Summary
Sauron repented (sincerely, if out of fear) after the fall of Morgoth, and went to Ëonwë to ask for pardon. Ëonwë told him he'd have to go to Valinor and face judgement; unwilling to brave that, Sauron fled and hid himself, and promptly fell back into evil.
Beleriand was largely destroyed in the War of Wrath. Part of Ossiriand, West of the Ered Luin, survived, and it was there that the Noldor who wished to remain in Middle-earth established their realm. Gil-galad son of Fingon was their king, and Elrond son of Eärendil (having chosen immortality, unlike his brother Elros) and Círdan the Shipwright were there as well.
Many of the Sindar crossed the mountains and lived among the Avari, who often took the Sindar as their lords. But the only realm the Noldor established east of the Ered Luin was in Eregion, near to Khazad-dûm. Celebrimbor, son of Curufin, son of Fëanor (estranged from his father because of his actions against Beren, Lúthien, and Finrod) was their lord. The Ring-Smiths of Eregion were very skilled; only Fëanor himself ever surpassed Celebrimbor.
Sauron established dominion among the Men of the South and East, and (putting on his fair form) sought to manipulate the Elves as well. He called himself Annatar, Lord of Gifts, and posed as an emissary of the Valar and spoke of elevating Middle-earth to beauty and glory like that found in Valinor. Gil-galad and Elrond did not trust him, but he was made very welcome in Eregion and they learned all he had to teach.
The Ring-Smiths made many Rings of Power, intended to preserve and heal the world. Celebrimbor himself wrought the three greatest with no assistance from Sauron, though still using the knowledge Sauron had taught. And Sauron in secret made the One Ring, designed to control the thought and power of those who wore the lesser Rings.
But the Elves were aware of his treachery, and took off the Rings. Sauron demanded they surrender them to him, but the Elves refused. Sauron made war upon the Elves. The Rings were taken (save the Three), Celebrimbor was killed, and Eregion and Eriador were laid waste. War never stopped for the remainder of the Age, and Sauron came to dominate nearly all of Middle-earth outside of Gil-galad's realm. Elrond in this time established Rivendell as a refuge for the survivors of Eregion.
Sauron gave seven of the Rings to the Dwarves. They weren't under Sauron's direct dominion (Dwarves having a +2 racial bonus to will saves against mental attacks) but were inflamed with greed. And nine he gave to Men, who became the Nâzgul.
Eventually Sauron's dominion was challenged by Ar-Pharazôn, as discussed in Akallabêth, and he was taken as a captive to Númenór. His plan to destroy Númenór worked even better than he'd hoped, but he'd underestimated the wrath of the Valar and was caught in the Downfall. He survived to return to Mordor, but his fair form was destroyed. Elendil and his sons established Gondor and Arnor, and Sauron planned for war. He attacked Gondor and took Minas Ithil, but Elendil and Gil-galad formed the Last Alliance against him. Sauron was overthrown, though Gil-galad, Elendil, and Anárion all died in the war. Isildur claimed the One Ring for his own, but soon afterward he was attacked and killed by Orcs, and the Ring fell into the Anduin and passed out of knowledge.
Arnor had been greatly reduced by the war. Over the course of the Third Age, it gradually lessened until it was divided into petty kingdoms, which were overthrown one by one. Isildur’s line endured, though, and had help and shelter with Elrond in Rivendell.
Gondor grew in might for the first part of the Third Age, but eventually it too began to dwindle, and the watch upon Mordor was abandoned. The Ringwraiths seized Minas Ithil, renaming it Minas Morgul, the line of Anárion failed, and the Stewards took up the rule of Gondor. Minas Anor was renamed Minas Tirith, and was ever at war with Minas Morgul. The men of the north settled in the vale of Calenardhon, named it Rohan, and were staunch allies of Gondor.
There were still High Elves in Rivendell with Elrond, and in Lindon with Círdan. No one spoke of the Three Rings, though with Sauron defeated they took them up again. In time, it was perceived that one was with Elrond in Rivendell, and one with Lady Galadriel in Lothlórien. No one save Elrond, Galadriel, and Círdan knew where the third Ring was. In general the Third Age was an age of transition: there were still Eldar in Middle-earth, and many things that have since passed away, but the Dominion of Men was beginning.
