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{{History of Arda}}
The '''Dagor Dagorath''' ([[Sindarin|S.]] ''Battle of all Battles''), also known as the '''Second Prophecy of Mandos''' or simply the '''Last Battle''', is an apocalyptic event prophesied by [[Mandos]]. According to [[Christopher Tolkien]], the Dagor Dagorath as a Prophecy of Mandos was abandoned by Tolkien.<ref name="Valaquenta">{{MR|P3II1}}, p. 204</ref>

== History ==
[[File:Jan Drenovec - Túrin vs Morgoth.jpg|200px|thumb|''Túrin vs Morgoth'' by Jan Drenovec]]
In the published version of ''[[The Silmarillion]]'', the Dagor Dagorath is only mentioned as the '''Last Battle''' on three occasions:

{{blockquote|...and that [[Aulë|he]] declared to their [[Fathers of the Dwarves|Fathers of old]] that [[Ilúvatar]] will hallow them [the [[Dwarves]]] and give them a place among the [[Children of Ilúvatar|Children]] in the end. Then their part shall be to serve Aulë and to aid him in the remaking of Arda after the '''Last Battle'''.|''[[Quenta Silmarillion]]'', "[[Of Aulë and Yavanna]]"}}

{{blockquote|...Many other of the ancient stars [[Varda|she]] gathered together and set as signs in the heavens of Arda: [...] and [[Menelmacar]] with his shining belt, that forebodes the '''Last Battle''' that shall be at the end of days.|''Quenta Silmarillion'', "[[Of the Coming of the Elves and the Captivity of Melkor]]"}}

{{blockquote|But [[Ar-Pharazôn]] the King and the mortal warriors that had set foot upon the land of Aman were buried under falling hills: there it is said that they lie imprisoned in the [[Caves of the Forgotten]], until the '''Last Battle''' and the Day of Doom.|''[[Akallabêth]]''}}

There is also an isolated mention that links the "End" with [[Fëanor]] and the [[Silmarils]], which is the main topic in the [[#Other versions of the legendarium|other versions]] explained below:

{{blockquote|But not until the '''End''', when Fëanor shall return [...]; not until the [[Sun]] passes and the [[Moon]] falls, shall it be known of what substance [the Silmarils] were made.|''Quenta Silmarillion'', "[[Of the Silmarils and the Unrest of the Noldor]]"}}

No other information about the End of the World is given in ''The Silmarillion'' except the few mentions of the [[Second Music of the Ainur]], which can be deduced as to be sung after the Battle. The only mention of the Dagor Dagorath by name is given in a note concerning the origin of [[Gandalf]]: 
{{blockquote|[[Manwë]] will not descend from [[Taniquetil|the Mountain]] until the '''Dagor Dagorath''', and the coming of the End, when [[Morgoth|Melkor]] returns.|''[[Unfinished Tales]]'', "[[The Istari]]"<ref name="Istari">{{UT|Istari}}, p. 395</ref>}} 

From all this information it can be deduced that [[Arda]] will come to an end with a last battle against [[Morgoth]]. After the Battle, Arda will be rebuilt, the ''"[[Beleriand|lands that lie under the wave]] will be lifted up again"''<ref>{{RK|VI6}}, p. 981, farewell of [[Galadriel]] to [[Treebeard]]</ref> and a new world will begin with the Song of [[Ainur]] and [[Men]] before [[Ilúvatar]].

The metaphysical implications of the remaking of the world after the Battle belong to the discussion about [[Arda Healed]].

=== Omission of the Second Prophecy ===
[[File:Ralph Damiani - The White Flame.jpg|thumb|''The White Flame'' by [[:Category:Images by Ralph Damiani|Ralph Damiani]]]]
All the versions of the ''Quenta Silmarillion'' Tolkien ever finished close with [[Mandos]] describing the Battle in a prophecy, tagged at some point as the '''Second Prophecy of Mandos''' (the first being the [[Prophecy of the North]]), but Christopher deliberately omitted it for [[The Silmarillion|his edition]]. This decision was due to a passage of [[The Later Quenta Silmarillion|the Later ''Quenta Silmarillion'']], which states that

