War of Wrath
Encyclopedia
The War of Wrath, or the Great Battle, is a key plot development in J.R.R. Tolkien's legendarium
, portraying the final war against Morgoth
at the end of the First Age
.
Elrond
, at his Council, makes comparison to the Last Alliance of Elves and Men of the Second Age
in The Lord of the Rings
saying,
In the Tale of the Years it is called the Great Battle and the army, the Host of Valinor
. The best known and most poetical account is in The Silmarillion
, itself closely drawn from the earlier Quenta Silmarillion
. The most detailed account of the course of the war is in The Later Annals of Beleriand. Other accounts and fragmentary details about the war are scattered, appearing in the earliest versions of the legendarium
.
The experience of distance to the War of Wrath is greatest in Lord of the Rings, drawing nearer to it in The Silmarillion, closer still in the Annals and Quentas of the History of Middle-earth and closest, in aspects, in The Lost Tales
.
. The mariner Eärendil
, by the light of the Silmaril
on his brow, searches and comes to Valinor
, on behalf of the two kindreds (that of Elves
and Men
), asking the Valar
to pardon and aid the enthralled Elves and Men of Middle-earth.
The Valar are moved by Eärendil's plea and prepare a great armament. The armies of the Vanyar
and the remaining Noldor
are sent from Aman
to Middle-earth in a mighty host. At the behest of Elwing
, their kinswoman, the Teleri
carry the host on their ships, but they remain on their ships for they would not land. The Host of Valinor marches through Beleriand
and meets the forces of Morgoth.
The Host of the Valar completely defeats the Orc
armies of Melkor and destroys most of the Balrog
s. While the Three Houses of Men, the Edain
, fought for the Valar, many other Easterling
Men fought for Morgoth and are either destroyed or flee to the far eastern parts of Middle-earth. The Host of the Valar marches north to Angband
in pursuit of the remnants of the hosts of Morgoth. There Melkor releases his last and greatest force, the fleet of winged dragons
, that had never been seen before, and they drive the Host of the Valar back. Then Eärendil
comes with his ship Vingilótë, along with the Eagles
of Thorondor, Lord of Eagles, and there they contest with the dragons in the air, slaying most of them. Eärendil throws down the mightiest of dragons, Ancalagon the Black, whose fall breaks the towers of Thangorodrim
. Morgoth is captured and he is bound again with the chain Angainor. His iron crown is beaten into a collar, his feet are cut off, and the two Silmarils are taken by the Maia Eönwë
, the herald of Manwë
. Finally, the Valar imprison him in the Void behind the Door of Night
.
The wreckage of the war is immense. The River Sirion is destroyed. Much of the north of the land west of the Ered Luin is laid waste and sinks into the sea. The surviving Elves of Beleriand are bidden by Eönwë to return with him to the lands of Aman. Most of them do so, but others refuse the summons and instead journey eastward where they become lords of the remaining Noldor and Sindar
, as well as others in the east such as the Silvan Elves
. Galadriel
and Celeborn
are among these, as was Gil-galad
.
After Morgoth's defeat, those men of the Edain who fought for the host of the Valar are granted the island land of Andor. Following Elros as King, they found the realm of Númenor
. Morgoth's chief servant, Sauron
, surrenders to Eönwë and is summoned to Valinor to receive judgement by the Valar. However, he is unwilling to face the Valar and flees to the east, as do some Dragons, Balrogs and Orc
s to trouble the Men and Elves through later ages.
Nearly contemporary to the Quenta Silmarillion are the Annals of Beleriand, a complementary, separate account with a different point of view. The two main versions, early and late, of the Annals are in agreement with the events but are at variance with nomenclature and dates. They provide a good deal of incidental detail otherwise lacking in the various parallel versions of the Silmarillion. The Later Annals are the final version of the War of Wrath in this form. There are versions of events and aspects of the war in the Annals that are in conflict with those in Quenta Silmarillion beyond minor inconsistencies in nomenclature and dates. Most notably, the Annals, in contrast to the Silmarillion and Quenta traditions, hold that Morgoth leaves Angband passing over Taur-na-Fuin to contest the passage of Sirion.
