The Dúnedain:
The Men of the West, those descended from the survivors
of the destruction of Númenor. The Dúnedain
of the south founded the kingdom of Gondor, while those
of the north founded Arnor. The surviving Dúnedain
of the North Line after the death of its last King
became the Rangers, who protected places like the Bree-land
and The Shire.
The Lord of the Rings
The Silmarillion
Related Entries:
Gondor | Arnor | Númenor | Aragorn |
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The Dead Men of Dunharrow:
Ghosts, fated never to rest until they fulfill an
oath they broke to Isildur. They fulfilled that oath
in the days of Aragorn, during the War of the Ring
in 3019, after which they never disturbed Middle-Earth
again. Freed from the curse laid upon them by Isildur,
they probably left the Circles of the World as is the
fate for all of the Atani.
The oath sworn by those who later became the Dead
men of Dunharrow was to aid Isildur in his fight against
Sauron. When the time came for them to fight for him,
he found that they had allied themselves with Sauron.
However, his curse so frightened them that they remained
at home, and fought on neither side of the war.
The Lord of the Rings
Related Entries:
Aragorn | Isildur | Legolas
Greenleaf | Gimli | Dunharrow | The
Misty Mountains | The
Paths of the Dead | The
War of the Ring | The
Corsairs of Umbar | The
Third Age of the Sun | The Stone of Erech |
 |
Dalemen:
The Men of Dale, both before its destruction by
the dragon Smaug and after it was rebuilt. There was
one peculiarity to the Dalemen, they could understand
the speech of thrushes. It was by this method that
the weakness of Smaug was told to Bard.
The Men of Dale used to have the
trick of understanding their language, and used them
for messengers to fly to the Men of the Lake and elsewhere. (H.217)
After the rebuilding of Dale, Bard became its first
king.
The Hobbit
The Lord of the Rings
Related Entries:
Smaug | Erebor | Dale | The
War of the Ring | The
Third Age of the Sun |
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The Doom of the Noldor:
The prophecy that was spoken by Mandos concerning the fate of those
of the Noldor who followed Fëanor when he left Aman. It was also called
the Prophecy of the North, and has been considered as much a curse as a
prophecy. The words of the prophecy are:
Tears unnumbered ye shall shed; and the Valar will
fence Valinor against you, and shut you out, so that not even the echo
of your lamentation shall pass over the moutains. On the House of Fëanor
the wrath of the Valar lieth from the West unto the uttermost East, and
upon all that will follow them it shall be laid also. Their Oath shall
drive them, and yet betray them, and ever snatch away the very treasures
that they have sworn to pursue. To evil end shall all things turn that
they begin well; and by treason of kin unto kin and the fear of treason,
shall this come to pass. The Disposessed shall they be forever.
Ye have spilled the blood of your kindred unrighteously and have stained
the land of Aman. For blood ye shall render blood, and beyond Aman ye shall
dwell in Death's shadow. For though Eru appointed to you to die not in
Eä, and no sickness may assail you, yet slain ye may be, and slain
ye shall be: by weapon and by torment and grief; and your houseless spirits
shall come then to Mandos. There long shall ye abide and yearn for your
bodies, and find little pity though all whom ye have slain should entreat
for you. And those that endure in Middle-earth and come not to Mandos shall
grow weary of the world as with a great burden, and shall wane, and become
as shadows of regret before the younger race that cometh after. The Valar
have spoken. (S.103-104)
This doom affected even those who, like Galadriel, had no intention
of participating in Fëanor's vengeance.
The Silmarillion
Related Entries:
Fëanor | Mandos | Melkor | Morgoth |
The War of the Jewels | The Oath of Fëanor | Galadriel | Aman | The
Silmarils | The
Ages of the Stars | The
First Age of the Sun |
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