[Subtitles will have mistakes]
In Lord of the Rings Tolkien tells the story
of many heroes. Sam and Frodo bring the One Ring as close to its doom as possible. They
went further with it then most other beings of Middle-earth would be able to. Bilbo found
the One Ring, helped the dwarves, which led to Smaug's defeat and later even abandoned
the Ring with a little help of Gandalf. An unimaginable feat of his willpower. Speaking
of Gandalf, he positioned characters at the right places over the centuries and took actions
against all odds, to force Sauron to move. If he would have failed, all would be lost. All those stories we can read in the books
and see in the films, but there are other heroes, often forgotten. Today we look at
an Elf in the background and that is literally, where you can see him in the films. They show
him only twice and completely ignore his story, even though nobody had his foresight in Middle-earth.
Would he have failed, all would be lost too. He fought with many Kings over the ages in
the great battles, that would be sung later. E.g. he fought with the Last Alliance of Elves
and Men. We can see his banner in the prologue of the Fellowship of the Ring movie, a nice
little reference. But he also fought 3400 years prior with the first Leaders of men
or the Edain to be precise. He gave advice to the powerful and worked
tirelessly in the background against all odds. He is probably one of the the oldest Elves
- if not the oldest - living in Middle-earth, so old, that he had a long beard. He was brave
and loyal, bringing great sacrifices for the greater good. He truly is an unsung hero and one of my favourite
characters in Tolkien's universe. It's Círdan the Shipwright. What a legend. Before we continue, two hints:
I try to pronounce the names as Tolkien described it or as it makes sense looking at the roots
of the words. This means a lot of rolled Rs. To explain Círdan and his early story, I
have to explain a ton of elvish lore from the First Age. This video could almost be
titled: The history of the Teleri and Noldor Elves, but I take several shortcuts and let
out some parts to bring the focus back to Círdan, but the First Age is very complex
and all events are somehow connected. It must also be mentioned that I focus on Tolkien's
mythology from his main works. As mentioned Círdan is actually shown in
Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings Trilogy. He is played by Michael Elsworth, who also
played this guy in the archives of Minas Tirith. However we see Círdan at the beginning wearing
Narya one of the 3 elven Rings of Power together with Galadriel and the High King of the Noldor
Elves Gil-galad, and we see him at the end of Return of the King in Mithlond, the Grey
Havens together with Galadriel and Celeborn. Like a frame for the movies, which does him
justice. However the movies depict him without a beard. Male elves usually don't have one,
but when they are very old and in their late life cycle
(some speak of the “Third Life Cycle”), they can grow a beard, which was the case
for Círdan. In The Return of the King we can read: As they came to the gates Círdan the Shipwright
came forth to greet them. Very tall he was, and his beard was long, and he was grey and
old, save that his eyes were keen as stars. But this is the end of the Lord of the Rings
at the Grey Havens. Where does it all start? Círdan was born as Nowë between the Years
of the Trees 1050 and 1149. So between the awakening of the elves and him staying in
Middle-earth after the great journey. He could potentially be part of the small group of
the first elves in existence. That makes him very old and far older than
even Galadriel, who was born Years of the Trees 1362. If you have seen my video about
the White Trees and their origins, you know that this is ancient. The Years of the Trees
are also not Solar Years, but Valian years. So 9.582 Solar years are one Valian Year. If we calculate his age, he is between 10412
and 11361 solar years old, when Frodo reaches Rivendell. Galadriel is “only” 8371 at
this time in comparison. If you ask yourself, why he is described looking
old as an elf? He lived in Middle-earth his whole recorded live and has never seen the
Light of Aman, the Undying Lands. Galadriel in contrast lived in Aman for some time and
has seen the light of the Two Trees. In addition the other known elves in Middle-earth are
much younger. Middle-earth is a continent of change, Aman is not, which is probably
why it's called the Undying Lands. At least that's my interpretation All elves must at
some point go there, or they fade into the unseen world. But let's continue. Nowë was kin to Olwë and Elwë, who should
later become King Thingol. Elwë and Olwë were also born in Cuiviénen, where the elves
awoke. They led the Great Journey for the Teleri Elves. So it is possible, that Círdan
was already alive at this time too. But let me explain the Great Journey of the
Elves a bit from the lore's perspective. I have to take some shortcuts though. Cuiviénen was a bay at the shores of the
Sea of Helcar. That is interestingly around where Mordor is during the Third Age of the
Years of the Sun. A bit further to the East, so behind Mordor. In Tolkien's mythology the
world was shaped differently at this time and also had changed from its original design
by Eru Iluvatar, that is god, his high angels, the Valar and probably to some degree his
lower angels, the Maiar, because of the rebellious nature of the evil Vala Melkor, the master
of Sauron from ancient times. Originally the world just had one symmetrical
continent and two lamps on giant towers as light source, called Illuin and Ormal. The
Sea of Helcar is the crater where Illuin collapsed, after Melkor destroyed the Two Lamps. The
crater filled with water and formed the sea and here the elves awoke at the mentioned
bay. As mentioned Sauron's master Melkor, who should
be later known as Morgoth, is the main reason behind the Great Journey. When the elves awoke
he found them first and started to corrupt them. When the other Valar found the elves
through Oromë, the Huntsman of the Valar, they were worried and needed to get the elves
away from Melkor's influence and stop him. And so they started and won the War for Sake
of the Elves against Melkor, which bound him for 3 ages and destroyed his First Stronghold
Ûdun in the North. When the powerful entities clashed the Dark Land separated from Middle-earth's
south, where the other great lamp Ormal once collapsed.
After the war the Valar invited the Elves to their undying lands on their continent
Aman in the far west. Depending on their - you could say - clans,
the Elves split into 3 groups: Vanyar, Noldor and Teleri. We know many Noldor Elves from
Lord of the Rings, like Gil-galad, Galadriel and Elrond, but also some Teleri and related
elves, like Círdan, Thranduil and Celeborn, who are Sindar elves to be precise. There
are likely no Vanyar Elves in Middle-earth. The Vala Oromë took one ambassador from each
group, namely Ingwë, Finwë and the mentioned Elwë, and brought them to Valinor the capital
of the Valar on Aman to speak for their people at the council of the Valar. After they returned
to their people and convinced them to leave, the Great Journey begins. That means all 3
groups of elves will travel to Aman, which is a long journey through Middle-earth and
over the ocean. Just for sake of completeness: there were
also elves among the Noldor and Teleri, who did not want to go on the Great Journey. They
will be known as the Avari, which means “the Refusers”. Sometimes they are also called
Dark Elves, but this term has some different meanings. They will have a problematic relationship
with the Noldor and Sindar later. I'm coming to what Sindar elves are soon. However parts
of the Avari mixed with the Nandor elves, that are the Silvan and Green elves. E.g.
the people of Thranduil, even though he is a Sinda himself are Silvan Elves. Originally
the Nandor elves were a group of Teleri elves, who aborted the Great Journey around the Anduin
and stayed there, but the story is far more complicated and is probably for another video
only mentioned here to confuse you more. The great journey of the 3 main groups slowly
moved through Middle-earth and halted, when they finally reached the west coast land of
Middle-earth, called Beleriand. They were a bit afraid of the ocean and even moved back
a bit into the land. Still they had to cross the ocean, but how should they bring so many
elves over to Aman? The Valar had an interesting solution for this: they used an island as
a giant ship, which they separated from a another local Island, probably Balar. The
Island would be later known as Tol Eressëa and was pushed by the Vala Ulmo, King of the
Sea. He is like Poseidon. Not all elves could be transported on the
island the first time, because the Teleri still dwelt in the east of Beleriand, so they
did not hear the summon to come to the island and missed it. The events around this, described
in the Silmarillion, are a bit difficult to put into a chronological order. So this is
my interpretation of it. The reason for this is, that different views on the story are
split into different chapters, which tell the same story again, but with other details.
They all tell the same story, but with some parts it's not clear in what chronological
order they happen. E.g. Elwë want to visit Finwë, but it's not stated when exactly this
happened. I assume, when the Venyar and Noldor fell back a bit into the land and before they
were summoned to the floating island. Tolkien wanted to create mythology told from the perspective
of a translator, who found fictional records. Elements like this are imitating the real
world. Even in history there are sometimes different sources or recordings of the same
event with small differences. What is important: around this time Elwë,
the leader of the Teleri, went to visit his close friend Finwë, the leader of the Noldor
elves, but went missing in the woods and the Teleri started to search for him for a very
long time. Ulmo then only took the Vanyar and Noldor
on the Island with him to Aman, while the Teleri - including Nowë - were left behind.
I assume, because the Teleri were still too far away, maybe they even got delayed because
they searched Elwë. In Aman the Noldor and esp. Finwë missed
their friends and begged the Valar, to also bring them to Aman, so Ulmo had to return
with the island Tol Eressëa to Middle-earth and fetch them. And now Nowë's story begins. What is necessary
to understand: it was every elves' greatest desire, to see Aman and the Light of Valinor,
the Two Trees, with their own eyes. Esp. Nowë's and Elwë's, who is the only Sinda, who has
actually seen the Light of the Trees himself, because he was there once as one of the 3
ambassadors. They really wanted to go there and see it. So the Teleri moved to the shores
of Beleriand and they loved the water. This sounds a bit oddly phrased, but what I mean
is the culture of the Teleri evolved around water. While waiting there, the Teleri got a bit
impatient and thought of ways to get to the other side. Nowë in his eager started to
learn how to build ships, I always imagine how he builds and tests prototypes of ships
and does research on navigation, because the Elves, the First Born, were still young, not
knowing too much about sailing a huge ocean. It's a bit difficult to determine the exact
point – but as mentioned Elwë, the Teleri leader and relative of Nowë, explored the
woods and did not return, so the Teleri started to search for him. It is described how Nowë
was most loyal and eager to find him, even after the others gave up searching. It must
be noted, that Elwë was missing for a very long time. Possibly centuries. So what happened to Elwë in the meantime?