Other details do not conflict with the Silmarillion, because of the difference in mode between Annal and Quenta some are just not present in the Quentas. The landing of Ingwë
's son and his victory in the Battle of Eglarest is a significant example. The Later Annals provide additional details about the battle including the driving of the Orcs from the shore and then entire Host of Valinor driving both Orcs and Balrogs across Sirion followed by the long struggle of the hosts of the West and North for passage of the River Sirion which lay between the Hosts.
It is only in the Annals versions and the earliest Quenta that Eönwë is stated to be leader, or captain, of the Host of the West and that Ingwion is captain of the Vanyar. In The Silmarillion, Eönwë is called 'the Herald of Manwë'. As captains, The Silmarillion mentions Finarfin
leading the Noldor of Aman and Thorondor "captain of the great birds of heaven". Lay of Leithian speaks directly of Balrog captains leading Orcs:
The Later Annals of Beleriand expand on detail and reintroduce the encampment of the Host beside the River Sirion that goes back to the earliest fragments of the story. There a camp is made in Tasarinan, Land of Willows, the place mentioned in Treebeard
's song in the Two Towers, "the willow-meads of Tasarinan". Further, some subsidiary battles to the campaign of the Great Battle are mentioned there briefly, as well as in the tale of The Fall of Gondolin where the Battle of Tasarinan is described as a surprise attack by the Goblins on the Noldor of the Host. Another battle is that of the Silent Pools, or Twilight Pools which is Umboth Muilin, or Aelin-uial. Here it is suggested that the Easterling Men of Hithlum
descend from the north and attack the flank of the Elves. The early traditions for this battle are in some serious contradiction at points with the later tales in that it is held here that Tulkas and Morgoth and other Valar are present whereas later only the Maiar, Eönwë for the Host of the West, and the Balrogs, for the Hosts of Angband, take the field.
Throughout all the varied stories and time the terrain over which the War of Wrath is fought remains remarkably the same, in particular, the River Sirion. The course of the river is never changed on the maps and its character stays consistent. It is the mighty river that divides East and West Beleriand. As early as the Lays of Beleriand until the Children of Húrin it is described as uncrossable on foot except at a very few places: far north at Eithel Sirion, at the ford of the Brithiach, over the Guarded Bridge near the tributary Esgalduin and over the land bridge of the Andram above the Gates of Sirion. This makes Sirion a formidable obstacle to an army trying to cross it in the face of opposition. Without the further use of the ships of the Telerin fleet the Host of the Valar cannot be ferried to East Beleriand flanking the line of Sirion in the south but must fight their way across at one or more of those crossings. Advancing north west of Sirion does not allow a northern flanking of the line of Sirion as there is only a ford near Eithel Sirion and only a couple of easily defended and widely separated passes through the mountains of Ered Wethrin. This explains the long deadlock of bitter conflict between Eönwë leading the Host of the West and Morgoth's Host of the North described in the Annals and the Tale of the Years as lasting over forty years.
Legendarium
Legendary may refer to:*A hagiography, or study of the lives of saints and other religious figures**The South English Legendary, a Middle English legendary*A legend-Entertainment:*Legendary, an album by Kaysha*Legendary...
, portraying the final war against Morgoth
Morgoth
Morgoth Bauglir is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth legendarium. He is the main antagonist of The Silmarillion, figures in The Children of Húrin, and is mentioned briefly in The Lord of the Rings.Melkor was the most powerful of the Ainur, but turned to darkness and became...
at the end of the First Age
First Age
In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, the First Age, or First Age of the Children of Ilúvatar is the heroic period in which most of Tolkien's early legends are set...
.
Elrond
Elrond
Elrond Half-elven is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. He is introduced in The Hobbit, and plays a supporting role in The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion.-Character overview:...
