First Battle of Beleriand

The First Battle of Beleriand, or the First Battle, was the first great battle of the War of the Great Jewels, fought between the forces of Morgoth and the Elves and Dwarves in Beleriand.

Background

While Melkor was imprisoned in Valinor, there was peace in Beleriand. The Dwarves passed over the Blue Mountains into Beleriand and established the cities Nogrod and Belegost. They came in contact with the Sindar and a friendship grew between the two races. Melian, having the foresight of the Maiar, advised Thingol that the peace of Arda would not last forever. Thus, Thingol set out to build a strong dwelling for himself and his people in case evil would awaken again in Middle-earth. Together with the Dwarves, they built Menegroth.

Later the Dwarves came to Thingol and told him of the sighting of evil creatures roaming far and wide in Beleriand, learning the ways of the land and awaiting the return of their lord. Thingol then ordered his people to be armed and the Dwarves smithied weapons and armour for the Elves. Together they drove out the evil creatures, and for a time there was peace.

East of the Blue Mountains in Eriador dwelt some of the Nandor that wandered around the Anduin. They were troubled by the fell beasts of the north so Denethor, son of Lenwë, led much of the Nandor west across the Blue Mountains after hearing rumor of the might of Thingol's realm. Thingol welcomed them as long lost kin and they dwelt in Ossiriand.

After Melkor served three ages of imprisonment, he was released, but soon turned to evil again, and destroyed the Two Trees of Valinor with the aid of Ungoliant. While the Ñoldor still toiled through Araman, Morgoth had already returned to Middle-earth well ahead of them with the Silmarils and rebuilt his old fortress of Angband.

History

Prelude

Shortly before the Return of the Ñoldor to Middle-earth, Morgoth launched his attack upon Beleriand, desiring to gain the mastery of the land quickly. The Orcs had long been breeding and multiplying and Morgoth filled them with purpose. From the gates of Angband issued a great army which broke into two hosts, passing west between Sirion and Narog and east between Celon and Gelion. Some of the bands even scaled the Pass of Anach and the Pass of Aglond, for the Orcs were said to have "passed silently into the highlands of the north".

The battle

Well-armed, having defended Beleriand from the evil and savage things of the north, King Thingol was prepared for war but faced multiple setbacks. In West Beleriand, the bulk of the western Orc host camped on the plain between Narog and Sirion, hurrying throughout West Beleriand; and the forces of Thingol were cut off from Círdan at Eglarest. Led by Círdan, the Falathrim countered but were defeated and forced to retreat back to Eglarest and Brithombar, which were then besieged.

When detachments from both Orc hosts entered his domain, King Thingol took the offensive, leading out the Sindar of Menegroth and the Forest of Region. His main focus, however, was on the bulk of the eastern Orc host. He called upon Denethor who led a host of Laegeldrim from Ossiriand. The eastern host of Orcs were assailed on both its sides by the Eldar and a battle ensued north of the Andram. While Denethor's forces attacked the Orcs, he and his people were lightly-armed and were no match for the iron-clad and heavily-armed Orcs. Eventually, he and his forces were pushed back onto Amon Ereb where they were cut-off and surrounded. Here, Denethor and his lightly-armed company made their last stand against a sea of foes, and he was slain before Thingol's host could rescue him. When Thingol's forces arrived, the Elves routed the Orcs of Morgoth. The few Orcs who escaped scattered east but were later slain by the Dwarves of Mount Dolmed. The battle was over and the armies of Thingol stood victorious over Morgoth's forces in East Beleriand.

This was the only battle against the Dark Lord in which the Sindar took an active role.

Aftermath

Though battle was held to be over, the cities of the Havens remained under siege by the forces of the western host. After learning of this, Thingol summoned all the Sindar that wished to live in peace to the lands within the Forest of Region and the Forest of Neldoreth. Melian used her power to encircle this dominion, which were ever after known as Doriath, with an invisible wall of shadows and bewilderment known as Lest Melian. As no aid came from Thingol, Círdan and the Falathrim had to hold out against his attackers alone. The Orcs of Morgoth remained free to wander Beleriand, except in the Falas and Doriath. The Havens were only freed when the Orcs withdrew northeast to fight the Ñoldor under Fëanor.

After the death of their king and the heavy losses they took in this battle, the Laegeldrim pledged to never again name a king or participate in the wars between other Elves and Morgoth. After that time, many of Denethor's people left Ossiriand for the guarded forests of Doriath: these settled in Arthórien and became known as the Guest-elves, others merged with the Sindar. Those few that remained took up a secretive existence, camouflaging themselves in green.

In other versions

An early description of the battle first appears in The Earliest Annals of Valinor, though it was pencilled hastily later on the manuscript. In the later development of the story it is part of The Later Annals of Valinor and Quenta Silmarillion.

The battle was never considered to be one of the "major battles" in the War of the Great Jewels until later it was mentioned as one in The Grey Annals. The first encounter between the Orcs and Ñoldor in Beleriand was originally considered to be the "First Battle of Beleriand", however, Tolkien seems to have changed this idea overtime and had Morgoth's battle with the Sindar in Beleriand, before the Return of the Ñoldor, as the "First Battle" which would retroactively move the Dagor-nuin-Giliath (Battle-under-Stars) as the second battle. It is unclear whether Tolkien was considering having an Elvish name for the new "First Battle" or overlooked it but it is notable that an alternative name is absent when compared to the other battles. In The Silmarillion, Christopher Tolkien simply left it as it is.

A literal Sindarin translation of the name would be Dagor Minui or Dagor Ned.

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References