In the Forest of Nan Elmoth Elwë met Melian the Maia - a so to say angel of lower rank.
Gandalf, Saruman, but also Sauron or the Balrogs are all Maiar. They are Ainur, spirit beings,
but they usually take a physical form. They are the helpers of the Valar, the higher angels.
Melian served Yavanna, the Queen of Nature but also served other Valar and is described
as immeasurably beautiful, the wisest of her kin and none of her kin was more skilled in
songs of enchantment than her. It was her, who taught the Nightingales to sing. When Melian and Elwë met both fell in love
and were enchanted in this moment for years. We can read:
so that they stood thus while long years were measured by the wheeling stars above them;
and the trees of Nan Elmoth grew tall and dark before they spoke any word. In the meantime the Teleri got company by
Ossë and his wife Uinen, both Maiar of Ulmo and developed a friendship with the Elves.
Ossë taught them sea-lore and and sea-music, which should influence the Teleri, same with
the life at the shore. The Maia Ossë, whose realm the shores of
Middle-earth were, enjoyed the company of the Teleri much and persuaded some of them
to stay. When the Vala Ulmo arrived again with the island to fetch the Teleri, Elwë
still hasn't returned. And so the Teleri split up. Elwë's brother Olwë became their new
leader and led the bigger part of the Teleri to Aman. The others I assume decided to not
leave without Elwë or were persuaded by Ossë. This was a huge sacrifice for Nowë. And so
a group stayed at the shores of Beleriand, while the others reached Aman. Those who stayed were called Falathrim – “Coast
people” - and Nowë, kin of Elwë and Olwë became their lord, dwelling in Falas. He stood at the shores and saw how the lights
of the island slowly disappeared in the distance. In his mind he planned to find Elwë and then
sail over to Aman with the ship he has built, even if he had to sail it alone. We can read in the Peoples of Middle-earth,
that he cried aloud: “I will follow that light, alone if none
will come with me, for the ship that I have been building is now almost ready.” But then he heard a voice in his head and
saw a vision. Through that vision the Valar told him that he and his ships were still
not good enough to reach the shores of Aman and showed him a flying white ship, Vingilot,
the Ship of Elrond's father Eärendil, who will later become Círdan's apprentice and
the Shipwright will help him build this ship. It would be enchanted by the Valar to fly
through the sky and the Silmaril – one of three legendary gems, imbued with the Light
of the Two Trees of Valinor-, that Eärendil wore, would be seen as a star in the sky and
be known as the Star of Eärendil. In Tolkien's notes, published in the History
of Middle-earth books we can read: a shape like a white boat, shining above him,
that sailed west through the air, and as it dwindled in the distance it looked like a
star of so great a brilliance that it cast a shadow of Círdan upon the strand where
he stood. He also got foresight from the Valar, even
beyond that of Elrond's or Galadriel's, but he had to stay in Middle-earth. And Nowë
answered: “I obey.” It was also here, where he, who was known
as Nowë until this event, took the Sindarin name Círdan, which means “shipbuilder”.
It feels a bit like a tautology, when we read “Círdan the Shipwright” in the books,
but it underlines how his profession is one of his most defining features. As a lord of
the Sindar, it also makes sense, that he spoke Sindarin, but the language must have been
very young at this point. So the language of the isolated Teleri developed further.
The name Nowë was Quenya, the other elvish language, which developed earlier and is e.g.
spoken by the Elves in Aman. This development of language also indicates, that all these
events did not just took a few years, but literally centuries. In Falas Círdan and his people started building
ships and the cities Eglarest and Brithombar, the two Havens of Falas. At some point, which is a bit difficult to
determine Elwë returned with Melian. The centuries he was missing, being like in trance,
made him almost like a Maia too and he became the King of the remaining Teleri elves. He
was known as Elu Thingol, establishing his realm Doriath. Thingol means “greymantle”
and his people were known as the Sindar, the grey-elves. To be precise, the elves still
living at the shores in Falas under Círdan, were the mentioned Falathrim and the elves
in Doriath, where the Eglath, the Forsaken people. With his wife Melian and the Eglath
he then founded the Kingdom in Doriath. They also later built their capital Menegroth,
the Thousand Caves. All this takes it's time, about 1500 years. About 1000 years after Menegroth was build,
the evil Vala Melkor was released again, so 3 ages have passed, that are about 3000 years.
Ofc he would cause trouble again, in Aman and Middle-earth. He rebuilt his second fortress
Angband in Middle-earth, using it as his lair. He then allied with Ungoliant, that's Shelobs
mother, destroyed the Two Trees of Valinor with her help, murdered the High King of the
Noldor Finwë, stole the masterpiece of Finwë's oldest son Fëanor, the 3 legendary gems called
the Silmarilli, betrayed Ungoliant, got rescued by his Balrogs and then decided to conquer
Beleriand. Keep Fëanor and his seven sons in mind. They will occur quite often during
the First Age. It's very difficult to understand the First
Age and it's political situation without this part of the story, so bear with me. What all those events now caused, was that
Fëanor cursed Melkor, calling him Morgoth, which should become his new name and Fëanor
and his seven sons swore an Oath to return the Silmarilli by any means necessary, which
should turn into a curse for his family, parts of the Noldor and most, who ever had something
to do with the three Silmarilli. This was part of the First Prophecy of Mandos - also
called the Doom of Mandos -, probably because this actually doomed a lot of elves. The oath
and the hunt for the Silmarilli and to some degree the Silmarilli themselves became a
terrible curse, that influenced the complete First Age. To retrieve the Silmarilli, Fëanor needed
armies, because he had to confront Morgoth and so he convinced almost all Noldor elves
to come with him back to Middle-earth. Fëanor also needed ships to get over the ocean. He
asked the Teleri of Aman, so those led by Olwë, to give them their ships, but they
declined, which escalated into Fëanor and his people taking the ships by force and even
murdering the Teleri, which is known as the first kinslaying. Fëanor's halfbrother Finarfin,
which is Galadriel's father, and probably his older brother Fingolfin, did not participate
in the kinslaying. However Fingolfin's man arrived and helped, thinking Fëanor was attacked
by the Teleri. This is also the first example of this oath turning into a curse, that brings
doom over those who have contact with Fëanor and his seven sons. The story becomes quite complex, so I have
to take a few shortcuts, I also explained it a few times in other videos, so here the
short version. In the end Galadriel's father Finarfin did
not go back to Middle-earth, because he listened to the mentioned prophecy of Mandos, the Doomsman
of the Valar, which he understood as warning. Finarfin was the wisest of Finwë's sons,
but his own sons and one of his daughters, which is no other than Galadriel, did not
want to leave their Noldor brethren behind (they also were ashamed to go back to the
Valar) and so sailed to Middle-earth not listening to their father and Mandos. The Doom of Mandos,
also included a banishment from Aman for these Noldor Elves. When Fëanor arrived in Middle-earth with
the ships stolen from the Teleri, he burned the ships, instead of sending them back to
get the others. The Noldor elves in Aman could see the smoke, so Fingolfin, Finarfin's children
and their armies and people had to travel over Helcaraxë,
a connection of ice from Aman to Middle-earth. It's a very dangerous and deadly route through
an ice desert, which cost many lives. The remaining Noldor were ofc angry at Fëanor,
but as mentioned also ashamed to go back to the Valar and so went on this dangerous marsh.
During this the Years of the Trees ended and the Years of the Sun began. They saw the Moon
rising the first time and arrived in Middle-earth shortly after, when the Sun rose the first
time. As you will notice this happens after Fëanor landed in Middle-earth. Chronology
is a bit difficult, because so many things happen in parallel, but keep this event in
mind. Before the first Noldor arrived Morgoth started
war – the First Battle of Beleriand - with the Sindar elves in the Years of the Trees
1497. Three to four Valian years before the beginning of the First Age of the Years of
the Sun. The war took place at two sides. One army
of Morgoth attacked the Kingdom of Doriath from the east and the other attacked Falas
in the west. Círdan and his people lost their battle and had to retreat, resulting in the
siege of both of his cities. King Thingol and his people got help from
a Nandor group of elves, the Laiquendi, the mentioned Green Elves, who dwelt in Ossiriand
in the East. But they were not well equipped for war-fare and suffered great losses, even
their king Denethor was slain. The dwarves from Belegost came to help too. Thingol later
rewared them with pearls, that Círdan and his people in Falas found in the shallow waters
around the Isle of Balar. One of them was as big as a dove's egg called Nimphelos and
the Dwarves valued it more than a mountain of treasure, because they did not knew pearls.
As beings that valued the earth and underground, they feared the oceans and avoided the shores.
The skilled dwarvish craftsmen also helped the Sindar elves making weapons, which the
elves didn't need before. As hinted, it was not looking good for the
Sindar and Laiquendi, especially for Círdan in Falas, but then the mentioned Fëanor arrived
with his armies and the orcs had to abandon the siege and were ordered north to help their
master. In this time Melian the Maia also created a magical fence around Doriath, that
no one less powerful could enter against her will, the so called Girdle of Melian. This
is also when the land became actually known as Doriath, which means Land of the Fence.
