Beleriand was a vast region in northwestern Middle-earth during the First Age. Originally, its name referred only to the area around the Bay of Balar, but in time the name applied to the entire land. The root of its name, Beler or Balar, is believed to refer to the Maia Ossë, who often dwelt at the shores of Balar. The War of Wrath at the end of the First Age brought the destruction of the entire continent (except Lindon and several island realms), and its descent into the Sea.
Geography[]
To the west and south, Beleriand had a long coast with the Great Sea Belegaer; to the north were the highlands of Hithlum, Dorthonion, and hills of Himring; to the east the Blue Mountains reached nearly to the Sea. The land of Nevrast in the northwest was sometimes considered part of Beleriand.
Sirion, the chief river of Beleriand running north to south, divided the region 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 re-emerged below the Andram at the Gates of Sirion.) To the east of the Long Wall, was the River Gelion with its six tributaries flowing from the Blue Mountains, in an area known as Ossiriand or the Land of Seven Rivers. The River Brithon and the River Nenning were the two lesser rivers of the western land of Falas.[1]
In the year FA 587, Beleriand was mostly destroyed by the War of Wrath of the Valar against Morgoth. Only a small section of Ossiriand remained, and was known as Lindon. In addition, fulfilling a prophecy, the graves of Túrin Turambar and Morwen also survived as the island Tol Morwen. Part of Dorthonion became Tol Fuin, and the Hill of Himring became Tol Himling. All of these together were known as the Western Isles.[2]
The final words of Galadriel to Treebeard at their parting at Isengard, "Not in Middle-earth, nor until the lands that lie under the wave are lifted up again. Then in the willow-meads of Tasarinan we may meet in the spring. Farewell!" suggests that Beleriand will be recovered from the Sea again, after the Dagor Dagorath, since it will be like Arda Unmarred but containing all the good things of Arda Marred.[3]
Etymology[]
The name Beleriand refers either to the continent's initial colonization by the Teleri, who had been ferried there upon the Isle of Balar, or to the land's great Bay of Balar, in accordance with the name's meaning in Sindarin, "land of Balar".
Beleriand had many emended different names in Tolkien's earlier writings (see: The History of Middle-earth): Broceliand, Broseliand, Golodhinand, Noldórinan, Geleriand, Bladorinand, Belaurien, Arsiriand, Lassiriand, and Ossiriand (which was later used as a name for a region of Beleriand).[4]
Places[]
Regions and realms[]
- Arvernien
- Forest of Brethil
- Dimbar
- Doriath (Kingdom of Thingol and Melian)
- Estolad
- Falas
- Himlad
- Nan-tathren (Land of Willows)
- Talath Dirnen (Guarded Plain)
- Taur-en-Faroth (Forest of the Hunters)
- Taur-im-Duinath
- Thargelion
- Ossiriand (later Lindon)
Cities[]
- Belegost (Dwarven stronghold)
- Nogrod (Dwarven stronghold)
- Brithombar and Eglarest (The Havens of the Falas)
- Gondolin (Hidden city of Turgon)
- Menegroth (Underground stronghold below Doriath)
- Nargothrond (Underground stronghold of Finrod)
- Himring
- Vinyamar
Gallery[]
Translations[]
Foreign Language | Translated name |
Amharic | ቤልሪየን |
Arabic | بيليرياند |
Armenian | Բելերիանդ |
Belarusian Cyrillic | Белеріанд |
Bengali | বেলেরিঅন্দ |
Bulgarian Cyrillic | Белерианд |
Catalan | Beleríand |
Chinese (Hong Kong) | 貝爾蘭 |
Danish | Beleriand ("Balars Land") |
Georgian | ბელერიანდ |
Greek | Μπελέριαντ |
Gujarati | બેલેરીઅન્ડ |
Hebrew | בלריאנד |
Hindi | बेलेरिअन्द |
Japanese | ベレリアンド |
Kannada | ಬೇಲೇರಿಯಾನ್ಡ್ |
Kazakh | Белеріанд (Cyrillic) Beleriand (Latin) |
Korean | 벨레리안드 |
Kyrgyz Cyrillic | Бэлэрианд |
Lithuanian | Belerijand |
Macedonian Cyrillic | Белерианд |
Marathi | भेलेरिअन्द |
Mongolian Cyrillic | Белерианд |
Nepalese | बेलेरिया |
Pashto | بېلېریاند |
Persian | بلریاند |
Punjabi | ਬੈਲੇਰੀਂਡ |
Russian | Белерианд |
Sanskrit | बेलेरिअन्द् |
Serbian | Белерианд (Cyrillic) Beleriand (Latin) |
Sinhalese | බෙලෙරිඅඳ් |
Tajik Cyrillic | Белерианд |
Tamil | பெலேரியாண்ட |
Telugu | బేలేరియాను |
Thai | เบเลริอันด์ |
Ukrainian Cyrillic | Белеріанд |
Urdu | بیلیریانڈ |
Uzbek | Белерианд (Cyrillic) Beleriand (Latin) |
Yiddish | בעלעריאַנד |
References[]
- ↑ The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Chapter XIV: "Of Beleriand and its Realms"
- ↑ The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Chapter XIV: "Of the Ruin of Doriath"
- ↑ The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, Book Six, Ch. VI: "Many Partings"
- ↑ The Silmarillion, Index