Blind Read Through: J.R.R. Tolkien; The Silmarillion, Of Beren and Lúthien, Conclusion
“They came at last to the gates of Menegroth, and a great host followed them. Then Beren led Lúthien before the throne of Thingol her father; and he looked in wonder upon Beren, whom he had thought dead; but he loved him not, because of the woes that he had brought upon Doriath. But Beren knelt before him, and said: ‘I return according to my word. I am come now to claim my own.‘”
Welcome back to another Blind Read! This week we pick up right where we left off. Beren and Lúthien survived the battle with Sauron and were in the outskirts of the forests of Doriath.
Celegorm and Curufin found them there and attacked them, thinking of kidnaping Lúthien and taking her as a bride of the Noldor, when a familiar face came to their rescue:
“Then Beren throttled Curufin; but Death was near him, for Celegorm rode upon him with a spear. In that hour Huan forsook the service of Celegorm and sprang upon him…”
With the help of Huan, the sons of Fëanor were subdued and yielded to Beren and Lúthien, but revenge was in the Noldor hearts. Curufin shot a bow as they retreated, intending to kill Lúthien, but Beren dove in front of his love and took the arrow to his chest.
Huan gathered herbs after chasing off Curufin and Celegorm, and “with that leaf she staunched Beren’s wound, and by her arts and by her love she healed him; and thus they returned to Doriath.”
But Beren couldn’t take the thought of failing on his quest twice, so in the middle of the night, when Lúthien slept, he left to pursue the Silmaril.
When Lúthien woke, however, she saw that he was gone and sang her song to Huan for help. “Huan, consenting once more to be her steed, had borne her swiftly hard upon Beren’s trail.” Huan took the guise of Draugluin, Sauron’s wolf captain, and Lúthien took the guise of Thuringwethil, who “was the messenger of Sauron, and was wont to fly in vampire’s form to Angband.”
In these disguises, they caught up with Beren. Beren is quiet at first, hoping to shield Lúthien from “the shadow of Morgoth,” but Huan speaks up: “From the shadow of Death you can no longer save Lúthien, for by her love she is now subject to it. You can turn from your fate and lead her into exile, seeking peace in vain while your life lasts. But if you will not deny your doom, then either Lúthien, being forsaken, must assuredly die alone, or she must with you challenge the fate that lies before you.“
Encouraged, Beren decided he could no longer deny Lúthien and donned the werewolf disguise; Lúthien put on her vampire bat costume and found their way to Angband.
Meanwhile, Morgoth, aware the Huan was near, “chose one from among the whelps of the race of Draugluin; and he fed him with his hand upon living flesh, and put his power upon him.“
This whelp grew to enormous size and became Carcharoth, the Red Maw.
Carcharoth stationed himself in front of the gates, so when Beren and Lúthien came upon him, he stood tall before them, but it was Lúthien who threw off her disguise and stood “small before the might of Carcharoth, but radiant and terrible.” She cast a spell over him with her song and sent him into a deep slumber.
Disguised, the two made it to Morgoth’s chambers, but Lúthien’s disguise didn’t fool Morgoth. “Then Morgoth looking upon her beauty conceived in his thought an evil lust and a design darker than any that had yet come into his heart since he fled from Valinor.”
There is only inference to what he had in mind, but the way Tolkien writes him, there is some terrible sexual connotation which is supposed to indicate the level of evil Morgoth has become. But, of course, the world Tolkien grew up in was one of war, so physical damage might not indicate being evil, only a means to an end. Still, sexual torture and unnecessary damage to “the fairer” sex shows just how deep a level of moral poverty is in Morgoth.
So how do you counter that? By having Lúthien trick him and cast a spell upon him to make him fall asleep and fall from his throne, “The iron crown rolled echoing from his head.” I’ll post the passage in the postscript if you want to read it, but it shows Lúthien is the real hero, despite building Beren up at the beginning of the chapter. She was able to stand up to the horrible abuser and put him into his rightful place, without fear but with determination.
