Дж.Р.Р.Толкиен. Сильмариллион (engl)
страница №12
...and entered into Menegroth; andthere befell a thing most grievous among the sorrowful deeds of the Elder
Days. For there was battle in the Thousand Caves, and many Elves and Dwarves
were slain; and it has not been forgotten. But the Dwarves were victorious,
and the halls of Thingol were ransacked and plundered. There fell Mablung of
the Heavy Hand before the doors of the treasury wherein lay the Nauglamнr;
and the Silmaril was taken.
At that time Beren and Lъthien yet dwelt in Tol Galen, the Green Isle,
in the River Adurant, southernmost of the streams that falling from Ered
Lindon flowed down to join with Gelion; and their son Dior Eluchнl had to
wife Nimloth, kinswoman of Celeborn, prince of Doriath, who was wedded to
the Lady Galadriel. The sons of Dior and Nimloth were Elurйd and Elurнn; and
a daughter also was born to them, and she was named Elwing, which is
Star-spray, for she was born on a night of stars, whose light glittered in
the spray of the waterfall of Lanthir Lamath beside her father's house.
Now word went swiftly among the Elves of Ossiriand that a great host of
Dwarves bearing gear of war had come down out of the mountains and passed
over Gelion at the Ford of Stones. These tidings came soon to Beren and
Lъthien; and in that time also a messenger came to them out of Doriath
telling of what had befallen there. Then Beren arose and left Tol Galen, and
summoning to him Dior his son they went north to the River Ascar; and with
them went many of the Green-elves of Ossiriand.
Thus it came to .pass that when the Dwarves of Nogrod, returning from
Menegroth with diminished host, came again to Sarn Athrad, they were
assailed by unseen enemies; for as they climbed up Gelion's banks burdened
with the spoils of Doriath, suddenly all the woods were filled with the
sound of elven-horns, and shafts sped upon them from every side. There very
many of the Dwarves were slain in the first onset; but some escaping from
the ambush held together, and fled eastwards towards the mountains. And as
they climbed the long slopes beneath Mount Dolmed there came forth the
Shepherds of the Trees, and they drove the Dwarves into the shadowy woods of
Ered Lindon: whence, it is said, came never one to climb the high passes
that led to their homes.
In that battle by Sarn Athrad Beren fought his last fight, and himself
slew the Lord of Nogrod, and wrested from him the Necklace of the Dwarves;
but he dying laid his curse upon all the treasure. Then Beren gazed in
wonder on the selfsame jewel of Fлanor that he had cut from Morgoth's iron
crown, now shining set amid gold and gems by the cunning of the Dwarves; and
he washed it clean of blood in the waters of the river. And when all was
finished the treasure of Doriath was drowned in the River Ascar, and from
that time the river was named anew, Rathlуriel, the Goldenbed; but Beren
took the Nauglamнr and returned to Tol Galen. Little did it ease the grief
of Lъthien to learn that the Lord of Nogrod was slain and many Dwarves
beside; but it is said and sung that Lъthien wearing that necklace and that
immortal jewel was the vision of greatest beauty and glory that has ever
been outside the realm of Valinor; and for a little while the Land of the
Dead that Live became like a vision of the land of the Valar, and no place
has been since so fair, so fruitful, or so filled with light.
Now Dior Thingol's heir bade farewell to Beren and Lъthien, and
departing from Lanthir Lamath with Nimloth his wife he came to Menegroth,
and abode there; and with them went their young sons Elurйd and Elurнn, and
Elwing their daughter. Then the Sindar received them with joy, and they
arose from the darkness of their grief for fallen kin and King and for the
departure of Melian; and Dior Eluchнl set himself to raise anew the glory of
the kingdom of Doriath.
There came a night of autumn, and when it grew late, one came and smote
upon the doors of Menegroth, demanding admittance to the King. He was a lord
of the Green-elves hastening from Ossiriand, and the door-wards brought him
to where Dior sat alone in his chamber; and there in silence he gave to the
King a coffer, and took his leave. But in that coffer lay the Necklace of
the Dwarves, wherein was set the Silmaril; and Dior looking upon it knew it
for a sign that Beren Erchamion and Lъthien Tinъviel had died indeed, and
gone where go the race of Men to a fate beyond the world.
Long did Dior gaze upon the Silmaril, which his father and mother had
brought beyond hope out of the terror of Morgoth; and his grief was great
that death had come upon them so soon. But the wise have said that the
Silmaril hastened their end; for the flame of the beauty of Lъthien as she
wore it was too bright for mortal lands.
Then Dior arose, and about his neck he clasped the Nauglamнr; and now
he appeared as the fairest of all the children of the world, of threefold
race: of the Edain, and of the Eldar, and of the Maiar of the Blessed Realm.
But now the rumour ran among the scattered Elves of Beleriand that Dior
Thingol's heir wore the Nauglamнr, and they said: 'A Silmaril of Fлanor
burns again in the woods of Doriath'; and the oath of the sons of Fлanor was
waked again from sleep. For while Lъthien wore the Necklace of the Dwarves
no Elf would dare to assail her; but now hearing of the renewal of Doriath
and of Dior's pride the seven gathered again from wandering, and they sent
to him to claim their own.
But Dior returned no answer to the sons of Fлanor; and Celegorm stirred
up his brothers to prepare an assault upon Doriath. They came at unawares in
the middle of winter, and fought with Dior in the Thousand Caves; and so
befell the second slaying of Elf by Elf. There fell Celegorm by Dior's hand,
and there fell Curufin, and dark Caranthir; but Dior was slain also, and
Nimloth his wife, and the cruel servants of Celegorm seized his young sons
and left them to starve in the forest. Of this Maedhros indeed repented, and
sought for them long in the woods of Doriath; but his search was unavailing,
and of the fate of Elurйd and Elurнn no tale tells.