Before that it was known as Egaldor, the land of the Forsaken. The arrival of Fëanor started the Dagor-nuin-Giliath,
the Battle under the Stars - sun and moon were not created yet. Ofc Morgoth did not
want the Noldor to establish themselves in Beleriand and attacked them, that's why he
called back the orcs from Falas, absconding the siege of Círdan's cities, but the orcs
were ambushed by Celegorm, one of Fëanor's sons, and got totally destroyed. There is also the Battle of Lammoth. It's
only mentioned in Tolkien's notes published in the Peoples of Middle-earth book long after
his death, which makes it not clear how canon it is. When much later the mentioned Fingolfin
arrived in Beleriand in Lammoth, he found an army of orcs, that Morgoth sent there to
attack Fëanor's rear. Fingolfin and his army were surprised, but managed to defeat them,
else they potentially could have caused a lot of trouble for Fëanor and his sons. I
think it's a good introduction of Fingolfin arriving in Beleriand. The Noldor elves caused Morgoth great losses,
probably because they were still empowered by the Light of Valinor. The war was almost
won. Fëanor in his wrath pursued the fleeing orcs towards Angband, Morgoth's Fortress,
but there he got surrounded by Balrogs. He fought them off for some time impressively,
but in the end got heavily wounded and smitten down by Gothmog, leader of the Balrogs and
one of the highest servants of Morgoth with Sauron. His sons came and even managed to
drive the Balrogs away, but Fëanor died to his wounds a bit later. The curse doomed the
first of those, who swore the oath of Fëanor. With this Maedhros, Fëanor's eldest son became
High King of the Noldor for a short time, but he got tricked and captured by Morgoth.
Fingolfin's son Fingon, that's also Galadriel's cousin, managed to free him with the help
of Thorondor King of the Eagles and after that - out of gratitude - Maedhros dropped
his claim to be king and his uncle Fingolfin became High King of the Noldor elves, however
Fëanor's sons still did what they wanted. This was around Year 5 of First Age of the
Years of the Sun. You could ask, did the Sindar, some of them
once Teleri, willingly work together with the Noldor, who murdered their kin in Aman?
Well, the Noldor did not tell the Sindar, what they did. They pretended to be sent by
the Valar to help them against Morgoth. This is a very interesting detail, that unfolds
in your mind, how this curse actually works. You know by now, that it can't end well. It must also be noted, that with the first
rising of the sun also Men awoke in the east of Middle-earth. We come to them later. First Age 20 Fingolfin, High King of the Noldor
Elves, celebrated the Mereth Aderthad. It was a reunion celebration between the Noldor
and the Sindar. Círdan also participated and all swore to help each other against their
common foe Morgoth in the north. And it happened, what Morgoth wanted to prevent: the Noldor
elves established themselves in Beleriand. Around First Age 50 Galadriel and her older
brother Finrod, where guests in King Thingol's halls. There she met the Sinda Celeborn and
fall in love with him. From Melian she learned a lot, e.g. how to make Lembas bread, which
Melian learned from the Vala Yavanna, Queen of Nature. A while back Finrod, got a vision by the Vala
Ulmo on his way, which inspired him to built a fortress himself. He already built the tower
Minas Tirith at Tol Sirion, where he probably started his journey. When he reached Doriath,
he was impressed by the halls of King Thingol, Menegroth, the Thousand Caves, which the dwarves
once helped to built. The King told him about a somewhat similar cavern around the river
Narog. And so Finrod decided to go there and built his stronghold, which he would call
Nargothrond, which mean something like “Vaulted Dome” or “Underground Fortress of Narog”.
Galadriel did not come with him and stayed in Doriath with Celeborn. Turgon, the 2nd son of King Fingolfin, who
also travelled with his friend Finrod had a vision by Ulmo too. The vision motivated
him to build Gondolin, the Hidden City. Some of the famous weapon's from Lord of the Rings
were made there. Glamdring, the sword Gandalf used in the Third Age, was most likely Turgon's
sword. Gondolin, which means “hidden rock”, was built at a hidden place on a hill and
kept secret by the elves. Morgoth didn't know about Gondolin's location for centuries. Both
Nargothrond and Gondolin were inspired and to some degree protected by the Valar, both
kept secret. Nargothrond grew and its influence expanded
to the borders of Falas, where Círdan was still lord and both realms became close allies.
The Noldor also helped rebuilding their neighbours haven-cities. In addition Finrod raised the
tower of Barad Nimras, to watch the sea, but Morgoth never used ships. In return - so to
say - the mariners of Falas helped to built ships for Nargothrond, so they could explore
e.g. the Isle of Balar, planning to built a stronghold and use it as a last stand against
Morgoth, but it was not Finrod's fate to do so. Under King Fingolfin the Noldor elves decided
to push further against Morgoth. They were victorious in the Dagor Aglareb, the Glorious
Battle, where Morgoth sent small bands of orcs deep into Beleriand. The elves hunted
the orcs down and Círdan most likely participated in this war, probably foreseeing, that it
w ould lead to peace for some time, but he also knew for sure about the dark days, that
would come after it. After this victory, Fingolfin started to besiege Angband, the Fortress of
Morgoth, for an impressive 400 Years. Angband was build beneath three volcanic mountains
(called Thangorodrim), which were raised by Morgoth. The elves had not the power to assault
Angband directly and tried to contain the evil inside it. During this time Melian learned about the
Silmarilli from Galadriel. As Maia she was powerful and wise. She knew there was more
to this story and foresaw that evil lay upon it. She asked Galadriel further and explained,
that Thingol should learn about it, but Galadriel answered quite sassy. Quote: 'Maybe,' said Galadriel; 'but not of me.' Melian now understood, that the wrath of the
Valar lay upon the Noldor and esp. Fëanor and his sons, and that the fate of the Silmarilli
was greater than that of the elves and would lead to many terrible wars. She counselled
with her husband Thingol and he understood now, that the Noldor were not sent by the
Valar, but came for revenge against the will of the Valar. He also learned that his friend
Finwë was slain by Morgoth, which filled him with grieve. Círdan heard about this too, which troubled
him greatly. His ability to see what happened and will happen, urged him to act and so he
also sent messengers to Thingol. And maybe through some rumours that spread in Beleriand,
Melian, Thingol and Círdan learned a bit more about what happened once in Aman. When Finrod and his little brother Angrod
came to Doriath, to visit their sister Galadriel, Thingol confronted the Noldor with what he
has learned, esp. in the context, that their mother is kin to Thingol and a Teleri herself.
A very interesting passage in the Silmarillion. I can recommend reading it. Angrod explained, that Finarfin's children
had no part in the kinslaying, and that they were persuaded by Fëanor, suffering greatly
for it, but still holding loyalty to him until now and he spoke bitterly against Fëanor's
sons, telling Thingol all that happened in Aman. Thingol was shocked, but now understood. He
announced, that the house of Finarfin and Fingolfin is still welcome in Doriath, but
the tongue of those, who murdered his kin in Aman shall be never heard again in his
realm. And all Sindar should never speak the tongue of the Noldor nor answer to it as long
as he was King. And who did was considered a traitor and slayer of kin. As a result most
Noldor also abandoned their language Quenya and started to speak Sindarin. That is why
Noldor elves will speak Quenya rarely later in Middle-earth and instead use Sindarin. Now men come into play as well. Around First
Age 310 Galadriel's brother Finrod meets the first men, from the House of Bëor. As explained
Men awoke when the sun first rose in the east of Middle-earth in Hildórien. And many went
to the west. Thy split into several houses usually known as the Three Houses of Men,
but it's more complicated. They should also become close allies of the elves. These men
of the Three Houses, who went to the west, will be known as the Edain or Atani and some
of them will become the Dúnedain, that we know from Lord of the Rings. Aragorn is related
to these men. Edain in Sindarin and Atani in Quenya both mean Second People, because
the elves were the Firstborn and first in Beleriand. Finrod is the first who meets the Edain, he
looks a bit after them and also teaches them many things. Bëor, the leader of one of the
houses serves as a vassal for him until his death. Finrod also arranges, where the Edain
can settle in Beleriand. However this is a too complex topic to fit into this video. The arrival of men creates new possibilities
and new stories in Beleriand, but it also increases the pressure for Morgoth. In the
depth of his fortresses he created all kinds of evil creatures. His masterpiece are the
Dragons. Glaurung, the Father of Dragons will be the first as explained in my Dragons lore
video. We skip to First Age 455. This year will end
the peace, because Morgoth will break out of the 400 year long siege of the elves in
the Dagor Bragollach, the Battle of Sudden Flame. To do this he sent out rivers of flame,
which burned the land of Ard-galen, which means “green region”, and killed many
of the fleeing elves, followed by his armies of orcs, Balrogs and the first dragon Glaurung.
