Previous
Akallabêth
Themes
and Colors
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Silmarillion, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Unity vs. Division
Fate, Doom, and Free Will
Pride and Arrogance
Greed, Jealousy, and Obsession
Inevitable Loss
Myth and Memory
Summary
Analysis
Morgoth convinces Sauron to join his side in the early days of Arda. Once Melkor is overthrown by the Valar, however, Sauron repents to Eönwë. Some believe that he wasn’t lying and actually resolved to change his ways, if only because he feared the Valar. Eönwë tells Sauron to go to Valinor and hear Manwë’s judgement, but Sauron refuses to face the humiliation and hides in Middle-earth.
It’s Sauron’s pride which ultimately prevents him from returning to the Valar’s side, if he ever intended to repent of his wrongdoings at all. He can’t bear the indignity of punishment, so he instead follows in Morgoth’s footsteps and hides in Middle-earth until the Valar depart.
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During the Great Battle, the land of Beleriand is changed and a gulf forms in Ossiriand in a region called Lindon. Gil-galad decides to remain in Middle-earth and rule that land, where Elrond also lives. The elves set sail from Lindon’s port (the Grey Havens) to travel the Straight Road to Valinor. Other elves cross the Blue Mountains and establish kingdoms among the Silvan elves. The elven kingdom of Eregion forms a friendship with the nearby dwarven mansion Moria. Celebrimbor, the estranged son of Curufin, lives there and becomes the greatest of its jewel-smiths. Middle-earth is peaceful, though “savage and desolate” where the people of Beleriand don’t settle.
The world is fundamentally altered by the Great Battle—Morgoth is overthrown and the land itself is altered. This new land provides new opportunities, and the elves begin to rebuild after the destruction of the Wars of Beleriand. Rather than accompanying the Valar back to Valinor, some of the elves choose to stay longer in Middle-earth and spread around the continent, establishing new kingdoms, spreading their knowledge, and forging alliances.
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Though Sauron find men easier to corrupt, he still travels, trying to persuade elves to join him in every kingdom except Lindon. He begins spreading rumors that Gil-galad doesn’t want to enrich the rest of Middle-earth beyond Lindon. He takes the name Annatar, the Lord of Gifts, and is usually welcomed by the elves, especially in Eregion.
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In Eregion, Sauron teaches the craftsmen and smiths, who create Rings of Power under his guidance. He secretly makes One Ring to rule the others. Sauron puts a lot of his own “strength and will” into the One Ring to make it powerful enough to control the elven rings. While he wears it, he can see everything done with the lesser rings and control the thoughts of their bearers.
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However, as soon as Sauron puts on the One Ring, the elves realize that he can see and control them, and they take off their own rings. When he finds out they discovered him, he goes to war with them to take the rings back. The elves flee with their three rings: Narya the ring of fire, Nenya the ring of water, and Vilya the ring of air. They’re the most powerful of all the rings besides the One Ring, with the ability to prevent the aging and weariness of their bearer. The rings are given to wise elves and hidden, and Sauron fails to find them. They remain “unsullied,” since Celebrimbor is their sole creator and Sauron never touches them.
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At the same time, Elrond founds the stronghold Rivendell. The war between Sauron and the elves continues; Eregion is destroyed and Celebrimbor is killed. Sauron collects the remaining Rings of Power and gives nine to men and seven to dwarves. The dwarves are stubborn and difficult for Sauron to control, but eventually their greed and wrath benefits Sauron. Each dwarf king who bears a ring creates a hoard that is eventually plundered and devoured by dragons. Men are much easier for Sauron to control. The bearers of the nine rings obtain glory, wealth, and seemingly unending life, but they all fall under Sauron’s control and become invisible to everyone but the bearer of the One Ring. They’re the Nazgûl, or the Ringwraiths, Sauron’s most dangerous servants.
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Sauron plans to become the master of Middle-earth, destroy the elves, and cause the downfall of Númenor. He gathers all of Morgoth’s old servants and rules through “force and fear.” This is the beginning of the Black Years, when many elves are killed, and others flee Middle-earth. Gil-galad maintains control of Lindon with the help of the Númenoreans, but Sauron rules the east and south. Men build stone walls and revere Sauron as a king and god.
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Eventually, Sauron is challenged by Númenor and leaves Middle-earth as their hostage. There, he spreads corruption and plots Númenor’s downfall, but Ilúvatar’s intervention forces him out of his physical form and back to Mordor. There, he learns that Gil-galad’s kingdom has grown in his absence to encompass a large portion of the north and west of Middle-earth. Sauron withdraws his forces into Mordor and plans for war.
