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{{otheruses4|the fictional character|the band|Morgoth (band)}} {{Short description|Fictional character in Tolkien's legendarium}}
{{About|the fictional character|the band|Morgoth (band)}}
{{Middle-earth portal}}'''Morgoth Bauglir''' (originally known as '''Melkor''') is a ] from ]’s ] ].
{{good article}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2022}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2022}}
{{Infobox character
| name = Morgoth
| series = ]
| aliases = {{Plainlist|
* Melkor (originally)
* Arun (in the old tales of the Númenóreans)
* Moringotto
* Bauglir
}}
| race = ]
| lbl24 = Book(s)
| data24 = '']''<br />'']''<br />'']''<br />'']''<br />'']''<br />'']''
}}


'''Morgoth Bauglir''' ({{IPA-art|ˈmɔrɡɔθ ˈbau̯ɡlir|}}; originally '''Melkor''' {{IPA-art|ˈmɛlkor|}}) is a character, one of the godlike ] and the primary antagonist of ], the mythic epic published in parts as '']'', '']'', '']'', and '']''.
==Character overview==
Morgoth was one of the ], a race of divine beings similar to ]s, the 15 most powerful of which later became the ]. Melkor was the brother of their king, ]. In the histories of the Middle-earth, Morgoth played "the great enemy," the ultimate ] of ]. ], Tolkien's better-known villain, was one of the ] and a servant to the original "Dark Lord", Morgoth.


Melkor is the most powerful of the Valar but he turns to darkness and is renamed Morgoth, the primary antagonist of ]. All evil in the world of ] ultimately stems from him. One of the ] of ] betrays his kind and becomes Morgoth's principal lieutenant and successor, ].
A character that appeared in person in '']'' and '']'', Morgoth is of critical importance to the entire Tolkien cycle. The personification of ] in Middle-earth, Morgoth provided later generations with moral warnings against the ]s of pride, lust for power, and greed, as well as the fall from grace and destruction in which these sins result. His story also accounts for the existence of evil in otherwise innocent people's lives in that it rationalizes (to an extent) the pain the characters of Middle-earth must suffer. In these respects his role is similar to that of ] in ].


Melkor has been interpreted as analogous to ], once the greatest of all God's angels, ], but fallen through ]; he rebels against his creator. Morgoth has likewise been likened to ]'s ] in '']'', again a Satan-figure. ] has written that ''The Silmarillion'' maps the ] with its creation and its fall, even Melkor having begun with good intentions. ] has commented that Tolkien used the Norse god ] to create aspects of several characters, the wizard ] getting some of his good characteristics, while Morgoth gets his destructiveness, malevolence, and deceit. ] writes that the central temptation is the desire to possess, something that ironically afflicts two of the greatest figures in the legendarium, Melkor and ].
== The name ==
'''''Morgoth''''' came from Tolkien's invented language of ] and means "The Dark Enemy"; '''''Bauglir''''' is also Sindarin, meaning "Tyrant" or "Oppressor".<ref>Roots MOR- 'black', KOTH- 'strife, enmity' and MBAW- 'compell, oppress'. Fëanor actually named him in ] (another of Tolkien's languages), ''Moriñgotho'', and later this was translated in Sindarin as ''Morgoth''.</ref> "Morgoth Bauglir" is actually an ]. His name as first mentioned in '']'' (the creation story of Middle-earth and first section of ''The Silmarillion'') is '''''Melkor''''', which means 'He Who Arises In Might' in Quenya.<ref>Roots BEL(EK)- 'strong' and ORO- 'rise'. The form of the name in ancient Quenya was ''Mbelekōro''; also a variant form of Melkor is recorded as ''Melko'', simply meaning 'Mighty (One)'.</ref> But this too is an epithet since he, like all the Ainur, had another ''true name'' in ] (the language of the Ainur before Time), but this name was not recorded. The Sindarin equivalent of ''Melkor'' was '''Belegûr''', but it was never used; instead a deliberately resembling name '''Belegurth''', meaning 'Great Death', was employed, though still rarely.


== Name ==
The character was not properly called ‘Morgoth’ until he is given the name by ] of the ]. This occurred in the ], after Melkor destroyed the ] and stole the ]s. Prior to this point, he was only called Melkor, and the ] called him that name alone. (see "History" below)


The name ''Morgoth'' is ] (one of Tolkien's ]) and means "Dark Enemy" or "Black Foe".<ref group=T name="Morgoth's Ring">{{harvnb|Tolkien|1993}}, pp. 194, 294</ref> ''Bauglir'' is also Sindarin, meaning "Tyrant" or "Oppressor".<ref group=T name="Etymologies">{{harvnb|Tolkien|1987}}, "]"</ref> "Morgoth Bauglir" is thus an ]. His name in '']'' (the ] of Middle-earth and first section of ''The Silmarillion'') is ''Melkor'', which means "He Who Arises in Might" in Quenya.<ref group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1977}}, Index entry for "Melkor"</ref><ref group=T name="Etymologies"/> This too is an epithet, since he, like all the Valar, had another ] in ] (in the ], the language of the Valar before the beginning of Time), but this name is not recorded. The Sindarin equivalent of ''Melkor'' is ''Belegûr'', but it is never used; instead, a deliberately similar name, ''Belegurth'', meaning "Great Death", is employed.<ref group=T name="VolXII">{{harvnb|Tolkien|1996}} p. 358</ref> Another form of his name is Melko, simply meaning "Mighty One".<ref group=T name="Morgoth's Ring"/>
Like Sauron, he had a host of other titles: Lord of the Dark, the Dark Power of the North, and Great Enemy. The ] called him the Dark King and the Dark Power; the ]s corrupted by Sauron called him the Lord of All and the Giver of Freedom.


Like ], he has a host of other titles: ], the Dark Power of the North, the Black Hand, and Great Enemy. The ], the Men of ], call him the Dark King and the Dark Power; the Númenóreans corrupted by Sauron call him the Lord of All and the Giver of Freedom. He is called "Master of Lies" by one of the Edain, Amlach.<ref group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1977}}, ch. 17 "Of the Coming of Men into the West"</ref>
==History==
===''Ainulindalë''===


Melkor is renamed "Morgoth" when he destroys the ], murders ], the High King of the ] Elves, and steals the ]s in the ].<ref name="Unchaining" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1977}}, "Quenta Silmarillion", ch. 6 "Of Fëanor and the Unchaining of Melkor"</ref><ref name="Flight of the Noldor" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1977}}, "Quenta Silmarillion", ch. 9 "Of the Flight of the Noldor"</ref>
Before the creation of ] (The World), Melkor was the most powerful of the ]. He contended with ] (]), via the ]. Melkor was jealous of his father, and wanted to create and rule other ] himself. He spent a long time looking for the '']'' (also called the “Flame Imperishable”).


== Fictional history ==
Unlike his fellow-Ainu ], Melkor was too proud to admit that his creations were simply discoveries wholly made possible by, and therefore “belonging” to, Eru. Instead, Melkor aspired to the level of Eru; the true Creator of all possibilities.


{{further|The Silmarillion}}
During the Great Music of the Ainur, Melkor attempted to alter the Music and introduce what he believed to be elements purely of his own design. As part of these efforts, he drew many weaker-willed Ainur to him — creating a counter to Eru’s main ]. Ironically, these attempts did not, as he hoped, truly subvert the Music, but only further elaborate and beautify Eru’s original intentions: the Music of Eru took on a depth and beauty precisely because of the strife and sadness Melkor’s disharmonies (and their rectification) introduced.


=== ''Ainulindalë'' and ''Valaquenta'' ===
Since the Great Music of the Ainur stood as template for all of history and all of material creation in the Middle-earth cycle (it was first sung before Time, and then the ] was made in its image), there was an aspect of everything in Middle-earth that came of Melkor’s meddling – everything had been somewhat "polluted."