Thus Doriath was destroyed, and never rose again.
But the sons of Fлanor gained not what they sought; for a remnant of
the people fled before them, and with them was Elwing Dior's daughter, and
they escaped, and bearing with them the Silmaril they came in time to the
mouths of the River Sirion by the sea.
Of Tuor and the Fall of Gondolin
It has been told that Huor the brother of Hъrin was slain in the Battle
of Unnumbered Tears; and in the winter of that year Rнan his wife bore a
child in the wilds of Mithrim, and he was named Tuor, and was taken to
foster by Annael of the Grey-elves, who yet lived in those hills. Now when
Tuor was sixteen years old the Elves were minded to leave the caves of
Androth where they dwelt, and to make their way secretly to the Havens of
Sirion in the distant south; but they were assailed by Orcs and Easterlings
before they made good their escape, and Tuor was taken captive and enslaved
by Lorgan, chief of the Easterlings of Hithlum. For three years he endured
that thraldom, but at the end of that time he escaped; and returning to the
caves of Androth he dwelt there alone, and did such great hurt to the
Easterlings that Lorgan set a price upon his head.
But when Tuor had lived thus in solitude as an outlaw for four years,
Ulmo set it in his heart to depart from the land of his fathers, for he had
chosen Tuor as the instrument of his designs; and leaving once more the
caves of Androth he went westwards across Dor-lуmin, and found
Annon-in-Gelydh, the Gate of the Noldor, which the people of Turgon built
when they dwelt in Nevrast long years before. Thence a dark tunnel led
beneath the mountains, and issued into Cirith Ninniach, the Rainbow Cleft,
through which a turbulent water ran towards the western sea. Thus it was
that Tuor's flight from Hithlum was marked by neither Man nor Orc, and no
knowledge of it came to the ears of Morgoth.
And Tuor came into Nevrast, and looking upon Belegaer the Great Sea he
was enamoured of it, and the sound of it and the longing for it were ever in
his heart and ear, and an unquiet was on him that took him at last into the
depths of the realms of Ulmo. Then he dwelt in Nevrast alone, and the summer
of that year passed, and the doom of Nargothrond drew near; but when the
autumn came he saw seven great swans flying south, and he knew them for a
sign that he had tarried overlong, and he followed their flight along the
shores of the sea. Thus he came at length to the deserted halls of Vinyamar
beneath Mount Taras, and he entered in, and found there the shield and
hauberk, and the sword and helm, that Turgon had left there by the command
of Ulmo long before; and he arrayed himself in those arms, and went down to
the shore. But there came a great storm out of the west, and out of that
storm Ulmo the Lord of Waters arose in majesty and spoke to Tuor as he stood
beside the sea. And Ulmo bade him depart from that place and seek out the
hidden kingdom of Gondolin; and he gave Tuor a great cloak, to mantle him in
shadow from the eyes of his enemies.
But in the morning when the storm was passed, Tuor came upon an Elf
standing beside the walls of Vinyamar; and he was Voronwл, son of Aranwл, of
Gondolin, who sailed in the last ship that Turgon sent into the West. But
when that ship returning at last out of the deep ocean foundered in the
great storm within sight of the coasts of Middle-earth, Ulmo took him up,
alone of all its mariners, and cast him onto the land near Vinyamar; and
learning of the command laid upon Tuor by the Lord of Waters Voronwл was
filled with wonder, and did not refuse him his guidance to the hidden door
of Gondolin. Therefore they set out together from that place, and as the
Fell Winter of that year came down upon them out of the north they went
warily eastward under the eaves of the Mountains of Shadow
At length they came in their journeying to the Pools of Ivrin, and
looked with grief on the defilement wrought there by the passage of Glaurung
the Dragon; but even as they gazed upon it they saw one going northward in
haste, and he was a tall Man, clad in black, and bearing a black sword. But
they knew not who he was, nor anything of what had befallen in the south;
and he passed them by, and they said no word.
And at the last by the power that Ulmo set upon them they came to the
hidden door of Gondolin, and passing down the tunnel they reached the inner
gate, and were taken by the guard as prisoners. Then they were led up the
mighty ravine of Orfalch Echor, barred by seven gates, and brought before
Ecthelion of the Fountain, the warden of the great gate at the end of the
climbing road; and there Tuor cast aside his cloak, and from the arms that
he bore from Vinyamar it was seen that he was in truth one sent by Ulmo.
Then Tuor looked down upon the fair vale of Tumladen, set as a green jewel
amid the encircling hills; and he saw far off upon the rocky height of Amon
Gwareth Gondolin the great, city of seven names, whose fame and glory is
mightiest in song of all dwellings of the Elves in the Hither Lands. At the
bidding of Ecthelion trumpets were blown on the towers of the great gate,
and they echoed in the hills; and far off but clear there came a sound of
answering trumpets blown upon the white walls of the city, flushed with the
rose of dawn upon the plain.
Thus it was that the son of Huor rode across Tumladen, and came to the
gate of Gondolin; and passing up the wide stairways of the city he was
brought at last to the Tower of the King, and looked upon the images of the
Trees of Valinor. Then Tuor stood before Turgon son of Fingolfin, High King
of the Noldor, and upon the King's right hand there stood Maeglin his
sister-son, but upon his left hand sat Idril Celebrindal his daughter; and
all that heard the voice of Tuor marvelled, doubting that this were in truth
a Man of mortal race, for his words were the words of the Lord of Waters
that came to him in that hour. And he gave warning to Turgon that the Curse
of Mandos now hastened to its fulfilment, when all the works of the Noldor
should perish; and he bade him depart, and abandon the fair and mighty city
that he had built, and go down Sirion to the sea.
