Glossary of Names
This glossary provides short descriptions of all the proper names used in this project. These descriptions have been taken from the Index of Names in the published Silmarillion and modified to fit the context of this project.
- Angband
- The great dungeon-fortress of Morgoth to the north of Middle-Earth. The meaning of Angbad is ‘Iron Prison’.
- Aragorn
- From the Lord of the Rings, one of the two men in the Fellowship of the Ring; the King who reunited the northern (Arnor) and southern (Gondor) realms after the War of the Ring; wedded Arwen (an Elf), daughter of Elrond.
- Barahir
- Father of Beren; rescued Finrod Felagund in the Battle of Sudden Flame and received from him his ring.
- Barahir, Ring of
- Token given by Finrod Felagund to Barahir as a sign of an abiding oath of friendship.
- Battle of Sudden Flame
- See Sudden Flame, Battle of.
- Bauglir
- A name for Melkor, meaning ‘the Constrainer’.
- Beren
- Son of Barahir; cut a Silmaril from Morgoth's crown to be the bride-price of Luthien Thingol's daughter, and was slain by the Wolf of Angband; but returning from the dead, alone of mortal Men, lived afterwards with Luthien until and Luthien both died and departed from the world.
- Boromir
- From the Lord of the Rings, one of the two men in the Fellowship of the Ring; the son of the steward in Gondor.
- Cuivienen
- The lake in Middle-Earth where the first Elves awoke, and where the Gods first found the Elves. The meaning of Cuivienen is ‘Water of Awakening’.
- Doriath
- The realm in which King Thingol lived, though he was the king of all the Elves that remained in Middle-Earth.
- Elenwe
- Wife of Turgon; perished in the crossing of Helcaraxe.
- Elrond
- From Lord of the Rings; master of Rivendell; father of Arwen.
- Feanor
- Eldest son of Finwe, half-brother of Fingolfin and Finarfin; greatest of the Noldor, and leader in their rebellion; maker of the Silmarils.
- Felagund
- A name for Finrod, meaning ‘Lord of Caverns’.
- Finarfin
- The third son of Finwe, the younger of Feanor's half-brothers; Finarfin did not return to Middle-Earth with the exiled Noldor. Finrod and Galadriel were his children.
- Fingolfin
- The second son of Finwe, the elder of Feanor's half-brothers; he led the host of the Noldor that crossed Helcaraxe; Turgon was his son.
- Finrod
- The eldest son of Finarfin; founder and King of Nargothrond, for which he was named Felagund (‘Lord of Caverns’); redeemed his oath to Barahir by accompanying Beren on his quest; slain in defense of Beren in Sauron's dungeons.
- Finwe
- Leader of the Noldor on the westward journey from Cuivienen; King of the Noldor in Valinor; father of Feanor, Fingolfin, and Finarfin.
- First Age
- The time from the first rising of the sun and moon (that is, the time of the crossing of Helcaraxe) to the defeat of Morgoth and the recovery of the Silmarils.
- Frodo
- From the Lord of the Rings, the Ringbearer; one of the four hobbits in the Fellowship of the Ring.
- Galadriel
- Daughter of Finarfin and sister of Finrod Felagund; one of the leaders of the Noldorin rebellion against the Gods; keeper of Nenya, the Ring of Water; from the Lord of the Rings, the queen of Lothlorien.
- Gondolin
- The secret city of King Turgon, surrounded by the Encircling Mountains; Tuor came to Gondolin bearing the message of Ulmo; the city was destroyed by an assault of Melkor.
- Idril
- The daughter (and only child) of Turgon and Elenwe; wife of Tuor, mother of Earendil, with whom she escaped from Gondolin to the shores of the Great Sea; departed thence with Tuor into the West.
- Luthien
- The daughter of King Thingol and Melian the Maia, who after the fulfilment of the Quest of the Silmaril and the death of Beren chose to become mortal and to share his fate.
- Maiar (singular, Maia)
- Spirits of the same race as the Gods but of a lesser order; Sauron, Melian, and Gandalf (from Lord of the Rings) are all Maiar.
- Mandos
- The God of the underworld. The spirits of the dead go to the ‘Halls of Mandos’.
- Manwe
- The God of the air and head of the Gods.
- Melian
- A Maia; she left Valinor and came to Middle-earth; afterwards the Queen of King Thingol in Doriath; mother of Luthien.
- Melkor
- The great rebellious God (Vala), the beginning of evil; afterwards named Morgoth, Bauglir, the Dark Lord. The meaning of Melkor was ‘He who arises in Might’. (See also Morgoth and Bauglir.)
- Merry
- From the Lord of the Rings, one of the four hobbits in the Fellowship of the Ring.
- Middle-Earth
- The land where Elves and Men first awoke and where they warred against Melkor; Valinor (the land of the Gods) is located west across the Great Sea from Middle-Earth.
- Morgoth
- A name for Melkor, meaning ‘Black Foe’.
- Nargothrond
- The dwelling of Finrod Felagund, the great underground fortress on the river Narog.
- Nenya
- See Galadriel. One of the Three Rings given to the Elves, the Ring of Water, borne by Galadriel.
- Noldor
- One of the three groups of the Elves who made the westward journey from Cuivienen to Valinor. Finwe was the King of the Noldor on the journey and in Valinor.
- Pippin
- From the Lord of the Rings, one of the four hobbits in the Fellowship of the Ring.
- Ring of Barahir
- See Barahir, Ring of.
- Sauron
- The greatest of the servants of Melkor; after the defeat of Melkor, Sauron took his place as the Dark Lord and Enemy of Gods, Elves, and Men.
- Silmarils
- The three jewels made by Feanor, filled with the light of the Two Trees.
- Strider
- A name for Aragorn.
- Sudden Flame, Battle of
- The fourth of the great battles with Melkor in Middle-Earth; Barahir rescued Finrod Felagund in this battle. So-called because Melkor attacked unexpectantly and first unleashed his dragons.
- Thingol
- King of all the Elves that remained in Middle-Earth; husband to Melian the Maia and father of Luthien.
- Third Age
- The time from the first defeat of Sauron (when Isildur first took the One Ring) to the second defeat of Sauron (when Frodo of the Nine Fingers destroyed the One Ring).
- Tirion
- The main city of the Noldor in Valinor.
- Tuor
- The man to whom Ulmo appeared; entered Gondolin bearing the message of Ulmo; wedded Idril Turgon's daughter, and with her and their son Earendil escaped from the destruction of the city to the shores of the Great Sea; departed thence with Tuor into the West.
- Turgon
- The son of Fingolfin; he lost his wife Elenwe in the crossing of Helcaraxe; founder and king of Gondolin, which he ruled until his death in the destruction of the city; father of Idril the mother of Earendil.
- Ulmo
- The sea God, called the ‘Lord of Waters’; he alone of the Gods did not reject the Men and Elves in Middle-Earth.
- Ungoliant
- The great spider, destroyer with Melkor of the Trees of Valinor. Shelob in the Lord of the Rings was “the last child of Ungoliant to trouble the unhappy world” (The Two Towers).
- Valinor
- The land of the Gods (Valar) in the West, across the Great Sea from Middle-Earth.
- Varda
- The goddess of the stars; the spouse of Manwe; she created the stars.
- Vinyamar
- The halls of Turgon near the Great Sea before Ulmo led him to Gondolin.
- Yavanna
- The goddess of nature; she made the Two Trees in Valinor.