Before the creation of ] and ] (The Universe and the World), Melkor is the most powerful of the ], the "angelic beings" created by ]. Melkor, dissatisfied that Eru had abandoned the Void, seeks to emulate his creator and fill the Void with sentient beings. This, however, requires the Flame Imperishable, the ], which belongs to Eru alone; Melkor cannot find it. He contends with Eru in the ], introducing themes of his own.<ref group=T name=Ainulindalë">{{harvnb|Tolkien|1977}}, "]"</ref> He draws many weaker-willed Ainur to him. Ironically, these attempts do not truly subvert the Music, but elaborate Eru's original intentions: the Music of Eru takes on depth and beauty through the strife and sadness Melkor's disharmonies introduce. Unlike ], Melkor is too proud to admit that his creations are made possible entirely by Eru. Instead, Melkor aspires to rival Eru.<ref group=T name=Ainulindalë"/>
===''Quenta Silmarillion''===
After the Creation, many Ainur entered into ]. The most powerful of them were called the ], or Powers of the World; the lesser, who acted as their followers and assistants, were the ]. They immediately set about the ordering the universe and ] within it, according to the themes of Eru as best they understood them. Melkor and his followers entered Eä as well, and they set about ruining and undoing whatever the others did.


In an early draft, Tolkien has the Elf ] state that "there is nothing more powerful that is conceivable than Melkor, save Eru only".<ref group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1993|p=322}}</ref> In '']'', Eru Ilúvatar similarly states that "Mighty are the Ainur, and mightiest among them is Melkor".<ref group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1977|page=6}}</ref>
For each of the Valar there was a particular aspect of the world which most attracted their interest and became the focus of their powers. Melkor’s 'natural province' was in the area of terrible extremes and violence — bitter cold, scorching heat, ]s, rendings, breakings, utter darkness, burning light etc. His power was so great that the Valar were unable to restrain him, and until the entrance into Eä of the Vala ], which tipped the balance in their favor, it seemed as if Arda would never achieve a stable form.


Since the Great Music stands as template for all of material creation, the chaos introduced by Melkor's disharmonies is responsible for all evil. Everything in Middle-earth is tainted by his influence.<ref group=T name=Ainulindalë"/> In '']'', Tolkien draws an analogy between the ], into which ] commits much of his power, and all of Arda – "Morgoth's Ring" – which contains and is corrupted by Melkor's power until the Remaking of the World.<ref group=T name="MR_p. 398–401">{{harvnb|Tolkien|1993}}, pp. 398–401</ref> The ''Valaquenta'' tells how Melkor seduced many of the minor Ainur, the ], into his service.<ref group=T name=Valaquenta">{{harvnb|Tolkien|1977}}, "Valaquenta"</ref>
Driven out by Tulkas, Melkor brooded in the darkness at the outer reaches of Arda until an opportune moment arrived when Tulkas was distracted. He re-entered Arda and attacked and destroyed the ], which at the time were the only sources of light. Arda was plunged into darkness, and island of ], the first home of the Valar on Earth, was destroyed in the violence of the lamps' fall.


{| class="wikitable" style="margin: 1em auto;"
After the fall of the Lamps, the Valar withdrew into the land of ] in the far West. The country where they settled was called ], which they heavily fortified. Melkor held dominion over Middle-earth from his fortress of ] in the Northeast.
|-
|+ Tolkien's comparison of "Morgoth's Ring" with Sauron's ]<ref group=T name="MR_p. 398–401"/>
! style="width: 60px;" | &nbsp;
! style="width: 275px;" | ]
! style="width: 275px;" | Morgoth
|-
! Action
| Put much of his power into the ]
| "Melkor 'incarnated' himself (as Morgoth) permanently"; Transmuted "the greater part of his original 'angelic' powers, of mind and spirit"
|-
! Purpose
| Gain power over the other ], and over the physical world
| Gain "a terrible grip upon the physical world", the ability "to control the ''hroa'', the 'flesh' or physical matter, of Arda."
|-
! Effect
| Power "concentrated" in the One Ring
| Power "disseminated" through "the whole of ]"
|-
! Outcome
| Utterly eradicated when the One Ring is destroyed
| Eradication not possible; probable "irretrievable ruin of ]" by fighting Morgoth
|}


=== ''Quenta Silmarillion'' ===
Melkor’s first reign ended after the Elves, the eldest of the ], awoke at the shores of ], and the Valar resolved to rescue them from his malice. The Valar made immediate and devastating war on Melkor, and destroyed Utumno. Melkor was bound in a specially forged chain, ], and brought to Valinor where he was imprisoned in the ] for three ].


After the Creation, many Ainur enter into ]. The most powerful of them are the ], the Powers of the World; the lesser, the Maiar, act as their followers and assistants. They set about the ordering of the universe and Arda within it, as they understand the themes of Eru. Melkor and his followers enter Eä as well, but he is frustrated that his colleagues do not recognize him as leader of the new realm, despite his great knowledge. In anger and shame, Melkor sets about ruining and undoing whatever the others do.<ref name="Beginning of Days" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1977}}, ch. 1, "Of the Beginning of Days"</ref>
In the published ''Silmarillion'', Melkor captured a number of Elves before the Valar attacked him, and he ]d and corrupted them, breeding the first ]s.<ref>{{ME-ref|Sil|p. 50}}</ref><ref>{{Me-ref|MR|pp. 72-73}}</ref> But other versions of the story written both before and after the published text state that the Orcs are soulless beings animated solely by the will of their evil lord. This latter version is associated with the idea of Morgoth dispersing himself into the world he marred, and that his creations were mere imitations, and it also provides a moral basis for the killing of Orcs without compunction.{{ME-fact}} In other accounts, Tolkien says that Morgoth bred the Orcs from ], whose awakening is then placed not long after the that of the Elves.<ref>{{ME-ref|MR|pp. 416-21}}</ref>


Each of the Valar is attracted to a particular aspect of the world. Melkor is drawn to extremes and violence—bitter cold, scorching heat, earthquakes, darkness, burning light. His power is so great that at first the Valar cannot restrain him; he contends with their collective might. Arda is unstable until the Vala ] enters Eä and tips the balance.<ref name="Beginning of Days" group=T/>
After Melkor was released, he was ]d to Valinor even though he was not entirely trusted even by some of the Valar.<ref>{{ME-ref|Sil|p. 66}}</ref> He made a pretense of humility and virtue, but was secretly plotting to do what harm he could to the Elves, whose awakening he blamed for his defeat. The ], wisest of the three kindreds of Elves that had relocated to Valinor, were most vulnerable to his plots, since he had much knowledge they eagerly sought, and while instructing them he also awoke unrest and discontent among them. When the Valar became aware of it they sent Tulkas to arrest him, but Melkor had already escaped. With the aid of ], a dark spirit in the form of a monstrous ], he destroyed the ], slew the King of the Noldor ], and stole the three ]s, jewels made by Finwë’s son ] which were filled with the light of the Trees. On receiving news of this, Fëanor named him ''Morgoth'', "Black Foe of the World", and the Eldar knew him by this name alone afterward.<ref>{{ME-ref|Sil|p. 79}}</ref>


]'s ''Atlas of Middle-earth'']]
Back in Middle-earth, Morgoth resumed his reign in the North, this time in ], which had been his lesser fortress before, and not as completely destroyed as Utumno. He rebuilt it, and raised above it the ] triple peak of ]. The Silmarils he set into a crown of iron, which he wore at all times. Fëanor and most of the Noldor pursued him, along the way committing the ] and incurring the ]. On arriving in ], the region of Middle-earth nearest Angband, the Noldor established kingdoms and made war on Morgoth. Soon afterward, the Sun and the Moon arose for the first time, and Men awoke if they had not done so already. The major battles of the ensuing war included the ] (Battle Under the Stars, fought before the first rising of the Moon), ] (Glorious Battle), ] (Battle of Sudden Flame) at which the long-standing ] was broken, and the battle of ] (Unnumbered Tears) when the armies of the Noldor and the ] were routed and the men of the East joined Morgoth. Over the next several decades, Morgoth destroyed the remaining Elven kingdoms, reducing their domain to an island in the ] to which many ] had fled, and a small settlement at the ] under the protection of ].