, at his Council, makes comparison to the Last Alliance of Elves and Men of the Second Age
Second Age
The Second Age is a time period from J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth fantasy writings. Tolkien intended for the history of Middle-earth to be considered fictionally as a precursor to the history of the real Earth....
in The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings is a high fantasy epic written by English philologist and University of Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier, less complex children's fantasy novel The Hobbit , but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in...
saying,
I remember well the splendour of their banners ... It recalled to me the glory of the Elder DaysElder DaysIn the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, the Elder Days are the first Ages of Middle-earth.During the Second and Third Age, the term referred to the First Age and before, but in the Fourth Age the term began to be applied to all three ages which came before: a time before the dominance of Men and the...
and the hosts of BeleriandBeleriandIn J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional legendarium, Beleriand was a region in northwestern Middle-earth during the First Age. Events in Beleriand are described chiefly in his work The Silmarillion, which tells the story of the early ages of Middle-earth in a style similar to the epic hero tales of Nordic...
, so many great princes and captains were assembled. And yet not so many, nor so fair, as when ThangorodrimThangorodrimIn the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, Thangorodrim was a group of three volcanic mountains in the Iron Mountains in the north of Middle-earth during the First Age...
was broken...
In the Tale of the Years it is called the Great Battle and the army, the Host of Valinor
Valinor
Valinor is a fictional location in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, the realm of the Valar in Aman. It was also known as the Undying Lands, along with Tol Eressëa and the outliers of Aman. This is something of a misnomer; only immortal beings were allowed to reside there, but the land itself,...
. The best known and most poetical account is in The Silmarillion
The Silmarillion
The Silmarillion is a collection of J. R. R. Tolkien's mythopoeic works, edited and published posthumously by his son Christopher Tolkien in 1977, with assistance from Guy Gavriel Kay, who later became a noted fantasy writer. The Silmarillion, along with J. R. R...
, itself closely drawn from the earlier Quenta Silmarillion
Quenta Silmarillion
Quenta Silmarillion is a collection of fictional legends written by the high fantasy writer J. R. R. Tolkien. It was published after the author's death in The Silmarillion together with four shorter stories...
. The most detailed account of the course of the war is in The Later Annals of Beleriand. Other accounts and fragmentary details about the war are scattered, appearing in the earliest versions of the legendarium
Tolkien's legendarium
The phrase Tolkien's legendarium is used in the literary discipline of Tolkien studiesto refer to the part of J. R. R. Tolkien's high fantasy fiction being concerned with his Elven legends; that is, historic events that have become legendary from the perspective of the characters of The Lord of the...
.
The experience of distance to the War of Wrath is greatest in Lord of the Rings, drawing nearer to it in The Silmarillion, closer still in the Annals and Quentas of the History of Middle-earth and closest, in aspects, in The Lost Tales
The Book of Lost Tales
The Book of Lost Tales is the title of a collection of early stories by J. R. R. Tolkien, and of the first two volumes of Christopher Tolkien's 12-volume series The History of Middle-earth, in which he presents and analyses the manuscripts of those stories, which were the earliest form of the...
.
The Silmarillion account
As it is told in The Silmarillion, five centuries after the rising of the sun, Morgoth has defeated all who opposed him and becomes mighty and uncontested in Middle-earthMiddle-earth
Middle-earth is the fictional setting of the majority of author J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy writings. The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings take place entirely in Middle-earth, as does much of The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales....
. The mariner Eärendil
Eärendil
Eärendil the Mariner is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. He is depicted in The Silmarillion as a great seafarer who, on his brow, carried the morning star across the sky.-Etymology:...
, by the light of the Silmaril
Silmaril
The Silmarils are three brilliant jewels which contained the unmarred light of the Two Trees in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. The Silmarils were made out of the crystalline substance silima by Fëanor, a Noldorin Elf, in Valinor during the Years of the Trees...
on his brow, searches and comes to Valinor
Valinor
Valinor is a fictional location in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, the realm of the Valar in Aman. It was also known as the Undying Lands, along with Tol Eressëa and the outliers of Aman. This is something of a misnomer; only immortal beings were allowed to reside there, but the land itself,...
