3
A Short History of Middle-Earth
If you’re familiar with The Lord of the Rings trilogy, you may recall the events described therein taking place during Middle-earth’s “third age.” Did you know that there’s an extant history of its first and second ages as well? Or that Middle-earth is not the only realm in Tolkien’s larger mythology?
I’ve already alluded to the extended history of Tolkien’s world—what is often referred to as his mythology or legendarium, a literary collection of legends. Most of it is recorded in The Silmarillion, which functions as a kind of Old Testament in connection with The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Other information can also be gleaned from the four-part Unfinished Tales and the twelve-volume The History of Middle-Earth, compiled and edited by Christopher Tolkien, based on his father’s notes.
Note: The pages immediately following will not often refer to Hobbit characters like Gandalf or Bilbo or Thorin. I’ve found it extremely helpful to have a working knowledge of this background history when reading The Hobbit. The details and intricacies of Bilbo’s journey take on more significance when we realize the larger drama into which he is pulled.
In the Beginning
There are several ways in which The Silmarillion’s wonderfully written beginning chapters parallel the first chapters of the book of Genesis.
Here is the opening paragraph:
There was Eru, the One, who in Arda is called Ilúvatar; and he made first the Ainur, the Holy Ones, that were the offspring of his thought, and they were with him before aught else was made. And he spoke to them, propounding to them themes of music; and they sang before him, and he was glad. . . .[1]
Within Tolkien’s universe, Ilúvatar is the divine Creator whose power and acts are reflections of how the Bible describes God. The Ainur, Ilúvatar’s first creations, are similar in function to angels.
The “themes of music” ultimately became the world’s creation—Ilúvatar transformed the details of the song into material reality. He also granted the Ainur a vision of what would happen in the world, including the eventual creation of elves and men.
After this revelation, Ilúvatar offered the Ainur the opportunity to enter the world as lords and stewards. Those that accepted would be tied to it; immortal, they could not leave, could not rejoin Ilúvatar, until its end. These also would be charged with everything from carving out physical structures and geographical features to teaching elves and men about truth and holiness.
Several Ainur accepted this invitation and entered the world. The more powerful would be called the Valar. The lesser beings were called the Maiar.
Fallen Angel
The character and behavior of Melkor, the most powerful of the Ainur, reflects Satan’s, for from the beginning, rather than submit to the will of Ilúvatar, Melkor desired to create out of and according to his own volition. His thoughts disrupted the Great Music and engendered discord and chaos among the Ainur. Worse, many of the Ainur around Melkor “began to attune their music to his.”[2]
Interestingly, Ilúvatar did not forbid Melkor from making his own music, nor did he prevent the dissonance it caused. Instead, Ilúvatar wove another musical theme, one that flowed around Melkor’s music and stole its power. The result is a wonderful depiction of the conflict between good and evil throughout Tolkien’s world (and ours).
In many ways, this is the essence of that clash in Tolkien’s legendarium, including The Hobbit.
Among the Ainur sent into the world, Melkor brought discord and strife. He and the ones that followed him are the chief instigators of evil and violence and pain throughout that realm’s history. (Melkor was also called Morgoth, the Black Foe of the World.) However, the forces of good were not idle; the will of Ilúvatar would be carried out, and they fought back, sometimes through bold action yet often defeating the forces of evil in subtle and surprising ways (the means of which included a few hobbits).
Darkness and Light
In Tolkien’s writing, this conflict is often represented through the imagery of light and darkness. That was the case at the beginning.
When the Valar first came as physical beings, they formed two great lamps to provide light for the world. Both were set on tall pillars—one at the northern pole, and the other at the south. But Melkor and his forces knocked down the pillars, wreaking havoc across Middle-earth. In the resulting pandemonium, the realm’s geography was scarred and broken.
The Valar then left Middle-earth and set up residence in Aman, across the sea at the world’s western edge. They made their capital at Valinor and fortified this land against Melkor, making it a “blessed realm”[3]—a Middle-earthly paradise.
To replace the destroyed lamps, the Valar created the Two Trees of Valinor. The flowers of Telperion, the elder tree, emitted silver dew that shone across Aman. The flowers of Laurelin, the younger tree, shone with a golden flame. Both trees waxed and waned on alternating cycles every twelve hours; this is how the concept of time first came into the world. With the genesis of these trees, the Valar began keeping track of hours and days.
The trees’ light did not extend across the sea to Middle-earth, where Melkor and his followers were fortifying their own fortresses: Utumno in the north and Angband by the northwestern shores of the Great Sea. But the Valar set new constellations of stars in the sky to burn in the darkness as a challenge to Melkor and a reminder of the will of Ilúvatar.
The Elves
It was under the light of these constellations that the elves first awoke in Middle-earth, and ever since, they have loved twilight more than any other time of day. (In chapter 3 of The Hobbit, Bilbo mentions elvish singing as something not to be missed in June under the stars.)
When, eventually, the Valar became aware of the elves, they invited them to live in the land of Aman. Many of the elves accepted and made the long journey west to Valinor. Many others chose to remain in Middle-earth and live under the stars—the wood elves of Mirkwood, for example, were among those that stayed behind and never saw the light of Valinor.
Before the elves made their journey, the Valar attacked and broke the gates of Utumno in a terrible battle. In the end, Melkor was captured, carried back across the sea in chains, declared guilty of his crimes, and sentenced to remain locked away for three full ages.
During that period, the elves that relocated to Aman thrived. They grew in wisdom and skill through learning from the Valar. And as the elves are immortal beings, they grew in number as well.
