by David Day
THE
BATTLES
OF
TOLKIEN
To my mother, Jean Day
Thunder Bay Press
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Text copyright © 2016, 2017 David Day
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THUNDER BAY PRESS
Publisher: Peter Norton
Publishing Team: Lori Asbury, Ana Parker, Laura Vignale, Kathryn Chipinka
Editorial Team: JoAnn Padgett, Melinda Allman, Dan Mansfield
BOUNTY BOOKS
Publisher: Lucy Pessell
Design Manager: Megan van Staden
Design: Amazing15
Editor: Natalie Bradley
Project Editor: Anna Bowles
Administrative Assistant: Sarah Vaughan
Senior Production Manager: Peter Hunt
Illustrations by Victor Ambrus (cover), Jacopo Ascari (maps), Graham Bence, Jaroslav Bradac, Tim Clarey, Allan Curless, Gino D’Achille, David Franklin, Melvin Grant, Sam Hadley, David Kearney, Barbara Lofthouse, Mauro Mazzara, Ian Miller, Sue Porter, Lidia Postma, David Roberts
eBook ISBN: 978-1-68412-011-6
eBook edition: May 2017
This book has not been prepared, authorized, licensed, or endorsed by J. R. R. Tolkien’s heirs or estate, nor by any of the publishers or distributors of the book The Lord of the Rings or any other work written by J. R. R. Tolkien, nor anyone involved in the creation, production, or distribution of the films based on the book.
THE
BATTLES
OF
TOLKIEN
DAVID DAY
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
PART ONE:
BATTLES OF THE VALARIAN AGES
War in Heaven
The First War
The Battle of Powers
PART TWO:
BATTLES OF THE FIRST AGE
The War of the Jewels
CHART: WARS OF BELERIAND
The Battle of Sudden Flame
MAP: THE BATTLE OF SUDDEN FLAME
The Battle of Unnumbered Tears
MAP: THE BATTLE OF UNNUMBERED TEARS
The War of Wrath
MAP: THE WAR OF WRATH
PART THREE:
THE SECOND AGE: WARS OF THE ELVES AND NÚMENORÉANS
The War of Sauron and the Elves
CHART: THE SECOND AGE OF THE SUN
Wars of the Númenoréans
The Last Alliance of Elves and Men
MAP: THE BATTLE OF DAGORLAD AND THE SIEGE OF THE DARK TOWER
PART FOUR:
THE THIRD AGE: WARS OF THE DÚNEDAIN
The Disaster at Gladden Fields
MAP: THE DISASTER AT GLADDEN FIELDS
Wars of the North Kingdom of Arnor
CHART: THE HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OF ARNOR
Wars of the South Kingdom of Gondor
CHART: THE HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OF GONDOR
PART FIVE:
THE THIRD AGE: WARS OF THE DWARVES
The War of Dwarves and Dragons
The Battle of the Five Armies
MAP: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES
PART SIX:
THE WAR OF THE RING
CHART: BATTLES OF THE WAR OF THE RING
The Battle on the Bridge of Khazad-dûm
MAP: THE BATTLE ON THE BRIDGE OF KHAZAD-DÛM
The Battle of the Hornburg
MAP: THE BATTLE OF THE HORNBURG
The March of the Ents on Isengard
MAP: THE MARCH OF THE ENTS ON ISENGARD
The Battle of the Pelennor Fields
MAP: THE SIEGE OF MINAS TIRITH
MAP: THE BATTLE OF THE PELENNOR FIELDS
The Battle of the Black Gate
MAP: THE BATTLE OF THE BLACK GATE
The Battle of Bywater
MAP: THE BATTLE OF BYWATER
WAR AND HONOUR
A CHRONOLOGY OF THE KINGDOMS ON MIDDLE-EARTH IN THE AGES OF THE SUN
INDEX
The armies of Melkor
INTRODUCTION
From the creation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s world of Arda until the end of the War of the Rings – some 37,000* years later – cataclysmic wars punctuated by crucial battles have determined the course of that world’s evolution and history. In the recording of these events upon Middle-earth and the Undying Lands, Tolkien takes a similar approach to that of a real-world historian.
Like those of their real-life historic counterparts, the annals of Tolkien’s races and nations record each civilization’s achievements in the creative arts, the architecture of its great cities and the genius of its technologies, but they also give weight to the pivotal role of great battles that result in the rise and fall of empires.
For undeniably it is in battles and wars that the fates of nations and races are finally determined. And for all nations (both real and imaginary), it is in these crucial battles that the courage and wisdom of their most celebrated heroes are ultimately tested. Furthermore, these wars are also the crucial themes of all the great civilizations’ national epics: Greece’s Iliad, Germany’s Nibelungenlied, Norway and Iceland’s Elder Edda, India’s Mahabharata, Mesopotamia’s Epic of Gilgamesh.