, on behalf of the two kindreds (that of Elves
Elf (Middle-earth)
In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, Elves are one of the races that inhabit a fictional Earth, often called Middle-earth, and set in the remote past. They appear in The Hobbit and in The Lord of the Rings, but their complex history is described more fully in The Silmarillion...
and Men
Man (Middle-earth)
The race of Men in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth books, such as The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, refers to humanity and does not denote gender...
), asking the Valar
Vala (Middle-earth)
The Valar are fictional characters in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. They are first mentioned in The Lord of the Rings, but The Silmarillion develops them into the Powers of Arda or the Powers of the World...
to pardon and aid the enthralled Elves and Men of Middle-earth.
The Valar are moved by Eärendil's plea and prepare a great armament. The armies of the Vanyar
Vanyar
In the works of J. R. R. Tolkien, the Vanyar are the fairest and most noble of the High Elves. They are the smallest of the three clans of the Eldar, and were the first to arrive in Aman. According to legend, the clan was founded by Imin, the first Elf to awake at Cuiviénen, his wife Iminyë, and...
and the remaining Noldor
Noldor
In the works of J. R. R. Tolkien, the Noldor are Elves of the Second Clan who migrated to Valinor and lived in Eldamar. The Noldor are called Golodhrim or Gódhellim in Sindarin, and Goldoi by Teleri of Tol Eressëa. The singular form of the Quenya noun is Noldo and the adjective is Noldorin...
are sent from Aman
Aman
-External links:*...
to Middle-earth in a mighty host. At the behest of Elwing
Elwing
Elwing is a character of Middle-earth, created by J. R. R. Tolkien. She is Half-elven but counted among the Elves, notable for saving a Silmaril from the destruction of the Havens of Sirion and, with her husband Eärendil, going to the Valar to ask their help for the people of Middle-earth...
, their kinswoman, the Teleri
Teleri
In the works of J. R. R. Tolkien, the Teleri, Those who come last in Quenya were the third of the Elf clans who came to Aman...
carry the host on their ships, but they remain on their ships for they would not land. The Host of Valinor marches through Beleriand
Beleriand
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional legendarium, Beleriand was a region in northwestern Middle-earth during the First Age. Events in Beleriand are described chiefly in his work The Silmarillion, which tells the story of the early ages of Middle-earth in a style similar to the epic hero tales of Nordic...
and meets the forces of Morgoth.
The Host of the Valar completely defeats the Orc
Orc (Middle-earth)
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy writings, Orcs or Orks are a race of creatures who are used as soldiers and henchmen by both the greater and lesser villains of The Silmarillion and The Lord of the Rings — Morgoth, Sauron and Saruman...
armies of Melkor and destroys most of the Balrog
Balrog
Balrogs are fictional demonic beings who appear in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. Such creatures first appeared in print in his novel The Lord of the Rings, though they figured in earlier writings that posthumously appeared in The Silmarillion and other books.Balrogs are described as...
s. While the Three Houses of Men, the Edain
Edain
In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, the Edain were men who made their way into Beleriand in the First Age, and were friendly to the Elves....
, fought for the Valar, many other Easterling
Easterlings (First Age)
In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, the Easterlings of the First Age were Men who lived in the east of Middle-earth, and mostly fought under Morgoth...
Men fought for Morgoth and are either destroyed or flee to the far eastern parts of Middle-earth. The Host of the Valar marches north to Angband
Angband (Middle-earth)
-External links:*...
in pursuit of the remnants of the hosts of Morgoth. There Melkor releases his last and greatest force, the fleet of winged dragons
Dragon (Middle-earth)
J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium features dragons closely based on those of European legend.Besides dragon , Tolkien variously used the terms drake and worm .-History:The dragons were created by Morgoth...
