Last week, we covered Melkor’s origins through his destruction of the Two Trees and flight
to Middle-earth.
Today, we pick up where we left off.
Melkor, now known as the Dark Lord Morgoth, returns to his fortress of Angband.
After his return to Middle-earth, he is often referred to as Morgoth Bauglir.
Bauglir is a Sindarin name meaning “the Constrainer”.
He sets his sights on the elves that didn’t make the journey to Valinor.
The Sindar, under king Thingol, live in Doriath, Cirdan and the Teleri live at Falas, and Denethor
and the Nandor live in Ossiriand.
Morgoth moves against these elves in YT 1497, sending his army of orcs to surround Thingol
in Doriath.
Thingol manages to contact Denethor, who comes to their aid.
This first of many battles with Morgoth takes place between the Aros and Gelion Rivers.
The orcs of Morgoth, caught between the two armies of elves are defeated.
As the orcs flee north, they are unexpectedly routed by the dwarves of Mount Dolmed.
The orcs on the western front continue to besiege Cirdan’s elves at the Havens of
Falas for the following few months, until the coming of the Noldor would draw them away.
Speaking of the Noldor - with the world in darkness, Feanor leads the Noldor to rebel
against the Valar.
Many of those following Feanor take part in the kingslaying, in which many Teleri are
killed so that Feanor may claim their ships.
They sail east to Beleriand, landing at Losgar.
When Feanor burns the ships, it not only signals to Fingolfin that he and the rest of the Noldor
are now stranded in Aman, but also draws the attention of Morgoth.
In a preemptive strike, he sends forth a force of orcs and werewolves which passes through
the Ered Wethrin and attacks the elves.
Though the orcs greatly outnumber the Noldor, the elves possess great power within them
thanks to the light of Valinor.
They defeat Morgoth’s force.
The orcs retreat across the plain of Ard-galen and back toward Angband.
At this time, the orcs that had besieged Cirdan come north to aid their allies.
However, they are pushed back to the Fen of Serech.
In total, very few orcs survive the 10-day battle.
Feanor pursues this small group to the Dor Daedeloth - “the Land of the Shadow of Horror”.
There, the balrogs come out from Thangorodrim.
Feanor fights valiantly against these demons of Morgoth, but is separated from his sons
and is fatally wounded by Gothmog - the Lord of Balrogs.
The armies of his sons reach him just in time to drive off the balrogs, but Morgoth’s
enemy would die of his wounds soon after.
This conflict would come to be known as the Dagor-nuin-Giliath “the Battle under Stars”,
as it takes place prior to the creation of the Sun and Moon.
With his father dead, Maedhros is now the High King of the Noldor.
Morgoth sends an offer of peace to Maedhros - even saying he will surrender a silmaril.
Maedhros does not trust the dark lord and brings a force with him to the meeting.
Morgoth sends an even greater force and captures Maedhros - the sole survivor of his group.
Morgoth tells the Noldor to leave Beleriand and forsake their war against him.
However, the Sons of Feanor are bound to their oath to make war on anyone who should withhold
the silmarils from them.
Morgoth hangs Maedhros upon a precipice of Thangorodrim by the wrist of his right hand,
there he would hang for the next thirty years.
The rest of the Noldor arrive around the time the Sun and the Moon are created by the Valar,
making this year 1 of the First Age of Middle-earth.
This group is led by Feanor’s half brother, and Galadriel’s uncle - Fingolfin, who would
become Morgoth’s next challenger.
In the year 5 FA, Fingolfin’s son, Fingon - with the help of Thorondor, the lord of
the great eagles - rescues Maedhros from Thangorodrim.
Maedhros renounces his claim to the kingship of the Noldor and Fingolfin is made the new
High King.
Over the coming years, Morgoth’s spies believe that as the elves are creating their settlements
they aren’t prepared for military conflict.
Morgoth sends out an army of orcs to attack.
The main host attacks Dorthonion, while smaller groups go through Maglor’s Gap and the Pass
of Sirion.
The Noldor, however, were anything but unprepared.
While the orcs in the east and west are destroyed by smaller elven forces, Fingolfin in the
west and Medhros in the east strike back at the main host of the invading orc army.
