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Maiar

When the World was first made, the Ainur, the “holy ones”, came out of the Timeless Halls and entered this new land. The Ainur had been without shape or form in the Timeless Halls, but within the Spheres of the World they took many and various forms. These people were the Powers of Arda and the mightiest among them were the Valar, who numbered fifteen. The lesser Ainur were a multitude called the Maiar and they were the servants of the Valar. Though the Maiar were many within the Undying Lands, few are named in the histories of Men, for their concerns are seldom with mortal lands and mortal matters, but with Valar in the Undying Lands.

Mightiest of the Maiar is Eönwe, the Herald of Manwë, the Wind Lord. Eönwe’s strength in battle rivals that of even the Valar, and the blast of his trumpets is a terror to all his foes, for in the wake of its sound comes the Host of the Valar. It was he who taught the Edain great wisdom and knowledge. Ilmarë, who throws down her spears of light from the night sky, is chief of the Maiar maids. She is also handmaid to Varda, the Star Queen, who rules the Heavens.

Arien, the fire spirit who once was a Maia of Vána’s golden gardens in Valinor, is most worshipped by Men. It is she who guides the flight of the Sun, for, as the “Narsilion” tells, the Sun was the last fruit of Laurelin, the Golden Tree of Valar; it was placed in a great vessel shaped by Aulë, which was then hallowed by Manwë before being carried by Arien into the sky.

As Arien goes by day, so by night flies Tilion, the Huntsman of the silver bow. Tilion was once a Maiar of Oromë, but he now carries the vessel of the Moon, which was the last flower of Telperion, the Silver Tree of Valinor.

The Maiar Ossë and Uinen, servants of Ulmo, the Ocean Lord of the Valar, are known to all who sail on the seas. Ossë is master of the waves of Belegaer, the Western Sea, and though it is said that Ossë truly loves the Sea-elves and it was he who first brought the art of shipbuilding to the World, he is feared by all mariners. For both in joy and in wrath, he is a fearsome power. However, all mariners have a great love of Uinen, Lady of the Calms. She is the spouse of Ossë, and only she may restrain his raging tempers and his wild spirit. Beleaguered mariners pray to her that she may lay her long hair upon the waters and calm the tumult. As Ossë loved the Sea-elves, so did Uinen love the Númenóreans; until the Downfall of Númenor and the Change of the World she always travelled before the ships of these sea folk.

Of all the tales of the Maiar, perhaps the strangest is that of Melian, who served both Vána and Estë in Valinor, but who in the Ages of Starlight came to Middle-earth. There in the forests of Beleriand she met the Eldar lord Elwë Singollo and married him. This is the only union of Elf and Maia that ever was, and, through four long ages of stars and one of Sun, Melian was queen of the Grey-elves and wife of Elwë, who was called Thingol and King Greymantle. In that time their realm was the fairest kingdom of Middle-earth because of the light and beauty of Melian. Yet, tragically, Thingol was slain near the end of the First Age of the Sun. Melian wrapped herself in grief and the light of the kingdom faded. The queen rose up and returned to Valinor once again, leaving Mortal Lands for ever.

Many other good and strong spirits came to inhabit Middle-earth. These were perhaps Maiar, like Melian, yet from the histories this cannot now be learned. Chief of these, in the tales of Middle-earth, is he whom the Grey-elves named Iarwain Ben-adar, which means both “old” and “without father”. By Dwarves he was named Forn, by Men Orald, and by Hobbits he was called Tom Bombadil. He was a short, stout Man, with blue eyes, red face and brown beard. He wore a blue coat, a tall battered hat with a blue feather, and great yellow boots. Always singing or speaking in rhymes, he seemed a nonsensical and eccentric being, yet he was absolute master of the Old Forest of Eriador where he lived, and no evil within the World was strong enough to touch him within his realm.

Other spirits, who may have been servants of the Vala Ulmo, also lived within the Old Forest. One of these was the River-woman of the Withywindle, and another was her daughter, Goldberry, who was Bombadil’s spouse. Goldberry was golden-haired and as beautiful as an Elf-queen. Her garments were silver and green, and her shoes were like fish-mail. In her hair and in her belt were many flowers, and her singing was like bird song.

At the end of the first millennium of the Third Age of the Sun, it is told that five Maiar came to Middle-earth. They came not in grand forms but in the shape of ancient Men. Each was white-bearded and wore a traveller’s cape, a peaked hat, and carried a long staff. These were the Istari, whom Men called the Wizards and much of their tale is told in the “Red Book of Westmarch”. Yet only three of the five are named in the histories. Radagast the Brown was a master of birds and animals of the forest and lived near Mirkwood in Rhosgobel. Saruman the White was in the arising of the Istari Order counted the greatest, and for a time he was indeed skilful and wise, but he fell into evil ways, brought ruin down upon many and was himself completely destroyed in his efforts to make himself a great power. Gandalf the Grey was most famous of the Istari. In the beginning he was called Olórin and he served both Lórien, the Master of Dreams and Nienna, the Weeper,; he was acknowledged the wisest of the Maiar race. The last two of the Istari were Alatar and Pallando, called the Blue Wizards and servants of Oromë, the Horseman. Of their fate and deeds upon Middle-earth little is told.

