...It is a long tale...
The Chaining of Melkor refers to the defeat of Melkor in the Battle of the Powers, which ended with him being bound by the great chain Angainor, and his subsequent imprisonment in the Halls of Mandos.
This period lasted for three ages, at which point he was released.
Background
Since the Music of the Ainur, Melkor had been in contest with his brethren. In the Days before days, after descending into Arda, Melkor fought a long war against the Valar, led by Manwë, until he was eventually driven off by the arrival of Tulkas.
The Valar then constructed the Two Lamps and Arda entered a period of peace and flourishing. Melkor, gathering other spirits to his side, returned in secret however, and eventually threw down the Lamps. The Valar then retreated to Aman, leaving Melkor near uncontested mastery over Middle-earth.
Once the Valar learned of the Awakening of the Elves within Middle-earth, they resolved to regain mastery over Arda, and launched a direct assault against Melkor.
The chaining
Eventually, the Valar confronted Melkor directly within the deeps of his fortress Utumno where he was defeated and, by Tulkas, bound with Angainor. Melkor was carried by to Valinor and sentenced to a long term of incarceration in the Halls of Mandos by Manwë, his brother and the chief of the Valar.[1]
At the end of the third age of his captivity, Manwë pardoned Melkor and released him from his bondage,[2] but he turned back to darkness, destroying the Two Trees and fleeing back to his strongholds in the north of Middle-earth with the stolen Silmarils.[3]
References
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Silmarillion, "Quenta Silmarillion: Of the Coming of the Elves and the Captivity of Melkor"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Silmarillion, "Quenta Silmarillion: Of Fëanor and the Unchaining of Melkor"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Silmarillion, "Quenta Silmarillion: Of the Darkening of Valinor"