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Talk:Melkor

2008-07-06T20:38:45Z

Ârzan: /* Merge */

Should we redirect this to [[Morgoth]]? --[[User:Narfil Palùrfalas|Narfil Palùrfalas]] 17:08, 17 April 2007 (EDT)

== Merge ==

Hi!

Why do we not merge this article with the article about Morgoth?
[[User:Ârzan|Ârzan]] 13:20, 5 July 2008 (EDT)
:Well, it's over a year since Narfil proposed it, but I'm not sure what the main article should be. This, or Morgoth?. -- [[User:Ederchil|Ederchil]] 13:22, 5 July 2008 (EDT)

I think that this could be the main article. Because Melkor is his real name. And any search on Morgoth or Morgoth Bauglir could be redirected here.
What do you think about that? [[User:Ârzan|Ârzan]] 16:38, 6 July 2008 (EDT)

Talk:Melkor

2008-07-05T17:20:30Z

Ârzan: /* Merge */

Talk:Melkor

2008-07-05T17:18:03Z

Ârzan: /* Merge */

Talk:Melkor

2008-07-05T17:17:42Z

Ârzan: /* Merge */

Talk:Melkor

2008-07-05T17:16:50Z

Ârzan: Merge

Should we redirect this to [[Morgoth]]? --[[User:Narfil Palùrfalas|Narfil Palùrfalas]] 17:08, 17 April 2007 (EDT)

== Merge ==

Hi!

Why do we not merge this article with the article about Morgoth?

Talk:Sauron

2008-04-15T07:53:56Z

Ârzan: Name edit

I've linked '''Utter West''' to [[West]], or should there be a seperate article for '''Utter West'''? --[[User:Earendilyon|Earendilyon]] 05:32, 9 March 2006 (EST)

:'''Utter West''' I believe is just another name for [[Aman]]. If it is used by [[J.R.R. Tolkien]] then we can link it directly to [[Utter West]], if not then we probably should have two Wests, one for West of [[Middle-earth]] and one for West of [[Arda]] or something, what do you think? --[[User:Hyarion|Hyarion]] 11:45, 9 March 2006 (EST)

::Agreed on the '''Utter West''' referring to [[Aman]], but so does [[West|The West]], generally speaking. --[[User:Earendilyon|Earendilyon]] 16:35, 9 March 2006 (EST)

-----
I disagree with the first part of the following paragraph in the entry and I think it should be deleted. What do the rest of you think? --[[User:Ebakunin|Ebakunin]] 15:53, 4 May 2006 (EDT)

<blockquote>''By doing so, Sauron actually became more powerful than his master Morgoth at the end of the First Age, whose [[Fëa and hröa|fëa]] ("soul" or "spirit"), while stronger, was dispersed into the matter of Arda. When Sauron put on the One Ring and tried to dominate the Elves, they resisted, and Sauron came upon them in the [[War of the Elves and Sauron]] and, if not for the intervention of [[Númenor]], might have defeated them.''</blockquote>

:I agree with you Ebakunin, more powerful than [[Morgoth]] is a stretch as [[Sauron]] is simply a [[Maia]] while Morgoth is [[Vala]]. I'll look into it just to double check [[Tolkien]] never stated such a thing, but I think it would be safe to remove it. --[[User:Hyarion|Hyarion]] 18:18, 4 May 2006 (EDT)

::Actually, I do recall having read something to that extend. Will have to look further into it, though. It's probably somewhere in the depths of HoMe. --[[User:Earendilyon|Earendilyon]] 03:54, 5 May 2006 (EDT)

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In the entry there's a comment on his title, '''the Nameless Enemy''':

<blockquote>''He is also called '''the Nameless Enemy''', which is hardly accurate (but perhaps an effort to lessen his psychological impact), whereas Morgoth is the Dark Enemy.''</blockquote>

Is Sauron only referred to as the Nameless Enemy during the [[Third Age]], in the time before he had declared himself openly? The [[White Council]] knew there was a villian in [[Dol Guldur]], but until 2850 they didn't know it was Sauron. If this was the time when the Nameless Enemy was used, it would make perfect sense. Any know more about use of the title? Thanks. --[[User:Ebakunin|Ebakunin]] 16:28, 6 May 2006 (EDT)

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Should we create a new article for '''[[Thû]]'''? I would like to have placed a note near the title concerning it, but there are so many names for Sauron as Tolkien's legendarium evolved... --[[User:Narfil Palùrfalas|Narfil Palùrfalas]] 20:44, 4 June 2006 (EDT)

:Sounds good to me. --[[User:Hyarion|Hyarion]] 20:47, 4 June 2006 (EDT)