Driven out by Tulkas, Melkor broods in darkness, until Tulkas is distracted. Melkor destroys the Two Lamps and the Valar's land of Almaren. Arda is plunged into darkness and fire, and Melkor withdraws to Middle-earth. In later versions, Melkor also disperses agents throughout Arda, digging deep into the earth and constructing great pits and fortresses, as Arda is marred by darkness and rivers of fire.<ref name="Beginning of Days" group=T/>
After Nírnaeth Arnoediad but before the destruction of the Elves' strongholds, the Man ] and ] the daughter of ] entered Angband and recovered a Silmaril from Morgoth’s crown. It was inherited by their granddaughter Elwing, who came to be among those dwelling at the Mouths of Sirion. Her husband ], wearing it on his brow, sailed across the sea to Valinor, where he pled with the Valar to liberate Middle-earth from Morgoth.


The Valar withdraw into ] in the far West. The country where they settle is called ], which they heavily fortify. Melkor holds dominion over Middle-earth from his fortress of ] in the North.<ref name="Beginning of Days" group=T/> His first reign ends after the Elves, the eldest of the ], awake at the shores of ], and the Valar resolve to rescue them from his malice. Melkor captures some Elves before the Valar attack. He ]s and corrupts them, breeding the first ].<ref group=T name="Coming of the Elves">{{harvnb|Tolkien|1977}}, ch. 3 "Of the Coming of the Elves and the Captivity of Melkor"</ref><ref group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1993}}, pp. 72-73</ref> Other versions describe ] of ], or as soulless beings animated solely by the will of their evil lord. His fortress Utumno disperses deathly cold and brings on an endless winter in the North; for the sake of the Elves, the Valar wage a seven-year war with Melkor, defeating him after laying siege to Utumno. These battles further mar Arda. Tulkas defeats Melkor, binds him with a specially forged chain, Angainor, and brings him to Valinor. He is imprisoned in the ] for three ages.<ref group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1993}}, pp. 416-421</ref>
During the ensuing ], ] and much of the north of Middle-earth was destroyed and reshaped. In the end, Morgoth was utterly defeated. His armies were almost entirely slaughtered. The ] were almost all destroyed, and Thangorodrim was shattered when Eärendil slew the greatest of them, ], who crashed upon it as he fell. Those few remaining dragons were scattered, and the handful of surviving Balrogs hid themselves deep within the earth. Morgoth fled into the deepest pit and begged for pardon, but his feet were cut from under him, his crown was made into a collar, and he was chained once again with Angainor. The Valar exiled him permanently from the world, thrusting him through the ] into the void, and he is not expected to return until the prophesied ] when he is expected to meet his final destruction. His evil remained, however, as “Arda Marred," and his will influenced all living creatures.


Upon his release, Melkor is paroled to Valinor, though a few of the Valar continue to mistrust him.<ref name="Unchaining" group=T/> He pretends humility and virtue, but secretly plots harm toward the Elves, whose awakening he blames for his defeat. The Noldor, most skilled of the ] that had come to Valinor, are most vulnerable to his plots, since they are eager for his knowledge. While instructing them, he awakens unrest and discontent among them. When the Valar become aware of this, they send Tulkas to arrest him, but Melkor has already fled. With the aid of ], a dark spirit in the form of a monstrous ], he destroys the ], kills ], the King of the Noldor, and steals the three ]s, jewels made by Finwë's son ], filled with the light of the Trees. Fëanor thereupon names him ''Morgoth'', "Black Foe", and the Elves know him by this name alone afterwards.<ref name="Flight of the Noldor" group=T/>
===''Children of Húrin''===
{{main|Children of Húrin}}
This book is a more complete version of events summarized in ''Quenta Silmarillion''. ] along with his younger brother ] are leaders of the ], one of the three kindred of elf-friends. At '']'' they covered the escape of ] to ] by sacrificing their army and themselves. Huor was slain, but Húrin was brought before Morgoth alive. In revenge for his aid to Turgon and his defiance, Morgoth cursed both Húrin and his children, binding Húrin to a seat upon Thangorodrim and forcing him to see all that happened to his children in the succeeding years. There is little additional information about Morgoth in this book, except what is found in the encounter between him and Húrin, which is set out in more detail than in ''The Silmarillion'' and in a more connected narrative than in ''Unfinished Tales''. It is the first allusion in such a narrative to some earlier corruption of Men by Morgoth soon after their awakening, and the assertion by Morgoth of dominion over the entire Earth by virtue of his influence.


{{anchor|Angband}}
==Appearance and characteristics==
{{dablink|For the characteristics of all the divine characters of Middle-earth, see ]}}


] at the top. The ] on the right of the map are on extreme left of the ], marking the part of Beleriand not destroyed at the end of the ].]]
The Ainu Melkor could initially take any shape, but his first recorded form was "...as a mountain that wades in the sea and has its head above the clouds and is clad in ice and crowned with smoke and fire; and the light of the eyes of Melkor was like a flame that withers with heat and pierces with a deadly cold."<ref>{{Me-ref|Silm|p. 22}}</ref> At the time he slew the Two Trees and stole the Silmarils, he took to himself the shape of the great Dark Lord: gigantic and terrifying. The diminution of his power in this time and his own desire for lordship destroyed his ability to freely change shape, and in effect he became bound to this one, terrible form. His hands were burned by the theft of the Silmarils, and never healed. The one time he emerged, to fight ], he suffered several wounds, including one to the foot which left him with a permanent limp. At the end of this battle, ], the great ], swooped down and scarred Morgoth's face with his talons, a wound that also never healed. In battle he wore black armour and wielded ], the Hammer of the Underworld. Mordor's great battering ram was named after this weapon. He also wielded a black spear, and in early texts a poison sword.


Morgoth resumes his rule in the North of Middle-earth, this time in the half-ruined fortress of Angband. He rebuilds it, and raises above it the volcanic triple peak of ]. The Silmarils he sets into a crown of iron, which he wears at all times. Fëanor and most of the Noldor pursue him, along the way slaying their kin the ] and incurring the ]. On arriving in ], the Noldor establish kingdoms and make war on Morgoth. Soon, the Sun and the Moon rise for the first time,<ref group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1977}}, ch. 11, "Of the Sun and Moon"</ref> and Men awake.<ref group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1977}}, ch. 12, "Of Men"</ref> The major battles include the ] (Battle Under the Stars, fought before the first rising of the Moon), ] (Glorious Battle),<ref group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1977}}, ch. 13, "Of the Return of the Noldor"</ref> ] (Battle of Sudden Flame) at which the Siege of Angband is broken,<ref group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1977}}, ch. 18, "Of the Ruin of Beleriand"</ref> and the battle of Nírnaeth Arnoediad (Unnumbered Tears) when the armies of the Noldor and the ] are routed and the men of the East join Morgoth.<ref group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1977}}, ch. 20, "Of the Fifth Battle: Nirnaeth Arnoediad"</ref> Over the next several decades, Morgoth destroys the remaining Elven kingdoms, reducing their domain to an island of refugees in the Bay of Balar, and a small settlement at the ] under the protection of ].<ref group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1977}}, ch. 22, "Of the Ruin of Doriath"</ref><ref group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1977}}, ch. 23, "Of the Fall of Gondolin"</ref>
Melkor's powers were originally immense – greater than those of any other single Ainu. He shared a part of the powers of every other Vala, but unlike them used it for domination of the whole of Arda. To accomplish this Morgoth dispersed his being throughout Arda, tainting its very fabric of Arda; and only Aman was free of it. This resulted in his person becoming ever more diminished and restricted.


