Melkor

He spread war, death, and corruption from the fortresses of Angband and Utumno, creating a legacy of dread. Despite his immense power, he faced eventual defeat through the heroic efforts of the Free Peoples with the help of the Valar.

Originally the greatest Ainur created by Eru Ilúvatar, Melkor fell from glory when he rebelled against Eru by disrupting the Music of the Ainur and seeding chaos into the world. He corrupted many of the Ainur into his service and destroyed all that the Valar created. His theft of the Silmarils led to long ages of war against Men and Elves. In the end, he was defeated by the host of the Valar, who bound him in chains and exiled him from Eä.

Biography

Melkor, he who arises in might, was the most powerful Ainur, powerful spirit beings created by Eru Ilúvatar in the Timeless Halls. He was eventually corrupted by his pride, lust for power, and greed, and became the primordial source of Evil in Eä.

Melkor was the first of the Ainur created by Eru, and his mind was much different from those of the rest of the Ainur. He yearned to create other beings to populate the empty spaces of the Void so he often went into it in search of the Flame Imperishable, which would give him the power to create sentient beings of his own, but the Flame eluded him because it was within Eru. These thoughts soon led him away from the will of Eru, and he became rebellious.

Music of the Ainur

There came a time when Eru put his thoughts together and composed a Musical Theme for the Ainur to sing. They sang according to their nature and their thoughts, imagining many beautiful things. Soon, Melkor began weaving his rebellious thoughts into his song, causing discord among those who sang close to him, and some of them also began to sing to his tune. Soon, the Theme of Eru and the discordant tunes of Melkor clashed. Then Eru raised a second Theme and most of the Ainur joined in, the mightiest among them being Manwe, Melkor’s brother. But Melkor opposed the new Theme even more violently.

Dismayed by Melkor’s discords, many of the Ainur stopped singing, and Melkor dominated the Theme. Even though Melkor did not dominate the third Theme, the Theme of the Elves and Men, he still strived to overwhelm it. At the end of the Music, Eru admonished Melkor. Eru praised his strength but reminded him that he was still but an aspect of his Maker’s thought and an extension of His will, and that his actions and creations all had their source within Eru himself, and would only serve to magnify the glory of Eru and his work. Melkor was ashamed and angered to be publicly admonished in the presence of the other Ainur, whom he considered to be below himself, but he hid his anger.

Then Eru led the Ainur and showed them Eä, the physical universe that was a manifestation of their Music, and Arda within it. Because of Melkor’s discord, Arda was a flawed world with regions of extreme temperature clashing one against the other. Many of the Ainur including Melkor begged to enter Arda to tame and cultivate it, but within Melkor’s heart, he wanted to claim it as his dominion and subjugate all within it. Those of the Ainur who entered into Arda became the Valar and the Maiar.

The Binding of Melkor

When Melkor entered Arda, he took great and majestic form and demanded that the other Valar bow to him, but they chose Manwë instead he out of all the Ainur knew Eru’s mind the most. Shamed by their rejection, Melkor determined to destroy all that the Valar made and twist them with hatred and malice. He attacked the Valar and pursued a war against them, but when a powerful Ainur named Tulkas entered Arda and challenged him, Melkor became afraid and he fled from the world. 

The Valar lived in peace in the land of Almaren, and they built the two lamps Illuin and Ormal which they placed in the North and South of Arda. Melkor watched all that the Valar had made through the eyes of many of the Maiar who had attuned to his music and now spied for him and bided his time. 

When the vigilance of the Valar faltered, Melkor returned to Arda and gathered his host of allies. He dug deep into the earth, building up the evil fortress called Utumno. Thus evil returned to the world, and the creatures of the world were corrupted. Perceiving the hand of Melkor at work, the Valar prepared to find his hiding place and hunt him down, but he suddenly issued out from Utumno in a sudden fiery attack. He cast down the Two Lamps, spreading a storm of fire throughout the world. In the ensuing darkness and chaos, Melkor and his host escaped.