Then Turgon pondered long the counsel of Ulmo, and there came into his
mind the words that were spoken to him in Vinyamar: 'Love not too well the
work of thy hands and the devices of thy heart; and remember that the true
hope of the Noldor lieth in the West, and cometh from the Sea.' But Turgon
was become proud, and Gondolin as beautiful as a memory of Elven Tirion, and
he trusted still in its secret and impregnable strength, though even a Vala
should gainsay it; and after the Nirnaeth Arnoediad the people of that city
desired never again to mingle in the woes of Elves and Men without, nor to
return through dread and danger into the West. Shut behind their pathless
and enchanted hills they suffered none to enter, though he fled from Morgoth
hate-pursued; and tidings of the lands beyond came to them faint and far,
and they heeded them little. The spies of Angband sought for them in vain;
and their dwelling was as a rumour, and a secret that none could find.
Maeglin spoke ever against Tuor in the councils of the King, and his words
seemed the more weighty in that they went with Turgon's heart; and at the
last he rejected the bidding of Ulmo and refused his counsel. But in the
warning of the Vala he heard again the words that were spoken before the
departing Noldor on the coast of Araman long ago; and the fear of treason
was wakened in Turgon's heart. Therefore in that time the very entrance to
the hidden door in the Encircling Mountains was caused to be blocked up; and
thereafter none went ever forth from Gondolin on any errand of peace or war,
while that city stood. Tidings were brought by Thorondor Lord of Eagles of
the fall of Nargothrond, and after of the slaying of Thingol and of Dior his
heir, and of the ruin of Doriath; but Turgon shut his ear to word of the
woes without, and vowed to march never at the side of any son of Fлanor; and
his people he forbade ever to pass the leaguer of the hills.
And Tuor remained in Gondolin, for its bliss and its beauty and the
wisdom of its people held mm enthralled; and he became mighty in stature and
in mind, and learned deeply of the lore of the exiled Elves. Then the heart
of Idril was turned to him, and his to her; and Maeglin's secret hatred grew
ever greater, for he desired above all things to possess her, the only heir
of the King of Gondolin. But so high did Tuor stand in the favour of the
King that when he had dwelt there for seven years Turgon did not refuse him
even the hand of his daughter; for though he would not heed the bidding of
Ulmo, he perceived that the fate of the Noldor was wound with the one whom
Ulmo had sent; and he did not forget the words that Huor spoke to him before
the host of Gondolin departed from the Battle of Unnumbered Tears.
Then there was made a great and joyful feast, for Tuor had won the
hearts of all that people, save only of Maeglin and his secret following;
and thus there came to pass the second union of Elves and Men.
In the spring of the year after was born in Gondolin Eдrendil
Halfelven, the son of Tuor and Idril Celebrindal; and that was five hundred
years and three since the coming of the Noldor to Middle-earth. Of
surpassing beauty was Eдrendil, for a light was in his face as the light of
heaven, and he had the beauty and the wisdom of the Eldar and the strength
and hardihood of the Men of old; and the Sea spoke ever in his ear and
heart, even as with Tuor his father.
Then the days of Gondolin were yet full of joy and peace; and none knew
that the region wherein the Hidden Kingdom lay had been at last revealed to
Morgoth by the cries of Hъrin, when standing in the wilderness beyond the
Encircling Mountains and finding no entrance he called on Turgon in despair.
Thereafter the thought of Morgoth was bent unceasing on the mountainous land
between Anach and the upper waters of Sirion, whither his servants had never
passed; yet still no spy or creature out of Angband could come there because
of the vigilance of the eagles, and Morgoth was thwarted in the fulfilment
of his designs. But Idril Celebrindal was wise and far-seeing, and her heart
misgave her, and foreboding crept upon her spirit as a cloud. Therefore in
that time she let prepare a secret way, that should lead down from the city
and passing out beneath the surface of the plain issue far beyond the walls,
northward of Amon Gwareth; and she contrived it that the work was known but
to few, and no whisper of it came to Maeglin's ears.
Now on a time, when Eдrendil was yet young, Maeglin was lost. For he,
as has been told, loved mining and quarrying after metals above all other
craft; and he was master and leader of the Elves who worked in the mountains
distant from the city, seeking after metals for their smithying of things
both of peace and war. But often Maeglin went with few of his folk beyond
the leaguer of the hills, and the King knew not that his bidding was defied;
and thus it came to pass, as fate willed, that Maeglin was taken prisoner by
Orcs, and brought to Angband, Maeglin was no weakling or craven, but the
torment wherewith he was threatened cowed his spirit, and he purchased his
life and freedom by revealing to Morgoth the very place of Gondolin and the
ways whereby it might be found and assailed. Great indeed was the Joy of
Morgoth, and to Maeglin he promised the lordship of Gondolin as his vassal,
and the possession of Idril Celebrindal, when the city should be taken; and
indeed desire for Idril and hatred for Tuor led Maeglin the easier to his
treachery, most infamous in all the histories of the Elder Days. But Morgoth
sent him back to Gondolin, lest any should suspect the betrayal, and so that
Maeglin should aid the assault from within, when the hour came; and he abode
in the halls of the King with smiling face and evil in his heart, while the
darkness gathered ever deeper upon Idril.