It was a disaster for elves and men. Galadriel's brothers Angrod and Aegnor died in this battle,
but also Hador, the leader of one of the 3 houses of the Edain. The House of Bëor had
many casualties too. Not only that, Morgoth now was back in Beleriand again. During this war Finrod would have been killed
in an orc ambush, but he was rescued by Barahir, from the House of Bëor, and his men under
great losses. Barahir received Finrod's ring as a gift of gratitude, which is ofc the ring
of Finarfins's house. It will pass down from generation to generation of men and be known
as the Ring of Barahir, which Aragorn wears in the Lord of the Rings. This makes it clear,
what line started with Barahir - the line of Kings of Arnor and Gondor. In his wrath Fingolfin, the High King of the
Noldor elves, rode to Morgoth and challenged him to single combat. Which sounds like suicide,
but Fingolfin was a very powerful elf and he managed to even wound Morgoth seven times,
but the Dark Lord was too powerful to be slain and so the elf king was ultimately defeated
by the evil Vala and his hammer Grond. Before he could kill the High King with his foot
on his neck, Fingolfin struck his foot one last time, which should make him limp from
now on. The corpse of Fingolfin, which Morgoth wanted to feat to his wolves, was rescued
by the Lord of the Eagles Thorondor, who also scratched Morgoth's face in the process. An
impressive deed. After Fingolfin's death, his son Fingon would become king and the elves
lost complete control of Beleriand's north. Interestingly Círdan is not mentioned to
have participated in this battle, but as a lord of the Sindar, it is possible, that he
could have participated in some way. It must also be considered, that his realm was relatively
far away and not all places could be reached by ship from the coast. However the times
were dark and troubled in the First Age esp. towards its end and the powers the elves had
to fight were great and the fate was heading to even darker times. Only 10 years later
the theft of one of Morgoth's stolen Silmarilli through Barahir's son Beren and his future
wife Lúthien, daughter of Thingol and Melian, brought hope back to the elves, but also inner
conflict. I explain this story in my Sauron video. This event is a little turning point
and ascends the fate of people over the power of the Silmarilli's curse, esp. the half-elven,
with the exception of the first half-elven I guess, but even he starts a turning point.
You can imagine how difficult these times were for the elves, because of their inner
conflict caused by the kinslaying. We can find the next mention of Círdan, when
seven years after the Battle of Sudden Flame, Fingon, now the High King of the Noldor elves,
fought against hosts from Angband in Hithlum. As mentioned - the elves lost control of the
north and Morgoth's forces pressured the borders. It looked not good for Fingon and he was outnumbered,
but Círdan with his foresight sent ships over the Firth of Drengist, and turned the
loss into a victory for the elves, saving Fingon. I think this event is a little turning
point on how Círdan is mentioned. He seems to become a bit more active or maybe his deeds
are simply more often mentioned in the Silmarillion from now on. It must also be considered, that
many royal elves died in the battles before and probably the focus was now more on him,
because there were not many left anymore. The elves also had to move closer to the shores
and seek refuge in Círdan's realm Falas, but also in Nargothrond under Finrod. Gondolin
remained secret and shut. Still Círdan is a very passive character, because he is more
the Elf in the background. Nontheless Morgoth's forces became stronger
and so Fëanor's son Maedhros planned to form a giant alliance with all enemies of Morgoth,
the Union of Maedhros. With this he wanted to create a powerful army to push the Dark
Lord back to Angband. However some elves like Thingol and even Finrod's successor Orodreth,
still having in mind the deeds of Fëanor and his sons, send only few. Two of Fëanor's
sons even openly declared their intent to slay Thingol and his people. One of them was
the father of Celebrimbor, the ringmaker from the Second Age. However with the dwarves of Belegost and Nogrod,
the Edain and the Noldor, with Gondolin sending a huge host, they still had an impressive
army. Also new men arrived in Berliand, the Easterlings under Ulfang and Bór and joined
the union too. In the meantime or let's say a bit earlier,
the two mentioned sons of Fëanor (namely Celegorm and Curufin), kidnapped Thingol's
daughter Lúthien. She could escape and joined Beren's Quest to retrieve the Silmarilli from
Morgoth in which Finrod died, fulfilling his oath to Barahir, by protecting his son Beren.
Beren and Lúthien managed to get one Silmaril back, but Beren and later Lúthien died in
the process. I talked earlier, about half-elven and that this event would start ascending
over the power of the Silmarilli's curse. This story is the first step, because both
Lúthien and Beren got a new life after their death and they had a child, the first half-elven
Díor, who would make the next step. But back to he union. It happened that Morgoth
was allied to some of the Easterlings in secret, promising them good land in Beleriand. Ulfang
and his Easterlings betrayed the union, leaking the battle plan to Morgoth. Bór should later
be known as the faithful, so he and his people did not betray the union. And so a battle began, that would be known
as the Nirnaeth Arnoediad, the Battle of Unnumbered Tears. The name was related to the first lines
of Mandos' prophecy, which prophetized unnumbered tears for the elves. As the name already implies:
it was a disaster for the union, even though they came really close to defeating Morgoth's
forces, in the end it was not enough. The betrayal of Ulfang, who actively turned against
the union in battle was a big part of it, but also the power of Glaurung. Many Edain
and also Bór and his Easterlings, but also the dwarves of Belegost defended and hold
against Morgoth's hosts of orcs, trolls, Balrogs and Glaurung under great sacrifices, to allow
the others including the elves to retreat. Some of the houses of the Edain got almost
wiped out and Bór died too. The dwarves had heavy casualties and their lord was slain
by Glaurung, but he wounded the Dragon too, that he had to flee from battle. Same with
the elves, who e.g. lost their High King Fingon. On the other side Morgoth had massive losses
as well and Ulfang and his sons were slain, but it was nothing compared to what the union
lost. Some stories esp. the Children of Húrin are
related to this battle. I explain it in my dragon lore video in the Glaurung section.
The fate of Húrin, who fought in this battle, is devastating, as he was captured by Morgoth
and should later become some kind of “doom bringer”, leading to Gondolin's and Doriath's
destruction. It is not known if Círdan participated in the battle, but he would be involved in
the aftermath. After such a heavy loss, the peoples of Beleriand
had to flee. Gondolin, which was still hidden, gave many refuge. Also Doriath was still there,
because it was protected by the Girdle of Melian. The realms closer to the coast, like the still
hidden Nargothrond and esp. Falas under Círdan, took many refugees as well. Círdan tried
to fight a bit and harried the enemy with swift landings. But Morgoth at least knew
about Falas and prepared a powerful attack, because he was planning to destroy all realms
of the elves. Through the Silmarilli, the evil deeds of some of the elves, the oath
of Fëanor and the tragic events around Húrin and his children, fate itself was against
the them. Morgoth besieged the big cities of Falas,
Brithombar and Eglarest, with powerful siege weapons. And even though the walls of the
cities were strong, he breached through and slew or enslaved everyone, that could not
escape by ship. The ships under the command of Círdan sailed with the survivors to the
isle of Balar. Among those survivors was also Gil-galad. In the Silmarillion he is a son
of Fingon, but that's an editorial mistake. He is the son of Orodreth, the successor of
Finrod in Nargothrond and with this related to Galadriel's or Finarfin's family. Círdan took care of him and built a refuge
on the Isle of Balar for all the survivors and those who could flee from Morgoth's forces
and reach the island. Because of many people fleeing to the shores and not enough ships,
the Shipwright could not abandon Beleriand's mainland completely and he built secret havens
at the Mouths of Sirion, where he hid many light and swift ships “in the creeks and
waters where the reeds were dense as a forest”. Morgoth on the other hand now controlled big
parts of Beleriand, only the few mentioned places were not under his control. Turgon,
who was now High King of the Noldor elves, sought council with Círdan and asked him,
to build swift ships, so that they could sail to Aman and call for help. The shipwright
built those ships, but on their way to the west a mighty storm came and sunk them, because
the Noldor were still banned from Aman. Only one messenger, named Voronwë, was saved by
Ulmo and washed ashore. There he met a men called Tuor (the grandfather of Elrond), who
was also a messenger of Ulmo and the nephew of the cursed Húrin. Voronwë, who knew the
hidden city's location, went with him to Gondolin, so that he could deliver Ulmo's message. We
can also read in the Unfinished Tales, that Morgoth feared the raids of Círdan's ships,
which probably made the coast regions, somewhat save and possibly helped Tuor and Voronwë
on parts of their journey. Speaking of Húrin. As mentioned he was imprisoned
by Morgoth after the Battle of Unnumbered Tears. The Dark Lord cursed him and his children,
because he dared to mock the evil Vala, but also because he fought ferociously in this
battle until his axe withered and he was buried under the corpses of the enemies he slew.
Part of Morgoth's cruel punishment was, that he had to watch how Morgoth's curse lead to
the doom of his children. As mentioned I explain this story in more detail in the Glaurung
section of my Dragon lore video. The narrative is very similar to the story of Kullervo from
the Finnish national epic Kalevala, but has also similarities with Oedipus and Sigurd
the Volsung. Here the short version: Húrin had a son named
Túrin, who had a very difficult life. A reason for this was, that Morgoth after the Battle
of Unnumbered Tears, betrayed the Easterlings, who also had betrayed the elves and Edain
in this battle. The evil Vala promised them rich lands, but instead banned them to Hithlum,
where Túrin was born and lived with his mother. Morgoth demanded now from the Easterlings,
that they terrorize this land; murder and plunder the remaining old, woman and children
of the House of Hador living there. It's one of the three houses of the Edain, which Húrin
was the leader of. So a tough life for those people, but Túrin's mother sent her son to
Doriath, where Húrin was remembered as a hero, who fought ferociously and helped the
elves retreat. He was even accepted as a son by Thingol for the deeds of his father, but
one day in an accident Túrin killed one of the counsellor's of the King and fled. As explained the once beautiful Beleriand
was now under Morgoth's control. So it was not save and small bands of outlaws formed,
either to plunder to survive or to fight against the orcs in a hit and run tactic. Túrin joined
one, but through various events of fate, he landed in Nargothrond, not revealing his parentage.