Most of Morgoth’s force is defeated there in Dorthonion, with a small remnant fleeing
toward Angband.
The elves chase them down and there, within sight of Thangorodrim itself, the Noldor slay
the remaining orcs.
This battle is known as the Dagor Aglareb - the “Glorious Battle”, as it is a huge
victory for the elves.
The Noldor set as much of a border around Morgoth’s land as possible, thus beginning
the 400 year Siege of Angband.
During this time, Morgoth comes to realize - orcs alone will not defeat the Noldor so
he devises new creatures of evil - the dragons.
The first of these is Glaurung, who emerges without Morgoth’s permission in 260 FA.
Despite an initial success, the young dragon is humbled by the elven archers and forced
to flee back to Angband.
Nearly 200 years later, however, as Glaurung is grown to his full might, Morgoth sends
forth great rivers of fire over Ard-galen, burning many elves stationed throughout the
land.
As the elves are in disarray, Glaurung leads a force of balrogs and an army of orcs, killing
all in their sight.
This battle can be looked at on two fronts the East and the West.
In the West, Galadriel’s brothers Angrod and Aegnor are killed fighting for their home
realm of Dorthonion.
Finrod, her last remaining sibling and Lord of Nargothrond, would have been killed as
he is surrounded at the Fen of Serech, but a group of men, led by Barahir - a lord of
the house of Beor - comes to their aid.
Finrod would later give him a ring, as a token of everlasting friendship between their families
- the Ring of Barahir, which would one day pass to Aragorn.
In the end, the elves and men are able to keep the western realms of Hithlim safe.
In the East, things do not go so well.
Not only does this battle cost many lives of elves and men, it also breaks the Siege
of Angband, and allows Morgoth’s forces to move freely throughout the north of Beleriand.
Orcs take control of the lands of Lothlann, including the important positions of Maglor’s
Gap, and Mount Rerir.
Glaurung burns the lands between the arms of Gelion, and the Thargelion and Lake Helevorn
are ravaged by Morgoth’s forces.
With many refugees fleeing to places like Doriath and Hithlum, the elves abandon their
realm of Dorthonion, which becomes known as Taur-nu-Fuin (Forest under Nightsade).
After a year of small battles, the High King Fingolfin (in Hithlum) gets word of the devastation
the war has wrought in Dorthonion and Lothlann in 456FA.
Believing what he believes could be the utter ruin of the Noldor, he rides in anger across
the scorched land of Anfauglith, coming to the very door of Angband to confront Morgoth.
Thus he came alone to Angband's gates, and he sounded his horn, and smote once more upon
the brazen doors, and challenged Morgoth to come forth to single combat.
And Morgoth came.
That was the last time in those wars that he passed the doors of his stronghold, and
it is said that he took not the challenge willingly; for... alone of the Valar he knew
fear.
But he could not now deny the challenge before the face of his captains; for...
Fingolfin named Morgoth craven....
Therefore Morgoth... issued forth clad in black armour; and he stood before the King
like a tower, iron-crowned, and his vast shield, sable unblazoned, cast a shadow over him like
a stormcloud.
But Fingolfin gleamed beneath it as a star; for his mail was overlaid with silver, and
his blue shield was set with crystals; and he drew his sword Ringil, that glittered like
ice.
Then Morgoth hurled aloft Grond, the Hammer of the Underworld, and swung it down like
a bolt of thunder.
But Fingolfin sprang aside, and Grond rent a mighty pit in the earth....
Many times Morgoth essayed to smite him, and each time Fingolfin leaped away...; and he
wounded Morgoth with seven wounds, and seven times Morgoth gave a cry of anguish, whereat
the hosts of Angband fell upon their faces in dismay, and the cries echoed in the Northlands.
But at the last the King grew weary, and Morgoth bore down his shield upon him.
Thrice he was crushed to his knees, and thrice arose again and bore up his broken shield
and stricken helm.
But the earth was all... pitted about him, and he stumbled and fell backward before the
feet of Morgoth; and Morgoth set his left foot upon his neck....
Yet with his last and desperate stroke Fingolfin hewed the foot with Ringil, and the blood
gushed forth black and smoking and filled the pits of Grond.
