The Complete Tolkien Companion (60 page)

The Noldor were now reunited, and in the years which followed the great among them chose realms for themselves, along the line of mountainous country which separated Beleriand from the North. Maedhros and the other sons of Fëanor were allocated the eastern sector of this ‘front' (afterwards called the March of Maedhros); and Maedhros himself centred his realm on the Hills of Himring. On the tallest of these hills he built a great fortress. For many centuries he and his brothers did their part in the War; there came the day of the Dagor Bragollach, and Dorthonion was captured, and the Pass of Aglon was forced; but Himring held. Yet after a decade or so, when the impetus of the Bragollach had spent itself, and the Eldar and their allies had begun to regain lost territory, Maedhros – the mightiest in war of all the sons of Fëanor – determined to do yet more. He then formed the so-called ‘Union of Maedhros', in reality an attempt again to unite the scattered Eldar, and defeat Morgoth in open battle. And although not all he summoned to the cause came to aid him (for the Sons of Fëanor had by now alienated many of their former allies, by bad faith and by the general malign effects of the Oath), a great army was assembled; and once more the Elves took the military initiative.

Too soon. Dorthonion was recaptured, and the passes to east and west of this highland; but in so doing Maedhros prematurely revealed the growing strength of the Eldar, and so Morgoth was prepared. The day came of the great battle which Maedhros had so carefully planned. His own army was to manoeuvre provocatively on the desert of Anfauglith (formerly the grassland of Ard-galen) thus inviting attack from Angband – and this attack was itself intended to be countered by another Eldarin army, the host of Hithlum led by Fingon the High King. But treachery was at work in Maedhros' camp (
see
ULDOR THE ACCURSED
), and from the beginning things went badly wrong. Maedhros himself was hindered from opening the campaign in the planned manner, and meanwhile Morgoth successfully decoyed the host of Fingon out on to the desert, where they became gravely embroiled in a losing battle. Then Maedhros arrived – and for perhaps an hour the Eldar were closer than ever before to winning the decisive victory which would have brought them within sight of regaining the Silmarils, and fulfilment of the Oath. But again treachery played its part, as it was doomed always to do, and the host of Maedhros was taken in the rear, and destroyed, though the Sons of Fëanor escaped; and an end was come of the might of the Eldar in Middle-earth. Himring was captured, and all Beleriand lay open to the Enemy.

For the remainder of his life in Middle-earth Maedhros had no fixed dwelling. He and his brothers wandered the Western Lands, bereft of all power to fulfil their dreadful Oath, but driven still by the need to attempt it. During this time the sons of Fëanor committed many grievous wrongs – among them the assault upon Doriath and the slaying of Dior Eluchíl, of Nimloth his wife, and of his two young sons. Maedhros had no part in this evil deed, and is said to have repented of the murders (the murderers themselves were slain); but soon afterwards, having learned of the presence of the Silmaril of Doriath at the Havens of Sirion, he himself now made war upon other Elves in an attempt to regain the Jewels. But once more the Sons of Fëanor succeeded only in causing many deaths, and much anguish; and they did not gain a single Silmaril. But at this time Eärendil sailed into the West, and the Host of the Valar came across the Sea, and Morgoth was cast down, and the lands were broken and changed. Even now the last two sons of Fëanor, Maedhros and Maglor, attempted to seize the two surviving Silmarils, by force, from the keeping of the Valar. And at last they were successful, though only at the cost of more murders. Caught and trapped, they were, nonetheless, spared, and fled, each with a single Jewel. But the Silmaril that Maedhros had taken seared his hand, and he came to the end of his endurance, for he knew himself to be defiled. And he slew himself in a deep chasm, bearing the Silmaril to his unknown grave under the earth.

Maeglin
‘Sharp-glance' (Sind.) – The only son of Eöl the Smith and Aredhel Ar-Feiniel the daughter of Fingolfin. In his youth he left the woods of Nan Elmoth, in East Beleriand where he had been born, and came to Gondolin, the Hidden City ruled by his mother's brother Turgon. And in Gondolin he was given lordship and powers of command, and wealth, and the love of Turgon besides; but in the end the evil that had been planted in him at his birth worked to its fulfilment, and Maeglin betrayed the city, and so came to be accursed in the memory of the Elves.

