Everything about Beleriand totally explained
In
J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional
legendarium,
Beleriand was a region in northwestern
Middle-earth during the
First Age. Events in Beleriand are described chiefly in his works
The Silmarillion, which tells the story of the early ages of Middle-earth in a style similar to the epic hero tales of Nordic literature.Beleriand also appears in the works
The Book of Lost Tales,
The Children of Húrin, and in the epic poems of
The Lays of Beleriand
Geography
Originally, the name belonged only to the area around the
Bay of Balar, but in time, the name was applied to the entire land. Beleriand was originally inhabited by
Elves, and later also by
Men. To the west and south it had a long shore with the Great Sea
Belegaer, to the north were the highland regions of Hithlum,
Dorthonion and the hills of
Himring, to the east the
Ered Luin reached nearly to the sea. The land of Nevrast in the northwest was sometimes considered part of Beleriand.
The
River Sirion, the chief river of Beleriand, running north to south, divided it into
West Beleriand and
East Beleriand. Crossing it east to west was a series of hills and a sudden drop in elevation known as Andram, the Long Wall. The river sank into the ground at the Fens of Sirion, and reemerged below the Andram at the Gates of Sirion. To the east of the Long Wall, was the
River Gelion and its six tributaries draining the Ered Luin, in an area known as Ossiriand, or the Land of Seven Rivers. The River Brethin and the River Nenning were the two lesser rivers of the western land of Falas. In volume IV of the
History of Middle-earth are the early maps of Beleriand, then still called Broseliand, showing the elevation of the land by use of of contour lines.
Realms of Beleriand
History
At the end of the
First Age of Middle-earth, Beleriand was broken in the
War of Wrath by the angelic beings, the
Valar against the demonic
Morgoth (himself a Valar fallen into evil). As the inhabitants of Beleriand, including masterless Orcs, beasts of Angband, Elves, Men and Dwarves, fled, much of Beleriand sank in the sea. Only a small section of East Beleriand remained, and was known after as
Lindon, in the Northwest of Middle-earth of the Second and Third Age. Other parts of East Beleriand survived into the
Second Age, but were completely destroyed along with the island kingdom of
Númenor. One reference to a part that wasn't destroyed was made in
The Silmarillion to the places of death of
Túrin Turambar,
Morwen and
Nienor. Fulfilling a prophecy, the graves of Túrin Turambar and Morwen survived as the island
Tol Morwen. Likewise, a part of Dorthonion became
Tol Fuin, and
Himring became an island.
Concept and creation
Beleriand had many different names in Tolkien's early writings:
Broceliand, Broseliand (borrowed from medieval romance)
Golodhinand, Noldórinan ("valley of the Noldor")
Geleriand
Bladorinand
Belaurien
Arsiriand
Lassiriand
Ossiriand (later used as a name for the easternmost part of Beleriand).
Further Information
Get more info on 'Beleriand'.
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