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Taniquelassë

Among the many beautiful, fragrant evergreen trees that the Elves of Tol Eressëa brought as a gift and a blessing to Númenor was one called Taniquelassë. The flower, the leaf and the bark were much prized by the Númenóreans for their sweet scent. Its name suggests that the tree had its origins on the slopes of Taniquetil, the Sacred Mountain of Manwë and the highest mountain in the Undying Lands.

Taniquetil

The highest mountain in Arda was Taniquetil in the eastern Pelóri Mountains in the Undying Lands. Taniquetil means “high white peak” and upon its summit was built Ilmarin, the mansions of the king and queen of the Valar, Manwë and Varda. From his throne on Taniquetil’s summit, Manwë could see over all the lands of Arda. The Vanyar Fair Elves live on its slopes and call it Oiolossë, meaning “snow everwhite” because it is always covered in snow. The Olympus of Arda it is also known by many other names: the White Mountain, Mount Everwhite, Amon Uilos and the Holy Mountain.

Tareldar

Those of the Elven people who heeded the summons of the Valar, departed to the West and looked on the Blessed Realm in the days of the Light of the Trees, were in the Quenya tongue called Tareldar or High Elves. They were a great people who thrived and built Elven cities and kingdoms the like of which had never been seen in Middle-earth, and never will be again, for the Tareldar were clear-sighted and keen-eyed beyond imagining. To compare them to the Moriquendi would be to compare diamonds to coal.

Tarks

In the Westron dialect there were many words taken from Elvish that were twisted in Orkish use. One of these was the Quenya word “tarkil”, meaning the Dúnedain. In the Orc usage this became Tark, a word of contempt for the Gondor Men.

Tasarion

Among the most ancient of trees were those that the first Elves called the Tasarion. With many other kinds of tree they had come into the World in the Ages of the Lamps at the wish of Yavanna, Queen of the Earth. The Tasarion were strong, long-lived trees that loved to grow most of all by ruins, lakes, marshes and streams. In the Ages of Starlight the greatest forest of these trees on Middle-earth was in the Nan-tasarion, the “valley of the Tasarion”, in Beleriand. And though this forest was destroyed when Beleriand sank beneath the sea, the species of Tasarion survived all the changes of the World, and even the great invasions by the race of Men. For the Tasarion are the trees Men now call the Willow.

Telcontari

At the end of the War of the Rings a new line of kings was established to rule over the realms of Arnor and Gondor. The first of this line was Aragorn, son of Arathorn, who became King Elessar of the Reunited Kingdom. He chosed Telcontar as the name of his House, for this was the Quenya form of Strider, the name by which he went in his years of exile. His descendants and successors preserved the name of the House that Aragorn had founded, calling themselves the Telcontari.

Teleri

There were three Kindred of Elves who in the years of Stars undertook the Great Journey from the East of Middle-earth to the Undying Lands. The first two were named the Vanyar and the Noldor, and they were the first of the Elvenhost to reach the Undying Lands beyond the Great Sea. The people of the Third Kindred were the Teleri; their destiny differed from the first two Kindred, for they were the largest in number of the Elven people and so their passage was slowest across the lands of Middle-earth. In the course of the Great Journey the Teleri became a scattered and divided people.

At the Marchlands of the West of Middle-earth the Teleri tarried and stood back in fear of crossing the Great River Anduin and the Misty Mountains. Some Elves broke away and went South into the Vales of Anduin, where they lived for many centuries. These people were named the Nandor, and they took one called Lenwë as their lord.

But the main host of the Teleri continued westwards, over the Misty Mountains and the Blue Mountains, to the land that was later named Beleriand. It was then that the greatest division of the Teleri occurred. They were all encamped in a great forest beyond the River Gelion, when they lost their king, Elwë Singollo, who alone among them had seen the Trees of the Valar in the Undying Lands. Elwë walked into the Forest of Nan Elmoth and there, enchanted, fell under a spell of love for Melian the Maia. In that spell he was held, though years passed and his people searched for him. A part who called themselves the Eglath, the “forsaken”, would go no further without him. They remained faithful to him until, at last, he returned with Melian his bride. The Eglath were renamed the Sindar, the “Grey-elves”, and under this union of Elf and Maia they built the most powerful kingdom of Elves on Middle-earth in the years of Starlight.

But long before King Elwë returned, the larger part of the Teleri had taken his brother Olwë as king and had gone west again to the Great Sea. There they awaited some sign from the Valar that would bring them to the Undying Lands. The Teleri waited a long time on the shores of Middle-earth and grew to love the sea under the Stars. While on the shores they sang songs sad and brave. Of all Elves they were the loveliest of singers, and loved the sea the most. By some they were called the Lindar, the “singers”, and by others the Falmari, the Sea-elves. Hearing the Elven songs, Ossë, the Maia of the waves, came to them and sang to the Teleri of the waves and the sea. They learned much from Ossë of the ways of the sea and their love for the sight and sounds of those turbulent shores of Middle-earth increased.