==Balrog :-s==
I remember reading somewhere a while ago that Sauron was a Balrog (or something associated with them) I kinda doubt this to be true but i would like to know if anybody else knows anything about this. Thanks. [[User:Jasca Ducato|Jasca Ducato]] 15:12, 3 September 2006 (EDT)

:Hm, maybe you read that they were both [[Maia]] (as was [[Gandalf]]) but [[Sauron]] was definitely not a Balrog nor even remotely close to being considered one. --[[User:Hyarion|Hyarion]] 15:23, 3 September 2006 (EDT)
*Actually, i think it was that the Balrog was a [[Maiar]]. [[User:Jasca Ducato|Jasca Ducato]] 15:57, 3 September 2006 (EDT)

::Balrogs were lesser Maiar (by the way, ''Maia'' is the singular). Sauron was also a Maia, though of a more powerful order. --[[User:Narfil Palùrfalas|Narfil Palùrfalas]] 18:17, 3 September 2006 (EDT)

== timo vihola picture for sauron ==

someone please upload that timo vihola picture for sauron into the images of sauron category?.

:Great suggestion, you can now find the image in [[:Category:Images of Sauron]] and [[:Category:Images by Timo Vihola]] --[[User:Hyarion|Hyarion]] 03:34, 26 November 2006 (EST)

== Name edit ==

Hi! I just wanted to say that I added a bit of extra information regarding Saurons original name.
Ârzan ([[User:Ârzan|Ârzan]] 03:53, 15 April 2008 (EDT))

Sauron

2008-04-14T18:36:36Z

Ârzan: /* Names and Titles */

{{evil infobox
| image=[[Image:Timo Vihola - Sauron.jpg|250px]]
| name=Sauron
| othernames=[[Annatar]], [[Thû]], [[Necromancer]]
| created=Before the [[Music of the Ainur]]
| years=c. [[Second Age 500|S.A. 500]]-[[Second Age 3441|S.A. 3441]], c. [[Third Age 1000|T.A. 1000]]-[[Third Age 3019|T.A. 3019]]
| age=
| destroyed=[[Third Age 3019|T.A. 3019]]
| realm=[[Tol Sirion]], [[Dol Guldur]], [[Mordor]]
| gender=Male
| race=[[Maiar]]
| appearance=Took bat form, wolf form, fair form. Confined to monstrous appearance after [[Downfall of Númenor]]
| accomplishments=Deceived the [[Elves]] into forging [[Rings of Power]], made the [[One Ring]], corrupted [[Númenor]], seduced [[Saruman]], nearly took over [[Middle-earth]]
|}}
'''Sauron''' was the Chief Lieutenant of [[Morgoth]], who after his fall became another Dark Lord, and ultimately walked down the same ruinous path to oblivion. Sauron was the chief enemy in [[The Lord of the Rings]], which recounts his efforts to regain his lost ring, and relates in detail the story of his downfall.

His name is pronounced "sour-on" (''sour'' as in not sweet), or in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPA IPA] as: {{IPA|/'sɑʊron/}}.

== First Age ==
Sauron was in origin an "angelic" spirit called a [[Maiar|Maia]]. In the earliest of days he was among people of [[Aulë]], the Smith, one of the Valar, or ruling powers of the world. However, Sauron was soon ensnared by Melkor (the [[Morgoth]]), who wished to rule and order all Arda. Sauron served Morgoth faithfully, and even in later days, after Morgoth was defeated and locked outside the confines of the world, Sauron encouraged and coerced [[Men]] to worship Morgoth as a God. However, while Morgoth wanted to either control or destroy the very matter of [[Arda]] itself, Sauron's desire was to dominate the minds and wills of its creatures. It was in this that Sauron was perhaps more practical than his master Morgoth.

[[Image:Ted Nasmith - Huan Subdues Sauron.jpg|thumb|left|''Huan Subdues Sauron'', by [[Ted Nasmith]]]]
During the [[First Age]], the [[Noldor]]in [[Elves]] left the [[Blessed Realm]] of [[Valinor]] in the [[West|Utter West]] (against the counsel of the Valar) in order to wage war on Morgoth, who had stolen the precious [[Silmarils]]. In that war, Sauron served as Morgoth's chief lieutenant, surpassing all others in rank. Known as '''''Gorthaur the Cruel''''', Sauron at that time was a master of illusions and changes of form, and [[Werewolves]] were his servants, chief among them [[Draugluin]], Sire of Werewolves, and [[Thuringwethil]], his vampire herald. When Morgoth left [[Angband]] to corrupt the newly awakened [[Men]], Sauron directed the War against the [[Elves]]. He conquered the Elvish isle of [[Tol Sirion]], so that it became known as ''Tol-in-Gaurhoth'', the Isle of Werewolves.

