No one can say thatThe Lord of the Ringsdidn’t have a moment in 2024, with its many locations explored in multiple productions, and Beleriand is one mysterious Middle-earth locale that has started to receive more screen time.The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim’sDecember release explores the Rohan of the Third Age, which is nowhere near Beleriand. However,The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Powerseason 2emerged confidently in August after a chequered response to season 1, and does explore Beleriand to a certain extent.
Perhaps the most famousLord of the Ringsadaptations so far are the Peter Jackson trilogiesThe Lord of the RingsandThe Hobbit, which both have a very different map to Middle-earth maps of Beleriand. The key to these numerous discrepancies is that Middle-earth survived many ages, with its landscape shifting in response to both natural and social phenomena. Therefore, most of Beleriand only exists on some maps of Middle-earth. The maps in question are the earlier ones, since most of Beleriand had disappeared by the time of Jackson’sLord of the Rings.
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Beleriand Was A Major Elf Settlement In Middle-earth
Beleriand Was Buzzing In The First Age
Beleriand was a lively region in the First Age of Middle-earth, which was a whole age beforeThe Rings of Power, which is set inMiddle-earth’s Second Age. To understand Middle-earth’s landscape in the First Age necessitates a brief history lesson. The Elves first awoke in Middle-earth, born fresh from their creator’s Flame Imperishable in Cuiviénen. Many eventually left Middle-earth for the westernmost continent, Aman, and from there, many traveled back east to Middle-earth, settling this western shore and spreading east. A large region fromthe western shore eastward was known as Beleriand.
Spreading eastward, the Noldor established numerous realms of legend in Beleriand, despite their often exasperating methods.
While the Elves who never left Middle-earth became known as the Moriquendi, theElves who journeyed west were split between the Noldor, the Vanyar, and the Teleri. Many of the Teleri never quite made it to Aman, and of those who made it to Aman, many of the Vanyar never made it back to Middle-earth.The tenacious Noldor- tenacious being, perhaps, a generous assessment - bulldozed their leadership all the way back to Losgar. Spreading eastward, the Noldor established numerous realms of legend in Beleriand, despite their often exasperating methods.
Why Beleriand No Longer Exists During The Rings Of Power’s Timeline
Beleriand Was Destroyed
Unfortunately for Beleriand,the corrupt Valar Morgothwas increasingly nihilistic in his opposition to the One creator Eru Ilúvatar, Eru’s loyal Valar, and the loyal children of Ilúvatar - the Elves.Morgoth’s destructive campaign against Ilúvatar and all his faithful encompassed many conflictsand culminated in the titanic War of Wrath. The tragedy and scope of this war may be unrivaled in fantasy literature, so cataclysmic that it broke the world, leaving it a strange, new place. Beleriand was no longer a part of this strange new place, for the most part.
Celebrated cartographer Karen Wynn Fonstad published the most lore-accurate Tolkien maps since J.R.R. Tolkien himself inThe Atlas of Tolkien’s Middle-earth.
Sunk beneath tidal waves, Beleriand left only a chink of its former glory above water.The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Poweralluded ever-so-briefly to the War of Wrathin its very first episode’s opening sequence. Galadriel’s prologue to the show provided a historical recap of the Elves' fight with Morgoth and showed corpses morbidly floating underwater. This was juxtaposed with clips of other wars, which also seemed to includethe Battle of Sudden Flameand the Battle of Unnumbered Tears.
What Happened To The Elves After Beleriand Fell
Elves Remained On Middle-Earth
The War of Wrath was a reflection of pioneering writer and war veteran J.R.R. Tolkien’s feelings about war, so earth-shattering it ended an age for him and began a new one. With the War of Wrath marking the downfall of Beleriand and the end of the First Age,the Second Age began. The Elves who survived into the Second Age were left to populate the limited remains of Beleriand, scramble into sea-worthy vessels to sail to safety, or escape into the lands to the east. Lots of Noldor chose the western path, heading back toward Aman, with many settling its nearby island of Tol Eressëa.
A section of the Teleri, over various sociopolitical changes, had become a group of Elves known as the Sindar, or Grey-elves. This growing faction of Elves partially migrated east and joined the woodland Elves, with Thranduil a famous example, establishing the realm of Mirkwood.The region to the east of Beleriand was called Ossiriand, which came to house many refugees. Some of the other well-known Elves that survived the War of Wrath and remained in Middle-earth were Gil-galad, Círdan, Elrond, Celeborn, Galadriel, and Celebrimbor.
Lindon Is What Remains Of Beleriand In The Rings Of Power
Lindon Is A Historical Region
Lindon was the only remnant of Beleriand besides a few islands, but it was devastated by the war and renamed in accordance with its reformed landscape. The Blue Mountains ranged north to south to the east of Lindon but had been cut into by the sea during the War of Wrath, dividing Lindon in two.Gil-galad ruled North Lindon, otherwise known as Forlindon. Meanwhile, Círdan led South Lindon, also known as Harlindon. The two sides of Lindon, portrayed inThe Rings of Power, were split by a gulf called the Gulf of Lhûn.
Forlindon and Harlindon survive even into the Third Age, in which Peter Jackson’s movies are set.
Celebrimbor lived in Lindon for a time before moving eastward and establishing Ost-in-Edhil in Eregion, a location explored extensively inThe Rings of Power. Elrond half-elven lived with Gil-galad before conflicts of the Second Age forced him to found Rivendell, whichThe Rings of Powerstory also touches. Ultimately, Lindon is a historical location and something of a “UNESCO World Heritage Site” inTheLord of the Ringsterms, providing a glimpse into a once-great region that lives on in stories and traditions. Forlindon and Harlindon survive even into the Third Age, in which Peter Jackson’s movies are set.
The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings is a multimedia franchise consisting of several movies and a TV show released by Amazon titled The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. The franchise is based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s book series that began in 1954 with The Fellowship of the Ring. The Lord of the Rings saw mainstream popularity with Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies.