Beren took up his knife, Angrist, and cut off a Silmaril from the crown, but the blade snapped before he could take more.
The two lovers fled the hall, meaning to escape from Angband before Lúthien’s spell wore off, but Carcharoth had already risen and was blocking the gate, sealing them in. The two fierce warriors battled the beastly wolf, but when it saw the Silmaril, he bit for it and took Beren’s hand at the wrist, Silmaril and all.
Lúthien again healed Beren’s wounds, but they tarried too long, and the host of Angband had awoken. All seemed lost, but Huan again came to the rescue. He saw that Carcharoth had fled Angband and caused devastation upon his path, so Huan called for Thorondor, the King of the Eagles, and they flew to Angband and lifted Beren and Lúthien to the woods bordering Doriath.
Thingol was surprised to see the two lovers because of the tales he had heard. He was ready to attack the sons of Fëanor because of rumors that Curufin killed Beren and the Celegorm was to wed Lúthien, but Beren one-handed, and Lúthien appeared before Thingol and Beren gave his speech which started this essay.
Thingol asked for the prize, and Beren held out his stump. Then, understanding, Thingol’s demeanor softened towards Beren: “And it seemed to Thingol that this Man was unlike all other mortal Men, and among the great in Arda, and the love of Lúthien a thing new and strange; and he perceived that any power of the world might not withstand their doom. Therefore, at last, he yielded his will, and Beren took the hand of Lúthien before the throne of her father.“
It seemed as though the chapter should end because the lovers were married, and all parties were happy, yet Carcharoth was ravaging the north, “And Beren, hearing of the onslaught of the Wolf, understood that the quest was not yet fulfilled.“
They formed a hunting party with Huan, Mablung of the Heavy Hand, Beleg Strongbow, Beren, and Thingol to go and end Carcharoth. Upon finding him, there was a significant battle, but one last time, Huan came to the rescue and killed the Red Maw. Carcharoth had one final blow and poisoned Huan to Death: “Beren spoke not, but laid his hand upon the head of the hound, and so they parted.”
They cut open Carcharoth’s stomach, and Beren held the Silmaril aloft, stating, “Now is the quest achieved.”
When they returned to Doriath, Lúthien sang a song of love and sorrow to Mandos the Valar so that she and Beren could stay together in their passion.
“These were the choices that he gave to Lúthien. Because of her labours and her sorrow, she should be released from Mandos, and go to Valimar, there to dwell until the world’s end among the Valar, forgetting all griefs that her life had known. Thither Beren could not come. For it was not permitted to the Valar to withhold Death from him, which is the gift of Ilúvatar to Men. But the other choice was this: that she might return to Middle-earth, and take with her Beren, there to dwell again, but without certitude of life or joy. Then she would become mortal, and subject to a second death, even as he; and ere long she would leave the world for ever, and her beauty become only a memory in song.”
“This doom she chose.”
Beren and Lúthien lived to the end of their days, mortal and happy, and this opened the door to all others who love and told they shouldn’t, including Aragorn and Arwen.
The world of Beleriand is in turmoil, and there is another battle on the horizon.
Join me next week as we delve into “Of the Fifth Battle: Nirnaeth Arnoediad.”
Post Script:
“Then suddenly she eluded his sight, and out of the shadows began a song of such surpassing loveliness, and such blinding power, that he listened perforce; and a blindness came upon him, as his eyes roamed to and fro, seeking her.
And his court were cast down in slumber, and all the fires faded and were quenched; but the Silmarils in the crown on MOrgoth’s head blazed forth suddenly with a radiance of white flame; and the burden of that crown and of the jewels bowed down his head, as though the world were set upon it, laden with a weight of care, of fear, and of desire, that even the will of Morgoth could not support. Then Lúthien catching up her winged robe sprang into the air, and her voice came dropping down like rain into pools, profound and dark. She cast her cloak before his eyes, and set upon him a dream, dark as the Outer Void where once he walked alone. Suddenly he fell, as a hill sliding in an avalanche, and hurled like thunder from his throne lay prone upon the floors of hell. The iron crown rolled echoing from his head. All things were still.”