So it was that, when Ulmo the Ocean Lord came to the Teleri with that rootless island that was his ship, once again some of the kindred forsook the Journey. These were named Falathrim, the “Elves of the Falas”, who, for the love of the shores of Middle-earth, remained. They chose Círdan as their lord, and they settled in the havens of Brithombar and Eglarest. In later years they were the first shipbuilders of Middle-earth.

The greatest part of the Teleri went West with Ulmo, though Ossë pursued them and sang to them and would not let them forget the blessings of the seas. Ulmo, seeing how they so loved the waves, was loath to take them beyond the reach of the sea. So when he came within sight of the Undying Lands he did not take them ashore but anchored the island in the Bay of Eldamar, within sight of the Light and the land of their kindred, though it was beyond their reach. Once again the Journey of the Teleri was stayed, and for an Age they again lived apart from their kindred. Their language changed with their stay on Tol Eressëa, the “lonely isle”; the sounds of the sea were always on their tongue, and their language was no longer that of the Vanyar and Noldor.

The Valar were, however, displeased with their brother Ulmo, for they wished to bring the Third Kindred to the actual shore of their realm. At their bidding Ulmo relented and he sent Ossë to them once more. Reluctantly, Ossë taught them the art of building ships and, when the ships were built, Ulmo sent to them vast winged Swans, which drew the Teleri finally to Eldamar.

The Teleri were grateful to reach their Journey’s end at last and great indeed was the welcome they were given. The Noldor and Vanyar came from the city Tirion upon Túna with many gifts of gemstones and gold. And in time the Teleri came to know the Light of the Trees and the wisdom of the Valarian people.

Under their king Olwë, they built beautiful mansions of pearl, and ships like the Swans of Ulmo, with eyes and beaks of jet and gold. They named their city Alqualondë, which is the “haven of Swans”. Remaining close to the waves they had learned to love, they walked the shores or sailed on the Bay of Eldamar. The Teleri were a happy people and so they remain; their ships constantly sail out through the arching sea-carved stone gate of their haven and city. They know little of war and strife; their concerns are with the sea, with ships and with singing. These are their chief joys.

War came to them twice, and each time it was unlooked for and unexpected. The first time, according to the “Aldudénië” – the tale of the Darkening of Valinor – Fëanor, lord of the Noldor, came to the Teleri of Alqualondë, desiring their ships to go to Middle-earth so that he could avenge his father’s death and regain the Silmarils from Morgoth. King Olwë denied him his wish, however, and so the fierce Noldor slew many of the Teleri and took their ships. This was the first slaying of Elf by Elf known in Arda. It has always been counted a great evil and has been held against the sons of Fëanor ever since.

Only once more did the Teleri of Alqualondë in any way test themselves in war. This was the War of Wrath when the Valar, the Maiar and the Eldar went to the Great Battle at the end of the First Age of the Sun and defeated the rebel Vala, Melkor, whom the Elves named Morgoth. But even then the Teleri did not fight but only used their ships to carry the Vanyar and Noldor warriors from the Undying Lands across the western sea to Middle-earth. Though they would help the Noldor, they would not die on their behalf on the battle-field for they well remembered the First Kinslaying on the Soil of Eldamar. The “Akallabêth” tells that, when Númenor tore open the belly of the World with its Downfall, the Spheres of mortal and immortal lands fell apart. Thereafter, only the ships of the Teleri could ever cross the gap between the Spheres. The fair, white Swan ships of the Teleri are a wonder and a miracle and the mortal World has never since seen their like, though they still sail in the Bay of Eldamar and will do so until the Unmaking of Eä.

Thangorodrim

The huge volcanic mountain that Morgoth raised above his mighty armoury and fortress of Angband after he and Ungoliant destroyed the Trees of the Valar and stole the Silmarils was called Thangorodrim. This terrible, three-peaked mountain of slag and volcanic rock constantly belched out poisonous smoke and fumes. Its name means “mountains of oppression” and deep within its bowels, Morgoth devised and gathered many monsters and evil beings. However, Thangorodrim did not survive the First Age of the Sun, for in the Great Battle during the War of Wrath, when Ancalagon the Black, the mightiest of the Winged Dragons was slain, he fell from the sky and broke open Thangorodrim.