In Tolkien’s Middle-earth, The Lord of the Rings is certainly comparable to Greece’s Iliad. However, the difference is that Homer – unlike Tolkien – did not have to invent an entire world’s evolution, geography, history and mythology before even beginning his tale of the Trojan War.
In The Battles of Tolkien we take a close-up view of the wars and battles that took place in Arda over its 37,000 years of history. We look into the forces, weaponry and tactics that came into play on these epic battlegrounds where the fate of Tolkien’s races, nations and civilizations were determined. These often invite comparisons to real-world battles and historic events as well as other literary and mythological ones.
The Elven city of Tirion
There have been other attempts to re-create the battles, combatants and battlegrounds. However, this book is unique in combining all these elements with a high level of artwork and a commentary that provides the reader with an understanding of J.R.R. Tolkien’s moral and philosophical perspective on these cataclysmic events. For as entertaining as it may be to examine Tolkien’s battles as a colourful series of war games, his dramatic accounts of these conflicts are so much more than variations of battles in a game of Dungeons & Dragons.
As we shall see, Tolkien’s wars are concerned with moral conflicts related to his view of the nature of good and evil. For, as he once observed: ‘Myth and fairy-story must
, as all art, reflect and contain in solution elements of moral and religious truth.’ And although battle lines in these wars are clearly drawn, they are not simplistic. As Elrond Half-elven explained: ‘Nothing is evil in the beginning. Even Sauron was not so.’ We are informed that ‘evil’ Orcs and Trolls were bred from ‘good’ Elves and Ents. And even Balrogs were once brilliant, angelic Maiar spirits of fire.
It is Tolkien’s moral philosophy, and his complex portrayal of the psychological nature of good and evil (a complexity most obviously portrayed in the split personality of Sméagol/Gollum), that makes these wars and battles so much more than a diverting drama about the deeds of heroes.
Tolkien’s wars are fought over the conflict inherent in the struggle between the morally just right to rule and the corruption implicit in a desire for power for its own sake. This, in turn, is based on a philosophical conflict resulting from a belief in the idea of free will coupled with the counter-intuitive belief in fate and a submission to a divine plan.
In the real world, Tolkien was a royalist in the Victorian sense that he believed in rule by a hereditary constitutional monarch. However, in his created world of Middle-earth, he accepts the medieval fairy-tale tradition of a right to rule based on the semi-divine descent of kings. This is combined with a perspective in keeping with the historian Thomas Carlyle’s view that the ‘history of the world is but the biography of great men’. For, certainly, at critical moments in Tolkien’s annals of Middle-earth, ‘great men’ (or women) inevitably arise (for good or ill) to shape the course of its history.
In The Lord of the Rings, Aragorn is the prototype of this hero who arises from relative obscurity, but by virtue of his courage – and an inherent ability to command – is able to seize the day and set the world to rights.
However, in Middle-earth, Tolkien tempers these tales of archetypical heroes with a much more human and humane view of the machinery of fate. In the War of the Ring, in particular, the tides of battles are turned not by the deeds of obvious heroes or villains, but by the action of the most unlikely and unheroic of individuals. Indeed, as Tolkien himself once stated: ‘the great policies of world history, “the wheels of the world”, are often turned not by the Lords and Governors, even gods, but by the seemingly unknown and weak.’ In Tolkien’s world, it is these accidental heroes who – by ‘chance’ or ‘luck’ – appear at pivotal moments and prove to be the true vehicles of what we may ultimately recognize as ‘destiny’ or ‘fate’.
One word of caution about the maps in The Battles of Tolkien: they are works of art born of the imagination of creative artists, informed by J.R.R. Tolkien’s books. These maps are illustrations that are no less interpretative of sources than other original illustrations of the characters, creatures and landscapes in this book – and therefore can be seen as well informed, but not authoritative.
All in all, the maps, illustrations, charts and commentaries in The Battles of Tolkien are meant as guides and aids to the reading and comprehension of Tolkien’s works. However, they are no substitute for reading the full and vivid accounts of these epic battles in the original texts. Consequently, for each battle, references are given back to the original texts and principal sources in J.R.R. Tolkien’s books.
* This estimation of 37,000 years is based on one early version of Tolkien’s own chronology. However, there is another (and possibly earlier) account by Tolkien that suggests a 57,000-year history. That said, the disputed 20,000 years occur so early in Arda’s history that virtually no specific events take place. Consequently, I have chosen to stick with Tolkien’s first published time span.
J.R.R. TOLKIEN AT WAR
War is a constant aspect of J.R.R. Tolkien’s imaginary world. This was undoubtedly related to his experience of two world wars and his studies of European literature (particularly Anglo-Saxon epic poetry) and ancient European military history.
•1914 Britain declares war on Germany. Tolkien defers enlistment until he can complete his degree.
•1915 Enlists in the volunteer army and is commissioned as a second lieutenant in the 13th Lancashire Fusiliers. Trains as a signalling officer.