, that had never been seen before, and they drive the Host of the Valar back. Then Eärendil
Eärendil
Eärendil the Mariner is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. He is depicted in The Silmarillion as a great seafarer who, on his brow, carried the morning star across the sky.-Etymology:...
comes with his ship Vingilótë, along with the Eagles
Eagle (Middle-earth)
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional universe of Middle-earth, the eagles were immense flying birds that were sapient and could speak. Often emphatically referred to as the Great Eagles, they appear, usually and intentionally serving as agents of deus ex machina , in various parts of his legendarium,...
of Thorondor, Lord of Eagles, and there they contest with the dragons in the air, slaying most of them. Eärendil throws down the mightiest of dragons, Ancalagon the Black, whose fall breaks the towers of Thangorodrim
Thangorodrim
In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, Thangorodrim was a group of three volcanic mountains in the Iron Mountains in the north of Middle-earth during the First Age...
. Morgoth is captured and he is bound again with the chain Angainor. His iron crown is beaten into a collar, his feet are cut off, and the two Silmarils are taken by the Maia Eönwë
Eönwë
Eönwë is a supporting character in J.R.R. Tolkien's legendarium. He first appears in print in the posthumously published The Silmarillion, though his character had existed long before its original publication in 1977.-Biography:...
, the herald of Manwë
Manwë
Manwë is a god or Vala of the Elven pantheon imagined by J. R. R. Tolkien. He is described in The Silmarillion.Manwë was the King of the Valar, husband of Varda Elentári, brother of the Dark Lord Melkor, and King of Arda. He lived atop Mount Taniquetil, the highest mountain of the world, in the...
. Finally, the Valar imprison him in the Void behind the Door of Night
Door of Night
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional universe of Middle-earth, the Door of Night was a place set at the utmost West of Arda, near to Avakúma, the void. The Door was created by the Valar at the time of the making of the Sun and Moon...
.
The wreckage of the war is immense. The River Sirion is destroyed. Much of the north of the land west of the Ered Luin is laid waste and sinks into the sea. The surviving Elves of Beleriand are bidden by Eönwë to return with him to the lands of Aman. Most of them do so, but others refuse the summons and instead journey eastward where they become lords of the remaining Noldor and Sindar
Sindar
In the works of J. R. R. Tolkien, the fictional Sindar are Elves of Telerin descent. They are also known as the Grey Elves. Their language is Sindarin...
, as well as others in the east such as the Silvan Elves
Silvan Elves
Silvan Elves are an ethnic group of Elves in J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional universe of Middle-earth, mainly the Elves of Mirkwood and Lothlórien.In the First Age the Elves of Ossiriand, or Laiquendi, were also referred to as wood-elves....
. Galadriel
Galadriel
Galadriel is a character created by J.R.R. Tolkien, appearing in his Middle-earth legendarium. She appears in The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion, and Unfinished Tales....
and Celeborn
Celeborn
Celeborn is a fictional character in J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. He appears in The Lord of the Rings as the Elven husband of Galadriel, Lord of the Galadhrim; and co-ruler along with Galadriel of Lothlórien. He was the father of Celebrían — the wife of Elrond — and thus the...
are among these, as was Gil-galad
Gil-galad
Ereinion Gil-galad is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. He is mentioned in The Lord of the Rings, and featured in The Silmarillion.- Character overview :...
.
After Morgoth's defeat, those men of the Edain who fought for the host of the Valar are granted the island land of Andor. Following Elros as King, they found the realm of Númenor
Númenor
Númenor is a fictional place in J. R. R. Tolkien's writings. It was a huge island located in the Sundering Seas to the west of Middle-earth, the main setting of Tolkien's writings, and was known to be the greatest realm of Men...
. Morgoth's chief servant, Sauron
Sauron
Sauron is the primary antagonist and titular character of the epic fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien.In the same work, he is revealed to be the same character as "the Necromancer" from Tolkien's earlier novel The Hobbit...