Blind Read Through: J.R.R. Tolkien; The Silmarillion, Of Beren and Lúthien part 3
“Then Celegorm turned his horse, and spurned it upon Beren, purposing to ride him down; but Curufin swerving stooped and lifted Lúthien to his saddle, for he was a strong and cunning horseman. Then Beren sprang before Celegorm full upon the speeding horse of Curufin that had passed him; and the Leap of Beren is renowned among Men and Elves. He took Curufin by the throat from behind, and hurled him backward, and they fell to the ground together.“
Welcome back to another Blind Read! This week we continue the tale of Beren and Lúthien while highlighting the betrayal of the Noldor and the heroics of our two protagonists.
Last week we saw Beren take off on his quest to gather a Silmaril through Felagund’s realm. Weary of the duplicitous nature of his kin (Curifin and Celegorm), Felagund joins Beren on his quest to ensure the Silmaril doesn’t fall into the wrong hands.
They traveled towards Angband, and “Beneath the Shadowy Mountains, they came upon a company of Orcs.” Felagund used his magic to make the two of them look like Orcs so they could join the Orcish gang to travel to Taur-Nu-Fain. But Sauron knew of their disguises and sent his servants to intercept them. He succeeded in capturing them, “But though their kinds were revealed, Sauron could not discover their names or purposes,” so he threw them into a pit to imprison them.
Lúthien sensed something was wrong and went to Melian for assistance, to which she found none. Instead, she was sent to her room, a “mighty beech (was) named Hírilorn” like a naughty twelve year old. She used her Elven arts and disguised herself to escape from the home in the tree and go after Beren.
At this time, Curufin and Celegorm were out hunting the wolves of Sauron, and with them, we have introduced to possibly the most essential tertiary character of this tale: Huan.
“Now chief of the wolfhounds that followed Celegorm was named Huan. He was not born in Middle-earth, but he came from the Blessed Realm; for Oromë had given him to Celegorm long ago in Valinor, and there he had followed the horn of his master, before evil came. So Huan followed Celegorm into exile, and was faithful; and thus he too came under the doom of woe set upon the Noldor, and it was decreed that he should meet death, but not until he encountered the mightiest wolf that would ever walk the world.”
Remember the last line. It will be crucial next week!
Huan found Lúthien and brought her to Celegorm, who “promised that she would find help in her need if she returned with him now to Nargothrond,” but he betrayed her Lúthien. He imprisoned her, “believing that Beren and Felagund were prisoners beyond hope of aid, they purposed to let the king perish, and to keep Lúthien, and force Thingol to give her hand to Celegorm.” The two brothers thought only of power and didn’t care whom they hurt to get it.
But it was Huan who came to the rescue. He was true of heart and hated to see Lúthien caged, so he “led her by secret ways out of Nargothrond, and they fled north together.”
Little did she know that in the north, Sauron sent one of his wolves into the prison to kill Beren, “But when the wolf came for Beren, Felagund put forth all his power, and burst his bonds; and he wrestled with the werewolf, and slew it with his hands and teeth; yet he himself was wounded to the death.” and because of his heroics in saving Beren he “redeemed his oath.” and was able to take his long rest “in the timeless halls beyond the seas and the Mountains of Aman.“
Then “In that hour Lúthien came, and standing upon the bridge that led to Sauron’s isle she sang a song that no walls of stone could hinder.“
Sauron heard this song and knew it for Lúthien, Melian’s daughter, and sent his wolves to capture her but Sauron didn’t know that the Huan accompanied her; “and Huan one by one Huan took them by the throat and slew them.” Sauron even sent Draugluin, “a dread beast, old in evil, lord and sire of the werewolves of Angband.” Yet Huan even slew him.