After Finrod's death in Beren's arms during his quest for the Silmarilli, Orodreth ruled
over it. Turin's identity did not stay hidden for long and when the elves learnt, who he
was, he got promoted to counsellor, because as mentioned Húrin was a great hero for the
elves. But this also brought Morgoth's curse over Nargothrond. Through Túrin's advice Orodreth abandoned
the strategy of secrecy – so hiding Nargothrond's location and hit and run attacks. Instead
they even built a bridge and fought battles in the open field. With success. They managed
to drive Morgoth's forces out of their land. Despite their success, the Vala Ulmo and Círdan
foresaw Nargothrond's doom. Ulmo adviced Círdan to contact them and so the Shipwright sent
two messengers to Orodreth, warning him of what will come and that they should destroy
the bridge as soon as possible. Círdan and his messanger's really tried, but in the end,
Nargothrond did not listen, because Túrin would not change his mind and his word was
trusted. And so Morgoth's wrath came upon them in the
form of Glaurung, Father of Dragons. With a powerful host, the dragon devastated Nargothrond
and enslaved or murdered its citizens, taking their treasures as his hoard. Only Túrin
survived, because Glaurung saw his curse and had worse in mind, which led to Túrin's and
his sister's suicide, but Glaurung's death too. With the dragon's death, the hoard became
free, including a necklace called Nauglamír, which was once made by the dwarves for Finrod,
Gladriel's brother. It was very beautiful and precious. With the fall of Nargothrond, only Gondolin,
Doriath, the Mouth of Sirion and Balar under Círdan the dwarven cities and probably the
elves in Ossiriand were left. Doriath would be next. As explained one Silmaril was recovered
by the men Beren and Thingol's and Melian's daughter Lúthien and brought to Doriath. The Silmaril would bring its curse over it.
Melian warned Thingol, but he became obsessed with the jewel. One day Húrin found the Nauglamír
in Nargothrond and brought it to the King. He threw it in anger to his feet and left
Doriath. Thingol took it and had an idea. He invited dwarves, who worked for him in
the past, and asked them to combine the Silmaril with the Nauglamír. It should become the
most beautiful work of the First Age and Ages to come. The dwarves greatly desired the necklace
(and so did the king). They demanded it as their reward, but Thingol refused and planned
to send the dwarves home without payment, which led to a strife, resulting in Thingol's
death. The aftermath of this event led to revenge upon revenge. This is also the reason
why elves esp. Sindar and dwarves should often have a bad relationship and distrust each
other in the future. The Sinda Legolas and Gimli should be a very special exception and
probably change this after the War of the Ring 6500 years later. After Thingol's death Melian left Middle-earth
and so the Girdle of Melian did not protect the Kingdom anymore. Her daughter Lúthien
had a son with Beren, named Dior, the first half-elven, who also became Doriath's next
king. From his mother Lúthien he later inherited the Silmaril and Nauglamír, which Beren once
returned from the dwarves by killing their host, that ravaged Doriath, ending the cycle
of revenge. The retrieval happened during Lúthien's and Beren's second life. Both seemed
to be above the power of the curse in this time. However the curse was brought over Dior
and Doriath, when he got the Silmaril necklace. When the seven sons of Fëanor learnt about
the Silmaril in the unprotected Doriath, they attacked. As the son of Beren and Lúthien,
Dior was very powerful and slew 3 of the 7 sons, but died in the process too. This would
also change the balance of power and the path of the curse a bit. The remaining sons of
Fëanor slew his wife and left their two 7 years old twin sons in the forest to starve.
Only his daughter Elwing escaped with the Silmaril and the necklace. This event should
be known as the Second Kinslaying. After it, Doriath was abandoned. These heavy events
should also scar the remaining son's a bit. They were still driven by their oath, but
knew how cruel they have become. We can read, that the oldest of Fëanor's sons Maedhros
repented and searched in the forest for the twin sons of Dior, but he could not find them.
Their fate is unknown, but they most likely died. Elwing however made it somehow to the Havens
of Sirion, she was about 4 years old at this point. There she grew up, I assume under the
eye of Círdan. She was half-elven too and later met another half-elven. Eärendil. Eärendil
is the son of the mentioned Tuor, who was on his way to Gondolin as a messenger of Ulmo
and found it thanks to Voronwë. In Gondolin Tuor met Idril, daughter of Turgon, the now
High King of the Noldor elves. They fell in love and had a son, Eärendil, the father
of Elrond. And you guessed it right: Elwing is ofc the mother of Elrond. But how did Eärendil come to the Mouths of
Sirion? He grew up in Gondolin. His father had a message for its King Turgon from the
Vala Ulmo: abondon the Hidden City or you are doomed. Through various events, the King
didn't listen. As explained earlier: after Húrin had seen the death of his children,
Morgoth set him free and he became like a “Doom Bringer”. Where he went bad things
happened. He searched for his friend Turgon in Gondolin, who out of fear of his curse
did not answer his call. This was chronologically before Húrin went to Nargothrond, finding
the Nauglamír. However not answering Húrin's call didn't protect Gondolin, because with
this Morgoth learned, where he had to look for the Hidden City, even though he did not
get the exact position. In the end the orcs managed to capture an elf from Gondolin, who
would betray the hidden city and reveal its position out of various motives. A topic for
another video. When Morgoth finally learned the location
of the Hidden City, he send a powerful army of orcs Balrogs and Dragons. Turgon got slain
or buried under debris. Only few escaped through Idril's secret tunnel and thanks to the noble
sacrifices of Ecthelion and Glorfindel, who both managed to slay a Balrog - Ecthelion
actually even slew Gothmog himself. It was still a disaster. Under the survivors were
Idril, Tuor and Eärendil, who fled to the Mouths of Sirion, becoming leaders there,
because Círdan was busy in Balar. And so Gondolin was lost and Morgoth's forces probably
plundered the city, which must be connected to how Glamdring, Orcrist and Sting came into
the hoard of the trolls in the Hobbit. But their exact path to this place is not known.
In this context it makes sense to some degree, that the Great Goblin in the Hobbit recognizes
Thorin's weapon, because some weapons from the First Age could have became known and
feared in goblin or orc lore. With Gondolin destroyed, only Balar and the
Mouths of Sirion were left as the main “cities” of the elves. Círdan took Eärendil as apprentice and helped
him built his ship Vingilótë. And it was identical to the ship in Círdan's vision
from the beginning, when he got his foresight. It is very important, that Círdan teaches
and helps Eärendil building this ship, because with this the curse of the Silmaril will finally
reach Morgoth himself. I assume Círdan's immense knowledge about ship building, that
he gathered over the last 4000 years, helped building a ship able to reach Aman, too. If
we remember the beginning of the video, it was always Círdan's greatest desire to go
there and see its light. Ofc Eärendil also marries Elwing and they
have twin sons. The half-elven Elrond and Elros. In those two all elven lines, the lines
of the Edain and even the blood of a Maia are united. They are very special. If you
ask yourself where the Vanyar line is from, it's from Idril's mother, who died on the
arctic journey from Aman to Middle-earth. Seeing the hopeless situation against Morgoth,
Eärendil decided to sail west with his mighty ship to ask the Valar in Valinor for help.
But the winds still repelled him and he could not reach Aman, so he started to return to
Middle-earth. Elwing still had the Silmaril and so its curse
came upon the Mouths of Sirion. The remaining 4 sons of Fëanor never gave up to find it
and learnt, where the Silmaril was. There were not many places left to be honest, but
this time the sons were a bit hesitant at first. They knew, what they have done so far
and asked or let's say demanded the Silmaril before starting to kill everyone, which is
an improvement on their path of madness, but the people around the Mouths of Sirion saw
the jewel as a blessing and did not want to give it away. And this should start the Third Kinslaying.
Fëanor's sons sacked the Mouths of Sirion. Círdan and Gil-galad were late sending their
fleets to aid the elves there. I assume the curse of the Silmaril was probably greater
than even Círdan's foresight. Also Eärendil was not back in time. The battle is described
as the cruellest of the Kinslayings, because they attacked basically a small camp, where
elves lived fleeing from a terrible war. I assume, that still some powerful lords of
the elves lived there too, because 2 of Fëanor's sons were slain in battle. To escape Elwing cast herself with the Silmaril
necklace into the sea. However Maglor one of the last two remaining sons of Fëanor,
could not slay her twin sons and took them captive. He would raise them from now on and
become their foster father. They even later developed a good relationship, considering
the circumstances. An interesting detail, as Elrond later also becomes a foster father
for Aragorn, too. Actually a lot of young Dúnedain Chieftains spent their childhood
in Rivendell. I can imagine, that this childhood event shaped Elrond's hospitality. However Elwing was not dead. Ulmo saved her
by transforming her into a white bird with a Silmaril and she flew over the sea until
she reached her husband's ship exhausted, who caught her when she fell on the ship.
There over night she transformed back and - ofc - still had the Silmaril and the necklace
with her. In their despair over the situation, potentially losing their children, they saw
no hope in Middle-earth and decided to try sailing to Aman once more. And this decision would change everything.
The 2 half-elven were not repelled by the wind this time, passed the Enchanted Isles
and reached Aman. Their story convinced the Valar to sent help, but they also demanded,
that Elwing and Eärendil as half-elven must decide, what they want to be: Men or Elf.
Elwing decided to be an Elf and Eärendil too, for sake of his wife. This is an interesting
detail, because men were not allowed to enter Aman. The Valar with the probably mightiest army
ever seen, came to Middle-earth, to defeat Morgoth. And so the War of Wrath began. Not
much is known about Círdan's role in this war, but as a Lord of the Elves and as one,
who gave many elves refuge or helped them escape, he most likely had some involvement.
