingdom and Elendil ruled there. In the south Elendil´s two sons Isildur and Anarion established the kingdom of Gondor. The greatest city of Gondor was Osgiliath. The fall of Númenor marks the end of the Second Age.
The story of Númenor is a good retelling of the story of Atlantis. Up until now earth had been flat, but it was now reshaped and made into a globe. The two kingdoms of Arnor and Gondor were allied with Gil-galad, the mightiest Noldor king remaining in Middle-earth. Sauron didn´t rest in Mordor but instead built a huge new army and made alliances with tribes of Men from the south and east. Even some of the Dúnedain served Sauron. When he felt ready he released his forces and they poured out from Mordor in vast numbers. He first assailed Gondor and he won Minas Ithil, a stronghold of the Dúnedain near Mordor. Elendil and Gil-galad met in council and formed the Last Alliance between Men and the Elves. Together they marched to Mordor and won a great victory which cost many lives on both sides. Remember the faces in the Dead Marshes ? After the victory their forces beseiged his fortress inside Mordor for several years. In the end Sauron himself came forth and he wrestled with Elendil and Gil-galad and he slayed them both. Isildur managed to cut off Saurons finger which held the One Ring. After this Sauron was defeated and his soul lay in hiding for a long time. This was the last time the Elves played a major part in the history of Middle-earth. It was now that Man began to truly dominate the events. Arnor, the northern kingdom, was later split into smaller kingdoms which in turn were conquered by Sauron one by one. In the Lord of the Rings Aragorn and his men are all that remain of this lost kingdom. Gondor lived on in the south but its power was smaller than before and it later was threatened by Sauron when he in time returned to Mordor. Osgiliath was abandoned and became a dreaded place. When Isildur had taken the One Ring from Sauron he was advised by Elrond to throw it in the great fire-mountain nearby. But Isildur had already fallen under its power and refused. He proclaimed the Ring to be his. Thereby he sealed his own fate. No one but Sauron can wield the One Ring. It betrays all others who try to use it. Or it turns them into new Lords of Darkness. Isildur was later ambushed by Orcs and tried to escape by swimming across the river of Anduin. The Ring slipped off his finger(the Ring itself chose to do so) and the arrows from the Orcs killed him. There it lay on the bottom of the Anduin for a very long time. One day it was found by a certain Hobbit named Smeagol... Back to the top.
Sauron never appears in person in the Lord of the Rings, but his Ring is a good ambassador. The Ring essentially is Sauron´s personality in a nutshell. He was bent on gaining power. He wanted to force others to do his biddings, against their own will. When someone puts on the Ring he immediately vanishes from sight. The Ring is now in control and the personality of the bearer is in a sense gone. This person is also moved to a ghost realm, a land of shadows. Sauron was really a very narrow-minded figure. In the Lord of the Rings Galadriel pointed out that she could understand his thoughts but Sauron in turn was unable to understand hers. Goodness understands evil but not vice versa. It is not until the very end that Sauron learns of the secret plan of the West. The idea to destroy the One Ring instead of attempting to use it against him. He simply couldn´t consider even the possibilty that they might attempt this. You always grab power when it´s in reach. Never does one say ´No thanks´ when it´s up for grabs. That´s Sauron´s idea. Sauron was afraid that Aragorn would use it against him. He searched constantly for the Ring outside Mordor not guarding his own country. This enabled Frodo and Sam to reach the fire where the One Ring had once been forged and destroy it. Saruman is an interesting person in the Lord of the Rings. The passage where Gandalf breaks Saruman´s staff is one of the best in the book. He had come to Middle-earth together with Gandalf and three other Istari, wizards, in the beginning of the Third Age. They were to help the People of Middle-earth resist Sauron. The Istari were powerful Maias but resembled old men. This was because the Istari in Middle-earth were only to have limited powers and were not to use their devine might here in the land of the mortals. They were not to force changes and interfer too heavily in the doings of the Peoples here. Remember that the Valar and the Maiar really were not allowed to meddle in the affairs of Men. This is one of the characteristics of goodness in Middle-earth, the respect for the individual free will. From the beginning Saruman was their leader and also leader of the Council which was established. It was this Council that drove Sauron away from Mirkwood. Saruman specialized in the study of the Rings of Power, especially the One Ring. It seems that his studies twisted his thoughts and he lost confidence in the West. He thought that Sauron inevitably would win in the end. He began to think like Sauron himself. He became obsessed with power. He wanted the Ring for himself. This clearly shows Tolkien´s idea that knowledge, or the pursuit of knowledge for it´s own sake can be very dangerous. Gandalf on the other hand spent his time travelling about meeting people and Gandalf definitely had more compassion in him than did Saruman. Gandalf, or Olórin as he was known in Valinor, had learned compassion and pity from Nienna in Valinor(see under Valar) and he was considered the wisest of the Maiar. Another central idea in Tolkien´s Middle-earth thus is that true wisdom, in part, comes from compassion with others. Gandalf began to mistrust Saruman and didn´t tell him about his suspicions of what Bilbo´s Ring might be. In the Lord of the Rings Saruman said to Gandalf that the powerful should decide for the weak. He also welcomed Gandalf to an alliance with himself and Sauron. Saruman of course only wanted the Ring for himself and tried to use Gandalf for this purpose. Gandalf understood at once what Saruman really wanted and was dismayed by the treachery of Saruman. Saruman had established himself in Isengard and was temporarily allied with Sauron´s Mordor. It seems that Saruman had been trying to make a ring of power himself, he implies this at one point. Maybe he succeeded and it aided him somewhat ? Saruman´s pride and his suspicious and twisted mind prevented him from changing sides after his defeat, when Gandalf promised him his help if he would only leave Isengard with them. At the end of the Lord of the Rings Saruman saught a petty revenge on the Hobbits by bringing his evil to the Shire. Finally the great war had reached right into the homes of the Hobbits.
