Get a clear map of Beleriand: which Noldorin lords and which peoples hold each region and how the Siege of Angband is arranged, and understand the logic behind this geography (light in the west, darkness in the north).
Content guide
What this chapter is for
Chapter 14 unfolds like a map. There is almost no plot: Tolkien pauses to walk through Beleriand north to south and west to east, naming rivers, mountains, and forests and, above all, who rules where after the Noldor return from Aman.
Read it as a guide. Battles and tragedies lie ahead; keep in mind where Hithlum and Doriath lie, where Fëanor's sons dwell, and where Gondolin is hidden, or the events will blur together.
The key to the land's layout is THE SIEGE OF ANGBAND (it lasts almost 400 years). The Noldor ring Morgoth's northern fortress, each house and lord holding a sector of the line. Here geography is a battle order.
The main regions to remember:
— Hithlum in the northwest: the domain of Fingolfin and his son Fingon; nearby, in Dor-lómin, live the forebears of the heroes of Men.
— Dorthonion (later Taur-nu-Fuin), south of Angband: held by Angrod and Aegnor, sons of Finarfin.
— East Beleriand and the Hill of Himring: the lands of Fëanor's sons; their frontier facing Morgoth runs through Maglor's Gap and the Pass of Aglon.
— Nargothrond on the river Narog: the underground kingdom of Finrod (Felagund).
— Gondolin: Turgon's hidden city in the Encircling Mountains (Echoriath); almost no one knows where it is.
— Doriath at the heart of Beleriand: the ancient kingdom of the Sindar, of King Thingol and Melian, guarded by the unseen Girdle of Melian.
Lesson notes
What this chapter is for
Chapter 14 unfolds like a map. There is almost no plot: Tolkien pauses to walk through Beleriand north to south and west to east, naming rivers, mountains, and forests and, above all, who rules where after the Noldor return from Aman.
Read it as a guide. Battles and tragedies lie ahead; keep in mind where Hithlum and Doriath lie, where Fëanor's sons dwell, and where Gondolin is hidden, or the events will blur together.
The key to the land's layout is THE SIEGE OF ANGBAND (it lasts almost 400 years). The Noldor ring Morgoth's northern fortress, each house and lord holding a sector of the line. Here geography is a battle order.
The main regions to remember:
— Hithlum in the northwest: the domain of Fingolfin and his son Fingon; nearby, in Dor-lómin, live the forebears of the heroes of Men.
— Dorthonion (later Taur-nu-Fuin), south of Angband: held by Angrod and Aegnor, sons of Finarfin.
— East Beleriand and the Hill of Himring: the lands of Fëanor's sons; their frontier facing Morgoth runs through Maglor's Gap and the Pass of Aglon.
— Nargothrond on the river Narog: the underground kingdom of Finrod (Felagund).
— Gondolin: Turgon's hidden city in the Encircling Mountains (Echoriath); almost no one knows where it is.
— Doriath at the heart of Beleriand: the ancient kingdom of the Sindar, of King Thingol and Melian, guarded by the unseen Girdle of Melian.
What the names mean
Names in the legendarium almost always mean something: Tolkien was a philologist and built names out of his invented languages. Understanding them is half the pleasure.
— Beleriand, “the land of Balar”: a vast country west of the Blue Mountains, most of which will later sink beneath the sea.
— Hithlum, “land of mist” (Sindarin hith “mist”). A cold northwestern land ringed by mountains.
— Dorthonion, “land of pines”: a broad wooded highland. Once terror comes here, it will be named Taur-nu-Fuin, “forest under night.”
— Nargothrond, “the cave-fortress on the river Narog.”
— Gondolin, “the Hidden Rock” / “hidden stone”: the name of the most inaccessible of the Elven cities.
— Doriath, “the Land of the Fence”: a kingdom enclosed by the unseen Girdle of Melian.
— Angband, “the Iron Prison,” Morgoth's fortress. Above it rise Thangorodrim, three volcanic peaks of slag and ash.
Remember how the points of the compass are opposed: the north is Angband, iron, darkness, and cold. The west and south are forests, rivers, Elven kingdoms, a glimmer of the lost light of Valinor. The whole map of Beleriand is a front line between light and darkness.