At last, in the year when Eдrendil was seven years old, Morgoth was
ready, and he loosed upon Gondolin his Balrogs, and his Orcs, and his
wolves; and with them came dragons of the brood of Glaurung, and they were
become now many and terrible. The host of Morgoth came over the northern
hills where the height was greatest and the watch least vigilant, and it
came at night upon a time of festival, when all the people of Gondolin were
upon the walls to await the rising sun, and sing their songs at its
uplifting; for the morrow was the great feast that they named the Gates of
Summer. But the red light mounted the hills in the north and not in the
east; and there was no stay in the advance of the foe until they were
beneath the very walls of Gondolin, and the city was beleaguered without
hope. Of the deeds of desperate valour there done, by the chieftains of the
noble houses and their warriors, and not least by Tuor, much is told in The
Fall of Gondolin: of the battle of Ecthelion of the Fountain with Gothmog
Lord of Balrogs in the very square of the King, where each slew the other,
and of the defence of the tower of Turgon by the people of his household,
until the tower was overthrown; and mighty was its fall and the fall of
Turgon in its ruin.
Tuor sought to rescue Idril from the sack of the city, but Maeglin had
laid hands on her, and on Eдrendil; and Tuor fought with Maeglin on the
walls, and cast him far out, and his body as it fell smote the rocky slopes
of Amon Gwareth thrice ere it pitched into the flames below. Then Tuor and
Idril led such remnants of the people of Gondolin as they could gather in
the confusion of the burning down the secret way which Idril had prepared;
and of that passage the captains of Angband knew nothing, and thought not
that any fugitives would take a path towards the north and the highest parts
of the mountains and the nighest to Angband. The fume of the burning, and
the steam of the fair fountains of Gondolin withering in the flame of the
dragons of the north, fell upon the vale of Tumladen in mournful mists; and
thus was the escape of Tuor and his company aided, for there was still a
long and open road to follow from the tunnel's mouth to the foothills of the
mountains. Nonetheless they came thither, and beyond hope they climbed, in
woe and misery, for the high places were cold and terrible, and they had
among them many that were wounded, and women and children.
There was a dreadful pass, Cirith Thoronath it was named, the Eagles'
Cleft, where beneath the shadow of the highest peaks a narrow path wound its
way; on the right hand it was walled by a precipice, and on the left a
dreadful fall leapt into emptiness. Along that narrow way their march was
strung, when they were ambushed by Orcs, for Morgoth had set watchers all
about the encircling hills; and a Balrog was with them. Then dreadful was
their plight, and hardly would they have been saved by the valour of
yellow-haired Glorfindel, chief of the House of the Golden Flower of
Gondolin, had not Thorondor come timely to their aid.
Many are the songs that have been sung of the duel of Glorfindel with
the Balrog upon a pinnacle of rock in that high place; and both fell to ruin
in the abyss. But the eagles coming stooped upon the Orcs, and drove them
shrieking back; and all were slain or cast into the deeps, so that rumour of
the escape from Gondolin came not until long after to Morgoth's ears. Then
Thorondor bore up Glorfindel's body out of the abyss, and they buried him in
a mound of stones beside the pass; and a green turf came there, and yellow
flowers bloomed upon it amid the barrenness of stone, until the world was
changed.
Thus led by Tuor son of Huor the remnant of Gondolin passed over the
mountains, and came down into the Vale of Sirion; and fleeing southward by
weary and dangerous marches they came at length to Nan-tathren, the Land of
Willows, for the power of Ulmo yet ran in the great river, and it was about
them. There they rested a while, and were healed of their hurts and
weariness; but their sorrow could not be healed. And they made a feast in
memory of Gondolin and of the Elves that had perished there, the maidens,
and the wives, and the warriors of the King; and for Glorfindel the beloved
many were the songs they sang, under the willows of Nan-tathren in the
waning of the year. There Tuor made a song for Eдrendil his son, concerning
the coming of Ulmo the Lord of Waters to the shores of Nevrast aforetime;
and the sea-longing woke in his heart, and in his son's also. Therefore
Idril and Tuor departed from Nan-tathren, and went southwards down the river
to the sea; and they dwelt there by the mouths of Sirion, and joined their
people to the company of Elwing Dior's daughter, that had fled thither but a
little while before. And when the tidings came to Balar of the fall of
Gondolin and the death of Turgon, Ereinion Gil-galad son of Fingon was named
High King of the Noldor in Middle-earth.
But Morgoth thought that his triumph was fulfilled, recking little of
the sons of Fлanor, and of their oath, which had harmed him never and turned
always to his mightiest aid; and in his black thought he laughed, regretting
not the one Silmaril that he had lost, for by it as he deemed the last shred
of the people of the Eldar should vanish from Middle-earth and trouble it no
more. If he knew of the dwelling by the waters of Sirion, he gave no sign,
biding his time, and waiting upon the working of oath and lie. Yet by Sirion
and the sea there grew up an Elven-folk, the gleanings of Doriath and
Gondolin; and from Balar the mariners of Cнrdan came among them, and they
took to the waves and the building of ships, dwelling ever nigh to the
coasts of Arvernien, under the shadow of Ulmo's hand.
And it is said that in that time Ulmo came to Valinor out of the deep
waters, and spoke there to the Valar of the need of the Elves; and he called
on them to forgive them, and rescue them from the overmastering might of
Morgoth, and win back the Silmarils, wherein alone now bloomed the light of
the Days of Bliss when the Two Trees still shone in Valinor. But Manwл moved
not; and of the counsels of his heart what tale shall tell?