The evil that was in Maeglin was planted at his begetting, for his father, the smith Eöl, was an Elf of dark mood and secretive habits, jealous and misanthropic. But his mother was wilful and feckless. The combination did not immediately show itself, for Maeglin, as a young Elf, was silent and shrewd; and he withheld his mind from all, even his parents. It was at this time that he first heard of Gondolin, and of Turgon, and of the power of the Noldor; and he determined to come there and be adopted by Turgon as his heir.

And so it nearly came to pass. Ar-Feiniel secretly quitted Nan Elmoth, and took her son with her, and they were welcomed by Turgon; and Maeglin, even as he desired, was given great honour in the Hidden City, as a prince of the highest rank. But Eöl had followed the errant pair, and also came to Gondolin; and in the ensuing interview with Turgon Eöl slew his wife – in an attempt to slay his son, who had renounced him – and was himself slain, by being cast from the hill of Gondolin. Then Maeglin, as the only descendant of the dead Ar-Feiniel, was looked upon by Turgon with even more favour, and as he had wished he became the mightiest prince of Gondolin, after the King. But he was never named as Heir. And after a long while, when it had at last become plain to him that this was being withheld from him, his ambition turned to jealousy, and his loyalty to malice.

Yet for all this Maeglin indeed served Turgon well and faithfully throughout most of his life; indeed, he was more assiduous in enforcing the ordinances of the King than Turgon himself. And he fought bravely at the Nirnaeth Arnoediad, for he was no coward – in battle. It was otherwise, however, when he was taken prisoner and threatened with torment (as indeed it might be with worthier folk); Maeglin told all he knew about the hidden entrances to Gondolin, and promised to betray the city from within, in exchange for his freedom. And so he did. Gondolin was taken, and Turgon was slain – and Maeglin himself was killed.

Why did he act thus, and throw away all his years of waiting and patient service? Because he had discovered that he would never become the heir of Turgon. On the field of the Nirnaeth, in the last moments of the battle, Huor son of Galdor of Dor-lómin spoke with Turgon and prophesied the mingling and continuing of their Lines of Descent. Maeglin overheard these words; and it must have been bitter indeed to learn that his service would thus go unrewarded (as he himself must have put it; for by now he had forgotten the love and honour that had always been his in Turgon's house). And it was this final quenching of his long hopes which made him susceptible to threats of the kind employed against him by his captors. In the last battle, he was slain by Tuor (the eventual Heir of Turgon), and died in a like manner to his father before, by being cast from the precipice of Amon Gwareth.

Maglor
– The second of the sons of Fëanor; and the most renowned of all Elven-minstrels, save only Daeron of the Grey-elves. He was the composer of the
Noldolantë
(‘Fall of the Noldor'), the epic poem from which much of the material in
The Silmarillion
has been derived. Like his elder brother Maedhros, Maglor was less apt to evil than the other Sons of Fëanor – and yet he also swore the Oath, and took part in the massacre of the Teleri at Alqualondë, and thus came under the Curse of Mandos. He went back to Middle-earth in exile, as part of his father's host. And though he fought valiantly against Morgoth, in the end he too fell into evil, being constrained by the Oath; and came to a bitter end. Yet he regained a Silmaril before he did so, and so came at least in part to fulfil his Oath before he died.

In Beleriand, Maglor ruled the weakest part of the Elves' northern front, strategically speaking: the area of open ground which lay between Himring and Mount Rerir and its foothills. Here were stationed many Eldarin cavalry, and Maglor commanded them. The region he thus defended became known as Maglor's Gap. But its weakness as a place of defence was always readily apparent and many times the armies of Angband attempted to force it – sometimes with success. The Dagor Bragollach brought with it the eclipse of Maglor's realm, and the beginning of his wandering days in Middle-earth.

For the rest of his life in Middle-earth Maglor shared the destiny of Maedhros. They dwelled together on Himring, fought together – and lost – at the Nirnaeth Arnoediad; and afterwards found refuge where they might. Neither had any part in the slaying of Dior and the rape of Doriath, but in later years both led an equally reprehensible attack on other Elves, at the Havens of Sirion. (The reason, of course, was the presence of a Silmaril there – which their Oath demanded they seize from all who withheld it.) In this battle many Elves on both sides were slain, and Elros and Elrond, the sons of Eärendil, were taken prisoner (though well-treated, especially by Maglor); but the Silmaril escaped, and passed over Sea. Only two of the Jewels now remained in Middle-earth, and when these were taken from Morgoth, by the avenging host of the Valar, the two eldest sons of Fëanor again attempted to recapture the Jewels – and succeeded. But it was too late, as Maglor had suspected. Finding that he could not endure the touch of the single Jewel which was his portion, he cast it into the Sea, and neither he nor the Silmaril was ever seen again in Middle-earth.

