Who told you, and who sent you?
 | |
| Ocean | |
| Belegaer | |
|---|---|
| General Information | |
| Other names | Alatairë (Q), The Great Sea, Sundering Seas, Western Sea, The Great Water |
| Location | East of Aman, west of Middle-earth |
| Type | Ocean |
| Regions | Bay of Balar, Great Gulf, Forochel, Gulf of Lune, Bay of Belfalas |
| People and History | |
| Events | War of Wrath & Downfall of Númenor |
| Gallery | Images of Belegaer |
The Sea! Alas! I have not yet beheld it. But deep in the hearts of all my kindred lies the sea-longing, which it is perilous to stir. Alas! for the gulls. No peace shall I have again under beech or under elm.
Belegaer, the Great Sea, the Sundering Seas, or the Western Sea,[1] was the sea of Arda that laid west of Middle-earth.
Geography
Before the Second Age, Belegaer stretched from the Gap of Ilmen in the far north, where a bridge of ice known as the Helcaraxë connected Middle-earth and Aman, to the far south, where it also connected with Ilmen and froze, although no strait was formed there. Belegaer was narrower in the north than in the south, with its widest part near the equator of Arda. The continent of Aman, home of the Valar, formed the western edge of Belegaer.
The full extent of Belegaer after the Downfall of Númenor is never made clear, but it reached far enough to the north to be ice-covered, and far to the south.
History
Before the ruin of Beleriand at the end of the First Age, the sea was narrow and ice-filled in the north, forming the strait of Helcaraxë, the Grinding Ice. It was thus possible to cross from Aman to Middle-earth on foot, though with difficulty, as did Fingolfin and his people of the Noldor when fleeing Valinor.
After the War of Wrath, Belegaer was widened by the drowning of a large part of Middle-earth, (and possibly parts of Aman). The bridge of ice in the north was removed, removing land access to the western continent. During the Akallabêth in the Second Age, the seas were bent and the world was made round. Aman was removed from the world, Belegaer washed "new lands", and only the chosen could find the Straight Road to Valinor. The new western end of Belegaer is never described in the narrative, although there are indications that Númenórean refugees reached them in search for Valinor.
Islands
Belegaer had several islands and island chains:
- Tol Eressëa, the Lonely Isle close to the shore of Aman
- the Twilit Isles or Enchanted Isles seaward of Tol Eressëa
- Númenor (Second Age only)
- the Western Isles (after the First Age)
- Balar, in the Bay of Balar (First Age only)
- Tolfalas, in the Bay of Belfalas
- Ened, in the Firth of Drengist
Bays and inlets
Other features of Belegaer:
- Bay of Eldamar
- Bay of Balar (First Age only)
- the Great Gulf (First Age only)
- Firth of Drengist (First Age only)
- Ice Bay of Forochel (after First Age)
- Gulf of Lune (after First Age)
- Bay of Belfalas (after First Age)
Etymology
Belegaer is Sindarin for "Great Sea", from beleg ("mighty") + aer ("sea").[2] The Quenya name of Belegaer, never used in primary writing, is Alatairë.[3]
Inspiration
Belegaer is comparable to the real Atlantic Ocean, which was once known to English cartographers as the Great Western Ocean.[4]
This is further reinforced by Henry Resnick quoting Tolkien as saying that "Middle-earth is Europe",[5] and Karen Wynn Fonstad noting that "Belegaer was comparable to the Atlantic".[6]
References
- ↑ Quite often also "the western sea" in small letters.
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Silmarillion, "Appendix: Elements in Quenya and Sindarin Names", entries beleg, eär
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Lost Road and Other Writings, Part Three: "The Etymologies", entry "AY", see also "AYA(R)"
- ↑ "The English Atlantic, 1675–1740: An Exploration of Communication and Community" by Ian Kenneth Steele, Page 14
- ↑ Tolkien Journal II, 2 p. 1
- ↑ Karen Wynn Fonstad, The Atlas of Middle-earth, p. 194