Before the Nírnaeth Arnoediad, the Man ] and the Elf ] enter Angband and recover a Silmaril from Morgoth's crown after Luthien's singing sends him to sleep. It is inherited by their granddaughter Elwing, who joins those dwelling at the Mouths of Sirion. Her husband ], wearing the Silmaril on his brow, sails across the sea to Valinor, where he pleads with the Valar to liberate Middle-earth from Morgoth.<ref group=T name="Of Beren and Lúthien">{{harvnb|Tolkien|1977}}, ch. 19 "Of Beren and Lúthien"</ref>
] was beyond Morgoth’s understanding, as was courage; as he alone of the Valar bound himself to a physical (and therefore destructible) body, he alone of the Valar knew fear.


During the ensuing ], ] is destroyed. Morgoth summons many Men to his side during the fifty-year conflict, the longest and bloodiest in Arda's history. Morgoth is utterly defeated. Thangorodrim is shattered when Eärendil kills the greatest of dragons, ], who crashes upon it as he falls. The few remaining dragons are scattered, and the few surviving ] hide themselves deep within the earth. Morgoth flees into the deepest pit and begs for pardon, but his feet are cut from under him, his crown is made into a collar, and he is chained once again with Angainor. The Valar exile him permanently from the world, thrusting him through the Door of Night into the void until the prophesied Dagor Dagorath, when he will meet his final destruction. But his evil remains, and his will influences all living creatures.<ref group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1977}}, ch. 24, "Of the Voyage of Eärendil and the War of Wrath"</ref>
==Politics and followers==
Morgoth considers himself "Master of the Fates of Arda," and thinks himself the universe's rightful king.


=== ''Children of Húrin'' ===
Because he was the most powerful creature in Arda, many "flocked to his banner." Morgoth's chief servants were certain Maiar he corrupted or monsters he created: Sauron, later the Dark Lord of ] and his chief servant; ], the Lord of ]s and High-Captain of Angband; ], the Father of ]; ] "the Black", greatest of the Winged Dragons; ], the mightiest wolf that ever lived; ], Sire of ]; and ], Sauron's ] messenger.


{{main|The Children of Húrin}}
Melkor was aided in destroying the Two Trees by Ungoliant, a ] in spider form. However, this allegiance was temporary; when Melkor refused to feed the Simarils to Ungoliant, she attacked him. He had spread his power and malice too thinly and had thus weakened himself too much to fight back, and so was forced to call upon the Balrogs to save him.


In this more complete version of a story summarized in '']'', ] and his younger brother Huor are leaders of the House of Hador, one of the three kindred of elf-friends. At ''Nírnaeth Arnoediad'' they cover the escape of Turgon to ] by sacrificing their army and themselves. Huor is slain, but Húrin is brought before Morgoth alive. As revenge for his aid to Turgon and his defiance, Morgoth curses Húrin and his children, binding Húrin to a seat upon Thangorodrim and forcing him to witness all that happens (using Morgoth's long sight) to his children in the succeeding years. The encounter with Húrin, is set out in more detail than in ''The Silmarillion'', and in a more connected narrative than in '']''. It gives the first allusion to the corruption of Men by Morgoth soon after their awakening, and the assertion by Morgoth of his power over the entire Earth through "the shadow of my purpose".<ref group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|2007}}, ch. 3, "The Words of Húrin and Morgoth"</ref>
When the race of Men awoke, Morgoth (or his servant, depending on text consulted) temporarily left Angband to live among them: some men worshipped him, banning Ilúvatar from their hearts. The ] (Fathers of Men) were those Men who repented and fled West toward the rumour of the Valar, but Morgoth and his servants had many legions of fallen Men at his service regardless.<ref>See esp. '']'': ''Tale of Adanel''.</ref>


=== ''The Lord of the Rings'' ===
Morgoth was known to have betrayed his own servants: e.g., after the Noldor were defeated, he confined all Men in his service to the lands of ], forbidding them to enter Beleriand, their promised reward. Since he could never fully conquer Men, he could never really trust them.


Melkor is mentioned briefly in the chapter "A Knife in the Dark" in '']'', where ] sings the story of ] and briefly recounts the role of Morgoth ("the Great Enemy") in the wider history of the Silmarils.<ref group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1954a}}, book 1, ch. 11 "A Knife in the Dark"</ref>
==Character development and history==


== Development ==
In the early versions of Tolkien's stories, Melkor/Morgoth was not seen as the most powerful Ainu. He is described as being equal in power to Manwë, chief of the Valar in Arda.<ref>{{Me-ref|LROW|''Quenta Silmarillion'', p. 206}}</ref> But his power increased in later revisions of the story until he became the most powerful Ainu,<ref>''The Lost Road and Other Writings'': ''Ainulindalë'', pp. 157, 164.</ref> and then (in a late essay), more powerful than all of the Valar combined. His character thus developed from being a standout among equals (by virtue of his wickedness and rebelliousness), to being invincible with regards to all the others: no created beings in the universe have the power in themselves — alone or united — to utterly defeat Morgoth.<ref>''Morgoth's Ring'', pp. 390-393.</ref>


In the early versions of Tolkien's stories, Melkor/Morgoth is not seen as the most powerful of the Valar. He is described as being equal in power to ], chief of the Valar in Arda.<ref group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1977}}, "Valaquenta", "Of the Enemies"</ref> But his power increases in later revisions of the story until he becomes the most powerful among them,<ref group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1977}}, '']''</ref> and in a late essay more powerful than all of the other Valar combined. He develops from a standout among equals into a being so powerful that the other created beings could not utterly defeat him.<ref group=T name="MR_ pp. 390-393">{{harvnb|Tolkien|1993}}, pp. 390-393</ref>
In the course of the literary development of his legendarium, Tolkien altered both the conception of this fallen Ainu and his name. The name given to him by the Noldor (Morgoth) was present since the first stories, otherwise he was for a long time called ''Melko'', which was later preserved as a variant form. The Sindarin equivalent of this was a matter of hesitation, appearing as ''Belcha'', ''Melegor'', and ''Moeleg'', and so was the meaning of the name, considered to be related in different times to ''milka'' 'greedy' or ''velka'' 'flame'.<ref>''The Lost Road and Other Writings'': ''The Etymologies'', p. 373, root MIL-IK-.</ref><ref>{{Me-ref|BoLT|p. 260}}</ref> Similarly the 'Old English translations' devised by Tolkien differ in sense: Melko is rendered as ''Orgel'' 'Pride' and Morgoth as ''Sweart-ós'' 'Black God'.<ref>{{Me-ref|SoMe|pp. 281-283}}</ref> Once Morgoth is given a particular 'sphere' of powers: in the early ''Tale of Turambar'' Tinwelint (precursor of ]) names him "the Vala of Iron".<ref>{{Me-ref|BoLT2|''Turambar and the Foalókë'', p. 73}}</ref>


Over time, Tolkien altered both the conception of this character and his name. The name given by Fëanor, Morgoth, was present from the first stories; he was for a long time also called ''Melko''. Tolkien vacillated over the Sindarin equivalent of this, which appeared as ''Belcha'', ''Melegor'', and ''Moeleg''. The meaning of the name also varied, related in different times to ''milka'' ("greedy") or ''velka'' ("flame").<ref group=T name="Etymologies"/><ref group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1984}}, p. 260</ref> Similarly the ] translations devised by Tolkien differ in sense: Melko is rendered as ''Orgel'' ("Pride") and Morgoth as ''Sweart-ós'' ("Black God").<ref group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1986}}, pp. 281-283</ref> Morgoth is once given a particular sphere of interest: in the early ''Tale of Turambar'', Tinwelint (precursor of ]) names him "the Vala of Iron".<ref group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1984b}}, "Turambar and the Foalókë", p. 73</ref>
Much of the text published in ''The Silmarillion'' was drawn from earlier, more completely written, drafts of the mythology and thus in places seems to advance the older conception of Morgoth's power; there is less discussion of Melkor/Morgoth's marring of all Arda by diluting himself throughout it. In other sections, such as the 1950s draft used for ''Ainulindalë'', the implication of his "total" power remains clear. While not included in the published 'Silmarillion', the final passages of all other versions of the mythology state that Melkor will escape the guardianship of ] and return at the end of time. In the final battle, Melkor will be slain by ] with his famous black sword.


