Glossary

Ainur
In the beginning, Illúvatar, the One, made the Ainur and they sang before him. He turned their music into a vision and made the vision come true – Arda was created.
There were higher ones – the Valar, "gods", - and lesser ones – the Maiar, "half-gods". Each Maia was assigned to one of the 14 Valar. The highest female Vala was Varda whom the Elves called Elbereth; they loved her dearly for she had made the stars. Other important Valar were Ulmo, the Lord of Waters, Aulë the Smith, creator of mountains, metals and the Dwarves and Yavanna, fertility goddess and creator of the Ents.

Aman
The Undying Lands: Valinor, the home of the Valar, and Eldamar, the home of the Elves. After the Númenórians had assailed Valinor, the Undying Lands could only be reached by Elves or those who had been invited by the Valar; the Elves sailed there when they felt their task in Middle-Earth had been fulfilled and never returened.

Arda
The World, including Aman

Balrogs
Mighty demons of fire created by Morgoth in the First Age

Beleriand
Land in the north-west of Middle-Earth where Elves, Men and Dwarves lived together peacefully during the First Age; sunk into the sea at the end of the First Age except for a small part which was later called Lindon.

Calaquendi
Elves of Light, the Elven peoples who went on the Great Journey and came to Aman.

Khazad-Dûm
Dwarven realm under the Misty Mountains until the middle of the Third Age, mine for a very precious metal called Mithril. When the Dwarves mined for Mithril too greedily, they woke up a Balrog in the depths of the mountains; Khazad-Dúm was deserted and called Moria from then on.

Last Alliance of Elves and Men
At the end of the Second Age, Elves and Men fought side by side for the first time in the Battle of Dagorland; Isildur cut the One Ring from Sauron’s finger and Dark Lord’s army was defeated.

Middle-Earth
The northern part of Arda between Harad, Rhún, the Grey Mountains and the western sea that was to become Europe

Moriquendi
The Elves that did not go to Aman in the First Age

Ring War
War between Sauron and the Free Peoples in the Third Age which found its climax in the Battle of the Pelannor Fields and ended when the Ruling Ring was destroyed

Silmarills
Gems made by Fëanor in the First Age, filled with the light of the Trees of Valinor, stolen by Morgoth

The Sword that was broken
When Isuldur used his father’s sword, Narsil, to cut the One Ring from Sauron’s finger, it was broken into several pieces. The fragments were kept in Rivendell and in Third Age, Narsil was reforged and given to Isildur’s heir, Aragorn, who called it Andúril, the Flame of the West.

War of Wrath
War in the First Age in which the Valar defeated Melkor