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Aman

2013-03-23T22:10:52Z

72.222.128.209: Fixed a minor spelling error. Changed "tothe" to "to the".

{{location
| image=[[File:Ted Nasmith - The Shores of Valinor.jpg|250px]]
| name=Aman
| othernames=Blessed Realm Frequently generalized as [[Valinor]]
| etymology=
| type=Continent
| location=West of [[Belegaer]], east of [[Ekkaia]]
| inhabitants=[[Valar]] [[Maiar]] [[Vanyar]] [[Noldor]] [[Teleri]]
| realms=[[Valinor]]
| description=Beautiful realm protected by the [[Pelóri]]
| events=Death of the [[Two Trees]] [[Flight of the Noldor]] Destruction of [[Ar-Pharazôn]]
}}
{{Pronounce|Aman.mp3|Ardamir}}
'''Aman''', the '''Blessed Realm''', was a continent that lay to the west of [[Middle-earth]], across the great ocean [[Belegaer]]. It was the home of the [[Valar]], and three kindreds of [[Elves]]: the [[Vanyar]], some of the [[Noldor]], and some of the [[Teleri]]. The island of [[Tol Eressëa]] was located just off the eastern shore.

==Description==
The continent of Aman was bordered by [[Ekkaia]] to the west and [[Belegaer]] to the east. When the Valar chose this land for their dwelling they needed a defense against [[Melkor]] and thus upon Aman's [[Haerast|eastern coast]] they raised the [[Pelóri]], the highest mountains on earth, of which [[Taniquetil]] was the tallest of all. Upon this peak were the thrones of [[Manwë]] and [[Varda]].

Behind the mountain wall was established the domain of [[Valinor]] which became more beautiful than Middle-earth in the [[Spring of Arda]]. In Valinor was [[Valmar]], the city of the Valar. To the west of Valmar was a green mound called [[Ezellohar]] and from this mound grew the [[Two Trees]] that lit the land.<ref name="Days">{{S|Days}}</ref>

Through the Pelóri was opened a pass, the [[Calacirya]], which brought light to the narrow coastland of [[Eldamar]] and the island of [[Tol Eressëa]].<ref name="Eldamar">{{S|Princes}}</ref> Also beyond the mountain wall were two more regions of Aman: [[Araman]] to the northeast<ref name="Flight">{{S|Flight}}</ref> and [[Avathar]] to the southeast. [[Ungoliant]], a great spider of unknown origin, had managed to escape notice in Avathar.<ref>{{S|Darkening}}</ref>

In the north Aman was separated from Middle-earth by the narrow straits of the [[Helcaraxe]]. These ice-filled straits served as a path for Melkor and later the host of [[Fingolfin]] to return to Middle-earth.<ref name="Flight"/>

The Valar later set the [[Enchanted Isles]] in the ocean to prevent travelers by sea from reaching Aman.<ref name="Sun">{{S|Sun}}</ref>

==History==
In [[Years of the Lamps|Year of the Lamps]] 3450<ref name="Annals">{{MR|P2a}}</ref> the [[Spring of Arda]] ended when Melkor cast down the [[Two Lamps]] and destroyed the original dwelling of the Valar upon the isle of [[Almaren]]. The Valar departed from [[Middle-earth]] and settled in Aman. There they established the realm of [[Valinor]].<ref name="Days"/>

After the destruction of the Lamps came the [[Years of the Trees]] and in {{YT|1050}} the [[Elves]] awoke.<ref>{{GA|3}}</ref> At first the Elves were unwilling to heed the summons of the Valar to come to Valinor. The Vala [[Oromë]] selected three ambassadors, [[Ingwë]], [[Finwë]], and [[Elwë]]<ref name="Coming">{{S|Captivity}}</ref> in {{YT|1102|n}}<ref>{{GA|7}}</ref> who were swiftly brought to Aman and beheld the light of the Trees. These three Elven-kings persuaded many of the elves to journey to Aman. In {{YT|1132|n}}<ref>{{GA|11}}</ref> the [[Vanyar]] and [[Noldor]] departed from Middle-earth upon an island that was drawn across the Sea to Aman. The third group of the Elves, the [[Teleri]] remained in Middle-earth until {{YT|1149|n}}<ref>{{GA|13}}</ref> when many of them were brought to Aman.