=="The Morgoth"== == Interpretation ==
In late writings a distinction is made between the ''Ainu Melkor'', the most powerful of Eru’s created beings, and ''The Morgoth'', the diminished being that styled itself Dark Lord of Arda. This distinction is not limited to a name-change only (‘Arises in Might’ to ‘Dark Enemy’).


=== Satanic figure ===
As described in the “Ainulindalë”, Melkor’s musical disruptions marred the Music of the Ainur in ]. Melkor’s thematic variations in that Music amounted to his own self-elaboration (each Ainu is, in its conception, the ‘concretization’ of a divine theme, existing beforehand only in the mind of Eru). Eä, or the World that Is, mirrors the Music. Thus, the evil that Melkor weaves into the Music was mirrored in Eä by the evil he wove into the fabric of reality. As a result, the world ] was "Marred": the conceptions of the Valar never came about, and Melkor's very essence was present in all creation.


{{further|Christianity in Middle-earth|Hell and Middle-earth}}
Part and parcel with Melkor’s inability to perform true creation was the idea that something of his actual being must pass into the things he ‘created’, in order to give them an effective substance and reality. That is, he could not create a new thing, but he could create a parody of an already-existing thing by cutting off, as it were, a piece of his own being and using it as the clay to make his false creations. From his ]s to the Sun (which was made from a flower from a Tree poisoned by Ungoliant, and was thus itself imperfect), Melkor’s being was diffused throughout the material (and immaterial) universe, as a kind of ] element. Melkor — in his individuated being — was diminished as a consequence. He was reduced to Morgoth, the “Dark Enemy” or, more exactly, “Dreadful Dark”.


{{multiple image
Morgoth, once the most powerful being in Eä, had to rely on his armies in the ], and with these armies defeated was easily captured by ], a Maia of much less power. Morgoth's physical body was executed as punishment and his spirit cast out of the world; such a punishment would have been impossible for Melkor at his full might.
|total_width=550
|image1=Morgoth, Satan, and the Fall.svg
|caption1='']''{{'}}s Melkor/Morgoth parallels the ]'s ].{{sfn|Shippey|2005|pp=267–268}}
|image2=Morgoth - the first Dark Lord.jpg
|caption2="Morgoth – the first Dark Lord". ] by Outcast, 2008
}}


Melkor has been interpreted as analogous to ], once the greatest of all God's angels, ], but fallen through ]; he rebels against his creator.{{sfn|Carter|2011|p=pt 16}} Tolkien wrote that of all the deeds of the Ainur, by far the worst was "the absolute Satanic rebellion and evil of Morgoth and his satellite Sauron".<ref group=T name="Letter 156">{{harvnb|Carpenter|2023|loc=#156 to Robert Murray, S.J., 4 November 1954 }}</ref> John R. Holmes, writing in '']'', suggests that Melkor's nature resonates with ]'s ] (Satan) in '']''.{{sfn|Holmes|2013|pp=428–429}} Melkor creates an "iron hell" for his elven slave labourers. His greed for ever more power makes him a symbol for the despotism of modern machinery.{{sfn|Garth|2003|pp=222–223}} The Tolkien scholar ] comments that there is a clear mapping to the Christian <!--Rosebury 2008 p.113: "The structural resemblances here to the Christian myth are already clear enough: Eru Iluvatar is God, the Ainur are like angels, and Melkor is clearly shaping up for the role of fallen angel, or Lucifer."-->myth, with Eru as God, Ainur as angels, and Melkor as Satan; but that the differences are equally striking, as creation is in part mediated by the Ainur.{{sfn|Rosebury|2008|p=113}} His rebellion against Eru is creative, as Melkor is impatient for the void of the world to be filled with things. But his creativity becomes destructive, as it is tainted with pride. "His desire to create other beings for his glory" turns into a desire for servants and slaves to follow his own will. This "temptation of creativity" is echoed in Tolkien's work by Melkor's opponent ], who is prepared to fight a hopeless war to try to regain his prized creations, the Silmarils.{{sfn|Rosebury|2008|p=115}} The ] ] writes that ''The Silmarillion'' is most obviously a ] on the ] (whereas Tolkien's ] is ]). Shippey quotes Tolkien's friend ], who stated that even Satan was created good;{{sfn|Shippey|2005|pp=267–268}} Tolkien has the character ] in ''The Lord of the Rings'' say "For nothing is evil in the beginning. Even Sauron was not so."{{sfn|Rosebury|2008|p=113}}<ref group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1954a|loc="]"}}</ref> Shippey concludes that the reader is free to assume "that the exploit of Morgoth of which the Eldar never learnt was the traditional seduction of ] by the ]", while the Men in the story are Adam's descendants "flying from ] and subject to the curse of ]".{{sfn|Shippey|2005|pp=267–268}}
To distinguish between the greater Melkor, a being that existed both as an individual (Morgoth) and as a "magical" element of all being (because he had corrupted, to an extent, everything that came from the Music of the Ainur, and his being had — as that corruption itself — been diffused throughout material reality), the former came to be called “The Morgoth”.<ref>Cf. '']'', pp. 322, 390-393.</ref>


==Notes and references== === Odinic figure ===
{{Reflist|2}}


The Tolkien scholar ] writes in '']'' that Morgoth, like all Tolkien's Middle-earth characters, is based on a complex "literary soup". One element of his construction, she states, is the Norse god ]. Tolkien used aspects of Odin's character and appearance for the wandering wizard ], with hat, beard, and staff, and a supernaturally fast horse, recalling Odin's steed ]; for the Dark Lord ], with his single eye; for the corrupted white wizard ], cloaked and hatted like Gandalf, but with far-flying birds like Odin's eagles and ravens. In ''The Silmarillion'', too, the farseeing Vala Manwë, who lives on the tallest of the mountains, and loves "all swift birds, strong of wing", is Odinesque. And just as Sauron and Saruman oppose Gandalf in ''The Lord of the Rings'', so the enemy Morgoth gets Odin's negative characteristics: "his ruthlessness, his destructiveness, his malevolence, his all-pervading deceit". Burns compares this allocation to the way that ] allots some of Odin's characteristics to the troublemaker god ]. Odin has many names, among them "Shifty-eyed" and "Swift in Deceit", and he is equally a god of the Norse underworld, "Father of the Slain". She notes that Morgoth, too, is named "Master of Lies" and "Demon of Dark", and functions as a fierce god of battle.{{sfn|Burns|2000|pp=219–246}}
{{ainur}}


=== Embodiment of possessiveness ===
<!-- Interwikis found using http://vs.aka-online.de/globalwpsearch/ -->
<!-- Search for Morgoth -->