, surrenders to Eönwë and is summoned to Valinor to receive judgement by the Valar. However, he is unwilling to face the Valar and flees to the east, as do some Dragons, Balrogs and Orc
Orc
An orc is one of a race of mythical human-like creatures, generally described as fierce and combative, with grotesque features and often black, grey or greenish skin. This mythology has its origins in the writings of J. R. R. Tolkien....
s to trouble the Men and Elves through later ages.
The History of Middle-earth accounts
The Silmarillion account closely follows the Quenta Silmarillion and is in agreement with it on the events of the war varying mostly in nomenclature.Nearly contemporary to the Quenta Silmarillion are the Annals of Beleriand, a complementary, separate account with a different point of view. The two main versions, early and late, of the Annals are in agreement with the events but are at variance with nomenclature and dates. They provide a good deal of incidental detail otherwise lacking in the various parallel versions of the Silmarillion. The Later Annals are the final version of the War of Wrath in this form. There are versions of events and aspects of the war in the Annals that are in conflict with those in Quenta Silmarillion beyond minor inconsistencies in nomenclature and dates. Most notably, the Annals, in contrast to the Silmarillion and Quenta traditions, hold that Morgoth leaves Angband passing over Taur-na-Fuin to contest the passage of Sirion.
Other details do not conflict with the Silmarillion, because of the difference in mode between Annal and Quenta some are just not present in the Quentas. The landing of Ingwë
Ingwe
Ingwe may be:* Ingwë - a character in the fictional universe of J.R.R. Tolkien* Ingwe - a South African anti-tank guided missile* Ingwe Coal - a division of the BHP Billiton mining company* Ingwe - the Zulu word for leopard...
's son and his victory in the Battle of Eglarest is a significant example. The Later Annals provide additional details about the battle including the driving of the Orcs from the shore and then entire Host of Valinor driving both Orcs and Balrogs across Sirion followed by the long struggle of the hosts of the West and North for passage of the River Sirion which lay between the Hosts.
It is only in the Annals versions and the earliest Quenta that Eönwë is stated to be leader, or captain, of the Host of the West and that Ingwion is captain of the Vanyar. In The Silmarillion, Eönwë is called 'the Herald of Manwë'. As captains, The Silmarillion mentions Finarfin
Finarfin
Finarfin is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, featured in The Silmarillion.-Personality:Unlike the warlike Fëanor and Fingolfin, Finarfin was something of a pacifist...
leading the Noldor of Aman and Thorondor "captain of the great birds of heaven". Lay of Leithian speaks directly of Balrog captains leading Orcs:
"the Orcs went forth to rape and war, and Balrog captains marched before.".
The Later Annals of Beleriand expand on detail and reintroduce the encampment of the Host beside the River Sirion that goes back to the earliest fragments of the story. There a camp is made in Tasarinan, Land of Willows, the place mentioned in Treebeard
Treebeard
Treebeard is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth fantasy writings. The eldest of the species of Ents, he is said to live in the ancient Forest of Fangorn and stands fourteen feet in height and is tree-like in appearance, with leafy hair and a rigid structure. Fangorn Forest...
's song in the Two Towers, "the willow-meads of Tasarinan". Further, some subsidiary battles to the campaign of the Great Battle are mentioned there briefly, as well as in the tale of The Fall of Gondolin where the Battle of Tasarinan is described as a surprise attack by the Goblins on the Noldor of the Host. Another battle is that of the Silent Pools, or Twilight Pools which is Umboth Muilin, or Aelin-uial. Here it is suggested that the Easterling Men of Hithlum
Hithlum
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional universe of Middle-earth, Hithlum is the region north of Beleriand near the Helcaraxë.Hithlum was separated from Beleriand proper by the Ered Wethrin mountain chain, and was named after the sea mists which formed there at times: Hithlum is Sindarin for "Mist-shadow";...
descend from the north and attack the flank of the Elves. The early traditions for this battle are in some serious contradiction at points with the later tales in that it is held here that Tulkas and Morgoth and other Valar are present whereas later only the Maiar, Eönwë for the Host of the West, and the Balrogs, for the Hosts of Angband, take the field.