Sauron probably said that old phrase, “if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself.” he turned himself into a werewolf, “…the mightiest that had yet walked the world.” So he sprang upon them, and Huan battled him in a skirmish for the ages, and Huan came out the victor. Sauron yielded and pleaded release, and Huan let released him. “And immediately he took the form of a vampire, great as a dark cloud across the moon, and he fled, dripping blood from his throat upon the trees, and came to Taur-Nu-Fain, and dwelt there, filling it with horror.”
If you recall, from a few weeks ago, I contended that Taur-Nu-Fain (then called Dorthianian) was, in fact, Mordor of the Third Age. I believe this passage confirms that, because we have an area surrounded by mountains, Ungoliant’s children (Shelob) live in those mountains, and are just across from Minas Tirith. Sauron filled Taur-Nu-Fain with horror and turned it into the land where he forged the One Ring.
After Sauron fled, Lúthien and Huan head down into the pits, past the cowering thralls of Sauron, and find Beren “mourning by Felagund.” They brought the king’s body out and buried him in a proper ceremony so that “Finrod walks with Finarfin his father beneath the trees in Eldamar.“
Beren and Lúthien decide to hide in the forest and enjoy their love together. Huan returned to Celegorm out of only faithfulness because the Noldor prince’s actions destroyed his trust and honor in Celegorm.
Celegorm and Curufin’s plans came to fruition. They waited around and let Felagund die, thinking they would take the throne. Still, the subjects of Nargothrond “lamented bitterly the fall of Felagund their king, saying that a maiden had dared that which the sons of Fëanor had not dared to do; but many perceived that it was treachery rather than fear that had guided Celegorm and Curufin. Therefore the hearts of the people of Nargothrond were released from their dominion, and turned again to the house of Finarfin; and obeyed Orodreth (Finrod Felagund’s son).”
They fled to Himring to hide with their brother Maedhros and Huan went with them out of duty.
But Beren, living with his love Lúthien “near the borders of Doriath,” could not forget his oath and the possibility to live with Lúthien honorably. Lúthien, however, is not a passive princess from some other tale. She is a warrior queen, and though this is a love story, she has agency all of her own. She tells Beren:
“You must choose, Beren, between these two: to reliquish the quest and your oath and seek a life of wandering upon the face of the earth; or to hold to your word and challenege the power of darkness upon it’s throne. But on either road I shall go with you, and our doom shall be alike.“
It wouldn’t be much of a story if they didn’t charge once more into the breach, so join me next week as we conclude the story of Beren and Lúthien!
Blind Read Through: J.R.R. Tolkien; The Silmarillion, Of Beren and Lúthien, pt. 2
“My fate, O King, led me hither, through perils such as few even of the Elves would dare. And here I have found what I sought not indeed, but finding I would possess for ever. For it is above all gold and silver, and beyond all jewels. Neither rock, nor steel, nor the fires of Morgoth, nor all the powers of the Elf-kingdoms, shall keep from me the treasure that I desire. For Lúthien your daughter is the fairest of all the Children of the World.”
Welcome back to another Blind Read! This week we continue the tale of the star-crossed lovers while deconstructing themes of selfishness and fear in Elvishkind, which we’ve mentioned before.
Last week we learned of Beren’s beginnings and his fight to exit Dorthonian and head south to Doriath. The path was dangerous, and by the time he made it to Doriath, he was “grey and bowed as with many years of woe, so great had been the torment on the road.” But it was there in the forests he espied “Lúthien… the most beautiful of all the Children of Ilúvatar.”
She was dancing and singing in the woods in a beautiful voice “he called her Tinúviel, that signifies Nightingale,” and upon viewing her and listening to her song, “all memory of his pain departed from him.“
He was instantly in love with her light and beauty, and he followed her dumbfounded, trying to speak but muted by her brilliance. When he was finally able to talk, Beren approached Lúthien, and Tolkien gives us a curious passage: “But as she looked on him, doom fell upon her, and she loved him.“
We will see soon that though this is Tolkien’s heart of The Silmarillion, Beren and Lúthien’s love signifies the end of Elvish rule in Beleriand. Morgoth is merely a means to an end, but the Hubris of the Elves marks their destruction. Whether it be Fëanor and his firey drive to kill Morgoth, Turgon’s desire to forsake others for his own people’s safety, or Thingol’s parental urge to “know” what is suitable for his daughter, these are the traits that brought the Elves down, not Morgoth.