Yet not all the Maiar are good and fair spirits. Many were corrupted by the rebellious Vala, Melkor the Enemy. Foremost among these were the Balrogs, who were once bright spirits of fire, as fair as Arien who guides the Sun, but were twisted into demon forms by hatred and wrath. Cloaked in a foul darkness, the Balrogs were maned in fire and they wielded whips and blades of flame. Gothmog was their lord and the tale of the deeds of the Balrog host is long and bloody.

The spirit that took the form of a huge and fearsome Spider was named Ungoliant. She devoured light, vomited forth darkness and spun a black web of unlight that no eye could pierce. None could tame this spirit who perhaps was once a Maia of Melkor. Ungoliant had long since turned to serving only herself and, though she destroyed the Trees of the Valar with Melkor, she turned on Melkor at the last. In the end, driven into the great deserts of the South, it is said that having no other to turn on she consumed herself.

The Vampires and Werewolves of Angband may also have been Maiar in their beginning, like the Balrogs. It is said they were malevolent spirits that took on terrible forms, yet no tale tells of their making. Out of all the Vampires the one called Thuringwethil, “lady of the shadow”, alone is named, and of the vast Werewolf host Draugluin is named both lord and sire.

One Maia is known above all others because of his great evil, as the histories of Middle-earth tell. This is Sauron, whose name means the “abhorred”. Sauron, the Dark Lord, who was once a Maia of Aulë the Smith, was chief servant and eventual successor to Melkor.

In the Ages of Darkness, while Melkor ruled in Utumno, and in the Ages of Stars, while Melkor was chained by the Valar, Sauron ruled the evil realm of Angband. On the return of his master, and through all the Wars of Beleriand until Melkor was cast into the Void, Sauron was his greatest general. He was also called Gorthaur the Cruel, and he survived longest of all the Maiar who served Melkor. Many were the wars and holocausts through the Ages of Lamps, Trees, Stars and Sun that Sauron survived. After the terror of the First Age of the Sun, it is said that Sauron reappeared in the Second Age in fair form and assumed the name Annatar, “giver of gifts”. Eventually, when he made himself Lord of the Rings, his evil spirit was revealed and war, like a black shadow, again covered Middle-earth.

In the Downfall of Númenor Sauron’s body was destroyed. Yet his spirit fled to Mordor and by the power of the One Ring he made himself again a form, though he could no longer appear fair. Thereafter, he took the shape of the Dark Lord and became a fearsome warrior with black armour on burning black skin and had terrible, raging eyes. But even this form was destroyed at the end of the Second Age when Mordor fell and the One Ring was taken from his hand. Yet, so great was the power of Sauron’s spirit, that in the Third Age he again made himself a form. His spirit became manifest in the sorcerous power of one great lidless Eye. Like the eyes of all the great hunting cats of forest, mountain and plain made into one, and made entirely evil, was the Eye which was wreathed with deadly flame and ringed in darkness. But even this form depended on the power that was in the One Ring, and, in the war that ended the Third Age, the Ring was destroyed. Once more, and finally, Sauron’s spirit was swept into the shadows and never again did this Maia arise.

Mallorn

On the banks of the Silverlode, which flowed east of the Misty Mountains, was a forest land where the tallest and loveliest trees of Middle-earth grew. These were the Mallorn trees, which had barks of silver and blossoms of gold, and from autumn to spring the leaves were also golden-hued. In the Third Age of the Sun, this land was called the Golden Wood and Lothórien, “land of blossoms dreaming”. This woodland of Mallorn trees was made a safe refuge from evil creatures by Elven powers, and the trees thrived and grew as they grew in no other place on Arda, except in the Undying Lands. There lived Galadhrim, the Elves of the kingdom of King Celeborn and Queen Galadriel. And within the shelter of the Mallorn tree limbs, where the trunks forked near the crest, the Galadhrim built their dwellings, which were called telain or flets. Their king and queen lived in a great hall in the tallest Mallorn. The Galadhrim were like spirits of the woods and in that realm there was no cutting or burning of wood. It truly was a kingdom of trees, and a golden glow of Elven power shone there like none other in that Age.

Mallos

In the fields of Lebennin, near the delta of the River Anduin, there grew the flowers that Grey-elves named Mallos, the “gold-snow”. Their blooms were fair and never fading, and in Elven songs they were likened to golden bells calling the Elves to the Western Sea.

Mandos

On the deserted western shore of the Undying Lands and facing the Encircling Sea and the Walls of Night there are the Halls of Mandos where, in the lore of Eldar, the spirits of slain Elves are called to inhabit the Hall of Awaiting, until the summons of Ilúvatar at the time of the World’s End. This is the House of the Dead, the vast mansions of the Vala Namo who is also called Mandos, the Master of Doom, who knows the fate of all. He is the stern Judge of the Dead, who only once felt pity, when Lúthien sang to him. His wife is Vairë, the Weaver. His brother is Lórien, the Dream-master and his sister is Nienna, the Weeper.

Manwë

Vala, King of Arda. Manwë Sulímo is the Lord of the Air, and with his wife, Varda, Queen of the Heavens, rules all of Arda from their mansions of Ilmarin on top of Taniquetil, the tallest mountain in the world. Manwë, meaning “the Good”, is also referred to as the Wind Lord, for his element is the clear air, wind, clouds and storms. Eagles and all birds are sacred to him. His eyes and his clothing are blue and his sceptre is made of sapphire. Manwë sees all the world beneath the skies and he is the breath of all the peoples of the world. The Vanyar Elves are the dearest to his heart for their greatest skill is in poetry which is his chief delight.

