A Dictionary of Tolkien Read online

  Aman

  The great western continent which is the Undying Lands of the immortal Valar and the Eldar. Aman in Quenya Elvish for “blessed”, and until the downfall of Númenor and the Change of the World, it lay far to the west of Middle-earth over Belegaer, the Great Sea. After that cataclysm, Aman was torn away from the sphere of the world, so that those who sailed from Middle-earth after the Second Age of the Sun could only reach the Undying Lands on the magical ships of the Sea Elves. These miraculous ships alone are granted the power to sail the vast abyss that lies beneath the mortal and immortal lands.

  Amanyar

  In the time of the Trees of the Valar, many of the Elven peoples made the Great Journey from Middle-earth to the continent of the Undying Lands, which is also known as Aman. Thereafter, in the Ages of Stars and Sun, Elves also came to Aman and all those who reached the Undying Lands, soon or late, were named the Amanyar, “those of Aman”.

  Amon Amarth

  Also called Orodurin, Amon Amarth is an Elvish name meaning “Mount Doom”, a volcanic mountain on a barren plain in the evil land of Mordor. It was in the fires of the Cracks of Doom on Amon Amarth that Sauron first forged the One Ring. And it was back to this mountain of destiny that the Ringbearer Frodo Baggins the Hobbit brought the Ring in order to destroy it, and bring an end to the power of Sauron, the Dark Lord.

  Amon Hen

  The “hill of the eye”, one of the three peaks at the end of the long lake called Nen Hithoel on the Anduin River. The other two were Amon Llaw, or the “hill of the ear”, on the eastern bank, and Tol Brandir, or Tindrock, an unclimbable island pinnacle that stood in the centre of the lake. Amon Hen and Amon Llaw had on their summits two magical thrones built to watch the borderlands of Gondor. These stone thrones were called the “Seat of Seeing” on Amon Hen and the “Seat of Hearing” on Amon Llaw. During the War of the Rings, the Fellowship of the Ring made their way to Amon Hen. There, Frodo Baggins sat upon the Seat of Seeing and discovered its magical properties by suddenly being able to see telescopically for hundreds of miles in all directions.

  Amon Llaw

  The “hill of the ear”, one of the three peaks at the end of the long lake Nen Hithoel on the Anduin River. It was one of the two watchtowers of the marchlands of Gondor, the other being Amon Hen, the “hill of the eye”. On the summit of Amon Llaw was the “Seat of Hearing”, a throne comparable to the “Seat of Seeing” on Amon Hen. It is presumed that upon this throne, one may hear all the enemies of Gondor conspiring against her.

  Amon Rûdh

  The “bald hill” in West Beleriand, south of the Brethil Forest and between the Narog and Sirion Rivers. The caverns cut into Amon Rûdh were the last home of the Noegyth Nibin, or Petty Dwarves, which The Silmarillion tells, had so diminished in numbers by the fifth century of the First Age of the Sun, that there were only three surviving: an ancient dwarf named Mîm and his two sons. It was also the hiding place of the hero Túrin Turambar. Amon Rûdh was called the Bald Hill because it was rocky and without any vegetation, except the red flowers of the hardy seregon or bloodstone plant.

  Amon Uilos

  Literally means “hill of ever snow white”. It is one of the many names for Taniquetil, the highest mountain in the Undying Lands. It is the Olympus of Arda where Ilmarin, the great halls of the gods Manwë and Varda are built.

  Amroth

  Elven King of Lothlórien. Amroth was the son of Amdir, and ruled from 3434 of the Second Age until 1981 of the Third Age. Amroth fell in love with the Elf maid Nimrodel, and was the star-crossed lover who was the subject of many songs. He once lived on the hill of Cerin Amroth in Lothlórien but in the year 1981 he went to Dol Amroth and awaited his lover, so they might sail to the Undying Lands. However, Nimrodel lost her way and perished, and Amroth threw himself from his white ship into the sea.

  Anárion

  Dúnedain king of Gondor. Anárion, with his father Elendil and brother Isildur, escaped the Downfall of Númenor, and founded the kingdoms of Gondor and Arnor in 3320 of the Second Age. They were among the chief enemies of Sauron, the Ring Lord, in the Second Age. With the Elf King, Gil-galad, they formed the army of the Last Alliance of Elves and Men. The Alliance was successful in destroying Sauron’s power, but Anárion was killed by a stone hurled down on him from the Dark Tower of Mordor.