Théoden

Northman, king of Rohan. Born in 2948 of the Third Age, Théoden, son of Thengel, became the seventeenth king of Rohan in 2980. In the beginning he was a good and strong king, but near the end of his reign he fell under the influence of Gríma Wormtongue, who secretly was a servant of the evil Wizard Saruman. However, in 3019, Gandalf healed him from the evil spells of Saruman. Théoden mounted his steed, Snowmane, and led the Horsemen of Rohan onto the battlegrounds of Hornburg and Pelennor Fields. Upon Pelennor, after overthrowing the Haradrim, Théoden won a warrior’s death by daring to stand against the Witch-king of Angmar.

Thingol

Elven king of Doriath. Born by the Waters of Awakening at the beginning of the Ages of the Stars, Elwë Singollo – who later became King Thingol – was the High King of the Teleri Elves. He was the tallest of the Elves and had silver hair, and led his people on the Great Journey. This he did as far as Beleriand, where he met Melian the Maia and fell into a trance of love for many years. By the time he reappeared, most of the Teleri had taken his brother, Olwë, as their new king and completed the journey. Those who remained behind became the Sindar or Grey-elves. With their transformed King Thingol, meaning “King Grey-mantle”, and their Queen Melian the Maia, they built the forest kingdom of Doriath and the mansions of Menegroth. Thingol ruled a peaceful kingdom through all the Ages of the Stars, and Melian gave birth to the incomparable Princess Lúthien. Even during the war-torn First Age of the Sun, Doriath appeared to be safe because a spell called the Girdle of Melian protected it. However, in the fifth century, Thingol’s daughter met and fell in love with the mortal hero, Beren. Not wishing to lose his daughter to a mortal, Thingol sent Beren on the Quest of the Silmaril. The lovers managed to steal a jewel from Morgoth’s crown. However, when Thingol hired the Dwarves of Nogrod to set the Silmaril in the necklace called the Nauglamír, the craftsmen were suddenly overcome by a desire to possess the jewel. They slew Thingol and stole the Silmaril.

Thorin I

Dwarf king of Grey Mountains. Born in the Kingdom under the Mountain in 2035, Thorin was the son of King Thráin I. In 2190, he became Thorin I, the second King under the Mountain. Thirty years later, wishing to find new challenges, Thorin I led his people to the Grey Mountains where he founded and ruled a prosperous new kingdom until his death in 2289.

Thorin II

Dwarf king-in-exile. Born in 2746 of the Third Age in the Kingdom under the Mountain, Thorin was the grandson of King Thrór. In 2770, all the Dwarves of Erebor were driven out by Smaug the Dragon. In 2790, his grandfather was slain, and his father, King Thráin II, led his people into the War of the Dwarves and the Orcs. At this time he became known as Thorin Oakenshield because, when disarmed during the Battle of Azanulbizar, he used an oak bough as a weapon. After the war, Thorin Oakenshield remained in the Blue Mountains and in 2845, he became Thorin II, king-in-exile. Nearly a century later, in 2941, he formed the expedition of Thorin and Company and went on the Quest of the Lonely Mountain. The adventure finally resulted in the death of Smaug the Dragon and the re-establishment of the Dwarf Kingdom under the Mountain. However, in the fight to keep possession of what the company had won, Thorin Oakenshield was mortally wounded in the Battle of Five Armies, and died shortly after.

Thorin III

Dwarf king of Erebor. Known as Thorin Stonehelm, this son of King Dáin Ironfoot (heir of Thorin II) was born in Erebor in 2866 of the Third Age. He became King under the Mountain in 3019 after his father died defending Erebor during the War of the Ring. A brave warrior, Thorin Stonehelm rallied his people and, with the Men of Dale, broke the siege of Erebor and defeated the Easterling and Orc armies.

Thorondor

Eagle of Encircling Mountains. Thorondor was the king of the Eagles during the First Age of the Sun. With a wingspan measured at thirty fathoms, he appears to have been the largest Eagle ever to have lived. During the Wars of Beleriand, Thorondor rescued the Noldor prince Maedhros from Thangorodrim, brought back the body of King Fingolfin from Angband, and scarred the face of Morgoth with his talons. Beren and Lúthien were also rescued from Angband by the Eagle Lord. For centuries, Thorondor’s Eagles guarded the hidden realm of Gondolin from its enemies. However, Thorondor and his Eagles won greatest fame in the Great Battle by destroying the Winged Dragons of Angband. Thorondor, meaning “high eagle”, appears to have returned with the Valar and Maiar to the Undying Lands at the end of the First Age of the Sun.

Thráin I

Dwarf king of Erebor. Thráin I became the first King under the Mountain at Erebor in 1999 of the Third Age of the Sun. Born in Moria in 1934, Thráin was the son of King Náin I. His father ruled Moria for just one year before being slain by the Balrog in 1981. Forced to abandon Moria, Thráin I became king-in-exile. Finally, Thráin I brought his wandering people to Erebor, where he found that great jewel called the Arkenstone, the “heart of the mountain”. There he founded the Kingdom under the Mountains and prospered until his death in 2190.

