Elbereth
Ranger
~The light of Il?vatar lives still in her face.~
Posts: 190
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Post by Elbereth on Mar 10, 2005 16:22:40 GMT -5
Okay, so this is going to sound like a really stupid question, but what, exactly, is Beleriand? I keep hearing the term used over and over, and yet, after years of reading Tolkien, I've never quite been able to figure out what it is, or where it is.
Is this where the places like Doriath and Gondolin (?) were, or is that something else entirely?
~ Elbereth
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Post by Lady Elwen on Mar 16, 2005 19:42:33 GMT -5
Okay, so after a pathetically long lapse, let me answer your question. The first part of the answer is straight from a text, so if it's a bit stuffy, sorry... Trans. - "Country of Balar" (Sindarin) The land of the Grey-Elves during the Elder Days, and the most westerly Elven-realm anywhere in Middle-earth, until its sudden destruction at the end of the First Age. Its discovery by the Elves came at the end of their 'Great Journey'; for generations they had been moving ever West into the wide and beautiful lands that lay beyond, following the call of the Valar, who had summoned all of Elvenkind across the Sea to Valinor in order to guard them from the evil of Melkor. Two of the Kindreds completed the Journey, passing through Beleriand and taking the ship into the Uttermost West, where ever after they dwelt in bliss. However, most of the third Kindred, afterwards called Sindar (Grey-elves), fell so deeply in love with the lands west of the Ered Luin (Blue Mountains) that they lingered on the coasts and and in the forests, unmoved as yet by the Sea-longing and taking instead a keen delight in the forests, rivers, meads and mountains of heir new country. Thingol Greycloak, father of Luthien Tinuviel, was their King. Later, many of the Grey-elves' long-sundered Noldoring Kindred - 'High-elves' of Eldamar - rebelled against the Valar and came back to Middle-earth in exile. In their attempts to recover the stolen Silmarils by force from the renegade Vala Morgoth, these High-elves received some aid from their Grey-elven kind and (later) from Men. All were, in the end, completely defeated, and Beleriand became infested by evil things from Angband. But in the end, Morgoth the Enemy was overthrown; his evil realm in the North was destroyed, and Beleriand itself was overwhelmed in the same cataclysm and cast under the waves. At the beginning of the Second Age, all that remained was Lindon (the former country of Ossiriand), divided into the two capes of Forlindon and Harlindon. Havens were established there. Throughout the Second Age this last remnant of ancient Beleriand was ruled by Gil-galad son of Fingon, last High-elven king in Middle-earth. Basically, all the lands lying west of the Ered Luin and south of the Ered Wethrin, possibly including Dorthonion and Nevrast. So, now that I have the book-version out of the way and can talk without my conscience bugging me, yes, it is where Doriath and Gondolin were; it also included Angband, Nargothrond, Himlad, and the Havens of Sirion. All the tales from the First Age - Beren and Luthien, Tuor and Idril, Aredhel, Eol, Maeglin, Earendil and Elwing, Turgon, Melian, Thingol, Finrod Felagund, Fingon, Melkor, Thuringwethil, the sons of Feanor, etc., all fall under the time period during which Beleriand existed. The battles - Dagor Bragollach, Nirnaeth Arnoediad, etc. - are all generally known as the Battles of Beleriand. Angband and Doriath were the first to be established, I believe, and Nargothrond came soon after. It wasn't until after the Helcaraxe and the return journey that ultimately, Turgon, established what become Gondolin. As for what it was, exactly, it was an Elvish realm extablished by the high kings of the Grey-elves, later the Sindar, who primarily chose not to heed to call of the Valar and take the first of the Great Journey's (the second being the one that involved the Crossing of the Helcaraxe regarding the Noldo banishment) that held some of the largest Elven kingdoms in their history, save places like Lothloriend and Rivendell, which were established much later. So, did that answer the question? ~ Elwen Text information taken from Robert Foster's Complete Guide to Middle-Earth and J.E.A. Tyler's Complete Tolkien Companion.
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Elbereth
Ranger
~The light of Il?vatar lives still in her face.~
Posts: 190
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Post by Elbereth on Mar 21, 2005 0:46:59 GMT -5
Oooh wow... Thanks!! That explains it perfectly!! Now I have to go examine that more thoroughly... ~ Elbereth Oh - I'll answer some of the other threads later, when I have the time to write the ten page posts. Sorry...
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Post by Lady Elwen on Mar 25, 2005 1:09:49 GMT -5
You're very welcome; glad it helped! Sorry I sort of ran off on a tangent there... Any questions, just yell...
~ Elwen
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Elbereth
Ranger
~The light of Il?vatar lives still in her face.~
Posts: 190
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Post by Elbereth on Apr 3, 2005 0:09:46 GMT -5
Lol.... Tangents are lovely - trust me. No major questions; I think it's all lovely for now... Again, thanks!! ~ Elbereth
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