  Ancalagon

  Dragon of Angband. Ancalagon was the first and greatest of the Winged Dragons. Called Ancalagon the Black, he was bred in the Pits of Angband by Morgoth the Dark Enemy in the First Age of the Sun. The name itself meant “rushing jaws” and when he was first released on the world in the Great Battle, his vast shape blotted out the light of the sun. For a time Ancalagon and his legions of Winged Fire-drakes looked as if they would overcome the Valar but at a critical moment the giant Eagles and Eärendil, the Mariner, in his magical flying ship, entered the fray and slew Ancalagon the Black. So great was the Dragon’s weight that when he fell the towers of Thangorodrim were destroyed and the vast Pits of Angband burst beneath him.

  Andor

  Andor means the “land of the gift” and is one of the Elvish names for Númenor, the Atlantis of the Arda. This is the great island kingdom that at the end of the Second Age of the Sun was swallowed up in to Belegaer, the Great Sea.

  Andram

  A massive escarpment wall that ran from west to east across central Beleriand. Its name means “long wall” and it served to divide north and south Beleriand. It ran from Nargothrond in the far west to Ramdall, the “wall’s end, in East Beleriand, and was breached in only two places. In the west, the River Narog cut a fantastically deep gorge through the Andram, and twenty-five leagues to the east of the Narog the great river Sirion hurled itself over the sheer escarpment in one of the mightiest falls in Middle-earth, only to vanish into deep caverns beneath the Andram.

  Andúnië

  The earliest chief city of the great island kingdom of Númenor that during the Second Age of the Sun was found in the middle of Belegaer, the Great Sea, and between Middle-earth and the Undying Lands. Andúnië was a haven on the westernmost part of Númenor, and its name means “sunset”. Its people were the most faithful to the old ways of the Númenóreans, and later founded the Dunedain kingdoms of Gondor and Arnor on Middle-earth.

  Angband

  Utumno was the first and chief underground kingdom of the satanic Valarian Melkor, but in the ages of darkness that followed the destruction of the Lamps of Valar, Melkor built a great armoury and underground fortress in the north of Beleriand called Angband, the “iron prison”. At the end of the First Age of Stars Utumno was destroyed and Melkor put in chains, but though its main defences were broken, the pits and dungeons of Angband were not torn up during the War of Powers. For four ages of starlight while Melkor was captive, his minions and evil spirits, led by his captain, Sauron, hid themselves in the depths of Angband. So when Melkor rose again, destroyed the Trees of the Valar and stole the Silmarils, he fled once more to Angband. Calling his demons to him, he rebuilt Angband, vaster and stronger than before. Above the Angband he then raised the three-peaked volcanic mountain called Thangorodrim as a great battlement. In Angband, throughout the First Age of the Sun and the War of the Jewels, Melkor ruled and bred his demons and such monsters as his mighty Dragons. Attacked many times, Angband was not taken until the War of Wrath and the Great Battle. It took all the power of the vast hosts the Valar, Maiar and Eldar to break down its defences, crush its demons and cast Melkor out into the void. So great was the battle, that not only was Angband destroyed, but all the land of Beleriand was swallowed up by the western sea.

  Angmar

  The Witch-kingdom of Angmar in the northern part of the Misty Mountains arose in the year 1300 of the Third Age of the Sun. Its capital was Carn Dûm, and it was populated by Orcs and the barbarian Hillmen of the Ettenmoors. Its ruler was called the Witch-king of Angmar, but in reality he was the Lord of the Nazgûl and the chief servant of Sauron, the Dark Lord. For nearly 700 years the Witch-king r
uled and Angmar made constant war on the Dúnedain Kingdom of the North in Arnor. Arnor was finally destroyed in the year 1974, but in 1975, a combined army of Gondor Men and Elves defeated the Witch-king’s army at the Battle of Fornost, then went on to lay waste to all of the kingdom of Angmar.

  Apanónar

  When the Sun first rose on Arda and its light shone in the land of Hildórien in eastern Middle-earth, there arose a race of mortal beings. This was the race of Men, who were also named the Apanónar, which means “afterborn”, because they were not the first speaking people to come to Arda. Elves, Dwarves, Ents and the evil races of Orcs and Trolls had been in the World for many Ages before Men arrived.

  Aragorn I

  Dúnedain chieftain of Arnor. After the North Kingdom of the Dúnedain was destroyed by the Witch-king of Angmar in 1974 of the Third Age, the heirs to this lost kingdom were thereafter known as the Chieftains of the Dúnedain, and of these there were sixteen. The fifth was Aragorn I. Little is recorded of those dark days, except that after ruling for eight years as Chieftain, in 2327 he was slain by wolves in Eriador.

