The Encyclopedia of Arda - Angainor (original) (raw)

Dates Used to chain Melkor for three ages during the Years of the Trees (c. 2900 years)1 Location Origins Race Pronunciation angai'nor (ai is pronounced like English 'eye') Meaning Given as 'the Oppressor' Indexes: Alphabetical: A Items About this entry: Updated 12 June 2015 This entry is complete The chain of Melkor After the Elves awoke at Cuiviénen, the Valar went to war against Melkor. In the Battle of the Powers that followed, Melkor's great fortress of Utumno was destroyed, and Melkor himself was captured and bound with a chain created by Aulë. That chain was known as Angainor, and once chained with it, Melkor was carried back to Valinor and shut in the Halls of Mandos for three ages. After the three ages had passed, Melkor was released, but he soon turned back to evil. Destroying the Two Trees and stealing the Silmarils, he established himself in his old stronghold at Angband, and began an age-long reign in Middle-earth. His time as Dark Lord was ended when the Valar again came against him in the War of Wrath, in which Angainor was used to hold Melkor captive once more. The Silmarillion tells us little about Angainor beyond its bare existence, but the idea of the great chain that bound Melkor goes back to the earliest of Tolkien's works. In The Book of Lost Tales 1, we're told that Angainor was made of unique unbreakable alloy known as tilkal, created by Aulë, that appeared green or red according to the light that shone on it. The name Angainor, at least according to that early version of the story, means 'the Oppressor'. Notes 1 According to The Annals of Aman in volume X of The History of Middle-earth, Melkor was chained in Valian Year 1099, and released in VY 1400. That period of 301 Valian Years calculates as the equivalent of just over 2,884 solar years (though these events actually took place before the creation of the Sun). Indexes: Alphabetical: A Items About this entry: Updated 12 June 2015 This entry is complete For acknowledgements and references, see the Disclaimer & Bibliography page. Original content © copyright Mark Fisher 1998, 2001, 2007, 2015. All rights reserved. For conditions of reuse, see the Site FAQ. Website services kindly sponsored by Axiom Discovery aptitude and skill testing.Axiom Discovery gives you comprehensive online aptitude testing covering core skills across a wide range of disciplines.