Ten years later, [[Finrod Felagund]], the king of [[Nargothrond]] and former lord of [[Tol Sirion]], died protecting [[Beren Erchamion|Beren]] in captivity there; soon afterwards, [[Lúthien]] and [[Huan]] the Wolfhound defeated Sauron in that place and rescued Beren from the dungeons. After his resounding defeat by Lúthien, Sauron played little part in the events of the First Age (possibly hiding from Morgoth), and after his master was defeated and cast out by the Valar, Sauron repented and pled for mercy. But he was unwilling to return to the Utter West for judgment, and so he fled and hid.

== Second Age ==
[[Image:Annatar.jpg|thumb|left|''Annatar'' as envisioned by [[Weta]] from [[Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings]]]]
After lying hidden and dormant for about one thousand years, Sauron put on a fair visage in the [[Second Age]]. Calling himself '''''Annatar''''', the Lord of Gifts, he befriended the Elvish smiths of [[Eregion]], and counseled them in arts and magic. Not all the Elves trusted him, particularly Lady [[Galadriel]] and [[Gil-galad]], High King of the Ñoldor, but few listened to them. The Elves forged [[Rings of Power]], but in secret Sauron forged the [[One Ring]] in [[Mount Doom]] to rule the other rings, investing most of his own power into the Ring as he forged it.

In this time Sauron became known as the [[Dark Lord]] of [[Mordor]]. He raised [[Barad-dûr]], the Dark Tower, near Mount Doom; constructed the [[Black Gate]] of Mordor to prevent invasion; corrupted nine mortal Men with Rings of Power and turned them into the [[Nazgûl]] (Ringwraiths), his chief servants; and raised massive armies of [[Orcs]], [[Trolls]], and Men, chiefly [[Easterlings]] and [[Southrons]]. Because of this, towards the end of the Second Age, Sauron assumed the titles of '''Lord of the Earth''' and '''King of Men'''.

[[Image:Ted Nasmith - The Forging of the One.jpg|thumb|''The Forging of the One'', by [[Ted Nasmith]]]]
This offended the Númenóreans, the powerful Men descended from the line of Beren and Lúthien, who lived on the island of Númenor in the sea between Middle-earth and Valinor. The proud Númenóreans came to Middle-earth with great force of arms, and Sauron's forces fled. Realizing he could not defeat the Numenoreans with military strength, Sauron allowed himself to be taken as a hostage to Númenor by King [[Ar-Pharazôn]]. There, he quickly grew from captive to advisor; he converted many Númenóreans to the worship of Morgoth, and raised a great temple in which he performed human sacrifices. Finally, he convinced the king to rebel against the Valar and attack Valinor itself. [[Eru]], the supreme god, then directly intervened: Númenor was drowned under the sea, and the great navy of Númenor was destroyed. Sauron was diminished in the flood of Númenor, and fled back to Mordor, where he slowly rebuilt his strength during the time known as the [[Dark Years]].

From this point on he was unable to assume a fair shape, and ruled now through terror and force. A few faithful Númenóreans were saved from the flood, and they founded [[Gondor]] and [[Arnor]] in Middle-earth. These faithful Men, led by [[Elendil]] and his sons, allied with the Elven-king, Gil-galad, and together fought Sauron and, after a long war, defeated him, although both Elendil and Gil-galad were killed. [[Isildur]], son of Elendil, cut the One Ring from Sauron's finger and claimed it. Later, the Ring betrayed him and was lost for more than two thousand years.

== Third Age ==
In the [[Third Age]], Sauron rose yet again, at first in a stronghold called [[Dol Guldur]], the Hill of Sorcery, in southern [[Mirkwood]]. There he was known as the '''''[[Necromancer]]''''', and the Elves did not recognize him at first. [[Gandalf]] the [[Wizards|Wizard]] stole into Dol Guldur and discovered the truth; eventually the [[White Council]] of Wizards and Elves put forth their might and drove Sauron out. But the White Council was led by [[Saruman]], who wanted the Ring for himself, and Sauron simply moved back to Mordor and raised Barad-dûr again. He fortified Mordor and prepared for war against Gondor and the Elves, with Saruman now his servant.

Sauron bred immense armies of Orcs and allies with which enslaved Men from the east and south. He adopted the symbol of a lidless eye, and he was able at that time to send out his will over Middle-earth, so that the [[Eye of Sauron]] was a symbol of power and fear. It is possible that he could still take physical form other than the lidless eye, as a former Ringbearer, [[Gollum]] (see below) speaks to [[Frodo Baggins|Frodo]] of Sauron only having four fingers on 'the [[Black Hand]]'.