  Aragorn II

  Dúnedain chieftain of Arnor. At the time of the War of the Ring, Aragon II was the sixteenth and last chieftain of the Dúnedain. Born in 2931 of the Third Age, Aragorn was raised by Elrond the Half-Elven in Rivendell. When Aragorn was twenty he met Elrond’s daughter, Arwen, and the couple fell in love. However, Elrond would not permit marriage until Aragorn became the rightful king of Arnor and Gondor. To this end, Aragorn travelled widely and fought for the rights of the Free Peoples. He went by many names: Thengel, Ecthelion, Thorongil, Elfstone, Elessar and Strider. As a Dúnedain lord, Aragorn was blessed with a lifespan three times that of other Men. In 2956, he met Gandalf the Wizard and they became friends and allies. In 3018, he came to Bree where he met the Hobbit Ringbearer, Frodo Baggins, and in Rivendell he became one of the Fellowship of the Ring. After Gandalf was lost to the Balrog in Moria, Aragorn became the leader of the Fellowship. In the War of the Ring, Aragorn played a prominent role in routing Saruman’s army at Hornburg. He commanded the Dead Men of Dunharrow and captured the fleet at Pelargir. His arrival with new allies at the Battle of Pelennor Fields saved Gondor, and he commanded the Army of the West at the Black Gate of Mordor. After the war, Aragorn became King Elessar (“Elfstone”) of the Reunited Kingdom and married Arwen. During the next century of his reign, Aragorn extended his kingdom to most of the Western lands of Middle-earth. With Arwen, he had several daughters and one son, Eldarion. After Aragorn’s death in 120 of the Fourth Age, his son became king of the Reunited Kingdom, ruling long and well.

  Aratar

  Among the Powers of Arda there are the Valar, eight of whom are named the Aratar, the “exalted”. Their might far exceeds that of all others in the Undying Lands. The Aratar are: Manwë, the Wind King and Varda, Queen of the Stars, who both live on Taniquetil in Ilmarin, the “mansion of the high airs”. Two others, called Aulë the Smith and Mandos the Doomsman, live in halls beneath the Earth, while Yavanna, who is Queen of the Earth, and Oromë, the Forest Lord, live on the open land. Another is Ulmo, the Lord of the Waters, who inhabits the seas. The last Aratar is Nienna the Weeper, whose home is a great house in the West from which she looks upon the Door of Night.

  Arda

  The High Elven name for the whole world as it was conceived by Ilúvatar and shaped by the Valar. It included both the mortal lands of Middle-earth and the immortal realm of the Undying Lands.

  Argonath

  Literally the “royal stones”, but also called the Gates of the Kings or the Gates of Gondor, the Argonath was a pair of massive carvings cut into the high cliffs on either side of a gorge that fed into a lake above the great falls of Rauros on the Anduin River. The huge statues were of the first kings of Gondor, Isildur and Anárion, and were carved into the living rock in the year 1340 of the Third Age to mark the northern limit of the kingdom of Gondor.

  Arien

  Maia guardian of the Sun. The radiant Arien was a Maia maiden spirit of fire who once served Vana the Ever-young in the gardens of Valinor. However, after the destruction of the Trees of Light, Arien took the single surviving fruit of the Golden Tree and, in a vessel forged by Aulë the Smith, carried it through the heavens. As the guardian of the Sun, Arien is the best-loved of all the Maiar spirits by mortal Men.

  Armenelos

  The capital city of Númenor, Armenelos was built on the slopes of Meneltarma, the highest mountain of the island kingdom. Sometimes called Armenelos the Golden, it contained the court of the kings of Númenor, and by the power of cunning evil, overcame and corrupted the king, causing the destruction of Númenor.