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At that time, Elendil, whose ship comes ashore in Lindon, leads his people east and establishes a kingdom in Eriador named Arnor, where he raises cities and towers. The ships of Isildur and Anárion are driven south to the mouth of the river Anduin, and they settle there and establish the kingdom of Gondor. The brothers build the city of Osgiliath and other towers—Minas Ithil, Isildur’s house, and Minas Anor, Anárion’s house—then rule together.
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They plant the descendant of the White Tree at Minas Ithil and spread the Seven Stones (magical objects from Númenor that show visions of things far away) between Gondor and Arnor to protect the land and watch their enemies. Elendil often visits the seeing stone in Emyn Beraid—towers in Arnor that face the sea—and it’s believed that he would sometimes see Tol Eressëa, where the Master-stone is. The stones were a gift from the elves to Amandil and are called the Palantíri.
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Years after the founding of Arnor and Gondor, Sauron creates a “terrible” new shape for himself and gathers his servants, preparing for war against elves and men. Many of the Númenoreans who moved to Middle-earth before the great wave still follow him. Sauron conquers Minas Ithil and destroys the new White Tree, but Isildur escapes down the Anduin with his wife and sons, carrying a seedling from the tree. He tries to find Elendil as Anárion defends Osgiliath.
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Elendil and Gil-galad decide to unite against Sauron, forming a group called the Last Alliance, and travel east to Rivendell with an army of elves and men. From Rivendell they march to meet Sauron on Dagorland, the plains that stretch in front of the Black Gates of Mordor. All the living creatures of Middle-earth are divided on different sides of the battle except for the elves, which all fight for Gil-galad. Gil-galad and Elendil take the victory—since the orcs fear Gil-galad’s spear and Elendil’s sword Narsil—and enter Mordor to surround Sauron’s tower Barad-dûr.
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The siege of Barad-dûr lasts seven years, and the Last Alliance suffers great losses, including the death of Anárion. Finally, Sauron leaves his tower and kills both Gil-galad and Elendil, whose sword breaks beneath him as he falls. However, Isildur cuts the One Ring from Sauron’s hand with the hilt-shard of Narsil. Beaten, Sauron abandons his physical form, and his spirit flees. He doesn’t take physical form again for many years.
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With Sauron’s defeat, the Third Age of the World begins. His servants are scattered, though not completely destroyed. Some men “turn from evil” and follow Elendil, while others continue to serve Sauron and hate the countries of the west. Sauron’s tower is destroyed, and the Númenoreans set a guard on the land of Mordor, though no one lives there because the ash of Mount Doom makes it uninhabitable. After the Last Alliance disperses, there is never another host like it, since men and elves grow estranged.
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The One Ring disappears. Isildur refuses to give it to Elrond and Círdan, who plan to throw it into the fires of Mount Doom to destroy it and consequently weaken Sauron. Isildur calls the Ring compensation for the loss of his father and brother. After planting the White Tree in Minas Anor and placing Meneldil, Anárion’s son, in command of Gondor, Isildur travels north to rule Arnor. On the way, he’s ambushed by a host of orcs, and most of his people, including his three eldest sons, are killed. His wife and youngest son, Valandil, are still safe in Rivendell.
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Isildur escapes by putting on the One Ring and becoming invisible, but the orcs follow his smell until he jumps into the river to evade them. The Ring betrays him by slipping from his finger as he swims. Now visible, Isildur is shot by the orcs. Three of his people survive the ambush and bring the shards of Narsil to Valandil in Rivendell. Elrond foretells that the sword won’t be reforged until the One Ring is found again and Sauron returns.
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Valandil becomes the king of Arnor, but there aren’t enough men and Númenoreans left after the war to maintain the cities Elendil built. In the time of the seventh king after Valandil, the men of Númenor become divided into groups and picked off by enemies until only a group of wanderers remain, forgotten everywhere except in Rivendell. Still, the line of Isildur continues and the shards of Narsil are passed down.
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Gondor grows to resemble the height of Númenor, then eventually wanes, and the line of Meneldil dies out in a plague. Gondor abandons Minas Ithil and the forts on the border when evil creeps in from Mordor. The Ringwraiths take over Minas Ithil to prepare for Sauron’s return and use it to wage war on Minas Anor, now renamed Minas Tirith, where the remnants of the Númenoreans protect the west.
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Minas Tirith survives after the death of Eärnur, the last king of Gondor, who fights a Ringwraith in single combat and is captured. The Stewards rule Gondor in the absence of kings, and the Rohirrim arrive to live in Rohan and aid Minas Tirith in the war. In the north, there are ancient enemies of Sauron that the men of Gondor don’t know much about, and the Ringwraiths don’t leave their city after Eärnur’s death.