The Tolkien scholar ], discussing the ], likens Melkor/Morgoth's response to the Silmarils to that of Fëanor, who had created those jewels. She states that the central temptation is the desire to possess, and that possessiveness itself is the "great transgression" in Tolkien's created world. She observes that the commandment "Love not too well the work of thy hands and the devices of thy heart" is stated explicitly in ''The Silmarillion''. Flieger compares Tolkien's descriptions of the two characters: "the heart of Fëanor was fast bound to these things that he himself had made", followed at once by "Melkor lusted for the Silmarils, and the very memory of their radiance was a gnawing fire in his heart". She writes that it is appropriately ironic that Melkor and Fëanor, one the greatest of the Ainur, the other the most subtle<!--Flieger p. 96--> and skilful of the creative ] among the Elves – should "usher in the darkness".{{sfn|Flieger|1983|pp=99–102}}
]


==See also==
]

* ]

== References ==

=== Primary ===

{{reflist|group=T|28em}}

=== Secondary ===

{{reflist|28em}}

=== Sources ===

{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book |last=Burns |first=Marjorie |author-link=Marjorie Burns |chapter=Gandalf and Odin |editor1-last=Flieger |editor1-first=Verlyn |editor1-link=Verlyn Flieger |editor2-last=Hostetter |editor2-first=Carl F. |editor2-link=Carl F. Hostetter |title=] |publisher=] |location=Westport, Connecticut |year=2000 |isbn=978-0-313-30530-6 |oclc=41315400 |pages=219–246}}
* {{ME-ref|Letters}} <!--Carpenter 1981-->
* {{cite book |last=Carter |first=Lin |author-link=Lin Carter |title=Tolkien: A Look Behind The Lord Of The Rings |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8RxCnvBttQAC&pg=PT16 |year=2011 |publisher=] |location=London, England |isbn=978-0-575-11666-5}}
* {{cite book |last=Flieger |first=Verlyn |author-link=Verlyn Flieger |year=1983 |title=Splintered Light: Logos and Language in Tolkien's World |title-link=Splintered Light |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-8028-1955-0 |chapter=Making versus Hoarding}}
* {{cite book |last=Garth |first=John |author-link=John Garth (author) |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OODLVikjYksC&pg=PA222 |title=] |publisher=] |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-00-711953-0 |chapter=Castles in the Air}}
* {{cite book |last=Holmes |first=John R. |editor-last=Drout |editor-first=Michael D. C. |editor-link=Michael D. C. Drout |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=B0loOBA3ejIC&pg=PA428 |chapter=Milton |title=] |date=2013 |orig-year=2007 |publisher=] |isbn=978-1-135-88033-0}}
* {{cite book |first=Brian |last=Rosebury |author-link=Brian Rosebury |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XsJ645BbokAC&pg=PA115 |title=J.R.R. Tolkien |chapter=Tolkien in the History of Ideas |date=2008 |publisher=] |isbn=978-1-60413-146-8 |editor-last=Bloom |editor-first=Harold |editor-link=Harold Bloom}}
* {{ME-ref|ROAD}} <!--Shippey 2005-->
* {{ME-ref|FOTR}}
* {{ME-ref|Silm}} <!--Tolkien 1977-->
* {{ME-ref|BoLT}}
* {{ME-ref|BoLT2}}
* {{ME-ref|LROW}}
* {{ME-ref|MR}} <!--Tolkien 1993-->
* {{ME-ref|SoME}}
* {{ME-ref|PoME}}
* {{ME-ref|CH}}
{{refend}}

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Latest revision as of 23:52, 23 December 2024

Fictional character in Tolkien's legendarium This article is about the fictional character. For the band, see Morgoth (band).

Fictional character
Morgoth
Tolkien character
In-universe information
Aliases
  • Melkor (originally)
  • Arun (in the old tales of the Númenóreans)
  • Moringotto
  • Bauglir
RaceValar
Book(s)The Lord of the Rings
The Silmarillion
The Children of Húrin
Beren and Lúthien
The Fall of Gondolin
Morgoth's Ring

Morgoth Bauglir ([ˈmɔrɡɔθ ˈbau̯ɡlir]; originally Melkor [ˈmɛlkor]) is a character, one of the godlike Valar and the primary antagonist of Tolkien's legendarium, the mythic epic published in parts as The Silmarillion, The Children of Húrin, Beren and Lúthien, and The Fall of Gondolin.

Melkor is the most powerful of the Valar but he turns to darkness and is renamed Morgoth, the primary antagonist of Arda. All evil in the world of Middle-earth ultimately stems from him. One of the Maiar of Aulë betrays his kind and becomes Morgoth's principal lieutenant and successor, Sauron.

Melkor has been interpreted as analogous to Satan, once the greatest of all God's angels, Lucifer, but fallen through pride; he rebels against his creator. Morgoth has likewise been likened to John Milton's fallen angel in Paradise Lost, again a Satan-figure. Tom Shippey has written that The Silmarillion maps the Book of Genesis with its creation and its fall, even Melkor having begun with good intentions. Marjorie Burns has commented that Tolkien used the Norse god Odin to create aspects of several characters, the wizard Gandalf getting some of his good characteristics, while Morgoth gets his destructiveness, malevolence, and deceit. Verlyn Flieger writes that the central temptation is the desire to possess, something that ironically afflicts two of the greatest figures in the legendarium, Melkor and Fëanor.

Name

The name Morgoth is Sindarin (one of Tolkien's invented languages) and means "Dark Enemy" or "Black Foe". Bauglir is also Sindarin, meaning "Tyrant" or "Oppressor". "Morgoth Bauglir" is thus an epithet. His name in Ainulindalë (the creation myth of Middle-earth and first section of The Silmarillion) is Melkor, which means "He Who Arises in Might" in Quenya. This too is an epithet, since he, like all the Valar, had another true name in Valarin (in the legendarium, the language of the Valar before the beginning of Time), but this name is not recorded. The Sindarin equivalent of Melkor is Belegûr, but it is never used; instead, a deliberately similar name, Belegurth, meaning "Great Death", is employed. Another form of his name is Melko, simply meaning "Mighty One".

Like Sauron, he has a host of other titles: Lord of the Dark, the Dark Power of the North, the Black Hand, and Great Enemy. The Edain, the Men of Númenor, call him the Dark King and the Dark Power; the Númenóreans corrupted by Sauron call him the Lord of All and the Giver of Freedom. He is called "Master of Lies" by one of the Edain, Amlach.

Melkor is renamed "Morgoth" when he destroys the Two Trees of Valinor, murders Finwë, the High King of the Noldor Elves, and steals the Silmarils in the First Age.

Fictional history

Further information: The Silmarillion

Ainulindalë and Valaquenta

Before the creation of Eä and Arda (The Universe and the World), Melkor is the most powerful of the Ainur, the "angelic beings" created by Eru Ilúvatar. Melkor, dissatisfied that Eru had abandoned the Void, seeks to emulate his creator and fill the Void with sentient beings. This, however, requires the Flame Imperishable, the Secret Fire, which belongs to Eru alone; Melkor cannot find it. He contends with Eru in the Music of the Ainur, introducing themes of his own. He draws many weaker-willed Ainur to him. Ironically, these attempts do not truly subvert the Music, but elaborate Eru's original intentions: the Music of Eru takes on depth and beauty through the strife and sadness Melkor's disharmonies introduce. Unlike Aulë, Melkor is too proud to admit that his creations are made possible entirely by Eru. Instead, Melkor aspires to rival Eru.

In an early draft, Tolkien has the Elf Finrod state that "there is nothing more powerful that is conceivable than Melkor, save Eru only". In The Silmarillion, Eru Ilúvatar similarly states that "Mighty are the Ainur, and mightiest among them is Melkor".

Since the Great Music stands as template for all of material creation, the chaos introduced by Melkor's disharmonies is responsible for all evil. Everything in Middle-earth is tainted by his influence. In Morgoth's Ring, Tolkien draws an analogy between the One Ring, into which Sauron commits much of his power, and all of Arda – "Morgoth's Ring" – which contains and is corrupted by Melkor's power until the Remaking of the World. The Valaquenta tells how Melkor seduced many of the minor Ainur, the Maiar, into his service.

