All in Reading Tolkien
"Hail Eärendil, of mariners most renowned, the looked for that cometh at unawares, the longed for that cometh beyond hope! Hail Eärendil, bearer of light before the Sun and Moon! Splendour of the Children of Earth, star in the darkness, jewel in the sunset, radiant in the morning!"
"At last, in the year when Eärendil was seven years old, Morgoth was ready, and he loosed upon Gondolin his Balrogs, and his Orcs, and his wolves; and with them came dragons of the brood of Glaurung, and they were become now many and terrible." - Of Tuor and the Fall of Gondolin
“Morgoth hath bewitched thee; for he that seeth through Morgoth’s eyes, willing or unwilling, seeth all things crooked. Long was Turin thy son fostered in the halls of Menegroth, and shown love and honour as the son of he King; and it was not by the King’s will nor by mine that he came never back to Doriath. And afterwards thy wife and thy daughter were harboured here with honour and goodwill; and we sought by all means that we might dissuade Morwen from the road to Nargothrond. With the voice of Morgoth thou dost now upbraid thy friends.”
"Thereat Glaurung stirred for the last time ere he died, and he spoke with his last breath, saying: ‘Hail, Nienor, daughter of Húrin. We meet again ere the end. I give thee joy that thou hast found thy brother at last. And now thou shalt know him: a stabber in the dark, treacherous to foes, faithless to friends, and a curse unto his kin, Túrin son of Húrin! But the worst of all his deeds thou shalt feel in thyself.’ Then Glaurung died, and the veil of his malice was taken from her, and she remembered all the days of her life."
"Great was the triumph of Morgoth, and his design was accomplished in a manner after his own heart; for Men took the lives of Men, and betrayed the Eldar, and fear and hatred were aroused among those that should have been united against him. From that day the hearts of the Elves were estranged from Men, save only those of the Three Houses of the Edain." - The Silmarillion
“Among the tales of sorrow and of ruin that come down to use from the darkness of those days there are yet some in which amid weeping there is joy and under the shadow of death light that endures. And of these histories most fair still in the ears of the Elves is the tale of Beren and Lúthien."
JRR Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings are widely regarded as two of the greatest works of fiction of modern time. Over 150 million copies of The Lord of the Rings, and 100 million copies of The Hobbit have been sold worldwide (and this statistic hasn’t been updated in years, so it’s even been far more than this!). Tolkien's Middle-Earth is epic in every sense. He breathes life into Middle-Earth, writing as if he were recounting both history and legend, and draws us into a world that feels more real than our own. Millions have fallen in love with Tolkien's work and with good reason.
““And it is said that his hate overcame his counsel, so that if he had endured to wait longer, until his designs were full, then the Noldor would have perished utterly. But on his part he esteemed too lightly the valour of the Elves, and of Men he took yet no account.”
“All this is but Elvish lore, tales to beguile newcomers that are unwary. The Sea has no shore. There is no Light in the West. You have followed a fool-fire of the Elves to the end of the world! Which of you has seen the least of the Gods? Who has beheld the Dark King in the North? Those who seek the dominion of Middle-earth are the Eldar…”
"Therefore he said to Aredhel: "Lady, let us depart while there is still time! What hope is there in this wood for you or for me? Here we are held in bondage, and no profit shall I find here; for I have learned all that my father has to teach, or that the Naugrim will reveal to me. Shall we not seek for Gondolin? You shall be my guide, and I will be your guard!"
In this chapter, we witness the beginning of two great hidden kingdoms: Gondolin (Turgon / House of Fingolfin) and Nargothrond (Finrod Felagund / House of Finarfin). We also watch as the shadow of Fëanor’s actions follow the rest of the Noldor and the damage that is caused, specifically in their relationship with the Sindar.
This chapter is essentially a description of a map which details how the Eldar divided up Beleriand. I would not recommend trying to read this chapter without looking at the map. I’ve tried to summarize the various regions as simply as I can, but it is still quite thorough! This chapter would’ve served best as an appendix, so don’t spend too much time dwelling on every minor detail.