The wise have said that the hour was not yet come, and that only one
speaking in person for the cause of both Elves and Men, pleading for pardon
on their misdeeds and pity on their woes, might move the counsels of the
Powers; and the oath of Fлanor perhaps even Manwл could not loose, until it
found its end, and the sons of Fлanor relinquished the .Silmarils, upon
which they had laid their ruthless claim. For the light which lit the
Silmarils the Valar themselves had made.
In those days Tuor felt old age creep upon him, and ever a longing for
the deeps of the Sea grew stronger in his heart. Therefore he built a great
ship, and he named it Eдrrбmл, which is Sea-Wing; and with Idril Celebrindal
he set sail into the sunset and the West, and came no more into any tale or
song. But in after days it was sung that Tuor alone of mortal Men was
numbered among the elder race, and was joined with the Noldor, whom he
loved; and his fate is sundered from the fate of Men.
Of the Voyage of Eдrendil and the War of Wrath
Bright Eдrendil was then lord of the people that dwelt nigh to Sirion's
mouths; and he took to wife Elwing the fair, and she bore to him Elrond and
Elros, who are called the Half-elven. Yet Eдrendil could not rest, and his
voyages about the shores of the Hither Lands eased not his unquiet. Two
purposes grew in his heart, blended as one in longing for the wide Sea: he
sought to sail thereon, seeking after Tuor and Idril who returned not; and
he thought to find perhaps the last shore, and bring ere he died the message
of Elves and Men to the Valar in the West, that should move their hearts to
pity for the sorrows of Middle-earth.
Now Eдrendil became fast in friendship with Cнrdan the Shipwright, who
dwelt on the Isle of Balar with those of his people who escaped from the
sack of the Havens of Brithombar and Eglarest. With the aid of Cнrdan
Eдrendil built Vingilot, the Foam-flower, fairest of the ships of song;
golden were its oars and white its timbers, hewn in the birchwoods of
Nimbrethil, and its sails were as the argent moon. In the Lay of Eдrendil is
many a thing sung of his adventures in the deep and in lands untrodden, and
in many seas and in many isles; but Elwing was not with him, and she sat in
sorrow by the mouths of Sirion.
Eдrendil found not Tuor nor Idril, nor came he ever on that journey to
the shores of Valinor, defeated by shadows and enchantment, driven by
repelling winds, until in longing for Elwing he turned homeward towards the
coast of Beleriand. And his heart bade him haste, for a sudden fear had
fallen on him out of dreams; and the winds that before he had striven with
might not now bear him back as swift as his desire.
Now when first the tidings came to Maedhros that Elwing yet lived, and
dwelt in possession of the Silmaril by the mouths of Sirion, he repenting of
the deeds in Doriath withheld his hand. But in time the knowledge of their
oath unfulfilled returned to torment him and his brothers, and gathering
from their wandering hunting-paths they sent messages to the Havens of
friendship and yet of stern demand. Then Elwing and the people of Sirion
would not yield the jewel which Beren had won and Lъthien had worn, and for
which Dior the fair was slain; and least of all while Eдrendil their lord
was on the sea, for it seemed to them that in the Silmaril lay the healing
and the blessing that had come upon their houses and their ships. And so
there came to pass the last and cruellest of the slayings of Elf by Elf; and
that was the third of the great wrongs achieved by the accursed oath.
For the sons of Fлanor that yet lived came down suddenly upon the
exiles of Gondolin and the remnant of Doriath, and destroyed them. In that
battle some of their people stood aside, and some few rebelled and were
slain upon the other part aiding Elwing against their own lords (for such
was the sorrow and confusion in the hearts of the Eldar in those days); but
Maedhros and Maglor won the day, though they alone remained thereafter of
the sons of Fлanor, for both Amrod and Amras were slain. Too late the ships
of Cнrdan and Gil-galad the High King came hasting to the aid of the Elves
of Sirion; and Elwing was gone, and her sons. Then such few of that people
as did not perish in the assault joined themselves to Gil-galad, and went
with him to Balar; and they told that Elros and Elrond were taken captive,
but Elwing with the Silmaril upon her breast had cast herself into the sea.
Thus Maedhros and Maglor gained not the jewel; but it was not lost. For
Ulmo bore up Elwing out of the waves, and he gave her the likeness of a
great white bird, and upon her breast there shone as a star the Silmaril, as
she flew over the water to seek Eдrendil her beloved. On a time of night
Eдrendil at the helm of his ship saw her come towards him, as a white cloud
exceeding swift beneath the moon, as a star over the sea moving in strange
course, a pale flame on wings of storm. And it is sung that she fell from
the air upon the timbers of Vingilot, in a swoon, nigh unto death for the
urgency of her speed, and Eдrendil took her to his bosom; but in the morning
with marvelling eyes he beheld his wife in her own form beside him with her
hair upon his face, and she slept.
Great was the sorrow of Eдrendil and Elwing for the ruin of the havens
of Sirion, and the captivity of their sons, and they feared that they would
be slain; but it was not so. For Maglor took pity upon Elros and Elrond, and
he cherished them, and love grew after between them, as little might be
thought; but Maglor's heart was sick and weary with the burden of the
dreadful oath.