As he wounds the Dark Lord, Fingolfin dies.
While he is victorious, Morgoth would not escape this battle unscathed.
As he breaks the body of Fingolfin, he intends to feed it to his wolves.
However, in that moment, Thorondor, the Lord of the Great Eagles flies in and claws the
face of Morgoth.
He takes the body of Fingolfin, and sets it upon a mountain top overlooking the hidden
city of Gondolin.
King Turgon learns of his father’s deeds from the great eagle and builds a cairn over
Fingolfin.
Morgoth is scarred from Thorondor’s attack and forever after bears a limp from the wound
of Fingolfin’s blade.
Ten years later, 466 FA, two others would come to Angband - Beren and Luthien.
When Beren, a man, and Luthien, and elf, wish to be married - Luthien’s father King Thingol
of Doriath declares that Beren may only have his daughter’s hand if Beren succeeds in
reclaiming a Silmaril from Morgoth’s crown.
Beren embarks on a mission to do just that and after being rescued from the dungeons
of Sauron in Tol-in-Gauroth by Luthien and Huan the hound.
The three make their way to Angband, disguised by the power of Luthien.
They enter the very throne room of Morgoth, and, as the Dark Lord is about to order them
seized - Luthien weaves a spell and begins to dance.
The spell puts Morgoth and his entire court into a deep sleep.
Beren approaches Morgoth, using his knife, he cuts a silmaril from the Iron Crown.
He decides to retrieve all three silmarils, but as he is cutting a second loose, the knife
breaks and a shard strikes Morgoth in the face.
As the court begins to stir, Beren and Luthien flee for their lives.
Now, I’ll be covering Beren and Luthien in next week’s video, but this particular
silmaril is never brought back to Morgoth, though it would cause further conflict with
the Dark Lord - and within the forces of his enemies.
In 469, Morgoth sends forth a wind from Angband.
It comes to the lands that border Anfauglith, in particular the lands to the west, like
Dor-Lomin.
This plague particularly affects the young - and many die from it - including Lalaith,
the 3-year old daughter of Hurin, the Lord of Dor-lomin.
It is upon hearing the deeds of Beren and Luthien - that a man and an elf-woman could
successfully retrieve a silmaril from Angband - that moves Maedhros in 468FA to create an
alliance to attack Morgoth.
In 469, Morgoth sends forth a wind from Angband.
It comes to the lands that border Anfauglith, in particular the lands to the west, like
Dor-Lomin.
This plague particularly affects the young - and many die from it - including Lalaith,
the 3-year old daughter of Hurin, the Lord of Dor-lomin.
The men of Dor-lomin would join many others in the Union of Maedhros and years in 472,
fight in what would be one of the most important conflicts of the First Age - the Nirnaeth
Arnoediad - the Battle of Unnumbered Tears.
The Union of Maedhros consists of two amies - one in the west, one in the east.
In the West, Fingon leads the Noldor of Hithlim, Hurin and Huor lead the Edain of Dor-lomin,
Haldir (the man, not the elf of the Third Age) leads the Edain of Brethil, Gwindor leads
the elves of Nargothrond, and there were also a small few elves from Falas and Doriath - including
Mablung and Beleg Strongbow.
In the East, Maedhros commands his elven host.
They are joined by Azaghal and the dwarves of Belegost.
They also have two groups of men with them, who had recently relocated to Beleriand after
the Dagor Bragollach - men under the command of their leaders Bor and Uldor - men known
as Easterlings.
The plan is simple - the forces of the east would march into Anfauglith.
Their hope is that Morgoth would respond by sending his armies to meet them.
The western host would remain hidden in the woods and valleys east of the Ered Wethrin.
They were to await a signal - a great beacon in Dorthonion would fire, at which point,
the western host would charge, and they would crush the forces of Morgoth - as if caught
between hammer and anvil.
As Maedhros leads his force into Anfauglith, a dark cloud gathers around Thangorodrim - Morgoth
has accepted the challenge.
As they await, they are joined - unexpectedly, by a host of 10,000 elves, led by Turgon,
brother of Fingon and King of the hidden city of Gondolin.