Tolkien's comparison of "Morgoth's Ring" with Sauron's One Ring
  Sauron Morgoth
Action Put much of his power into the One Ring "Melkor 'incarnated' himself (as Morgoth) permanently"; Transmuted "the greater part of his original 'angelic' powers, of mind and spirit"
Purpose Gain power over the other Great Rings, and over the physical world Gain "a terrible grip upon the physical world", the ability "to control the hroa, the 'flesh' or physical matter, of Arda."
Effect Power "concentrated" in the One Ring Power "disseminated" through "the whole of Middle-earth"
Outcome Utterly eradicated when the One Ring is destroyed Eradication not possible; probable "irretrievable ruin of Arda" by fighting Morgoth

Quenta Silmarillion

After the Creation, many Ainur enter into Eä. The most powerful of them are the Valar, the Powers of the World; the lesser, the Maiar, act as their followers and assistants. They set about the ordering of the universe and Arda within it, as they understand the themes of Eru. Melkor and his followers enter Eä as well, but he is frustrated that his colleagues do not recognize him as leader of the new realm, despite his great knowledge. In anger and shame, Melkor sets about ruining and undoing whatever the others do.

Each of the Valar is attracted to a particular aspect of the world. Melkor is drawn to extremes and violence—bitter cold, scorching heat, earthquakes, darkness, burning light. His power is so great that at first the Valar cannot restrain him; he contends with their collective might. Arda is unstable until the Vala Tulkas enters Eä and tips the balance.

The Spring of Arda was lit by two great lamps, Illuin and Ormal, until Melkor attacked and destroyed them. Based on Karen Wynn Fonstad's Atlas of Middle-earth

Driven out by Tulkas, Melkor broods in darkness, until Tulkas is distracted. Melkor destroys the Two Lamps and the Valar's land of Almaren. Arda is plunged into darkness and fire, and Melkor withdraws to Middle-earth. In later versions, Melkor also disperses agents throughout Arda, digging deep into the earth and constructing great pits and fortresses, as Arda is marred by darkness and rivers of fire.

The Valar withdraw into Aman in the far West. The country where they settle is called Valinor, which they heavily fortify. Melkor holds dominion over Middle-earth from his fortress of Utumno in the North. His first reign ends after the Elves, the eldest of the Children of Ilúvatar, awake at the shores of Cuiviénen, and the Valar resolve to rescue them from his malice. Melkor captures some Elves before the Valar attack. He tortures and corrupts them, breeding the first Orcs. Other versions describe Orcs as corruptions of Men, or as soulless beings animated solely by the will of their evil lord. His fortress Utumno disperses deathly cold and brings on an endless winter in the North; for the sake of the Elves, the Valar wage a seven-year war with Melkor, defeating him after laying siege to Utumno. These battles further mar Arda. Tulkas defeats Melkor, binds him with a specially forged chain, Angainor, and brings him to Valinor. He is imprisoned in the Halls of Mandos for three ages.

Upon his release, Melkor is paroled to Valinor, though a few of the Valar continue to mistrust him. He pretends humility and virtue, but secretly plots harm toward the Elves, whose awakening he blames for his defeat. The Noldor, most skilled of the three kindreds of Elves that had come to Valinor, are most vulnerable to his plots, since they are eager for his knowledge. While instructing them, he awakens unrest and discontent among them. When the Valar become aware of this, they send Tulkas to arrest him, but Melkor has already fled. With the aid of Ungoliant, a dark spirit in the form of a monstrous spider, he destroys the Two Trees of Valinor, kills Finwë, the King of the Noldor, and steals the three Silmarils, jewels made by Finwë's son Fëanor, filled with the light of the Trees. Fëanor thereupon names him Morgoth, "Black Foe", and the Elves know him by this name alone afterwards.

Sketch map of Beleriand. Morgoth's underground fortress of Angband is beneath the mountains of Thangorodrim at the top. The Ered Luin on the right of the map are on extreme left of the map of Middle-earth, marking the part of Beleriand not destroyed at the end of the First Age.

Morgoth resumes his rule in the North of Middle-earth, this time in the half-ruined fortress of Angband. He rebuilds it, and raises above it the volcanic triple peak of Thangorodrim. The Silmarils he sets into a crown of iron, which he wears at all times. Fëanor and most of the Noldor pursue him, along the way slaying their kin the Teleri and incurring the Doom of Mandos. On arriving in Beleriand, the Noldor establish kingdoms and make war on Morgoth. Soon, the Sun and the Moon rise for the first time, and Men awake. The major battles include the Dagor-nuin-Giliath (Battle Under the Stars, fought before the first rising of the Moon), Dagor Aglareb (Glorious Battle), Dagor Bragollach (Battle of Sudden Flame) at which the Siege of Angband is broken, and the battle of Nírnaeth Arnoediad (Unnumbered Tears) when the armies of the Noldor and the Men allied with them are routed and the men of the East join Morgoth. Over the next several decades, Morgoth destroys the remaining Elven kingdoms, reducing their domain to an island of refugees in the Bay of Balar, and a small settlement at the Mouths of Sirion under the protection of Ulmo.

Before the Nírnaeth Arnoediad, the Man Beren and the Elf Lúthien enter Angband and recover a Silmaril from Morgoth's crown after Luthien's singing sends him to sleep. It is inherited by their granddaughter Elwing, who joins those dwelling at the Mouths of Sirion. Her husband Eärendil, wearing the Silmaril on his brow, sails across the sea to Valinor, where he pleads with the Valar to liberate Middle-earth from Morgoth.

During the ensuing War of Wrath, Beleriand is destroyed. Morgoth summons many Men to his side during the fifty-year conflict, the longest and bloodiest in Arda's history. Morgoth is utterly defeated. Thangorodrim is shattered when Eärendil kills the greatest of dragons, Ancalagon the Black, who crashes upon it as he falls. The few remaining dragons are scattered, and the few surviving Balrogs hide themselves deep within the earth. Morgoth flees into the deepest pit and begs for pardon, but his feet are cut from under him, his crown is made into a collar, and he is chained once again with Angainor. The Valar exile him permanently from the world, thrusting him through the Door of Night into the void until the prophesied Dagor Dagorath, when he will meet his final destruction. But his evil remains, and his will influences all living creatures.

Children of Húrin

Main article: The Children of Húrin

In this more complete version of a story summarized in Quenta Silmarillion, Húrin and his younger brother Huor are leaders of the House of Hador, one of the three kindred of elf-friends. At Nírnaeth Arnoediad they cover the escape of Turgon to Gondolin by sacrificing their army and themselves. Huor is slain, but Húrin is brought before Morgoth alive. As revenge for his aid to Turgon and his defiance, Morgoth curses Húrin and his children, binding Húrin to a seat upon Thangorodrim and forcing him to witness all that happens (using Morgoth's long sight) to his children in the succeeding years. The encounter with Húrin, is set out in more detail than in The Silmarillion, and in a more connected narrative than in Unfinished Tales. It gives the first allusion to the corruption of Men by Morgoth soon after their awakening, and the assertion by Morgoth of his power over the entire Earth through "the shadow of my purpose".

The Lord of the Rings

Melkor is mentioned briefly in the chapter "A Knife in the Dark" in The Lord of the Rings, where Aragorn sings the story of Tinúviel and briefly recounts the role of Morgoth ("the Great Enemy") in the wider history of the Silmarils.

Development

In the early versions of Tolkien's stories, Melkor/Morgoth is not seen as the most powerful of the Valar. He is described as being equal in power to Manwë, chief of the Valar in Arda. But his power increases in later revisions of the story until he becomes the most powerful among them, and in a late essay more powerful than all of the other Valar combined. He develops from a standout among equals into a being so powerful that the other created beings could not utterly defeat him.