The One Ring was a repository of Sauron´s strength. He didn´t have to wear it in order to remain in contact with it. One interesting aspect of the One Ring is it´s ability to seek out the worst in you, lust for power and lust for possession(according to Tolkien´s morals) and enhance these traits until they utterly dominate your nature, they overpower you and consume your original personality. You might say that it enforces Sauron´s personality on you and makes you into a Dark Lord more or less powerful, in relation to your natural abilities. The powerful beings in Middle-earth therefore cannot carry the Ring to Mordor. Gandalf and Elrond think that Frodo is the one that destiny has chosen to do this. Destiny I think is Illuvatar in this case. The great and powerful in Middle-earth seem to have the ability to sense his intentions at times. This idea is stated at several occasions by Elrond, Gandalf and Aragorn. The Ring is so strong that it can bend and destroy everyone. Being powerful to begin with and wearing the Ring just means that you will turn into a powerful Dark Lord, in time, as I have already stated. The reason for this is that Sauron is the supreme being in Middle-earth. Nobody, not Gandalf, not Galadriel and not even Elrond can rival him in any way. They are wise enough and humble enough to realize this. That is why Frodo is chosen. So the small and weak save the world with considerable help along the way. This is one of the strong appeals of the Lord of the Rings in my opinion.
THE ORCS The Orcs are the most famous of Sauron´s servants, they formed the backbone of his army. It is a generally accepted idea that the Orcs were created in Utumno, Morgoth´s fortress during the First Age. Many Elves were captured and were cruely tortured and bred into twisted evil beings with no will of their own. They became a twisted evil species, a mockery of the Elves. The only pleasure of the Orcs was to torment other creatures. Being servants of the Dark Lord these creatures hated and feared the light of day. It weakened and burned them. They dwelt in dark passages beneath the earth. The Orcs multiplied faster than any other 'race' in Middle-earth. They were first revealed in the first war of Beleriand. After the fall of Melkor the Orcs hid in various places, the Misty Mountains for instance. In 'The Hobbit' the Orcs are simply goblins. Evil creatures that are not clearly defined. In 'the Lord of the Rings' Tolkien gives us a much clearer picture of the Orcs. They even appear as a People in their own right in a few scenes. I'm referring to Merry and Pippin when they were captured by the Orcs to be brought before Saruman. There are quite a few descriptions of what the Orcs looked like in the book. Most Orcs were short in stature, crook-legged, bent-over. They had long arms, like apes, and the color of their skin was black. Their faces were broad and they were equipped with yellow fangs. They ate human meat with delight and occasionally ate each other. In the year 2475 of the Third Age Sauron revealed a new race of Orcs, the Uruk-hai. They were larger, almost of man-height, stronger and could stand the light of day. They were often seen as commanders of other Orcs in battle. THE TROLLS In mockery of the Ents Melkor bred the Trolls during the First Age. The trolls were dumb giants almost as strong as the Ents. They could not live in daylight. Their element was stone, just like the element of the Ents was wood. Their skin seems to have been green-scaled, the cave-troll in Moria at least had green scales for skin. The Trolls were the lifeguard of Gothmog, the Lord of the Balrogs in the Silmarillion. Sauron bred a new race of Trolls in the Third Age, the Olog-hai. These Trolls were smarter and could do battle in broad daylight. They were armed with huge hammers. THE BALROGS The Balrogs seem to fascinate readers of Tolkien more than any other of his dark creatures. One reason for this I believe is the magnificent passage in 'The lord of the Rings' when the party ventures into the abandoned mines of Moria. This is probably the most exciting part of the book, in my humble opinion. The tension is almost claustrophobic. No reader will ever forget the showdown between Gandalf and the Balrog of Moria.