Their might greatly increased, the outlook is promising for the Union of Maedhros.
However, in that very hour, Morgoth implements his plan.
A great host issues from Angband to meet Maedhros, but at the same time, a smaller host is sent
to the West with the task of provoking the western army.
Fingon orders his troops to hold until the orcs attempt to attack the hills on which
they stand.
At this point, the orcs bring forth Gelmir - the brother of Gwindor.
Having been blinded already, his arms and legs are hewn from his body and he is left
to die of his wounds.
Filled with rage, Gwindor and his soldiers charge at the orcs.
Fingon’s force follows and they quickly defeat the smaller host and strike upon the
very gates of Angband.
In this moment, Morgoth once again knows fear, shaking upon his throne as Gwindor’s elves
pound on his gates and kill his guards.
However, the Dark Lord’s trap was now sprung.
Thousands of orcs erupt from hidden tunnels and gates around Angband, killing the entire
force, with the exception of Gwindor, who is captured.
Fingon’s host is driven back from the walls.
Turgon, who had held back from the reckless charge of Gwindor, drives into the orc host
and breaks their lines, meeting with the host of Fingon.
Finally, Maedhros arrives at what is now the main concentration of the battle.
However, before he can join with Fingon and Turgon, Morgoth unleashes the last of his
strength.
All of Angband is emptied as wolves, balrogs, and dragons join the fray.
Though daunting, it is said in this moment, the battle could still have been won, but
for Morgoth’s secret weapon.
Uldor and his group of Easterlings turn against Maedhros.
While the Easterlings under Bor would remain faithful to the elves, the damage has been
done.
With assault coming from three sides, the eastern host is scattered.
The valiant dwarves of Belegost hold off Glaurung, allowing the Sons of Feanor to escape into
Ossiriand.
As the dwarves, in their iron masks fight the dragon and his fire, Azaghal is trampled
by Glaurung.
The dying king stabs the dragon in the stomach with a dagger and Glaurung and many others
flee.
The western host fared no better.
Gothmog, the lord of balrogs, makes his way to Fingon and kills him in single combat.
Seeing the battle is lost, Hurin begs Turgon to retreat back to Gondolin.
With Fingon dead, he knows Turgon is the last of the House of Fingolfin.
If the land of Gondolin could remain hidden, and the son of Fingolfin who had maimed him
survived, Morgoth would still know fear.
Hurin and Huor and the Men of Dor-lomin form a living wall across the Fen of Serech, giving
time for Turgon to escape with what remains of the elves of Gondolin, and those who followed
his brother.
Nearly every single man is slain.
Huor is killed when shot in the eye with an arrow, and Hurin fights to the very last.
As Morgoth had ordered for him to be taken alive, Hurin continues fighting until is axe
withers away.
In total, he kills at least 70 orcs and trolls before being pinned under the corpses of his
foes.
The orcs make a pile of bodies on the plains of Anfauglith of the men and elves that were
killed.
The mound was so large it could be seen from a great distance.
Thereafter, grass grew on that hill alone in all the desolation of Anfauglith and it
is known as the Haudh-en-Nirnaeth - the Hill of Tears.
The Nirnaeth Arnoediad is a devastating loss for the elves, men, and dwarves of Middle-earth.
In the years and decades to come, it will be often referred to with great sadness, acknowledging
this as the moment when Morgoth assumed his control of the entire North of Beleriand.
Soon, he will press his advantage further, but first, he will lay a curse upon his prized
captive Hurin that will shape the world for years to come.
And that is where we will pick up in my next video - the epic conclusion of Morgoth Bauglir.
Apologies this ended up being a three-parter, but I couldn’t do justice to this story
if I trimmed it down.
To make it up to everyone, I’ll be releasing TWO videos next week!
Morgoth part 3, as well as the complete life of Beren and Luthien as a special Valentine’s
Day release.
Be sure to hit subscribe and the bell so you don’t miss it!
As always, I want to say a huge thank you to my Patreon supporters including TomDaBombadil19,
skycarcass, SaleemRehman, Jim Limber Davis, Smorzirk, Matt Schultz, Zetroc, Gimilkhad,
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