The [[Elves]] who arrived to Aman in the Years of the Trees were called [[Amanyar]] or [[Calaquendi]] because they saw the light of the Two Trees. The Valar opened a cleft between the Pelóri, the [[Calacirya]], so that the Light reached the Elves in their lands and cities, [[Eldamar]], [[Tirion]], [[Alqualondë]] and [[Tol Eressëa]].<ref name="Eldamar"/>

After the Exile of Feanor, the [[Noldor]] were not allowed to return to Valinor,<ref name="Flight"/> and it was hidden from Mortal lands. The Valar heightened the Pelóri even more, fortified Calacirya and raised the Enchanted Isles in the [[Shadowy Seas]].<ref name="Sun"/> There were many attempts to reach the Undying Lands from [[Beleriand]] by ship, of which only [[Voronwë]] Aranwion survived;<ref>{{S|Fifth}}</ref> it is told that maybe [[Tuor]] was, alone of the mortals, allowed to find Aman before his son [[Eärendil]].<ref>{{S|Gondolin}}</ref>

Eärendil was the first known navigator to succeed in passing the Isles of Enchantment, guided by the light of the [[Silmaril]], who came to Valinor to seek the aid of the Valar against Melkor, now called ''Morgoth''. His quest was successful and the Valar went to war again.<ref>{{S|Earendil}}</ref>

After the [[War of Wrath]] and the destruction of Beleriand, Aman was no more connected to Middle-earth by the Helcaraxë but could be reached by the ships of the Elves.

Soon after this, the great island of [[Númenor]] was raised out of Belegaer, far from the shores of Aman, and the Three Houses of the [[Edain]] were brought to live there. Henceforth, they were called the [[Dúnedain]], and were blessed with many gifts by the Valar and the Elves of Tol Eressëa. The Valar feared—rightly—that the [[Númenóreans]] would seek to enter Aman to gain immortality (even though a mortal in Aman remains mortal), so they forbade them from sailing west from Númenor.

In time, and not without some corrupting help from [[Sauron]], the Númenóreans violated the [[Ban of the Valar]], and sailed to Aman with a great army under the command of [[Ar-Pharazôn]] the Golden. A part of the Pelóri collapsed upon this army, trapping it but not killing it. It is said that the army still lives underneath the pile of rock in the [[Caves of the Forgotten]].

In light of this development, the land of Aman was decisively and forever isolated from the other lands. The flat [[Arda]] was cloven in two, and the rest was made round, so that a mariner sailing west along Eärendil's route would simply emerge in the far east. For the Elves, however, a [[Straight Road]] remains that peels away from the curvature of the earth and passes to Aman.<ref>{{S|Akallabeth}}</ref> A very few non-Elves are known to have passed along this road, including [[Frodo Baggins]], [[Bilbo Baggins]], and possibly [[Samwise Gamgee]] and [[Gimli]].<ref>{{App|Later}}, {{SR|1482}} and {{SR|1541}}</ref>

==Etymology==
The [[Quenya]] name ''Aman'' is glossed as "Blessed Land",<ref name=VT49>{{VT|49a}}, pp. 26-7</ref> or "blessed, free from evil".<ref>{{WJ|P4}}, p. 399</ref>

The etymology of the name ''Aman'' changed over time in [[J.R.R. Tolkien|Tolkien]]'s writings. In early linguistic writings, ''Aman'' was intended to be a "native [[Quenya]] form", derived from the root MAN ("good"). However, in later writings (such as ''[[Quendi and Eldar]]''), the name is said to derive from a [[Valarin]] word.<ref name=VT49/>

==Other names==
Aman was also called the Ancient West, Blessed Realm and the Undying Lands
<ref>{{App|Numenor}}</ref> or just [[Valinor]]. In [[Adûnaic]] it was called ''Thâni anAmân'' or ''Amatthâni''.{{fact}} In ''[[The Hobbit]]'' Tolkien also calls this continent "Faerie in the West".
<ref>{{H|Flies}}</ref>

==Immortality==
[[Robert Foster]] said in his foreword to ''[[The Complete Guide to Middle-earth]]'' that he did not provide death dates for protagonists who sailed in the West "''for they still live''". Steuard Jensen, while noting that Tolkien "''seems to have been initially unsure''" if the "''mortals who sailed to the West would remain mortal''", comments that are strong arguments in favour of the opposite view, citing from two letters by Tolkien:<ref>{{webcite|author=Steuard Jensen|articleurl=http://tolkien.slimy.com/faq/History.html#MortalsWest|articlename=Did Frodo and the other mortals who passed over the Sea eventually die?|dated=|website=FAQ|accessed=25 March 2012}}</ref>

{{blockquote|...certain 'mortals', who have played some great part in Elvish affairs, may pass with the Elves to Elvenhome...I have said nothing about it in this book [''The Lord of the Rings''], but the mythical idea underlying is that for mortals, since their 'kind' cannot be changed for ever, this is strictly only a temporary reward: a healing and redress of suffering. They cannot abide for ever, and though they cannot return to mortal earth, they can and will 'die' - of free will, and leave the world.|[[Letter 154]]}}