Mearas

All the Horses of Arda were created in the image of Nahar, the white steed of Oromë, the Valarian Horseman. The true descendents of Nahar, it was believed, were the Mearas, the “Horse-princes” of Rohan, for they were magical and wonderful. White and silver-grey, they were fleet as the wind, long-lived and tireless and filled with great wisdom.

The tales of Rohirrim record how the first Mearas came to the Men of Rhovanion. In the twenty-sixth century of the Third Age of the Sun, the lord of the Éothéod, who was named Léod, tried to tame the most beauteous Horse his people had ever seen, but the Horse was wild and proud and threw Léod, who was killed. So the Horse was named Mansbane. However, when Léod’s son, Eorl, came to the Horse, it surrendered to the young lord as if in atonement. Eorl renamed him Felaróf, Father of Horses, for from him came forth the Mearas, who allowed none but the kings and princes of Eorl’s Line to ride them. Though they could not speak, they understood the speech of Men, and did not need a saddle or bridle as they obeyed the spoken word of their masters, the Rohirrim of the royal house.

The Mearas were loved and honoured by their masters and the banner of the Rohirrim was always the fleet white form of Felaróf galloping upon a green field.

In the War of the Ring, the Mearas did great service. One named Snowmane carried Théoden, the king of the Rohirrim, into the Battles of the Hornburg and Pelennor Fields, where they won great glory for the Rohirrim, though in the end both Horse and rider were slain by the Witch-king of Morgul. Another Meara in the War performed greater deeds still. He was Shadowfax and, breaking the law that none but kings and princes might ride the Mearas, he carried the White Rider, the Istari Mithrandir, who was also named Gandalf. Shadowfax was stout-hearted and strong-limbed, for he stood firm with the White Rider against the terror of the Nazgûl and outran even the loathsome Winged Beasts. He carried Gandalf into the lands of Gondor during the siege of the White Tower. After the Battle of Pelennor Fields, he carried the Wizard with the army of the Captains of the West to the Black Gate of Mordor, and to the final confrontation with the evil armies of Sauron.

Meduseld

Among the strongest allies of the Dúnedain in the Third Age were the Kings of Mark who ruled the land of Rohan from the palace called Meduseld, the Golden Hall. Meduseld was a huge gold-roofed feasthall built by Brego, the second king of the Rohirrim horsemen, in the year 2569. It stood at the highest point in Edoras, the hill-fort and capital city of Rohan. Within was the golden throne of the king, tall pillars gilded in gold, and carved walls hung with rich tapestries. It was to the Golden Hall of Meduseld and King Théoden that four of the Fellowship of the Ring came as emissaries of the Dúnedain to call the Rohirrim to arms in the War of the Ring.

Melian the Maia

Maia queen of Doriath. In Valinor, Melian was a Maia spirit who tended the flowering trees in the Dreamland of Lórien, and served the Valarian queens, Vána the Youthful and Estë the Healer. However, during the Ages of Starlight she went to Beleriand in Middle-earth and fell in love with Elwë Singollo, the High King of the Teleri. Together, Melian and Thingol (as Elwë was then called) founded the realm of Doriath and built Menegroth. This was the realm of the Sindar, or Grey-elves, which was protected by an invisible barrier of a powerful spell, called the Girdle of Melian. Melian and Thingol had one daughter, the incomparable Lúthien. For many Ages of Starlight and most of the First Age of the Sun, Melian’s enchantment of Doriath protected the realm from harm. Finally, however, the strife of the War of the Jewels found its way into the Sindar kingdom. When King Thingol was slain by treachery in Menegroth in the year 505 of the First Age, she could no longer bear to live in Middle-earth. Queen Melian fled from Beleriand. Her spell of protection of Doriath melted away, and she returned to the Undying Lands.

Melkor

Vala, Lord of Darkness. Even as an Ainur spirit, Melkor – which means “he who arises in might” – was filled with pride, and brought discord to the Great Music and the Vision. Upon Arda, Melkor took Darkness and Cold as his domain. During the Shaping of Arda, he thwarted its making so it became marred and imperfect. And while the Valar set about building their kingdom of Almaren, Melkor corrupted many of the Maiar spirits. He took them into the north of Middle-earth and built his rival kingdoms of Utumno and Angband. In Arda, Melkor waged five great wars against the Valar, laid waste to Almaren and destroyed both the Great Lamps and the Trees of the Valar. In the beginning Melkor appeared in forms both fair and foul, but after the destruction of the Trees of Light, he always assumed his evil form, which the Elves called Morgoth, “the Dark Enemy of the World”.

Tall as a tower, Morgoth wore an iron crown and black armour. He carried the mace called Grond, the Hammer of the Underworld, and a huge black shield. The fire of malice was in his eyes, his face was twisted and scarred, and his hands burned perpetually from the fire of the Silmarils. Yet, in the War of Wrath, all of Melkor’s power was destroyed, and he alone of the Valar was driven from the Spheres of the World, and dwells for ever in the Void.