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After Gil-galad’s death, Rivendell becomes “a refuge for the weary and oppressed.” The heirs of Isildur stay there, since Elrond knows that someone with an important fate will be born into their line. The Grey Havens also remains a refuge for elves, ruled by Círdan. The elves never speak of their three Rings of Power, and few know where they’re hidden. Vilya is with Elrond in Rivendell, Nenya is with Galadriel in Lothlórien, and no one but Elrond, Galadriel, and Círdan know where Narya is.
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After Sauron’s fall, the rings are put to work to preserve Rivendell and Lothlórien from “the griefs of time.” If Sauron ever finds the One Ring again, or if the One Ring is destroyed, the power of the elven rings will fail, and the lands will begin to fade. At that point, the power of the elves will diminish, and the Dominion of Men will begin in Middle-earth.
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Since then, that has happened. The One Ring, the seven dwarven rings, and the nine rings of men are destroyed, and the three elven rings have left Middle-earth. Their departure ends the Third Age. The years before that time are the Fading Years, when elves, orcs, dragons, and dwarves still walk Middle-earth. As the Dominion of Men approaches, Sauron rises again in Mirkwood.
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Though it was once called Greenwood the Great, the name of the forest is changed to Mirkwood when darkness and evil creatures creep in, though the king Thranduil and his people try to defend it. There, Sauron becomes known as the Sorcerer of Dol Guldur.
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When Sauron appears in Mirkwood, the Istari (wizards) also appear in Middle-earth. Only Círdan, Elrond, and Galadriel know the wizards come from the West, but rumors later spread that they’re sent by the Valar to fight Sauron and inspire men and elves to do the same. They take the appearance of old men, yet age slowly, and have “many powers of mind and hand.” The first to arrive is Saruman, who speaks mostly to men. The next is Gandalf, a close counselor of Elrond and the elves. The next is Radagast, a friend of birds and beasts. Gandalf goes to Dol Guldur and frightens the Sorcerer away for a time, but he eventually returns.
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At that time the White Council—made of Gandalf, Saruman, Galadriel, Elrond, Círdan, and the other elven lords—is founded, with Saruman as its leader. Galadriel wants Gandalf to lead it, but he refuses, since he doesn’t want to have allegiance to anyone but the Valar. Gandalf goes to Dol Guldur again and confirms that Sauron has taken shape and returned to search for the One Ring. He advises that they take swift action, but Saruman decides they should wait and watch first, since he doesn’t think the One Ring will ever be found. The Council is troubled, but they don’t realize that Saruman wants the Ring for himself and already has spies looking for it.
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Sauron’s power grows in Dol Guldur and Gandalf again urges the White Council to act, since Sauron will have hope and amass power as long as the One Ring still exists, even if it’s lost. This time, Saruman agrees, and they drive Sauron from Mirkwood. However, their attack is too late, since the Ringwraiths have already prepared for him to return to Mordor and rebuild Barad-dûr.
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The One Ring is found again. It was taken from the Anduin long ago by “one of the small fisher-folk” that lived there and hidden under a mountain. It stays there until it’s found by a traveler and carried into the land of the Halflings in western Eriador, whom the elves and men hadn’t considered important until then. By chance, Gandalf learns of the Ring’s whereabouts before Sauron does, but he doesn’t know what to do with it, since it can’t be used, can’t be destroyed by the elves, and can’t be hidden forever. Sauron learns its location soon and sends the Ringwraiths to take it.
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The shards of Narsil are reforged in Rivendell and given to the heir of Isildur, Aragorn, who is very like Elendil. Saruman is overthrown in Isengard, and a great battle is fought outside of Minas Tirith, where the Wraith-king is killed. Aragorn leads the armies of the west, the Dúnedain, the lords of Gondor, the king of Rohan, and their allies to the Black Gates of Mordor. They face defeat—Sauron and his armies are too strong.
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At that time, Gandalf is proven right, and help comes “from the hands of the weak when the Wise faltered.” Frodo the Halfling travels to Mount Doom with his servant and throws the One Ring into its fires, destroying it. Sauron is defeated; his physical form is destroyed, and his spirit becomes powerless.
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There is a new era of peace in Middle-earth as Aragorn is crowned king of Gondor and Arnor. The glory of the Dúnedain is restored, and the White Tree flowers again. While it lives, the kings of Gondor don’t forget the past of the world.
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The west achieves victory primarily due to Gandalf’s planning, and he’s revealed to be the bearer of Narya, the elven ring of fire. It was originally entrusted to Círdan, who gave it to Gandalf to protect him from weariness. Círdan plans to guard the Grey Havens until the last ship leaves for Valinor and Tol Eressëa. When the power of the elven rings fades after the One Ring’s destruction, the world becomes “cold and grey” to the elves. The last of the Noldor leave Middle-earth forever. The bearers of the three elven rings follow them, sailing away from the Grey Havens in Círdan’s ship until the Bent World falls away, and they arrive in the ancient west.