Over time, Tolkien altered both the conception of this character and his name. The name given by Fëanor, Morgoth, was present from the first stories; he was for a long time also called Melko. Tolkien vacillated over the Sindarin equivalent of this, which appeared as Belcha, Melegor, and Moeleg. The meaning of the name also varied, related in different times to milka ("greedy") or velka ("flame"). Similarly the Old English translations devised by Tolkien differ in sense: Melko is rendered as Orgel ("Pride") and Morgoth as Sweart-ós ("Black God"). Morgoth is once given a particular sphere of interest: in the early Tale of Turambar, Tinwelint (precursor of Thingol) names him "the Vala of Iron".

Interpretation

Satanic figure

Further information: Christianity in Middle-earth and Hell and Middle-earth The Silmarillion's Melkor/Morgoth parallels the Book of Genesis's Lucifer/Satan."Morgoth – the first Dark Lord". Middle-earth artwork by Outcast, 2008

Melkor has been interpreted as analogous to Satan, once the greatest of all God's angels, Lucifer, but fallen through pride; he rebels against his creator. Tolkien wrote that of all the deeds of the Ainur, by far the worst was "the absolute Satanic rebellion and evil of Morgoth and his satellite Sauron". John R. Holmes, writing in The J. R. R. Tolkien Encyclopedia, suggests that Melkor's nature resonates with John Milton's fallen angel (Satan) in Paradise Lost. Melkor creates an "iron hell" for his elven slave labourers. His greed for ever more power makes him a symbol for the despotism of modern machinery. The Tolkien scholar Brian Rosebury comments that there is a clear mapping to the Christian myth, with Eru as God, Ainur as angels, and Melkor as Satan; but that the differences are equally striking, as creation is in part mediated by the Ainur. His rebellion against Eru is creative, as Melkor is impatient for the void of the world to be filled with things. But his creativity becomes destructive, as it is tainted with pride. "His desire to create other beings for his glory" turns into a desire for servants and slaves to follow his own will. This "temptation of creativity" is echoed in Tolkien's work by Melkor's opponent Fëanor, who is prepared to fight a hopeless war to try to regain his prized creations, the Silmarils. The Tolkien scholar Tom Shippey writes that The Silmarillion is most obviously a calque on the Book of Genesis (whereas Tolkien's Shire is a calque upon England). Shippey quotes Tolkien's friend C. S. Lewis, who stated that even Satan was created good; Tolkien has the character Elrond in The Lord of the Rings say "For nothing is evil in the beginning. Even Sauron was not so." Shippey concludes that the reader is free to assume "that the exploit of Morgoth of which the Eldar never learnt was the traditional seduction of Adam and Eve by the serpent", while the Men in the story are Adam's descendants "flying from Eden and subject to the curse of Babel".

Odinic figure

The Tolkien scholar Marjorie Burns writes in Tolkien's Legendarium: Essays on The History of Middle-earth that Morgoth, like all Tolkien's Middle-earth characters, is based on a complex "literary soup". One element of his construction, she states, is the Norse god Odin. Tolkien used aspects of Odin's character and appearance for the wandering wizard Gandalf, with hat, beard, and staff, and a supernaturally fast horse, recalling Odin's steed Sleipnir; for the Dark Lord Sauron, with his single eye; for the corrupted white wizard Saruman, cloaked and hatted like Gandalf, but with far-flying birds like Odin's eagles and ravens. In The Silmarillion, too, the farseeing Vala Manwë, who lives on the tallest of the mountains, and loves "all swift birds, strong of wing", is Odinesque. And just as Sauron and Saruman oppose Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings, so the enemy Morgoth gets Odin's negative characteristics: "his ruthlessness, his destructiveness, his malevolence, his all-pervading deceit". Burns compares this allocation to the way that Norse myth allots some of Odin's characteristics to the troublemaker god Loki. Odin has many names, among them "Shifty-eyed" and "Swift in Deceit", and he is equally a god of the Norse underworld, "Father of the Slain". She notes that Morgoth, too, is named "Master of Lies" and "Demon of Dark", and functions as a fierce god of battle.

Embodiment of possessiveness

The Tolkien scholar Verlyn Flieger, discussing the splintering of the original created light of Middle-earth, likens Melkor/Morgoth's response to the Silmarils to that of Fëanor, who had created those jewels. She states that the central temptation is the desire to possess, and that possessiveness itself is the "great transgression" in Tolkien's created world. She observes that the commandment "Love not too well the work of thy hands and the devices of thy heart" is stated explicitly in The Silmarillion. Flieger compares Tolkien's descriptions of the two characters: "the heart of Fëanor was fast bound to these things that he himself had made", followed at once by "Melkor lusted for the Silmarils, and the very memory of their radiance was a gnawing fire in his heart". She writes that it is appropriately ironic that Melkor and Fëanor, one the greatest of the Ainur, the other the most subtle and skilful of the creative Noldor among the Elves – should "usher in the darkness".

See also

References

Primary

  1. ^ Tolkien 1993, pp. 194, 294
  2. ^ Tolkien 1987, "The Etymologies"
  3. Tolkien 1977, Index entry for "Melkor"
  4. Tolkien 1996 p. 358
  5. Tolkien 1977, ch. 17 "Of the Coming of Men into the West"
  6. ^ Tolkien 1977, "Quenta Silmarillion", ch. 6 "Of Fëanor and the Unchaining of Melkor"
  7. ^ Tolkien 1977, "Quenta Silmarillion", ch. 9 "Of the Flight of the Noldor"
  8. ^ Tolkien 1977, "Ainulindalë"
  9. Tolkien 1993, p. 322
  10. Tolkien 1977, p. 6
  11. ^ Tolkien 1993, pp. 398–401
  12. Tolkien 1977, "Valaquenta"
  13. ^ Tolkien 1977, ch. 1, "Of the Beginning of Days"
  14. Tolkien 1977, ch. 3 "Of the Coming of the Elves and the Captivity of Melkor"
  15. Tolkien 1993, pp. 72-73
  16. Tolkien 1993, pp. 416-421
  17. Tolkien 1977, ch. 11, "Of the Sun and Moon"
  18. Tolkien 1977, ch. 12, "Of Men"
  19. Tolkien 1977, ch. 13, "Of the Return of the Noldor"
  20. Tolkien 1977, ch. 18, "Of the Ruin of Beleriand"
  21. Tolkien 1977, ch. 20, "Of the Fifth Battle: Nirnaeth Arnoediad"
  22. Tolkien 1977, ch. 22, "Of the Ruin of Doriath"
  23. Tolkien 1977, ch. 23, "Of the Fall of Gondolin"
  24. Tolkien 1977, ch. 19 "Of Beren and Lúthien"
  25. Tolkien 1977, ch. 24, "Of the Voyage of Eärendil and the War of Wrath"
  26. Tolkien 2007, ch. 3, "The Words of Húrin and Morgoth"
  27. Tolkien 1954a, book 1, ch. 11 "A Knife in the Dark"
  28. Tolkien 1977, "Valaquenta", "Of the Enemies"
  29. Tolkien 1977, Ainulindalë
  30. Tolkien 1993, pp. 390-393
  31. Tolkien 1984, p. 260
  32. Tolkien 1986, pp. 281-283
  33. Tolkien 1984b, "Turambar and the Foalókë", p. 73
  34. Carpenter 2023, #156 to Robert Murray, S.J., 4 November 1954
  35. Tolkien 1954a, "The Council of Elrond"

Secondary

  1. ^ Shippey 2005, pp. 267–268.
  2. Carter 2011, p. pt 16.
  3. Holmes 2013, pp. 428–429.
  4. Garth 2003, pp. 222–223.
  5. ^ Rosebury 2008, p. 113.
  6. Rosebury 2008, p. 115.
  7. Burns 2000, pp. 219–246.
  8. Flieger 1983, pp. 99–102.

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