Same with young Elros and Elrond. I assume a lot of people, who could still fight from
Beleriand where involved. The concept of the elf in the background goes through all of
Círdan's life. In Aman Eärendil's ship was blessed by the
Valar and he wore on his brow the Silmaril and Nauglamír he got from his wife. In this
form, you could say, he ascended to another level and his ship could be seen as a Star
in the sky, as seen in the vision of Círdan. His wife Elwing remained in Aman, but he flew
on his ship to Middle-earth and slew the mightiest of Morgoth's dragons, Ancalagon the Black,
who buried the three volcanic mountain tops of Thangorodrim under him, when he fell down
to earth. The mighty forces clashing in the War of Wrath
would finally lead to the destruction of Beleriand and ultimately sink it into the ocean. In
the end Morgoth was defeated, captured and banned into the void. Sauron however could
escape. And so the Second Age of the Years of the Sun began. The two remaining sons of Fëanor would violently
steal the last two recovered Silmarilli from the Valar (or their banner-bearer the Maia
Eonwë to be precise), who led them have it, because he knew, that they could not hold
them. The Silmarilli burned their hands and in despair Maedhros cast himself and his Silmaril
into a fiery chasm and Maglor, Elrond's foster father, threw his Silmaril into the ocean,
wandering the shores forever in despair. With this the jewels were in Sky, Earth and Water
and all sons of Fëanor dead except for Maglor. Their oath, became a curse an finally their
doom. Círdan stood loyal to the Valar and accepted
to stay in Middle-earth. He would serve under Gil-galad, the new Highking of the Noldor
elves, who he protected, together with Elrond, who became Gil-galad's herald and decided
to be numbered amongst the elves. Elros would decide to be men and sail with his people
to an island made for them as a gift by the Valar, called Elenna, which means “starwards”,
because the Star of Eärendil showed them the way. This kingdom should be known as Númenor.
This is where the Dúnedain lived. What's interesting is, that these Edain where
no mariners. So they used the elven ships of Círdan, who also assigned elven mariners
to them, so they would captain the ships with the Edain to Númenor. The elves left some
ships in Númenor, but sailed with the majority back to Middle-earth. Círdan also taught
the Edain a bit of ship building and on Númenor they slowly improved this art. It should take
600 years until the Dúnedain would send the first ship back to Middle-earth and it was
captained by a man called Vëantur. It reached Mithlond, the Grey Havens. With this Númenor
focused on sea-faring and they became great mariners, but also built small settlements
in Middle-earth. Second Age 725 the King of Númenor allowed
his son to sail to Middle-earth with his Grandfather Vëantur. They sailed together to Mithlond
and were welcomed by Círdan and Gil-galad. This implies that Círdan probably never visited
Númenor himself, which makes sense, because he should stay in Middle-earth. However he
did send ships to the Kingdom of the Dúnedain and even to Aman. The Númenoreans and elves
in Lindon had a good relationship. How intense depended on the current ruler's politics.
Gil-galad also warned Númenor of a rising dark power in the east, meaning Sauron. So
you sea how important sea-faring at this time was. It was not just helping elves to return
to Aman, but also diplomacy between elves and men. We are now coming to more familiar lore. In
the meantime Sauron established himself in Mordor and seeing the might of his enemies
(including Númenor) he started to build his fortress Barad-dûr. During this time he also
created his vicious plan. He took a fair form, calling himself Annatar – Lord of Gifts
- and visited the elves. He pretended to be an Ambassador from Aman, sent by the Valar,
foreshadowing the arrival of the Istari. As gift he wanted to teach the elves, how to
forge magical rings, the Rings of Power. He first visited Gil-galad, but the King,
Elrond and I assume Círdan doubted him - a wise decision. Sauron was however more successful
in Eregion (the other big realm of the Noldor elves in Middle-earth), which was ruled by
Celebrimbor. We can see its ruins in the first Peter Jackson Lord of the Rings film, they
are also mentioned in the books. Sauron convinced them against the advice of
Galadriel, who lived in Eregion with her husband Celeborn at this time. The couple actually
founded Eregion with Celebrimbor and later left for Lothlórien. I would assume Lindon
also advised Celebrimbor against trusting this ambassador. They did not know it was
Sauron though. Celebrimbor and his jewel smithing guild the
Gwaith-i-Mírdain believed Sauron and forged the 16 Rings of Power and other minor rings
with Sauron's help. Celebrimbor also made his master pieces, the 3 elven rings of power,
Vilya, Narya, and Nenya in secret, still using Sauron's vicious design, but without him knowing
or observing the process. I explained this part of the story in many other videos in
much detail, so we skip a bit through it. Celebrimbor also gifted one Ring of Power
most likely to Durin III, the King of Khazad-dûm, which will later be known as Moria. Eregion
and the dwarves of Khazad-dûm had a very good relationship and even worked together
(like the dwarves and Thingol once), although parts of the the surviving dwarves from Beleriand
fled to Khazad-dûm. I would assume their conflict was probably more focused on the
Sindar and Celebrimbor was a Noldor elf. In addition Eregion was founded Second Age 700
by Galadriel and Celeborn, so a lot of time has passed and none of the original dwarves
from Beleriand were still alive at this time. Now Sauron's plan was to dominate the elves
by creating a master Ring to all the Rings of Power. The One Ring, which he forged alone
in the fires of Mount Doom in Mordor, putting his will and much of his power into it. Interestingly there are some First Age parallels,
just a bit reverted. Mount Doom was once created by Morgoth, so you could say this place combined
the Old Evil and the New Evil of Middle-earth, creating a world changing artefact, that would
bring doom again over Middle-earth like the Silmarilli once. But this time it was created
by the evil. On the other side we find a bit of Morgoth's
old foe Fëanor in this, because Celebrimbor is his grandson, who will become a tragic
figure in history. While in the First Age the doom bringing artefact was created by
the elves and desired by evil, it is now partially the other way around at least later in history
and with exception of the Rings of Power, but they are just devices for the domination
through the One Ring and Sauron. However there is another big difference, we come to in a
moment. The One Ring was created around the Second
Age 1600, about the same time when the 600 years long construction of his fortress Barad-dûr
was completed. But it seems Sauron underestimated the elves.
When he put the One Ring on his finger to dominate them, the elves could see through
his plans and took the Rings of Power from their fingers. Sauron was not amused, but
still on one of his peaks of power. He gathered a mighty army and invaded Eregion, starting
the War of the Elves and Sauron. The dwarves together with elves from Lóthlorien tried
to help, but got pushed back into Khazad-dûm, forcing them to close Durin's Door. Gil-galad
called Númenor for help and sent Elrond with an army to help Eregion, but Elrond got defeated
and narrowly escaped to the north thanks to the attack of the dwarves and Lóthlorien.
There he established a stronghold, which should later become Rivendell. Interestingly according
to Tolkien's later writings, Glorfindel was sent by the Valar to help Elrond, but also
the first two Istari, the Blue Wizards arrived with him at this time. In addition calling
for Númenor so early was very wise by Gil-galad and I assume, that Círdan had to do with
it too, because it were most likely his ships, who delivered the message and with his foresight,
his council was for sure meaningful for Gil-galad, but it's not explicitly mentioned. With Eregion's destruction Sauron controlled
almost all of Eriador and basically Middle-earth except for the Misty Mountains, Lóthlorien,
Rivendell and Lindon, where Mithlond, the Grey Havens lie. He captured Celebrimbor and
collected all the Rings of Power, except for the 3 elven ones and the one in Durin's possession.
And here we come to the mentioned big difference compared to the Silmarilli. Celebrimbor did not have the “by any means
necessary” attitude of his grandfather, he also did not follow him and his oath. He
was wise and after seeing his mistake, when Sauron put on his One Ring, he hid the 3 elven
Rings and even sought council with Galadriel, who wandered through Khazad-dûm to Lóthlorien
far before the Sack of Eregion. Both Noldor had not the strength to destroy the rings,
so they decided to hide them. One Ring of Power, Nenya, he gave to her. And the other
two, Vilya and Narya, he sent to Gil-galad, who gave Narya to Círdan. When Sauron captured
Celebrimbor, he would not reveal to him under torture, where he hid his last 3 rings, which
were also the most powerful of the 19 rings. Would Sauron got his hands on them, history
would be different and probably unfolded a devastating doom, as the Silmarilli did in
Beleriand, which was destroyed in the end. Sauron put Celebrimbor to death and his orcs
carried him on a pole like a banner through Eregion. The Dark Lord now changed his plan from controlling
the elves, to destroying them. He made his way through Eriador and the people living
there had to flee, but his armies were weakened, because he had to split a part of it to contain
Elrond in Rivendell. This dark time would be known as the Days of Flight, because many
fled to Lindon, which was pretty much the last save place. The rest of the Second Age
would be known as the “Dark Years”, because Sauron was very dominant for long time periods.