{{blockquote|if any change shall come and the [[Arda Marred|Marring]] [of Arda] be amended, Manwë and Varda may know; but they have not revealed it, and it is not declared in the dooms of Mandos.<ref name="Valaquenta">{{MR|P3II1}}, p. 204</ref>}}

Those words were taken literally by Christopher, deducing that his father would remove the Second Prophecy in the final version.<ref name="Valaquenta"></ref> Instead, he used those words as the own closing of his published ''Quenta Silmarillion''.<ref>{{S|24}}</ref> This decision is questioned among the [[fandom]] and the [[canonicity]] of the Second Prophecy is a popular debate. However, the publications after the 1977 version of ''The Silmarillion'' give a better understanding of Tolkien's final vision and the necessity of an apocalyptic event is manifest, as [[Verlyn Flieger]] states: ''«Tolkien wrote that the Legendarium ends with a vision of the end of the world, its breaking and remaking, and the recovery of the [[Silmarilli]] and the "[[Light of Valinor|light before the sun]]". [...] It would be strange if he had not envisioned such an end, for the mythologies on which he draws most heavily, Judeo-Christian and [[Norse mythology|Norse]], both included remaking and renewal in surprisingly similar terms.»''<ref>[[Verlyn Flieger]], ''[[Splintered Light]]'' (Revised Edition), 19. "Filled with Clear Light", pp. 160-1</ref> Here Flieger is citing the [[Letter to Milton Waldman]], where Tolkien himself summarized his Mythology, including the vision of the Last Battle.<ref name=Letter131>{{L|131}}, p. 149</ref> Ironically, Christopher included this letter in the introduction to the 30th Anniversary edition of ''The Silmarillion'' ([[2007]]),<ref>{{webcite|author=|articleurl=http://www.tolkienbooks.net/php/details.php?reference=85400|articlename=''The Silmarillion''. Deluxe Edition 2007|dated=|website=TB|accessed=22 March 2020}}</ref> having removed the referred text.

== Other versions of the legendarium ==
=== The Book of Lost Tales ===
Tolkien did not finish ''[[The Book of Lost Tales]]'', so it is unknown if he would conclude with a Prophecy of the End of the World, but there are many mentions of a '''Great End''' throughout the tales. The earliest description of the event was written in an unclear date and it is not mentioned as a prophecy:

{{blockquote|For 'tis said that ere the '''Great End''' come Melko shall in some wise contrive a quarrel between Moon and Sun, and [[Ilinsor]] shall seek to follow [[Urwendi]] through the Gates, and when they are gone the Gates of both [[Gates of Morning|East]] and [[Door of Night|West]] will be destroyed, and Urwendi and Ilinsor shall be lost. So shall it be that [[Fionwë]] Úrion, son of Manwë, of love for Urwendi shall in the end be Melko's bane, and shall destroy the world to destroy his foe, and so shall all things the be rolled away.<ref>{{LT1|IX}}, p. 219</ref>}}

This early idea soon included [[Túrin]], who was an essential character in all later versions. Concluding the [[Turambar and the Foalókë|Tale of Turambar]], it is described how he and his sister [[Nienóri]] will be purified after death and will live in [[Valinor]] as [[Valar]], but "''Turambar indeed shall stand beside Fionwë in the '''Great Wrack''', and Melko and his drakes shall curse the sword of [[Gurthang#Other versions of the legendarium|Mormakil]]''".<ref>{{LT2|II}}, p. 116</ref> This is the only version that mentions any of the Morgoth's creatures participating in the Battle.