Men

As the Elves had come forth with the Rekindling of the Stars, so Men came with the Rising of the Sun. In the land the Elves called Hildórien, “land of the followers”, which was in the far East of Middle-earth, Men first opened their eyes to the new light. Unlike the Elves, Men were mortal and, even by Dwarf measure, short-lived. In strength of body and nobility of spirit Men compared poorly with Elven-folk. They were a weak race that succumbed readily to pestilence and the rough elements of the World. For these reasons Elves called them the Engwar, the “sickly”. But Men were stubborn as a race, and they bred more quickly than any other people except the Orcs, and though great numbers perished they multiplied again and finally thrived in the eastern lands, and so by some were called the Usurpers.

Morgoth made his way to those lands and in Men, for the most part, he found a people he could easily bend to his will.

Some fled from this evil and scattered to the West and to the North. Eventually, they reached Beleriand, and the Kingdoms of the Noldorin Elves. The Noldor accepted the allegiance of these Men and called them the Atani, the “Secondborn”, but later, as the greater part of the people of Beleriand spoke the Grey-elven tongue, they were more commonly named the Edain, the “second ones”. The Edain were divided into three hosts: the First House of Bëor, the Second House of the Galadin and the Third House of Hador. The deeds of the Three Houses of Elf-friends were renowned. Of the tales of Men in the First Age is the “Narn i Hîn Húrin”, which tells of Húrin the Troll-slayer; of Túrin who slew Glaurung, the Father of Dragons; of Beren, who cut a Silmaril from Morgoth’s Iron Crown; and of Eärendil the Mariner who sailed “Vingilot” and carried the Morning Star into the heavens.

In the First Age still more of the race of Men came out of the East. They were a different people whom Elves called Swarthy Men and Easterlings. In times of war, most of these men proved unfaithful and, though feigning friendship with the Elves, they betrayed them to Morgoth, the Dark Enemy.

When the First Age of the Sun was ended and Morgoth was cast into the Void, the land of Beleriand went down beneath the Western Sea. All the enemies who inhabited Beleriand were slain, as well as most of the Elves and the Edain. Even the Edain who survived that Age became divided. Some fled the sinking of Beleriand and went to the East. They lived in the Vales of Anduin with others of their kin who had never entered Beleriand; they were known as the Northmen of Rhovanion. Others of the Edain went to the South with the Elves. These Men were granted a land that lay in the Western Sea. They were named the Dúnedain, the Men of Westernesse, for their island was called Westernesse, which in the elvish tongue was Númenor. In the Second Age the Dúnedain were more often called the Númenóreans and they became a mighty sea power. Then, too, the span of the Númenóreans’ lives was increased and their wisdom and strength also grew. Their history in the Second Age was glorious but, corrupted by Sauron, they went to war against the Valar and were destroyed. Númenor was cast into a great abyss, the Western Sea came over it and it was no more.

Most of the Númenóreans perished, yet there were those who were saved from that disaster, including some known as the Black Númenóreans. These people lived in the land of Umbar in the South of Middle-earth.

However, the noblest of the Númenóreans returned to Middle-earth in nine ships; their lord was Elendil the Tall and with him were two sons, Isildur and Anárion. These Elendili, the “faithful”, who were of the true line of the Dúnedain, made two mighty kingdoms in Middle-earth: the North Kingdom was Arnor, and the South Kingdom, Gondor.

However, the power of Sauron grew again, and so they made the Last Alliance of Elves and Men, which combined all the armies of the Dúnedain and the Elves. The Men were led by Elendil and the Elves by Gil-galad, the last High King. Many Men called Haradrim, from the south lands, fought against them, as did others from Rhûn, who were Easterlings, and some who came from the Kingdom of Umbar – the Black Númenóreans.

The Alliance defended Sauron’s legions. However, Gil-galad, Elendil and Anárion were killed in that war and among the rulers of the Dúnedain only Isildur remained. It was he who cut the Ring from Sauron’s hand and sent his spirit to wander without form in the waste places of Middle-earth. So began the Third Age. After taking the One Ring from Sauron’s hand Isildur did not destroy it and in the first years of the Age tragedy befell him. The Orcs cut him down with black arrows at the Gladden Fields and for a long time the Ring was lost.

Of the Dúnedain who survived there were the sons of Isildur, who ruled the North Kingdom of Arnor, and the sons of Anárion, who ruled the South Kingdom of Gondor. There were also other races of Men who had arisen in the East and South, and many now appeared. The Balchoth, Wainriders and other Easterlings came out of Rhûn against the Dúnedain of Gondor, whilst from the South, the Haradrim and the Variags advanced with the Black Númenóreans. However, the Men of Gondor were strong and defeated all enemies.

But in the North another power grew in the land of Angmar. A Witch-king ruled in that land, and he summoned an army of Orcs and evil creatures, as well as Hillmen of the Ettenmoors and Easterlings, to make war on the North Kingdom of Arnor, which they had laid waste. Although Angmar was finally destroyed by the Dúnedain of Gondor, the North Kingdom of Arnor was ended, and only a small number of that people wandered the empty lands and they were named the Rangers of the North.