After torturing Gollum, he learned that the One Ring had been found by [[Bilbo Baggins]] [[The Hobbit]]. He sent his agents to the [[Shire]], Bilbo's home, only to find that both Bilbo and his nephew, [[Frodo Baggins|Frodo]], had gone. Unbeknownst to Sauron, Frodo had, at the behest of Gandalf, joined the [[Fellowship of the Ring]] on a quest to destroy the Ring forever by casting it into the fires of Mount Doom, in the heart of Mordor. He rallied his vast armies to conquer the resistance's strongholds, and sent the Ringwraiths to find and kill Frodo. At about this time, he also learned that [[Aragorn II|Aragorn]], Isildur's heir, had also joined the Fellowship, and was rallying armies to defeat his.

[[Image:Ted Nasmith - The Shadow of Sauron.jpg|thumb|220px|left|''The Shadow of Sauron'', by [[Ted Nasmith]]]]
When Saruman's army is defeated at [[Isengard]], Aragorn uses the Palantir of Orthanc to reveal himself to Sauron. Sauron jumps to the conclusion that Aragorn has the ring and sends an army commanded by his strongest servant, The Witch-King of Angmar, to overthrow [[Minas Tirith in Gondor|Minas Tirith]] in what would become known as the [[Battle of the Pelennor Fields]].

Although Sauron loses the Battle of Pelennor Fields, the free forces of the west are greatly weakened, and Sauron still has sufficent armies in reserve to ensure military victory. He is outwitted, however, by the strategy of Gandalf, who urges the captains of the free peoples to march against Sauron, thus diverting the Dark Lord's eye from the real threat of Frodo, the Ring Bearer, who is nearing the end of his quest to destroy the One Ring.

Frodo, however, fails at the last moment, unable to resist the power of the Ring at the place of its birth. But Gollum inadvertently saves him by recovering the Ring in a desperate attempt to possess it and then falling with it into the fire. Thus Sauron's power is unmade, and his corporeal power in Middle-earth comes to an end. His spirit towers above Mordor like a black cloud, but is blown away by a powerful wind from the [[Aman|West]], and Sauron is now permanently crippled, never to rise again. ([[Saruman]] soon suffers a lesser version of this fate.)

== Names and Titles ==
In some of Tolkien's notes, it is said that Sauron's original name was Mairon or "the admirable", "but this was altered after he was suborned by Melkor. But he continued to call himself Mairon the Admirable, or Tar-mairon 'King Excellent', until after Númenors downfall." (^ Parma Eldalamberon #17, 2007, p. 183)

''Sauron'' (originally '''''Thauron''''') is [[Quenya]], and can be translated as ''the Abhorred'' or ''the Abomination''; in [[Sindarin]] he is called ''Gorthaur'' the [[Necromancer]], ''the Abhorred Dread''. He is also called the '''Nameless Enemy''', which is hardly accurate (but perhaps an effort to lessen his psychological impact), whereas Morgoth is the Dark Enemy. The Dúnedain call him '''Sauron the Deceiver''' due to his role in the downfall of Númenor and the Forging of the Rings of Power. His two most common titles, the Dark Lord of Mordor and the ''Lord of the Rings'', appear only a few times in the books. His other titles were similar to Morgoth's.

== Other Versions of the Legendarium ==
Prior to the publication of ''The Silmarillion'' Sauron's origins and true identity were unclear to those without full access to Tolkien's notes. In early editions of the ''[[The Complete Guide to Middle-earth|Guide to Middle Earth]]'', Sauron is described as "probably of the Eldar elves."

Since the earliest versions of the ''Silmarillion'' legendarium as detailed in [[the History of Middle-earth]] series, Sauron has undergone many changes. The prototype of this character was '''[[Tevildo]]''', lord of the cats, who played the role later taken by Sauron in the earliest version of the story of [[Beren Erchamion|Beren]] and [[Lúthien]] in ''[[The Book of Lost Tales]]'', the '''[[Tale of Tinúviel]]'''. Tevildo later (but still in the ''Book of Lost Tales'' period) was transformed into '''[[Thû]]''', the Necromancer. The name was then changed to '''Gorthû''', '''Sûr''', and finally to Sauron. ''Gorthû'', in the form ''Gorthaur'' remained in ''The Silmarillion''.

== See Also ==
* '''[[:Category:Images of Sauron|Images of Sauron]]'''
* [[Akallabêth]]
* [[Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age]]
* [[The Dark Lord Sauron polystone statue]]

{{maiar}}

[[Category:Maiar]]
[[Category:Ring-bearers]]
[[Category:Characters in The Lord of the Rings]]

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