The Shadowy Seas was an enchanted sea that lay closest to the shores of the Undying Lands, to the east of Tol Eressëa.
According to the The Atlas of Middle-earth, the Shadowy Seas covered the coastline area of Aman in a net formation some one-thousand miles measured from north to south.
History
After the rebellion of the Ñoldor and the rising of the Moon, the Valar decided to further shield their realm from the outside world preventing any intruders from finding Aman, especially the rebel Ñoldor from returning. They darkened the immediate sea with spells as well as lack of light and created a chain of Enchanted Isles, each of which had the power to cause any mariner braving this region to fall into an eternal sleep. Throughout the centuries that followed, no ship reached the shores of Aman, until Eärendil the Mariner finally succeeded in passing through the shadows of the Shadowy Seas.
Notes
- Tolkien may have based the sea off the impossibility of entering heaven freely.
