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In the First Age of Middle-Earth, tens of thousands of years before the events ofThe Lord of the Rings, six immense battles occurred between the Elves of Beleriand and the Dark Lord Morgoth. The fifth of these battles is one of the most unforgettable sagas in Tolkien’s entire mythology, a conflict so momentous and so harrowing that it forever altered the future of Middle-Earth. This is the story of theNirnaeth Arnoediad: the Battle of Unnumbered Tears.
The story of the Nirnaeth Arnoediad, as well as the four battles that preceded it, are told within the pages ofThe Silmarillion. The world of this novel is far different from the one fans ofThe Lord of the Ringsmight be familiar with, since the majority of the conflicts and stories told inThe Silmarilliontake place inthe lost land of Beleriand. At this time in Tolkien’s history, the primary evil of Middle-Earth was not Sauron, but instead his master, the disgraced ValaMorgoth, whose vast armies of orcs, dragons, and Balrogs waged war against the Elves, Dwarves, and Men of Beleriand throughout the First Age. The Battle of Unnumbered Tears was the fifth battle of what would later be known as the War of the Jewels, and marked a terrible low-point for the forces of good as the Enemy continued to dominate the free peoples of Middle-Earth.
What Led to the Battle?
In the years leading up to the Nirnaeth Arnoediad, the Elves of Beleriand were still recovering from a tremendous loss against the armies of Morgoth. Seventeen years earlier, Morgoth had unleashed a massive assault that laid waste to the entire north of Beleriand and resulted in the death ofthe Noldor’s High King Fingolfin. This battle would become known as the Dagor Bragollach, or Battle of Sudden Flame, and it left the free peoples of Middle-Earth in an incredibly precarious position.
Following the Dagor Bragollach, the Noldor lost almost all of their control over the north of Beleriand, maintaining only a few strongholds that stood against Morgoth’s vast armies. Soon, however, the Dark Lord suffered an unexpected loss: Beren and Lúthien — two of Tolkien’s most important characters — broke into Morgoth’s fortress and stole a Silmaril from his crown. Suddenly, it seemed as if the Dark Lord was not as invincible as many had previously believed, and some of the Elves began to wonder if he could actually be defeated.
Maedhros, the eldest son of Fëanor, began urging the armies of Beleriand to gather together and march against Morgoth while he was still weak. While the Edain (Men) and many of the Elves agreed to join his cause, some of the strongest Elven armies refused to send aid. Still, the Union of Maedhros was formed, combining a massive force of Elves, Men, and Dwarves under the command of their titular leader.In FA 472, they set out and began the long march toMorgoth’s fortress of Angbandin the north.
The Battle
The Union of Maedhros developed a strategy that involved a two-front assault: one army, led by Maedhros would march directly towards Morgoth’s fortress of Angband, drawing his army’s attention. Then, another army, led byFingolfin’s son, Fingon, would come from the west and crush the Orcs between the two hosts.Unbeknownst to Maedhros, however, Morgoth had a great many spies, includingUlfang, an Elf who was quite close to Maedhros. As a result, Maedhros' march did not go as planned, and they instead walked right into a barrage of Orcs. They were unable to send the signal to Fingon, and were only able to slowly toil their way westwards.
Meanwhile, Fingon and his army await Maedhros’ signal within Fingon’s fortress of Barad Eithel. With no sign from his ally, Fingon began to worry that the plan might have been compromised. Luckily, a great deal of hope is restored by the surprise arrival of ten thousand Elves, led by Fingon’s brother,Turgon of Gondolin. Unfortunately, these good tidings were not long to last, as a large host of Orcs unexpectedly arrives in the hills of Fingon’s domain and begins to assault his forces with small-scale attacks. Having still not heard anything from Maedhros in the east, Fingon urges his soldiers not to attack yet, but the taunting of the Orcs proves too wicked to go unavenged. In sight of Fingon’s army, they dismember Gelmir, a captive Elf. Gelmir’s brother,Gwindor,is among Fingon’s host, and he and a number of followers break ranks and openly attack the Orcs. With this, the dam bursts, and Fingon leads the rest of his army in pursuit of Gwindor’s brazen assault.
At first, this great push proved quite successful. Gwindor and his companions quickly outpaced Fingon and the rest of his army, and in their rage they soon managed to break through the very gates of Angband itself. Unfortunately, having left the rest of their allies so far behind, Gwindor’s company is soon defeated, and all but their leader are slain. With this, Morgoth sends forth a massive onslaught of Orcs, who beat back Fingon’s host and force them into a devastating retreat. Nearly all hope had left the forces of Fingon and Turgon, until they suddenly heard the trumpets of Maedhros, finally arriving from the east.
The Aftermath
At the arrival of Maedhros, many of the Orcs despair and their armies begin to scatter. It is then that Morgoth rallies the entirety of his dark servants and sends forth a gigantic attack that includesGothmog the BalrogandGlaurung the dragon. Thus, before the armies of Maedhros and Fingon are ever able to unite, they are split apart by an unimaginable onslaught.
Fingon and his army are assailed by Gothmog and the Balrogs, whereas Maedhros and his host are scorched by the dragon-fires of Glaurung. Both enemies prove too great to defeat, and Fingon is eventually slain after an epic battle with Gothmog. Glaurung is kept at bay by the Dwarves among Maedhros’ ranks, and the Dwarven King Azaghâl sacrifices his life to wound the great beast and force it to flee. Maedhros and the other Sons of Fëanor are able to escape, and the hero Húrin allows himself to be captured by Gothmog in order to allow Turgon to retreat back to Gondolin. With that, the Battle of Unnumbered Tears came to a terrible close.
The Nirnaeth Arnonediad proved to be one of the most devastating losses for the free peoples of Middle-Earth against the powers of Morgoth. What began as a calculated demonstration of the combined powers of the Dark Lord’s enemies was betrayed by the treachery of Ulfang and resulted in unnumbered casualties for the Elves and their allies. Following the Battle of Unnumbered Tears, Morgoth’s powers would continue to grow, and he would soontopple Turgon’s kingdom of Gondolinin FA 510. In the far future, at the very end of the First Age, the Dark Lord would finally be defeated once and for all, but for the warriors who fell during the Nirnaeth Arnoediad, this salvation simply did not arrive soon enough.
The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings is one of the most iconic names in entertainment. The franchise started with novels from J. R. R. Tolkien before being adapted onto the big screen by Peter Jackson in one of the most critically-acclaimed film trilogies of all time. There have also been numerous The Lord of the Rings video games of varying quality.