However, the earliest mention of the battle told as a Prophecy is in one note, where it is said: 
{{blockquote|If Men help them, the fairies (Elves) will take Men to Valinor, fight a '''great battle''' with Melko in Erumáni and open Valinor. Laurelin and Silpion will be rekindled, and the mountain wall being destroyed then soft radiance will spread over all the world, and the Sun and Moon will be recalled. If Men oppose them and aid Melko, the Wrack of the Gods and the ending of the fairies will result, and maybe the Great End.<ref>{{LT2|VI}}, pp. 285-6</ref>}} 
Many other versions are given in this chapter that also concern the "Rekindling of the Magic Sun" (an obscure matter about the recovery of the [[Light of Valinor]]) or the vanishing of the Elves, so the prophecy here is associated with abandoned conceptions and is not related with the End of Arda.<ref>{{SM|2a}}, p. 74</ref>

=== The Earliest 'Silmarillion' ===
[[File:Ralph Damiani - Iron of Death.jpg|250px|thumb|''Iron of Death'' by [[:Category:Images by Ralph Damiani|Ralph Damiani]]]]
[[The Earliest 'Silmarillion']] (also known as the 'Sketch of the Mythology') concludes with a description of the last battle, introducing a structure that will be expanded in later versions, although many of the concepts will be transformed. There is still no mention of it being a prophecy uttered by Mandos:
{{blockquote|When the world is much older, and the Gods weary, Morgoth will come back through the Door, and the '''last battle''' of all will be fought. Fionwë will fight Morgoth on the plain of Valinor, and the spirit of Túrin shall be beside him; it shall be Túrin who with his black sword will slay Morgoth, and thus the children of Húrin shall be avenged. In those days the Silmarils shall be recovered from sea and earth and air, and [[Maidros]] shall break them and [[Yavanna#Other versions of the legendarium|Belaurin]] with their fire rekindle the [[Two Trees]], and the great light shall come forth again, and the Mountains of Valinor shall be levelled so that it goes out over the world, and Gods and Elves and Men shall grow young again, and all their dead awake.<ref>{{SM|2}}, p. 40-1</ref>}}

The participation of [[Eärendil#Etymology|Eärendel]] is also included: explaining how he sails in the heavens, watching upon Morgoth with his Silmaril upon his brow, ''"until he sees the last battle gathering upon the plains of Valinor. Then he will descend."''

=== The Quenta Noldorinwa ===
''[[The Quenta]]'', being the only finished version of ''The Silmarillion'', is the first version that includes a properly named '''Prophecy of Mandos''', declared in [[Valmar]] at the judgement of the Gods. It follows closely the version of the '[[Sketch of the Mythology]]', although there are some remarkable changes: Morgoth destroys the Sun and Moon (related with the version of "[[The Hiding of Valinor]]" [[Dagor Dagorath#The Book of Lost Tales|cited above]]); [[Tulkas]] is the chief antagonist of Melko, with Fionwë on his right and Túrin on his left; the Earth is broken and re-made, and the Silmarils are recovered; Eärendel yields up his Silmaril; [[Fëanor]] gives the Silmarils to Yavanna and she breaks them; the dead of the Elves arise and the purpose of Ilúvatar concerning them is fulfilled. It is specified that the Prophecy doesn't speak about the [[Men]], except of Túrin, who is named among the "[[Valarindi|sons of the Gods]]" (cleary related with the version of the [[Turambar and the Foalókë|Lost Tale]]).<ref>{{SM|CQ19}}, p. 205</ref> 

The same text, with a few amendations, was later used for the manuscript ''[[Quenta Silmarillion (Lost Road)|Quenta Silmarillion]]'' made in [[1937]].<ref>{{LR|P2VI}}, p. 333</ref> Christopher later mentions this version is introduced by the subheading '''''The Second Prophecy of Mandos'''''.<ref name=Last>{{WJ|Last}}, p. 247</ref>