•1916 Travels to France for further signals training. Transferred to the 11th Lancashire Fusiliers. Participates in two offences in the Battle of the Somme in which over a million Allied and Axis soldiers are slaughtered. Invalided home with ‘trench fever’ – probably saving his life.
•1917 Tolkien continues to suffer from severe typhoid-like symptoms of trench fever. Begins writing Siege of Gondolin and other tales of what will eventually become The Silmarillion.
•1918 Tolkien remains partially invalided in Britain, where he is posted to home service camps. Promoted to lieutenant.
•1920 Awarded the post of Reader in English Language at the University of Leeds.
•1925 Appointed Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford; holds post for the next 20 years.
•1937 Publication of The Hobbit.
•1938 Begins sequel to The Hobbit that slowly evolves into The Lord of the Rings.
•1939–1945 The Second World War. Tolkien describes Hitler as a ‘ruddy little ignoramus’ for ruining and perverting the noble northern spirit of Germanic tradition. Tolkien continues to write The Lord of the Rings. Two of his sons, Michael and Christopher, see military service. Michael is injured during training as an aircraft gunner, but survives. War ends in Europe: then Japan. Tolkien is horrified and stunned by news of the detonation of the first atomic bombs. He considers it utter folly.
•1954–1955 Publication of The Lord of the Rings.
•1977 Publication of The Silmarillion.
BATTLES
OF THE
VALARIAN
AGES
The creation of Arda
WAR IN HEAVEN
In The Silmarillion, Tolkien presents the reader with the genesis of his universe, in which there is a great battle before the beginning of time and the actual creation of his world. Such a conflict, Tolkien informs us, is essential to any tale: ‘There cannot be any “story” without a fall – all stories are ultimately about the fall.’ And so, right from the conception of his cosmogony, his model of the origin of the universe, ‘there is a fall: a fall of Angels’.
In this portrayal of a war in heaven fought by angelic powers, Tolkien is drawing on a theme common to the origin myths of most of the world’s great belief systems. In Christianity, it has its origin in the Revelation to John, in which the angels, led into battle by the Archangel Michael, defeat the fallen angels of Satan who are thrown down from the heavens.
The Creator in Tolkien’s cosmos is Eru the One, whose angels are the offspring of his thought, and are known as the Ainur, the Holy Ones. His satanic angel is Melkor, whose name means ‘He Who Arises in Might’; while Manwë, ‘the Blessed One’, is the Ainu equivalent of the Archangel Michael. And the battleground for this conflict was an eternal dimension, created by Eru Ilúvatar, the Father of All, known as the Timeless Halls.
Like Tolkien’s Ainur, war among St John’s angels is interpreted as a battle in heaven fought at the beginning of time – which was (again as in Tolkien) believed to mirror another great battle at the end of time. And well beyond the specific textual references to Revelation, this theme of a war among angels is strongly supported by passages in the Hebrew Bible, and in extensive portrayals of angels battling in heaven throughout centuries of Christian art.
In literature, the war in heaven has been most famously portrayed in John Milton’s Paradise Lost, in which Lucifer leads an army of rebel angels against God, only to be defeated and hurled down from the heavens. In Tolkien, it is Melkor who rebels against Eru in the Timeless Halls. Both these struggles relate to the moral forces inherent in creation that foreshadow the wars and battles of a world yet to come. Tolkien’s account is totally original and differs from every other creation myth: his war in heaven is fought as a battle of voices in an angelic choir, the Ainur, as they perform the great music conceived by
Eru the One.
In the Music of the Ainur, there arises an element of strife led by Melkor, which becomes a war of sound: a mighty conflict of opposing themes of harmony and discord that weaves the future of Arda. Ultimately, in Tolkien’s cosmos, music is the organizing principle behind all creation.
Yet, as original as Tolkien’s Music of the Ainur is as a creation myth, its conception is entirely consistent with another ancient theme known as the Music of the Spheres. This is one of the oldest and most sustained themes in European intellectual life: a belief in a metaphysical musico-mathematical system attributed to the ancient Greek mystic Pythagoras and the philosopher Plato that was central to art and science for more than two thousand years. The Music of the Spheres was a sublimely harmonious system of a cosmos guided by a supreme intelligence that was preordained and eternal.
Although belief in this system has faded since the Industrial Revolution and the advancements of science, even during Tolkien’s lifetime – and since – this grand theme has inspired composers and artists as an expression of celestial harmony and a sense of order in the universe.
In Tolkien, the Music of the Ainur is a prehistory of his world that foretells all the wars in the coming civilizations of Elves and Men, a system that, as with the Music of the Spheres, both allows the existence of free will and presupposes that, at the beginning of time, all future battles between the forces of good and evil are encoded within a celestial music.
THE
FIRST
WAR
DATE: AGES OF THE VALAR
LOCATION: ARDA