Throughout all the varied stories and time the terrain over which the War of Wrath is fought remains remarkably the same, in particular, the River Sirion. The course of the river is never changed on the maps and its character stays consistent. It is the mighty river that divides East and West Beleriand. As early as the Lays of Beleriand until the Children of Húrin it is described as uncrossable on foot except at a very few places: far north at Eithel Sirion, at the ford of the Brithiach, over the Guarded Bridge near the tributary Esgalduin and over the land bridge of the Andram above the Gates of Sirion. This makes Sirion a formidable obstacle to an army trying to cross it in the face of opposition. Without the further use of the ships of the Telerin fleet the Host of the Valar cannot be ferried to East Beleriand flanking the line of Sirion in the south but must fight their way across at one or more of those crossings. Advancing north west of Sirion does not allow a northern flanking of the line of Sirion as there is only a ford near Eithel Sirion and only a couple of easily defended and widely separated passes through the mountains of Ered Wethrin. This explains the long deadlock of bitter conflict between Eönwë leading the Host of the West and Morgoth's Host of the North described in the Annals and the Tale of the Years as lasting over forty years.
Impact on popular culture
There are several musical adaptations taken from the War of Wrath:- The power metalPower metalPower metal is a style of heavy metal combining characteristics of traditional metal with speed metal, often within symphonic context. The term refers to two different but related styles: the first pioneered and largely practiced in North America with a harder sound similar to speed metal, and a...
group Blind GuardianBlind GuardianBlind Guardian is a German power metal band formed in the mid-1980s in Krefeld, West Germany. They are often credited as one of the seminal and most influential bands in the power metal and speed metal subgenres...
, in their album Nightfall in Middle-EarthNightfall in Middle-EarthNightfall in Middle-Earth is a concept album by Blind Guardian, released in 1998. It is also Blind Guardian's sixth studio album.The album is based upon J. R. R. Tolkien's The Silmarillion, a book of tales from the First Age of Middle-earth, recounting the War of the Jewels. The album contains not...
(based on The Silmarillion), recorded a track in which is performed a short conversation between MorgothMorgothMorgoth Bauglir is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth legendarium. He is the main antagonist of The Silmarillion, figures in The Children of Húrin, and is mentioned briefly in The Lord of the Rings.Melkor was the most powerful of the Ainur, but turned to darkness and became...
and SauronSauronSauron is the primary antagonist and titular character of the epic fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien.In the same work, he is revealed to be the same character as "the Necromancer" from Tolkien's earlier novel The Hobbit...
at the end of the War of Wrath. The track's name is, exactly, "War of Wrath". - The epic/gothic metalGothic metalGothic metal or goth metal is a subgenre of heavy metal music that combines the aggression of doom metal with the dark melancholy of gothic rock. The music of gothic metal is diverse with bands known to adopt the gothic approach to different styles of heavy metal music...
group BattleloreBattleloreBattlelore is a metal band from Lappeenranta, Finland. All of Battlelore's lyrics concern J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth.-Style:Battlelore mixes female vocals with harsh male growling in "beauty and the beast" duet, backed by heavy guitar riffing and occasional keyboard interludes. The band's...
, a FinnishFinlandFinland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
band whose every song deals with Middle-earth, in their album Sword's SongSword's SongSword's Song is the second album released by the metal band Battlelore. As with all of the band's other albums, the lyrics are based on J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth. The album essentially was similar to their debut but in the opinions of most reviewers and fans showed an improvement in both the...
have a track entitled "The War of Wrath". The lyrics tell the tale of MorgothMorgothMorgoth Bauglir is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth legendarium. He is the main antagonist of The Silmarillion, figures in The Children of Húrin, and is mentioned briefly in The Lord of the Rings.Melkor was the most powerful of the Ainur, but turned to darkness and became...
's demise. - The progressive rockProgressive rockProgressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
band Ainur has written a song titled "War of Wrath" included in their first album From Ancient Times (2006).