The war looked not good for the elves over the years, esp. when Sauron pushed Gil-galad's
and Círdan's forces back to the river Lhûn Second Age 1700, but after a long delay the
mighty forces of the Dúnedain, the west men, from Númenor finally arrived and turned the
loss into a victory. Sauron narrowly escaped with only few bodyguards and returned to Mordor,
but all his force were slain. You could think a devastating loss, which it was, but Sauron's
position was still very good. All other factions had devastating losses too and Eriador was
in ruins. In addition Sauron was not contested in the east and could rebuild his strength
- Gondor did not exist yet. Back at home he swore revenge against Númenor. After Sauron's defeat the elves formed the
first White Council. It is not known, who the exact members were, except for Gil-galad
and probably Elrond, but I would assume Galadriel and Círdan were members too. The council
decided, that Rivendell would become the new elvish realm of Eriador and the ruined Eregion
would not be rebuilt. During the council and probably related to Elrond becoming the lord
of Rivendell, Gil-galad gave his Ring Vilya to his herald, becoming his vice-regent in
Eriador. Also the Númenoreans would establish more settlements and harbours, but over time
they should develop a a slowly increasing fear of death, later even neglecting their
relationship to the elves a bit, becoming very proud and doing their own thing, which
Sauron would later exploit. Around Second Age 2251 the Nazgûl appear the first time,
but not much is known on what they did. The next centuries should be relatively calm,
until Sauron taunted Númenor and they send one of the most powerful fleets and armies
ever seen on Middle-earth to Mordor. Sauron got captured and brought as a prisoner to
Númenor. However Sauron planned to be captured, as it was part of his revenge. I have explained
this story in my other videos in detail, so I skip a bit through it. Sauron used his abilities to manipulate the
king and advanced from prisoner to adviser of the king and later even to something like
“the high priest of Morgoth” or even a god on the island. With this Númenor went
to madness and Sauron convinced their king Ar-Pharazôn to send a gigantic fleet to Aman
claiming immortality from the Valar. Ofc men were not allowed to enter Aman. This led to
the destruction of Númenor and the destruction of the fleet by Eru, which is god, and to
a reshaping of the world, which moved Aman to the Unseen Realm. Sauron's body was destroyed
with Númenor, but his spirit returned to Mordor and he was never able again to take
a fair form. But not all Númenoreans died. A small group,
called the faithful, who did not worship Morgoth and Sauron, escaped on ships with the Palantíri,
the Ring of Barahir and a seedling of the white tree. They were led by Elendil, Isildur's
father. Isildur and his brother Anárion were also on these ships. In Middle-earth they should found the Dúnedain
Kingdom's in Exile Arnor, ruled by Elendil and Gondor ruled by Isldur and Anárion. This
is the short version. For completeness sake: also some of the king's men following Sauron,
living in middle-earth at the time of destruction, survived too. They are called Black Númenóreans. In the meantime Sauron needed most likely
some time to take a physical form again. He was probably quite angry, that some Númenoreans
survived and established a Kingdom quite next to Mordor, so he attacked them, which took
them by surprise, because they thought Sauron was dead too. When Elendil heard about the attacks on Gondor
and counselled with Isildur, he formed an alliance with Gil-galad and his realm, including
Círdan and Elrond to end Sauron once and for all. The Last Alliance of Elves and Men.
Arnor's and Lindon's forces met at Amon Sûl, or later known as the Weathertop. Marching
to Rivendell, over the Misty Mountains and down to Mordor. Even the elves from Lóthlorian
under Amdír and the Silvan elves under Thranduil's father Oropher joined, but also the dwarves
from Khazad-dûm under Durin IV. Sauron tried to delay them by burning the forests on their
path, which should become known as the brown lands after that. The Entwives lived in those
forests. Anárion managed to hold Osgiliath against Sauron's forces in the meantime, but
was in dire need. When the Last Alliance arrived and united
with the remaining forces of Gondor, they started to march towards the Black Gate, where
Sauron's forces where waiting. Amdír, the King of Lóthlorien and Thranduil's father
Oropher, King of the Silvan elves from Amon Lanc as proud Sindar did not want to be under
Gil-galad's command, probably because of what the Noldor did to the Teleri in the past,
they charged alone against Sauron and got utterly defeated. Both kings died and Amdír
and his forces were driven into the swamp area, that would be known as the Dead Marshes,
where they were cut off from the main forces and perished. Thranduil however survived and led the remaining
forces of the Silvan elves for the rest of the war and became their next king. It must
be noted, that not all Sindar thought this way, because e.g. Gil-galad's forces, but
also his realm, consisted of Noldor and Sindar elves. After month of Battle, the Last Alliance defeated
Sauron's forces and pushed through the Black Gate, while Sauron retreated. And so the Siege
of the almost indestructible fortress Barad-dûr, the Dark Tower, began and took 7 years. During
this siege Isildur's brother Anárion was killed. After those 7 years Sauron came forth with
a mighty host and tried to break the siege. Círdan and Elrond fought alongside Gil-galad
and Elendil. (We can see Cirdan's banner in the first film's prologue, a nice reference.)
The Two kings fought Sauron directly, but the Dark Lord was too powerful and killed
both, breaking Elendil's sword Narsil, but was thrown down too. Isildur now cut of Sauron's
finger with the One Ring using the broken hilt shard of his father's powerful sword,
defeating Sauron under great losses. However Sauron's spirit left his body and hid in the
far east. Now Círdan and Elrond counselled Isildur
to throw the One Ring into the fires of Mount Doom to diminish Sauron to just a shadow,
so he would never be able to recover, but Isildur could not do it and ignored their
council. He wanted to keep the Ring as a tribute to his losses and as an heirloom and so the
path for Sauron's return was not shut. This ended the Second Age and many thought
that Sauron was defeated once and for all. But the wise, like Círdan and Elrond knew
otherwise. And this leads us to Círdan's greatest deed. The Third Age started not well, when Isildur
and three of his four sons died in the Disaster of the Gladden Fields, where also the One
Ring was lost. In addition Elrond refused to become the next High king of the Noldor
elves. You could argue, that Galadriel could have claimed this position too, but she did
not and so the Noldor elves had no king and I assume Círdan became lord over Lindon. Beyond that the first 500 years of the Third
Age were quite peaceful, until Gondor was invaded by the Easterlings for the first time,
which is not a coincidence, because that is where Sauron dwelt and where he formed new
alliances with the Easterlings, who probably also fought on his side during the War of
the Last Alliance. Their activities and Sauron's potential to return was not hidden to the
wise and powerful and so the other 3 Istari (first Saruman, then Gandalf and Radagast)
arrived around Third Age 1000. In this context it's also interesting, that Saruman first
travels to the far east, I could imagine counselling with the 2 Blue Wizards, whose mission was
in there. When Gandalf and Radagast reached Middle-earth,
they arrived in Mithlond, the Grey Havens. Círdan welcomed them and as the only one
could see through their disguise as old men and see their true nature as Maiar from Aman.
Not only that, he chose Gandalf and gave him his elven Ring of Power Narya as a gift (probably
his greatest deed), because it could rekindle the hearts of others in dark times, a thing
that Gandalf does a lot, with the words, that almost seem like a prophecy, but describe
Círdan and his power very well, who is often far more passive, but none the less important: Take now this Ring,’ he said; 'for thy labours
and thy cares will be heavy, but in all it will support thee and defend thee from weariness.
For this is the Ring of Fire, and herewith, maybe, thou shalt rekindle hearts to the valour
of old in a world that grows chill. But as for me, my heart is with the Sea, and I will
dwell by the grey shores, guarding the Havens until the last ship sails. Then I shall await
thee.’ If you just go through The Hobbit and The
Lord of the Rings and count how many times Gandalf does this, it becomes clear, that
this was one of the wisest choices in the history of the Third Age. Not to imagine what
happened, if he would have gifted it to Saruman or kept it. I think this also explains what the actual
difference between the elven Rings of Power and the others are. The design is very similar
and most beings can only wear the three Rings, when Sauron does not wear the One Ring, else
he could manage to dominate them, but Sauron's doom does not lie upon them. While the other
rings of power always led into death and despair for those who wore them, the 3 elven rings
did not and could be used to ultimately defeat Sauron. The 9 Rings turned mighty man into
the Nazgûl, the dwarven bearers of the 7 Rings all found their doom in wars and fights
against the dragons, which are creatures of Morgoth, were slain by the Balrog, which will
be known as Durin's Bane - a servant of Morgoth too -, or got captured by Sauron, Morgoth's
greatest servant, and put to death by him in his dungeons of Dol Guldur. Probably all
deaths were related to their increased greed by the 7 Rings. I also like, how the remains
of Morgoth are involved in this. Only the 3 Elven Rings are not affected, which
explains “what not touched by Sauron” means and how Sauron's power allowed him to
forge fate. It's hard to imagine, what would have happened, if Sauron got his hands on
the 3 Rings too. He probably would have brought doom over the elvish wise and Frodo would
have had no place to hide. But ofc it's not only Círdan's Ring, but
also the work of the Istari, which also came to an interesting time, because Third Age
1050 a shadow went over Greenwood the Great, which was renamed into Mirkwood for all the
strange and dark things happen there. This must have been very bad, because Thranduil
had to abandon his capital in Amon Lanc (the Naked Hill) and find a new place for his people,
which will be very far away. He built his new realm in the far north of Mirkwood and
his abandoned old fortress became known as Dol Guldur, the Hill of Sorcery. And with
this Sauron is back in Middle-earth, hiding in there as Necromancer and the wise become
very slowly concerned. What most likely drew their focus away was the development in Arnor. After Elendil's death in the War of the Last
Alliance, Isildur ruled over his father's kingdom Arnor and let his brother's son rule
over Gondor. I explain this more detailed in my Aragorn video. When King Eärendur died
Third Age 861, his sons had dissensions about the heritage and split Arnor into 3 Kingdoms.
This decision and the dissensions would weaken them. Even though Sauron was still not back
from the east at that time, his servants became more and more active and the leader of the
Nazgûl, would use this chance to establish his realm Angmar in the North, becoming the
Witchking of Angmar. The Dúnedain line in one of these 3 Kingdoms
(called Rhudaur) would also become weaker, esp. under the pressure of Angmar, troubleing
the people there. Hillmen would take over the rule, who then allied with the Witchking,
which led to wars. It's very interesting, that these conflicts caused some Stoor Hobbits,
ancestor's of Gollum, to move over the misty mountains to the gladden fields, where the
ring would be found later. However the war with Angmar continued for
centuries in this region, even pressuring Rivendell, which obviously didn't happen unnoticed.