Thráin II

Dwarf king-in-exile. Born in the Kingdom under the Mountain in 2644 of the Third Age of the Sun, Thráin was the son of King Thrór. In 2770 Thrór, Thráin and all the Dwarves of Erebor were driven out by Smaug the Dragon. In 2790, King Thrór was murdered by the Orcs of Moria, and Thráin II launched the bloody six-year War of Dwarves and Orcs. It culminated in the slaughter of the Orcs of the Misty Mountains at the Battle of Azalnulbizar, in which Thráin II lost an eye. Still without a kingdom after the war, Thráin II lived for a long time in the Blue Mountains. Finally, however, in 2845 he rather foolishly resolved to return to Erebor with a few companions. Unfortunately, he was taken captive by Sauron in Mirkwood, and had the last of the Dwarf Rings of Power taken from him. In 2850, after five years of imprisonment, Gandalf managed to find him and Thráin gave the Wizard the key to a secret door in Erebor.

Thrushes

The “Red Book of Westmarch” tells that in the Third Age of the Sun there were many bird races such as Crows and Ravens that possessed languages that Elves, Dwarves or Men might know. But the ancient breed of Thrush that lived in Erebor had an alliance with the Men and Dwarves of that place. The Men of Dale and some of the Lake Men of Esgaroth knew the Thrush language and used these birds as messengers. Thrushes would also approach Dwarves out of friendship, and although the Dwarves did not understand the quick Thrushes’ speech, the Thrushes understood Westron, the common daily speech of Dwarves and Men.

These birds were especially long-lived. Legend relates how one very old Thrush of Erebor came to the Dwarves of Thorin Oakenshield and bore a message to Lake Town, to the heir of Dale named Bard the Bowman. Men, Elves and Dwarves had reason indeed to be grateful to this Thrush, for on the strength of its message Bard the Bowman learned of the weakness of the Dragon of Erebor, and with that knowledge slew the beast.

Thuringwethil

Maia and Vampire. Thuringwethil, meaning “the woman of shadows”, was an evil Maia spirit of Melkor, who took on the form of a huge Vampire Bat with iron claws. During the First Age of the Sun, Thuringwethil was one of the many shape-shifting monsters inhabiting Sauron’s tower on the Isle of Werewolves in Beleriand. She flew between Sauron and Melkor carrying messages and doing evil deeds. After the overthrow of the Sauron and the Werewolves, her power seems to have been destroyed. Her shaping-cloak was taken and was used by Lúthien as a means of entering the realm of Angband.

Tilion

Maia guardian of the Moon. Tilion of the Silver Bow was once a Maia spirit of Oromë the Huntsman. However, after Telperion, the last flower of the silver Tree of the Valar, was placed in a silver vessel to become the Moon, Tilion was chosen as its guiding spirit. Ever since the first rising of the Moon, he has laboured each night to carry the silver vessel and flower through the heavens.

Tindómerel

Fairest of the song birds of Arda was the Tindómerel, the “twilight daughter”, which common Men called the Nightingale. Elves loved this night-singer, which they named Tinúviel, “maiden of twilight”, and told many tales in which nightingales play a part.

Tinúviel

Among the songs and tales of Elves much is made of the night-singing bird that men call the nightingale. Of all birds its song is most loved, for like the Elves themselves it sings by the light of the Stars. This bird has many names: Dúlin (“night-singer”), Tindómerel (“twilight-daughter”), Lómelindë (“dusk-singer”) and Tinúviel (“maiden of twilight”).

The greatest legends of this bird came from Doriath. For always about the Queen of the Grey-elves, Melian the Maia, were the sweet voices of Nightingales. In time a daughter was born to Melian and King Thingol – the only child born of Elf and Maia in the Circles of the World. She was the most beautiful of Elves, the fairest singer of all her race, and so she was named Lúthien Tinúviel. The “Lay of Leithian” tells how by the magic of her song she wielded immense power in Arda. But like the short-lived night bird she faded from the World, for she took the mortal Beren, son of Barahir, as her husband, and she herself was made mortal. So, the fairest being in Arda was gone long before the First Age of the Sun was ended.

Many songs recall Lúthien’s beauty, and in the “Tale of Aragorn and Arwen” it is said that in the Third Age of the Sun the dark beauty of Lúthien again found form in Arwen, the daughter of Elrond Half-elven. Arwen was also known as Tinúviel. Her song was beautiful and, like Lúthien, she married a mortal and chose a mortal life.

