The Complete Tolkien Companion (59 page)

At this time Celeborn of the Sindar together with his wife Galadriel of the Noldor came to dwell in Lórien. Celeborn was a kinsman of Thingol Greycloak of Beleriand; and Galadriel was of even nobler race. Her High-elven name was
Altariel,
and she was the sister of Finrod Felagund, fallen king of Nargothrond. Galadriel was thus the most royal of all the surviving High-elven Exiles, and therefore of all Elves then living in Middle-earth. Moreover, she brought with her to Lórien one of the Three Elven-rings: Nenya, the Ring of Adamant.

By now the forest of Lórien had become a source of strange rumour; its borders were shunned by folk of other race, and even the Wood-elves of Greenwood were sundered from their southern kinfolk. For although Galadriel and Celeborn took part in the high Councils held by the Wizards and the Chief Eldar, the Wise kept secret the true nature of the place which came to be known as
Lothlórien
(‘[land of the] Blossoms-of-Dreaming'). The Lord and Lady and their court dwelt deep in the heart of the forest, in a great arboreal city:
Calas Galadhon,
‘the City of the Trees', where grew the tallest and most beautiful
mellyrn
of the land. And the power of Galadriel, focused through the Ring of Adamant, laid a change on the Golden Wood, so that it was set apart from the stream of time, ageing far more slowly than other lands.

Lórien endured throughout the Third Age, even though the peril from Dol Guldur grew greater as the years passed, and there was often deadly strife with Orcs and other fell creatures under the fair boughs of the
mellyrn.
It is recounted in the Red Book how members of the Fellowship of the Ring, fleeing from Moria, were sheltered in Caras Galadhon, and were greatly assisted by the Lord and Lady of Lórien. Shortly after their departure, the Golden Wood suffered the heaviest assaults it had yet experienced from Dol Guldur: in March 3019 Orc-hosts crossed the Great River and assailed the Galadhrim in three separate waves – but all were beaten back and in the end, the Elves of Lórien themselves took the offensive, crossing the Anduin eastwards and destroying Dol Guldur.

Nonetheless, with the victory of the War of the Ring, the great days of Lórien came at last to an end. For Galadriel's long exile in Middle-earth was rescinded by the Valar as a reward for her labours against Sauron (and for her rejection of the Ruling Ring). At the end of the Third Age she took ship into the West, together with the Bearers of the other Rings of Power; and some time after her passing, Celeborn also deserted the Golden Wood. In the Fourth Age only a few of the Galadhrim still lingered sadly … and there was no longer light or song' in Lothlórien.
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Lotho Sackville-Baggins
– The weedy and ineffectual only son of Otho and Lobelia Sackville-Baggins. Due to an unfortunate facial complaint, his nickname (among younger Hobbits) was ‘Pimple'. Nonetheless, after the death of his father in 3012 Third Age (1412 Shire Reckoning), Lotho became the nominal head of the clan, and was afterwards singled out for manipulation from afar by Saruman – who was already beginning to take an interest in the Shire.

The family had always been well-to-do, and had owned much property in the Southfarthing, including farms and leaf-plantations. The foolish Lotho was easily inveigled into purchasing more of the same, far more than he could possibly afford, and as much of the money for these purchases came from Isengard, he was quickly caught on one of the oldest of all hooks. By the time of the War of the Ring the Hobbit was so indebted to Saruman that he was helpless to prevent the Wizard's agents from entering the Shire and following their master's will, while ostensibly working for ‘Pimple'.

In this way Lotho was the key to Saruman's control of the Shire – though once this had been accomplished, of course, Saruman had little need of him. Lotho was eventually murdered by Gríma Wormtongue, on the orders of ‘Sharkey', in 1419 Shire Reckoning.

Lothron
–
See
LOTESSË
.

Loudwater
– A translation of the Grey-elven word
Bruinen,
which was the name of the river whose two source-streams marked the ancient boundaries of Rivendell, in Eriador.

Lugbúrz
‘Dark-tower' (Black Speech) – The name given by Orcs and other fell creatures to the ancient Fortress of Sauron. The Dark Tower was known to the Elves and the Dúnedain as
Barad-dûr,
which carried the same meaning.