Yet Eдrendil saw now no hope left in the lands of Middle-earth, and he
turned again in despair and came not home, but sought back once more to
Valinor with Elwing at his side. He stood now most often at the prow of
Vingilot, and the Silmaril was bound upon his brow; and ever its light grew
greater as they drew into the West. And the wise have said that it was by
reason of the power of that holy jewel that they came in time to waters that
no vessels save those of the Teleri had known; and they came to the
Enchanted Isles and escaped their enchantment; and they came into the
Shadowy Seas and passed their shadows, and they looked upon Tol Eressлa the
Lonely Isle, but tarried not; and at the last they cast anchor in the Bay of
Eldamar, and the Teleri saw the coming of that ship out of the East and they
were amazed, gazing from afar upon the light of the Silmaril, and it was
very great. Then Eдrendil, first of living Men, landed on the immortal
shores; and he spoke there to Elwing and to those that were with him, and
they were three mariners who had sailed all the seas besides him: Falathar,
Erellont, and Aerandir were their names. And Eдrendil said to them: 'Here
none but myself shall set foot, lest you fall under the wrath of the Valar.
But that peril I will take on myself alone, for the sake of the Two
Kindreds.'
But Elwing answered: 'Then would our paths be sundered for ever; but
all thy perils I will take on myself also.' And she leaped into the white
foam and ran towards him; but Eдrendil was sorrowful, for he feared the
anger of the Lords of the West upon any of Middle-earth that should dare to
pass the leaguer of Aman. And there they bade farewell to the companions of
their voyage, and were taken from them for ever.
Then Eдrendil said to Elwing: 'Await me here; for one only may bring
the message that it is my fate to bear.' And he went up alone into the land,
and came into the Calacirya, and it seemed to him empty and silent; for even
as Morgoth and Ungoliant came in ages past, so now Eдrendil had come at a
time of festival, and wellnigh all the Elvenfolk were gone to Valimar, or
were gathered in the halls of Manwл upon Taniquetil, and few were left to
keep watch upon the walls of Tirion.
But some there were who saw him from afar, and the great light that he
bore; and they went in haste to Valimar. But Eдrendil climbed the green hill
of Tъna and found it bare; and he entered into the streets of Tirion, and
they were empty; and his heart was heavy, for he feared that some evil had
come even to the Blessed Realm. He walked in the deserted ways of Tirion,
and the dust upon his raiment and his shoes was a dust of diamonds, and he
shone and glistened as he climbed the long white stairs. And he called aloud
in many tongues, both of Elves and Men, but there were none to answer him.
Therefore he turned back at last towards the sea; but even as he took the
shoreward road one stood upon the hill and called to him in a great voice,
crying:
'Hail Eдrendil, of mariners most renowned, the looked for that cometh
at unawares, the longed for that cometh beyond hope! Hail Eдrendil, bearer
of light before the Sun and Moon! Splendour of the Children of Earth, star
in the darkness, jewel in the sunset, radiant in the morning!'
That voice was the voice of Eцnwл, herald of Manwл, and he came from
Valimar, and summoned Eдrendil to come before the Powers of Arda. And
Eдrendil went into Valinor and to the halls of Valimar, and never again set
foot upon the lands of Men. Then the Valar took counsel together, and they
summoned Ulmo from the deeps of the sea; and Eдrendil stood before their
faces, and delivered the errand of the Two Kindreds. Pardon he asked for the
Noldor and pity for their great sorrows, and mercy upon Men and Elves and
succour in their need. And his prayer was granted.
It is told among the Elves that after Eдrendil had departed, seeking
Elwing his wife, Mandos spoke concerning his fate; and he said: 'Shall
mortal Man step living upon the undying lands, and yet live?' But Ulmo said:
'For this he was born into the world. And say unto me: whether is he
Eдrendil Tuor's son of the line of Hador, or the son of Idril, Turgon's
daughter, of the Elven-house of Finwл?' And Mandos answered: 'Equally the
Noldor, who went wilfully into exile, may not return hither.'
But when all was spoken, Manwл gave judgement, and he said: 'In this
matter the power of doom is given to me. The peril that he ventured for love
of the Two Kindreds shall not fall upon Eдrendil, nor shall it fall upon
Elwing his wife, who entered into peril for love of him; but they shall not
walk again ever among Elves or Men in the Outer Lands. And this is my decree
concerning them: to Eдrendil and to Elwing, and to their sons, shall be
given leave each to choose freely to which kindred their fates shall be
joined, and under which kindred they shall be judged.'
Now when Eдrendil was long time gone Elwing became lonely and afraid;
and wandering by the margin of the sea she came near to Alqualondл, where
lay the Telerin fleets. There the Teleri befriended her, and they listened
to her tales of Doriath and Gondolin and the griefs of Beleriand, and they
were filled with pity and wonder; and there Eдrendil returning found her, at
the Haven of the Swans. But ere long they were summoned to Valimar; and
there the decree of the Elder King was declared to them.
Then Eдrendil said to Elwing: 'Choose thou, for now I am weary of the
world.' And Elwing chose to be judged among the Firstborn Children of
Ilъvatar, because of Lъthien; and for her sake Eдrendil chose alike, though
his heart was rather with the kindred of Men and the people of his father.
Then at the bidding of the Valar Eцnwл went to the shore of Aman, where the
companions of Eдrendil still remained, awaiting tidings; and he took a boat,
and the three mariners were set therein, and the Valar drove them away into
the East with a great wind. But they took Vingilot, and hallowed it, and
bore it away through Valinor to the uttermost rim of the world; and there it
passed through the Door of Night and was lifted up even into the oceans of
heaven.
Now fair and marvellous was that vessel made, and it was filled with a
wavering flame, pure and bright; and Eдrendil the Mariner sat at the helm,
glistening with dust of elven-gems, and the Silmaril was bound upon his
brow. Far he journeyed in that ship, even into the starless voids; but most
often was he seen at morning or at evening, glimmering in sunrise or sunset,
as he came back to Valinor from voyages beyond the confines of the world.