Eventually Sauron reappeared in Mirkwood, though no one would know who exactly he was for a long time. At the same time the Wizards first appeared; they were emissaries of the Valar, sent to help the people of Middle-earth against Sauron, though not to challenge him directly. The chiefs of them were Mithrandir (Gandalf) and Curunír (Saruman). Curunír journeyed in the East for a long time, before settling in Orthanc with the blessing of the Stewards of Gondor. Galadriel first convened the White Council, with Curunír at its head (though she had wished for Mithrandir to take that role, but he refused). Mithrandir, after a time, investigated Dol Guldur, and found that it was indeed Sauron, and not one of the Ringwraiths. Mithrandir urged the Council to act now and attack Sauron before he gained too much strength, but Curunír advised they simply watch and wait. The Ring, he said, was lost forever, and Sauron was searching for it in vain. Elrond and Mithrandir were troubled, and Elrond foresaw that the Ring would appear again despite what Curunír said. For Curunír had fallen to darkness, and wanted the Ring for himself, but the White Council didn’t perceive this. He was hoping that the Ring would reveal itself, trying to return to Sauron, and Curunír would be able to get to it first. Eventually Mithrandir persuaded the Council to act, but too late: Sauron was ready for them, and simply removed to his rebuilt strongholds in Mordor.
However, long before this, the Ring had been found, by one of the small fisher-folk that lived on the shores of Anduin. The finder carried the Ring deep beneath the Misty Mountains and hid there with it, living long past the life of its kind, until (in the very year of the assault upon Dol Guldur) a wayfarer from the land of the Halflings chanced upon it. Thanks to luck and his long vigilance Mithrandir learned of the Ring before Sauron, and enlisted the remnants of the Dúnedain of Arnor to his aid.
All the acts of courage and desperation in the war that followed are accounted elsewhere, including the rise of Aragorn son of Arathorn, the overthrow of the traitor Curunír, the battle before Minas Tirith, and the march of the armies of the West against the Black Gate. And they were saved from utter defeat at the last moment by Frodo the halfling, who had crept in secret into Mordor with only his servant, bearing the Ring, to cast it into Orodruin and destroy Sauron forever. And Aragorn was crowned king of Gondor and Arnor, and the Dúnedain flourished again, but the Three had lost their power, and the Elves passed away. At the last it was revealed that Círdan had bestowed the Ring of Fire upon Mithrandir, forseeing that he would have better use of it. And Mithrandir, Elrond, and Galadriel left Middle-earth, and ages of the Elves came to an end.
Commentary
I found, as I was reading this, that I wasn’t a big fan of the Sil ending here. It’s a perfectly logical choice, certainly. As Sam remarked once upon a time, it’s all one big story that doesn’t end. Frodo, after all, bore a blade of Gondolin, and he and Sam wielded both that blade and the light of Laurelin and Telperion against one of the spawn of Ungolaint. The dark lord Sauron that was overthrown in Lord of the Rings was the same one that imprisoned Beren and killed Finrod Felegund. The balrog that was hiding under Moria was there because it fled the wrath of the Valar when Morgoth was defeated.
But at the same time, I feel like I didn’t learn anything new here. I’m sure there are bits and pieces in this that can’t be found in LotR or its Appendices, but there are really not all that many.
What’s chiefly interesting about this is that Lord of the Rings was written by Bilbo, Frodo, and Sam, and it shows. The entire book, including the Appendices, is very much a Hobbit story. It’s told from their perspective and with their views of the world. “Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age” covers much of the same territory, but it’s a distinctly Elven perspective on matters.
In the end, I don’t have much to say about this chapter. Probably if I had tried to do this a few months ago I would have had more to say, but I’m pretty much talked out.
And this marks the final chapter of The Silmarillion. I’ll share some overall thoughts in the comments, and then I too shall take ship my Hyundai into the West.
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