From armies of dragons to tragic heroes, legions
of balrogs, massive wars, foul treachery, and a trio of superpowered gems that make the One Ring
feel like your great-grandmother's pearl necklace, here are the epic events that shaped
the First Age of Tolkien's Middle-earth. The First Age comes on the heels of the Years
of the Lamps and the Years of the Trees. The Years of the Lamps lasts for
millennia and finds the Valar, the spirit guardians of Middle-earth,
squaring off against the Dark Lord Morgoth, whose second in command, Sauron,
will be the scourge of the Third Age. This world-shaking conflict leads to the Years of
the Trees, which starts after the Valar withdraw to the Blessed Realm. Here two mighty glowing
trees take turns illuminating the continent. In the following millennia, the Elves "awaken"
for the first time. Fearing for the safety of these new creatures, the Valar defeat and capture
Morgoth, and encourage the Elves to come and live with them in the West. Many Elves heed the
call, while others remain in Middle-earth. The next few thousand years are a time of peace as
Morgoth serves a three-age-long prison sentence, and the Elves that went West flourish
in the Blessed Realm. It's at this early date that both Galadriel and Fëanor are born. With some help from Shelob's
distant mother, Ungoliant, Morgoth destroys the Two Trees and hightails
it back to Middle-earth where many of his servants — including Sauron — have been hiding. On his way out of the Blessed Realm, Morgoth
kills Fëanor's father and steals the Silmarils. Artifacts even more sacred
than the light of Eärendil, the Silmarils are jewels that contain
the living light of the destroyed trees. In the fallout from Morgoth's betrayal,
Fëanor rallies his Elves, known as the Noldor, and convinces most of them to disobey the Valar
and leave the Blessed Realm to reclaim the jewels. This rebellion is cast in disarray when Fëanor
convinces a loyal subsection of his people to attack other Elves as they leave, seizing their
boats to sail back across the sea to Middle-earth. As Fëanor sails back to Middle-earth
with a handful of the Noldor, the majority of the Elves are left to
find their own way on foot. This group, which includes Galadriel, didn't participate
in seizing the boats. They decide to head into the frozen north and cross the water at a pass
where the two continents are closer together. Roughly marking the beginning of the First Age,
the Noldor Elves arrive in Middle-earth. This is also the moment when the Valar, saddened by the
rebellion of the Elves, still show their support for them by launching the Sun and the Moon into
the sky to replace the light of the Two Trees. In the eastern regions, Men awaken. While it will
take centuries for them to make their way to the Elves, they exist, and they'll eventually
wander right into the First Age action. "Out of the frying pan." "And into the fire. Run! Run!" Led by Fëanor, the smaller group of Noldor return
to Middle-earth, catching Morgoth by surprise. The villain has set up shop in
his fortress. Known as Angband, Morgoth's seat of power is even
more foreboding than Sauron's. Unprepared for an attack by the Elves, Morgoth's
forces are decimated. Despite Morgoth's resounding defeat, Fëanor is mortally wounded by a balrog,
a tough foe for even the mighty Gandalf. After a 75-year pause in the battle, Morgoth
attacks again, but, like Sauron after him, faces defeat at the hands of the Elves.
Emboldened, the Elves attack his mountain fortress. Known as the Siege of Angband,
the battle lasts close to 400 years. As the Siege of Angband drags on, the Elves
that aren't fighting on the front lines establish the hidden cities
of Nargothrond and Gondolin. This pair of fortress-kingdoms becomes
crucial in holding off Morgoth. While the primary focus of the First Age
follows the Noldor as they build cities and battle with Morgoth over the Silmarils, another
branch of Elvenkind is also important. Known as the Sindar or the Grey Elves, they're the
Elven race of Thranduil and his son, Legolas. Initially, the Elves continue to deal with
occasional attacks from Morgoth's forces. Two hundred years into the siege, the first dragon,
Glaurung, ancestor to Smaug, appears. Still young, it doesn't take much for the Elves to send
him scampering back to his master. After this, the "Long Peace" begins, during which Morgoth
remains quiet and the Elves remain vigilant. The Long Peace is a time of great prosperity
and optimism. Believing that the Silmarils will soon be back in their hands,
the kingdoms of the Elves thrive. During the Long Peace, Men enter Middle-earth
history. Wandering in from the Eastern lands, many of these Men are seduced by Morgoth
just as King Théoden will fall under Sauron's spell in The Lord of the Rings. However, three
clans befriend the Elves and join their cause. These Men are known as the
Edain or "The Three Houses." "I am no man!" The Long Peace ends when Morgoth unexpectedly
unleashes rivers of fire from his mountain fortress. Leading armies of orcs and balrogs,
a now-fully-grown Glaurung attacks the Elves. Known as the Battle of Sudden Flame,
the assault leaves the Noldor reeling. While the Battle of Sudden Flame is a solid
defeat for the forces of good, it does lead to two of the most epic events in all of Tolkien's
writings. First, the Noldor King, Fingolfin, becomes so enraged that he rides to Angband to
challenge the dark lord Morgoth to single combat, just as Eowyn will one day
face the Witch King alone. The duel is intense as the Elf-lord dodges
Morgoth's deadly mace and manages to wound him seven times. Despite his valiant efforts,
the brave Fingolfin dies by Morgoth's hand. Nearly 20 years after their initial defeat, the Elves gather their forces
and attack Morgoth in one final, massive bid for victory. One of the most glorious
First Age battles, the Battle of Unnumbered Tears, leaves the Elven armies in ruins and Morgoth
virtually unchallenged in Middle-earth. While the Battle of Unnumbered Tears makes Morgoth
the most powerful being on the continent, that doesn't mean his enemies are completely defeated.