On those journeys Elwing did not go, for she might not endure the cold
and the pathless voids, and she loved rather the earth and the sweet winds
that blow on sea and hill. Therefore there was built for her a white tower
northward upon the borders of the Sundering Seas; and thither at times all
the sea-birds of the earth repaired. And it is said that Elwing learned the
tongues of birds, who herself had once worn their shape; and they taught her
the craft of flight, and her wings were of white and silver-grey. And at
times, when Eдrendil returning drew near again to Arda, she would fly to
meet him, even as she had flown long ago, when she was rescued from the sea.
Then the far-sighted among the Elves that dwelt in the Lonely Isle would see
her like a white bird, shining, rose-stained in the sunset, as she soared in
joy to greet the coming of Vingilot to haven.
Now when first Vingilot was set to sail in the seas of heaven, it rose
unlocked for, glittering and bright; and the people of Middle-earth beheld
it from afar and wondered, and they took it for a sign, and called it
Gil-Estel, the Star of High Hope. And when this new star was seen at
evening, Maedhros spoke to Maglor his brother, and he said: 'Surely that is
a Silmaril that shines now in the West?'
And Maglor answered: 'If it be truly the Silmaril which we saw cast
into the sea that rises again by the power of the Valar, then let us be
glad; for its glory is seen now by many, and is yet secure from all evil.'
Then the Elves looked up, and despaired no longer; but Morgoth was filled
with doubt.
Yet it is said that Morgoth looked not for the assault that came upon
him from the West; for so great was his pride become that he deemed that
none would ever again come with open war against him. Moreover he thought
that he had for ever estranged the Noldor from the Lords of the West, and
that content in their blissful realm the Valar would heed no more his
kingdom in the world without; for to him that is pitiless the deeds of pity
are ever strange and beyond reckoning. But the host of the Valar prepared
for battle; and beneath their white banners marched the Vanyar, the people
of Ingwл, and those also of the Noldor who never departed from Valinor,
whose leader was Finarfin the son of Finwл. Few of the Teleri were willing
to go forth to war, for they remembered the slaying at the Swan-haven, and
the rape of their ships; but they hearkened to Elwing, who was the daughter
of Dior Eluchнl and come of their own kindred, and they sent mariners enough
to sail the ships that bore the host of Valinor east over the sea. Yet they
stayed aboard their vessels, and none of them set foot upon the Hither
Lands.
Of the march of the host of the Valar to the north of Middle-earth
little is said in any tale; for among them went none of those Elves who had
dwelt and suffered in the Hither Lands, and who made the histories of those
days that still are known; and tidings of these things they only learned
long afterwards from their kinsfolk in Aman. But at the last the might of
Valinor came up out of the West, and the challenge of the trumpets of Eцnwл
filled the sky; and Beleriand was ablaze with the glory of their arms, for
the host of the Valar were arrayed in forms young and fair and terrible, and
the mountains rang beneath their feet.
The meeting of the hosts of the West and of the North is named the
Great Battle, and the War of Wrath. There was marshalled the whole power of
the Throne of Morgoth, and it had become great beyond count, so that
Anfauglith could not contain it; and all the North was aflame with war.
But it availed him not. The Balrogs were destroyed, save some few that
fled and hid themselves in caverns inaccessible at the roots of the earth;
and the uncounted legions of the Ores perished like straw in a great fire,
or were swept like shrivelled leaves before a burning wind. Few remained to
trouble the world for long years after. And such few as were left of the
three houses of the Elf-friends, Fathers of Men, fought upon the part of the
Valar; and they were avenged in those days for Baragund and Barahir, Galdor
and Gundor, Huor and Hъrin, and many others of their lords. But a great part
of the sons of Men, whether of the people of Uldor or others new-come out of
the east, marched with the Enemy; and the Elves do not forget it.
Then, seeing that his hosts were overthrown and his power dispersed,
Morgoth quailed, and he dared not to come forth himself. But he loosed upon
his foes the last desperate assault that he had prepared, and out of the
pits of Angband there issued the winged dragons, that had not before been
seen; and so sudden and ruinous was the onset of that dreadful fleet that
the host of the Valar was driven back, for the coming of the dragons was
with great thunder, and lightning, and a tempest of fire.
But Eдrendil came, shining with white flame, and about Vingilot were
gathered all the great birds of heaven and Thorondor was their captain, and
there was battle in the air all the day and through a dark night of doubt.
Before the rising of the sun Eдrendil slew Ancalagon the Black, the
mightiest of the dragon-host, and cast him from the sky; and he fell upon
the towers of Thangorodrim, and they were broken in his ruin. Then the sun
rose, and the host of the Valar prevailed, and well-nigh all the dragons
were destroyed; and all the pits of Morgoth were broken and unroofed, and
the might of the Valar descended into the deeps of the earth. There Morgoth
stood at last at bay, and yet unvaliant. He fled into the deepest of his
mines, and sued for peace and pardon; but his feet were hewn from under him,
and he was hurled upon his face. Then he was bound with the chain Angainor
which he had worn aforetime, and his iron crown they beat into a collar for
his neck, and his head was bowed upon his knees. And the two Silmarils which
remained to Morgoth were taken from his crown, and they shone unsullied
beneath the sky; and Eцnwл took them, and guarded them.
Thus an end was made of the power of Angband in the North, and' the
evil realm was brought to naught; and out of the deep prisons a multitude of
slaves came forth beyond all hope into the light of day, and they looked
upon a world that was changed. For so great was the fury of those
adversaries that the northern regions of the western world were rent
asunder, and the sea roared in through many chasms, and there was confusion
and great noise; and rivers perished or found new paths, and the valleys
were upheaved and the hills trod down; and Sirion was no more.