=== The Later Quenta Silmarillion ===
Tolkien rewrote the ''Quenta Silmarillion'' in [[1958]] in what is called [[The Later Quenta Silmarillion|the Later ''Quenta Silmarillion'']], and the last chapters are so similar to the last version mentioned, that Christopher only gives the changes with notes.<ref name=Last></ref> However, due this is the last version of the Prophecy, the text is reconstructed here in full, following those notes:
[[File:Ralph Damiani - The Great Jewels.jpg|250px|thumb|''The Great Jewels'' by [[:Category:Images by Ralph Damiani|Ralph Damiani]]]]
{{blockquote|Thus spake Mandos in prophecy, when the Gods sat in judgement in Valinor, and the rumour of his words was whispered among all the Elves of the West. When the world is old and the [[Powers]] grow weary, then Morgoth, seeing that the guard sleepeth, shall come back through the Door of Night out of the Timeless Void; and destroy the Sun and Moon. But Eärendil shall descend upon him as a white and searing flame and drive him from the airs. Then shall the '''Last Battle''' be gathered on the fields of Valinor. In that day Tulkas shall strive with Morgoth, and on his right hand shall be Eönwë, and on his left Túrin Turambar, son of [[Húrin]], returning from the [[Doom of Men]] at the ending of the world; and the black sword of Túrin shall deal unto Morgoth his death and final end; and so shall the children of Húrin and all Men be avenged.<br />
Thereafter shall Earth be broken and re-made, and the Silmarils shall be recovered out of Air and Earth and Sea; for Eärendil shall descend and surrender that flame which he hath had in keeping. Then Fëanor shall take the Three Jewels and he will break them and with their fire Yavanna will rekindle the Two Trees, and a great light shall come forth. And the Mountains of Valinor shall be levelled, so that the Light shall go out over all the world. <s>In that light the Gods will grow young again, and the Elves awake and all their dead arise, and the purpose of Ilúvatar be fulfilled concerning them. But of Men in that day the prophecy of Mandos doth not speak, and no Man it names, save Túrin only, and to him a place is given among the sons of the Valar.</s>|''[[The War of the Jewels]]'', "The Last Chapters of the ''Quenta Silmarillion''", ''The Second Prophecy of Mandos''}}

In addition to the change of names, the main changes are: Túrin coming back from the dead and Fëanor himself breaking the Silmarils. The last two sentences are here crossed out, as Tolkien marked them with a large X in the margin of the manuscript. There is also a marginal mention of [[Beren]] [[Camlost]] near Túrin, without direction of its insertion.<ref name=Last></ref>

[[Douglas C. Kane]] notices that Tolkien made the specific edit of rejecting the last sentences, making no effort at all to remove the part of the prophecy regarding Túrin or the remaking of Arda. This would indicate that he had the intention to retain them.<ref>[[Douglas Charles Kane]], ''[[Arda Reconstructed: The Creation of the Published Silmarillion]]'', 24. "Of the Voyage of Eärendil", p. 237</ref> The continuity of the Prophecy in the legendarium is tied up to the complicated transition of ''The Silmarillion'' from Elvish to Mannish lore, as it is explained below.

=== Mannish legend ===
Following Christopher's deduction, it is quite clear that the Second Prophecy of Mandos was incompatible with Elvish lore,<ref name="Valaquenta"/> but later texts point out that the concept could have evolved to a Mannish legend. In the last major revision of his Mythology, Tolkien decided that ''The Silmarillion'' should be of Mannish affair.<ref>{{MR|P5I}}, p. 370</ref> More specifically about the End of the World is a note of Tolkien commenting the ''[[Athrabeth Finrod ah Andreth]]'':

{{blockquote|The Elves expected the End of Arda to be catastrophic. [...] The End of Arda is not, of course, the same thing as the end of Eä. About this they held that nothing could be known, except that Eä was ultimately finite. It is noteworthy that the Elves had no myths or legends dealing with the end of the world. The myth that appears at the end of "The Silmarillion" is of Númenórean origin; it is clearly made by Men, though Men acquainted with Elvish tradition.<ref>{{MR|P4i}}, p. 342</ref>}}

Therefore, the expectation of the End of the World among the Elves no longer came from revelation or stories, but their deduction after contemplating the world (this is one of the major topics in the ''Athrabeth''). On the other hand, we are told that Men did have traditions concerning the catastrophic end. Christopher confirms that "the myth that appears at the end of the ''Silmarillion''" is a reference to what was the Prophecy of Mandos.<ref>{{MR|P4o}}, p. 359, note 19</ref> There is even one piece of evidence of these Mannish prophetic traditions:

{{blockquote|The language of the Folk of Haleth was not used, for they had perished and would not rise again. Nor would their tongue be heard again, unless the prophecy of [[Andreth]] the [[Wise-woman]] should prove true, that Túrin in the Last Battle should return from the Dead, and before he left the Circles of the World for ever should challege the Great Dragon of Morgoth, [[Ancalagon]] the Black, and deal him the death-stroke.<ref>{{PM|Ros}}, p. 374, note 17</ref>}} 

These words refer to the [[War of Wrath]], but Christopher noticed that the relation with the Second Prophecy is clear, so it can be another sign that closing the "Númenorean Silmarillion" with a prophecy was not discarded.