Tirion

In the Undying Lands, the Noldor and Vanyar Elves built the first and greatest city in Eldamar. This was Tirion of the white towers and crystal stairs. It was set on the hill of Túna in Calacirya, the Pass of Light. The city was placed so that not only could the Elves live in the light of the Trees and look out on the sea but also, from under the shadow of Túna and the tall towers, could view the glittering stars which shone down on the world beyond the Pelóri Mountains of Valinor. Appropriately, the name Tirion is Elvish for “watch tower”, perhaps referring specifically to the tallest tower which was called Mindon Eldalióva and in which was set a great silver lamp. In the courtyard of this tower was planted Galathilion, the sacred White Tree of the Eldar.

Tol Eressëa

In the first ages of Arda, there was a large island in the middle of the Great Sea of Belegaer that Ulmo the Valarian, Lord of Oceans uprooted and made into a floating island that served him as a vast ship. This was the Ship of Ulmo that transported the Vanyar and Noldor Elves of the Great Journey from Middle-earth to the Undying Lands. Upon departing, however, a portion of the island ran aground just off Beleriand and broke off to become the Isle of Balar. Nonetheless, the Vanyar and Noldor were safely delivered and Ulmo’s island returned to Beleriand to transport the Teleri Elves. However, many years had passed since the first passage and in that time the Teleri came to love the sea so greatly that Ossë the Maiar spirit, who is Master of the Waves, persuaded Ulmo not to complete the crossing, but to anchor the isle in the Bay of Eldamar. Although within sight of the Undying Lands and their brethren in Eldamar, for an Age of Starlight the Teleri Sea Elves were separated from their brethren, and during this time the island was given its name, Tol Eressëa, the “Lonely Island”. It was not until they were taught the craft of ship building that their isolation ended. Thereafter, they were masters of the seas and went where they wished. Some went and built the Teleri city of Alqualondë in Eldamar, and another part remained on Tol Eressëa and its port-city of Avallónë that looked eastward over the sea. These were the Elves who traded with the Númenóreans and brought gifts and knowledge to them during the Second Age of the Sun before the Change of the World, and whose white tower of Avallónë could be glimpsed glittering in the western sea from Númenor’s highest peak.

Tol Sirion

In Beleriand during the First Age of the Sun, there was a green island on the northern reach of the Sirion River that controlled the Pass of Sirion. This was called Tol Sirion, and was where the Noldor Prince Finrod built the fortress of Minas Tirith to guard the pass against the forces of Morgoth. It remained secure until the year 457 when it was seized by Sauron and a mighty host of Werewolves. For a decade thereafter, the island was called Tol-in-Gaurhoth, the “isle of Werewolves”. Within its dungeons were thrown Finrod and Beren, until the coming of Lúthien and Huan the Wolfhound of the Valar. In the ensuing conflict Huan slew Sauron’s chief lieutenant Draugluin, the lord and sire of Werewolves, and overcame Sauron himself in Werewolf form. After Huan’s victory, the evil powers fled from the island which once again was called Tol Sirion. Finrod was buried here, and it remained a green and peaceful isle until the end of the age and the destruction of Beleriand.

Tom Bombadil

Maia master of Old Forest. Tom Bombadil was the Hobbit name for the powerful and eccentric master of the Old Forest. Called Iarwain Benadar, which means both ”old” and “without father”, by the Elves, he was probably a Maia spirit that came to Middle-earth in the Ages of Starlight. By Dwarves he was called Forn, while Men knew him as Orald. He was a very strange and merry spirit. He was a short, stout Man, with blue eyes, a red face and a brown beard. He wore a blue coat, a tall battered hat with a blue feather, and yellow boots. Always singing or speaking in rhymes, he seemed a nonsensical being, yet within the Old Forest his power was absolute, and no evil was strong enough to touch him. His spouse was Goldberry the River-daughter. Tom Bombadil played a role in the Quest of the Ring by twice rescuing the Hobbits who carried the Ring: first from Old Man Willow in the Old Forest, and later from the Barrow Wights in the Barrow Downs.

Torogs

During the Wars of Beleriand there came forth in the service of Morgoth, the Dark Enemy, a race of Man-eating Giants of great strength. Elves named these creatures Torogs, from which Men later invented the name Trolls. The lore of Middle-earth was filled with tales of this evil but stupid race of Giants who often beset the lone unwary traveller.

Treebeard

Ent of Fangorn Forest. Treebeard, which is “Fangorn” in Elvish, was the guardian of the Fangorn Forest. He was an Ent, a fourteen foot tall giant “tree shepherd” who resembled something between an evergreen tree and a man. He had a rough and sturdy trunk, a thatch beard and branch-like arms with smooth seven-fingered hands. At the time of the War of the Ring, he was the oldest of his race still surviving on Middle-earth. Although not generally concerned with the ways of Elves and Men, Treebeard’s discussions with the Hobbits, Meriadoc Brandybuck and Peregrin Took, soon roused his long-held resentment towards the Orcs of Isengard. Treebeard persuaded the Ents to march on Isengard. The March of the Ents resulted in the total destruction of its walls and imprisonment of Saruman the Wizard in his own tower. Treebeard also sent those bad-tempered tree-spirits called Huorn in against the Orcs after the Battle of Hornburg.