Lúthien hid her love for Beren for a while, just as she hid him in the forest. She knew her love for a human was wrong, but she couldn’t help herself because “no others of the Children of Ilúvatar have had joy so great, though the time was brief.”
But there was a danger because “Daeron the minstrel also loved Lúthien, and he espied her meetings with Beren and betrayed them to Thingol.”
Thingol was beyond angry, but it was because of his Hubris as an Elf and fear as a father. He declared Beren a thief and a scoundrel, though reading it closely, one can tell that he can’t believe a man was able to do what no other being could – traverse the Girdle of Melian and enter the lands. He was also terrified of this man taking his daughter and what kind of dangerous life she would have with him because his pride could not allow Beren to remain in Doriath.
Lúthien speaks to Beren’s defense before Thingol tells her, “Let Beren speak!” Beren’s response is the quote that opens this essay.
Thingol still tries to find a way around his predicament. Finally, he accuses Beren of being a thrall or a spy of Morgoth, to which Beren responds:
“By the ring of Felagund, that he gave to Barahir my father on the battlefield of the North, my house has not earned such names from any Elf, be he king or no.“
He shows the Ring of Felagund, which we will see in the Third age, on the hand of Aragorn. Viewing this Ring and hearing his wife Melian’s caution, Thingol devised a plan. He tells Beren that if he wants his daughter’s hand in marriage, he would, “Bring to me in your hand a Silmaril from Morgoth’s crown.”
Then, “he wrought the doom of Doriath and was ensnared within the curse of Mandos.” Because of his fear, he gave Beren an impossible task, bringing Doriath into the larger world. If Beren failed, Thingol would lose his daughter because of the knowledge of condemning Beren to an impossible task. If he succeeded, having a Silmaril would bring down the wrath of both the Noldor and the Valar. Thingol sealed his fate.
Beren, of course, accepts the mission. The young warrior heads north out of Doriath towards the wastes of Taur-Nu-Fuin, what was once Dorthonian – what was once his home. As he traveled, Beren realized he was spied upon, so he shouted to the hidden warriors and showed the Ring of Felagund; “Thus Beren came before King Finrod Felagund.”
He told the King what had befallen his father, and he said of his adventures, finally revealing to the King his quest to secure a Silmaril for Thingol so that he may be with his love. Finrod tells him:
“It is plain that Thingol desires your death; but it seems that his doom goes beyond his purpose, and that the Oath of Fëanor is again at work. For the Silmarils are cursed with an oath of hatred, and he that even names them in desire moves a great power from slumber; and the sons of Fëanor would lay all the Elf-kingdoms in ruin rather than suffer any other than themselves to win or possess a Silmaril, for the Oath drives them.”
Beren’s appearance came after the time of the Battle of Sudden Flame, when Curufin and Celegorm had fled to Nargothrond with them. The curse of Fëanor was strong, and the Hubris of the Noldor was even more potent. The sons of Fëanor would take their desire to gain the Silmarils to any extent, and Finrod knows this.
“And after Celegorm Curufin spoke, more softly but with no less power, conjuring in the minds of the Elves a vision of war and the ruin of Nargothrond. So great a fear did he set in thier hearts that never after until the time of Túrin would any Elf of that realm go into open battle; but with stealth and ambush, with wizardry and venomed dart, they pursued all strangers, forgetting the bonds of kinship.“
Much like we have seen in the Third Age, the Silmarils call out to the Noldor as the One Ring does. But unfortunately, their power corrupts absolutely, and their meaning has blinded the Noldor to bring about their demise.
Curufin and Celegorm, knowing they are the next in line to be King if Finrod falls in battle, encourage him to go and help Beren steal a Silmaril from Morgoth, “whatever betide.“
Join me next week as we continue Beren’s quest for the Silmaril and Lúthien’s hand in marriage!