Melkor’s Dominance of Middle-earth

With the Lamps and their city in Almaren destroyed, the Valar retreated to the continent of Aman across the sea and raised high mountains around it. They created the Two Trees, Telperion and Laurelin, to light the land, and there they built the city of Valinor. Left alone in Middle-earth, Melkor filled the land with evil creatures and darkness, and the fair things made by the Valar decayed. Melkor built the fortress of Angband in the West to guard against the forces of the Valar should they attack from Aman.

The Valar knew that the time of awakening of the Children of Ilúvatar, the Elves, and Men, was drawing near, and they were reluctant to wage war against Melkor lest the Children be caught up in the destruction, so they waited. However, not all the Valar abandoned Middle-earth. The huntsman Oromë rode through the forests of Middle-earth hunting Melkor’s creatures, and Yavanna walked among the trees awakening the Shepherds and teaching them speech. Because of the wariness of the Valar, Melkor discovered the Elves first. He hunted them, filling their minds with fear and darkness; many of them he tortured and turned to Orcs with his dark sorcery. 

Melkor’s Imprisonment by the Valar

Soon, Orome discovered the Elves beside Lake Cuivienen, and fearing the effects of Melkor’s evils on them, he beseeched the rest of the Valar to attack Melkor at once and recover Middle-earth. The Valar arrived in Middle-earth with their full might, and the War of the Powers was fought against Melkor for the sake of the Elves. After the Valar overwhelmed his forces in the first wave of attack, Melkor retreated behind the walls of Utumno, and they laid siege to it. After a long and terrible siege, the Valar tore down the walls of the fortress and captured him.

Because of their grievous losses and their haste to capture Melkor, the Valar failed to hunt down all of Melkor’s creatures or tear up the foundations of his fortresses. These creatures hid in the depths of the earth, waiting for their master’s return.

He was bound with the chain Angainor and taken to Valinor where he was imprisoned in the Halls of Mandos. After ages of his imprisonment passed, Melkor was brought before the throne of Manwë, and setting aside his pride, he begged for pardon, even though his thoughts were filled with vengeance and malice.

Unable to understand the depth of Melkor’s evil, Manwë set him free but commanded him to never leave the land of Aman. Bidding his time, Melkor went about Valinor with an outward appearance of repentance, helping those who sought his immense wisdom. Soon he began spreading his corruption among the Elves. After the Teleri and the Vanyar turned him away and refused to listen to him, he turned to the Noldor, the mightiest and wisest of the Elves, who were curious for knowledge. 

Revenge against the Valar

After a time, Melkor walked among the Elves of the Noldor, spreading lies in the form of rumors. He said that the Valar had taken them from Middle-earth, which was their birthright so that the race of Men might inherit it. Of all the Elves of the Noldor, Melkor’s lies affected Fëanor the most. Fëanor was the eldest son of Finwë, High King of the Noldor, and the mightiest among the Elves. He hated Melkor and did not trust him, but soon he, too, believed the rumors. He and many Elves of the Noldor began to dream of the lands of Middle-earth where they would rule. Soon, discord began to grow among the Noldor, with their leaders speaking openly against the Valar, spreading disquiet across Valinor.

After Fëanor threatened his brother Fingolfin with a bared sword, the Valar summoned him to a trial, and there it was discovered that Melkor was behind the rebellion among the Elves. The Vala Tulkas took off in a storm to capture him, but Melkor was gone. In secret, Melkor went to Fëanor’s stronghold in Formenos, attempting to entice him with offers of friendship so he could obtain the Silmarils he created. But when Fëanor looked into him, he saw that Melkor was consumed with greed and malice, so he rejected Melkor and shut the gates on him.