{{blockquote|Frodo was sent or allowed to pass over Sea to heal him - if that could be done, before he died. He would have eventually to 'pass away': no mortal could, or can, abide for ever on earth, or within Time.|[[Letter 246]]}}

Other important arguments against the immortality of the mortals who sailed to Aman can be found in another letter and in a passage from ''[[The Akallabêth]]'':

{{blockquote|As for ''Frodo'' or other mortals, they could only dwell in ''Aman'' for a limited time - whether brief or long. The ''Valar'' had neither the power nor the right to confer 'immortality' upon them. Their sojourn was a 'purgatory', but one of peace and healing and they would eventually pass away (''die'' at their own desire and of free will) to destinations of which the Elves knew nothing."|[[Letter 325]]}}

{{blockquote|The Eldar reported these words to the Valar, and Manwë was grieved, seeing a cloud gather on the noontide of Númenor. And he sent messengers to the Dúnedain, who spoke earnestly to the King, and to all who would listen, concerning the fate and fashion of the world. ‘The Doom of the World,’ they said, ‘One alone can change who made it. And were you so to voyage that escaping all deceits and snares you came indeed to Aman, the Blessed Realm, little would it profit you. For it is not the land of Manwë that makes its people deathless, but the Deathless that dwell therein have hallowed the land; and there you would but wither and grow weary the sooner, as moths in a light too strong and steadfast.’|{{S|Akallabeth}}}}

The Undying Lands were likely thus called like that because immortals dwelled in them, not because they granted immortality.

{{references}}

[[Category:Aman| ]]
[[Category:Regions]]
[[Category:Quenya locations]]

[[de:Aman]]
[[fa:آمان]]
[[fi:Aman]]
[[fr:encyclo/geographie/regions/aman]]

Paths of the Dead

2013-03-23T22:05:07Z

72.222.128.209:

{{location
| image=[[Image:Darrell Sweet - The Paths of the Dead.jpg|250px]]
| name=Paths of the Dead
| othernames=Dwimorberg Pass
| etymology=
| type=Pass
| location=[[White Mountains]], [[Dwimorberg]]
| inhabitants=[[Dead Men]]
| realms=
| description=Haunted road
| events=Passing of the [[Grey Company]]
| references=''[[The Passing of the Grey Company]]'', ''[[The Last Debate]]''
|}}
The '''Paths of the Dead''' was a haunted pass through the [[White Mountains]]. The Paths of the Dead started at the [[Dark Door]] at the end of the long valley of [[Harrowdale]], beyond the [[Firienfield]] and the forest of [[Dimholt]], wedged in between the mountains [[Irensaga]] (Iron Saw), [[Starkhorn]], and the [[Dwimorberg]].

After the Dark Door, the Paths went under the Dwimorberg, past another door where [[Aragorn]] and company found the remains of [[Baldor]], son of the second [[Kings of Rohan|King of Rohan]]. The Paths then continued past forgotten cities, emerging at the southern end of the White Mountains in [[Morthond]] vale, near the [[Stone of Erech]].

In the [[Second Age]], a people related to the [[Dunlendings]] had lived in the White Mountains, and they had for a time served the Dark Lord [[Sauron]]. They later swore allegiance to [[Isildur]] of [[Gondor]] and [[Arnor]], but betrayed him during the [[Last Alliance of Elves and Men]] and refused to fight on either side. For this reason, Isildur cursed them, proclaiming that, if the Alliance triumphed, they would linger in the mountains until one of his heirs called them again to fight against Sauron.

Isildur's curse succeeded: their people dwindled and eventually died out, until only their ghosts remained at the end of the [[Third Age]]. When Aragorn and company took the Paths of the Dead and, deep within the mountains, summoned them to the Stone of Erech, their shades followed him. At the Stone at midnight, Aragorn unfurled his banner, declared himself the heir of Isildur, and commanded the dead to aid him; they obeyed, and defeated the armies of the [[Corsairs of Umbar]] who were attacking the landings in southern Gondor. (Supposedly, the only weapon that they required was fear, driving their enemies to cast themselves madly into the sea.) When those foes were defeated and Aragorn could claim the black ships of the Corsairs for his own, he declared that the curse was lifted and the dead departed forever. When the dead had gone, the men of southern Gondor joined Aragorn in the ships and sailed to the aid of Minas Tirith.

In [[The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King]] film the battle with the Corsairs occurred off-screen and the Army of the Dead accompanied Aragorn to Minas Tirith to defeat Sauron's orcs, after which Aragorn declared their curse lifted.