In the South and from the East there came a constant flow of barbarian Men, corrupted long before by Sauron’s evil power. The Dunlendings advanced, prepared for war, as did the Haradrim and Easterlings. Yet in this time Gondor gained an ally, for the horsemen known as the Rohirrim came to their aid. These were the Northmen of Rhovanion and were like the Woodmen and the Beornings of Mirkwood, or the Lake Men of Esgaroth and the Bardings of Dale, for they perpetually fought the evils made by Sauron, the Dark Lord.

At the end of the Third Age, the War of the Ring was waged and all the peoples of Middle-earth allied themselves with either Sauron or the Dúnedain. Sauron’s army was overthrown. The One Ring was found and destroyed, and the One King came to the Dúnedain. This was Ranger Chieftain Aragorn, son of Arathorn, who was named King Elessar, the true heir of Isildur.

Elessar proved a strong and wise ruler. For though he crushed many enemies in war, and feared nobody in battle, he made peace with the Easterlings and Haradrim, and in the Fourth Age of the Sun, which was ordained the Age of the Dominion of Men, there was peace in the Westlands and also for many years after that time, because of the wisdom of Elessar and his sons.

Menegroth

During the Ages of Starlight, the most magnificent mansions on Middle-earth were to be found in Menegroth, the “Thousand Caves”, the city fortress of the Grey-elves of Doriath in Beleriand. Menegroth was cut into the rock cliffs on the south bank of the Esgalduin, a tributary of the Sirion River. It could only be entered by a single stone bridge over the river. It was the secret fortress-palace of the Sindar King Elu Thingol and his Queen Melian the Maia. Built for Thingol by the Dwarves of Belegost, its chambers were a wonder to behold. Because the Sindar loved the forests, the halls and caverns were carved with trees, birds and animals of stone and filled with fountains and lamps of crystal. Through Ages of Starlight, Menegroth prospered, and even through the greater part of the First Age of the Sun when all Beleriand was in conflict, all of Doriath was protected by the magical powers of Melian the Maia. However, the curse of the Silmarils resulted finally in the murder of Thingol within Menegroth itself and the departure of Melian. Thereafter, Menegroth was twice sacked: first by the Dwarves of Nogrod, and secondly by the Noldor Elves. Menegroth was abandoned, and with the rest of Beleriand sank beneath the waves.

Meneltarma

The highest mountain on the island kingdom of Númenor was the holy mountain called Meneltarma, the “Pillar of Heaven”. It was to be found in the centre of Númenor and from its peak, the Hallow of Eru, it was claimed it was possible to see the Tower of Avallónë, on the Elf island of Tol Eressëa. The Noirinan, the Valley of the Tombs of Kings, was at the foot of Meneltarma, and the royal city of Armenelos was built on a hill nearby. The snows of Meneltarma were the source of the Siril, Númenor’s longest river.

Mere of Dead Faces

Between the Falls of Rauros on the River Anduin and the mountains of Mordor was a vast fenland called the Dead Marshes. On this foul, tractless wasteland few ever dared to travel, for not only were the waters stagnant and poisoned but they were also haunted. Through the Third Age, the Dead Marshes had gradually spread out over the Dagorlad, the “battle plain” that lay north of Mordor and vast graveyard for fallen warriors. By some evil power, the creeping marshlands invasion animated the spirits of these long dead Men, Elves and Orcs whose phantom faces appeared just beneath the surface as if lit by candlelight, although their images had no substance. It was through this Mere of Dead Faces that Hobbit adventurer Frodo Baggins was guided during the Quest of the Ring by that tormented creature Sméagol Gollum.

Meriadoc Brandybuck

Hobbit of the Shire. Meriadoc Brandybuck was born in 2982 of the Third Age, the son of Saradoc Brandybuck, Master of Buckland. In 3018, Merry became one of the four Hobbit members of the Fellowship of the Ring. Merry survived many adventures until the breaking of the Fellowship, when both he and Pippin (Peregrine Took) were captured by Orcs of Isengard. When the Orcs were attacked by the Rohirrim, the Hobbits escaped into the Fangorn Forest and helped convince the Ents to attack Isengard. Merry later became the squire of King Théoden of Rohan. He became an heroic figure when, with the shield-maiden Éowyn, he slew the Witch-king of Morgul at the Battle of Pelennor Fields. This encounter nearly killed Merry, but he was healed by Aragorn. Upon returning to the Shire later that year, Merry fought in the Battle of Bywater. Merry later married Estella Bolger and succeeded his father as Master of Buckland. Merry and Pippin were the tallest Hobbits in history, measuring a towering four and one-half feet. In the year 64 of the Fourth Age, Merry and Pippin left the Shire to spend their last few years in Rohan and Gondor, where they were buried with high honour in the House of Kings.

Mewlips

According to the lore of Hobbits, an evil race of cannibal spirits called the Mewlips settled in certain marshlands of Middle-earth. Hoarding phantoms very like the dreaded Barrow-wights they seemed, but they made their homes in foul and dank swamps. Travellers in their lands always walked in peril, for many were said to be waylaid and slain by these beings.

Middle-earth

The great continent of Middle-earth was first shaped in the most ancient days of the World of Arda. It lay to the east of that other great continent of Aman, which was most often called the Undying Lands, and which was separated from the Middle-earth by Belegaer, the Great Sea. At the end of the Second Age of the Sun, however, when Númenor was destroyed, the Undying Lands were torn out of the Circles of the World. Middle-earth, the mortal lands, remained, though much changed and continued to change through the ages. It eventually evolved into Europe, Asia and Africa.