Maglor's Gap
– The name given by the Eldar of Beleriand to the region of open country which lay between Himring and Mount Rerir: the abode and realm of Maglor, the second son of Fëanor. It was the weakest point in the line of the Siege.
See also
preceding entry.

Maggot
–
See
FARMER MAGGOT
.

Magor
– One of the Edain of the Third House; he was the grandson of Marach, and the son of Malach Aradan, who led the Third House from Estolad into the north. Magor, together with a large following, quitted the march west of Brethil and dwelt instead near the sources of the Teiglin. In later days his grandson, Hador Lórindol, led this House of Men back into the north, and became the first lord of Dor-lómin.

Mahal
(Khuz.) – The Dwarves' name for their Maker: the Vala
Aulë
.

Mahanaxar
(Q.) – The (untranslated) name given in the traditions of the Eldar to the Ring of Doom in Valinor: the place of assembly and lawgiving of the Valar, outside the gates of Valimar their city, and adjacent to the Mound of the Two Trees.

Mahtan
– One of the Noldor of Eldamar; the father of Nerdanel the wife of Fëanor. He was a mighty smith and craftsman, and the teacher of Fëanor in his youth.

Maiar
– The people of the Valar, likewise of the race of the
AINUR
but of lesser rank, and in greater number. They dwelt for the most part in Valinor, though some came to Middle-earth, for reasons both good and evil, and thus have shared in the deeds of mortal lands. Those names of the Maiar recorded in the traditions of the Elves are as follows:
Ëonwe,
the Herald of Manwë;
Ilmarë,
the Handmaid of Varda;
Ossë, Uinen,
and
Salmar,
who served the Lord of the Sea, Ulmo;
Sauron,
who served originally Aulë, but who fell under the influence of Melkor and so became evil;
Melian,
who was of the following of Vana and Estë, and who came to Middle-earth in the Elder Days and wedded a King of Elves, so passing on a strain of the Ainur among the Erusen, and the mother of Lúthien Tinúviel;
Arien,
who also originally served Vana, but who was chosen to steer the Sun (Anar) through the Heavens;
Olórin,
a Maia of Nienna, the wisest and greatest of the Istari (Wizards) who came to Middle-earth in the Third Age (where he was known as Gandalf the Grey); and
Tilion,
of the service and following of Oromë, who afterwards became the Steersman of the Moon. In addition there are those unnamed Maiar known in after Ages as
Valaraukar
(or Balrogs), spirits of fire who served only Melkor; the Istari who were known in Middle-earth as
Curunír
and
Radagast,
and the remaining two of the five Wizards (
see
ITHRYN LUIN
), all of whom were Maiar of Valinor in their origins.

Malach Aradan
– The son of Marach, chieftain of the Third House of the Edain. While he was still a young man his people crossed the Blue Mountains into Beleriand, last of the Three Houses of the Edain to do so, and came to dwell in Estolad. Some years later, while his father was still hale and active, despite his age, Malach, for love both of adventure and of the Eldar, left Estolad and went to Hithlum to serve Fingolfin the High King, thus laying the foundations of a friendship and alliance between the kindreds which would reach its greatest glory under his descendant Hador Lórindol – and its greatest renown in the days of Húrin and Huor. Malach dwelt there for fourteen years, and was named
Aradan
(‘Royal-man'), but on his father's death returned to Estolad, and in after years led a great part of the Third House away into the North, to Hithlum. But his own son Magor instead passed south-west to dwell in East Beleriand, near the sources of the Teiglin. Not until the days of Hador did this last remnant of the Third House finally rejoin their kin in the North.

Malbeth the Seer
– Although the Elvish gift of foresight was in some measure bestowed upon all of the Dúnedain, ever and anon one would emerge whose talents in this direction far exceeded those of others among his race. Such a man was Malbeth the Seer, a King's Counsellor during the reigns of Araphant and Arvedui of Arthedain; consequently his foretellings were recorded in the annals of the North-kingdom and were long remembered by the Dúnedain.