  Arnor

  Founded in the year 3320 of the Second Age of the Sun by Elendil the Númenórean, Arnor was the first kingdom of the Dúnedain on Middle-earth. Elendil ruled in Arnor as High-king of the Dúnedain, but sent his sons south to found Gondor, the realm of the Dúnedain of the South. Arnor’s first capital was Annúminas, on the shores of Lake Evendim; by 861 Fornost had become its major city and capital. It was in that year that Arnor was split up into three kingdoms – Arthedain, Cardolan and Rhudaur – by the three sons of Eärendur, its tenth king. In the year 1300 there arose to the north-east of Arnor the evil Witch-kingdom of Angmar. For nearly seven hundred years the Lord of the Nazgûl, who was known only as the Witch-king, made war on the Dúnedain of Arnor. By 1409, the kingdoms of Cardolan and Rhudaur had been destroyed, but the Dúnedain of Arthedain fought on another six centuries. Finally, in the year 1974, Arthedain was overrun by the Orc legions and barbarian hordes of the Witch-king. Though the line of its kings was unbroken in the scattered remnant of its people, the kingdom of Arnor ceased to exist. It was not right until the end of the War of the Ring, when Aragorn, the last Chieftain, became High King of all the Dúnedain, that Arnor was reclaimed and restored to its former power and glory.

  Arwen

  Elven princess of Rivendell. Arwen was the daughter of Elrond Half-elven and Queen Celebrian. Born in the year 241 of the Third Age of the Sun she was considered the greatest beauty of her time. She was known as Evenstar by Elves, and often called Undómiel, or “evening maid” by Men. For nearly three thousand years she lived in Rivendell and Lothlórien. In 2951, she met and fell in love with Aragorn, the heir to the Dúnedain kingdom. In 2980 they became betrothed, but Elrond forebade this marriage until Aragorn became king. Aragorn’s deeds in the War of the Ring resulted in fulfilment of Elrond’s conditions, and Arwen became Aragorn’s queen. For Arwen, this was a brave choice, for through this marriage she chose to share the ultimate fate of all mortals. She bore Aragorn several daughters and one son, and they reigned happily and well until Aragorn’s death in the year 120 of the Fourth Age. The following year Arwen went back to Lothlórien where she chose to die on Cerin Amroth, where she and Aragorn had been betrothed.

  Asëa Aranion

  From the land of the Númenóreans, a herb of magical healing powers came to Middle-earth. In the High Elven tongue this herb was named Asëa Aranion, the “leaf of kings”, because of the special powers that it possessed in the hands of the kings of Númenórë. More commonly, Elven-lore used the Sindarin name, Athelas; in the common Westron tongue of Men it was Kingsfoil.

  Ash Mountains

  The realm of Sauron, the Lord of the Rings, was called Mordor. It was a dark and evil land protected by a great horseshoe of mountains. The mountains that made up the northern border of Mordor were called the Ash Mountains, which in the Elvish was Ered Lithui. These mountains appear to have been totally impassable, except where they met the Shadowy Mountains – the Ephel Dúath – which formed the western and southern parts of Mordor’s defences. The narrow gap where the two mountain chains met was Morannon, the Black Gate, the main point of entry into Sauron’s Realm.

  Atanatári

  Of the race of Men, there were those who, in the First Age of the Sun, came from the East of Middle-earth, went West and North, and came to the realm of Belerian
d where the Noldor and Sindar Elves lived. The Noldor named these Men the Atanatári, the “fathers of Men”, though more often this name took the Sindarin form, which is Edain.

  These men learned great skills from the wise Elves who had recently come from Aman, the Land of Light, and had themselves been taught by the Powers of Arda, the Valar and the Maiar, whom Men greatly feared and worshipped as gods.

  So the Atanatári were truly the fathers of their race, for though, later, other Men came from the East, where they had learned much from the Dark Elves of those lands, their lore was as nothing when compared with that learned by the Atanatári from the Calaquendi. For this reason the Atanatári were destined to become the teachers of all their people in the Ages of Sun that were to follow. Much that has been counted great and noble in all Men has its source in these ancestors.

  Atani

  Of all Men in the First Age of Sun the mightiest were the Atani of the Three Houses of Elf-friends, who lived in Beleriand. Even by the measure of the Eldar the deeds of these mortals during the War of the Jewels were great. Much is told in the “Quenta Silmarillion”: how Húrin killed seventy Trolls and endured the tortures of Morgoth; how Túrin slew Glaurung, Father of Dragons; how Beren cut a Silmaril from Morgoth’s crown; and how Eärendil the Mariner sailed the skies in his jewelled ship. And through the Atani, Men were first ennobled by the mixture of Elven-blood, for three times in the First Age an Atani lord wed an Elf-princess: Beren wed Lúthien, Tuor wed Idril and Eärendil wed Elwing. Thus the Atani were the noblest and strongest of Men, who created powerful kingdoms, and taught much that they learned from Elves to their descendants and to the lesser Men that came after.