Mîm

Petty-dwarf king of Amon Rûdh. Mîm was the last king of the Noegyth Nibin, or Petty-dwarves, who lived in the caverns beneath Amon Rûdh in Beleriand. By the end of the fifth century of the First Age of the Sun, the entire population of this vanishing race consisted of Mîm and his two sons, Ibun and Khím. In 486 of the First Age, Mîm was captured by the outlaws of Túrin Turambar and he led them to the safety of his secret caverns. The following year, Mîm was captured by Orcs and saved his own life by betraying Túrin and his band, who were ambushed and slaughtered. However, Mîm won his freedom to no great purpose. Both Mîm’s sons perished, and Túrin’s father Húrin hunted down the betrayer of his son, and slew him with a single blow.

Minas Anor

The fortress-city of Minas Arnor, the “Tower of the Sun”, was one of the three great cities of Gondor built in that strategic gap between the eastern end of the White Mountains and the western wall of the Mountains of Mordor. Standing at the foot of the easternmost mountain of the White Mountain range, it was the first city of the fief of Anórien and controlled the plain on the western side of the Anduin River. When it was built in 3320 of the Second Age, Minas Anor was the city of the Dúnedain Prince Anárion. Its twin, Minas Ithil, the “Tower of the Moon” – built in the same year on the westernmost spur of the Mountains of Mordor and controlling the plain on the eastern side of the Anduin River – was the city of his brother, Prince Isildur. Together they jointly governed Gondor from the royal capital of Osgiliath, the “citadel of the stars”, which bridged the River Anduin at a point mid-way between the two towers. After centuries of war and the devastation of a great plague, both Minas Ithil and Osgiliath were in serious decline by the middle of the Third Age. By 1640 the royal court moved to Minas Anor, which became the new capital of Gondor. In the year 1900, King Calimehtar built its famous White Tower. When at last the Witch-king took Minas Ithil in the year 2002 and renamed it Minas Morgul, it was apparent that the fate of all of Gondor depended on the defence of Minas Anor, and it was renamed Minas Tirith, the “Tower of the Guard”. It is under that name that the rest of the fortress-city’s tale is told.

Minas Ithil

Within the realm of Gondor, the fortress-city of Minas Ithil, the “Tower of the Moon”, was built on a western spur of the Mountains of Mordor and controlled the fief of Ithilien on the eastern bank of the River Anduin. When it was built in 3320 of the Second Age, Minas Ithil was the city of the Dúnedain Prince Isildur. Its twin fortress-city of Minas Anor was built in the same year for his brother, Prince Anárion. While their father Elendil ruled as High King of the Dúnedain from the North Kingdom of Arnor, the brothers jointly governed Gondor. Just a century after it was built, in the year 3429, the forces of Sauron seized Minas Ithil, but at the beginning of the Third Age Isildur restored it. However, as the heirs of Isildur from this time ruled from the North Kingdom of Arnor, its royal status, if not its military significance, diminished thereafter. In the year 2000, Minas Ithil was attacked by the Witch-king of the Nazgûl whose forces poured through the pass of Cirith Ungol out of Mordor. After a siege of two years Minas Ithil fell to the Witch-king and was renamed Minas Morgul. For more than a thousand years thereafter, it was the main base for Sauron’s forces within Gondor and was a constant threat to the survival of the Dúnedain realm. The evil powers were not driven from the fortress-city again until the end of the War of the Ring and although it was once again renamed Minas Ithil, it was never again inhabited by the Men of Gondor.

Minas Morgul

In the year 2002 of the Third Age, the fortress-city of Minas Ithil, the “Tower of the Moon”, was captured after a two-year siege by the forces of the Nazgûl Witch-king, and renamed Minas Morgul, the “Tower of the Wraiths”. It was also called the Tower of Sorcery and the Dead City. Similar in structure to its great rival, Minas Tirith, it became a haunted and evil place that shone in the night with a ghostly light. By some magical power or fiendish machinery, the upper rooms of its great tower revolved slowly in constant vigilance. For over a thousand years, Minas Morgul was ruled by the terror of the Ringwraiths and this resulted in the almost total ruin and depopulation of the fief of Ithilien. In the year 2050 the Witch-king of Morgul slew Eärnur, the last king of Gondor, and in 2475 Osgiliath was sacked and its stone bridge broken by the Witch-king’s army of giant Orcs, called Uruk-hai. During the War of the Ring, Minas Morgul played a key position in Sauron’s strategies. The forces out of Morgul were the first to move directly against Gondor and overrun Osgiliath. Then in the siege of Minas Tirith, the Witch-king’s leadership during the Battle of Pelennor Fields proved critical. When he was slain it was an indication of the disaster that was to come. After the destruction of Sauron and the fall of Mordor, all evil influences were swept out of Minas Morgul, and once again it came to be called Minas Ithil. However, it was never again repopulated by the people of Gondor.