Melkor sought out the primordial dark spirit Ungoliant, who lived in the dark valley of Avathar in the shape of a great spider. She was one of the Ainur who attuned to his chaos during the Music but had abandoned him after his defeat by the Valar. To calm her fear of the Valar, he promised to feed her undying thirst with the Light of Valinor, and then he filled her with his power, making her even greater and more powerful. Cloaked by the deep shadow belched by the Spider, they attacked Valinor during a high feast. Melkor wounded the Two Trees with his great spear, and Ungoliant drank their sap dry, filling them with her poison.

Then she drank up the pools of light in the Wells of Varda. As the Two Trees died, Valinor was plunged into utter darkness. They then attacked Fëanor’s stronghold in Formenos, killing his father Finwë and raiding his treasuries for the Silmarils. Covered in Ungoliant’s dark fumes and bewildering the Valar who chased them, they fled Aman and entered Middle-earth. When Fëanor discovered the death of his father and the theft of the Silmarils, he cursed Melkor, naming him Morgoth, and the Elves knew him by that name ever since.

The Dark Lord Returns

As they neared the ruins of the fortress of Angband, the great Spider began to suspect that Morgoth was planning to renege on his promise to give her any treasure they recovered from Valinor with both hands, so she demanded that he give them to her. Ungoliant had grown greater than she ever was from the sap of the Trees and Melkor’s power, while he had grown weaker from his exertion. Seeing this, he was overcome with fear and reluctantly gave up some of the jewels he took from Formenos, but even though the Silmarils burned his hand as he held them, he refused to give them up. For this, Ungoliant attacked him and wrapped him up in her webs, but he let out a loud cry of pain and anguish.

Deep inside the roots of the mountains around Angband, where they hid, the Balrogs heard their master and swiftly came to his aid in a firestorm, driving Ungoliant away with whips of fire. Morgoth returned to Angband and set the Silmarils on an Iron Crown he had made.

Wars of Beleriand

Morgoth rebuilt the fortress of Angband, pilling the debris from the tunnels and slag from his war forges to create the three volcanic mountains named Thangorodrim. In his dark tunnels, he bred multitudes of Orcs and numerous other evil creatures, and he made war on the Sindarin Elves who had stayed behind in Middle-earth. He surrounded Elu Thingol, king of Doriath, but Thingol sent messengers to Denethor, king of the Nandor Elves, and together their forces crushed the Orcs of Morgoth. The Orcs who survived the battle fled back to Angband but they were destroyed by the Dwarves.

Dagor-nuin-Giliath

Shortly after the First Battle, Fëanor arrived in Middle-earth in pursuit of Morgoth, with the host of the Noldor behind him. Morgoth immediately dispatched an army against them before they had the chance to build strongholds and fortresses, but they routed it. The eyes of the Noldor shone with the Light of the Two Trees of Valinor, and it filled the Orcs with dread. In his pride, marveling at his great strength, Fëanor and his vanguard chased the fleeing army to the gates of Angband itself, but Gothmog and his Balrogs attacked them and killed Fëanor’s vanguard. In the end, Fëanor fought alone, but he, too, was killed.

Arriving too late, the sons of Fëanor drove the Balrogs away and rescued their father, who died from his wounds soon after. The Elves had wrestled Beleriand from Morgoth, but he took comfort in the death of Fëanor.

The Siege of Angband

Dagor Aglareb

The last group of the Noldor to arrive in Middle-earth was the host of Fingolfin. They had been abandoned on the shores of Aman by Fëanor and had spent agonizing years traveling through the icy desert of Helcaraxë. Hearing that his friend Meadhros was held captive on the cliffs of Thangorodrim, Fingon, one of the sons of Fingolfin, undertook a daring mission to rescue him. This brave feat helped mend the enmity between the sons of Fëanor and Fingolfin. The host of Fingolfin and the Fëanoreans then combined their forces to defeat Morgoth in the Dagor Aglareb, achieving a great victory. After this victory, the Siege of Angband began, and the Elves built strongholds and fortresses within sight of the gates of Angband to keep the Black King in check.