Lugdush
– An Orc of Isengard, one of the Uruk-hai. During the War of the Ring he was part of a raiding company led by Uglúk across northern Rohan as far as the Great River. The raid was partly successful, and the returning Uruk-hai had reached the very borders of Fangorn before being caught by the Riders of Rohan. All the Orcs perished in the subsequent battle.

Luinil
‘Blue-star' (Sind., from
luin-êl
). – One of the stars wrought by Elbereth (Varda) for the lighting of Middle-earth at the time of the Awakening in Cuiviénen.

Lumbar
(meaning not known) – As preceding entry.

Lune
– A rendering in the Common Speech of the ancient Grey-elven word
Lhûn
(pl.
Luin
), ‘Blue'. The word appears in these three different forms in the names of several features of western Eriador, including the great river (
Lhûn
), which arose in the far north, and the Gulf of Lune, where the river finally reached the Sea. To the north and south of the Gulf rose the
Ered Luin,
‘Blue Mountains'.

Lúthien Tinúviel
– The Elven-daughter of Thingol Greycloak of Doriath and the Lady Melian of the Maiar. She is remembered as the most beautiful maiden ever to walk the earth; and she was the most beloved of all her Kindred. Yet she chose to relinquish her Elven immortality, and to share the destiny (the Gift) of Men, for the sake of a Man: Beren son of Barahir of the Edain, whose life and death were woven with hers. Thus Lúthien was lost to Elvenkind, and dwells now beyond the West, apart from all her kindred, save one. The days of Lúthien lie now in the deep past, and not all of her story is known or recorded. She was born in Menegroth, in Doriath, in the middle of that epoch of the First Age known as the Years of the Trees; and her father Elwë (Thingol), was the highest and noblest of all the Elves remaining in Middle-earth, and the mightiest ruler. Moreover, Lúthien's mother was Melian of the Maiar, a Handmaiden of the
Valier
(Queens of the Valar) Vána and Estë, and akin to the great Yavanna Kementári, who of all the Valier was accounted second only to Elbereth (Varda). Lúthien's ancestry therefore included strains of the Valar, Maiar and Eldar; it was the most illustrious Line of Descent that has ever been in Middle-earth.

For years uncounted Lúthien grew slowly to womanhood (‘As the stars above the mists of the world was her loveliness, and in her face was a shining light'
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); while across the Sea in the Undying Lands her kindred, the Falmari (Telerin Elves whose king was Lúthien's father's brother Olwë) came at last ashore in Aman, and made for themselves a maritime realm in northern Eldamar. During this forgotten time Middle-earth slept under starlight and Melkor lay imprisoned in the Halls of Mandos. But all things pass, and all epochs wane. The age-old peace was doomed to wither away, in rebellion and war. High-elves came back to Middle-earth to wage war on Melkor (Morgoth), who himself had already returned, to Angband which he had rebuilt. And even before Melkor's flight from Aman his will had crossed the Sea and stirred his servants into life. Middle-earth became evil; and Beleriand was invaded. Thingol withdrew into Doriath, which Melian had already surrounded with a Girdle of enchantment, through which none could penetrate. And all this time their child had never set foot beyond the beech- and holly-forests of her homeland. Nor did Thingol intend her to, while evil roamed the lands outside.

If events had moved differently, Thingol might have had his way; and he and Melian would not have been sundered at the last from their only daughter. But Fate did not so decree; and the coming of Melkor, which had been followed by the coming of the Noldor, was now followed by the appearance in Beleriand of altogether a new race: the Mortal Men whose awakening had long been prophesied. But though Morgoth was never able to pierce the Girdle of Melian (neither were the Noldor or indeed any other Elves), this new race possessed qualities which were not fully understood by the Quendi, or even by the Valar; and no enchantments were fully proof against them. The Edain entered the affairs of the time in dramatic fashion; and they aided the Eldar in their war; and many of them died in this cause; and at last one of them, Beren the son of Barahir of the First House, fleeing from the wartorn North, passed the Girdle, and entered Neldoreth, and there encountered the daughter of Thingol of the Grey-elves. And from that instant their fates were joined.