Trees of the Valar

From the seeds devised by Yavanna, Queen of the Earth, there grew in the Ages of the Lamps the trees of the Great Forests of Arda. Many of these were the same as trees we now know, yet taller in those days and of greater girth. There were trees of oak, alder, rowan, fir, beech (which was called Neldoreth), birch (called Brethil), and holly (which was called Region). But there were others that have now vanished from the World: the red-gold Culumalda of Ithilien and the golden Mallorn, the tallest tree of Middle-earth, which stood in Lothlórien.

Yet the most amazing and beautiful of all the trees that ever grew were the two Trees of the Valar, which appeared after the Ages of the Lamps. After Melkor had destroyed the Lamps of the World, the Valar left Middle-earth and came to the Undying Lands. There they made a second kingdom, which they named Valinor, and Yavanna, Giver of Fruits, sat on the green mound Ezellohar near the western golden gate of Valimar and sang, while the Valar sat on their thrones in the Ring of Doom and Nienna the Weeper silently watered the Earth with her tears. First, it is told, there came forth a Tree of silver and then a Tree of gold; glowing with brilliant Light, they grew as tall as the mountains of Aulë. Telperion was the elder of these Trees and had leaves of dark green and bright silver. On his boughs were multitudes of silver flowers from which fell silver dew. In praise Telperion was also called Ninquelótë and Silpion. Laurelin, the younger of the Trees of the Valar, was the “song of gold”. Her leaves were edged with gold yet were pale green; her flowers were like trumpets and golden flames, and from her limbs fell a rain of gold Light. In praise Laurelin was also named Culúrien and Malinalda, the “golden tree”.

So it was that these two Trees stood in the Undying Lands and lit the lands with silver and gold. From the rhythm of the Light of the Trees of the Valar came the Count of Time, for Time had not before been measured, and so began the days and years of the Trees, which were many long ages – longer far than the years of the Stars of the Sun. The Light of the twin Trees in the Undying Lands was eternal, and those who lived in it were ennobled and filled with immense wisdom.

In their Light the Valar lived in bliss, while Middle-earth was plunged in darkness and Melkor strengthened the power of his kingdom of Utumno and his armoury of Angband. Yet after a time Varda, who made wells beneath the Trees in which the dews of Light fell, took the silver Light of Telperion and climbed the vault of the skies and rekindled the faint stars. She made them more brilliant, and evil servants of Melkor on Middle-earth quailed in fear. For the starlight was now like spears to them, or like daggers of ice, that cut them deep. In this Light of the Stars the Elves came forth. Joyfully were they awakened by that Light.

Though the life of the Trees of the Valar was long, their end was tragic and disastrous. For, it is told, Melkor made a pact with Ungoliant the Great Spider, and they came invisibly in the Unlight of the Spider, and the Trees were lasted with sorcerous flame, and the sap of their lives was drawn out. Their Light was extinguished and they were left but shattered trunks and roots blackened and poisoned. The wells of Light were drained and consumed by the Spider Ungoliant, and a terrible darkness fell on Valinor. So in all the World the Light of the Trees was gone, except in the three jewels called the Silmarils that the Elves of Eldmar had made, in which a little of the Light from the Trees was preserved. But Melkor took these gems too, though he did not destroy them, and it was for these Silmarils that the long disastrous War of the Jewels of all the next Age was fought.

Mournfully, the Valar came again to the Trees, and again they sent for Yavanna and Nienna. Over the dead Trees Yavanna sang her green song and Nienna wept tears of endurance beyond hope, and from the charred ruins came a single golden fruit and a single silver flower. These were named Anar the Fire Golden and Isil the Sheen. The “Narsilion” tells how Aulë the Smith made great lanterns about these radiant lights that they might not fade. Manwë hallowed them, and Varda lifted them into the heavens and set them on a course over all the lands of Arda. Thus, the fragments of the living Light of the Trees of the Valar were brought to the whole World and they were called the Sun and the Moon. Arien the Maia fire spirit carries the Sun, Anar, which is also named Vása, the “heart of fire”; and Tilion the Maia hunter and bowman carries the Moon, Isil the silver flower, which is also called Rána.