Dagor Bragollach and the Fall of Fingolfin

For 400 years, Morgoth remained dormant behind his walls, inventing terrible creatures and weapons of war to unleash against the Elves. Around this time the fathers of Men entered Beleriand from the East. Morgoth left command of Angband to Sauron and went among Men, spreading lies about the Elves and the Valar. Many groups of Men joined Morgoth, but the people of Bëor, Hador, and Haleth were befriended by Fingolfin, and they settled in the wide lands of Dorthonion, entering into Fingolfin’s service and strengthening the forces of the Elves. 

On a quiet winter night when the Elven watch was slack, Morgoth’s Orcs and foul creatures poured out of the gates of Angband preceded by a river of liquid fire that overtook many Elves and their horses as the mountains surrounding Angband erupted, and the ground shook. Led by the Dragon Glaurung and the Balrog Gothmog, Morgoth’s forces attacked the Elven strongholds all at once, killing many lords of the Noldor. The Elves were unprepared for such an onslaught and were taken completely by surprise. Thus, the Siege of Angband was swiftly broken, and unable to gather up their forces to mount coordinated attacks or resistance, the Elves were driven apart and defeated. 

But the Noldor were not to be so easily defeated. Though hard pressed, the fortress of Meadhros in Himring escaped the carnage. The land of Hithlum, ruled by Fingolfin and his son Fingon was also saved from much of the destruction by the surrounding mountains which protected them from the rivers of lava. Seeing the devastation of the Noldor and the near-victory of Morgoth, Fingolfin was filled with anguish and despair, and he rode off to Angband to battle Morgoth in single combat. So great was his anger that all who saw him mistook him for the Valar Oromë when they saw the fire in his eyes and fled from him.

Arriving at Angband, he shook the gates, calling out challenges to the Dark Lord and mocking him. When Morgoth heard him he was filled with dread because above all else, even other Valar, Morgoth feared death. But all of Angband had heard the Elf-lord’s mockery, so Morgoth wore his black armor, took up his giant hammer Grond, and went out to battle him. Morgoth and the Elven-king fought a fierce battle, with Morgoth striving many times to crush him with his heavy hammer, creating deep pits each time Grond missed and crashed on the ground, but Fingolfin was fast and filled with divine strength, easily dodging his blows.

Fingolfin flashed about, wounding Morgoth seven times, drawing a cry of pain and anguish with each wound, but the powerful Valar could not be so easily killed even by such a mighty Elf. Soon the Elven-king began to tire. Thrice Morgoth bashed him to the ground with his shield, but he got up each time and fought on. In the end, Fingolfin slipped at the edge of one of the pits and fell into it. Gloating in his victory, Morgoth placed his great foot on his neck to break it, but Fingolfin ran his sword through it, filling the pits with Morgoth’s blood.

Before Morgoth could feed the Elf-lord’s broken body to his wolves, the great Eagle Thorondor swooped down, tore up his face with its talons, and escaped with Fingolfin’s body.

Morgoth never recovered from his wounds, having poured most of his divine power into the creatures he had made. He forever walked with a painful limp with his face badly scarred.

Quest for the Silmaril

In the long years following the Dagor Bragollach, two figures came out of Doriath on a mission to claim a Silmaril, the Elf-maiden Lúthien Tinúviel, daughter of King Thingol of Doriath, and the mortal man Beren, her lover. Disguised as servants of Morgoth, they gained entry into the fortress, but the Dark Lord saw through their disguise. Filled with lust for the Elf-maiden, Morgoth allowed her to sing for him, but she sang a song of great Power and cast a spell of sleep over him and all his court. As he slept, having fallen to the ground from the heavy weight of the divine Jewels, Beren cut a Silmaril from his crown.

Nirnaeth Arnoediad

Many years later, Meadhros forged a great alliance of Elves, Men, and Dwarves, aiming to clear Beleriand of Morgoth’s armies of Orcs and other evil creatures. Having spread his spies across the land, the Dark Lord knew well in advance about the allied forces and mustered an army of Easterlings against them as they approached Angband. Because of the treachery of the Easterlings allied with the Noldor, the battle ended in total disaster.