Then Eцnwл as herald of the Elder King summoned the Elves of Beleriand
to depart from Middle-earth. But Maedhros and Maglor would not hearken, and
they prepared, though now with weariness and loathing, to attempt in despair
the fulfilment of their oath; for they would have given battle for the
Silmarils, were they withheld, even against the victorious host of Valinor,
even though they stood alone against all the world. And they sent a message
therefore to Eцnwл, bidding him yield up now those jewels which of old
Fлanor their father made and Morgoth stole from him.
But Eцnwл answered that the right to the work of their father, which
the sons of Fлanor formerly possessed, had now perished, because of their
many and merciless deeds, being blinded by their oath, and most of all
because of their slaying of Dior and the assault upon the Havens. The light
of the Silmarils should go now into the West, whence it came in the
beginning; and to Valinor must Maedhros and Maglor return, and there abide
the judgement of the Valar, by whose decree alone would Eцnwл yield the
jewels from his charge. Then Maglor desired indeed to submit, for his heart
was sorrowful, and he said: The oath says not that we may not bide our time,
and it may be that in Valinor all shall be forgiven and forgot, and we shall
come into our own in peace.
But Maedhros answered that if they returned to Aman but the favour of
the Valar were withheld from them, then their oath would still remain, but
its fulfilment be beyond all hope; and he said: 'Who can tell to what
dreadful doom we shall come, if we disobey the Powers in their own land, or
purpose ever to bring war again into their holy realm?'
Yet Maglor still held back, saying: 'If Manwл and Varda themselves deny
the fulfilment of an oath to which we named them in witness, is it not made
void?'
And Maedhros answered: 'But how shall our voices reach to Ilъvatar
beyond the Circles of the World? And by Ilъvatar we swore in our madness,
and called the Everlasting Darkness upon us, if we kept not our word. Who
shall release us?'
'If none can release us,' said Maglor, 'then indeed the Everlasting
Darkness shall be our lot, whether we keep our oath or break it; but less
evil shall we do in the breaking.'
Yet he yielded at last to the will of Maedhros, and they took counsel
together how they should lay hands on the Silmarils. And they disguised
themselves, and came in the night to the camp of Eцnwл, and crept into the
place where the Silmarils were guarded; and they slew the guards, and laid
hands on the jewels. Then all the camp was raised against them, and they
prepared to die, defending themselves until the last. But Eцnwл would not
permit the slaying of the sons of Fлanor; and departing unfought they fled
far away. Each of them took to himself a Silmaril, for they said: 'Since one
is lost to us, and but two remain, and we two alone of our brothers, so is
it plain that fate would have us share the heirlooms of our father.'
But the jewel burned the hand of Maedhros in pain unbearable; and he
perceived that it was as Eцnwл had said, and that his right thereto had
become void, and that the oath was vain. And being in anguish and despair he
cast himself into a gaping chasm filled with fire, and so ended; and the
Silmaril that he bore was taken into the bosom of the Earth.
And it is told of Maglor that he could not endure the pain with which
the Silmaril tormented him; and he cast it at last into the Sea, and
thereafter he wandered ever upon the shores, singing in pain and regret
beside the waves. For Maglor was mighty among the singers of old, named only
after Daeron of Doriath; but he came never back among the people of the
Elves. And thus it came to pass that the Silmarils found their long homes:
one in the airs of heaven, and one in the fires of the heart of the world,
and one in the deep waters.
In those days there was a great building of ships upon the shores of
the Western Sea; and thence in many a fleet the Eldar set sail into the
West, and came never back to the lands of weeping and of war. And the Vanyar
returned beneath their white banners, and were borne in triumph to Valinor;
but their joy in victory was diminished, for they returned without the
Silmarils from Morgoth's crown, and they knew that those jewels could not be
found or brought together again unless the world be broken and remade.
And when they came into the West the Elves of Beleriand dwelt upon Tol
Eressлa, the Lonely Isle, that looks both west and east; whence they might
come even to Valinor. They were admitted again to the love of Manwл and the
pardon of the Valar; and the Teleri forgave their ancient grief, and the
curse was laid to rest.
Yet not all the Eldaliл were willing to forsake the Hither Lands where
they had long suffered and long dwelt; and some lingered many an age in
Middle-earth. Among those were Cнrdan the Shipwright, and Celeborn of
Doriath, with Galadriel his wife, who alone remained of those who led the
Noldor to exile in Beleriand. In Middle-earth dwelt also Gil-galad the High
King, and with him was Elrond Half-elven, who chose, as was granted to him,
to be numbered among the Eldar; but Elros his brother chose to abide with
Men. And from these brethren alone has come among Men the blood of the
Firstborn and a strain of the spirits divine that were before Arda; for they
were the sons of Elwing, Dior's daughter, Lъthien's son, child of Thingol
and Melian; and Eдrendil their father was the son of Idril Celebrindal,
Turgon's daughter of Gondolin.
But Morgoth himself the Valar thrust through the Door of Night beyond
the Walls of the World, into the Timeless Void; and a guard is set for ever
on those walls, and Eдrendil keeps watch upon the ramparts of the sky. Yet
the lies that Melkor, the mighty and accursed, Morgoth Bauglir, the Power of
Terror and of Hate, sowed in the hearts of Elves and Men are a seed that
does not die and cannot be destroyed; and ever and anon it sprouts anew, and
will bear dark fruit even unto the latest days.
Here ends the SILMARILLION. If it has passed...