Blind Read Through: J.R.R. Tolkien; The Silmarillion, Of Beren and Lúthien
“Among the tales of sorrow and of ruin that come down to us from the darkness of those days there are yet some in which amid weeping there is joy and under the shadow of death light that endures. And of these histories most fair still in the ears of the Elves is the tale of Beren and Lúthien. Of their lives was made the Lay of Leithian, Release of Bondage, which is the longest save one of the songs concerning the world of old; but here the tale is told in fewer words and without song.”
Welcome back to another Blind Read! This week we begin the epic tale of Beren and Lúthien by witnessing Beren’s beginnings and growth into the epic warrior he was to become.
The quote above begins the chapter, and we quickly learn of the Outlaws of Dorthonian led by Barahir, Beren’s father. These were the last twelve human men living in Dorthonian because “Barahir would not forsake” it. Pursued by Morgoth, these men hid in the moors of the highlands of that region at a lake named “Tarn Aeluin.”
“The waters of Tarn Aeluin were held in reverence, for they were clear and blue by day and by night were a mirror for the stars; and it was said that Melian herself had hallowed that water in days of old.“
These Men lived in peace for several years until one of the Outlaws, Gorlim, came home from a battle and “found his house plundered and forsaken, and his wife gone; whether slain or taken he knew not.”
Despite plundering this house, the Outlaws remained hidden and were a thorn in Morgoth’s side, so he “commanded Sauron to find them and destroy them.“
Sauron learned of Gorlim’s loss and, with his sorcery, set an illusion of Gorlim’s wife in the house. Then, when he came back from ranging, he saw her image in the place, “and her face was worn with grief and hunger, and it seemed to him that he heard her lamenting that he had forsaken her.”
Sauron’s trap had worked. Agents of Sauron captured Gorlim and “tormented him, seeking to learn the hidings of Barahir and all his ways. But nothing would Gorlim tell.”
The torment continued until Sauron finally offered Gorlim’s wife back to him. “Then Sauron laughed; and he mocked Gorlim, and revealed to him that he had seen only a phantom devised by wizardry to entrap him; for Eilinel (Gorlim’s wife) was dead.“
But he still promised to bring her back, and “In this way the hiding of Barahir was revealed.”
Morgoth’s agents descended on the troop and brutally slaughtered them. Fortunately, Beren, son of Barahir, was off-ranging when the devastation happened.
Beren returned after having a prophetic dream, telling of his father’s murder, but he was too late. He saw his fellow Outlaws dead next to the Tarn Aeluin. “There Beren buried his father’s bones, and raised a cairn of boulders above him, and swore upon it an oath of vengeance.”
Beren tracked the Orc party to their camp “at Rivil’s Well above the Fen of Serech.“
“There their captain made boast of his deeds, and he held up the hand of Barahir that he had cut off as a token for Sauron that their mission was fulfilled; and the ring of Felegund was on that hand. Then Beren sprang from behind a rock, and slew the captain, and taking the hand and the ring he escaped.“
For four years, Beren wandered Dorthonian as a “solitary outlaw.” Finally, he became one with the land, and “he became the friend of birds and beasts, and they aided him… and from that time forth he ate no flesh nor slew any living thing that was not in the service of Morgoth.”
Beren “did not fear death, but only captivity, and being bold and desperate he escaped both death and bonds; and the deeds of lonely daring he acheived were noised abroad throughout Beleriand, and the tale of them came even into Doriath.”
His deeds became so legendary that Orcs would flee instead of standing up against him if he were near. Finally, Morgoth became distraught that a man was causing such havoc in a land he was supposed to be in control of, so he ordered Sauron to flood the land with his armies to flush Beren out. “Sauron brought werewolves, fell beasts inhabited by dreadful spirits that he had imprisoned in their bodies.”
Dorthonian “was now become filled with evil, and all clean things were departed from it.” Sauron’s plan to find him didn’t work, but the land had become so overrun that Beren fled south, “There it was put into his heart that he would go down into the Hidden Kingdom” of Doriath.