The power of the Noldor was broken, and many of the leaders of the Elves, Men, and Dwarves were killed. Turgon, king of Gondolin, only narrowly escaped because of the valiance of Hurin and his men who held his rearguard. Eventually, all of Hurin’s men were killed, and he was captured. Thus, the battle was called the Battle of Unnumbered Tears. In the aftermath of the battle, Cirdan’s realm in the Bay of Belfalas was sacked, and Hithlum and the March of Meadhros were destroyed.

The Curse of Húrin

After the destruction of Meadhros’ alliance and the devastation of Beleriand, Gondolin, and Nargothrond remained the only Noldorin kingdoms of Beleriand and a thorn on Morgoth’s side. Knowing that Hurin was fostered in the hidden kingdom, Morgoth grievously tortured him for information about its location, but he would not give it up. Morgoth was pressed to find the location of the hidden kingdom and destroy it because it was long prophesied that his Doom would come from the house of Turgon.

For his continued defiance, the Dark Lord cursed him to live and witness the ruin of his family, then he took Hurin and bound him to a seat on the highest peak of Thangorodrim, from where he could see all the land. He was also given unnatural sight so he could witness the great evil Morgoth visited on his family and children. After his wife and children died, Morgoth released Hurin, knowing he would in the end serve him unwittingly. Through Hurin’s crazed wanderings, Morgoth discovered the general area of the location of Gondolin, even though the exact location eluded him.

The Fall of Gondolin

Sometime later an Elf named Maeglin, the son of Turgon’s sister, was captured by Morgoth’s spies as he wandered in the mountains around Gondolin. Threatened with torture beyond imagination, Maeglin gave up the location of the city and described its defenses. Having lusted after Turgon’s daughter Idril for long years, Maeglin cooperated with Morgoth, telling him all he wished to know, under the assurance that he can have Idril when Gondolin is destroyed. He was then sent back to the city to help the coming invasion.

The assault took the Elves by surprise, and the city was lost before they could put up a defense. Even though many of his most powerful servants died in the battle, including Gothmog, who was the marshall of his armies, Morgoth’s victory over the Noldorin Elves was complete. He had destroyed all the great kingdoms of the Elves, except a few scatterings on the isle of Balar and around the Mouths of Sirion

War of Wrath

Seeing the dire state of the Elves, Eärendil set sail for Valinor to plead the case of the Noldor and the rest of the Elves before the Valar. The Valar granted his prayer and soon set sail across the Encircling Sea with a mighty host. Knowing the depth of the anger of the Valar upon the Noldor and the evil deeds they had committed, Morgoth never foresaw that Valar would assault him again for their sake, and he was taken by surprise. Morgoth emptied all of Angband, and his devices and engines and their clash with the mighty Host of Valinor spilled over all of Beleriand.

When all was but lost, he sent forth his brood of great winged Dragons in a tempest of fire, and the forces of the Valar quailed. But Eärendil arrived on his flying ship Vingilot, with a Silmaril on his brow, and he was accompanied by many great Eagles. His ship was set upon by the greatest Dragon in Middle-earth, Ancalagon the Black, but he slew it and he and its body destroyed the peaks of Thangorodrim as it fell. The forces of the Valar destroyed Morgoth’s armies, killing his Balrogs while the remainder fled and hid themselves in the roots of mountains.

Morgoth was captured deep in the mines of Angband, and he was dragged out bound in chains. He begged for mercy but none was to be found. He was crippled, his crown was beaten into a collar around his neck, and he was thrust through the Door of Night into the Timeless Void outside Eä, marking the end of the First Age.

According to Tolkien’s unpublished notes, in the last days, Morgoth will learn how to break the Door of Night and return to the Arda to initiate the last battle, the Dagor Dagorath. Morgoth would be vanquished by Túrin Turambar, who would be returned to life by Eönwë, and the Children of Hurin would be avenged.

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