It can be assumed, that the eyes of the wise were directed towards this conflict, but also
towards Gondor's conflicts with the Easterlings, Umbar and the Haradrim, even though Gondor
was doing well. There was a lot going on during this time. It becomes clear, that Sauron chose
a good point in time to come back in secret, with the inner conflicts in Arnor and later
Angmar pulling the attention of the wise towards them. You could also interpret the situation
of abandoning Amon Lanc as Thranduil's kingdom to be very isolated. It seems nobody cared
or all were busy with other conflicts. We can find a note, that Lindon and Círdan
helped Araphor, king of one of the mentioned 3 Kingdoms (called Arthedain), to repel the
enemy from their capital Fornost and surroundings. So it becomes clear, that the elves from this
region cared and also intervened. In parallel Gondor during this time was facing a huge
inner conflict, called the kin-strife and could not help. This was followed by the Great
Plague, of which some assume, that its spread was Sauron's doing. This also led to Gondor
abandoning their outposts in Mordor. The Great Plague would reach the remains of
Arnor as well and trouble them heavily. Combined with attacks of Angmar and the summoning of
the Barrow-wights by the Witchking, which are evil spirits, that infested the Barrow
Downs, another Kingdom of the 3 (called Cardolan) was lost and their realm even became unpopulated.
So only Arthedain was left of the 3 Kingdoms. When Arvedui, which means “Last King”
ruled, Angmar managed to conquer their capital Fornost. He and the remaining Dúnedain had
to flee. Gondor was also in deep trouble due to a coordinated attack of the Haradrim from
the south and the Easterlings from the east. Arvedui fled with some of his people into
the far and cold north, hiding in old dwarven mines in the Blue Mountains with several heirlooms,
like 2 Planatíri and the Ring of Barahir. They almost died to hunger, but were aided
by the Lossoth, the Snowmen of Forochel. This winter was also exceptionally cold and long. The King's son, who was not with his father
contacted Círdan and told him about his father's flight into the north and so the Shipwright
prepared a ship to rescue him. The ship reached Arvedui and he gave the Ring of Barahir as
a token of his gratitude to the snowmen, which should be later recovered by Elrond. The snowmen
feared the elven ship, a thing they had never seen before. They also felt a bad omen in
the wind and warned Arvedui not to go, but the king did not listen. The ship should sink
on the journey back, with the King dying in the cold water. The 2 Palantíri were on the
ship too and lost forever. I always interpret this story as Círdan trying
hard, but he is not powerful enough to overcome the fate, that lies upon others. It was a
prophecy, that gave Arvedui his name “Last King” and he was the last king of Arthedain,
because it was completely destroyed by Angmar and Arnor was no more. Círdan had information
and the foresight to sent a ship able to find and reach the King, but not to bring him back
alive. His son, who was not with his father and survived
decided to not call himself king and became the first Chieftain of the Dúnedain, a title
that much later Aragorn, who is from this line, would inherit. In the meantime Gondor's southern army managed
to deafeat the Haradrim, but the eastern forces were defeated, even losing their king. The
army from the south, returned to Gondor and surprised the already celebrating Easterlings,
utterly deafeating them. After this the new King of Gondor sent his son to Arnor to help
Arthedain, but he was too late. Gondor's army arrived in the havens and united with the
elvish armies from Lindon under Círdan. Círdan summoned everyone that could fight be it elf
or men to join the army and they marched east to Fornost. Even the hobbits sent bowmen. The Witchking only moved a part of his army
to confront them early, instead of fighting in the city, which was probably a mistake.
Angmar's forces got defeated and retreated to Carn Dûm the Witchking's capital and chief
fortress in the far north. There Glorfindel with an army from Rivendell joined the fight
too and utterly destroyed Angmar. As explained in the Aragorn video, it is also here, where
Glorfindel makes the Witchking Prophecy “and not by the hand of man will he fall”. Even though Círdan could not save Arnor,
he at least could destroy Angmar and cleanse the land. Arvedui's son probably found refuge
for some time in his realm, saving the line of Isildur. Many men fled to Lindon during
the war with Angmar, a parallel to the First Age and Falas, with one difference: the Dark
Lord could not destroy Círdan's realm this time and with this he created the foundation
of what will later be the Fall of Sauron, even though the result of the wars were devastating
at this time. Sauron and his servants now focused on Gondor,
killed their king and took Minas Ithil and its Palantír, transforming the city into
Minas Morgul, the new realm of the Witchking, neglecting Eriador. In the meantime Gandalf investigated Dol Guldur
Third Age 2063, resulting in Sauron leaving Dol Guldur, to hide in the east for another
400 years. He was still too weak to reveal himself. Abandoning Dol Guldur led to Gandalf
not able to find out, who the necromancer really was at his time. These 400 years were
relatively quiet and peaceful and were called the “Watchful Peace”. When Sauron returns
to Dol Guldur, it becomes clear that something dark has returned to the region and the Watchful
Peace ends. A new White Council is founded as an answer by Galadriel in Third Age 2463,
including her, Gandalf, Saruman, Elrond, Círdan and other elven lords (at least at the first
meeting). Gandalf was chosen to be the leader by Galadriel,
but he declined and so Saruman was chosen. Círdan's role in the council seems more passive
and not much is mentioned about him, but ofc he was part of it and passivity is a good
way to describe the council too. They consist only of immortals and they have time. The
next meeting would be 400 years later. Third Age 2850 Gandalf went to Dol Guldur again
and was able to confirm the Necromancer's identity as Sauron this time. He summons the
Council and urges to attack Dol Guldur, but Saruman a powerful Maia himself manages to
persuade the council to wait, claiming to have evidence, that the One Ring is lost in
the ocean. Gandalf is not happy about this, but probably can't fully see through Saruman's
plans and treachery at this point. Even Elrond, Círdan and Galadriel are not able to. However
identifying Sauron, was still the strongest move of Gandalf in the history of the Third
Age, because it forced Sauron to make moves. Also Gandalf found Thráin, Thorin Oakenshield
father in the dungeons of Dol Guldur. From him he got the Key and map of Erebor. If he could combine at this time that Durin's
ring, the last of the 7 Rings of Power, of which 4 got destroyed by dragon's fire, was
now too in Sauron's possession, is hard to say, but he definitely found out later, because
he explains this during Elrond's Council. However all this will lead to the quest for
Erebor and with this to Bilbo finding the One Ring (the most important event of the
Third Age) and the defeat of Smaug, which stabilized the region around Erebor. During the Quest for Erebor in the Hobbit
Third Age 2941, the White council meets again and agrees this time to attack Dol Guldur.
The exact reasons for this and the decisions of the White council, I explain in my Istari
video in case you are raising some questions right now. The council attacks Sauron and the Dark Lord
finally returns to Mordor. The last meeting of the White Council is Third
Age 2953 two years after Sauron's open declaration, discussing the Rings of Power, most of them
in possession of Sauron, also all 3 elven Rings of Power are within the council. Saruman
assures again, that he knows, that the One Ring is lost into the ocean. This is also
the last council. After this Saruman isolates himself in Isengard. The next mention of Círdan is within the
Lord of the Rings. Círdan is not present for Elrond's Council for unknown reasons,
but he at least sends Galdor to represent him. Maybe he knows that fate will unfold
from now on and powers greater than him will be at work. The last mention is at the very end. He greats
the Ringbearers at the gates of the Grey Havens: As they came to the gates Círdan the Shipwright
came forth to greet them. Very tall he was, and his beard was long, and he was grey and
old, save that his eyes were keen as stars; and he looked at them and bowed, and said
'All is now ready'. What happens with Círdan after that? I don't
know, but it is likely that he will leave Middle-earth with the last ship in the Fourth
Age. In the final scene of the Lord of the Rings
films it seems that all leave Middle-earth together, but in the books it's a bit different.
Galadriel for example leaves before Celeborn. And later Legolas and Gimli, but also Sam
will leave Middle-earth too. This however takes 120 years of the Fourth Age. It is said
that Legolas builds the ship himself, Cirdan is not mentioned, so he probably is gone by
this time. We can read, that he once said something almost
like a prophecy to Gandalf when the Wizard arrived - and his prophecies should become
true. But as for me, my heart is with the Sea, and
I will dwell by the grey shores until the last ship sails. I will await you. Thank you for Watching This video was planned as a short one, because
as you probably have noticed, there is not that much written about Círdan. What made
this video so long is, all the things happening around Círdan and explaining what the impact
of him was. In the end this video is more the History of the Noldor and Teleri elves,
but I hope you still enjoyed it. It was a massive amount of work and writing the 23
pages long script took forever. If you liked it, please consider pressing the like button
and leaving a comment. I will read all and answer questions and feedback. If you managed
to watch to this point and don't want to miss future content feel free to subscribe. All
those functions help my channel a lot. I will continue with some shorter videos.
Next could be a video about a gaming related topic. Lore wise I will talk about the planned
Lord of the Rings related Amazon series. And I will also continue with my Lord of the Rings
film lore analysis series. We are still at the beginning, so topic will be: the hobbit
culture and history. A need for Feedback video is also on my list.
What the next big lore video will be I haven't decided yet. A video about the first Dark
Lord Morgoth is pretty high on my list, but that will be very work intensive and relatively
close to this video. I likely move it to a later point this year or early next year.
I really need to find a way to upload videos more frequently. Again thank you for watching and good bye
:)