“Terrible was his southward journey” through Ered Gorgoroth, where so many others had perished in that land “where the sorcery of Sauron and the power of Melian came together.“
Beren was known for many great deeds during his lifetime, and “that journey is not accounted least among the great deeds… but he spoke of it to no one after, lest the horror return to his mind.” That region is one of horror in Beleriand, save only for Angband itself. “There spiders of the fell race of Ungoliant abode, spinning their unseen webs in which all living things were snared; and monsters wandered there that were born in the long dark before the sun, hunting silently with many eyes.”
Imagine wandering through a land filled with creatures like Shelob from Return of the King and other creatures whose sole purpose was to destroy all that came from the light. This evil land survived independently from Morgoth because Ungoliant was the only creature Morgoth truly feared, yet Beren, with all his might,uuj]1 made his way through unscathed.
He finally “passed through the mazes that Melian wove about the kingdom of Thingol… grey and bowed as with many years of woe.”
But it was there in the forests of Doriath his journey was complete because “wandering in the summer in the woods of Neldoreth he came upon Lúthien, daughter of Thingol and Melian, at a time of evening under moonrise.“
The two star-crossed lovers have finally met. Join me next week as we discover how they last through a disapproving father and a curse that will come to doom Doriath.
Blind Read Through: J.R.R. Tolkien; The Silmarillion, Of the Ruin of Beleriand and the Fall of Fingolfin, Conclusion
“But at length, after the fall of Fingolfin, Sauron, greatest and most terrible of the servants of Morgoth, who in the Sindarin tongue was named Tol Sirion. Sauron was become now a sorcerer of dreadful power, master of shadows and of phantoms, foul in wisdom, cruel in strength, misshaping what he touched, twisting what he ruled, lord of werewolves; his dominion was torment.“
Welcome back to another Blind Read! This week we shift perspective from the Eldar battle against Morgoth to the war between Men and the Dark Lord, while we also get a taste of the Sauron, the Dark Lord of the future.
This portion of the chapter begins with a page break. It immediately switches to speaking about Barahir and his last stand against Morgoth with his minions in the woods of Dorthonian (the land to the north, just beneath the wastes of Ard-Galen). One of the objectives I’m looking for while reading through this book is to find the connectors with the Third Age and see how Beleriand became the Middle-earth we all know. This chapter speaks of Minas Tirith being near Tol Sirion, the river that flows by the mountains of Dorthonian and Mithrim. Dorthonian was a land once rife with greenery and trees, but with the Dagor Bragollach, or the Battle of Sudden Flame, Dorthonian turned into a place of ash. Tolkien tells us in this second half of the chapter that Sauron “took Minas Tirith by assault.” If we remember the map of Middle-earth in the Third Age, Minas Tirith was in Gondor, on the border of Mordor, land protected by mountains on all sides. Could it be that the once Elven stronghold of Dorthonian became Mordor?
It seems so as the Noldor and Men of Beleriand were forced out of their lands to the south, and “Many of the Noldor and the Sindar they (orcs) took captive and led to Angband, and made them thralls, forcing them to use their skill and their knowledge in the service of Morgoth.“
Much of Morgoth’s success in this late battle came from the work he seeded early on. His lies sowed misinformation and strife, making them distrustful of their kin. Hereafter Dagor Bragollach, Morgoth used these Elves and Men “…for his evil purposes, and feigning to give them liberty sent them abroad, but he chained their will to him, and they strayed only to come back to him again.“
These thralls proved his earlier lies that the Noldor couldn’t trust one another, so they stayed locked behind their doors. Doriath and Gondolin remained strong as the other kingdoms weakened. But through all of this, “To Men Morgoth feigned pity.” Many men went to Morgoth because they believed his sincerity, even while the world around them burned.
Some men stood and fought through all this deceit while the Noldor retreated; the Haladin, human friends of Thingol, sent word to him. As a result, the Elvish marchwarderns from Gondolin, led by Beleg Strongbow, and the Haladin (also known as the People of Haleth) destroyed the Orc-legion in the northwest.