It was not in their Light alone that the Trees remained in the World, for Yavanna made the tree Galathilion in the image of Telperion, though it did not radiate Light. She gave this tree to the Elves of Tirion, who knew it as the White Tree of the Eldar. Many of its seedlings grew and still grow in Eldamar. One of these was Celeborn, which bloomed on Tol Eressëa and brought forth the seedling that Elves gave to the Men of Númenor. This seedling became the tree named Nimloth the Fair, the White Tree of Númenor, which grew in the royal court until King Ar-Pharazôn destroyed it. With that act the Isle of Númenor was doomed. Yet a sapling had already been taken from Nimloth by the princes of Andúnië, and before the Downfall of Númenor one prince named Elendil the Tall took this sapling to Middle-earth. His son first planted the fruit of Nimloth in Minas Ithil in Gondor, and until the Fourth Age of the Sun the White Trees of Gondor bloomed. Though three times a White Tree perished in plague or war, a sapling was always found and the line never died out. These White Trees were a living link with the most ancient past of the Undying Lands, and they were a sign of the nobility, the wisdom and the goodness of the Valar come to mortal Men.

Trolls

It is thought that in the First Age of Starlight, in the deep Pits of Angband, Melkor the Enemy bred a race of giant cannibals who were fierce and strong but without intelligence. These black-blooded giants were called Trolls, and for five Ages of Starlight and four Ages of the Sun they committed deeds as evil as their dull wits allowed.

Trolls, it is said, were bred by Melkor because he desired a race as powerful as the giant Ents, the Treeherds. Trolls were twice the height and bulk of the greatest Men, and they had a skin of green scales like armour. As Ents were to the substance of wood, so Trolls were to stone. Though not so strong as Ents who could crush stone, Trolls were rock hard and powerful. Yet in the sorcery of their making there was a fatal flaw: they feared light. The spell of their creation had been cast in darkness and if light did fall on them it was as if that spell were broken and the armour of their skin grew inwards. Their evil, soulless beings were crushed as they became lumps of lifeless stone.

The stupidity of Trolls was so great that many could not be taught speech at all, while others learned the barest rudiments of the Black Speech of Orcs. Though their power was often brought to nought by the quick-witted, in mountain caverns and dark woods Trolls were rightly feared. They desired most a diet of raw flesh. They killed for pleasure, and without reason – save an undirected avarice – hoarded what treasures they took from their victims.

In the Ages of Starlight they wandered Middle-earth freely and with Orcs made travel a great peril. At this time they often went to war alongside Wolves and Orcs and other evil servants of Melkor. But in the First Age of the Sun they were far more wary, for the great light of the Sun was death to them and only in darkness did they go forth in the Wars of Beleriand. It is told in the “Quenta Silmarillion” that in the Battle of Unnumbered Tears, Trolls in great numbers were the bodyguard of Gothmog, Lord of the Balrogs, and, though they fought neither with craft nor skill, they fought fiercely and knew nothing of fear. Seventy of their number were slain by that one great Edain warrior called Húrin, yet other Trolls came on and at last took him captive.

After the War of Wrath and the First Age of the Sun, many of the Troll race remained on Middle-earth and hid themselves deeply under stone. When Sauron the Maia arose in the Second Age, he took to himself these old servants of his master, Melkor. Sauron also gave the Trolls craftiness of mind born of wickedness, and they became more dangerous than before. Freely and fearlessly, these monsters wandered in dark places of the World.

In the Third Age of the Sun, when Sauron for a second time arose in Mordor, there were still many evil and slow-witted Trolls who haunted Mortal Lands. Some of these were called Stone-trolls; others were Cave-trolls, Hill-trolls, Mountain-trolls and Snow-trolls. Many tales of the Third Age tell of their evil. In the Coldfells north of Rivendell they slew the Dúnedain chieftain Arador.

In the Trollshaws of Eriador, for centuries, three Trolls fed on village folk of that land. By Troll standards these three Trolls were mental giants, for they spoke and understood the Westron tongue of Men and had an elementary, if faulty, knowledge of arithmetic. None the less, by quickness of wit, the Wizard Gandalf was able to turn them to stone. In Moria the Balrog commanded many huge Cave-trolls.

Yet it is said Sauron was not yet pleased with the evil of these servants and sought to put their great strength to better use. So it was that, towards the end of the Third Age, Sauron bred Trolls of great cunning and agility who could endure the Sun as long as Sauron’s will was with them. These he called the Olog-hai, and they were great beasts with the reasoning intelligence of evil Men. Armed with fangs and rending claws and stone-scaled as others of the Troll race, they also carried black shields, round and huge, and swung mighty hammers that crushed the helmets of foes. So, in the Mountains of Mordor and the forests about Dol Guldur in Mirkwood where the Olog-hai were sent to war by Sauron, a great evil was loosed upon Sauron’s foes.