'Ai! Ai!' wailed Legolas 'A Balrog! A Balrog is come!' Gimli stared with wide eyes. 'Durin´s Bane!' he cried, and letting his axe fall he covered his face. 'A Balrog', muttered Gandalf. 'Now I understand.' He faltered and leaned heavily on his staff. 'What an evil misfortune!' And I am already weary.'
Another reason for their popularity may be - Sauron! Sauron never appears in person in the story, only indirectly. The closest we get to the Arch-Villain is the terrifying Balrog, a 'lesser Sauron'. The Balrogs were once servants of Melkor, bodyguards, supposedly seven Balrogs existed. The Balrogs were slightly larger than an ordinary man and their mere appearance greatly intimidated their enemies. They used different weapons, the Balrog in Moria wielded a whip of fire and a sword.
The ranks of the Orcs had opened, and they crowded away, as if they themselves were afraid. Something was coming up behind them. What it was could not be seen: it was like a great shadow, in the middle of which was a dark form, of man-shape maybe yet greater; and a power and terror seemed to be in it and to go before it. It came to the edge of the fire and the light faded as if a cloud had bent over it. Then with a rush it leaped across the fissure. The flames roared up to greet it, and wreathed about it; and a black smoke swirled in the air. Its streaming mane kindled, and blazed behind it. In its right hand was a blade like a stabbing tongue of fire; in its left it held a whip of many thongs.
They were corrupted Maiar, great spirits of fire, wielders of the dark flame. They were his most powerful servants after Sauron. Their leader was Gothmog, the Balrog who slayed Fëanor. In 'The Lord of the Rings' there seems to be only one remaining Balrog. This one had slumbered deep below the mines of Moria. The dwarves, greedy for Mithril, mined too deeply and awoke the ancient demon, old servant of Melkor who had hid there after his downfall in the War of Wrath. The Balrog chased away the Dwarves and gathered round him Orcs and Trolls, ending the era of the greatest Dwarf-kingdom, that of Khazad-Dum. The Balrog was in liege with Sauron and was his liegeman in Moria. That´s my belief anyway. The dark creatures in Middle-earth did have one commendable quality: their sense of loyalty. I don´t believe that the Balrog of Moria would have established a separate kingdom and remained merely a loose ally to Mordor. It was part of the Balrog´s nature to be willing to serve Sauron completely and utterly. In this case from quite a distance! THE DRAGONS The Dragons were Melkor´s masterpiece of creation. Created back in the First Age in Angband, they became a plague for all the Peoples, especially the Dwarves. The dragons had keen eyesight, could smell other beings from a great distance and were endowed with exceptional hearing. They were also very clever, limited only by vanity, greed and a treacherous mind. They also possessed magical abilities such as a 'commanding eye' and a voice that forced others to do it´s biddings, much like Saruman. The Dragons were feared and famed for their voracity. These beings also enjoyed formulating and guessing riddles. The color of their blood was black. Glarung was the 'Father' of the dragons, he was in fact a giant reptilian being without wings. He fought in several battles leaving death in his wake. The Dwarves of Belegost alone could withstand him in 'The Battle of many Tears'. Glaurung was finally slayed by Túrin, son of Húrin. Another famous Dragon was Ancalagon the Black. This Dragon was the first winged Fire-Dragon and he fought in the Battle of Wrath and met his doom there. After this battle the surviving Dragons withdrew from the world to appear again in the Third Age. Scatha the Worm, the most powerful of the Dragons who had hid themselves in the Grey Mountains, lusted for the treasure amassed by the Dwarves. He drove them away from their dwellings and wreaked havoc until Fram, a Lord of Men managed to kill him. The worries of the Dwarves in the Grey Mountains weren´t over yet. Cold-Dragons soon invaded their land and slayed Dain I. In the Third Age the Dragon Smaug appeared and attacked the Dwarf-kingdom of Erebor. The story of Smaug´s fate is of course known to all who have read 'The Hobbit'. THE BARROW-WIGHTS The Barrow-Wights of the Barrow-Downs were frightening spirits who had infested this ancient burialground. Once a sacred place where Kings of Men lay, evil spirits from Angmar came searching for somewhere to rest and made the Barrow-Downs a haunted and feared area not easily traversed. Of course the Barrow-Wights were not servants of Sauron in 'The lord of the Rings', at least they were not directly in his service taking commands from him. They were more of a far off ally one might say.
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