Minas Tirith

In the histories of Middle-earth there are two fortresses called Minas Tirith. The first was built by the High Elves of Beleriand in the First Age of the Sun. It was built on an island in the Sirion River and its story may be found under that isle’s name: Tol Sirion. The second and more famous Minas Tirith stood in the land of Gondor during the Third Age. In the year 2002, when the fortress city of Minas Ithil, the “Tower of the Moon”, fell to the Nazgûl Witch-king and was renamed Minas Morgul, the “Tower of Wraiths”, the Men of Gondor changed the name of their remaining tower from Minas Anor, the “Tower of the Sun”, to Minas Tirith, the “Tower of the Guard”. This proved to be an appropriate name; for over a thousand years Minas Tirith stood on guard against the evil forces that threatened to entirely destroy Gondor.

Since the decline of Osgiliath in the seventeenth century, this fortress had become the first city of Gondor, and all through the Third Age Sauron had concentrated his mind on destroying this last bastion of power. In 1900, the city was strengthened by the raising of the White Tower, and again in 2698, the Ruling Steward Ecthelion I rebuilt the White Tower and improved the defences of Minas Tirith.

By the time of the War of the Ring, Minas Tirith was a formidable hill-fortress, built on seven levels. Each level was terraced above the next and surrounded by massive ring-walls. Each of these walls had only one gate, but for reasons of defence each gate faced a different direction from the one below it, with the Great Gate on the first wall facing east. This seemingly invulnerable fortress-city rose level by level like a great cliff for over seven hundred feet to the seventh wall, which was called the Citadel, and within that final ring-wall was raised the mighty spire of the White Tower itself. So mighty were the defences of Minas Tirith that it took all the power of the Witch-king of Morgul himself to breach them, and even so, he got no further than breaking the Great Gate on the first wall when the charge of the Rohirrim cavalry drove him back and onto the Pelennor Fields, where his forces were destroyed. The saving of Minas Tirith was essential to the winning of the War of Ring and the revival of the Reunited Kingdom of Arnor and Gondor.

Mirkwood

In the year 1050 of the Third Age of the Sun, an evil power came to that huge forest of Greenwood the Great in Rhovanion, just east of the Misty Mountains and the River Anduin. The power, known as the Necromancer, was in fact Sauron the Ring Lord who built the fortress of Dol Guldur in its southern reaches. So great was Sauron’s evil sorcery that he turned the once beautiful forest into such a place of dread and darkness that for over two thousand years it was called the Mirkwood. Great Spiders, Orcs, Wolves and evil spirits haunted Mirkwood and, though the Silvan Elf Woodland Realm of Thranduil survived in the north of the forest, the power of those Elves was not enough to halt the spreading darkness. By the middle of the Third Age there were few who dared o travel along its dark paths, although the Silvan Elves and the Northmen, called the Woodmen and the Beornings, did what they could to keep its passes and roads open. It was Gandalf the Wizard who in 2850 entered south Mirkwood and discovered at last that it was Sauron and the Ringwraiths who ruled Dol Guldur.

The Mirkwood was among the major obstacles that were standing before the Dwarf company of Thorin Oakenshield on the long road to the Lonely Mountain. Yet, with stealth and valour, the Hobbit Bilbo Baggins guided the company through its many perils. During the War of the Ring, Sauron’s forces from Dol Guldur came forth in great numbers against the Elven kingdoms of the Woodland Realm in the north and the Golden Wood of Lothlórien in the south. However, both these campaigns failed and the retaliating Elves destroyed the evil armies of Mirkwood, knocking down the walls of Dol Guldur and ripping up its pits and dungeons. By the beginning of the Fourth Age, the great forest was no longer called Mirkwood, but Eryn Lasgalen, the “Wood of Greenleaves”. The north was the undisputed territory of Thranduil’s Woodland Realm, the southern part was settled by the Elves of Lothlórien who called it East Lórien, while the forest lands between these two kingdoms were given to the Woodmen and Beornings.

Misty Mountains

Nearly one thousand miles long, the mountain range called the Misty Mountains ran from the far north of Middle-earth south to the Gap of Rohan and separated the lands of Eriador from Rhovanion. The Misty Mountains were the home of Orcs, Great Eagles and the Dwarves of Khazad-dûm. For a time its northernmost part made up the defences of the Witch-kingdom of Angmar and the Orc-hold of Gundabad, while in its southernmost part, the evil Wizard Saruman defended his stronghold of Isengard. Called the Hithaeglir, the “misty peaks”, by the Elves, the major peaks of the Misty Mountains were Methedras, Bundushathûr, Zirak-zigal, Barazinbar and Gundabad; while the High Pass, the Redhorn and the tunnels of Khazad-dûm were the three main passages through them.

Mordor

At the end of the first millennium of the Second Age, Sauron founded an evil kingdom on Middle-earth, just to the east of the River Anduin. This was called Mordor, the “black land”, and for two ages was Sauron’s base of power in his quest for dominion over all of Middle-earth. Mordor was defended on three sides by two unassailable mountain ranges: the Ash Mountains in the north, and the Shadowy Mountains in the west and south. Through these mountains, there appear to have been only two passes: Cirith Ungol in the west and Cirith Gorgor in the northwest. Besides the small circular plain called Udûn inside Cirith Gorgor, Mordor’s two major regions were the Plateau of Gorgoroth and the wide plain and slave fields of Nurn.

