Caves of the Forgotten
| Caves of the Forgotten | |
|---|---|
| Caves | |
 | |
| "Ar-Pharazôn assails Valinor" by Alan Lee | |
| General Information | |
| Location | Pelóri, Aman |
| Type | Caves |
| Description | Cave complex formed out of hills that buried the Númenórean invaders |
| People and History | |
| Inhabitants | Ar-Pharazôn, Númenórean invaders |
| Created | S.A. 3319 |
| Destroyed | Possibly during the Last Battle |
| Events | Changing of the World |
The Caves of the Forgotten were a possibly fictitious cave complex believed to have been formed out of the hills that buried the Númenórean invaders of the Blessed Realm.[1]
History[edit | edit source]
Seduced by Sauron, the King of Númenor, Ar-Pharazôn was persuaded that he had the power to take the lands of Aman from the Valar themselves. He set out with a great fleet, landed at the Blessed Realm and a host of the Númenóreans camped near the hill of Túna in the Calacirya of the Pelóri Mountains.[1]
At that time Manwë, the Elder King, gave up his power over Arda and called on Ilúvatar, who then broke the world. Their fleets and even their island home were into an abyss that opened between Númenor and the Blessed Realm.[1]
Meanwhile, Ar-Pharazôn and his mortal warriors were buried beneath falling hills. Yet, they are said to lie imprisoned within the Caves of the Forgotten, awaiting the day of the Last Battle when they will be released from their caves.[1] However, the part that they have to play in the battle remains a mystery.
Other versions of the legendarium[edit | edit source]
In the first version of the Downfall of Númenor, both "Angor the mighty and Istar his queen fell like stars into the dark, and they perished out of all knowledge", suggesting that they remained on the ships and fell with them into the great abyss and drowned. Only the mortal warriors that went on land were buried beneath fallen hills, "where legend saith that they lie imprisoned in the Forgotten Caves until the day of Doom and the Last Battle".[2] In the second version, the name of the caves was changed to the "Caves of the Forgotten".[3] The name and the narrative concerning the Caves of the Forgotten remained substantially unchanged within the third version,[4] yet were not mentioned at all within any of the three versions of The Drowning of Anadûnê.[5][6][7]
| Legendary locations in Arda | |
| Islands: | Isle of Meneltarma |
|---|---|
| Mountains: | Astulat · Mountains of the Moon · Merlock Mountains |
| Regions: | Aerie · Belmarie · Fantasie · Last Desert · Sindanórie · Thellamie · Tode |
| Rivers: | Derrilyn |
| Other: | Caves of the Forgotten · Gorbelgod |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Silmarillion, "Akallabêth: The Downfall of Númenor"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Lost Road and Other Writings, "Part One: II. The Fall of Númenor, (ii) The first version of The Fall of Númenor", §7, p. 16
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Lost Road and Other Writings, "Part One: II. The Fall of Númenor, (iii) The second version of The Fall of Númenor", §7, p. 27
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), Sauron Defeated, "Part Three: The Drowning of Anadûnê: (i) The third version of The Fall of Númenor", §7, p. 336
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), Sauron Defeated, "Part Three: The Drowning of Anadûnê: (ii) The original text", §§44-48, pp. 350-1
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), Sauron Defeated, "Part Three: The Drowning of Anadûnê: (iii) The second text", §§44-8, pp. 372-3
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), Sauron Defeated, "Part Three: The Drowning of Anadûnê: (iv) The final form", §§46-7 and §§49-50, p. 391