But where the Eldar were a peaceful, non-violent people (with the exception of the Noldor), the Men of Beleriand were born without the light of the Valar and knew that they had to fight for what they needed to survive.
The disparity of existence led to strife between some bands of elves and men because the elves believed that they needed to be reserved. So it shows in the tale of Húrin and Huor (there is a book that we will eventually get to, which is a narrative tale of the Children of Húrin) as they went to a battle to save a company of men who were “cut off from the rest” at the Ford of Brithiach. They fought hard and valiantly but “would have been taken or slain, but for the power of Ulmo, that was still strong in the Sirion.“
Remember in “The Fellowship of the Ring” when Arwen takes Frodo after being stabbed by the Morgul blade on Weathertop? She says a prayer to Ulmo, and the waters rise (in the form of Horses) and wipe out the Nine Black riders as they pursue. This scene frames my concept of how Ulmo saved Húrin and Huor (who was merely 13 in this battle).
But Ulmo, though he loved the residents of Beleriand the most, was not the only Valar who would help. Thorondor, the King of the Eagles, created at the hand of Manwë, came down and brought the two men to Turgon, who housed them in Gondolin.
Thorondor will be familiar to everyone because he was the Great Eagle who came to Frodo and Sam’s rescue in “The Return of the King” and saved them from the cliffs of Mount Doom after they threw the ring into the fire.
The battle raged on, and many Men and Elves died at the hands of Morgoth as Turgon kept Gondolin’s gates shut tight. Turgon had “received his guests well,” (Húrin and Huor) but because these Men grew without consciously knowing of the love and assistance of the Valar, they were angry and anxious to get back out and help their kin in the fight. So when they approached Turgon and his attendants, the King gave them surprising grace:
“The King’s grace is greater than you know, and the law is become less stern than aforetime; or else no choice would be given you but to abide to your life’s end.“
Turgon never let anyone leave for fear that they would reveal the secret location of Gondolin, but the Men held to their word, not even telling their family where they had been for the past months, thus strengthening the bond between Elf and Man.
But Turgon saw the writing on the wall and sent secret messengers to Valinor to ask for the succor of the Valar. Still, Valinor remained hidden from the exiled Noldor, holding to their word that the Noldor would never step foot on the shores of the Grey Havens. “Therefore none of the messengers of Turgon came into the West, and many were lost and few returned, but the doom of Gondolin drew nearer.”
“Rumour came to Morgoth of these things, and he was unquiet amid his victories, and he desired greatly to learn tidings of Felagund and Turgon.” So he sent out spies to learn where Nargothrond was hidden and understand where Turgon hid. But unfortunately, the secret of Gondolin still had not been released, so Morgoth didn’t even know of the great city’s existence.
His desire to eradicate the Noldor led him to send another wave of Orcs to wipe them out completely. “He sent a great force against Hithlum. The attack on the passes of the Shadowy Mountains was bitter, and in the siege of Eithel Sirion Galdor the tall, Lorn of Dor-Lómin, was slain by an arrow.“
The battle was pitch, and it looked grim for Hithlum until “the ships of Círdan sailed in great strength up the firth of Dengrist, and in the hour of need the Elves of the Falas came upon the host of Morgoth from the west.“
They pushed the host back to Angband, and in the absence of a ruler in Dor-Lómin, Húrin, son of Galdor the tall, took over and ruled while serving Fingon.
“His wife was Morwen Eledhwen, daughter of Baragund of the house of Bëor, she who fled from Dorthonian with Rían daughter of Belegund and Emeldir the mother of Beren.“
These “outlaws of Dorthonian” were accompanied by Beren, and Tolkien tells us that tale in the next chapter. Tolkien called the story of Beren and Lúthien “The Heart of The Silmarillion,” which makes me very excited to reach that chapter finally!
Join me next week as we start the journey “Of Beren and Lúthien.”
Sean McBride 
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