Gorgoroth was a vast dreary plateau of slag heaps and Orc pits always under the pall of smoke from the volcanic mountain of Orodruin (or Mount Doom) near its centre. Here too, on the northeast side of the plateau on a spur of the Ash Mountains, was Sauron’s stronghold, the Dark Tower of Barad-dûr. Nurn, however, was a vast farmland populated by slaves and slave-drivers who supplied the massive foods and basic materials for Sauron’s armies. Nurn was drained by four rivers, and each flowed into the inland sea of Nûrnen.

After forging the One Ring in the fires of Mount Doom in 1600, Sauron completed Barad-dûr and began the War of Sauron and the Elves. Although surrendering to the astonishing power of the Númenóreans in 3262, Sauron managed to destroy them by guile and return to Mordor after Númenor’s destruction. In 3429, Sauron’s forces made war on Gondor, but retribution came in 3434 when the Last Alliance of Elves and Men destroyed his army on Dagorlad and broke down the Black Gate in order to enter Mordor. After a seven-year siege Barad-dûr was taken, the One Ring was cut from Sauron’s hand, and all of his evil servants driven out of Mordor. During the early part of the Third Age, Mordor was empty and Gondor built the Tower of the Teeth and the fortress of Durthang in the north pass, and the Tower of Cirith Ungol in the west pass, to watch over Mordor and prevent any of Sauron’s scattered allies from entering the kingdom. Unfortunately, after the devastation of the Great Plague of 1636, Gondor abandoned these fortresses and they were taken over by Orcs and prepared for the entry of the Nazgûl and Sauron himself. In 2942 Sauron returned and in 2951 began rebuilding Barad-dûr. However, the unmaking of the One Ring proved a final blow. Sauron was destroyed for the last time and Mordor was never again a threat to the peace of Middle-earth.

Morgoth

Vala Lord of Darkness. Morgoth, meaning “the Dark Enemy”, was the name the Noldor Elves gave the evil Valarian Lord who destroyed the Trees of Light, stole the Silmarils and slew their king. However, his history is accounted here under his original name, Melkor.

Moria

In the year 1697 of the Second Age of the Sun, in the midst of the War of Sauron and the Elves when all of Eregion was being laid waste by dark forces, the Dwarves of the mighty mansions of Khazad-dûm in the Misty Mountains sealed their great doors and went out no more into the world beyond. Thereafter, it was considered a secret and dark place, its histories and people were unknown to those of the outside world, and so it was called Moria, the “dark chasm”. In this way, the Dwarves of the Misty Mountains survived the devastation of the Second Age, and happily delved beneath the mountains until the year 1980 of the Third Age. That year, while pursuing a rich vein of mithril in one of their mines, they accidently released an evil Balrog spirit that had hidden and slept beneath the roots of Barazinbar since the end of the First Age. Though they battled for a year against the demon, after the deaths of two of their kings, the Dwarves deserted Moria. Thereafter, Moria became the domain of the Balrog, the Orcs and other servants of Sauron. The once dazzling beauty of its halls and grottoes was ruined and mutilated and it became an evil, dank and haunted place. For five years, from 2989 to 2994, a group of Dwarves attempted to re-establish a kingdom in Moria, only to be trapped and slaughtered when they were caught between an army of Orcs at the East Gate and a new threat, the terrible Kraken, called the Watcher in the Water, at the West Gate. It was not until 3019 of the Third Age that the Balrog was at last slain by Gandalf the Wizard. Yet, although the evil tyrant of Moria was slain, it appears that its vast halls remained abandoned and empty forever after.

Moriquendi

In the High Elven tongue of Quenya, all Elves who did not come to the Undying Lands in the time of the Trees of the Valar were named Moriquendi, the Dark Elves. They were Elves of lesser power than those who witnessed the Undying Lands in the time of their greatest glory. Among the Moriquendi were: the Avari, the Silvan Elves of Lothlórien and Mirkwood, the Nandor, the Laiquendi, the Falathrim and the Sindar.

Mount Doom

The massive volcanic mountain that stood in the centre of the blackened plateau of Gorgoroth, within Mordor, was the mighty, natural forge upon which Sauron made the One Ring in the year 1600 of the Second Age of the Sun. Called Mount Doom in the language of Men, its elvish name was Orodruin, the “mountain of red flame”, and under that name its history may be found.

Mûmakil

In the Third Age of the Sun in the south lands of Harad, there lived beasts of vast bulk that are thought to be ancestors of the creatures Men now name Elephants. Yet it is said the Elephants that now inhabit the World are much smaller in size and might than their ancestors.

In the years of the War of the Ring the fierce warriors of Harad came north to the lands of Gondor at the call of Sauron, and with their armies they brought the great Mûmakil, which were used as beasts of war. The Mûmakil were harnessed with the gear of war: red banners, bands and trappings of gold and brass; on their backs they had great towers from which archers and spearmen fought. They had a natural thirst for battle, and many foes were crushed beneath their feet. With their trunks they struck down many enemies and in battle their tusks were crimsoned with the blood of their foes. They could not be fought by mounted Men, for Horses would not come near the Mûmakil; nor by foot soldiers, who would be crushed. In war they would frequently stand as towers that could not be captured: shield-walls broke before them and armies were routed.

These thick-skinned beasts were almost invulnerable to arrow-shot. In only one place, their eyes, could the Mûmakil be blinded or even killed by arrows released with great force. When blinded they became enraged with pain, and often destroyed masters and foes alike.