Middle-Earth Tours

The Prequels Tour

The Darkening of Valinor & the Flight of the Noldor

The Chaining of Melkor,
by Roger Garland

 Now the Three Kindreds of the Eldar were gathered at last in Valinor, and Melkor was chained. This was the Noontide of the Blessed Realm, the fulness of its glory and its bliss, long in tale of years, but in memory too brief....In that time was born in Eldamar, in the house of the King in Tirion upon the crown of Túna, the eldest of the sons of Finwë, and the most beloved. Curufinwë was his name, but by his mother he was called Fëanor, Spirit of Fire... --The Silmarillion, "Of Fëanor and the Unchaining of Melkor"

The Two Trees of Valinor,
by Roger Garland
In that time were made those things that afterwards were most renowned of all the works of the Elves. For Fëanor, being come to his full might, was filled a new thought, or it may be that some shadow of foreknowledge came to him of the doom that drew near; and he pondered how the light of the Trees, the glory of the Blessed Realm, might be preserved imperishable. Then he began a long and secret labor, and he summoned all his lore, and his power, and his subtle skills, and at the end of all he made the Silmarils.
    As three great jewels they were in form. But not until the End, when Fëanor himself shall return who perished ere the Sun was made, and sits now in the halls of Awaiting and comes no more among his kin; not until the Sun passes and the Moon falls, shall it be known of what substance they were made. Like the crystal of diamonds it appeared, and yet was more strong than adamant, so that no violence could mar it or break it within the kingdom of Arda.--The Silmarillion, "Of the Silmarils"
book cover illustration by
Michael Dringenberg

Melkor and Ungoliant,
by John Howe		 Then the Unlight of Ungoliant rose up even to the roots of the Trees, and Melkor sprang upon the mound; and with his black spear he smote each Tree to its core, wounded them deep, and their sap poured forth as it were their blood, and was spilled upon the ground. But Ungoliant sucked it up, and going then from Tree to Tree she set her black beak to their wounds, till they were drained; and the poison of Death that was in her went into their tissues and withered them, root, branch and leaf; and they died. --The Silmarillion, "Of the Darkening of Valinor"

Ungoliant Demands the Silmarils,
by Ted Nasmith		 Then perforce Morgoth surrendered to her the gems that he bore with him, one by one and grudgingly; and she devoured them, and their beauty perished from the world. Huger and darker yet grew Ungoliant, but her lust was unsated. 'With one hand thou givest,' she said; 'with the left only. Open thy right hand.'
     In his right hand Morgoth held close the Silmarils...'Nay!' he said. 'Thou hast had thy due...These things thou shalt not have, nor see. I name them unto myself forever.'--The Silmarillion, "Of the Flight of the Noldor"
Then suddenly Fëanor appeared in the city and called on all to come to the high court of the King upon the summit of Túna; but the doom of banishment that had been laid upon him was not yet lifted, and he rebelled against the Valar. A great multitude gathered swiftly, therefore, to hear what he would say, and the hill and all the stairs and streets that climbed upon it were lit with the light of many torches that each one bore in hand. Fëanor was a master of words, and his tongue had great power over hearts when he would use it; and that night he made a speech before the Noldor which they ever remembered. Firece and fell were his words, and filled with anger and pride; and hearing them the Noldor were stirred to madness....'Why, O people of the Noldor,' he cried, 'why should we longer serve the jealous Valar, who cannot keep us nor even their own realm secure from their Enemy? And though he be now their foe, are not they and he of one kin? Vengeance calls me hence, but even were it otherwise I would not dwell longer in the same land with the kin of my father's slayer and of the thief of my treasure.' --The Silmarillion, "Of the Flight of the Noldor"
Fëanor, by Dan Govar

The Haven of the Swans,
by Roger Garland		 When [Fëanor] judged that his strength was enough, he went to the Haven of the Swans and began to man the ships that were anchored there and to take them away by force....Then swords were drawn, and a bitter fight was fought upon the ships, and about the lamplit quays and piers of the Haven, and even upon the great arch of its gate....Thus at last the Teleri were overcome, and a great part of their mariners that dwelt in Alqualondë were wickely slain. --The Silmarillion, "Of the Flight of the Noldor"
Fingolfin Leads the Host Across the Helcaraxe, by Ted Nasmith
In Feanor’s revolt that followed the Darkening of Valinor Galadriel had no part: indeed she with Celeborn fought heroically in defence of Alqualonde against the assault of the Noldor. --Unfinished Tales, "The History of Galadriel and Celeborn"
Then Fingolfin seeing that Fëanor had left him to perish in Aramon or return in shame to Valinor was filled with bitterness; but he desired now as never before to come by some way to Middle-earth, and meet Fëanor again. And he and his host wandered long in misery....and led by Fingolfin and his sons, and by Finrod and Galadriel, they dared to pass into the bitterest North; and finding no other way they endured at last the terror of the Helcaraxë and the cruel hills of ice. Few of the deeds of the Noldor thereafter surpassed that desperate crossing in hardihood or woe. The Silmarillion, "Of the Flight of the Noldor"
Yet even as hope failed and [Yavanna's] song faltered, Telperion bore at last upon a leafless bough one great flower of silver, and Laurelin a single fruit of gold.
    These Yavanna took; and then the trees died...But the flower and fruit Yavanna gave to Aulë, and Manwë hallowed them, and Aulë and his people made vessels to hold them and preserve their radiance: as is said in ... the Song of the Sun and Moon. These vessels the Valar gave to Varda, that they might become lamps of heaven, outshining the ancient stars, being nearer to Arda; and she gave them power to traverse the lower regions of Ilmen, and set them to voyage upon appointed courses above the girdle of the Earth from the West unto the East and to return. --The Silmarillion, "Of the Sun and Moon"

In the original astronomical myth the Sun passed into the Outer Dark by the Door of Night and re-entered by the Gates of Morn... --Christopher Tolkien's commentary in The Lost Road
The Gate of Morn, by Roger Garland
[Númenoreans] sailed round to the North and South, and glimpsed from their high prows the Gates of Morning in the East. --The Lost Road, "The Fall of Númenor


And what of the Silmarils that started all this? After long ages of conflict, they ended up being dispersed among earth, air and sea.

Maedhros Casts Himself into a Chasm, by Ted Nasmith
Maglor Casts a Silmaril into the
Sea, by Ted Nasmith
Eärendil and Elwing, by Roger Garland
Full-size versions of these pictures are on display at Rolozo Tolkien.