The kingdoms of Nargothrond, Gondolin, and Doriath remain. Well hidden, these kingdoms are reluctant
to resist the resurgent Dark Lord in the open. The Elves never fully recover from the Battle
of Unnumbered Tears. Weak and divided, they're slowly consumed by the forces of darkness.
Morgoth discovers Nargothrond and Gondolin, the first by stupidity, and the second
by treachery, and destroys them both. "I will not stand down before any Elf! Not
least this faithless, woodland sprite!" Romance in Tolkien's writing isn't limited
to Aragorn and Arwen. One of the author's most celebrated First Age epics is a love story.
The Tale of Beren and Lúthien begins when Beren, a Man, escapes into the enchanted kingdom
of Doriath after his lands are devastated by the Battle of Sudden Flame. There, he meets
Lúthien, the daughter of the Elf king Thingol, and the two fall in love. However, the
king is appalled at the thought of his daughter marrying a fugitive and a
mortal man. He jokingly tells Beren that if he can personally get one of the
three Silmarils from Morgoth's iron crown, an act even more daring than Bilbo's theft
of the Arkenstone, he can marry his daughter. Beren departs on his quest, but soon finds that
Lúthien has come to help him. Side by side, the lovers travel to Angband and steal a Silmaril. Throughout the adventure, Lúthien pulls most
of the weight with her magical abilities. As they return home, the great wolf Carcharoth,
who makes The Hobbit's wargs look like mere pups, steals the Silmaril, biting off Beren's hand in
the process. Eventually, they hunt Carcharoth down and recover the jewel, but Beren dies of his
wounds. Grief-stricken, Lúthien also perishes. Their tragic romance is so moving that the couple
is returned to life. Lúthien is made mortal and the pair are allowed to return to Middle-earth,
where they live for a while longer together. An epic tragedy, the tale of The Children of
Húrin is the story of a brave chieftain of Men captured during the Battle of Unnumbered
Tears. Morgoth, in an act more cruel than even anything conceived by The Lord of the
Ring's Witch King, tortures Húrin hoping he will reveal the location of the hidden city
of Gondolin. Húrin is unyielding. Angered, the Dark Lord curses Húrin's family and forces him to
witness the destruction of his wife and children. Húrin's son, Túrin, is at first raised by
the Elves in Doriath, but he flees after he accidentally kills a mocking Elf in a brawl. From
there, he launches into a heroic career to rival that of the Third Age's Boromir. Repeatedly,
he rises to glory only to face utter ruin. Túrin heads to the hidden kingdom of Nargothrond,
where he convinces the Elvish leadership to fight in the open, leading to the utter
destruction of the cavernous underground realm. Unfortunately, Glaurung the Dragon,
deceitful as The Hobbit's Smaug, brainwashes both Túrin and his sister
Níniel. Under the dragon's enchantment, the two meet and, not knowing they're related,
marry, and conceive a child. Eventually, Túrin kills Glaurung. Realizing what they've
done, the siblings take their own lives. The third great epic of the First
Age is the tale of Eärendil, the Mariner. Distantly related to all three
of the Houses of Men as well as the Elves, Eärendil is born in Gondolin and flees
the city's destruction as a child. Escaping to the western shores of Middle-earth,
where a group of exiles has settled in the wake of Morgoth's resurgent power, Eärendil marries
Elwing, the granddaughter of Beren and Lúthien who herself will be the grandmother of Gondor's
future queen Arwen. The parents of Elrond, and his brother Elros, who begins the
line of kings that leads to Aragorn, Eärendil and Elwing are a Tolkien power couple. Eärendil becomes famous in his own right when
he builds a ship and heads out in search of the Blessed Realm. Eventually, Elwing joins him.
Together, they reach the Blessed Realm and ask the Valar to return to Middle-earth and help their
relatives, who are on the brink of destruction. The guardians, moved by the personal sacrifice,
forgive the Elves and respond to the call. Once the Valar receive Eärendil's plea for
aid, they gather a massive army and head to Middle-earth to face down Morgoth once and for
all. Morgoth has grown even more powerful, and, unlike his lieutenant Sauron, doesn't need a magic
ring to inflict his will. Known as the War of Wrath, the conflict that ensues makes the Battle
of the Five Armies look like a barroom brawl. Elves, Men, gods, eagles, dragons,
balrogs, and orcs enter the fray in an all-out battle of good versus evil.
Morgoth's armies are powerful, but ultimately, they can't overcome
the host from the Blessed Realm. Facing a defeat as total as Sauron's future fall,
Morgoth is dethroned and his armies vanquished. However, the fight is so intense that it breaks
the land, causing a flood. As water rushes in, the region is completely submerged. This event
creates the familiar map of Middle-earth we know from The Lord of the Rings. With the land sinking
beneath their feet, most of the Elves and Valar head back to the Blessed Realm. However, many
others, both good and evil, choose to head east. Here, the First Age ends and the Second
Age begins, and with it comes a new threat in the form of Morgoth's second in command, Sauron,
who will prove to be an even more powerful foe. Check out one of our newest
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