The fell riders of the "Furious Host" of the restless dead, the "[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wild_Hunt Wild Hunt]" that may burst upon the unwary traveller in lonely places, is the theme from northern European folklore that Tolkien evoked, vividly realized and builded upon. Horses, knights, hounds are among the restless spirits in the inhuman train. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Sachs Hans Sachs]' poem, "Das wutend heer der kleynen dieb" (1539) describes the furious host in gruesome detail, accompanied by ravens who were plucking out the eyes of the roving dead, till at last "there came one behind, who had been hanged the same day, had still his eyes and saw me." [http://www.vinland.org/heathen/mt/wildhunt.html] It is a measure of Aragorn's heroic nature that he dares summon the dead to account in this manner, and a superhuman sign that the rightful king has indeed returned.

[[Category:Passes]]
[[Category:White Mountains]]
[[Category:Roads and streets]]

[[de:Pfade der Toten]]
[[fi:Kuolleiden kulkutiet]]
[[fr:encyclo:geographie:routes:chemins_des_morts]]

Paths of the Dead

2013-03-23T22:01:58Z

72.222.128.209:

{{location
| image=[[Image:Darrell Sweet - The Paths of the Dead.jpg|250px]]
| name=Paths of the Dead
| othernames=Dwimorberg Pass
| etymology=
| type=Pass
| location=[[White Mountains]], [[Dwimorberg]]
| inhabitants=[[Dead Men]]
| realms=
| description=Haunted road
| events=Passing of the [[Grey Company]]
| references=''[[The Passing of the Grey Company]]'', ''[[The Last Debate]]''
|}}
The '''Paths of the Dead''' was a haunted pass through the [[White Mountains]]. The Paths of the Dead started at the [[Dark Door]] at the end of the long valley of [[Harrowdale]], beyond the [[Firienfield]] and the forest of [[Dimholt]], wedged in between the mountains [[Irensaga]] (Iron Saw), [[Starkhorn]], and the [[Dwimorberg]].

After the Dark Door, the Paths went under the Dwimorberg, past another door where [[Aragorn]] and company found the remains of [[Baldor]], son of the second [[Kings of Rohan|King of Rohan]]. The Paths then continued past forgotten cities, emerging at the southern end of the White Mountains in [[Morthond]] vale, near the [[Stone of Erech]].

In the [[Second Age]], a people related to the [[Dunlendings]] had lived in the White Mountains, and they had for a time served the Dark Lord [[Sauron]]. They later swore allegiance to [[Isildur]] of [[Gondor]] and [[Arnor]], but betrayed him during the [[Last Alliance of Elves and Men]] and refused to fight on either side. For this reason, Isildur cursed them, proclaiming that, if the Alliance triumphed, they would linger in the mountains until one of his heirs called them again to fight against Sauron.

Isildur's curse succeeded: their people dwindled and eventually died out, until only their ghosts remained at the end of the [[Third Age]]. When Aragorn and company took the Paths of the Dead and, deep within the mountains, summoned them to the Stone of Erech, their shades followed him. At the Stone at midnight, Aragorn unfurled his banner, declared himself the heir of Isildur, and commanded the dead to aid him; they obeyed, and defeated the armies of the [[Corsairs of Umbar]] who were attacking the landings in southern Gondor. (Supposedly, the only weapon that they required was fear, driving their enemies to cast themselves madly into the sea.) When those foes were defeated and Aragorn could claim the black ships of the Corsairs for his own, he declared that the curse was lifted and the dead departed forever. When the dead had gone, the men of southern Gondor joined Aragorn in the ships and sailed to the aid of Minas Tirith.

In [[The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King]] film the battle with the Corsairs occurred off-screen and the Army of the Dead accompanied Aragorn to Minas Tirith to defeat Sauron's orcs, after which Aragorn declared their curse lifted.

The fell riders of the "Furious Host" of the restless dead, the "[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wild_Hunt Wild Hunt]" that may burst upon the unwary traveller in lonely places, is the theme from northern European folklore that Tolkien evoked, vividly realized and builded upon. Horses, knights, hounds are among the restless spirits in the inhuman train. [[Hans Sachs]]' poem, "Das wutend heer der kleynen dieb" (1539) describes the furious host in gruesome detail, accompanied by ravens who were plucking out the eyes of the roving dead, till at last "there came one behind, who had been hanged the same day, had still his eyes and saw me." [http://www.vinland.org/heathen/mt/wildhunt.html] It is a measure of Aragorn's heroic nature that he dares summon the dead to account in this manner, and a superhuman sign that the rightful king has indeed returned.

[[Category:Passes]]
[[Category:White Mountains]]
[[Category:Roads and streets]]

[[de:Pfade der Toten]]
[[fi:Kuolleiden kulkutiet]]
[[fr:encyclo:geographie:routes:chemins_des_morts]]