In the War of the Ring on Pelennor Fields and before the Black Gate of Mordor, the terror of these savage beings caused terrible destruction. Yet they were held by a mighty spell, and, when the Ring was unmade and Sauron went into the shadows, the spell was broken. The Olog-hai drifted as if their senses were taken from them; they were like mute cattle wandering dark fields and for all their great strength they were scattered and slain.

Trollshaws

In Eriador, during the last thousand years of the Third Age, the forest that stood just north of the Great East Road and east of the Elf-kingdom of Rivendell was called the Trollshaws. It had once been a civilized part of Arnor, and the ruins of Dúnedain castles were there, but since the wars with the Witch-king of Angmar the forest had become the domain of Trolls who loved nothing better than feasting upon unwary travellers. The Trollshaws was the home of three trolls: Bert, Tom and William Huggins, who were turned to stone by Gandalf during the Quest of Erebor.

Tulkas

Vala called “the Wrestler”. Tulkas was the Hercules of the Valar. Last of the Ainur to enter Arda, he came to fight Melkor in the First War. Even-tempered and slow to anger, Tulkas loved testing his strength against others. He was youthful and handsome with golden hair and beard. Sometimes called Tulkas the Strong, and Tulkas Astaldo, meaning “valiant”, his spouse was Nessa the Dancer. During the War of Powers, Tulkas captured Melkor, and in the War of Wrath, he performed feats of terrific strength.

Tuor

Edain of Dor-lómin. Tuor was born in 473 of the First Age of the Sun, just before the Battle of Unnumbered Tears, in which his father Huor was slain and his uncle, Húrin, was captured. Tuor was raised by Sindar Elves in the caves of Androth until he was sixteen, when he was captured and made the slave of Lorgan the Easterling. He later escaped and for four years lived as an outlaw. In 496, Tuor entered the hidden realm of Gondolin in order to deliver to King Turgon Ulmo the Ocean’s Lord’s warning of Gondolin’s imminent destruction. Turgon, however, refused to go, and Tuor also remained and married the Elven princess, Idril. The couple had a single child, Eärendil. In 511, Gondolin was sacked. Tuor, Idril and Eärendil, with the survivors of Gondolin, escaped to the Havens of Sirion. Some years later, Tuor sailed with Idril to live in Eldamar.

Turgon

Elven king of Gondolin. Born during the Ages of Stars in Eldamar, Turgon was the second son of Fingolfin of the Noldor. After the destruction of the Trees of Light, Turgon was among the Noldor who pursued Morgoth and the Silmarils to Middle-earth. In Beleriand, Turgon claimed Nevrast as his realm. However, in the year 51 of the First Age of the Sun, Ulmo the Vala showed Turgon the hidden valley of Tumladen within the Encircling Mountains. There he built a city of white stone and called it Gondolin. It was completed in 104, and Turgon ruled his hidden kingdom for five centuries. In 473, he led the Gondolindrim into the Battle of Unnumbered Tears. Only the sacrifice of the rearguard of the Edain averted total disaster. In 496, Ulmo sent the Edain hero Tuor to warn Turgon, but he refused to flee. After years of spying in 511, Morgoth finally discovered Gondolin’s location and sent his armies to destroy it. Turgon, with his sword Glamdring in his hand, died fighting in defence of his beloved city.

Túrin Turambar

Edain of Dor-lómin and Dragon-slayer. Túrin was born in 465 of the First Age, the son of Húrin and Morwen. After the disaster of the Battle of Unnumbered Tears in 473, Túrin was sent to be raised by the Grey-Elf king Thingol in Doriath. From 482, Túrin, with his mentor, the Sindar warrior Beleg Strongbow, fought the minions of Morgoth in the marches of Doriath and beyond. In 486 he adopted the name Neithan and went into exile. After capturing the Petty-dwarf, Mîm, he and his outlaw band made the caves beneath Amon Rûdh the centre of their operations. During this time, he was called Gorthol Dragon-helm. From 488 to 496, Túrin lived in Nargothrond and was called Mormegil the Black Sword. After fighting in the disastrous Battle of Tumhalad, Túrin returned to Nargothrond where Glaurung the Dragon bound him with a spell and an evil curse. For the next three years, calling himself Turambar (“master of doom”), he lived among the Haladin, and in 500 married the maid, Níniel. In 501, Glaurung entered Brethil and Túrin ambushed and slew him with his sword, Gurthang. However, before dying, the Dragon revealed to Túrin that his wife Níniel was, in fact, his long lost sister, Nienor. Realizing he had married his own sister, Túrin killed himself.

Turtle-fish

In the lore of Hobbits there is the tale of a great Turtle-fish that is called the Fastitocalon. Whether the tale grew from the sighting of a leviathan upon the sea or was the product of Hobbit fancy cannot now be discovered, for no other race upon Arda ever makes mention of this mighty creature.