== Etymology ==
''Dagor Dagorath'' is [[Sindarin]], a combination of ''[[dagor]]'' ("battle"), with its own class-plural ''dagor[[-ath]]'' ("all battles"), therefore: "Battle of All Battles". This name is only attested in a manuscript about "[[The Istari]]".<ref name="Istari"></ref>

== Other names ==
In the [[oath of Elendil]], the "End of the World" is expressed in [[Quenya]] as '''''[[Ambar-metta]]'''''.

In a List of Names from the 1930s, the battle of the End of the World was called '''''Dagor Delothrin''''' in [[Noldorin]] ("Terrible Battle").<ref>{{LR|A2}}, p. 405</ref>

== Inspiration ==
[[File:Darrell Sweet - The Slaying of Glaurung.jpg|220px|thumb|''The Slaying of Glaurung'' by [[Darrell Sweet]]]]
In [[Norse mythology]], [[:Wikipedia:Ragnarök|Ragnarök]] is an apocalyptic battle mentioned in both Eddas. The most famous version is prophecied by a [[:Wikipedia:Völva|völva]] in the ''[[Völuspá]]'', which was always an important inspiration for Tolkien. He even wrote his own version of this prophecy in the beginning of his ''[[New Lay of the Völsungs]]'', which has a reinterpretation of Sigurd very similar to Túrin in the Last Battle, as Christopher notices.<ref>{{SG|CV}}, "Upphaf", pp.?</ref>
{{blockquote|If in the Day of Doom<br />
one deathless stands,<br />
who death hath tasted<br />
and dies no more,<br />
the serpent-slayer,<br />
seed of Ódin,<br />
then all shall not end,<br />
nor Earth perish.|''[[The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún]]'', "Völsungskviða en nýja", ''Upphaf'' v.14}}

However, although Tolkien himself recognized the influence of Ragnarök, he explained that the last battle of his Mythology "''is not much like it''":<ref name=Letter131></ref> Ragnarök tells the destruction of both giants and gods, and the Nordic conception of the world implied a the beginning of a [[:Wikipedia:Ragnarök#Cyclic_time_and_Hoddmímis_holt|new cycle]], so the final victory of Good against Evil of the [[legendarium]] is closer to the Christian Apocalypse. In the [[:Wikipedia:Book of Revelation|Book of Revelation]] is explained how there will be a [[:Wikipedia:War in Heaven|great battle]] between [[:Wikipedia:Michael (archangel)|Michael]] and his angels versus Satan, called "the dragon" (vv. 12:7-9), resembling the [[War of Wrath]]. The dragon will be cast down, bound and expel into the abyss for a thousand years (vv. 20:1-3), just like Morgoth was thrust to the [[Void]]. At the end of the thousand years (a Jewish symbol of a very long time), Satan will be released and deceive the world, and make war on God. Then he will be cast down again, this time permanently (vv. 20:7-10); similarly, Morgoth is defeated for last time. After the old heaven and earth had been destroyed, a new and definitive world will be made (vv. 21:1ss).

== See also ==
* [[Doom of Mandos]] (the "First" Prophecy of Mandos)
* [[Arda Marred]]
* [[Arda Healed]]

== External links ==
* [http://middle-earth.xenite.org/2013/03/19/why-did-tolkien-leave-out-the-second-prophecy-of-mandos/ Why Did Tolkien Leave Out the Second Prophecy of Mandos?] by [[Michael Martinez]] 
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRfrAokhP9E Short fanfilm by Willow Productions]

{{References}}

[[Category:Conflicts in The Book of Lost Tales]]
[[Category:Oaths and prophecies]]
[[Category:Sindarin names]]
[[Category:Wars and conflicts]]

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