The full tale of Beren and Lúthien, and their love for each other, and Thingol's bitter opposition to the match, and the vow made by Beren in response to the (ill-omened) challenge of Thingol, and the Quest of the Silmaril, and the fulfilment of the vow, and the death, in Neldoreth, of Beren, followed by that of Lúthien – and of their return to this life, by the grace of the Valar – is, of course, the subject of the
Lay of Leithian,
an exceedingly long poem composed during the First Age and subsequently recorded by the Hobbit Bilbo Baggins; in which form it has descended to us. This story appears in
The Silmarillion
(rendered into prose form), and thus requires no further re-statement. The Quest was successful, and the Silmaril was recovered (though it would have been better for all, especially Thingol, if it had not been); but Beren was slain by the Wolf of Angband; and Lúthien herself soon afterwards died of grief.

In the Halls of Mandos they might have been separated for ever, for the fate of Men is apart from that of the Elves; and theirs was the first union between the Kindreds – a union for which no precedents then existed. But for their goodness and valour and utter faithfulness this grace was granted to them: that Lúthien might be permitted, if she so wished, to exchange her Elven-life for the mortality of Men; and, moreover, if she so chose, that she and Beren would be granted a second lifespan in mortal lands. Lúthien did so choose, and she and Beren walked again in Middle-earth, in the green and secret country of Ossiriand; and there she bore Beren a son: Dior the Beautiful. And though in due course she and Beren died for the second time, it was also granted to Lúthien that her Line should never fail. Dior was the father of Elwing, who wedded Eärendil, who bore the Silmaril out of Middle-earth and brought succour to Elves and Mortals alike. And Eärendil's sons were Elros and Elrond. From Elros was descended Aragorn of the Dúnedain, and from Elrond Arwen Undómiel, who was said to walk in the likeness of Lúthien; and who, offered the choice of her Fore-mother, likewise relinquished her Eldarin immortality – for the love of a Mortal Man.

See also
LINES OF DESCENT
.

Lúva
– The Quenya or High-elven word for ‘bow'; also the title of one of the two primary brush-strokes upon which each of the Fëanorean
TENGWAR
(‘letters') were constructed. The
lúvar
could be both open and closed, and were doubled in certain letters.

Mablung
‘Heavy Hand' (Sind.) – One of the Sindar of the First Age; the chief captain of the hosts of Doriath. He attended the Feast of Reuniting (Year of the Sun 21) as one of the two emissaries of Thingol Greycloak, and was at the Hunting of the Wolf Carcharoth, in Neldoreth. A few years later he and his companion-at-arms, Beleg Cúthalion, were granted permission to join the Union of Maedhros (though not to serve the Sons of Fëanor), and so came to be at the Nirnaeth Arnoediad, which both somehow survived, although fighting with the host of Fingon. Afterwards both these mighty Grey-elves became enmeshed in the Doom of the Children of Húrin; but though Beleg was slain, Mablung survived. (He was the last living being to speak with Túrin Turambar.) Mablung then returned to Doriath, and was afterwards slain guarding Thingol's treasury from pillaging Dwarves. The king himself had already perished.

Maedhros
– The eldest of the seven sons of Fëanor. He was born in Eldamar but joined his father's rebellion against the Valar. He took the Oath, and participated in the Kinslaying at Alqualondë, and came back to Middle-earth in exile. Maedhros is said to have opposed the burning of the ships at Losgar – for he was a great friend of Fingon, son of Fingolfin – but shortly after this event, the host of Fëanor and his sons was attacked by Orcs from Angband (
see
BATTLE-UNDER-STARS
), and Fëanor was mortally wounded. Maedhros thus became his heir. Yet he never became High-king of the Noldor in exile; for shortly after the Battle-under-Stars, he was captured by Morgoth, and tormented. From this dreadful predicament he was rescued by Fingon his friend. In his gratitude, and to show repentance for the abandoning of the host of Fingolfin, Maedhros himself generously and wisely proposed that the High-kingship be given to Fingon's father Fingolfin (though not all the brothers agreed with this).