The greatest of these was Fëanor, whose name means “spirit of fire.” Powerful in mind and body, he also was skilled in metalwork and the art of making gems. Fëanor crafted the Silmarils—three jewels containing mingled light from the Two Trees of Valinor. These, his greatest creation, likewise were the undoing of his own family and many of the elves.
At the end of three ages, Melkor was brought back before the Valar. Because he confessed his crimes and promised to repent of his sin, he was set free and allowed to live in Valinor. Yet he deceived the Valar. While in Valinor, he convinced many elves that they were living as slaves in Aman when they should have been roaming free in the lands of Middle-earth.
Once his lies had taken hold, Melkor escaped the Valar—only to return with Ungoliant, a dreadful spider. Together they destroyed the Two Trees of Valinor, killing their light. Melkor also stole the Silmarils before fleeing back to Middle-earth and again taking up residence in the halls of Angband.
When the Valar examined the trees, they were able to produce one last fruit from each. These hallowed treasures were then set in the sky as the Sun and the Moon.
Rebellion and War
After Melkor’s attack, a segment of elves called the Noldor rebelled against the Valar, determined to return to Middle-earth and build their own kingdoms. They also wanted to take vengeance on Melkor and reclaim the Silmarils—Fëanor (along with his sons) swore a terrible oath to kill any living thing that stood between him and the jewels. The Noldor killed other elves during this rebellion and so were banished from returning to Valinor.
The Noldor spread throughout Middle-earth and did establish several kingdoms and strongholds, most notably Nargothrond and Gondolin. However, the elves were also hampered by division, strife, and mistrust—especially because of the sons of Fëanor and their oath.
Over the span of centuries, the elves made alliances and waged war against Melkor and his forces. They won several victories and were able to generate many decades of peace and prosperity. In the end, however, Melkor wore them down through treachery and by preying on their lack of trust. One by one the mighty kingdoms of the elves were broken.
Things looked darkest for the elves (and for Middle-earth) after the destruction of Gondolin, which had been the fairest and most powerful of the elvish strongholds. But then something unexpected happened.
Eärendil was a prince of Gondolin, the son of a human father and an elvish mother. He escaped the devastation, and, years later, built a mighty ship to sail across the western seas. He hoped to find the Valar and plead for help against Melkor. Because he carried the only Silmaril that had been recovered from Melkor, Eärendil succeeded in his quest.
The Valar heard his petition and decided to act. They crossed the sea once more and laid siege to Angband. Ultimately they recaptured Melkor and dragged him back to Valinor. Again put on trial and again found guilty, this time Melkor was banished from the world and sent out into the Void.
These events marked the end of the first age of Middle-earth.
The Coming of Men
Human beings awoke during this first age, and several groups made alliances with the elves. (Others, with Melkor.) Tuor, father of Eärendil, was a mighty warrior for the forces of good.
But The Silmarillion’s main human story is with the people of Númenor.
After the final battle between the Valar and Melkor, the men who had joined sides with the elves were given a land of their own—a great island between Middle-earth and the shores of Aman, which they named Númenor. They built immense ships and sailed the oceans to different points within Middle-earth and beyond. Even so, because they were mortal, they were forbidden from sailing westward to Aman where the Valar lived.
The Númenórians grew in knowledge and power for hundreds of years and became a great kingdom.
Unfortunately, Melkor’s overthrow did not destroy the forces of evil in Middle-earth. Sauron, who had been Melkor’s greatest lieutenant, escaped the Valar when Melkor was defeated. After the Valar returned to the west, Sauron set himself up as a second Dark Lord in Middle-earth, continuing to fight against elves and men.
Eventually the Númenórians grew strong enough to overthrow Sauron. He surrendered, was taken to Númenor as a captive, promised to repent of his evil, and even became a counselor to the king. And as Melkor had done in Valinor, he deceived those whose destruction he secretly desired.
Gradually, Sauron would convince the people of Númenor that humans should not have to suffer death—they should be immortal like the elves and the Valar. He persuaded the king that they could attain immortality; the Númenórians took his advice to rebel against the Valar, to sail west to Aman.
They were destroyed. Ilúvatar himself punished them by breaking the foundations of his creation: The world, which had been flat, was made round, and no longer could people sail to the Blessed Realm of Aman. Only elves, who knew the secret path, would be welcome to voyage into the west when they grew weary of Middle-earth. (At the end of The Lord of the Rings, Bilbo and Frodo accompany the final group of elves to make this voyage.)
During this divine remaking, the entire island of Númenor was cast into the sea. (Herein, Tolkien was retelling the story of Atlantis.)
Fortunately for human beings, nine ships of Númenórian royalty who were still faithful to Ilúvatar sailed away from the island before it sank. They were carried to Middle-earth, where they established the kingdoms of Arnor in the north and Gondor in the south. Their leader was Elendil; his sons were Isildur and Anárion.
Though Sauron had been caught in the destruction of Númenor, his spirit was not destroyed. He would return to Middle-earth and again take his place as a Dark Lord. But while his power increased, so did the strength of the alliance between the Númenórian remnant and the elves still there.
The forces of good and evil eventually clashed in another battle—the last “moment” in the second age of Middle-earth. Sauron was overthrown when Isildur sliced the One Ring from his finger with the shards of Narsil. Yet Isildur was killed on his way home from the battle, and the ring was lost.
Peace held sway in Middle-earth for many years before Sauron, once more, began to rise in might. Though Middle-earth’s third age largely would be a time of harmony, it concludes with the events contained in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.